The Dazzling Truth by Helen Cullen begins with a tragedy. Two-thirds of the books then goes back through the history that lead up to the tragedy. The story winds its way back to the beginning event. The rest of the book is about the path forward for this family but in a completely different direction. My hesitation is not about the two individual pieces of the book. Both are stories that can stand on their own. It is just that they do not feel like they belong in the same book. I love the intense emotion of the first two-thirds of the book.

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2020/08/the-dazzling-truth.html

Reviewed for NetGalley and a publisher's blog tour.

Wow. What a beautiful story. Sad and poignant. Has all the feels. A really good family drama. Perfect for curling up with in your favorite chair. Check out this gem of a book. Happy reading!

SYNOPSIS: The Dazzling Truth follows an Irish family, the Moone’s over three decades from 1978 to 2005. One Christmas Eve the family of 6 is struck by tragedy. Each family member struggles to move on until they are brought together yet again by a dazzling truth.

THOUGHTS: The Dazzling Truth deals with a lot of sensitive themes. I included trigger warnings below for reference. While the material was difficult to read at times, the author did an incredible job writing the story. It was a very real depiction of how mental health can impact ones life and the life of those closest to them. It was heartbreaking, overwhelming, stunning novel. I really enjoy reading stories that span over multiple decades as I feel like I really learn so much about the characters involved. This is a story that I will definitely be thinking about for a while.

CW: suicide, infidelity, anxiety, depression

The reality of how one family member's crippling depression and anxiety affects an entire family is at the heart of Helen Cullen's emotionally powerful novel, The Dazzling Truth.

Murtagh is dazzled by Maeve the moment he sees her at Trinity College in Dublin. Maeve is from Queens, New York, studying acting in Dublin. Murtagh creates ceramic pottery. They fall in love and marry, Maeve leaving her home in America to stay in Ireland.

When Murtagh gets the opportunity to apprentice with a talented potter on a rather isolated island near Galway, they pack up and move away from Dublin. Maeve gives up her dreams of acting to allow Murtagh to achieve his.

They have four children in succession- daughter Nollaig, twin boys Mossy and Dillon, and the youngest girl Sive. Maeve wants to be a good wife and mother, but her lifelong battle with depression and anxiety becomes worse with each year. Giving up the thing that brought her joy and meaning, acting, makes matters worse.

Murtagh tries to help his wife, but as the children grow up, it is difficult for them to understand why their mother is different. She can't be counted on to attend school functions, and she spends days, sometimes weeks, locked up in her dark room and wandering the countryside at night.

On Christmas Eve in 2005, when the family should be celebrating Nollaig's birthday, a tragedy shatters the family forever. The novel travels back and forth in time, and we see how Maeve's crippling battle with depression affects all of them. It is never discussed openly, and not facing it has long lasting repercussions.

Nollaig gives up her plans to become a midwife to stay home, Sive leaves home to becomes an artist. Dillon travels in his work as a musical talent booker, and can't seem to have a meaningful relationship with women. Mossy seems to be the only one who is truly happy. He loves his work as a librarian, marries Kalindi, a lovely, kind woman who has her own career, and they have two young children.

It all comes to a head on Nollaig's 30th birthday, when she begs her entire family to please come home for her big party.

The Dazzling Truth is a beautiful, moving story about a family living with a secret no one wants to name out loud. Each character comes to vivid life, especially Maeve. We see her struggle with not only her illness, but the regret of not following her dream. She loves her husband and her children, and wants to be a better wife and mother. This book touched me deeply, and if you don't have tears in your eyes at the end of the book, I'm not sure you have a heart. I give The Dazzling Truth my highest recommendation.

Thanks to Harlequin for putting me on Helen Cullen's tour.

Title: The Dazzling Truth
Author: Helen Cullen
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 4 out of 5

In the courtyards of Trinity College, Dublin, in 1978, aspiring actress Maeve meets pottery student Murtagh Moone. As their relationship progresses, marriage and motherhood come in quick succession, but for Maeve, with the joy of children also comes the struggle to hold on to the truest parts of herself.

