My ratings of this author’s books are contrary to the majority. I tried reading Hello Beautiful multiple times and each time I put it down. I liked Dear Edward so when I saw this on NetGalley I decided to give it a try. And I also liked this one. This is the author’s first book which they republished after her success with Hello Beautiful. I found the writing to be sharp, sort of abrupt at times, which held my interest. Every single character was a deeply flawed and sad human which made the book depressing yet I wanted to know more about their lives. I liked that the story was told by 6 different narrators so that you heard different perspectives.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this release in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I am a big fan of Hello Beautiful which was so beautifully, richly written abs evoked so many emotions in me. This book didn’t reach me the way that one did unfortunately. A bit too many characters, and it feels like her writing style bas definitely been honed since she wrote this many years ago.

I struggled with this book. I found so many of the characters deeply unlikable and therefore, easy to root against.

There were many female characters, telling their own stories, while also telling their family's story. It's interesting to read the perspective from each of them.

Weber turned out to be one of my favorite characters, to my absolute surprise.

I don't know if I'd recommend this book or not. It's a toss-up.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

"Within Arm's Reach" brings readers into the fold of an intergenerational, large family, who are shaken in different ways by unexpected news. They live in a culture where emotions are often buried beneath tradition, and the book explores the ways in which guilt, loyalty, and the enduring ties that bind us together can adapt and change over time, for better or for worse.

If you have read anything by Ann Napolitano before, you know she does well at writing about characters past traumas and present problems, with just enough hope, humor, and wit added in to make the people she writes easier to connect with. The McLaughlin's are a typical devout Catholic family that would rather stay silent than have the difficult conversations. As they all learn about one of their family member's situation, they are forced to start confronting their individual fear as well as long-held family secrets. Some of the family is easier to feel sympathetic towards than others, but as the storylines evolve, it becomes easier to gain a deeper understanding of this flawed family. "Within Arm's Reach" reminders its readers of the importance of communication, understanding, and the huge impact love in all its forms can have on us and those around us.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Random House , and Dial Press Trade Paperback for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I ordinarily love family dramas, but I just couldn't really warm up to this one. It wasn't the writing or even the story. I simply didn't like the characters and they stayed rather flat for me. But I did keep reading to the end, so there's that, i.e. it managed to hold my attention. Just not my favorite and your mileage may vary.

4.75 stars rounded up. I loved it! In fact, I enjoyed it so much I read it in one day. I just didn’t want to put it down.

The women in an Irish Catholic family can be stoic and efficient. This is certainly true of the McLaughlins. They are all fighting themselves and each other throughout the book. Their individual stories are ones of sadness, and struggle, too.

We get to know Catharine, Kelly, Lila and Gracie throughout the book, as well as other members of the family. At the beginning I saw the story going one way, when in fact, it really went the opposite way. The story takes a turn for the better, giving the family, and the women, a chance at healing and forgiveness.

I definitely related to this story and enjoyed getting to know the family. The ending was good, however, there were definitely some loose strings.

Advance reader copy proved by NetGalley & Random House but all opinions are my own.

Hello Beautiful was easily one of my favorite books of last year so I was thrilled to receive this ARC of Within Arm’s Reach. This book was originally released in 2004 but after the success of Napolitano’s latest books, it is being rereleased this year!

Napolitano can do a family drama like no other. I love stories about nothing in particular that focus on characters which is exactly what this book does. Three different generations and six perspectives are showcased in this story. It is a very heavy book and the characters are hiding a lot of secrets but it is well paced. I think it lacks some of the beauty and plot of Napolitano’s recent books but overall is a wonderful story.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Random House for a copy of this book. I have been an huge fan of Ann Napolitano since Hello Beautiful, and then going back and reading Dear Edward. It was only apropos that I then grabbed this book, which I did not realize was written before the other books and republished. I can totally see the seeds from which Hello Beautiful grew from. This is another family tale, with multiple points of view, and angst and emotion. The writer has clearly grown in not only storytelling , but the narrative is stronger than in Within Arm’s Reach. It’s a good book, and one in which I will recommend to anyone looking for messy family drama, but just go into it with a bit of acceptance. It’s a little confusing, and not sharp; still a good book.

This story is an intimate look into family life and the experience of family across multiple generations. Napolitano brings us into the world of the McLaughlins, a complicated Catholic family from New Jersey, and their journey as the family matriarch starts to show her age, the younger generations struggle to meet their family's unrealistic expectations, and a lot of catholic grief weighs down everyone.

