The Beautiful Little Things: one family's journey through loss and grief

The Beautiful Little Things by Melissa Hill is a story of sisters, torn by grief, finding a way to rediscover joy. The family home in the foothills of the Dublin Mountains has always a welcome escape. Romy Moore cherishes the warm embrace her family gives as she starts her career at the bottom of the London publishing ladder. Her mother, Cathy, has always been her biggest supporter as she chased her dreams. When her mother dies after a sudden illness, Romy feels adrift. Joanna has always been ambitious, coolheaded with her act together. But after the birth of her twin daughters and the death of her mother, she finds herself questioning what she wants anymore. When Romy discovers her mother’s journals, she realizes that her mother left behind precious words of wisdom to spark life back into the family and face a future without her. 

The Beautiful Little Things is a story of grief and finding a way to move forward. The synopsis spoke to me as a moving story and I was eager to read it. Unfortunately, the story dragged on. It switched first person narrators between Romy and Joanna with very little indication of the switch. It was confusing and often headache inducing. Other than stating Dublin Mountains, which I had to google where they are located, there was no indication where this story took place in Ireland. A story of grief can happen anywhere; however, this story didn’t feel like Ireland. Overall, the story fell flat for me and it wasn’t the story I thought it was going to be. I was bored half the time. The parts I did enjoy were the mother’s journal entries. However, if you are intrigued by the story, I recommend checking out The Beautiful Little Things. 

The Beautiful Little Things is available in paperback, eBook, and audiobook