A heartbreak and yet. hopeful story of love and loss. It's complicated and messy which is my favorite kind of story.

"A Family Matter" is a profoundly impactful novel that bravely delves into an injustice rarely explored in contemporary fiction: the historical denial of custody to lesbian mothers. This unique and crucial premise immediately sets the book apart, offering readers a vital glimpse into a significant, often overlooked, aspect of social history. It encourages the reader to learn more about this topic. Beyond its specific focus, the book masterfully opens up broader questions that challenge the reader to reflect. It compels us to explore the profound lengths we are willing to go for love, and perhaps even more compellingly, how we navigate the complex terrain of balancing our deeply personal feelings with what might be the best decision for the majority of people involved. This exploration of personal sacrifice versus collective good adds significant intellectual and emotional weight to the story, as the reader battles with exploring how we would handle the situation.

Dawn and Herron's marriage falls apart, and what's left is what happens to their daughter Maggie.

But when the fallout is to blame on the affair, what becomes of Maggie is used as a weapon.

An interesting look at family and the reality many mothers faced historically in a time when LGBT relationships were not affirmed.

I enjoyed the actual writing of this, I do think it felt too brief to make any strong connections to the characters for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner.

Young mother Dawn is getting used to marriage to Heron and motherhood in the early 80s when she meets Hazel and falls in love with her. Her love affair with a woman ends up leading to harmful complications.  In 2022 Heron has just received a grim diagnosis and has to come to terms with all of the decisions he made over his lifetime and especially with respect to his daughter Maggie.

This was such a quietly beautiful story and I am so glad I read it.  It was my first book for July (yes I am behind with my reviews thank you very much) and it was the perfect start to real summer reading because it was just so good.  It's at times a painful read but I loved it.  I enjoyed the two timelines and the perspectives because it added such depth to the story.  This is a definite recommendation for my friends.

4.25 stars

Thank you to Scribner and Netgalley for the ARC to review

I loved this, read the whole thing with my heart in my throat. I had no idea what it was about. An appropriate book to finish on the first day of Pride month.

Thanks to the publisher for the invite and free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

Thank you Scribner for the gifted copies
Claire Lynch’s debut, A Family Matter, may be only 240 pages, but its lyrical prose and fully realized characters linger long after the last line. Told through deft shifts in time and perspective, the story captures the messy tenderness of an ’80s custody battle, weaving laugh‑out‑loud moments—Heron’s audacious opening scene is a gem—into passages so intimate they brought me to tears. The deliberate, reflective pacing gives Lynch room to explore identity, family secrets, and the quiet ways the past shapes us, all with striking emotional clarity. A few threads remain tantalizingly open, yet the hope threaded through the heartbreak leaves a deeply satisfying afterglow. I closed the book wishing for just a handful more pages, which is all that keeps this thoughtful, resonant novel from a full five stars. ★★★★—pick it up if you crave compact, character‑driven fiction that delivers an outsized emotional punch.

A Family Matter by Claire Lynch covers an Important (and disgusting) time in UK history- which likely mirrors the US history. A very predictable story about family dynamics when a family is broken up when the children are at a young age (trying not to reveal too much) and its aftermath. I felt it was an average read that from time to time would tug at your heartstrings. Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner Books for the opportunity to read this newly published book.

This novel was so short, it felt like a novella. Normally I’m all about short novels, quick and to the point, but this one left me wanting more! I felt like it was just getting ramped up and then it ends. There’s so much more that could have been covered.

It just touches on Dawn’s affair, Maggie’s life now, her relationship with her dad. We get POV’s from quite a few of the characters in such a short book. The most heartbreaking scene was in court, and I felt like that was where the author was really trying to focus, and it definitely has an impact.

Overall I thought this was a great read, very quick, and leaves you wanting more.

Thank you @netgalley and @Scribnerbooks for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

This is a heartbreaking story about a lesbian mother in the 1980’s. Unfortunately, due to her lifestyle, she lost custody and all contact with her four year old daughter. Thank goodness people’s attitudes and acceptance of same sex relationships have come a long way.
I was a young mother myself in the 1980’s and I cannot imagine the heartbreak this mother experienced. I especially enjoyed the dual time lines that included 2022. The later time period focused on the child, now an adult. All the secrets and deceptions are finally revealed to her. The separation from her mother at such an early age was a terrible lifelong trauma. This was a sad story but one that needed to be told.

Oof, this book is so heartbreaking and so good. It follows a family torn apart by secrets: in 1982, young housewife Dawn has an affair with her neighbor Hazel, and the fallout leaves her estranged from her husband Heron and three-year-old daughter Maggie. In 2022, Heron has just been diagnosed with cancer, and he and Maggie navigate his illness without Maggie knowing what really happened between her parents.

I couldn’t stop reading this book. It’s amazing how much story and emotion and personality Lynch imbued this 240-page book with. Dawn’s story in 1982 is so tragic but also so hopeful and lovely: she yearns for more than the all-American marriage and life she’s settled for, and she finds a real connection, but she’s unprepared for the damage that connection will do to her divorce and custody battle. It was hard to read at times when people around her spouted horribly homophobic and ignorant comments, but it’s a reminder of how far we’ve come and also have yet to go. I found myself so angry on Dawn and her daughter’s behalf, and even felt some sympathy for her husband, who was swept up in legalese and the fear of losing his daughter.

