Write My Name Across The Sky by Barbara O’Neal
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Publication Date: August 10, 2021
Genres: Contemporary Fiction
Book Review
In the shadow of their famous mother/sister Billie Thorne’s ghost, three women each struggle with their own demons. When septuagenarian influencer, Gloria Rose discovers her former lover has been arrested for art theft and forgery, she knows it’s only a matter of time before the authorities come for her too. With plans to flee the country, she enlists her niece Willow to come home and stay in her apartment. Willow, a singer/songwriter has been living in Los Angeles. But when her first record flops, her producer boyfriend kicks her out. Hoping to rebuild her life in New York, Willow moves in with Gloria. Sam, Willow’s sister has always been the successful one, having founded a video game company with her best friend in her late teens. But now the company is in trouble, and Sam is unsure where to turn to keep the company from collapse. As each of the women struggle, secrets are revealed and they must find a way to stick together or face unavoidable consequences.
Write My Name Across The Sky is a brilliant family drama told in alternating sections. Each section is told in the first-person from the perspective of a different one of the three women.
Gloria is a retired flight attendant, and is now an Instagram influencer, inspiring other female seniors to live their best lives in their later years. Gloria was my favorite character to spend time with. Her chapters included flashbacks to her flight attendant days and her love affair with Isaak.
Sam, the oldest sister, is a video game developer. She owns her own company, Boudicca. Once famous for its female-focused titular game, the company is now struggling to release quality content. I loved the relationship between Sam and her best friend, Asher. Although I could most closely relate to Sam, as both an engineer and the oldest daughter, I found her to be incredibly annoying. But at the same time I loved her storyline.
Willow, the younger sister, is a musician, specifically a violinist who has moved home to take care of the family apartment. With virtually nothing to her name, she is desperate for work and to prove herself as a musician. As the daughter of the famous Billy Thorne, there is a certain expectation that Willow will have the same musical prowess.
I loved this book! I loved the style and the characters. I was so sad when it ended. Write My Name Across The Sky gave me Malibu Rising vibes because of the famous rockstar mother. The writing style was also similar, except the story took place in the present, not in the 1980s. I highly recommend it to fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid and family dramas.
Thank you to Booksparks and Lake Union Publishing for the review copy! All opinions are my own.
Synopsis from Goodreads
Life’s beautiful for seventysomething influencer Gloria Rose, in her Upper West Side loft with rooftop garden and scores of Instagram followers—until she gets word that her old flame has been arrested for art theft and forgery, and, knowing her own involvement in his misdeeds decades earlier, decides to flee. But that plan is complicated when the nieces she raised are thrown into crises of their own.
Willow, overshadowed by her notorious singer-songwriter mother, has come home to lick her wounds on the heels of a failed album and yet another disastrous relationship. Sam, prickly and fiercely independent, is on the verge of losing not only her beloved video game company but the man she loves, thanks to her inability to keep her always-simmering anger in check.
With the FBI closing in, Willow’s career in shambles, and Sam’s tribulations reaching a peak, each of the three woman will have to reckon with and reconcile their interwoven traumas, past loves, and the looming consequences that could either destroy their futures or bring them closer than ever.
About the Author
Barbara O’Neal has written more than a dozen novels of women’s fiction, including several Amazon top-sellers. Her award-winning books have been published in many countries, including France, England, Poland, Australia, Turkey, Italy, Germany, Brazil, Israel, and Hungary. She lives in the beautiful city of Colorado Springs with her partner, a British endurance athlete who vows he will never lose his accent.
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Erin Evelyn Reads 