I really enjoyed "I'll Be Right Here" by Amy Bloom! A complex, beautiful family saga, spanning countries, generations and traumas. I especially liked the lessons earned by a difficult life, the entwining of the relatives and distant friends, as well as the unconventional romantic relationships. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. All opinions are my own.

I am a big Amy Bloom fan, but had mixed feelings about this book. I was very moved by the opening prologue and the early chapters that focused on the two siblings, Gazela and Samir. I was invested in them, and I worried for them. I also found the chapters in which Gazela works for the author Collette totaly fascinating. When Gazela makes it to New York and befriends the sisters Anne and Alma, I did want to know more -- but I found the story a bit less compelling from there on. .Still, there's no denying that Bloom is a lovely writer with a sensitive, lyrical writing voice. I'll look forward to whatever she launches next!

<b>I'm a huge Amy Bloom fan, and while I appreciated the strong main female character here and the World War II-era crises, for me, the story felt somewhat disjointed and flagged in pacing for me as it addressed various events of the characters' later years.</b>

Gazala must be crafty, humble, and alert to get by as a Jew while World War II envelops Paris. When she emigrates to New York City, she is befriended by two strong young sisters, Anne and Alma, and Gazala's adopted brother Samir joins them in Manhattan.

<i>I'll Be Right Here</i> tracks decades in their lives, including victories, pain, unorthodox choices, and love.

I was invested in Gazala's young life; the concessions, cleverness, and compromises necessary during desperate times; and particularly her ability to navigate a potentially deadly and complex wartime crisis with sometimes ruthless focus.

The story meandered through subsequent years, and I didn't feel immersed in the novel; I was told that deep feelings (of friendship, loyalty, romantic love, or familial love) existed, but I didn't become invested so that this felt real. Gazala feels like a faded, only formerly strong character well before her actual demise.

I appreciated the highlighting of various shapes of relationships. I had significant difficulty getting past the fact that an adoptive sibling pair fell in love, while appreciating that the unprecedented trauma of World War II and the importance of human connection were essential factors in this.

I received a prepublication edition of this title courtesy of NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group.

To see my full review on Bossy Bookworm, for Bossy reviews of other Amy Bloom books, or to find out about Bossy reviews and Greedy Reading Lists as soon as they're posted, please see <a href="https://www.bossybookworm.com/post/review-of-i-ll-be-right-here-by-amy-bloom/"><i>I'll Be Right Here.</a></i>

While the early chapters are compelling, the narrative becomes disjointed as it progresses, and some relationships may challenge readers' comfort zones.

The reader meets two siblings, Gazala and Samir Benamar, the children of an assistant pastry chef, who are Algerian and of mixed Jewish, Muslim and Christian ancestry. Unrelated by blood (this is a key detail for events that follow), but raised together since the death of Samir’s mother in his infancy, they are the first of many blended families whom is encounter in the novel. When their father dies, they are suddenly catapulted into the hardships of wartime Paris, where Gazala’s skills as an amateur masseuse eventually lead her to a job working for Colette – a stroke of luck that prompts Gazala to realize that, without “Madame” (as she refers to the largely bedridden writer), she might had end up starving or worse. Then the reader finds Gazala in bed, undressing a German soldier, before reaching into her bag for Madame’s best bread knife, which she pushes into his liver three times. A few paragraphs further down, the war is over, and not long after, Colette has arranged for Gazala’s passage to the US. The sisters Anne and Alma Cohen, whom Gazala meets after she lands in New York, where she finds work in a bakery: The frenzied spirit of the city propels Gazala into a tight-knit friendship with two sisters, Anne and Alma, and is further complicated when her estranged brother, Samir, unexpectedly arrives. There she meets the Cohen family, whose daughters, Alma and Anne, become part of the core group known as the Greats, pillars of the chosen family, the ones who eventually gather at Gazala’s deathbed. Anne Cohen will eventually leave her husband, Richard, for his sister, Honey, a novelist. Early in the novel, a shaggy-dog storytelling game called Barbary Lion Escapes is introduced; later we learn of another one called Dead People’s Party, “a mental get-together of everyone you’ve ever known who mattered.” Well, this novel is Barbary Lion meets Dead People’s Party—full of surprises, wild leaps and turns, and many fascinating people who love each other. What unfolds over the eight decades is a narrative of found family—of love, connection, and evolution. As the protagonists intertwine their lives with passion, they traverse the landscape of relationships, sometimes delighting in their messiness, while other times, succumbing to its chaos.

This is a novel about family in the most unexpected ways, an absolute win for those among us still espousing the joys of brotherhood and peace to each other. Bloom is a talented writer with bringing the hard sharp corners of the world into her characters’ lives and then smoothing down those edges with an extra dose of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all. her chapters ricochet forward and backward from decade to decade or year to year, shifting perspective not only from character to character, but from first- to third-person point of view.

These transitions, while initially dizzying, coalesce into a rhythm that feels fresh and exciting. Together they suggest that memory conflates the past, present and future, until at the end, our lives can be viewed as a tapestry of experience and recollection, threaded together by the people we’ve loved. The novel is warm, rich, beautifully written, and very hard to follow. I would get confused at times reading this novel due to how her chapters ricochet forward and backward from decade to decade or year to year, shifting perspective not only from character to character.

