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The Family Gift
'Honest, funny, clever, it sparkles with witty, wry observations on modern life. I loved it' Marian Keyes
Treat yourself to the heartwarming, hilarious new novel from Sunday Times bestseller Cathy Kelly!
Freya Abalone has a big, messy, wonderful family, a fantastic career, and a new house.
But that's on the outside.
On the inside, she's got Mildred - the name she's given to that nagging inner critic who tells us all we're not good enough.
And now Freya's beloved blended family is under threat. Dan's first wife Elisa, the glamorous, manipulative woman who happily abandoned her daughter to Freya and Dan's care and left the country, has elbowed her way back into their lives.
But Freya knows that when life gives you lemons, you throw them right back.
Can Freya put her family - and herself - back together? Find out in Cathy Kelly's warmest, wisest and funniest book yet...
***
Everyone loves The Family Gift:
'The perfect comfort read for a cold autumn afternoon' Jo Finney, Good Housekeeping
Cathy Kelly shines an insightful light on female insecurity and, through Freya's journey, shows the healing power of self-belief and family support.' Woman & Home
'Heartwarming' Sunday Express
'Must-read' Daily Express
Treat yourself to the heartwarming, hilarious new novel from Sunday Times bestseller Cathy Kelly!
Freya Abalone has a big, messy, wonderful family, a fantastic career, and a new house.
But that's on the outside.
On the inside, she's got Mildred - the name she's given to that nagging inner critic who tells us all we're not good enough.
And now Freya's beloved blended family is under threat. Dan's first wife Elisa, the glamorous, manipulative woman who happily abandoned her daughter to Freya and Dan's care and left the country, has elbowed her way back into their lives.
But Freya knows that when life gives you lemons, you throw them right back.
Can Freya put her family - and herself - back together? Find out in Cathy Kelly's warmest, wisest and funniest book yet...
***
Everyone loves The Family Gift:
'The perfect comfort read for a cold autumn afternoon' Jo Finney, Good Housekeeping
Cathy Kelly shines an insightful light on female insecurity and, through Freya's journey, shows the healing power of self-belief and family support.' Woman & Home
'Heartwarming' Sunday Express
'Must-read' Daily Express
368 pages, Hardcover
Published March 24, 2020
916 people are currently reading
1173 people want to read
About the author
Cathy Kelly
115 books1,088 followersBorn in Belfast but raised in Dublin, Cathy initially worked for thirteen years as a newspaper journalist with a national Irish Sunday newspaper, where she worked in news, features, along with spending time as an agony aunt and the paper’s film critic. However, her overwhelming love was always fiction and she published her first international bestseller, Woman To Woman, in 1997. She did not become a full-time writer until she had written another two books (She’s The One and Never Too Late) and finally decided to leave the world of journalism in 2001, moving to HarperCollins Publishers at the same time.
Someone Like You and What She Wants followed in successive years. Her sixth novel, Just Between Us, was her first Sunday Times number one bestseller, while her eighth novel, Always and Forever, topped the UK bestseller lists in October 2005, displacing Dan Brown and J. K. Rowling. In 2007, Past Secrets in was also a number one paperback bestseller.
Lessons in Heartbreak was shortlisted for the Eason Irish Popular Fiction Book of the Year at the Irish Book Awards in April 2009. In September 2009, Once in a Lifetime topped the UK bestseller lists for three weeks. In March 2011, Homecoming achieved the same feat. Her latest novel is It Started With Paris, published by Orion in 2014.
In Autumn 2011, Cathy headlined a search for a new writer on ITV’s The Alan Titchmarsh Show.
Cathy’s trademark is warm story-telling and she consistently tops the bestseller lists around the world with books which deal with themes ranging from relationships and marriage to depression and loss, but always with an uplifting message and strong female characters at the heart.
Cathy also has a passionate interest in children’s rights and is an ambassador for UNICEF Ireland. Her role for UNICEF is a Global Parent, which means raising funds and awareness for children orphaned by or living with HIV/AIDs.
She lives with her husband, John, their twin sons, Dylan and Murray, and their three dogs in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow.
To contact Cathy email info@cathykelly.com
Someone Like You and What She Wants followed in successive years. Her sixth novel, Just Between Us, was her first Sunday Times number one bestseller, while her eighth novel, Always and Forever, topped the UK bestseller lists in October 2005, displacing Dan Brown and J. K. Rowling. In 2007, Past Secrets in was also a number one paperback bestseller.
Lessons in Heartbreak was shortlisted for the Eason Irish Popular Fiction Book of the Year at the Irish Book Awards in April 2009. In September 2009, Once in a Lifetime topped the UK bestseller lists for three weeks. In March 2011, Homecoming achieved the same feat. Her latest novel is It Started With Paris, published by Orion in 2014.
In Autumn 2011, Cathy headlined a search for a new writer on ITV’s The Alan Titchmarsh Show.
Cathy’s trademark is warm story-telling and she consistently tops the bestseller lists around the world with books which deal with themes ranging from relationships and marriage to depression and loss, but always with an uplifting message and strong female characters at the heart.
Cathy also has a passionate interest in children’s rights and is an ambassador for UNICEF Ireland. Her role for UNICEF is a Global Parent, which means raising funds and awareness for children orphaned by or living with HIV/AIDs.
She lives with her husband, John, their twin sons, Dylan and Murray, and their three dogs in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow.
To contact Cathy email info@cathykelly.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 201 reviews
December 3, 2019
*https://mrsbbookreviews.wordpress.com
International bestselling author Cathy Kelly is known for her warm, witty and wise novels about ordinary people coping with day to day problems. Kelly’s twentieth novel is no exception. The Family Gift is a story of family politics, relationships, self-doubt, trauma and life itself.
The Family Gift is a story about families in all their glory, and how we deal with complex family relations within the context of careers, relationships, life and changes in our circumstances. For Freya, her inner critic is in overdrive. She is not coping with the problems that come with living in a blended family situation. When her husband’s ex arrives on the scene causing trouble, it hits Freya hard. Then there is her extended family, her career and the trauma that she hides deep within. Freya must summon all the inner strength she can to put the broken pieces of her family back together.