Decades later, on a small Irish island, the Moone family are poised for celebration but instead are struck by tragedy. Each family member must find solace in their own separate way, until one dazzling truth brings them back together. But as the Moone family confront the past, they also journey toward a future that none of them could have predicted. Except perhaps Maeve herself.

This book…is slow, atmospheric, and yes, dazzling. It’s a small family/personal story, yet it draws the reader into Maeve’s and Murtagh’s lives from the very beginning and keeps them entranced by the simple island life and experiences of the Moone family. The characters are vivid and so realistic I feel like I knew them personally. The story is engrossing, sad, magical…all at the same time, and I definitely recommend reading it.

Helen Cullen is from Ireland and lives in London. The Dazzling Truth is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Harlequin/Graydon House in exchange for an honest review.)

I loved this poignant character driven story. The writing is beautiful and the characters are well developed. We follow the lives of Maeve and Murtagh as they meet at University, marry, and have children. Maeve is American and is doing a semester at an Irish University when she falls in love with Murtagh and remains in Ireland rather than returning home. We are aware that there are some problems with Maeves’s mental health early on but she feels it is under control. Once they relocate to a small Irish island Maeve’s emotions and thoughts start to take over. She realizes that her dreams of being an actress will not happen and this is further reinforced when they have four children in a short span of time. When Maeve is unable to function Murtagh steps in and handles things for her. The love between Maeve and Murtagh is so well written and touching. As the years go by Maeve has good times and bad and she realizes what a toll this is taking on her family. Maeve makes a decision which completely rocks and changes the foundation of the family. The story spans three decades so we really get a sense of the dynamics of the family. The writing is very descriptive and atmospheric. As more years pass another decision is made by a family member that will either bring the family together or tear it apart. This book brings some important issues forward and I think they were told with great care. If you love family drama and slower character driven stories this one is for you. I really enjoyed this book and getting to know the Moone family.

With a prologue where the reader finds out the matriarch has died, the story is set to begin and end tragically. Murtagh and Maeve Moone meet and marry and soon enter parenthood. With hints at postpartum depression, this book is subtle and sly, but if read closely and clearly it can make quite a punch.

After the prologue, the reader is taken back in time as this family is built and goes through moments as time as four children come along and the family deals with the ups and downs of life - maybe more downs for a few of them. This book had plot, but was really all about the characters. It took me a bit to get connected with the characters and really be invested in following their journeys. I wanted to see where this family would end up and where the prologue would fit in the story - I was glad where it landed and that there was story to be had after the tragedy occurred.

This story does take place in Ireland, but it could have taken place anywhere. If the setting makes you hesitate, I would advise against it as this story is more about the family involved than the setting, it could have been any remote place you can think of.

I enjoyed the book, but for me it took a lot of effort to get into and to keep reading, of course it could have been completely me and the moment that I read it.

This review was commissioned by Harper Collins.

I love books that focus on family drama; I love them way more than I love being embroiled in it in reality, that's for sure.

We meet Maeve and Murtagh way into their relationship and go backward to the beginning; we learn about their beginnings, their peccadilloes, Maeve's anxiety and Murtagh's unyielding patience and desire to please her, even when she is freezing him out in a way that feels all too familiar when dealing with loved ones who suffer as Maeve does and as I myself do with sometimes crippling bouts of anxiety.

But here is the thing, for me; I do not go to books that showcase things I suffer from for entertainment, particularly not when they deal with tragic outcomes to mental illness. I just don't. Much like Sick Lit, this is definitely for somebody but that somebody isn't me.

I don't want to be entertained by what I grapple with; I would be more interested in people striving to get it right when they wish to showcase it and the truth is, my anxiety doesn't define me the way it defines Maeve. I don't know anybody who wants it to be their defining personality characteristic; not in a world that will never understand it, particularly when it is portrayed this way.

