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This Place of Wonder

By: Barbara O'Neal
Narrated by: Coleen Marlo, Amy Landon, Alaska Jackson
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Publisher's summary

In the wake of a personal tragedy, four women face the past, their futures, and each other in a novel of broken ties and healing by the Amazon Charts bestselling author of When We Believed in Mermaids.

When famed chef Augustus Beauvais dies, he leaves behind a celebrated reputation—and four women grappling with loss, anger, pain, and the question of how the world will turn without him...

Meadow, the ex-wife with whom Augustus built an empire—and a family—still holds a place for him in her heart, even as she continues to struggle with his infidelities, which ended their twenty-year marriage. More unforgiving is Maya, his estranged daughter, who’s recently out of rehab but finally ready to reclaim her life. Norah, his latest girlfriend, sidelined her own career for unexpected love and a life of luxury, both of which are now gone with Augustus. And then there’s Rory, Meadow’s daughter, the voice of calm and reason in a chorus of discontent.

As Meadow, Maya, Norah, and Rory are flung together by tragedy, grief, and secrets yet to be revealed, they must accept—or turn away from—the legacy of great intentions and bad decisions Augustus left them. And when the circumstances around his death are called into question, their conflicted feelings become even more complicated. But moving forward is the only choice they have, and to do so, they’ll need to rely on family, friendship, and inner strength.

Set on the stunning, rugged California coastline, This Place of Wonder is an emotional, lush, and empowering story of four women finding their way in a changed world—and what a wondrous journey it will be.

©2022 Barbara Samuel. (P)2022 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“Kristin Hannah readers will thoroughly enjoy the family dynamic, especially the mother-daughter relationships.”Booklist (starred review)

“Barbara O’Neal’s latest novel is simply delicious. Engrossing, empathetic, and profoundly moving, I savored every sentence of this story of several very different women who find solace and second chances in each other after tragedy (though not before facing some hard truths and, yes, a few rock bottoms). This Place of Wonder is one of the best books I’ve read in a long time.”—Camille Pagán, bestselling author of Everything Must Go

This Place of Wonder is a wonderfully moving tale about four women whose journeys are all connected by one shared love: some are romantic, some are familial, but all are deeply complicated. Dealing with loss, love, hidden secrets, and second chances, this stirring tale is utterly engaging and ultimately hopeful. Set along the rugged California coastline, This Place of Wonder will sweep you away with the intoxicating scents, bold flavors, and sweeping views of the region and transport you to a world you won’t be in any hurry to leave.”—Colleen Hoover, #1 New York Times bestselling author

What listeners say about This Place of Wonder

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    5 out of 5 stars

best book I've read in a long time

mesmerizing. honestly I sobbed through the whole last chapter. so beautiful. and honest. highly recommend.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Great story

The story of Augustus and his women was hard to put down. I was done in two days!

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Good book

This was a very enjoyable read. I would highly recommend to anyone I would review more books if they didn’t have this foolish word count

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Draws you in immediately!

What a compelling story of family, secrets, love and coming together!
I enjoyed each of the main characters and didn't want the story to end!
Great for a road trip!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Beautiful story

Beautiful story of acceptance and redemption or maybe just survival. Performance was excellent. Worth the time if you have time to think about it afterwards, because you will be thinking about it.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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Kept me interested

It was anticlimactic but I enjoyed the characters and the story was good. I would recommend it to read.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Beautiful recipe.

Strong women, mothers and
daughters, sprinkling of good men. Great recipe. Beautifully made. Loved this book and performance.

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Really Enjoyable

I enjoyed getting to know these characters. I found the story intriguing with little mystery to it, but yet the mystery wasn’t the driving force. I would and have recommended this book.

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They just keep getting better and better!

I have been a fan of Barbara O’Neal’s books for close to two decades, and I loved her return to the restaurant world in this book. That, and she does a wonderful job of navigating the complexity of female relationships. Can’t wait for the next one!!

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2 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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Wandering Woke

It's a fairly decent premise and the story is probably worth a listen. However, there's a constant drip, drip, drip of woke wisdom and California correctness that may drive some listeners crazy. If you can get past that it I guess it's interesting enough - although I suspect many will bail halfway through.

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1 person found this helpful