This was one of my most anticipated May releases based on the premise and the fact that I love the author's middle grade works....but it needed so much more editing. It was overall a good book, but felt a little elementary for the first half. The first 120ish pages were slower and very light and then the last half was a quick rush and then it was over.

I love Sloan’s YA books so i was excited to read her adult debut. I was not disappointed. The characters are relatable and likable. The setting (Hawaii!) is interesting. The tidbits relayed by the main character’s children about the history and culture of Hawaii were bonuses to the story. There are a couple of twists and a dramatic ending that will keep you reading.

What a page turner. When a young widow leaves Oregon for Hawaii with her three young children, she chooses such an unlikely option. Buying a motel on the Pacific coast, sight unseen. Who does this? So many surprises. The kids are such unique and lovable characters. Highly recommend.

I had greatly enjoyed a few of Goldberg Sloan's previous books, but somehow couldn't get into this one. I plan to give it another go in the future, as her other books were delightful. This one just feels depressing though.

I wanted to love this much more than I did. I went in with high expectations, given Goldberg Sloan's mastery of the JF novel. It felt slow, then VERY QUICK, and the only character that I really loved was Sena.

After the fall of his tech company, Lindsay's husband Paul dies in a surfing accident. Having gone from their rich lifestyle to living in progressively shabby conditions, Lindsay jumps at the chance to start a new life for herself and her 3 kids in Hawaii by buying a motel sight unseen when Paul's life insurance pays out.

Lindsay's children, Olivia, Carlos, and Sena, are less than thrilled about their mother's plan, but they want her to feel happy again, so they go along with fixing up the new digs, and making some new friends at school, and making a place for themselves in their new home. When handsome author Chris turns up at the motel and is happy to trade his electrical work for a room at the motel, Lindsay sees a chance at love for the first time since her husband's passing.

I'd guessed most of the twists, but still found this to be an enjoyable read. There was minimal build up of the romance between Lindsay and Chris, so those aspects felt rushed to me or like I'd missed whole chapters. The end also felt a bit overly high drama for me. Sena's character was the star of the story for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I jumped at the chance to read this book having enjoyed Sloan's middle grades books. This story started out with a family reeling from the death of their father which had followed some great financial and lifestyle losses for the family. They had already started over once and were forced to start over again, this time without their father and husband.

The story began as I expected it would. I enjoyed spending time with this family as they attempted to pick up the pieces of their life once again. The focus early in the story was on them trying to find their way in Hawaii as they attempted to renovate an old motel and fit in with the locals. I laughed and cried with this family and they took on all these new challenges.

But then, there was a reveal that I didn't expect, and this tale took quit a turn. Honestly, I liked where it went. The drama got turned up quite a bit and reached a real fever pitch towards the end. Even with that twist, this was still about a mother and her children working through grief and all its accompanying emotions. It was about getting back up after being knocked down. It was about family and love and new beginnings, and I thought it was wonderful.

Pieces of Blue started as a fun beach read. It's about a family, Lindsey, and her three children, Olivia, Carlos and Sena. Paul, Lindsey's husband and the children's father drowned in a surfing accident. Before his death, he was involved in an up and coming tech company, and the family had everything. With his death, they are left with nothing as the business was failing at the time of Paul's death. Two years later, Lindsey finally receives the life insurance payment from a policy Paul had purchased shortly before his death.

With the insurance payment, the family is able to start over and Lindsey impulsively buys a hotel in Hawaii. It is a quaint beachfront hotel that needs major updates and repairs before they can open. As Lindsey is figuring things out and working towards reopening the hotel, Chris shows up. Chris is a former guest of the hotel. He and his wife used to visit Hawaii and stay at Lindsey's hotel each year. Chris has also recently lost his wife.

Chris becomes involved in helping to get the hotel ready to open and of course he and Lindsey are attracted to each other. The story continues along in this manner until all of a sudden it doesn't. There are surprises and twists to the story that you won't expect.

Grieving the loss of her husband in a surfing accident, Lindsey impulsively uses his life insurance money to buy a remote, ramshackle-yet-charming motel in Hawai'i -- a far cry from the life she lives with her three children in Portland. As she and her family adjust to life on O'ahu, Lindsey learns quickly that she's in over her head with the motel. But then a handsome would-be motel guest arrives just in time to help, and to turn her life upside down in more ways than one.

