This is a sweeping and expansive multi-layered debut novel. The story is gripping, with parts of it being very difficult to read. Airey writes in a way that forces the reader to develop real empathy for the characters.

Overall, a very accomplished debut.

*Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A great debut, it was a thoroughly interesting story and it had me hooked. Loved it.

Thank you to the author, publisher and netgalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I commend the author for being so ambitious in their debut and telling a multigenerational tale. However, I believe it suffers because of it. Some of the characters don't have enough space to develop and it often feels like the reader is only catching up on them to experience a traumatic event and then it moves to the next plot point in another time altogether. The story feels like a puzzle we are trying to put together and while the process can be entertaining and grips the reader's attention more times than not, I felt like the final picture wasn't worth all the back and forth.
The main theme I could gather was the importance of bodily autonomy and the right of abortion. While there are intense and emotional moments, there isn't an opportunity to actually experience how the lack of choice impacted the women on this novel. All the children grow up during the gaps of the story and we are only told of what would be more interesting to me to be shown.
I am still curious to read what Catherine Airey will write next and hopeful that I will enjoy more what comes next.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an e-copy of this arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cracking read and the characters really got to me. We follow three generations of one Irish family, not always in chronological order. We meet Maire and her sister Roisin growing up in rural Ireland, their lives intertwined with neighbour Michael and forever shaped by the untimely death of their father. We follow Maire as a teenager navigating life as an art student in New York. Her daughter Cora whose story begins the book is waiting for her father coming home from work in the Twin Towers on 9/11. And Cora's daughter Lyca, who pulls the threads together. Powerful, fascinating, dark, complex characters, this was a treasure trove. #netgalley #confessions

If you love sweeping, multi-generational sagas haunted by secrets, you will eat Catherine Airey's debut novel for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Though this isn't my preferred genre, I found myself unable to put Confessions down despite some issues with it. I love stories about New York, am fascinated by 9/11 and its impact on the city, and of course I love stories about Ireland - so lots to love here for me.

The plot follows four generations of women from the same family. In the 1980s, Máire and Róisín are stifled by their rural Donegal upbringing; in 2001, Cora reels from the death of her father in 9/11, and in 2018, Lyca grapples with the inheriated tragedies of her family. There's an awful lot going on in this one; it is complex enough to earn its near-500 page length. Airey's writing is vivid and assured, and the main characters are well-drawn and fascinating in all of their messiness. The pacing is brilliant for much of the book, even across different narrative styles, including second person narrative, a notioursly tricky one for readers (me) to engage with. It's a very creative novel, bursting with originality in style and form even if the plot is not quite the most original.


For the first 75% of the book, I couldn't get enough: I found Cora, Roisin and Maire's stories engrossing and shattering. However in the last quarter, the book faltered for me, failing to bring its many narrative threads together in a way that felt satisfying. It all started to feel a bit mechanical, for me. There's an over-reliance on a specific trope that left me scratching my head, and elements of the political dicussions in the novel faltered for me, too. I am being a bit obtuse to avoid spoilers, obviously. I also thought that Lyca's voice didn't feel distinct enough from the others. After the vivid technicolour of Cora, Roisin and Maire, Lyca felt a bit flat, which was a shame at the end of the novel.

Criticisms aside, this is a seriously good debut novel with beautifully drawn characters and a willingness to play with form that I found exhilirating, rather than preteentious. I will be keeping an eye on Airey in the future, as she could well be the next big thing in literary fiction.

Catherine Airey’s Confessions packs a lot in; there are themes of love, loss, and intergenerational identity. From New York to rural Ireland, the story explores the lives of three women across decades.

The multigenerational aspect of the novel is particularly engrossing. I enjoyed the background into both Cora's mum and aunt and what led to the decisions that were made (without going into too many details to spoil for others). By the end though, I felt that Cora became irrevalant to the story, which was a shame as I would have preferred to keep reading about her since she was the starting point.

Overall, this book kept me engaged, and I lost track of time reading it so that says it all!

Confessions is a compelling debut novel from Catherine Airey. The story follows the lives of three generations of women, and is set between New York and an isolated Irish town. The novel delves into difficult subject matter, including mental health, sexual assault, abortion rights, political exploitation and terrorist activity.

In September 2001, sixteen year old Cora Brady is orphaned when her father is a victim of the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in New York. Her mother, Maire, had died seven years prior, having taken her own life after long battles with mental illness. Shortly after her father’s demise, she receives a letter from her estranged Aunt Roisin, who offers her a home with her at her house in County Donegal, Ireland.

