Ciska's Book Chest

*Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book on Netgalley from the publisher in return for an honest review*

When Briony McAllister takes a trip to visit her mother, Valerie, she uncovers a letter from her long-lost grandmother, bringing to light a nearly unforgivable act her mother has kept secret for decades. Having always believed that her grandparents didn’t want to see her, she finds that the opposite is true: her grandmother had been seeking her out all along, and it was her own mother who willfully kept them apart.

Devastated that her past has come back to haunt her, Valerie realizes that her daughter’s anger might cause their troubled family history to repeat itself in a new generation.

Patricia Scanlan was born in Dublin, where she still lives. While working as a librarian she started to write, and now has a full-time career as a bestselling author.

I felt like hitting the main characters of this book. Both Valerie and Tessa deserved it in my eye even though it would not have helped. If you cannot find a place to talk after a person you love dies it is sad. There were so many situations in the story that could have been avoided if people would have been honest with one another that it started to become a struggle to read them. As said I was ready to hit one of them. Jeff was not much of a help either in the relationship. Even without marrying her he could have done so much more to make it clear to Valerie that he loved her. Lorcan and Briony are really the people that make the story bearable. I think Lorcan was a real hero only saying something when needed though but he did not give Tessa a free reign in her behavior and he is a saint that he did not get angrier with her after losing Briony due to her actions. I got really tired with Tessa repeating her problems with her emotions due to her age and the thing she missed out on. In the end the book was a bit to long for me but I did enjoy the read. As said Lorcan and Briony make up for a lot and I do like stories where family secrets unravel.

With all my Love
Author: Patricia Scanlan
Publisher: Atria Books
Pages: 464
Format: eGalley
ISBN-10: 1476704511
ISBN-13: 9781476704517
Atria Books: eBook | Trade Paperback