Claire is having an absolutely horrendous allergic reaction to a vaccine. She does what anyone would do. At a rest station she hesitates whether to lock the car or not and thinks it is safer otherwise, leaving two sleeping infants in the car she dashes into the room, then collapses. Comes out to the nightmare every parent hopes never to face. Both toddlers and the car are missing.

It is the best of suspense mystery novels. Two little girls, a mad couple heavily into drugs on the other side and a couple breaking apart over guilt, misery and no news. When the littlest one's body is found, a sense of dread pervades the story and you wonder what is the fate of the older girl because unlike the parents who know who has taken them. You know the character of the beast and you are fearful where his mind (the little he has of it) will take him.

Holding on to your breath every step of the way, you are rooting for our couple, you are rooting for spunky Andrea now Colly and hope that some salvation is there around the corner. I felt for the McCann parents right then.

One of the best I've read this far.

It's so hard to explain how amazing this book is!! I couldn't believe it was a debut novel for Maureen!! This book is about abduction -- but so much more than that!! It's about how we face life's tragedies and pick ourselves back up from the worst possible thing that could happen to us. I burst into tears at the end!!

The premise was interesting and the cover done so nicely. Unfortunately, the story and writing were not.

The plot was cringe worthy, the writing was not for me if not 'just OK'.

Thank you for the publisher & author for the digital arc!

The twist, the turns, the heartbreak and longing, this is Lovely Little Things. The story slammed me from the beginning. It is fraught with emotions and I felt everyone one of them. It is quite a thriller.
This a well crafted story. The characters are well written, leading you to love, hate or feel sorry for each one. I became so invested i found myself wanting to with shake, hug, or yell at them. There is no middle of the road.
The story is heartbreaking and nerve wracking. l went through an emotional rollercoaster from beginning to the end.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well written thriller.
Thank you to #Netgalley and #ThomasNelson for approving my request. The opinions expressed in this review are solely my own.

This was an unexpected surprise. I had hoped to love it, but it was better than I imagined.

I loved the Native American folklore woven in. The relationships felt honest and real. It’s intense and gritty, with the potential to break hearts.

I had mixed feelings about this book. On one hand I liked it but on the other hand I was disappointed that I did not "love" it. In regards to how thrillers go, this is a book worth picking up and checking out.

What I had issues with is that the beginning of the story started out great. It accomplished what it should have by getting me hooked and wanting to read more. The story is broken out into the "incident", and than, the "aftermath". The "incident" part had me. It was the latter half of the story where it lost some of its luster for me. The intensity I felt had taken several steps backward and moved slowly. I would say that the last third of the story is where it picked up speed again.

While, I felt for Claire; the other characters in this book were fine but I did not have as much of an attachment as I did Claire. This is unfortunate as I wanted and this type of book needs that emotional connection to really make it strong. As I said, I might not have "loved" this book but I would read another one by this author.

This story reveals how a simple decision can turn into a tragedy.

So hard to believe this is Maureen Connolly’s debut novel. It reads like a seasoned author had written it. Totally riveting! Suspenseful! So hard to put down! A heart-breaking story of child abduction and its aftermath, the fast-paced story pulled me in and refused to let go until the final breath-taking scene.

Claire Rawlings is the mother of two lovely little girls and a medical resident, thus lives the typically chaotic life of all women in her situation. One morning as she is rushing to get the girls ready to take to daycare she ignores the rash on her stomach that is a reaction to a vaccine. But as she drives to work she is gripped by severe nausea and dizziness and is forced to pull into a gas station. A short time later she awakens on the floor of the gas station’s restroom and finds both her vehicle and daughters gone. Thus starts the frantic search for her precious little girls.

Claire beats herself up for leaving them even for a moment, and her guilt seriously strains her marriage. Claire and her husband must now find a way to keep their hope alive while trudging through each day.

The story is relatable with well-developed, memorable characters. We have all made quick decisions that could have gone wrong. We can all understand the extreme guilt a mother would feel if her decision resulted in harm to her children. Every day marriages fall apart from the tragic loss of the children.

The story delves a bit into the Native American and Irish Travelers cultures. At first I didn’t buy into throwing in these two cultures, but it worked really well. I look forward to more fantastic books from this author.

I received this egalley from Suzy’s Approved Book Tours and the publisher via NetGalley. The opinions written here are my own.

“Learn from flowers-always angle towards the sun” – Little Lovely Things


Little Lovely Things, the debut novel from Maureen Joyce Connolly, is a breakout debut mystery/thriller!

Claire, a dedicated mother, falls ill during a car ride with her daughters. She takes a break at a local gas station, trying to combat this illness/allergic reaction. Upon her losing consciousness, her daughters, both in the car, vanish within minutes. Claire struggles to regain memory and understanding---there are no leads as to where the girls have gone. This is a parent’s worst nightmare.

What ensues is a national manhunt for these two girls. Enter Moira and Eamon, two Irish travellers with a not-so clean background. Their backstory influences much of their decision making, and not for good. Eamon and Moira scramble to take advantage of their “new found” opportunities, making crucial errors along the way.

