I have been reading books by this author for years. She always picks complex topics and includes life lessons for her characters and this book was no different. Maggie is a doctor who helps in disasters. She ends up bringing home 2 teenage girls who lost their parents in a hurricane. Her own two teenage daughters are very spoiled and extremely unaccepting of the new girls. This was a great story about the kind of children that are being raised to have and expect everyone to just give them everything they want. What happens when you love your kids but you don't really like them? I loved the beginning and the concept of the story. It was a great topic and something that people really need to think about. We try to give our kids everything they want and to save them from experiencing pain, but then they don't grow into nice people who care about the world and others. How can we change that? As a teacher who works with middle school students, this was a interesting book.

Rolling Toward Clear Skies, by Catherine Ryan Hyde, is yet another example of this prolific author's ability to find the heroic in normal people and contrast it with common pettiness that can grow in all of us. This is a heartwarming story of a family adjusting to a great deal of change, and I enthusiastically recommend it. However, this book is flawed in that some characters seem to be fixed in either the "good" or the "bad" group. While all the characters evolve, a certain amount of this author's usual subtlety and nuance is noticeably absent. Thank you to NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing, and the masterful Catherine Ryan Hyde.

I thought the premise of this book sounded interesting but by 30% of the story I took an immense dislike to Maggie and her two daughters. The two daughters are unlikeable and it all comes down to Maggie. Sure Maggie has great intentions with the two foster children, but maybe if she had treated her own biological children as she did the two foster children perhaps they wouldn't have been such a mess.

Some of the story was interesting and I liked how she approached a hot topic of social media's influence on people. But I just didn't find the characters believable.

I know I am definitely an outsider on this opinion, but the one part I totally disliked was the epilogue, too long and oh my goodness death by sweetness.

All in all it's a decently written book it just wasn't for me so I can only give it 3.5 stars. But by all means read it for yourself!

A story about a divorced mother of 2. She volunteers to help others when disaster strikes.
A story abut helping adoptive children cope, get used to their new life and coping with all the changes.
A story about a blended family adjusting to each other.
Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for sending me a digital copy for review. I really enjoyed this story.

Maggie and Alex are an engaged couple who participate in Doctors on Wheels. Maggie is divorced and has 2 teenage daughters who live with her and Alex. When Maggie and Alex go to help people after a horrific storm, her daughters go to stay with their dad. During the rescue efforts, Maggie is encountered with 2 orphans. After talking with Alex, she agrees to take them in, much to the outrage of her 2 biological daughters.

The story follows them as they learn to become a united family. I really enjoyed this story.

One of my favorite authors.
She is one of the best at being able to make us see, and feel how her characters, and their complicated scenarios can make changes.
She has, through her stories, tackled all of today's issues, so beautifully and compassionately.
This story revolves around Maggie Blount, a California Physician, and a divorced mom with two teenage daughters, Willa and Gemma, her partner Alex also in the medical field. Maggie and Alex have started “Dr's on Wheels”, where, whenever a disaster strikes she Alex and another two Dr's can drive to help out.
On one of these trips, after a category 5 hurricane, they meet two girls, Jean and Rose, whose Mother and father had died in the hurricane., along with them a stay dog.
When finding out that the girls had no relatives they could go to, Maggie decided to foster them as they were also about the same age as Maggie's girls.
Here starts the challenging part of the story. The girls were very different from each other, and this would be a challenging ordeal for all involved.
Such a good story. I am not going to give a lot of details as I find it more fun to read the story.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for a copy of this book.

I've enjoyed every other book Catherine Ryan Hyde has written, but this one was lacking. It didn't feel as rich, not did it seem to have as much depth or character study and development as her other books.
Maggie and her boyfriend Alex seem to be two perfect people in a perfect relationship, and despite Maggie constantly talking about her guilt in bringing up two selfish daughters, she never does much to help them, preferring to go off on rescue missions, one of them causing her to bring home two "perfect" girls who are nothing like her own children. They smile, are polite, care about others, and don't seem to have suffered a whole lot by becoming orphans.
Hyde does deal with the after effects of a social media hate campaign, but a friend of mine went through this with her own child, and the mental results were far more horrendous than the light dusting Hyde gives it.
I really hope this is just a one-off mistake by Hyde and she will go back to writing better books that are given more thought and more layers.
Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to read this book and leave a voluntary review.

