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lmrivas54's review against another edition
3.0
Not very enthused with this book. It was a little dreary. Even though I liked the story, I didn't like the characters very much. What I did like was that the story is very convoluted, and the character's lives made me reflect. The story takes place in a little town in New Jersey called Quarrytown. And this town had, you guessed it, a quarry. It is used as a beach and there's a dive shop called Go Deep. They do dive classes, dive trips, etc. All the characters live in, yep, Quarry Road, and it involves two families who are neighbors, have known each other all their lives, and the kids, two sisters and two brothers, have unrequited feelings.
The action takes place in two time frames; alternating chapters take place in the present, the others take place around 20 years ago. You don't understand a thing at first, and as the flashbacks occur, you start understanding some of the actions that the characters are taking in the present. Of course, if I go into the past actions, I would be spoiling the book, so won't go there. All the characters are involved in some way. Alicia is Ilia's Stern ex-wife. She's unhappy, she's been yearning to be free to travel and yet is still stuck in Quarrytown. Her ex-husband is co-owner with her of the quarry and the dive business. He's some sort of loser, player, lazybones, who coasts through the jobs, doing the diving classes and trips, and leaves her the dreary job of managing the business. She does the finances, the scheduling, trip coordination, all the boring job, while he gets the perks of traveling. Nikolai Stern is Ilia's brother. He left right after high school, travelled the world doing odd jobs around and ended up working in a kibbitz in Israel. He comes to town suddenly to attend to their grandmother's last days.
Alicia and Ilya have a strange relation, more like fighting siblings than an ex-couple. They grew up together, were married for ten years, are now divorced and are still neighbors across the street. They get along mostly but squabble a lot. Nikolai and Alicia have a strange vibe and I got the feeling there was something there when they were kids but the marriage to Ilya killed any expectations. At this time, I had no idea why the heck Alicia married Ilya. That understanding comes later, in one of the flashback chapters.
Galinda, Ilya's and Niko's mother, arrives back to town for her mother's funeral, and she's another uneasy element, because she was not the best of mothers. Martha, a former step sister also arrives in town for the funeral. Her father was briefly married to Galinda when she was 12 years old, and she kept contact with the grandmother only. She has a second agenda in her visit and in time it comes out. Galinda assumes ownership of the house where Ilya lives amd assigns Niko to update the house. She had lived in North Carolina for over twenty years and siddenly decided to move back home. She's a strange character, and her intentions are not completely revealed in the book, so she remains sort of a mistery.
The feeling that comes out stronger in this book is yearning. All these characters took decisions, based on a tragedy that occurred 20 years ago, and it has shadowed their lives. Instead of dealing and overcoming the situation, they lived through the situation, and they are still heavily affected. There's a strong feeling of "should haves" about actions they didn't take years ago, and that lack has caused this big hole in their souls. Therefore, their conversations, their interactions, are fraught with disillusion, yearning, and a sort of cowardice to confront their inner desires. I felt some situations kept going in circles, generating discord, but no resolution. And then, all of a sudden, it got fixed. And I had no idea what happened!
The action takes place in two time frames; alternating chapters take place in the present, the others take place around 20 years ago. You don't understand a thing at first, and as the flashbacks occur, you start understanding some of the actions that the characters are taking in the present. Of course, if I go into the past actions, I would be spoiling the book, so won't go there. All the characters are involved in some way. Alicia is Ilia's Stern ex-wife. She's unhappy, she's been yearning to be free to travel and yet is still stuck in Quarrytown. Her ex-husband is co-owner with her of the quarry and the dive business. He's some sort of loser, player, lazybones, who coasts through the jobs, doing the diving classes and trips, and leaves her the dreary job of managing the business. She does the finances, the scheduling, trip coordination, all the boring job, while he gets the perks of traveling. Nikolai Stern is Ilia's brother. He left right after high school, travelled the world doing odd jobs around and ended up working in a kibbitz in Israel. He comes to town suddenly to attend to their grandmother's last days.
