I had high hopes for this book but the writing style was not for me. The story is interesting but slogging through the poorly written work made it a challenge to finish.

Don’t give up on your dreams to allow others to live theirs.

The author has developed plenty of characters and sub-plots, but I found the progress slightly slow in some parts and I wasn't able to connect with many of the characters. I must also admit that I was hoping for a different ending.

4 stars

Three women, neighbors, all working to claim their power and define themselves. Trudy’s husband left her after 20+ years of marriage. Jade’s ex-husband is a manipulative felon. But, that doesn’t stop her from missing him. Shanelle’s husband is holding her back from pursuing her dream of becoming a novelist. Each of the women discovers they can only love fully if they love themselves first. My only issue was that I found the beginning a little hard to follow.

This is a re-release of a 20-year-old book. That doesn’t diminish from the story but it was funny to see Sears and Circuit City mentioned.

Thank you Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley to read this title in return for an honest review.

4 women at different times in their lives and how they navigate death of a spouse, divorce, marriage breakdown and rekindling as well as career development and changes. She does a great job of creating characters. Not her best but a good read.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book tells the story of 4 women living on the same street. Trudy's life is not how she had hoped it would be. She finds support from Jade, Roberta and Shannelle. A story of second chances, unexpected choices, and dreams.

While this story had well developed characters and I could often relate to them. I feel there were way too many themes taking place. I also wasn't really a fan of the whole goddess aspect. I did enjoy the friendship between the women and them reaching for their dreams.

Not my favorite Barbara O'Neal book but I am sure many will love it.

I would love to give this 3 1/2 stars or 3 3/4 stars. I really like Barbara O’Neal. This story had so many good pieces to it. I felt the ache in the relationship of Trudy and her husband. I loved Trudy’s relationship with Jade. I didn’t love the boxing piece but I liked the empowering and strong aspect. I thought the story line of Berta fell flat.

This book was a little slow at first but picked up and had me full of emotions. I love Barbara's books and this one too. A definite must read

Thank you lake union and netgalley.

All thoughts are my own and aren't influenced by anyone else

Very enjoyable read. It took me a few chapters to get into the story, but I am glad I persevered. It was was written and kept my interest.

Barbara always writes a good yanr and this is no exception. Pulled me right in and didn't let go until the end! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher

I love Barbara O’Neal, so of course this was another win for me. I want Jade to be my best friend, and I want to live on Kitchen Ave.

Wow this was a great book and I loved the style of this book. of this book. It was slow paced and is very character-driven.
was in awe at Samuel's well-developed writing technique and the depth of her characters. There is so much genuine culture throughout the cast and I enjoyed seeing their world through different lenses. I related to Trudy from the beginning and loved following her story. I will be buying this book for me and my sisters. I will be rewriting this as a full review in a few weeks.

I laughed. I cried. I highlighted something every 5 minutes. So good. So so good. I don’t want to give any spoilers, so I’ll say the way she resolved one of the tropes was what I wish more authors would do. It made me so happy! That’s the power of a good writer, though. They make you feel real emotion from words on a page.
Barbara O’Neal, I’m the off chance you read these, please keep writing. We need more positivity in our lives, even if it’s “pretend”. It helps keep us fledgling writers looking forward, and it adds a little more magic to our world.

To the person reading this review in the hopes it will sway your decision one way or another, “Add to Cart”. You’re welcome.

i love this author! the mermaid book was one of my favorites, and this was pretty dang good too. overall, 4/5 stars

Read this book in 2020 and I loved it. I would be happy to read it again as it is that good. I have gone on to read any books by Barbara O'Neal as she is one of my favorites.

This is a re-release of one of Barbara O’Neal’s earlier written books. Like most of the books of hers I’ve read, it’s a nice story with good descriptions of characters, relationships, and the settings. I’m starting to feel like the books are a bit too similar. This Place of Wonder is still my favorite of hers, and I’m hoping she’ll write a new book soon!

Thank you very much to Lake Union Publishing for the advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This title is a reissue of The Goddesses of Kitchen Avenue, by Barbara O'Neal. I have read nearly all of O'Neal's novels over the last few years. They tend to stick with me and are always an enjoyable read, whether the first, second, or third reading.

This novel, The Goddesses of Kitchen Avenue, focuses on starting over when what a wife has always believed as truth turns out to be deception. Through friendship and renewed trust in herself, the protagonist, Trudy, find a strength she did not know she possessed. I do recommend this novel.

I do not know why all of O'Neal's novels are being reissued, since I really could not defect much if any editorial change, but The Goddesses of Kitchen Avenue was still a good read.

I see that the author of this book has written a number of books and for that I'm rather impressed. I'm willing to give the author another chance, but this book was incredibly boring for me. The blurb says it's about four women - and it is - but mainly it's from two of the women's points of view (we learn more about the other women mainly through letters/emails). There's a lot of talking and complaining about men from three of the characters and the memories of a husband from the fourth. I think that if this book, especially as the stories went on, focused on the strength of women and the support of women I would have liked it more as the stories progressed. Also, I couldn't really connect to any of the characters (except maybe Roberta) and one of the story line endings I just did not like. This book was originally written around 2004, I believe, and it's incredible to me to see how much communication have changed in 20 years - the husband & mistress would've been texting now; no one would've been wanting to wait for a phone to be available to make calls - and long distance charges wouldn't be considered today. This wasn't the book for me, but - as I said before - I'm willing to give this author another try.

The Goddesses of Kitchen Avenue by B.O'Neal, published by Lake UNion Publishing is a heartwarming feel good story. Just right for coming home and snuggling up on the couch with a blanket.
Trudy is a 46 old woman with three grown children who's faced with her husband leaving and she having to start over. Her neighbor Roberta and her granddaughter Jade help her finding new meaning.
Add Angel, a young man with a vulnerable heart to the mix and it couldn't get more perfect.
Sweet, heartwarming, touching and literally unputdownable.