This story is wonderfully written. The Moon is Missing is a story of family, lessons learned, love and forgiveness.....especially forgiveness of ones self. There are also some secrets thrown in for good measure. I loved this story and I really loved the different locations of the book.

For me this was an enthralling escape into a beautifully written story. It made me realize that the journey for each of us is unique. I absolutely loved this book including the stunning cover. It gave me feelings from heartbreak to cheering for Georgia as she struggles with her decisions. Jenni Ogden has such an amazing talent for tapping into the readers' emotions, creating excitement to read the next page. I highly recommend this book for anyone wanting a book that will keep you captivated and will echo in your mind well after you have turned the last page.

Great book. Really felt like I connected with all of the characters.in the book. Didn't want to put it down. I found myself reading it to the wee hours of the nights. Found myself constantly guessing through the whole back why Danny fell. Book did not disappoint.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my digital copy in exchange for an honest opinion.

I chose this book because I really liked the cover but I also ended up really liking the story. There are two parts to this book, really. We have the part from the past about Georgia and who she thinks is the love of her life, Danny. They plan on marrying when one day he comes to say that he isn't ready and can't go through with the wedding. They had a horrible fight, he stormed out, and he lost his life that day...but Georgia has no memories of WHY or HOW. Did she do it? Was she that angry? She happened to be pregnant at the time and that is where Lara comes in. Georgia has moved on and created a new family, which is where Adam and Finbar come in. One day Lara gets an assignment at school about family history and wants to know all about her Dad and who she really is...well, you can't get blood from a stone and there isn't a whole lot to tell. They argue about it and Georgia goes on to work, where she meets someone who looks just like Danny. Pretty soon, she is getting anxiety attacks and can no longer function as a neurosurgeon. But she does go on a trip to New Orleans(Lara talks her way into going with her) for business and that is when all Hell breaks loose. No, seriously...Katrina storms on in and takes over for awhile. That is where I will stop but so many things happen because of this trip that the reader's interest never wanes from that point on. There is a lot of personal growth in the story and that is a big thing with me right now. I would completely recommend it to lovers of family drama and personal growth. On the plus side, I was constantly looking up the locations the author describes which is also a good thing in my opinion.

Jenni Ogden’s “The Moon Is Missing” is a wonderfully written story. Evoking feelings about thought provoking situations that were handled with much consideration making it a story I did not want to stop reading until I could finish it.
This is a story of a woman, Georgia Grayson, who becames a neurosurgeon and loving wife and mother of two children as her life starts to fall apart a second time.
Stress at work with long hours, loss of a patient, a teen daughter asking questions about her biological father, and nightmares of repressed memories all cause her increased panic attacks that could cost her her family.
When Georgia is asked to go to New Orleans for a work related conference she takes her daughter with her in the hope of giving her answers about her father only they end up helping and living through hurricane Katrina and its after effects.
A family secret is revealed that could make or break so many of Georgia’s family relationships as old memories of pain are brought to light.

I have some mixed thoughts on this book overall. On the one hand I did enjoy it. There was a sense of mystery and the real life backdrop of hurricane Katrina was interesting too. There seemed to be some romanticised notions relating to American life and at times I lost track of the protagonist's history with her New Zealand background, time in New Orleans while living in London. That being said, I did enjoy the story overall, with only a few moments of disbelief relating to the characters or their relationships to one another.

This was a really great book. There are so many parts of the book that people will relate to in regards to family and family life. It was intriguing and made me want to continue to finish the book to find the end. I would recommend the book for people to read.

A great novel from Jenni that included the trauma of a hurricane. It also showed the dedicated work of the medical staff as they looked after those caught up in a hurricane. Georgia tries to unfold the circumstances surrounding the death of her daughter Lara’s biological father for both Lara and her own peace of mind.

The Moon is Missing is the story of Georgia, a neurosurgeon who experiences panic attacks after performing surgery on a young man who resembles a long lost lover. She is ordered to take a break from surgery and see a psychologist, then a therapist. Unpleasant memories that traumatized her years ago are cropping up despite her unsuccessful attempts to quash them, and she realizes she needs dig deep and reconnect with them for the sake of her husband, son, and especially her daughter, coming into her teen/act out years. It was a good story, the characters were clear and well thought out and a plot in three sequences. Despite the drama, the hurricane, the family dynamics, this book to me lacked real passion. I thought it could have used something to give it a little “oomph.” Felt just a tad flat to me, and I thought the ending was rushed. Thank you to Netgalley and Sea Dragon Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Publication Date: August 25, 2020

Thank you to NetGalley and Sea Dragon Press for this advanced reader's copy. In exchange, I am providing an honest review.

