I'm starting to think that audiobooks aren't for me. Or maybe I just haven't listened to the right one yet. I found this one particularly hard to follow, especially with all the different characters introduced relatively quickly.

I did find the story an interesting one. Although the cheating and divorce was not ideal, bu real-life I suppose. The cousin/aunt characters were hard to place. Kept forgetting who they were when mentioned. I don't think the story translated well visually for me. The ending was quite predictable.

I really loved this story! It had so many unexpected events. I was on the edge of my seat wondering with every page that turners. I look forward to reading more from this author!

I love family-based character driven books, and We Are the Brennan’s did not disappoint.

This novel is about an American-Irish family with complications and secrets. It was beautifully narrated and did a great job of showing the effects decisions make on relationships.

The story starts with Sunday Brennan returning to her family home that she escaped 5 years prior. She is determined to get her life back on track. The family dynamics between all the siblings and how they banded together against a person who was out to destroy the family business demonstrated that it’s blood before anything. They author did a great job of capturing different points of view without becoming jumbled.

This is a wonderful debut novel by Tracey Lange and the narration by Barrie Kreinik.

Thank you to Celadon Books for the advanced reading copy. Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced listening copy in exchange for my own opinions in a review.

I'm rating this 3 stars even though it was technically a DNF.

A couple things to consider, NetGalley:
You cannot listen faster than speed 2 without the narrator sounding like a robot. You also can't listen without missing half the words spoken.

That was the minor issue that I dealt with, which is actually an issue I always deal with when requesting audiobooks. The second was the fact there was one narrator for multiple characters, both genders. It was throwing me off like no other. All the characters, literally 10 given in the span of a few chapters, plus the narrator, plus the horrible robot voice, all made this really hard to get into.

I'm still interested in the story, but I cannot do this on audiobook. No way.

I really loved this book!! It had so many twists and turns. It kept me on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next!! This was my first book by this Author, and it won’t be the last!! Quick read!! Highly recommended!! You won’t be disappointed!!

I absolutely loved this book. I was so connected to the Brennan Family. I wanted to get a big, soft blanket and wrap it around them to ease the hard edges of life and make them all safe again. They manage to do this for themselves. It’s a long journey, but one where their love for each other wins against all the pain and dysfunction that has intruded into their lives.

The story begins with Sunday Brennan. She left home five years ago to live in LA. Apparently, no one really knows why. Sunday lives with pain, shame, and sorrow. She is a big keeper of secrets, lies, and deception. It ends up all the Brennan Sibling are doing the same. There is Denny, Jackie, Sunday, and Shane. Kale, a troubled friend becomes a 5th family member.

Her brother, Denny is contacted when Sunday gets very drunk and is in a terrible car accident. He convinces Sunday to come back to Weschester, NY, their home since childhood. To me, Sunday is the soul of this family. With her home, the family secrets start coming out. Sunday also had a deep love affair with Kale when she left. He never understood why she left and much is left unfinished.

So, lies, deception, and secrets never set you free. You can’t run away from them, as they find you always. So, the family is finally done with this. Loved the line, ‘That is what family did. They all screwed up, made mistakes, and hurt one another. But in the end they came together’. The hard part is knowing how much to give. Yes, family can be an incredibly tie that binds and helps you heal, but it can also bind so tightly that it chokes you. Sunday, finally understands this. She must decide how much of herself to devote to her family and how much she needs to have a piece of herself, just for herself. She can decide. I think that probably defines the essence of what it really means to be an adult.

The Brennans will capture your Spirit. They will persevere because they chose to get through life together. Life is a lot easier this way and simpler when everyone is being honest with each other. Captivating!

I was given a copy of both the book and the audio 🎧. I love this combination.

Thank you NetGalley, Tracey Lange, and Macmillan Audio for a copy of this book.

We are the Brennans was such a hyped book, so I went into this audiobook so excited, and it really fell flat for me.

