I knew I wanted to read more of Ann Napolitano’s work after finishing Hello Beautiful earlier this year. This book is a multigenerational story about an Irish catholic family with each chapter being narrated by a different family member. What I love most about the authors books is her ability to make the characters seem like real people, they’re often flawed and imperfect which makes her stories very relatable. Her writing style is extremely immersive and you end up feeling emotionally attached to the family she is describing. This book shows the ups and downs of many families dynamic including the topics of unexpected pregnancy, grief and love. If you’re looking for a wonderful story told by many perspectives and includes lots of family drama this book is for you!

Really could not get into this book. Too many characters to keep straight, and none of their storylines held my attention. Knowing now that this is a re-release it makes sense that this author's writing got better, as I enjoyed a couple of her other books very much. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this advance copy.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5

Within Arm’s Reach❣️

Mini Review ⬇️

ARC - Pub Date April 30th

This book was okay. It held my interest and I was invested to see what would happen in the end. I found it well written and a bit unique.

The chapters were long which I always find a bit annoying and when you were stuck with a character you didn’t like it was a little tough to get through.

Overall, worth the read though 😁

Thank you to @RandomHouse and #NetGalley for the digital ARC of #WithinArmsReach. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

I discovered Ann Napolitano when I read "Dear Edward" and it was a 4+star read for me. I still think about it 3 years later and frequently recommend it to people. So I jumped at the chance to read the re-release of her first novel.

Within Arm's Reach is the story of the McLaughlins, a large Irish catholic family in New Jersey. It centers on Catherine, the matriarch, and her oldest granddaughters, Gracie & Lila. Lots of loss, secrets, drama and angst. The big cast of characters was hard to keep track of and the nastiness between the adult siblings made me sad (though I'm sure it's accurate). The ending was a bit abrupt. I wanted closure on the main storyline.

Overall, a well-written, engaging story for fans of multigenerational family drama.

Most avid readers know Ann Napolitano from her wonderful and highly successful novel, Dear Edward. Because of that success as well as the popularity of Hello Beautiful, her first published novel, Within Arm’s Reach, has now been reissued.

This is very much a character-driven novel of an Irish Catholic family, focusing on Catherine, the grandmother, her wife and son-in-law and their two grown daughters. Each chapter is told from a different perspective and as the reader you learn so much more than the family because they are terrible at communicating! If you are a fan of such novels and of Ann Napolitano, you will enjoy this book. The Author’s Note was also well written.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Random House for the opportunity to read this digital ARC.

Ann Napolitano is the author of one of my favorite books, Hello Beautiful as well as Dear Edward. So when offered an ARC of Within Arm's Reach, I didn't hesitate to say yes. After reading the blurb, I was even more excited to read the book. A family drama about a large Catholic family. What could be more perfect?

Within Arm's Reach was originally published 20 years ago. Since Napolitano's popularity has soared within recent years, the book was reissued. There's a reason why the book did not do as well 20 years ago. Within Arm's Reach is about a dysfunctional family, which is fine, except it's about a boring, dysfunctional family. None of the characters were particularly interesting and truly were just a mess and didn't seem to improve much as the story unfolded.

I am thrilled they re-released Ann Napolitano’s debut book.
It is a richly written story about three generations of an Irish American family.
I recommend this insightful and satisfying novel.

After reading Hello Beautiful and Dear Edward—both five star reads—I thought this was sure to be a home run for me. But the book never hooked me in like her other stories. There were too many character POV shifts and not enough continuation between events to keep the novel on track. After learning the novel is being republished after 20 years, it makes so much more sense why I've connected more with Ann's later works. She's grown so much as an author.

This novel makes a good case study of how people in a family all respond to a series of events in different ways. The characters were well developed and each had their own plot line and level of dysfunction. Personally, I did not feel overly interested in any of the characters' storylines except for Gracie and the novel was very slow until the very end. I wanted to feel more connected to the characters than I did. As a teacher, I feel like this novel has many aspects of a good book study based on the complex characters and relationships. I would recommend this book for a book club discussion.

I enjoyed the change of character from chapter to chapter. The story tells of complex relationships, secrets and finding one’s self. It does feel as if the latter is unattainable to the daughters, who they really are does not get tied up in a bow. The end leaves a bit to be desired as to if anyone will find happiness and I found myself wanting more.

Thank you net galley and random house for the advance copy.

I really enjoyed Ann Napolitano’s previous novels, “Dear Edward” and “Hello Beautiful.” I didn’t realize until I downloaded the ePUB that “Within Arm’s Reach” was written in 2002 and getting a re-release since she is now a best-selling author. This book has interesting characters, notably Catharine, the very traditional matriarch of an Irish-American family, although her “visions” of deceased family members and future events were a bit cloying. This book has family conflicts, love, sex, infidelity, death, extreme grief, an unplanned pregnancy, unfulfilled career ambitions, and more — perhaps a bit too much going on. The abrupt ending also didn’t sit well with me (although it will fulfill the abruot ending prompt for my 52-Week Book Club: 2024 Challenge!