A Love that Lasts Through Hard Times and Tragedy

They met in Dublin in 1978. Maeve is from Brooklyn, New York, in Dublin on a scholarship to study acting at Trinity College. Murtagh is a potter also studying at Trinity. The attraction is immediate. Maeve decides to continue to study in Dublin to be with Murtagh.

When Murtagh graduates he has trouble finding an apprenticeship. Then he gets an offer he can’t refuse to take over the business of a famed ceramics artist on the island of Inis Óg. Maeve makes a decision to go with him although she misses the theater. They marry and raise four children on the island. Murtagh becomes a famous potter and Maeve, a good mother. Then tragedy strikes.

Maeve has always suffered from depression. It’s a trial for the family, but they stay together and try to help her until one day she gives up and they are left alone.

This is a powerful and emotional story. It deals with difficult issues like mental illness and keeping a family together. I thought the author did an excellent job. The characters are very real with their successes and tragedies. Murtagh and Maeve are strong characters and the children add another perspective to a difficult time.

The setting in Ireland is beautiful. I loved the descriptions of the island. This is a book worth savoring. The story will stay with you for a long time.

I received this book from Harlequin for this review.

I can see I’m going to be the only one that didn’t really care for this book. It felt a little dark and depressing. The chapters alternate back and forth from year to year. That made it hard to follow, at least for me.
Fans of Irish stories may like this book.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the early copy

The Dazzling Truth by Helen Cullen is a standalone Irish family saga. The story revolves around the Moone family in Ireland, which starts off with a terrible tragedy in 2005, that shatters the family. Maeve and Murtagh Moone and their 4 children live on a small island (Inis Óg) west of the mainland. It is Christmas Eve, and when morning comes Murtagh realizes Maeve is not home. He knows she likes to take walks when she needs to be alone, but he becomes concerned when she has not returned. The family and the townsfolk all help to look for Maeve, and late that day she will tragically be found, with Murtagh trying to hold his family together.

The story then switches to 1978, detailing how Maeve and Murtagh met at college, and how an American woman and an Irish man fell in love. Maeve was an inspiring actress and Murtagh had a bright future as a potter, creating wonderful ceramics. The storyline then jumps forward each chapter by a year or two, as we learn all aspects of their life. Murtagh’s understanding and helping Maeve, when her bipolar depressive condition acts up, which will get progressively worse over the years. They move to Inis Og, where Maeve will give up her career, and Murtagh becomes successful; friendships develop, and mostly the birth of each of their children; Nollaig (first girl), twins Mossy & Dillion, and Sive the youngest girl. Maeve manages to control her issues (which started slowly when she was very young), but her debilitating condition worsens her to exhaustion, doing her best to not let her family know how bad it has become. This will eventually lead to the tragedy that takes place in 2005

The story then moves forward after the tragedy with the family suffering and coming apart through the seams. We watch as each child over the years has a hard time dealing with what happened, and Murtagh does his best to keep them together.

The Dazzling Truth was a story of family, love, tragedy, mental illness, with good/bad times; especially with the children going on with their own lives and dealing with the past. I have to say that early the story was a bit slow, but the ending was very well done and satisfying. The Dazzling Truth was very well written by Helen Cullen.

This book demonstrated the painful consequences of suffering from mental health issues. The central character Mauve although a mother, wife, daughter and friend suffered painfully from deep anguish. Although loved by her husband , children , parents and friends her inner demons proved too much for her. Her death provided closure and relief for her but not for her family. This book showed how her death influenced her children and husband’s life. The pain is profound but eventually through time and events Mauve’s family came to terms with her death. This book also showed the remoteness of Ireland ‘s beauty and how living on a small island has its ups and downs. Really a sad not dazzling book on how sometimes love is not enough.