The tone of the book changes according to each character’s narrative. Each character has a distinct personality each of which has been cleverly described by the author. The book is full of family secrets, which engages the reader form the outset and that interest is maintained as the story unfolds. The way the character’s lives intersect is cleverly woven and skillfully handled.

There are not many negatives to mention, however there a two minor issues that impacted my enjoyment of the book. Firstly, the book is written without a strict timeline. Although each chapter is headed with a date, allowing the reader to piece the story together, it did create some confusion in my mind about time-frames of events. Secondly, some of the characters have different pet names for their family members, requiring some concentration to maintain the plot and story-line.

Overall, I consider the book to be an outstanding effort from a new and upcoming author, and I look forward with much anticipation to future offerings from Catherine Airey.

Set in the US and Ireland, this is a wonderful debut about three generations of women and their lives, loves, and secrets. Airey’s writing is accomplished and she succeeds very well in getting the reader to care for the characters. I liked the structure of this novel, which forces you to keep paying attention, and the focus on women and their personal struggles. Not always an easy read, but a great read nonetheless.
Thank you Penguin UK and Netgalley for the ARC.

This is a sad, but powerful read. It spans several generations following Cora, Maire and Roisin from Ireland to New York and back again, with the final section being about Lyca, Cora's daughter who is trying to unravel her unspoken past.

The book opens with a bang as Cora's father is killed in the 9/11 tragedy, leaving her an orphan as her mother is already dead. Cora wanders aimlessly trying to assimilate the events when a letter from her Aunt Roisin calls her back to Ireland. There is so much in this book which is not spoken and the tightly woven plot slowly unwinds as you read on. Neither Roisin or Maire have had easy lives - and that is comparing them to Cora's heart-breaking situation at the start!

Same sex relationships, abuse (drugs and sexual), reproductive rights are all issues delicately handled and addressed through this novel. I found it a hard read, both emotionally and trying to decode what the characters were not saying to each other. The pace is slow, and the sense of tragedy is fairly relentless throughout as Lyca tries desperately to understand her ancestors.

A deep read, which is well-written, but needed some emotional grit for me to finish it!

This is a superb debut novel, spanning three generations of a family of Irish women. I became fully caught up in their lives, their relationships and the journey the book took me on. The storytelling was captivating, it’s an outstanding debut.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me access to this book
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I was sent an advance proof copy of Confessions by Catherine Airey to read and review by NetGalley. While I enjoyed reading about the lives of the characters in this novel I have to admit that I got quite confused at times and the book as a whole seemed rather disjointed in a way. There was one complete section that was told in a totally different style, the reason for which only became clear much later and I’m not convinced that it needed to be written in that particular way. I would have preferred to have read it as a physical book that I could flick back through easily to refresh who people were or where their story had left off, but I find trying to do that impossible on a kindle! I am probably in the minority in feeling that I would rather have the narrative told in a more ‘old skool’ linear way, but having said all that I still feel that Confessions is worthy of 4 stars and worth reading.

The publisher compares "Confessions" by Catherine Airey to "The Goldfinch" - a comparison that might be daunting for any debut novel, given the fear of falling short. While I understand the basis for this comparison, it's important to note that this is NOT Tartt's Pulitzer Prize-winning book. That said, "Confessions" holds its own quite well. Although the story and form are engaging and interesting, "Confessions" lacks Tartt's beautiful language and style.

Sisterly rivalry, relationships between female characters, mental health issues, sexual assault, 9/11, and a deep dive into family history all make for a compelling (though occasionally slightly slow) read. Many readers will likely enjoy the interesting foray into the world of gaming and game design, and I found myself wishing there was more exploration of this aspect.

For much of the book, I anticipated some grandiose "reveal" towards the end, and this expectation kept me turning the pages. Without spoilers, I'll simply say that the storylines come together neatly at the conclusion, leaving the reader with a sense of satisfaction. Despite being nearly 500 pages long, I found myself wanting more.

Bottom line: Quite an impressive debut.

With many thanks to the publisher.

When her father is killed in the 9/11 attacks, Cora is left parentless and adrift. Sixteen years old, a school truant and involved with an unsuitable man she takes up the offer to go live with her aunt in rural Ireland. Following the lives of three generations of a family across love, loss and climactic changes, this is a story of hope.
After reading the first section about a computer game I was ready to ditch this book but I'm glad I didn't. The rather pointless computer game sections apart, this is a great read. What I really liked was the fact that certain events in the life of the protagonists was dissected in detail but then other huge changes were not. The story itself filled in the details later and sparsely so there were no gaps in a narrative but it is not sequential. Addressing some huge issues around choice, the story is deep but also written in a heartfelt, but not saccharine, way.

