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The Truth About You
Lainey Hollingsworth has spent her whole life on the outside of a secret. Her mother would never discuss the reasons she abandoned Italy when Lainey was a new born, nor has she ever stayed in touch with the family she left behind.
Now Lainey's mother is dead, taking the secret with her, and leaving Lainey free to find out about her roots.
Her husband, Tom, appears supportive, until he hits her with a bombshell that shatters the very foundations of their marriage. Another secret Lainey never knew anything about.
Shaken, but more determined than ever to find out who she really is, Lainey takes her children to Umbria in search of answers.
What she finds in the sleepy, sunbaked village of her birth turns her world inside out.
Now Lainey's mother is dead, taking the secret with her, and leaving Lainey free to find out about her roots.
Her husband, Tom, appears supportive, until he hits her with a bombshell that shatters the very foundations of their marriage. Another secret Lainey never knew anything about.
Shaken, but more determined than ever to find out who she really is, Lainey takes her children to Umbria in search of answers.
What she finds in the sleepy, sunbaked village of her birth turns her world inside out.
400 pages, Paperback
First published November 5, 2013
183 people are currently reading
1011 people want to read
About the author
Susan Lewis
67 books1,219 followersLibrarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Susan Lewis is the bestselling author of over forty books across the genres of family drama, thriller, suspense and crime. She is also the author of Just One More Day and One Day at a Time, the moving memoirs of her childhood in Bristol during the 1960s. Following periods of living in Los Angeles and the South of France, she currently lives in Gloucestershire with her husband James, stepsons Michael and Luke, and mischievous dogs Coco and Lulu.
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Susan Lewis is the bestselling author of over forty books across the genres of family drama, thriller, suspense and crime. She is also the author of Just One More Day and One Day at a Time, the moving memoirs of her childhood in Bristol during the 1960s. Following periods of living in Los Angeles and the South of France, she currently lives in Gloucestershire with her husband James, stepsons Michael and Luke, and mischievous dogs Coco and Lulu.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 127 reviews
November 17, 2017
I have just finished reading Susan Lewis new book. I was gifted this to read with agreement from Random house and author via Net Galley for an honest review.
Susan Lewis is one of my favourite authors and has been for a long time, so I was thrilled to be able to get an advanced copy.
This story is told in the splendour and warmth that this author always portrays in her reads. They lead into people who become real to you, they could be your neighbors, your friends or your family.
This is a family that have secrets. A family with questions pertaining to two different subjects. A daughter who too hides a path of secrets and a brother like any brother. Argues with each other, but in time of need are there for each other.
This is a family tale the way that Susan Lewis perfects it.
Susan Lewis is one of my favourite authors and has been for a long time, so I was thrilled to be able to get an advanced copy.
This story is told in the splendour and warmth that this author always portrays in her reads. They lead into people who become real to you, they could be your neighbors, your friends or your family.
This is a family that have secrets. A family with questions pertaining to two different subjects. A daughter who too hides a path of secrets and a brother like any brother. Argues with each other, but in time of need are there for each other.
This is a family tale the way that Susan Lewis perfects it.
November 4, 2014
Karl Taro Greenfeld, a Japanese author has quoted remarkably about "relationships “as:
“The harsh truth of every relationship, even between those who love each other, like fathers and sons and daughters, or husbands and wives, is that the love is always unequal.”
Susan Lewis, an English author from Bristol, has spin a wondrous tale about a simple family who are trying hard to love each other equally or more appropriately, coming into terms to live with each other with love, share and care, in her new novel, The Truth About You.
I'd like to take a moment to thank the author, Susan Lewis and her publicist from Random House, for sending me over a copy of her book, in return for an honest and unbiased review.
Lainey Hollingsworth, married to the bestseller author, Tom Hollingsworth, is the mother of two teenagers and step-mom to one son. She is the pillar who holds her household and also taking full care of her adoptive and Dementia-stricken father. For ages she had an elusive relationship with her own mother, the reason being not letting Lainey know about the identity of her biological father, who happened to be an Italian man, and now her mother is dead, and Lainey is trying every ends to get a clue about her buried past. But as she makes the plans to have a trip to Touro, where she was born in Italy, things fell apart in her happy-to-go-household, when she receives a text which says "Ask your husband about Julia". And that leaves Lainey uncertain of her bright future with her husband. So what happens next is left for you guys to find about it!
Flawlessly written, the author has made sure that the tale will not only compel her readers but will also enlighten and make the readers overwhelm with love and joy. Problems may arise everyday in a household, but it is not important that how fast we are eliminating that problem, instead how we are dealing with that problem and that's the focus in this book. This book is only about Lainey searching for her buried past and dealing with insecurity, but also about each and every member how they were left affected by a problem which shake them momentarily. Family was the prime focus in Lewis's book, where she not only crafted her central characters tastefully with passion but also made them look like they all are flawed in their own demeanor, and that's the key which makes the characters completely believable. The plot is also filled with certain mysteries like Lainey looking for clues in Italy to find her roots and the reality behind the newly-arisen problem in her household, understanding the minds of her rebellious 16year old daughter and dealing with her21year old adoptive son, Max and these were handled so skillfully that sometimes it twisted my brain out of anticipation and that what made me gripped to the book till the very end. And thus I can gleefully conclude that the author is a brilliant story-teller.
At some point of time, we all need to respect and understand one another in a family, even if we are dealing with our own ghosts from the past, hence read this book for sure, and find yourself feeling elated with joy at the end of the tale!
“The harsh truth of every relationship, even between those who love each other, like fathers and sons and daughters, or husbands and wives, is that the love is always unequal.”
Susan Lewis, an English author from Bristol, has spin a wondrous tale about a simple family who are trying hard to love each other equally or more appropriately, coming into terms to live with each other with love, share and care, in her new novel, The Truth About You.
I'd like to take a moment to thank the author, Susan Lewis and her publicist from Random House, for sending me over a copy of her book, in return for an honest and unbiased review.
Lainey Hollingsworth, married to the bestseller author, Tom Hollingsworth, is the mother of two teenagers and step-mom to one son. She is the pillar who holds her household and also taking full care of her adoptive and Dementia-stricken father. For ages she had an elusive relationship with her own mother, the reason being not letting Lainey know about the identity of her biological father, who happened to be an Italian man, and now her mother is dead, and Lainey is trying every ends to get a clue about her buried past. But as she makes the plans to have a trip to Touro, where she was born in Italy, things fell apart in her happy-to-go-household, when she receives a text which says "Ask your husband about Julia". And that leaves Lainey uncertain of her bright future with her husband. So what happens next is left for you guys to find about it!
Flawlessly written, the author has made sure that the tale will not only compel her readers but will also enlighten and make the readers overwhelm with love and joy. Problems may arise everyday in a household, but it is not important that how fast we are eliminating that problem, instead how we are dealing with that problem and that's the focus in this book. This book is only about Lainey searching for her buried past and dealing with insecurity, but also about each and every member how they were left affected by a problem which shake them momentarily. Family was the prime focus in Lewis's book, where she not only crafted her central characters tastefully with passion but also made them look like they all are flawed in their own demeanor, and that's the key which makes the characters completely believable. The plot is also filled with certain mysteries like Lainey looking for clues in Italy to find her roots and the reality behind the newly-arisen problem in her household, understanding the minds of her rebellious 16year old daughter and dealing with her21year old adoptive son, Max and these were handled so skillfully that sometimes it twisted my brain out of anticipation and that what made me gripped to the book till the very end. And thus I can gleefully conclude that the author is a brilliant story-teller.
At some point of time, we all need to respect and understand one another in a family, even if we are dealing with our own ghosts from the past, hence read this book for sure, and find yourself feeling elated with joy at the end of the tale!
August 20, 2018
I wish I liked this book better, but not as much as I wish this book was worth liking. I was thrilled to win a copy kindly gifted from Random House via the Goodreads “First Reads” program.
My rant about all the things in here that drove me batty:
SPOILERS...
