Family Saga Reviews

Second Chance Family

Barbara Hannay

Reviewed by Helen

What another fabulous story from Barbara Hannay, written with love and heart-felt emotion, this beautiful story brings to life Callie Madden and her three children fourteen year old identical twins Jenna and Grace and six year old Joey, Callie has been a widow for five years now after her husband Mitch died suddenly of a heart attack, come along to meet them all.

Callie is a photographer and works hard keeping everything going, grief still shows up here and there but by the time she works and gets the kids to their different sports etc. there is never much time for herself and then out of the blue a letter arrives from a solicitor up in far north Queensland saying that he would like to meet her regarding her being a beneficiary in a will from a man she has never heard of, this takes Callie on a trip up the mountains to get answers.

What she discovers could cause a few problems in the family when she learns she has inherited half of a one hundred acre property, Hawkridge high up in the mountains the other beneficiary is a Scotsman Ben Gailbraith, who has been working the property and gotten to know the owner well and that they must not sell the property for one year.

After Ben shows Callie around the property she is left in sixes and sevens as to what will happen, her life is in Townsville with her children and family but this will be a legacy for her children and with Ben moving back to Scotland in one year they work on selling in twelve months and deciding to do renovations, but she will bring the children up for four weeks during the Christmas holidays and those four weeks will change how Callie thinks about her future.

Could there be a future for Callie, Ben and the children her on Hawkridge?

This is a beautiful story that I loved, the setting is just gorgeous and the descriptions from MS. Hannay had me sitting around that table in the yard watching the sunsets and sunrises with the family. Callie and Ben are just awesome characters as are the children I loved Joey and the twins, they made me smile and yes there were tears happy tears while I was reading this one, so many emotions, a true story of family and love.

I do highly recommend this one to any lover of a good story.

My thanks to Penguin Random House AU and the Author for my ARC to read and review

5 stars

June 24, 2025 by Penguin

The Bogan Book Club

John Larkin

Reviewed by Helen

I read this one as part of a travelling book club that I have joined and I laughed and laughed while reading this one, there are so many emotions running through the story as we get to know James and the people who work in a factory in the Western Suburbs of Sydney, come along and meet them.

James was married and loving his job as a teacher but when he makes the decision to move from a prestige girl’s college and go out to the western suburbs so as he can help more kids learn, changes his life forever, a terrible single mistake sees him lose the life he knew and now having just been released from prison he is penniless, that is until his brother gets him a job at the factory where he is manager.

It is not long before James who is known as The Professor is fitting in well with the people who work there, who all have nick names and they start a book club James is shocked that these bogan's and Westies are actually knowledgeable in ways he never thought and that they care about each other and soon they all feel like family as they read and discuss some well know classics.

This book has so much going for it truly I laughed so much at times but there were times when I felt sad for some of these characters that I got to know their hearts are filled with caring the langue that is used was easy for me to understand even though I being a Westie do not speak like that there are people here in Australia who do LOL, I do recommend this one to any reader who wants to feel the emotions of these characters, who likes to cheer the underdog on and who loves a good laugh.

My thanks to Karren for staring this fabulous book club.

4 stars

December 1, 2024 by Larrikin House

The View from the Balcony

Janette Paul

Reviewed by Helen

This is a beautiful story of friendship and how it can heal and support people, three woman of different ages come together at a rehabilitation hospital, on a balcony with a shared coffee machine, Hepburn House as career’s it is moving and heartwarming and I loved meeting them all.

Coral, has worked hard all of her life and is always there for anyone who needs her especially her family, she works in logistics and is good at organizing, but when she is just about to leave the country for a conference in New York, her elderly mother Val has a fall, will she get to New York with everything that is going on in her life?

Andie, is saved from the path of a speeding car, when se is pushed out of the way and has no memory of that night at all, but Andie searches out the man who saved her and forms a friendship with Ben, will this change her life for the better?

Mara, works for a big law firm and is sent to pick up some things from one of the partner’s homes but when finds the elderly Estelle at the bottom of the stairs and then finds herself assigned as her personal assistant to work with her at the hospital, this is the last thing she wants is to be working with a cranky lady but she is determined to do so.

Coral, Andie and Mara soon find that their lives are changing in so many ways and meeting on the balcony, to have coffee, getting to know each other, feeling the strength from friendship and starting to feel like their shoulders are lifting, is a good thing and a most unexpected thing and the people they are there caring for they too are going through change after the accidents that bought them to Hepburn House, a beautiful moving story, one that I highly recommend, I loved these three woman, and seeing their lives change was heartwarming. Don’t miss this one.

5 stars

March 25, 2025 by Macmillan Australia

To Save My Daughters

Louise Guy

Reviewed by Helen

What would you do to save your daughters, if you are June Marlow you would do anything even murder your husband and get sentenced to life in prison, but she takes with her some secrets that she hopes will never be revealed her two daughters Nicole and Lu go to live with her mother Elena.

Twenty eight years later both her daughters are now adults and the eldest who now is known as Cole has not come to see her mother in all of those years blaming her for killing her beloved father, Cole is now a trauma councellor and she has blocked out what happened all those years ago as for Lu for is an artist and dog walker she has done her best to convince Cole to visit her mother sadly with no success she visits her mother often and is excited about the fact that she coming up for parole.

