When I saw We Are the Brennans was being compared to Ask Again, Yes (another favorite character driven, family drama), I immediately added it to my TBR. This novel had me hooked by the dysfunctional Brennan family from the beginning! The story begin with Sunday Brennan returning home to her family in New York after a tragic accident on the west coast. Sunday's sudden departure to California years ago left her brothers and ex-fiance shocked and resentful, but now back in New York they have to work together to save the family's pub. The characters make poor decisions, but I found myself rooting for each of them and the family as a whole.

Thank you to the publisher via NetGalley for the advanced copy to review. I may have otherwise missed what could be one of my favorite books of the year.

I've been overdue for a family saga/drama like We Are the Brennans and this book did not disappoint. This book had me hooked from the 1st few pages when we met Sunday Brennan at a very low point in her life to the varying story lines of her siblings.

A riveting family saga, poignant and heart felt. This novel is well written with complex, flawed characters. Relatable tale of secrets and a family breaking apart and coming back together. Emotional story of the bonds and resilience of family. So happy to see this as a BOTM pick.

Really enjoyed this debut novel from this author. Great story, well developed characters. Every character is flawed and the family itself is flawed but they stick together when it means the most. I like that the author didn't try to do too much and make it too sensational. The problems in this family are the same problems most families have, especially if they are running a business together. Well done.

I really enjoyed this family drama around an Irish family in NY. It beautifully weaved the story of past love and family secrets that all come to a head. There were multiple turning points and I found some to be generally predictable and others really took me by surprise. It was a subtle novel but one that I found relatble and intriguing.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This felt like a case of a book being hyped up and not meeting my expectations. I want to lead with the fact that I loved the premise of We Are the Brennans and I thought it was a very cool read. I loved the sibling relationships, and I found the characters really captivating to learn more about.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

Meet the Brennan’s. A lovable Irish-American family who look out for one another and keep their secrets as well. One well kept secret nearly breaks them for 5 years. But now they are back together and once again, secrets could be their undoing. Likeable, well developed characters will keep you engaged and keep you guessing how it will all turn out until the end.

I truly could not stop reading this book. The character development had me totally invested from page one. Can’t wait for their next book.

Engrossing story with a lot of likable characters to root for. I wanted to hang out with the whole Brennan family. And I couldn’t put it down—compulsive read for sure!. That said, I didn’t love some of the predictability of the “villains” and the resolution of the story. I didn’t think it needed a thriller/mystery aspect in the late part of the book—it was predictable and cleaned up a little too neatly. And there were things that didn’t feel quite plausible in the characters’ reactions to things that happened. I liked the alternating character chapters to see the events from different perspectives, but overall the book fell a bit flat for me.

What a great suspenseful summer read! It was very enjoyable getting to know this family and witness their profound love for each other.
Sundays come back to live with her siblings and dad, after leaving abruptly years ago and we will slowly discover and understand why. The story line is told by one character, continuing told by another, and so on, which is very original.
This book was not just another story about family secrets; the main characters were well developed and lovable, the style was classy and there was suspense enough to make it one of those books you cannot easily put down.
I looked for more books from Tracey Lange only to discover this was a debut! This is definitely an author to follow.

An unexpectedly good, quick read full of dysfunctional family drama & secrets. Each chapter is written from a different character’s view point which ties the story together easily despite the complicated dynamics of family life. I enjoyed this read and hope there’s a sequel to continue the story!

The Brennan’s will stick out in my mind for a while. They might have looked like a perfect Irish family growing up but they have flaws like everyone else.

Meet the Brennans:

Sunday Brennan: She left town five years ago. She moved to LA without a major explanation. No one understood her leaving, particularly her boyfriend Kale who loved her, and she had loved him back. Sunday has a secret and the secret is consuming her. She is barely making it in LA. After getting upset and drinking too much, she is involved in an accident and ends up in the hospital.

Denny: He is the big brother. The one people relied on but he has made a mess of his life. He’s about to lose his business. He’s separated from his wife Theresa and only sees his child Molly a few hours a day. He has lied to his business partner and he is not sure how to fix any of it.

Jackie: The artist. The son who had a run-in with the law. He can't help his brother with the Pub without breaking his parole but he will be there in other ways as the story unfolds.

Shane: the gentle giant with a learning disability and who is protected by all his siblings in one way or the other.

Mickey: Their father who is experiencing short-term memory issues with secrets of his own. He was a good provider and a good father.

It was easy to feel invested with the Brennans. They had much to overcome and find a way back to being a family again. A chance for the secrets to come out instead of further destroying their happiness.

As a debut novel, I thought this one was outstanding. Like I mentioned earlier, I won't easily forget the Brennans just like I won't forget the Pines.