The gravest sin of this entire book was how contrived it was. There was very little hiding behind the dramatic hype throughout the book. Lainey thinks her husband Tom is cheating on her and it throws her world into a tailspin. Mostly because she storms out in rage, or hangs up on him, or the cell service is conveniently bad, Lainey never lets Tom explain what is actually going on until, of course, the end of the book when the resolve seriously boils down to this:
Tom: Oh, I didn't mention that I'm not cheating on you? Are you sure? OHHHH! No wonder you've been so pissed.
Lainey: Oh, you're not a repeat adulterer? How wonderful that I jumped to the wrong conclusion.
Tom: Er, what I mean to say, is that I was serially cheating many, many years ago. But right now I'm not. I only found out about having another daughter recently myself.
Lainey: It's all my fault for not letting you finish the conversation that you tried to have with me umpteen times. I will now absorb the blame for not being more supportive of all the time you're spending with your ex-mistress and other daughter, whom I'm still a little worried you like better than us.
Tom: My daughter has Down's Syndrome and needs me. Didn't I tell you that, too? I really could have sworn I had already told you.
Seriously Tom? You don't remember that you never told your wife any of that when you were being so mysterious about your daughter? The whole misunderstanding (which both parties accept as just a misunderstanding; not sure I'd feel that way about surprise additional offspring from my husband) is quite cleared up in a four-minute conversation that could have happened 400+ pages earlier and spared us the grief.
That is what I mean by contrived.
And then, because all is well (now that the daughter has Down's and the ex-mistress is actually bald, bloated, diseased, and not a threat to Lainey), Lainey invites them to move in with her own family. Lainey and the hard-on-the-outside-squishy-on-the-inside ex-mistress become best friends. And best of all, Lainey and her children all get along brilliantly after that, rebellious teenage hormones dissipate, and Max gets over all his daddy issues now that his dad isn't breaking up another family. And they all love their new step-sister.
The End.
Again, not making this up.
Let's briefly discuss the other major plot line: searching for buried family secrets. Lainey was so dramatic! Indulge me, please, in yet another mocking dialogue excerpt from the book.
Village local: Yes, I know your family secret. But it is too terrible to put into words.
Lainey: But I need to know!
Village local: Come back in a few days, after you've had sufficient time to draw your own worst possible conclusions and brood about them. Then I will have the strength to tell you.
Lainey: Gasp! I must be the product of incest! My grandfather is also my father!
Marco (handsome and charming married landlord-turned-personal-tour-guide): Now, now, let's not draw conclusions, even though that's what we're clearly supposed to do for the next couple of chapters. That might not be what happened, although that is certainly what Village Local has strongly led us to believe.
Really? That's where you landed? Because that is not, for one instant, where my thoughts went for "most plausible outcome."
Actually, I correctly guessed it all right away, which made it so much more obnoxious to observe Lainey's dramatic ideas about who Julia was and what horrible secret her mother hid.
Don't bother to keep reading if you don't want to hear more frustration, but now that I've started, I'm carrying on.
The writing wasn't technically bad, but something about it was bad. I was so conscious the entire time that I was reading a story that seemed like it was very intentionally meant to sound like stories are meant to sound. Does that make sense?
And I don't give a crap about writing rules—until I'm painfully aware that they're being broken and it isn't working. It was all telling and no showing.
The novel opened up with chapters of backstory, like informational diarrhea, and I didn't care enough about Lainey to know that much about her. From cradle to present, I pretty much had her whole life story at my hands and the barrage of painfully articulated details was enough that I closed the book and put it away for about a month before I forced myself to finish, mostly out of obligation for the free book.
Later in the story, she confronts her husband's past and embarks on a search to uncover her dead mother's family secrets—which results in us learning more backstory. Much of the time, I felt like I wasn't reading a novel so much as a fictitious personal history. I could have been sitting at her funeral listening to Lainey's life sketch. That's not a good thing.
Eventually, the story picked up steam and piqued my interest—in much the same way a looming car accident would hold my attention. Like, I'm curious to see just how badly this story implodes on itself.
The characters were so unlikeable at best. Some were loathsome. Like everyone else, I like my characters to be human, but every single character was riddled with flaws to the point that they were not only unredeemable, they weren't even realistic anymore.
The main character, Lainey, was the most wholesome and brave one in the lot and even she, we soon discover, got married after becoming pregnant by her married, adulterous boyfriend, stealing him away from his child and now ex-wife (whom he was concurrently cheating on with a third mistress, to be introduced later in the book just to give things a good shake-up). Now, I'm not so stuffy that I can't recognize that people make mistakes and grow and improve, which is the ultimate point of most stories, so I was eager to overlook my protagonist's rocky past and love her anyway, but I just never got a good reason to.
Oh Lainey, Lainey, Lainey. On vacation, she went off on daily excursions with another married man, while letting her young kids knowingly party it up or leaving the local families to entertain them. Tierney was clearly a train wreck, but Lainey shrugged it off with every excuse from “typical teenager” and “she just won't tell me” to “I'm dealing with so much myself that I don't have the emotional stamina to tend to my daughter.” She concludes everything must be fine because at least her daughter isn't in debt or pregnant, right? A supposedly vigilant mother like Lainey would have never been so calm about letting a destructive friend like Skye be an ever-present and welcome fixture in her daughter's life, suspecting her 16-year-old is having an affair with a married man, letting her run off to London without even getting parental or friend contact information, or ignoring Tierney's underage drinking so long as it's limited to “reasonable” amounts.
And the problem was that there wasn't one developed character that wasn't marred by a series of grave transgressions, which I would have moved past if any of them had become very heartwarming.
I was a bit surprised to realize I liked fowl-mouthed, irresponsible, rebellious, juvenile party-boy Max the best of all of them, and I think it's because we spent the least amount of time in his head. (And actually he alone had sympathetic, compelling reasons for his flaws and, when it counted, was loyal and staunchly protective of his siblings.)
Tierney was disturbing and delving into her grossly exaggerated teenage deviations did nothing to further the main plot lines, other than just adding flavorless hot water to the stew. Skye was horrid—probably my least favorite character, which is saying something with so many winners to choose from. And what the eff was up with the obsession with 50 Shades of Grey? That did nothing for this book. I am not naïve enough to think that there aren't teenagers like Tierney and Skye romping around in the world, inadvertently in search of sexual predators, and I know that's not a light thing; but I sure hope it's not the norm. It wasn't super realistic to me.
Glued to Lainey's hip and coming over every single day to get tipsy with her, is Lainey's best friend from childhood, Stacy. They spend their days concocting worst-case scenarios about Lainey's troubles and ignoring (or fighting with) the kids. How, you ponder, does Stacy manage this? Well, she hasn't had a job or income source in two years and apparently isn't desperate enough to seek employment outside of her elite aspirations, so not only can she not afford her own wine and needs her daily trip to Lainey's, but she has all the time in the world.
I could go on indefinitely. My list of grievances is about as long as the book was.
But I will end with this trivial complaint: What is up with the book cover?! WHO is the woman on the front? It should be Lainey, but as it was reiterated so many times that Lainey is a black-haired beauty, it doesn't make sense that the designers would ignore something so obvious about the protagonist and stick a blonde there instead.
Rating two stars is a veeeery generous gift here, but after waffling about the rating, I gave in because I did finally muster some curiosity for the story. (Though I will say, had my house burned down with my book in it, even when I was a mere forty or fifty pages from the end, I don't think I would have exerted myself to find another copy to find out how it ended. But since I had it, I was definitely invested enough to finish in a timely manner.)
I also appreciated how the story and characters ended, even though it was a little far-fetched and tidy. I liked that Tom stayed faithful to his wife and was just trying to be a good guy and do right by everyone for once. I liked that Tom and Lainey made up and decided to make their marriage work, even in the face of strain and scandal. I liked that Tom reached out to and responded to his children throughout the uncertainty, despite being a dismal failure at it. I liked that the family instantly took to Julia. I liked that Lainey loved being a wife and mother and found ultimate fulfillment in that, rather than needing to pretend to independent career aspirations that she didn't have in order to satisfy societal pressures. I liked that Lainey tenderly cared for her beloved father with Alzheimer's.
