Following the death of their charismatic but deeply flawed father; three siblings grapple with their own demons. I really struggled to get into this story; there are so many characters and it was hard to follow the various storylines. There are some great passages but overall I felt lost. Thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Greetings from Asbury Park by Daniel H. Turtel
Release Date: 4/5/2022

Greetings from Asbury Park is a story that centers around 3 half siblings, David, Casey, and Gabrielle, as they deal with the aftermath of their father, Joseph Larkin. The book follows the half siblings as they figure out their relationships with each other as well as their relationships with other people.

I was so excited to read this book as I myself am from Jersey. It was nice reading about places that I had been or knew about. That being said, I found this story to be quite dark. It mostly showcased the worst in the siblings and brought it out in way that made it seem like life was that dark. I appreciated the poetic language of the book and the sense that everyone in the community had in some way, shape, or form, affected each other. This was an incredible book, but not necessarily a light read.

Thank you to @netgalley and Blackstone publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The self indulgent characters of this book were a big turn off. In parts it was a case of rich kids behaving badly but really it was everyone - rich and poor - behaving badly. No one here was likeable, they all made really poor choices in how they led their lives. I realize they were all severely lacking strong adult role models. Sex, drugs, and music were the big influences here. There were so many characters to track, it was often difficult to know who was narrating. Some passages were beautiful, others left me wondering what I missed. Overall, this just didn't work for me.

A dark story that revolves around family and “new” family.
Intriguing and disturbing. Thank you NetGalley for the advance copy.

This was a very dark book, much darker than I anticipated, and I’m not sure if I liked it. The writing made parts of the story feel inaccessible, but at the same time I highlighted quite a few passages because the writing was so on point. All that being said, I read Greetings from Asbury Park in two sittings. I’d recommend this to someone looking for a character-driven story that explores a variety of existential questions.

The reason I was curious about this book is because at one time, I lived in Asbury Park. I really liked it there. The shore and the boardwalk were wonderful to wander. This story brought back some of that feeling. To become involved in the lives of these characters felt so real! They came alive for me. This is one that I'.ll request for my library so that others can enjoy it as well. Thank you so much for the great read!

Greetings from Asbury Park tells the story of three half-siblings in the wake of their father's death and how their lives and relationships progress from there.

It is clear from the beginning that David and Casey, two of the main characters with the latter serving as narrator for much of the story, are both fairly unlikeable characters, which I usually like, but I found them to be hollow and dull at times. There was so much going on in this book (drug use, racial differences, religious differences, an incestuous relationship(?)) and it just fell a little flat at points for me. I couldn't bring myself to care about any of the characters - and there were so many of them that I found it a little difficult to keep them straight in my head. It took me a while to figure out who was who, especially given the fact that multiple characters went by nicknames or multiple different names, and so I spent a good portion of my reading experience feeling very confused as I tried to work it all out.

That being said, there were some bits that I did really like about this book, even if I didn't feel all that connected to the story. The setting of Asbury Park was very vivid and well done, so that was definitely one of my favorite parts. I thought that the flow of the story was interesting as well, and the writing style was engaging and interesting (unlike my opinion of the characters). It did feel a little disjointed at times, but overall I found the writing compelling.

Overall, I didn't love this book, and because of my lack of connection to the characters, it took me much longer than I expected to get through this book. It just felt like it was missing something in my opinion.

The king is dead long live etc. This chronicle starts with a father's funeral, and although told in first person by his son by a mistress, the father figure never fully came to life for me. The balance of the book introduces and embroils all three of his kids, only one by his wife. The others by mistresses, but only Casey, the illegitimate son is given a voice. There are some astoundingly strong parts to this book, particularly the beginning and an interior chapter that focuses on people and localities and the relationships engendered within those categories. Unfortunately, for me the writing of the latter chapters didn't measure up to that of the first, but I look forward to whatever else Turtel presents.

*Thank you to Blackstone Publishing, Daniel Turtel, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

At the center of this somewhat confusing novel is Joseph Larkin, a very wealthy and unpleasant man, who died alone in his mansion in Deal, NJ. The book follows his three children, all with different mothers. David (Davey) is the "legitimate". His other children include Gabrielle, a daughter he had with the maid, and Casey, a son he had with his mistress. All three children have their own issues, especially Davey, an alcoholic, women chaser and addict.

