The Connellys of County Down
Ratings6
Average rating4.4
15
Ratings6
Average rating4.4
From Tracey Lange, the New York Times bestselling author of We Are the Brennans, comes The Connellys of County Down: a story about fierce family loyalty, good intentions gone awry, and the consequences of improbable love. When Tara Connelly is released from prison after serving eighteen months on a drug charge, she knows rebuilding her life at thirty years old won’t be easy. With no money and no prospects, she returns home to live with her siblings, who are both busy with their own problems. Her brother, a single dad, struggles with the ongoing effects of a brain injury he sustained years ago, and her sister’s fragile facade of calm and order is cracking under the burden of big secrets. Life becomes even more complicated when the cop who put her in prison keeps showing up unannounced, leaving Tara to wonder what he wants from her now. While she works to build a new career and hold her family together, Tara finds a chance at love in a most unlikely place. But when the Connellys’ secrets start to unravel and threaten her future, they all must face their worst fears and come clean, or risk losing each other forever. The Connellys of County Down is a moving novel about testing the bounds of love and loyalty. It explores the possibility of beginning our lives anew, and reveals the pitfalls of shielding each other from the bitter truth.
Reviews with the most likes.
I had heard wonderful things about the author's last book, but never got a chance to read it, so I was thrilled to get the opportunity to read this one. I remember reading somewhere that she writes family drama fabulously, and man were they right!? Tara Connelly is being released from prison after 18 months inside on a drug trafficking charge and she'll be staying with her sister, Geraldine, brother, Eddie, and Eddie's son, whom she has pretty much raised as her own. I was sucked into this book immediately, with its interesting characters and well-woven, complicated backstories. Family secrets and drama at its finest. I also had my own personal moments of recognition, which always makes me love a book, more, when there were many mentions of towns I've lived in or nearby, having grown up in the Hudson Valley myself. So it made it that much more fun to hear so many local mentions! I was touched by this book and found it a tough one to put 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!
The Connelly's of County Down was not what I expected at all. I picked this up and had such a hard time putting it back down. Finally, I gave up and finished it