FYI: In case this bothers you, there is a substantial amount of language throughout and disturbing, predatory-type sexual content.
My rant about all the things in here that drove me batty:
SPOILERS...
The gravest sin of this entire book was how contrived it was. There was very little hiding behind the dramatic hype throughout the book. Lainey thinks her husband Tom is cheating on her and it throws her world into a tailspin. Mostly because she storms out in rage, or hangs up on him, or the cell service is conveniently bad, Lainey never lets Tom explain what is actually going on until, of course, the end of the book when the resolve seriously boils down to this:
Tom: Oh, I didn't mention that I'm not cheating on you? Are you sure? OHHHH! No wonder you've been so pissed.
Lainey: Oh, you're not a repeat adulterer? How wonderful that I jumped to the wrong conclusion.
Tom: Er, what I mean to say, is that I was serially cheating many, many years ago. But right now I'm not. I only found out about having another daughter recently myself.
Lainey: It's all my fault for not letting you finish the conversation that you tried to have with me umpteen times. I will now absorb the blame for not being more supportive of all the time you're spending with your ex-mistress and other daughter, whom I'm still a little worried you like better than us.
Tom: My daughter has Down's Syndrome and needs me. Didn't I tell you that, too? I really could have sworn I had already told you.
Seriously Tom? You don't remember that you never told your wife any of that when you were being so mysterious about your daughter? The whole misunderstanding (which both parties accept as just a misunderstanding; not sure I'd feel that way about surprise additional offspring from my husband) is quite cleared up in a four-minute conversation that could have happened 400+ pages earlier and spared us the grief.
That is what I mean by contrived.
And then, because all is well (now that the daughter has Down's and the ex-mistress is actually bald, bloated, diseased, and not a threat to Lainey), Lainey invites them to move in with her own family. Lainey and the hard-on-the-outside-squishy-on-the-inside ex-mistress become best friends. And best of all, Lainey and her children all get along brilliantly after that, rebellious teenage hormones dissipate, and Max gets over all his daddy issues now that his dad isn't breaking up another family. And they all love their new step-sister.
The End.
Again, not making this up.
Let's briefly discuss the other major plot line: searching for buried family secrets. Lainey was so dramatic! Indulge me, please, in yet another mocking dialogue excerpt from the book.
Village local: Yes, I know your family secret. But it is too terrible to put into words.
Lainey: But I need to know!
Village local: Come back in a few days, after you've had sufficient time to draw your own worst possible conclusions and brood about them. Then I will have the strength to tell you.
Lainey: Gasp! I must be the product of incest! My grandfather is also my father!
Marco (handsome and charming married landlord-turned-personal-tour-guide): Now, now, let's not draw conclusions, even though that's what we're clearly supposed to do for the next couple of chapters. That might not be what happened, although that is certainly what Village Local has strongly led us to believe.
Really? That's where you landed? Because that is not, for one instant, where my thoughts went for "most plausible outcome."
Actually, I correctly guessed it all right away, which made it so much more obnoxious to observe Lainey's dramatic ideas about who Julia was and what horrible secret her mother hid.
Don't bother to keep reading if you don't want to hear more frustration, but now that I've started, I'm carrying on.
The writing wasn't technically bad, but something about it was bad. I was so conscious the entire time that I was reading a story that seemed like it was very intentionally meant to sound like stories are meant to sound. Does that make sense?
And I don't give a crap about writing rules—until I'm painfully aware that they're being broken and it isn't working. It was all telling and no showing.
The novel opened up with chapters of backstory, like informational diarrhea, and I didn't care enough about Lainey to know that much about her. From cradle to present, I pretty much had her whole life story at my hands and the barrage of painfully articulated details was enough that I closed the book and put it away for about a month before I forced myself to finish, mostly out of obligation for the free book.
Later in the story, she confronts her husband's past and embarks on a search to uncover her dead mother's family secrets—which results in us learning more backstory. Much of the time, I felt like I wasn't reading a novel so much as a fictitious personal history. I could have been sitting at her funeral listening to Lainey's life sketch. That's not a good thing.
Eventually, the story picked up steam and piqued my interest—in much the same way a looming car accident would hold my attention. Like, I'm curious to see just how badly this story implodes on itself.
The characters were so unlikeable at best. Some were loathsome. Like everyone else, I like my characters to be human, but every single character was riddled with flaws to the point that they were not only unredeemable, they weren't even realistic anymore.
The main character, Lainey, was the most wholesome and brave one in the lot and even she, we soon discover, got married after becoming pregnant by her married, adulterous boyfriend, stealing him away from his child and now ex-wife (whom he was concurrently cheating on with a third mistress, to be introduced later in the book just to give things a good shake-up). Now, I'm not so stuffy that I can't recognize that people make mistakes and grow and improve, which is the ultimate point of most stories, so I was eager to overlook my protagonist's rocky past and love her anyway, but I just never got a good reason to.
Oh Lainey, Lainey, Lainey. On vacation, she went off on daily excursions with another married man, while letting her young kids knowingly party it up or leaving the local families to entertain them. Tierney was clearly a train wreck, but Lainey shrugged it off with every excuse from “typical teenager” and “she just won't tell me” to “I'm dealing with so much myself that I don't have the emotional stamina to tend to my daughter.” She concludes everything must be fine because at least her daughter isn't in debt or pregnant, right? A supposedly vigilant mother like Lainey would have never been so calm about letting a destructive friend like Skye be an ever-present and welcome fixture in her daughter's life, suspecting her 16-year-old is having an affair with a married man, letting her run off to London without even getting parental or friend contact information, or ignoring Tierney's underage drinking so long as it's limited to “reasonable” amounts.
And the problem was that there wasn't one developed character that wasn't marred by a series of grave transgressions, which I would have moved past if any of them had become very heartwarming.
I was a bit surprised to realize I liked fowl-mouthed, irresponsible, rebellious, juvenile party-boy Max the best of all of them, and I think it's because we spent the least amount of time in his head. (And actually he alone had sympathetic, compelling reasons for his flaws and, when it counted, was loyal and staunchly protective of his siblings.)
Tierney was disturbing and delving into her grossly exaggerated teenage deviations did nothing to further the main plot lines, other than just adding flavorless hot water to the stew. Skye was horrid—probably my least favorite character, which is saying something with so many winners to choose from. And what the eff was up with the obsession with 50 Shades of Grey? That did nothing for this book. I am not naïve enough to think that there aren't teenagers like Tierney and Skye romping around in the world, inadvertently in search of sexual predators, and I know that's not a light thing; but I sure hope it's not the norm. It wasn't super realistic to me.
Glued to Lainey's hip and coming over every single day to get tipsy with her, is Lainey's best friend from childhood, Stacy. They spend their days concocting worst-case scenarios about Lainey's troubles and ignoring (or fighting with) the kids. How, you ponder, does Stacy manage this? Well, she hasn't had a job or income source in two years and apparently isn't desperate enough to seek employment outside of her elite aspirations, so not only can she not afford her own wine and needs her daily trip to Lainey's, but she has all the time in the world.
I could go on indefinitely. My list of grievances is about as long as the book was.
But I will end with this trivial complaint: What is up with the book cover?! WHO is the woman on the front? It should be Lainey, but as it was reiterated so many times that Lainey is a black-haired beauty, it doesn't make sense that the designers would ignore something so obvious about the protagonist and stick a blonde there instead.
Rating two stars is a veeeery generous gift here, but after waffling about the rating, I gave in because I did finally muster some curiosity for the story. (Though I will say, had my house burned down with my book in it, even when I was a mere forty or fifty pages from the end, I don't think I would have exerted myself to find another copy to find out how it ended. But since I had it, I was definitely invested enough to finish in a timely manner.)
