Lovely and endearing story of second chances and determination. I really enjoyed the playfulness and Margaret’s and Peter’s journey of learning both to trust and be vulnerable despite prior betrayal. It was fun and emotional and made you invested in both of them and their stories. Really enjoyed the whole series

3.5 ⭐️ Not my usual genre of book but it was interesting and carried some good themes about accepting others even tho they’re different and the importance of friendship.

It was sort of Stranger-Things-ish, with the science fiction/fantasy dipped in a historical landscape. I liked that it was slow roll with the story, almost like a ghost story the way it unfolds and gets you invested rather than high intensity.

I didn’t mind that there were little bits of the other characters interspersed in between the main focus of Adelaide Henry. It was not done so much that it felt like there isn’t a focus or there’s too much going on. It fleshed it out more the way it was brief but relevant and I thought it was well done.

The main negative for me was it felt like it was trying to hit every aspect of all-things-to-all-people. Like one after another discriminated or misunderstood people group was represented here well after the concept was delivered. That made it feel a little overdone and less focused, less believable, and lost some of the poignancy. Instead of making me just focus on the theme of how easily and dangerously people judge what they don’t understand, I felt distracted by the peripheral details of yet another characteristic that was now thrown in the mix without being necessary to the story and became overreaching.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are mine.

So good. Very unpredictable!!

This was almost a DNF multiple times for me. It just didn’t really go anywhere for the most part. The story jumped back and forth in years between siblings which was also really confusing. It was slow and there was so much mundane detail and events that didn’t really enhance the story at all. It just made it drag for me. There wasn’t a lot of character development either which was odd. It just jumped around a lot and seemed to focus on odd details that that were happening at the time but weren’t vital or necessary and then jump somewhere else again before really building much.

I had selected the book because I have family that came over from Ireland in the mid 1800s but this was just not interesting. The ending was really odd as well. If I’m honest, I’m still not entirely sure what the real purpose or theme was other than following a few family members in day to day detail.

Thanks to BookSirens for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This novel wove a story set during the Spanish Flu epidemic and end of WW1, and that also dealt with traumas that the characters in the book faced. It was relatable with the current COVID-19 epidemic and I found myself simultaneously researching Spanish Flu facts along side the book for more information.

I thought the author did a great job in the writing as well as describing how these women had such a bond, as they tried to protect each other and the little girl they took in. The men who stood beside them were great supporters, which I loved especially with how women were belittled and seen as less-than in the time period. Each of the characters worked thru their own battles, while trying to navigate the stress of an overwhelming viral outbreak as well as the trauma of rape and the mental aftermath.

I definitely recommend the book and enjoyed it thoroughly.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I thought the book was interesting and delved into some great ethical/moral/identity conundrums of Paige finding out that her dad isn’t really her biological dad, while her mother kept it hidden for her entire life, and feeling like she didn’t know who she was anymore, especially after the grief of losing her known-dad recently.

While the story was compelling and the writing good, I gave it a lower rating mostly because I felt that there was so much baggage and dysfunction between Paige and her mom, and then Betsy/Elizabeth and Andy, and it all wrapped itself relatively quickly into a nice bow at the end. With 43+ years of secrets, lies and resentment, it just seemed way too quick and easy to resolve like that in a 3 month span. Usually a family with that much of a past needs therapy and a whole lot of conversation and *maybe* it can find a sense of closeness and moving forward. And maybe I’m wrong, but it seemed to allude in the end that maybe there was an inkling that Andy knew which sours it for me since he told Paige he had no clue. I also felt like Jeff was a little too perfect.

All in all I like the story and the potential what-if, but was a little too perfect after a whole lot of mess, and therefore disappointing for me in the end.

Thanks to Netgalley and William Morrow for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This wasn’t really what I thought it was but I enjoyed it - it was interesting and the character development was excellent. So many aspects of family dynamics, class/wealth dynamics, and choices and life priorities the characters faced, made you think and realize there’s a whole lot less black and white, easy answers in life. But there was a very clear understanding that loving others by far had the better outcome, and you saw the ramifications of the lack of it.