When We Believed in Mermaids: A Novel

When We Believed in Mermaids is a story that digs deep into trauma and how people react to it. This is not an easy topic to explore, however it is necessary because of all of the traumatic events that occur in society. Some of the reactions in this story deal with alcoholism, drug abuse, and starting a new life by completely destroying an old one. This story is well written, and has come out during the MeToo movement, which makes it all the more essential reading. Trauma effects people in different ways, and can even effect the same person in different ways. The characters in this story are two sisters who are living their own separate lives after one has faked her own death. These two characters are flawed, however they are relatable in that they have their own separate personalities, and were able to overcome triald and tribulations to start their own lives. There are supporting characters in the story who are likable but flawed as well, and this is true to life. No one is perfect, and everyone has certain flaws that they have that makes them who they are, however this book digs deep as to why these characters are the way that they are. This story almost feels like nonfiction at times because of how realistic the caharcters are. The setting is beautiful as the charcters are surfers so there is a lot of ocean and waves in the story. I chose a 5 star rating for this because I have always been fascinated by character study and psychology, and this story is all about character psychoanalysis. It shows why people do what they do, and why they become who they become. I recommend this story to anyone who is interested in psychology and enjoys layers of depth from their characters. This is a highly enjoyable book that is a real oage turner.

When We Believed in Mermaids by Barbara O’Neal is an emotional and immersive novel that explores the complexities of family relationships, long-buried secrets, and personal healing. From the very first page, I was drawn in by O’Neal’s lyrical writing and the depth of the characters. The story follows two sisters whose lives have taken very different paths, and the mystery of a long-lost sibling brings them together in unexpected ways. O’Neal does an excellent job of balancing the past and present, slowly unraveling the secrets that have shaped the characters’ lives. The way the author handles the themes of grief, forgiveness, and reconnection makes the novel resonate on an emotional level. One of the highlights of this book is its vivid settings—whether in the sun-soaked beaches of New Zealand or the flashbacks to California, O’Neal’s descriptions are lush and transportive, adding to the overall atmosphere of the story. The plot moves at a steady pace, allowing the characters’ development to take center stage, which made their journeys feel authentic and relatable. For readers who enjoy stories about family dynamics, emotional growth, and a touch of mystery, When We Believed in Mermaids is a wonderful choice. It’s a poignant, heartwarming novel that leaves a lasting impression.

Well, I didn’t find out until the bio at the end that Barbara O’Neal writes “women’s fiction”. If I had, I might not have read this. If the description had referred to it as a “romance”, I would have thought of those awful paperbacks that many women devour like chocolate candies, but which I can’t get past one paragraph of. I’m a man, and I thoroughly enjoyed this novel from start to finish. I’m always interested in learning about the mysterious operations of the female mind, and this book, thoroughly feminine in approach and style, contributed to my learning. Its greatest strengths are the explorations of life as never being black and white as much as our minds want to put everything into one or the other category, its use of switching POV back and forth between the two very different – and so much alike – sisters, its beautifully poetic and sense-involving descriptions. The sense of smell, so underused in fiction, is evoked and given the importance it deserves. The physical expression of emotions in the body is also well done. The surfing descriptions are , however, of the “you had to be there and have done this” nature. The story creates suspense and eagerness to go forward to find out how things are going to turn out. The weaknesses are only two, and I have encountered both before in fiction by women: 1) Descriptions of events from long ago - an adult narrator recalling their childhood and early teen years - described in intimate, specific detail as if they had just occurred moments ago. Describing an event from 20 years ago and referring to the slight movement of a shadow on someone’s face, or a drop of dew on a grass blade, or the movement of the sun behind a wispy cloud, and the exact clothes the people were wearing... I suppose some of that would be recallable if it were directly related to the event being described, like how many buttons it took to get off their shirt, but most is just tiny physical, environmental details that would not likely be remembered after so long. While they are nice to read, it is a flaw in believability. Slight SPOILER, you may want to skip this paragraph: The second weakness is a certain predictability about the main character and in this type of novel. She is so strongly bent in one direction that there’s no surprise in where she’s going to go. None at all. Along with that, while, thank God, not all women’s fiction involves romance, the ones that do can only have one ending. I haven’t written a book review in a long time, though I have been reading voraciously. This was excellent enough to talk about, and to let men know it isn’t only just for women. That said, if you’re looking for espionage thrillers, you wouldn’t be reading a review of a book called “When We Believed In Mermaids” anyway. Original, beautifully written and highly recommended.