A cover quote endorsement from fellow Irish author Marian Keyes, immediately enticed me to position this book at the very top of my review pile. Over the years I have dabbled in and out of Kelly’s books, as I do appreciate Kelly’s unique style of soft Irish humour and relatable life stories. The Family Gift is a story that seems very in touch with the modern woman and the pressures we all face in current day society.
The Family Gift revolves around the life of Freya Abalone, a woman with quite a few complications in her life when we are first acquainted with her. To be honest, Freya’s life is a train wreck and I didn’t envy her at all. Reading Freya’s story made me for thankful for my own less chaotic life, which is missing the drama Freya becomes mixed up in as the book progresses. The Family Gift is a book about taking stock, learning to believe in yourself again – in the wake of a series of traumatic, as well as difficult experiences. It sees the lead of the tale hit rock bottom and as the story unfolds, Freya must gain the upper hand over her fractured life.
Running alongside Freya’s story are the complicated life battles experienced by Freya’s family. Kelly draws in some powerful themes within the storylines of this expansive character set. Everything from trauma, abandonment, marital issues, IVF, responsibility, custody and much more are covered within the pages of this involving novel. I have to admit that sadly I struggled to make sense of what was going on in The Family Gift, perhaps there were too many side threads in this full novel. My mind wandered as the story meandered and branched off onto tangents. I continued to read this one until the end as I was genuinely intrigued as to how Freya’s story would conclude.
For those who have enjoyed Cathy Kelly’s work in the past and contemporary women’s fiction, The Family Gift will draw appeal.
*Thanks is extended to Hachette Australia for providing a free copy of this book for review purposes.
International bestselling author Cathy Kelly is known for her warm, witty and wise novels about ordinary people coping with day to day problems. Kelly’s twentieth novel is no exception. The Family Gift is a story of family politics, relationships, self-doubt, trauma and life itself.
The Family Gift is a story about families in all their glory, and how we deal with complex family relations within the context of careers, relationships, life and changes in our circumstances. For Freya, her inner critic is in overdrive. She is not coping with the problems that come with living in a blended family situation. When her husband’s ex arrives on the scene causing trouble, it hits Freya hard. Then there is her extended family, her career and the trauma that she hides deep within. Freya must summon all the inner strength she can to put the broken pieces of her family back together.
A cover quote endorsement from fellow Irish author Marian Keyes, immediately enticed me to position this book at the very top of my review pile. Over the years I have dabbled in and out of Kelly’s books, as I do appreciate Kelly’s unique style of soft Irish humour and relatable life stories. The Family Gift is a story that seems very in touch with the modern woman and the pressures we all face in current day society.
The Family Gift revolves around the life of Freya Abalone, a woman with quite a few complications in her life when we are first acquainted with her. To be honest, Freya’s life is a train wreck and I didn’t envy her at all. Reading Freya’s story made me for thankful for my own less chaotic life, which is missing the drama Freya becomes mixed up in as the book progresses. The Family Gift is a book about taking stock, learning to believe in yourself again – in the wake of a series of traumatic, as well as difficult experiences. It sees the lead of the tale hit rock bottom and as the story unfolds, Freya must gain the upper hand over her fractured life.
Running alongside Freya’s story are the complicated life battles experienced by Freya’s family. Kelly draws in some powerful themes within the storylines of this expansive character set. Everything from trauma, abandonment, marital issues, IVF, responsibility, custody and much more are covered within the pages of this involving novel. I have to admit that sadly I struggled to make sense of what was going on in The Family Gift, perhaps there were too many side threads in this full novel. My mind wandered as the story meandered and branched off onto tangents. I continued to read this one until the end as I was genuinely intrigued as to how Freya’s story would conclude.
For those who have enjoyed Cathy Kelly’s work in the past and contemporary women’s fiction, The Family Gift will draw appeal.
*Thanks is extended to Hachette Australia for providing a free copy of this book for review purposes.
October 20, 2019
I’ve read all of Cathy’s books and have been a huge fan over the years however her last two books have been really disappointing for me .. I found this to be a bit of a rambling mess to be honest . The first half was tedious and the second half was only a little bit better .. I’m a bit disappointed to be honest .. I didn’t particularly like Freya and the voice of Mildred in her head annoyed me .. 2.5 stars
October 13, 2022
When I first started reading this book I wasn’t blown away but, as I carried on I found I was enjoying it much, much more. I have read a lot of Cathy’s books over the years and most of the time I’ve enjoyed them. This one was a little different but still very good.
October 21, 2019
I enjoyed this, it’s typical Cathy Kelly, guaranteed to entertain and enthrall from the first page. I have one criticism that it didn’t seem quite as good as some of her other books, but that is just a personal opinion I think I’ve enjoyed other plots and characters more. But this is still a steady, entertaining read, full of drama, family, friendship, basically everything you’d expect from Cathy so always recommended
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion
January 7, 2022
I loved this! It's about a woman who has many roles in her life - mother, sister, daughter, wife - and how she navigates life within all those roles while dealing with the usual ups and downs of life. It was real, about real life and there was something comforting in that, in this book anyway. I'd recommend, you'd get to know a beautiful but very human family.
Quote time: "My mother is one of life's Golden People - these are people who emit a golden glow of kindness and decency and they wear themselves out looking after others "
"Funny you can look at people and have one impression and then find out they are something totally different behind it all"
Quote time: "My mother is one of life's Golden People - these are people who emit a golden glow of kindness and decency and they wear themselves out looking after others "
"Funny you can look at people and have one impression and then find out they are something totally different behind it all"
December 3, 2019
I’ve been a long-time fan of Cathy Kelly’s books but I have to say that in this instance, I disagree with the blurb for this book. The Family Gift was, in my opinion, not even close to being Cathy Kelly’s wisest or funniest book; unfortunately, for me, it was her most boring.
The majority of Cathy Kelly books that I’ve read previously have always alternated between a few women, however with this one, we were stuck with Freya, the main character, the entire time. The story is also told in the first person, and while sometimes this works, in this case it really didn’t. This was a clunky kind of read, repetitive and constantly listing the same things over. There seemed to be this real need to remind the reader what Freya always looked like and what everybody else always looked like, and it just got boring quite frankly. There were also some really awkward observations made by Freya which made the narrative seem very unnatural. Here’s an example:
‘I hugged her for a full minute, feeling her lovely ballerina style bones against mine and I marvel at how quickly she’s growing up.
