I liked this book--didn't love it, mostly because the main characters were challenging for me. I do love a good family story, and this one filled the bill. Good writing, great first novel.

This is the story of siblings Jamie and Caz, and how they cope (or don't cope) with the sudden death of their parents in a house fire. Author Joanna Howat writes well, in a sentence to sentence kind of way, but this book is a bit aimless. It's at it's best when it is showing Jamie's development and struggles, and it's worst when it is telling about Caz - which never gets explored deeply. It veers into second chance romance territory, and looks as if it might go into mysteryland, but shies away from that. The dénouement was annoying - I keep reading books where people spend the final chapter running around, when there is no need for that, and that's how the end of this felt. I will be keeping an eye out for Howat's future work, because I think she has a lot of potential as an author.

I was given an e-arc from NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an honest review.

Give me a good book about families and I'll stay up late reading. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of Crescendo by Joanna Howat. I did just that because this story has dysfunctional parents and siblings and drama! The pace of the story impressed me, and I found the writing to be excellent. It moved along well.

This book was really good! I often times wonder in my own life what it will be like to be that adults with no other adults to tell me what to do. This book has good themes of family dysfunction, love, relationships, and growth. It was a really good read.

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complementary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

The easiest 5 star read. ⭐️ Crescendo DELIVERED. I am such a huge ‘word’ person, and this was beautifully written.
There was so much realism in here, and it was amazing to follow as I felt like I was there. This book carried so much weight and emotion and I’m so glad I experienced this read. If I could read this again for the first time, I would.

Huge thank you to @netgalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review. But also thank you to Joanna Howat for writing this.

#egalley #arc #crescendo #joannahowat #bookstagram #booksbooksbooks

A family tragedy, very different siblings and their very different reactions when faced with grief. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel; difficult topics but excellent execution.

What a fantastic book! Joanna, you wrote a beautiful story. I love the main character and their honest heart. It was wonderful.