I am about 1/2 way through the audiobook and I’ve already purchased the full book. I love the realness of this story. I can relate to the characters. I feel like I just need to keep reading to get to the end because it’s so good, but I also don’t want it to end. Seamless transition between characters and chapters. Work of art!!!

After losing both parents, Gabby jumps at the chance to do a DNA test for work., hoping to find some long lost relatives. Instead she gets a message from a woman who believes she is her long lost sister, who was kidnapped as a baby. From there unwinds a story of twists and turns and families lost and found.

I was definitely on the edge of my seat to figure out the truth. Some decisions made along the way were surprising.

I enjoyed the book. I found the story engaging and could relate to it, being an only child myself that have always wanted a sister. The intro had me tearing up and rose my expectations significantly.
I liked the effortless connection that Gabby and Isabella felt. I think its a nice and entertaining book.

However, being Latina, Dominican to be precise, I take issue with the depiction of PR and DR in the book, since it looks like in these countries there's only crime, drugs and child trafficking, which is just not true.

It's evident for me, as the author says in the intro, that she wrote PR in the book with a tourist perspective, not really having been there as a local (both the author and the protagonist), so the reflection of the country is not always the best, as in the positive things, places and people.

I don't get Gabby's personality, at the beginning she sounded more grounded, in PR she feels out of touch, getting expensive stuff and booking fancy hotels beside this person, possibly her sister, that's working for her living. Also, someone growing up in New York I think would know more about the world and would be more street savvy.

I wonder why Gabby didn't investigate her own relatives before going to PR, surely aunts, uncles, friends of the family would know something useful.

Also, how's that everybody forgets all the names, people, ship, places...

This was an enjoyable dual timeline story told through multiple perspectives to explore what happens when Gabby receives information that upends her world.

From the beginning of the book, the reader is taken on a journey as Gabby and Isabella foster a relationship as they investigate what happened to Mariana, Isabella's younger sister. From the dual timeline between New York and Puerto Rico, the reader is drawn in to the intricacies and complications that arise and lead people to question what happens when they receive life-altering information.

While character drawn books are not typically my preferred way into a book, Lauren E. Rico captured the essence of all the characters and Puerto Rico beautifully so that I kept thinking about the story and returning to accompany everyone on their personal and group journey. I also loved that there were multiple narrators for each of the characters helping to distinguish between the perspectives while livening the characters.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me an advanced copy of the audiobook in exchange for my honest opinion.

This story is very compelling and it was hard to put down. This could have been an easy five star read for me but there were some issues that were too deep to get past. One of the most compelling part of this story was completely glossed over. This “adoption” is the literal definition of white saviorism. No one stopped to question how harmful adoption can be to the adoptee and the birth family. AND there are so many cases of stories similar to this where white families steal babies who are wanted and loved but whose family is poor or lied to. There’s no questioning of why Gabby’s parents felt that they deserved a child so much that it excused putting Gabby’s birth family through absolute torture for decades wondering what happened to her in order to get what they want. Also there’s no real grappling with the fact that the police are hailed as heroes and “good men” when they all did something horrific.

Familia was a really interesting story about sisterhood, what it means to be family, and knowing ourselves more deeply. It was so interesting to read this so quickly after reading Family Family by Laurie Frankel, which also questioned what it meant to be family.

I really enjoyed the two women at the forefront of the story and seeing how differently they reacted to circumstance around them.

I was granted access to an audio ARC of Familia by #NetGalley and RB Media. I highly recommend reading this as an audiobook, and I felt that the narration was phenomenally well done. I'd definitely recommend this to a friend!

This was a fantastic book! I went into it with no idea of the plot and was so pleasantly surprised. We start in modern day and flash back 25 years, when an infant was stolen from a small community in Puerto Rico. Gabby is a fact checker in New York who goes on a journey to uncover this 25 year old cold case and rediscover what family means. This was a great little mystery. I was sad when it ended because I wanted to learn more about the characters and see what they were up to. The story mainly takes place in Puerto Rico so I am now longing to go back there!

I LOVED THIS BOOK. As someone who found a missing family member (whom I didn't know existed), I was riveted. I knew it was going to be interesting based on the description, but it was so much better than I could have imagined!

This was such a beautiful story of acceptance and family. The author wove some very surprising twists into the story that I honestly didn’t see coming. This was such an easy and engaging read. I loved the story and the characters. This story is told from the past when Marianna goes missing and present day with Gabby. The only thing that bothered me was the way everyone in Puerto Rico was portrayed, it felt like every character we met was involved with a gang or was involved in criminal activity at one point or another. I don’t feel like that was the authors intention but that was how it came across to me. I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to a reread!

Thank you NetGalley and Publisher!

This was such a good story! So sweet yet emotion and a bit scary. I enjoyed it way more than I thought I would. I highly recommend this! Great character development and the writing style was great.

