Blood and Water is a book about families and how, even from all walks of life, interact and affect each others lives. Delilah arrives in Tucson, AZ, needing to get as much distance between herself and NH where she left a mess. There, she stays with her brother, David and his daughter and you learn that, while David and Delilah were raised by the same parents, the experience was completely opposite for each of them. He only remembers a hard and cold father, she was raised by a father who realized the error of his ways and became a loving father. David is struggling as a single father and secrets he has kept from his daugther. Tim, Davids friend, and his girlfriend Sara have their own secrets.....and so does everyone else.
At first, I was worried the book would be confusing with so many different characters, but since everyone has such different stories, it was very easy to keep them all straight. Each character has a believable story line and it doesn't all end with happily ever after, which I appreciated. I was left with a few questions, mostly about Sara, but it didn't affect how much I enjoyed the book.
I listened to the audio book, which I really enjoyed. I look forward to seeing other books Katie O'Rourke has written.

A great representation of “you don’t know what that person is going through”.
Here the author gives you the different POV’s of 5 characters and deep dive into their life struggles, secrets, heart breaks, happy moments and so much more.

The narrator did a goob job but ai would have enjoyed more emotion.

Blood & Water by Katie O'Rourke and narrated by Casey Montgomery was a great heartfelt family saga and was a lovely quick listen. This book was a beautifully written from start to finish, Casey Montgomery the narrator tells five different stories simultaneously from that person's point of view, which explores the ties that bind all families together. It was a joy to listen to. . . . The characters were true to life, you could relate to some of them especially as they showed their own strengths, their weakness, their flaws and all their secrets - they maybe hiding! as we all have these Our own strngths, fears, flaws and we maybe hiding our own secrets for people around us.!!!!

This audiobook flows lovely and it keeps you engaged. The narrator Casey was excellent.

Big thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial Audio for my ARC.

Blood & Water by Katie O’Rourke is a beautifully written, emotionally layered novel that explores the ties that bind families together—and sometimes pull them apart. From the first page, I was drawn in by O’Rourke’s engaging prose and her ability to capture the complexity of relationships with honesty and heart.

The characters are authentic and relatable, each carrying their own strengths, flaws, and secrets. The storytelling flows naturally, blending moments of tenderness, tension, and self-discovery in a way that keeps you invested in every chapter.

If you enjoy novels that delve deep into family dynamics while offering both warmth and insight, Blood & Water is a must-read. It’s the kind of story that stays with you long after you finish.

You know that party game where someone whispers a story around the circle and by the end it's completely mangled? Well, Blood & Water felt like playing that game, except I was the only person at the party and all five characters were whispering at once.

Katie O'Rourke had the ambitious (perhaps overly so) idea to tell her story through five different first-person POVs, which is like juggling flaming torches while riding a unicycle—technically impressive if you can pull it off, but mostly just a recipe for disaster.

Enter narrator Casey Montgomery, who delivers a perfectly smooth performance. The woman could probably make a grocery list sound compelling. But here's the thing: when you're tasked with voicing five different characters who all sound like they went to the same "How to Have Inner Monologues" workshop, even the best narrator is fighting an uphill battle.

I spent more time playing "Whose Head Am I In Now?" than actually following the plot. It was like channel surfing with a broken remote—just when I thought I had figured out which character was speaking, surprise! We've somehow teleported into someone else's consciousness. The premise had potential, but it got buried under an avalanche of indistinguishable voices having indistinguishable thoughts.

Audio Note: This screams "I should have been a print book!" Either that or it needed a full cast of narrators, each armed with distinctly different accents, speech patterns, or at least the courtesy to announce themselves like they're entering a royal court: "Jennifer, First of Her Name, Overthinker of Small Social Interactions, has entered the chat."

Bottom Line: When your reader spends more energy trying to figure out who's talking than caring about what they're saying, you've got a problem. Confusing storytelling = one disconnected reader who drifted away faster than a tourist leaving a really bad restaurant.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC and the learning experience in why some narrative experiments should stay in the lab.

This was really good. It kept me hooked until the end




Story about family with no good or bad characters just life


Thank you to the author, narrator, publisher and Net Galley for providing an ALC of this title.

Five first-person POVs with one narrator is a tough assignment. Narrator Casey Montgomery reads smoothly, but the character voices aren’t distinct enough to keep the head-hopping straight. I kept losing track of whose inner monologue I was in, which pulled me out of the story leaving me confused and disinterested.

Audio note: This feels like a book that might land better in print—or with a full cast/stronger vocal separation.

Bottom line: The premise couldn’t hold my attention because the POVs blurred together. Confusing = disconnected, and I drifted.

Blood & Water by Katie O'Rourke, narrated by Casey Montgomery.
This audiobook had a compelling storyline with rich characters. However, the writing style didn't quite resonate with me. Fortunately, the narrator did a great job bringing the characters to life.
While I enjoyed the narration, I found the plot a bit confusing at times. Overall, it was a pleasant listen.
Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the opportunity to listen and review this book.

