I saved Keep me Afloat, by Jennifer Gold, to read during my winter break. The break just started and I already finished it. Its been almost a year since I read Gold's debut novel The Ingredients of Us, and as soon as she released the advanced readers copies of her new book, I was so ready to "dig in". Jennifer has a way with describing people's emotions and places that gives me all the feels. This book takes place in the Pacific Northwest, specifically in Port Townsend, where Jennifer Gold grew up surrounded by the magnificent ocean, mountains, and all the wildlife that she grew to love. I could not "resist" the cover of "The Ingredients of Us", with the mouthwatering cake, and Keep Me Afloat cover makes me want to board the next flight to Washington.

In the book, we meet Abby Fisher, a marine biologist, who is returning to her family and hometown of Port Townsend, because the research project she was working on in California fizzled out. She fled Washington five years earlier to pursue her dream of becoming a marine biologist, but it is clear from the outset that she left some demons behind her five years ago. The book alternates back and forth in time, from her escape to her return, and Gold traps you, so that, you just have to keep reading.

Abby is the main character, but there are some others that are lovely: her parents, Chrissy and Nick her childhood friends, Dennis Abby's husband, Eli, Zach the barista, Robin Abby's new boss, and Marie and her daughter Becca, AND most importantly, according to Jennifer Gold, there are THE ORCAS, those magnificent killer whales that take your breath away.

There is so much to love about this book. Thank you #netgalley for the e-ARC. 5 stars for #keepmeafloat, Pick it up, 03/03/2020!

I really enjoy this story of wonderful characters and I fell in love with the setting of the book!! Highly recommend

This book wow’d me, I couldn’t put it down and I was a ball of emotions throughout it. Beautiful story of life and what we go through- life is life. I could’ve kept reading this for much longer than it was. Loved this book!

I'm sorry to say that this book disappointed me. I stopped reading after 15% - lost interest completely. I found everything told too longwinded but foremost it was the main character, Abby, who had no flesh or interesting personality strikes to me at all.
I want to thank the publisher and Netgalley for the copy, though, and hope my feelings toward the book are the exception.

This well told story provides an in-depth look at relationships. A look at how they begin, the hardships they face and how relationships evolve over time. The main character,Abby, is a marine biologist, who returns home after having fled four years earlier. As she tries to find peace with her return home the reader learns about why she left. The way the story is told is from the present with flashes back to the past. This story held my interest throughout and I enjoyed the satisfying conclusion. Thank you to the author and NetGalley for an advance reader copy of this story. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

4/5 stars

This is a lovely book, aspects of which I will remember for a long time. This is the story of Abby, her relationships, friendships, the mistakes and errors of judgement she makes, facing up to them with the chance for redemption and a fresh start and I like her story. However, the stand out thing for me is her job of marine biologist and aspects of this struck a real chord with me and that is mostly what I’m taking from this story. The story begins with Abby returning to Port Townsend WA, from California after she loses her research grant. She is returning partly because she has to but also to lay to rest some ghosts. It charts her relationship and marriage to Dennis Nelson and sadly the first thing I thought of when I saw the name was British serial killer Dennis Nilsen, though the fictional Dennis is a lovely man I’m pleased to say. She meets Eli a few years into her marriage when she is stultified in her job and this is where she questions things in her life. All this is intriguing and keeps your interest as Abby wrestles with her conscience. There are some lovely characters such as Abby’s parents her friends Chrissy and Nick and Zach in the coffee shop. Yes Zach, you are right, most things are better for coffee! I admit to having some issues with Abby. At times she is very selfish and judgemental but as she has the courage to admit her faults and finds the courage to face up to things, I warm to her. She’s fallible and makes mistakes as everyone does. I absolutely love the setting of the WA area as it sounds like my kind of place. It provides an atmospheric backdrop to events in and around Abby’s life and most things feel better for gazing out to sea!

However, it’s the marine element that grabs me my my heartstrings and there is one event that moves you to tears. Abby takes a job with the lovely Sound Adventures team taking people (with care and thought for the wildlife) into the Puget Sound to watch the marine life especially whales. I’ve been whale watching off the East Coast of America and it’s a profoundly beautiful and emotional experience and the story took me back to that but also moves the story on showing the precarious situation of this magical mammal. At one point in my watching experience I wasn’t sure who was watching who. Whale breath anyone? 🥴. So to say that I love this part of the story is somewhat of an understatement! Then Abby mentions Sir David Attenborough (several times. 93 year old national treasure, possibly international?) and so I was all in! I love Jennifer Gold’s sentiments and her reasons for writing the book and it struck a real chord.

