I want to thank Netgalley for the chance to read the ARC. While I did like the gist of the story, I found it hard to follow. I was never sure which woman's viewpoint I was reading at any given time. I had to keep going back to figure out who was who. I liked Trudy as she stood up for herself, Mostly, the confusion over keeping track of the women, distracted me from the storyline. Others might not have struggled with that.









Trudy

Four women, who live on the same block, each going thorough difficult times and changes. Very interesting to read how they get through their struggles with the help of their neighbors!

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this title. This book was published in 2004, my senior year of high school so I would not have been the target audience for it then. Now, twenty years later, I feel like my time has come and I have grown to really enjoy books like this. I am giving this one four stars as I did like it and will recommend it to others but don't feel like it was a life altering book.

This was a slow burner, but a good one. The Goddesses of Kitchen Avenue follows four women that happen to live on the same street and how they deal with relationships and struggles within their lives. I found that Trudy was the most relatable and the way she stood up for herself and left her husband after he cheated on her. Highly recommended.

Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for the ARC.

This book was gripping and hard to put down. It didn't feel like everything else you see out there, it felt very fresh. I really enjoyed this book!

Overall, this was one of her better books recently.

She has this strong, sexual women thing going on in all of them…and it’s weird at times. But I actually enjoyed this one more than the two others. Still not my favorite at all, but more enjoyable.

This was a great book… I love Barbara O’Neill and this is no exception. Trudy is first and foremost, a wife and a mother… Spending her life in that role. When her husband has an affair, she is devastated… This is the story about a woman finding, her own identity, not just as a wife and a mother, but as a woman. This wise and tender novel will bring tears to your eyes and leave you cheering. Thank you, NetGalley for the digital copy.

I understood going into this book that it was a re-release of one of the author's earlier publications. It was a little confusing in the beginning until I was able to establish each of the characters in my mind. The story is narrated in the rotating voices of four women who are neighbors and friends. Most of the focus is on two of the characters Trudy and Jade. They are both coping with the end of a marriage and trying to find a path forward. I enjoyed the fact that the characters represented different generations and the ways they were abe to support each other. Thanks to NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing and the author for a copy to read and review.

Trudy has had an ideal life. A loving husband and two wonderful kids. Then he husband decides he doesn't want to be married to her anymore. With the help of good friends, Trudy starts to look closely at he life and what she can do now.

This book really includes the story of Trudy and Roberta (her next door neighbor), Jade (Roberta's granddaughter), and Shanelle (and neighbor). Each woman is dealing with a loss or potential loss, either by death of a husband as in Roberta's case, or a divorce or breakup of a marriage as in Jade and Trudy's case, and the potential to lose her family or dreams as in Shanelle's case. I enjoy reading about women who face challenges and work to overcome their situation.

I enjoy this author. Her characters are complicated and multi-faceted. It is great to read about how they work through their problems.

O'neal seems to be releasing alot of books lately. I really enjoyed the way the book delved into tthe main character's different relationships with her daughters as well as newly made neighbor friends etc. I feel this book embodies the saying 'It's never too late' as one takes stock of their life and can still be hopeful for any future they desire.

Engaging read with compelling characters. A book about embracing yourself and not letting others perceptions and expectations of you hold you back.

I enjoyed the story , love , loss and new beginnings . The characters were amazing with their own stories to tell. Kept me intrigued and engaged I liked that each character had a tragic story to tell and to find a way to overcome it , build a new life for themselves , accomplishing dreams .

This story follows four women and the men they love. Roberta, the oldest, is grieving her husband's death, and her granddaughter Jade has come to support her. Jade, recently divorced from a man now in prison, finds her strength and more through boxing. Trudy is facing divorce from her unfaithful husband and realizes she needs to rediscover herself and stand up for what she wants. Across the road, aspiring writer Shanelle struggles with her husband's disapproval of her dreams of being published.

This character-driven novel explores real-life situations of four women and their support system. The story focuses on their enduring friendships and mutual support. The narrator particularly struggles with Trudy's storyline. Trudy deals with an unfaithful husband who feels neglected despite their long marriage and three children. The narrator finds it hard to sympathize with him, questioning how Trudy can forgive and move on so quickly. This resonates personally, as the narrator reflects on their own inability to tolerate infidelity.

The Goddesses of Kitchen Avenue is a revised edition of Barbara O'Neal's book that was first published in 2004. As a reader I generally enjoy a Barbara O'Neal book so I was keen to read this one.  However while being revised it is still set back in the early 2000's and is now almost moving towards historical rather than contemporary fiction.

This story is about a group of four women and the men they love. Roberta the oldest is mourning the death of her husband. Jade her grand daughter has come to stay with her through this difficult time. She is just divorced a man who is in prison and was a big mistake. She wants to find her strength and does so through boxing. Not only does she find her strength but so much more.

Trudy is heading towards divorce from he man she loves but who has been unfaithful. As she struggles with this she comes to realise that she has lost part of herself and needs to discover what she really wants and to take steps to stand for that. Likewise Shanelle across the road is an aspiring writer who wants to write and be published. However her husband is far from happy about this.

I liked the book enough to keep on reading to the end, I liked what the women eventually found in their lives. However at no time did it really grab me and draw me in enough to say I loved it.

Four women, all neighbors, face life challenges with their relationships and marriages. One is widowed, one trying to put a bad marriage behind her, one blindsided by her husband’s affair, and one finding love when she wasn’t looking for a relationship. The characters are well developed, and the reader is drawn in with fluid writing that makes the book difficult to put down. The thought processes of each woman are interesting as they work through their emotions, pushing themselves out of their respective comfort zones to grow and realize their dreams. Well written, recommend.

This story follows the journey of four women who are neighbors, and all of them are dealing their own issues surrounding men. One woman's husband has just died and she doesn't think she can go on without him, one woman's husband has gone to prison, one woman's husband was cheating on her and she kicked him out, and the last grew up very poor thanks to her dad and she is trying to change her life and realize a dream she has of becoming a writer.
Normally I really enjoy this author's books, but this one just fell short of expectations for me. All of the characters felt one-dimensional, and overall the book just seemed depressing. Maybe this was just a "it's not you, it's me" scenario.

This is one of several book I've read by Barbara O'Neal, and unfortunately I didn't feel it was the same caliber as her others. Usually, what I love about this author is the raw emotion, and the suspense in the emotional journey you're taken on - the conflicts and the ups and the downs.
This book was so bland. I felt like you do when you watch a soap opera 5 days in a row and the story doesn't really progress, it's just a little more of the same from the day before. That's how this book was. It was so boring.

The Goddesses of Kitchen Avenue by Barbara O'Neal was such a beautiful story.
This was a phenomenal women's fiction read.
I just can’t say the right words to describe how much I love her writing .
It’s a compelling story that keeps you turning the pages.

Thank You NetGalley and Publisher for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

An emotionally charged novel about the lives of four very different women, all dealing with issues of grief, love and life challenges. The women are neighbors and become friends while helping one another to heal.
The author alternates between the four women's perspectives. I loved how she told Roberta's story through letters and Shannelle's via emails versus the first person narrative used for Trudy and Jade.
By the time I finished the book and shedding many tears, I felt like the characters were also my friends.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

An emotionally charged novel about the lives of four very different women, all dealing with issues of grief, love and life challenges. The women are neighbors and become friends while helping one another to heal.
The author alternates between the four women's perspectives. I loved how she told Roberta's story through letters and Shannelle's via emails versus the first person narrative used for Trudy and Jade.
By the time I finished the book and shedding many tears, I felt like the characters were also my friends.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.