What a debut novel for Claire Lynch! The synopsis for this book instantly intrigued me when I read it and was very excited to get the chance to read the ARC for it. It did not disappoint!

The writing style was interesting. It read very much like a Fredrick Backman and I have learned to really love that style! I was invested in the story of how everything was going to play out in the end for Maggie and her mom, Dawn. And Heron, but not as much for him 😅

You could not help but feel all of the feelings for what Dawn went through after finally fully embracing herself and her love. Having to fight for your family is such a hard thing, especially when the whole world is against you. Going through that at that point in time would have been horrendous.

Maggie finding out the truth was described perfectly. The mix of feelings on coming to terms with what you’ve believed your entire life versus what actually happened… I can’t imagine. Then finally getting some closure at the end was great. I just wanted more.

It did end kind of abruptly. I wanted more of how the family reunited but I also think it was almost perfect in where it ended. It’s a conundrum 😂 I will definitely be picking up more from Claire as she releases!

Very well-structured glimpse into one family torn apart by the 1980’s (and even 1990’s) legal system’s antiquated, patriarchal, shameful and shaming view on lesbian mothers and the lasting damage done to said family under the guise of protecting children. What I loved most about this book was the tight, pared down delivery. The reader was not taken into the deep backstories of the central characters: how the parents met, what their childhood was like, etc. The novel was kept to such concise parameters that the subject matter was allowed the spotlight. Lynch says in her author’s notes that while the characters are fictional, the degrading words from the judge and lawyers in the novel are not. Mind blown. And that this was the generally agreed upon manner in which society operated IN THE EIGHTIES. If you want an easy to read (summer vacay) novel that packs a deeper punch, this is for you

Family secrets never stay hidden forever. Maggie was raised by her father, Heron, and the story she was told about her mother was riddled with omissions and lies. Maggie discovers the truth one day as she helps Heron clear his home of clutter. Dawn is young mother who has had no opportunity to learn about herself. She loves her daughter. She is naive about the world.

This story is told in a dual timeline format, it alternates between 1982-83 and 2022-2023. I appreciate the subject matter and the spotlight this story provides. I think it is an important reminder of what people are willing to do in the name of fear and ignorance. The story is told in a very straightforward, almost dry, style which made it less emotionally affective. Overall, I appreciated the story and the hopeful ending, but there was something lacking. A Family Matter is less than 250 pages and there was definitely room for more. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc.

A Family Matter is the story of a young wife and mother who meets and falls in love with another woman in 1980’s Britain. The two begin a clandestine affair that has life-changing implications for not only the lovers, but for her husband and child. The story is told in a dual timeline, beginning in 1982 and then leaping forward in time forty years to 2022. As the reader learns what has become of the characters, the narrative alternates between the two time periods.

I had a difficult time connecting with this emotionally, which was frankly disappointing. I read the ARC because the premise had so much potential to touch upon a part of LGBTQ history. But most of the characters came across as shallow, and I found myself feeling detached from the story. I’m fully willing to concede the point that this could be at least partially a me problem, as I’m not a very emotional person to begin with, but the entire book just felt far more dispassionate than I expected, given the plot line.

While same sex relationships between men were criminalized in much of the UK from 1533 to the late 1960s (1967 in England), same sex relationships between women were never subject to such legal restrictions. There was still a significant amount of discrimination, however, which was not helped by the passage of Section 28 in the late 80s. Same sex relationships were viewed as deviant, and lesbians were widely considered unfit mothers, which resulted in many women losing parental rights if they chose to live freely with another woman.

Which brings us to A Family Matter.

The story opens in present time with Heron, who the reader quickly discovers is dying. Heron seems a bit odd and a bit dull but mostly just ordinary. Through Heron the audience are introduced to his daughter Maggie, and her husband Conor, and very quickly the story moves back in time to 1982. Dawn becomes the focus of the story, and, through her, her eventual lover Hazel, and the reader quickly realizes that Dawn is wife to Heron and mother to Maggie.