Overall, a beautiful and emotional story which is well told. There are some lovely characters and descriptions, some moments of wisdom, some of sadness, some of joy as Abby is able to put her past to bed and move on. It makes you laugh, cry, want to give her a good shake and a stiff talking to and tell her to wake up and smell the roses. Thankfully, it ends on a positive note and we can only hope that the same will be true of the Orcas and other marine life.

For anyone UK based you can see Orcas and other whales off the west and north coast of Scotland but despite me nearly wearing my eyes out I’ve not been lucky enough to see one yet! Plenty of dolphins though!!!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the ARC.

I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. This book takes place within two timelines switching between the past and present. The story in told in the voice of the main character, who is a passionate marine biologist.The reader is given glimpses of the first meeting, courtship, and marriage between Abby and Dennis throughout the chapters in the past. While in the present, the reader is given hints of Abby going through the struggles of repairing the various relationships that have broken in different ways. This book has a good deal of descriptions of the various places especially the ocean and sea life. The author really demonstrates a passion for the whales and Orcs. Overall, I enjoyed the pacing of this book. I felt there was a good balance between the information given in the past to help the reader understand the decisions the characters are making in the present. I enjoyed the support characters and their enduring presents throughout both time lines. The romance in this book was well detailed and written. The reader can feel the characters' chemistry throughout the pages. The struggles in their relationship felt believable and real world. I will not say much for the ending of the book so not to give too much away, but I will say the ending was well put together! I would like to read more book by this author!

This is my first book by Jennifer Gold. I loved the flow of the book, which is told in past and present tense and the friendships. The book has its ups and downs of love and loss. This book definitely has made me want to go whale watching!
I will definitely be reading other books by Ms. Gold.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for the honest review.

When you make a mistake, will you stay and fight to make things right or will you run away?
Abby ran from her friends and family unable to face her actions. Five yrs later Abby returns home to finally face her mistake. Abby a marine biologist finds a job, gets and apartment and starts to make amends to her family and friends. How will Abby handle confronting her pass? Will she be able to pick up the pieces of her life and begin again? Will she open her heart to let local coffee shop owner Zack help her?

I enjoyed this story very much. It was so interesting I could not stop reading. Thank you to Netgalley for complimentary copy. The thought and opinions are my own.

This was the first Jennifer Gold book for me and I love her style of story-telling. Keep Me Afloat definitely spoke to me. I have found myself in a transition period of life right now. Abby's character resonated with me. I found myself drawn to certain passages and quotes in the book. ("Don't let the what-if's interfere with what you want") I felt all her pain and all the difficult changes she had to make in her life. Just like Christy and Nick helped Abby, I have also found that friends make your life so much better! The book goes back and forth over many years and different periods of Abby's life. Meeting Dennis and her childhood, Abby's college years and young adulthood, and the present. I like learning about her life like this, revealing little pieces of information as we go. Overall, I enjoyed the story and the Pacific Northwest is calling my name! I would love to visit that area of the United States! Very nice descriptions of the landscape and whales. I will definitely be recommending this book to others and I will be looking for other works by Jennifer Gold. Special thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest opinion.
#KeepMeAfloat #NetGalley

This was just an amazing book. I think my favorite part was after Abby moved back home and realized her parents weren't the people she had always thought she knew. Yes, parents make mistakes and Abby realized that they were struggling just like she was to find their place. I thought after Abby discovered that she was finally ready to learn to forgive herself and like her parents, take a step in moving forward.
The book told the story of young Abby and the life and mistakes she had made and I didn't realize until later how rough it was. It also told the story of Abby as an adult after the research job she had run out of funding and she decided to move back on to clean up the mess she had made before she left. Her parents helped her find a place to rent and she did find a job with a whale watching company. She finally started making friends and enjoying life once again. I don't want to give to much of the book away but it was an eye-opener all that she had gone through, all that she was dealing with and finally finding the courage to make peace with everything.
I received an ARC from NetGalley and it was a book that had so much feeling, emotions, and I could feel her pain that is how good the writing was. This is for sure a book you want to put on your list of books to read.

