Fader weaves a compelling story following 2 sisters who cross paths again after 17 years due to their mother's stroke. And when they do finally reconnect, it leads to past events coming to the forefront of their lives once more. Will they allow the past to control their future, or will they become even stronger because of it?

I enjoyed this book. It reminded me of something Diane Chamberlain or Karen White might write. I loved the relationships between the sisters and mothers and daughters, though I will say there were times that this book fell flat for me. It also took me a while to feel invested in the book, but once I was, I just had to know the ending.

Thanks to NetGalley, Graydon House, and Harlequin for my free copy in exchange for my honest review!

Families keep secrets. Sometimes it's easier to not talk about things than it is to get them out in the open, and this is what the McAvoy family did. Meredith, the mother, is in early stages of dementia. Delia, with a husband, a teenage daughter and a new baby, is trying to hold it all together, caring for the baby, the shop, her mother, and she is losing it. Lindy has stayed away for a lot of years, and when she visits on rare occasions, she makes sure she won't run into her sister, Delia.

Brin, Delia's teenage daughter, feeling neglected, starts running with "friends" who are looking out for only themselves, and engaging in risky behaviors. Brin attempts to steal a high-dollar item from the local jewelers and winds up doing community service. She also finds a friend in Lindy, and while spending time at Gran's house, discovers old photos she has never seen, and hears some of the stories, which stir good and bad memories from the sisters, behind the photos.

Looming over this community on the shores of Lake Erie, is the Fulbright house. Vacant for many years, it is the site for a lot of teenage parties and other illegal activities. The McAvoy family has a special hatred for the Fulbright family, and as the story goes along, we find out why.

Thank you to Netgalley and Graydon House Publishing for my advanced reader's copy of The McAvoy Sisters Book of Secrets.  This book is set to be released next week and if you pre-order a copy now you'll have it on release day!  Spoiler alert: it was a 5 star read for me.

Family secrets are the main event in this book.  We have two sisters who used to be close and now never speak to each other.  A mother who keeps walking off to a house and yelling at everyone around her and a young teenage girl who looks a lot more like her aunt than her mother...intrigued?

I love the journey each character went on.  Every woman in this book grows and finds herself.  The teenage daughter is on a path of trouble.  She thinks everyone is against her and no one will treat her like an adult and tell her the truth.  When the truth unravels out...well...no true spoilers from me!  Lindy, the trouble maker sister, comes back in to town when her old crush from high school (now town police officer) calls her at her mother's request.  The mother has had "brain events" and is not quite herself.  Lindy comes to town and helps out.  Enter Delia.  The sister who stayed in town and took on the family business and cares for their ailing mother all while raising her own family.

Will the two sisters be able to mend their relationship?  After being driven apart can the two sisters even stand to be in the same room together?  Delia has a lot of years of pent up anger and depression.  Lindy has a lot of years of failed relationships and dead end jobs.  The mother is realizing that her bouts of confusion are occurring more frequently and that she is taking things out on the wrong people.  Delia's daughter ends up finding out that her mother isn't so bad after all...but can she turn her attitude around in time before it's too late?

This is a must read 5 star read, but I already told you that.  Each character comes with their own personal conflicts AND resolutions.  It was absolutely heart wrenching for me to read about the mother and watch her have her good days and her bad days.  The mother ends up taking the fall for not teaching her girls how to cope with things that happen in life, and we find out the secrets they keep.  I am shocked I did not cry while reading this, but I wanted to.  

The thought that went in to each character is appreciated and well thought out.  The book is told from the perspectives of the mother, Lindy, Delia, and the daughter.  What I found most appealing is how DIFFERENT each character sounded.  The daughter sounded as if a 16 year old mad at the world girl was talking.  The mother really sounded like someone who was trying to have her wits about her, but just couldn't quite do it.  The strife in the sisters' voices was remarkable.  It was so easy to picture each character and the flow was great.  Pick this book up once it's on sale on July 16th!  

***Review will be posted at donnasreadingchair.home.blog on Monday July 8th***
***Review will be posted at instagram.com/mrsdmvh on Monday July 8th***

I truly enjoyed reading this book...it was passed just right. You had a chance to get to know your characters, and feel for their anxiety & stress, yet learned to appreciate each in their own right. You might think you know where the story is headed, they it take a huge turn and the end surprises you.

Thanks to Netgalley and HARLEQUIN -Graydon House Books for a digital galley in exchange for an honest review.

A great mother and daughter contemporary family drama that will delight fans of Kristin Hannah and Diane Chamberlain.

