I am not sure where to start. This is the most amazing book I have ever read! It is the story of a mother and daughter who are mostly estranged. Neither understands the other. Mallory travels home very seldom but something happens at her workplace so she decides to go home for the summer to think about her future. Mallory’s wedding plans to Aiden fell through but she discovers he is back home. Estelle is Aiden’s mother and has always disapproved of Mallory and her mother. But a tragedy abruptly changes everything for all four of them. It is a most beautiful story of love, loss, forgiveness, grief and family. This story touched my soul and will stay with me forever.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is the emotional story of Mallory as she deals with trauma related to her work as a social worker with at-risk youth, and as she confronts her past when she goes back home for an extended leave. She tackles tensions with her mother as well as ghosts from a past relationship that ended poorly. But, Mallory begins to sense that feelings may change as she starts to watch her mother's unique line of work, and begins to engage with the community herself.

I have read a lot of Barbara Davis's books. I think Every Precious and Fragile Thing is one of my favorites. This is about a love story on so many levels, regrets, loss and second chances. This was such an enjoyable read that you just can't put it down.
Mallory Ward, working with at-risk youth is her calling. But when one of her clients is tragically killed, she finds herself at a crossroads. Despite long-held resentments toward her distant mother, Mallory retreats to her childhood home on the Rhode Island coast to contemplate her future. Mallory doesn't realize her ex-fiancé is also back in Rhode Island until she runs into him in the local book store. Mallory just wants to run back to Boston and not face the pain that she experience 10 years before. Her mother convinces her to stay. Will this be the right decision or should she have left. The characters will have you loving them and the stories from their past. You will love this as much as I did and find it is a must read!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Sometimes it’s OK to judge a book by its cover. This book has beautiful cover, and I also was intrigued by the title which led me to request it. This book really digs in deep to all different types of relationships. It does a nice job of telling the stories of the different characters by taking us into the past and showing us what happens in the present. There’s definitely a theme of forgiveness that I think works well with the plot. It takes you through a lot of different emotions and even made me laugh a couple of times. It was a good read, and I would recommend it to my friends. Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for the digital ARC of ” Every Precious and Fragile Thing” in exchange for my honest opinion.

Every Precious and Fragile Thing begins with Mallory Ward a social worker who loses a client due to a tragic death. The reader experiences heartache and shock right along with her and reader discovers this isn’t the only time she has been faced with lose of life in more ways than one. Not only that, Mallory and her mother Helen’s relationship is tattered and Mallory holds on to resentment beginning from her childhood into adulthood. She refuses to see that she is spiraling and her boss (who is also a friend) forces her to take the summer off work to deal with her unresolved issues and healing. With no where else to go, Mallory returns to childhood home on the Rhode Island coast and she is immediately is confronted with her fragile relationship with her mother and an unexpected person from her past that drove her away long ago.
Helen Ward has devoted decades of her life caring for the terminally ill and helping people prepare for their last moments on this earth. Her home is filled with keepsakes from her clients and she has always put her clients and work first leaving her daughter to feeling neglected and unloved. Unexpectedly Mallory appears and Helene has a chance to mend their relationship.

This story is told in multiple point of views with dual timelines that reveals secrets, horrible assumptions, loss, and heartache that threatens the healing of two families. Will they be able to forgive each other and come together to heal what is broken before it is too late?
I felt every thread of the character’s emotion at the very core of my being. There were moments in the story that my vision was blinded by tears and as I write this now, I’m tearing up.

There are layers of themes in this story and one in particular is a something that has been on my mind for a long time: mortality. Over the years I’ve been studying many time periods in our world’s history and how approaching death or how one’s last moments in this life varies over time. Our relationship with death and how we approach those last moments shapes the very fabric of civilizations. This story put me front and center of this theme was superbly weaved though it’s pages.

I can not praise this story enough and find myself still playing the scenes in my mind that impacted me so. You know a story is worthy and unforgettable when it has moved you so much, you hold the characters in your heart.

Book review for Every Precious and Fragile thing by Barbara Davis. This book is so good. I love the relationships in the story. The relationship between family, with friends and romantic. It’s heartfelt, emotional and full of surprises, and also some sorrow. If you’re a mother or daughter, a person who hopes, a person who loves, a person who grieves or feels alone. This book is for you. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read early! #bookstagram #booktok #ilovereading #barbaradavis #everypreciousandfragilething #hope #goodread #NetGalley

First of all, I would like to thank Netgalley for an Advanced Reader Copy of Every Precious And Fragile Thing.
Like every other book written by Barbara Davis, this one pulled me in so quickly and made me want to keep reading.
It makes you think about your own life choices and how you handle the mistakes you have made in your life. It's a heartwarming read. Another great read by a wonderful author.

This was a very emotional book for me. There’s so much heartache and pain, but also healing and love. What a wonderful story!

When I say that this book deserves so much more than 5 stars, I absolutely and positively mean it! I have read many of Barbara Davis’ books and enjoyed them all but Every Precious And Fragile Thing is definitely my very favorite and I believe it’s her best work yet! How she takes 2 different storylines and converges them into one heartfelt and heartbreaking emotional read is beyond me. The characters are so well fleshed out, I could literally feel every pain and nuance they were feeling. I don’t believe I’ve teared up this much from reading in a very long time. There was a part to one storyline that was a complete and total surprise, I was actually shocked by it because I had not seen it coming but because of it, it brought the whole story together. This is a book that I’m sure will stick with me for a very long time and it’s one I’ll be recommending to all of my reading friends. I know I’ll even be buying myself a physical copy soon after release day to add to my home library of favorites. I’d like to thank Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for the arc to read and review. But most of all, I’d like to thank Barbara Davis for writing such a beautiful and heartfelt story for us to read and enjoy. I’m giving this a 5 star rating although I truly believe its deserving of so much more!

I quite enjoyed this book and thought it was very well written with an emotional story . I loved the characters flaws and all . I was expecting a few more twists and turns but maybe this wasn’t that type of book . It was well worth reading though and I would definitely recommend this book , four stars from me

3.5 stars rounded up. This novel tells the story of Mallory and Helen (mother and daughter) who have always had a somewhat strained relationship. When Mallory takes a leave of absence from her social work job, she returns to her mother’s house, which just happens to be next door to her ex-fiancé.

This novel explores different relationships and versions of love. The themes of forgiveness and the fragility of life are also prevalent. I did not really connect with either main character but appreciated the author’s skill in weaving the stories together. I thought the last quarter of the book was the best part.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

The lyrical writing is beautiful. The characters are well descirbed and develops very nicely, it's so well curated and I can really feel the author's love for her work in the words. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the chance to read this book.

Barbara Davis writes words and they just sing, her writing is so lyrical and heart touching. This was just as good as her other novels like last of the moon girls etc. as someone with a strained relationship with my mom myself I found this to really resonate with me and also give me a different point of view also. A book about closure, love, loss, grief, and moving on.

After only hearing praise for Barbara Davis, I jumped at the chance to read/review this novel. And what a brilliant experience it was!

This is the story of Mallory who travels back home to stay with her mother after a tragedy linked to her job. There’s tension between the two women. Mallory’s ex boyfriend lives next door and their unresolved issues haunt them both.

Heavy themes are discussed with dignity adding such value to the story. The multiple POV worked. I looked forward to each character’s POV (which is rare for me). Beautiful plotting and near perfect pacing had me enamored. I was glad I didn’t know anything about this one going in. The narrative shifted in many directions and I was completely hooked. Avoid spoilers for this one!

This was a lovely read. It is about love, loss, trauma and truly forgiving someone. The first 50% was a slow burn but after that the story truly got me and I couldn’t stop reading until the ending.

It had well developed characters and was told in two peoples perspectives, Some of which were told via letters which I enjoyed reading as we learn about her past. Then, to finish off there were some discussion questions at the end which really got me thinking about what I had read.