Pieces of Blue is an intensely atmospheric, immersive book, with lush, vibrant descriptions of O'ahu's flora and fauna. Holly Goldberg Sloan brings the setting fully to life, completely transporting the reader to a remote beachside Hawaiian motel with plenty of wear and tear and plenty of charm. Sloan incorporates several aspects of Hawaiian culture, history, and tradition successfully, as well as acknowledges the impacts of colonialism and the tourist trade on the islands (important to do, in my opinion, given the plot of this novel). But as much as I wanted to connect with this story, I found myself struggling with it.

Pieces of Blue is Sloan's first foray into adult fiction, and unfortunately, that shows. Sometimes it comes across as a contemporary beach read, and sometimes it reads like YA. The book switches perspectives among Lindsey and her three children (sometimes jarringly), and the perspective of the youngest daughter, Senna, is by far the strongest. I think if this had been written as a middle-grade novel entirely from Senna's perspective, I would've enjoyed it more. Unfortunately, the characters don't have a lot of emotional depth, and for a novel about such heartfelt topics, Sloan's straightforward writing struck me as strangely unsentimental. I listened to portions on audio, and although I usually enjoy Berrie Kreinik, her narration of this novel came across as too robotic, which probably only added to that feeling of emotional distance.

The pacing is uneven, with some additional perspectives being added late in the book in service to the twists, and then things escalate very quickly in a melodramatic, action-heavy conclusion that doesn't seem to fit the tone of the rest of the book. There are some good moments in Pieces of Blue, some important themes and some opportunities for poignant, insightful observations. It just didn't all come together for me in the end. Thank you to Flatiron Books, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the advance reading opportunity.

I enjoyed this book, but I didn't necessarily love it.

Lyndsay moves her three children to Hawaii after her husband passes away in a surfing accident. She used the life insurance money to purchase a rundown motel, with the plan to fix it up and run it as a family business.

I didn't get a solid theme or emotion coming from the book. You get POVs from Lyndsay and each of her three children, but you don't get more than a shallow look into what they are really like. You don't get a good feel for their grief, healing or personalities.

The book basically puts along. Lyndsay finds a love interest in a man who is vacationing on the island. He is also a widower. He stays on to help Lyndsay with the electrical work. You don't get any sort of vibe from this relationship though. You can't tell if either of them is flirting. You get some of Lyndsay's inner "mmm I like that" thoughts, but chemistry between them is like a soggy crouton. Then at one point she mentions in passing that she loves him, and it was just weird.

The plot twist kind of came out of nowhere, and there were a lot of plot holes with it. I don't want to give any spoilers, but there seemed to be no reaction on the part of the family to the actual ending.

Overall - I didn't hate the book but I didn't love it.

Thank you to Flatiron books for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, FlatIron Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was a solid book! I loved the setting and the themes covered in this book. The family element was very much at the front and I enjoyed that part. I struggled to connect to Lindsey, which made it hard for me to be fully invested in this book. The plot was a little slow at times, but I loved the overall story that was told. Overall this was a solid read for me, and I know for others this book would be great!

This was a case of it's me and not the book. It felt YA to me rather than Women's Fiction. I will still recommend it for others to try! It definitely did a great job bringing Hawaii and the islands to life.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. Family drama, second chance at love and a mystery! Sign me up! I could not put this down. I was invested in these characters from the get go and had to see how it played out. No spoilers just read it!

An absolutely gorgeous, surprising, cinematic novel from a film and TV director. PIECES OF BLUE took me by surprise. It is witty, well-written, and has a pretty nuts plot twist that I did NOT see coming. It is family drama at its finest, and I think it's going to be a huge hit in May.

Holly Goldberg Sloan writes the story of a family who has just lost its patriarch and needing money. Thinking buying a motel sight unseen in Hawai'i, and moving her 3 young kids away from Portland and into a completely different culture, is a good idea is Lindsey. She uses insurance money to make the move, but hasn't made many other plans besides that. There, each child deals with this move in different ways, and when a mysterious stranger moves into the motel to help Lindsey with writing, the kids are suspicious.

I really enjoyed reading this novel, and I can't wait to see what else Sloan has on offer. Fun fact - did you know that she is the first female director of a live-action Disney film??

