Glen and Claire Rawlings are busy parents of two little girls Lily 15 months and Andrea 4. Claire is a finishing her residency on her way to becoming a doctor and on THAT DAY she had a bad reaction to a hep C shot they all residents were required to take. She had noticed a rash early that morning but did not want to take off work and ignored her symptoms until it was too late. She had to pull over in a gas station in a bad neighborhood and left the girls in the car and when she woke a short time later on the bathroom floor her car and the girls were gone.
Eamon and Moira are Traveller’s - a type of nomad group - who have been banished for starting a relationship when they are cousins. They were on their way to dine and dash at IHOP when Claire’s car almost hits them. Eamon sneaks up with the intention of seeing what he can steal and sees the girls and convinces Moira that the mother is a drug addict and she would be better off with them. This split second decision changes both Claire and Moura’s lives.
SPOILER——————-

We then hear from Jay White, a Lakota Indian who was recently released from jail and is seeking a new place to call home. He is off the main roads and finds one of the girls which leads to a relationship of sorts with Claire.

The book jumps five years into the future and shows how what happened effected Claire and Glen’s marriage, how she is unable to move on and Moira and the little girl who now goes by the name of Colly.
While I finished this quickly and found it really good for a debut novel I really hated how abrupt the ending was. There should have been an epilogue to let us know what happened to the characters we just followed for 300 or so pages!
The subject matter may be disturbing to some but it is not graphic.
I look forward to her next book. Thanks to #netgalley for the ebook in exchange for my honest opinion.

A quick read that was both heartbreaking and suspenseful. A mother's worst nightmare come true. Claire is a busy working mom of two who makes a last minute decision that will change her life forever.

3.5 Stars!

A parent’s worst nightmare….

Claire Rawlings, a medical resident, and mother of two is driving when she starts to feel sick. She's having an allergic reaction. She needs to pull over. Her daughters, fifteen-month-old Lily, and 4-year-old Andrea are sleeping in the back seat of the car. She finally sees a place to pull over right next to a bathroom. She tells herself she’ll be quick, the kids will be fine. She runs inside gets violently sick and then passes out. When she wakes up, her car and her little girls are gone.

Next, we hear from Moira. Moira and her boyfriend, Eamon are heading towards the gas station to wash up. After washing up they have a dine and dash planned at the local IHOP. Life on the street hasn’t been easy for Moira. She was kicked out of her family. Now Eamon is her family. She needs him and his street smarts. She’d be lost without him. She just wishes he’d hold his temper and keeps his promises. He keeps promising Moira that he’ll stop doing drugs. He’ll keep dealing for the money, but he won’t use anymore.

Suddenly a car comes out of nowhere almost hitting Eamon. They find the same car parked at the gas station near the bathroom. They watch as a woman runs inside. They creep up to the car and see a little girl asleep inside. Eamon tells Moira to head back to the garage but he won’t tell her why. Moira wonders what Eamon is going to do. She realizes he’s probably going to steal the car. But what about the child? Will he leave her with her mother inside the bathroom?

Soon enough, Eamon pulls up next to Moira. He stole the station wagon. But when she looks inside she sees the little girl is still there. Actually, she sees two little girls. What has he done?

What happens next will change Moira’s life forever. It will change Claire and her little girls. It will change everyone.

Right from the start, I was gripped. You are sick and need the bathroom. You have your young children in the car with you. This could happen to anyone. What do you do?

I had mixed feelings about this novel. There were a few scenes that really evoked some strong feelings in me and one or two scenes that I had to skip altogether.

The beginning was intense and pulled me in right away. I thought the middle had a lot going on, almost too much. Although the end was quite suspenseful, it felt sort of abrupt. I wanted to know more. I wanted closure.

I think many readers will enjoy this book though I think some may find it difficult to read.

This was quite an emotional read for me. I read it quickly. I wanted to get to the end to see how it all played out.

All in all, I thought this was a good debut novel. I thought it was unique, very different from other missing children’s stories.

A heartbreaking, devastating, but hopeful domestic drama.

I'd like to thank Maureen Joyce Connolly, Sourcebooks Landmark, and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this novel. All opinions are my own.

