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This book was a book that was heavily hyped on Litsy and that I’d heard about on a few podcasts. Everyone seemed to be talking about this book, and I was lucky enough to be granted an ARC from the publisher to read this amazing novel. This book deserved all of its hype and more.

The book opens with an abortion. Yes, there are obviously some things before that (and this isn’t a spoiler) but the big choice is an abortion. I actually used an Audible credit for this book and kind of regretted it, only because the way the description of Nadia’s mindset during her abortion was so hard to read. It wasn’t graphic, it wasn’t gory or pushing an agenda of any kind. It just reminded me how absolutely hard this decision is for anyone that makes it. Because of this, it made it really hard to listen to. I think if I had read it it would have been much easier.

Something really unique about this book is that while it stayed in a third-person narrator, it alternated between third-person limited (focusing on one of the three main characters) and a third person Greek chorus style narrator of the elder women of the church that connects all three of these characters, The Upper Room. I actually really enjoyed the church element of this novel. It’s not overwhelming, and wouldn’t feel preachy or anything like that to non-religious readers. However, to people who are familiar with church life, there’s a completely different level of understanding and humor in some of the things that occur because you know them all too well.

I think that the part of this book that people find so enthralling and honestly, so haunting, is that it feels very real. This is all stuff that could happen and does happen, and the reactions and emotions the characters feel are all very real and are all normal. It’s hard to watch people go through all of the things these characters do (it’s not a dreary novel, just a lot of things happen in their lives as do in our own. Ups and downs). But the beauty in this novel is the mastery in which Bennett writes raw human emotion and reaction and has left me hungry for more that she will create.

Thank you again to the publisher for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review. Also, this book was selected as a runner-up for “The Reading Women” podcast Fiction book of the year, so thanks to Kendra for sending me a sticker for my copy! If you haven’t checked out her podcast, you absolutely should. Find it wherever you get your podcasts, or by clicking here.