This is an amazing and heartwarming audiobook, which brought out many emotions in me. I loved all of the characters and the story. Dawn and Grace tell the stories from their childhoods and their current lives and they both end up at a homeless hostel called St. Jude’s, where Grace is the manager. The residents of the hostel are all so interesting. The book portrays many different emotions, as well as many different issues, such as homelessness, financial problems, drug and alcohol addiction, mental health and neglect. The book has sad aspects to it, as well as happy aspects, and it made me appreciate my life more. The narrator of the audiobook was fantastic and she did well with the voices and emotions of Dawn and Grace.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Hugely enjoyable! A great read, I loved it

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an ARC of this novel in exchange for my feedback.

Unfortunately I couldn't get this audiobook to play on my phone. However, the desctription and front cover got my attention. Hopefully I can listen to an audiobook soon.

Found it hard to get into it at the beginning and had to restart the book couple of times as I lost track of the story but once I got into it I couldn't stop.

This was an audiobook, which caused me a bit of a problem. The narrator had such a soothing/soporific voice that every time I listened to it I fell asleep, and ended up having to find my place again! Eventually I started listening when I was cooking and had better luck with it, but it took me a long time to finish, and I feel it wouldn't have if I had read it on Kindle.

I enjoyed the story, and quickly grew to really like Dawn, who after a series of horrible events end up homeless.  She has the good fortune to end up at St Jude's Hostel for the homeless and there makes some really good friends that she really cares about and who care about her. When the Hostel is faced with closure due to budget cuts, Dawn decides she will do everything she can to raise the money to keep it open, even at possible risk to her own safety.

This is at times happy, sad, poignant, and with a ring of truth about it all. I really enjoyed it, but think I would have preferred to read it rather than listening to it.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3642485156

I loved this book.
From the synopsis and the front cover I had assumed it would be a Chick-Lit style novel but in reality it was so much more. If I were to describe it in one sentence it would be an upbeat book about homelessness.

Grace is only 22, but she's the manager of a hostel for the homeless of Dover. She is a lovely character, full of empathy and understanding for the people who, often through no fault of their own, have fallen on hard times and found themselves without a roof over their heads. Her assistant, Peter was once a residence of St Jude's Hostel and also understands how important the place is.
When one spare room comes available, it is Dawn who is the lucky recipient. She's been fearful to stop still anywhere for over 20 years but she loves living at St Jude's and begins to hope that things might change for her.
True to form, spending cuts threaten the future of the hostel and the residents must fight or find themselves sleeping rough again.

This is a fascinating insight into homelessness and some of the causes that result in people losing their homes. It also covers some aspects of mental illness with warmth and understanding.
I wasn't a fan of the narrator, her voice lacked enthusiasm, but the excellent writing of Jessica Ryn was enough to override that and I highly recommend this debut novel.

This is a fascinating insight into homelessness and some of the causes that result in people losing their homes. It also covers some aspects of mental illness with warmth and understanding.
I wasn't a fan of the narrator, her voice lacked enthusiasm, but the excellent writing of Jessica Ryn was enough to override that and I highly recommend this debut novel.

I went into this book with few expectations and not a lot of knowledge about what would be dealt with. I found myself really enjoying the book. It deals wonderfully with homelessness and addiction, and mental illness is also dealt with with tact.

I did however have moments where I didn't gel completely with the narrator and found her storytelling quite flat.

Introducing Dawn Brightside, a wild, bubbly optimist with a heart of gold. She's running from her troubled past, bringing a whole lot of chaos into her present, and hoping despite all odds for a better future. Having finally found shelter at St Jude's, a struggling homeless shelter in Dover, she befriends the owner Grace (the other central character) and slowly begins to change the lives of a bunch of people, including herself. ⁣
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I laughed, cried, rolled my eyes and grinned in triumph with the characters of this book, and I'm sure it's going to resonate with an awful lot of people. Key issues such as homelessness, mental illness and addiction are explored with gentleness and honesty through the realistic lives of Dawn and her fellow 'service users', and also through the eyes of Grace, who is trying her best to help. ⁣
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At the start of the book, I wasn't the biggest fan of either main character, but as the story went on and more was revealed about their past experiences and personalities, I began to relate to them, root for them and understand their decisions. It was a fantastic microcosm of the way we are so quick to judge others by first impressions, but often connect far better when we learn about them on a deeper level. This book is a trove of revelations of this kind, both good and bad. ⁣
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If you have a pack of tissues handy and you're looking for a heartwarming, positive read, look out for this one when it's published in May.

I have tried many times to listen to this book.
But, I have found myself drifting elsewhere in my mind.
Around 30% in, I have gave up.

