This was such a good book. I loved the story and the writing so much. The characters were great and the story flowed smoothly. Will definitely read more books by this author in the future.

The Sideways Life of Denny Voss is easily one of the most engrossing books I have read in 2025! It’s heartwarming, hilarious, and incredibly moving—there were moments that made me laugh out loud and others that brought me to tears. Denny and the other characters were so endearing, and I truly enjoyed their stories. I only wish it had been longer—I wasn’t ready to say goodbye!

Thank you NetGalley and Brilliance Publishing for the chance to listen to this book in exchange for my honest review. 4.5

A funny, sad, sweet, and life-affirming novel about a young man with an IQ of 72 who lives with his adopted mother. He works alongside his cousin for the dept of roads and transportation, likely earning minimum wage. One day, due to yet another misunderstanding with officials, he is arrested. This is the story of Denny’s arrest and trial, but as seen through his eyes, as he “does the visiting” with family and attorneys and as he remembers incidents from his past. Denny is naïve yet full of love, always telling the truth as he knows it. A wonderful story with delightful characters.
My thanks to the author, publisher, @BrillianceAudio (for the great narrations), and #NetGalley for early access to the audiobook for review purposes. Available 8 April 2025.

Format: Audio
Rating: 5/5⭐️
Pub day: April 8

I can’t even do justice to how much I loved this book. Denny, a neurodivergent 30 year old, is such a beautiful, sweet, and lovable character. My whole heart was invested in his life from the start and I tore through this audio with a joy for reading I haven’t felt it quite awhile.

This is a coming of age story but done in such a wonderfully unique way. There’s a mystery at the core that is slowly pieced together through Denny’s stories and the way he shares everything helps to showcase the thoughtfulness of Denny himself and the lovely people that surround him. If you love a story with heart and compassion, enjoy distinct voices and rescue dogs then add this to your list asap!

Thank you Brilliance Audio for the alc

The dog dies. Yes, some may consider that a spoiler, but it is more of a trigger warning. The book is not using the dog as the main character, therefore, I did not expect the dog to die. I avoid books where the dog dies, which seems to be something they love to do in children's books. Just don't ask how hard I cried after I read "The Rough Patch." And if I was that distraught after a dog died in a short picture book, you can just imagine my pain at the loss of a deaf and blind St. Bernard. Keep in mind that I also have TWO 7 year old Great Danes. I was sobbing, and blubbering. The dogs were bewildered (and not at all supportive), the cat was enjoying licking my tears, and my husband had to video call me from upstairs to make sure I was okay. This wrecked me. Please prepare yourself but don't try to not get attached to George, because he is a PERFECT boy and deserves our love.

Denny Voss has developmental delays. He lives with his elderly mother, and their blind and deaf St. Bernard, George. His cousin and co-worker, Angus lives on the other side of the duplex. Denny is a good guy and tries to do the right thing, like the time, he kidnapped his neighbor's goose, Tom Hanks, and illegally crossed into Canada to reunite him with his love. So when he crashes his sled into a tree filled with guns and bullets, Denny is trying to do the right thing. Little does he know that one of those guns was used in a murder. The story unfolds with Denny telling his therapist and lawyer all about his sideways life.

There are times where this is difficult to listen to because some people take advantage of Denny. I almost gave up at the part with the rug salesman because I hated seeing him get taken advantage of! However, this is a charming book that is really enjoyable aside from the horrible part that I complained about for a solid paragraph.

All in all, I did love the book, and it had 5 star potential. Perhaps publish it with a trigger warning for dog lovers? If I had known that was coming I would have given it 5 stars!

The audiobook was incredibly well done. The voice of Denny was actually perfect. I ended up preferring the audiobook to the digital copy because it was so well done. It was so good that it deserves an extra half star compared to the book. Making this a 4.5 star rounded up to 5 since this platform does not allow for half stars.

Thank you to Net Galley and Brilliance Publishing for the DLC. All opinions are my own.

WOW. WOW. WOW. This was spectacular and honestly a must read for everyone. May we all be slow to jump to conclusions and listen without judgment. I thought this was sooo well done and completely plausible.

3.5 stars, rounded up. Denny Voss is a developmentally disabled 30-year-old man who is jail on suspicion of murder. As his life story plays out, the mystery of the man he is suspected of murdering slowly unspools alongside his own. I do sometimes wonder about these authors writing books with a neurodivergent main character, but I appreciated Kennedy's author's note and Denny was a lovable, albeit frustrating at times, character who was easy to root for. I also had multiple theories about the mystery, and was satisfied with how everything played out in the end. Andrew Eiden did an excellent job narrating in Denny's voice. Thank you to NetGalley and Brilliance Publishing | Brilliance Audio for an audiobook review copy.

4.5 stars

Denny Voss is a 30 year old living in rural Minnesota with his elderly mother and special needs Saint Bernard. He lives a simple life and he doesn’t let the challenges he faces (due to issues at birth) hold him back from feeling fulfilled. He has a great support system of people who love him and a solid routine to keep him grounded. That’s until his third arrest (this time for murder) puts a spanner in the works.