June is very nervous about being released but also looking forward to being with her family again, will Cole finally talk to her? The big issue with Cole is that she saw what happened that night, will she remember, will Cole open up and will June’s secrets stay safe?

This story is heart-breaking, heart-wrenching but told so very well, MS Guy has taken on a topic, domestic violence that plays a big part, sadly in our world today and done it justice in a caring and empathetic way. There are so many wonderful characters in this story, characters who show their strength as we turn the pages and get to know them, I would highly recommend this one.

My thanks to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for my digital copy to read and review.

5 stars

February 21, 2025 by Boldwood Books

The Heirloom

Julie Brooks

Reviewed by Helen

Mia Curtis is an artist at heart but a barista by day, she has been through a lot and has a lot that she cannot explain about herself, when she receives a package from England she is very wary of opening it up, her best friend finally gets her to read the letter and Mia has been left an inheritance from her late grandmother, Henrietta a person she never knew existed, she has a lot of questions to ask her mother, answers that then ensure that Mia makes the trip to England, to uncover the truths, what will she discover? Secrets from the past about generations of woman from her family.

1821 Sussex Philadelphia Boadle is married to Tailor, Jasper Boadle they have a young daughter and she works as a milliner alongside her husband, when she comes downstairs one morning and finds her husband dead, Philadelphia is the daughter of a cunning woman someone who helps people with minor ills and now Philadelphia has been accused of murdering her husband and of being a witch, the inquest is hard and there are lots of accusers, how will this turnout can she convince the jury she is innocent?

This is a wonderful story as Mia researches and uncovers so much about her past relatives the women many of whom had been accused of being witches and maybe she understands a little bit more about herself. I did very much enjoy this one I enjoyed getting to know the woman from the past and seeing Mia and her mother open up to each other.

This is one that I would highly recommend to any reader who loves a good dual time line story with wonderful characters and questions to uncover from the past.

My thanks to Headline and Netgalley for my copy to read and review.

4 stars

January 16, 2025 by Headline

The Writing Class

Esther Campion

Reviewed by Helen

This is a heart-warming story filled with so many emotions as a group of people join together for a writing class at the local library, this group all come from different backgrounds and some have some major problems but together maybe they can find what they need.

Vivian Molloy has been happily married for over thirty years to Dave, when they retire early, Vivian, doing this for the man she loves because covid has changed his job so much she does love teaching at the high school but when after they attend a choir concert on the Gold Coast he abandons her. Life changes dramatically for her, when she is offered the chance to teach a writing class to adults at the local library although hesitant she takes it on.

Marilyn loves reading and often pops into the library to borrow books her home life is not always good, partner, mother and grandmother reading takes her away from life for a while, when the librarian Cathy invites her to write reviews and then attend the writing class she is very hesitant but with a push from a friend she takes on the class.

Sienna a young single mother is doing her best to create a new life for her and her nine month old daughter but escaping her past is not easy for her, her spirit has been broken will she find it again joining in with this class?

Oscar a divorced man father of one, is in Tasmania house sitting for his sister Oscar lives in Melbourne but has no job now and he wants to be able to better his writing skills to apply for jobs will he succeed?

There are other students in the class who also add to this beautiful story as they all get to know each other they encourage and support each other in so many ways seeing them all build confidence and make decisions and what’s more become friends was so uplifting. I loved getting to know the characters, I was turning the pages and cheering them on. I do highly recommend this one, MS Campion has taken some issues and handled them so well and yes some of it was a bit tough but written so well, many thanks for a story that will stay with me for a long time to come.

My thanks to Hachette AU and Netgalley for my copy to read and review.

5 stars

November 27, 2024 by Hachette Australia

Price to Pay

Phillipe Duval #2

J. Mary Masters

Reviewed by Helen

Book two in this series and it finishes this series really well, this is a well written book that takes in a lot of life within this family, Phillipe Duval has been bequeathed a fortune that means big changes in his life, giving up his medical position and spending a lot of time in America but what will happen with his personal life?

When he turned his back on the beautiful Karen Clark all those years ago and married his first love Julia the mother of his daughter, Pippa he never forgot her and when she arrives back in his life and this time ensures that he will marry her life changes again for him with the imminent end to his marriage to Julia this of course causes pain to Julia and Pippa and he feels it deeply.

Arriving in America Phillipe throws everything into running the foundation he has set up in his late mother’s name, he hires a beautiful young woman Arabella to run it and also includes his nephew Walter in working for the foundation, he is again pulled toward the lure of a beautiful woman even though he is about to be married again, but Arabella needs his help on a personal level but are they just friends or more?

This is a story that digs deep into Phillipe Duval’s life, he is a man of privilege these days a long way from his beginnings but he is also very caring about the people around him and does what he can to help, he loves his daughter and wants what is best for her always. Can a man really love three woman at once and what is to happen with the family business in the future will there be secrets that tear them all apart?

I thoroughly enjoyed this one and I do highly recommend it to any reader who loves a family saga filled with emotion and lots of turmoil, from Australia to America the settings are wonderful as are the characters who also add so much to this story, this story is set in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s mostly and times were very different back then, I would recommend that you read First Born Son first to get a feel for this family.

My thanks to the author for my digital copy to read and review.

4 stars

November 15, 2024 by PMA Books