Thank you Lake Union and NetGalley for this ARC in return of my honest review.

I am new to Catherine Ryan Hyde’s books. This was a family drama with relatable themes for modern blended families. It also has very relevant themes relating social media and how things can be used and interpreted by the mass.

I liked the multilayered telling of this story, through the use of Eleanor, the reporter and Susannah the therapist.

I admit that this book was almost a DNF on a number of occasions as it was just not drawing me in for the first 60 percent. I think this was due to questioning so many of the characters choices and also the slow pace. I’m glad that I committed as I enjoyed the second half a lot more and overall I found it an enjoyable read. .

3.5 stars for me.
Thank you for this ARC.

I have read multiple books by this author and her heartwarming stories of hope never failed to move me until now. I was hopeful for the first part of the book and then was introduced to Gemma and Willa, Maggie's daughters. How a divorced, mother, and doctor who does charitable work could spawn those two was head scratching. In the aftermath of hurricane Mina they meet two teenage girls who have become orphans. Not much is revealed about the girls' life so who knows. It was hard to imagine that Gemma and Willa would ever be anything but awful, The girls, Jean and Rose, were sweet but maybe too perfect and there were things Maggie did that I found unbelievable. Alex was great and seemed to have the patience of a saint. With all the other 4 and 5 star ratings I have given her books I am hoping this is just a blip and I will continue to look forward to more of those.

Thank you to Netgalley and Lake Union for providing me with a digital copy.

I absolutely love Catherine Ryan Hyde. My favorite book so far is "When I Found You". I find that she writes such depth to her characters, and weaves an emotional beautiful story using ordinary people. However, this one did not affect me like previous novels that she has written.

I found that I had a difficult time connecting to Maggie. While I appreciated and understood her need to take care of the two orphaned girls- Jean and Rose- I felt that the journey that this story was presented seemed a little forced and contrived. Maggie is nurturing, patient and kind to the fostered girls- but doesn't treat her own daughters, Willan and Gemma, this well. Thus, Jean and Rose come across in such a positive, humble light while Willa and Gemma are very unlikable. There are reasons for their attitude, but it seemed way too contrived that suddenly everything becomes roses and sunshine. It did not feel like an authentic story of growth. The depth in the characters that I usually see in her writing felt forced- like polar opposites. I think this was written this way so that we could see how far they came to becoming a family.

This is my personal feeling on the book. Please read other reviews as I am definitely an outlier on this. However, as stated before, I do love almost everything I have read by this author, and am looking forward to her next release.
Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the ARC. This is my honest and voluntary review.

I have read several books by this author, for me this one had my emotions all over the board, such a heart breaking story line for the two sisters losing both of their parents. Maggie Blount is a doctor, and one that volunteers her time and energy to emergences when they occur. She doctors they young sisters back to health, and eventually brings them home with her. All things are not sunshine and roses as her own daughters whom are spoiled brats, rebel majorly. I would certainly recommend this book to everyone.

I received and ARC from NetGalley and the publisher, I am leaving my review voluntarily.

Getting it out there - this is not one of my favorite books by Catherine Ryan Hyde. She does an admirable job of tackling some thorny issues and while that may have dripped into my less than stellar view of this book it wasn’t my only problem.

The downside - Hyde’s main characters are too black or too white, the shadings of grey are not even subtle, they are missing. Maggie, the protagonist is a strong/weak character given the circumstances and the relationship. She is a caring Doctor hoping to help the harmed, one disaster patient to the next. She has a certain calm and cold demeanor on the exterior while inwardly questioning many of her personal choices, actions and decisions. She is a self-admitted parenting failure with her biological daughters. The biological daughters are akin to the wicked step-sisters in Cinderella - Hyde may have gone a tad overboard with the juxtaposition of the wonderfully grateful and sincere foster sisters. But you be the determinant of that.