4.5 rating…..
…..I’ve got that glowing satisfying, feeling that one often gets after reading a novel that we thoroughly enjoyed!!!

From Portland to Hawaii, a single mother, with her three kids start a new life in the run-down motel that Mom bought.
Great storytelling-awesome environment & biosphere-
LOVE THE KIDS!!!

The cottages in each of the motel rooms had sagging beds, corroded pipes, slow, drains, and dripping faucets. Half of the old-fashioned, two -prong electrical outlets didn’t work. And geckos were running along the length of the ceiling beams catching gnats, and flies.
A lot of repair work was needed before the cottages were ready for guests to come stay. The motel was over eighty years old.
Lindsay bought the property site unseen from a couple in their eighties who were ready to retire from being motel owners.

There were tropical trees and plants, Bougainvillea, coral, ferns, banyan trees, tropical flowers, palm trees, the blue green ocean, plantation style wooden cottages, all built off the ground on uprights, chickens, roosters, a couple of owls, a one-eyed cat, African tulip trees, plumeria, Angel trumpets, mongooses, asparagus, and papaya groves — a little gecko with bulging turquoise-rimmed eyes with a splash of red hot sauce on its spine.
Down by the ocean, there were turtles, small, sharks, parrot fish, perch, triggerfish, butterfly, fish, mullets, and eels.
The area was gorgeous!

Lindsay (originally from Wales) had lived with her husband Paul Hill, in Portland with their three kids.
Paul had started a tech business.
In the beginning his startup was going well, but then a few years later, he had a “reversal of fortune”.
For a few years their family was living the high and almighty life in the wealthy fast lane. We will see how each child and Lindsey were affected.
After they lost everything, their nanny went back to Sweden. They lost their house, and moved a few times into smaller places that cost less.
Then Paul dies > surfing. (again-we will see how this loss was for the kids and ‘mom’).

For more than half of the novel — it was simply enjoyable getting to know the characters, (wonderfully distinct), and take in how each family member was adjusting to their new lifestyle in the remote area of O’ahu.
I learned some interesting details about Hawaii (such as the official colors of each Hawaiian island), that I hadn’t even learned from James A. Michener’s thousand page historical epic novel.
Plus … I’ve been going to Hawaii (almost every December for forty-four years since my Honeymoon)….so Hawaii holds personal history for me.

I can’t stress enough how wonderful the characters were —
Seven year old Sena was a wiz-kid… curious, bright, passionate about animals, and precocious in the best of endearing ways.
Olivia, was a kick-ass fourteen year old… teetering between being self-conscious and sensitive about fitting in with her peers — (definitely interested in boys) to being downright forthright gutless when action was called for.
Carlos- the only boy in the family was a very kind, optimistic twelve year old peacemaker.

Lindsay was a great mom …. and even with the insurmountable amount of responsibility on her plate — I admired her naturalness in creating balance between protecting her children and giving them plenty of room for independent growth.

We meet Chris Young … a man from the mainland who had been visiting this motel every October for about twenty years. His wife had died a couple of years ago — but the motel still held emotional value. He knew the old owners, Rangi and Pearl Kalama before Lindsay bought it.
After he meets Lindsay - Chris, a ghostwriter by trade, had enough manual electrical skills - and other tool belt abilities, that he offered to help Lindsey get the motel ready to open for business in exchange for staying in one of the cottages.
It’s all very engaging entertaining storytelling…
it would make a great movie…..
…..even without the couple of surprise-twists that happened later in the novel.
But….
these ‘surprises’ ….. ‘were’ surprises…..
ha, like a wild-spicy-surf-ride of tumbling and tumbling.
….[sorry, no spoilers]….
It’s the type of novel that’s easy to fall into …. escape from your own daily life … bask in the pure pleasure of being with a sweet family you’ll want to root for ….while soaking in the beauty, culture, archaeological history and mystical lushness of Hawaii.

It would have been a full five stars had ‘one’ aspect of this story been tied-tighter.
But Holly Goldberg Sloan …. did a great job giving readers one heck of an enjoyable novel. (I really do hope to see a movie) —
Easy to recommend to all my friends….

Lindsay's world came apart when her husband died in a surfing accident. She and her three children have been up and down during the last few years as their economic situation rose and then sank, and they had to move to smaller and smaller apartments. Her husband, who initiated a tech start-up, made a ton of money at first but then lost it all in illegal scams.