And the thing is, these are all rather unremarkable people. They’re no better nor worse than the vast majority of the world population. Each of them is guilty of some fairly despicable behavior at one point or another, and it’s impossible to feel a great deal of sympathy with any of them. Young Maggie, of course, is probably the closest thing to a victim in the story, and there are a handful of scenes where her emotional state stirs a degree of empathy. Heron’s prideful spite and the court’s callousness and voyeuristic insistence on hearing the details of the affair are contemptuous and enraging, and this is the one part of the story it’s easy to be invested in. Not because one cares about the characters – because frankly, for the most part one feels little connection to them – but because historically speaking the narrative is realistic, and there probably aren’t many among the LGBTQ at this point who aren’t sick to death of patriarchy and homophobia.

And Adult Maggie’s eventual actions, while understandable, leave one somewhat befuddled in that her attitudes towards Heron and Dawn seem somewhat opposed to what would be expected.

I was left wondering whether the story was intended to be historical fiction or a story revolving around complex family dynamics, but it’s possible that the author intended for it to be both. It had the potential to deliver the powerfully compelling story I was looking forward to when I picked it up, but unfortunately, for me it missed the mark either way. It’s a good book, but not a great one. If you’re looking for something to break your heart and leave you lost in thought, you’re unlikely to find it here.

3.8⭐️

Disclosure: I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and am leaving a voluntary review.

A beautifully written exploration of love and family and imperfect people. No one in this novel is perfect, but they feel real and their emotions are raw and relatable.

This book touches on a type of tragedy I had no idea ever happened. The wrongness of keeping lesbian mothers from their children struck me right in the heart. I am glad for how far we've come as a society, but I mourned for women like Dawn who just wanted to live their authentic lives along with the children they loved.

I'm so glad I got to read this - thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Light spoilers. I really enjoyed this family drama, I would have blazed through it in one sitting if I had known how much I wanted to finish this book. It's different for me. I normally like a wrapped up book with everyone having their ending without any ambiguous endings. But this time, the material was so heavy, I think the book did a great job of reflecting reality. Of course, I want more of Heron, Maggie, and Dawn, even Hazel. I wanted Maggie to confront Heron on why he kept her mother away from her and to see her reaction to his excuses. I want Dawn to build a great relationship with Maggie. I want Heron to be sorry that his actions created real problems for the person he said he cared about most. Of course, I think there is a little bit of each of these ideas in each character but I wanted to see it play out. But that's not real life. Not everything is going to be discussed and wrapped up neatly, people move on and live their lives no matter what. The ambiguity of the ending and of the characters feelings are much more realistic. I am so curious to see what other people say about these characters. And of course, it is slightly bewildering that our world was ever so prejudiced like that.

This novel is short but it carries a power message of family, justice and hope. Told across dual timelines, this story is very slow and character driven, however I found myself emotionally invested in the characters very quickly.

Dawn is a young mom living with her husband when she meets Hazel. The two quickly become close, and maybe slightly closer than just friends. This connection is beyond normal, and Dawn is suddenly caught between the before and after of her life. Meanwhile in 2022 Maggie’s father has gotten some serious medical news. He doesn’t know how he will ever be able to tell his daughter Maggie.

This was such a delight of a book. I am shocked it is a debut! I really enjoyed both timelines, and could feel the emotion and tensions the characters were feeling. My heart broke for each of them in their own way, but of course I didn’t love the way one of them handled their heartbreak. This one was very character driven and I loved it. I mean seriously…who am I? Do you even recognize this girl right here?

Thank you to @scribnerbooks for my gifted copy of this book!

I liked the book, but I didn’t like the ending. Maybe if the story was longer and we learned more at the end and what happens next?

