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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
We Are The Brennans is a winding story about a family struggling to find themselves and each other, amidst their flaws.
After a damaging car accident, Sunday Brennan goes home to New York. Having realized the life she tried to create in Los Angeles wasn’t working she hopes to find healing and fulfillment in her family roots.
Little does she know what damage her leaving (and keeping secrets) has caused. And what her return will uncover about the secrets her family members have buried.
The Brennans felt real. Despite having to roll your eyes and shake your fists at the continual stupidity of their choices, I found myself worrying alongside them when danger was lurking and cheering when the possibility of happiness was on the horizon.
A must read for those who love stories about the ties that bind a family together, with a little mystery mixed in to keep you on your toes.
Thank you to Netgalley for the ebook in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
After a damaging car accident, Sunday Brennan goes home to New York. Having realized the life she tried to create in Los Angeles wasn’t working she hopes to find healing and fulfillment in her family roots.
Little does she know what damage her leaving (and keeping secrets) has caused. And what her return will uncover about the secrets her family members have buried.
The Brennans felt real. Despite having to roll your eyes and shake your fists at the continual stupidity of their choices, I found myself worrying alongside them when danger was lurking and cheering when the possibility of happiness was on the horizon.
A must read for those who love stories about the ties that bind a family together, with a little mystery mixed in to keep you on your toes.
Thank you to Netgalley for the ebook in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
A solidly good book. It checked the basic boxes well - a group of dynamic characters that you wanted to root for all within a fast-moving plot that focused on both past and present. I wish there was more “oomp” - more witty jokes or standout, love-professing quotes, but I think there was beauty in the simplicity and straight-forwardness. It also highlights really well how complex family dynamics can be.
This was refreshing for me. Not my typical read.
I load the family dynamic, I loved the secrets they held together. I read this quickly because as the story unfolded I couldn’t put the novel down. What I enjoyed about this book more than the twists and turns was the story of the family, the history, the characters developing and unfeeling to us like layers of an onion. Lange also did a really good job of balancing the past and the present - leaking out history in the exact right amount so that the present story could progress.
I think this was a great book.
I load the family dynamic, I loved the secrets they held together. I read this quickly because as the story unfolded I couldn’t put the novel down. What I enjoyed about this book more than the twists and turns was the story of the family, the history, the characters developing and unfeeling to us like layers of an onion. Lange also did a really good job of balancing the past and the present - leaking out history in the exact right amount so that the present story could progress.
I think this was a great book.
I loved this book until the last few pages and then I was like- what????
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
We Are the Brennans is the author’s first book and I want to acknowledge that publishing your first is quite an accomplishment and the reading experience is, of course, very subjective. That being so, I have to say, this one didn’t really work for me. I found it to be completely predictable and not very engaging. The characters, to me at least, felt surprisingly clichéd and the plot somewhat recycled. I'm sure it isn't easy to write that many POVs and it didn't feel choppily done, so I give the author credit for that. One admittedly dumb complaint was also that I couldn't get past the fact that one of the male protagonists was called Kale, like the salad...I suspect it was Kale's character and his woe-is-me persona that irritated me more than the name, though. Yes, I am aware how petty that sounds, so I'm rounding up to three stars to appease my conscience;-)
I hate writing negative reviews, especially for debut novels, but this one just didn't work for me. I am happy to see, however, that many fellow reviewers absolutely loved this book. If you decide to pick it up, I hope you will be one of them!
Thanks to Celadon Books for providing me with this copy of We Are the Brennans in exchange for an honest review.
Find my book reviews and more at http://www.princessandpen.com
I hate writing negative reviews, especially for debut novels, but this one just didn't work for me. I am happy to see, however, that many fellow reviewers absolutely loved this book. If you decide to pick it up, I hope you will be one of them!
Thanks to Celadon Books for providing me with this copy of We Are the Brennans in exchange for an honest review.
Find my book reviews and more at http://www.princessandpen.com
This book did not work for me. It is filled with Irish American cliches, the structure does not work, and the characters were flat. Also I had a hard time with the character name Kale, which made me think of superfood.
I don’t think the rotating point-of-view worked, as each retelling of the same story from a new character’s point of view felt repetitive, because the narrative voices were the same. The biggest secret in a book full of secrets didn’t seem to really make sense as the big source of conflict and misunderstanding.
I also wish the author hadn’t killed off the mother before the action in the book began because she was a very unsympathetic dead presence who wasn’t there to defend herself from being maligned. Hell, keeping her dead but having her ghost narrate chapters would’ve been an amazing way to play with the cliche of needy Irish American mother who dotes on her sons and is jealous of her daughter, and whose sons and daughter blame her for everything.
I don’t think the rotating point-of-view worked, as each retelling of the same story from a new character’s point of view felt repetitive, because the narrative voices were the same. The biggest secret in a book full of secrets didn’t seem to really make sense as the big source of conflict and misunderstanding.
I also wish the author hadn’t killed off the mother before the action in the book began because she was a very unsympathetic dead presence who wasn’t there to defend herself from being maligned. Hell, keeping her dead but having her ghost narrate chapters would’ve been an amazing way to play with the cliche of needy Irish American mother who dotes on her sons and is jealous of her daughter, and whose sons and daughter blame her for everything.