Write My Name Across the Sky by Barbara O'Neal is my first adventure with this author and I absolutely loved it! This stand alone book shows how complicated relationships can be in a loving but tragically closed off family. As their lives unravel, they learn how to work through years of old issues while breaking down walls and letting each other in.

The story is told in a straight forward manor from three different viewpoints. Gloria, the seventysomething Instagram hit, who raised her two nieces, Willow and Sam, and is currently facing legal problems. Sam, who has spent years resenting her little sister Willow's mere presence and has been busy pushing away those she loves, is losing everything, including nearly her life. The youngest, Willow, who always felt overshadowed and insignificant compared to those in closest to her, is once again starting over.

It was very easy to get caught up in their lives and root for all three of them as they worked their way through their problems toward a happier future. I can't wait to see what Barbara O'Neal comes up with next.

Write My Name Across the Sky is one of the best books I've read in 2021. I really don't have the words to do this book justice. It's a tale of three women-an aunt and her two nieces-and how they find their way through their personal struggles. The story flows seamlessly as the women face lost dreams, old hurts, illness, and an intriguing art mystery. I was captivated from the first page to the last, and wept tears of sadness and joy. The story was so well written, I decided to also listen to it in the audio format when it became available. The audio performance was fantastic-each woman's character brought to life perfectly! I cannot recommend this book strongly enough to readers that love a great multi-generational tale. For all of the women's struggles, the underlying message of hope shined through in every chapter!

2 generations of women, struggling with consequences and at crossroads in their lives. I didn't find myself attracted to any of their personalities, but it was a pleasant story, just Ok for me. I did feel some similarities between the sisters and could relate a little.

WRITE MY NAME ACROSS THE SKY by Barbara O’Neal is a Women’s fiction story featuring two sisters and the aunt who raised them. They are all complex, independent, artistic women at crossroads in their lives. I read this book in one sitting and was engrossed with the women’s history and lives, both as a family unit and individually.

Gloria Rose has led an adventurous life as one of the first professional airline stewardesses, but she is ready to leave that life when her younger sister dies of an overdose and leaves her two young daughters alone. Now that the girls are grown, Gloria has become a septuagenarian influencer on Tik Tok, but her past actions have come back to haunt her and possibly land her in prison.

Sam is the eldest sister and has a brilliant mind for creating and coding computer games, but she has always had difficulty socially. She alienated her business co-founder and life-long best friend, Asher last year and now her business is foundering. As she searches for solutions, she becomes ill, and this may be the only thing that makes Sam realize what is truly important before it is gone.

Willow is an extremely talented musician, like her mother. She has avoided the pitfalls of her mother’s life but has a lack of confidence in herself after the low sale numbers of her first album. She returns home to regroup and finds the strength and confidence to continue with her dream when she meets another musician who sends her confidence and music soaring even as she deals with a lifetime of jealousy from her older sister.

I love these characters and all their realistic interactions. Even when they are fighting, they have each other’s backs. Gloria’s life is fascinating. She lived her life as she wanted too even before that was popular or even acceptable. Willow is a character that everyone can get behind and cheer on. Her early life was so chaotic and all she wants to do is be happy, make music and make others happy. Sam is as prickly as a cactus and pushes everyone away due to her upbringing and feelings. I was glad she had her revelations and HEA before it was too late, and I feel the author made it realistic by stating that she needed professional help to deal with and overcome her negative traits and feelings.

I read this book in one sitting and fell in love with these characters. It is an engaging story of family, love and the choices made by family members for their creativity. I am definitely looking forward to reading more of this author’s other books.

I can highly recommend this story of strong, independent women!

I went into this one with slightly high expectations and it did not disappoint.

The main plot of the story seems to be Gloria finding out that the great love of her life (who she left behind to chase her dreams), Isaak, had been arrested for art theft and forgery. Young Gloria was heavily involved in the crime and it was only a matter of time until the authorities uncovers her connection to Isaak.

This plotline was extremely engaging but it definitely became more of a subplot than anything as more pages passed because...

this book actually uses the three women's extremely distinct journeys to finding love to explore the characters' own personal growth and especially, the theme of grief. So yes, there is romance and it's written so so beautifully with so much wistfulness. The way the grief from losing Billie affected her loved ones that she left behind was written extremely well. This book also deals with the intricacies of a broken family and how that can damage a child subtly on the inside, slowly festering and becoming something uglier as the child matures.

In a nutshell, this book is something that can be taken apart as it has so many layers that covers many elements of human life.

Another aspect of this book that I love was how rich the characters were. The characterisations were almost flawless and I could see each woman clearly in my mind's eye. They were extremely distinct and so larger-than-life. Gloria with her quiet determination, Willow with her mesmerising love for music and Sam with her fear of vulnerability. Gloria's love story was G-L-O-R-I-O-U-S. Her love story was so all-consuming I unconsciously gasp every time I read their scenes together. It the love of the century.

The writing was perfect. I never got confused despite switching between three POVs constantly. I loved the prose so much I have over 20 highlights for this book purely because of the writing.

The ending was perfect -- it was the kind that parallels with something that was mentioned earlier and it leaves you stunned BUT I felt like the conflict with the stolen art was resolved too easily, it was very disappointing. It was built up so intensely and then, it just completely fell flat.

I also would've wanted to see more of the relationships between the three women explored more. I feel like these three women had such interesting dynamics and it was really sad that their relationships with each other lacked depth. Sam and Willow's conflict could've been developed further and especially Gloria's relationship with her two nieces were barely delved into at all. So that was another thing I would've liked to see.

Overall, I highly recommend this one to readers who enjoy complex character-driven stories with underlying themes of personal growth, grief and feminism.

Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley. I so enjoy this author's previous books and this book did not disappoint. This is a multi generational story of sisters, family, loss and love. It is told in the authors way of sweeping the reader into the characters and to their world. A fascinating read of family and what family means over the course of lifetimes.

Had to grab a copy of this new book by Barbara O’Neal immediately after learning about it. I couldn’t put this book down. I was immediately hooked and completely engrossed in the story and characters.

It was great to see resilience in the characters despite many trials and tribulations. These women were strong, but were also vulnerable.

The story, the characters, the writing - all well done! I was captivated.

I enjoyed this book and did finish it, but I didn't absolutely love it. It kept my interest, and I enjoyed the varied points of view, but I felt nothing towards the sisters. There was just a little too MUCH there for me to fully engage with them and to empathize with them as I should. Don't let this stop you, I am sure others will absolutely love this story and the relationship between the family.

This cover is so interesting, I wanted to love this one. Story of sisters - as they struggle to find themselves in the world and what they want to do and how to grow up. Also we have the POV of the aunt that raised them. I wish I'd loved one of them - enough to feel drawn in to the story and really hooked. But I just couldn't find it. I found the story interesting but I didn't love it. I found some of the drama over the top and I was done with one of the sisters really early on, so it was a struggle to keep going. I wish I'd loved it more.

<i>A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.</i>

Write My Name Across the Sky by Barbara O’Neal.
As a big fan of this author’s three previous novels, I’ve been looking forward to this one. Maybe that was part of the problem, that I built it up too much.
Although I realize that the character Sam had a lot of physical health problems and also was neuro-divergent, she was so annoying and hateful that I really could not feel any empathy for her. I found it hard to believe that she made it to forty without being forced into therapy by her long suffering family and friends.
Another issue with this story was that there was too much angsty romance past and present. In her previous books that I have read, the focus was much more on female family relationships, often intergenerational. I liked the “sisters before misters” aspect of those books and that did not seem to be the focus here.
My last complaint is that celiac disease is not an allergy and if you have bacterial meningitis as was stated, your doctor is not a virologist. Sorry to be nitpicky but authors should try not to confuse people.
After all that complaining, the book was well written and I did finish it but it wasn’t what I was expecting from this well liked author.
Thanks to Netgalley.

I loved this story. The characters were real and relatable. I loved Willow who knew who she wanted to be but always felt like she was stuck in shadows of her mother. Sam had her own issues and took out her pain on those that she knew would not leave her. I find that is true to life, you take out your stress on those who you know will never leave you. You know that when you yell and scream at those who are closest to you, they continue to support you and stay by you. Barbara was a true hero. She put her life on hold to take care of her sister’s children when they needed her. As they grew up, she continued to put them first and even as adults she did what she had to just to keep them safe. While she was the aunt in the story, she was more of a mom then the actual mom was.

Write My Name Across the Sky is my first book by Barbara O’Neil and I am excited to read more by her. I found her book real, fun to read, and easy to read. I could relate to the characters, I was pulled into the story, and I genuinely cared about what was happening. I am hopeful that there will be more to Sam and Willows story. I want to know about Sam’s new game. I need to know how Willow’s music career works out.

This was my first book by her. I enjoyed seeing how each character's story played out. It kept my attention throughout the book. I felt like I knew each character personally. Highly recommend!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC of this book. I LOVED When We Believed in Mermaids, so I was excited to see the author had a new book.

This tells the story of two sisters and their grandmother. All of them seemed to have different storylines that intersected at times, but this made it hard for me to connect with the characters. I didn't feel the emotion I felt in WWBIM, so this fell a little flat for me.

