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Seven Days of Us
It’s Christmas, and for the first time in years the entire Birch family will be under one roof. Even Emma and Andrew’s elder daughter—who is usually off saving the world—will be joining them at Weyfield Hall, their aging country estate. But Olivia, a doctor, is only coming home because she has to. Having just returned from treating an epidemic abroad, she’s been told she must stay in quarantine for a week…and so too should her family.
For the next seven days, the Birches are locked down, cut off from the rest of humanity—and even decent Wi-Fi—and forced into each other’s orbits. Younger, unabashedly frivolous daughter Phoebe is fixated on her upcoming wedding, while Olivia deals with the culture shock of being immersed in first-world problems.
As Andrew sequesters himself in his study writing scathing restaurant reviews and remembering his glory days as a war correspondent, Emma hides a secret that will turn the whole family upside down.
In close proximity, not much can stay hidden for long, and as revelations and long-held tensions come to light, nothing is more shocking than the unexpected guest who’s about to arrive…
For the next seven days, the Birches are locked down, cut off from the rest of humanity—and even decent Wi-Fi—and forced into each other’s orbits. Younger, unabashedly frivolous daughter Phoebe is fixated on her upcoming wedding, while Olivia deals with the culture shock of being immersed in first-world problems.
As Andrew sequesters himself in his study writing scathing restaurant reviews and remembering his glory days as a war correspondent, Emma hides a secret that will turn the whole family upside down.
In close proximity, not much can stay hidden for long, and as revelations and long-held tensions come to light, nothing is more shocking than the unexpected guest who’s about to arrive…
358 pages, Hardcover
First published October 17, 2017
1276 people are currently reading
20982 people want to read
About the author
Francesca Hornak
5 books326 followersFrancesca Hornak is a British author, journalist and former columnist for the Sunday Times. Her debut novel Seven Days Of Us was published by Berkley, an imprint of Penguin Random House, in October 2017. Little Island Productions and Entertainment One have pre-empted TV rights to the book.
Francesca's work has appeared in newspapers and magazines including The Sunday Times, The Economist, The Financial Times, The Guardian, Metro, Elle, Grazia, Stylist, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan and Red. She is the author of two nonfiction books, History of the World in 100 Modern Objects: Middle Class Stuff (and Nonsense) and Worry with Mother: 101 Neuroses for the Modern Mama.
Francesca's work has appeared in newspapers and magazines including The Sunday Times, The Economist, The Financial Times, The Guardian, Metro, Elle, Grazia, Stylist, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan and Red. She is the author of two nonfiction books, History of the World in 100 Modern Objects: Middle Class Stuff (and Nonsense) and Worry with Mother: 101 Neuroses for the Modern Mama.
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January 2, 2025
…every Christmas is a quarantine of sortsIt is said that houseguests, like fish, begin to stink after three days. How about after a week? Better stock up on booze and sundry mood-altering substances, maybe some air-freshener. But does it necessarily have to be thus?
After working in the field for the maximum allowable time, NGO (think MSF or the like) doctor Olivia Birch returns home from a stint in Liberia, where she had been treating victims of a particularly deadly virus (called Haag here, but the Haag that turns up on google does not seem particularly Ebola-level, so this might be a made up malady). She and her family are required to remain in a seven-day quarantine, lest the killer Haag run wild in the British Isles. Nice thing for the clan, they have a lovely manse in an out-of-the-way part of England in which to hang out while celebrating the Christmas holidays.
Francesca Hornak - from Redonline
The Birch family seems rooted in secrecy, (or English reserve, take your pick) and it is the tension of their secrets that keeps things moving along. Will this one or that one find out this or that secret? And what may happen when/if they do? It is also fun when a catalyst is added to the mix and stirs things up.
