There is so much about human emotions in Hyde's books---I find ways to learn and live by in every single book she has written. There is always so much more there than just the story but her characters provide a way to show just how good things could be as they work through the ups and downs she has them live through in her books. ( )

I almost always enjoy Catherine's books and that is true in this case as well. I felt a little tentative based on the title and I'm still not sure it's the best title, while it does make sense as the story unfolds.

I'm sure many people have envisioned walking away from their current lives at some stage when things have gotten tough or there's been a scary wake up call. This story plays out the "life is too short" scenario with an engaging cast of characters and a setting that makes me want to go off the grid for a bit. There's gentle humor throughout that balances the heaviness of the situation.

An enjoyable read. Give it a try! ( )

DNF ( )

A thought-provoking and ultimately encouraging read. Roseanna gives up a high-powered partnership in a law firm on a whim, and buys a run-down house in the countryside. The book is written in chunks, starting three months after her move, then switching back to the day she makes the decision, then forwards again, and back to before the move, and so on.

The loss of a colleague is the main catalyst for change, and we learn more about that through the book. We also see Roseanna developing a positive relationship with her estranged son Lance, and getting to know some unlikely characters who move onto her property. She's a kind-hearted person, if a tad confused about what matters, unintuitive, and, before her move very materialistic.

There's a little humour - almost reminiscent of Anne Tyler's writing in places - and some poignancy too. All in all I thought it a very well-written book. It's character-based, primarily, and although it took a little while to get into it, I very much enjoyed the latter part.

https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2019/07/heaven-adjacent-by-catherine-ryan-h... ( )

This book is about a woman who does something I think a lot of us would like to do...leave our hectic lives and live a simple, quiet life on our own terms.

Roseanna is a very successful lawyer in New York City. She has lived a driven life all about getting to the top of the ladder and she has sacrificed many things in her life to achieve this success. She is the owner/partner with her friend and they both dream of the day when they can retire. Everything they do revolves around getting to retirement. When her friend dies one day in the boardroom of a stroke two years before she's going to retire, it sets Roseanna on this new course of living life to the fullest now.

We follow along as Roseanna finds an out of the way farm where she can live a solitary life, however, things don't quite work out the way she planned. She has others that come to her land wanting to live the same type of life. She hasn't told anyone where she is in her old life, but they find out when a journalist does a magazine article about her. This is when her son shows up and they try to reconcile a relationship that was always put on the back-burner for Roseanna.

This is an interesting story line, however, it never really went anywhere for me. I felt like the characters were a little bit cardboard and there was never really any point to the story. I actually had a really hard time finishing the book. I know that this author is highly thought of so I will try another of her books in the future because I can see she is a good writer. This particular story just fell flat for me. I'm giving this book 2 out of 5 stars.

*This book was provided to me by Little Bird Publicity. I received a copy of this book to review but I was not financially compensated in any way. The opinions expressed are my own and are based on my observations while reading this book. ( )