I really enjoyed this book. Took me awhile to get through the first part. It went back and forth between the years of Abbie's life and heartbreak. Letting go of the past. "Everyone deserves love and joy."
Have a box of tissue when you read.
I loved reading about the whales and other animals that are so breathtakingly beautiful.
The setting was the Olympic Peninsula of Washington. I've never been there, but I know it has to be beautiful!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC

"Let go of the past." "If you waste all your time worrying about what's over and done, you'll never enjoy the time you have left."
Abby is a marine biologist who longs for the ocean and sea life, especially the whales.
Her career is important to her.
She falls in love, but that gets in the way of life and off she runs in an attempt to forget.
She comes home a few years later to confront her past, but nothing is the same.
Will she be able to forgive herself for the mistakes of years gone by and begin to move forward?
I truly enjoyed this book and the ocean views, the lessons about the whales, and also the reminder that "life is short".
Truly descriptive and well done!

Is coming home ever what we expect?
This book reflects life, as in our choices, our journeys, and or destiny's.
Are they made or do we create them?

I was captivated by this book after the first page. It was told in alternating time lines which was easy to follow. After reading this book, I kinda want to go whale watching.
I loved the story! Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the early copy

Keep Me Afloat is the story of Abby, who returns to her hometown in Washington to make amends and find closure, despite running away from her problems years previously. As she reconnects with her family and friends, her failed marriage and her conflict between career and marriage are slowly revealed to the reader. While the first quarter of the book is promising, the pacing lags horribly and the book could’ve been condensed significantly. Attention lags as Abby doles out her past by the spoonful, and unfortunately, the characterization is severely lacking, as does the plot. The overly long plot doesn’t contain enough significance or interest, and Abby’s character doesn’t grow nor enlighten throughout, leaving the reader wondering what it is that the story is supposed to relay. A disappointing read that could’ve used better editing.

I received this as an advance readers copy, but all opinions are my own.

'Keep Me Afloat' was an emotional, heartbreaking, yet ultimately uplifting tale. Guilt and regret, love and loss: Abby had to finally face her demons and deal with the tragedy that held her captive for one-half a decade. Loved Nick & Chrissy. Great tearjerker. 4 tissues.

Thank you to NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing, and Jennifer Gold for an ARC of 'Keep Me Afloat' in exchange for an honest and voluntary review.

Thank you to Net Galley and Lake Union Publishing for an e-ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review. I'd recently read the author's previous book, "The Ingredients of Us." I loved it, and I very much liked that she didn't take the easy way out by just sticking to a similar plot. This book focuses on a young woman who fled her small town after the end of her marriage. She learns that sometimes you have to face the past to move forward. What I also loved was the focus on marine life, and without preaching, educating us on how we can help whales and other marine life. I really loved this, and I can't wait for the next.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

'Keep Me Afloat' is an achingly intense, emotional novel about love, second-chances, and self discovery. It is a poignant, beautifully written story that will tug at your heart strings more than once and leave you with tears in your eyes.

As a marine biologist focused on studying humpback whales, Abby Fisher has finally built the career of her dreams - until her research program runs out of funding, and she is once again living in limbo. When she accidentally comes across a powerful memory from her past, she impulsively decides to put her career on pause as she returns to the sanctuary of the very home she fled from five years earlier. But when she arrives, she realises that she has to face the past in order to finally move on. As she re-lives her painful memories and the events that led up to them, Abby cannot seem to move beyond her guilt and forgive herself for the mistakes she made five years ago. To make matters worse, those she hurt years ago cannot seem to forgive her either.

'Keep Me Afloat' is a moving, heart-wrenching story that begs the question: How can you expect forgiveness from others if you can’t even forgive yourself?

As soon as I finished reading 'Keep Me Afloat', I knew from the ache in my heart and the tears streaming down my face that it would be one of my favourite books, not only of 2019 but of all time. It was an incredibly intense, touching story about finding forgiveness in yourself and accepting the happiness you so deserve. Gold did a beautiful job of emotionally connecting us to the characters and the story - I was dying to know what happened between Abby and Dennis, and in what way Eli was involved. The whole time, I was anxiously waiting for the moment in which they would meet again. I admired Abby so much as a character; her strength in opening up old wounds and finally putting them to rest, her perseverance in fighting for what she truly wants and believes in, and her forgiveness in herself and all the decisions that led her to where she is today. It's not an easy journey to take on, but she was able to do, learn, and grow from it.

In terms of the secondary characters, Chrissy and Nick were by far my favourites! They were a hilarious, fun couple who were the perfect support system for Abby but who also told her the hard truths when she needed it. I loved them not only as Abby's best friends, but as their own characters as well. I would love to read a spin-off novel on them and how their relationship formed!

As a whole, 'Keep Me Afloat' was a moving, tear-jerker of a novel that I could read time and time again. Even better - Jennifer Gold is definitely one of my new favourite authors (I only wish she had more books already published that I could binge on) and I'm excited to see what she has in store for us next! A must-read for book-lovers of any kind!