A well written, multi -layered and complex story that will engage you from word one and keep you engaged until the end.

Within Arms Reach is a re-release of Ann Napolitano’s 2004 debut novel. The story, inspired by her own family history, centers around three generations of women in a large Irish-American Catholic family. Told through six different perspectives, we witness them navigate the gambit of life’s challenges - relationships, commitment issues, floundering marriages, pregnancy, child rearing, career choices, middle-life crises, and aging. The McLaughlin family seems to have forgotten what it is to be a family and it will take a “family crisis” (or two, or three) to help them remember.

In reading Within Arms Reach, I’ve come to appreciate the author’s artistic development over time. In this debut novel, one can see the kernels of what we’ve come to expect from Napolitano’s novels - the redemptive arc of real, imperfect characters, family drama, the omnipresent pull of the past, and rich storytelling. In her writing, Napolitano demonstrates that the path to happiness is never easy and requires risks and an open heart, if one dares.

I recommend Within Arms Reach to Napolitano fans and completists, as well as readers who enjoy a messy family story with just a touch of magical realism.

TW: infertility, miscarriage, infant and child mortality, abortion, infidelity

Many thanks to the author @AnnNapolitano, @RandomHouse and @NetGalley for the pleasure of reading this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this advanced readers copy. I loved Ann Naplitano's previous books so when I saw this book, I had to read it. This is actually one of the first books Ann wrote and now it has been re-released with a new cover. It reads with the signature style of family drama that she has become known for. I loved reading about this NJ Irish family drama told over the different points of view and over the time periods. Ann Napolitano is a must read for me and I know her stories will pull at the heartstrings.

When I saw the ARC for Ann Napolitanos Within Arms Reach, I figured I'd toss the dice and hope to snag a copy from Netgalley. To my surprise, the request was granted, and I jumped right in. This ARC is actually a re-release of her first novel following the success of both Hello Beautiful and Dear Edward. At first glance, I will say I do love the new cover design and how it fits nicely with the cover style of her more recent novels.
Hello Beautiful was my first introduction to Ann Napolitano as a writer, and I'm glad I got that experience first. This book showed me just how much she has grown in her craft and had me appreciate her more recent work a little more.
This story follows the McLaughlins, a rather large Irish American family spanning 4 generations and told from 6 different first-person povs.
While I did enjoy this book, with so many characters in play, I found it hard to follow along at first. Thankfully, there is a family tree in the front that I found myself referencing quite often that helped me keep track of who's who as I muddled through it. In the end, this book and the characters reminded me of the early 90s, Days of our lives, soap opera style drama. Was it entertaining? Sure. Can you skip over portions and not really miss much? Yes. Do the situations they put themselves in feel realistic or relatable? Not really, but that's doesn't mean you can't enjoy the journey for what it is.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. It is so odd to think of a rerelease as an ARC, but that is what this is. It is a rerelease of this authors’ first novel. I love Ann Napolitano. Dear Edward and Hello Beautiful were both favorites of mine in the year they were written. This book is not as good as those. This is more in line with Marrying the Ketchups and We are the Brennans than a prior Napolitano novels. It is a multi family saga, a character driven, rather than plot driven novel. It is not bad, but not as good as her later novels.

Thank you Random House Publishing/The Dial Press for my #gifted advanced copy and thank you PRH Audio for my #gifted listening copy of Within Arm’s Reach! #PRHAInfluencer #PRHAudioPartner

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐫𝐦’𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: 𝐀𝐧𝐧 𝐍𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐨
𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬: 𝐑𝐚𝐲 𝐏𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧 𝐈𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝, 𝐆𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢 𝐌𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐫, 𝐊𝐢𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐅𝐚𝐫𝐫, 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐚 𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐲
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐥 𝟑𝟎, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒

★★★★★

Within Arm’s Reach is Ann Napolitano’s first novel, which is being reissued again to make it more available. I will be honest and say I was I only familiar with Napolitano’s two books that have been published by The Dial Press, but I am so happy that Within Arm’s Reach will now fall under the same publisher and is getting some attention because I absolutely loved it. I think fans of Hello Beautiful are going to fall in love with this story. I found it to have a similar feel as Hello Beautiful, so I think if you enjoyed that book, this one is definitely one to check out!

Within Arm’s Reach is a multigenerational story that follows the McLaughlin family, and is told from the perspectives of Gracie (granddaughter) , Catharine (grandmother), Louis (son-in-law), Lila (granddaughter), Kelly (daughter), and one non-family member, Noreen Ballen. The storyline is complex yet easy to follow, and perfectly paints a picture of life for each person in this Irish Catholic family. While the main storyline is focused on Gracie and her unexpected pregnancy, this book is about so much more. I love how each viewpoint seems to be dealing with some sort of crisis of their own, and how they are all just trying to figure out their life the best way they know how.

I will say, I really enjoyed the end. While it may not have perfectly answered every question, I really enjoyed it, which is unusual for me because I usually like everything to be wrapped up with a bow! I will say that I think the ending worked perfectly for this book.

