What a stunning novel by Jodie Picoult . I wasn't sure what to expect when I started this novel but it was a fabulous story but with historical significance as well . At the heart is a love story of Wyatt and Dawn who both take different paths due to events beyond their control but who find themselves back together again working in Egypt on an archaeological site after a near death experience. Can she leave her husband and daughter and the work she does with the dying to reconcile with her first love .A great insight into what goes through your mind when you think you might not survive and the decisions you make threaten all that you love .A beautiful read

Wow, I love Jodi Picoult but i really struggled with this one I am really sorry to say.

Too many details - I felt like I was back in school trying to remember all my history details. I really was so excited to start this one Egypt tick, history tick, and I've been so many times and love the history and yes I see how it's relevant but this was far too much, for me anyway.
The heavy archaeology hinders the flow, good job this was on my e reader as so many times I had to look up details on wiki of scholars, science and found myself taking 20 minutes to understand a page.
Hieroglyphics, photogrammetry, digital mapping again I struggled.
So for me this text book with a little bit of Dawn, her husband brian, and her daughter Meret and her job as a death doula which was fascinating.
The characters were good, I loved the idea of second chances, choosing different paths, and the love of mother and daughter.
Lovely dialogue but the rest of it made it too scientific for me.

When I first started this, I struggled a lot - it was like reading from a textbook! Both the storylines had main men in Dawn's life with unusual careers - an Egyptologist and a quantum mechanic, it was so wordy especially when they were discussing parts of their jobs. I glazed over at some points as it was completely lost on me - especially the quantum mechanics. Once you get past that the storyline is a typical Jodi Picoult affair with intense emotions, heartfelt discussions and decisions. I really loved the parts with Win, their friendship was so heartwarming but tinged with sadness too. Overall I really enjoyed The Book of Two Ways, I just feel that some parts detract away from the warmth and drama expected.

I love Jodi Picoult and I’ve read every other book she’s published, but this one just felt different to me and I struggled to get into the story. Lots of interesting facts about Egyptology, but for me, they were at the expense of the story and at times went into far too much detail. 

I did read the whole book, but to be honest, it didn’t grip me and it wasn’t as good as previous novels.

I found this a difficult read due to all the new words related to Ancient Egyptian life. I found myself searching for the definitions of a lot of words as I was clueless and yet intrigued to find out what they meant. For this reason, it was difficult for me to read however the author cleverly informs the reader of what life in Ancient Egypt may have been like.

What a book?!? I love the main character, i was spellbound by the first few pages. This is such a powerful thought provoking book, one which many of us can related to. The missed opportunities or bad choices in life are there for us all. The chance to start over, isn’t. This is so cleverly written, I’m never disappointed by Jodi’s books, each one is so different, yet still- dare I say- life changing. This book will stay with me for a long time.

Now I am a big fan of Ms Picoult but it didn’t live up to its expectations. I felt I was in a lesson on Egyptology with an old boring professor. Far too heavy on facts that I turned off and became bored with Dawn and Wyatt. I did enjoy the relationship with Dawn’s daughter and also Win but would I buy it no. When I compare it with SmallGreat Things it is totally lacking.
Any other writer I would have given up on it.

Too much of a love story and a history tome.

I really enjoyed this book. I've always been a fan of Jodi Picoult and this book was not an exception. I love how her books are factual and explain niche topics that I've not really thought of, whilst linking it in to a story in the meantime.
Ancient Egypt is a topic I do not know much about, but learning about The Book of Two Ways opened my eyes.
The story was engaging and hard to put down, with the characters being very interesting and kept me wanting more.
I cannot wait for the next Jodi Picoult.

I found this book to be incredibly interesting, absorbing and insightful. The story tells of two different points in the main character's life - before her mum died and her carrying out a PhD in Egypt and then life after her mum died and how she ended up going in a completely different direction in her life.

I kept wondering how the two parts would come together and it was a bit of a wow moment when I realised how they were woven together.

