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Listening Still

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Jeanie Masterson can hear the last words of the dead. A gift or a curse? Jeanie has always thought it was a gift, until now. Her father has this gift too, but he uses it a little differently. Jeanie has always felt obligated to listen to the dead and pass their messages on. But now, she's left questioning everything like her relationship with her long-time partner, Niall.

Beautifully written and an intriguing story, "Listening Still" has to be on your list to-read. It's such an engaging and entertaining story, filled with small Irish town antics. This is a story of love and family. Overall, I would recommend.

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This story of a woman who can hear the dead speak took me a while to get into. I was put off a little by the premise, but once the book got going I was on my way. There are themes of love and loss (of course - the family runs a funeral home), obligation and regret.

Jeanie's family has run a funeral home for multiple generations. At a very young age, she discovered that she could hear the words of the recently dead, just like her father. They are able to give a last message to the mourning. While her father only told the deceased's family what he thought they would want to hear, Jeanie feels that she owes the dead a last moment of truth. She also feels tied to the family business.

Then Jeanie's parents announce their plans to retire and leave the business to Jeanie and her husband. That's when things take a turn.

Through the story, there are flashbacks to Jeanie's younger life: her friends, her loves, her choices. This was where I fell for the book. So, stay with it, and I think you'll like what you read.

My thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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The fascinating thing about this book is that I don't think I would've picked it up if I hadn't read the description. A woman who can hear the dead - fascinating! But this is much quieter of a book than I would've anticipated for but it was also quietly delightful. It was both sad and moving in how the gift (curse?) affected Jeanie's family. I will say it took me quite a while to get into the story - I kept flitting in and out of this book until I got to the 50% mark and I really just was able to consume the rest in one sitting. I think the book felt so much in the way that a lot of Magical Realism books can - very slice of life-y, and because of that, we saw the slow deterioration of things within her family.

However, for me, that felt so incredibly slow. Beautifully written! But this would be a wonderful read for someone who enjoys a book with a touch of a slower pace.

Thank you Netgalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

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What a different idea for a story and one that kept me interested until the end, yet I still wanted more.

For many of us it might sound uncomfortable to grow up in the family business of owning a funeral parlor. As a child, Jeanie grew up running in and out of the prep rooms with messages for her parents and aunt who worked there, but she actually enjoyed the feeling of being there and "listening" to what the dead had to say. What made her family different from other undertakers in Ireland was that she and her dad could hear from the dead for a short period of time after death. Some of these messages were not the ordinary messages to loved one, but messages that had the power to change the lives of some of the living.

In addition to the funeral home job/career, Jeanie also has some life long friends who play a role in her life and in the family business. Niall she has known since her first days of school and the same is true for Ruth and Peanut. Fionn is the new boy who makes such an impression on her, but not so much Niall.

I really enjoyed getting to know the characters and liked them all. Since I have been on a roll of not liking the characters very much lately, this was a very nice surprise and made the reading even more enjoyable.

Thank you NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest opinion.

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There are gifts our families pass on to us through the years, ones that are often fond reminders of our childhood, or specific moments we treasure as the years pass. Some that are touchstones for those moments, or the people that they once belonged to. I have several things which were passed down to me, several that are surely now antiques - a Double Square Face hammer that belonged to my grandfather on my father’s side and likely his father before him which I use fairly often. A small glass cowboy-ish hat made by my grandfather when he worked for one of the two places where they made chimney lamps. A quilt made by my grandmother. A massive antique copper cauldron made by my gr-gr-grandfather. An antique Irish lace tablecloth that was my grandmother’s on my mother’s side of the family. Photographs of my father’s early days as a pilot. Touchstones for me. Reminders of those who were here before me.

For Jeanie, the gift that was passed on to her was less tangible. In their fragile last moments, she could hear, and speak to the dead, a gift her father has as well. In those moments, she listens to their thoughts, the messages or confessions they wish for her to share, or even relieve themselves of before it is too late, hoping it will relieve them of some burden. Some are practical, where to find important papers, apologies, or just wishing they had had more time to say everything they wished they’d said, but never did.

