Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for an egalley in exchange for an honest review

In her latest story, Barbara O' Neal introduces us to four generations of women struggling against family betrayals and long-buried secrets. A story of mothers and daughters on the path to redemption, forgiveness, and growing into the person that you are meant to be.

At the head of the family is matriarch Lillian whose health is beginning to fail and becomes very upset when her caregiver goes missing. Her granddaughter Zoe and her great-granddaughter, Isabel return from America to help Lillian. For Zoe, she has to come to terms with the trauma of what may have happened to her best friend, face a ruined relationship, and ultimately decide if she will forgive the mother who abandoned her at age 7. Teenaged Isabel is still trying to figure out how to tell her mother of the humiliation she carries with her every day. Finally, there is Poppy, Zoe's mother who desperately wants her daughter to forgive her and allow a relationship with her granddaughter. But has Poppy really understood how her past actions have hurt the people around her?

I thought this was a heartwarming contemporary novel and I felt that each character "shared" the narration well. Although I must say Zoe was perhaps my least liked character because I felt her romance did get in the way of trying to figure out what happened to her friend and speaking with her mother. Another thing that was very confusing was how O' Neal switches from referring to Zoe's love as Cooper for the first half of the novel and then switches to his first name Sage. For a brief moment, I was lost and asking " Wait, there are two men now she is chasing now?" Hahaha!

Overall, the characters were well developed, their individual stories were intriguing and there was enough dramatic effect to keep me interested.






#TheLostGirlsofDevon #NetGalley

Publication Date 14/07/20
Goodreads review 13/07/20

This was the second novel I've read by Barbara O'Neal, and while I liked When We Believed in Mermaids more, I still enjoyed this one.

Set in a small village in Devon, England, four generations of women in one family -- Lillian, Poppy, Zoe, and Isabel -- try to heal from each other's actions and flaws, while trying to find Diana, Zoe's best friend from childhood who had gone missing. Told in chapters alternating between Poppy, Zoe, and Isabel, we learn about each of their mistakes and successes.

This is primarily a story about the relationships between mothers and daughters, and how easy it is to lose oneself to the title of mother and how it changes the daughter when the mother rebels against it.

I really liked reading about the interactions between these four women and how much they each shaped each other, even when they were trying so hard to be someone else. I thought Isabel's character -- the teenager with a horrible secret -- was the most interesting to read about, and, perhaps, even the most mature. I was also drawn to Lillian's character -- the matriarch who became a successful suspense writer after the untimely death of her husband -- and sees murder and mystery everywhere in the small town. 

And, really, any book set in a small village in the UK is a draw for me right away, anyway. And even with the seemingly fast ending, which wrapped up too much too quickly, it was still worth a read. 

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc of this book. It has not influenced my opinion.

The Lost Girls of Devon by Barbara O Neal is a story about  the complexity of relationships in a family, Four women who are not only connected by their blood bond but also by their messed up pasts. Although the story being written from multiple perspectives Is a bit confusing but it  gives us insights of each character. The characters are well developed and unique in their flawed personalities. The emotions are raw. Overall it is a dark and dramatic book.
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy of the book for review.

The Lost Girls of Devon by Barbara O'Neal is a recommended "story of four generations of women grappling with family betrayals and long-buried secrets."

In the village of Axestowe in Devon, England, mystery writer Lillian Fairchild is observing some activity that makes her uneasy. She may be near 90, but she knows what she's seeing. Adding to her concern is the fact that Diana, her nurse, caretaker, and the childhood friend of her granddaughter Zoe, has suddenly gone missing. When Zoe learns this, she and her 15 year-old daughter Isabel, travel from Santa Fe, New Mexico, to England to help. Complicating matters is that Poppy, Zoe's estranged mother, is living in the village and has reestablished a relationship with Lillian, but Zoe remains firm in her refusal to have anything to do with Poppy.

The lives of these four women are also complicated. Lillian is slowing down, showing signs of dementia, and needs a caregiver. Poppy, who left Zoe with Lillian when she was seven, is trying to reestablish connections, but Zoe won't talk to her and she's never met Isabel. Zoe is recently divorced, had been feuding with Diana, and is concerned about Isabel. Isabel has suffered some unnamed trauma at school and demanded to fish the school year learning from home.

The novel is very descriptive. There are several lovely descriptions of nature, while at the same time there are almost too many mentions of everyone's hair color and curls. The novel is also very slow to start. Part of the slow start is all the backstory that O'Neal needs to provide for the four generations of Fairchild women. All this is front loaded rather than being integrated into the plot while some plot advancement takes place. Zoe and Isabel supposedly fly to England to help look for Diana, but any action in that search seems secondary and perfunctory. I truly wish either the action/suspense part of the plot picked up the pace sooner OR it was just a novel about the complicated relationship between the Fairchild generations.

