I loved the reader and the storyline. I couldn’t put it down. I tried to find so many things to do so I could finish it. It was a wonderful story of a family who try to stay together and dealing with all the issues they were going through. I highly recommend this book.

The narration was great. I think that's the only reason I stuck with it. I did not like the multiple characters and getting bits and pieces of their perspective. It makes it hard to connect to any of them.

The "secrets" and "drama" was a but too tame for me. I think i need more scandal, it overall was a very boring family drama.

I enjoyed the audio version of We are the Brennans. Sunday Brennan has been in LA for five years after suddenly moving away from the family home in NY. She returns to NY with her brother Denny after she is in an accident while driving drunk. Denny her former fiancé Kale run a pub and are in the process of opening another nearby. Told from multiple viewpoints, the story explains Sunday’s reason for departing together with the assorted problems that now cause trouble for the family. The narrator did an excellent job of portraying many characters including children. Though all of the characters are flawed, Lange clearly portrays them as a closely knit family willing to do whatever it takes to help and protect each other. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys family dramas. I thank NetGalley and Celadon Books for the opportunity to listen to this ARC.

I do love family sagas and this one did not disappoint! After Sunday was in a drunk driving accident in LA she returns to her Irish family in New York that she had left five years earlier. So many secrets were uncovered during the course of the book. I really enjoyed getting to know each of the family members and understanding the reasons behind their actions. The writing was easy to follow and quick to read. It is a shorter novel – under 300 pages – but packed with drama! This was a great #botm pick for July! This is Lange’s debut novel and I will be on the lookout for more from her!

This book was such a wonderful family drama. Of course there are tense moments and misunderstandings but I found so much comfort in familial love between all the Brennan siblings. It made me want to call my sister and brother and give them a hug!

The different POVs of the characters wove together so well and made every storyline seem just as important. I loved seeing every siblings’ take on the family dramas and how all of their secrets unfolded. A great debut! And one I’ll want to read again!

Also available at Instagram.com/booksandcardigans

I absolutely Loved the narration of this book. I started It last night and wasn’t able to stop listening. The perfect voice for all of the family members. I usually don’t enjoy family dramas, but this one is so unique, filled with flawed characters that you can’t help but root for. I shared This on my page with a glowing recommendation!

Five stars for this great read! The book focuses on a large, loving, fiercely-protective, deeply-flawed Irish Catholic family tangled up in keeping family secrets.

I was caught up in the story from the beginning when Sunday Brennan blanks out after crashing her car while driving drunk in LA. Her older brother Denny shows up to rescue her and convinces her to move back home to New York to rejoin the family. At the same time Denny is attempting to deal with Sunday, he's also attempting to deal with his own disastrous personal and financial situations caused by poor decision-making and attempts to keep his mistakes hidden.

I really liked how the author advances the plot and introduces us to other family members. Whoever speaks last in a chapter becomes the narrator of the next chapter. Rather than describe the characters, the author lets us get to know them as they reveal their own thoughts and emotions.

Family secret-keeping starts back in Ireland when Mickey Brennan, Sunday's father, is forced to emigrate. He marries and settles in an Irish enclave near Manhattanhen where he's both respected for success in the construction industry and reviled for actions in his personal life, which he's managed to keep secret only from his children. Mickey's wife, tho deceased, is very much a character in the novel as her impact on Mickey and each of her children is revealed.

I enjoyed the book with its many twists and turns as long-held secrets came to light. I knew Sunday would live up to her name's meaning--Favored One--but I wasn't sure how. I liked the ending, although I hated to have to say good-by to the characters. I hope the author decides to write another Brennan book. I listened to the audio edition; the narrator was excellent.

What secrets do we hold close? What remains unsaid? Guilt, shame, denial, and generational trauma sprinkle every character in We Are The Brennans. This story examines the family dynamic in a relatable tale that hits a little too close to home in the very best ways. This story is a slow-burning, at times melancholic look at everyday life in an everyday family, and one you won't want to miss!

