This one is hard for me to rate because the bar was set so high with Hello Beautiful! I enjoyed this, but it didn't come close to the love I felt for Ann's first book.

I love family dynamics and multi generation stories, however this one was a bit slow for me at times--probably should have waited to do the audio. When you listen at 2.5x speed, even the dragging moments of a book fly by.

I didn't realize that this was a reprint of one of the author's first book. I loved Hello Beautiful, so thought I would love this one, too. Not so. Disappointing.

I've liked other novels by Napolitano but I found this one so tedious and difficult to get through. It's the story of 3 generations of the Irish American McLaughlin family, mostly told from the perspective of the women. There are many elements of family expectations, dysfunction, loss and grief. It was painful, it seems like everybody in this family needed love and support and nobody was capable of communicating with anybody else. I'm honestly not sure what the whole point of the novel was other than to peek in on a large and troubled family bound by their religion and generational trauma.

I will 10000% read anything from Ann Napolitano! Her stories of multi-generational family, loss, love, regret, memories, heartbreak and finding strength in your family - all told by different viewpoints -just speaks to me. Her writing is simply perfection. You can visual every character and action they take. Its spellbinding. It's on my re-read list just so I can enjoy it again! No one does family like Ann! Thank you to NetGalley and Crown for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick.

I really enjoyed this read. The book covered a multi-generational catholic family and all their thorns. I really appreciated that the pov changes and you get the different viewpoints throughout. There is so much going on within the members of this family and it is almost an implosion for all the characters as they deal with their strife and try to come out on the other side. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley.

"Within Arm's Reach: Sisters" by Ann Napolitano is a poignant exploration of sisterhood, identity, and the complexities of familial relationships. The narrative delves into the lives of two sisters, intertwining their personal struggles and shared history. The characters are well-developed, each struggling with their own issues while reflecting the deep ties that both connect and divide them. Themes of love, loyalty, and the search for self-acceptance resonate throughout, making it a relatable read for anyone who has navigated complicated family dynamics.

This 2004 book was rereleased after the author’s success with Dear Edward and Hello Beautiful. There is something so sweet and redemptive about this book coming to the surface long after the author had probably thought it was all over. I love that.

The story is about a big family, faced with challenges stemming from the decline of the matriarch and an unexpected pregnancy, plus lots of other drama in between. In that way this was similar to a lot of family dramas and nothing especially stood out. The author herself draws a connection between this and Hello Beautiful (in the Author’s Note at the end) and I thought that too as I was reading. I enjoyed the reading experience but this will not be anything super memorable. Dear Edward is clearly (to me, anyway) her best work.

If you know me you know I'm a huge fan of Ann Napolitano, so I was so excited to receive an ARC of her re-published debut novel. Now having read her two most popular books, I knew her debut novel would be very different. You can tell she's trying to figure out what direction to go in and it doesn't feel as complete as some of her other books. However, it is still a very interesting story. I love books surrounding family dynamics and the interwoven stories between generations of families, and that is essentially what you get from this book. I do think it was a tad long, and there wasn't as deep of a connection that you feel when reading Hello Beautiful, but still as a big fan I am glad I picked this up!

I didn’t realize going in that this was a re-release of a much much earlier book. I could see the makings of the robust character study strengths of Hello Beautiful and how much the story telling has evolved. I didn’t love that it felt like elements of the family’s story were left untold but as frustrating as that is for the reader, it mimics the story of life so can’t be too mad at it. This is definitely a slower paced read and not something I would recommend if you like the bow on the end of the narrative.

All things Ann writes is amazing. The depth of her characters are always outstanding. Her books bring out all of the emotions and she is absolutely an auto-buy author for me.

A family drama, primarily following three generations of women.
Catherine the aging matriarch, Kelly her eldest daughter, and Kelly's two daughters Gracie and Lila. All the women are at a crossroads in their lives, struggling with decisions that will affect everything.

I love Napolitano's stories. Her writing draws me in immediately and this book was no different. I loved the intimate look into this family's lives and I worried for them and the decisions they were making. And while I have been known to love an open ending, for me it did not work.
I wished there was a little more closure to this story.

"Within Arm’s Reach" by Ann Napolitano is a tender exploration of family dynamics across three generations of an Irish American family. The story is set in motion by an unexpected pregnancy, forcing the family to confront long-buried emotions, secrets, and unspoken tensions. Napolitano writes with grace and insight, capturing the quiet struggles of love, loyalty, and guilt that ripple through the generations.

But, despite the beauty of the prose, I felt that this novel was weighed down by its numerous perspectives. With so many characters it became difficult to fully connect with any of them. Each member of the family has a voice, but their individual stories often felt underdeveloped and left me wanting more.

Overall, the central themes—family loyalty, generational trauma, and unspoken feelings—are poignant, but the lack of focus on a few key characters makes the novel feel disjointed at times. A thoughtful read, but one that may leave you feeling somewhat detached. But I loved her other novels and will definitely continue to read her future ones!

I have heard many great things about this author and I was excited to dive in. But this book was not for me. The characters all felt extremely flawed and yet too self righteous. I felt like everyone needed to unpack their generational trauma with a great therapist. Maybe this author just isn’t for me. 2⭐️

This is a rerelease of Ann Napolitano's first book, and I can see the parallels to Hello, Beautiful. In fact, I think I like this one better! This one also is about an Irish American family, and they are struggling after the death of the patriarch. The children are grown up, and they all heavy baggage that reflects in their parenting and marriages. One of the grandchildren is now pregnant...and unmarried. Will this bring the family together, or continue to tear them apart? The only thin I was not a fan of was the ending. I would have liked it to be a little more wrapped up.

An unforgettable multigenerational story about a large Irish Catholic family and the women within it. I enjoyed this read though u was not able to finish it before it expired, sadly.

While the writing is detailed and there’s a lot of emotional depth, the pacing was too slow for my taste, and I found it hard to connect with the characters. The story centers around family dynamics and past traumas, but the constant shifts in perspective didn’t help me engage with the plot. It’s not a bad read, but I just didn’t feel invested in the characters or their journeys.

I've been holding out on writing this review because, I really, really like Ann Napolitano as an author - she's great, sharp, perceptive and witty. And, there are certainly some things to really like about this novel - interesting, relatable, flawed characters, doing things that make you want to scream at them. But, in the end, this all just felt kind of unfinished to me. I don't need a resolution to EVERY situation brought up in a book, but couldn't we have gotten even just one? It's like we dropped into this families life for a brief moment in time, only to drop out just as things were starting to change. I just needed something a little more here.

I adore Dear Edward and Hello Beautiful, so I was very excited when I received the widget for this book. Complex family drama can really pull me in. It was like watching front row on your porch view of your neighbors when their voices are loud while screaming at each other or the slamming of doors when one left the house in a hurry or maybe the draw of curtains and turning the lights off when secrets are being kept! The impact it can do to the reader's emotions are realistic and relatable. Within Arm's Reach is no different.
Does it have the drama? You bet.
Does it have the secrets? Absolutely!
Did the story run from one generation to next? Yes, because Withing Arm's Reach is a family saga of three generations, full of women stories!
And the characters; they were flawed, and scared and insecure and somewhat unsure but very brave. They love deeply, care immensely and wants their existence be known.
I highly recommend this book!