It’s family drama time and this book made me think about all the messy and beautiful parts of having a blended family.

The book centers around half sisters, Vale and Blythe who are both having individual personal crisis and wind up staying at their grandmother, Iris’s house (thanks to a bit of manipulation on Iris’s part).

These half sisters haven’t gotten along in almost 15 years and have barely spoken. There is a lot of animosity on both sisters’ parts who have the same mother but different fathers.

This book reveals not only what is behind each sister’s present angst but also past transgressions of the parents.

Iris, who is my favorite character in this book, moderates and helps gently guide not only Vale and Blythe but also Iris’s own daughter and the girls’ mom, Audrey.

The book has a spark of romance and a bit of sports in it to keep it from being too heavy.

Also, the dilemma that Blythe is facing in her life is a subject that I’m very glad became an integral piece of the book.

This book starts out in a bar which Vale owns with her dad. She’s always had a touch and go relationship with him since he basically was not in her like. After the bar goes up in flames so does her dreams for good old dad let the insurance lapse .She goes back to her home town to figure out what she needs to do . Her mom and step dad never showed they care but her grandmother is her angel. Vale finally is trying to build a relationship to a sister she was never close too. It a complicated problem but Vale grows close to a neighbor and finally sees where she be the bigger person.

Vale has a complicated history with her family and she distanced herself from them. She started a new life for herself and she opened a bar. One fateful day her bar is destroyed by fire. She needs to get back on her feet and she starts by moving in with her grandmother. While Vale is down and out, her family enters back into her life and she is resistant to the reunion. She always felt like she was pushed into the background because of her half sister. Her mother wants to start the healing process to bring her family together and Vale is reluctant about the idea. A story about the complexities of family relationships and second chances with interesting characters.

Disclaimer: Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for this review copy, I received this review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Christine Nolfi has done it yet again and brought us a great story with Brighter Flame. This story is a well written tale of family secrets, forgiveness, and relationships.

Vale owns a bar in Pittsburgh, but after one tragic night, when the place literally goes up in flames, everything begins to shift and change for her again. Vale returns to Philadelphia to stay with her Nana Iris, only to discover that her half sister, Blythe is also staying there. Now is the time for Vale to face her past in order to move forward into her future.

I really enjoyed this book, and Christine's writing style always gives us unique storylines that manage to touch on a lot of personal and relatable issues. I can see myself being a fan of Christine's for many years to come!

A Brighter Flame
Author, Christine Nolfi
Pub date: 9.27.22

Thank you @suzyapprovedbooktours #lakeunionpublishing @netgalley and @christinenolfi for my signed and gifted finished copy! I was excited to have the opportunity to read A Brighter Flame after I read and enjoyed Nolfi's The Passing Storm a few months ago!

At twenty- nine- years- old, Vale is only beginning to scratch the surface and understand how her tumultuous childhood brought her to where she is today- both emotionally and physically. After the Crafty Cocktail burned down, a bar that she and her father co- owned together in Pittsburg, she does a little soul- searching and realizes that she needs to start over yet again; but not before her beloved grandmother calls her home to Philadelphia to offer her a little support and help while she goes through some medical testing over the next couple of weeks. What her grandmother fails to tell her before her arrival, is that her half- sister, Blythe, is experiencing a crossroads in her seemingly perfect marriage, and is also staying with her grandmother while she figures out her next steps. However, Vale and her younger sister, her mother, and her step- father are estranged, so going home to Philadelphia to support her grandmother is now causing Vale to unbury her past memories and hurts, and face her own mistakes and poor decisions.

