The Connellys of County Down

I just finished The Connellys of County down by Tracey Lange and here is my review.

Tara Connelly is both excited and apprehensive about returning home. A home she hasn't seen in 18 months. A home she exchanged for a prison sentence. She will be back living with her strict sister and her brother who suffered a brain injury years ago. The most dysfunctional home but her nephew is the silver lining.

Trying to rebuild her life after the drug charges, Tara has to find her place in the world again but she can't shake the cop that helped put her in jail and can't help wondering what he wants.

Can Tara hold the family together as the Connelly secrets all start to unravel?

I squealed with delight when @celadonbooks sent me a copy of this book. I heard epic things about it and as usual, the hype lived up.

Tara gets free of jail to walk into a house she doesn't recognize. Nothing has been easy for the family but watching how their family dynamic changed and adapted as each sibling opened up and allowed their family to see their pain, it was utterly heartbreaking and beautiful. The writing was like a gentle whisper over the ocean. So serene and painted such a beautiful picture. I love books that fully immerse you into the world and this one did an excellent job of bringing the characters to life for me.

I felt so sorry for Geraldine. She gave up so much and what it did to her made me want to cry. Tara is the sibling who tries to fix everything. Eddie is walking through life in a blind panic. The whole book was emotional and I wanted all of the heartbreak and the healing.

I am not a huge fan of family dynamic reads but this one was so much more than that. The loss was tangible and raw, and in my opinion, would make a really good book club read.

5 stars, thank you celadon books for my gifted copy!