She has small breasts now, although they embarrass her. She gets regular periods: “Every month?” she said when I explained menstruation when she was younger.
She wants privacy too, now. My eldest child is moving further away from me and it hurts so much.’
Just zero in there on that middle paragraph about the size of her daughter’s breasts. I’m not quite sure where this is even coming from, and it’s this kind of thing that just really hampers my ability to let go and get into a story. I find myself instead questioning where the author’s head is at and why I’m even reading such a thing. You might also be able to note from this example that clunkiness that I was talking about, where the narrative just doesn’t flow with the nice natural ease that usually ensures success with use of a first-person perspective.
Freya herself was a pretty annoying character if I’m perfectly honest. I really tried to get into her but there was just something about her that was just getting on my nerves. Being constantly in her head and not having the ability to switch to another person to get a break really hampered my ability to just settle in and enjoy this novel.
The Family Gift is a novel of domestic drama, set in Ireland, but distinctly lacking that trademark Irish humour that I usually look for from Irish authors. This could just be a case of ‘it’s not the book, it’s me’, as on Goodreads there’s quite a lot of high ratings for this novel, many around the four star mark. I tried, I really did, but sometimes even an old favourite just doesn’t work out.
Thanks extended to Hachette Australia for providing me with a copy of The Family Gift for review.
The majority of Cathy Kelly books that I’ve read previously have always alternated between a few women, however with this one, we were stuck with Freya, the main character, the entire time. The story is also told in the first person, and while sometimes this works, in this case it really didn’t. This was a clunky kind of read, repetitive and constantly listing the same things over. There seemed to be this real need to remind the reader what Freya always looked like and what everybody else always looked like, and it just got boring quite frankly. There were also some really awkward observations made by Freya which made the narrative seem very unnatural. Here’s an example:
‘I hugged her for a full minute, feeling her lovely ballerina style bones against mine and I marvel at how quickly she’s growing up.
She has small breasts now, although they embarrass her. She gets regular periods: “Every month?” she said when I explained menstruation when she was younger.
She wants privacy too, now. My eldest child is moving further away from me and it hurts so much.’
Just zero in there on that middle paragraph about the size of her daughter’s breasts. I’m not quite sure where this is even coming from, and it’s this kind of thing that just really hampers my ability to let go and get into a story. I find myself instead questioning where the author’s head is at and why I’m even reading such a thing. You might also be able to note from this example that clunkiness that I was talking about, where the narrative just doesn’t flow with the nice natural ease that usually ensures success with use of a first-person perspective.
Freya herself was a pretty annoying character if I’m perfectly honest. I really tried to get into her but there was just something about her that was just getting on my nerves. Being constantly in her head and not having the ability to switch to another person to get a break really hampered my ability to just settle in and enjoy this novel.
The Family Gift is a novel of domestic drama, set in Ireland, but distinctly lacking that trademark Irish humour that I usually look for from Irish authors. This could just be a case of ‘it’s not the book, it’s me’, as on Goodreads there’s quite a lot of high ratings for this novel, many around the four star mark. I tried, I really did, but sometimes even an old favourite just doesn’t work out.
Thanks extended to Hachette Australia for providing me with a copy of The Family Gift for review.
December 15, 2022
For my full review, visit me at https://mrsbrownsbooks.wordpress.com/...
With a poignant, touching author note at the very start of the book, Kelly then had me eating out of the palm of her hand. It was such a thoughtful and accurate interpretation of life during the pandemic and with Kelly’s tone, I knew I would love the story that would follow.
With a poignant, touching author note at the very start of the book, Kelly then had me eating out of the palm of her hand. It was such a thoughtful and accurate interpretation of life during the pandemic and with Kelly’s tone, I knew I would love the story that would follow.
January 29, 2020
It’s been a while since I read a Cathy Kelly book. I used to read her quite a lot when I was at university because my Nan bought all her books and I was too poor to buy my own books and I read what my Nan bought. I really liked a lot of her early books but I’ve dropped off reading her in the last 5+ years. But seeing as how I’m on holidays visiting my family and I didn’t bring any of my own books, I did raid my Nan’s stash for a couple to read and I decided to try this one, to see whether or not her books have stood the test of time for me. And I don’t know if I’ve changed or they have….but I did not like this.
In fact I can find very little to recommend about it. Freya is a chef who was ‘discovered’ giving a cooking demonstration and now has her own cooking show. She’s warm and personable and can speak to a camera and she cooks simple food that people want to eat. Some months ago, something happened to her and Freya hasn’t been able to deal with it at all, or begin to move past the fear and trauma. She and her husband Dan are moving house, stretching themselves to an almost impossible mortgage and there’s plenty of drama with various family members: Freya’s oldest daughter is Dan’s from a previous relationship that she’s adopted and now her birth mother has exploded back into their lives after years of distance, Freya’s father has had a stroke that he seemingly will not recover from and her mother is undertaking his full time care at home and Freya’s sister is dealing with infertility. It’s a lot.
So there’s a lot happening but nothing actually really happens in this book, to be honest. Things happen but without really for a reason or in a way that contributes to the plot. A lot was made of Freya’s sister Scarlett’s problems of having a child but that then fizzles out without resolution of their situation. Likewise, Freya’s mum plays a large role and then just snap makes a decision at the end of the book. Freya spends a lot of time agonising over the appearance of her daughter’s birth mother back into their lives and although I can understand how she might feel threatened, Freya is nasty, snide and very immature about how she deals with it. It’s mostly an inner monologue but she criticises the woman’s looks frequently in a way that just became really tedious to read. Freya is a woman about my age and look, I know we all have unkind thoughts. But Freya has a lot of unkind thoughts and they just seem like trying to drag someone down because she doesn’t understand their life choices. Even though those life choices are why and how Freya came to parent Lexi in the first place. It’s not even remotely framed as trying to protect Lexi as such, it’s much more about Freya and how she feels and how she doesn’t want Lexi to like her birth mother better or admire her or look up to her or want to be like her. She’s savage to Lexi when she tries applying make up – Lexi gets it a bit wrong, she has a heavy hand (but who doesn’t at 14, having their first crack) and Freya’s jealousy and bitterness makes her so cruel to her daughter. It was really ugly and Freya just became for me, a complete and utter chore to read. Being in her head was unpleasant. She lies to her husband and although there’s some interesting stuff in here about celebrity social media and projecting an image that isn’t real, the writer only skims the surface without any real self-examination and reflection. Also Freya’s youngest daughter Teddy (who is 4) is an unrealistic demanding nightmare who is spoiled and indulged and acts more like a 2yo. I think she’s supposed to be funny but really she just needed to hear the word ‘No’ on occasion and have someone actually stick to it. Dan is framed as husband/father of the year but is mostly absent from this narrative, only appearing in the most vague of ways.