The characters are well-developed. They all struggle with relationships, but Zoe takes the most getting used to among them. Her history of holding grudges if anything has to do with her mother, Poppy, can be tiresome. Zoe has never forgiven her mother and her feud with Diana was because she befriended Poppy - that kind of controlling behavior would be hard to tolerate in any friend. I can understand a reluctance to trust or become close to Poppy because her behavior was unconscionable, but once you are in your forties, you should be able to acquiesce that a friend has the right to befriend whomever they chose. Poppy does require some tolerance as a character also. She is not beyond reproach, but she is trying to help young women now.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Lake Union Publishing.
After publication the review will be posted on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

I was feeling homesick for England and my mother who lives in Devon  so this felt like the perfect book to read on another hot, humid day in Virginia. It transported me back to  quaint seaside villages, the mournful beauty of the moors and the joy of hedgerows, fish and chips and pubs. I loved how Lilian and Poppy called everyone 'love' which is such a Devonshire thing to do.
Each of the main characters were nursing traumas, and questioning their path and choices. Poppy was my favorite with such a wonderfully adventurous life and her 'witchy' abilities. Poor Isabel was the only real victim in this story yet Zoe was the one who played the victim to the max. Call me heartless but her constant inner whining about her mother leaving her so long ago in the care of a loving grandmother grated on me a little. And she was so concerned for her friend Diana but all she talked about was how she wouldn't get to tell Diana stuff and ask her advice! It felt like everything in Zoe's life was take and no give. I also found the whole soul stuff with Sage a bit much, we got it so it didn't need to be covered every time they got together. That was the reason I didn't give it 5 stars.
I was amazed to read that the author was American (with a British partner). Her grasp of Englishness was brilliant and was very authentic. Poppy was the me I wish I had been (without abandoning my child!) and I remember Glastonbury and all the hippy stores from my youth.
Thank you for helping ease my home sickness. I called my mum straight after, just to hear her call me love.
This was an ARC provided by Netgalley and this is my honest review.

This was a well-written, heartwarming book. Four generations of women were each described so clearly, with their individual feelings, emotions, interests and struggles. There were vivid descriptions of scenery, relationships, food, and the passionate pull between a man and a woman. Like this author's other stories, this book was a feast for all my senses and I didn't want it to end. I recommend this book to others and look forward to reading other books by this author.

The premise of The Lost Girls of Devon drew my attention, especially the multi-generational domestic drama. I did find the connections between the women a bit hard to follow at first, this is a book with a lot of intricacies and once I got into it, I did enjoy it for what it is.

While all four of the central women in the family play central roles in each others’ lives, Zoe and her strained relationship with her mother, Poppy is the focal point. I love how Zoe’s abandonment issues are reckoned with, but it’s also balanced by showing Poppy’s perspective on the matter, and that Poppy wanted to chase her dreams because her mother didn’t, establishing a cycle of how mothers’ behavior impact their daughters.

I enjoyed the chapters from Isabel the most, however, because of how it deals with such raw trauma of dealing with sexual assault at the hands of high school “friends,” and how she can’t bring herself to discuss it with her mother, creating yet another gulf between mother and daughter. 

I did find myself a bit disappointed that the “missing friend” aspect wasn’t more pronounced, however given how the book had been pitched, I should have expected it would be a mere subplot, although it was the most intriguing part of the blurb for me. 

I enjoyed this book, and was moved by the story of mothers and daughters and the traumas and betrayals that caused division between them. If you love stories about the messy relationships between mothers and daughters, I think you’ll enjoy this one.

I am usually a fan of this author's books, but this one just didn't do it for me.  It was told in alternating chapters between Zoe, Zoe's mom Poppy, and Zoe's daughter Isabel.  I had a hard time keeping it straight who everyone was for the first several chapters, but once I really got into it good, I was able to keep them all straight.  I really liked Poppy.  She was a free spirit.  Yes, she walked out on Zoe when she was seven and left her with her grandmother and didn't come back until after she was grown.  However, she does seem to do everything possible to try to redeem herself, and seems genuinely remorseful over what she did.  Zoe however, can not seem to move past it.  Her bitterness and constant outbursts are wearisome and seem almost immature at times.  There was a mystery surrounding Zoe's best childhood friend Diana's disappearance.  I wish more of the story had been devoted to that and less to Zoe's hatred of her mother.  Also, it really bothered me that Zoe hadn't hardly spoken to Diana for a long time over something childish and now that she was missing, all she could think about was how she wished Diana was there so she could give her advice on something or tell her about something that was going on with her.  I am glad I read it, just because I always read her books, but this is definitely not something I will ever want to read again.