Still I would say it's good if you're interested in a family story, easy read.

Thanks again!

Three women, so many memories, so many losses. Gloria, a retired airline stewardess, who may have smuggled paintings across countries, has always been there for her nieces. Willow, who has her own music inside of her, yet is overshadowed by her famous mother. And Sam, who is always mad at the world and everyone in it. Together, they must forge ahead and find themselves, and the meaning of self and family. Barbara O’Neal is one of my favorite writers, and this one did not disappoint. Write My Name Across The Sky. Five stars.

Write My Name Across the Sky by Barbara O'Neal totally caught me by surprise!

It was a slow-burn beginning as you got to know three characters through alternating POVs… until about 25% in, and then I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN! It’s a mix of family drama, lit-fic, mystery, and a bit of romance too. The neurodivergent and queer rep is done thoughtfully and respectfully. The rifts between characters feel so viscerally real - I felt hurt and angry and frustrated and hopeful too. I haven’t seen this one around much, but I hope to see it more. It definitely deserves it! GO GET YOUR COPY! I’m off to read her backlist!

Thanks to Lake Union Publishing and Booksparks for the gifted copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

A really great and enjoyable story. It took me a little bit of time to get into the the three different narratives, but once I did, I was totally hooked and rooting for each character. The story did not drag on, and I love how the narratives switched frequently leaving you with a cliff hanger.

I devoured this one, it's twists and turns and raw emotional . Barbara O'Neal has the amazing ability to weave a story line cleverly from past to present.. By chapter four, I was drawn into each character, their stories, flaws, the hopes and dreams. I laughed out loud and cried at times and I couldn't put it down. A wonderfully intimate portrait of three women, each at life-changing crossroads—a floundering business, a disappointing musical career, and the prospect of jail. Sisters Sam and Willow and their beloved Aunt Gloria. are extraordinary characters, who in many ways couldn’t be more different, Whether through struggles, illness, loss or fights their love for each remains. I was saddened when I finished this one, I'm going to miss these gals.

My thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for this advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

In the shadow of their famous mother/sister Billie Thorne's ghost, three women each struggle with their own demons. When septuagenarian influencer, Gloria Rose discovers her former lover has been arrested for art theft and forgery, she knows it’s only a matter of time before the authorities come for her too. With plans to flee the country, she enlists her niece Willow to come home and stay in her apartment. Willow, a singer/songwriter has been living in Los Angeles. But when her first record flops, her producer boyfriend kicks her out. Hoping to rebuild her life in New York, Willow moves in with Gloria. Sam, Willow’s sister has always been the successful one, having founded a video game company with her best friend in her late teens. But now the company is in trouble, and Sam is unsure where to turn to keep the company from collapse. As each of the women struggle, secrets are revealed and they must find a way to stick together or face unavoidable consequences.

Write My Name Across The Sky is a brilliant family drama told in alternating sections. Each section is told in the first-person from the perspective of a different one of the three women.

Gloria is a retired flight attendant, and is now an Instagram influencer, inspiring other female seniors to live their best lives in their later years. Gloria was my favorite character to spend time with. Her chapters included flashbacks to her flight attendant days and her love affair with Isaak.

Sam, the oldest sister, is a video game developer. She owns her own company, Boudicca. Once famous for its female-focused titular game, the company is now struggling to release quality content. I loved the relationship between Sam and her best friend, Asher. Although I could most closely relate to Sam, as both an engineer and the oldest daughter, I found her to be incredibly annoying. But at the same time I loved her storyline.

Willow, the younger sister, is a musician, specifically a violinist who has moved home to take care of the family apartment. With virtually nothing to her name, she is desperate for work and to prove herself as a musician. As the daughter of the famous Billy Thorne, there is a certain expectation that Willow will have the same musical prowess.

I loved this book! I loved the style and the characters. I was so sad when it ended. Write My Name Across The Sky gave me Malibu Rising vibes because of the famous rockstar mother. The writing style was also similar, except the story took place in the present, not in the 1980s. I highly recommend it to fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid and family dramas.

Thank you to Booksparks and Lake Union Publishing for the review copy! All opinions are my own.

I liked this novel about two sisters and their septuagenerian aunt who live in NYC. They share a tragic past and are haunted in one way or another. When a ghost from Aunt Gloria's past reappears she's terrified on how her life could change. Her nieces Willow and Sam are going through huge career changes at the same time which creates a perfect storm of drama with a huge dash of family dynamics. A large part of the novel takes place in an amazing pre-war apartment that I would love to see. It added a lot to the story.

I just love any book from the very talented Barbara O’Neal, I have read everything in all her pseudonyms and loved every single book. Please keep writing more.👏👏👏