Stand out debut novel. When faced with grief, two siblings take very different paths to help them cope with their loss. Beautifully written story that deals with very difficult topics.

Debut author Joanna Howat flexes her writing skills in Crescendo, creating complex characters, but ultimately, the storyline is a bit too flat. I wanted to love this because I was quite drawn in by Howat's literary style and the depth and relatability of her characters, but the lack of plot combined with the mourning and addiction made the book such a downer that I struggled to get through it. That being said, I will absolutely read her next book, as I think the author has tons of talent and a lot of promise, if channelled into a project with slightly more inertia.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. I always learn so many things when I read a book not set in my native country. This story was beautifully written. Highly recommend

I liked this book but I couldnt say I loved it. I struggled to connect to Caz's character. I loved the way the author writes but the connection with Caz affected my enjoyment.

This is a really interesting read which is different to books I've read recently.

It tells the story of Jamie and Caz who lose their parents in a fire and how this then impacts upon their lives. They are in their early 20s, they're both in vulnerable positions and it's interesting to see how the impact of their parents' sudden deaths affect them.

I like the way the story unfolded, I was intrigued by it and wasn't sure how it would pan out. I liked the musical element, the way the piano played a part, very unusual.

I don't think some elements were fully believable; the head teacher, i'm sure, would have had put in a referral to SS...

But overall it was an enjoyable read that had interesting elements within it.

At times this was a hard read as it dealt with difficult topics but the dynamic between the siblings kept me intrigued and exploring their dynamic was very interesting and sometimes frustrating. Overall this was an emotional and intense read.

Despite dealing with heavy, emotive subjects such as grief and alcoholism, this book made me feel nothing except boredom. I could not connect with any of the characters. I almost DNF'ed a few times as the story dragged on with little of interest happening.

I raced through this debut author’s story in just two sittings so kudos for writing such a page turner. However it does deal with difficult subjects including grief, alcoholism and cutting. Reflecting on it, I felt that the pace of the story overshadowed the character development because I didn’t really feel much for the brother and sister at the heart of the story which, given the subject matter, is surprising.

Crescendo is a heartfelt exploration of family dynamics, loss, and the challenges of adulthood. Set against a fateful New Year’s Eve dinner in 1991, the story introduces readers to the Fenton family, whose seemingly stable world is shattered by tragedy. What follows is a tale of grief, resilience, and the often painful process of navigating life without the safety net of parental support.

Jamie and Caz, the central siblings, are relatable in their imperfections. Jamie’s struggles with his stagnant career and fraught relationship with his parents feel authentic, as does Caz’s idealistic view of family life. However, their character arcs occasionally feel underdeveloped.

The novel excels in depicting familial relationships—the quiet tension at the dinner table, the unspoken rivalries, and the deep bonds that persist even when the family is falling apart. Yet, while the themes are universal and moving, the plot unfolds in a somewhat predictable way, with few surprises to keep readers engaged.

While it doesn’t break new ground, it delivers moments of emotional resonance and serves as a poignant reminder that life rarely unfolds according to plan.

The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Joanna Howat wrote a book about two siblings finding themselves and each other after the tragic deaths of their parents. Crescendo is equal parts about grief and growing up, and while it was well written, I didn’t enjoy it as much as I hoped.

My heart broke for Jamie and Caz as they faced hardship and heartbreak, but I couldn’t help but feel frustrated with them as well. It felt at times that if any character had bothered to talk about their feelings for just a few minutes before they boiled over, then large parts of the plot could have been avoided.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

CRESCENDO is an emotionally gripping and compelling novel about a brother and sister (Jamie and Caz) whose lives are turned upside down after a horrific and tragic loss in their family. I admired and appreciated the emotional depth to the story and the realness and rawness of it all. The writing is both so sharp and soft - blending wit and drama, pain and love, that it made me feel everything reading this. I felt for and cared about every character in this story, even Jamie's ex-girlfriend, co-worker Charlotte and Caz's husband, Steve. It just reminded me how we all are going through things and trying our best doing this thing called life.

