Blood Ties

Tales of the Notorious Hudson Family #4

by Julie Shaw

Family is not always a place of safety.

Kathleen was just eight years old when her mother was tragically killed in a car accident. And when her father remarries it is to the bitter and resentful Irene who has two children of her own and no space in her heart for another. Irene goes out of her way to make Kathleen's life as miserable as possible and will stop at nothing to get her out of their lives…

When Kathleen is sixteen, a shocking incident rocks the family, and life takes a darker turn.

Among this darkness, Kathleen finds a glimmer of hope in an older man, but Irene is ruthless in her mission to destroy her.

Can Kathleen find happiness or is she destined for tragedy?

311 pages, Paperback

Published February 11, 2016

About the author

Pen name for author Lynne Barrett-Lee:

Born in London and now based in Wales, Ghostwriter Lynne Barrett-Lee has been a full time author since the mid nineties. Having enjoyed several years of success as a short story writer, with her fiction appearing in almost all of the UK’s leading women’s magazines, she had her first novel, the acclaimed Julia Gets a Life, published by Bantam in 2000. She has since written seven further novels, including her 2006 work, Barefoot in the Dark, which was shortlisted for the inaugural Melissa Nathan Award. Lynne was also approached to write one of the first titles in the Quick Reads series for emergent readers, and went on to ghost a further title for TV presenter Fiona Phillips.

Lynne began ghostwriting full length non-fiction in 2007, when approached to co-author paraplegic Melanie Davies' incredible story, Never Say Die, and since that successful collaboration has been ghostwriting full time. Her 2010 title, for Faith Scott, I Won’t Forgive What You Did, enjoyed seven weeks in the UK Sunday Times Bestseller list, as did the 2012 memoir The Baby Laundry. She also ghosted the acclaimed memoir Giant George: life with the World’s Tallest Dog a bestselling title in both the UK and US.

More recently, Lynne ghosted two bestselling titles which were published in the spring of this year. The first, Mum’s Way, is the story of mum of eight, Angie Millthorpe, who died of breast cancer, aged 48, in 2010. The second, The Girl With No Name, was published in May 13, and relates the story of a young girl abandoned in the jungles of Colombia, and has already been sold in eighteen countries, with film rights being negotiated and a National Geographic documentary being shown in December 13.

Lynne also co-writes a major non-fiction series for one of the world's leading publishers, under a pseudonym. The first seven titles have also all been Sunday Times bestsellers, with three more being published in 2013/14. The series was launched in the USA in 2013, and the first ebook in the series was a NY Times bestseller.

Lynne also writes about writing, as she teaches the craft weekly, at Cardiff University - her ebook NOVEL being the written distillation of her popular novel writing course.

Reviews

[Paulinlong · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was harsh and abrasive, the characters no doubt true to life, but not a life you'd want to lead or even to visit for very long. I recognised much of the working class community, the bonding, the community spirit and I recognised the times, even though I live well north of Bradford, there was much that was the same. So I've given 3 stars for honesty though going back to those times wasn't very pleasurable. The cover is totally ridiculous - totally unrelated to the story - the sixties didn't hit anywhere north of Carnaby Street until the seventies at least. Perhaps at this point it should also be pointed out that the language is far too strong for what was around in the sixties, it is a reflection of language now, not then, even to expressions such as 'I've so been...' Instead of 'I've been so....'

[Donna Maguire · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have seen a few of these books come up on my recommendations on Amazon but hadn't read one until I clicked on this one after reading the description - well, I can only say that I wish I'd clicked earlier. The pace in the book was good, I loved some characters and hated some others with a passion- Looking forward to reading the other books in the series, if this ones is anything to go by the rest should all be great!!

[Vicki - I Love Reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having just realised this was book 4, I went to double check that I was up to date with the series. Somehow i've managed to miss out book 3, but I can't see it being an issue, I feel these seem ok to be read out of order. That said, I need to read the last book to satisfy my mind. I hate reading out of order.
It also seems that these books have all had a revamp. New covers and new titles. I have to admit I love the covers now, they have a great look to them.

In this book we have a mixture of love and hate, a story of growing up and starting out a new life, learning of how to grow and understand.
Kathleen has lived with her father and evil stepmother in their home, a pub which the family run. Now at 17 Kathleen is learning just how evil her stepmother is and learning to adjust.
Finding love takes Kathleen on a whole new journey, and watching her grow into the woman she has become was interesting.
This was an easy to follow read, enjoyable. I look forward to reading more by this author.
The new covers and titles do the books more justice than the old. I just feel this book could have had so much more 'grit' thrown into it, to make it an exceptional read.


