I really enjoyed the second half of the book. I think the first half really dragged for me and it was difficult for me to keep reading. The writing was beautiful, but the hook wasn't there in the first half of the book. I think the whole Sage/Cooper name switch around Chapter 21 confused me. It wasn't until later that I realized he goes by both names. I would pick one and just explain early on he goes by two names. Also, I think some flashbacks of Diana would make me more emphatic and eager to find out what happened to her.

Solid Tale Of Intergenerational Drama. This is my third book from O'Neal, after 2018's The Art of Inheriting Secrets and 2019's When We Were Mermaids, and she continues to show her strength as a storyteller in continuing to spin new tales with new emphases on different things, all while being solidly centered on a woman's (or a few womens', in this case) perspective. Here we don't see quite the wistful what-could-have-been of Secrets, nor do we get anywhere *near* the waterworks and trauma of Mermaids, but we do get a solid tale of four generations of women who have each had their own issues with the others of their line, and who each have to work to resolve those issues. It touches on so many different issues, some in the zeitgeist of the last few years, others more muted in discussions but felt internally nonetheless, and it does all of them a fair degree of justice in its explorations from several angles. For example, the third generation has decades of resentment for the second, after the second abandoned her to the first while she went off to a far away land. We get the tales of both the third and the second, but we also see perspectives from the first and fourth on how they see the drama between second and third having played out in both of their lives, and how it has impacted the lives of first and fourth themselves. And that is just one of the many issues we see, all of them featuring similar complexities in storytelling. The bit of action near the end does feel a bit out of place, but adds another less explored bit of zeitgeist commentary into the book even as it feels a touch tacked on. All in all, a truly solid effort and very much recommended.

I received this book "The Lost Girls of Devon" from NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own. There was a lot going on in this story, maybe a bit too much. I liked the characters and the main story line. Zoe was a bit controlling over every little thing and she could have at least listened to Poppy and heard her out. I liked Poppy a lot and she was magical. Overall, the secrets, romance and suspense worked and made it an interesting read.

I want to thank NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing, and author Barbara O’Neal for providing me with an ARC of this novel!

This title is part of our summer book camp for Booksparks, and I am incredibly grateful that I was able to grab it early! This was a wonderful novel about four generations of women coming together. The setting of a cute little Scottish village made the story even better. Family secrets and heartbreak abound, and you won’t be able to put this down once you pick it up. I also loved that a murder mystery was thrown in – as if it couldn’t get any better!

Thank you to those named above for the chance to read and review this novel!

Thank you for the advanced read of The Lost Girls of Devon. Very enjoyable read. Did not want to stop reading once I started..

DNF at 35%. There is too much going on in this story. 4 generations, 3 different POVs, 2 missing girls, it needed to be whittled down. Poppy is irritating in her approach to life...so little is required of her and yet she does so much wrong to so many. The grandmother is inaccessible as a character - I do not see the point. Isabel and the mother are great, but im getting bored with Isabel's harboring of her secret.

I hadn’t read the blurb about this book. I had no idea what to expect. I stumbled upon this lovely book based on the cover art. It is a lovely story of mothers and daughters.

Lillian is the mother of Poppy. Poppy is the estranged mother of Zoe. Zoe is the mother of Isabel. These four generations of women come together in a cute Scottish village. Zoe’s friend has gone missing. Something devastating has happened in Isabel’s life. There are so many secrets all around.

We hear the story from multiple perspectives throughout the book. Each character has a unique voice that comes across. Sometimes books written like this confuse me, but this one did not.

The characters are well written and complex. I even enjoyed the secondary characters, who are intriguing on their own. The story moves along at a good pace. Overall enjoyable!

I love multi-generational books and this one fit the bill exactly. Four generations and all of the secrets and heartaches that come along with it. This is my first read by Barbara O’Neal and while it took me a little longer to get into this book, once I was hooked I couldn’t put it down.
This book explores the bond between families and the theme of forgiveness. If you’re looking for an uplifting read, I would highly recommend this one!