Jeanie has had this gift since she was a toddler following her aunt Harry around in the embalming room, so it was a natural part of her life from before she could remember or even speak. Once she could speak, though, it became apparent to her aunt one day, as Harry was enjoying listening to music when young Jeanie shared that the person she was working on wanted to hear a different song. After a few questions, Harry realizes that this isn’t the first time that Jeanie has heard them speak, it’s just the first time she’s been asked. It was a normal event to her, as her father had always treated it as a normal part of the cycle of life.

’By allowing me to stay, he taught me that the dead and their needs were ours to bear. They were with us everywhere in every sentence we spoke, in every dream we dreamed - not to be hidden or shied away from; they were to be embraced and talked about even by a four year old.’

As years passed, and she attended school, other children who heard about her father’s business would tease her, which escalates even more when they realize that she not only talks to the dead, but they talk to her. Fortunately, she has a few friends that stand by her, and believe her. And as more years pass, she works for her father and she loves what she does, and her childhood friend Niall works for her father, as well, and becomes more than a friend. He views her ability to hear the dead as a special gift.

’And isn’t that the fascination of being human - not believing one thing that seems curious while another, almost as bizarre, is perfectly acceptable. A simple case of evidence, that’s all it came down to for me. Where the dead went to after they spoke, I did not know.’

When the time comes for her father to retire, Jeanie is torn between wanting to continue the family business and wanting to let go of what she’s always known and finding a new life with new prospects. Her father wants her to take over the business, but she isn’t quite as sure that it is what she wants. This is all that she’s known, so is no longer sure what she wants. She begins to question everything, including her relationship with Niall and her gift. Struggling with the balance between her needs and desires, and the desire to please her parents, as well as others.

...no matter how I struggled with the burden of the dead and my family, I knew who I was here and that my gift mattered to me, to the wider community, to the dead. Right here in Kilcross, I was special… I was too scared to lose that which defined me…’

I loved this, reading this story that I’d listened to many months ago. The struggle to make sense of life and death, and the confusions that come with everyday decisions in the course of living, of a life. The struggle to find balance in a life, and to listen to our hearts, to our truths and follow our own paths. I loved how this shared the struggle and confusion of indecision, alongside the tender moments of living, and those imperfect ones, as well. Life rarely follows an easy path, and living is a journey filled with unexpected twists and turns.

A story of family, of love, creating a life that speaks to our heart, and learning to speak to others - as well as listen to them - from our heart.


Pub Date: 01 Mar 2022

Many thanks for the ARC provided by St. Martin’s Press (less)

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It took a while for me to get into this book. I was drawn to it because the MC, Jeanie, could speak to the dead. I thought that was an interesting idea. Tbh, I really wasn’t at all interested in the drama with her family or friends. Whenever she spoke about them I noticed the book slowed down and I had a hard time staying interested. I’m assuming they were all subplots but they weren’t as strong as when Jeanie was conversing with the dead. Those were the only parts that were interesting and really reflected who she was as a person. I also liked learning about how she was faced bullying due to this ability. There were some twists and turns but only one really made an impact. I was kind of meh on her and her husband so I wasn’t too invested in how things turned out. Ending was okay and was a solid read but had some slow parts at times. I’d still recommend it but put out there that the story is slow paced.

Thanks NetGalley and the Publisher for the ARC.

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LISTENING STILL may be described as a tale about a woman who hears the last words of the dead but that does the story an injustice. It’s a nice hook, it will attract readers. But although the main character can hear those last words, her real issue is that she cannot hear the words of the living, specifically those of her husband, her parents, her aunt, or her own, with any degree of accuracy. And that contrast and struggle, makes this book a very good one. Because while the dead stay dead, the living finally demand attention, and even her own closely held desires will flare up when she least expects it. This is a fast book to read and one that will stay with readers long afterwards because the ending is not neat and tidy. It is a pleasure to read. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

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I adored When All Is Said by Anne Griffin so it was an automatic request for this one and I am so pleased I did as Anne Griffin did not disappoint. This was such a melancholy story and not only because Jeanie can communicate with the dead but because she seems to be living her life that isn't for herself, she's living it for her father, her brother and her husband.

I loved how this story is told through two timelines and shifted from Jeanie's past to present. It let me really get to know her and find out the reasons she is the way she is. I felt like I got to really see Jeanie and truly understand her. I love Anne Griffin's writing style and how engaging this story was. I only wish there were more scenes of Jeanie communicating with the dead, they were my favourite parts of the book.

