Blog Tour -We Are Family by Beth Moran @bethcmoran @rararesouces @BoldwoodBooks #BlogTour #BookReview #boldwoodbloggers #WeAreFamily

When I was offered a place on this tour, I immediately accepted it! I came to Beth’s writing a little later than most and have loved every book of hers that I have since read. I adore the way she builds her stories and develops her characters. I am definitely a fan. If you’d like to read some of my earlier reviews, you can follow these links: We Belong Together, Just the Way You Are, and Always on My Mind.

I received a digital review copy from Boldwood Books, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review. This tour is organised and supported by Rachel’s Random Resources. You can read my thoughts below.

Synopsis

Thirty-three-year-old Ruth Henderson and her daughter Maggie have some hard choices to make. Following the tragic death of Maggie’s father, they are left with a mountain of debt and broken hearts. So, despite her vow never to return home after the fall-out from her teenage pregnancy, Ruth can’t see any option other than for the two of them to move back in with her parents.

Going home means many things – finally confronting her estranged father, navigating her mother’s desperate need to make everything ok despite the wobbles in her own marriage, not to mention helping a still-grieving Maggie to settle into a new school, find new friends, and stop expressing her emotions through her ever-changing hair colour.

What Ruth needs are friends, but she abandoned her childhood ones when she left all those years ago. Luckily for Ruth, they haven’t abandoned her. Slowly she lets herself be embraced by a group of women who have always had her back – even when she didn’t know it. And as the grief and shock recede, Ruth can even begin to imagine sharing her life with someone other than just Maggie – if Maggie will let her.

Purchase Link

Review

I absolutely loved Ruth and Maggie. Their seemingly dysfunctional relationship was familiar having raised an emotional teenager myself. I could easily conjure up the emotions that Ruth had to deal with as a result of each of Maggie’s outbursts.

Still reeling from the financial fall-out of her husband’s death, Ruth and Maggie see no other option than to flee to the security of Ruth’s childhood home. Back in the bosom of her family, life should have felt safer, but the spectre of her father’s potential infidelity leaves a cloud over the reunion.

Her first discovery is that her childhood best friend is now married to the local church leader who happens to be Ruth’s tormentor from school. He’s now seemingly evolved from the Neanderthal that she remembers.

Accepting two part-time jobs, Ruth re-joins the workforce, and has to deal with the caustic personality of a former love rival, now running an exclusive boutique. Thankfully, her second job brings her into a community based on helping others deal with life’s problems, including debt. Initially, I thought that this may be how Ruth tackles her own financial worries, but that would have been too simple for a Beth Moran story.

Of course, Ruth’s childhood crush, now a famous TV celebrity, still lives next door when he’s not on location. Discovering that she has a rival for his attention along with the emphatic refusal of acceptance from her daughter, Ruth realises that she cannot explore her feelings for him.

Despite the darker elements in this story, I couldn’t help but feel hopeful for the mother and daughter. Ruth re-discovered a friendship group that she thought was far in her past. One of my favourite lines from a song refers to seeking out the company of those who knew us when we were younger, as we get older. Profound and relevant to this beautiful book.

I would love to tell you who my favourite characters were, but I honestly can’t choose, and I would hate to stray too far from the synopsis and include spoilers. What I can tell you is that this may be my favourite ensemble piece and I cannot recommend it enough.

There’s a lot going on with this story, but each element blends seamlessly with the next and helps to craft another gorgeous book.

Author Bio

Beth Moran is the award winning author of ten contemporary fiction novels, including the top ten bestseller Just the Way You Are and #1 bestseller Let It Snow. Her books are set in and around Sherwood Forest, where she can be found most mornings walking with her spaniel Murphy. She has the privilege of also being a foster carer to teenagers and enjoys nothing better than curling up with a pot of tea and a good story.