I think Kelly tried to cram too much into this, perhaps to make up for the fact that Freya didn’t feel like a strong enough character to carry this entire book and her story wasn’t particularly interesting. There’s so much about her family members and their dramas but then they don’t really go anywhere or actually contribute to the story in any meaningful way. I think possibly it’s supposed to show how much Freya has on her plate but it didn’t really seem like she was that busy and a lot of this she shoulders without actually having to. I just felt like this was too much “stuff” just chucked in and none of it had much point.
In fact I can find very little to recommend about it. Freya is a chef who was ‘discovered’ giving a cooking demonstration and now has her own cooking show. She’s warm and personable and can speak to a camera and she cooks simple food that people want to eat. Some months ago, something happened to her and Freya hasn’t been able to deal with it at all, or begin to move past the fear and trauma. She and her husband Dan are moving house, stretching themselves to an almost impossible mortgage and there’s plenty of drama with various family members: Freya’s oldest daughter is Dan’s from a previous relationship that she’s adopted and now her birth mother has exploded back into their lives after years of distance, Freya’s father has had a stroke that he seemingly will not recover from and her mother is undertaking his full time care at home and Freya’s sister is dealing with infertility. It’s a lot.
So there’s a lot happening but nothing actually really happens in this book, to be honest. Things happen but without really for a reason or in a way that contributes to the plot. A lot was made of Freya’s sister Scarlett’s problems of having a child but that then fizzles out without resolution of their situation. Likewise, Freya’s mum plays a large role and then just snap makes a decision at the end of the book. Freya spends a lot of time agonising over the appearance of her daughter’s birth mother back into their lives and although I can understand how she might feel threatened, Freya is nasty, snide and very immature about how she deals with it. It’s mostly an inner monologue but she criticises the woman’s looks frequently in a way that just became really tedious to read. Freya is a woman about my age and look, I know we all have unkind thoughts. But Freya has a lot of unkind thoughts and they just seem like trying to drag someone down because she doesn’t understand their life choices. Even though those life choices are why and how Freya came to parent Lexi in the first place. It’s not even remotely framed as trying to protect Lexi as such, it’s much more about Freya and how she feels and how she doesn’t want Lexi to like her birth mother better or admire her or look up to her or want to be like her. She’s savage to Lexi when she tries applying make up – Lexi gets it a bit wrong, she has a heavy hand (but who doesn’t at 14, having their first crack) and Freya’s jealousy and bitterness makes her so cruel to her daughter. It was really ugly and Freya just became for me, a complete and utter chore to read. Being in her head was unpleasant. She lies to her husband and although there’s some interesting stuff in here about celebrity social media and projecting an image that isn’t real, the writer only skims the surface without any real self-examination and reflection. Also Freya’s youngest daughter Teddy (who is 4) is an unrealistic demanding nightmare who is spoiled and indulged and acts more like a 2yo. I think she’s supposed to be funny but really she just needed to hear the word ‘No’ on occasion and have someone actually stick to it. Dan is framed as husband/father of the year but is mostly absent from this narrative, only appearing in the most vague of ways.
I think Kelly tried to cram too much into this, perhaps to make up for the fact that Freya didn’t feel like a strong enough character to carry this entire book and her story wasn’t particularly interesting. There’s so much about her family members and their dramas but then they don’t really go anywhere or actually contribute to the story in any meaningful way. I think possibly it’s supposed to show how much Freya has on her plate but it didn’t really seem like she was that busy and a lot of this she shoulders without actually having to. I just felt like this was too much “stuff” just chucked in and none of it had much point.
October 21, 2019
*I voluntarily reviewed this book from the tour organiser.
Warm, inviting, and relatable in every way, THE FAMILY GIFT by Cathy Kelly is her best book yet!
Freya Abalone is married to the man of her dreams, adores her three children, and enjoys her career as a TV chef. They have just purchased the home of their dreams and their lives are happy. But beneath the surface, Freya is struggling to keep everything together. One of the main reasons she chose their beautiful new home was because it had high walls to help her feel safe - something she has been struggling with ever since she was mugged. Freya loves all of her children but when the biological mother of her eldest daughter bursts back into their lives, Freya doesn't know how she will cope with her feelings of anger and resentment towards this woman. Lexi is her daughter in every possible way and Freya will not let anyone hurt her. And while she is very much in love with her husband Dan, Freya doesn't want him to know that she is falling apart at the seams and soon begins to lie to him about how she is feeling. Add in worries over her parents, a social media world which insists on faking it at every turn, and an inner voice called Mildred that loves to point out every mistake you have ever made, and it's no wonder that Freya is feeling the pressure. But can she open up and be vulnerable with those who love her most?
The perfect story for the modern age that we are living in where women are expected to do it all and be constantly on form, THE FAMILY GIFT by Cathy Kelly is a really honest and open story about real life. Nobody can be happy all of the time and everyone feels like they are dropping balls all over the place but silence is your enemy and this is portrayed wonderfully throughout this book.
The characters are engaging and I instantly fell in love with Freya and her family, and desperately wanted her to feel okay about not being okay. There is drama and laughter, mishaps and mayhem, and a group of characters that will really warm your heart from start to finish, and when I sat down with THE FAMILY GIFT, I knew I wouldn't budge until I had finished it because it is simply that good.
THE FAMILY GIFT is my favourite book from Cathy Kelly so far and is sure to be the huge success it deserves to be.
Warm, inviting, and relatable in every way, THE FAMILY GIFT by Cathy Kelly is her best book yet!
