Her sister has been dead for fifteen years when she sees her on the TV news…
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.
I wanted to love this book. Honestly I really wanted to love the book. The concept sounded so good. But I got so bored.
The first chapter was great, but slow. The pacing needed a little bit of a kick in the pants.
I struggled to relate to the characters and wanted more depth.
It was an okay read, not the best. There could have been a lot better development and avoiding filler like the relationship with Kit. The story would have been better without that relationship.
It was okay, nothing special. Hopefully others enjoy this one more than I did.
Thanks NetGalley for the opportunity to review ahead of time!

The premise of the story was excellent and drew me in from the beginning.. Kit, a doctor, and her mother who live in California see a TV news report about a nightclub fire in Auckland, New Zealand. They “spot” someone who looks exactly like Kit’s sister, Josie, who died 15 years ago in a terrorist attack. It becomes apparent that Josie did not die during the attack but had decided to disappear and start her life again as Mari. Kit travels to Auckland to find out if it really was her sister..
I liked the backstory from Josie/ Mari and Kit’s point of view. They were both neglected in different ways during their childhood with selfish, self obsessed parents. The constant in their lives was Dylan, a young boy who was “adopted” by the mother and who looked after the two girls. . Dylan and Sarah (Josie’s daughter) were my two favourite characters.
I would have given this book 5 stars but I found the descriptions of Kit and Javier’s ( a Spanish singer she met whilst in Auckland) sexual exploits both unnecessary and irritating. Nevertheless, I did enjoy the book and would read another by this author.

When We Believed in Mermaids is a story of two sisters, Josie and Kit, who grew up very close.

Josie dies in a horrific terrorist attack, and years later, Kit catches a glimpse of her on a breaking news story. So starts her journey to find her sister.

I devoured this book, and loved how the characters were described.

Do yourself a favor and enter in on this amazing journey with twin souls, Kit and Josie.
Two sisters that loved each other and took care of each other until life changed and Josie is killed in a terrorist attack while in New Zealand.
Kit, now a physician in the Emergency room, sees a video on the television in the waiting room one evening, and swears that she sees her sister. Can this be? Could it be?
Secrets will begin to unfold as Kit goes in search of this woman who has a strong resemblance to her deceased twin soul.
This is an intriguing novel and I really loved it! There is amazing details and you can actually feel the love, hurt, sadness, and anger that come forth from these girls as their lives unfold.

It’s surprising to me that something written by an author I consider a good “chick lit” writer, leaves me with the one word description of “powerful.” It’s quite an accomplishment to write a book with torturous family dynamics, a love story or two, some good sex scenes, a hint of mystery and an even smaller hint of ghosts, and leave this reader with the description of powerful. Throw in a house that’s almost one of the book characters and a description of NZ that has me ready to book a flight, and you have just about a perfect chick lit book. This one moves beyond chick lit however, with the traumas the young Biancis experienced. And though it lacks O’Neal’s signature recipes, the food/restaurant descriptions almost make up for it.

Possible triggers - drug use, sexual abuse/endangered children.

This novel by Barbara O'Neal is an excellent book about family, relationships, mending rifts among sisters etc. After reading this book I went on to read 3 other Barbara O'Neal books because of her writing style, characters and themes. Kit a young Dr. in Santa Cruz works hard and loves to surf when she has time. One day while watching the news she suddenly sees her missing sister Josie in a report in New Zealand. Kit takes time off to fly to NZ and look for her sister. Along the way she meets a charismatic man on the plane who she later has a relationship with. Suspense comes in the form of Kit looking for Josie (Now Mari) and Mari trying to hide out after realizing she was on tv. When the two finally find each other Mari tries to explain why she disappeared. Long lost memories come to light and relationships are strained. The book is very well written and goes back and forth between the viewpoint of Kit and Josie(Mari).

When We Believed in Mermaids is the story of two sisters, Josie and Kit, who grew up as close as only sisters can. Years after Josie dies in a horrific terrorist attack, Kit catches a glimpse of her on a breaking news story and so starts her journey to find her sister- and all the secrets and demons of the past that led her to run away from the family and life she always knew.

I devoured this book. I fell in love with the sisters during their childhood. I was heartbroken as every layer of their past was revealed. I was so impatiently waiting for Kit to find Josie. Waiting for them to let go of the tragedies that had been weighing them down for so many years. I couldn't put it down.


The only thing stopping me from giving this that 5th star, is there are a few bits of unnecessary filler with Kits relationship with Javier. We get it, they have sex. This wasn't the type of book that I find the details added to the scene. It took away from the depth I was really wanting to feel throughout.

Even with that - I know I am going to read this book again and again.