It's disappointing to see a lot of 1 star reviews for this book, it seems most of them are because the books were individually written in 3 parts to start with, so you could buy them in parts or as a full book. People not realising this then leave 1 star reviews which doesn't really reflect on the book itself.
Series
Tales of the Notorious Hudson Family
1. Our Vinnie (2014) Now. In Cold Blood
2. My Uncle Charlie (2014) Now, Blood Line
3. My Mam Shirley (2014) Now, Closer Than Blood
4. Blood Ties (2016)
5. Bad Blood (2016)
6. Blood Sisters (2017)
7. Hidden Sin (2018)

I hope I have these right. lol

[Lainy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Time taken to read - 5 days on and off

Publisher - Element

Pages - 336

Blurb from Goodreads

Family is not always a place of safety.

Kathleen was just eight years old when her mother was tragically killed in a car accident. And when her father remarries it is to the bitter and resentful Irene who has two children of her own and no space in her heart for another. Irene goes out of her way to make Kathleen's life as miserable as possible and will stop at nothing to get her out of their lives…

When Kathleen is sixteen, a shocking incident rocks the family, and life takes a darker turn.

Among this darkness, Kathleen finds a glimmer of hope in an older man, but Irene is ruthless in her mission to destroy her.

Can Kathleen find happiness or is she destined for tragedy?


My Review

Kathleen is our main character, sixteen years old and treated like the family skivvy. Her step mother hates her, her step brother is a gambler but treats her nice, her step sister is just like her mother and dad is a nice guy but basically a door mat. When something happens to rock the family Kathleen finds love in an unlikely place and one that causes scandal in the family. Will Kathleen ever find her happy ever after, especially when Irene, her step mother, is hell bent of making her life miserable.

This book is not what I was expecting, I was pitched it as if I like Martina Cole, Kimberley Chambers I would enjoy this. Whilst the book is a good read, it is nothing like the two mentioned authors. By comparing them to those gritty crime writers it leads you to believe there will be murder, scandal, drugs, gangs etc. This is a tale of a Cinderella style family, Kathleen is young, sweet, hard working and her step mother and sister are horrors. She is worked to the bone and verbally abused, her dad just wants peace to allows it to happen. She wants love and acceptance but so much seems to be against her, the reader sees her go on a journey of personal growth and discovery.

The timeline is set in the mid 60s so the choices made by Kathleen at that time would be quite scandalous. She is however a sweet girl looking for acceptance and love, coming from a home where she has very little of it. Things go from bad to worse when Irene receives a devastating blow and Kathleen discovers just how much hate one woman can have for her.

The story goes along at a steady pace, whilst there is nothing that puts you on the edge of your seat, the writing is well done and engages the reader. This is my first time reading this author, I would read her again. 3/5 for me this time and I would suggest readers read her with a blank slate and take it for what it is rather than go in thinking she is like x,y,z other authors, I think you will enjoy the book much more! Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in Bradford Yorkshire in The mid sixties. A story of love .despair and jealousy . A step mothers hatred of her step daughter is very prominent . Hopefully hope will prevail . 4.5 stars from me

[Jenny Cooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kathleen is 16 and lives at home with her father (John), an archetypal wicked stepmother (Irene) and two step siblings. They live above the pub that her father runs and she spends every waking hour either working in the pub or slaving away upstairs for the family. When tragedy hits, Kathleen’s life becomes even more unbearable but there is light at the end of the tunnel when she meets somebody and falls in love. However Irene is not going to make it easy for her to find happiness. This is another tale from the notorious Canterbury estate in Bradford where Julie herself grew up as part of the Hudson clan. The books are written partly for her own benefit, as a way of recording for posterity the stories which she was told by her father about the various family members’ escapades over the years.

Julie is an excellent storyteller and the people she is writing about really come to life on the page. The environment in which they live is a million miles away from my own, but the author managed to involve me from the very start and I really cared about the characters in a way which I wouldn’t have thought possible. I do not know to what extent the stories have been embellished or edited, but it is clear that Julie writes from her heart and from her own experience. The story is gritty and raw but not in any way offensive.

I do not really have any criticism of the book. It is what it is and it would be difficult to find fault.

I would thoroughly recommend this book. As far as I am aware, there is no need to read the books in this series in any particular order. From my limited experience (of only two of the books), each seems to focus on a particular person’s story and tell it in some depth. Personally I look forward to reading more of the author’s tales in the future.

[Nessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 4th book to the series, but I’d definitely say that these books can be read as stand alone as each story is individual with no continuing characters from previous books.

It was a enjoyable and entertaining story, from start to finish and very well written. I enjoyed getting to know all of the characters, most of whom were very likeable but there was one who you automatically dislike, but pretty sure that was the author’s intention. There was lots of drama and emotions throughout the story.

Very much looking forward to reading the 5th book.

[Anne Vaughan · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent beginning to feel like part of family now

[m dent · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad

a bit disappointed that this book was nothing like the first three ,,still not a bad story but could be a bit boring in places

[Karen Hubbard · Rating 3 out of 5]

No big twists Nd turns. It was ok

[Marina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I know that this isn't a crime or thriller book as I usually read, but the story of modern Cinderella intrigued me and I decided to give it a try. Being a motherless daughter by myself , I've found some connection with the main character, but that is where the similarity ends. The plot is set in Bradford Yorkshire in the sixties of the last century and centers around one working class family. Kathleen is a young woman, girl, just turning sixteen years old, who has lost her mother as a child. Her father remarries a couple of years later, and the new stepmother has two children by herself. But this family's life is far away from a happy fairytale. The stepmother is like Cinderella's evil stepmother, and her children act just like Cinderella's stepsisters. Kathleen works part-time in her father's pub and there she meets a man. A regular customer, a young widower who has lost his wife too early in life. The pain from the loss connects these two people., but they have to fight for their love. Terry is older than her and already a widower and she is still a minor. Love works in mysterious ways.

The story tells us about the ordinary human life. A life full of ups and downs, everyday struggles, smiles and tears. I like Kathleen as a character. She is a down-to-earth young girl, too wise for her age. It is obvious that she has had to grow up too soon. She desperately wants to have a family, that's why she stands still while her stepmother and her stepbrother and sister treat her badly. She loves her father too much to destroy his idea for a family. And when love knocks on the door, she invites it in and grabs with both hands. But when you are sixteen you have dreams that might not be realistic and falling in love with a widower is not the best decision in the world. And all she wants is to be happy.

Another character I like is Kathleen's father. He reminds me of my father a little bit. When he finds out that his minor daughter is seeing an older man, he tries to protect her. That would any good father do. Like every father, all he wants is his little princess to be happy.

But can these two people who suffered through life finally find happiness in their lives?

Blood Ties is a family drama that can be easily described as modern time Cinderella. Honestly, I was expecting more description of the time when the story is happening, some events that marked those years. I had a feeling that the story lacked the wider picture and was concentrated just on the feelings of the young girl. But that was just my opinion.

[Gavin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Julie Shaw’s fourth book detailing the lives of her family in Bradford. I thoroughly enjoyed the very first one, “Our Vinnie”, when I reviewed it back in November 2014 and I had high hopes for this instalment. I have not yet got around to books two and three but they are on my list.

Once again, the writing is fluid, easy going and honest, which makes for a gripping read; Shaw has a clearly defined style which pulls you into caring for her family and the lives they led. She is adept at capturing an essence of the timing and social background to her tales and the mentions of Bradfordian landmarks and the local area is incredibly evocative.

In this absorbing part of Shaw’s family history, we encounter 17 year old Kathleen and share a brief but monumental period in her young life. Kathleen leaps of the pages as a remarkable young woman; she is kind, generous, sympathetic and understanding, which is quite impressive given the harsh treatment she has received from her cruel and, quite possibly mentally deranged, step-mother over the preceding 10 years or so. Kathleen’s father appears as a stoic, yet impotent figure as he fails to stand up for his daughter against his wife.

Whilst this tale lacks the physical violence and brutal language that we saw in “Our Vinnie”, it is just as powerful in its depiction of the harsh treatment meted out to our heroine, Kathleen, from her awful, bigoted and, frankly, rather hateful step-mother Irene.

Just one slight gripe, I didn’t much care for the cover of this fourth book; the three earlier books, in my opinion, had much stronger and more appealing covers.

I enjoyed this tale very much and Julie Shaw, along with her wild, crazy, loving, generous, wonderfully madcap family, have become firm favourites of mine.

The-Mustachioed-Reader

My Rating: 4.0* out of 5.0*

[Nicola · Rating 5 out of 5]

As this is the fourth book in the series of the ‘The Notorious Hudson Family’ and I hadn’t previously ready of the others, I was slightly concerned that I would be at a disadvantage. However, this wasn’t the case as each of the books seem to follow a different thread.