I also appreciated how the story and characters ended, even though it was a little far-fetched and tidy. I liked that Tom stayed faithful to his wife and was just trying to be a good guy and do right by everyone for once. I liked that Tom and Lainey made up and decided to make their marriage work, even in the face of strain and scandal. I liked that Tom reached out to and responded to his children throughout the uncertainty, despite being a dismal failure at it. I liked that the family instantly took to Julia. I liked that Lainey loved being a wife and mother and found ultimate fulfillment in that, rather than needing to pretend to independent career aspirations that she didn't have in order to satisfy societal pressures. I liked that Lainey tenderly cared for her beloved father with Alzheimer's.
FYI: In case this bothers you, there is a substantial amount of language throughout and disturbing, predatory-type sexual content.
May 3, 2022
2⭐ = Below average.
This was leant to me by a relative and because I never refuse a book, I gave it a go.
I'm afraid that by looking at this book cover I immediately went into the mindset of 'bored'. 😀.
Does anybody else look at the layout of the text and often know that it's not going to work for you? I often do.
For me, the storyline took a nosedive when the characters moved to Italy. I felt this side of the story was unnecessary and I became irritated by the comments made by the female protagonist.
Maybe I just needed a book with a little more 'get up and go' this week. 🙂
This was leant to me by a relative and because I never refuse a book, I gave it a go.
I'm afraid that by looking at this book cover I immediately went into the mindset of 'bored'. 😀.
Does anybody else look at the layout of the text and often know that it's not going to work for you? I often do.
For me, the storyline took a nosedive when the characters moved to Italy. I felt this side of the story was unnecessary and I became irritated by the comments made by the female protagonist.
Maybe I just needed a book with a little more 'get up and go' this week. 🙂
November 16, 2013
Could have held my interest better if I could have believed that any person would have let themselves be string along by nearly all of the people in her life by lies, half truths, and misinformation. I must have scolded the books a dozen times with " come on!" and "are you kidding me!"
July 16, 2020
Our main character Lainey, is an English middle-class mother and housewife who also works to sustain her husbands successful writing career. She has a very comfortable life with all the accouterments of success as seen by middle class; comfortably well off, husband, family, house, ect ect.
Her mother immigrated from Italy when she was a baby and refused to tell Lainey anything about her past or family so Lainey has always yearned to go back to Italy and find out 'the truth'. Her husband Tom has always been beside her the whole way. She books the tickets, and just after she does, her husband hits her with a bombshell that could wreck her marriage (insert dramatic drum roll) but she goes anyway to discover the tewwible tewwible truth awaiting her...
From the two stars and the sarcasm, I am sure you are getting the picture this book did not rock my world. Several things about it bothered me, first the non-spoilers:
The publishers must have been on a really crappy budget because whoever briefed the cover designer had clearly not bothered to read the book, not even the first 20 pages. Quite probably the same person with the same skill set wrote the blurb on the back. In the first chapter, we have Lainey described to us as of strongly Mediterranean appearance, thick black curly hair, voluptuous and curvy, large dark eyes and of a Mediterranean temper (I'll get back to that one). The cover art, (designed by a good artist mind you, one who has in the past produced some very vivid images), is totally unsuited to this book. The cover shows us very young classic English rose; pale skin, hazel eyes and light 'hair coloured' hair gazing insipidly and wistfully into the distance. There is no such person in the entire book. We are affected by covers, you know we are, so it took me quite a while to fix Lainey in my mind because the cover was so inconsistent with the way she is portrayed by the author.
The blurb on the back.... Well, it mentions the journey to Italy and the fact that Lainey's marriage is going through a hard patch, but it makes it sound as though the trip to Italy and discovering her roots is the focus of the novel. This is really not the case. We don't even get to Italy until almost page 200, most of the book is about Lainey and how she deals with her life and kids. Also her daughter who is sixteen and about to have sex for the first time as a sub-plot. When we finally get to Italy, not much happens really, its nicely written enough but it is still mostly about Lainey's kids and marriage.
Now here is another problem; it is the tell-not-show style of writing and while this writing style doesn't always bother me, if a novel is heavily character driven it can. This novel is very heavily character driven, but while the author repeatedly tells me what a fiery Mediterranean character Lainey has she never shows me anything except a doormat. Lainey is a well enough written character, but she is not fiery, has no temper that I can see, apologises for her existence, gets bullied regularly by the nasty parcel of kids the author has given her and, generally, has the spine of a wet dish-cloth. I wouldn't mind that, I quite like her, but being constantly told she is one thing and shown another thing is bad writing in my opinion. The same happens with the kids, and the husband and the marriage, told one thing shown something entirely different. For almost 400 pages, mind you.
Now for the spoilers,
Despite everything critical I have just said, I did not find this an unenjoyable book to read overall, I didn't regret finishing it, I certainly had no intention of putting it down and it had many good points, descriptions of Italy were nice as were the descriptions of their life in England (far more alien to me than Italy sounded btw). The secondary plots of the daughter and Italy mitigated the endless imaginary miseries that Lainey was piling on herself and though I don't love novels about kids, this one did alright.
So, good enough book if you like mainstream fiction about mainstream housewives with annoying kids and threats to marriage that are overcome (insert violins) to bring you to a vanilla, all strings tied, happy ending. Artificial vanilla, not the actual, real, orchid pod flavour.
Her mother immigrated from Italy when she was a baby and refused to tell Lainey anything about her past or family so Lainey has always yearned to go back to Italy and find out 'the truth'. Her husband Tom has always been beside her the whole way. She books the tickets, and just after she does, her husband hits her with a bombshell that could wreck her marriage (insert dramatic drum roll) but she goes anyway to discover the tewwible tewwible truth awaiting her...
From the two stars and the sarcasm, I am sure you are getting the picture this book did not rock my world. Several things about it bothered me, first the non-spoilers:
The publishers must have been on a really crappy budget because whoever briefed the cover designer had clearly not bothered to read the book, not even the first 20 pages. Quite probably the same person with the same skill set wrote the blurb on the back. In the first chapter, we have Lainey described to us as of strongly Mediterranean appearance, thick black curly hair, voluptuous and curvy, large dark eyes and of a Mediterranean temper (I'll get back to that one). The cover art, (designed by a good artist mind you, one who has in the past produced some very vivid images), is totally unsuited to this book. The cover shows us very young classic English rose; pale skin, hazel eyes and light 'hair coloured' hair gazing insipidly and wistfully into the distance. There is no such person in the entire book. We are affected by covers, you know we are, so it took me quite a while to fix Lainey in my mind because the cover was so inconsistent with the way she is portrayed by the author.
The blurb on the back.... Well, it mentions the journey to Italy and the fact that Lainey's marriage is going through a hard patch, but it makes it sound as though the trip to Italy and discovering her roots is the focus of the novel. This is really not the case. We don't even get to Italy until almost page 200, most of the book is about Lainey and how she deals with her life and kids. Also her daughter who is sixteen and about to have sex for the first time as a sub-plot. When we finally get to Italy, not much happens really, its nicely written enough but it is still mostly about Lainey's kids and marriage.
Now here is another problem; it is the tell-not-show style of writing and while this writing style doesn't always bother me, if a novel is heavily character driven it can. This novel is very heavily character driven, but while the author repeatedly tells me what a fiery Mediterranean character Lainey has she never shows me anything except a doormat. Lainey is a well enough written character, but she is not fiery, has no temper that I can see, apologises for her existence, gets bullied regularly by the nasty parcel of kids the author has given her and, generally, has the spine of a wet dish-cloth. I wouldn't mind that, I quite like her, but being constantly told she is one thing and shown another thing is bad writing in my opinion. The same happens with the kids, and the husband and the marriage, told one thing shown something entirely different. For almost 400 pages, mind you.
Now for the spoilers,
Despite everything critical I have just said, I did not find this an unenjoyable book to read overall, I didn't regret finishing it, I certainly had no intention of putting it down and it had many good points, descriptions of Italy were nice as were the descriptions of their life in England (far more alien to me than Italy sounded btw). The secondary plots of the daughter and Italy mitigated the endless imaginary miseries that Lainey was piling on herself and though I don't love novels about kids, this one did alright.
