I feel like the author had great ambition for this story but the execution falls short. I'm no prude, but the emphasis on the sexual roles of these characters felt shallow to me. It felt reductive as if sex is the most important part of a person's life. I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Barbara Linn Probst, the Author of “Roll the Sun Across the Sky” has written a thought-provoking, captivating and intriguing novel. In this well written and reflective novel, the author vividly describes the landscape, scenery, and dramatic characters. The genres for this novel are Women’s Fiction, Motherhood, and Marriage and Divorce. The characters are described as complex, complicated and flawed. In this novel, the author discusses how past behavioral mistakes can contribute to actions in the present and future. I appreciate that the author also mentions the importance of family, forgiveness, second chances, love and hope. Other questions arise is the importance of money, and is the pen mightier than the sword? Can words be dangerous, or creative?

The protagonist of the story Arden Rice is about to celebrate a birthday that turns out to be tragic. She revisits her life, her loves, her secrets, her betrayals, her mistakes, and bad choices. Arden is seeking some sort of redemption for herself and her granddaughter. As secrets and perceptions are clarified, Arden is looking for a positive path. I couldn’t put this book down, and I highly recommend it. This is an amazing, memorable, and heartfelt story.

This was an engaging read and an interesting reflection on life's choices (and wrongs done). There's a dual timeline between sixty-year-old Arden and her twenty-something self. As present-day Arden copes with the aftermath of an unbelievable tragedy, we trace the path that got her to where she is.

At face value, Arden is a good woman with a good family who should never have to endure what she's being put through. And yet we see she has always believed herself at some level unworthy of such a good life. When that life falls apart, it's almost like the thing she's been waiting for has finally arrive: her comeuppance.

While it's up to the reader to decide whether we agree with Arden's assessment, I think she inflated her own importance in others' lives quite a bit. We see this when she eventually allows herself a chance to right some of her past wrongs, or at least speak to those she had wronged. She had great power over the men who loved her, but they also had plenty of agency and ability to heal those wounds, whereas in Arden's mind they sort of stayed preserved in amber on the last day she heard from them.

I like that about this story, just as I like the author's portrayal of Arden's various misdeeds as selfish yet relatable. Arden's lack of true hardship in life makes her a little hard to like sometimes, and her missteps harder to forgive. At the same time, I have experienced the compulsion to avoid a man whose feelings for me feel oppressive. Under duress, I have blurted out words I would immediately want back. Even if we need to dislike Arden a tiny bit, we can see a bit of ourselves in her too. She shows a way through even the worst times, into a place of self-awareness and steadiness.

I hit a few snags while reading -- I wondered if the character of Leigh might have benefited from a tiny bit more development, and I didn't quite understand why the past chapters were in first person while the present ones were in third person -- but overall I was surprised by how much this story drew me in.

Barbara Linn Probst has given us another well written, enjoyable page turner. Her characters are relatable, complex, interesting. The use of first person and third person for the main character at different ages was interesting and intriguing.

The main character reflects on her lifetime of moral and ethical mistakes that she has made in her lifetime. The storyline goes along two time periods from past to present and Arden the main character relives many of the mistakes that she made in her life in searching for a way to make inner peace with her past. The story was well developed and the characters were relatable as no one is perfect. I highly enjoyed and recommend this book. Many thanks to Netgalley and She Writes Press for providing me an advanced readers copy in exchange for my review.

Barbara Linn Probst is successful again in her fourth book, Roll The Sun Across The Sky. It is a compelling story that spans both time and geography. As a young woman, Arden explores Europe and Egypt, with the iconic Orient Express as part of her journey. The timeline contrasts her youthful experiences with her reflections at 60. She is quite a complex character with more than her share of flaws, but she does have redeeming qualities as well.
This a a very entertaining book.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A woman relives the mistakes of her youth when she suffers an unimaginable tragedy. Were her sins responsible for her losses?

This book had a somber tone and was more serious and melancholy than a lot of the books I read. But there were some really interesting life lessons. I couldn’t stand how often Arden lied. Her lies were selfish, but at least she realized that. As far as the plot, I didn’t know what would happen, which is a sign of good writing! And I enjoyed seeing the parallels between mother and daughter. I just wish they had communicated more openly.

