The Connellys of County Down is a new book coming from Tracey Lange, who also wrote We Are the Brennans.

“Tara is struggling to restart her life after being released from prison. She served 18 months for a drug trafficking charge but there’s more to it than she told the police. She moves back to her family home with her brother, Eddie, and sister, Geraldine. And Eddie’s son, Conor. Eddie still struggles with issues from a brain injury. Geraldine is having a difficult time with the chaos that Tara has brought to the family and she misses the rules and order she had before. They all have secrets holding them back and events will test the bonds of family.”

Do you have siblings? What are your relationships like? What things happened to all of you that wounded you? Or anchors you? This is a wonderful story about family and secrets from Lange. Until Tara, Eddie and Geraldine can trust each other again, they are stuck. It’s great watching them get unstuck. Geraldine comes across as not very nice and controlling. Her big issue reminds me of my Mom because she had the same problem. When you hear why it makes sense.
Celadon Books put groups of readers together to buddy-read this in April. I apologize to my group because I wanted to finish. I think I liked this even better than WATB. Save a spot on your August TBR for this one. Thanks to @celadonbooks for coordinating this with the advanced copies.

I loved Tracey Lange's debut, We Are The Brennans, so I was super excited to read an advance copy of her next release, The Connellys of County Down and I am happy to say that I loved it too! I definitely recommend for anyone who enjoys family sagas. Lange is sure to become one of my auto-read authors!

Synopsis (It's a fiction book, so it helps…from Netgalley, the provider of the book for me to review.)
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From Tracey Lange, the New York Times bestselling author of We Are the Brennans comes The Connellys of County Down: a story about fierce family loyalty, good intentions gone awry, and the consequences of improbable love.
When Tara Connelly is released from prison after serving eighteen months on a drug charge, she knows rebuilding her life at thirty years old won’t be easy. With no money and no prospects, she returns home to live with her siblings, who are both busy with their own problems. Her brother, a single dad, struggles with the ongoing effects of a brain injury he sustained years ago, and her sister’s fragile facade of calm and order is cracking under the burden of big secrets. Life becomes even more complicated when the cop who put her in prison keeps showing up unannounced, leaving Tara to wonder what he wants from her now.
While she works to build a new career and hold her family together, Tara finds a chance at love in a most unlikely place. But when the Connellys’ secrets start to unravel and threaten her future, they all must face their worst fears and come clean, or risk losing each other forever.
The Connellys of County Down is a moving novel about testing the bounds of love and loyalty. It explores the possibility of beginning our lives anew and reveals the pitfalls of shielding each other from the bitter truth.
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So, when the synopsis of the book gives a better review than you can write...what to do? What to do? I have no loyalty or love for my siblings (yes, I said it), nor for me (yes, I also said it) so at times I wondered why the heck they did what they did for each other. But that's me. This is a dysfunctional yet loving family that I truly enjoyed spending time with them as I read through the book.
Highly recommended along with her previous book - I will chat up this book far and wide.
#shortbutsweetreviews

I loved Tracey Lange’s book We Are the Brennan’s, so I was very excited to get my hands on this one. I was raised with four brothers and no sisters, so stories involving family/siblings are high on my to-read list. Although I didn’t feel as strong of a connection as I did with the Brennan’s, this was still a very enjoyable read. Tracey has a wonderful way of creating characters anyone can relate to, and it was fun diving into the unique individual Connelly personalities. Can’t wait for her next book!

I went into this with pretty high expectations- We Are The Brennans was a real sleeper hit for me, I picked it up on a whim and devoured it in a day. But The Connellys just didn't hit as hard. Still a good family drama, but the characters didn't feel as real to me as the Brennans so I found myself less invested. 3.5 stars rounded up!

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity of reading Tracey's 2nd book. I absolutely love contemporary fiction....especially when it involves siblings. I was a huge fan of the Brennan's and I feel just the same about the Connelly's. Anything Tracey writes, I will read it. This will be a top book for me this year.

I have 5 siblings myself and we're all alike in ways but so different and sometimes complicated lol. I think thats why I have loved the Brennan's and Connelly's so much. Tracey has an amazing way of creating family characters that have quite a lot going on but they are so relatable and at the end of the day...they come together.

Don't miss this one. I am so sad its over.