Reviewing We Are the Brennans
I love character driven stories and We Are the Brennans spoke to me. This novel centred around an American-Irish family had drama, family complications, a mystery, secrets and beautifully narrated how life’s messiness can affect relationships.
The initial protagonist, Sunday, is determined to get back on track with her life back in her hometown and with her family. I really enjoyed the family dynamics and how all the siblings banded together against a person who was out to destroy the family business. It was also rich with different points of view that added to the beauty of the story.
I also enjoyed that not every member of the Brennan clan was “perfect”. The late mother figure turned out to be a piece of work and it was horrible of what she suggested Sunday do after her daughter confided in her about a devastating incident, all because of being worried about what others would say.
Overall, this is a wonderful debut novel by Tracey Lange and the narration by Barrie Kreinik as she was spot on with the Irish accents. We Are the Brennans is comparable to Mary Beth Keane and Cynthia D’Aprix’s writing and I can definitely agree with that statement.
Thank you Celadon Books for the advanced reading copy and Macmillan Audio for the advanced listening copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
We are the Brennans releases tomorrow!
Book Description
When twenty-nine-year-old Sunday Brennan wakes up in a Los Angeles hospital, bruised and battered after a drunk driving accident she caused, she swallows her pride and goes home to her family in New York. But it's not easy. She deserted them all—and her high school sweetheart—five years before with little explanation, and they've got questions.
Sunday is determined to rebuild her life back on the east coast, even if it does mean tiptoeing around resentful brothers and an ex-fiancé. The longer she stays, however, the more she realizes they need her just as much as she needs them. When a dangerous man from her past brings her family's pub business to the brink of financial ruin, the only way to protect them is to upend all their secrets—secrets that have damaged the family for generations and will threaten everything they know about their lives. In the aftermath, the Brennan family is forced to confront painful mistakes—and ultimately find a way forward, together.