Approaching a milestone birthday, Arden Rice
experience it all: three marriages, hardship,
wealth, things she regrets and defends-to give her daughter the best life she can. That's
what Arden thought.
But nothing is simple for Arden. Haunted by her
history, with a background of damage and
deception. Then her life went into chaos.

Secrets unravel, and Arden finds herself
questioning herself. Her roll in shaping the
disturbing person her daughter is. . As
the stakes increase, especially with her granddaughter that was in her care, Arden
questions herself: Which acts define a person?

A mother-daughter is, a compelling story about woman's
struggle to face her reckless past, with a lot of
of damage and deception.

I had a hard time getting into the book at the beginning. However I really enjoy this mother u daughter book

This is Barbara Linn Probst's fourth book and it continues her trend of excellent and memorable stories. Each of her books are different but what they all have in common is beautiful writing and characters who make a lasting impression on her readers. She has quickly become an author that I follow so that I don't miss any of her books or the insights that she shares on social media about her research and writing process.

Roll the Sun Across the Sky looks at love and loss, guilt and forgiveness - not just forgiveness of others but also forgiving yourself. Arden looks at her life from her trip to Egypt with her boyfriend when she was 20 until present day when at 60 she is faced with a terrible life event and begins to look back at all of the nuances of her life. Her life is full of various men, a daughter she loves but doesn't really understand and now a granddaughter who is in her care and becomes her main focus in life. She knows that she's made mistakes every step of the way and has to decide if the mistakes were worth it and if she has learned from her past. This is a beautiful look at a woman’s struggle to face her history and the damage she has done to herself and others and to decide whether she can find redemption from her past.

When I started reading this novel,8 felt this will be a good summer beach book and not much more. The more I got into it, I realized it addresses many issues, such as promiscuity, loneliness, , deception, family , relationships, remorse, etc. Although Arden, the main character was not very likeable in the beginning, the reader’s empathy is growing when Arden is confronted with tragedy and figures out how to deal with it and how to atone for her previous life.
I received a complimentary copy, opinions are my own. Thanks NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the advanced copy

Roll the Sun Across the Sky is a woman’s story about truth, regrets, reflection, and renewal. It is told mainly through Arden’s eyes as she makes cringing mistakes and decisions without thought.

The novel begins with a twenty-something, Arden, who travels with a boyfriend to Egypt and becomes pregnant. It evolves to show Arden navigating to protect her daughter and have a better life at all costs. The novel transitions to the present day as Arden must deal with the untimely death of her daughter, Leigh, and her third husband, Connor, who is her soulmate. Readers will relate as she deals with caring for her granddaughter, Danielle, and balancing her grief.

Through Danielle’s revelations, she discovers past secrets, realizing that her decisions and cruel actions against men affected her relationships in many ways. She suffers from her mistakes upon the deaths of her husband and daughter, picking up the pieces to help her granddaughter cope.

I like the two timelines as we see Arden progress in making her life right again, if only for her granddaughter. Her character is unlikeable yet painfully honest. I thank NetGalley for allowing me to read and review Roll the Sun Across the Sky. #NetGalley #Roll the Sun Across the Sky #Women’sfiction

I loved reading this book, in no small part because I could identify with the time period in which its set. The characters were fully developed and I loved the plot.
The book had me reading, and not wanting to put it down until I'd finished it.
There were a lot of life lessons in this book, and I'm happy that I had the opportunity to read it.
I'd never heard of the author, Barbara Linn Probst, but I'll seek her other books out now.

#RollTheSunAcrossTheSky #NetGalley #BarbaraLinnProbst

ROLL THE SUN ACROSS THE SKY by Barbara Linn Probst

So complex and haunting, with tragedies real and imagined, and so much guilt. Are we to be judged, or to judge ourselves, by our worst actions? Anyone who has lain awake remembering past errors can relate to Arden’s spiral of regrets. It’s hard to describe this fascinating book without spoiling secrets, but I’ll try.
Arden wants to be good, tries to be good, feels every failure, and being human, she does have failures. Her worst fears are that her weaknesses will cause harm to her daughter and granddaughter, for whom she’s done what she’s had to do to protect and nurture them.
Her focused efforts parallel the scarab or dung beetle’s labors to nurture life by rolling balls of dung containing its eggs, which is in sacred parallel to Khepri rolling the sun across the sky. I’ve not been to Egypt, but the descriptions almost make me feel I have, I have visited the Orient Express station in Istanbul, and I’ve felt the traveler’s disconnect from real life, as if anything can happen.
There are engaging secrets, conflicts, emotions, suspense, and characters to love and care for and worry about. I gladly turned off the TV, lost sleep, ate quick, simple meals, to just keep reading. One lingering lesson, when all seems too much, write poetry.