The ending was a bit 'happily ever after', I'm not sure that the reality would have been quite as perfectly worked out as in the story, but it was still an enjoyable read and still makes it worthy of 5 stars.

I found the Egyptology aspect fascinating and enjoyed wondering 'what would i do' in the various situations that the characters found themselves in.

I particularly liked the teenage daughter being overweight and the difficult way a parent tries to cope with it without insulting her when she's only trying to support her - the prickly, defensive ways of teenagers are difficult to get across, but Picoult does this perfectly! A really enjoyable read with fantastic characters.

Another Jodi Piccoult book that doesn't disappoint. Beautifully drawn out characters with a fascinating back story in Egypt - stick with it if ou struggle at the beginnning. An ending that will satisfy everyone

I have read all of Jodi's books and when I started this I wasn't sure if it was my cup of tea but I have to say she's done it again. I loved it. I learnt a lot about Egyptology, death and quantum physics and yet it is a love story like no other. I loved all the characters in which is very unusual and my heart bled for some of them. Beautifully written and so informative. Highly recommended

Firstly, a huge massive thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and author for allowing me to read an advance copy of The Book of Two Ways.
I have always been a fan of Ms Picoult’s books, however initially I had my doubts about this one. There can be no denying the amount and depth of research that has been done for this book, but at times this was more akin to reading a textbook than a novel.
It was worth persevering with though, as the story progresses it becomes absolutely riveting.
Dawn is a death doula and the book begins on board a plane which is about to crash land. As you may guess, Dawn survives and is offered a free plane ride to anywhere in the world. Instead of choosing to continue her original journey, Dawn chooses Egypt, where, it transpires, she has previously worked. Although she is married, she meets up with an old boyfriend and the storyline flips between location, past and present.
I would agree with other reviewers that the ending was rushed, I personally found the flips in the timeline confusing, and as I’ve previously said, at times it was a little too heavy on the detail.
All that said, it was a wonderfully woven story and I did enjoy it.

I did enjoy the book but at times I found the plot around Egypt really hard to follow. I'm a huge fan of jodi picoults books and the storyline didn't disappoint me it was just hard going in places.

Jodi Piccoult is one of my favourite authors and this did not disappoint! The amount of research that must have gone into this book is mind blowing! The story had me crying my heart out. It also made me think about my own life and what we should really value. Absolutely brilliant writing!

Jodi Picoult is my favourite author and to say I was excited to be approved this book was an understatement. The woman has a talent I simply cannot describe in a review. The Book of Two Ways was beautifully written and touched me on a personal level having recently lost my mother to cancer. Dawn is a death doula, who has given up her first career exploring Egyptian tombs when her own mother was dying. At that time she walked away from her first love, Wyatt. The book spans back and forth over Dawn's life , changing from the present day life with her husband Brian and daughter Meret. Do we have one soul mate or is it possible to love more than one person. Should Dawn leave status quo or go find her one true love. Picoult writes about love, life and death in this book that will pull on your heart strings while also educating the reader about Egyptian history and practices of the dying process. Utterly amazing yet again.

I normally love Jody Picoult’s books But I’m afraid I struggled with this one. It may be scholarly and well researched, but regurgitating massive amounts of Information do not a good novel make!

I love Egyptology - so it wasn’t the subject, but the way the information was delivered that made it boring and inaccessible. I disliked the heroine and found the storyline so bitty and choppy that following it became like passing through a major obstacle course. It simply failed to engage me.

Clearly I am in a minority, but for me, this author normally writes such intelligent and riveting books that I was expecting something similar. This was just so disappointing.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Death has unfortunately been the prevalent theme of the past month for me, with the recent loss of a close family member and the shock of the death of a prominent celebrity, as well as, of course, the ever-present pandemic making everything seem fragile and uncertain. It seemed kind of fitting, then, that I came to read this book at this time. I didn’t actually realise that it was about death – in fact, I didn’t know much about it at all when I came across this title on NetGalley, but as a long-time fan of Jodi Picoult’s work, of course I had to request it, and I was so excited when I was approved for an e-ARC that I started reading it immediately (sorry to the rest of the books I was planning on getting through this month!)

