When We Believed in Mermaids

A Novel

By: Barbara O'Neal

Narrated by: Sarah Naughton, Katherine Littrell

Length: 11 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

An Amazon Charts, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today best seller

From the author of The Art of Inheriting Secrets comes an emotional new tale of two sisters, an ocean of lies, and a search for the truth.

Her sister has been dead for 15 years when she sees her on the TV news....

Josie Bianci was killed years ago on a train during a terrorist attack. Gone forever. It’s what her sister, Kit, an ER doctor in Santa Cruz, has always believed. Yet all it takes is a few heart-wrenching seconds to upend Kit’s world. Live coverage of a club fire in Auckland has captured the image of a woman stumbling through the smoke and debris. Her resemblance to Josie is unbelievable. And unmistakable. With it comes a flood of emotions - grief, loss, and anger - that Kit finally has a chance to put to rest: by finding the sister who’s been living a lie.

After arriving in New Zealand, Kit begins her journey with the memories of the past: of days spent on the beach with Josie. Of a lost teenage boy who’d become part of their family. And of a trauma that has haunted Kit and Josie their entire lives.

Now, if two sisters are to reunite, it can only be by unearthing long-buried secrets and facing a devastating truth that has kept them apart far too long. To regain their relationship, they may have to lose everything.

©2019 Barbara Samuel (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Hard to get past one of the narrators

Like others have reviewed... it is very hard to get past one of the narrator’s pronunciation of some words. Did no one else listen to this before it was sent off to the public? I really hate to be harsh - it’s not the fault of the narrator because she should have been corrected or not hired in the first place. Many words with the letter “i” in it are pronounced as “u”. “Hands on her hUps”, “kUds”, “nUpples”, etc. It’s very distracting. I’ve only just started listening, but I felt the need to share.

What took me so long to purchase this book!?

I loved it. I've always been a fan of Barara O'Neal...I'm not sure why it took me until 2024 to purchase and listen to this book. The material highlighted just how deep dysfunction can run in a family...and how possible it is to heal. Good stuff. I rarely cry when listening, but I did cry a couple of times during this audible book.

A little smutty and endless boring details.

If you’re into sex scenes being described- go for it, mate! Found the writing style a bit boring. Describing too many details of simple interactions: like buying a pair of sandals and some T-shirts shouldn’t get its own chapter lol. Anyway. “Entertaining” on a cross country journey, helped pass the time. But honestly wish I had given a better book those 13 hours.

Great Read

I really, really liked this book. It was a great read performed with excellent narration as well as storyline. WHEN WE BELIEVED IN MERMAIDS has my highest recommendation!

Lovely story

Admittedly fairly unrealistic, but still a lovely and well-written story about recovering from tragedy and disfunction, and finding love and forgiveness. Just the right length and story development. Excellent reader-will be looking for more of her narrations.

light and dark

A lovely story that captures the difficulties of two young girls who grow into women haunted by ghosts of the past. Their individual stories of turning darkness into light.

When We Believed in Mermaids

What a beautiful and touching story, filled with so many emotions that can be related to, definitely a tissue box must be close. If you wanting a heartfelt story to read/listen to, this book is a must! Really enjoyed it. The narration was perfect.

Great read,loved the book and couldn’t quit listening!

Loved the story and the characters! This book is one you put down!
The narrators were great!

Big Lies, Big Secrets, Big Regrets.

I have mixed feelings with this one. In fact, I'm almost speechless. The main characters in this story could be the poster children for all the bad things that can go wrong when parents don't parent. But there's so much more going on here. In fact, almost nothing in this story is simplistic.

As unique as this novel was, I felt that it dragged a bit. There were times I found myself a bit frustrated with the way certain parts of the story were being kept a mystery. Interestingly, none of the actual main characters are without fault. They're all quite damaged and something short of the social norm.

Reading this human trainwreck is at times chilling and heartbreaking, but there are also beautiful moments as well. It's an interesting and well written piece.

I love love loved it

A bit of a slow burn but worth the listen. A little romance, a little suspense, etc.