This is the follow up book to Alice & Oliver by Tess Callahan. I read that one a few months ago and was excited to get back to see what April and Oliver are up to in the future. Just like the first book, this was so good. The writing was captivating and the way she describes the characters and setting makes the story feel real. In this one April and Oliver have kids and go on vacation to Cape Cod. There's secrets, family drama, marital issues. This one pulled me in and kept me engaged the whole way through. This is an enjoyable series if you like heartfelt, family drama.

Thank you to the publisher, suzu approved book tours, netgalley and the author for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

It had been many years since I read April & Oliver, but when I saw that Tess Callahan was reuniting these characters in her latest novel, I knew that I just had to read it. I pondered over whether or not to give April & Oliver a reread, but as it turned out, I was pulled back into the lives of these characters as if no time had passed.

This novel takes place years after April & Oliver. April and Oliver, their spouses, and their children meet every summer at Oliver and Al’s father’s house on Cape Cod. April and Oliver had been very close growing up, however, something happened between them years ago, and now April is married to Oliver’s brother. It is a jam-packed week of various activities, family meals, and a torrent of tension. Each couple is experiencing their own set of issues, they have teenaged children, and there are secrets that are on the precipice of being revealed.

Tess Callahan writes beautifully. Her vivid descriptions and emotive writing just made the whole story come to life. Despite the beauty of her words, she never lost sight of the raw, intense, angst-filled nature of the story. The heartache and the longing were palpable, the emotions were running rampant, and I felt as though it was all playing out right in front of me.

Dawnland was a captivating read. There was never a dull moment, but that was what I had expected from this family. Tess Callahan did an extraordinary job of following up with this family and all of their complexities.

I sincerely hope that this wonderful author writes another novel in the near future. It will definitely have a spot on my to-be-read list.

*5 Stars

A fantastic sequel to April and Oliver! I enjoyed following up on their story after the first book and can hardly believe there are even more emotions in this story. It’s rare to love the sequel as much as (if not more than) the original story. The characters are complex and real. April and Oliver are at once loveable and aggravating due to their past. Enter one secret after another and you have twists galore. I strongly suggest to start with the first book (April & Oliver). You’re going to go back and read it anyway, might as well do it in order…

<i> April, her brother-in-law Oliver, and their families reunite in Cape Cod on an exquisite stretch of beach called Dawnland. After eleven summers of building traditions—kayaking, whale watching, bonfires, and ocean swims—this year comes with new threats both on and off the coastline.

Before their marriages, April and Oliver had an intense but disastrous fling that they kept hidden. Although they moved on with their lives, their more recent fiery encounter is getting harder to keep secret—especially as the week unravels, revealing fault lines not only between husbands and wives but between brothers, fathers and sons, and children growing up amid discord and lies. Ground zero for conflict is April’s volatile teenage son, Lochlann.

The family structure begins to teeter. Secrets are surfacing. As everyone faces the consequences of their choices, the truth could finally forge them together or tear them apart forever. </i>

Dawnland is filled with the complexities of love, family, and life. It’s a quietly gripping tale. I wish I’d realized going in that it was a follow-up to another novel (April and Oliver), as I think it would have helped to read that first, but it was still an engaging story.

Thank you Tess Callahan, Little A, Brilliance Audio, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

All the characters from April & Oliver are back.

At a family getaway tradition in Cape Cod, Oliver, with his wife Meredith and April, with her husband Al and kids Loch and Nula, will have a tension filled vacation. Most of these characters have deep flaws and the adults have pasts that will slowly creep in to drive a wedge in relationships.

April and Oliver, you can just feel the tug of a lifeline between these two. They are both in other, seemingly happy, marriages but just can't mentally deny attractions that have always been there. Al is a character that I just can't get behind because he dragged things out in the open at the most inopportune times.

I loved getting to see where April and Oliver ended up after the first book. Filled with even more emotion, drama, and tension I liked this one even more than the first. April and Oliver were both frustrating at times more because of where their past decisions made them end up. There were a lot of difficult conversations and I never knew how they were going to move forward from the secrets that came to light. A beautifully written sequel.

Thank you @tess_callahan @suzyapprovedbooktours for the gifted copy

This is a complex family drama that is a follow up to April and Oliver. This book goes 15 years ahead to 2018 and April is 39 years old and a mother of two. She is also married to Oliver’s brother, Al.

The whole story takes place over the course of a week vacation where secrets are revealed.

I read April and Oliver so I had the knowledge of most of these characters. This book really builds anticipation by not only having fast moving events happening during the vacation but also by filling in gaps of events that happened in the past.

There are so many emotions in this book and I love the way it’s told. I also loved that the next generation is an integral part of this story.

Romantic history, marital issues, and the changing landscape of family all make up a part of the dynamic story.

Oliver and April have such a complicated relationship and it's coming full circle in this brilliant sequel to April & Oliver. It's years later and they're both married with children taking a trip to the family cabin together. Secrets and lies come out and life as they all know it will never be the same. I loved the characters in these novels and the underlying angst that drove their decision making. The tension was palpable and the need to keep turning the pages very real as I was enthralled by all the drama. I listened to the audiobook as I read and had the amazing experience of being totally immersed in this captivating story.

A powerful and emotional story; character driven and beautifully written.
Family dynamics, complex characters and vivid descriptions that will take you to Cape Cod. This is one of those stories that will leave you thinking and feeling after you finish reading. Raw, moving and captivating.