Set in a small lake town in Ohio, Delia and Lindy McAvoy are forced to face their long held silence as their ailing mother needs more and more care. Once the women were more like friends than just sisters, but wild child Lindy's abrupt departure to the big city left Delia holding down the family business. Delia, now the mother of two is struggling with a teenage daughter who resembles her Aunt Lindy in both physical features and spirit and a young baby who takes all of her time, while also trying to ignore the increasing separation between her and her husband, Dan. Lindy finds herself the talk of the town and the object of the police chief's interest. But when a family with connections to both McAvoy sisters resurfaces in town, Delia and Lindy are forced to confront the demons of their past.

To say that I liked this book is a bit of an understatement, I LOVED it! Meredith, Delia, Lindy, and Brin( Delia's daughter) were all intriguing characters and I loved their individual storylines. Also, I commend Molly Fader on the way she wrote Dan( Delia's husband) because oftentimes with women being the focus in this type of story, the male characters tend to be more background characters. But Dan was as memorable as the women he shared the pages with! As I reached the climax of the novel, I couldn't help but hold my breath and I was satisified with how it all panned out. Definitely a book that you want in your beach bag this summer!


Goodreads Review /1606/19
Publication Date 16/07/19

A timeless story of love, hate and wisdom from the eyes of 3 wonderfully strong, amazing women. I took my time with this book, enjoying every nuance and whisper in its pages. A truly different book from molly, but nonetheless, just as impactful as the others. A truly wonderful job of telling a compelling family drama that has a perfect hea.

I have reviewed this book for New York Journal of Books and it will be posted on their site the evening before the release date.

The McAvoy Sisters Book of Secrets by Molly Fader
Gradon House
July 16, 2019
10-152583424X

Contemporary Women's Fiction


Sixteen-year-old Brin Collins believes her life is falling apart. It all began when Delia, her mother got pregnant. The two had once been close, but in the four months since her sister Ephie's birth, Delia has no time for Brin, and she also is dealing with post-partum depression and strain. Longing for attention, though it's negative, Brin rebels and gets in trouble when she allegedly tries to steal an expensive watch from a jewelry shop.

Brin, Delia, and her dad Dan live in Port Lorraine, a small Ohio town on Lake Erie. Her folks single-handedly run Delia's parents' store, McAvoy Bait, Fish, and Lunch Counter leaving them exhausted. Additionally, Delia's world is shifting around her due to her tremendous responsibilities and her mom's recent stroke, resulting in symptoms of dementia.

Meredith raised Delia and her sister Lindy by herself after her husband was lost at sea. The girls, once inseparable, shared hopes and dreams and everything in between. They kept a "book of secrets" in the night table between their beds where they'd write things to each other rather than talking, so they wouldn't wake their mom.

As a teen, Lindy, known as the wild sister did not care what people thought of her. She only wanted a good time, and she made sure she did. Meanwhile, the conservative Delia worried about Lindy and her disturbing ways. Things came to a head between them with a terrible argument causing Lindy to leave. Now 17 years later, the sisters, in their mid-thirties, are still estranged.

Garret Singh, the Port Lorraine police chief, who, as a boy had a huge crush on Lindy, phones her after he finds Meredith walking aimlessly:

". . . Your mom asked me to call you."

"'My mom?' She bent over picking up her scattered jewelry. 'How . . . ?'

"'Kind of a long story and I'm not sure how much you know about your mother's condition—'

"'Condition? '

"Garret's silence was pronounced. 'The stroke?' he finally asked.' . . .

"'. . . I found your mom walking down the spit to the Fulbright House with a flare gun. She was clearly confused. Disoriented."

"Lindy started kicking her clothes into a pile, searching for her purse. Keys. Dammit. 'And what about a stroke?'

"'It . . . it was three weeks ago. I think. They called it a brain event.'

"And Delia didn't even call her? Not even a message on Facebook or a text? It was easy not to be surprised. Impossible not to be crushed."

Lindy's current circumstance proves fate is intervening and calling her home. She will help Meredith, and when her mom is stable, she will leave again. There is nothing in her old town for her.

Meredith is overjoyed when Lindy arrives, and Brin is eager to learn about the aunt she never met; the one that is never mentioned. Imagine her shock when she meets Lindy and glimpses an older image of herself. This makes her wonder —why does no one ever talk about Lindy? Why did she leave? Speculation runs through Brin's mind, mostly of terrible thoughts.

Lindy is shocked when she first goes to the store—the very business she was supposed to take over and for which she had big plans. Most items on the shelves are out of date and dusty, the paint outside is chipping, and everything is in disrepair. How could Delia let this happen? But Lindy's not allowed to criticize for Delia and Dan have single-handedly run the business along with raising a family.

Meredith often mistakes Brin for Lindy, especially when she becomes "brain fogged" or under stress, which happens a lot. One night in particular, when she can't sleep, she drags out old picture albums. Brin, wanting to know what happened between her mother and Lindy, hangs around at Gran's house. Fascinated by the photos, she asks for answers she doesn't get, but Lindy does mention how Delia dreamed of going to Europe with Dan then going to college to become a teacher—both of which never transpired. She also wonders why her grandmother seems to be obsessed with the old Fulbright house—the now abandoned mansion located on a spit of land where the local kids go to drink and party, a place Delia avoids at all costs.