I was expecting more family drama than We are the Brennans gave me. This felt very slow and the most drama happened at the very end, that didn’t come to a satisfying conclusion for me.

The story did focus a lot of Sunday’s past and how it effected the Brennan family. Which was interesting, but I wanted more.

I listed to this on audiobook, and while I liked the narrator, it was the same narrator for every POV, which made it difficult to remember whose POV I was listening to.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audio review copy of We are the Brennans in exchange for my honest opinion.

In my head the narrator of this book was Sean Connery and so it became a lovely read. Irish family drama, some murder, some crime, some lies....what more can I say? Oh yes, and a love story, beautifully weaved in amongst it all.

The depth of the characters allowed me to immerse myself in the unfolding drama: The lost years of lies and deceit coming to a bitter end. Or maybe to some it will be a sweet end?

I enjoy family dramas… and I loved how this was written. The reader (listener) was seamlessly moved between characters’ POV. The story evolved a little slowly at times, and maybe slightly predictably, but overall, enjoyable.

“Family didn’t mean hiding the hard stuff from each other. It meant facing it together. And it meant forgiving each other.”

Five years ago Sunday Brennan dropped everything and moved to California out of the blue. She left her tight knit Irish family and her boyfriend without an explanation. When she gets in a car accident, despite the lack of contact with her family, her oldest brother Denny flies out to be by her side and convinces her to come back home to New York while she recovers. Sunday is now forced to confront the fact that her family is struggling and the secrets that they have all been keeping are tearing them apart.

This was a slow burn family drama and I really enjoyed it. My grandmother is Irish and I always love stories about Irish families. I fell in love with the tight knit Brennan family, despite all of their mistakes, secrets, and character flaws. The characters were well developed and have a lot of depth.

The narration done by Barrie Kreinik was fantastic. I loved listening to the Irish accents as I fell in love with this family.

I enjoyed this debut novel. Family. Family is everything. Or is it? The Brennans are an Irish family through and through. They love hard and big, even through the worst of times.

Each family member has flaws, some known and some hidden. The family has a whole has flaws and secrets. But as family often does, they come together in times of crisis and support each other. I liked that the flaws in this book are normal, everyday flaws. And this is just a normal family dealing with things we all deal with on a daily basis.

Sunday fled the family home five years ago and really hasn't looked back. A DUI and injuries bring Denny to her and ultimately her return to the family home where she will mend, both physically and mentally. We learn old secrets and new throughout the book. The characters are well written and, for the most part, likeable and relatable.

I will definitely look for more from this author!

Thanks to NetGalley and Celadon Books for an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review!

I do not like contemporary fiction but this book took me by surprise! The Brennan's are a hodge podge, hot mess, emotional, yet loving Irish family. When Sunday Brennan gets in a car accident in LA though after being the resident "absentee" sibling for five years, Denny packs her up and brings her back home to New York where things might not be much better but at least she has her family. Their father is suffering with memory loss, Jackie is getting off parole and trying to keep it together, and Shane is being his constant happy self while the whole family tries to manage his learning disability. Then there's the fiance that Sunday left behind. What feels like a trip home to rest and recover, turns into a lot of "what ifs?" and "what nows?"

The writing in this is absolutely beautiful and I loved getting to listen to the audiobook version. It had just the right amount of Irish accents in it (which means I could actually understand it because it wasn't the whole time). The narrator did a great job with switching between multiple people's view points even though this was a third person novel. Thank you Tracey Lange, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for this audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Goodreads review link: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4163734785

I loved this one! The family, romantic and personal dramas kept me so engaged the whole time. That ending!!! Loved

This is a very good, well-written story, literary fiction about a close Irish-American family. I listened to the audiobook & enjoyed it very much. Thank you to NetGalley for the e-audio ARC. I will be recommending this to many library patrons.