The upside - Hyde doesn’t flinch from exposing difficult family situations and how the treatment by and between siblings, parents, significant others impacts nothing and everything at the same time. The undercurrent of a professional needing to be more than a Mother and their ultimate question of when is a line crossed between personal and professional responsibility? The nod to the importance of having professional outsiders available for the treatment of behavioral issues is meaningful. The outing of spoiled, enabled teenagers was almost perfection as was the power of the metaverse and its potential to destroy those seeking its power.

My thoughts- it seems as if this story was written around the mantra “If nothing changes, nothing changes.” It is repeated in several interesting contexts. So, if you take this family apart and put it back together adding more than a bit of this and a dash of that, being done with good intentions but lacking in strong, well-thought out convictions and support - is it change or something else entirely?

Catherine Ryan Hyde is a consummate writer and while this story was not one of my favorites I look forward to reading her next book. Many thanks to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for a copy.

Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for access to this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

As displayed on Goodreads shelves, I am a big fan of Catherine Ryan Hyde. She writes heartwarming stories that feature characters of different ages experiencing all types of conflicts that often at the root are all about family.

In Hyde's latest release, we are introduced to Dr. Maggie Blount, a California physician who travels with a group of doctors and nurses into disaster areas. But this often means that Maggie must leave behind her two daughters- Willa and Gemma, with her ex-husband, Dan. The girls hate when their mother makes these arrangements. Nor are they fond of Maggie's boyfriend, Alex, a stepparent that the girls are not too fond of and who follows Maggie on these missions.

In Maggie and Alex's latest mission, they help two girls- Jean and Rose, who tragically lost their parents in a hurricane. Maggie, having developed an attachment, makes a split decision for the girls to come home with her and Alex- to adopt them. Unfortunately, this creates even more tension between Maggie and her daughters and they decide to move in with their father. Will this family be able to tackle their problems?

Frankly, I wasn't a fan of this book. Maggie made a lot of decisions or failed to take action in so many situations that I found her extremely unlikeable. Her ex-husband, Dan and her new boyfriend, Alex are men who seem to exist only for Maggie to either fight with or listen to her talk about her relationship with her daughters but never appear to be able to fully confront Maggie about what is irking them. Jean and Rose are perfect robotic adopted children and Willa and Gemma are painted as selfish in every way. The family is interviewed about Maggie and Alex's work and its effect on the family and in the aftermath the storyline is trying to discuss the impact of social media. The message was well-intentioned but as a reader, I feel it missed the mark in making it something the four girls had to teach us when I was concerned with Maggie learning a few things.

I am an outlier with this title. I felt it was rushed and had an ending that was unbelievable even for fiction standards.

On the other hand, I always eagerly anticipate another CRH title whether it is from her existing catalogue or whatever comes next.

#RollingTowardClearSkies #NetGalley.
Publication Date: 12/11/24
Goodreads Review 30/11/24

Maggie Blount, a divorced mother of two daughters and a California physician, puts everything on hold when disaster strikes.
Being a member of Doctors On Wheels the team heads to Louisiana's hardest hit area of a category 5 hurricane. Maggie immediately bonds with two very sick orphaned sisters and their puppy. With no one to care for them Maggie begins the process to adopt them.
The girls are polar opposites of Maggie's own self-centered teenage daughters who resist acceptance of the new girls into their family.
Tons of angst, sorrow, heart-felt moments and lessons learned in this touching novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for an arc of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Maggie Blount, divorced mother of two and California physician, puts her private practice on hold when disaster strikes. Doctors on Wheels takes her and Alex—Maggie’s professional and romantic partner—wherever they’re needed. After rolling into rural Louisiana in the wake of a Category 5 hurricane, Maggie immediately bonds with two young sisters and a puppy, all orphaned by the storm.