I wasn't expecting this book to be quite as dark as it became, although I'm really not sure why. An emotionally stable person doesn't fake their own death after all. The early glimpses we got of the sister's childhood, seemingly idyllic camps on the beach below their home, surfing and the presence of a beloved older sibling of course were not as they appeared on the surface and as the story develops we learn of neglect and abuse and suicide. As Kit travels to Auckland, chasing a glimpse of her sister's familiar face spotted on a TV newscast, we also meet Mari, living an idyllic suburban family life in NZ. Mari was Josie, Kit's sister once, long ago. I found the ease with which Kit tracked Josie down, once she had a city to work in, just a bit unbelievable. 1.5 million people live in Auckland, and asking around at surfing supply shops was not really feasible because surfing is big in the city. There are a lot of surfers in Auckland. As a New Zealander who grew up in Auckland I was very impressed with the lyrical description of the place. It made me a little homesick. I found the placing of the wonderful Sapphire House difficult. It's said to be in Mt Eden, and the views to the Waitakere ranges support that, but then it's on a cliff top above the sea and Mt Eden is not. But that's a minor quibble from a native. We learn that Mari's name is pronounced Mary, and as a Kiwi I just can't see it that way, especially in a NZ setting, the Maori pronunciation is automatic, and with the long A it should be Maarie. Again, a minor quibble from a local. There's two major subplots, one handled better than the other. One is a historical murder mystery related to the old house that Mari's husband has bought for her. I initially thought there would be parallels between that and the sister's story, but there wasn't and it didn't really go anywhere before being quickly wrapped up at the end. The other was Kit's romance with the unbelievably perfect flamenco singer Javier. It was a typical romance plotline and added a lot to showing how broken Kit was and I loved it, but it seemed a little unbelievable. Mari's husband Simon also seemed too good to be true. Of course, the whole book was leading to the reunion and it was as good and as bad as it could be. The fall out had the potential to be horrendous and I couldn't put the book down, reading late into the night to find out what happened, and thoroughly invested in the characters. The finale had me in tears with a solid emotional kick and a great HFN. This was my first book by this author, a great read and I'll be looking for more of her work.

I had been eyeing When We Believed in Mermaids by Barbara O’Neal for months before my book club voted it for our monthly read in September. I was, obviously, not disappointed in the choice. O’Neal does a great job of setting the scene in this book and not making us wait for the point of the book to be revealed. Right from chapter one that suspense was building. Kit’s personality reminded me a lot of myself from the moment she started explaining herself. Guarded against people, easier to just be by yourself than worry about others, etc. I felt a kinship with her, although I hadn’t been through some of the terrible ordeals she had in her lifetime. When we jumped to New Zealand, I really liked the characters that came into the story. I loved the ties she made to those people and found myself hesitant, but cheering for them none the same. I really did not like Josie, or Mari even, at all. From flashbacks to stories Kit told, Josie was always just a little selfish and got upset when she wasn’t the focus. Mari reminded me of the same and I just never was able to shake it. I love how O’Neal made me feel things through her book. I enjoy when a book really reached in and grips a specific emotion in me and this one had me on a bit of a rollercoaster ride. While it wasn’t an action packed story, it flowed quickly and didn’t feel boring. I honestly felt the romance aspect of it was more prominent than the main story line of finding Josie. Not sure if that was the goal O’Neal had, but for me that took focus. Overall I enjoyed this book. I feel like the ending was a bit sudden and that disappointed me a bit, but in the grand scheme of things this book was good as a whole. This is a perfect read on a rainy day when you want to escape to nicer climates and read a little drama and romance. I’ll definitely be checking out more from Barbara O’Neal.

I liked this novel – there are two main POV characters: Mari and Kit, both in their early 40’s. Mari is the mother of a pre-teen girl and happily married to Simon. Kit is not the marrying kind. As readers we hear from each POV in alternating chapters. We learn that Kit travels overseas looking for her missing sister Josie. Kit and her mother were both under the impression that Josie was dead but new information gives them second thoughts. Our first important reveal comes at the end of Chapter 4. Kit is at her destination but can’t seem to keep focused on her mission of looking for her sister. She is sidetracked (too distracted) by romance. She has flashbacks of her childhood and the time her sister was killed – or so she thought. Mari is working on a new major project. Via flashbacks we learn more and more about her childhood as well. At the 50% point in the book we get out next reveal about her. At the 60% we get another Mari reveal. More details of these reveals are provided as the story concludes. Well done. I didn’t know this book was “women’s fiction” until I read it. As a male, I still found the story well done and the plotting plausible. The romance part was 20% or so of the story and – while it fit the story’s ending – I could have done without it. The three key male characters in the story seemed to me to be “too good” (perhaps qualifying for sainthood) and were good-looking to boot! The two main female characters where attractive as well (don’t you just love it when only beautiful people populate your romance-prone fantasies?)