It was so interesting to see how differently Jamie and Caz grieve and cope and how their loss transforms them. Caz, is a 26-year-old wife, mother , and recovering alcoholic, who spirals and becomes unrecognizable to her family. Meanwhile, Jamie, who is 22 years old, jobless and homeless, quickly grows into a responsible and mature adult, keeping his family afloat. I also really liked how Jamie's mistake is what saved his most prized possession.

Thank you to Flying Dog Press and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

Crescendo by Joanne Howard

I love reading debuts because you’re never sure what you’re going to find and this tale of two adult siblings who lose their parents suddenly has all the family dynamics and trauma that I love to untangle in a novel. Jamie and Caz are used to their parents being top of the social scale in their area, a small village close to a market town in Yorkshire. Their family home is a hall in the centre of the village, where Jamie still lives alongside his parents having not found his career path yet. Caz has left home, but has a chequered history of teen pregnancy and alcoholism. She married husband Steve after he came to work on the hall’s electrics when her first little girl was only a baby and she had been sober for several months. Now they live in a cottage a short drive away from her childhood home and recently she’s had another baby. The catalyst to their problems is the loss of their parents. One Sunday both siblings are there for lunch when Jamie and his father clash over what he sees as his son’s fecklessness when it comes to making a life for himself. Jamie has secured a job with the local estate agents but desperately needs to sell a house this month. The best thing in his life is his recent relationship with local vet Zoe. What Jamie loves is his piano, but he doesn’t think he has the skill of a concert pianist. This Sunday he decides not to take his father’s criticism and storms out in a huff. That night the hall goes up in flames, so fast that no one could escape and the hall is burned to the ground.

For both siblings the village now looks like a set of teeth with one missing. The huge gap left in the centre is soon boarded so no one can see the wreckage, but it doesn’t allay the shock. Caz is immediately emotional, dazed even and takes refuge with Ruth, their housekeeper who lived next to the hall. Jamie seems frozen. The only thing he wants to save is his piano but it is damaged, maybe beyond repair. Insurance will take care of it and will hopefully rebuild the hall, but do they want that? They have no idea about their parent’s wishes, for the meantime Jamie has to buy some clothes and moves in with Zoe. It’s very early in their relationship but Jamie thinks they’ll get along fine. As he moves through life like an automaton, Caz starts to slide downhill. Gin was her usual tipple, but avoiding that she thinks an occasional glass of wine won’t hurt. One glass soon becomes a bottle and as she starts to hide her stash from Steve we can see that this could be a serious relapse. So can Jamie, but he’s having his own problems. The turmoil in his life is too heavy for the early stages of a relationship. Zoe had no relationship with his parents and although she can listen, she still has her own routine of riding and looking after her horse, whereas at the moment Jamie is sleepwalking through work and every time they are intimate, visions of the hall burning down come into his mind and ruin the moment. He’s not sure if he’s dealing with his grief at all. When Zoe decides they need some space from each other, he moves out to Caz and Steve’s house. Now he’s noticing that his sister isn’t coping either and his nieces are suffering. How can the siblings best help each other to cope?

I loved how the author shows grief hitting people in different ways. In some ways Jamie has never had to grow up. Living under his parent’s roof has enabled to try jobs and leave them with minimum consequences, while away hours in the village pub and not think beyond tomorrow. Caz has also depended on her parents, dropping out of university pregnant and with an alcohol problem. She moved home and had her baby there, until Steve actually walked through the door for a contracting job and they fell in love. For both of them, there’s now no safety net and the place filled with all those memories has gone too. Jamie also fears the loss of his piano, which has been lifted from the wreckage and been sent to a specialist repairer by the insurers. Music was the way that Jamie processed his emotions and without it he seems strangely neutral all the time, occasionally tapping out melodies using his fingers on whatever surface he find. Caz is more erratic, grabbing convenience foods instead of her usual home cooked meals and forgetting the girls activities or even to wash their uniforms. When the drinking starts Steve stays away from it, leaving Jamie with a full time job and two small children to feed and get out of the door in the open. He knows teachers have noticed the girls are a bit unkempt, but he doesn’t want to drop his sister in it. He just keeps smiling and nodding that everything’s okay. There’s only one person that won’t have the wool pulled over their eyes and that’s their parent’s housekeeper Ruth. Caz fears not letting the emotions out. Jamie thinks if he gives in and feels his emotions he might fall apart completely.