I really wanted to love this one, but I struggled with the pacing. The dual timelines were interesting in concept, but the story just never fully pulled me in. The writing is thoughtful and deliberate, but at times it felt too quiet, and I found myself losing focus. That said, I think readers who enjoy slow, reflective literary fiction might get more out of it than I did. It just wasn’t quite the right fit for me.

This is an emotional story of family, love, and grief. It's based not off a specific event, but the period of UK history (recent - 1980s) when lesbians would often lose any and all access to their children, the court claiming cutting these women out of the children's lives would protect from immorality and save them from the shame of having a gay parent and the public ridicule it might bring.

Heron has raised Maggie by himself since she was 4 years old, and the book opens with him, now in his sixties, receiving a cancer diagnosis. Chapters rotate through 4 POVs, and a big chunk of them follow Maggie, now 43 years and dealing with many things this reader found relatable - aging parents (and in her case, having to face a parent's mortality head on), marriage along with all of its features and bugs, raising children (including a patronizing teenager), and never feeling like there is enough time.

"She is prone to thoughts like this lately, about time passing too quickly, or running out altogether. About everything slipping out of her grasp. When she told Conor she felt this way, he said it was just her age, textbook midlife crisis. Maggie had advised him, on the grounds of his own health and safety, not to offer that as an explanation again."

Another line I liked:

"There ought to be more to life than washing machines and emails and remembering to put the recycling out on the right day. But life is also this. It is all of this."

Other chapters follow Dawn, Maggie's mother, in 1982. Dawn is married and has a young daughter when she meets Hazel.

"Dawn couldn't understand it, the way Hazel made her nervous. The feeling that her mouth was full of all the things she would say if she wasn't too embarrassed to put herself into words."

An affair is scandalous enough, but two women falling in love was even more taboo at the time. In an effort to still be able to see her daughter, Dawn suffers through indignity after indignity, like the court officials grilling her on the specifics of her sex life.

There is a lot of beautiful writing in this book, but my one complaint is that it seemed uneven in its telling. The beginning had a heavy focus on Heron and his illness, and then by the end this trail of narrative seems to kind of peter out. Maggie and Dawn have chapters throughout, but last parts of the book belong much more to the two of them. And then those just sort of end as well, without much of a climax or any sort of denouement. There were also several Britishisms that threw me a bit, but obviously that is not a fault, just something to be aware of.

I wish the parts of the story, Heron's mortaltiy/navigating family life/what makes it all meaningful, etc etc, and Dawn's love story along with its tragic and infuriating outcome, were brought together more cohesively. As it is, it seems kind of like two separate stories, requiring one to be dropped partway though in order to tell the other. But I really did enjoy the writing and the sentiments - Heron knowing the hardest thing about his cancer is watching his daughter watch him dying, Maggie understanding that it is important and necessary for her children to grow away from her in some respects, and Dawn's reckoning:

"Later-I mean years later-I realized the worst thing had already happened to me. When I worked that out, I was invincible."

A beautiful heartache of a story that ultimately offers hope.

My thanks for for the eARC in exchange for my unbiased review. My Goodreads review is live now, and I will share it on my blog and Bookstagram within a week or so of the release date.

An engaging, powerful, and moving read about a family and the secret that will change everything. The author does a wonderful job of creating sympathetic characters and building tension and mystery with the two timelines. I loved the conclusion.

Thank you very much to Scribner and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

Story told in duel time lines. Heron, a divorced man lives alone with his daughter Margaret and family nearby.
When Margaret learns about her father's medical condition, her husband tells her perhaps now is the time to
find out more about her mother Dawn who vanished from her life. Details about Herons and Dawn's life are revealed
and the cause of the breakup. Showcases how 19800s society impacted custody laws. Story of family, love, compassion and regret.
#AFamilyMatter #Scribner #NetGalley

I almost have no words for how powerful this book is. This historical fiction novel is so well written with such vividly drawn characters that I experienced the gambit of emotions throughout the short 240 page book. Based on research of actual court cases, this debut novel explores the injustices in family law as it relates to the Lesbian community and the heartbreaking experiences of those impacted. Highly recommended

Thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for an advanced reader copy.

