Never a Cloud

by Jo Brunini

Some things can only be hidden for so long. Some things are too difficult to talk about, and some things you have to repeat even when no one is listening...

Never a Cloud charts the course of three women, Violet, Ava, and Margot, who find their way into a new understanding of home and family at Otyrburn, an estate in rural Scotland.

Violet Grey, a child of the 60s, writes from an island in Maine, as the novel travels between Scotland, New York City, and Venice, Italy. Otyrburn belongs to George Gardner and Margot Reid, who is the half-sister of Violet’s daughter, Ava. This is something Margot discovers only when Ava unexpectedly arrives. Their host George, a director at the Metropolitan Museum, finds himself under suspicion for illicit activity, while Margot has reconnected with her childhood sweetheart, who is helping restore the worn-at-the-edges Regency Manor, where secrets long forgotten, and those newly discovered, converge.

Genres: Fiction

427 pages, Paperback

Published November 15, 2022

About the author

Giovanna “Jo” Brunini is a writer and an artist. Generation “restless brood,” at nineteen she dropped out of university, and left home. She later earned a BS from the University of Vermont, with a concentration in mythology and cosmology. Published by EDEN, Evolving Magazine, and Your Tango, she’s appeared on the podcast Face2Face with David Peck. A Vermont native, Jo lives with poet Jonathan Tabakin where they enjoy chance encounters with white egrets, herons, coy-wolves, and the occasional lynx and bear. She has lived in California, Mexico City, the Yucatán, and Rome.

"Even clouds have character. A careful observer can only know the sky if they have taken the time to live beneath it."

—Jo Brunini, Never a Cloud

Reviews

[Sandi Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

J8Violet, Ava, and Margot find their way into a new understanding of home and family. This novel is told by Violet Grey, a child of the sixties, who writes from Hopper's Island, Maine, as the novel travels between Perthshire, Scotland, New York City, and Venice, Italy. The Regency Manor Otyrburn, Scotland now belongs to George Gardner and Margot Reid after the recent death of her father Archie Reid and who is the half-sister of Violet’s daughter, Ava. This is something Margot discovers only when Ava unexpectedly arrives. George is a director at the Metropolitan Museum, finds himself under suspicion for forgery and fraud, while Margot has reconnected Owen Fowler, her boyfriend and first love from her teen years who is now the gardener helping to renovate Otyrburn. George’s brother, Will, is also part of the art world and travels between Venice and New York. Some things can only be hidden for so long and some things are too difficult to talk about. I found this book very interesting as I felt like I was actually in Scotland and found the Highland history and legends very interesting also I can never get enough of the great works of art.
#GoodreadsGiveaway

[Jane · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thank you to Kirkus review and the author.

I didn't get this book at all and I didn't give it a chance maybe. I felt it started in the middle without really introducing the characters. Even after reading the plot before I started it I didn't get it. Too many characters and too many places for me.

Of course I’m in the minority again after seeing the 5 ⭐️ reviews on here and Amazon.

[Alicia Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t usually read books like this but it sounded so darn good! It was too! Follow the lives of these ladies and fall in love with love again! A first read by Jo Bruniini and it won’t be the last. Happy reading!

[Ming Fen · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s a fantastic book, full of twists and turns. Thoughtfully written. It challenges the reader to imagine other possibilities in life.

[Jonathan Tabakin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartwarming, and yet uncompromising, a novel for our troubled times that speaks to where we've been, and where we want to go. Fresh, funny, and often delightfully irreverent.

[Breaona Patnode · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hands down the most poorly written book I’ve ever attempted to read. I had to stop multiple times and then drag myself back to it, against my better judgement.
There were no descriptive details to assist in picturing the characters or the settings, and the figurative language used, as well as the poor sentence structure was so overwhelming it “clouded” the actual moral of the story (assuming there was meant to be one).
I want my time back.