I'll Come To You by Rebecca Kauffman.

I was delighted to see Rebecca Kauffman had a new novel out, I really rate her writing and this book reminded me why.

At just over 220 pages, this book is full of well drawn, complex and realistic characters. A family drama set over the course of 1995 ( I was somewhat horrified to see a book set in 1995 classified as historical fiction!) centered around the anticipation and the arrival of a new baby. A couple who have struggled with fertility , a woman whose husband has left her after decades of marriage, another couple who are facing a health crisis and a divorced man who never grew out of his childhood habit of lying, their lives are all interconnected as we follow them throughout the year. The book seamlessly weaves back and forth in time and between characters and captures these characters in vivid detail, I feel like I knew them well by the close of the book, which is particularly impressive in a short book.

This is a book about the details that make up a life, no major plot lines yet its about everything. Growing up, growing older, parenting, sibling relationships, marriage, divorce , health and hope. I really enjoyed it. It felt almost reserved initially but the story grew on me as it unfolded. I liked the structure and loved the writing and up until the last 50 pages it was a solid 3 star read for me. The last chapters changed my rating and my opinion, I loved them. With the final page being close to a perfect conclusion of a book.

4 star.

The audio was superb, brilliantly narrated and a joy to listen to.

I'll come to you is a family novel, told month by month over the course of a year (1995). It switches between the perspectives of different family members, which shows us that each person sees themselves a little differently than the rest of the family see them.
I didn't love the characters, but I believed in them. They were all just people, sometimes good, sometimes bad.
Nothing of real importance happens either, a baby, divorce, new partners, fights between siblings. I didn't care about these things, but I believed they were important to the characters. Somehow it was strangely compelling, like hearing juicy gossip about strangers that you don't care about but don't need to feel guilty about prying into.
I thought this was a great audiobook, and recommend it for anyone who likes character driven novels.

3.5 stars. This book was on the shorter side and follows a family and their drama during 1995. There were lots of characters, and the story jumps around a lot. I found myself slightly confused at times, but I enjoyed the story and how realistic it was. I was unable to connect with any of the characters, so that made it difficult to be fully invested in what was taking place.

Elisabeth Rodgers did a great job narrating this book. She pulled off multiple voices effortlessly.

Thank you NetGalley and RB Media for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.

The character development was my favorite part of this book. It shows how family dysfunction comes about over time, by how different people react to situations throughout life. It was at times very sweet, but also a little nerve-wracking.

I'LL COME TO YOU is a nice piece of literary fiction, telling a story of multiple characters with one event in common.
I usually like this kind of story, to follow the lives of a distinc group of people, almost like watching it from a distance.
This was my first time reading a book by this author and I do not regret it. Kauffman's writing is very good and efficient when it comes to realistic characters.
However, I didn't connect or relate to any of the characters, and for that reason I didn't love my time with this book. I'm sure other readers will.
But it is just me. I have nothing bad to say about the story or the writing. I don't see anything essentially wrong with this book.
And I do recommend it to any literary fiction fans out there, whether you have or not read a book by this author before.
The audiobook is really well done. The narrator held my attention and made the characters more empathetic and real. Highly recommend it.

Thank you, NetGalley and Recorded Books, for allowing me to listen to a free audiobook copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Rebecca’s writing is brilliant and beautiful. I read The Gunners, fell in love, and was so excited to get another glimpse at her writing. I was not disappointed. I love a slow moving, family drama and Rebecca delivered with that. Plus, the narrators were fantastic and made for a great listening experience. I also really enjoyed the set up, how it was broken up over the year into each month, even further broken down into parts within that much of there was more than one section. It made the story very easy to follow and was super satisfying.

One of Rebecca’s talents is certainly characterization, it didn’t take me long to identify and feel for each and every character in this book. They’re so flawed and real, and I greatly appreciate that.

Although this is a slim novel, so much is packed into the pages. This family felt so real to me and I loved the writing style. Another one from this author!