This family drama is a story that weaves the lives of a large Catholic family together. Through the individual story lines themes of aging, motherhood, family connectivity and “sightings” somewhat develop each character. I appreciated the individual POV’s and how connected the family unit was however, something about this book fell flat for me. I have loved the more recent works of the author with Hello Beautiful being a book I recommend to all. I would love to read more works in the future.
Thank you Net Galley for this advance read.

In “Within Arm’s Reach,” Ann Napolitano weaves a beautiful story of love, loss, and life in across generations of an Irish family. True to her typical form (and echoing her writing style in her more recent books, “Dear Edward” and “Hello Beautiful”), she addresses topics that are heartfelt, tragic, and emotionally challenging with ease. Her attention to detail and character development were my personal favorites in this book, which brought her story and its main characters to life. Another great aspect of the story was the parallel storylines of emerging life and imminent death, which bring the family closer together.

My primary criticism is that the book ended too soon, as I would have eagerly continued to read about the characters and their interrelated challenges beyond the last page. The growth she showed within the various family members was wonderful, but still in process. While I would have preferred a more final ending, she left readers wanting more, but also the gift of being able to envision their own preferred ending for the main characters.

I was extremely fortunate to have received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley and appreciate the consideration of the publishers, Ms. Napolitano, and NetGalley in receiving an advance copy for review. Also, this book was a re-release from an earlier publication in 2004.

An amazing, luminous, earlier first novel by Naplitano about a sprawling Irish American Catholic family whose elderly matriarch wants to pull everyone back together, particularly in light of a surprise family pregnancy by an unwed mother.

Catharine McLaughlin, a widower turning 80 years old, wants to repair some of the schisms that have driven her large family of children and grandchildren apart. She finally realizes the role she and her controlling husband played in creating this angst, and wants to set things right. Of particular concern to her is her granddaughter Gracie, an advice columnist in her 20’s, known for her promiscuity and now pregnant. There’s also Gracie’s older sister Lila who has stoically pursued a medical career only to find herself alienated not only from her patients but people in general. Gracie’s and Lila’s parents are both alienated from their daughters and alienated in their marriage, and both have embarked on trying to figure out who they are and where they can find love.

In alternating chapters with candid first-person narration, we get quickly drawn into this cast of characters, their complicated family history over the past three generations, and how much each struggles to find both their external voice and fulfilling path in life. Replete with Irish ghosts of dead relatives that only some can see, the expectations of an immigrant family, and need to overcome the guilt that has been inherited along with their Catholicism.

For anyone who loves Dear Edward and Hello Beautiful, Naplitano’s later best-selling books, this is a must read!

I will accept no criticism for Ann Napolitano!! She can do wrong & Within Arm’s Reach is yet another example of her brilliant talent. Her writing style is very unique and she has the ability to hook you from the first page. I loved the multiple POV, family drama aspect of this book. Family secrets, drama, heartbreak, and so much dysfunction- yes yes yes!!! Within Arm’s Reachl is brilliant!!

Thank you NetGalley & Random House Publishing Group-Random House for an ARC copy of this book.

Thank you to Netgalley for this copy of an earlier book by Ann Napolitano, as I have enjoyed her two previous novels. Family sagas are a favorite and this is one of those. The story follows several generations of an Irish family and is told from the perspective of five different people. I enjoyed this book and I find Napolitano’s books to be very readable, but I will say I enjoyed her two newer books better. Saying this, I still highly recommend all of her books.

Stunning writing, as I expected from the previous work I'vre read by the author. You can tell it's one of her earlier works, something about it just isn't a sharp as her new releases. And I do agree with the complaints about too many characters... overall a good book though.

If you like dysfunctional family antics, this is it. Not a lot happened overall, and yet because it had so many different POVs, it always felt like something was happening.

The story follows the McLaughlin family as the matriarch ages, while her daughter has an affair (a la midlife crisis), and the granddaughters have their own huge life changes. There is rich history given about previous generations, and the story really spans across 10+ family members.

A beautiful snapshot of the differences in three generations of women in a family. The different stories were juxtaposed and yet fit together at the same time. I found myself frustrated at each of the main FMC at one point or another, but for drastically different reasons.

I received this book as an ARC from the publisher via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. Thank you Ann Napolitano and Random House Publishing Group.

Within Arm's Reach follows a group of women from a large, Irish family as they all attempt to navigate pivotal moments in their lives.

Hello Beautiful is one of my favorite books I've ever read, so I was thrilled to get to read this one as well. It's a rerelease of a book originally published 20 years ago, and you can definitely see the growth that has happened in between then and her more recent releases.

The book was beautifully written and I appreciated the complex dynamics seen between the characters. However, I just didn't feel any real connection to the characters or their stories. The characters weren't particularly likeable or relatable, and I just couldn't get invested.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Another lovely character-driven story from Napolitano. Although I preferred Hello Beautiful, this was highly enjoyable, especially with the full audio cast. This also gave me major Tracey Lange vibes with the Irish family dynamics. I also wanted to applaud Napolitano for writing about the intricacies of complicated familial relationships with such finesse. Character-driven stories tend to be a hit or miss for me, but her’s are always a hit!

Interestingly, upon listening to her author’s note, it makes sense that Within Arms Reach was actually written much earlier in her career. I can see the stylistic thread, as well as her evolution as a writer. It is great that she was able to finally republish it 20 years later!

