Heaven Adjacent begins when Roseanna Chaldecott, a rich and powerful lawyer in Manhattan, leaves the city in her Maserati on one tank of gas on a whim in search for solitude. This is because her best friend Alice, one of her partners in the law firm, suddenly dies, possibly due to overwork, which makes Roseanna realize that her life, too, doesn’t make sense with so much work. This is the setup and the beginning of the book.

I have read quite a few of this author’s books and liked them very much, but in this book’s case, I couldn’t warm up to the main character. Her actions just didn’t make sense. Supposedly, she ended up being kind and sort of adopted her squatters later, only after threatening to throw them out of her very large land in the Adirondacks, several times over. That’s okay, but she did fail to keep her word to the company she founded and worked in. A kind person, no matter what happens to her, wouldn’t backstab her coworkers by suddenly taking off and leaving things undone and her clients without an attorney. Then her relationship with her son is another messed-up matter, too, which she repairs later.

Roseanna might have been scared and upset but for a smart attorney, to run from the life she built up like that didn’t make sense to me, even if she might have snapped somewhat and she acted on a split-second decision. If she were so smart and wise, she could still search for her solitude in a different way without hurting her law firm, and she would weigh the consequences of her actions, the lawsuits, etc. that almost left her penniless. Had she been astute enough, she would also notice her friend Alice’s true feelings about her, too.

I liked the squatters much more than Roseanna. At least, their actions resulted from desperation. Then, of course, they were all quirky. The little girl’s effect on Roseanna was positive, and cute, too.

The storytelling, however, is seamless and beautiful as is usual with Hyde. Scenes are constructed beautifully and the setting is something one could dream about.

Despite my dislike of the protagonist, I still enjoyed reading this book, and I will still read other books by Catherine Ryan Hyde because the messages in all her books target human emotions, actions, and their outcomes.

entertainment or beach reading.

the setting, the land Roseanna bought.

the protagonist.

Catherine Ryan Hyde who wrote and published 35 books, including Just After Midnight, Heaven Adjacent, The Wake Up, Allie And Bea, Say Goodbye For Now, Leaving Blythe River, Ask Him Why, Worthy, The Language Of Hoofbeats, Take Me With You, When I Found You, Walk Me Home, and Don't Let Me Go.

This is not a bad book and readers may well like it a lot if they can stand the main character in the beginning.
Granted she changed at the end learning to accept people as they are, although I found that change to be too drastic.

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Created Aug 23, 2019 at 1:46pm • Submit your own review...