This was my first novel by Eliza Maxwell and I was very surprised & excited by the read. I love a book where old secrets are revealed over time and this one certainly hit the mark. It was a bit hard to get in to at first, but man, once I got going, I couldn't stop!

Perfect winter read! Family dramas are some of favorite reads and this has all the family drama. Taking notes from Diane Chamberlain, in my opinion. A lot of loss but also a lot of love. Definitely a slow burn the frozen little town that Jenna finds herself in, the characters she meets and attaches herself to along the way warm the heart and make the reader keep turning the page.

This story was tantalizing, juicy, and fun! I found myself really enjoying this tale of thrilling twists and turns. A very addictive page-turner that I can highly recommend!

I couldn’t put it down. This is a beautiful, heart wrenching story of pain, loss, grief, and ultimately, forgiveness. I loved the characters and I cried when Beckett returned. I know how powerful the love of a dog can be to help in the grieving/healing process. Highly recommended!

Wonderful story and it was the first for me from this author. Forgiveness, love, loss, family drama, all in a lovely writing style that will make me seek out other novels from this author. Two thumbs up and I would highly recommend.

I wasn’t a fan of the main character but fell in love with the widow. The story was really good and kept me interested until the end.

I couldn't shut up about The Widow's Watcher after finishing it. I spent a few minutes trying to convince my husband he needed to read it, but then realized I couldn't wait and needed to talk to someone about it now. I spent a good hour in an animated recreation with all the little quotes and scenes I loved about this book. He is learning my lingo because at one point he air quoted when asking if this is what a "book hangover" was. Well yes it is, when two days have gone by and I'm still thinking about this book and smiling at how it made me feel. I just want to sit and soak in this story to appreciate the details for as long as possible.

After the first scene I immediately compared The Widow's Watcher to A Man Called Ove, seeing a character who was looking forward to the unity death would bring, then not willingly and slowly considering staying alive for just a little while longer because of a stranger. Then I even saw a little hint of Britt-Marie Was Here with the eccentrically non-cooperative personalities I could argue were in all the characters in this book. (If you can't tell from these comparisons I just binged all Fredrik Backman's books.) Then the book took the turn I should have expected after reading The Unremembered Girl and it became more dark and mysterious. It began by laying a firm foundation, then steadily building on that, before the tornado was unleashed on this cast. This is why I love this author; her stories are refreshing and unexpected. They don't follow by any means a normal path, so I can never guess what is going to happen next and how far she's going to take things.

My favorite detail in The Widow's Watcher was how the author made this woman both feel defeated and numb, but alive by using the greatest inner voice I've ever seen in a book. It was brilliantly incorporated even bringing humorous elements into an otherwise somber story line. All the characters were so well developed with such enduring and relatable personalities you couldn't help be invested.

If you've experienced a loss or not, your heart will break for these characters. The main character builds up a wall, but when that first crack forms you draw in a breath and hold it throughout this story wanting and hoping it will grow until she'll finally allow herself to fully grieve and live again. Then, when that last scene happens if you don't get choked up, you might even shed a tear like myself. This is a beautiful story. Not every story needs a fairy tale, happy ending to still warm your heart and leave you wanting more. You are left with hope of possibilities and wishing them the best.

"The Widow's Watcher" is a story that put its claws into my heart and didn't allow it to be free until the very last page. It is a story about children, but also about parenthood at its very core. I'm not a mother yet, but I do plan to have children in the future and this book made me question many of my established beliefs and ideas concerning motherhood. Jenna's story, especially, made me fall in love with the author's mind.

I cannot recommend this book enough! The plot is addictive, the characters absolutely fantastic, and the writing magnificent! Please read it!