I thought this premise sounded interesting but by 25% of the way into the story I found I wasn't really enjoying it and actually took a dislike to Maggie and her two daughters. There's a reason the daughters are so unlikeable and that's all down to Maggie. As good as her intentions were, I couldn't help but feel that maybe if she had treated her daughters with the attention and respect she gives the foster girls they would've turned out better. Although I found parts of the story interesting - like how much social media influences people these days - overall I thought the story was a little too cut and dried and I didn't find the characters believable. The epilogue was too long and too saccharine sweet for my taste. Although I have one outstanding book of the author's to read, I don't think I'll be as quick to grab her next one.

My thanks to Lake Union Publishing via Netgalley for providing a copy of this novel to read. All opinions expressed are my own.
Publication Date: November 12, 2024

Another 5-star read from Catherine Ryan Hyde! A tale of family, blended from disaster, that at first makes you question, "What are you thinking?" Maggie and Alex are two of the medical professionals working with Doctors on Wheels, a response team that helps emergency responders in the wake of major disasters. But how will Maggie's family recover from the aftermath of what she and Alex bring back with them from their latest Cat 5 hurricane? As usual, Hyde weaves together a tale that makes you question your own character and sense of doing good in a world that makes everyone wonder whether good deeds still exists. Highly recommended!

Read. This. Book. Everybody would benefit from reading this, not just for the story but because there is plenty of food for thought. Those of us who are older will be agreeing all the way with Maggie – the mother – we have all encountered this attitude of entitlement in the younger generation. As a teacher, I have been close to families brought up in both ways & I certainly know which produces the finer adults.
The writer has succeeded totally in communicating each & every character’s perspective. In fact she does this so well, they don’t even seem like ‘characters’ but rather like very real people.
There are plenty of quotes worth taking a note of :-
“I wanted to give them everything, but now they have everything and they just act like kids who have everything. They don’t appreciate anything because nothing they have is anything they’ve ever had to live without. They just keep wanting more, and getting more never seems to make them happy.”
“You don’t help someone learn to make adjustments by seeing to it that there are no adjustments to be made.”
“Beauty fades. Knowing how to treat people lasts forever.”
Definitely a book worth recommending...to everyone you know!

This story unfolds with a group of volunteers, Doctors on Wheels, that offer medical support travelling to disaster areas to offer assistance.

Maggie and her partner Alex along with their team find themselves helping 2 girls, Jean and Rose after their parents were killed in rural Louisiana during a hurricane. They are sick themselves and when their elderly grandparents are located and unable to take the girls, Maggie decides to foster them.

Her our spoilt and rude daughters, Willa and Gemma move to their fathers when Maggie arrives home with Jean and Rose and refuse to even speak to them.

A blended family, where different personalities, interests and beliefs surface but with time, patience and love will this family survive!

A beautifully written story of hope and love!

This is another fantastic book by Catherine Ryan Hyde that again made me think and reflect on my life. Maggie is a GP who along with her partner Alex runs a free medical service for disaster struck areas. This sees Maggie once again leaving her teenage daughters with their father (and her ex-husband) to go and assist with the aftermath of a tornado.
While running their 'field clinic' with friends Dr's Lacey and John Bishop, Maggie comes across two girls who are a similar age to her own daughters but so very different. The girls are traumatised by the tornado and both suffering from pneumonia. Rather than palm them off to a shelter or foster care while their parents are located, Maggie makes the decision to take in the girls and look after them herself.
This decision sets many lives off on a new course and Maggie is in for a rough ride with the fallout of this decision.
A beautifully told story about kindness and generosity no matter the circumstances.
Thank you Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to read this digital ARC.

Catherine Ryan Hyde has written another excellent book. Rolling Toward Clear Skies takes you into the life and work of a family with two very privileged teen girls. Their mother is a doctor who operates a clinic on wheels and travels to disaster areas to help the wounded. I loved this book as I have every other book that she has written.
Thank you to the author, Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy. The opinion is entirely my own.