Jay White is a character I was so draw to. He is of Native American descent. His gift of sensory understanding and premonitions play an integral role in the mystery of the kidnapped sisters. His story intertwines with that of Claire and Moira (Sorry, no spoilers here!), however, his character development was superb!

Maureen’s characters are complex, complicated and beautifully crafted. I very much enjoyed the history of the Irish travellers and Jay’s Native American history (beautiful language). In addition, I’m a sucker for a good dog in a book. Enter, Gretchie (“G”). I loved her role in this novel. I stayed up way past my bedtime last night, but I had to know what happened! An incredible and heartbreaking debut! This book was released on April 2nd!

Thank you so much to Sourcebooks and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Please tell me I'm not the only one that balled like a big baby at the ending. Happy tears of course but holy moly did that ending get me.

Claire is training to become a doctor and her life is pretty great with her two daughters, husband, and their dog. One morning she wakes up feeling a little off but knows she can't miss work and needs to drop her daughters off. On the way there she has to pull over at a gas station and in the bathroom ends up passing out while her two girls are still in the running car. Two homeless, drug addicts stumble upon the car and the guy convinces the girl they should take the kids and the car away from what he says is a druggie mom.
When Claire finally wakes up she can't believe that her car and her two babies are gone. The search begins to find the kids then tragedy hits in more than one way and Claire and her husband give up hope. Except Claire can't help but feel that her older daughter is still out there. She can't anticipate how much her life is about to be thrown for a loop again.

I was a little skeptical about this book at first when all of the Native American culture and language started. I myself know absolutely nothing about their culture and beliefs so I was lost more than a few times. I feel that the author could have explained the language and some of the wording better. Instead I found myself constantly having to stop reading so I could google to figure out what they were talking about. But then as I got more and more into the story I found myself hooked. I didn't want to stop reading because I was dying to know what was going to happen next.

Another thing I liked about the book was how many different points of view there was. Instead of having the whole story told just through Claire's perspective you also got two other major characters voices and what was going on with them. It made the story so much more in depth and better than I could have anticipated. Such a great read even though the whole book will have you on an emotional rollercoaster.

Claire has the perfect life. She has a loving husband. She has two adorable little girls. She is even on her on way to earning her medical degree. Then, Claire makes one bad decision which puts everything she has at risk, and Clarie's world will never be the same. This book is absolutely heartwrenching. It will grip you so intensely that you truly will not be able to put it down until you've finished every word, and even then it will stick with you. Keep tissues with you when you read it, you definitely may need them.

4.5 Stars.

Little Lovely Things is an excellent, compelling debut by Maureen Joyce Connolly. It's a must read that grabs your attention from the beginning of the novel and never ends as Connolly writes with such vivid, eloquent prose! 

Medical resident Claire Rawlings is on her way to work with her two young girls, Andrea and Lily, in her car when she's suddenly so sick from an allergic reaction. The dizziness, weakness, and nausea are so overwhelming that she must pull over at a gas station bathroom so she can frantically get to the bathroom--leaving her sleeping girls in her running car. She passes out and when she wakes up, her car and her daughters are missing. This is only the start of a horrendous nightmare for her and her husband Glen, whose lives are shattered by the girl's disappearances.

Connolly did an outstanding job with the plot of her novel; I've read a couple of other books recently with child disappearance as the main plot, but Connolly writes it in such an original way. I thoroughly enjoyed how she gave the storyline a hint of mysticism and touch of folklore with the addition of a character from the Sioux Native American tribe and characters from the Irish Travellers clan. I thought this added a lot to the originality of the plot, characters, and settings.

Little Lovely Things is a heart-wrenching story that as a mother especially pulled at my emotions and left me in tears throughout. Although the novel is taut with tension and full of suspense throughout, this is also an emotionally evocative book! Connolly is an astoundingly astute writer and whether you are a parent are not, this affecting and heartbreaking novel will make you feel all the emotions experienced by every one of the characters, whether those feelings are guilt, loss, grief, hopelessness, faith, hope, forgiveness, and love. 

I was so impressed this was a debut because Connolly writes like a much more established author. This really is an outstanding debut, and I can't wait to read what she writes next! I highly, highly recommend it!

**Thank you Netgalley, Sourcebooks Landmark, and Maureen Joyce Connolly for the ARC in exchange for my fair and honest review.**

What a gut wrenching, can’t stop reading, page turner. The subject matter is like a kick in the stomach. Any mother that reads this will feel that way. The characters were well rounded, which I always look for in a book. I was invested in them. The twists and turns made me just want to sit down and read read read!
I recommend this book!

Claire Rawlings and her husband, Glen, a teacher, live in Chicago. Claire is a medical student just a few months from completion. They are the parents of Andrea, 4, and Lily, 15 months.

Claire is taking the girls to daycare and then on to her work at the hospital. On the way. she starts feeling sick. She had received a vaccine yesterday and is afraid she is having a severe reaction to it. She pulls off at a gas station and runs into the bathroom leaving the girls in the car. That’s when she passes out. When she regains consciousness, she finds that her car and her girls are gone. Claire ends up in the ICU for several days. Now, back home, and the girls have been missing for two weeks with people searching everywhere.