Freya Abalone is married to the man of her dreams, adores her three children, and enjoys her career as a TV chef. They have just purchased the home of their dreams and their lives are happy. But beneath the surface, Freya is struggling to keep everything together. One of the main reasons she chose their beautiful new home was because it had high walls to help her feel safe - something she has been struggling with ever since she was mugged. Freya loves all of her children but when the biological mother of her eldest daughter bursts back into their lives, Freya doesn't know how she will cope with her feelings of anger and resentment towards this woman. Lexi is her daughter in every possible way and Freya will not let anyone hurt her. And while she is very much in love with her husband Dan, Freya doesn't want him to know that she is falling apart at the seams and soon begins to lie to him about how she is feeling. Add in worries over her parents, a social media world which insists on faking it at every turn, and an inner voice called Mildred that loves to point out every mistake you have ever made, and it's no wonder that Freya is feeling the pressure. But can she open up and be vulnerable with those who love her most?
The perfect story for the modern age that we are living in where women are expected to do it all and be constantly on form, THE FAMILY GIFT by Cathy Kelly is a really honest and open story about real life. Nobody can be happy all of the time and everyone feels like they are dropping balls all over the place but silence is your enemy and this is portrayed wonderfully throughout this book.
The characters are engaging and I instantly fell in love with Freya and her family, and desperately wanted her to feel okay about not being okay. There is drama and laughter, mishaps and mayhem, and a group of characters that will really warm your heart from start to finish, and when I sat down with THE FAMILY GIFT, I knew I wouldn't budge until I had finished it because it is simply that good.
THE FAMILY GIFT is my favourite book from Cathy Kelly so far and is sure to be the huge success it deserves to be.
November 26, 2019
Another wonderful story by Cathy Kelly. I read her new novel for Books With Heart Book Club's November pick.
October 23, 2019
This review can be found at sarahsvignettes.wordpress.com
Oh poor, sweet Freya. She’s a mum to 3, a wife, a daughter, a TV chef and she’s not handling life well when we meet her. She’s trying to juggle it all as well as silently dealing with the effects of being mugged 4 months previously.
Although The Family Gift is Cathy Kelly's 20th novel, it is the first one by this author I have read. I really like how Cathy Kelly has written a book about real life. In Freya, she has written a woman with whom I think most readers will be able to relate to in one way or another: trying to be someone to everyone, worrying about weight, being the one that holds everything together. In Freya's mum, she has written a woman who is trying to care for her husband after he has had a stroke as well as for his father and her mother. All of this whilst dealing with the grief that inevitably comes from a loved one who is slipping away from their former self. In one of Freya's sisters, she has written a woman who is desperately to trying to have a baby with her husband and the effects that IVF can have on a marriage. There are more characters I could talk about but I'll leave that for you to discover.
It took me a while to get into the book as I felt that Freya was as closed to us as she is with her family. However, slowly and surely, she let us in. I became really fond of her. I actually warmed to all of the characters, particularly Teddy, Freya's 4-year old daughter. She is wonderful! She is a diva and going on 24 years old. She knows her own mind and provides laugh out loud moments in the story.
And then there is Mildred. Mildred is Freya's inner voice that happily pops up to let her know when she has done something wrong. I think, from time to time, we all have one of those, except Mildred is with Freya 24/7 as she tries to sort her life out.
I really enjoyed The Family Gift and would recommend it.
*Thank you to Orion for sending me a proof copy of the book in return for an honest review.
Oh poor, sweet Freya. She’s a mum to 3, a wife, a daughter, a TV chef and she’s not handling life well when we meet her. She’s trying to juggle it all as well as silently dealing with the effects of being mugged 4 months previously.
Although The Family Gift is Cathy Kelly's 20th novel, it is the first one by this author I have read. I really like how Cathy Kelly has written a book about real life. In Freya, she has written a woman with whom I think most readers will be able to relate to in one way or another: trying to be someone to everyone, worrying about weight, being the one that holds everything together. In Freya's mum, she has written a woman who is trying to care for her husband after he has had a stroke as well as for his father and her mother. All of this whilst dealing with the grief that inevitably comes from a loved one who is slipping away from their former self. In one of Freya's sisters, she has written a woman who is desperately to trying to have a baby with her husband and the effects that IVF can have on a marriage. There are more characters I could talk about but I'll leave that for you to discover.
It took me a while to get into the book as I felt that Freya was as closed to us as she is with her family. However, slowly and surely, she let us in. I became really fond of her. I actually warmed to all of the characters, particularly Teddy, Freya's 4-year old daughter. She is wonderful! She is a diva and going on 24 years old. She knows her own mind and provides laugh out loud moments in the story.
And then there is Mildred. Mildred is Freya's inner voice that happily pops up to let her know when she has done something wrong. I think, from time to time, we all have one of those, except Mildred is with Freya 24/7 as she tries to sort her life out.
I really enjoyed The Family Gift and would recommend it.
*Thank you to Orion for sending me a proof copy of the book in return for an honest review.
November 2, 2019
Despite this being her 20th book and that I have heard many great things about her work, this was the first of Cathy’s books that I have read and it definitely lived up to expectations.
What stood out for me and made me love this book was the issues that it tackled. There were many humorous moments along the way but beneath it there was some very important topics being tackled, ones that many people avoid in real life.
I warmed to Freya as the book went on, I think I personally found it hard to relate to her at the start as she felt closed off to me and is very different to my own circumstance. Freya is a TV chef, mum to three, a wife and a member of a very close family. As the book went on and I could understand her more, I 0warmed to her and was cheering her own.
Her family were also a great bunch of characters with varying personalities which added to not only the humour of the book but also the heartfelt storylines along the way.
If you were to take anything away from reading this book it should be that its ok not to be ok. Life can get on top of all of us and that’s ok, reaching out to those closest to you is important, don’t hide from it.
I will definitely be keeping my eye out for more Cathy Kelly books and hopefully will be tucking into some of her previous novels too.
What stood out for me and made me love this book was the issues that it tackled. There were many humorous moments along the way but beneath it there was some very important topics being tackled, ones that many people avoid in real life.
I warmed to Freya as the book went on, I think I personally found it hard to relate to her at the start as she felt closed off to me and is very different to my own circumstance. Freya is a TV chef, mum to three, a wife and a member of a very close family. As the book went on and I could understand her more, I 0warmed to her and was cheering her own.