🎧I alternated between the physical book, the the audiobook, and let me just say,I don’t think I could have asked for a better group of narrators for this one. As soon as I saw this list, I knew I would be listening to this audiobook as much as possible. I was not disappointed. I LOVED my time listening, and I am so happy that the decision was made to include multiple narrators for this audiobook. I just loved the emotions and how each narrator was so perfect for their character. It was helpful to have a physical copy of the book in the beginning because there are a lot of family members and there is a diagram in the beginning of the book. Regardless, I cannot recommend the audiobook enough!

Posted on Goodreads on April 25, 2024: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/144922955?ref=nav_profile_l
**Posted on Instagram - Full Review- on or around April 30, 2024: http://www.instagram.com/nobookmark_noproblem
**Posted on Amazon on April 30, 2024
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I absolutely loved Dear Edward and Hello Beautiful and am so grateful to NetGalley and RandomHouse Publishing for the ARC of Ann's debut Within Arms Reach. This book was originally published in 2004 and is being republished on April 30th!!

Having read her later works first I can fully appreciate her debut and the amount of progress she's made in her writing. While I really enjoyed this one, I could tell that she was just in the beginning stages of developing her style.

Within Arm's Reach is a family drama that follows three generations of Irish-American women who are plagued with generational trauma that is never really dealt with. Life is thrown into a tailspin when the oldest granddaughter announces she's pregnant and wants to keep the baby.

Ann has the ability to craft the most complex and complicated human characters and I really enjoyed learning about them all, however, my main complaint with this one is that we never really got to see what happened with any of them at the end. I didn't feel much closure at all.

I am a fan of both Dear Edward and especially Hello Beautiful, so I was thrilled when I got gifted an ARC of Ann Napolitano's debut, WIthin Arm's Reach. Once again, Ann manages to craft complicated, human characters that frustrate you and amaze you in the same way.

Having read her later books first, I feel that you can tell she is beginning to find her style and voice in this book. A story about a messed up family, I would have liked a little more background information on everyone - it is hinted at in parts, but does not go into depth on the history. It also bounces between various characters' POVs, some of whom I enjoyed more than others.

The only issue I really have with this book is that it ended too soon. I am typically not a huge fan of things being left unresolved, and there are a few threads that are left dangling when the book ends. But I think this book is more about emotions and human behavior than it is about plot.

If you've been a fan of her books, I definitely recommend that you pick up this one.

An early novel from Ann Napolitano about the dynamics of a large multi generational Irish family: A cast of characters each with their own problems and generational trauma, catholic guilt, and search for happiness, slowly pulling apart from each other. The family is jolted suddenly by the news of an unexpected pregnancy, something that may be able to bring them all back together.

The story crosses multiple perspectives and the author does a great job of giving the reader insight into each of their minds. Some characters are far more likeable and relatable than others, but I never connected strongly with any of them and I found myself indifferent to how it turned out.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this re-release in exchange for an honest review.

Ann Napolitano’s debut novel from 2004, republished…..Within Arm's Reach is a family saga following three generations of Irish-American women living in New Jersey in 2001. This was apparently Ann's debut and is being republished which made sense to me once I started reading it. After reading the stunning Hello Beautiful I was expecting the same level of writing and story telling in this book and it wasn't quite there. You can tell she has become a fantastic writer throughout her career.

Within Arm's Reach is full of emotionally stunted family members that have generational trauma just passed down constantly and never dealt with. No one is happy and everyone really loses it when the oldest grand-daughter (she's 29) announces she's pregnant and will keep it as a single parent. The entire extended family takes it personally and it was ODD, like get a grip. If this was my family I would go no contact and happily live my life far away from them but it's still fascinating to read about since my family would never.

Within Arm's Reach by Ann Napolitano was the first book from this author I have read.

This is a story of three generation of Irish American women. The chapters are told by various women in the family. There are a lot of characters in this book and at first it was hard to keep straight. There was a family tree at the start of the book that definitely helped. The book is told by points of view of Catherine (the grandma), Kelly (the daughter) and Cassie (the granddaughter). I don't think I liked anyone in this family but I think that was the point of the book. The different family dynamic and how hard it is to keep family together. There were so many lies and mistrust between all of the family members. I did enjoy learning about this family and why they were the way they were. My only hope was to have some closure, I wanted to know how their lives turned out.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Random House for an ARC of Within Arm's Reach by Ann Napolitano for an honest review.

Having read Ann Napolitano's previous 2 novels, Dear Edward and Hello, Beautiful, I was interested to read this one. Once again, we're enmeshed in a large family with all sorts of dynamics going on. The protagonist is the matriarch of the family who is now in an assisted living center but still wants to be interacting with the family and directing them in their activities.

When one of her granddaughters becomes pregnant without being married, she tries to hide it from the family because she suspect she'll be shunned. At the same time, her med school sister wants to drop out and stop pleasing everyone but is also afraid to disappoint the family.