There are many things I enjoyed about this book, but overall, I can't say I loved it. This is the second book I have read by this author, and while this was a different story with different characters, it followed the same formula: Heroine is: highly-successful professionally; has a no-nonsense exterior, but is a scared little girl inside; closed off to close romantic relationships; physically insecure; frizzy-haired; comes from a family of impossibly beautiful, waifish, blonde women; a foodie; on a mission in a foreign land to solve a dark family mystery; and, falls into a passionate love affair with a famous, handsome stranger of exotic ethnicity that seems "too good to be true," but nope - he's the real deal, and it's really true love. And YES, he cooks her exotic dishes that she won't get a chance to eat, because they are too busy ripping each other's clothes off before they can get one bite down. So they eat the food in bed after they are blissfully spent, while wrapped around each other's bodies while bathed in the moonlight. Oh dear... So yeah. It seems like the same story and same characters as the last book, with some moderate adjustments. I guess it didn't help that I read this book immediately after completing the previous one and it was still fresh in my mind. Also, the endings of both books seemed very abrupt. I wanted more dang information. Oh well. That said, this author is very talented in many ways. She sets a lush scene - you can feel the ocean breeze and taste the salt air, or feel the moonlight kissing your shoulders and smell the dewy grass when she is describing scenery. She more than excels in that regard. Also, her descriptions of food are an almost sexual experience - I was raiding my fridge several times while reading - probably gained 5 lbs in 2 weeks! So, thanks for that, Barbara! Also, I feel that while some aspects of her writing style are annoying, she is actually a GOOD writer - as in, her writing is technically accurate. She doesn't make some of the errors that seem to be increasingly common these days. So I enjoy her as an author in many ways, and actually feel bad leaving a somewhat critical review. In short, reading this book was enjoyable enough, but I just couldn't get past the formulaic similarities with the previous book. Maybe it was a coincidence and I need to give this author another shot. I don't *not* recommend this book, but can't fully recommend it, either. I was torn between 3 or 4 stars.

This is a big, emotional and encompassing book. It’s the kind of story that you settle into and feel like you’ve traveled somewhere afterward. Reading it is like embarking on a harrowing journey that is also deeply satisfying. It begins when Kit sees her sister on TV. This would be somewhat unremarkable, except that her sister, Josie, has been presumed dead for over a decade. Impulsively, Kit goes to New Zealand, certain that her long-lost sister is somehow, inexplicably there, and very-much alive. The bulk of the story is Kit’s search and the aftermath. O’Neal does an excellent job of weaving together the present and the past, interspersed with vivid flashbacks of the sister’s chaotic childhood, both magical wonder and staggering neglect. The reader sees disturbing snapshots of abuse, betrayal, drugs and violence. These elements indelibly shape the women that they will later become, asking how much do the events and experiences of life determine our identity and destiny? There is so much to like about this enveloping tale. Strong characters, a believable sibling bond and complicated relationship dynamics, all set against a lush backdrop of sunlight, weather, ocean and sky. There is romance as well, though it seemed too earnest and over-the-top, at times. Beyond that, this is a generous open-hearted book about love, forgiveness and human frailty.

Loved it! We'll written characters, good pace and unexpected twists.

I read this book in a day! I just couldn't put it down, I wanted to know more and more about the characters and was hoping all the time for the story to come good in the end. The way the places are described the ocean the smells of weather of food, I found myself totally absorbed in this incredible story. This book would make a fantastic holiday read, as it drags you in very quickly.

Love Barbara’s books, couldn’t put this down, she knows how to create good characters you believe in, the stories are different each time. Her descriptions of places bring them to life.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the tale of the two sisters, the introduction of the brother, the erratic relationship between their parents and the underlying essence of love. I read it cover to cover, and immersed myself in the story. Now that I have finished the book, I feel a sense of loss. The characters were believable and authentic, and like a true love story, it all comes together in the end 💝

Barbara in her unique poetic style reaches into our heart and soul with this extraordinary story of hurt, loss, love and redemption. Great !