I loved Dear Edward and Hello Beautiful so I was thrilled to get an ARC of the reissue of Ann Napolitano's first novel, Within Arm's Reach. It was another excellent family drama. The characters were all very real and their relationships with each other were very believable. I was disappointed in the ending - I wanted a little more closure for each of the characters. Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC.

While most people know the author by her books Hello Beautiful and Dear Edward, my favorite is A Good Hard Look, a biographic novel about Flannery O'Connor. Within Arms Reach, Napolitano's first novel centers on a large Catholic family and their day to day lives from 5 points of view. I often enjoy novels like this where this every life is a blend of the mundane and the extraordinary. There is a pregnancy, a death, coming to terms with old age and conflict between siblings. There is enough to keep the story moving and yet I wasn't fully engaged. I could see the seeds of Hello Beautiful in this novel. Even though this isn't my favorite, If you love this author it is worth giving this book a try.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy for review.

I was excited to read this book after learning that it seemed to be about complex family dynamics, but this is the second Ann Napolitano book I have tried, and respectfully, I just don’t think she’s for me. I got about 45% through this book, and I thought there were too many characters, and I was unable to really connect to any of them in order to feel like I really cared about where their stories were going. I’m sure plenty of people may really enjoy this book - just not really my favorite unfortunately.

Ann Napolitano has a distinct writing style that I really enjoy. Her characters are average people with average problems, but the way she writes their inner dialogue, their hopes and dreams, and their conflicts still makes the mundane so interesting. I think I prefer her writing in the third person a la Hello Beautiful. This is the second novel of hers I have read and I look forward to reading more!

Within Arm’s Reach is a painful and lovely story about family. The book is narrated by different family members so you get to see what each one is thinking and feeling. There’s a few surprises mixed in there and at times you’re left wondering what certain people are thinking. This book feels like real life. We don’t always make the right choices. Life is messy.
Family is tough.
I love Ann Napolitano and recommend her to everyone.

I didn’t realize this at first but this novel is a re-release of a previously published book, much earlier in the author’s career. I love Ann Napolitano’s writing and this book is no different. The writing is there, for sure, but the level of frustration with the characters who were vague, unknowable and made unfathomable decisions was extreme. The characters in Hello Beautiful were so much more deftly handled than in the book. So while the writing is lovely, I’m not sure I would recommend it to fans of her other work. I received a digital copy of the book from the publisher through NetGalley.

This is a a very multifaceted family drama with some absolutely strong characters. I sometimes struggled with the sheer number of people to keep track of but still loved seeing how far Ann’s writing has come, she really has flourished since this debut.

3.5 stars. I love Ann's writing and how we as readers get to know so many nuanced characters. They are like us - flawed, imperfect. These characters were particularly eccentric and handled an unexpected pregnancy, grief, and love in such fascinating ways. I love a good family drama and stories told in multiple perspectives! I would have rated higher if we weren't left with so many open-ended questions.

I love a good multi-generational family drama. I sympathized with the matriarch of this large Irish-Catholic family. She has endured so much during her life and invested so much in the well being of her family. She has the respect of her children and grandchildren, but just wants to make sure that she is still around to see her first great-grandchild come into the world and be taken care of well.

There are a lot of complex sibling relationships, parental regrets, and even infidelity. There were several situations that were left hanging at the abrupt end, but I understand the significant plot of at a climax and point of closure. The author let's us into the minds of so many various characters of all ages and genders and is truly talented at expressing interiority.

I think the reading of this book started off kind of slow to explain who everyone was and their backstories, but from the midpoint to the end, I was invested and much more intrigued and read much more quickly.

As I read this novel, I was so enchanted by the family central to the story. It is told from the point of views of multiple narrators over the course of about a year in their lives. After I finished it, I learned it was Ann Napolitano's debut novel which first appeared 20 years ago...my guess is it went through some rewrites and editing. There were moments where I could see the close knit sister relationships you find in Hello Beautiful. I also took a shine to the novel as it takes place in Ramsey, NJ which is a few towns away from where I grew up and I know the town quite well. I am so glad I got to read this one!

Thank you Random House for the invitation to review Ann Napolitano's Within Arm's Reach (release of her first book). I love Napolitano's writing and that is what stands out here along with her ability to open up complicated, and at times messy and chaotic, family relationships (see Hello Beautiful). This first book works for those reasons, her writing always shines as does her ability to offer characters who aren't easy to love but are worthy of a good story in the hands of a talented writer. Within Arm's Reach is an examination of the messy love that is a part of big families and a lot of the themes on not diving into emotions, not really sharing true feelings, or putting the best face forward, yeah I get that. It's honest and I connected with a lot of those themes and I appreciated that Napolitano captured that kind of family dynamic without making it filled with unlovable or hard to connect with characters.