Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

We Are the Brennans by Tracey Lange

12 reviews

lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I received this as a gift from someone.
"We Are the Brennans" is a heartwarming story about family. When Sunday Brennan is hospitalized following a DUI, she is resistant to leave her California home to move back to New York with her family. She has spent the last several years trying to distance herself from her past, her overbearing brothers, and an ex that she has unresolved issues with. But, at the end of the day, New York is where she needs to go in order to get back to herself.
I was not expecting to be as captivated by this story as I was. The Brennans are complex family that all have their secrets, but at the end of the day, they are always there for each other in the best way they know how. Their family dynamic is riddled with flaws, but in spite of all of the judgment, they are family.
Sunday's story takes an interesting turn that I did not see coming, but it makes the events in the first half of the novel make all the more sense. I really wanted to see her get some justice and credit from her family for her situation, and when she finally did, I was screaming.
The book does take a darker turn, which I do not think was necessary per say, but I think it made sense for the character and his motivation.
I really enjoyed this story, and I am excited to read more from Tracey Lange in the future! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Gaslighting, and Car accident

Moderate: Classism, Gun violence, Pregnancy, and Death of parent

Minor: Infidelity

stephmcoakley's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Death, Pregnancy, Cancer, Death of parent, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Car accident, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Gun violence, Medical content, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Infidelity, Medical trauma, and Sexual harassment

sorcha's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident

Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Miscarriage

Minor: Domestic abuse, Dementia, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, Cancer, Gun violence, Infidelity, and Murder

beetandbaguette's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol and Miscarriage

Moderate: Car accident

Minor: Gun violence, Pregnancy, and Murder

dayingst's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Car accident, Murder, Alcohol, and Gun violence

bringmybooks's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

Another #12BooksRecommendedby12Friends book finished!

B̷R̷I̷N̷G̷ ✨ 𝗕𝗢𝗥𝗥𝗢𝗪 ✨ B̷Y̷P̷A̷S̷S̷

I wasn't really sure what to expect going into this; I had gotten We Are The Brennans from BOTM (Book of the Month) a while ago, and honestly other than the family having connections to (and/or living in) Ireland, I didn't remember much about the synopsis.

It's a book about family. The family you're born into, the family you choose, and the family you sometimes have to leave. It was a somewhat weird read, because while I didn't feel myself overly emotionally attached to any of the characters of the plotlines, I couldn't put the book down? 

My favorite part of the book was the multiple POV narration, and especially the way the narrators switched off. Whichever character spoke last at the end of a chapter, their quote would be repeated at the beginning of the next chapter and the POV would switch to them. It had this really neat effect of having you follow the story throughout the book in a seamless and (almost interactive?) way that I really liked. 

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go start planning yet another fantasy trip to Ireland because I have wanted to go since I was maybe 6 years old? And that was 30 years ago? Sigh.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Miscarriage, Car accident, and Gun violence

Moderate: Alcoholism, Grief, Physical abuse, Sexism, Infidelity, Dementia, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Cancer, Sexual harassment, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Violence, and Rape

Minor: Pregnancy

cassielaj's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

This is a complex family story full of distinct characters, dramatic secrets, and sweet moments. I loved it, and the way the story is structured made it even better. Each chapter focuses on a single character’s POV, and the present-day story is woven with flashbacks and deep internal thoughts. It’s so impressive that the author was able to craft so many characters so thoroughly and keep each perspective unique. 

I do think that the issue of class could’ve been handled better. Billy was a bad guy, clearly, but he had struggles that weren’t addressed. Then the author also made Vivienne resentful and a “bad guy” in a similar way… everyone else got redeemed (except Billy, rip), but her one chapter didn’t do much to make me sympathetic to her, even though I wanted to be because her husband was clearly in love with another woman the whole time. Having her resent the Brennans in the same way Billy did and having the reasons they hated the Brennans be true kind of emphasized the insularity of the Brennan clan and contributed to that “Brennan worship” that they tried to criticize. It doesn’t excuse what Billy did in any way, I just think there was more opportunity for commentary than was taken. Still an excellent story

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and Violence

shel_bay11's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Car accident, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Dementia, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Murder, Pregnancy, and Cancer

kimveach's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

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

4.5

I love this family and all their secrets and mistakes.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Abandonment, Medical content, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Grief, Blood, Car accident, Dementia, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, and Mental illness

sdunn13's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

For the most part I enjoyed this book, but I was really disappointed to see the victim blaming against Sunday about when she was attacked. It wasn’t addressed and corrected the way it needed to be. There was always the caveat of she drank too much or she went willing to her attacker’s room; of course, none of that matters because she is allowed to say no to sex at any point, regardless of her actions up to that point. That’s how consent works.
It is just very disappointing to still see the outdated mentality that somehow her actions excuse her attacker. It really ruined the book for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Violence, and Alcohol

Moderate: Car accident, Pregnancy, Ableism, Blood, Chronic illness, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail