A review by pomoevareads
We Are the Brennans by Tracey Lange

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Thank you to @celadonbooks for sending me We Are the Brennans, I loved it so much!

This story of a close-knit Irish Catholic family with four siblings was heart warming and impelling at the same time. When Sunday Brennan returns to New York after an accident  in LA she is looking to mend relationships that she has let fall away. Her ex-fiancé Kale is also there as he has always been as a quasi fourth son. Sunday has kept secrets from her family and Kale and when she finds out that her brother also holds some secrets of his own, hers are threatened to be revealed. It is this kind of family drama that propels the story forward. 

While this is a character-driven story the plot moves along at just the right pace to resolve characters’ trajectories personally and for the story itself. 

The story is told in alternating chapters with multiple POVs. Uniquely, the author inserted a structure that I haven’t seen before. When ending a chapter, the last line spoken is the first line of the next chapter.  At first I wasn’t sure if this worked and wondered if the repetition was necessary but it didn’t take me long to appreciate this format for showing who the last speaker was and then having that person’s POV in the following chapter. 

I am very impressed that his is @tracey_lange ‘s debut and will be reading future stories by her.

I have seen this book compared to Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane. I haven’t read this one although it is on my highly anticipated TBR. To change things up a bit I am suggesting three TV shows that I think people will like if they liked this book and vice versa. They are Bloodline (Netflix), The Affair and Ray Donovan. Each offers something similar to the books. 

Thanks again to @celadonbooks for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinions. we Are The Brennans publishes August 3, 2021. It was also a Book of the Month selection.
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