Through Jamie the author shows how grief can change our outlook on life completely. He becomes sentimental about an old couple looking for a house. He has a beautiful Georgian house on the books and he’s shown it to a rude and superior client with an enormous dog who didn’t seem interested. Then he has an adorable old couple who want to downsize and be closer to amenities, but he needs a studio to work in and it is in town. When he shows it to them he knows it should be theirs and when they offer he is ecstatic and shakes hands. Then the first woman comes back and offers 10k over the asking price, but Jamie says it’s already sold and turns her offer down, much to the fury of his manager. Jamie feels different, where once he might have taken the high offer now he can’t. Does he see his own parents in the old couple? Or is it that loss has given him a conscience? I really identified with this because after being seriously ill I returned to my work as an advertising rep only to struggle with selling newspaper space. It felt so trivial in the scheme of things I simply didn’t have the killer instinct. This was when I was sacked but went on to train as a counsellor and worked with the Mental Health Team in my area. It felt like I’d helped someone every day I went to work and it felt more in tune with my changing values.

I really felt for Jamie and wanted him to get his piano back and be able to express himself more. I was also so happy at his care for his nieces and his loyalty to his sister. Underneath the immaturity Zoe was concerned about, he’s a kind, perceptive and caring man. I was hoping they would find a way back to each other. Similarly I wanted Steve to reconnect with his wife and family and realise that while keeping a roof over their head was important, so was spending time together as a family. The author’s setting is perfect and having lived in villages all my life, I knew they come with beautiful countryside around them, but also residents who want to know all of your business. As my parents get older I do wonder what it might be like when they’re gone and I’m now the oldest member of the family. They’re my anchor, but so is my brother and I know our relationship will probably be stronger. I think the author makes it clear how seismic a shock it is when someone close to us dies. I loved the play on musical terms because the storyline has a tempo and Jamie is our conductor, desperately trying to keep the orchestra together towards the crescendo and beyond. This is a thoughtful and real story that had a lot of heart in it.

I started reading Joanna Howat’s “Crescendo” on New Year’s Eve 2024. I felt a little wink from the universe when I saw page 1 mention it was New Year’s Eve 1991 in the novel’s fictional world. This seemed to be the author’s debut novel and I discovered it after its publication date, still available for request on NetGalley.

This book follows Jamie and Caroline (Caz) Fenton, two adult siblings who must navigate a family tragedy and its aftermath. As the story progresses, how Jamie processes things is vastly different from how his sister, Caz, deals with their new circumstances.

The chapters alternated narrators between Jamie and Caz. I appreciated the author giving insight to the reader into what both siblings were thinking and why they were acting certain ways. At times, though, I felt like screaming “go to therapy!” at both of them. After reading about how the siblings were processing things for almost the entire book, I felt like the ending was a bit rushed and things were wrapped up rather neatly.

Overall, I recommend this book. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my ARC.

Crescendo was a book that pulled me in and yet was a very difficult read for me... The poor little rich family problems didn't endear them to me in the least but the storyline kept me moving forward. I gave it four stars despite my adverse reaction to the spiraling addiction / child neglect part of the story that made it so problematic for me. Well written and a great debut from Joanna Howat.
Thank you to NetGalley, Flying Dog Press and Joanna Howat for the advance review copy.

Really enjoyed the prose style and thought the characters were compelling. I struggled with the pacing a bit but this is no reflection on the writing itself - would love to read more of Howat’s writing in the future!

Crescendo follows Jamie and Caz as they are thrown into a tailspin of grief after losing both their parents due to unforeseen and heart-breaking circumstances following an argument at dinner. As their relationships crumble, Jamie and Caz realise adulthood doesn't come with a manual - and they're far less prepared for life than they first thought.

Urgh, I loved Crescendo so much. I must have, I dedicated an entire December day to reading it, just so I could finish the story - I had to know that Caz would be okay. The characters were so well-written and felt incredibly real and fully-formed, I cared about them so much and was willing them to talk to one another as they were processing, or in the case of Jamie, not processing, their grief.