So, good enough book if you like mainstream fiction about mainstream housewives with annoying kids and threats to marriage that are overcome (insert violins) to bring you to a vanilla, all strings tied, happy ending. Artificial vanilla, not the actual, real, orchid pod flavour.
October 19, 2013
Lainey Hollingsworth is one of life’s dependable ‘copers’. She manages the lives of those around her – her author husband Tom, together with that of their two children, 15 year old daughter Tierney and younger son Zav with almost military precision. In addition, they have Max, from Tom’s previous marriage (a 21 year old but with the temper tantrums of a teenager) and Lainey’s ageing father Peter, suffering from Alzheimer’s, living with them.
Lainey is keen to know more about her roots. She has never really got on with her mother and now that she has gone she seeks resolution to some unanswered questions. Her Italian mother Allesandra came to England when Lainey was a baby and had always refused to discuss her earlier life in Italy - Lainey doesn’t even know who her real father was. Peter adopted her when he married Allesandra. In the hope of finding out more, she has booked a villa for a family holiday in her late mother’s home town in Italy and is hoping to find out any information about her Italian family.
These plans however are thrown into jeopardy when she suddenly discovers secrets that her husband has apparently been hiding and she begins to question whether she actually knows the person she has been married to for 16 years.
Add into the mix a hormonal teenage daughter, a storyline concerning internet grooming and a stepson with his own resentment issues and Lainey’s life is about to become very difficult indeed.
I was quickly drawn into the story and into the lives of the characters. They were all very well written and believable – so believable in fact that at first I thoroughly disliked the two eldest children who I thought were quite obnoxious. Lainey was the character I engaged with the most and who I felt the most sympathy for. Her husband and family are her whole life and I could empathise with her fears that her marriage and family were falling apart. The descriptions of the Italian landscape were very atmospheric– so much so, that I wished that I were there too. There were a lot of characters in the book, particularly when the villa owners and their Italian families were introduced and initially it did take some effort to keep track of who was related to who.
Lainey's love and concern for her adopted father, Peter, shone out throughout the book. His deterioration due to the dreadful illness of Alzheimer's was very sensitively dealt with.
My only minor disappointment would be that the story seemed to flag a little in the middle and I started to lose interest, although not enough to make me stop reading. The pace of the storyline did pick up again and although I found the ending perhaps a little too sugary, I suppose it was appropriate. Maybe I have just read too many books or perhaps it was obvious, but I did correctly guess what the developing story involving Tom was going to be together with the secret from the past that Lainey’s mother wanted to keep hidden.
Would I recommend this book? Yes, if you enjoy family dramas then you would probably enjoy this. All in all, it was a very enjoyable read.
My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher Random House/Ballantine for the digital copy to review.
Lainey is keen to know more about her roots. She has never really got on with her mother and now that she has gone she seeks resolution to some unanswered questions. Her Italian mother Allesandra came to England when Lainey was a baby and had always refused to discuss her earlier life in Italy - Lainey doesn’t even know who her real father was. Peter adopted her when he married Allesandra. In the hope of finding out more, she has booked a villa for a family holiday in her late mother’s home town in Italy and is hoping to find out any information about her Italian family.
These plans however are thrown into jeopardy when she suddenly discovers secrets that her husband has apparently been hiding and she begins to question whether she actually knows the person she has been married to for 16 years.
Add into the mix a hormonal teenage daughter, a storyline concerning internet grooming and a stepson with his own resentment issues and Lainey’s life is about to become very difficult indeed.
I was quickly drawn into the story and into the lives of the characters. They were all very well written and believable – so believable in fact that at first I thoroughly disliked the two eldest children who I thought were quite obnoxious. Lainey was the character I engaged with the most and who I felt the most sympathy for. Her husband and family are her whole life and I could empathise with her fears that her marriage and family were falling apart. The descriptions of the Italian landscape were very atmospheric– so much so, that I wished that I were there too. There were a lot of characters in the book, particularly when the villa owners and their Italian families were introduced and initially it did take some effort to keep track of who was related to who.
Lainey's love and concern for her adopted father, Peter, shone out throughout the book. His deterioration due to the dreadful illness of Alzheimer's was very sensitively dealt with.
My only minor disappointment would be that the story seemed to flag a little in the middle and I started to lose interest, although not enough to make me stop reading. The pace of the storyline did pick up again and although I found the ending perhaps a little too sugary, I suppose it was appropriate. Maybe I have just read too many books or perhaps it was obvious, but I did correctly guess what the developing story involving Tom was going to be together with the secret from the past that Lainey’s mother wanted to keep hidden.
Would I recommend this book? Yes, if you enjoy family dramas then you would probably enjoy this. All in all, it was a very enjoyable read.
My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher Random House/Ballantine for the digital copy to review.
November 27, 2020
The book will be better without Thierney's story and more story on Lainey's mother and her family back in Italy.
September 12, 2016
I struggled to get into this book, but it picked up after the first hundred or so pages. There's a lot of ground covered here, from Lainey's marriage to her family history to her daughter's, erm, messy introduction to 'adulthood' to her husband's past. I suspect that it's not for those who prefer squeaky-clean books, although I must admit that I was rather amused by the whole '50 Shades' plotline (not amused by the plotline itself, but by the pretty clear disdain for the books).
Why on earth would Tom have omitted to tell her something so vital, something that would have made such a difference[...]? (page 421)
Where the book lost me was in the un-had conversations. I've heard it said that conflict that could be solved by sitting down and having an honest conversation is insufficient (think of, say, a romance novel where the heroine sees the hero in a long hug with another woman -- that vixen! That bastard! Clearly he's cheating! -- only to find out, much later, that it's the hero's sister). This book suffers from the same problem, as every time Tom says something to the effect of 'Wait, you haven't heard the full sto--' Lainey hangs up or goes off on a rant about how he's a cheating jerk who doesn't care about her; when they finally have that conversation, Lainey is . And then, of course, Tom promptly keeps a few more things back. (Meanwhile, in Italy, Lainey keeps coming up against people who know her family's story -- or some of it -- but don't want to tell her.)
Max was perhaps my favourite character of the book, simply for his complexity. He's angry, and not afraid to let others see it, and as a (step)son he can kind of be an ass. But he doesn't get much by way of emotional support from his parents, either, and he's genuinely -- and fiercely -- protective of his younger siblings. Zav's too young for much complexity, but Tierney's a good mix of teenage rage and teenage hormones and teenage...teenageness. (Skye, meanwhile, is completely unredeemable, which is not nearly so interesting.) As far as writing goes, it's fine, but the threads holding the plot together could have been stronger.
I received a free copy of this book via a Goodreads giveaway.
Why on earth would Tom have omitted to tell her something so vital, something that would have made such a difference[...]? (page 421)
Where the book lost me was in the un-had conversations. I've heard it said that conflict that could be solved by sitting down and having an honest conversation is insufficient (think of, say, a romance novel where the heroine sees the hero in a long hug with another woman -- that vixen! That bastard! Clearly he's cheating! -- only to find out, much later, that it's the hero's sister). This book suffers from the same problem, as every time Tom says something to the effect of 'Wait, you haven't heard the full sto--' Lainey hangs up or goes off on a rant about how he's a cheating jerk who doesn't care about her; when they finally have that conversation, Lainey is . And then, of course, Tom promptly keeps a few more things back. (Meanwhile, in Italy, Lainey keeps coming up against people who know her family's story -- or some of it -- but don't want to tell her.)
Max was perhaps my favourite character of the book, simply for his complexity. He's angry, and not afraid to let others see it, and as a (step)son he can kind of be an ass. But he doesn't get much by way of emotional support from his parents, either, and he's genuinely -- and fiercely -- protective of his younger siblings. Zav's too young for much complexity, but Tierney's a good mix of teenage rage and teenage hormones and teenage...teenageness. (Skye, meanwhile, is completely unredeemable, which is not nearly so interesting.) As far as writing goes, it's fine, but the threads holding the plot together could have been stronger.