The 2022 storyline was no less engaging and emotional. Lynch beautifully depicts the relationship between Maggie and Heron, one where they don’t always unpack things but they are always there for each other in every way. Maggie’s reaction to learning what really happened between her parents felt so true and visceral, and I appreciated her arc.

I saw some reviews that found the ending rushed, but I was happy with it. I thought we got satisfying answers and interactions, but I appreciated that it wasn’t totally tied up with a pretty now, because in that situation it would be unlikely to be. This book really got to me and I’ll remember it for a while.

Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner from an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review!

I loved this novel! It is such a sad story, beautifully written. It made me angry, but also left me with hope of healing. Highly recommend.

Thank you to Scribner and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this eARC in return for my honest feedback!

I have seen this book talked about a lot in advance of it's release and I was intrigued by the set up of it. I really enjoyed the way it went back and forth between characters and time periods and found that Lynch did this masterfully. The way the novel starts with Heron both made me laugh while also enticing me to read on. Lynch is a beautiful writer and many of her sentences brought me to tears as they summed up so many of the intangible joys and pains of modern life. I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking to learn a bit about the past while also reflecting on their own lives.

The reader is kept at enough of a distance throughout the novel that the heartbreak of the story doesn't become maudlin, but the injustice and frustration of the situation ring clearly, and the sense of all of the characters acknowledging that there are no winners in the face of this sort of prejudice and injustice. The dual timelines were handled well, and I cared about all of the characters in turn. Might have enjoyed a bit more connection to the characters, but being held at a bit of a distance had a specific effect that I think worked well.

Thank you so much to Scribner for the complimentary copy of this book!

This book is not a very long but man it packs a punch. And it's hard to believe that this is the author's debut. While this is a fictional book, it is based off of real life cases that happened in the UK and I had never heard of this happening to families which it would make sense given the time frame. Yes I am being vague to not give away too much of the plot.

I thought having the different timelines was smart to do. There are three point of views - Dawn, Herron (Dawn's husband) and Maggie (their daughter). Over the course of the book each character is grappling with something. I thought the author had done a good job with able to developing the story and the characters. Maggie is trying to reconcile actions that happened 40 years prior while also grappling with news concerning her father.

I had struggle in the beginning (not the author's fault but my own) but once I stuck with it and continued on, then I started cruising through.

Overall I did enjoy the book once I actually could focus and by the end I was invested in the lives of the characters.

3.75

Wow. Honestly I had no idea what I picked up here. I knew nothing going in just that I have seen such wonderful reviews for this book. I really loved how the author got straight to the point. It could have been 100 pages and hours of reading longer but I really loved that it was succinct.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A moving and honest story about family
I really enjoyed A Family Matter by Claire Lynch. It’s a thoughtful, emotional read that dives deep into the complicated relationships within a family. The writing is clear and heartfelt, and the characters felt very real—flawed, relatable, and at times frustrating, just like real people.
The story deals with themes like family secrets, identity, and how the past shapes us, and Lynch handles it all with a lot of care. It’s not a fast-paced book, but I appreciated the slower, more reflective tone. Some parts felt a little unresolved or underexplored, which is why it’s not a full 5 stars for me—but overall, I found it really engaging and meaningful.
Definitely worth picking up if you like character-driven stories that stay with you after you finish.
Thank you to Scribner and NetGalley for providing me an Advanced Reader’s Copy in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

A Family Matter has 2 timelines: 1982, centered on a family comprised of Dawn, her husband and their daughter, Maggie and also 2022, centered on Heron, who receives a medical diagnosis, and his daughter and her children. Shortly the reader can see how the timelines merge and all that happened to get there. I think this story is best read without knowing a lot. It is not a long book, but does pull quite the emotional punch. I really enjoyed this story and was horrified about how things were different just a short time ago. The writing is fairly unemotional and plain, but very effective and well done. Great debut. Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced digital copy. 4.25 stars.

I enjoyed this book very much, and decided to rate it four stars! This book thoroughly examines one woman's affair and all the consequences surrounding this decision. This is a shorter book and a debut. However, I found it very full and rich. I feel that I got to know the characters very well. Also, the story itself was very emotional and heartbreaking, but very uplifting as well. I look forward to more from this author.

Emotional, layered, and deeply honest. Lynch tackles family dysfunction and personal identity with clarity and compassion. Some pacing dragged in the middle, but the character work kept me invested. A moving look at how families fracture—and rebuild.

Four Stars!

Here is my scoring system in a nutshell. Five star books are not only engaging from beginning to end, but they are also beautifully written. Four star books are well worth your time - engaging and well-written. Three star books aren’t bad- engaging but perhaps slow or clunky in parts. Two stars, I finished but it was difficult - something about the pacing, the story or the writing was not compelling. One star - just don’t!

5 STARS= Definitely YES!
4 STARS = YES.
3 STARS = Maybe.
2 STARS= NO.
1 STAR = DNF; Definitely NO!