The Nine Lives of Rose Napolitano

July 10, 2026 /

The Nine Lives of Rose Napolitano ~ Donna Freitas

Rose does not have children. She has never wanted children. She has always been very clear about this, to herself, to her family, her friends, and her partners. She marries Luke, who also does not want to have children, never has. Until a few years into their marriage, his parents convince him that life is meaningless without kids, and now suddenly it is the most important thing ever for him. He’s a complete dick to her, and piles on the pressure, despite knowing that she doesn’t want kids, despite knowing (I assume) how much money and work goes into being a parent, despite knowing how much of the work of parenting will fall on Rose. He does not care, HE WANTS A CHILD. In an effort to appease asshole Luke, Rose agrees to take pre-natal vitamins, but then she does not do so, which results in a big blowout argument. From this beginning (not that it’s in order, the book goes back and forth in time and the fight keeps happening in different realities), we get 9 different outcomes. They divorce, they stay married, he cheats, she cheats, they have a child, they don’t have a child, etc.

I wanted to like this book, I generally like stories where we see different outcomes of decisions made. Not this time. I kept wanting there to be a version where I didn’t hate Luke, but there wasn’t one. I felt like I needed a spreadsheet to follow the different versions of her story, which was annoying. Some of the realities had different characters with the same name, which was dumb and confusing. I think I would have liked it more if they hadn’t gone forward and backward between different lives…like, give me life 1, then life 2, etc. The best part about the book was her relationship with her parents, and that it wasn’t overly long.

This book gets a lot of great reviews, but it was not for me. Not recommended.

Update ~ I didn’t have any other books ready to listen to, so I started this one over again. Guess what? I’m liking it a lot more this time! I like rereading books, and especially re-listening, to see if I feel the same way, etc. So if you’re interested in this story, don’t let my bad review stop you!

Update #2 ~ I just finished my second listen, and I’m much happier this time around. HOWEVER, I still have thoughts, and am going to discuss them. Silly since you all have read already and likely won’t see this, but I want to say things anyway.

SPOILERS ABOUND

In every single reality, Rose has a kid. She either has one to appease Luke, or she falls for another man, Thomas, who in the realities where she does not have a kid, he has a kid. So she’s either a mom or a step-mom. This woman who NEVER WANTED KIDS. In the afterword, the author said she wrote this book for women who didn’t want kids, to make them feel seen. How the hell does writing a book where said woman ALWAYS HAS KIDS do this? URGH. Also, I’m a little annoyed that Thomas’s kid has the same name as her kid. What? In no timeline is this THEIR kid (unless I REALLY missed something). I really wanted there to be at least a couple of timelines where Rose did NOT have a child, and she was happy and fulfilled in that childless life. I started out ‘Not recommended’, then about half way through my re-listen, I liked it again, and I eventually ended up angry. Your results may vary.

14 Comments

  • Lisa's Yarns

    July 10, 2026 at 8:19 am Reply

    Darn! I really liked this book so am sorry to hear it did not work for you. I held the different story threads loosely and tried not to get too bogged down by the different paths her life might have taken. I just recommended this to Nicole and Jenny so now I feel like I should tell them not to read it!

  • Diane

    July 10, 2026 at 12:57 pm Reply

    Did this feel like The Names? It seems like it would be similar with the “different outcomes hinged on one thing” structure. I thought The Names was fascinating and well done. Of course there were only three story lines in that book.

    • J

      July 11, 2026 at 7:53 am Reply

      Oh, I loved The Names! Yes, this felt a BIT like that, but less obvious as to the reasons why different outcomes happened. Actually, I didn’t really see a reason for outcome 3 vs 4 or whatever in this book, maybe that’s part of my problem.

  • NGS

    July 11, 2026 at 3:52 pm Reply

    I 100% think having children/not having children is a dealbreaker in a relationship. I broke up with a man who was ideal for me in many ways except he had two children and wanted more. There isn’t a compromise with this. Why would you stay with someone in this situation? I don’t get it.

  • Margaret

    July 14, 2026 at 1:34 pm Reply

    I dislike books that try to manipulate me unless it’s so subtle that I don’t notice. I hated “Gone Girl” and every character in it. I threw “Cold Mountain” across the room because of the ending–the writing and story were beautiful up until then. I don’t read Picoult because she does like to put in twists that often make me angry.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *