So, here I sit in a bit of a conundrum. On the onset, given all the shining star reviews this one had, I thought I would feel the same glow. I didn’t. It wasn’t until I started the dreaded skim that it picked up -three quarters through. Napolatino, you took too long to get leverage. My expectations were sky high. This was my first with you and I felt a bit like a parachuter plummeting down -Until I got to page 300…. This is a story about sisters. 4 of them. What pulls them together and what thre...

This book is filled with odd, one-dimensional characters that did some odd things and I didn't like most of them. Four too close for comfort sisters and one shadow of a man round out the main cast here. William might as well have been a ghost throughout most of the story, then that thing happened. Two of the sisters slept entwined in each others arms on more than one occasion, then that thing happened. Even that "thing" didn't save this for me. It just made me mad. Their lives lacked depth and I...

Is it just me? I'm baffled by the hype surrounding this book. The characters seem pretty wooden to me – I can't really distinguish the twins from each other, and I feel pretty much the same about Sylvie and Julia. I didn't buy the way William's parents ignored him throughout his childhood. Not because that would never happen, but because there's no evidence of it. I think that's because this book is all "tell" and no "show". How about a Christmas morning scene, or a chance to hear what's said be...

I made it to 50% before throwing in the towel. I loved the author’s book, Dear Edward, but this one failed to keep my interest and I found it strange and weird.It was depressing and slow, with unlikable characters. None of these factors alone is a deal breaker, but combined, it was the kiss of death. William is the only sympathetic character but I just couldn’t slog through more of the story to find out what happens to him.For some reason the author wrote the story it as if it was set during the...

3.5⭐William Waters attends Northwestern University in Chicago on a basketball scholarship, a welcome opportunity for him to leave his family and unhappy childhood in Newton, Massachusetts. Playing basketball, attending classes and the connections he makes with his friend Kent who works with him in the student laundry and his relationship with classmate Julia Padavano signal a new life for him. Marrying Julia and becoming a part of the Padavano family gives him a sense of belonging after a childh...

hello, unpopular opinion regarding a beloved bestselling book that literally everyone on earth seems to love / find enchanting / desire to give their firstborn besides me.it's been a while.and personally i can't think of a more devastating candidate for our big comeback than this, a book fitting an ideal description: a beautiful cover that seems like it couldn't possibly contain anything but an intergenerational literary family drama (the best niche of all time) and yet is.like did i mention the...

Hello Beautiful is a big, emotional, heart wrenching family drama. It encompasses the Padavano family of four sisters and the broken young man who marries into the family. “Hello Beautiful” is the greeting Charlie Padavano gives each of his daughters. “Charlie had seen and loved each of them for who they were..the greeting was nice enough to make them want to leave the room and come in all over again.” He might have been a bit of a drunk, but he was the tie that kept the family together. It was ...

Achingly Beautiful..William Waters grew up without any love or attention from his parents who had lost their first child, a little girl, just previous to his birth. They were consumed by grief.He picks up a basketball as a young boy and it gets him through tough times, just dribbling and going to the local outdoor net where boys are playing and he finds some boys to play basketball with. Later when he’s at college and playing on a team, he meets Julia Padavano.. the oldest of four sisters in a t...

OUTLIER ALERT! Not quite my cup of tea! 🫖 From the New York Times bestselling author of Dear Edward comes a poignant and engrossing family story that asks: Can love make a broken person whole?I have to be honest-this was almost a DNF for me. I picked it up and put it down, read another book, and picked it up again, hoping to have a better result the second time around. The beginning of this book was a slog to get through! William Waters grew up in a home devoid of love. He turned to basketball ...

This heart-wrenching, emotional family saga will shake you to the core. The three-dimensional, layered characterization, and references to Little Women make it easy to connect with each character as they feel like lifelong friends. The Padavona sisters resemble the March sisters, although they were raised in a Catholic household where their mother taught them to respect saints while their father, Charlie, was an idealistic dreamer who could not provide a financially stable life for his family.J...