When We Believed in Mermaids

Barbara O'Neal has been my favourite author for many years, with her early Barbara Samuel books on my keeper shelf, so it was utterly lovely to read this book and be transported back to her days of lush, poignant, evocative storytelling.

As the story unfolds, we learn many dark secrets of the Bianci family and discover what drove sisters Kit and Mari to be the people they are today.

I absolutely loved every nuance, every page, every wonderful description.

Not many books make me cry, this one did.

Devoured it in 2 scorching hot Melbourne days.

You're Going To Want To Read This Somewhere Where You Can Cry. Wow. This is a tragic tale, all around. It is primarily about two sisters and the scars they share - and the lengths they will both go to try to overcome them. Amazing story, solid mystery (though some of it becomes obvious earlier than the actual reveal). This one will grabs you with the first line, has you tearing up a bit early on... and then can have full on water works through the last quarter to third or so of the tale. Light and airy, this aint - but it is one of the better, more intense dramas I've read this year. A remarkable contrast to O'Neal's 2018 book The Art of Inheriting Secrets. Very much recommended.

4.5 stars - I can easily see why this has made it onto lots of “must read” lists - it's the perfect blend of escapist tale (exotic New Zealand), family secrets (boy, what an engaging and fascinating back story these sisters have) and romance. Well written, true emotional resonance, touching family saga, hell of an initial hook. What stopped it from being five stars for me was the fact that both sisters were fabulously beautiful and both their love interests were not only drop-dead gorgeous, but wealthy and famous as well. I like my characters a bit more true-to-life but I do understand the appeal. The ending was perfect.

More of a 3.5

Initially reading this I was hooked and enjoyed it. I had already figured out what happened to Josie when she was young, as it was extremely obvious, however that didn't take away from the first half of the book. The second half fell flat and I just wanted to get through it.

What bothered me was how slow it got in some spots. Josie as a character was selfish and her motives for lying to her husband and kids and for putting her sister and mom through that type of grief was quite unbelievable.

I am not in any way discounting what happened to her but I can't see someone faking their death for the reasons she says she did. I had a hard time feeling any sympathy for her throughout and that took away from the overall story.