This was completely different to the other Jodi Picoults I have read, but I absolutely loved it! Really well crafted novel that wove in and out and the attention to detail in terms of the setting gave such an authenticity to the book. My only disappointment was the ending! I felt it needed to be much more apparent what choice was made, although I made my own decision... maybe that was the idea!

I am a big fan of Jodi Picoult and I was deliberative an opportunity to review her newest book, The Book of Two Ways. Unfortunately this wasn't my favourite Picoult book. I found it very heavy on technical information which made it difficult to read at times . It's a good book by other authors standards but a disappointing read from Picoult.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

To be fair, I have read most of Jodi Picoult's previous novels and have always really enjoyed them. This book takes it to a whole new level. I loved the amount of research that has clearly gone into the writing of this story and the new facts that I learnt about the Egyptians. There was a considerable amount of explanation on physics,too, but I personally found that less interesting and harder to follow - though I suspect that is the way my brain works and is nothing to do with the writing. The characterisation of Dawn, Wyatt and Brian and their various relationships were incredible. What a complicated scenario Dawn finds herself in. I loved the analogy of colour v tapestry to differentiate the two relationships; I don't want to say too much, but that was sheer poetry for me and gave me goosebumps as I read it. This is an excellent read with a complicated shifting of time, which I think is deliberate and often you are not sure where you are in Dawn's life narrative: 15 years ago, the recent past, or very much in the future. This felt deliberate but made many of the events slippery and merge into each other - very clever indeed! And then that ending - wow! I will ruminate on that ending for a long time. Read it for yourself!!

One of Picoult’s best novels. Her writing just has that magic quality that makes you devour her books. Picoult is the only writer who I cancel all plans for and read from start to finish in a day. I loved how well Dawn’s story examined the complexities of human relationships and explored the idea that decisions are never ‘black and white’; life is messy and requires compromise -land struggle. This was particularly evident from the ending. Although I wouldn’t call myself a history fan per se, I was interested in the wealth of information the book offers on Egyptology (as well as bits of science and medicine!) I am always so impressed with the research undertaken by Picoult and the thoroughness and depth of knowledge she has shines through. For me; the most interesting part of the novel was the details of being a death doula and the relationship between Dawn and Win. If I were to nit-pick a flaw, it would be that I noticed some use of repetitive language - “grin”/“grinned”/“grins” is a bit overused and there are some repeated descriptions of hands on waists being like “brackets” and “parentheses”, as well as another physical description of the “comma” of a character’s appearance.

I was excited upon reading the blurb for this book, as I thought it made for an interesting question- if we are offered a choice at a moment of life or death, what influences our decision?

Without giving away too many spoilers, I loved the premise of a 'death doula' which was something I hadn't encountered before. And some elements of the story set in Egypt were really wonderful, with excellent characterisation and real relatable insights into the nature of relationships and what we perceive to be our purpose and meaning in life.

That being said this book is quite heavy going at times due to the excessive amount of obsequious details, which somewhat breaks up the natural flow of the writing and story.

However, I think as the subject is interesting and the main character never too unrelatable in her choices and reasonings and I did really enjoy this book!

I recommend if you're looking for a different type of book which will get you thinking more than your standard 'beach read.'

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.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced review copy in return for an honest review.

Jodi Picoult is an author I have loved for a long time - I really get on with her style of writing and whilst it took me a good 100 pages to get into this book, once I did I was hooked.

Dawn, a death doula, is a survivor of a plane crash. The airline offer her a ticket to anywhere and she is torn: should she take the flight home to Boston to be with her husband and daughter? Or take a flight to Egypt to Wyatt Armstrong - a part of her history 15 years ago which she can't quite let go.

This book follows a Sliding Doors style where you see what unfolds for each of the choices Dawn has. For both paths, there are interesting character developments and explorations of deep and complex relationships. There are also extremely descriptive and in-depth scientific terms and descriptions (Boston) and Egyptology topics explored. This was difficult to read at points - if you are someone who has to search every new piece of information you are given in order to gain a real understanding of the book I feel like this book would be a struggle for you.

I enjoyed the exploration of the Egypt-based aspect of the book a lot more than the part set in Boston. I found myself skim-reading the Boston sections (it is more difficult to read given that each 'chapter' is really long). I did however like the exploration of the relationship between Dawn and her daughter, and the character Win.

The ending was frustrating but made sense in the context of the story.

All in all a good read, but prepare yourself for techie terms and long chapters! I'd give it a 3.75 if possible!

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!