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I was alerted of this book by a publisher marketing email, perhaps because I had read this author's previous book When All Is Said. This is a book about a family owned funeral home in Kilcross, Ireland. There is one service, though, that is uniquely special to them: the father and daughter working here can hear the dead's last words. The main character is Jeanie, the daughter who elected to join forces with the family working at the funeral home- rather than running off on an adventure to London with her great love Fionn, the burgeoning photographer. She grapples with this dilemma throughout the book, tracing back the origins of meeting Fionn in school where their attraction was immediate. At the same time, she met another young man named Niall, who in turn crushed on her...only to suffer being cast into the friend zone. As the book begins, Jeanie has been married to Niall for several years, and they live at the funeral home along with the rest of Jeanie's family. Niall wants kids and a dog, but Jeanie isn't ready.

My favorite parts of the book were Jeanie's encounters talking to the dead. These mainly occurred in the room where washing of the body and embalming took place. Jeanie's Aunt Harry would massage the limbs to promote even flow of the embalming solution, and only Jeanie would hear the body giggle as if tickled. Funny. There was only a set amount of time a few days after death that this communication would be possible, so this scenario would be the critical first chance to establish communication. The dead would tell Jeanie many things their loved ones needed to know such as paternity matters, where important papers or money was located, confessions, and what they preferred to wear while laid to rest. People in the area knew of this talent that Jeanie and her father provided and utilized them, even if another funeral service was closer. Many times Jeanie and her father would struggle with having to tell the dead's family/survivors unpleasant or explosive information.

Aside from the riveting communication with the dead, the other facets of this book did not hold as much interest for me. Jeanie had an older brother Mikey who lived in a separate structure on the property. He seemed to be "special" and had an obsession with collecting/shelving military magazines and dvds. At the start of the book Jeanie's parents had decided to retire, leaving Jeanie and Niall to live at the funeral home by themselves and run it. This exposed the uncertainty in Jeanie's marriage- her reticence to have children, get a dog and add a permanence to the whole situation. While Niall was enthusiastic to make the place totally their own, Jeanie got nervous. This prompted the flashbacks of her former romance with Fionn and questioning whether she took the right road in life.

This book had just enough to keep me interested thanks to the quirky conversations with the dead, but I just wasn't as drawn into the rest of Jeanie's drama.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press who provided an advance reader copy via NetGalley.

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Growing up working in the family's business as the town's undertakers, Jeanie has inherited her gift of being able to speak to the dead briefly before they are gone. Interesting characters and a good deal of "What if I made this choice..."

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Jeanie Masterson is thirty-two (32), she is married to her lifelong friend, Niall & they work alongside Jeanie’s parents as Undertakers in Kilcross, Ireland. This book follows Jeanie as she wades her way through adult situations without ever investing any ounce of truth, honesty or bits of herself; seeking to avoid investing anything of her person, least it be the wrong decision. Though the main character is surrounded by family & friends who have doted on her for the entirety of her life, Jeanie continues to evade sincerity in all her actions & reactions; choosing instead to lean on the words ‘duty’ & ‘obligation’ in hopes to validate her inability to be the person that she is.

At face value you might approach my review feeling a bit confused as to why I rated this book so highly if I spent the entirety of my reading experience riddled with annoyance towards the main character. I myself wondered how I might be able to express my reasoning; finding myself working through the pages curious as to why I was enjoying a book that featured a character so polar opposite to myself & truly, a person whom I felt very frustrated towards. I suppose I found my way to this rating as I asked myself what it was that I was enjoying; what aspect of a book renders us to fully invest? Does it matter to us if the characters are unlikeetale if a story is realistic? In this instance, I found myself invested in the story because I felt that Griffin has successfully created a plot, characters & an environment that made me feel like a fly on the wall. I was peeking in at the lives of a family who held secrets close to their heart, closer still than the people they loved more than anything in life.

I found myself enjoying the aspects which sprinkled the sentiment of reality in this story. Though the plot highlights Jeanie as having a supernatural ability to communicate with those who are deceased, this was not a huge part of the plot & I felt as though it was utilized in an appropriate fashion. By this I mean, it didn’t really matter if I believed that Jeanie could communicate with dead people. It didn’t change the fact that the conversations that were shared held more value that the request of me to believe in something outside of my immediate understanding of reality. The feelings & emotions that Jeanie explored when sitting beside a deceased evoked more motion in the advancement of the plot than the simple act of her sitting in a mortuary. Therefore, it didn’t matter whether I believed that a dead person would choose to wait before transitioning into the ether. What mattered was that I read about sentiments we often feel, evoked in a time of high stress & turmoil, from the lips of an imaginary character, into my very real conscious state.

