Cover Image: Little Lovely Things

Little Lovely Things

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Member Reviews

This started out pretty good. I was drawn into it very early on and enjoyed Claire's narrative.

Unfortunately, the more I read the more I started disliking it.

I didn't like how often it switched narratives.

I really really disliked Moira. I know that was the point, but she literally had no redeeming qualities.

My biggest problem with the book is the ending. It was so abrupt and didn't explain anything and I just really really hated that. I have more questions finishing the book then I had reading it and that irks me so much. With novels like this I want a satisfying ending. This did not have one.

It wasn't the worst book, wasn't the best. Can't really say much more than that.

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Fantastic psychological thriller. From beginning to end, I was completely in this story, alongside each character and hanging on to every word. I'm not a parent but I am very close to my niece so the thought of this happening is simply terrifying.. Wonderfully well written and each character is so well portrayed.

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Claire Rawlings, mother of two and medical resident, will not let the troubling signs of an allergic reaction prevent her from making it in for rounds. But when Claire's symptoms overpower her while she's driving into work, her two children in tow, she must pull over. Moments later she wakes up on the floor of a gas station bathroom-her car, and her precious girls have vanished.

The police have no leads and the weight of guilt presses down on Claire as each hour passes with no trace of her girls. All she has to hold on to are her strained marriage, a potentially unreliable witness who emerges days later, and the desperate but unquenchable belief that her daughters are out there somewhere.

Little Lovely Things is the story of a family shattered by an unthinkable tragedy. Played out in multiple narrative voices, the novel explores how the lives of those affected fatefully intersect, and highlights the potential catastrophe of the small decisions we make every day. (less)

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This. Book.

First off -- Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC of this book!

This book follows a mother who's two children get abducted under her watch. Claire is suffering from an allergic reaction on her way to drop her children off she has to stop at a public restroom and falls extremely ill. She leaves her two children in the car while she is in the bathroom. While that happens, two drug dealers steal the car and take off with the children.

The story covers 5 years after the abduction.... her marriage becomes strained.
Her job as a doctor under pressure.
She has a strong sense that one of her daughters is still alive....
Is that enough to keep hope?
Will they ever find her alive?

This book sucks you in, and you have to keep reading until the end. I highly recommend this read.

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The storyline in Little Lovely Things is one of terrible tragedy and a parent's worst nightmare, but Maureen Joyce Connolly handles the story with care and makes it an enjoyable read - if that's even the right word for a story like this. While the events of the novel are difficult to handle, the story is immediately engaging and holds the reader's attention. I liked Connolly's treatment of the characters and found them to be genuine and realistic. I found it easy to both like (and dislike) Claire and Glenn for exactly this reason. They are just like any two people you might know in real life complete with their own set of complicated emotions, life situations, and problems. The story does not end with a completely neat resolution, but what in life does? I actually prefer an open-ended finish to a story. The one thing I didn't love about the novel was Jay's involvement. I loved his character but often felt that he didn't quite fit into the narrative, that he was more of a forced plot device. Overall, this was a fast and easy read. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC ebook.

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Difficult story to read evoking strong emotions. The characters were well developed and the reader can easily follow them. The material is sometimes very difficult making the characters all that more human. Very good!

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Wow. That's the best word to describe this book. Just wow. I was pulled in by the description and so thankful I was approved to read this ARC. What a great story. Maureen Joyce Connolly wrote a great book. Kept me interested until the end.

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Little Lovely Things is a very fast read. From the first few pages it grabs you and doesn’t let go. This story of stolen children is mixed with happy and sad moments. The hell that parents must go through is shown in what I can only imagine to be very close to the reality of such a terrible situation.
The author does wonderful descriptive writing. I never read books cover to cover in one sitting due to limited time to read every day but this one I did! Do not start this book unless you have time to finish it! I had “great book” insomnia last night into the wee hours. I would highly recommend this book to anyone. I can’t wait to read more from this author.

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Release date April 2, 2019
Unputdownable...is that an actual word? It needs to be, if not.
This was a crazy, wild ride-the story and the characters grab you and don’t let go until the last page. Claire is the superwoman we moms try to be, terrified that one mistake could cause all to collapse. You will go through so many emotions while reading Little Lovely Things-horror, overwhelming sadness, joy-get ready for a roller coaster!

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I really enjoyed this book. This book had me guessing to the very last pages.
Maureen Joyce Connolly gives a psychological spin on the characters involved and it's the understanding of them that makes the read a thriller. You should really go read this book.

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Claire has it all - good marriage, two beautiful daughters, and she's finishing up her residency on her way to becoming a doctor. When she gets sick on the drive in to work one morning, she stops to collect herself and her car is stolen with her two children in it.

