Did not read. Have way too many books on my shelf - need to cut back. Hoping to get to it in the future though.

All That Remains by Jane Darby is a beautifully written, emotionally heavy exploration of grief, and how differently people process profound loss. The novella is full of quiet, intimate moments and striking lines, with just enough twists to keep the emotional undercurrent sharp. While I admired the themes and found parts deeply moving, I struggled to fully connect with the characters and found some plot points a bit too coincidental. Still, it's a thoughtful, melancholic read that lingers—worth the short time investment, especially for readers drawn to grief-centered stories.

Jane Darby’s All That Remains is a haunting, emotionally raw exploration of grief, guilt, and the fragile threads that hold relationships together in the wake of unimaginable loss. At its center is Anna and Richard, a long-married Manhattan couple whose world was shattered by the violent death of their only child. A year later, they remain emotionally marooned—together but isolated, each drowning in sorrow in their own way.

Darby’s portrayal of grief is both unflinching and tender. She doesn’t offer easy catharsis or neatly tied emotional resolutions. Instead, she draws us into the quiet, aching spaces between Anna and Richard—the silences, the miscommunications, the small kindnesses that go unnoticed, and the blame that simmers just beneath the surface.

When the couple meets two young people wrestling with their own inner battles, the story begins to shift, pulling these separate stories into an intimate, emotionally volatile convergence. Over the course of a single weekend, long-buried truths begin to surface—truths that not only reshape their understanding of each other, but also of the son they lost.

Darby’s prose is elegant and restrained, allowing emotion to bleed through in powerful undercurrents rather than dramatic declarations. The structure—a tight, tense timeline—amplifies the claustrophobic sense of lives on the brink, and the narrative’s psychological depth makes every moment feel urgent and lived-in.

What makes All That Remains so compelling is its honesty. It captures the quiet devastation of grief—not just the pain of loss, but the slow erosion of identity, connection, and certainty. And yet, even in its darkest moments, there’s a flicker of hope—a suggestion that the act of confronting truth, however painful, might be the first step toward healing.

All That Remains by Jane Darby, wow — what a ride! From the very first chapter, the story pulled me in with its mysterious atmosphere and emotional depth. It’s one of those books that keeps you flipping pages late into the night because you need to know what happens next.

The characters felt real and flawed in the best way. I especially loved how the main character wrestled with grief and loss while trying to uncover the truth. There’s a haunting beauty in the way Darby writes — it’s not overly dramatic, but it hits you right in the heart when you least expect it.

I wouldn’t call it a traditional thriller, even though there are twists and turns. It’s more of a slow burn — emotionally charged, a bit eerie, and very human. The writing is thoughtful and poetic at times, but still easy to follow. Honestly, I was surprised by how much I connected with the story and the people in it.

If you’re into books that mix mystery with emotional storytelling and a touch of melancholy, I totally recommend All That Remains. It lingers with you after the last page, which, to me, is always a sign of a great read.

this was okay - a decent story of grief, although nothing new and certainly didn't feel like something I will continue to think about or remember.

Whilst I enjoyed the dynamic and parallel between the grieving characters, I really struggled to follow the plot. It seemed to jump between points and was so heavily Interwoven at some points and then at others I simply had no idea what was going on.

This...well, this was a book. The grief that was portrayed was real and haunting - the type of grief that pulls you under & keeps you down. It was heavy, it was intense. The major loss truly just disrupted the main couple's life in such a way that was profound and relentless.

I understood the loss, but I just felt no....connection. Like, I just finished this book and I can honestly say I have no idea who the characters were? I saw no hope, no anything - just the neverending fog of grief. This book is a really easy read in the sense that it's under 200 pages, but there was no clear ending, no clear anything which was a bit odd. I feel like I am left with so many questions now, did they ever see hope again?

Thank you to NetGalley and Mindbuck Media for this e-arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Unfortunately despite enjoying the premise of the book I continuously ran into the issue of finding myself confused or lost on the direction the book intended to take. While good language was present it almost feels half finished.

In All That Remains, author Jane Darby is going for a different type of story. Her characters are all incomplete and struggling. It is depressing to read their tales. Although the novel is somewhat short, I felt drained when I finished it. The adults, Anna and Richard, are on the ground as Richard has fallen. Will he get up? Will they then rest before the fireplace with coffee in their hands? That we don't know. The two youth seem to have it better, but again there is little clue as to their future. So the reader is left with questions, a fact that I found unsatisfying.
Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

This was a wonderful book. Thought provoking with characters you relate to in some level or that had a life foreign to you to give you insight. The stories of the characters were interwoven with skill.

This was a beautifully done story about grief and loss, it had that element that I was looking for and thought it worked with the description. I was invested in what was happening with the characters and thought it was a realistic portrayal. Jane Darby wrote this perfectly and am excited for more from the author.

All That Remains by Jane Darby was an interesting story about grief. I appreciated how Anna turned in on herself with grieving and Richard did the opposite. I wanted to love the characters but some of the decisions they made didn't make sense to me, which made it hard to connect. Some plot points seemed to coincidental. Lots to like here, though. Overall, it was a thoughful and moving story. Very relatable.

This novel was somehow depressing. Grief always is. But the events taking place are too farfetched to be believable. And the ending just leaves with more questions than answers.

I may have had higher hopes after reading the description, but I felt nothing toward the characters. I couldn't make enough of a connection to actually care what was happening.
Overall just kinda meh.

Thank you to NetGalley for my advanced free copy in exchange for my honest review! As someone who loves books about grief, I was disappointed in this book. I didn't connect with this book as much as I wanted/needed to. I appreciated the author's writing but I did not enjoy/couldn't connect to the two main characters.

[..]she listened to the sounds of Richard getting ready for bed: click of a light switch, rush of water in the sink, sounds of an intimate, shared life, so maddeningly calm and deliberate that each was another stone in the wall rising between them."

I have always really enjoyed books that tackle grief, and all of the ways human beings process the unavoidable experience of major loss. This book was no exception. This was full of twists and turns of darkness, as well as that overwhelming feeling of "how dare the world keep turning when my loved one is no longer here?" I was really impressed with the writing, and ended up with a good handful of annotations even with something so short.

I don't want to say much more to spoil anything. Absolutely worth the hour or two of your time to read.

I actually DNF’d this books at about 70% and did not provide a rating. I realized I had no connection to the characters, nor to the author’s writing style. There were some beautifully written sentences sprinkled in, but I found it, for the most part, kind of boring and too formulaic.