<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.

Xe Sands did a good job narrating the audiobook.

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

This is the continuation of 𝐴𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑙 & 𝑂𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟, which, although written nearly fifteen years apart, thankfully, I read the books only months apart. 𝐴𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑙 & 𝑂𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟 twisted me up inside and then 𝐷𝑎𝑤𝑛𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑑 basically handed my broken heart to me.

If you didn’t read 𝐴𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑙 & 𝑂𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟, let me just fill you in on the fact that April, Oliver, and Oliver’s brother Al were all childhood friends. April and Oliver had intense feelings for one another, and although they thought theirs was a forbidden love, they gave into one heated week together.

Now, here we are. Years later. Oliver and his brother Al are vacationing on Cape Cod with their families to celebrate their father’s wedding. I need to point out here that April is now married to Al.

I don’t need to explain how messy and complicated this is. The story is an intense family drama. Each couple has children now, which brings in a whole new dynamic. The author does an excellent job of allowing you to feel the tension, longings, and regrets.

April and Oliver’s past and lingering feelings haunt the air. Friction in the families grows. Oliver’s adopted daughter wants to find her birth mother, April’s son continues to act out, and as the adults are in close proximity, tempers flare.

When a shocking secret is revealed, it will change everything. No one will be untouched.

I was utterly gripped by these characters and their lives - I will be thinking about them for a long time.


Thank you @suzyapprovedbooktours and @tess_callahan for a spot on tour and a gifted book.

Thank you @brilliancepublishing for the gifted audiobook.

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!

A family drama that immerses the reader into the lives and secrets of the characters. This is a story about two families that get together for a week on their yearly summer vacation in Cape Cod. This is an exploration of relationships between parent and child and husband and wife. Secrets are revealed. Stories are told. Choices are made. This is a story about family, forgiveness and love. I didn’t realize that this is a sequel. It may have helped to read the first one. The writing was good. The characters were well developed, had depth and changed throughout. I listened to the audiobook and at times the narrator seemed too even keeled while speaking.

This was quite the ride!!

There were ups and downs and roller coaster spins throughout. One minute you’re laughing on a high, and the next you’re near tears.

Phenomenal, but with a lot of triggers too.
Sexual abuse. Domestic abuse. Strong family bonds…and families falling apart.
Parenting at its best, and at its worst.

You may look at this and say…oh, another typical day…but it’s anything but!

April and Oliver have been friends since they were kids. Now she’s married to his brother…

When their Dad decides to get remarried, he asks the entire family to come back to Cape Cod for the week. For vacation, and for family bonding…leading up to the wedding. But, as the week progresses, we see walls crumbling, and bonds falling apart…

I’ll stop 🛑 here as I don’t want to give anything away. But, wow!

Thanks to #NetGalley and #BrilliancePublishing for an ARC of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review! ***The book is due for release on 9/3/24. ***

5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for me!

#Dawnland by #TessCallahan and narrated beautifully by #XeSands.

FYI…I saw that this author had another book prior to this one called April and Oliver. I had no idea that these were two of the main characters in this one, so I’ll have to go back and read that one too!

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Dawnland
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is a beautifully written book. It is a story of family sagas & secrets. I enjoyed the story.
Thank you NetGalley for letting me enjoy this story!

I’d describe DAWNLAND by Tess Callahan as an intense family drama with an exciting little bonus—a love triangle. Oh boy. The relationships in this family are COMPLICATED! The novel is centered around an extended family on their annual beach vacation, but the major focus is on three of them—one woman and two men who happen to be brothers. One brother is her husband, the other is a past lover. Ooh-wee! Grab the popcorn! If you’re imagining some messy, intense, and heated moments, then you’d be correct. Buckle up—there’s a lot of them.

I must say that Callahan truly excels at character development. My goodness, did she ever bring these characters to life! I was caught up in their worries, dilemmas, and problems almost instantly. Their experiences felt so raw and real, and also brushed on some serious topics like addiction, infidelity, childhood trauma, rape culture, and adoption. This story definitely has some heaviness to it.

READ THIS IF YOU ENJOY:

- Family dynamics and secrets
- Sibling rivalry
- Insight on parenting teens
- Marriage and motherhood
- Cape Cod setting
- Family vacations
- Crazy love triangles
- Juicy drama
- Adoption stories
- Flawed and complex characters

If you like gritty and emotional stories about life and love, then you’ll absolutely adore DAWNLAND. It releases on September 3rd! 4/5 solid stars!

As Leo Tolstoy famously wrote, “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” In this contemporary novel we have a very unhappy and dysfunctional family centered around two grown brothers and a girl from their past who is now a woman in the midst of their troubles. She, too, is from an unhappy family and is at risk of blowing up her seemingly happy life in the days leading up to their annual combined family vacation. There are adults and teens acting badly, money troubles, DNA testing, and thrupling,to name just a few of the subjects that arise. A big soap-opera mess that ultimately asks questions about the importance of honesty and trust when it comes to relationships. And good communication.
My thanks to the author, publisher, producer and #NetGalley for early access to the audiobook for review purposes. Publication date is smartly Sept 3, 2024, because it would not be the best choice when spending a long weekend in close quarters with family members!

I loved this audiobook and it was great to catch up with April & Oliver. The Cape Cod setting was fantastic and I enjoyed hearing 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 audiobook gave me all the feels and I give it all the stars!

DNFing at 14%- Did not realize that this is actually a sequel was I was offered an ARC. I am DNFing because I do not have time to read both books. I may come back to it once I have time to read both.

I have not and will not publicly rate the book as I did not read enough to do so.

I will say that I felt overwhelmed by the number of characters and their connections. I was confused. Which is why I went back to read the blurb and researched, which is when I learned about the first book.