Such an interesting story and perspective - kind of wish it developed more in the end with her relationship with her mother I was definitely wanting more.

So sad. This book is inspired by UK LGBTQIA parents who lose their access to children when their identity is made public. Worse if they are teachers. Something that took its time to change hurting many people. People's ignorance shows true colors.
It's a short read but very powerful, also themes like motherhood, single parent, sapphic love, the action of lawyers and courthouses, Trauma, The book has a lot of great quotes.

Not often do I read a book with such a heart-wrenching emotional impact. I was torn between being happy it was a shorter book to get off the emotional rollercoaster and being disappointed because I didn't want this story to ever end.
I loved this book. It is a very well-written story about forbidden love and how society dictates what constitutes the image of a family in everyone's head. The story is written in a past and present timeline. Sometimes, this confuses me, but it works with this story. Miss Claire writes with such powerful words that you feel them to the core of your being.
Thank you to Scribner and Claire Lynch for the gifted advanced reader copy provided by NetGalley. All opinions are my own and given voluntarily.

4 stars. This was quite the emotional family drama that centers on family, relationships, divorce and life-changing revelations. An excellent character-driven novel of the heartbreaking pain of a mother going through divorce whom has a differing life than what’s considered “traditional,” the effects of divorce on a child, and the terrible lie the father told and kept from their daughter for four decades. He must now reveal his secret to her due to his terminal illness. With this being a shorter book I appreciated the thoroughness, larger insight given as is told in two timelines-1982 and 2022, and various POV’s. Slower-moving but packs a powerful punch. Pub. 6/3/25

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you, #Partner @scribnerbooks @simonandschuster and @netgalley, for my #gifted (free) copy. Pub date 6/3/25.

Well, I so wanted to love this book, but it just fell flat for me. This book was very character driven, and the writing style was just to dry for me. This was a heartbreaking novel that dealt with some important topics, and I wish I had enjoyed the writing style more. This book is already getting really good reviews, so I still recommend reading it because you might love it.

1982: Dawn is keeping a secret from her husband, and she is trying to find the best time to tell him that she is in love with a woman.

2022: Heron just found out that he is dying, but he doesn't want to tell anybody, including his daughter Maggie. Heron also has other things he is keeping from Maggie.

The two stories collide and secrets are revealed, and the ending will be one you won't forget.

A Family Matter by Claire Lynch is an emotional debut novel set in England, written in dual timelines. In 1982, Dawn is a young mother in her twenties who has an affair with Hazel. This complicates things for her because she is married to Heron and they have a daughter named Maggie. When they divorce, Heron is awarded full custody because of Dawn’s romantic relationship with another woman. In 2022, Maggie slowly learns that her father is gravely ill. She also learns more about her family history. She has never been told what happened to her mother.

The novel is a quick read at 240 pages. The pace is slow initially, but I didn’t mind that. The characters are not likable, except for Maggie. I felt sympathy for them, as they all seemed miserable. I’m not sure the novel went deep enough for me to form any lasting type of engagement with them in my mind. Maggie and her father are very close; this is communicated well throughout the book. Maggie eventually finds out the whole history about her mother. It’s a sad book for many reasons. When I reached the last page, I was not expecting it to end so abruptly. We never found out what happened with the father, even though the book focused almost solely on his health issue when speaking of him. This is odd considering how close he and Maggie are. The book highlights important societal concerns and shows the history of societal attitudes regarding same-sex relationships. Unfortunately, these ideas were not fleshed out adequately because the book is shorter. There were times I found myself highlighting passages to save for later. The writing is pretty, concise, and glaringly honest. The author has wonderful talent, and I look forward to seeing what she writes next.

Thank you to the publisher for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.