Lindsey, a recent widower, has just relocated her family to Hawaii to rebuild a local hotel and their lives after the tragic loss of her husband, Paul.

The children struggle to adjust to island life, and Lindsey struggles to move on until she meets a mysterious man who offers to help her fix up the hotel. The digital age of social media and the internet are vehicles, like the family's new behemoth Crown Victoria, that carry them to their new identities.

The narrative seamlessly switches from Lindsey to each of her children, to the new man in her life, to her dead husband, until it reaches a climactic catastrophic conclusion.

This novel would appeal to fans of "The Last Thing He Told Me" by Laura Dave.

Thank you @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for the ARC of this book. The opinions in this review are my own.

I think this is simply a case of maybe it's just not for me - so take my review with a pinch of salt and don't let it influence you. This is simply my experience with this story and I just couldn't get into it. I received a free copy from a Goodreads giveaway and an early copy of the audiobook as well. I tried reading from both formats and still just failed to connect with it. I'm not incredibly surprised, as this is not my typical genre, but sometimes I get pleasantly surprised, just not this time. I didn't feel any connection to the characters, whether that is because they aren't full fleshed out I'm not sure. Something about the writing and the flow of the story overall wasn't great. The POV swaps were a little jarring to me, and instead of expanding on my understanding of the characters it just felt like getting crumbs. I didn't find the "drama" all that convincing, like it was trying to be more than it really was. All of these things I think failed to engage me with the message of the story and I just wasn't feeling it. Again, not every book is for every reader, and this one just wasn't for me. I'm not saying it's a bad book or the author is a bad writer; I'm sure there will be plenty of people who love it - I'm just not one of them. As for the audiobook narration, I thought it was perfectly fine and I have nothing negative to say about that part.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to listen to an ARC of this book.

Pieces of Blue begins with a single mom and her two children moving the Oahu after she receives insurance money from her husband's death two years earlier. She buys a motel in a remote part of Oahu with most of the money. Trying to figure out how she can renovate the motel, she lets a stranger stay in one of the cottages in exchange for work. There is mystery, a love story, a mother-daughter conflict, and trying to become part of the village which treats most people as outsiders.

I didn't like this book much. The mystery was so obvious about 1/3 of the way through. The other mystery of the motives of the stranger who becomes a friend of the family wasn't as obvious but the reader can figure it out long before the reveal.

Often times the pleasure of an audiobook depends on the narrator. This story was narrated by Barrie Kreinik. I liked the voices of the children and the men. But her narrator and the voice of Lindsey, who has a Welsh accent were pretty bad. I cringed whenever Lindsey spoke and wanted to slow the book down to .75 when she was narrating.

I imagine some people will find this a good beach read but I can't recommend it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for the free audio book in exchange for an honest review. This is narrated by Barrie Kreinik, who does an exceptional job. I found it easy to get lost in this book with the narration.

Lindsey's world has been in pieces for as long as she can remember. Her husband, Paul, is a software developer who has discovered a new app that will be highly sought after, or so he thinks. He quickly upgrades their home, puts the kids in private schools and upgrades to Teslas. However, when it comes crashing down, he dies in a surfing accident, leaving behind Lindsey and her 3 kids. After 2 years of fighting with the life insurance company, Lindsey makes the bold move to purchase a run down hotel in Hawaii. So she and her kids downsize and move to the islands. As the new family is working on the hotel, a widower named Chris appears and becomes involved in helping the restoration of the hotel cottages.

I wont provide more details at this point as they would be spoilers but I can say this is a fabulous domestic drama with suspense and a few twists. The characters are well developed, especially the kids, and the depiction of the wildlife, lush flowers and forests has you hearing the birds and smelling the sweet plumeria.

Highly recommend!

The Hill family has been through a lot over the last few years. They went from middle class, to rich, to flat broke. Then patriarch, Paul, drowns in a surfing accident. The insurance will not pay out because his body was never recovered. Lindsey is left to support their three kids with nothing. After a couple of years, Paul is pronounced dead and Lindsey finally receives the insurance payout. She buys a hotel in Hawaii and the family moves there for a fresh start.

I was expecting an emotional story of healing, but didn't really get that. The characters do grow, and I suppose heal, but it is not done in an emotional way. Or at least I didn't feel it. This also tried to throw some element of mystery at you, which didn't really fit to me.

It wasn't a bad book, but just not what I expected. I did enjoy Sena a lot, lol.

I listened to the audiobook. It is narrated by Barrie Kreinik, who is a very reliable narrator. No complaints about her narration. However, this book may be better read for some. It switches POVs quickly and without notice. I do hate that when it comes to audiobooks as there are absolutely no cues it is happening until you realize it already happened.

I received an audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I am so thankful to Flatiron Books, Holly Goldberg Sloan, NetGalley, and Macmillan Audio for granting me advanced audiobook access to this terribly saddening tale of family and forgiveness, giving second chances and never giving up on love. Pieces of Blue is set to hit shelves on May 9th, 2023, WHICH IS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER, and I am so thankful for all the hype to pipe off from here.

4 stars

This is a book filled with both character studies and some unexpected twists; it's a well-paced, engaging read (or listen, if you are also accessing the text as an audiobook, which I recommend when/where accessible).

When the novel begins, readers learn that Lindsey's husband, Paul, died two years ago, and Lindsey has made a bold move: taken her three children from Oregon to Oahu to run a motel! Obviously, everyone is experiencing a lot of change: a move, a major loss, and a lot of complicated feelings toward each other and themselves. Sloan does an exceptional job of giving readers a taste of all of these characters' thoughts, including the children. Though Lindsey is at the center of the decisions and actions, an enjoyable aspect of this work is the multifaceted and realistic approach to each individual's encounters and struggles.

Since the novel feels as though it will be grounded in exploring family dynamics, processing loss, and building something new, it's all the more intriguing that there's a bit of a romantic subplot and then later some other plot-related twists. I appreciated the novelty of some of these elements.

Having known this author through fantastically penned children's books, I came into this read with some curiosity about what a novel for a wholly different audience might look like, and I am pleasantly surprised. There is a major running joint motif of resilience and rebuilding, but there are also more layers here.