Little Lovely Things is about every parents worst nightmare coming true. Claire Rawlings is in a medical residency program. While driving down the road to drop her two young daughters to daycare, Claire starts feeling sick. Claire pulls into a gas station bathroom and passes out. When she awakes both the van and her daughters are gone. There are no leads and one unreliable witness.

As a mom of two kids, this book just tore at my heart. I could relate to all the feelings, emotions, and hope Claire was going through. Everyone grieves differently and the strain on her marriage and the non communication was realistic. Little Lovely Things has well written characters that are relatable. This book is about grief, hope, family and love. I highly recommend this book. Thank you to Maureen Joyce Connolly, Netgalley, and the publisher for an ARC of this book and this is my honest review.

Thanks so much to @suzyapprovedbooktours and @maureenjconnollyauthor for the e-arc of this book.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Claire is in her final year of her medical program. As she's getting ready for work, she notices a rash on her stomach that resembles an allergic reaction. Not wanting to miss any time at the hospital, she pushes through her morning and gets her girls ready to head out for the day. About halfway through her drive in, her symptoms get worse and she is forced to pull over into a gas station. The next thing she knows, she wakes up on the floor of the gas station bathroom and her girls are gone. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Ya'll I almost put this one down. More than once. Because the ANXIETY. This is literally every parents worst nightmare. As a mama myself, this was at times hard for me to read. Connolly perfectly captures the emotions that any parent would go through in the hours and days following the realization that their children are missing. Her writing is descriptive and beautiful. She explores the guilt and emotional turmoil of the situation and it just felt so real. This book kept me on the edge of my seat. If you are into thrillers, I would definitely recommend this one.

Wow! This book grabbed me from the very beginning & had me on the edge of my seat throughout the entire story! Great suspense, great mystery & did I say great suspense?! The only reason I didn't give it a perfect 5 💎 is because I like my endings to be wrapped up in a bow, however, this ending was good & I have my fingers crossed that there will be a second book coming out soon!!!! This would be a great Book Club pick with plenty to discuss.

The premise was definitely interesting, and the earlier chapters was a solid start, but when I started devouring more and more into the story, I noticed that Little Lovely Things might be not what I was expected. At first, I was impressed by the writing style. It was hypnotizing and beautiful. But after those earlier chapters, I’m afraid to say that it distracted me instead of entertaining me. Too many unnecessary details were given that doesn’t have any impact on the plot. They acted more as a filler and this happened consistently until the end of the story. Connoly was very skillful with her beautiful proses, unfortunately, I personally don’t think it’s suitable for this genre. I expected fast-paced action packs that will increase my adrenaline, but I ended up getting the opposite.

I’m also not the biggest fan of the pacing. As I said earlier, it started off strong. But there was no twist, whatsoever. No element of a surprise either. It was dragging and I can’t count how many times I keep thinking to myself, asking when and where will this story go? And the ending was very short and sudden, which is very disappointing.

I couldn’t connect to the characters either. None of them are likable enough to make me invest in their story. They were also one-dimensional, especially Glen. I expected him to be more involved in the story, because ffs, his daughters were kidnapped! He was given very little lines and screen time, so I couldn’t even try to understand him even if I wanted to.

Thank you Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Final Rating — 2/5

This review will contain spoilers....

TW: child death, child neglect. discussions of drug use, kidnapping

Firstly I would like to say a big thank you to Netgalley for providing me an eARC copy of this book.

I have to say what attracted me to this book first off was the cover, every time i've looked at my kindle app this book has drawn my eye and I keep meaning to read it so I am glad that I finally have now.

Uhh this book really tugs on your heartstrings and takes you through every possible emotion. Claire Rawlings suddenly falls ill whilst driving and pulls into the nearest gas station fearing that if she doesn't, she will pass out whilst driving her two young girls. Claire makes the life-changing decision to leave her girls in the running car whilst she pops into the bathroom. But for Claire, this is where her agony begins. Unbeknownst to her she has picked up an almost deadly virus and passes out in the bathroom, when she comes to, her car and her girls are gone. For Claire, this is where her life changes.