Alicia and Ilya have a strange relation, more like fighting siblings than an ex-couple. They grew up together, were married for ten years, are now divorced and are still neighbors across the street. They get along mostly but squabble a lot. Nikolai and Alicia have a strange vibe and I got the feeling there was something there when they were kids but the marriage to Ilya killed any expectations. At this time, I had no idea why the heck Alicia married Ilya. That understanding comes later, in one of the flashback chapters.
Galinda, Ilya's and Niko's mother, arrives back to town for her mother's funeral, and she's another uneasy element, because she was not the best of mothers. Martha, a former step sister also arrives in town for the funeral. Her father was briefly married to Galinda when she was 12 years old, and she kept contact with the grandmother only. She has a second agenda in her visit and in time it comes out. Galinda assumes ownership of the house where Ilya lives amd assigns Niko to update the house. She had lived in North Carolina for over twenty years and siddenly decided to move back home. She's a strange character, and her intentions are not completely revealed in the book, so she remains sort of a mistery.
The feeling that comes out stronger in this book is yearning. All these characters took decisions, based on a tragedy that occurred 20 years ago, and it has shadowed their lives. Instead of dealing and overcoming the situation, they lived through the situation, and they are still heavily affected. There's a strong feeling of "should haves" about actions they didn't take years ago, and that lack has caused this big hole in their souls. Therefore, their conversations, their interactions, are fraught with disillusion, yearning, and a sort of cowardice to confront their inner desires. I felt some situations kept going in circles, generating discord, but no resolution. And then, all of a sudden, it got fixed. And I had no idea what happened!
jasmyn9's review
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
A well-written story with some fun characters, but I just couldn't get into the storyline.
jackiehorne's review against another edition
4.0
There's often a strong current of sadness in Hart's love stories, and this latest is no exception. Neighbors Ilya and Nikolai Stern and Alicia and Jennilynn Harrison grew up together on a dead-end street by an abandoned quarry, running in and out of one another's houses as if they were their own. But after Jennilynn dies as a teen, the three are left emotionally scarred. Niko runs away to escape his demanding mother, while Ilya and Alicia end up marrying and buying the abandoned quarry by which Jennilynn died, neither able to let the girl they both loved go.
When the book opens, more than a decade after Jennilynn's death, Ilya and Alicia are now divorced, Alicia never able to fill her sister's shoes for demanding, selfish Ilya. But the two still are struggling to keep their business, Dive In, above water. But the illness of Ilya's grandmother brings both Niko and the boys' melodramatic mother, Galina, back to town, and sets off the beginning of a series of revelations that will change all of their lives.
Hart uses multiple points of view to tell her story; we are inside the heads not only of Alicia and Niko, the romantic pair here, but also in Ilya's, Theresa's (Ilya and Niko's one-time stepsister), and even for brief moments Galina's. No one person's take on the events of the past, or those of the present, is sufficient to convey the entire nuanced picture, or the entirety of the characters' realities; neither is a single book, as there are still several unresolved secrets still to be revealed in the companion book, ALL THE SECRETS WE KEEP.
When the book opens, more than a decade after Jennilynn's death, Ilya and Alicia are now divorced, Alicia never able to fill her sister's shoes for demanding, selfish Ilya. But the two still are struggling to keep their business, Dive In, above water. But the illness of Ilya's grandmother brings both Niko and the boys' melodramatic mother, Galina, back to town, and sets off the beginning of a series of revelations that will change all of their lives.
Hart uses multiple points of view to tell her story; we are inside the heads not only of Alicia and Niko, the romantic pair here, but also in Ilya's, Theresa's (Ilya and Niko's one-time stepsister), and even for brief moments Galina's. No one person's take on the events of the past, or those of the present, is sufficient to convey the entire nuanced picture, or the entirety of the characters' realities; neither is a single book, as there are still several unresolved secrets still to be revealed in the companion book, ALL THE SECRETS WE KEEP.
tiffanyreadsbooks24's review against another edition
5.0
Characters hooked me in. Quick read and looking fwd to read the 2nd book now.
pipparature's review against another edition
3.0
Two families, intertwined for years, are brought back together by a sad event which impacts upon all of them. As they meet again it becomes clear that the families are bound by an old tragedy which has shaped all of the lives affected by it. Two marry, then divorce. One runs and barely returns home in the intervening period. The thirty somethings reunite with history weighing heavily upon them all.