First time reading this author. The novel engages fully with everyday contemporary life lived by ordinary people in America. Relationships in all their complexities are examined, both friendships and families. There's Delilah, whose life has come unstuck after a betrayal by her boyfriend, her brother and his daughter Sadie, her brother's friend Tim and Tim's girlfriend Sarah and Sarah's friend Ally. Blood may be thicker than water but in Blood and Water, both are proven to be strong indicators of where one’s trust and devotion lie. Seems like everyone is running away from something or someone. In this book this small group of people learn to help each other when at times they didn't realize they needed it showing the true strength of relationships and how they evolve. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publisher for the opportunity.

I think that the book was a bit ruined for my because of the narration and I would have enjoyed it more had I read it myself. I really had a hard time getting into it and figuring out which characters were speaking in different chapters. I felt like I was always catching up once I figured out which character it was.

Thank you to Netgalley, Katie O'Rourke and BooksGoSocial Audio for this ALC in exchange for my honest review.

Blood & Water by Katie O’Rourke is one of those books that quietly pulls you in and sticks with you. It’s set in Tucson and follows a group of people whose lives are all tangled together: siblings, friends, and the kind of chosen family that feels just as real as blood.
The story jumps between different perspectives, but it never feels confusing. Instead, it gives you a fuller picture of how each character is dealing with their own issues (grief, love, identity, etc.) It’s fast-paced but emotionally deep. I really liked that it felt honest, human, and surprisingly moving in a way that stayed with me after I finished.

This audiobook was mostly tainted with a bad review for the narrator. The reading was just not exciting. The plot and story I couldn't get into regardless. I didn't finish this book.

The book description was very catching. Everyone has a secret or is running away. I assumed this book would essentially be about a number of characters story during a period in their life. And this is exactly what it was. I enjoyed it. It was a very quick listen (audiobook) and I was hooked pretty early. So many of the characters were simply normal, which made many of them relatable. I got SO many quotes from many different characters, so that’s always fun.

My negative, and it’s a big one, is that I was confused numerous times as to which character was which. A new character would begin in a passage and it took far more than reasonable to figure out who they were and their storyline. Let alone who were they related to, or how were they to the group. More than once, I had to rewind to see if I missed something, or if it was just vague. This was my hold out for the 5/5.

The narrator was listed as Casey Montgomery. This narrator was an excellent pick. Great with numerous characters and numerous storylines. No complaints here.

Although there was confusion, I would absolutely recommend this book. It was just life, and completely relatable in all the best ways.

Blood & Water by Katie O’Rourke is a beautifully written, emotionally layered story that explores the strength and complexity of family ties, personal growth, and the secrets we carry. The audiobook version brought this intimate, character-driven story to life in such a thoughtful and immersive way.

O’Rourke’s writing is elegant and understated, allowing the characters to take center stage. Each one is deeply human, flawed, vulnerable, and full of heart. The relationships between them felt genuine and often poignant, and I loved how the story unfolded through multiple perspectives, giving each voice weight and purpose.

The narrator did a wonderful job conveying the emotion behind each scene, enhancing the connection I felt to the characters and their journeys. The pacing was gentle, but never slow. This is a story that invites you to sit with it, reflect, and feel.

While it leans more toward emotional drama than high-stakes suspense, I found it quietly powerful and truly engaging. A thoughtful and compelling listen from beginning to end.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to the author, narrator, publisher and Net Galley for providing an ALC of this title.

Blood & Water is a novel about family, friendship and belonging, told from different character POV's. This book is shades of gray - there are no good or bad characters, but there are stories about life. While first learning the characters it was difficult to determine their relationships. But each character feels like real people, making mistakes, getting confused, feeling angry or sad. I think a reread/relisten of this book is in my future, now that I'm more comfortable with the characters. Taking time to absorb the book rather than trying to trying to finish it in one or two sittings.

4 stars.

This was my first book by this author, and I did enjoy this book. I was a bit confused at the start when different characters were starting their stories. Once I figured out who was who and what their story was it started to come together for me. It does all come full circle at the end which I really enjoyed. I was able to listen to this book thanks to NetGallery!

I found this book very difficult to follow. The characters were well-written and multi-dimensional but they got bogged down in plots that were almost impossible to understand.

Blood and Water is a different kind of book than those I've read lately. It is totally a character study and the plot is minimal.

The novel opens with Delilah, who after a failed love affair, is heading from New Hampshire to Tucson to (hopefully) live with her much older brother, now that she has no family other than he. Her brother David lives with his teenage daughter, Sadie, and they are surprised by Delilah's visit. David has a small life cut out for himself in Tucson, including his best friend Tim, who is a motorcycle instructor, and his partner, Sarah, who is wheelchair bound with a progressive disease. We also meet Allie, who is Sarah's best friend, but she lives back in New England. Somehow, everyone is bound to someone else in the book, and the connections are interesting.

The story revolves around relationships, the lives of those who are all running away from something in some form or another, and what it means to choose one's family.. This is a light book, but an enjoyable one. Thanks much to #Netgalleyaudio for the ARC.

This was an easy enough listen but without much in the way of tension or excitement. It was more a collection of stories brought together as a pleasant piece in families and relationships.

I really enjoyed the narrator for this audio book.

It was a good listen. Family and friends coming together. Finding that sometimes you don’t know all the facts even in your own family.