This is a story about family dynamics and there were parts I really enjoyed and thought the writing was really lovely. But it is long and for me I felt too long. I didn’t connect with all the main characters which I think didn’t help when chapters were from their point of view.

Thank you to #NetGalley for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Absolutely stunning. A quiet family epic, this broke me down and built me back up all at the same time. I loved reading about this messy group of sisters - a family who all feel deeply and make mistakes but are bonded through it all. Definitely for those of us with a young love for Little Women. Heartbroken but happy to have given this book my time.

I was simply blown away by the beauty of this book. The story, the characters, the writing. All sublime.

The story centres around four sisters. Hello Beautiful is a modern day Little Women in that the bond between the sisters, whilst bending to breaking point, never quite snaps. Through grief, joy, birth and death a thread connects Julia, Sylvie, Emeline and Cecilia. There is such raw beauty in the writing that moved me so many times. This is a book to truly indulge in, to laugh, and to cry with the characters. It is a story of resilience, of friendship and love. Love in all its ugliness and its beauty.

What an Intresting complex read. Smartly written, flows well, characters and storyline written well. Would recommend.

Oh how I loved this book and spending time with the Padavano sisters and William. With a nod to ‘Little Women’ , this novel sweeps you into a family saga and the loves and losses of these wonderful characters. The prose was deceptively simple, and, although at times, this book was a slow burn it is also most definitely a page turner. A book of family relationships – mothers/daughters and bonds between sisters – of loss and heartbreak, but also of joy and love. It deals with sensitive subjects well and you really feel part of these characters lives and I did not want to leave them. A book that will stay with me a long time. I can only recommend that you go out and get yourself a copy immediately. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read the ARC of this novel in return for an honest review.

I was surprised by this complex novel. After letting it sit for a while i realised how clever and smart it all was. The complex stories effortless came together with some beautiful story telling that spanned decades and generations. Ultimately questioning what is love and how nature/nature effects our life choices

A profound story of family life written from the voice of several characters. Delving into the bonds created and how the human psychology guides our reactions. At times, very deep and emotional. Vividly written with some beautiful descriptions.

Reading "Hello Beautiful" was one of the best emotional experiences of the year so far. With complex characters and meticulously-crafted personalities, Ann Napolitano invites the reader on a decades-long family journey about love, loss, and identity. It was all I love in a book: sadness, hope, and and a cast of characters to which aspects a reader could relate to, but also learn from them. An overall beautiful story.

With such character-focused novel, the plot was often slow, or non-existent, so the novel is not for those looking for a constant family drama. At first, I also did not enjoy Julia at all, but a character doesn't have to be enjoyable to be an interestint point of view throughout the novel. The only criticism I have is how disconnected from the times it was happening in the book felt at times. The 80s seemed like 50s, with at times archaic portrayals. Similarly,t here was not a big change in perception between the 80s and 00s, when the plot finishes.

Hello Beautiful tells the story of the four Padavano sisters in homage to the beloved classic Little Women. William has grown up as the second child to a very different set of parents so when he meets the eldest Padavano sister: Julia, he is swept away within the enigmatic Italian-American family. Sylvie is the dreamer, lost in her books and dreams of a big love and the twins Cecilia and Emeline are artists and carers, very different to their eldest sister in many ways. Rifts, devastating events and loss, threaten to tear them apart over the decades in the novel.

I loved Dear Edward a couple of years ago so was very eager to read this book but it was definitely a case of 'right book, right time' for me as I found the start a little too slow. This is a character driven novel and I found I didn't warm to the sisters until much later. This time though, I stopped for a little while and came back to it and I'm so glad I did. Beautifully perceptive, I think most people with siblings that are so different from each other, understand the push and pull, the love and the anger you can feel for one person that simultaneously comes from you and wants to get away from you. Family is everything here but often, to be an individual, you need to be apart, and Napolitano explores this wonderfully. William is just a character I wanted to hug and make it all better!

So beautiful! I really felt like I knew the characters. I lived, laughed and cried with them. The characters were all so dimensional and developed.