I listened to an ARC of the audiobook.

Review of the audiobook:
5 stars
The book is split in different point of views and has jumps to the past that could have been confusing, but with the different cast of narrators and the clear "Isabelle - Today" intro to each chapter, it was easy to keep track.
I think the audiobook is the best way to experience this story, not only because of the different voices, but because of the characters' accent and the passages in Spanish. This story is about people and hearing them speak really gives them life.


That said,
this book was not what I expected.

The strength: the writing of Isabella (her emotions about Marianna, her search for her sister, her backstory), and the relationships between the characters, mainly the women

The weaknesses: unfortunately, for me, everything else

Based on the description, I was sold on the idea of a book that would portray Puerto Rican culture or history. In truth, the only aspects of Puerto Rico that are transcribed in the book are a few words of Spanish, empanadas, and how dangerous PR is (the repetition that "it was and is common for children to be sex trafficked" "you have to follow the rules because this neighborhood is dangerous" and we only meet a very small number of Puerto Ricans and more than half of them are murderers). At the beginning of Gabby's time in Puerto Rico, Isabella tells her "You're in Paradise" yet, that is never shown at all.

I also didn't really care about the investigation, which is the MAIN thing going on, because we know from the beginning what happened and the conclusion of the story, so there's no stakes, no tension about the results of their search.


Thank you NetGalley and RB Media, Recorded Books, for the opportunity to read this ARC.

This book reeled me in from the start. Gabby takes a DNA test while doing some research for an upcoming article, as the "fact checker" for a New York Magazine. While she was hoping to possibly find a long-lost relative, such as: a cousin or two, an aunt or uncle... she ends up matching with a sister she knows nothing about. Isabella, Gabby's newfound sister, lives in Puerto Rico. Upon receiving a DNA match, sends her a message and wants to meet. She's been looking for her sister, since that tragic day she went missing, and now she's found her!
Isabella decides to fly to Puerto Rico to do some investigating on this Cold Case of a missing girl, named Mariana. This story dives into the rollercoaster of emotions as the two sisters try to find the truth of what happened to that little girl long ago, meanwhile navigating their new relationship.

Lauren E. Rico does a great job of describing the beautiful island of San Juan and its culture. The storyline was very well-written, it flowed effortlessly for majority of the book. I found some of the narrative shifts and time jumps to be a bit distracting,, especially once the plot unraveled and we learned more and more about Mariana's kidnapping. The plot twists were unexpected and well thought out. The characters were likable and their relationships were genuine. Overall, I enjoyed this book!

My thanks to the author, Lauren E. Rico, Kensington Books, and NetGalley for my advanced Audiobook.

Oh my gosh, book friends. This book knocked me off my rocker. I was super impressed by Rico’s writing style. The masterful plot combined with the extremely well-developed characters was nothing short of perfection. The banter between the two women, and the progression of their relationship was superb. Very deserving of a HUGE chef’s kiss!

READ THIS IF YOU ENJOY:

- Cold case studies
- Genealogy testing
- Missing person cases
- Family drama
- Sisterhood
- Novels set in Puerto Rico
- Solving mysteries
- Twists and turns
- Multiple POVs
- Strong female characters

This novel truly has something for everyone, and will surely receive a lot of great buzz and praise in 2024. I highly recommend it. It’s out now! 4.5/5 stars for Familia!

This book was very much a mixed bag for me and, unfortunately, I came away feeling like it just missed the mark.

Gabby DeMarco is lost in life. She's lost both of her parents, her only family, and is feeling stuck on her rung of the corporate ladder with no way upward. So when she receives a message from an alleged long lost sister, Isabella, on a DNA test website, a series of events leads her to fly to Puerto Rico to try and find the truth.

The Good

The timeline is explored in a non-linear manner but still manages to be clear.

The author's prose is perfect for the story she's telling, not too flowery but also not too simple.

The found family aspect was well done. I enjoyed seeing the bond form between the two leads and equally enjoyed how the simmering tension was built and ultimately handled.

The two main characters felt three dimensional and well developed.

The Bad

The overall depiction of PR. This is the biggest pain point for me as a first generation mainlander with most of my family still in PR.

We spend so much of this book reiterating ad nauseum how bad the crime and drug problem is and was in PR. I'm not kidding, we're told three separate times that the cops "back then" just let anything happen as long as it didn't affect the tourists. I'm absolutely not against exploring both sides of a place like PR. It has a long and complicated history that, yes, is often dark and brutal. But there is also so much beauty and positive history. Where this lost me was a complete lack of balance. All we get for the good parts of PR are the food. And while, yes, we do have amazing food and it is a big part of our culture, that's really it. There's no exploration of the island, its history, its indigenous tribes and their lasting impact and resurgence, its fauna and flora, its quirky Spanish, its music, its dance, its people. Just the dark underbelly which, if this book is anything to go off of, apparently is pretty much all the island has to offer besides good food.