Her family were also a great bunch of characters with varying personalities which added to not only the humour of the book but also the heartfelt storylines along the way.
If you were to take anything away from reading this book it should be that its ok not to be ok. Life can get on top of all of us and that’s ok, reaching out to those closest to you is important, don’t hide from it.
I will definitely be keeping my eye out for more Cathy Kelly books and hopefully will be tucking into some of her previous novels too.
February 3, 2020
Loved it! Fantastic read. So comfortable and like a great big hug. I was wrapped up in this tale from the first page. The characters within the family are relatable and entertaining, you just want to get to the end to see what happens but actually once the book had finished I missed them! A must read.
Thank you Netgalley.
Thank you Netgalley.
November 4, 2019
So the newest by Cathy Kelly really hit home. I thought she did a great job with Freya and Freya's inner voice, Mildred. I also thought at times Freya was acting so unreasonable and I am glad that the book didn't hide away from how she was behaving at times. I also am glad that not everything ends up happily ever after with several real life events in Freya's life. I think with contemporary romances authors often want to make everyone be happy and in love and nothing really terrible happens. Kelly did a great job of showing how Freya and her family were broken by her father's stroke. And also did another great job of showing how Freya's sister was dealing with infertility. Though I gave this 5 stars I do wish that Kelly had showcased the lone brother in Freya's book. It was really just focused on her, her two sisters, and her mother. And of course Freya's obsession with her husband's ex-wife and her coming back to "claim" their daughter.
"The Family Gift" follows chef turned famous tv personality and cookbook author Freya Abalone. Freya though has a big secret, she's unable to think about cooking food right now and is totally blank on recipes to put together for her newest book. We quickly find out that Freya and her large loving family have recently moved, her father had a stroke several months earlier, her sister is dealing with infertility, and Freya is scared that at any moment her daughter's birth mother is going to push her way back in the scene. Freya we also find had something happen to her a few months earlier that has also affected her. Dealing with all of this would be a breeze except Freya has a critical inner voice which is constantly telling her she's not good enough. Things finally come to a head when her husband's first wife returns and seems as if she's focused on developing a relationship with their daughter.
First off, I really got Freya and liked her. She knows how lucky she is with her family, but she tends to want to smother everyone of them and not allow them any say in things. Her behavior with her eldest daughter Lexi is definitely one of those things she needs to lessen her grip on. Her wanting to be Lexi's only mother and being jealous at her birth mother is understandable, but the way she behaved about it for 2/3 of the book got to be a bit much after a while. Also I didn't really like how she kept interrogating her husband about why he got with his first wife and why did he marry her. It felt like at times I was watching a person pick at a scab in real time. Freya eventually realizes she needs to open herself and her family up in a different way and actually know that sometimes terrible things are going to happen, you just need to go on with it.
I thought Kelly did a great job with describing the two kids personality's (Lexi and her youngest daughter Teddy) but though her son got kind of ignored for the most part. And though we have Freya in love with her husband and talking about him a lot, I wish they actually had more one on one conversations in this book. I just felt at times the men got pushed aside.
The writing was really good and I thought Kelly did a great job with capturing that inner voice that tells you that you are not good enough. I think every person in the world has that voice, the trick is ignoring it. The flow was really great too. It takes a bit before we find out what caused Freya to lose her ability to cook something new and think of different recipes. And I liked her relationship with her food assistant and loved how Kelly went back and forth to show how Freya got discovered and how her "style" was figured out for her.
The ending I thought was really good. It shows a new phase in Freya's family, an honest one that is needed. I would love to read more stories told by others in this family's POV. I do wish that Kelly would take a page out of Maeve Binchy's books and revisit characters in other books and kind of tie them all together.
"The Family Gift" follows chef turned famous tv personality and cookbook author Freya Abalone. Freya though has a big secret, she's unable to think about cooking food right now and is totally blank on recipes to put together for her newest book. We quickly find out that Freya and her large loving family have recently moved, her father had a stroke several months earlier, her sister is dealing with infertility, and Freya is scared that at any moment her daughter's birth mother is going to push her way back in the scene. Freya we also find had something happen to her a few months earlier that has also affected her. Dealing with all of this would be a breeze except Freya has a critical inner voice which is constantly telling her she's not good enough. Things finally come to a head when her husband's first wife returns and seems as if she's focused on developing a relationship with their daughter.
First off, I really got Freya and liked her. She knows how lucky she is with her family, but she tends to want to smother everyone of them and not allow them any say in things. Her behavior with her eldest daughter Lexi is definitely one of those things she needs to lessen her grip on. Her wanting to be Lexi's only mother and being jealous at her birth mother is understandable, but the way she behaved about it for 2/3 of the book got to be a bit much after a while. Also I didn't really like how she kept interrogating her husband about why he got with his first wife and why did he marry her. It felt like at times I was watching a person pick at a scab in real time. Freya eventually realizes she needs to open herself and her family up in a different way and actually know that sometimes terrible things are going to happen, you just need to go on with it.
I thought Kelly did a great job with describing the two kids personality's (Lexi and her youngest daughter Teddy) but though her son got kind of ignored for the most part. And though we have Freya in love with her husband and talking about him a lot, I wish they actually had more one on one conversations in this book. I just felt at times the men got pushed aside.
The writing was really good and I thought Kelly did a great job with capturing that inner voice that tells you that you are not good enough. I think every person in the world has that voice, the trick is ignoring it. The flow was really great too. It takes a bit before we find out what caused Freya to lose her ability to cook something new and think of different recipes. And I liked her relationship with her food assistant and loved how Kelly went back and forth to show how Freya got discovered and how her "style" was figured out for her.
The ending I thought was really good. It shows a new phase in Freya's family, an honest one that is needed. I would love to read more stories told by others in this family's POV. I do wish that Kelly would take a page out of Maeve Binchy's books and revisit characters in other books and kind of tie them all together.
July 6, 2020
International bestselling author Cathy Kelly has written a wonderfully witty and wise novel about ordinary people coping with day to day problems. The Family Gift the author's 20th novel, is a story of family politics, relationships, self-doubt, and trauma.