Vale and her family, like all families, are flawed and imperfectly human. Nolfi's family drama is loaded with miscommunications, secrets, struggles, and inner challenges that each need to learn how to face, own, and forgive- not only each other, but themselves. Although I was able to predict many of the secrets, I thoroughly enjoyed reading how Vale's story unfolded, how she navigated and grew through her pain, and how she forged ahead and learned just how strong and capable she was all along. Her relationship with her intuitive and one- of- a kind grandmother was perfect and made me miss mine so much. I didn't even include her blossoming relationship with the local pharmacist, which is just so appropriate and perfect for Vale. Not to mention the ending, loved it! A Brighter Flame is an emotionally engaging drama of second chances, family, and of hope. Nolfi's writing is empathic, insightful, and realistic for those who love a well- written family drama!

4.5 stars!

When Vale's bar, The Crafty Cocktail, burns down in Pittsburgh she goes back home to stay with her grandmother, Iris, in Philadelphia. She doesn't know when she arrives that her step-sister Blythe has been staying with Iris. They have never really gotten along. Vale felt her mother and Step-father, Grant, always treated Blythe better. Will these two come together and works things out and become family again?

This was my first book by Christine Nolfi and it did not disappoint. I really enjoyed this story about family. It was filled with real life situations and I appreciated that. I did think it ended perfectly, and I would recommend this to those who enjoy a good book about family with a little romance added in.

Christine Nolfi always brings a tremendous amount of heart into her stories, and this book is definitely no exception. It is a touching story of the complexity of family relationships. I highly recommend this one.

This was a story about a dysfunctional family that as grownups they get an opportunity to see there childhood throw a new lens. Vale’s life is turned upside down when the bar she owns with her father burns to the ground. She returns home to see her grandmother when she finds out she is having tests. Shocked to find her half sister at her grandmothers and her mom and step dad are brought back to town sooner than expected. Will Vale and her sister restore their relationship? Will Vale decide to stay in her home town?
I enjoyed this story! Thank you netgalley for complimentary copy.

It is easy to see why Christine Nolfi is one of my favourite authors. Her gift of storytelling makes it a delight to pick up one of her books and become totally captivated for hours on end.
A Brighter Flame is a moving story about family (past and present), secrets, forgiveness, healing and the hope for second chances.
A Touching Story!

Thank you to NetGalley, Christine Nolfi and Lake Union Publishing for an arc of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

This book is centered around family drama/dynamics. While I enjoyed it for the most part, it didn't really hit the mark for me. I always love a storyline with a wonderful grandma and while this did have that there just wasn't enough character development. I wasn't invested in any of the characters. My favorite was definitely the young child next door. She added a little pop to the story, but the story needed more than that to be a worthwhile read.

As the story starts out, Vale would have no luck at all if it weren’t for her awful luck. She thinks returning home to Philadelphia would be the worst thing ever, but it may just save her after all.

Vale is used to her family’s poor opinions of her. Growing up, she ran from her mother, stepfather, and sister to her grandmother’s house more than a few times. Once she’s moved away and bought a bar with her father, she thinks she may have found her success. When the bar burns to the ground and can’t be rebuilt, the only fault of hers is her choice of an unreliable business partner.

She doesn’t want to start over with a bar ownership job she really didn’t love anyway, and her grandmother gives her the perfect excuse—she’s sworn to secrecy while she moves back to her grandmother’s house to help out. She may have made a different choice if she knew her sister was already there. Vale and Blythe had a horrible relationship growing up, and neither one is ready to forgive and forget.

Overall, the story was charming, but predictable. It really had to have a happy ending, as most of the characters were really good people at heart. I gave this book 3 out of 5 stars and would recommend it for those who enjoy family dramas and strong female characters.

A Brighter Flame by Christine Nolfi is very much about a dysfunctional family. There appears to be a black sheep - Vale, and one who can do no wrong - Blythe. They are half sisters, or as one of them put it - well they only have one sister!  At one time early on in life they seemed to have a good relationship but things later on went awry.

It could be said - the sins of the parents went a large way to causing this. For Vale a father who is a bit of a playboy, a mother who soon appears in a not so good light, a step father who really doesn't take up much time in the story but still has an impact on their lives.