Barbara O’Neal is a favorite author for reliable, enjoyable women-centric stories. This one, set in Devon, with a few references to New Mexico, hit all the right notes for me. A bit of mystery, a bit of romance, highlighting the lives of four living generations. No political references, which was exactly what I needed at this time of CV-19. Even though the mention was relatively small, I loved that the family weaver was male.

A gripping tale of four generations of strong women, each grappling with their own challenges. The story slowly reveals how each woman is able to face her own challenges and how those challenges strengthen and/or heal their relationships with the other women in their family. It is a tale of love, loss, grief, bonds, community and family. Entwined in this heartwarming family tale is a murder mystery solved only as the women heal their relationships.

Another beautifully written and compelling story by Barbara O’Neal. I fell in love with WHEN WE BELIEVED IN MERMAIDS and couldn’t wait to dig into THE LOST GIRLS OF DEVON. It did not disappoint!

The reader quickly finds themselves entangled in the lives of four generations and all the life that comes along with each of them. The story is full of mystery, intrigue and reconciliation. If you’re looking for a book to escape into, this is it!

The Lost Girls of Devon draws you into the lives of four generations and all the turmoil that you would expect. The title has a twist as the woman are lost emotionally to each other and there is also a mystery in the story that involves missing girls.This was a great storyline with lists of twists.mystery and new loves. I really enjoy Barbara O'Neals writing style and have read all her books..
Thank you to the publisher and Netgallery for the ARC and to the Author.
This is my honest review.

A compelling, heartfelt tale of four generations of women, seeking to find their path and heal their pain; some of which they caused each other.

Isabel is fifteen and has been traumatized by an experience with her High School friends that she isn't willing to talk about - even with Zoe, the mother she is so close to. Meanwhile, Zoe's friend in England has disappeared and so the two of them decide to cross the Atlantic to visit Zoe's ailing but proud grandmother in the same town.

If you're looking for escapism in these dark times, this book will sweep you away to Devon in the South of England, to a fishing village complete with quaint shops, white cliffs, fish and chips and an annual festival. As always, Barbara O'Neal paints with all the senses, not just the sights, but the smells, sensations, colors, and taste of being there in her story universe, nestled in a village by the sea.

With this novel she touches on a universal theme of forgiveness, and how the inability to forgive can prevent us from moving forward and being happy in the now. And asks the question of whether forgiveness can really be an option for Zoe, who has never moved on from her own mother abandoning her as a young child?

Lovers of intergenerational stories and those looking for an escape from today's reality, where you can be immersed in a different place and the lives of others, will particularly appreciate this uplifting exploring the bonds between women.

This is the third Barbara O'Neal book I've read in six months, after When We Believed in Mermaids and The Art of Inheriting Secrets, and I'm happy to be back on her bandwagon. Like those other two books, The Lost Girls of Devon tries to pack a little too much plot into the pages; apparently Women's Fiction isn't enough anymore unless it has a suspense subplot woven in. But O'Neal juggles the multiple balls in the air deftly, and if the suspense angle is the part that gets a little short shrift, I'm okay with that.

The title is ironic; several women are missing from the English West County community of Devon, including Zoe's one-time best friend Diana. But Zoe and the rest of the women in her family are "lost" as well. Her grandmother Lillian, a successful mystery novelist, is starting to show signs of dementia. Zoe is recently divorced and her 15 year old daughter Isabel has suffered a devastating trauma, the details of which she refuses to divulge. Zoe decides to leave her Santa Fe home for Devon to check on her Gran, give Isabel space to heal, and see if she can find any clues to Diana's whereabouts.

Once she is in Devon, Zoe has mixed feelings about running into her old boyfriend, Sage Cooper. She loved him deeply but ended up breaking his heart when her dreams of becoming an artist met an end early in her college career. But there's no mixed feelings about her mother, Poppy, who left her with her Gran when Zoe was a child and never returned. She refuses to speak to her, or even be in the same room with the woman who abandoned her. Poppy may be the most lost girl of all; her one-month adventure to find herself thirty years ago turned into years of adventure and loss, and now she is home to take care of Lillian and come to terms with the impact of her free-spirited behavior.