This delightful tale deals with complex family relations within the context of careers, relationships, life and altered circumstances. Freya Abalone is not coping with all of the problems that arise from living within an extended family. When her husband’s ex-wife, Elisa, arrives on the scene and causes trouble, it severely takes its toll on Freya. She must find her inner resolve so she can mend the broken pieces of her shattered family.
The Family Gift revolves around the life of Freya, a woman with many complications in her life when the reader first gets to meet her. Her life is chaotic and I didn’t envy her at all. As the story unfolds, narrator Freya hits rock bottom and she must regain the upper hand over her fractured life. Developing parallel with Freya’s story, her family are experiencing their own complicated life battles that see Cathy Kelly pull in some powerful themes for the storylines of an abundant character set, including abandonment, custody, marital issues, and trauma. I managed to keep track of the array of characters and their respective foibles, traits and troubles and I was intrigued as to how Freya and her family's stories would eventually conclude. Intermittently, I have puttered with Cathy Kelly's books, and I appreciate the touches of soft Irish humour she adds to her insightful tales.
I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Orion Publishing Group via NetGalley and this review is my unbiased opinion.
This delightful tale deals with complex family relations within the context of careers, relationships, life and altered circumstances. Freya Abalone is not coping with all of the problems that arise from living within an extended family. When her husband’s ex-wife, Elisa, arrives on the scene and causes trouble, it severely takes its toll on Freya. She must find her inner resolve so she can mend the broken pieces of her shattered family.
The Family Gift revolves around the life of Freya, a woman with many complications in her life when the reader first gets to meet her. Her life is chaotic and I didn’t envy her at all. As the story unfolds, narrator Freya hits rock bottom and she must regain the upper hand over her fractured life. Developing parallel with Freya’s story, her family are experiencing their own complicated life battles that see Cathy Kelly pull in some powerful themes for the storylines of an abundant character set, including abandonment, custody, marital issues, and trauma. I managed to keep track of the array of characters and their respective foibles, traits and troubles and I was intrigued as to how Freya and her family's stories would eventually conclude. Intermittently, I have puttered with Cathy Kelly's books, and I appreciate the touches of soft Irish humour she adds to her insightful tales.
I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Orion Publishing Group via NetGalley and this review is my unbiased opinion.
October 14, 2019
There are days when the mind is fluttering
There are days when the stress is flying
There are days when I want to do nothing
That's the day I picked up Cathy Kelly for lazing
The story was slow in opening
The characters were totally abounding
The inner voice Mildred was confusing
When the thoughts were many, it was clamoring
Then came the point of turning
The story changed to gently flowing
The emotions struck me high with feeling
I was filled with joy and soaring
A woman strong, a mother, the author was showing
She did it all for kids, family, career, she was trying
Her parents too had a tale saddening
An attack was her time of reckoning
What can I say about the author's writing
It was true, it was honest oh so loving
My pain was forgotten, so true was the writing
Her words were sweet, they kept shining
It took me time, the effects would be lasting
My first by Cathy Kelly showed love & family are everlasting
The words of the poem came automatically after reading the book. Freya was the mom, wife, chef with a TV show and a cookbook coming up, a daughter who helps her mom with the caring of the father.
Cathy Kelly showed me a slice of life of Freya which could be any woman's story in times of today. The words and scenes were honest and showed me the strength of a woman. It was a journey of a woman with her family with its ups and downs. A honest portrayal, I would say.
The only niggles for me were the book was slow to start and it took me time to connect to Freya. Those were minor. The whole book reflected relationships with genuine bonds between friends and family members. Humor too struck in so that the story was balanced.
Overall, a fun story and I completely enjoyed my midnight read.
There are days when the stress is flying
There are days when I want to do nothing
That's the day I picked up Cathy Kelly for lazing
The story was slow in opening
The characters were totally abounding
The inner voice Mildred was confusing
When the thoughts were many, it was clamoring
Then came the point of turning
The story changed to gently flowing
The emotions struck me high with feeling
I was filled with joy and soaring
A woman strong, a mother, the author was showing
She did it all for kids, family, career, she was trying
Her parents too had a tale saddening
An attack was her time of reckoning
What can I say about the author's writing
It was true, it was honest oh so loving
My pain was forgotten, so true was the writing
Her words were sweet, they kept shining
It took me time, the effects would be lasting
My first by Cathy Kelly showed love & family are everlasting
The words of the poem came automatically after reading the book. Freya was the mom, wife, chef with a TV show and a cookbook coming up, a daughter who helps her mom with the caring of the father.
Cathy Kelly showed me a slice of life of Freya which could be any woman's story in times of today. The words and scenes were honest and showed me the strength of a woman. It was a journey of a woman with her family with its ups and downs. A honest portrayal, I would say.
The only niggles for me were the book was slow to start and it took me time to connect to Freya. Those were minor. The whole book reflected relationships with genuine bonds between friends and family members. Humor too struck in so that the story was balanced.
Overall, a fun story and I completely enjoyed my midnight read.
May 13, 2020
I'm calling this one as a DNF, unfortunately. After reading 100-odd pages, the thought of reading anymore is not appealing.
Freya is a married mum of three, working as a television chef. They've just moved into their new house, when her eldest daughter's birth mother reappears in her life.
What I read of the book, was pretty much just Freya's internal monologue about her life. There was a lot going on in just those first few pages, and so many characters I just couldn't keep track. There are siblings and their partners and their kids and grandparents, and exes and their families....I was completely lost as to who was who and how their relationships went together.
Plus, from what I read? It kinda feels like Freya forgot about her poor middle child. We hear about how wonderful the oldest daughter is, how she's so tiny and perfect and reaching teenagehood. We hear about Teddy, the 'baby' of the family and how she asserts her personality and her wants. As for the middle child, the son? Well, he likes video games. That's pretty much it. It's a love letter to the girls, but the boy? Sorry kid, you're not the favourite. I've even forgotten his name, that's how irrelevant to the story he was. Liam, maybe?
I've enjoyed a few of Kelly's earlier books, so I had been excited to go into this...but it just wasn't for me. I just don't care enough to find out what happens next.
Freya is a married mum of three, working as a television chef. They've just moved into their new house, when her eldest daughter's birth mother reappears in her life.
