I began this book without reading Catherine Adel West’s previous book, Saving Ruby King. I thought The Two Lives of Sara was a standalone story which is the lens in which I review it.

We begin The Two Lives of Sara in 1960s Memphis. Sara and her infant son are living and working in a boarding house. Over the course of the story, snippets of Sara’s former life in Chicago are slowly revealed. There is a lot of trauma and abuse in Sara’s past which forced her to flea dire circumstances and begin a new chapter of her life in Memphis. Luckily, she finds a supportive, extended community in Memphis through the boarding house. These people wholeheartedly accept Sara despite her many vulnerabilities and belligerent attitude toward the world. They become her family as she acknowledges her pain, learns to trust others, and begins to heal and grow.

This book was well written with warm characters, a lively setting, and an interesting storyline. I like how West’s portrayal of racial circumstances for the time period provided a backdrop that mirrored the storyline without dominating it. Unfortunately, the character of Sara grated on me. I’m not sure if I would have been as annoyed reading this character in print form but the audio version really bothered me. Sara’s embittered tone for so much of the book made me want to stop reading. I feel that I might be a callous reviewer stating this fact. Of course, I had empathy for Sara and her circumstances, but I couldn’t get behind her 100%. I also found this story to be unrealistic with all the events that occur from start to finish. The author threw in many dramatic scenes—a few too many for my taste. It definitely kept me wondering where the story would end! Indeed, it does seem like West is leaving enough open ended storylines for there to be a sequel in the future.

3 stars for a solid reading experience. Special thanks to Harper Audio and NetGalley for the audio ARC in exchange for my honest review.

4 stars for the book
3 stars for the ending

The Two Lives of Sara, I really love the story I was super ready to keep going with everything that was happening in Sara's life, somehow I was happy that everything she went through was finally paying off for the better and that she was finally seeing some light and happiness surrounded by people that love her.

Sara had a terrible start in life, her father wasn’t what we all expected him to be, he did terrible things that marked Sara's life, and had a hard time trusting anyone ever again, she couldn't confine her secrets to her two best friends, she felt ashamed and needed space and time to move on and forget whatever happened.

Sara moved over to Memphis with her son ready to start all over again, with a new life, full of hope, full of people that really love her and wanted the best thing for her, with a new "mama" Mama Sugar loved Sara and Levine so much, she took care of them as anyone will with someone after experiencing such a terrible upbringing and trauma. Mama Sugar was the best character in the book I really love the way she always made every single bad memory or moment more blissful and peaceful for everybody around her. her food and joy were the best of this book.

Mama sugar's sons were not what she ever expected, they gave her so much heartache to the point that she was sad for everything they did, but that didn't stop her from loving everybody around her and helping them in any way she could.

But once Sara had finally found happiness again things started to go down and down faster this is when my whole happiness for this amazingly beautiful book started to colpase together with Sara's unhappiness.

This is exactly when I started to dislike the story, the eternal sadness of Sara was very heavy, and I couldn’t shake it off no matter what, not even at the end of the story, chapter after, chapter the sadness was even deeper, I was hoping that there was going to be a twist right in the last min but that twist never came. I was even skipping paragraphs because I wanted to get to the happiness faster but it never came. I end up feeling very sad and angry the joy was completely gone. it is not what I really wanted to feel for a book I was loving so much.

But in the end, I really couldn’t shake off that feeling making me angry with the ending and somehow the writer for not letting Sara have a happy ending after all she went through. life is full of Cycles, nothing is permanent but it felt like the sadness of Sara was very permanent and the cycle never ended so it really made me feel not good.

This is the ONLY reason I rated this book 3 stars

Sara, in my world you got everything you deserved, the love, the union, the comfort, the acceptance, the joy of having a family everything that was stolen away from you you have it, and is yours!

I can’t I’m very sad 😞

The narrations by Adrenal Ojo were amazing, I really enjoy the way she brought so much to the characters and the story, she really made me feel like I was part of the story.

Thanks to Harper Audio, Harlequin Audio, and NetGalley for the advanced audio copy of The Two Lives of Sara in exchange for my honest review.

The Two Lives of Sara
by Catherine Adel West
Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022
Park Row
*Historical Fiction
Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.
A young mother finds refuge and friendship at a boardinghouse in 1960s Memphis, Tennessee, where family encompasses more than just blood and hidden truths can bury you or set you free. This book was great! With a charismatic cast of characters, The Two Lives of Sara is an emotional and unforgettable story of hope, resilience, and unexpected love. I will be recommending this and purchasing it for our library.
4 stars