Title: Just an Ordinary Family
Author: Fiona Lowe
Publisher: 24th February 2020 by Harlequin Australia, HQ & MIRA
Pages: 507 pages
How I Read It: ARC book
Genre: womens fiction
My Rating: 4 cups
Synopsis:
Every family has its secrets...
Alice Hunter is smarting from the raw deal life has thrown her way: suddenly single, jobless and forced to move home to her parents' tiny seaside town. And now she faces an uncomfortable truth. She wants her twin sister Libby's enviable life.
Libby's closest friend Jess Dekic has been around the Hunter family for so long she might as well be blood. She's always considered herself a sister closer to Libby than Alice ever could be...
Libby Hunter has all of life's boxes ticked: prominent small-town doctor, gorgeous husband and two young daughters. But when she is betrayed by those she loves most, it reveals how tenuous her world is...
For Karen Hunter, her children are a double-edged sword of pain and pride. She's always tried to guide her girls through life's pitfalls, but how do you protect your children when they're adults?
As the family implodes, the fallout for these four women will be inescapable...
My Thoughts
I have read a few Fiona Lowe books, Home Fires, from last year totally flawed me (review HERE). This book, whilst similarly dealing with small town life, is a different story but still one of great character analysis. Just An Ordinary Family investigates themes such as love, trust, betrayal and regret. Fiona herself stated that she wished to highlight ..”how often we delude ourselves that our actions will only result in one specific outcome and that when we explain ourselves, others will understand and forgive.” But do they?
The characters here are both real and relatable, they make mistakes as we all often do and this tale investigates the regrets that often come from not facing those errors. Relationships that go to the brink because of misunderstandings and words expressed in anger. The question is, can these issues be overcome? Will secrets, once revealed, leave wounds that cannot heal? Fiona will take you on a rollercoaster of emotions with each of her main characters as they face the consequences of their actions. They are flawed and thus don’t make the best decisions but they are human, that being, their intentions are often pure or well meant. Readers will have to decide for themselves who they support and why, with opinions more than likely to differ - but isn’t that true to life?
The only drawback is the length of this book - it is a long one. At times the dialogue goes round and round in circles and could in some parts have been condensed. There are multiple storylines with a lot going on. Yet once I passed halfway I became fully engaged in each of the women's quests.
Overall this is an epic family saga focusing on love and forgiveness. It’s intense and real with a walkaway message to treasure each and every day.
‘We owe it to the children to honour our mistakes, learn from them and live the best version of ourselves.’
This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher and provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.
No comments:
Post a Comment