Kit and Josie (aka Mari) grew up near Santa Cruz, on the California coast. Their parents owned and operated a restaurant, perched on an oceanfront hillside, right next to their house. From a very young age the girls were left to their own devices, and essentially raised themselves. Although they were very different, they were very close, which was a good thing, because their parents were too busy with their volatile relationship and restaurant business to pay much attention. At some point in their childhood Dylan, a homeless teenage boy, arrived at their home and stayed on. He lived in their home, worked in the restaurant and took care of the girls. Dylan's past was a mystery, but he ultimately became just like an older sibling to the girls.

As the girls grew up they went their separate ways. Kit went on to attend medical school and became an emergency room physician. Josie (aka Mari) had a serious problem with both alcohol and drugs which sent her life spiraling, until she was killed in a terrorist bombing in Europe.

Several years later, Kit and her mother see a television news report about a fire in New Zealand, and in the background is a woman who looks just like Josie (aka Mari). Kit promptly flies to New Zealand to try to find this woman.

This was a fabulous book. I was intrigued from the first page and loved the story right up to the very last page. It was original and interesting and I highly recommend it to anyone. Thank you to Netgalley, the author Barbara O'Neal and the publisher Lake Union Publishing for a complimentary copy of this book. This is my honest opinion.

Barbara O’Neal is a wonderful writer. Although I felt this book had a slow start, overall I did enjoy the story. The only part that fell short for me was the subplot about a murder mystery. It felt out of place and completely unnecessary to the story.

Oh I absolutely loved this one! I was completely hooked from page one, and I really loved the relationships between the characters. I'm such a sucker for stories revolving around familial relationships, and this one really fulfilled all of my expectations. I loved the mystery that was tied into the story, and it really helped me to want to continue on with each chapter! I read this one so fast, and I definitely recommend this as a really fun summer read.

Loved this book! Readers are taken on an emotional roller coaster with twists and turns you’d never expect. A beautiful story full of secrets, betrayal, death, forgiveness and more. Can’t wait to read more by this author.

While very unrealistic and borderline fantasy I did enjoy this book. It was a cute read. Thanks for letting me read this book. I look forward to more by this author.

As with most books on NetGalley, this book is a great read. Captivating and intriguing. Thematically beautiful. Gorgeous writing.

I enjoyed this book, even loved it. But I got confused occasionally. The story kept me interested, but I found it a little unrealistic. But I read on and really liked the last half of the book (no spoilers).

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to read and provide an honest review of this book.

Josie Bianci was killed years ago on a train during a terrorist attack. Gone forever. It’s what her sister, Kit, an ER doctor in Santa Cruz, has always believed. Yet all it takes is a few heart-wrenching seconds to upend Kit’s world. Live coverage of a club fire in Auckland has captured the image of a woman stumbling through the smoke and debris. Her resemblance to Josie is unbelievable. And unmistakable. With it comes a flood of emotions—grief, loss, and anger—that Kit finally has a chance to put to rest: by finding the sister who’s been living a lie.

After arriving in New Zealand, Kit begins her journey with the memories of the past: of days spent on the beach with Josie. Of a lost teenage boy who’d become part of their family. And of a trauma that has haunted Kit and Josie their entire lives.

Now, if two sisters are to reunite, it can only be by unearthing long-buried secrets and facing a devastating truth that has kept them apart far too long. To regain their relationship, they may have to lose everything.

This had so many twists and turns! I was on an emotional rollercoaster the whole way through!

*Book received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

A moving story of sisters,family, love and marriage. Full of mystery and intrigue. Highly recommend. This is my first book by this author. I have seen books written by her, but just never took the time to read. That has changed! Thanks to Net Galley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy.

Your life has been plagued with loss. The instant you start to feel better again, your heart clenches at the thought of what sadness lies in wait for you just around the corner. Kit Bianci has lived her whole life this way, losing family and friends and safe places to call home. So, when she sees someone on the news who could only be the sister she thought was dead, she can’t ignore it. She has to investigate.

She hops on a plane to New Zealand to find her once-dead sister, and her life changes forever.

Barbara O’Neal’s When We Believed in Mermaids is a powerful story of love, loss, and the strength and resiliency of the human spirit. It is beautifully told from the perspectives of both Kit and her long-lost sister, Josie, tugging at the heartstrings and flooding the reader with raw emotion.

Kit and Josie are far from perfect, but they are strong and determined to move forward in life as best they can, spending each day atoning for and recovering from past mistakes.

I have to admit I may have a little extra love for this novel because the main characters are from my home state of California, but the story itself is so deeply moving; full of mystery and intrigue, wit and romance, and the simple thrills of catching an early morning wave, it’s impossible not to become completely engrossed in it.