This is a sweeping family saga that hit me in all the right places in my reading journey at the moment. I loved that we got a full, complete story told from multiple points of view, yet it is also only 288 pages. It takes some solid writing to convey a developed tale in under 300 pages, and Lange does an amazing job with it in her debut novel.

It's the story of a big Irish family of which Sunday is the only girl. Their mother passed away just a couple of years previously, and five years before, Sunday moved away from all of them in New York to head to LA. She left behind a confused boyfriend, Kale, and a fairly dysfunctional, yet close-knit family. Fast forward five years and Sunday is in the hospital after a drunk driving accident, the police call her brother Denny who is listed as her next of kin. She comes home with him to heal and has to deal with the aftermath of what she left behind and finally needs to give an explanation for what happened.

There are so many times when reading a book I kind of roll my eyes when a "big secret" is revealed. It is typically either revealed too late to make a difference in the book or the secret isn't much of a big deal overall. However, this book defies the norm and actually has a decent secret revealed at the exact right time. How it affects each of the family members and reaches into the present from the past in different ways is well composed and engaging.

Highly recommend this debut family saga. I listened to most of it as an audiobook and although there is only one narrator for multiple points of view (kind of a refreshing change from the large cast audiobooks as of late) she does a fantastic job conveying each of the many characters and I never felt lost.

A family with secrets that may destroy each others faith , but this family is a strong Irish one , they will preserve through thick ad thin. When a ill fated accident sends the long lost sister who left 5 years before happens , the brothers unite to bring her home and the secrets unfolds.

3.75 stars rounded down

A large Irish family owns a pub in New York. Five years ago, Sunday, the sister, left her brothers and fiance with minimal explanation. Now, after a drunk driving accident lands her in the hospital, she returns home for the first time to face the fallout.

This book is told from the perspectives of many characters -- the brothers, Sunday, the ex-fiance, the ex-fiance's new wife, and parents. While this could easily lead to confusion, Lange expertly distinguishes the different narrators. There is far more melodrama in this book than I expected and there was a lot of plot. The plot would feel resolved at points only to have another twist pop up. I was dedicated to the story the whole time, though, and was eager to see how it would end. I love the messy family aspects, the second chances at love, and the ability to move through trauma after taking the time needed to heal on your own.

Recommend for readers of family-focused novels that can appreciate soap-opera-like twists.

We Are the Brennans

This was ok. It wasn't the big family saga I was looking forward to or that this was compared to for me. I enjoyed the family and Sunday's story but felt like there were a lot of characters, a lot of POVs and jumping around, and on one seemed very flushed out to me. It also feels like there could have been conversations to get over the big issue in the book and could have been solved years ago.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect going into this but I really enjoyed the premise of this one and seeing how one night and event can truly change a family forever.

I flew through it on audio and I was so intrigued and invested in all of the characters that were so well developed by Lange! I also throughly enjoyed how the multiple POVs helped getting to truly know each member of the family.

Although I didn’t find it relatable personally, I did enjoy how refreshing it was to read about such a dysfunctional and dramatic family dynamic while still learning how close they were and are!

Overall, it was a compelling family drama that I recommend checking out!

This is a family drama set in a large Irish family on the outskirts of NYC. This book felt absolutely compelling, while slowly revealing drama upon drama as the story unveils over time. Each character, from the mother and father, the three brothers and Sunday, and the add-on family Cale, Vivian and Tracy all have their own drama to add to it, everyone is keeping secrets bigger and smaller - easier to reveal and those that will hurt others. It was amazing how Tracy Lange as a debut author kept all the threads organized while keeping the balls in the air and the story moving forward. The way this story developed felt authentic and real. This book would would make an excellent movie or mini-series, I felt so invested in the characters life and was rooting for the whole family. When I finished I wanted a sequel or longer epilogue I was so sad to leave the Brennan’s !
The audio that I listened to on my morning run (picture is from said morning run - hazy summer morning sky) is narrated wonderfully by Barrie Kreinik.
Thank you to @netgalley @macmillan.audio and @celadonbooks for providing me with an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is one of Jimmy Fallon’s summer reads. This book’s similar to one he had chosen previously … Ask Again, Yes.