As the four main characters take turns narrating, we get a chance to see parenting is a variety of forms - neglectful, careless, loving, smothering. We are also allowed to make up our own minds about what can be forgiven, if not forgotten. While Lillian wasn't always a great mother to Poppy, at least she was present. It's a lot harder to understand Poppy's rationale for leaving Zoe behind for so many years. Her kindness to other vulnerable local girls, her caretaking of Lillian, and her immediate connection with Isabel don't compensate for the terrible damage she caused to Zoe. As someone with her own Mother issues, I can say that the scars you receive as a child aren't easily healed, so I viewed the reconciliation between Zoe and Poppy with a great deal of suspicion. But O'Neal gets it just right, neither fully absolving Poppy nor damning her.

The second chance at love plot with Cooper is predictable but sweet. Zoe and Cooper have a chance to find their way back to each other as they work together to find Diana. Their physical connection is as strong as ever, but they have to make their peace with their respective pasts, both good and bad, before they can be together.

The suspense plot was the least interesting part of the story to me, and I suspect O'Neal's heart wasn't truly into it either. But she does a decent job at seeding clues throughout the story, and although most of the work is done by the local police, Zoe and her family do have an important role to play in solving the mystery of the girls' disappearances.

O'Neal successfully combines romance, family dynamics, and a bit of suspense in a beautiful setting. Definitely a strong candidate for a summer beach read (if we're allowed to go to the beach in the summer of 2020).

I received an ARC of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

O’Neal weaved a tale of characters that quickly draws you in. To the point, readers will stay up past their bedtime because they can’t get enough. I’m not typically one that enjoys a multi-plot storyline, but she did it seamlessly. There’s a bit of everything, for all types of readers. A taste of magic, suspense, and drama. I will definitely being reading more of Barbara O’Neal’s stories.

Thanks to Netgalley for the preview of this book. I really enjoyed it. The style of writing was quite good & the characters were easy to warm to & care about.

A really good read. Devoured it in a couple of days.
4 generations of one family all with their own story to tell. I loved learning about each character and working through their issues. From great grand daughter and bullying to mother with abandonment issues. Notbdepressinb but uplifting. Also set in beautiful surroundings.

I loved this multigenerational drama . I have loved everything She has ever written . She has a way of creating a love story without snappiness and her novels are always atmospheric .

5 stars / This review will be posted at BookwormishMe.com on 01 July 2020 .


This book was phenomenal. I don’t even know where to start to review it. Just a wonderful story from start to finish of four generations of women. Zoe is the mom of Isabel. Isabel has had some sort of tragic bullying episode in high school that has traumatized her and prevented her from going back to school. Zoe is divorced from Martin, a musician, and estranged from Poppy, her mother. Zoe and Isabel live in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where Zoe’s father raises sheep and is an artistic weaver.

Poppy is a free spirited woman who runs a shop in the town of Axestowe on the Devon coast. Poppy grew up in Devon and fell in love rather young. She raised Zoe in a commune in Devon along with several other children, Sage & Diana. When Zoe was seven, Poppy left to chase her dreams in India, saying she’d be back in a month. Zoe was left with her grandmother Lillian, a prolific mystery author, in a grand old estate in Devon.

Each of these four women has had both tragedy and triumph in their lives. From Lillian’s late in life career as a novelist, Poppy’s successful Kitchen Witch shop, Zoe’s career and motherhood, and Isa’s ability to write. Yet there is also tragedy in each of their lives that holds them back from being all they can be. O’Neal so successfully captures these women as whole and real and imperfect. Zoe smothers Isabel because her own mother didn’t. Poppy ran off to chase her dreams because her mother didn’t. And so the cycle continues.

Enough good things cannot be said about this novel. I loved it so much that I might have to read it again and again. The sign of a well-written and well-cherished piece of work. There is the human factor, the mystery, romance and reality all rolled into one amazing piece of writing. Definitely a must-read!!!

Well written and entertaining book. Well crafted plot and characters. I received an arc from the publisher and this is my unbiased review.