Confessions is a very strong debut novel that I enjoyed reading. It opens in New York in 2001 when Cora realizes that her father has died and she decides to return to live with an Aunt in rural Ireland.

The narrators and timelines switch further back to when her mother was growing up and then much further forward which unsettled me a little bit. The relationships between the women and the society at the time they were alive is intense as they face various challenges.

A powerful account of three generations of women that clearly shows Airey as one to watch. Loved the opening and the sense of place in NY, especially. Beautifully written if, at times, just a touch too contrived for this reader but will definitely be keeping an eye on what she does next.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I was intrigued by the structure of this novel - at first I wasn't sure if jumping around different time periods with different characters (in different tenses!) and also interspersing sections of video game text would work, but actually I think it really does. Airey's prose is simple but effective, and the characters that emerge across the novel feel realistic. The novel deals with some big issues, including death, grief, mental health, abortion and sexual assault, but they blend in with the plot perfectly. The ending feels slightly contrived, but that's my only criticism. An accomplished debut.

This is a well-written family saga which was a good page-turner. Sorry uses different narrative techniques effectively to tell the different parts of this story. I felt invested in all of the characters and they were all distinct from each other.

I think what this novel ultimately lacked was in doing anything different. In a way this is an Irish novel we've read many times before.

Still, a robust debut and an author to look out for in the future.

This honest review is given with thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this book.

Well, this was an emotional read.

Confessions follows a family across multiple generations, through love and tragedy, as they come to understand their history and its impact.

I love generational stories and Confessions was such an intricately plotted and compelling one, switching between perspectives and time periods to create a portrait of a complicated family and their relationships. The characters were so layered and realistic, with complex narratives and distinct voices making this a thoroughly engrossing novel. I was instantly drawn in by each voice and loved seeing how their stories linked to previous characters, with Airey skilfully interweaving time-distant threads to build an expansive plot.

The content was heavy, tackling trauma and grief, and showing the impact this can have for generations to come. It was quiet but thought-provoking, commenting on family relationships, mental health, abuse, power dynamics and bodily autonomy, tackling these difficult topics with sensitivity. I absolutely loved this book, and can’t wait to add a physical copy to my shelves!

Thank you to @vikingbooksuk for the chance to read this early!

*I was gifted a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

Wow what a tour de force!

Confessions is a multi-generational tale that follows four women from an Irish-American family - Cora, Máire (her mother), Rósín (her aunt) and Lyca (her daughter). Each woman gets the chance to tell their own story, while also uncovering more about their family. The book starts in New York, right after 9/11, with Cora, who finds herself in a very difficult situation and feels lost in life, which is when she gets a letter from an aunt she has never heard about, Rósín. The book takes us back to the 1970s in Ireland and we get to know more about Máire and Rósín, from when they were kids to adulthood, and start to understand how things came to be in Cora's life and her relationship with her family. It's hard to explain this narrative without either sounding generic, so you don't miss out on the journey this book takes you on, or being too specific, ruining all of the twists and turns of this story. Just know, this is a story that will keep you guessing until the end.

Confessions is a nuanced and complex tale of a family, but it also discusses gender politics in Ireland and so many other issues throughout its narrative. The writing style was impeccable and so different. The sections' openings had the format of a videogame, which reminded me of Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow. This is such a sensational debut novel! I am really excited to read more of Catherine Airey's work.

It's honestly one of the best books I've read in a long long time and I already want to read it again! This is definitely one of the highlight releases of 2025.

Thank you so much to Viking for the proof and also NetGalley for the e-ARC!

Confessions takes us between New York and Burtonport, a small town in Ireland and spans decades from 1974 to 2023.

As we delve into each characters story, we piece together the pieces of the puzzle just as one of the characters, Lyca does. This is brilliantly clever writing. Secrets are revealed over time, and demonstrate the complexity of what is to be human.

Whilst many stories have referenced 9/11 this really gives us an insight into the aftermath from a family members perspective. But this is just one part of the puzzle. There are so many other strands which make it hard to describe the brilliance of the story with any justice.

This is a story to savour and immerse yourself in. It's heavy at times for sure, but beautiful for that heaviness. Life can be heavy, and this book doesn't sugarcoat the struggles we may all have at times.