Thank you Suzy Approved Book Tours for this tour invite.

𝗗𝗮𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 by Tess Callahan released September 3, 2024.

A propulsive domestic drama that sees two families returning to their summer vacation spot on Cape Cod for an 11th season only to have long-held secrets, affairs and lies get dragged to light threatening to upend their formerly close relationships. While I didn't personally love the narration by Xe Sands in this book, (and I have enjoyed. her in the past), I still thought the book was a little too slow paced for my tastes but that it would definitely make a good summer beach read especially for fans of authors like Jennifer Weiner. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

I did not realize there was a previous book before this so I am a bit disappointed I did not get all the backstory to this novel. I loved the setting on Cape Cod. I enjoyed the family dynamics and the drama. It is a decent beach read. 3.5 stars.

Dawnland was one wild family drama by Tess Callahan.
A raw, realistic and compelling story.
This one was definitely not light and fluffy.

Dawnland by Tess Callahan is a long waited follow up to the wonderful book [book:April & Oliver|5995818].

Oliver is now April's brother-in-law, and their families spend time in Cape Cod in a beach that is called Dawnland.

The brief exciting encounter that April and Oliver had over 10 years ago before marriage is threatening to come out as family dynamics and secrets are revealed.

I loved April & Oliver and was excited to be back in their world. It was really interesting to see how things turned out since the conclusion of the first book.

From the captivating prologue to the ending, I was addicted to all the secrets and twists and turns.

Complex characters and lyrical prose, this novel is one not to miss.

Dawnland is a huge family drama that takes place in a vacation house. Brothers Al and Oliver, along with their families, join the patriarch Hal, who is getting married to Beryl. While the family is under the same roof, certain of their issues emerge that are bombs waiting to explode -- from health issues to secrets that have been kept for years. While this book is something that I should of love, it was just OK for me. There were A LOT of characters to keep track of: three couples, kids, and multiple time lines. That isn't always a problem, but the issue here was a lack of distinctive voices -- I didn't feel like I really got inside of these characters. The teenager in the ending seemed unreal at times, especially in dialogue.

Two families gather for their annual summer beach trip on the Cape, but this year, a secret is revealed that changes the course of their lives.

Al and Oliver are the Night brothers and each has such a distinct, brooding personality. Their marriages are both teetering on the edge, and add in adolescents with their own struggles, and we have a propulsive read filled with angst and a whole lot of drama. I appreciated the author’s use of close quarters and beach setting to really make the story come to life, as well as the way she presented the morally flawed characters. This was an enjoyable read despite struggling to get into it at first.

A sequel to “April and Oliver,” this book is perfect for fans who love a good literary read with a love triangle, flawed characters and beach vibes.

Thank you to Tess Callahan, Little A and NetGalley for an advance e-copy of the book for an honest review.

Set during an annual summer vacation in Cape Cod, Dawnland recounts the tumultuous relationship of two brothers - Al and Oliver - and their families. As secrets unravel, Al's wife, April, has some difficult truths to face up to.

The locations of the sea and the family's house were beautifully written, painting a vivid and memorable backdrop in distinction to the often chaotic and trouble familial relationships. Cape Cod becomes as much a character as the people are. The majority of the characters were wonderfully developed, although I found myself wanting more from other characters which is testament to Callahan's characterisation - a deeper delve into the teenagers would make a great sequel. Saying that, I wasn't aware that Dawnland is itself a companion/sequel to an earlier novel by Callahan but it made no difference as the novel makes a great standalone.

Dawnland is best read at the height of summer. Would highly recommend for fans of We Were Liars and The Paper Palace.

I loved this book and it was great to catch up with April & Oliver. The Cape Cod setting was fantastic and I enjoyed reading about their annual summer traditions. The family dynamics were messy and complicated and there were a lot of secrets. It all made for a really compelling story and I was a little sad to finish this one. I hope that we’ll get to learn more about April and Oliver in the future. This book gave me all the feels and I give it all the stars!

What is it about family vacations on Cape Cod? This family drama sees old secrets and lie come tumbling out as these two families come together for their annual time at the beach. I missed April and Oliver which preceded this but that didn't matter because Callahan laid out the relationships early on, These are flawed people to be sure but that makes them relatable. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC, No new territory here but it's still a good read.

This was one crazy family drama with drama even I didn't see coming. Lots of secrets come out and the Night family will never be the same after this week. Thank you to Little A and NetGalley for a chance to read this one early in exchange for an honest review.

An exploration of the complexity of both family and love when combined with secrets and lies. 🤫

3.5 ⭐️ I had mixed feelings as I read, but ultimately ended up liking this book. While it started strong with a really engaging prologue, at around the 20% mark I had figured out all of the major plot points and where we were headed, so I found myself a bit bored as things unfolded. This is a literary book with many unlikable and morally gray characters and there will be plot points that make you roll your eyes, but the final 10% bumped it up to 3.5 stars for me. I was really absorbed by this cast of flawed characters and the fact that you can be wildly imperfect and still have a great love of family. (On an unrelated note, I also loved the accurate shark safety tips sprinkled throughout the book! I find that fiction more often than not perpetuates incorrect information and I was really impressed by how the author went about this! 🦈)

My thanks to NetGalley and Little A for a complimentary advance copy of this eBook, out 9/3/2024.