I received a free copy of this book via a Goodreads giveaway.
June 19, 2017
Lainey and Tom appear to be happily married with two children and are planning a holiday to Italy so Lainey can discover her routes when she recieves a text which brings her world to a standstill.
"Ask your husband about Julia." Given that Lainey was once the other woman where Tom is concerned, she is instantly propelled into a whirlwind of doubt about who Julia is and what her connection to Tom is.
I felt that although this book seemed to have all the correct ingredients it just failed to capture my attention. I wasn't particularly fond of Lainey or Tom for some reason and was much more interested in Tierney's storyline. I have to say that my favourite character, especially when it comes to character development is Max. At first he is the world's stroppiest twenty-one year old, but by the end of the novel it is obvious he is starting to mature.
I'm not really sure if I would recommend this one or not to be entirely honest.
"Ask your husband about Julia." Given that Lainey was once the other woman where Tom is concerned, she is instantly propelled into a whirlwind of doubt about who Julia is and what her connection to Tom is.
I felt that although this book seemed to have all the correct ingredients it just failed to capture my attention. I wasn't particularly fond of Lainey or Tom for some reason and was much more interested in Tierney's storyline. I have to say that my favourite character, especially when it comes to character development is Max. At first he is the world's stroppiest twenty-one year old, but by the end of the novel it is obvious he is starting to mature.
I'm not really sure if I would recommend this one or not to be entirely honest.
November 23, 2017
Great Family story
I love reading these types of stories in which there are plot lines for several characters in a story. Lainey is not sure about her husband’s secret, Tom doesn’t know how to break the news to his family, Tierney embarks on a relationship that is just too mature for her, and Max can’t seem to be able to get close to his father. Heartbreak, forgiveness, trust, and family are all what this book is about. Susan Lewis tells a great story!
I love reading these types of stories in which there are plot lines for several characters in a story. Lainey is not sure about her husband’s secret, Tom doesn’t know how to break the news to his family, Tierney embarks on a relationship that is just too mature for her, and Max can’t seem to be able to get close to his father. Heartbreak, forgiveness, trust, and family are all what this book is about. Susan Lewis tells a great story!
September 4, 2017
This book was a page turner
Although there were tragedies in this book, you can't go through life without suffering a loss or two. I started this book in the afternoon and read way into the night. It was a most enjoyable book. I would highly need on end it.
Although there were tragedies in this book, you can't go through life without suffering a loss or two. I started this book in the afternoon and read way into the night. It was a most enjoyable book. I would highly need on end it.
January 3, 2020
Susan Lewis always comes through with a beautiful story. I loved every moment with Lainey.
October 9, 2014
Just brilliant!
July 28, 2020
I think this book is probably a 3.5 for me but I just can't justify rounding it to a 4. It's a really interesting premise of a woman exploring her family history that she doesn't know about and her travels to Italy to do so. Some lovely imagery of Italy - Mum I think you will like it - but there was just too much going on and it didn't seem to focus on any storyline.
There's her teenage stepson who is a hellian at the start and seems like he's going to be a drug addict and antagonist and then he just... Stops and becomes nice. There's her teenage daughter who is having a dodgy relationship. I won't say who with for spoilers, then it's her husbands 'affair' and the daughter he finds he has, then there's drama and complications to do with that which again I won't reveal there. There's other sideline stories too but I won't list them all. I feel like Susan Lewis should have chosen a couple of plot points and fleshed them out more rather than lots of storylines a lot of which either just end abruptly or go nowhere
There's her teenage stepson who is a hellian at the start and seems like he's going to be a drug addict and antagonist and then he just... Stops and becomes nice. There's her teenage daughter who is having a dodgy relationship. I won't say who with for spoilers, then it's her husbands 'affair' and the daughter he finds he has, then there's drama and complications to do with that which again I won't reveal there. There's other sideline stories too but I won't list them all. I feel like Susan Lewis should have chosen a couple of plot points and fleshed them out more rather than lots of storylines a lot of which either just end abruptly or go nowhere
November 18, 2018
I am sorry to say I was disappointed, I was expecting more of the storyline covering Lainey tracing her family line in Italy. Instead it seemed to be more of the immediate family and their dramas, which it still kept my interest, but in the end found something was missing. Which as Susan Lewis is one of my favourite authors was unusual.
June 21, 2024
Slightly confusing at times trying to keep up with everything as each character has something going on. However I enjoyed reading this book and I thought the ending was great.
November 12, 2013
Lainy has the perfect marriage and loves her husband and children dearly but she has always wanted to find out about the family in Italy that have been missing from her life.Why did her Italian mother leave Italy never to return or communicate with her family there?
Now with her mother no longer here and her step father in the throws of dementia she is more determined than ever to go to Italy to try to find someone who can tell her the truth about the past.
Just as Lainy is booking flights and a villa for her family to visit Umbria in Italy her husband tells her something which she believes he has kept secret from her for the whole of their marriage. She refuses to listen any further to what he has to say and actually makes everything up in her head as her husband deals with the most challenging thing he has ever dealt with.
This was where I disagreed with the story. If my husband had told me something so life changing I would have had a hundred questions to ask him and he would not have been able to go anywhere until I had answers.
Everyone deals with things differently and Lainy doesn't want to know anymore and Tom seems quite happy to oblige her and this is where life for Liany becomes very difficult as she has to cope with her family alone.
Other stories in smaller plots are of Lainy's teenage stepson who is living in her house with no intention of finding a job and is becoming increasingly rude to he, a proper pain in the neck. Her sixteen year old daughter Tierney is embarking on a dangerous relationship and it becomes evident that she is too young to handle it.
The family arrive in Italy and make friends with the people who they rent the villa from.With their help she finds the right people who will unleash the secrets of the past but are they secrets that would have been better kept hidden? I loved this part of the story, the description of their surroundings was wonderful and makes me want to visit.
I have read a few books by Susan Lewis and this does seem to be a bit different from her usual. Even though I thought Lainy not listening to her husband a bit unreal there would have been no story without it.
This was certainly a page turner as I wanted to know Tom's secret, I felt like asking him myself it took so long. The secrets in Italy that Lainy discovered were handled much better and were more believable.
The daughter Tierney's story had me at the edge of my seat I was so scared for her.
Another hit from Susan Lewis even if it was different form her other books, a jolly good read.
Now with her mother no longer here and her step father in the throws of dementia she is more determined than ever to go to Italy to try to find someone who can tell her the truth about the past.
Just as Lainy is booking flights and a villa for her family to visit Umbria in Italy her husband tells her something which she believes he has kept secret from her for the whole of their marriage. She refuses to listen any further to what he has to say and actually makes everything up in her head as her husband deals with the most challenging thing he has ever dealt with.
This was where I disagreed with the story. If my husband had told me something so life changing I would have had a hundred questions to ask him and he would not have been able to go anywhere until I had answers.
Everyone deals with things differently and Lainy doesn't want to know anymore and Tom seems quite happy to oblige her and this is where life for Liany becomes very difficult as she has to cope with her family alone.
Other stories in smaller plots are of Lainy's teenage stepson who is living in her house with no intention of finding a job and is becoming increasingly rude to he, a proper pain in the neck. Her sixteen year old daughter Tierney is embarking on a dangerous relationship and it becomes evident that she is too young to handle it.
The family arrive in Italy and make friends with the people who they rent the villa from.With their help she finds the right people who will unleash the secrets of the past but are they secrets that would have been better kept hidden? I loved this part of the story, the description of their surroundings was wonderful and makes me want to visit.
I have read a few books by Susan Lewis and this does seem to be a bit different from her usual. Even though I thought Lainy not listening to her husband a bit unreal there would have been no story without it.