I confess to knowing very little about pianos, but there was something enchanting about Jamie's need to play music as an emotional outlet. I got a bit teary when he was finally reunited with his family's piano and able to play the songs that he'd been absentmindedly tapping out on his legs for months. The fact that the piano was the only connection that remained to his mother, his former home and the life he once had, made those pages even more poignant.

Likewise, I felt that Caz's storyline and her self-sabotage was handled with compassion and care. Her complicated relationship with alcohol and cutting (bit of a trigger warning for that) as an outlet for her pain felt genuine as did her husband’s initial refusal to see her as anything but perfect when she was clearly unravelling and needed his support. That specifically, at points, was hard to read, but again, completely understandable given the circumstances. As the story progressed and Caz’s sabotage began to splinter out and effect her relationship with her brother, children and marriage more and more, it became unavoidable for her husband to ignore, but his desperation at not knowing how to help, felt almost child-like. Bringing a puppy into an already fractured home was a perfect example of that innocence and again, felt very true to life.

Despite the heavy topics dealt with in this book, there was surprisingly room for laughter. The comedy was dark, of course, but I really enjoy when a writer is able to weave those touches of light into difficult topics and conversations – it really is a fine art. It also helped as a reader to be able to regroup in the light for the next setback or stage of grief as the story continued through the year.

Something that I would have liked to have seen was just a little bit more about Jamie and Caz's parents. I appreciated the authors choice to focus on the children and the aftermath rather than the parents, but for me, I would have liked a little more backstory. From the snippets that were given, Jamie's attempts to bury his feelings and Caz's full-on dive into her grief were explained, but I was longing for a flashback or a little bit more background on their father, in particular, as he was the root of so much of the families pain. I was also desperate for a few more pages at the end as it suddenly wound up much faster than I was expecting (although that’s the danger of reading on an e-reader versus a physical book – the ending creeps up on you).

Overall, Crescendo will certainly stay with me and I feel like that’s the result of beautiful writing, memorable characters and a story that contains multitudes. I would happily read more work from Joanna Howat. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC – what a start to 2025 and my ARC reads.

Crescendo has well written characters and an intense plot. Siblings Jamie and Caz go through a tragedy from a house fire.

They both break from their long held molds and each handle their grief in a different manner.

It's difficult to watch Caz as she falls into alcohol, and Jamie has to deal with a new relationship, trouble at work, and dealing with his feelings regarding the last day he had with his dad.

Thank you to Flying Dog Press and NetGalley for a digital ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

#NetGalley #FlyingDogPress #Cresendo #JoannaHowat

Crescendo was an absolute home run of a debut. I finished this book in a day and was fully captivated. The characters and their dynamics between each other were raw and honest and they felt like people I could know intimately. Joanna has a striking voice and I will be recommending this to everyone this year.

The story is stark and you’ve got to force yourself to turn the pages especially hard to read about the disintegration of a family.

Jamie and Caz lose their parents in a home fire. Jamie overnight becomes homeless living with a girl whom he met just once and who kindly allows him to live with her. Jamie is disorganized, does not know how to share chores and is a mess. Losing his job, which he is not interested in adds to the mess. Caz cannot cope with the normal workings of her marriage- caring for two little girls and very very swiftly goes into an abyss of drinking, cutting herself and sleeping her days and nights away. Stevie her husband avoids facing any unpleasant situation or the fact that his home life is spiraling out of control.

Jamie without any idea how to control matters takes up the slack of parenting two confused children, housekeeping the best way he can and trying to salvage his personal life and his destroyed piano in the best way he can (which is not much). The characters ebb and sway this way and that in a constant state of confusion, living for the moment and not caring for consequences. There is no stability or purpose in any of their lives till a crisis blows up in their faces and all of them have to face the consequences of their action and inaction.

Emotional and very pragmatic in its writing this is a good, but hard to read story.

I enjoyed the premise of this book. While not be particularly original, the theme of family dynamics and the setting of a grand old house always hold an appeal for me! However, for me, the dialogue didn't feel particularly smooth or natural, and it rather pulled me out of the action. (Didn't make it much further than a few chapters in.)