We all have our own perspective on events and it's not long before the two women - sisters, start to see that their stories conflict in certain areas about their family of origin. Now they are both at Nana's place, really the one safe haven they both have. They both have big life issues to confront and deal with. To me - it seemed the whole family could do with a good therapist.

Blythe is married but seems to be angsting over something, and the reader guesses early on what it is. Vale has new choices about where her life goes now after her business went down in flames. Plus - it's time to work out all these sticky relationships.

It's a readable book, it has a fun little nine year old next door neighbor, a really nice guy that soon has eyes for Vale, a little bit of insta love though, I think the author could have let this develop more gradually. It wraps up in a warm hearted way, however I'd still recommend some of these characters see a therapist for their future happiness!

🔥Honesty warning: Consider this post the written form of sending up smoke signals-if I could send puffy shaped clouds into the air they would spell DBR-Don’t. Bother. Reading.

🔥 How do you define Contemporary Fiction? If you say it’s totally predictable, with flat as a board characters and Lifetime movie level literature, then I guess I’ve found my least preferred genre.

🔥The only thing interesting here was the jacket cover that grabbed my attention and the blurb that made it sound like this “poignant novel about family secrets, healing, and the hope of second chances” would be an engaging read. If it had been a paperback I would have lit it on fire and used it as kindling.

🔥The entire story from beginning to end was beyond predictable and boring. While I enjoy a well written family saga, this was not that. So mundane and vanilla. Like sugar free vanilla. Maybe even those freeze dried pebbles of ice cream vanilla. Give me some witty banter. Some beautiful writing. One fully developed character for starters. I stuck with it and at the halfway part thought maybe it would pick up steam, put this was a pile of ashes from the start.

🔥She was a new to me author and one I saw great reviews for, but there’s nothing here to recommend and I was just happy for a cold, rainy day to sit and finish it so I could move on.

Thank you Neygalkey for this arc. Wish it could have been less flammable.

Another great by one of my favorite authors. Christine Nolfi knows how to weave a story that keeps you wanting more. It will keep you turning the pages and even at the end you will relate to the characters. Feel the things they go through. This one is full of family dynamics that made me jump between anger and forgiveness.

Vale did not have the close relationship with her mother that her sister Blythe had. They were at constant war with each other. Vale and Blythe were kind of close as children then they became very estranged. Not close at all. Their grandma Iris only wants them all to get along. To love each other. She's always tried to be there for Vale during her many ups and downs. After a disaster strikes Vale does come back to her grandma's and there is Blythe, very upset to know that Vale going to be staying.

These two sisters have gone through a lot and need to find their way back to each other again. Forgiveness is the only way. Vale has to learn to forgive her mother and her dad for the stupid things they did in younger years. Also to forgive herself. If she can do that she might find happiness.

This is the story of how two sisters find their way back to a place they need to be. To each other in ways that will keep them close. One married to a famous baseball picture. The other only finding true love now. What will these two do to keep each other in their lives. Can Vale give Blythe what she wants and can Blythe forgive Vale for some of the crazy things she did in younger years. Through a grandmother's love I believe all things may be possible for them. If they can only find that common ground.

This book is beautiful. It's written in a way that hits you right in the heart. It's a cozy story of family. Family who needs to heal. Needs to forgive. It will keep you rooting for this family to find a way to fix their problems. It hit me right in my heart. I could relate to a lot of things that happened in this story. It felt like I was reading a story about a close friend. A relative. A sister. Vale does make the ultimate sacrifice for her sister. Read and find out what that is.

Thank you #NetGalley, #ChristineNolfi, #LakeUnionPublishers for this ARC. This is my own true thoughts about this book.

5 huge stars and the highest recommendation possible. Always read a book by this author. She's good at what she does.

This was a powerful novel about families. Sisters Vale and Blythe haven’t gotten along in years. When their grandmother asks both of them to visit, they unknowingly will see each other for the first time in years. Vale has been dealing with loss and now a change in her life. And Blythe has her own personal struggles. Now that they have been forced to see each other, they are also realizing exactly how what happened when they were younger has effected both of their lives.