This was certainly a page turner as I wanted to know Tom's secret, I felt like asking him myself it took so long. The secrets in Italy that Lainy discovered were handled much better and were more believable.
The daughter Tierney's story had me at the edge of my seat I was so scared for her.
Another hit from Susan Lewis even if it was different form her other books, a jolly good read.
February 9, 2014
The Truth About You - by Susan Lewis.
September 2013
Rather late in posting my review, but it was on my laptop, which I've only just got back. Anyway,here goes!
I wanted to like this book a whole lot more than I actually did. I had to sit and think about why the book confused me and irritated me in so many ways; perhaps it was the tangled web of the plot or the numerous secondary characters and their problems.
It is a book of themes: secrecy, adultery, teen sexuality, trust and divorce, interspersed with text messages throughout. Oh yes, – I know technology exists but so much of the book is receiving and sending text messages! The book started well and I wanted to continue reading; however there were so many secondary characters that I had to have a post-it note on the computer to keep me in the know!
When the secret of Julia is first revealed I felt it did not ring true. A married couple who are happily married for 16 years do not have secrets of this kind without some sort of indication. The teenage daughter was an over the top teenager; her character was just too much to believe. I would have slapped her as a mother! Her sexual experience was never totally explained/resolved and there were no answers to why she got involved in the situation.
The narrative is all about Lainey’s roots. We know she went to Italy but there was never a moment when we saw that she involved her family in the truth. I was expecting to see her transformed but I did not see this – the major theme became a very minor one and that left me with a feeling of disappointment. I expected to see her transformed when she found herself or should I say when she found out about her background. I did however like the change in Max as a character. He really showed a great sense of maturity. Zav was a real person – loving and spontaneous.
I would like to say that I did like the writing style of the author, her empathy, her understanding of her father’s dementia. Maybe I should try reading another of her books. I felt this book deserved 3 stars – I would recommend it for a young audience as there were issues they could relate to.
September 2013
Rather late in posting my review, but it was on my laptop, which I've only just got back. Anyway,here goes!
I wanted to like this book a whole lot more than I actually did. I had to sit and think about why the book confused me and irritated me in so many ways; perhaps it was the tangled web of the plot or the numerous secondary characters and their problems.
It is a book of themes: secrecy, adultery, teen sexuality, trust and divorce, interspersed with text messages throughout. Oh yes, – I know technology exists but so much of the book is receiving and sending text messages! The book started well and I wanted to continue reading; however there were so many secondary characters that I had to have a post-it note on the computer to keep me in the know!
When the secret of Julia is first revealed I felt it did not ring true. A married couple who are happily married for 16 years do not have secrets of this kind without some sort of indication. The teenage daughter was an over the top teenager; her character was just too much to believe. I would have slapped her as a mother! Her sexual experience was never totally explained/resolved and there were no answers to why she got involved in the situation.
The narrative is all about Lainey’s roots. We know she went to Italy but there was never a moment when we saw that she involved her family in the truth. I was expecting to see her transformed but I did not see this – the major theme became a very minor one and that left me with a feeling of disappointment. I expected to see her transformed when she found herself or should I say when she found out about her background. I did however like the change in Max as a character. He really showed a great sense of maturity. Zav was a real person – loving and spontaneous.
I would like to say that I did like the writing style of the author, her empathy, her understanding of her father’s dementia. Maybe I should try reading another of her books. I felt this book deserved 3 stars – I would recommend it for a young audience as there were issues they could relate to.
October 21, 2013
I wanted to like this book a whole lot more than I actually did. This author has been recommended to me as someone who has a good feel of the pulse of real life and issues of women today. Maybe so, but this novel didn't sell me. Perhaps the biggest disconnects for me were in two elements, rooted in today's world, that bug the bejiggers out of me. The first is that yes, we do have a lot of technology, with computers, email, texts, and skype, but I really don't like to have my reading world completely infiltrated by that as well as my real world. I'm one of the few people I know who sets a limit on personal computer use, and won't regularly use it after a certain time in the evening unless for a specific need. Phone goes off, too, at a regular time, only allowing emergency calls from family. Yet throughout this book, electronic communication, even when connections were bad, substituted for personal interactions.
The second plot device that really, really irritated me was the intrusion of something into the story that I have made a conscious decision to avoid: Fifty Shades of Gray. There was way more about a book I have no desire to read or talk about in this novel than I cared for. It was not a successful plot element for this reader, even though the author was using it in a particular manner to advance the story and define certain characters.
As to Julia, a whole lot could have been worked out much easier and earlier, if instead of insisting on talking, then storming off without really speaking, the characters actually talked. Now there's a novel idea.
Thanks to LibraryThing Early Reviewers program and the publisher for sending me this book. I'm sorry I didn't like it.
The second plot device that really, really irritated me was the intrusion of something into the story that I have made a conscious decision to avoid: Fifty Shades of Gray. There was way more about a book I have no desire to read or talk about in this novel than I cared for. It was not a successful plot element for this reader, even though the author was using it in a particular manner to advance the story and define certain characters.
As to Julia, a whole lot could have been worked out much easier and earlier, if instead of insisting on talking, then storming off without really speaking, the characters actually talked. Now there's a novel idea.
Thanks to LibraryThing Early Reviewers program and the publisher for sending me this book. I'm sorry I didn't like it.
Read
June 2, 2016So what did I think about this book? The writing itself was pleasant enough and the initial introduction to the various characters somewhat intriguing. However, while I finished reading the book in its entirety, I have to say that my interest went downhill fairly quickly because the author seemed to keep looking for the birds in the bush instead of hanging on to the bird in hand.
I always wonder why an author feels the need to add so many things into a story when less...way less... would have done quite nicely.
Lainey's story would have been compelling enough, explored deeply. There was plenty to consider: a distant, verbally abusive mother married to a loving stepfather, profound sibling inequities, and the resultant enabling behaviors she exhibited throughout her life, her own choices and how they affected the people in her world. Just the addition of her mother's story would have been more than enough for a strong novel.
Instead Ms Lewis chose to inject cancer (twice), Alzheimer's, multiple incidents of adultery within her immediate family and friends (six) adult sexual promiscuity, over the top teen sex, pedophilia... all this coupled with a verbally abusive teen daughter and socially "delayed" stepson, as well as a distant, secretive husband. And that's only a partial list.
There simply was too much going and it all wrapped up in the final couple of chapters in a saccharine-laced bow. An unbelievable ending, given all that had happened, much of it within a short period of time. Sigh. Over the top and unsatisfying. Two stars is generous. However, I'll give the author another read since her style was reasonably good. Hopefully the plot and character development has improved.
I always wonder why an author feels the need to add so many things into a story when less...way less... would have done quite nicely.
Lainey's story would have been compelling enough, explored deeply. There was plenty to consider: a distant, verbally abusive mother married to a loving stepfather, profound sibling inequities, and the resultant enabling behaviors she exhibited throughout her life, her own choices and how they affected the people in her world. Just the addition of her mother's story would have been more than enough for a strong novel.
Instead Ms Lewis chose to inject cancer (twice), Alzheimer's, multiple incidents of adultery within her immediate family and friends (six) adult sexual promiscuity, over the top teen sex, pedophilia... all this coupled with a verbally abusive teen daughter and socially "delayed" stepson, as well as a distant, secretive husband. And that's only a partial list.
There simply was too much going and it all wrapped up in the final couple of chapters in a saccharine-laced bow. An unbelievable ending, given all that had happened, much of it within a short period of time. Sigh. Over the top and unsatisfying. Two stars is generous. However, I'll give the author another read since her style was reasonably good. Hopefully the plot and character development has improved.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 18, 2013
2.5 stars - Lainey is the heart and soul of her blended family -- or she believes until her famous author husband announces that he has another daughter (the same age as his and Lainey's 16-year-old daughter) whose mother is terminally ill.