Ogden's first title, A Drop in the Ocean, was lovely and I knew I would want to read other works Jenni Ogden published. I was not disappointed with this story. Ogden is not a one-hit-wonder, she's got lasting power with her stories and characters.

In this story, Georgia, a talented neurosurgeon, is being confronted with parts of her past she can't remember and frankly doesn't want to. Her 15-year-old daughter, Lara, is asking the questions Georgia has been dreading since the day she found out Lara had been conceived. "Who am I? Who bloody am I?" Lara has always known Adam wasn't her bio dad, but he's always been her Dad. A school assignment is dredging all this up and Georgia knows she and Adam are going to have some hard conversations with each other and Lara. She can't predict the outcome.

After a scare in the theater during a somewhat routine surgery, Georgia is put on leave from surgical procedures and made to see a psychologist. She fears what will be scraped up during the sessions and try as she might to keep everything present day, her therapist Sarah won't let that happen. As Georgia works with Sarah to remember the night and circumstances surrounding Danny's (Lara's bio dad) death things at home unravel. She and Adam aren't speaking and when they do it's fighting. Lara is bitter and angry and making everyone miserable when she's home and Finbar, Georgia and Adam's son, is perplexed and attempting to smooth things over for everyone. Several months into this unsettled state Georgia and Lara go to New Orleans for a conference. It just so happens Hurrican Katrina is visiting New Orleans the same weekend they are.

The storm that rages in and upends the city of New Orleans turns out to be the same storm that whips everything back together for Georgia and her family. As the days post-Katrina play out and Georgia and Lara try to get out of New Orleans and back to London perspective comes back to Georgia. And post-Katrina she takes the hard steps to set everything right.

There was a lot about this title I really liked. Ogden broke the story up into three parts and part 2 is where Georgia and Lara are in New Orleans. I have read just one other book about New Orleans and Hurrican Katrina, a true story titled Zeitoun that I highly recommend, and I could not tell the difference between Ogden's description of the hurricane and its aftermath in New Orleans and the true account from Zeitoun. I don't know how she was able to so vividly get the reader there and immersed, no pun intended, in the event but she did. She must have researched her socks off or had a personal connection to someone who lived through it. I felt like I could smell, hear, feel all of what was happening as she described it. It was gripping.

In part 1 I loved Georgia's therapist, I wanted to contact her for some sessions myself. Because Ogden was a clinical neuropsychologist in her first life she can expertly pen a character like Sarah. I really took to her...too bad she isn't a real person and closer to me than London. *grin* I liked Georgia and Adam's relationship until I didn't. My dislike of it was only contained to about 1/3 of the story but it really set me on edge. The speed at which Adam got fed up with Georgia and her struggles in the OR and at home regarding Lara's push to know about Danny really frustrated me. And this is not the only story I have read in which solid couples unravel quickly at the first sign of one of them in real emotional distress. Ugh. The impatience and whining about physical intimacy really rubs me wrong, I think because I know people are actually like that and I would like to think people aren't so selfish, even though I know better. Anyway, big picture Georgia and Adam are a great couple.

Part 3 is where Georgia is taking all the hard but necessary steps to make it all right again or actually right for the first time. The hurricane gave her the mental and emotional breakthroughs and perspective she needed and now she's setting it all straight. It's a great read on the steps of healing and bringing resolution to situations.

This was a really lovely title. I enjoyed it just as much as I did Ogden's first title a few years back. I would consider myself a fan of her characters and stories for sure.

Georgia is a neurosurgeon living in London with her family. When she loses a patient during surgery, a patient who looks like a past love, Danny who died tragically, she begins to have anxiety and panic attacks. Her daughter, Lara, pushing her to reveal more about her father only adds to the stress.

Georgia is ordered to seek psychiatric help and cannot perform surgeries until she is given the all clear. While she is trying to make sense of her past and her anxiety, her family is falling apart. Her husband, Adam, might be on the verge of having an affair and her daughter is mixed up with the wrong crowd.

The opportunity to return to New Orleans for a conference where her past with Danny, a jazz singer, all began she takes it! And she brings her daughter with her. Within a few days of their arrival hurricane Katrina hits like no other storm before it. Georgia helps out at the nearest hospital and rediscovers what she loves about being a doctor. When she can she sends her daughter home but Georgia goes home to New Zealand to confront her past once and for all.

I did enjoy reading this book. It started off strong but there were some moments when I felt like not enough backstory was made clear. In chapter 22 especially, I had to reread the part where Georgia learns about why Danny wanted to postpone the wedding because names were flying like crazy. Fiona, John, Seamus, Leroy- and I was like "wait, who?" It felt rushed.

Thank you Netgalley, Sea Dragon Press and Jenni Ogden for the opportunity to read this ARC.