The first half of the novel packs a gut punch if you're a mother. I have two daughters myself, and the kidnapping scene was heartbreaking from both the kids and parent's POV. The second half was slower, less of a thriller and more of a portrait of a family torn apart.

The characters were well written, especially Jay, who was my favorite. The ending left me wanting a little more resolution. 3.5 stars.

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One of the best books I’ve read in a long time!! At times heartbreaking, other times hopeful, this one is hard to put down. Claire and Glen are loving parents of two little girls, and one day Claire makes the split second decision to leave them alone in a running car to go in a gas station bathroom to be sick. What happens next is a nightmare for any parent.
Some of the subject matter is difficult to read, but there is hope as well as love and friendship in this beautiful story.

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Absolutely fantastic book. Not your typical "kidnapping" story. From start to finish i was gripped with the storyline and couldn't put it down. Such a feel good story that will stick with me.

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This book is heart-breaking.

It tells the story of a woman who, after suffering a reaction and fainting in a gas station bathroom, wakes up to find that her car, with her two daughters in it, has been stolen. It is told from multiple perspectives, including the woman who, with her husband, took the girls. This makes this story more drama and less mystery/whodunit sort, since you are aware of the kidnappers from the beginning.

I did find it compelling, although the woman kidnapper is Irish and uses Irish terminology, which is something I liked in part, but it also felt somewhat unnatural at times. But that was not too bad, nor did it truly detract from the story itself. I also really liked Colly's character. [Other names not mentioned so as to not spoil.]

3.5, rounded up because there were certainly moments that were a 4-star worthy story. :)

Many thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for allowing me to read this book!

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Lovely Little Things by Maureen Joyce Connolly begins with the unthinkable happening. Claire, a mother and physician-in-training has caught a bug going around her hospital and is having an allergic reaction. In her rush to get her daughters squared away at daycare and to make her rounds, she collapses at a gas station. When Claire comes to, the unthinkable has happened: her daughters have been taken right from her car.


This story is told from the perspective of Claire, racked with grief and devoted only to her career, as she comes to terms with both of her daughters' deaths, as well as Moira, an Irish traveler who is responsible for the worst day of Claire and her husband's lives. The two other narrators bring the story full circle, as we understand the deep grief that Claire and her husband Glen are experiencing.


Restless spirits and travelers are an underlying theme in this story; everyone is very unsettled and there is the constant desire to move around and an attempt to outrun the past. I enjoyed the elements of Lakota culture, as well as the backdrop of the Midwest in its most unforgiving state.
This book is Connolly's debut novel, and kept me racing to the finish. I was excited to get to read this book early as part of a Suzy Approved Book Tour in partnership with the publisher, Sourcebooks.

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No redeeming qualities, The plot itself wasn't bad. It everything else was sub -par. Writing style,, development of characters, dialogue, mediocre to poor. Cannot recommend

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I was incredibly impressed with Little Lovely Things and read it in a day because I was so engaged with this fantastic debut. While technically about a child abduction, the novel is definitely not a thriller (you learn what happened in the first few pages); instead of being about "who done it," it is about "what happens after it is done." Told from multiple characters' perspectives, the prose is gorgeous and the story is compelling. I went through all the emotions reading it, from anger to frustration to sorrow, and truly could not put it down.

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***Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary copy of LITTLE LOVELY THINGS by Maureen Joyce Connolly in exchange for my honest review.***

Claire’s young daughters go missing when she suffers a severe allergic reaction while driving.

I loved the premise of LITTLE LOVELY THINGS and couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into the story. The writing style turned me off, but I figured one I got into the plot, I wouldn’t care as much. Unfortunately, the further I read, the more I distracted I became.

LITTLE LOVELY THINGS felt like a British story set in the United States. I understand and expect that I won’t know all the words and phrases when reading Brit Lit. When I’m reading a story written by an American (or so her biography leads me to believe) set in America, I expect primarily American used terminology. I even wondered if Chicago might also be a town in England I didn’t know.

I did enjoy the characters and plot, but because the reading experience brought me no pleasure, I can’t see rating higher than two stars. If you’re not a reader distracted by what I described, you’ll likely enjoy LITTLE LOVELY THINGS more than me.

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Lovely Little Things
By Maureen Joyce Connolly
Just an amazing read. I cried and it was dark and I wondered how do you forgive this? He daughters are taken as she falls ill in a restroom. When she passes out in a restroom, she awakes to find her children are missing. A parent's worst nightmare. Claire just touched me deeply. This heart-wrenching story was beautifully written with well-developed characters that kept me guessing until the very end. Just a story you have to read and have the tissues handy.
Thank you, NetGalley, the Publisher and Maureen Joyce Connolly for the advance copy. Wonderful read.

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I was unable to wrap my mind around the story. I didn't like how it jumped to different topics and I was lost several times.

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