I do want to start by saying that the blurb to this book is slightly misleading; it suggests that we're going to follow the immediate investigation and how Claire copes with the loss of her girls however shortly after the book begins we jump 5 year and follow Claire and her husband in the future. I don't like blurbs that are misleading; whether it's slightly or a lot.

One of things that stood out to me about this book early on is that Connolly doesn't wait around to tell us what's happening; we learn as it happens who kidnaps the young girls and their motives for doing so. Two junkies/lovers/cousins (Eamon Moira) who convince themselves that they are saving the girls from a druggie mother, but in reality they want to take the girls for their own. We swiftly follow what happens with both girls during their kidnap however for me things got a bit confused at this point. Enter Jay White, Native American drifter, who comes across the body of a small blonde girl; the Rawlings youngest daughter. Honestly at this point I was quite confused as it hadn't been clear that Lily had died in the plot it's just suddenly revealed to us. The book then does something I hate hate hate - skips time, rather than show us Jay contacting the police and the parents finding out, we skip an unknown amount of time and are at Lily's funeral. I find this so jarring and for me it feels like a bit of a cop-out or a shortcut to get away from actually showing us the impact. And then again we find out that Eamon died and Andrea is presumed dead due to finding a tooth; we don't see any of this we're just told about and it for me i just took away some of the impact.

The book then skips about 5 years and we follow where Claire and her husband Glen have ended up and their struggle to stay together in the unaccountable loss. Jay, who has finally stopped drifting and set down roots. And Moira and Andrea who are drifting from place to place only to settle down right next to Jay. For me aspects of the book here were a bit slow; it was clear that Connolly was trying to insert some narrative to build up the story but at times it just wasn't overly well paced.

The character of Claire is an interesting one; unsurprisingly she hasn't moved on and is struggling to go about her life, asking the question, can she still call herself a mother when she no longer has children. But Claire is still convinced that Andrea is alive, but she struggles to talk about her children, even with her husband Glen. Honestly Glen was such a pointless character; he's barely present and doesn't really bring anything to the story.

This book has some other interesting themes in the book of Native American Culture and Traveller culture; we observe and come to understand how they intertwine in the story. I loved the story behind the dream catchers and how these intertwined with Lilly and Andrea.

I honestly have mixed feelings about the ending. For me it felt far too rushed and abrupt; the whole story is building up to the reveal that Colly is actually Andrea and when Jay does finally realise it feels like the story is over in 5 seconds. Moira locks Andrea in a small room to punish her and then goes out, unintentionally leaving the gas on. At the same time Jay finally realises that Colly is Andrea and has a gut instinct that something is wrong; he tries to break into the trailer but can smell the gas. Luckily Andrea manages to get out but Jay reveals to her who she is. What then happens goes by in a flash; with Jay and Andrea being taken to the hospital and Claire and Glen being contacted; they all come together at the hospital and once reunited, the story ends. For me it felt like a lot of build up to a ending that was almost a let-down.

I enjoyed the multiple narrators in the story as it really added another depth to the book, and when we watch Claire and Glen learn the truth about Andrea my heart honestly broke for them and it was hard not to cry in the middle of my office. Overall I enjoyed this book, although there were bits that I didn't like it really won me over with the reveal and my heart just broke even more. The characters are mostly well developed and they are all very quirky and individual that it really adds something to the story.

For me, this book was not thrilling. I went into this book thinking it was going to be filled with twists and turns, but it was very boring and had a weird writing style. Many of my friends do love this book, so I think I am just very particular with the thrillers I read.

I read this book in one sitting for a blog tour I’m participating in. I was flying home from vacation and reading this book definitely made my flight feel short. This book grabs you right from the beginning and keeps you hooked until the end. Claire is driving her children to day care so she can get to work at the hospital where she is in her residency. En route Claire becomes violently sick and pulls over to a gas station. She parks right outside the restroom door and props the door open so she can keep an eye on the children. She is so incapacitated by her illness that she doesn’t realize the door has been closed and the car and children are gone. Now we follow Claire as the horror hits her that her children have been abducted. Compounding this is the fact that Claire is extremely sick and needs a great deal of medical care which hinders her in helping to ascertain and help in what has happened. As time passes the nightmare that Claire and her husband Glen face continues. There are no signs of the children or any idea as to who could have taken them. We also read about the captor’s lives and what the children are enduring. I don’t want to give away too much except to say this story is very raw and heartbreaking. Another important figure, Jay, comes into the story and I loved his character. As I said I found this book captivating from the beginning and couldn’t read fast enough.