A touching, thoughtful read. The comparisons to Little Women is what drew me in, and it does very much feel like a contemporary storyline of Alcott's popular novel. The sisters are authentic, intricate characters, and so much of their identity is entangled in their affection for each other and those around them. Without saying anything that might spoil it, highly recommend, it's a truly heartfelt novel.

This is an emotional story about four sisters it’s beautiful read Ann had written this in a way that you feel you are apart of the padavano family I thoroughly enjoyed it and will be looking for more by Ann

This is a beautiful book about family, love, and loss. The story focuses on William Waters and the Padavano family that he marries into. William missed out on a family growing up and the fierceness with which the Padavano's hold onto him as one of their own is very touching. Even before it is specifically mentioned there are a lot of Little Women vibes which I particularly enjoyed having always loved that book. The characters here are all very well developed and the story is truly wonderful though heartbreaking at times.

Reviewed on Amazon
Will also review on Instagram shortly

Thank you for the opportunity to review this new novel.

Oh man, I'm so bugged that I didn't like this story. I was very excited about it but it was not for me. I missed feelings among the characters and reasons behind their actions. It was A LOT of telling instead of showing and it made me feel disconnected to the characters and after 20 % I put it down.

Are you prepared to have your heart broken while the characters attempt to fix their own heartbreak? Yes? Good. Hello Beautiful is for you, so continue reading.

Hello Beautiful has been described as a modern homage to Little Women and in the same vein as Elena Ferrante. I can see how it'll appeal to fans of both, but it easily stands strong alone.

College student William Waters, whether he'd choose to admit it or not, is lonely, but when he is drawn into the orbit of a tightknit Italian American family, his luck changes.

Upon falling for Julia, the eldest of the four Padavano sisters, William experiences the kind of sense of belonging he never had before. The Padavanos are not perfect by any stretch but to William, who had a dysfunctional childhood with parents who seemed only to want him to be as unnoticeable as possible, this is a chance to settle into comfortable, familial companionship.

College sweethearts, Julia and William marry and begin a life together, directed mainly by Julia’s sometimes overbearing wishes for stability and status. Yet, the plan and, ultimately, their relationship is derailed by William’s gradual decline into a deep depression which started after his one coping mechanism of basketball was sadly ripped away through injury.

This relationship breakdown affects all involved deeply. William and all of the Padavanos' relationships fracture and realign over the ensuing years as Napolitano weaves a saga of familial love, deception, hope and the power of forgiveness.

Each chapter, told from the point of view of William or one of the Padavano girls, gives an insight into their thought processes, the rhyme and reason for their actions and how they think of the other characters.

This read is slow-paced, melancholic and sentimental, but Hello Beautiful is indeed beautiful. 4⭐

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advance copy in return for an honest review.

"I’d never seen that kind of love in person."

3 stars!

A story of 4 sisters, the intertwining of their lives throughout the years and the people who had been pulled into their orbit.

I enjoyed the characterisation of each person, how effort had gone into fully fleshing out each character as their own even in a story that relied on the narrative of the effects of each sister on the other. Each character had stories that pulled the reader along and development that brought out emotions of happiness, sadness and anger in the reader for each new chapter.

I found that the final third of the book had a pacing that I personally enjoyed more. The flow in the beginning moved slowly and at times I wished that more could be happening in a way that didn't feel so sporadic. This feeling carried on into the middle and second third of the book. Unfortunately, the flow did not work as smoothly as I found that I was almost reading the chapters as a stop-and-start. I just didn't experience the flow between and found that, personally, some chapters felt like an ending entirely.

Overall I enjoyed the concept of the book and the development of characters throughout the story.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin General UK for the eARC, I am voluntarily leaving a review.

Thank you so much to Penguin Viking for the e-ARC! Hello Beautiful was one of my most anticipated releases of 2023 and it did not disappoint.

One of the buzziest aspects about Hello Beautiful is that it's an homage to Little Women. Now, Little Women is my mum's favourite book. I grew up on Little Women, have reread it multiple times, and have watched three different screen adaptations as well as listening to the musical. Basically, you say Little Women and I am intrigued, but my expectations are going to be high. So I love that Ann Napolitano had a take on Alcott's story that was thoroughly her own. Throughout the novel, you can see elements of Little Women, but they are interwoven with the story that Napolitano builds, making for a modern and unique tribute to a beloved story.