The psychological manipulation was so precise & came from multiple directions! From people you’d trust & others you wouldn’t. Even the players mention the lies.

This is about an Irish family living in New York, how bad choices change multiple lives, how they come to terms with the fallout & how they fix it.

The chapter titles are the characters names. One chapter’s last sentence is the next chapters 1st sentence & switches perspective. Made it easy to follow the rambling train of thought as it jumps around in time to explain the one big bad choice.

Now the main choice that the book revolves around may frustrate you as you wouldn’t make the same choices but as the story unfolds the mystery of WHY?! Is answered.

This was a mood read for me. A nice switch from my go-to genres. I listened in one sitting. I was captivated. Easy, quick read well worth bumping up your summer TBR!!

The narrator was good & you even hear the occasional Irish accent.

Thank you NetGalley & Mcmillan Audio I had this on my summer TBR & loved it!!

This was wonderfully narrated and the Brennan family sucks you in and you feel everything that they’re going through. Shame and guilt are two feelings that I am astutely attuned to as an Irish Catholic, I swear that we are born with the guilt embedded into our DNA!
Thank you to Netgalley for this arc audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

Wow, I love contemporary fiction but this one was a slow burn that I could not put down!
The story focuses on the Brennan’s and Irish American family in New York. The mother passed before the book began and the remaining family contains 3 brothers, 1 sister, 1 father, and a best friend who is actually more like family. When Sunday, the daughter, is in a terrible accident in LA after disappearing 5 years prior the family finally begins to come back together.
This novel takes place through several prospective and I think it gives it such an air of complete understanding of a family dynamic. I found so many ways to resonate with the different characters even though I come from a completely different life. Tracey Lange brings the world of the Brennan’s to life. While it had a wonderful ending like many contemporary fiction novels I just wanted to stay with these characters longer.

I didn't think I would enjoy following another family's drama as much as I did. The Brennans are a hardworking family with enough social status to have their secrets be scandalous. The fallout of past trauma is heartbreaking to listen to, and as someone without a large family, it is nice to see how the family comes together despite the past. Everyone is flawed, everyone has their baggage, and everyone has an opinion.

When Sunday Brennan wakes up after a drunk driving accident, her brother insists she return to family in New York she left five years ago. Sunday reluctantly agrees. When that same brother needs her to help with the books at his pub, it forces her to come face to face with her brother's business partner and her ex-fiance. He's, of course, married to someone else, which complicates matters greatly.

This is the type of novel that reminds us of the importance of familial bonds, and a shared heritage that one can turn away from, but never fully shed. You end up rooting for all the family members as they handle life's obstacles. It's a little awkward to root for Sunday to reunite with her ex, but the spark is undeniable.

This is the perfect book that readers that enjoy Elin Hilderbrand and Kristin Hannah.

Thank you Netgalley for this advanced audio edition of We Are the Brennans by Tracey Lange.

After hitting what she feels is rock bottom, it's time for Sunday to come home. She's been living in LA and she's loathe to return to the east, knowing that she'll have a lot of questions to answer, the biggest being, why did you abandon the family?

Even though her brothers hold a grudge, and her ex-fiance still keeps in touch with the family, it's apparent that Sunday needs to rebuild her life in her hometown. But secrets loom over all of them, and people still need to know why Sunday run out of them all. But are they ready to open a can of worms that would be impossible to close?

I normally love a family drama, with all of the secrets, feuds, alliances, and past traumas. But I had a toothache most of reading this one.

Overall it was just too "Hallmark" for me. The dialogue was way too saccharine, very idealistic. The characters were cliched, and very black and white. It was a decent story, but I also didn't like the direction it went for a few characters. The whole thing just kind of drove me crazy.