Lillian, Poppy, Zoe, and Isabel- four generations of women with secrets, anger, despair, and love.  Lillian is dealing with dementia, Poppy first raised Zoe in a commune and then took off when she was seven, Zoe lives in New Mexico, and Isa is coping with bullying and sexual assault. That's a lot to pack into one novel but the characters are well drawn and it all fits.  There's a lot of anger but when Lillian's caretaker Diana goes missing and a woman who visited Poppy for a palm reading is found dead, they pull together.  Hard to describe but easy to read, this will appeal to fans of the multigenerational family tale.  Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.  A rewarding one.

In THE LOST GIRLS OF DEVON, Barbara O'Neal weaves the stories of four generations of women brought together in Devon for the first time to escape and to return home, ultimately forging new relationships and rekindling old ones. As in previous novels, O'Neal is a genius at portraying the young to the old, at drawing the reader into a story so rich in meaning, feeling, and atmosphere that you will find yourself reading way too late to find out what happens next. The Devon setting was brilliantly captured and shared, transporting and inspiring as did this wonderful book. Genuinely loved every moment of reading it -- a terrific gem of family, friendship, and conflict.

This was a beautifully written historical fiction novel with plenty of family drama, magic, and mystery. I liked that it was focused on the relationships between four generations of women in one family. I was drawn in by the mystery that was in the background of the whole book, but ultimately it was the smart and strong women who kept me engaged. Also, who doesn't love a childhood relationship reunited! With something for everyone, this will definitely become one of my go-to recommendations.

I love books set in England so that was a positive when deciding to read this book. The setting of the Devon area in western England was everything I could have wanted, The author did an excellent job of describing the beauty of the area and making you feel that you were right there with the characters. 
The story was told from the point of view of four generations of women in one family. I enjoyed the storylines of all four of these women. Of course, there are conflicts for each of them which maybe were resolved a bit too tidily in a quick wrap up at the end. There was also a mystery involving missing women. Again, this was solved a bit too quickly. I still really enjoyed the story and will definitely read more from this author.

Unfortunately, I did not finish this book. I have loved previous books by O'Neal, especially When We Were Mermaids, but this one I didn't see the point of. There were multiple perspectives in the story but I wasn't drawn into the story because I didn't feel like I knew why there were multiple perspectives. There was the storyline with the missing woman but I didn't feel like that was the clear main idea, it seemed just like some background noise.

The Lost Girls of Devon is about four generations of women who have experienced loss, betrayal and regret. The book is written in alternating perspectives( which can be hard to do as an author,  and not confuse the reader) as the women work towards forgiveness and healing past hurt. I really liked this book and the lovable characters! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I just bought and read "When We Believed In Mermaids" and I loved it!
I saw this was being released, and I had to read it.

Travel to Axestowe, meet some amazingly unique women
you will slip right in and become a part of the clan.

SEARCHING 
     -   for a lost person   -   for the right path   -   for what's missing
     -   for family     -    for strength   
     -   forgiveness     -     healing

If searching for a good book - you want this book.

The Lost Girls of Devon is about four generation of women who have experienced loss, betrayal and regret. The book is written in alternating perspectives as the women work towards forgiveness and healing past hurt. I really liked this book and the lovable characters! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you for allowing me to read this book. Below is a link to my review on goodreads. 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49919774

The book was well written but I found myself not being drawn into all the different points of view. I thought it was going to be more of a family saga and not a mystery, obviously, that was on me not reading the description good enough, as it does plainly state that in the summary. I do however think I would read another one of the author's book as I did enjoy her descriptive writing

Gave this 4 stars on Goodreads: 
Messy and complicated, this is a story of mothers and daughters and grandmothers that you don’t want to miss!

Do you know those books where the main character left home for one reason or another and has avoided going home for one reason or another and they are pushed to go home and must confront something - this is one of those books and I love this premise and will always!  

Zoe Fairchild left a small English town a long time ago and never returned for a few reasons.  When her friend has gone missing she returns to help with the search and must really reflect on the past in order to move into the future.  

With four generations of women in one book and all taking turns to narrate, I highly suggest a sticky note with a small family tree to help keep all the ladies straight.  Zoe is basically the main character, but her mother, grandmother and daughter each have their own stories and own things going on that make this book feel like a full story.

When describing this book to a few people I used these words - "This book is a mystery tied into a women's fiction book."  Although at times I felt as though the mystery wasn't completely realized, it did fit nicely into the larger story of a woman confronting the things she needed to confront about her past.  

I was surprised to realize when I finished this book that I have a lot of Barbara O'Neal's books on my want to read list on goodreads, but haven't read one.  I will have to fix this and read more soon.