What I read of the book, was pretty much just Freya's internal monologue about her life. There was a lot going on in just those first few pages, and so many characters I just couldn't keep track. There are siblings and their partners and their kids and grandparents, and exes and their families....I was completely lost as to who was who and how their relationships went together.
Plus, from what I read? It kinda feels like Freya forgot about her poor middle child. We hear about how wonderful the oldest daughter is, how she's so tiny and perfect and reaching teenagehood. We hear about Teddy, the 'baby' of the family and how she asserts her personality and her wants. As for the middle child, the son? Well, he likes video games. That's pretty much it. It's a love letter to the girls, but the boy? Sorry kid, you're not the favourite. I've even forgotten his name, that's how irrelevant to the story he was. Liam, maybe?
I've enjoyed a few of Kelly's earlier books, so I had been excited to go into this...but it just wasn't for me. I just don't care enough to find out what happens next.
January 30, 2021
It took a bit to get going but once it did I was hooked as always
October 23, 2019
The Family Gift is a wonderful family drama for the modern world we live in now. Freya is a wife, mother, daughter, top celebrity chef but she's also a victim to many hurdles in life that have been thrown her way. This last year so much tragedy, trauma, heartache and strain has been dumped onto Freya and her family but Freya has tried to shoulder all the worries, concerns and struggles by herself but it's now catching up with her.
Moving house was hopefully the fresh start she needed but with her life in a chaotic shambles of a multitude of boxes Freya soon loses sight of her focus. However, the move has given her the gift of new friends with the owners of a local café providing much needed solace and a dear elderly lady customer of the café proves to be of great comfort to Freya.
However, when someone from the past starts to reintegrate back in their lives Freya starts to feel threatened and is afraid her family structure she's so lovingly built will be broken.
Cathy Kelly writes wonderful, heartfelt stories about people and their everyday lives. She has a real skill of getting to know the intricacies of peoples minds and personalities and she weaves her words to create a magical, heartfelt, honest family saga.
I thoroughly enjoyed The Family Gift, Freya's story resonated with me on so many levels. Cathy Kelly's characters are written with warmth and charm and you will feel a connection to them sympathising and acknowledging their plights. Warm-hearted, charming and very real.
Moving house was hopefully the fresh start she needed but with her life in a chaotic shambles of a multitude of boxes Freya soon loses sight of her focus. However, the move has given her the gift of new friends with the owners of a local café providing much needed solace and a dear elderly lady customer of the café proves to be of great comfort to Freya.
However, when someone from the past starts to reintegrate back in their lives Freya starts to feel threatened and is afraid her family structure she's so lovingly built will be broken.
Cathy Kelly writes wonderful, heartfelt stories about people and their everyday lives. She has a real skill of getting to know the intricacies of peoples minds and personalities and she weaves her words to create a magical, heartfelt, honest family saga.
I thoroughly enjoyed The Family Gift, Freya's story resonated with me on so many levels. Cathy Kelly's characters are written with warmth and charm and you will feel a connection to them sympathising and acknowledging their plights. Warm-hearted, charming and very real.
November 11, 2019
Well wasn’t this delightful!
I’ll be honest, before I read The Year of Everything, I’m not sure Cathy Kelly would’ve peaked my interest but boy am I glad I did because Kelly is a wonderful writer than pens witty and complex female characters that I would go on any journey with.
Our lead Freya is trying her best to do it all - be a wife, a mother to 3 kids, a daughter, a TV Chef and if that’s not enough, she is struggling to live a full life because of an incident that has left her fearful and hiding an array of emotions she’s not ready to deal with. When family drama arises, the story kicks into overdrive and we are taken along on what becomes an entertaining and emotional ride.
With well-rounded characters you quickly develop a fondness for, The Family Gift is a truly spectacular read that will have you laughing and reaching for the tissues.
I’ll be honest, before I read The Year of Everything, I’m not sure Cathy Kelly would’ve peaked my interest but boy am I glad I did because Kelly is a wonderful writer than pens witty and complex female characters that I would go on any journey with.
Our lead Freya is trying her best to do it all - be a wife, a mother to 3 kids, a daughter, a TV Chef and if that’s not enough, she is struggling to live a full life because of an incident that has left her fearful and hiding an array of emotions she’s not ready to deal with. When family drama arises, the story kicks into overdrive and we are taken along on what becomes an entertaining and emotional ride.
With well-rounded characters you quickly develop a fondness for, The Family Gift is a truly spectacular read that will have you laughing and reaching for the tissues.
March 13, 2021
I loved this book, reading it was a joy! It was just what I needed at the time I started reading it! Such a believable but feel good novel, Cathy Kelly is one of my favourite writers, I highly recommend this novel if you are looking for inspiration on how to improve your mental health in this mad world we are all trying to survive in!!
January 12, 2020
Great book but the second half of the title is misleading. It is not really a Christmas story and the narrator has a wry sense of humor, but it is not, in my opinion, hilarious. "Bittersweet" and "full of both joyful and poignant moments" seem more accurate ways of describing the story.
April 24, 2022
4.5 stars
This is such a great story and my first by the author but will not be my last. This does have some triggers but they are dealt with so well. I did cry quite a few times whilst reading this. Loved the leading ladies youngest daughter as she bought real humour amongst the harder bits.
This is such a great story and my first by the author but will not be my last. This does have some triggers but they are dealt with so well. I did cry quite a few times whilst reading this. Loved the leading ladies youngest daughter as she bought real humour amongst the harder bits.
May 16, 2020
Okay, but not one of her best
July 25, 2020
A wake up call of what really matters in life and it's okay not be okay.
February 20, 2021
Freya a celebrity Chef looks to have the ideal life with a wonderful family a new home and a successful career but she is hiding her anxieties and worries from everyone which becomes overwhelming for her. It is written in the first person and takes a little time to get into the story. She has an inner voice she has named Mildred who adds to her anxiousness. An evolving lovely story of wisdom and compassion and touches of humour.
November 9, 2021
This was such a beautiful read.
December 24, 2020
Cozy, comfy, big family messy, warmth, humour, uplifting, like a beach or vacation read for me.
February 1, 2024
Absolutely adored the character Freya! A very enjoyable read.
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