Special thanks to @maureenjconnollyauthor, @sourcebooks, and @netgalley for the free electronic copy of this book!
__________
I don't normally read thrillers, but when I do, I have a tough time putting them down. "Little Lovely Things" was no exception! Claire, an overworked and overtired mother, makes a series of tiny, seemingly insignificant decisions which then lead to her two daughters' disappearance. The book then follows the consequences of this event as Claire tries to track down her children.
__________
My heart pumping for most of the book, and I was constantly thankful of the fact that this book is fiction and not based on real-life events, because it was really heartbreaking to read. The story is told from multiple perspectives, which helped me to understand a lot of the characters' motivations as well as made the story more complicated and interesting!
__________
"Little Lovely Things" comes out on April 2! What are your thoughts on books where children go missing? I don't think I can handle any more after this ... 😥

This story follows Claire, the mother of two young girls who have gone missing along with the car they were in, after she makes an emergency pit stop at a gas station one morning.

My overall rating for Little Lovely Things is 2.5 out of 5 stars. Unfortunately I had a difficult time getting into this book and was delayed in finishing it, however I did pick up the audio edition on Scribd and ended up finishing the book in a day.

The writing style of Little Lovely Things was simple and effective. I listened to this book in a single sitting, and while the story itself wasn't what I'd hoped it would be I found the author's writing style to be enjoyable and I would happily pick up her future work. 

In my opinion, Little Lovely Things had a lot of potential. It set itself up to be a great story, but I feel as though it didn't explore its characters or plot deeply enough. Even though it did fall flat in this regard, I would recommend this book to anyone who is new to the genre and looking for an easy and interesting mystery/thriller.

For my full review see my blog:
readbyamity.blog/2019/07/07/review-little-lovely-things/

My mother and I have both read this title. We both enjoyed it. I look forward to reading many more.

This is a very emotional read. Tears fell from my eyes. This is a heartbreaking story of the ultimate loss, that of a child. Claire is driving with her two daughters when she becomes unbelievably ill. She pulls into a gas station and with her two children in the car, rushes to the bathroom. When she comes back her car is gone and so are her daughters. What follows is a roller coaster ride of emotions. Grief, guilt, and loss. The characters are richly developed and I could feel every single emotion. Most of all the fear. Marriages destroyed. This book will keep you on the edge of your seat. Vividly descriptive, you are there. I could not put this book down. This book is so well written and the suspense created is profound. This is a must read!

Little Lovely Thing is a great book! WOW! I liked most of the characters! I'm glad at least one of the kidnapped characters were found!

Little Lovely Things by Maureen Joyce Connolly
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This was one of the best contemporary women’s novels I’ve read this year. The characters were really well drawn by Maureen Joyce Connolly and very relatable. Each of them was individual, flawed and entirely believable. Told from multiple points of view, the story was gripping and the pacing kept you reading to see what would happen next. As a début Little Lovely Things was brilliant and I am definitely looking forward to this author’s next offering.

I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel, at my own request, from Sourcebooks Landmark via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

One of my new favorite books! This author has such a way with words the pages flew by in no time! I can’t wait to see the next work by this author! This was such a joy to read!

Wow!!! I read this book in one sitting, I couldn't put down my Kindle. This book was absolutely mind blowing. If you plan on reading this, make sure you have nothing planned for a few hours; you definitely won't be able to stop reading once you start.