So far, nothing has gripped me and the narrator is very monotone.
To be fair, I think that is the problem.
It’s not very often at all that I give up on a book. But it shouldn’t be hard work.
So, no I wouldn’t recommend this audiobook.

I really struggled with the narrator - occasionally there were glimmers of great (specifically with voicing the characters' spoken lines) but the rest of the text felt like the narrator was reading the words but not reading the story.
I had to stop listening at 20% as I couldn't face another 8 hours of the monotony

The Extraordinary Hope of Dawn Brightside audiobook is a delight. Jessica Ryn writes about such sensitive topics in the most charming way. Dawn is the most uplifting and inspiring protagonist. What an emotional and delightful story!

The Extraordinary Hope of Dawn Brightside is a moving and uplifting story of life, great challenges and hope. Set in Dover, England I really enjoyed this story of humanity and kindness with issues of homelessness and mental health. The main characters were extremely likeable and Dawn's positivity and selflessness even after all the hardship she endured really shone through. As she quickly settled into St Jude’s, a refuge that provided accommodation and social support to homeless people staffed by a dedicated and idealistic social worker, Grace and a former service user, Peter, Dawn had to fight the familiar impulse to flee. Whilst she befriended several of the residents, it wasn't long before I knew that Dawn was someone I would love to meet in real life.

Similarly, it was interesting to read about Grace who was a sweet and naturally loving character. As a social worker, she had optimism by the boatload that often inspires people to hope for the best. Although there was a solemnity to sections of the story, it was well-handled by Jessica Ryn without straying too much from the upbeat mood.

The author's writing style was a good fit for me. A buoyant read with a comforting demeanour and a fulfilling ending, the multidimensional characters had their ups and downs resulting in a thoroughly engrossing, charming novel, without being too frothy or saccharine. The audiobook was narrated by Joan Walker and listening to it was a terrific decision. I thought it was narrated really well and she brought the perfect amount of verve to the proceedings, infusing the right emotions and character distinctions. Overall, The Extraordinary Hope of Dawn Brightside is a super book that deals with big issues but is still an easy read. Very highly recommended. 😊🤞🏠

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from HQ and HarperCollins Audio UK via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

The Extraordinary Hope of Dawn Brightside should be a moving and uplifting contemporary novel from, Jessica Ryn. Although I loved the message and the positive, bright personality of the main character I found this book a bit of a slog. The second half did pick up and I’m glad I persevered. There is no fundamental flaw in the story or the writing and I am sure other people will love this, I just think for me, I wasn’t the target audience. This story focusses on the issues of mental health and homelessness. It highlights the sadness of what some people go through when family life falls apart and there is no one to help pick up the pieces. This novel does highlight the lack of funding and how broken our social care systems are. A solid 3 stars.
Many thanks to #netgalley for gifting me a audiobook copy of #theextraordinaryhopeofdawnbrightside in exchange for an honest review.

Interesting story and I loved the author’s writing style. Dawn Brightside is a well developed character, with personality that jumps off the page. The story details her ups and downs as well living with mental health issues for more than 20 years. Listened to the audio version of this book and thought the narrator wasn’t excellent. Didn’t quite connect with the main character but would read from this author again.

This was a lovely audiobook! It was much more poignant than I was expecting, and really highlighted how easy it is to find yourself in hard times. I loved Dawn, who was quirky 'Brightside, one word' and her ability to find real bargains really made me smile!
I loved the ending, and finished the final sentences with a smile on my face!
The narrator was hard to listen at times because she had a slightly high pitched tone to her voice, but I think it suited Dawn well, the accent was great!

I found this audiobook a lovely story. I liked the narrators voice but at times I found it too relaxing!! The story is about Dawn who has had a difficult life, she is homeless for a while until she ends up at the local homeless shelter. Throughout the book Dawn's life slowly changes, its about her personal journey. I loved the vulnerable characterisation and I loved the relationship of Grace and Dawn and similarly Grace and Jack - I would recommend this audiobook

This was a fabulous audiobook, a real feel good listen, with a wonderful cast of characters that I cared about and wanted the best for.
The story is told by Dawn Brightside a new resident at St. Jude’s and by Grace the manager of the hostel. Both women have back stories from their childhoods and adult lives which are revealed as the story progresses. I loved both characters, but Dawn has found a special place in my heart because of her sunny personality. Grace has to work at being positive whereas it just comes naturally to Dawn.
I loved meeting all the different residents of the hostel and how they all came together to try and save the hostel from closure. I could imagine this being made into a film, as they were some key scenes that would transfer so well to the screen.
Although this story deals with a myriad of serious issues, homelessness, alcoholism, drug addict, child neglect, mental heath and assault, it’s not depressing at all. It’s a wonderful book full of characters who felt like real people. It shone an important light on the hidden lives of homeless people who need a hand and need to be treated like humans so they can get their lives back on track.
The narration by Joan Walker was great, a new-to-me narrator who I’ll definitely be on the look out for in the future. She brought Dawn, Grace and all the other characters to life perfectly.
This is definitely my one of favourite listens this year, and I highly recommend it if you enjoy feel good contemporary fiction.
Thanks so to NetGalley and HQ for my digital copy via the NetGalley App.