Good character development and definitely a lot of drama going on. I'm sure this will be popular with her readers.

This family drama is a story that weaves the lives of a large Catholic family together. Through the individual story lines themes of aging, motherhood, family connectivity and “sightings” somewhat develop each character. I appreciated the individual POV’s and how connected the family unit was however, something about this book fell flat for me. I have loved the more recent works of the author with Hello Beautiful being a book I recommend to all. I would love to read more works in the future.
Thank you Net Galley for this advance read.

In “Within Arm’s Reach,” Ann Napolitano weaves a beautiful story of love, loss, and life in across generations of an Irish family. True to her typical form (and echoing her writing style in her more recent books, “Dear Edward” and “Hello Beautiful”), she addresses topics that are heartfelt, tragic, and emotionally challenging with ease. Her attention to detail and character development were my personal favorites in this book, which brought her story and its main characters to life. Another great aspect of the story was the parallel storylines of emerging life and imminent death, which bring the family closer together.

My primary criticism is that the book ended too soon, as I would have eagerly continued to read about the characters and their interrelated challenges beyond the last page. The growth she showed within the various family members was wonderful, but still in process. While I would have preferred a more final ending, she left readers wanting more, but also the gift of being able to envision their own preferred ending for the main characters.

I was extremely fortunate to have received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley and appreciate the consideration of the publishers, Ms. Napolitano, and NetGalley in receiving an advance copy for review. Also, this book was a re-release from an earlier publication in 2004.

An amazing, luminous, earlier first novel by Naplitano about a sprawling Irish American Catholic family whose elderly matriarch wants to pull everyone back together, particularly in light of a surprise family pregnancy by an unwed mother.

Catharine McLaughlin, a widower turning 80 years old, wants to repair some of the schisms that have driven her large family of children and grandchildren apart. She finally realizes the role she and her controlling husband played in creating this angst, and wants to set things right. Of particular concern to her is her granddaughter Gracie, an advice columnist in her 20’s, known for her promiscuity and now pregnant. There’s also Gracie’s older sister Lila who has stoically pursued a medical career only to find herself alienated not only from her patients but people in general. Gracie’s and Lila’s parents are both alienated from their daughters and alienated in their marriage, and both have embarked on trying to figure out who they are and where they can find love.

In alternating chapters with candid first-person narration, we get quickly drawn into this cast of characters, their complicated family history over the past three generations, and how much each struggles to find both their external voice and fulfilling path in life. Replete with Irish ghosts of dead relatives that only some can see, the expectations of an immigrant family, and need to overcome the guilt that has been inherited along with their Catholicism.

For anyone who loves Dear Edward and Hello Beautiful, Naplitano’s later best-selling books, this is a must read!

I will accept no criticism for Ann Napolitano!! She can do wrong & Within Arm’s Reach is yet another example of her brilliant talent. Her writing style is very unique and she has the ability to hook you from the first page. I loved the multiple POV, family drama aspect of this book. Family secrets, drama, heartbreak, and so much dysfunction- yes yes yes!!! Within Arm’s Reachl is brilliant!!

Thank you NetGalley & Random House Publishing Group-Random House for an ARC copy of this book.

Thank you to Netgalley for this copy of an earlier book by Ann Napolitano, as I have enjoyed her two previous novels. Family sagas are a favorite and this is one of those. The story follows several generations of an Irish family and is told from the perspective of five different people. I enjoyed this book and I find Napolitano’s books to be very readable, but I will say I enjoyed her two newer books better. Saying this, I still highly recommend all of her books.

Stunning writing, as I expected from the previous work I'vre read by the author. You can tell it's one of her earlier works, something about it just isn't a sharp as her new releases. And I do agree with the complaints about too many characters... overall a good book though.

If you like dysfunctional family antics, this is it. Not a lot happened overall, and yet because it had so many different POVs, it always felt like something was happening.

The story follows the McLaughlin family as the matriarch ages, while her daughter has an affair (a la midlife crisis), and the granddaughters have their own huge life changes. There is rich history given about previous generations, and the story really spans across 10+ family members.

A beautiful snapshot of the differences in three generations of women in a family. The different stories were juxtaposed and yet fit together at the same time. I found myself frustrated at each of the main FMC at one point or another, but for drastically different reasons.

I received this book as an ARC from the publisher via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. Thank you Ann Napolitano and Random House Publishing Group.

Within Arm's Reach follows a group of women from a large, Irish family as they all attempt to navigate pivotal moments in their lives.

Hello Beautiful is one of my favorite books I've ever read, so I was thrilled to get to read this one as well. It's a rerelease of a book originally published 20 years ago, and you can definitely see the growth that has happened in between then and her more recent releases.

The book was beautifully written and I appreciated the complex dynamics seen between the characters. However, I just didn't feel any real connection to the characters or their stories. The characters weren't particularly likeable or relatable, and I just couldn't get invested.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!