I have loved every book that I've read by Christine Nolfi. And I swear, each book is my favorite.... until her next one, that is. I'm always so excited when she publishes a new story.

A Brighter Flame covers it all—trauma, secrets, family drama, friendship, relationships, sisterly competition and jealousy, love, healing, moving forward—you get the idea. And all of that is wrapped up with wonderful, interesting characters who came to feel like family to me. I felt all of the emotions, just like they did.

Drama rears its ugly head because of all of the family dysfunction and lack of communication. When the warring sisters are thrown together, secrets and truths start to be revealed. Working through them was a tough journey, even for me. Whew! Gotta love the 9 year old Natty, though, to make sure everyone gets along, whether they want to or not. I loved her!

I loved everything about this novel and Ms. Nolfi definitely has another hit on her hands. I loved all of the family drama and all of the love that came shining through. A Brighter Flame needs to go on your must-read list. You do not want to miss this wonderful story. I highly recommend it!

Review coming soon. Fell behind due to illness, amd working on all of the old ones now.

This one will not be forgotten. This has been my favorite book by Christine Nolfi.
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC; opinions are mine.


Pub Date was September 27th, 2022
#ABrighterFlame #ChristineNolfi #NetGalley

This book!!!!!

Totally loved it and I highly recommend it. At the beginning I felt it was going slow and I guessed all the twists somehow but it was still a cute story about forgiveness and family, about letting the past in the past.

My only problem was that it's too slow at the beginning even if we get to understand how the relationships work. And then by the end it was too rushed. I hoped to get to know more about the relationships after they all really ga e it all to be able to forgive. It is implied but I would have wanted more about forgiveness than it had at the end.

The characters are incredibly well written and the story develops in a great way. Ita a book that once you start you definitely want to keep reading!!!!

A Brighter Flame by Christine Nolfi was an outstanding book! I felt like I have just read a book that I’ve never read before. It doesn’t have hints of another story line that I’ve read nor are the characters anything I expected. It also deals with a few subjects many of us have dealt with in our lives. Let me explain what I am talking about and give you an idea why this book is a little unique.

The storyline feels like it is about a girl who just can’t get a break and has a tough time making the right decisions in her life. She constantly gets knocked down but, she jumps right up and gets on with life. Whatever that is going to be. As the story unfolds we get to know Vale, her dad, mom, stepdad, sister and her grandmother and a few others. We meet Emmett. I really like Emmett. He is the neighborhood pharmacist and seems to be what Vale needs. There is so much more going on in this book. There is infidelity, past and possibly present, there is female issues (I can’t tell you which one or ones). In reality, there is so much going on in this book and so much reflection on the past. I couldn’t put it down. This book held me spellbound.

I’ve given you and idea of the characters in this book and I am struggling to not tell you too much! I want to tell you everything! For every sentence I’ve written in this review, I’ve deleted two. SECRETS! There are a lot of secrets carried around by these characters who are very unique. Maybe they are unique because we learn more than one side to a lot of them. Some of them when pushed into a corner tell the whole story whether you want to hear it or not and probably for the first time. Some of the problems we think are being dealt with are not the problem at all and turn out to be something completely different. I know I’m kind of blind sometimes and read stories as black and white so, some things come as a surprise to me. Then I go back and remember there were clues all along.

If you love good family drama, a great story and one that feels fresh, then you need to give A Brighter Flame a try. This is the first book by Christine Nolfi that I have read. I loved it and it won’t be my last. She has several books out for those who like to binge on the previously released books. I’m looking forward to her next book and the next!

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A wonderful story of misunderstanding, family dysfunction, the past and finally understanding. I loved the sisters but it definitely took a while to come to understand the parents. So hard to read about children who are so scarred because of things beyond their control that happen when they are young, but so inspiring to watch their path to understanding and happiness!