The story follows the huge guilt that Claire carries and the slow breakdown of her marriage to Glen that appears to be crumbling. As more time passes, Claire meets a psychologist who helps her with her guilt.

I can’t say more about the plot here as that would be adding spoilers. It is a sad and grueling yet compelling story that was hard to read at times. It simply tells what can happen and probably what does happen often to children when they are abducted.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I felt the story took a while to pick up, but I understand that Connolly is making a point in how put-together and close to ideal the Rawlings’ family life was prior to the tragedy. The story, thankfully, picks up, and I couldn’t put it down. Before I knew it, I was speeding through the book. It’s not like a thriller, but it’s certainly a very compelling read, and I couldn’t stay away. Connolly writes beautifully too, and without slowing down the pace, which is a bonus, and her characters and their relationships with each other are so well fleshed out. The characters’ development, as well as the development of their relationship with each other, largely drive the plot, even with the premise of the abduction. In the aftermath, readers are shown how the characters’ lives are changed from it.

Little Lovely Things isn’t so much the story of a marriage under strain in the aftermath of the abduction, but a study of how the characters in the web of the abduction are either stuck in or move forward from That Day. I enjoyed reading this!

Thank to netgalley and the author/publisher for the Arc for my honest review.


This story confirms that one quick decision can alter the rest of your life forever. As a mom, this hit me hard. I’m sure other moms can relate. It was a tough read, because it hits every mom’s fear. It takes one minute to destroy your life.

Trigger warning for child abduction and more.

REVIEW: Little Lovely Things by Maureen Joyce Connolly ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75
..
Medical resident Claire Robbins is showing signs of an allergic reaction while driving with her two young daughters in the car. She’s determined to drop her children off safely and make it to the hospital for rounds, but when her symptoms worsen she is forced to make a decision that will completely change her life. When she comes to in the bathroom of a gas station and realizes her children and car are gone, her every fear is realized. The story is told from multiple perspectives (Claire, one of her daughters, a witness, and a kidnapper). We see how all of their lives intersect and can’t help but ask ourselves, “what would I do?”.
..
Okay, friends. I had a bit of a hard time with this one. I want to make it clear that I think this is a great book. It just wasn’t really for me. As a mother, there are just certain things that I struggle with. Sure, I knew that this was based around a child abduction but I didn’t realize to what extent. So, trigger warning: this book does contain elements of child abduction and child abuse/neglect. I love the way the story was told and there were some wonderful passages that will stick with me forever. It just hit me a little too hard as a mom and I struggled to get through certain parts.

This is a heartrending story about a mother losing her children, and her journey to cope with the destructive effect such tragedy has on her relationship with herself and her marriage.

We have various perspectives: The kidnapper, The mother AND the kidnapped daughters. The author even gives us a thorough backgrounds on the kidnappers, whose POVs gave me major Natural Born Killers vibes.

In some way, this novel did have an element of mystery: why did Claire, the mother, have this strange dream just before the main tragedy occurred? What does it mean?

We can feel the significance of this dream and of everything Claire can't make sense of, slowly and dauntingly showing itself as you leaf through the pages. And it just shows how a mother's instinct is an elusive, incomparable and fascinating thing, which was successfully and carefully justified within the heart-wrenching pages of this book.

The writing was engrossing, and I loved how Maureen wrapped it up. I definitely want to read more of this author's work.

This wasn’t my norm read but I though it come together well but felt it too a bit to get together, one it was together was really good and enjoyable

I loved the premise of Little Lovely Things. It grabbed my attention on this one as this book is about two daughters that are kidnapped and the tragic events that follow. It is a well-paced story that is very engaging, and it did keep my interest afloat. As a mother myself, I felt so connected to Claire as it was pulling at my heart strings in every turn of events in hopes she finds her daughters. For a debut novel of Maureen Joyce Connolly, this was a remarkable and gripping novel about the choices we make and what comes from them. It tells the raw emotion of what the mom, Claire Rawlings goes through and the relationship with her husband during this time. What I loved the most was the multiple narrators and their telling of what was going on and their feelings throughout the book, Maureen did a great job at developing them. Maureen will be on my radar for her next release. I highly recommend you picking this one up. 4.5/5 stars

This book was bonkers! I was genuinely scared - a very good thriller for those who enjoy the suspense and thriller genres. It was definitely not what I was expecting, and it had a happy(ish) ending? I am still trying to decide how I feel!
I think Maureen Joyce Connolly is a great writer and I was very impressed. I feel like nowadays, thrillers are hard to write because everything has been written, and authors have to be far more creative with this genre than with others. I think she nailed it!
The only thing is that it did kind of remind me of a book that I read through BOTM called "Two Girls Down" by Louisa Luna. It was very, very similar - but I also recognize how hard it is to write something original these days, not for lack of trying. I highly doubt the author even knows about this other book, it just happens to share the same concept.