This feelgood début novel has a lot going for it and will appeal to many readers. It demonstrates an amazing level of empathy for the homeless and fragile people who have suffered a lot in life. We follow the story of Dawn Brightside, who is accepted as a resident in a hostel and support service for the homeless, and of several other residents and staff members. All of them have survived very difficult times, even tragedy, and are struggling to lift themselves up. Many continue to struggle with issues including drug and alcohol abuse and mental health problems.

On top of that, the hostel is due for an inspection and under threat of being closed down permanently, leaving the residents with nowhere to live and no support.

Despite her own sadness, fear and pain, Dawn is full of hope, determined to see the best in people and to help others in need. We see how the various characters face challenges together and help each other as much as they can. The different characters are well drawn and their backstories bring them to life.

The Extraordinary Hope of Dawn Brightside contains a timely and necessary message that no matter how bad things get, there are always other people suffering more than you are. It abounds with empathy and shows that there is always hope.

In short, there is a lot that is good about this book and I can understand why it warrants 5 stars for many readers.

However, and I would appear to be in a minority here, I really, really didn't like reading it. I did not see all the hope and empathy and mutual helping as 'uplifting and positive', but rather as a lot of sugarcoating. No amount of sweetness and light makes it easy to read about the desperate plight of the homeless, drug addicts, alcoholics and people with mental health problems. I give this a 4-star rating for the quality of the writing, but I found it a deeply uncomfortable read and I admit I skipped through large sections of it. It wasn't the glimpses of the pain and awfulness of being homeless/a junkie/an alcoholic, etc., that bothered me, but rather how much of it glossed over the nastiness to focus on the "niceness". Turning this serious subject into a "warming", "curl up with a good book", "charming" feelgood novel is to trivialize it.

I sincerely applaud the author for striving to make readers see that the homeless are real, vivid, valuable human beings, not just a bundle of clothes to avoid and ignore. And no doubt there are Dawn-Brightside-equivalents among them, people with a huge heart and great courage. And without a doubt, support services for the weaker members of society are underfunded. But I'm a grumpy old woman and in my view, these socio-economic challenges need less heart and more anger. Less "support" and more rage and fighting for change.

My star rating: 2* because I didn't really like it but 4* because it does what it set out to do pretty well.

What a lovely story this is with some really lovely characters in Grace and Dawn.
I really enjoyed sharing their journeys in this story and thought there was some real heartwarming and heartbreaking moments in it.
This book covers some real thought provoking issues such as addiction and homelessness, as well as mental health issues which once uncovered really brought tears to my eyes as I didn’t expect what was happening.
This book has such a lovely, warm feeling and I look forward to reading more from this debut author.

This was an audiobook that I listened to during numerous cycling trips up and down errands. There was one thing that stuck out to me throughout the experience. I did not personally like the narrator for this book. She was great at voicing and emoting the main character, but even when others spoke, there was not much variation (something which I have become accustomed to when listening to a few other books). It is not a must since the chapters are alternatively told from the point of view of two women, it makes sense to have them tell us (the readers/listeners) what the other characters are contributing, but it was a personal want that I missed in it. I did get a smile on my face every time Dawn Brightside quickly points out that her last name was one word. It was said so matter-of-factly that it did not bother me that it was mentioned a lot. None of what I said in this paragraph should prevent anyone else from picking up the audiobook if they find the blurb interesting enough.
Dawn Brightside starts off as an exciting character who morphs into an annoying one and finally when all is said and done, and revelations are wrapped up a likeable one! Halfway through I was struggling with it and was unsure if I would finish. I stuck with it because it dealt with a significant social issue and how people are rising up to the challenge. After the halfway mark, something subtly shifts, and it made it worth seeing my way through to the end. All the annoying bits coalesced to a meaningful ending, something that does not happen often.
The story is of two women on either side of the caregiving role with similar agenda but with varying degrees of confidence. They also have identical principles for the most part. I would recommend this to readers of the genre with the warning that the issues are handled with tact, but some involve pretty harrowing episodes.

I received an ARC of the audiobook thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own listening experience.