Reviews

Clare hasn’t been home to Ireland since the age of 16. She is living her life, and so far, it has been going great! However, one night her boss calls asking her to go to Ireland and now she has no choice to go, even though she has vowed never to go back. Whilst she is there, she goes back to her home village, and we learn more about her past and why she is the way she is. I would recommend reading the books in order as each book is about the different friends. And following each friends’ lives. Jessica Redland does great with the development of each character as well as reminding us about each character and their relationship to the main character.

During the story we find out the secret that Clare’s father was hiding from her. We learn that she was pregnant at a young age and out of wed lock. Clare’s father and great-aunt put the child up for adoption, however told Clare that her baby had died. So, at the age of 16 she was kicked out of her family home.

During her research on finding her daughter, Clare finds out that the father of her child has sadly died. Whilst she’s in her hometown, her older sister Aislynn found out that she’s back and both sisters decide to get some answers about the past by visiting the Father of the Church.

With the help of her friend Ben, she finds her daughter, Shannon, however, finds out that her Shannon thought that Clare didn’t want anything to do with her. Towards the end of the story, we learn that it wasn’t Shannon’s dad that had died but someone else who had matched the description. Clare also finds out that he was married and has 3 children of his own. She also learns about a secret that her parents having been hiding from during her dad funeral.

She is slowly growing her relationship with her Shannon as well the little family that she is growing.

I really enjoyed this story, a story about family, forgiveness and making relationships as well as mending friendship. Clare is also learning to accept her past for her to move on to her future. I was also kind of hoping to see her Shannon reaction to meeting her father for the first time.

emmalux1991's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

scorcheded's review

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emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

hhsol's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

christie327's review against another edition

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emotional relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Content Warnings

mushmysteriesandmore's review against another edition

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4.0

We first meet Clare at a wedding, she’s not big on romance and all that nonsense. We also find out that she hates Christmas and New Year with a passion and she’s not close to her family. She has her best friends Sarah (the bride) and Ben (Sarah’s brother), and a new friend in Elise who she becomes closer to as the novel progresses. What I didn’t know is that this is part of a series and Sarah and Elise both have their own stories, I will be seeking them out as I enjoyed Clare’s story.

It’s not all pretty, Clare is hiding some pretty dark secrets, secrets she’s suppressed and hidden not only from her friends but herself as well. We start to see flashes that start to bring these to the forefront of her memory but it’s not until the explosive finale that we fully learn what she’s been through.

Out of the darkness, she discovers her daughter, long thought deceased and not only that, she also has a grandson at the grand old age of 32ish and starts to build a new family life with them. All the time, thinking of her daughter’s father, Daran. He’s the reason she’s never allowed anyone access to her heart but even he has some surprises for Clare.

I enjoyed this story as it was different to my usual reads in that the romance took a back seat, it was there but it wasn’t the primary theme to this book, more just rolling along in the background. This was more about family and friendships and how they bend and shape us into the people we become without us really noticing, it’s also about second chances and learning from mistakes.

msalane's review

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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