Emma, the matriarch, has been diagnosed with cancer, but is keeping this from the family until after the quarantine, not wanting to upset everyone, and fearful that Olivia, whose visits home are rare, might bail. She guards other unspokens as well. Richard Birch is a food critic for a London paper. He used to be a foreign correspondent. His adventures afield included a quick fling with a woman in Beirut. Over two decades later the product of that fling, a handsome gay Californian, has begun e-mailing Richard, eager to meet his biological father. Jesse has tired of waiting for a response from bio-pop, and is now in a town hotel hoping to work up the guts to go visit. Phoebe, the younger of the Birch sisters has just gotten engaged to George, after a very long relationship. But, despite their longevity, she keeps finding things about him that make him seem less The One than The Once. And as for Olivia, she had broken one of the central rules of medical aid work in such a dangerous environment, getting jiggy with an Irish pediatrician. Sean just made the papers when it was discovered he was infected with the dreaded virus. Uh oh. Olivia is not about to let on about this, so frets and sweats her frequent temperature-takings, terrified that she and Sean had shared more than a serious affection and some untainted bodily fluids. Other characters alight on the Birch branches, but serve mostly as mechanisms to keep the wheels of plot and revelation turning.
The book is structured around alternating POVs, Emma, Richard, Olivia, Phoebe and Jesse all taking turns. Chapters are almost all quite short, which helps things move along at fast pace. My ARE comes in at 358 pps, but with all the white space around the chapter beginnings and endings, and the high proportion of the novel taken up with dialogue, it reads as if it were more like 250 pps. The storytelling is chronologically sequential, so you need not fret about keeping track of when things are taking place. Seven Days of Us is mostly a warm holiday story, family coming together, and of course, apart, in various ways over Christmas and surrounding (Boxing Day and New Year’s) in a lovely large family manse, not Downton level, but old, and nice.
Some the marketing that accompanies the book puts this in the company of other family novels, such as The Nest, Love Actually and a few more. Those in the few more group have evaded my eyes to date so I can offer nada on their applicability here. I suppose there is a gross comparison to be made with The Nest. Both deal with contemporary adult family members coping with their individual stresses, in some relation to the rest of the clan. Certainly true here. I am tempted to think of this crew as The Nest under house arrest. But The Nest seemed more substantive to me, more polished as a literary work, more serious, whereas Seven Days of Us seemed to share more genetic material of the RomCom sort with Love, Actually, offering pairings that are, were, and may be, in the context of a short-term look under charged circumstances. I could definitely see this being made into that sort of film. TV rights have already been sold.
The romance here is, thankfully, done with a light touch. There is some looking back at lives in need of examination. Crises occur, bits of comedy pop up from time to time. One that I enjoyed centered on Phoebe’s fiancée, who might be referred to as a tosser, wanker, git, pillock, plonker, prat, twit, knob, or any of the many other wonderful Britishisms for someone not to our liking. There seems to be a running joke through the book as many (I did not count) observations of George are made that are…shall we say…less than complimentary. Of course, Phoebs seems a bit of a lightweight herself, very self-centered, interested in having a good time in the moment, with little thought of the future beyond planning her wedding. She has been daddy’s girl all her life. So maybe she and George are right for each other. And maybe he has positive qualities that are as yet unrevealed.
Things do not all go as planned, and there are dark moments, but overall it is a positive, mostly feel-good holiday tale, appropriate for quick reading over one or two of your December off days. It presents some nice insight into the sorts of issues many families could relate to although the character portrayals seemed a bit reductive. That is not a high crime in a work of entertainment. Hornak’s prior writing has been of the non-fiction sort. Seven Days of Us shows she can handle fiction quite nicely as well.
Review first posted – 10/6/17
Publication date – 10/17/17
=============================EXTRA STUFF
The author’s Twitter feed seems the only online presence Hormak maintains at present.
A list of FH’s articles
A three minute soundcloud of the opening
Hornak made a name for herself in The Sunday Times with a regular Syle-section column, History of the World in 100 Modern Objects, that was compiled into a book. She followed this with Worry with Mother: 101 Neuroses for the Modern Mama
Some fun Christmas items from National Geographic:
-----11/29/2017 - Saint Nicholas to Santa: The Surprising Origins of Mr. Claus - by Brian Handwerk
-----12/13/2017 - Who Is Krampus? Explaining the Horrific Christmas Devil - by Tanya Basu
-----12/21/2017 - Vintage Map Shows Santa's Journey Around the World - By Greg Miller – a kitschy 50’s Santa Map
-----12/19/2017 - One Town's Fight to Save Their 40-Foot Yule Goat - by Sarah Gibbens – Yes, really, a Christmas goat
-----12/21/2017 - This NY Times video by Matthew Salton is a trip - Santa is a Psychedelic Mushroom
December 26, 2020
AND NOW IS THE TIME OF YEAR I FLOAT OLD CHRISTMAS REVIEWS TO COUNTDOWN TO BING BONG BING BONG!!!