This book carries all of the classic traits of a Picoult book. It was astoundingly well researched – I always finish a Picoult book feeling like an expert in at least one new subject, and this time was no exception. I’m actually unsure as to which theme I found most interesting: the deep dive into Ancient Egypt, the discussion about physics and parallel universes, or the really fascinating insight into the role of a death doula. As mentioned, death and loss are some of the main themes of this novel, and I thought they were covered really well. Having lost someone close to me recently, there were some passages that hit really close to home, but were also quite comforting to read and that I found myself highlighting and thinking about even after putting the book down.

The topic of Ancient Egypt was really interesting, too. (MILD SPOILER) There was one particular scene where the characters enter a newly discovered tomb that had me so sucked in that I really felt like I was experiencing a significant moment in history – I had chills reading it.

Honestly, this probably wasn’t the best book I’ve read this year, and definitely not my favourite Jodi Picoult book. I was expecting there to be a classic twist as there is in most of Picoult’s books, and I actually thought I had guessed what it was around halfway through (I hadn't). Actually, I found the ending itself to be the weakest part of the book for me and I thought it fell quite flat (I actually wish my theory had been true!). The main character, Dawn, was actually one of my least-favourite characters. I found her quite annoying and it was difficult to sympathise with her. A lot of the other characters were quite cliched and predictable, too, so I don’t think I really cared much for any of them. For me, the strength in Picoult's writing lies in her ability suck you into a place, period, or topic that you had no idea about but end up becoming really interested in (seriously, I don't think anyone else could make me, a history grad, more interested in the sections describing complex physics theories than the ones describing historical discoveries!)

Despite the downsides, I rated this book four stars because really, I’m just a sucker for Picoult’s books. I think that’s partly because they carry a sense of nostalgia for me. I vividly remember reading The Storyteller around 2015 and it instantly becoming my favourite book. I then proceeded to read every single book that Picoult had written and would tell everyone that she was my favourite author. While my reading tastes have changed a bit over the years, I have still kept an eye out for and read any new books she has released and will likely continue to do so. I also definitely think this book will hold a special significance to me as I read it at a time where I really needed to take in the lessons of death, loss, and remembrance that this book shares.

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

I have read a fair few of the authors previous books and this did not disappoint. You can tell it was heavily researched.

I have come away from reading it having learned something.

Beautifully written and a piece of skilled writing, this book was multilayered and shows you all the ways you can love.

Thoroughly enjoyed.

I have enjoyed most of Jodi Picoult's books so I was pleased to receive an ARC from the publisher and Netgalley in return for an honest review which reflects my own opinion.
However,this one was a real disappointment.It's just so different from her other books,with long passages explaining details of Ancient Egyptian history,quantum physics and the role of a 'death doula'.I lost the will to live myself ,reading some of it, and I have to admit to skipping passages which went into great detail about death experiences.
The book tells the story of Dawn,who gave up her dreams to be an Egyptologist to look after her dying mother and in the process lost contact with her great love,Wyatt.After 15 years of marriage,circumstances allow her to return to Egypt on a whim,where she is reunited with him and has to choose the course she wants her life to take.I found Dawn a really irritating character and didn't really warm to her.I couldn't understand her motivation for her actions and her lack of consideration for her husband and daughter as she tried to go back to her old life.
.Maybe it just wasn't the sort of book I wanted to read in the middle of a global pandemic when there have been so many people dying.Sorry-this one definitely wasn't for me

Thoroughly enjoyed this! While I think some of her more commercial fiction fans may find the detail involved in the Egyptology and quantum physics side too much, I felt it gave a lot more depth and interest to an otherwise familiar story of a struggling marriage and a woman with regrets and questions about 'what if'. I had not heard of a death doula before and was fascinated by that part of the story as well. It did take a little bit of time to get into the alternating timeline and stories but once I did the story flowed really well and I was very engaged and sympathetic with all the characters. The ending also made me think about what my choice would have been in those circumstances for quite awhile once I had finished it.