Before delving further into other topics of the plot, I want to acknowledge the representation of neurodivergency in Mikey, Jeanie's older brother. I am not someone who is personally or professionally in a position to make remarks on the authentic representation of Autism (regarding it wholeheartedly as the spectrum that it is) & therefore, my comments should be recognized as coming from someone who read through this book without personal or educational weight to back my impressions & opinions. I wish we had explored this character a little further, I wish there had been more to him than his deep adoration for all things 'war history'. However, when I regard any other character, I cannot say for certain that they had thoroughly been developed either. Everyone was second fiddle to Jeanie & her antics. Though, I didn't feel any longing for any further details of any of the other characters, I was left feeling rather sad about Mikey & his circumstances. Having a younger sibling like Jeanie could not have been easy. For the entirety of their lives she put herself at the forefront of his well-being without ever being able to take care of herself. Are we meant to believe that everyone who is on the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) requires a member of their families to abandon all their hopes & dreams to take care of them? I think I felt so poorly about Mikey because his character was constantly utilized as an excuse; a reason to stay behind, someone to hold others back. I can't imagine that being him; based on the little we know of this person, he didn't seem to ever want anyone to not be who they were. Therefore reading about Jeanie, vapid underachieving Jeanie, constantly placing the blame of her ineptitude on her older brother felt like a huge cop-out; though, maybe that was the point

My most favoured line of the book is spoken in passing, after the horribly lost main character evades responsibilities & lives in the rural countryside of France in the hopes of learning who she really is. When Marianne tells Jeanie that (in different terms), places do not matter, the people in them do; I found myself at the core of the story. This was the moment when I began to question what it was the made me enjoy this book.

Though I admit that Jeanie as a main character was hugely flawed I couldn’t help but accept that so many, many, people are indeed wandering through life. I couldn’t shame Jeanie for not knowing who she was when I very clearly read about her having always been evasive when it mattered to be straight-forward. One might even argue that her parents & the lies that they fostered, encouraged her to be less than honest, even with herself. However, I think it was more than that. Jeanie never had to question anything, she never had to wonder ‘what if’ because there were always ample people around her protecting her from a failure which might scare her into making a solid decision. While she was a child on the playground, Peanut defended her honour. All throughout their lives, Jeanie had someone defending her, helping her chose, leading her by the hand through any confusing moment in time. I suppose one might say that she was luckier than some of us who have had to do it on our own. However, on the other hand, Jeanie was never so alone as she was when it came time to speak on her desires; who was she but the flimsy leaf grasping for dear life on the bark of a self-sufficient tree.

I found it difficult to find it in myself to think kindly or empathetically towards Jeanie. Every time someone in her life asked of her to be honest, to be present, to be invested; she was elusive & asked for time to think. This time to think was always granted & I couldn’t help but feel envious. How many times, I cannot count, might it have been warmly welcomed for me to have been granted time to reflect; time to organize my thoughts & feelings. Jeanie was granted the freedom of independence & she abused of it at every turn. How can you be so willfully ignorant as to take advantage of the people who are trusting & loving towards you? How do you take their kindness & understanding at your needing time before broaching a subject, only for you to leave them hanging for days, sometimes years? You have no right to turn around & feel betrayed when on their death bed, they speak of the people in their lives they loved; people with whom they were able to foster an actual healthy relationship.

Should I leave a low rating because I thought Jeanie was a spoilt privileged vapid individual who never learnt any lessons in all of her life? Or, should I rate this book highly as it made me truly feel as though this person were real, & as though all the turmoil experienced was in fact truly transpiring?

