The book is about the Brogan family with their dramas and secrets. In the backdrop of the end of WW2, Queenie, the matriarch of the rather large family, has a 50 year old secret that is burning her conscience. The rest of her family have their own life dramas; a baby abandoned by his mother then finding out the truth, said mother coming back into the picture, old grievances coming to surface, someone on death's door. That, and the war happening with multiple Brogan's at the front and one being a traitor. A lot is happening in one book!
I was a bit lost at the start of the book, but then I realised that this was the latest, and perhaps last, in a popular series. Once I did a little bit of background searching (looking up the summaries of each book), I did get the gist of the context and who each of these characters are. It is probably why I felt that the novel was slow going to begin with. At the start, I was more interested in the flash backs to where Philomena (Queenie's true name), and Patrick's story started way back in Ireland. It was interesting to read of her start in life, how they were treated differently from others in their town because they were travellers. It was looked down upon and they weren't trusted with things. It was nice to see that Patrick didn't really take these ideas on and became friends with Philomena when they were children. Over many of the flashbacks, we get to see them grow up together, and this eventually becomes more than a friendship. They start to love each other as teenagers, and I thought that these interactions of early courting were just lovely. It was so heartwarming when Patrick gave Philomena a ribbon. Back in the present, I found some of the family drama not as interesting. I liked the friendship and community of the street. Everyone knows everyone, and Queenie is a pillar of the community. It was nice to see them all banding together, as is the history of the Home Front. Billy's story was a good addition to the book, it added conflict between the family and I was interested in seeing how this all ended.
The main crux of the book is that Patrick, now an elderly priest, is dying. He had a heart attack, and now Queenie is wondering if she should tell him the truth about Jeremiah or let it lay. This was practically the only driving factor of the story. I wasn't too interested in the other Brogan's, maybe Billy's arc kept my interest as well? There was a lot of little dramas and events that were in the story, and I feel that some of them were just shoehorned in for the sake of it. Some of these things didn't really add to the story much, just filled pages. If the story was focused more on Queenie and the history of her and Patrick, I might've enjoyed it more. I found that I was just keen to know if she tells him or not, you do find out but it's a long wait. The smaller dramas were a bit heartwarming as well. Jo and Tommy, another marriage in the Brogan's brood, are struggling to have a baby. Throughout the book, we see Jo becoming sad about the children around her, seeing a specialist, and then coming to the conclusion to adopt. It was a nice turn around in the book, providing something that readers can understand. Despite the war, there is still normality trying to take place. It might be because of the end of the war that the family is trying to make a move ahead in their lives. Moving across London, making new moves in their jobs, growing families. It is good to see these things happen for them, especially since their husbands are off without them knowing if they live. There is also the black sheep of the family, the traitor, which I suppose was part of a previous book. He wasn't mentioned much, but then revealed to be dead? All so Mattie can marry Archie? This bit got me confused.
Overall, I thought the book was pleasant enough. I liked Queenie very well as a character, especially when she was feisty in her actions near the end. She has a take no prisoners attitude which I liked very much. It was a good couch read, but I wasn't extremely invested in book which is why it took me a few sittings to get through it. If you like historical fiction and family sagas then this series would be quite good for you.
I was a bit lost at the start of the book, but then I realised that this was the latest, and perhaps last, in a popular series. Once I did a little bit of background searching (looking up the summaries of each book), I did get the gist of the context and who each of these characters are. It is probably why I felt that the novel was slow going to begin with. At the start, I was more interested in the flash backs to where Philomena (Queenie's true name), and Patrick's story started way back in Ireland. It was interesting to read of her start in life, how they were treated differently from others in their town because they were travellers. It was looked down upon and they weren't trusted with things. It was nice to see that Patrick didn't really take these ideas on and became friends with Philomena when they were children. Over many of the flashbacks, we get to see them grow up together, and this eventually becomes more than a friendship. They start to love each other as teenagers, and I thought that these interactions of early courting were just lovely. It was so heartwarming when Patrick gave Philomena a ribbon. Back in the present, I found some of the family drama not as interesting. I liked the friendship and community of the street. Everyone knows everyone, and Queenie is a pillar of the community. It was nice to see them all banding together, as is the history of the Home Front. Billy's story was a good addition to the book, it added conflict between the family and I was interested in seeing how this all ended.
The main crux of the book is that Patrick, now an elderly priest, is dying. He had a heart attack, and now Queenie is wondering if she should tell him the truth about Jeremiah or let it lay. This was practically the only driving factor of the story. I wasn't too interested in the other Brogan's, maybe Billy's arc kept my interest as well? There was a lot of little dramas and events that were in the story, and I feel that some of them were just shoehorned in for the sake of it. Some of these things didn't really add to the story much, just filled pages. If the story was focused more on Queenie and the history of her and Patrick, I might've enjoyed it more. I found that I was just keen to know if she tells him or not, you do find out but it's a long wait. The smaller dramas were a bit heartwarming as well. Jo and Tommy, another marriage in the Brogan's brood, are struggling to have a baby. Throughout the book, we see Jo becoming sad about the children around her, seeing a specialist, and then coming to the conclusion to adopt. It was a nice turn around in the book, providing something that readers can understand. Despite the war, there is still normality trying to take place. It might be because of the end of the war that the family is trying to make a move ahead in their lives. Moving across London, making new moves in their jobs, growing families. It is good to see these things happen for them, especially since their husbands are off without them knowing if they live. There is also the black sheep of the family, the traitor, which I suppose was part of a previous book. He wasn't mentioned much, but then revealed to be dead? All so Mattie can marry Archie? This bit got me confused.
Overall, I thought the book was pleasant enough. I liked Queenie very well as a character, especially when she was feisty in her actions near the end. She has a take no prisoners attitude which I liked very much. It was a good couch read, but I wasn't extremely invested in book which is why it took me a few sittings to get through it. If you like historical fiction and family sagas then this series would be quite good for you.