Thank you NetGalley and Grayson House for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Put some time aside, pick up this gorgeous book and be carried into the lives of the Moone’s. Maeve, an aspiring actress from Brooklyn and Murtagh Moone, a potter who meet outside of Trinity College. Their attraction is immediate. Marrying quickly, they move to an island off the west coast of Ireland, Inis Og. There, they become the parents of twin boys and two daughters.
The book begins with a search for the missing Maeve (whose body will wash ashore with stone filled pockets) and the effect it has on each family member.
In a timeframe from 1978 to 2015, we share the triumphs and tragedies of love, the complexities of the heart and the personal struggles of a family dealing and coping with mental illness and loss.
With the beautiful and sensitive writing style of author Helen Cullen, I could not help but take a personal interest in each family member. They are the heart and soul of this story and they will captivate you.
I am highly recommending this novel with five stars and thank Helen Cullen for this ‘dazzling family saga’.

This was a book that caused me to struggle both mentally and emotionally. I loved both the setting of the book and also the progression of time. Characterization was complete with many different nuances. The description of the bipolar disorder of Maeve was sad but true. I just struggled to get through the emotional disorder of this sad family. I’m sure that the writer was trying to show the inner workings of a family living with mental illness but it just became too much for me. I didn’t like the ending although it was treated in a kind, loving manner.

Unfortunately, this was not one book that I can give a glowing review. I did make it through because I kept waiting for something big to happen and I was completely surprised when it did and so disappointed that I had spent several hours in anticipation of the ending.
This is a tale of a dysfunctional family where the father tries to hold it all together with a bipolar depressive disorder wife and mother. We follow their relationship and their challenges. I found nothing dazzling about any of the story and found the ending anticlimactic. Might work for some, but didn’t do it for me. Glad when it was over.
I want to thank Harlequin and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this book for my honest unbiased opinion. Best I can do is 3 stars.

“You never have to lose anything, or anyone, ” she often said, “if you just change the way you look at them.”

The Moone’s first meet in 1978 when both are students at Trinity College in Dublin. The thing Murtagh notices initially is Maeve’s tomato-red suede platforms, her beauty, her low pitched whine and her American accent. He doesn’t realize it yet, but this woman from Brooklyn is fated to be his wife. An actress on scholarship for the summer is about to fall for Murtagh, future potter studying ceramics, and her future husband. Something about the man softens her rough edges, and he has no idea how much she has endured just to get to where she is now standing. In short time, Maeve decides not to return to America, to make a go of schooling at Trinity for her final year and to invest her heart in Murtagh. It is the first time she has been free of her former self, here she can become something other than the troubled girl.

Murtagh would have her even if she were a complex puzzle missing all the vital pieces. He is besotted, even if she seems to push him away, mysteriously. He is going to learn how to love her, he won’t be put off, and it will be trial. Her truth will bond them closer, they will both be better for it.

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦.

They make a decision to move to a cottage on the island of Inis Óg, a chance Murtagh would be crazy to pass up. Even if it means Maeve has to alter her plans, so he can have a thriving pottery business. Through it all she sees her dream of the stage fading away, but from the first this cottage feels like home. She refuses to indulge her sorrows, but they do return. The island itself lends a moody atmosphere. She finds an outlet for her creativity, her love of the acting, but will it be enough? Of course Murtagh feels it’s important for her to have something of her own. Years pass…

2005 It’s Christmas Eve and Queen Maeve, as as Murtagh affectionately calls his wife, overseas their family’s many activities and traditions. Their children Nollaig and Siv (girls) and their twin boys Mossy and Dillon, are well tended by their mother who reigns supreme. Maybe it isn’t perfect, but it is a home of love, warmth. This morning as everyone awakens, Murtagh’s wife isn’t on her side of the bed. Surely if she slipped out for a walk, she’d be back by now. His nerves begin to rise as they look for her.

