Michelle Blanchard Ardillo

After reading two heavy hitters, Elizabeth Strout’s Tell Me Everything and Ann Napolitano’s Within Arms Reach, both of which I absolutely loved, I needed something lighthearted and fun. This book had popped up recently on my Amazon Kindle Daily Deals, so I added it to my bulging TBR list on my Kindle. I zipped through this in two nights and really enjoyed it. Lighthearted, yes, but not fluff either. The writing is solid and the story line is … believable. Haven’t we all had communication breakdowns with a sibling or cousin? Haven’t we all done something we regret? Haven’t we all stretched the truth and falsely painted a glowing picture of our lives for social media, for family members, or for friends who don’t live close enough to know the real deal?

One of the things I liked most about this book was the concept of found family. It’s a term you hear a lot today, since so many families have been torn apart over the hot issues of the day: politics, religion, lifestyle, money, etc. After living 1,000 miles away from our families for the last 35 years, my own version of “found family” has been my rock. Whether it is friends from church, friends from work, or neighbors, it is often found family that comes through for me. Broken ankle and two surgeries? Dinners dropped off, visits from church friends and our priest, help with dog walking, new books to read dropped off, etc. Author Olivia Beirne captures the essence of found family so well here, from Fiona the boss to Peggy the co-worker, they become the glue for both Katy and Rachel as their individual (and distinctly separate) worlds come completely undone.

I also loved that the dad in this story, the father of twins who are not being very twin-like, so willingly forgives and lets go of the pain when his one daughter is in dire need of his unconditional love. Yes, he was in need of forgiveness, too, but in the end, he did what a father should do, welcome his child home with open arms.

This book is one of four written by Olivia Beirne. I enjoyed it so much I am adding her other three to my TBR.