When We Believed in Mermaids is a truly beautiful novel. It’s a new take on the classic family drama, and it is guaranteed not to disappoint.

Barbara O'Neal books are simply the best....

Everyone has demons, everyone has some sort of addiction, everyone has something they are ashamed of.....Its how each one of us copes with those things that makes or breaks us.....

And while the ending is a little rushed, this is a beautiful, sad tale of two sisters growing up, growing apart, and coming back together.

I truly enjoyed this book. The characters were likable and there was enough mystery that made me want to read on. I would highly recommend this!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

When We Believed in Mermaids was a touching, emotional novel! I enjoyed the way the women were portrayed and their relationships with the other people in their lives. Sisters Josie and Kit used to be very close growing up. They are only two years apart and they used to rely on each other when their parents didn't take care of them like they should have. For years, the girls had an "adopted" brother, an older boy who stayed with their family. Fifteen years ago, Josie died in a train accident. But one night Kit and their mother see Josie on a news broadcast in Auckland. They feel so strongly that it is her, that Kit, with encouragement from her mother, takes off to Auckland to try to find Josie. Kit begins a romance with a man she meets when she first arrives in Auckland. Kit finds Josie and the sisters face each other. What happens next is hard for both of them and hard for the new family that Josie has who know nothing about her real past. Along the way, the sisters struggle with the painful memories of what happened when they were younger. This was a strong story about family, sisters, love, and marriage.

An intriguing tale of sisters, actions, decisions made and consequences lived. Barbara O'Neal has given these two sisters such a realistic feel that you can see and hear them as their stories unravel from both ends. I was completely drawn into their story. As the search for a sister thought long dead moves forward, you hear from both sisters. How their stories meet in the end will surprise you. A very thought provoking story.

I could NOT put this book down! It hooked me from the start and kept me hooked! I read this book pretty much in one sitting! The writing, story and plot just flow!

I liked this story but it took many chapters to really get to the point I wanted to finish the book. It seemed to drag. Kit, a doctor is watching the news and swears she sees her sister Josie escaping a fire in Auckland. The problem with this is Josie died 15 years ago in a terrorist attack. Kit can't let the sighting go and travels to find her sister. This is about 2 sisters with lot of secrets in their past. The alternating narrative between Kit and Marri (Josie) seems slow. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

After a long night in the ER, Dr. Kit Bianci catches a news story about a fire at a nightclub on the other side of the world. In the background of the news footage she sees a ghost, her sister who dies fifteen years ago in a terrorist attack while traveling. Kit writes the occurrence off as a coincidence but travels to New Zealand at her mother’s request. While searching for her sister, Kit comes face-to-face with memories she thought she’d made peace with, the potential for true love, and finally gets answers to the question of what happened to her sister,

Barbara O’Neal’s When We Believed in Mermaids is a fantastic read that grabbed me right from the beginning. In all memories there are the perspectives of those who experienced it and in the middle the truth. O’Neal weaves together the future inland the past to tell a story of heartbreak, loss, and rebirth. This is a must read for anyone who enjoys a well crafted novel that keeps you wanting more.

Absolutely loved this fantastic book. It had me from the first page to the very last one. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me access to this great book.

I am always interested in books about sisters and the bond between them because of the bond that I have with my sisters. When I read the first line of this book, I knew that it was going to be an emotional story about the two sisters and the relationship between them.

"My sister has been dead for nearly fifteen years when I see her on the TV news." (p1)


Josie and Kit grew up on the beach in California where their dad owned a restaurant overlooking the ocean. The family was extremely dysfunctional and the parents very neglectful so Josie and Kit bonded together to take care of themselves. They led an idyllic life at the beach and spent as much time as possible surfing. The two sisters were very close until Josie got involved with drugs when she was a teenager and then was killed when a train was blown up in France. Kit missed her sister and her long hours as a doctor in the ER helped her cope with her sorrow. Fifteen years after Josie has died, Kit sees her in a news segment from New Zealand in the back of a crowd. She and her mother are both sure that it's Josie so Kit goes to Auckland to try to find out if her sister really is alive and if so, why she abandoned her family. While she is trying to find her sister, she remembers their time together growing up and isn't sure if she'll embrace her sister or hug her, if she can even find her.

The story is told in alternating chapters with both sisters reminiscing about their past together growing up. Mermaids are a symbol of the magic of childhood and the way we weave beauty into our stories not matter what. Mermaids meant so much to the sisters that they had matching mermaid tattoos on their arms.

This book just stays with me!! I am loving sisters fiction and I think this is Barbara's best book yet!! Reading this book made me want to catch the first flight to New Zealand. I never read a fiction book which made me feel like I was in the story like this one did!! Truly amazing!!