After Joseph's death, Davey inherits most of his estate, while Casey receives some cash and a home in Asbury Park, where Gabrielle lives with her mother, Joseph's former maid. Gabrielle received no inheritance but Joseph had promised to pay for her college education. Despite being siblings, Gabrielle and Casey enter an incestuous relationship which they keep hidden. David gets involved with an orthodox Jewish girl who is spending her summer with her family in Deal.

I grew up two towns away from Asbury Park, NJ, where this book takes place. It is fun to see the areas mentioned, but that is where my happiness with this book begins and ends. "Greetings from Asbury Park" sometimes felt like a bunch of short stories put together for a novel, but there was nothing to connect us to the characters. The siblings are all unlikeable, even Gabrielle, with her sense of entitlement. In this book, Turtel seems to focus on the tension between summer residents (orthodox jews) and locals, not as affluent. I wish he had focused on one story from beginning to end, and somehow connected it to Asbury Park. As the reader, what are we to focus on; the disillusioned shop owner, the young orthodox girl who wants to explore outside the lines of her religion or Davey, whom we only see when he is drunk, on drugs, or having sex with underage girls. And Casey, who may or not be obsessed with his sister. There are other characters who have stories that are never finished.

As someone who wanted to love this book, I finished it feeling confused about what I had just read. It just felt "unfinished".

Those feeling nostalgic for Ashbury Park should know that this is really a novel about a really dysfunctional trio of siblings who just happen to live there. Half brothers David and Casey are shocked to discover that their deceased father had yet another child, the 18 year old Gabrielle. Casey, who narrates much of the novel, inherits his father's house, where Gabrielle and her mother live, while David gets cash. David has an addiction problem. Casey and Gabrielle have an attraction to one another. No one, not one of the three, is appealing in the least. There are periodic appearances by local residents. The writing is good in spots and annoying (I'm not a fan of stream of consciousness) in others. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. There's a lot going on here, with multiple topical issues, but little heart.

It’s always fun to read a book set in an area one knows pretty well. This time, it’s the part of the Jersey Shore centered on Asbury Park and nearby towns: Allenhurst, Deal, Long Branch, and Ocean Grove, mostly. The author writes beautifully; the descriptions of places I know well ring true, like his description of the footbridge between Asbury Park and Ocean Grove. However, I found I didn’t connect with the characters in this story. Right from the start, we learn that Casey is not a likable character - and neither is his half-brother David. They have gathered on the occasion of their father’s death. David is the legitimate son; Casey is the son of a mistress. And then we find out there is yet another half-sibling, Gabriella, a daughter of the housekeeper. A relationship develops between Casey and Gabriella (who he just met, to be fair - it’s not as if they knew each other growing up. Still….). During the course of the book the author includes examples of the tension between year-round residents vs. summer residents, black vs. white, Christian vs. Jewish, rich vs. poor. There are quite a few side characters whose stories don’t get fleshed out enough. Also sometimes it was hard to immediately figure out who the narrator was, as it kept changing.

“Greetings” is a pretty dark story. CW: drugs, alcohol abuse, sexual assault, anti-Semitism.

Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the opportunity to read an advance readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I had middling hopes for this book, having seen some praise from some authors that i have great esteem for, but unfortunately it fell flat for me.

The best/strongest part of the book, for me, was the setting and that's largely because it felt so personal. My family has been vacationing on the Jersey Shore, and making a yearly visit to Asbury Park, for the past few years. So it was cozy and familiar to see the places we have frequented described on the page, along with the stretches of beach I have come to love so much.

The characters of this book, however, failed to grip me. Each one felt more hollow than the last and despite their obvious, or less obvious, connections, they never truly felt like they belonged in the same story. I failed to see what was special about any of them, nor did I feel any empathy or sympathy for their plights, with one minor exception that doesn't even hit the page until the last 90 or so percent of the book.

The writing often felt repetitive and distant and what thoughts were attributed to which characters often got messed up in my mind (though this could be because of some pretty faulty formatting in the ebook that I read). The repetition often felt like it was Turtel trying to achieve a rhythm or to emphasize a certain point, but for me it rather felt like he was trying to hit a word count and so tried to be stylistic (and failed).

All in all, I really wanted to like this book far more than I did, for its setting and for its title being taken from one of the rock and roll greats, but it just feels like it was reaching for something it never quite found.

The writing shines in this novel about siblings dealing with their father's death. I felt transported to the Jersey shore. I wish that I liked the protagonist more, but I did empathize with him.

This book wasn't for me - I wanted to enjoy this based on the premise but it fell too flat for me to me truly get into .