Cliffhanger: No

4/5 Fangs

A complimentary copy was provided by Celadon Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

One of my new top ten favorite books of all time. I cannot remember the last time I felt so connected with the characters and their relationships. I truly felt apart of the Brennan family while reading the book. One of my favorite aspects of the novel was how the author interwove the alternate POVs. The transitions were seemless and left no confusion on the end of the reader. The ending felt resolved for me and felt so many emotions. A must read.

☘️ We are the Brennans ☘️

A few weeks ago, I posted this book for Celadon’s Little Free Library day. I finally got to read this book, and I wanted to share my thoughts!

I absolutely loved it. It combines all my favorite things: family drama, Ireland and Irish people, and the greater NYC area! Other people have said they thought it started slow, but I was sucked in from the beginning. I loved how each of the family members had different relationship with each other and especially how they all loved Shane (the developmentally different brother). The family secrets and whocj family members knew was fascinating to me. I also loved the behind the scenes of a pub and what went into opening a new pub was entertaining as well.

I loved the romance between Sunday and Kale and you could feel the passion between them was never lost. The story behind the postcard was so sweet. I felt back for Vivienne, but she showed her true colors.

I’ve always wanted a huge family and I’m very lucky I married into one! I really enjoyed this book and I’m definitely going to be recommending it to friends. I’m also hoping my husband will read it because I think he would really enjoy it as well.

Thank you again to @celadonbooks for my ARC copy! Congratulations to @tracey_lange for making the @NYTbooks bestseller list!

Lange's Irish family story centers around Sunday Brennan, who has returned home to her New York hometown where her own secrets--and others'--are exposed.

In Tracey Lange's new novel We Are the Brennans, twenty-nine-year old Sunday Brennan wakes up in a haze. She's hungover and horrified: she was the cause of a drunk-driving accident in her adopted town of Los Angeles the night before.

She's hit rock bottom and she knows it. Without other options, she skulks back to her hometown in New York. Five years earlier she'd abandoned her family and friends and anyone tied to her past, including her high-school sweetheart, but now she needs the support of people who truly know her. Will they take her back in without asking her to explain the reasons for her sudden disappearance?

The longer Sunday spends at home, the more she realizes that her people need her too. As secrets become unraveled and threaten the solidity of all she thought she knew about her hometown and her big Irish family, Sunday must decide whether to flee again or to stay and find a way through the turmoil.

This is a quick read, and I liked the extended-family loyalty and the revisiting of a seemingly ill-fated love. The villains in We Are the Brennans are largely easy to identify and to dislike. I found it interesting that within the almost mythological family that is based upon so much lore, the deceased mother is far from a martyr; her weaknesses and failings are laid bare.

There's a minor mystery in the book, and Lange generally delivers resolutions that aren't always surprising but that I was glad to see coming. There's a final loose end and it seems assured that it will be wrapped up, but the specifics aren't laid out, and the very end of the story felt a little bit abrupt.

I received a prepublication digital edition of this book courtesy of Celadon Books and NetGalley.

Solid family drama. Fast read that swept me along from the start, the story of Sunday Brennan returning home in disgrace to a family filled with secrets is one I would highly recommend.

Denny received a call that his sister had been in a terrible accident. He was her emergency contact. This was just another problem in his already complicated life. After traveling to the West coast he convinced Sunday to come home with him to recuperate.
The Brennans are a hard working family. The brothers and their best friend are running a Bar and working to acquire a restaurant but someone is sabotaging their efforts.
Denny and Sunday each have their own set of “secrets” that is making getting ahead harder.
This is a good story of resilience and close family ties.

I love a good dysfunctional family saga but this one missed the mark for me a bit. The plot was strong but the characters fell flat. That being said, we did give the book some "on our radar" love in our Instagram feed.

Just when you think your family is messed up, in comes the Brennans! Typical blue collar family from the suburbs with you quite a few fast paced plot changes (some predictable) but still had me reading and wanting more.

Sunday is your typical girl just trying to make her way in the world when an accident leaves her hospital bound. Little did she know that would take her right back to her hometown and high school sweetheart Kale. Her and Kale’s relationship is one readers dream of. Lange did an excellent job weaving their love story into all the other action in this book.

*I received a review copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Perfect for lovers of family sagas with endearing and complex characters. Lange uses a unique writing style to link multiple character POVs to one flowing plot, all revolving around the family-owned pub Brennan's (which felt like a character unto itself). Though the drama and secrets kept by the Brennans were certainly engrossing, what I'll remember about this story is the charming and realistic portrayals of family relationships. By the end of this book, I wasn't ready to say goodbye to the Brennan family and would gladly read additional stories centered on these characters.