I chose the later because, though many aspects of this book were annoying, something frustrating to read about, I appreciated their earnest presentation. It made sense that Niall moved away to finally find himself living sea-side; this was honest & genuine to the complexities of his character. Of course he loved Jeanie, of course he adored everything he hoped to build. But, he was also a person who had complex emotions & a deep understanding that though Jeanie had many aspects of her person to love, she was hollow & this does not leave much room for him & his characteristics, to be loved in return. I wished for better for all the secondary characters. Even after the final twist is revealed, that didn’t alter my opinion of anyone involved. Life is not always straightforward, sometimes very simple matters snowball into complicated situations. Regardless of what is right & wrong, I wanted everyone in this story to feel validated & comforted. I cannot imagine what Jeanie’s parents must have been feeling when their daughter ran-off to Norway because she had never learnt to communicate how she feels. They spent all of her life giving her the opportunity to say no. Though I appreciate that she felt inclined to stay to support her aging parents (as many children feel), she was not in a situation wherein she was not granted the liberty of being her own person with her own path.

All this to say that I very much enjoyed this book. It was frustrating & aggravating & sometimes very noisome but, it was honest. It genuinely presented the complexities which lie in a single person’s life, however much they lack of substance, there is still very much a whole person inside trying to find their way. I think that this book should be read when one is in the frame of mind to appreciate the enormous flaws of the main character without allowing her tantrums to get in the way of the plot. There were so many other people to like, to root for, to enjoy. The paranormal aspect of the story plays such a small role in this story so, if you are seeking to have that at the forefront you might be severely disappointed.

Overall, I am glad that I read this book when I did. Irish novels always remind me of my grandparents & for that, I am left with warm sentiments of home & of love.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press & Anne Griffin for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

#StillListening #NetGalley

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Though the premise of this book didn't grab me from the start, I was incredibly excited to have received an ARC - I loved Anne Griffin's debut "When All Is Said," and passionately recommended it to anyone that would listen. I think there is a lot of good in "Listening Still" - the premise is interesting and different than other things I have read, and it has an element of escapism.

But I couldn't quite buy all the way into it. While I sympathized with Jeanie in some respects, I couldn't marry some of her other decisions or feelings with who I interpreted her to be. I felt most of the novel feeling sympathetic towards Niall, and while he does get some recognition in the end, I felt ultimately disappointed by the ending and where the characters ended up. Overall, this was an entertaining read but not one that will stick with me as "When All Is Said" did.

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I found the premise of Listening Still different than any other book I’ve read. Listening to the newly deceased, final words sounds both burdening and heaven sent to be given such a gift. There were moments in the book that I really loved. Spoilers ahead…
The love that Jeannie and Fionn shared such a deep connection at such a young age, that could have blossomed into so much more. The chance meetings over the years, left me on the edge of my seat, hoping that they would find a way to be together. The passing of Fionn was heart wrenching and I mourned for what would never be. I felt all the feelings when Fionn came to Jeannie after his passing. Especially, after holding on for so long…. While I found the listening to the dead anxiety inducing, I wished for deeper moments between Jeannie and the deceased, through better character development. During the final chapters, while Jeannie was mourning, and determining the fate of her marriage, and the trajectory of her life, was the most relatable and raw. I found the ending/conclusion of the story to be best possible outcome and prevented a book hangover.

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I enjoyed reading this book. The family (and found-family) relationships were warm, interesting, and multilayered, and I was engaged as the main character struggled with the question of how much honesty she owed to the living and the dead.

Thanks to NetGalley and to the publisher for the chance to read an advance e-copy.

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This is magical story with some surprising twists and turns.
Strongly recommended for those who like to read about what happens in a funeral parlor.

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Listening Still, for me, was a quick, light read, with some minor twists and turns.

While I understood Jeanie’s obligation to her family business and playing the role of the responsible daughter, I wanted more from her character, relationships, action.

Still an enjoyable read overall.

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This is a story based on a very interesting premise that immediately caught my attention. The family undertaking business is helped along by the ability of some family members to hear the dead, that is their last thoughts and wishes before passing over. It led to many interesting moments and vignettes in the book.
The book is well written and is definitely character driven which I like. There was quite a bit of "jumping around" and shifting time and place between chapters which was a little difficult to follow initially.
Mikey, the autistic brother of the family , Arthur - who shared a lot of time with the family and Marielle - a Frenchwoman undertaker were particularly intriguing to me.
What kept me from loving the book was irritation with the heroine - her decisions.and her interactions with her parents, and the romantic angst with Fionn and Niall It felt set in a much older time when women had less options in life. The book is very emotional and could have been more so if the reader was able to make a better connection with Jeannie.
Overall I really enjoyed reading this book and love to read more from this author. Thanks to NetGalley and St Martins Press for the chance to preview this novel.