Set amongst a seaside town, the lives of several characters are described almost lyrically in an ode to the heavy love of jazz held by the dead patriarch of the story who has fathered three children, one by his wife and the legitimate heir to his property, financial comfort, etc., and two illegitimate children mothered by mistresses.

The story is complicated in the sense that within a few intersecting areas of quarters, the characters are all intertwined as well. The author does not shy from scandal from allowing rumors to spread between the locals and bringing issues of class, race, and sexual orientation to the main stage.

The book itself is not terribly long, and I was left wanting more background and insight to the characters. The ending left me with an ache in my chest but served as an appropriate ending to a story full of characters that were merely improvising their way through life.

All around a wonderful debut and I look forward to reading more from this author.

**DRC provided by NetGalley

3.5 This is a story of very complicated family relationships, of different classes and races, wealth and poverty, set on the New Jersey shore, Three half-siblings, different positions in life. So much pain. The writing is in a similar style as Faulkner’s The Great Gatsby. I personally really struggled with this book, but did persevere. Because I didn’t like the story line doesn’t detract from a good debut novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for an early release copy for an honest review.

As a native New Jerseyan, I obviously saw the title on Netgalley and had to get my hand on this one. Daniel Turtel's debut tells the story of three half-siblings of Joseph Larkin, a wealthy man who dies and leaves the bulk of his estate to his son, Daniel, who is floundering and ends up with an opioid addiction. Daniel's half-siblings, Casey and Gabriella, an 18-year-old jazz singer, float in and out of Daniel's life. While I love a family drama, this one was difficult for me to get into. First, there were too many characters introduced all together and it was difficult to keep the storylines straight. After reading it, I read a review saying that the book is like listening to a drunk's stories at a bar. Bingo. Can you feel drunk from reading a book? I think the answer is yes. I felt like we were scratching the surface on all of them. Second, the changing narrator was difficult to follow, and a lot of the writing was stream-of-consciousness that did not hold my attention.

The story narrates the relations of a dysfunctional family of three half siblings after the dead of their rich father. It takes place in New Jersey, in Ausbury park where the family grew up and where the shadow of their father Joseph looms over them.

I liked the descriptions of the family relationships and the ways each one of them cope with the death of their father, each one in relation with the personal connection they had with their father. However, I found it hard to connect with the characters as there was little depth to their history with their father and no clear motivation for their actions.

The book explores many interesting and controversial topics such as: drug addiction, alcoholism, incest, rape, religious differences, race and migration. These are introduced through the book, but those threads are never really resolved or given an in-depth treatment.

I found it hard to follow the writing flow as each chapter is narrated from a different character perspective and there are no indications as to whom the narrator is, so only after reading some paragraphs could I identify the voice of the narrator. Moreover, I think there were too many secondary characters that introduced some of the controversial topics, but they were more distracting than adding value to the story.

Finally, the ending is unexpected and it left me a bit indifferent. The three main characters that lead the plot get a storybook ending, I personally was not moved by any of them.

Daniel H. Turtel’s “Greetings from Asbury Park”: (ISBN-10: ‎1799956768 and ISBN-13: ‎978-1799956761), publication date 5 Apr 2022, earns one star.

The author well describes Asbury Park, which is a seaside town adjacent to the Jersey Shore. Included are the complicated relationships between year-long and summer residents and transient tourists, and various religious, societal and economic groups, and pressures resulting from the area’s growth and development. Against this backdrop we learn about the Larkin family, including the now deceased patriarch Joseph, a full-son Davey, a half-brother Casey and a half-sister Gabriella, the latter two the products of liaisons with a mistress and a housekeeper—in addition to other generally unattractive or unsavory characters. In its telling, the story trips back and forth through the years, chronicling multiple story lines and sub-plots, and the dysfunction and tragedy of various characters, punctuated all too briefly and infrequently with insightful or clever narrative. In sum, this story is as pleasant to follow as it is to restore an unraveled a knotted ball of yarn, with the result being that whatever lightness of being one felt at the beginning of the book increasingly dissipates with the turn of each page.

Thanks to the publisher, Blackstone Publishing, for granting this reviewer the opportunity to read this Advance Reader Copy (ARC), and thanks to NetGalley for helping to make that possible.

I read this book because of many good memories of the Jersey Shore and the towns surrounding Asbury Park. Those memories of the area were the best part of the book.
The siblings portrayed are all objectionable personalities. The affair between the half brother and sister is pretty unrealistic.
Too many characters underdeveloped and unbelievable circumstances.