The Connellys of County Down

Thank you Celadon Books for this gifted copy.

Tracey Lange has done it again with an absolutely phenomenal story, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘆𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘆 𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻. She has captured the essence of love, loss, and shame - both past, present, and everlasting.

I love dynamic stories about complicated families whose love for each other transcends their foibles, and the Connellys did not disappoint!

🌺𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗣𝗢𝗩?

With the multiple POV I was able to see this family through each other’s eyes as perspectives change from chapter to chapter. This provided me with a keen understanding of the characters. I enjoyed the flow of the writing from each character to character, and there is enough tension to keep the momentum going and enough emotion to feel connected.

🌸𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆?

Lange comes from a large Irish family, so she was able to capture not only the complexities of family life but also knows the ins and outs of family dynamics. In her story she dove into family life, including secrets, trust, love, and mental illness. I loved how no matter the imperfections and deceit the family bonds formed from youth still held strong. This was a family that had each other’s backs at all times and were willing to sacrifice everything for each other.

🪻𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲?

Fast and steady. I could not put this down as I had to know what was going to happen next with the family and secrets surrounding them.

🌺𝗗𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸?

YES!! Very much yes! There is no doubt in my mind that this will be a top book of 2023 for myself and everyone who reads it, so grab your copy now!

💬 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝘂𝗽 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗪𝗲𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆?

AOTD: I’m hoping to sneak in some pool time since we will be in the 90s today.