We start at the beginning of their love, and the many trials in between. The family crashes into a wall of grief, but Murtagh’s journey must continue on and his heart alters them all in unpredictable ways. Shaking the foundations of the island and his grown children’s world, his affections give rise to many torments. Maeve may well have had many periods when ‘the crow came to sit on her shoulder’ (I can’t think of a more fitting symbolism for depression) times that stole her focus away from everything in her life, but she knew her family better than they knew themselves, her beloved Murtagh in particular. The children suffer, through no fault of Maeve nor Murtagh’s, how can you lay blame on a disease that most of us don’t understand. It’s the illness, there are times it overtakes despite her best efforts to remain on an even keel. There are good times, there are bad times. ‘These thoughts run relay races in my mind’, and Maeve can’t always master them. Pills aren’t always the answer, so she attempts to expunge these thoughts through her own methods. Sadly, some ‘spells’ last longer than others, and it’s exhausting for her. It’s so exhausting pretending she is fine, hurting those she loves. It’s nothing new, it’s always been a part of her life, the very darkness that worried her parents when she first traveled to Dublin as a young woman.

Other strained relationships make more sense as the novel goes along. The beauty of the story is the hope of love, the refusal to abandon it. Loving people even when darkness descends, selfless love. We can’t cure all that ails us, anymore than we can save those we love from themselves, from their afflictions. But we truly never have to lose people if we can accept them, broken, lost, confused as they may be. Murtagh’s love for Maeve is never in doubt, not even at the end when it changes direction with the wind. It’s heartbreaking, Maeve’s dark crow times, how it affects the entire family and the struggles Murtagh confronts in trying to hold them all together. How he doesn’t always see what is in front of his eyes. It’s not about pity, it’s about one family’s journey. A story of loving differently, and how that challenges us all.

Publication Date: August 18, 2020

Harlequin

Graydon House

The Dazzling Truth is a DNF for me. The characters and storyline just didn't interest me enough to finish.

I do love a good multigenerational tale, and this was pretty charming, Some tough subject matter realistically addressed and a plot twist I did not see coming make this worth a read!

Maeve Moone ends her life rather than face the horrors of her debilitating condition. With her suicide she leaves behind a grieving, stunned and confused husband and four children. It will take years of pain and suspicion for her loved ones to accept and come to terms with their loss. In order for the reader to understand this complex woman’s life, Helen Cullen flashes back to Maeve’s and Murtagh’s early days first in Dublin then to an island off Galway where he can pursue his pottery as she abandons her acting future to have a family and assist him in building a reputation. Their lives are challenged and the family suffers through the progression of her illness. It seems this challenge will follow them after her death, preventing the joy with life they thought they had. It takes a reunion to realize how she alone saw the truth, at times dazzling though it may be.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Dazzling Truth. No wait … I loved it! I enjoyed the arrangement of the story, ie, starting with a date and its occurrence, backing up to years and years earlier, then soldiering on through, past the date of that occurrence and on to today.

It’s about Maeve (American) and Murtagh (Irish) and their life together on an isolated island west of the Irish mainland. It’s about Maeve and Murtagh and their true and very real love for one another. Solid Murtagh and Maeve, the free spirit, could be ever so happy. Unfortunately, it’s also about Maeve, who endures the blackest of days sporadically.

The writing was compelling and pulled me in with all my emotions. Sometimes, during those ‘black’ episodes, I had to remind myself to not get sucked under with gloom. I knew that if Maeve were real, I would not have been able to help her, and that was troubling.

Although I would have wanted this story to end differently, I commend the author for the very sensitive and heartfelt way in which he drew this book to a close. Well done. When I finished the last page, I breathed a sigh that it was over.

My only – and very minor – criticism would be that Maeve, the American girl from Brooklyn, would not have phrased some things as though she were from Ireland or the UK. She would not have said “the pair of you” when writing to her parents; it would have been “both of you”. She would not have said “two vanilla biscuits”; it would have been “two vanilla cookies”. And it wouldn’t have been “honey and lemon cough sweets”; it would have been “honey and lemon cough drops”. Again, very minor criticism, but it jumped out at me.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Ms. Cullen for allowing me to read and review The Dazzling Truth. I enjoyed it immensely.