Claire McPartlin
Well this may have been the first book I've read in 2019 but it will also most definitely be one of my favourites by the end of the year too, absolutely fabulous book, I loved it, and would give it more than 5 stars if I could! The synopsis is about Frankie finding out who her birth father is (Harry Mortimer), after finding a hidden letter from her deceased mother, and going to meet him - unfortunately turning up unannounced during his and his wife's 50th wedding anniversary celebrations. But the actual story doesn't totally centre around that, it revolves around multiple extended members of the Mortimer family, along with an interlinking story of Frankie, her partner and his son. There is so much going on and what started off feeling like a perfect family is actually just like every other family, with good and bad points along the way. There are so many interesting storylines in this book, but they all flowed so seamlessly that I didn't lose track for a minute. It's sometimes hard to get lots of different people and storylines straight in your mind when you start a book, but I didn't find this at all this time as each person was so different. The initial shock of Frankie turning up turned Harry and Jeanie's anniversary holiday get-away into a get-away for one when Jeanie told Harry that she was going away on her own to think about things, and she proceeded to enjoy herself - good for her! But there was also a hidden identity, a child custody battle, a Mortimer running off with a younger woman, and someone finally overcoming her grief about her husband hanging himself all those years ago and moving on with her life. There was so much going on, but the characters were all fabulous, so relatable, you could really see yourself in the thick of the extended Mortimer family. Frankie was also a lovely, caring, friendly character and fit in with them so perfectly, even though it was a fledgling relationship. One of my favourite recent books and one I would highly recommend. I'm only sad that I've finished it now. Rush out and buy it everyone!
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