Arden is a sixty year old woman who has a huge tragedy happen in her, which leads her to reflect and review the way she has lived her life.
This book was very well written but I could not, in good conscience, give it more than three stars. The character of Arden was such a selfish, unpleasant person. If I had not received an advanced copy of this book to review, I would not have finished it. Not my cup of tea.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

I could not finish this book. I continued to read a few more chapters thinking I might enjoy it more but I had a hard time trying to finish it. I just never could really get involved with the characters and it just seemed to go no where. It was not a bad book just not my type of book. Thank you for allowing me to have the opportunity to read it. ~GM

I have had the pleasure of reading all four of Barbara Probst's books, and while I've loved them all, this one is my favorite. Her books are always imbued with impeccable research, making the settings and the characters' professions and pursuits sparkle with authenticity, yet never overwhelming the story.

The multiple timelines in this book, toggling between the past (1977 and going forward) and the present (2013) work very well, as events and decisions from the past reverberate in the present and force the main character, Arden, to reevaluate and come to terms with her behavior. She certainly made a lot of regrettable and often hurtful and damaging decisions, but she is nevertheless surprisingly likable as her introspection is very skillfully portrayed.

Many thanks to NetGalley, She Writes Press, and the author for an e-ARC of this wonderful book. I highly recommend it and think this would be an excellent book club choice; I'll definitely be talking it up and recommending it at my next book club meeting!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of Roll the Sun Across the Sky. The story is about Arden, a woman who is complicated and has much to regret/be sorry for. She has done some morally bad things in her life and lied about so many things. The book goes from current time, when Arden is in her 60's to the past when Arden was in her 20's and 30's. The story is also about her daughter, Leigh. As we learn about Arden's life, we also find out about Leigh's life, much of which Arden did not know. Arden has so much regret and tried to right some of her wrongs. In her defense, many of her mistakes were made in her 20's and as she aged, she also matured and her relationships were healthy.

I like books that go from current to past time. This one was a bit different with the past chapters being in Arden's first person point of view, while the current chapters are in third person, which I liked. I also liked the author's writing style. I plan to read more of her books.

There is one error I need to point out. In the chapter titled "Angle Fish" it had the date 1980 but it should be 2013. It is in the current time and written in third person unlike the past chapters that are written in first person.

A profoundly wise, sweeping novel of a mature woman's reckoning with her life, including her complex relationship with various men and her conflicts with her daughter. Ranging over a lifetime with fascinating settings from Egypt to Manhattan, Probst brings her signature style and impeccable wordsmithing to another great novel that will grab you by the collar and transport you into a fascinating life. I couldn't put it down and can't recommend it highly enough if you're a fan of literary women's fiction that closely examines the human psyche.

When a book makes me shed years, then it's definitely done it's job.

The book is described as being similar to Paper Palace & Tom Lake, both of which I find tedious, slow moving and not enjoyable. In my opinion. this wonderful book is more along the lines of The 7 Husbands of Evelyn Hugo which is a huge compliment.

I enjoyed reading about Arden & Leigh's lives because I was born in the 1970s so ever6is relevant to my own life and experiences.

This book is so beautifully written. I jotted down so many quotes, including:

"There were times when your life changed because of something you did. And there were times when you did nothing, but it still changed."

"I am 24 years old and think my story is the only one that matters."

"You were never prepared for what life throws at you. Even if you threw the baseball at your own window."

I appreciate how the book came around full circle. It deals with love.iss, money, cheating, selfishness. Trust, lust and so many other aspects of life.

Arden is not necessarily likeable but she is REAL. With flaws. Faults and some goodness.

5 stars. Will probably be 1 of my fav books of 2025. Must read! I need to read the authors other books now.