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This was a bit of a disappointment for me. Interesting premise but I couldn’t get invested. The narrator/main character was so self-absorbed, I couldn’t begin to feel anything but mild irritation with her. The writing was fine…the story was well-told…
it just wasn’t a great story.

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I was so intrigued by the premise of this book. I love the thought that some people are blessed to communicate with the dead. While this was the main part of the story, I wished that there were more instances of our main character's conversations with her deceased customers.

What I was surprised about is that much of this book is about Jeannie's relationships. Her relationship with her husband Niall, her relationship with her ex-boyfriend Fionn, her relationship with her parents and her Aunt, and her relationship with her autistic brother Mikey. I think the summary of this book leads the reader to believe the story is different from what it is. It was a slow burn about questioning past choices, moving past your fears, listening to your heart and also about the pull of your family.

"We stayed in each other's arms for the rest of the night and the following day, not admitting that, of course, we were lying to ourselves, that making it work had already proved too difficult and heartbreaking. What we were actually doing in those precious hours was saying our goodbyes, setting ourselves free to live our lives unburdened by this love."

Jeanie comes from a family in the mortuary business. Her grandfather started a funeral home, her father currently runs it, her Aunt is the head embalmer and her husband is also an embalmer. Jeanie has been obsessed with the business since childhood. Even when her mother tried to get her to come to her hairdresser business, Jeannie would cry to get back to the funeral home. Jeanie and her father can both hear and talk to the dead within a small timeframe - between 1-3 days after their death. Their funeral home has become well-known for this, and their ability to help the family with closure. Jeanie questions wether her ability is a gift or a curse. Jeannie isn't quite sure which one it is. She was mercilessly mocked throughout school for her and her father's abilities and told they were liars. She meets her best friend Sarah a/k/a Peanut, along with friends Ruth and Niall and they band together to support each other through school. During their final year, Fionn moves to town and becomes part of their little group.

While her friends dream of moving away and experiencing all life has to offer, Jeanie feels a sense of duty to stay with her parents at the funeral home. She is afraid of change, afraid of dreaming too big, and afraid of disappointing her family. The story follows her life as she moves through school and into marriage. As her father announces his retirement, she feels frozen. She has always had him beside her to discuss her "gift" with, since they are the only two who share the gift. How will she cope on her own once he is gone? So begins her feelings of doubt and she second-guesses her major life decisions. Did she make the right choice in the past? Is she making the right choices now?

As I mentioned previously, I wish there were more scenes of her speaking with the dead. It was such an interesting concept. She was never fully comfortable with the way her father taught her that to tell the truth regarding what the dead said was not always the right answer. He thought the family should only be left with happy thoughts about their recently departed. She wrestled with that, but also felt horrible the few times she did try to tell the disappointing truth. This is one of the reasons she feels that her gift also feels like her curse. The responsibility that comes along with passing along the words of the departed.

"Those who chose to speak still had something to say to the world, to those they loved; things they'd never gotten the chance to when they were alive, death taking them quicker than they'd ever imagined possible. Or there were those who liked the idea of an intermediary to finally tell what might have been too hard to say themselves."

Towards the last part of the book, I felt the story really veering off track and taking some turns that seemed out of character. There was a twist at the end that made sense and supported the actions of several of the characters and brought the story back to where it felt like it should be. I liked the ending, even though its not the one I wanted. Overall I really enjoyed this book and the thoughts about my departed family members that it left me thinking about. I will definitely read another book by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advance copy to read and review. Pub date: 3.01.22

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This book was not at all what I expected and unfortunately was a chore to finish. I found myself bored of Jeanie. I expected some interesting stories about how she could hear the dead but her unusual abilities are really a very small part of this novel. At its core is a young woman who has felt stuck since she was a teenager and has very serious feelings about her life choices. Unfortunately I found Jeanie to be whiny and ungrateful which made it very hard to care about her. Her husband has loved her deeply and always been there for her, but can she say the same? My favorite book I read this past year was very tragic and heartbreaking so I do not mind sad stories or ones that do not end happily but I cannot stand boring novels or annoying characters and that’s really what this one has. The two best characters get very little page time and are both horribly treated by Jeanie. If you want a maudlin story about day to day life and regrets this is the story for you. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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