We Are the Brennans tells of a large Irish family with a slew of issues and secrets. The novel starts out with Sunday Brennan driving drunk in LA and getting into a huge accident. The reader learns that Sunday suddenly moved from New York to LA 5 years prior, with little to no explanation. Her eldest brother, Denny, gets a call about the accident and flies out to LA, convincing Sunday to move home since she won't have a license for while. Denny and the Brennan's "adopted" brother (and ex fiance of Sunday) own a pub called Brennan's and are in the process of opening a second location. Lots of issues arise, various loans get secretly taken out, and ultimately the truth comes out about why Sunday suddenly left. I love that almost anyone can relate to this book because everyone has crazy family stories. The novel has love, loss, heartbreak, uplifting moments, I did not think it was going to be as good as it was. There is something for everyone in this novel! And the narrator had a great Irish accent when needed.

I'm sorry this book was not for me.


The book opens with Sunday Brennan involved in a serious car accident while drinking. She left home 5 years ago and has had zero contact with anyone back home. Her brother arrives after being notified by the police, and talks Sunday into coming back with him to help with dad and the family business (they are Irish so of course it's a pub). So she does. After 5 years. Boom, she's back. This plot thread is dropped. What about her apartment? Her job? Her friends? Of course her DUI is easily taken care of long-distance, and she jumps right into the family business without a backward glance.

When the reason Sunday left 5 years previously was revealed, at first I thought I had missed something. There had to be more. But nope, that was it. I wanted to throw the book across the room. She left without saying a word to the LOVE OF HER LIFE, Kale.

Misunderstandings due to not talking to one another is a trope that annoys me. Sunday and Kale were SO IN LOVE, but she leaves without telling him what happened, then later blames him for not coming after her. ugh

For such a close family (so we are told) NOT ONE of them tried to make contact with Sunday? Ok, so mom is understandable, since she's not a contender for Mother of the Year, but the rest of them just let her go...oh well, see ya! And when they find out why she left no one ever tells her she had no reason to feel guilty. Victim blaming?

A big Irish family and not one person to like or root for. Not one. Cliched characters, a boring, stupid predictable plot, and an ending telegraphed from the beginning. Throw in a developmentally disabled character to check the box, but don't develop his character in any meaningful way.

This is a much-loved book but was not for me.

The narrator of the audio was excellent.

I’m not Irish - not even on St Patty’s Day - so I almost passed this book up assuming it wasn’t going to be my thing. Man, I’m glad I didn’t.

The Brennan family is in New York but by the end, it had very Boston vibes to me. The story picks up with Sunday ends up in a drunk driving accident and her brother flies across the country to pick her up and bring her home. From there, layers of family secrets start to unfold, including why she abruptly left five years before, what her parents have actually been up to and how his brother runs his Irish Pub.

They’re all flawed but that’s also what makes them great. I did the audio book for this one and would highly recommend.
Big thanks to the publisher and #NetGalley for the ARC.

Wow! The audio of this book was fantastic!! We Are The Brennans was such a pleasant surprise for me. I definitely did not expect this novel to be so well done and I’m really glad I prioritized it. What I loved most about this book is how imperfect each member of this family is. It made the story realistic and very entertaining. There were a ton of twists and turns that kept grabbing at my attention. I really enjoyed this novel and it was one that I didn’t want to put down or end. Highly recommend this book!

Thank you so much to Celadon Books for a physical arc of this book and Macmillan Audio for the audio of this book.

Loved this book! Who can not like a pub-owning -Irish family with secrets? A good family drama!
Didn't particularly like the audio. Had to listen at at least 1.5-1.7x speed to be tolerable.

This book pulled in you from page one and was hard to put down. The Brennans are a true Irish Catholic family with their share of secrets. Sunday gets into a drunk driving accident while in LA and has to swallow her pride and come home to NY. This book covers some serious topics in a really honest way.

I enjoyed getting to meet each of the Brennan family members. The chapter alternating perspectives helped keep this book interesting.