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    When We Believed in Mermaids: A Novel
    When We Believed in Mermaids: A Novel
    When We Believed in Mermaids: A Novel
    Audiobook11 hours

    When We Believed in Mermaids: A Novel

    Written by Barbara O'Neal

    Narrated by Sarah Naughton and Katherine Littrell

    4.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    An Amazon Charts, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestseller.

    From the author of The Art of Inheriting Secrets comes an emotional new tale of two sisters, an ocean of lies, and a search for the truth.

    Her sister has been dead for fifteen years when she sees her on the TV news…

    Josie Bianci was killed years ago on a train during a terrorist attack. Gone forever. It’s what her sister, Kit, an ER doctor in Santa Cruz, has always believed. Yet all it takes is a few heart-wrenching seconds to upend Kit’s world. Live coverage of a club fire in Auckland has captured the image of a woman stumbling through the smoke and debris. Her resemblance to Josie is unbelievable. And unmistakable. With it comes a flood of emotions—grief, loss, and anger—that Kit finally has a chance to put to rest: by finding the sister who’s been living a lie.

    After arriving in New Zealand, Kit begins her journey with the memories of the past: of days spent on the beach with Josie. Of a lost teenage boy who’d become part of their family. And of a trauma that has haunted Kit and Josie their entire lives.

    Now, if two sisters are to reunite, it can only be by unearthing long-buried secrets and facing a devastating truth that has kept them apart far too long. To regain their relationship, they may have to lose everything.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateJul 16, 2019
    ISBN9781978670044
    When We Believed in Mermaids: A Novel
    Author

    Barbara O'Neal

    Barbara O’Neal fell in love with food and restaurants at the age of fifteen, when she landed a job in a Greek café and served baklava for the first time. She sold her first novel in her twenties, and has also published under the names Barbara Samuel and Ruth Wind. Since then she has won a plethora of awards, including two Colorado Book Awards and six prestigious RITAs, including one for The Lost Recipe for Happiness. Her novels have been widely published in Europe and Australia, and she travels all over the world, presenting workshops, hiking hundreds of miles, and, of course, eating. She lives with her partner, a British endurance athlete, and their collection of cats and dogs, in Colorado Springs.

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    Reviews for When We Believed in Mermaids

    4.5/5

    1,263 ratings49 reviews

    What our readers think

    Readers find this title to be a beautiful and poignant story of life, transformation, and love. The characters are real and lovable, with all their flaws. The book explores themes of family, forgiveness, and friendship. The narration is great and the attention to detail makes the story captivating. However, some readers found the book to be too sentimental and expected more mystery and suspense. Overall, it is a heartfelt and worthwhile read that explores the human spirit and the power of love and forgiveness.

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 1/5
      Superficial, trite. First and last time reading something from this author.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      It was just ok.. Nothing to rave able. If you are wanting an easy book to read, this would be a good one

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      It was enjoyable enough. Unbelievable, but it is fiction. Just ok.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 1/5
      As a kiwi the accents were just so awful I had to stop 3 chapters in. Maybe better for me in print

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Very captivating indeed! Great story and narration- kept me wanting more!
    • 5/5
      Very enjoyable book, the accents and different voices were well performed and it was an easy listen.
    • 5/5
      Absolutely loved this! My first Barbara O' Neal and won't be my last.
    • 4/5
      This book held my attention start to finish. I was intrigued by the characters. The relationship between the sisters was well developed throughout the stages of girlhood into womanhood. The character of Dylan could use more back story as he has a strong influence on the sisters and we are led to care about him greatly! I felt gypped off with the tiny morsels we are given about him. Hence the four not five stars.
      But the ending was beautiful and satisfying and there was an actual denouement, where one was gently released not cut off and dropped from the story. I enjoyed the surfing scenes and coastal descriptions. I highly recommend. My new fav author!
    • 5/5
      Wonderful book. Absolutely spell binding. Finished it quickly as I did not want to put it down. Love, sorrow and redemption. One of the best books I have listened to this year. Amazing writer. No dull parts in this book at all. If it were possible to give it 10 stars I would!!
    • 5/5
      So captivating, I did not stop until I finished it.
    • 5/5
      Enjoyable. A little bit of everything drama, romance, mysteries. Highlights how in this and each life there are lives entwined. Authors descriptive language was beautiful at times. I’m ready to go to New Zealand now, ?
    • 5/5
      I loved this book so much. Made me cry several times. Such a beautiful and well written story
    • 4/5
      This was a very good and well written story. While I got tired of reading the references to their past and all the details of their memories, the other relationships woven in make the story whole.
    • 5/5
      The story connected with me: learning to forgive and love renewed.
    • 5/5
      Started a little slow, but was irresistible once the story got going.
    • 5/5
      So I’ve discovered my new favorite author! This is the second book of hers that I’ve read and I’m hooked. Love her style and the way she weaves the story, with real people and story lines that truly reflect life. Love this book, highly recommended.
    • 5/5
      Very well done! I liked how the story went back and forth between the sisters. The kiwi accents were a little overdone, but not obnoxiously so.
    • 5/5
      Absolutely loved the story, felt so real, so broken but at the same time so full of hope.
    • 3/5
      It was just okay for me. A little too sentimental for my taste.
    • 5/5
      Fabulous book with a wonderful ending! Makes me want to visit New Zealand!
    • 5/5
      Wow! One of my top favorite books of all time!
    • 5/5
      The human spirit will prevail. This is a hauntingly beautiful story of lost childhood, neglectful parents and the fierce relationship amongst the three children to survive and care for each other. A lovely story of secrets that hurt and nearly destroy the hard earned almost normal lives the two sisters have created for themselves. Love and joy. Sadness and forgiveness.
    • 5/5
      Heartfelt and full of honest emotion. You must have been a young woman of that general age to fully appreciate the changes in society and expectations between then and now, but the the story should ring true for readers who are younger. Love comes and lives in many variations but the essence that is always necessary can be found in the guts of this story. Enjoy.
    • 4/5
      It was a sweet book. I’m glad that I read it.
    • 5/5
      Excellent. A story about healing that includes mystery, suspense and heartbreak... wrapping up to be very heartwarming.
    • 5/5
      Great story & charactersI highly recommend this book and writer
    • 5/5
      This was a lovely book. Loved the narration. Lots of flashbacks to the past, which sometimes can he hard to follow. I would recommend.
    • 5/5
      Very good story! It was easy to follow and listen too.
    • 4/5
      A wonderful book with great characters and beautiful story. Great narration which always adds to an audio.
    • 5/5
      This was an amazing read. I am heartbroken to say goodbye to the characters and finish it!