Review: The Good Daughter by Jane Porter

The Good Daughter by Jane Porter

Berkley Trade

February 2013

Format: Paperback, 384 pages

Source: Personal copy

First line: Make a wish.

From the back cover: Love was given to all, except herself . . .  

Kit
Brennan has always been the most grounded of her sisters. A Catholic
school English teacher for seventeen years and a constant giver, her
decisions have been sound—just not very satisfying. Her fortieth
birthday is right around the corner, causing Kit to consider some wilder
notions, like skipping right past the love and marriage to raising a
child all by herself . . . 

A girls’ weekend away is just the reprieve
Kit needs from school, Mr. Wrongs, and life-changing decisions. It’s
there that she meets a man who’s dangerous; a man who challenges who she
thought she was, or rather should be. Kit wants to indulge
herself this once, but with one of her students in crisis and the weight
of her family’s burdens weighing heavy on her heart, Kit isn’t sure if
now is the time to let her own desires take flight . . .

My thoughts: This is the second book in Jane Porter’s Brennan Sisters series and I was lucky to meet Jane the night before the book was published at a small release party held by a local independent book store. Jane is a delightful, down-to-earth person and I enjoyed the evening.

The Good Daughter is Kit’s story and it’s quite an emotional ride. Kit seems to be at a crossroad in her life. She‘s just gotten out of a 10-year relationship and has starting the whole dating process again. The problem is that she’s almost 40 and doesn’t have a lot of time to wait around to find the perfect guy to start a family with. But that’s not the only thing she seems to have on her plate at the moment. Her mother, the glue that holds the Brennan family together, is dying of cancer and Kit is trying to help out as much as possible.

On a girls weekend getaway to her family’s beach cottage in Capitola (oh how I wish I had a beach cottage to get away to right now!!!) she meets for all intents and purposes the absolute Mr. Wrong…but is he really that bad or have appearances deceived Kit? And it seems that this Mr. Wrong, Jude, isn’t only a Capitola guy – he shows up back at home and ends up helping Kit with a student in her class that is having problems at home.

I loved this story. I enjoyed the first one, The Good Woman, but felt that this one just seemed to pull me in even more. From the Brennan family to Kit trying to figure out what to do next, I was completely hooked. I did find myself reading with some trepidation, though, as I was desperately afraid that Mrs. Brennan would not make it to the next book…the scenes between Kit and her mother was so touching I found myself tearing up quite a few times.

I’m anxious to read The Good Wife, the last of the Brennan Sisters trilogy, due out in September, but at the same time, dreading it as it will be our final visit with these characters.

Who was the last author you got to meet?

Books in this series:

• The Good Woman
• The Good Daughter
• The Good Wife