Thank you Celadon Books, #partner for the advanced copy of The Connellys of County Down in exchange for my honest review.
Publisher: Celadon Books
Published: August 1, 2023
Summary:
From Tracey Lange, the New York Times bestselling author of We Are the Brennans, comes The Connellys of County Down: a story about fierce family loyalty, good intentions gone awry, and the consequences of improbable love.
When Tara Connelly is released from prison after serving eighteen months on a drug charge, she knows rebuilding her life at thirty years old won’t be easy. With no money and no prospects, she returns home to live with her siblings, who are both busy with their own problems. Her brother, a single dad, struggles with the ongoing effects of a brain injury he sustained years ago, and her sister’s fragile facade of calm and order is cracking under the burden of big secrets. Life becomes even more complicated when the cop who put her in prison keeps showing up unannounced, leaving Tara to wonder what he wants from her now.
While she works to build a new career and hold her family together, Tara finds a chance at love in a most unlikely place. But when the Connellys’ secrets start to unravel and threaten her future, they all must face their worst fears and come clean, or risk losing each other forever.
The Connellys of County Down is a moving novel about testing the bounds of love and loyalty. It explores the possibility of beginning our lives anew, and reveals the pitfalls of shielding each other from the bitter truth.
My thoughts:
I loved Tracey Lange’s debut novel, We Are the Brennans, when I read it a few years ago…so much so that I had my book club read it! So I was thrilled to not only be offered the chance to read an early copy of her sophomore novel, but to take part in a readalong for it with other fellow bookstagrammers. It was so fun and a great way to get the word out about this book…it totally lived up to my expectations and has definitely put this author on my must-read list!
Once again, Tracey Lange has given us a well-crafted family drama that has you pulling for the characters by the time you read the last page. I felt so invested in these characters, a set of three siblings who have been taking care of each other since childhood. Each has their own complicated story and the more I got to know what was driving them, the more I wanted to give them a hug. I loved the way their layers were peeled back – we aren’t given the full story outright on any of them and I think this was such a clever way of telling the story. You have to work for it, to get to know them…your opinions will definitely change over the course of the book as you learn more.
Coming from a large family, having four brothers and two sisters, I love reading stories like this because family dynamics just fascinate me to no end. The way we protect those we love, making decisions we think are for the best when they might turn out to do more harm than good.
I cannot recommend this book enough! It’s the perfect book for summer reading – it comes out August 1st, so be sure to add it to your summer reading list! I also think it would be a great book club pick – there is much to discuss here and I think I will once again be recommending this to my book club!
