by Helen Cullen
Publisher: 384
Pages: Harlequin
Format: eARC
Buy the Book: Amazon
Goodreads: One Irish family. Three decades. One dazzling story.
In the courtyards of Trinity College, Dublin, in 1978, aspiring actress Maeve meets pottery student Murtagh Moone. As their relationship progresses, marriage and motherhood come in quick succession, but for Maeve, with the joy of children also comes the struggle to hold on to the truest parts of herself.
Decades later, on a small Irish island, the Moone family are poised for celebration but instead are struck by tragedy. Each family member must find solace in their own separate way, until one dazzling truth brings them back together. But as the Moone family confront the past, they also journey toward a future that none of them could have predicted. Except perhaps Maeve herself.
Kritters Thoughts: With a prologue where the reader finds out the matriarch has died, the story is set to begin and end tragically. Murtagh and Maeve Moone meet and marry and soon enter parenthood. With hints at postpartum depression, this book is subtle and sly, but if read closely and clearly it can make quite a punch.
After the prologue, the reader is taken back in time as this family is built and goes through moments as time as four children come along and the family deals with the ups and downs of life - maybe more downs for a few of them. This book had plot, but was really all about the characters. It took me a bit to get connected with the characters and really be invested in following their journeys. I wanted to see where this family would end up and where the prologue would fit in the story - I was glad where it landed and that there was story to be had after the tragedy occurred.
This story does take place in Ireland, but it could have taken place anywhere. If the setting makes you hesitate, I would advise against it as this story is more about the family involved than the setting, it could have been any remote place you can think of.
I enjoyed the book, but for me it took a lot of effort to get into and to keep reading, of course it could have been completely me and the moment that I read it.
Rating: enjoyable, but didn't leave me wanting more
Ebook 2020 Challenge: 80 out of 100
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one copy of this book free of charge from Harlequin. I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.
I thought the setting of Ireland would make it memorable? authors do a lot with setting usually.
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