Cover Image: The Night of Many Endings

The Night of Many Endings

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Member Reviews

This book is so raw and so real that you feel like you are standing in front of the characters and feeling every emotion they are feeling. You never know what someone else is going through so be kind. Also, don’t judge a book by its cover and yes people can change. What an emotional journey this was.

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Thanks NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing and Melissa Payne for a copy to review.
Different set of characters gather in a stormy night in a library in a heartwarming book.
I liked it.

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I really wanted to love this one!! I loved the premise and how it wasn’t afraid to delve into difficult subject matter: I enjoyed the character led story, however it just overall felt a bit flat to me. I really kept wanting more.

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I so wanted to give this book five shiny stars. The premise of this book was really interesting but I think I expected more than I got. I loved the fact that each chapter was written in each character's point of view. I especially liked Marlene's story of them all. What I don't get is why the characters of Vlado and Jasmine was not included as a chapters. But in the end it was painfully slow and I kept wanting chapters with all the characters and didn't get it. So it felt like something was missing. Not a book for me.

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As much as I wanted to enjoy this book, I struggled getting into the story. I wasn't prepared with how heavy the subject matter would be.

I do love character-led books, so perhaps it was a just a time-0f-life issue for me, given everything that's going on in the world these days. I also expected the characters to be developed a little more deeply, and I was left wanting a little bit more from the story.

Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the ARC!

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This book is another one of my favorite genres. Those that bring together people who normally wouldn't necessarily interact. As the book progressed I was increasingly drawn into the book and characters. So much so I could not put it down until it was finished. This book was just amazing to me with it's story and writing. Definitely a recommend.

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by NetGalley.

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Having trouble connecting with this book, and likely my timing is off. Some heavy subjects are tackled here, and I think you need to ready for them. The slow pace made it tough to focus and stay with it, and it's character-driven which isn't my favorite.

Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Pub fishing for the ARC. The opinions are entirely my own.

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A story of quiet lives impacted by open hearts. Nora lives and thrives in a small town in Colorado. She opens the library doors and offer more than a readers escape. She gives comfort and care to all who enter. On a stormy night a collection of regulars wait out the storm and exchange revelations of loves dissolved , life’s regret, and a brother lost. Excellent.

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A very moving and well-written story that deals with grief, addiction, homelessness and feeling different. A motley crew of 5 very different people, who really aren't all that different, that come together one night when they are stuck in a library in a snowstorm. With not much else to do, and because people really do need to be seen and heard, their stories are told. And there is healing in getting your story out into the world and the realization that people do care and can accept what you believe to be your biggest failings.

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Melissa Payne’s The Night of Many Endings is the well-written, heartwarming story of Nora Martinez, a librarian in a small town in Colorado. A novel about loneliness, grief, hope, new beginnings, healing, and second chances, a small group of lonely people are stranded at the library after a snowstorm occurs. This group of troubled characters must learn to trust each other. A treasure of a book!

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I loved this book. Nora, a librarian, had a difficult childhood being parentless at a young age. Her brother, Mario, was her life thread despite him being an addict and unstable. A blizzard occurs and 5 people are stranded in the library. Nora of course is there joined by Marlene, a older widow; Jasmine, a teenager with issues; homeless Lewis; and Vlado, the security guard for the library. Through discussions over the 18 hours we learn the background of each person and even how they are remotely connected. When they leave the library, the book follows them and you can see the changes in them based on the events in the library. Melissa Payne includes valuable detail on each character. The book is beautifully laid out and written.

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This was a n enjoyable story of dysfunction and human connectivity. A group of people are forced to spend a night together and much is revealed and shared during their time together.
Many thanks to Lake Union Publishing and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

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Such a deep read. The author explored some real and raw emotions and it made connecting to the characters very effortless. The writing was incredible. Would definitely recommend!

