Thank you so much to Celadon Books for the advance copy of this book!
Thank you so much to MacMillan Audio for the complimentary audio!
 
This book will be published on January 2nd, 2024.

"With being a Joseph. The risk, the labor, the dirt. Tearing something down and rebuilding it. It will always come first."

Marley Marley Marley.
She is the star of the book. She comes to town and immediately is smitten by the Joseph boys. I love that she had different relationships with each member of the family. She was craving that familial feeling since her home wasn't perfect. I was upset though by her mom just up and leaving after Marley became pregnant and had to deal with being a teenage mom without her own mom. I just wanted to scream at her and her relationship with Waylon. They both just were not good communicators and it made being a reader very frustrating because you see the potential and their thoughts but then nothing. Their journey was such a rollercoaster ride but through it all and my feelings I could still sense their love. I am so glad that Marley had Jade in her life. She was such a great influence on her and they really was such a wonderful friend. I love their scenes together.

The Joseph Men.
Each one brought something else to the table (no pun intended). They each had their own complicated relationship with their parents for various of reasons. And honestly it's amazing how the boys made it through because their parents were horrible. But for whatever reason their father could do no wrong & it was so hard for them to see the bad. My heart broke for Baylor & Shay for different reason. I need to know what happened in the future for both of these characters beyond the end of this book. I want both of them to find love and to have their happily ever after.

Mick & Elise.
I do not have much to say about these two. They are a couple who sound like they should never have been a couple. Mick especially just had so much going on in his brain and there was a moment later in the book that I wish I could say I was shocked about but did not shock me whatsoever and just made me angry. And poor Elise once she was with Mick, there was no turning back. I do like how she tried to get Marley to leave and not return. Elise had such a weird way of showing her love and appreciation towards Marley and Marley was just trying to win her over the whole book.

"Sins are like butterflies. They all began as something else."

Within all the drama between the characters, there was this mystery of the body found at the local church. I was somewhat surprised of the moments leading up to what happened that night and then the aftermath of it. I honestly thought the act of crime was going to be from another member of the Joseph family than who it really was. But it all make sense. And I love how things just end up connecting as we go through the book.

The audiobook is narrated by Maria Liatis who brought such a young flair to the narration. This book is mostly told through Marley's third point of view and it was perfect. Her tone allowed you to use a higher speed without the voice becoming distorted. 

I was unsure where this book was going to go but I am so glad I read this because I really enjoyed it! Family dynamics are complex and this was such a beautiful story from start to end.

This was my first book that I did with Celadon's read along and it was really nice to have a group of other readers to talk about the book with afterwards. We all had similar feelings with the characters the story itself.

Check this book out if you love a family drama with a mystery tied in set in western PA in the early 90s!