Once the large death insurance settlement arrives, Lindsay buys a motel on the island of Oahu, sight unseen, in a very remote area of the island. She wants to start over and this hotel is the perfect fit. It is old and has had hardly any upkeep for years. Lindsey doesn't know where to start. Even with lists, she feels out of her element.

When Chris, a man who used to stay at the hotel, comes by and offers to help Lindsay with the electrical system, she is ecstatic. Maybe she is a bit more than ecstatic because he is good-looking, intelligent and knows how to fix things at the hotel. It's been a while since she's had an adult to talk to.

Lindsay's kids are great. There is Olivia, 15 years old and wanting to have a boyfriend. She has her eyes on Koa, who helped the motel's previous owners. Carlos changes his name to Carl because he feels more comfortable not being named for Carlos Santana, as his father wished. Sena is the biggest trip of all the children. She takes the hotel's chickens under her wing and acts like she's 7 going on 40. Her intelligence and precocious behavior are fun to read about.

I was especially delighted by the Hawaiian history, archeology and mythology that was thrown in this book. I learned a lot and appreciated this aspect of the novel.

All proceeds fairly well for the family until about 2/3 into the novel when a crisis and tragedy occurs. No spoilers here. I will say, however, that at first I thought of this as a beach read. My opinion changed as I read more and more. Ms. Sloan tells a good tale that had me totally hooked. I rooted for Lindsay and her family and hoped that Lindsey and Chris would get together. What brought this book down to a 4 is the inconclusive ending and the unnecessary mystery that was thrown in. Ms. Sloan is a writer to watch and one I will be looking forward to reading.

A novel set in Hawaii? Always, yes. A mystery set in Hawai'i? Even more, yes. While parts of this plot were predictable, the novel dealt with a lot of heavy FEELS very adeptly. The characters were memorable (and I normally dislike reading about angsty teens.) Highly recommend this, if for the setting alone!

I loved going to Hawai'i every time I opened this book. The island itself is a gorgeous character and, like many extreme and stunning beauties, eventually reveals its darker side. Holly Goldberg Sloan paints the beauty of Hawai'i while resisting the urge to over-describe the lush setting. Kudos for that. The human characters are aptly drawn too. Sloan fleshes out their fears, desires, regrets, strengths, and weaknesses in a believable way.

I was totally unprepared for the turn the book takes about two-thirds of the way through. While I don't suppose there was any other way to achieve a complete surprise, it almost fractured the novel for me. The tension of an emotional family drama led the way while an almost thriller-type tone finished the story. The author skillfully achieved literary whip-lash as the storm stripped away any facades that existed.

Themes of parenting, thinking you know someone when you don't, and betrayal thread through the relationships. Even the island portrays these themes.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. It is full of family drama, second chance love, and even a mystery. I loved reading the story, not only from the perspective of Lindsey, the main character, but from her three children as well each of their voices was distinct and unique. I also liked the feeling of being in Hawaii again, and the inclusion of Hawaiian words, spirituality and culture.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This is the first adult fiction of Holly Goldberg Sloan and I hope it won’t be the last! It’s heartfelt family drama/ second chances romance/ mystery reading! It starts a little slow but when you reach the last third, you get hit by life changing twist you never see it coming!

I loved the ending so much! It was meaningful and memorable!

The story centered on Lindsey and her three kids who are still suffering from losing Paul: disgraced CEO, getting lost at surfing accident. Lindsey finally gathers herself after dealing with longtime grief, decides to spend husband’s insurance money to buy rundown hotel in Hawaii / Oahu. She moves there with her three children: Olivia ( 14), Carl(12), Sena(7) to restore the place and manage it. It was the same place she’s spent her honeymoon with her husband. But she realizes she’s gotten ahead of herself. Her restoration plan is doomed to fail!

Thankfully a former guest becomes volunteer to help her fix the place in exchange of staying one of the rooms. But this charming stranger who may change Lindsey’s life has his own secrets.

I’m not gonna give much away! Best thing about the book was the characterization of children! Each of them is perfectly portrayed! I also enjoyed the romance between Chris and Lindsey. It was surprising family drama/ women’s fiction/ romance/ mystery! All those different genres blended in adroitly!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.