Crescendo follows Jamie and Caz, adult siblings who find themselves suddenly thrown into a family tragedy when a fire destroys their family home. Eldest Caz is a stay-at-home mum for her young family and Jamie finds himself having to stay at his very new girlfriends house.

We follow the very different brother and sister as they deal with the aftermath of this huge upheaval in their family and, although it is quite an upsetting read at times, I found it believable and very easy to read.

A very accomplished debut and I look forward to reading more from this author.

There's not much better than taking a chance on a debut novel and it turning out better than you'd hoped.

Crescendo tells the story of Jamie and Caz Fenton who find themselves in the middle of a family tragedy. Jamie is the archetypal youngest child - still at home and reliant on his parents, in a job that he's hopeless at and dreaming of being a concert pianist. Older sister Caz was the wild child. She's married to a man who adores her with 2 little girls who are the apple of their mother's eye.

But after the tragedy the two siblings find themselves thrown into lives that they struggle with. Will they rise to the occasion or will their losses be too much to bear?

I often begin reading several books at a time but Crescendo took over my attention. I raced through it, desperate to know what happened next. Of itself, the story has elements that we've probably all come across either in other books or our own lives but it is the sensitivity of the writing and the immensely believable characters who really drove this story.

Joanna Howat has written a wonderful debut novel and I shall look out for her name on novels in the future.

Thoroughly enjoyed it. Highly recommended.

Thankyou to Netgalley for the advance review copy. Most appreciated.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC! This was a complicated story of how two siblings grieve the sudden death of their parents. I enjoyed Jamie’s storyline. It felt fully flushed out and there were details on his thought process / how he was coping. I struggled a bit with Caz’s storyline. She had a much different story, but it felt like the conclusion was rushed for the final few chapters. The supporting characters were well written and added to the story. I’m giving 3.5 stars, I would have liked to explore some details of the storylines more, but I enjoyed Howat’s writing and would love to read her next book. I would recommend this book if you’re looking to read about complicated family dynamics and grieving.

tw: grief, death of parents, alcoholism, self harm

I liked this book--didn't love it, mostly because the main characters were challenging for me. I do love a good family story, and this one filled the bill. Good writing, great first novel.

This is the story of siblings Jamie and Caz, and how they cope (or don't cope) with the sudden death of their parents in a house fire. Author Joanna Howat writes well, in a sentence to sentence kind of way, but this book is a bit aimless. It's at it's best when it is showing Jamie's development and struggles, and it's worst when it is telling about Caz - which never gets explored deeply. It veers into second chance romance territory, and looks as if it might go into mysteryland, but shies away from that. The dénouement was annoying - I keep reading books where people spend the final chapter running around, when there is no need for that, and that's how the end of this felt. I will be keeping an eye out for Howat's future work, because I think she has a lot of potential as an author.

I was given an e-arc from NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an honest review.

Give me a good book about families and I'll stay up late reading. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of Crescendo by Joanna Howat. I did just that because this story has dysfunctional parents and siblings and drama! The pace of the story impressed me, and I found the writing to be excellent. It moved along well.

This book was really good! I often times wonder in my own life what it will be like to be that adults with no other adults to tell me what to do. This book has good themes of family dysfunction, love, relationships, and growth. It was a really good read.

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complementary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

The easiest 5 star read. ⭐️ Crescendo DELIVERED. I am such a huge ‘word’ person, and this was beautifully written.
There was so much realism in here, and it was amazing to follow as I felt like I was there. This book carried so much weight and emotion and I’m so glad I experienced this read. If I could read this again for the first time, I would.

Huge thank you to @netgalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review. But also thank you to Joanna Howat for writing this.

#egalley #arc #crescendo #joannahowat #bookstagram #booksbooksbooks

A family tragedy, very different siblings and their very different reactions when faced with grief. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel; difficult topics but excellent execution.

What a fantastic book! Joanna, you wrote a beautiful story. I love the main character and their honest heart. It was wonderful.