I found this novel to be quite a challenging read. The three main protagonists live on the same street and Alicia and Ilya, once married, still work together. Nikolai (Ilya's brother) returns and is bound to upset the status quo. It immediately becomes clear that much has been unsaid between them and that this time will be a turning point for all of them.
The book is well written but I found it at times uncomfortably oppressive. The main characters are wound up so tightly in each others lives that, at times, I wanted to walk away from it entirely. None of them are especially likeable and while I did end up rooting for two of them, the ending was a little stilted and 'obvious'. I was hoping for the historical situation to be more resolved but I see there is a second Quarry Street novel which I may have to read just to confirm the seeds of suspicion I have had set out by this one. In some ways I didn't enjoy this novel enough to read the sequel but I have thought about it since I finished it and I would like to know.
I found this novel to be quite a challenging read. The three main protagonists live on the same street and Alicia and Ilya, once married, still work together. Nikolai (Ilya's brother) returns and is bound to upset the status quo. It immediately becomes clear that much has been unsaid between them and that this time will be a turning point for all of them.
The book is well written but I found it at times uncomfortably oppressive. The main characters are wound up so tightly in each others lives that, at times, I wanted to walk away from it entirely. None of them are especially likeable and while I did end up rooting for two of them, the ending was a little stilted and 'obvious'. I was hoping for the historical situation to be more resolved but I see there is a second Quarry Street novel which I may have to read just to confirm the seeds of suspicion I have had set out by this one. In some ways I didn't enjoy this novel enough to read the sequel but I have thought about it since I finished it and I would like to know.
booklvrkat's review against another edition
4.0
Have you ever gone to a wedding and just "know" it's not going to work between the couple? Nothing you could nail down, but in your gut you know. As with all Megan Hart stories this starts out dark and stays in the gray for a long time, giving you a little snapshots of bright sunny days full of hope.
eslismyjam's review against another edition
Love Hart but could not get into this one. No central driving romance was the issue I think.
sarahrife85's review against another edition
5.0
LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS BOOK!!! Actually read this on accident, did not realize it was a book i had on netgalley! Got it from my local library, didn't even take 8 hours to read this book that's how hooked i was. I love everything about it, Loved all the back information, felt complete after reading it, i understood everything, felt like i had just enough information that i wasn't left with any questions. LOVED Alicia and Nikolai, felt a little bad for the brother but like Nikolai said he did have her first! Found myself encouraging them to steal moments together! GREAT READ!
shai3d's review against another edition
3.0
Not the normal genre of books that I read but I do have to admit that I found ALL THE LIES WE TELL entrancing. Jumping between the past and present, we are able to see just what caused Alicia, Ilya and Nikolai to become the people that they are.
It always should have been Alicia and Niko but after he left without a word, she ended up married and divorced from Ilya. Now Niko is back and they both have to discover whether their attraction is due to their past or does the past just deepen their current connection.
I enjoyed this book and it caused me to rethink some things that I have done in the past and how they are effecting my current life. I do feel that any of my readers that enjoy contemporary romance will enjoy this book though it is a bit deeper then a lot of what you find in that genre.
*** I received this book at no charge from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions expressed within are my own.
It always should have been Alicia and Niko but after he left without a word, she ended up married and divorced from Ilya. Now Niko is back and they both have to discover whether their attraction is due to their past or does the past just deepen their current connection.
I enjoyed this book and it caused me to rethink some things that I have done in the past and how they are effecting my current life. I do feel that any of my readers that enjoy contemporary romance will enjoy this book though it is a bit deeper then a lot of what you find in that genre.
*** I received this book at no charge from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions expressed within are my own.