What follows this decent premise is a mess of missed connections, deplorable attempts at communication, and lack of meaningful confrontation that would have solved the drama quickly. Most of the time, I wanted to shake all the characters as none seemed to have any redemptive qualities. Although Lainey spent most of the time after this revelation crying and suffering in relative silence while carrying on gamely (think: martyr style), she should have been keeping a closer eye on her teenage daughter and older stepson who were -- I hope -- completely unbelievable representations of their age group. What was ludicrous to me is that Lainey and her husband did not sit down to actually talk face to face about the situation -- they were sending text messages and attempting cell phone conversations with lost signals and all of that nonsense. In a side story, Lainey goes to Italy to try to find her roots and that part of the novel was even less interesting as a plot device. She should have been at home talking to her husband.
I would say this book was frustrating and annoying and I wouldn't really recommend it to anyone. It was quite a disappointment as I generally love relationship stories. References to sexual promiscuity, i.e., the "Shades of Grey" trilogy by teenagers who are acting it out, adultery, rape, incest are themes.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the ebook ARC to review.
What follows this decent premise is a mess of missed connections, deplorable attempts at communication, and lack of meaningful confrontation that would have solved the drama quickly. Most of the time, I wanted to shake all the characters as none seemed to have any redemptive qualities. Although Lainey spent most of the time after this revelation crying and suffering in relative silence while carrying on gamely (think: martyr style), she should have been keeping a closer eye on her teenage daughter and older stepson who were -- I hope -- completely unbelievable representations of their age group. What was ludicrous to me is that Lainey and her husband did not sit down to actually talk face to face about the situation -- they were sending text messages and attempting cell phone conversations with lost signals and all of that nonsense. In a side story, Lainey goes to Italy to try to find her roots and that part of the novel was even less interesting as a plot device. She should have been at home talking to her husband.
I would say this book was frustrating and annoying and I wouldn't really recommend it to anyone. It was quite a disappointment as I generally love relationship stories. References to sexual promiscuity, i.e., the "Shades of Grey" trilogy by teenagers who are acting it out, adultery, rape, incest are themes.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the ebook ARC to review.
April 11, 2018
A surprisingly excellent read.
I loved this book more than I had expected. As the story progressed, so much more developed that encompassed people’s fears and feelings as well as stupid jealousies. That’s not including the foolish things that happed when young teenagers are involved that sometimes turn out more serious than at first thought. However all things can be dealt with when good people are put to the test. The setting of part of the story in Italy was lovely. One could practically feel the sun on ones shoulders as the lady in question tries to confront her secretive past and discover the horror that was concealed from her for so many years. I would certainly recommend this book to anyone who likes a gripping family story which covers so many things that can happen in everyday lives.
I loved this book more than I had expected. As the story progressed, so much more developed that encompassed people’s fears and feelings as well as stupid jealousies. That’s not including the foolish things that happed when young teenagers are involved that sometimes turn out more serious than at first thought. However all things can be dealt with when good people are put to the test. The setting of part of the story in Italy was lovely. One could practically feel the sun on ones shoulders as the lady in question tries to confront her secretive past and discover the horror that was concealed from her for so many years. I would certainly recommend this book to anyone who likes a gripping family story which covers so many things that can happen in everyday lives.
June 27, 2017
This was painful for me to read. It was making me scream at Lainey for actually refusing to listen to her husband so many times. I wonder if I would have done the same or would curiosity taken hold of me more to find out what actually happened. Her teenage daughter had the same angsty feeling when I was that age, that much I can appreciate.
It makes me think that peer pressure can be harmful and worse if the friend is also doing it as if it is absolutely normal. It also made me wonder, if her teenage daughter had been close to her in the past, why didn't she think twice about doing some things?
It makes me think that peer pressure can be harmful and worse if the friend is also doing it as if it is absolutely normal. It also made me wonder, if her teenage daughter had been close to her in the past, why didn't she think twice about doing some things?
March 2, 2014
This is one of those books that is hard for me to rate. The story was interesting enough to keep me reading because I did want to see how it would end. I think the author did a good job writing about life’s adversities and how we can choose to deal with them. I did find it difficult to care about any of the characters and found that story was a little slow to unfold.
My thanks to Ballantine, via Netgalley, for allowing me to read this in exchange for an unbiased review.
My thanks to Ballantine, via Netgalley, for allowing me to read this in exchange for an unbiased review.
June 26, 2019
Synopsis: Lainey has grown up on the edge of a huge secret about where she has come from. Her now deceased mother refused to talk to her about why she left Italy when Lainey was young and why she no longer has any contact with the family that she left behind. Determined to discover who she is and where she comes from, Lainey decides to dig deeper. But suddenly her own husband reveals a tumultuous secret and even her daughter has been hiding something from her. And so, as all these secrets come to light, Lainey must find the strength to keep going and to find the key that unlocks the secrets to her own past, as well as coming to terms with the secrets of the present.
This was a fantastic story about the damage that can be done when we try to protect those we love. This is quite literally a book of secrets that eventually find their way of creeping out and what happens when they do.
The character development was very well done and I was especially fond of those frequent moments throughout where Lewis really got inside Lainey’s head and revealed what she was thinking and how she was feeling. It felt raw and real and I really liked the growth of the relationship between Lainey and Max, and how they went from practically hating one another at the start, to Lainey really leaning on him for strength towards the end.
Fast paced, full of twists and turns along the way and resulting in quite a beautiful ending, I would highly recommend this for someone looking for an escape.
This was a fantastic story about the damage that can be done when we try to protect those we love. This is quite literally a book of secrets that eventually find their way of creeping out and what happens when they do.
The character development was very well done and I was especially fond of those frequent moments throughout where Lewis really got inside Lainey’s head and revealed what she was thinking and how she was feeling. It felt raw and real and I really liked the growth of the relationship between Lainey and Max, and how they went from practically hating one another at the start, to Lainey really leaning on him for strength towards the end.
Fast paced, full of twists and turns along the way and resulting in quite a beautiful ending, I would highly recommend this for someone looking for an escape.
January 13, 2021
I haven't read many of Susan lewis's novels though this one was decent enough.I wouldn't say it was a page Turner or kept me excited through our the whole book.I did happen to like the back story of her Italian heritage and finding out the truth about her biological family.I found that most interesting part.I really didn't get how the husband Tom could justify himself for not telling his own wife about his daughter(Julia who also had down syndrome- it seemed he knew about in since the beginning)making her believe he was leaving her and barely contacting her when she was away.How was she not to think their marriage was over?It was very unrealistic how they both kind of side stepped that issue.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 4, 2017
This Book is Awful
I read 2-3 e-books a week, and this was one of the worse books I have ever read. I am no prude, but I was so disturbed by the 15 going on 16 year old's sexual activity with a much older man. The contempt the main character endured from her family was tormenting to read. I certainly know there's dysfunction in most every family, but this took the cake. I finally had to skip to the end. I could not take anymore of the agony. Reading about human suffering is one thing, but this was drama of the worst kind...from children to a mother.
I read 2-3 e-books a week, and this was one of the worse books I have ever read. I am no prude, but I was so disturbed by the 15 going on 16 year old's sexual activity with a much older man. The contempt the main character endured from her family was tormenting to read. I certainly know there's dysfunction in most every family, but this took the cake. I finally had to skip to the end. I could not take anymore of the agony. Reading about human suffering is one thing, but this was drama of the worst kind...from children to a mother.
April 11, 2018
I really wanted to like this, but, I just couldn't get into it. I felt it was so slow, nothing of consequence seemed to be happening. Maybe because I had just finished a psychological thriller, which was a fast paced page turner, or maybe because I have a new author lined up ready to try waiting. I was aware Susan Lewis books do have drawn out parts, but this just didn't seem to be getting anywhere. Two stars because possibly if I gave it a chance it may have got better.
August 14, 2018
My second Susan Lewis book and I found this the same as the first that it took me a while to get into and to start with was a little bit of effort to pick up then somewhere before the middle it grabbed me and I felt sorry for Lainey and all she was dealing with and as a mother the things her children were going through hit me hard in places! Loved it and she is working her way to being one of my top authors!
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