Jenna Shaw has lost everything that matters to her-her husband and her three children in a plane crash. She feels like she has nothing left to live for so she decides to end her life. She is walking out on the ice of the river when an old man named Lars sees her from his cabin. He knows what she is thinking because he has felt those same feelings. Lars lost his wife to mental illness and all of his children taken from him but one son. Jenna refuses Lars’ friendship at first but then they begin to share their stories. That is where their friendship begins and Jenna is determined to help Lars find out what happened to his children.
Be prepared for an emotional story! It will be worth the tears in the end. I would definitely recommend reading this book!

THE WIDOW'S WATCHER is an emotional read that really stayed with me. At its heart, it is a story about parenthood. As parents, we are only as happy as our unhappiest child. But the unbearable guilt that a parent feels when a child dies is overwhelming and for some, not survivable. Stoic Lars rescues Jenna from certain death on his icy Minnesota lake. Jenna didn't want to be rescued but she is stranded and has to stay with Lars in the remote town of Raven, Minnesota. Neither of them like their close proximity but they discover they both share heartbreaking pasts. While we know Jenna's story early on, Lars' story unfolds more slowly and mysteriously. Lars finally comes to trust Jenna and seeks her help to find the truth about what happens to his family. Maxwell really drew me into the story and made me care deeply about the characters. She made my heart hurt, but I loved the book.

The Widow's Watcher by Eliza Maxwell. The story begins when Lars saves Jenna, they both sare a grief seemingly impossible to come back from. Loss, love and eventual forgiveness are emotions running through this captivating story. Thank you #netgalley #thewidowswatcher #lakeunionpublishing

I could not get into this book. There were quite a few spelling errors, grammatical errors and sentences that I could not make sense of what was trying to be said.

Two people who have suffered some really tragic losses end up befriending each other and even changing each other's lives. This was just a really nice, sweet book that makes you feel good all over!

People who suffer the same fate can better understand each other or get along better with each other, and in some cases even save each other's lives, directly or indirectly. Even if the good intentions of the participant may not be realized and accepted immediately.

When Jenna Shaw found herself at the end of her destination on the ice of a frozen Minnesota lake, she wanted nothing else more than to put an end to her pain and sorrow. Jenna was ready to die. But Lars Jorgensen, a lonely old widow, recognized her intentions and ruined her plans pulled her from the brink.

The first encounter between them didn't make them right away friends, just the opposite, but as Jenna because of the circumstances had to spend some days in Lars' cabin, the bond between them became stronger every day. She learned that they shared the same grief, the same loss and tragedy.
It is a book about how two broken hearts managed to live with their loss and found a way to survive, that life can still be hopeful and worth it to move on.

It was a good book, but I personally got a bit bored toward the end, and the mystery part started enigmatically but all the questions suddenly could be answered very quickly when Jenna took it in her hands. Not very convincing. As the reason why I asked for this book in the first place was a promised mystery and not because I wanted to read about unbearable pain and suffering, it is why I can't give it more than 3 stars. But if you are into human tragedies, you should read it.

I really enjoyed this read. It was a very well-written and heartfelt story. I was easily absorbed into the story and enjoyed the characters. This book is definitely worth a read if you enjoy contemporary fiction. This was my first book by Eliza Maxwell and I look forward to reading more of her work.

I do not think The Widow’s Watcher was a book for me. I had a hard time getting into it. I would give it 2 stars.

This is the third book I’ve read by author Eliza Maxwell, and there is a reason I keep coming back. Yes, her book covers are gorgeous and enticing and make you want to crawl inside and find out the story behind the image. But those covers are only one appetizer before a multi-course meal. The cover of The Widow’s Watcher whets the appetite, and then Maxwell, like all good chefs, sets the stage by feeding the reader morsels of information that hint at the delicious feast to come. (Note to self: have a snack before writing next review to avoid food analogies.)

This meal, (oops! story!), keeps reinventing itself and going in unexpected directions, which is one of many reasons it’s unputdownable. Readers are initially drawn-in to the banter between a mother and her teen aged daughter, then one single sentence zooms out and shows that things are not as they seem. Nothing is as it seems. No one is as he or she seems. The real joy in reading The Widow’s Watcher is watching the story unfold via small, sometimes misleading reveals that take readers on a suspenseful and emotional journey from start to finish.