My first book by this author me definitely not the last.

Mallory Ward works with at risk teens in Boston, but when one of her clients is found dead, Mallory is asked to take a step back and reevaluate if this is where she’s meant to be. She returns home, to the small town of Little Harbor, where she faces a strained relationship with her mother and confronts the past of a miscarriage and broken engagement from the boy next door, who she fell in love with at the age of fifteen. Mallory’s mom, Helen, is a death doula who cares for the terminally ill. Mallory has always felt that she came in second to Helen’s work, but Helen has been closely holding a multitude of secrets that come to light, upon Mallory’s return home for the summer.

Every Precious and Fragile Thing is an emotional read that follows the POVs of three women in the story. They are all dealing with past regrets and the consequences of long held secrets. Davis does an amazing job of revealing how each woman is dealing with these secrets directly or indirectly. Mallory’s relationship with her mother and the loss of her young love, Aiden, has left emotional scars that have always sent her running from her problems rather than facing them head on. Her forced leave from work takes her back home where she has to face the hard issues that she has been unwilling to resolve over the past 10 years.

Over the course of the story, Helen’s past is revealed through journal entries, and I found I was most sympathetic towards her character. She endured an abusive relationship with her mother, in which religion was used as a weapon, was separated from the person she loved, and faced criticism and gossip because of her work as a death doula. One of the strongest proponents of that gossip, was her next door neighbor, Estelle, who was Aiden’s mother. Estelle worked to sabotage the relationship between Mallory and Aiden, but when faced with a terminal diagnosis, she finds herself leaning on Helen, and finding forgiveness and friendship.

There is a twist revealed later in the story, part of which I had figured out early on, but the other part of it was a surprise. I thought it was done really well, and added another complex layer to the book. Each of the characters had a lot to work through, and even though I was frustrated with their choices, I could see how Davis was using their grief and regrets to lead them into the opportunities for second chances.

Every Precious and Fragile Thing will lead you on a heart-breaking journey through the lives of these characters, but it also offers hope for mending broken relationships and overcoming the regrets of the past, to find happiness in the present and future.

Wow! I wasn’t sure about this one at first. Took me a bit to get into it but when I did I couldn’t stop. The characters were likable and the story flowed well after the several chapters. Ending was pretty bittersweet but the epilogue wrapped it all up.
Thank you to NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing and Barbara Davis for this arc.

Not my usual genre and not sure why I picked it, however I did enjoy it. The secret is a twist I didn't expect as it was hidden well. The past slowly comes out in many different ways, and people can learn from their mistakes.

This is a love story with an abundance of emotional drama and countless regrets.

Mallory’s heart was broken when her wedding plans took a back seat with Aiden ten years ago in a seaside town near Newport, RI. She now had a challenging job as a social worker in Boston. When she needed to get away, there was only one place to go in the summer of 1999: back to her beautiful childhood home.

Aiden was a concert pianist and just happened to be in town. They bumped into each other and everything felt different this time. Both of their single mothers had a significant influence on their lives.

This book had all sorts of complexities with relationships, careers, health issues and with Mallory, Aiden and their manipulative mothers. Plenty of readers could no doubt relate to some of the hidden secrets and mistakes which they made in the past.

Mallory’s mother, Helen, was a death doula. She said instead of bringing souls into the world like midwives, she helped ease them out. She was one of the most interesting characters with her beliefs in coincidences, signs and affirmations.

The story was well written with lively characters. There was a fair share of unexpected twists. However, the letters by Helen were long-winded. She could have wrapped her thoughts up in a few paragraphs. At the end, there’s a list of discussion questions.

My thanks to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for allowing me to read a copy of this book with an expected release date of February 18, 2025.

Thank you, NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for this ARC for review. This was the perfect book to read at the holidays. It’s not a lot all a holiday book, just a family story and what makes a family. Full of family secrets, kept me reading and I read this in one day. I e read 1 Barbara Davis book before, but after reading this second book, I downloaded the rest of the author’s collection to read soon.