Language Barrier? Nope. Gabby shows up to PR with no Spanish, but, never fear, everyone she needs to speak to knows fluent and perfect English (even at times using words I, a native speaker with a minor in literature, have never used). Yes, many Puerto Ricans do understand and speak at least elementary and often intermediate English, but it is nowhere near the advanced level represented in this book. There are so many anachronisms and learning curves that come with learning a language as rigid as English as a second language, and I would've loved to see more of this represented amd explored.

Franny. What happened to her? As Gabby's supposed lifelong best friend, she shows up in the first half with constant dialogue and narrative reminders of how important she is and then just seemingly fades away.

I have so many more thoughts about this book, but overall: it was okay. I enjoyed the listening experience, but have walked away feeling like there was a lot missing here.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for this honest review.

This was such a good time. The narrator did a great job. The author was very descriptive. I love the multiple pov’s. I look forward to reading more books by this author.

Thanks NetGalley

4.5 --> Rounding up cause there are more good parts than bad parts

Gabby DiMarco took a genealogy test for work. She gets an unexpected match to a sister she didn't know existed. But is this woman really her sister or was it just a malfunctioning test? Gabby decides to investigate going to Puerto Rico to meet her possible sister.

Isabella Ruiz lost her baby sister when she was only 5 years old. Since then, she has been trying to find her lost sister. One day she gets a match on a genealogy website: could this be her lost sister?

This is a feel good read with some plot twists in it. We get multiple points of view. First, from the two (maybe?) sisters. Then, as the book progresses, we get to hear from the characters who were present when Marianna/Gabby disappeared as a baby.

I liked that the book gave different perspectives on what it means to be a family. What I didn't like is the "touristy" feel that this book has when talking about Puerto Rico or the idea that a person who spent only 5 months as a baby in Puerto Rico would have some pre-disposition to learn Spanish (this part made me want to burn my PhD in linguistics) or like the food (because somehow that's biological??). Ok, you can see why I am taking .5 a start off, it's still a good read though.

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Books for this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This story about sisterhood, culture and identity is beautifully written and transported me right to Puerto Rico.
It follows two long lost sisters, Isabella and Gabby, who are reunited by a DNA test after one of them had been kidnapped 25 years prior to the story. I really enjoyed the mystery throughout the book as Isabella and Gabby try to uncover what happened the day of the kidnapping and the relationship between the two sisters was so beautiful to read about.
I also loved the native Spanish the narrators spoke throughout the book.
Thanks to NetGalley and RB Media for an advanced audio copy in exchange for my honest review.

A beautifully told story about a family torn apart and reunited set in the lush Puerto Rican island. Full of heart, complex feelings, secrets and lies, two sisters separated as children find themselves back together as adults when one of them takes a DNA test that suggests she has a relative in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

As an aspiring NYC journalist, Gabby DiMarco, takes her DNA results as a sign that there could be a story worth telling and though skeptical, gets on a flight to get to the bottom of this mystery. What she didn't expect to find was a long lost older sister, Isabella, who's never given up looking for the infant sister who's been missing for all these years.

Wracked with guilt and growing up with a dead mother and an alcoholic, drug addicted father, Isabella's childhood wasn't great. When Gabby shows up she is eager to reconnect and bond, agreeing to help her find out what really happened.

This was GREAT on audio narrated by Frankie Corzo and told through flashbacks and alternating POVs. Highly recommended especially if you enjoy moving family stories, fantastic mysteries and great character driven novels.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review. This was my first book by Lauren E. Rico and I can't wait to see what she writes next!! This is definitely going down as one of my favorite reads in 2024!

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced audiobook. I loved this book. I finished it in one day. I couldn’t put it down. Highly recommend if you are looking for a slow mystery.

I was immediately captivated by this unique story about long lost sisters. The story follows Isabella and Gabby, who are reunited by a geneology DNA test. Isabella lives a humble life in Puerto Rico with her husband. Her life was forever altered by the death of her mother while she gave birth to her younger sister and the disappearance of that baby. Gabby is a fact checker at a prestigious publication looking to become a writer. Their lives collide when the DNA results point to them being full sisters.

Gabby travels to Puerto Rico to investigate. She's convinced the test is wrong while Isabella is convinced it's right. I really enjoyed their burgeoning relationship and the mystery about what happened to the missing baby. Puerto Rico also plays a prominent part of the story as they visit its wonderful diverse landscapes. This was such a touching and fascinating story.

I listened to the audiobook which was well-narrated by Frankie Corzo, Victoria Villarreal, and Robb Moreira.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for providing this ebook and audiobook ARC. All thoughts are my own.