Surprisingly, I liked this book more than the first. Maybe it was because I had already read the first book and was already familiar with distinguishing all the names. but I thought the different character's stories were a lot easier to follow. I do wish there were more Greg chapters, especially pertaining to his experience at college.

I was so happy when I saw that Shannon Bowring had a sequel that follows her debut, ’The Road to Dalton’, another quietly lovely story with people who feel so real, and the small town these people inhabit in Dalton, Maine.

This begins five years after ’The Road to Dalton’, and while time has passed, Dalton is one of those towns where it feels as though not much has changed within the town. Although the changes are nothing momentous, there are moments here and there where you can see the frustrations of some, while also seeing the beauty of this town, a somewhat tightly knit community where everyone knows pretty much everything about everyone. Their lives are practically transparent.

This sequel shares a sense of growth of the people in this town, overall, there is a sense of acceptance of some of the changes felt in relationships, if not a downright appreciation of the changes, but after living in a small town for most of their lives, there is a sense of acceptance.

A lovely story of family and community, of pain, relationships, and life plans that are life changing.


Pub Date: 03 Sep 2024


Many thanks for the ARC provided by Europa Editions

I loved this return to Dalton, 5 years later. These books are so character-driven and the characters are so well-drawn, I feel like I know them and I love spending time with them. The through-line in this book is staying vs. going, which I think a lot of readers can relate to, and I think one could even enjoy this book without reading the first.

I flew through this book and it left me wanting more, and I’m hoping the twist at the end set us up for another installation in the series.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for access to this ARC!

THANK YOU to the publisher and to netgalley!! This is a sequel to The Road to Dalton and it really encapsulates a small town with multidimensional characters. We are back in Dalton, Maine 5 years later as the characters are continuing to navigate their lives. Beautifully written and hard to finish as you want to stay in this world for a long time!

This quiet small town novel is a lovely follow-up to The Road to Dalton. I re-read The Road to Dalton before dipping into this sequel, and I'm glad I did because they are such character-driven stories. I was delighted to see the return of Bev, Trudy, Dr. Haskell, and Nate. Their stories are so realistic, and Bowring does a wonderful job at bringing them to life. The new addition of Vera was great as well; I especially admired her career interests and friendship with Rose.

A couple minor quibbles: some of Greg's chapters seem repetitious and a little slow. There's a lot of him gardening and loving gardening. I wish a bit more had happened with him or some of those chapters had been trimmed.

Also, at times the author seems a bit judgmental about her characters' eating and drinking habits. With respect to Annette, I completely understand that alcohol abuse is part of her trajectory, so that's understandable, but there are several other parts where the judgment kind of pulled me out of the story.

Overall, however, I was delighted to be back in Dalton and surrounded by these characters. Rose's story ends on a cliffhanger so I can only assume book 3 is coming.

At first I wanted Nate to get together with Vera, but I grew to enjoy the developing relationship between Nate and Rose.

The characters really do seem like real people, which is a huge compliment.

Highly recommended for fans of literary fiction and quiet, character-driven stories or small town fiction.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance e-galley; all opinions in this review are 100% my own.

A vividly drawn portrait of small town America with engaging characters and excellent writing. I have not read the author’s previous book but this did not detract from my enjoyment.

I thought Shannon Bowring's debut THE ROAD TO DALTON was exceptional. She formed such multidimensional characters from the small, fictional town of Dalton, Maine.

This sequel is even more exceptional. We catch up with the citizens of Dalton five summers later in 1995 as they continue to go through their ups and downs. Our favorites from the last book take center stage: Nate, Trudy, Bev, Richard, Greg. We also see some characters we didn't spend a lot of time with in the first novel, notably Bridget's parents Marshall and Annette. I particularly enjoyed Marshall's trajectory in this novel. And then we meet Vera, who was from Dalton but moved away to work in the "big city" :) of Bangor, Maine. She comes back to help her parents in this sequel, and I loved meeting her and absolutely loved her realization toward the end. I loved all the characters and their interconnectedness.

I felt that THE ROAD TO DALTON had a heaviness I wasn't expecting. WHERE THE FOREST MEETS THE RIVER does have some heavy moments, but overall it had more uplifting moments than its predecessor.

Please read THE ROAD TO DALTON first. Even if it's been a while, I think that will suffice. And you have time to read it because the sequel publishes September 3, 2024.

Even one more thing I enjoyed was how 1995 the references were. As someone who went to college in 1995, I loved that Fruitopia was brought up twice. This was the fruit-flavored Snapple rival in glass bottles that my college received by the pallet, and they gave away for free. The author must have had a pallet delivered to her college as well. :)

Shannon Bowring returns to Dalton, Maine for her sophomore book, Where the Forest Meets the River, and picks up the same residents five years after Bridget’s suicide. Bowring’s knack for small-town details and character development that made her first book so successful are again on full display as she moves around more with many short chapters voiced by a variety of Dalton residents. I loved all the same things in this book that I did in the first, and although I despise a cliffhanger, I will be first in line for the next one because I want to know what happens next. Where the Forest Meets the River could be read without having read The Road to Dalton, but why? I highly recommend both books to those who like family stories and multi-person narratives like Elizabeth Strout, Emma Straub, and J. Ryan Stradal.

This book was so sweet-- I became very connected and attached to the characters. I think the topic and disucssion around suicide was given proper and appropriate space!

I was so excited to read this follow up to Dalton River.it is so beautifully written that even after I read the last page the characters stayed with me.Visiting again with Trudy & Bev and following their hidden love revisiting Nate and watching him raise Sophie alone after his wife's suicide..Each character seems like an old friend who I know personally. Another wonderful book by Shannon Bowring.#netgalley #europa