Tension still weighs heavily on the siblings and Brin becomes more frustrated as time passes. Why is everyone in her family so secretive? She's almost an adult, why won't they tell her things?

Each of the four female characters offers their own voices in separate chapters confirming their pain and the confidences withheld as they come to grips with the past and how it will impact their future. With mystery and suspense, ambiguity abounds resulting in more questions than answers up until the unexpected conclusion.

I was very excited to read this book and it did not disappoint. I couldn’t put the book down. It was a very late, enjoyable evening.

Thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin-Graydon House Books for the ARC in exchange of an honest review.
What can I say to do this book justice? I have added another name to my list of must read authors that's for sure.
I feel like I got to know the characters in the book. I loved that the author gave the mom dementia from her stroke. I used to work with dementia and Alzheimer patients and I absolutely loved them.
This book is an absolute 5 stars!!

I enjoyed this. Not the most prolific book in the world or super deep and tied up neatly, but it was the perfect read for me at the time. I wish there would have been more about the sisters past, present, and future, but I liked both characters.

Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

The McAvoy Sisters Book of Secrets is a book about family secrets and imperfections. The novel tells the story of Lindy and Delia, estranged for nearly 17 years. After their mother Meredith suffers a stroke and "brain event," Lindy returns home to care for her mother and face the past. Reunited with her mother, sister, and 17 year old niece, the story takes many turns and revisits many events in the past. Overall, this was a very enjoyable and quick read.

Life has a way of sneaking up on families who for whatever reasons, have been forced apart. Seventeen years before, Lindy left home after events that left her relationship with her sister, Delia, very strained. The small Lake Erie town they grew up in has not changed much. When Lindy suddenly returns home after finding out about her mother, Meredith’s ill health, lots of emotions come into play. Delia married and became a mother right out of high school putting her own dreams on hold to raise a family. One big surprise was having a teenage daughter and then a new baby with the addition of an ailing mother; Delia has just about had it.

Lindy loves her family, but has remained emotionally as well as physically distant since she left. Returning home opens up a lot of memories, some good and others very painful. The girls had a major trauma early in life that left them and their mother with a coping strategy that has turned out to be less than successful. That event and the one later for Delia shaped their lives to an extent they have never really recovered from so when the new crisis happens, all the old hurts and sorrows reappear. Brin’s teenage angst goes beyond the usual issues; she knows something is wrong with her mother, but she just can’t seem to help acting out.

Each woman in the three generations have to come to terms with where they are in life and what is truly important. Delia knows she needs help but feels stuck; Lindy realizes she has not been there for her family and her life has been a bit aimless. Meredith has to deal with failing health, and Brin is on the cusp of adulthood realizing choices she makes now have far reaching consequences. Family secrets have a way of coming out no matter how deeply buried.

Women’s Fiction always takes me on an emotional roller coaster and this book is no exception. Readers who like to experience those kind of raw and very real emotions will appreciate this story. As someone who enjoys romance, I am happy to see the a bit of it for Lindy with a boy she left behind. I often wish for more of the light and sweet to balance the dark of the real life issues in this genre which another author referred as one with “gritty rainbows” recently. Ms. Faber skills as a writer are quite clear. Whether this book is for you depends on how much real life and the high drama that comes with it floats your boat.

This was a sweet, light read that I quite enjoyed. The book has alternating points of view and flashbacks to the past, but centres around estranged sisters, Lindy and Delia. Lindy left their small town at an early age, even though she had planned on staying and running the family fish store. Delia stayed though she had wished to leave and go traveling and then university. I liked each woman in her own way and was rooting for them to reconcile through the whole book.
The author did a good job in creating the tension in the family, then slowly dispelling it through understanding and revelations. I like how the generations were brought in, namely their mother and Delia’s daughter.
The mother was a fantastic character, a once sharp woman who’d had a stroke and was now having troubles with her memory. She was both foggy and sharp, but her (now) no nonsense approach was fun and her flashbacks of joys and regrets were authentic sounding.
The romances in the book were nice and not overdone — they added to rather than took away from or overpowered the story of the sisters and the family that was learning to heal.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a review copy of this book.

The McAvoy Sisters Book of Secrets is a novel about the beautiful, imperfect ties that bind families together.

Delia is struggling. She’s trying to maintain it all with a rebellious teenage daughter and a demanding infant. If that weren’t enough to deal with, she is feeling increasingly isolated from her husband, dealing with the stress of her family’s charter business, and her elderly mother is ailing and in need of more care.

