This Place of Wonder

O'Neal Delivers Yet Another Solid Family Drama. O'Neal's solid 2018 book The Art of Inheriting Secrets was the very first Featured New Release on my blog, and I have kept up that tradition every year since - and 2022 is no exception there. Her 2020 book When We Believed In Mermaids continues to be one of my most “liked” reviews on Goodreads to this day, and continues to garner attention seemingly every few days.

All that to note that I have a rich if recent history with O'Neal's work, and this is yet another truly solid and sensual tale of family secrets and drama. In this particular work, we get four women struggling with the sudden death of one man that all were connected to - his ex-wife and mom of his step-daughter and step-mother to his daughter, his most recent girlfriend, and both of the daughters in question, though we only “hear” from the two elder ladies + his biological daughter.

While this tale “hits” a few solid blows emotionally, it doesn't really land the haymakers that Mermaids did - this is more in line with most of her other books, including Secrets, on that level. This noted, it is ultimately a very satisfying tale that has several great moments not always seen in novels, including the daughter's actions in the prologue and the elder ladies' blend of pragmatism and romanticism. Several issues from alcoholism to rape to child abuse are touched on, so be prepared for that if one needs to be. Overall truly an excellent tale, and yet another wonderful read from O'Neal. Very much recommended.

I've been a fan of Barbara O'Neal/Barbara Samuels for decades, up to and including the Women's Fiction she has published recently for Lake Union Publishing. This time, however, I was underwhelmed, as O'Neal's typical “women at a crossroads” plot was preempted by a dead man who was a Svengali-type presence in each woman's life.The sudden death of Augustus Beauvais, the charismatic and famed chef, has a profound impact on the women who loved him. His ex-wife, Meadow, whose organic farm produce laid the foundation for their farm-to-table restaurant's success, is devastated, despite the fact that they have been divorced for more than a decade. His current girlfriend, Norah, is unceremoniously evicted from Gus' house, and left without a home or job. His daughter Maya, who hasn't spoken to her father in years, learns of his death as she is completing inpatient rehab for her alcoholism. As the three women (and Meadow's daughter Rory, who is not a POV character) process their feelings and try to determine how to move on without Augustus, a police investigation suggests that the cause of his death might not be the simple heart attack that everyone assumed.O'Neal is a lovely writer, and her California settings are always described in exquisite detail so that you can see and smell the surroundings. The three women are flawed but sympathetic, especially Maya, who is struggling to lead a sober life while vacillating between grief and anger at her father. Where the book breaks down, however, is in its overwhelming focus on Augustus himself. He is described as warm, loving, sexy, and ambitious. It's acknowledged that he was a womanizer who could not remain faithful to any of his partners, but that's kind of hand waved away because he was such a genius and treated all of the women well. Except for the cheating, that is. Women's Fiction books usually highlight the power and beauty of women's relationships but This Place of Wonder instead focuses on each woman's obsession with the same man, who never sees any consequences for his infidelities. This is a well-written book that kept me turning the pages, but unlike O'Neal's other releases , my predominant emotion was annoyance at how much Augustus' presence dominated the story. In its place I'd recommend any of the author's previous releases, such as [b:When We Believed in Mermaids 43717362 When We Believed in Mermaids Barbara O'Neal https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1560378056l/43717362.SY75.jpg 68012209] or [b:The Lost Girls of Devon 50253698 The Lost Girls of Devon Barbara O'Neal https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1580220841l/50253698.SY75.jpg 74983163]. Uncorrected proof received from Net Galley in exchange for objective review.