I loved the Padavano family, the sun that the story revolves around. The love between the four sisters is fierce, and it is tested throughout the years. I was so gripped as darkness from William's past and new tensions surfaced to put the sisters' relationship through the wringer! And of course, I was rooting for their bond to win out the entire time, but I'll let you find out whether it does. By the last third of the novel, I was so emotionally invested that I ended up crying through some of the chapters..

As stated on my bio here, I love family sagas and explorations of gender, and I think Napolitano does both beautifully here. Each member of the Padavano family (including William) struggles with the meaning of family in some way, and with the role they feel they have to play within it, and it always felt achingly realistic. Being set from the 60s to the 2000s, the characters also have to confront gender roles and expectations throughout, and I loved how the March sisters' ambitions from Alcott's novel translated to the Padavano sisters' dreams in this one.

I didn't give all 5 stars because at first it felt a little slow, and because I wish we had had more time with the younger sisters and possibly less with the older ones – but this has my heartfelt recommendation for fans of literary fiction, family stories, and, of course, Little Women!

This book emotionally drained me but in the best way. Set over the period of 30+ years, Hello Beautiful follows the Padavano sisters - Julia, Sylvie, Emeline and Cecila.

William Walters has lived a lonely life with parents who never really loved him so when he meets Julia Padavano he comes entranced by her and her family.

This book is quite slow and very character driven so if that’s not your kind of thing you may not enjoy it but if, like me, you like a family saga then i’m sure you’ll adore this like I did.

The girls and William all felt so real and as it was spread over so many years and split into all their different perspectives you really grew to know and love each one of them despite their faults.

It’s definitely an ode to Little Women but without being too sentimental about it and it’s very self aware, the girls often discuss the book and talk about which sister they’d be.

I absolutely adored this book and cannot wait to read what the author does next.

There is something deeply satisfying about reading a book that speaks to you, that embraces you and holds you close. Whose characters are at once flawed but inexorably human; so much so, you live and breathe their stories, wanting to shout at them, shake them, hug and comfort them.

Hello Beautiful does all of this and more. It’s written in the most luscious prose; heavy with metaphor, poised and intimate in its telling, but at the same time something big and bold that celebrates the power of love in all its many, wonderful forms.

It’s the story of the Padavano sisters: Julia, Sylvie and twins Cecelia and Emeline, and what happens when William enters their lives, first as Julia’s boyfriend and then as her husband. Until then a solid, unshakeable unit, the siblings suddenly find themselves facing the unimaginable, when a darkness from William’s past crashes into their happy, hopeful lives, triggering a rift that tears them asunder.

As the eldest of three sisters, I found myself fascinated by the Padavano girls, recognizing in them traits and relationships that felt familiar and comforting. Each with her own distinct personality, together they created an energy that was more than the sum of their individual parts.

I despaired of Julia and her blinkered approach to life, which ended up bringing her so much sadness. Did I see something of my younger self in her? Yes, I did. But, it was Sylvie who wormed her way into my affections. And poor, damaged William who took my heart and snapped it in two.

At 400 pages, this is a longish book, and I did feel at one point that it was losing momentum. Then Napolitano threw in a curved ball, and the intensity went into overdrive.

The ending is sweetly poignant. Sad but hopeful. Testament to the bonds of family. And it left me with much to ponder. Ms Napolitano has a new fan.

This book was stunning! 🥹😭😍 I loved everything about #HelloBeautiful by Ann Napolitano, and the fact that it does draw some parallels with one of my favourite books of all time, Little Women, was the icing on the cake! 🥰

I fell in love with the characters and found each of their stories compelling and emotional. The four sisters were wonderful and I loved following their lives over the years. I felt all the emotions folks 😭😫 It’s me…obvs 🤣 There were lots of joyful moments as well as heartache.

Obsessed. That’s all….