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A powerful read. The feel of the book had me picturing the the movie The Day After Tomorrow, with so many different people stuck together in a library. It touched on so many important things and handle it very nicely. This would be a great book club book! So many things to talk about.

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This book was a nice read. I hope to get to read more books like this.
I would like to suggest this book to others, for the nice plot and it sure is an interesting read.

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Love the idea of being snowed in at a library. This was an interesting book with a great cast of characters.

Orphaned at a young age and witness to her brother’s decline into addiction, Nora Martinez has every excuse to question the fairness of life. Instead, the openhearted librarian in the small Colorado community of Silver Ridge sees only promise. She holds on to the hope that she’ll be reunited with her missing brother and does what she can at the town library. It’s her home away from home, but it’s also a sanctuary for others who, like her brother, could use a second chance.

There’s Marlene, an elderly loner who believes that, apart from her husband, there’s little good left in the world; Jasmine, a troubled teen; Lewis, a homeless man with lost hope and one last wish; and Vlado, the security guard who loves a good book and, from afar, Nora.

As a winter storm buries Silver Ridge, this collection of lonely hearts takes shelter in the library. They’ll discover more about each other, and themselves, than they ever knew—and Nora will be forced to question her brother’s disappearance in ways she never could have imagined. No matter how stranded in life they feel, this fateful night could be the new beginning they didn’t think was possible.

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After Nora loses her parents in an accident that her brother blames himself for, she becomes focused on saving her brother from the life of drug addiction that he has fallen into. She also takes on the weight of the world's problems, trying to help as many people as she can, hoping that the good karma she collects will also help her and her brother. One night, after a snow storm, she becomes trapped in a library with four other strangers.

I'm a sucker for stories like this, and when you add on the library component, I'm definitely in! The book felt very Breakfast Club-esque with all of the characters being trapped in location with nowhere to go. They each have their own set of problems/traumas that come out and that they have to discuss. It did get slow for a bit, but I kept going as I love stories that focus on humans being genuine humans and showing compassion for the hardships that one another have to experience in the world. I thought overall it was a well-written story and I appreciate novels like this being shared.

Thank you to Netgalley and Lake Union for a copy of this one!

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There are so many books by authors not in the mainstream that deserve attention, and this is one of them. An emotional and moving story about five people facing challenges after tragic events in their lives. Nora is a librarian, who lost her parents when she was young, and who had a drug addicted brother. Marlene is a widow who is grouchy and sharp tongued, as well as lonely. Jasmine is a young woman who also lost her mother at a very young age and is new to town. Vlado is the security guard at the library who emigrated from Bosnia, and lastly, Lewis, a man with PTSD who has wasted much of his life drug addicted and alone and homeless. When a major snowstorm hits and all five are stranded in the library overnight, the five will experience emotions and feelings they have been trying to hide as their stories are told. I loved the book, and highly recommend it. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

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⭐⭐⭐ -- Love the cover on this one!

I wanted to enjoy this one more than I did. I mean, a book about being trapped in a library during a snow store. Seemed right up this bibliophiles alley. Alas, I just never connected fully with the story or the characters. There are a lot of heavy topics (addiction, sickness, death, loss of parents, homelessness), but they are never given the weight such topics deserve. The same with the characters. They are all just kind of one dimensional. In fact, I think "one dimensional" sums up my overall feelings for this book. It had tons of potential, but just skated along the top and never delved deeper to flesh out the story or the characters. 🤷🏻‍♀️

**ARC Via NetGalley**

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I enjoyed this novel and watching how very different people, each with their own challenges and perceptions, spent a forced night together, fighting to survive. It was interesting to watch how each grew to understand not only each other, but themselves and see how they had let their perceptions color their futures.
Sometimes you meet the right people just when you need them and they help you get out of your rut that you don’t realize you are in and embrace what their future can be.
Thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of the book. All opinions are my own and freely given.
#thenightofmanyendings #melissapayne #lakeunionpublishing

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