CHRISTMAS IN QUARANTINE!
to straight-up rip from dan’s headlines:
This is not the type of book I usually read. The publisher contacted me and I accepted a print ARC for some reason. I'm quite glad I did.
i had the exact same experience down to the “for some reason” - i remember agreeing to read the arc, but it’s all a bit hazy. i do remember thinking that this seemed similar to The Nest - both being debut novels described as “warm” and “funny,” featuring quirky, wealthy-but-dysfunctional families, and since i ended up really liking The Nest despite it being outside of my usual reading range (i’m more drawn to “dark” and “gloomy”) i decided to take a chance on this one and am “quite glad I did.”
my initial take on it was accurate - it was in many ways like The Nest, with somewhat less spoiled characters, a greater role played by life-threatening diseases, and a location-swap from new york to england, so there were a different set of social/cultural touchpoints. it’s probably a little sweeter than The Nest, but it’s a pleasant sweetness, not some cheerful bludgeoning by goodwill and cheer, even though it is a legit christmas novel.
it’s about the birch family: andrew and emma and their two grown daughters phoebe and olivia. andrew is the patriarchal journalist-turned-food-critic, precise and condescending, aloof and emotionally baffled. emma is the long-suffering maternal umbrella, more concerned with anticipating and fulfilling her family’s needs and tackling domestic tasks than addressing her own health and comfort. phoebe is the younger daughter - a little bit selfish, a little bit lazy, recently engaged but still living at home, more excited by planning the wedding spectacle than the actual marriage part. olivia is the selfless doctor whose experiences working in developing countries have kept her from home for several christmasses and made her a little frustrated and impatient with her family’s careless affluence and comparatively superficial priorities.
but this year, they will all be forced to spend christmas together - olivia’s return from treating haag patients in liberia on december 23 rings in the start of a festive weeklong family quarantine at emma’s enormous family manse; isolated, drafty, with spotty wifi and the possibility, however slight, that olivia’s exposure to a deadly disease with no cure will end up killing them all.
but the haag virus is not the only threat the family will face over their week of togetherness. theirs isn’t a jerry springer family, so it’s not at chair-throwing level, but it’s certainly awkward. the birches aren’t bad people, but they are their own people - individuals whose sharply-drawn personalities don’t necessarily mesh with those of their family, judging and fearing judgment, not understanding the perspectives of the other members of their family at all. they’ve never been a family that communicates well, and quarantine doesn’t make communication any easier, since each of them has a secret they’re trying to keep from coming out in the stress of the close quarters, holiday cocktails, and the unexpected presence of a couple of quarantine-crashers. it’s like a family-version of the breakfast club, all vulnerable and self-conscious behind the roles they maintain for each other, finding it easier to confide in strangers than family, but eventually coming together in a supportive holiday huddle.
this was an enjoyable book. that’s one of those beige words that reads like bloodless, noncommittal filler, but i truly enjoyed reading it, over the course of a single couch-sprawled vacation day.
okay, some of it was grass-sprawled
or chair-sprawled-while-other-people-built-firepits
in any event, it was kind of a perfect book to read at my dad’s house, which is so isolated that it feels like being in a similar situation, even though we were all much better-behaved than the birches, even those of us who did not contribute to the building of a firepit because reading.
four stars and change.
come to my blog!
CHRISTMAS IN QUARANTINE!
to straight-up rip from dan’s headlines:
This is not the type of book I usually read. The publisher contacted me and I accepted a print ARC for some reason. I'm quite glad I did.
i had the exact same experience down to the “for some reason” - i remember agreeing to read the arc, but it’s all a bit hazy. i do remember thinking that this seemed similar to The Nest - both being debut novels described as “warm” and “funny,” featuring quirky, wealthy-but-dysfunctional families, and since i ended up really liking The Nest despite it being outside of my usual reading range (i’m more drawn to “dark” and “gloomy”) i decided to take a chance on this one and am “quite glad I did.”
my initial take on it was accurate - it was in many ways like The Nest, with somewhat less spoiled characters, a greater role played by life-threatening diseases, and a location-swap from new york to england, so there were a different set of social/cultural touchpoints. it’s probably a little sweeter than The Nest, but it’s a pleasant sweetness, not some cheerful bludgeoning by goodwill and cheer, even though it is a legit christmas novel.