This is a short novel that spans decades yet somehow feels both rushed and meandering. The timeline and relationships are scrambled, and the story became increasingly incoherent. I struggled to connect with any of the characters or understand their choices. I didn’t get the attraction to an adopted sibling or the string of affairs. It could have been compelling if things were explored, but it all felt underdeveloped and icky. The wide range of minority representation came across as disingenuous rather than authentic. For a book with so many potentially rich threads, it ultimately says very little. Frustrating, disjointed, and unmemorable, this one should have been a DNF for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for providing me with early access to this book.

My book club read and loved Amy Bloom's memoir, and so I was looking forward to this book. Perhaps it's because I loved that book so much, but this one just felt a bit flat for me. I wasn't compelled to return to it and grew a bit tired while reading it. It could be I was just looking forward to it so, it's not a bad book, but just ok for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy of I'll be Right Here in exchange for an honest review. 3 stars
This book is available now

I really loved the first part of this book, when it followed the young girl as she worked for Colette and her fellow well-to-dos in war-torn Paris. However, when it came to the incest, I just couldn't get past that. I love Amy Bloom and I'll read anything she ever publishes, but I just had to DNF this one, unfortunately. Super bummed.

Amy Bloom’s I'll Be Right There offers a bold, unflinching look at grief, memory, and human connection—but it stumbles under the weight of its own ambition.

The writing itself is often poignant and beautifully composed, filled with sharp insights and emotionally resonant moments. Bloom knows how to craft a line that lingers. However, the narrative structure is choppy, jumping across timelines and perspectives in a way that feels disorienting rather than enriching. The nonlinear format and frequent shifts make it difficult to anchor yourself in the story, especially with so many characters introduced in quick succession.

There are simply too many narrative threads competing for attention, which dilutes the emotional impact. While the book centers on themes of love and loss, the abundance of side characters and fragmented storytelling makes it hard to connect deeply with any one arc.

One of the most compelling elements—Gazala and Samir’s relationship—felt underdeveloped. Their dynamic offered depth and potential for a richer, more grounded emotional core. Unfortunately, it’s overshadowed by tangents and other characters who don’t receive the same emotional investment from the reader. A more focused narrative with greater attention to Gazala and Samir might have made the story more cohesive and satisfying.

I'll Be Right There has moments of beauty and emotional truth, but its fractured storytelling and crowded cast leave it feeling scattered. It’s a novel that might appeal more to readers who enjoy poetic language over tight plotting and clear emotional through-lines.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Random House for access to this title. All opinions expressed are my own.


I had enjoyed the author's White Houses, and so I was intrigued with this title. Following a series of characters, some biological family, some found family, across decades of world events, I'll Be Right Here is like an intimate snapshot of the various relationships within the family.

Nice message. Amy Bloom created this feeling of the reader looking in the window to watch these characters. It took me a long time to finish the novel, and I find myself without a lot to say about this book.


#IllBeRightHere #NetGalley
Publication Date 24/06/25
Goodreads Review 28/07/25

What constitutes a family? Orphaned in France during World War II, Gazala and Samir, must make their way alone in Paris. Samir works in a bakery and Gazala is adept as a masseuse. They survive the war making difficult decisions. Gazala’s patron provides her with a ticket for New York, as well as the papers she will need. A teenager, alone in NY, Gazala finds work in a bakery and meets the Cohen sisters. Eventually Samir arrives. Their family is extended and there are a variety of relationships. This was not my kind of book.

Immigrating alone from Paris to New York after the crucible of World War II, young Gazala becomes friends with two spirited sisters, Anne and Alma. When Gazala’s lost, beloved brother, Samir, joins her in Manhattan, this contentious, inseparable foursome makes their way into the twenty-first century. and a multigenerational family. The passing years are marked by the business of everyday existence and the inevitable surprises of erupting passions, of great and small waves of joy and despair, from the beginning of life to its end. Gazala and Samir make a home together, Anne leaves her husband for his sister, and Anne’s restless daughter grows up to raise a child on her own and to join a throuple, becoming who she wants to be. Through it all, they stand by one another, protecting, annoying, and celebrating themselves, steadfastly unapologetic about their desires and the unorthodox family they have created. As the next generation falls in and out of love, experiencing triumphs, mistakes and disappointments, the central pillars of their lives are the four indomitable elders they call the “Greats.”

I am not a fan of lesbian/homosexual relationships in books, yet I did like the writing and how the author developed the characters over the years. I know that I am old fashioned Christian in this day and time and I'm am sure that many will love the book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting my request to read the book.

White Houses by Amy Bloom was one of my favorites the year that I read it, so I was very excited to read her latest. Unfortunately, I'll Be Right Here was a bit too melancholic for me.

Lots of interesting characters. Some of them hard to follow. Hard to follow sometimes. Seemed to be written as stream of consciousness. I wish there had been one main character that she followed and we saw how the others related to them. Some of the inter-relationships were interesting but they didn't go very deep.