Delia’s sister Lindy, on the other hand, left town seventeen years ago to live her life in the city and has never looked back…until now. When she gets a call about their mother, Lindy returns for her first look at the people her mother and sister have become.

The McAvoy Sisters Book of Secrets opens with a heavy sense of the isolation Delia has lived with. A traumatic event seventeen years ago—that drove Lindy away and strained the family relationships—is slowly revealed throughout the book. Molly Fader has done an amazing job with capturing the dynamics of siblings who love each other, but are still dealing with the hurt of the past.

This is a deep and heart wrenching book, but also a lovely tale of sisters and the strength and love that bind a family together.



*I received a copy of The McAvoy Sisters Book of Secrets from NetGalley and Graydon House in exchange for an honest review

The McAvoy Sisters Book of Secrets by Molly Fader
Source: NetGalley and Graydon House
Rating: 3/5 stars

**MINI-REVIEW**

The Bottom Line: From the moment I stepped into the world of the McAvoy sisters, I felt on edge, as if some huge, world-altering event or long-buried secret was just around the corner. In many ways, that edginess, that tension heightens the intensity of the read and kept me turning pages. While this is predominately an in the now read, there are trips to the past which very much inform the present and illuminate the issues that permeate the McAvoy family. In truth, the problems the McAvoy’s face aren’t just between Delia and Lindy, but among the entire family. This story isn’t just about two sisters but about a family who has long buried their issues, ignored their hurts and grievances, and refused to acknowledge events from the past that are profoundly impacting their present and future. There is ugliness and darkness in the McAvoy family and with Lindy’s return to the fold, their mother’s growing health issues, and the rebelliousness of Delia’s oldest child, that ugliness and darkness is threatening to come roaring back into the light.

I can’t say I really liked this book, but I also can’t say I disliked it either. While I certainly had a great deal of sympathy for this family, I also often lost patience with the lot of them for ignoring and burying their issues. So many of the problems faced by the McAvoy’s and the hurt they all clearly experience could have been avoided by dealing with their issues, seeking help, and simply acknowledging the harsh realities of life. At the end of it all, this isn’t a happy story nor is it in any way uplifting or light. This is the story of a sad family who only deal with their issues and problems when they are forced to do so, and this kept me from really liking this read. From a technical perspective, I have no complaints as the author clearly knows her craft and there are no glaring errors in this read.

A beautiful heartbreaking tale of three sisters who have gone on to live three very different and very separate lives have come back home to help their sick mother. They have grown so distant that they do not know how to coexist with each other. A story of sisters coming together thru tragedy to grow as their world changes.

This is a very well written family drama about two sisters coming back together during a time of need (their very ill mother needs to be cared for). While doing so, they each find their way back to one another and something that they missed, while trying to reconcile and make peace with their past.
I enjoyed this book. As stated above, this book was well written and poignant. The characters were all well developed. The pacing moved along well, and it had a good well. It finished well, and didn’t feel rushed to the things up.

I will not be posting a review on goodreads because I was unable to enjoy this book and do not feel comfortable leaving a negative review.

This book quickly drew me in and had me really enjoying the characters, but especially the relationship between the sisters. That relationship felt especially real to me and I just wanted the book to continue or for me to be a fly on the wall so I could follow their lives further.

This is definitely a book that will leave you with all the feels, brighten your day and make you wonder about your own relationships and "what if".

Treat yourself to a warm-hearted book filled with family drama, some angst, but especially love.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publisher for granting my request for an ARC. My thoughts in this review are my own and freely given.

(4.5 stars )

I'm trying to open up and embrace women's fiction more. Every time I read it, I enjoy it, I just don't happen to gravitate towards the genre for some reason. But I love a book about secrets, and sisters, and family, so I was hoping the McAvoy sister's secrets would draw me in.

I enjoyed this read a lot. All the women in this book were vibrant and smart and flawed, my favourite combination. They were brave and bold and determined. Such a well crafted variety of women and they really sucked me in to their family.

The story was strong and was written well. I like to play detective with books like this, books with secrets, and I was pretty confident I knew from the start one of the major secrets floating in the past of these women. But I fell right into Fader's trap, the secret being called out not even before the middle of the book. I like when I'm wrong, in this situation, when the story puts forth the effort of throwing the reader off.

It didn't take me long to find another track, but knowing what was happening didn't impact the overall feel of the book or the emotions that came with it at the end. It's not a thriller, the book doesn't rely solely on the big who-dunnit reveal. It's a book about family and trauma and secrets and how women persevere and push through the worst of times.

This had a little bit of everything, complex relationships, a little light romance, family drama. It was really well rounded and a good representation of life, really. It dealt with some heavy content, but it was also pretty light and hopeful. A recommended easy read.

** I received an advance copy of The McAvoy Sisters Book of Secrets for honest review through Netgalley from Graydon house Books and thank them for the opportunity to read this and share my thoughts.