Denny and his loved ones are fantastic characters and the heart of this book is in the relationships between them all. This is such a funny cast and you can tell a lot of thought went into every single characters. I laughed out loud many times and topped it off with a bucket of tears (a win in my books). This book gives you a classic mystery unravelling, but it is very much a character-driven narrative and it breathes fresh life into the genre. There’s a brilliance contrast throughout of the ridiculous (like kidnapping Tom Hanks (a goose named Tom Hanks)) and the sincere as Denny discovers world-changing family secrets.

I am not developmentally delayed or neurodivergent (which Denny’s idiosyncrasies are reminiscent of) so I am not in a position to deem this representation good or bad, but I definitely say flashes of people in my life in Denny. He doesn’t feel like a caricature and I think the author does a great job of exploring the social issues he encounters. For example, Denny’s court-appointed therapist, who guides him through telling the story of the past year, often loses patience and learns he has to make changes to the way he normally communicates with clients to engage in a meaningful way. In Denny’s small community, I like that the author included people who endear and treat him with kindness and people who wish to ostracize him due to his quirks, which is sadly a very realistic reaction.

I love The Sideways Life of Denny Voss because it’s wildly entertaining AND makes you empathise deeply. I highly recommend to fans of Fredrik Backman (the writing reminded me of him), Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine or Molly the Maid.

Denny Voss is not stupid. He's a 72 (IQ). His family, friends and dog are what his life consists of, but somehow he seems to find himself in trouble a lot, even though all he wants to do is the right thing. Family secrets are unearthed as Denny tries to talk his way out of a murder charge.

Denny is a complex character and his voice comes so clearly off these pages. Kennedy has written Denny like he's there having a conversation with you, drawing you into the story and consuming you. The characters in this story are complicated, and the troubles they are facing are too. I was so happy to have found this book and can't wait to read more of Holly Kennedy.

Denny Voss is in major trouble.

While trying to do a good deed, he got arrested and, even worse, accused of murder!

Denny is almost 30 and cares very deeply for most others. He lives with his aging mom and blind/deaf Saint Bernard now that his dad has died. But that's okay, his cousin lives next door and works with Denny too.

Over the course of the book we learn how Denny's best intentions often go awry when others misunderstand him. We also get to know his family and learn a few secrets right along with him.

Denny is a sweet character who I greatly enjoyed getting to know.

Thanks to Netgally and the publisher for an advanced copy of the audio book in exchange for an honest review!
Let me start by saying this is definitely one of those books that is 100% better on audio. The narrator did such an excellent job capturing the essence of Denny's character and personality, and I thoroughly enjoyed experiencing this on audio.
Denny's story is poignant, but i also found myself laughing out loud several times throughout the book. Denny's literal interpretation of life is both sweet and hilarious. I really enjoyed reading Denny's story and I was rooting for him from the beginning of the book. I loved the little bit of mystery throughout the story (I won't specify what I'm referring to in order to avoid any spoilers). I loved George and Nana Jo. I'm still on the fence about Angus, but I think he means we'll.
All In all, this was a great book. A little repetitive at times, but the repetition is necessary because it's Denny's point of view and that's his personality.
I definitely think you should listen to this audio book!

There is no way I could have loved Denny more. He stole my heart right off the bat and he will stay with me for a long time. He is pure goodness and I think the author must have an amazing heart to have been able to create such a special character. (On that note, I loved her author's note.) I laughed out loud countless times even though the book dealt with some heavy topics. Denny’s love and care for his grandmother and his beloved dog George touched me deeply. The narrator was absolutely perfect for Denny. I have never listened to an audiobook more than once but I think that will change with this one. It was too good to only listen once.

This was a heartfelt yet funny novel about a wonderful young man, the challenges he faces daily as well as his adventures, missteps, friends, family and his dog, George.
Holly Kennedy does an incredibly accurate job portraying his neurodivergent, developmentally delayed character as well as touching on Tourette and Asperger syndromes too.
Denny’s personality and outlook on life made laugh throughout the entire story. My wish is that everyone with a disability could have a Nana Jo and Argus in their lives. That being said, my hope is that someday the general public will have a better understanding of neurodiversity to promote empathy and proper inclusion in society of these amazing individuals so that they, like Denny and Theo no longer have so many negative stereotypes.
I feel similarly about special needs pets and have three rescues that were all born deaf - such amazing dogs.
Please listen to the author’s note at the end, it’s very personal and heartfelt. I was bawling by the end knowing how much it took for her to share her life story. I can relate to her on so many levels and completely understand where she’s coming from. She’s an amazing human.
This is my top read for 2025 and I highly recommend to everyone to enjoy this book and maybe even learn from it.
Thank you to the publisher/author for the opportunity to read this complimentary advanced copy. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

A sweet story with a lovable neurodivergent main character. I enjoyed Denny and couldn’t help but laugh at many of the situations he found himself in and the things he would say. I liked the author’s writing style and the whodunnit element was well done. The performance by @andreweiden on the audiobook production is excellent. He did such a wonderful job of putting a voice to Denny. The author’s note at the end is read by the author herself and is lovely. Don’t miss this one!

Thank you to @brilliancepublishing and @hollykennedy_author for an ALC of The Sideways Life of Denny Voss.