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the ePUB advanced copy.

I was glad to see this book rereleased, as I had been meaning to read it after loving Hello Beautiful last year. And I love a family story, so I was so excited to read this family drama spanning three generations. At first I was intimated that the story was told from so many POVs, but I thought it actually really added to the interconnectedness of the family and their relationships. This would be a great summer read, and I hope it does well the second time around!

After the success of her two recent books. Within Arm's Reach was republished 20 years after its original publication. I am not sure whether edits or changes were made, but if you read Ms. Napolitano's two more recent books, you can see the growth of her writing. And, based on some of the writing including terms that are no longer acceptable, I'm guessing there wasn't any update made. That is okay as long as you view it as helping place the story within the historical time frame. Character development was still the main focus of the book. This wasn't as accomplished as strong as in the more recent books, it felt a little uncertain and uneven. But, with so many characters and points of view, this didn't make that development any easier. As always with her books, the characters made me want to reach out to them and give them hugs, shake them, tell them to just talk to each other, etc. That is the beauty of Ms. Napolitano's books and characters.

Thank you @netgalley for the ARC of Within Arms Reach by Ann Napolitano. Her books are always reliable for poignant story lines with rich characters. This one was no different. I liked the touch of magical realism with the grandma. I also like how she writes her characters realistically with flaws. My only criticism is that there were too many points of view to keep track of and it kept the reader from really getting to know the characters.

Catharine is the aging family matriarch. She is the mother of 9 and gets into a car accident where she sees visions of her dead babies and husband. While she is hospitalized, you also see the story of her children and Grace, her granddaughter, who finds herself pregnant and alone. Each story is interwoven with their past and present as they navigate these situations.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Hands down , last year my favorite book was Hello Beautiful. A gripping family drama that couldn’t have been better. How lucky we are that the publishers decided that we needed to be reminded of its predecessor, Within Arm’s Reach. This family drama grabs you from chapter one as we learn about the history of this big Irish family and the love between generations of woman (even some who were misunderstood).

My favorite thing about Napolitano, is that her books are real. There is no perfection. There is sadness, joy, happiness and all the other emotions we feel in this journey of life.

A multi-generational multi-POV story with incredibly flawed characters who keep you jumping from chapter to chapter. What else could you need in a book!?

This book was a ride! A family matriarch embarks on a new chapter with her family when her granddaughter becomes pregnant out of wedlock. Will this traditional family with huge chasms be able to come together to support the new generation? Or will previous traumas prove too large to overcome?

This book had such beautifully written characters who I both loved and despised at different times, while also understanding them. This is a deep character study type novel, so if you’re looking for a thunderous plot, this isn’t the book for you. I love the author’s style and is a good retreat into characters in a time when it feels like every book must have a plot moving 400 mph. Definitely enjoyed!

I read the author’s note at the end of this book and it certainly colors my reading experience different. This book was difficult to get involved with the characters. They were complex but unrelatable. They made a lot of bad decisions and felt entitled to their behaviors. There were bright spots where i found myself lost in the story but for the most part, I wasn’t interested in this story. The writing itself was great and I would give this author another chance.

After loving Hello Beautiful I was delighted to get this advanced copy. What beautiful, captivating storytelling we receive from Ann every time! Pulls on your heart strings!

Thank you @netgalley for the Advanced Reader Copy of the re-released Ann Napolitano book, Within Arm’s Reach. I really enjoyed this story of a family. Catharine is the grandmother, and we meet her and especially her granddaughters, who are young adults and struggling through life. Good relationships and family issues. #netgalley #advancedreadercopy #withinarmsreach #annnapolitano #bookstagram #booklover #reader #bookblog #lovetoread #fictionreader #bookreview #bookrecommendation #readersofinstagram #bookloversofinstagram #takeapagefrommybook #readallthebooks #booksbooksbooks #booksofinstagram #bookwormproblems #bookaholic #booknerd #whattoread #readingtime #bookaddict #ilovetoread #ilovebooks #needtoread #readallday

3-1/2 stars rounded up (because I did like this better than my last 3-1/2 star book). While not quite as well-written or cohesive as Napolitano’s Hello Beautiful, this is another enjoyable story of a multi-generational Irish-American family. Told from six different points of view, it reveals a family coming apart but holding out hope of coming together again. In a family of silences, secrets, and repressed emotions, Gracie’s secret has the potential for great destruction or great reunion, and it’s a secret that will soon reveal itself whether she wants to or not.

Thank you to the publisher and #NetGalley for providing a free ARC in exchange for an objective review.