I also had reservations about the cover as I wasn’t sure if this book would appeal to me. However, the phrase ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’ came into my head, so I dived in and I’m so glad I did as I thoroughly enjoyed it!

At sixteen, Kathleen’s life is a struggle, living with her father, her resentful step-mother and her two children in a pub. Irene, her step-mother is intent on making Kathleen’s life as difficult as possible and puts her down at every opportunity she can get. When Kathleen finds love, her world is opened up to new possibilities and threatens the relationships she has with her family.

A gritty, hard-hitting novel from the 1960s that encapsulates that time in history combined with beautiful writing about the relationships that exist among family members, particularly the bond between father and daughter.

I’m definitely going to read some more from this series now!

Thank you to Lovereading.co.uk and the publisher for introducing me to this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Rebecca-Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

A book that takes you on a roller-coaster journey through the trials and tribulations of family life that are just as prevalent now as when the book was set. However, having said this, I wonder why it was set at such an obscure period in history as there was not really any relevance to setting it in 1965 - yes, there was more religious tension and slightly less equality for women back then, but due to this not really playing a part in the book I struggled to understand why it was necessary.

However, on a more positive note, the characters of Kathleen and Terry were totally believable and you couldn't help but will them along to achieve their happy ending, despite the interference of the vile step-mum, Irene, and her Kathleen's door-mat of a dad.

The other thing that stuck me as odd though was the fact that an attribute of Kathleen's character that made her so likeable was the fact that she was very sedately pretty; she didn't really wear make-up, her hair was always carefully coiffed but not into any kind of flamboyant style and her wardrobe was, at best, a little dowdy for a girl of her age. Therefore, I struggled to understand why the cover seemingly sells a story of a glamorous, upmarket girl when, in fact, the story centres on a character that is quite the opposite?

[Carol Peace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Julie Shaw is a great storyteller and once again she hit's the mark. The book is based in Yorkshire but could be about anyones town in the mid 60's. Kathleen lost her mother when she was just 8years old and her father quickly remarried, her step mum hates her for some reason and her step siblings seem to agree with their mother. She actually finds love after another tragic event and her stepmum Irene even tries to put a stop to that too, will her father ever intervene and stick up for her? The pub they run is a place to escape to for Kathleen even though she has to work there she finds a little comford in her surroundings. Will she ever be free of Irene or is this the life she is destined for.
I was lucky to get this book from http://www.lovereading.co.uk/ as an advanced copy but I would advise everyone to go out and buy it. It's a great book.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was asked to review this book by Lovereading.co.uk. As I had previously read Our Vinnie by the same author and lived in West Yorkshire I was keen to read this.

This book is due for publication on the 11th February so not long to wait.

For me the title was a bit scary “family is not always a place of safety” and was a little unsure of the cover.

Shaw does not let you down- writing as she does her gritty way about the Hudson family in Bradford in the 60s. You have to remember this was a long time ago and things were so different, not always a nostalgic time.

The characters are well written some you warm to some you are so glad you will never know or like. At the same time you cannot put the book down.

I thoroughly recommend you read the novels by Julie Shaw.

Read my reviews at http://browniebookworld.blogspot.co.uk/

[Amanda Gilliatt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved reading this book,I so felt where Kathleen was coming from,the way Irene treated her,so reminded me of my nasty stepmother,and poor sally going like that,so different from her sister,glad kathleens dad grew some bollocks,wish it was sooner as would have made the story longer,sad I've finished the book. And glad Kathleen and terry get there happy ending.I won this book via good reads.

[Julie Prole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant.

A true story of how difficult it can be when someone comes into your life,who you think will help you and your family heal after a tragedy. A story of learning how to stand up for what you believe in and to find the courage to become a person in your own right. Not to listen to what other people say and live life how you want to live it

[Luisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

i won a copy of this book in the good reads giveaway
i did enjoy the book, it has a good mix of characters,
its book full of emotions, heartbreak, grief, anger, jealousy and some happiness along the way.
while predictable in place it does have some unexpected twists,

[Angie Rhodes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it!! This is , for me the best one, of the Hudson Family books I have read..

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great family story with lots of problems to overcome for them, really enjoyed it.

I received this book free through Goodreads Giveaways.

[Pol · Rating 5 out of 5]

blood ties was a enjoyable read love reading julie shaw books