Ann Napolitano
Rating:
⭐️⭐️
Genre: Historical Fiction
Heat Level: 🔥
Release Date: March 14, 2023
Romance: Slow Burn
Triggers: Suicide, Depression, Death, Abandonment
Synopsis:
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB PICK • From the author of Dear Edward comes a “powerfully affecting” (People) family story that asks: Can love make a broken person whole?
“Another tender tearjerker . . . Napolitano chronicles life’s highs and lows with aching precision.”—The Washington Post
William Waters grew up in a house silenced by tragedy, where his parents could hardly bear to look at him, much less love him—so when he meets the spirited and ambitious Julia Padavano in his freshman year of college, it’s as if the world has lit up around him. With Julia comes her family, as she and her three sisters are inseparable: Sylvie, the family’s dreamer, is happiest with her nose in a book; Cecelia is a free-spirited artist; and Emeline patiently takes care of them all. With the Padavanos, William experiences a newfound contentment; every moment in their house is filled with loving chaos.
But then darkness from William’s past surfaces, jeopardizing not only Julia’s carefully orchestrated plans for their future, but the sisters’ unshakeable devotion to one another. The result is a catastrophic family rift that changes their lives for generations. Will the loyalty that once rooted them be strong enough to draw them back together when it matters most?
An exquisite homage to Louisa May Alcott’s timeless classic, Little Women, Hello Beautiful is a profoundly moving portrait of what is possible when we choose to love someone not in spite of who they are, but because of it.
Review
"She Was no longer who she used to be, and she wasn’t yet whoever she was becoming"
SPOILERS AHEAD
Ok so I am going on a total hate rampade with this book.
So my Sypnosis;
William marries woman, doesn’t really treat her like a wife. William is depressed and attempts suicide. Then Sylvie, Julia’s s sister comes to the rescue and because she spent one night on a bench talking with William she thinks he is the love of her life. So William and Sylvie get together and all sisters stop talking to Julia as if she is the guilty party in all of this. Ughhhhh this book.
Julia is controlling and selfish
Sylvie marries William when she is there after his suicide and never leaves his side even though William and Julia are not even divorced.
Twins are brats that stop talking to Julia and take Sylvie side when Julia can’t fathom her sister marrying her husband.
William is a selfish brat who gives up his wife and daughter and then lives happily ever after with no responsibility.
I can’t!
Hello Beautiful is a book that tries to be a modern retelling of Little Women, but fails miserably. The author, has no originality or creativity, and simply copies the plot and characters of the classic novel, with some minor changes. The result is a boring and uninspired story that lacks any depth or emotion.
The four sisters, Julia, Sylvie, Cecilia, and Emeline, are nothing like the original. They live in Chicago, and face some trivial problems like dating, careers, and family drama. The book is full of clichés and stereotypes, such as the rich and handsome William, who falls in love with Julia then with Sylvie, the tomboyish writer. The spoiled and selfish Julia, who marries William’s before Sylvie.
The book is too long and tedious, with no surprises or twists. The ending is predictable and disappointing, with Sylvie becoming Williams wife. Then William decides to just give up on his ex wife and daughter even when he gets better.
I just couldn’t.