Claire Rawlings is a mother of two little girls, Andrea and Lily, a wife to Glen, and a medical resident. When she wakes up with what she thinks is an allergic reaction from a mandatory double dose vaccination, she's determined to go about her day after taking some benadryl. She's sticking with her plans on taking her girls to daycare and doing her rounds at the hospital, while Glen goes to work as well. But on the drive to daycare, she starts feeling sick and she pulls into a gas station. At the time she doesn't pay much attention to the area she'd pulled off the highway for a bathroom. It wasn't a very safe neighborhood as she soon finds out. Knowing that she's going to throw up but not wanting to leave her sleeping daughters in the heat, she leaves the engine running so they have the cool air conditioner on. Claire is so sick that she passes out. When she wakes up minutes later, she rushes outside to her girls, only to find that her car is gone and so are the girls.

A few days later Jay White, a Native American, who has an extra sensory insight, comes forth to the police with information that will forever change the Rawling family forever.

Meanwhile, Claire's marriage is suffering and without Glen voicing it, she knows he blames her for what happened. It doesn't matter, the guilt of her own actions is eating away at her. She doesn't sleep, can't eat, can't keep anything down, and has basically stopped living since That Day.

This book was so enigmatic, heartbreaking, and full of suspense I didn't know what to expect next. It was every parents worst night come to life. It pulled on all of my emotions; alternating between hope and anguish.

A must read!

The following review was posted on my blog (www.blogginboutbooks.com) on 06.01.19:

As a wife, mother, and medical student in the final phase of her program, Claire Rawlings has been running on nothing but fumes. When the stress catches up with her, making her violently ill, it comes at the exact wrong moment. Speeding through Chicago to get her girls to daycare on time, she makes an emergency stop at a gas station's outside restroom. Desperately sick, Claire leaves her sleeping children in the car right outside the bathroom, rushes inside, and vomits until she passes out on the filthy floor. When she wakes, her car has vanished—along with her two daughters.

Plagued by guilt, Claire can think of nothing but her missing children, 15-month-old Lily, and 4-year-old Andrea. As the months and years drag on with few leads, despair replaces hope, crumbling the Rawlings' marriage and the happiness that once characterized their family life. When Claire meets Jay White, a recovering alcoholic who claims to have inherited a gift for otherworldly "Feelings" from his Sioux grandmother, she dares to believe she may finally be able to find out what happened to her girls.

Little Lovely Things by Maureen Joyce Connolly is a riveting, one-sitting read that kept me completely transfixed. The characters are interesting, the plot tense, and the prose compelling. Although this one gets an R-rating for language and violence, it's not nearly as graphic as most thrillers. Overall, I really enjoyed this debut. I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for what Connolly does next.

(Readalikes: Reminds me of The Girl in the Red Coat by Kate Hamer and You Are My Only by Beth Kephart)

Grade: B

If this were a movie, it would be rated: R for language (a dozen or so F-bombs, plus milder expletives), violence, and disturbing subject matter

To the FTC, with love: I received an e-ARC of Little Lovely Things from the generous folks at Sourcebooks via those at NetGalley. Thank you!

In one moment, Claire Rawlings was a superwoman – a wife, a mother of 2 lovely girls and a medical resident. A shattering twist of fate deprived her of all those.

On her way to drop off her daughters to daycare, she was nauseous. She pulls into a gas station, runs to the bathroom and passes out. When she wakes up minutes later, her car—and her daughters—are gone.

“Life is made of moments and little decisions,” is quoted so often that no one really knows who said it first. Perhaps, it is because this has always been the case since time immemorial. Nobody wakes up and says, “I am going to make big decisions today.” Everyone wakes up making small decisions for the day. One decides to brush his/her teeth, wash his/her face and decide what to wear. In the course of the day, with these many small decisions for those many moments sometimes end up to a life changing event.

That was what happened to Claire Rawlings that fateful day. A small decision resulted to tragedy that changed her whole life.

“Little Lovely Things” is all about that… little decisions made in little moments. Claire Rawlings, her husband and her daughters will tug at your heartstrings. Jay White, an innocent bystander makes you hope. And the two who should not be named were also victims of their circumstances.

Just like in real life, all the main characters do not know each other. They come together in that crucial moment which changed their lives. And they are forever bound.

“Little Lovely Things” is Rated T for Teens. Parental guidance is strongly advised due to drug use and thematic violence.