"Is there anything so empty as something that's once been full?"

Oh, the GUILT in this book. Guilt is such a driving force of human nature, and the richly drawn characters in The Widow’s Watcher are immersed in it. They feel guilt about what they’ve done in equal parts with what they haven’t done…or are going to do…or have thought about doing – or maybe didn’t really do at all. The pain of their guilt radiates from the characters and is exacerbated by the secrets they keep. Eliza Maxwell knows how to write secrets.

"Forgiveness is hard. It's painful. It's giving when you've got nothing left to give, from places you can't afford to give anything else."

In what I would say is Eliza Maxwell’s trademark style, she creates complex characters who are ruled by the guilt they carry and the secrets they keep and who are their own worst enemies. Maxwell builds extraordinary, yet realistic relationships between the characters that allow readers to relate to them. These connections, both between characters but also between the reader and the characters, are powerful and make us feel invested in the characters’ lives.

"Hope was a frightening thing to rekindle. As impossible to control as a wildfire on a dry plain."

The Widow’s Watcher is powerful and poignant. Prepare to feel emotionally drained after you finish reading because this book puts readers through the wringer. It is at times profoundly sad, but there is a constant hopeful thread that weaves its way in and out of the sadness as the characters search for redemption and forgiveness they don’t know they are seeking.

The writing is lovely and flows well with short chapters that allow for a quick read. There are some scattered SPAG errors, but none were enough to impact my enjoyment. As I did with The Grave Tender and The Unremembered Girl, I highly recommend reading The Widow’s Watcher for a smorgasbord of feelings that will leave you satisfyingly full but not in need of an antacid.

*Extra credit awarded: Yes, there is a library in the story and though I was initially bummed by the librarian’s attitude and *GASP* withholding of information, in keeping with the rest of the story, there is redemption. Double points awarded for one of my favorite sayings, "You can't judge a book by its cover...but you can judge a person by their books."

Widow's Watcher starts in a pretty dark place, but it doesn't stay there. Maxwell tells a touching story of friendship and the nature of family, of hope and reaching out even when you feel you have nothing to give.

Thumbs up from this depression sufferer - uplifting in all the right ways.

This was my kind of book, I loved it!!! I feel myself lucky to have found this book and blessed to have read it. When a book has full 5 star reviews and over 150 of them in the first month of publication, it immediately peaks my interest to look, read and listen to them. The description of this book does not do it justice, the reviews do. This is an awesome book with so many underlying meanings, feelings, love, loss, regret and especially forgiveness. It starts out with a bang and never lets up.
I had so many emotions as I read, I laughed, Lars has quite a sense of humor, and I cried, Beckett and Matt absolutely brought me to tears towards the end. Cassie is a blessing and Jenna has been dealt a hand that I have no idea how you could possibly live with.
The best part of the book, was that it was all believable, nothing was thrown in that was over the top, nothing that couldn’t really have happened. I did not see the ending coming, the writing was excellent, the storyline was spot on and the character development was done to a T.
Eliza Maxwell hit this one out of the ballpark. Read it, you will be so glad you did, and you will love meeting Lars, Jenna, and the rest of the family. Sometimes when life takes you so low, you need a chance encounter to raise you back up. This one is a high 5*****'s!!!
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Lake Union Publishing through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I love all of Eliza Maxwell's books! So glad to have received The Widow's Watcher.

After losing her family in a tragic accident, Jenna Shaw decides it's time to end her life. Leaving her family home, she travels to Minnesota where she decides to leave her sorrow and heartbreak behind in a frozen lake. However, Jenna isn't alone in her grief. As she attempts to end her life, she is saved by Lars Jorgenson. Lars is an "old bastard man" who has his own share of grief and heartbreak. An unlikely friendship forms between the two. What Jenna and Lars don't realize is they're about to save one another.