I generally love stories about chosen family, but this was so not for me. The beginning was promising. A young woman trying to survive in Paris during the war. But then we are in Poughkeepsie jumping back and for over the decades. There is incest and infidelity. I couldn't follow the plot (was there one?)

This book will definitely win awards. It is an epic family saga/historical fiction about the making and remaking of families. There is a lot of love, of the modern type. It is presented in a disjointed way with beautiful descriptions. The juxtaposition of beauty and disorganization works into an artistic story. I loved how so many characters, places, and items were revisited. Difficult to describe but definitely worth the read. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank You to Random House and NetGalley for the free digital copy.

I've read Amy Bloom books before and enjoyed them. This one was not as enjoyable to me as the others. Although there were very interesting characters and relationships and the book covered interesting themes, such as relationships that you don't read as much about (e.g. lesbians, polyamorous), it was easy to lose track of the different characters and time transitions. I found it confusing at times which made it hard to keep my attention. There wasn't a strong plot, but I did find the themes and characters interesting.

Thank You to Random House and NetGalley for the free digital copy.

Amy Bloom is one of my favorite authors. I usually like her books. I would not rate this one as one of her better ones. It was so very detailed that you had to really pay attention and reread portions to make sure you understood everything. If you didn't catch something the first time around, it was confusing to piece together. The time jumps confused the storyline and I don't think I grasped the entire personality of the characters. The book topics are as polyamorous, lesbians, romantic relationships, history, relationships, passion, interests, family, and friendships which make the book interesting.

4 1/2

First there were Gazala and Samir, French Algerians in Paris during World War II, being raised as siblings by Gazala’s father who taught them to be survivors. Gazala goes to work for infamous–and extremely complicated–writer Colette, where she becomes first an observer and then a participant in resistance activities. Colette sends Gazala to the US, where she befriends the Jewish Cohen sisters, Anne and Alma, the beginning of a life-long friendship, or more correctly, the forming of a found family based on the sisterhood of these women.

Amy Bloom gives us I’ll Be Right Here as a series of interwoven short stories, if you will, that leap about through the years, moving back and forth, told in different POVs, with the latter being those of the younger generation. Unfortunately, I felt so enthralled and invested in Gazala’s Paris episode with Colette that I felt a bit of a disappointing jolt with the POV and location changes. However, that didn’t linger–although I do have to say the wartime scenes with Gazala and Colette, the intrigue and interactions were some of the most memorable in the novel. Also, the structure could also leave the reader feeling a tad lost, which is unfortunate with a novel that has so very much to offer.

I’ll Be Right Here introduces us to many different complicated relationships: Anne’s marriage to blond Protestant Richard, which dissolves into divorce after Anne falls in love with his sister Honey. Sweet Alma’s big-as-the-whole world love for her kind Izzy Taubman. Gazala’s life long love for Samir who was raised as her brother. And then their children, some also found like Bea. Yes, the situations are frequently complicated but they never feel overly so as if time has tinged them sepia and lessened the emotional precipice.

Indeed, having just read another historical depiction of a lesbian relationship, I felt like the complications of having a same-sex relationship were gentler. But perhaps that is I’ll Be Right Here in a nutshell. It is a gentler take on life.

What it does bring home, however, is the importance of the relationships we build, those outside of our family that will remain with us and sustain us. That there is integrity with age that should be respected. And that was one of the most solid ideals I took away from this book. The “Greats” were respected for all they had gone through, learned, and given in return, the sharing of their knowledge whether it was baking or gardening or philosophy on life. Part of the beauty of this telling was the emptiness the younger generations knew they would experience as the Greats passed, but it was a bittersweet emptiness. Whether you believe the phrase or find it a laughable cliché, this is the instance where it is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all.

Amy Bloom brings that to us in I’ll Be Right Here with a heart-warming style and embracing humor that hopefully makes us reach out to those in our lives who have made it better, richer, and hold all of our Greats closer and close in our hearts.

Many thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy.

This book started out in WWII Occupied France where Gazela works for the writer. Colette. After a few brief chapters about the Jews who were sent to camps and attempts to gain their freedom, the book jumps to NYC where Gazela has moved and she meets the two Cohen sisters - Alma and Anna. Soon, her lost adopted brother Samir joins them and the foursome become lifelong friends.
The rest of the book is a confusing mix of multiple characters situated is different years and places, and I have to admit that more than once, I thought of just not finishing this short book because there really was no story.
I thought there were too many characters which were poorly developed, and - for me- my biggest objection was the time jumps which did not serve the story well as each section seemed like a vignette of a person, but showed no depth or reasoning for the inclusion. This book covers about 70 years and three generations, plus just about every consensual relationship that adults could have - ranging from adultery, incest, infidelity, homosexuality, polyamory, oh - did I mention marriage and divorce?
The lack of a real plot, the timeline disorganization, and poorly developed characters added up to an unsatisfying read for me, that I really would not recommend.
I received this ARC from NetGalley and Random House, and am leaving my own opinions voluntarily.