Because of the success of Ann Napolitano's two most recent works, "Dear Edward" and "Hello Beautiful," this book, "Within Arm's Reach," the author's debut, will be re-released on April 30, 2024. Unfortunately, this book should remain in the past as it is not nearly as good as Ms. Napolitano's newer books. While it is interesting to see how she progressed and matured as a writer, I was disappointed with both the simplistic writing style and the story itself. This book lacks the descripting writing and character development that make "Dear Edward" and "Hello Beautiful" so extraordinary. The story is also a bit cliche-a large Irish Catholic family who largely disapproves of a family member's pregnancy out of wedlock, with some patriarchy thrown in for good measure. The ending was really abrupt and I would have liked to see a bit more closure. The cast of characters was quite large and I had a bit of difficulty keeping them all straight. I also didn't like the theme that " a baby will make everything better and make them one big happy family again." Just...no.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

This book was a fantastic read, and I'm excited to share it with others. The author has a unique style that resonates with me, and I think my bookstore customers will feel the same way. It's the kind of book that captivates you from the first page and keeps you engaged until the end.

I'll be enthusiastically recommending it to anyone who comes into the store looking for their next great read. Whether they're seasoned fans or new to the author's work, I believe this book has something for everyone. I can't wait to see their reactions and discuss the story with them.

Normally I am a big fan of multiple POV chapters and getting to hear how various stories can be intertwined, but unfortunately this was just a bit too much for me. I felt like I had to put more energy into keeping each story straight rather than taking in the plot. Happy to see others enjoyed this one and congrats to the author on her debut being reissused!

I love the cover of the book.

I always want to enjoy the authors writing but i have to say this was not my favorite by her. I felt there was alot going on and hard to follow what was going on. There were too may view points and the characters are def not easy to like.

Just was a slow burn through the whole book. It was just ok but not the best book ever!

Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review.

Three generations of the Irish MacLaughlin family are thrust into chaos when the youngest granddaughter becomes pregnant out of wedlock. This forces the family to confront its ghosts, both past and present. Told from the point of view from six different family members, the honest tale of interconnected lives shows how the family responds in different ways in the face of change.

Thank you so much to @netgalley and @annnapolitano for this ARC! This has been my train read as I’ve been traveling through Italy! This book is a republication of Napolitano’s first novel, which was originally published in 2004. I love a good family drama filed with flawed and multifaceted characters. Paired with Ann Napolitano’s excellent writing and character creation, this book was a real treat. I’ve loved Napolitano since reading Dear Edward a few years ago and I’m surprised this book didn’t receive more traction when it was initially published. The novel touches upon many themes, including the loss of connectivity, guilt, shame, sibling rivalry, long held grudges, and the huge challenge of holding a a large and diverse family together. The characters were so well created and complex, and I loved the different opinions and phases of life that each of their separate narratives illustrated. I also loved the NJ setting—I was born in NJ and was able to recognize most of the settings so that was fun! Within Arm’s Reach will be available on April 30!

I really wanted to enjoy Within Arm’s Reach because Hello Beautiful was one of my favorite books of 2023. I have to say, Ann Napolitano’s writing has changed and improved immensely in the time between the two novels. I found Within Arm’s Reach cluttered and difficult to follow, with too many points of view to the point that none of the characters seemed well-rounded or well defined. I didn’t really like these characters very much, I couldn’t get invested in them, they weren’t sympathetic to me but they weren’t villains, either. This was not at all the compelling family drama that Hello Beautiful is in my opinion. I know there are folks who absolutely love this book, but unfortunately, I’m not one of them.

A family saga involving multiple generations and points of view.

I was so excited to see this book up for request. I loved the two previous books I have read by this author. However, I must say this one was a disappointment to me. I found her other books captivating and so heartfelt. I didn't really like any of the characters in this one. I found most of them to be somewhat bratty regardless of age.

Don't get me wrong, there were some really good parts. I just had really high expectations that weren't met.

After reading Within Arm's Reach I learned that this is a reprint of the authors debut novel. Her writing and story telling has greatly improved since then. While I can't highly recommend this one, I absolutely can the two other books I have read by the author.

Thanks to netgalley and Random House Publishing for the arc.

I grew up in a large, Irish Catholic family, which is why this author’s books seem to resonate with me. I can see that if you didn’t grow up in this kind of family, it might be hard to connect with the characters and story. This book was originally published in 2004 and is being released again on April 30, 2024. If you have read Ann Napolitano’s other books, Dear Edward and Hello Beautiful, you will recognize that the writing in this title is definitely “debut” writing. I enjoyed the story of a large NJ family, but some parts seemed to run together. If you are a fan of Ann, I would recommend this book, but if not, you could easily skip it.

I was excited to receive a galley of this re-release of Napolitano's first book. Hello Beautiful was one of my favorite books last year so I was excited to read another of her books. This one was a slow burn family saga with an Irish-American family at the center. It is told from multiple perspectives and through 3 generations. It took me a bit to get invested in this book. I'd say I was a good 40% into the book before I felt like I was connecting with the story and able to keep the characters straight in my head. Once I was invested in the story, I enjoyed learning about the ins and outs of the family, the intricacies of their relationships, and the things they keep silent.

No matter how close we are to all of our family members, if they need us, we are right there for them. Gram is dying and the family comes together and finds how much they love each other. This is my fifth try at writing, but my reviews keep disappearing. So, read this book!

Within Arms Reach by Ann Napolitano
I didn't realize that this was a reissue of her first novel. Its a sweeping tale of 3 generations of women in a family and the decisions they make. This doesn't feel like a debut. Though the book was far more intense and sad than I believed it would be, but there was also a sense of hope. I enjoyed Napolitano's lyrical sense of story telling. Thanks to Net Galley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.