it’s about the birch family: andrew and emma and their two grown daughters phoebe and olivia. andrew is the patriarchal journalist-turned-food-critic, precise and condescending, aloof and emotionally baffled. emma is the long-suffering maternal umbrella, more concerned with anticipating and fulfilling her family’s needs and tackling domestic tasks than addressing her own health and comfort. phoebe is the younger daughter - a little bit selfish, a little bit lazy, recently engaged but still living at home, more excited by planning the wedding spectacle than the actual marriage part. olivia is the selfless doctor whose experiences working in developing countries have kept her from home for several christmasses and made her a little frustrated and impatient with her family’s careless affluence and comparatively superficial priorities.
but this year, they will all be forced to spend christmas together - olivia’s return from treating haag patients in liberia on december 23 rings in the start of a festive weeklong family quarantine at emma’s enormous family manse; isolated, drafty, with spotty wifi and the possibility, however slight, that olivia’s exposure to a deadly disease with no cure will end up killing them all.
but the haag virus is not the only threat the family will face over their week of togetherness. theirs isn’t a jerry springer family, so it’s not at chair-throwing level, but it’s certainly awkward. the birches aren’t bad people, but they are their own people - individuals whose sharply-drawn personalities don’t necessarily mesh with those of their family, judging and fearing judgment, not understanding the perspectives of the other members of their family at all. they’ve never been a family that communicates well, and quarantine doesn’t make communication any easier, since each of them has a secret they’re trying to keep from coming out in the stress of the close quarters, holiday cocktails, and the unexpected presence of a couple of quarantine-crashers. it’s like a family-version of the breakfast club, all vulnerable and self-conscious behind the roles they maintain for each other, finding it easier to confide in strangers than family, but eventually coming together in a supportive holiday huddle.
this was an enjoyable book. that’s one of those beige words that reads like bloodless, noncommittal filler, but i truly enjoyed reading it, over the course of a single couch-sprawled vacation day.
okay, some of it was grass-sprawled
or chair-sprawled-while-other-people-built-firepits
in any event, it was kind of a perfect book to read at my dad’s house, which is so isolated that it feels like being in a similar situation, even though we were all much better-behaved than the birches, even those of us who did not contribute to the building of a firepit because reading.
four stars and change.
come to my blog!
July 16, 2025
4.5 stars rounded up to 5 stars!
SEVEN DAYS OF US by FRANCESCA HORNAK is a warm, witty, engaging, and a feel good story that explores the dynamics within the Birch family as they are forced to spend a tension filled week together in quarantine over the holidays. I had a personal connection with this book and some of the content was so real to me that I could really see myself as part of the Birch family as they were facing some difficult and emotional revelations within this story that were very similar to some experiences from my life.
FRANCESCA HORNAK delivers an insightful, well-written, and character-driven story here with interesting and realistic characters that is told from different perspectives of each of the family members. Through the different perspectives of each character we were able to get to know each character very well and seen how and where they fit into the dynamics within the family and how each was affected by other members of the family.
I really enjoyed this book and I thought the ending was sad but hopeful and left me with a warm and shivery feeling and even some goosebumps.
To sum it all up it was an enjoyable, memorable, thought-provoking, insightful, and entertaining read that was a realistic portrayal of a dysfunctional family that I found quite enjoyable. Would recommend!!
Traveling Sisters Group Read - Thank you so much for another wonderful reading experience! It is always a pleasure reading along with these awesome group of ladies and I felt so much love and support sharing some personal experiences in our discussion!
Thank you so much to Edelweiss, Berkley / Penguin Publishing Group and Francesca Hornak for the opportunity to read a copy of this book in exchange for a review.
SEVEN DAYS OF US by FRANCESCA HORNAK is a warm, witty, engaging, and a feel good story that explores the dynamics within the Birch family as they are forced to spend a tension filled week together in quarantine over the holidays. I had a personal connection with this book and some of the content was so real to me that I could really see myself as part of the Birch family as they were facing some difficult and emotional revelations within this story that were very similar to some experiences from my life.
FRANCESCA HORNAK delivers an insightful, well-written, and character-driven story here with interesting and realistic characters that is told from different perspectives of each of the family members. Through the different perspectives of each character we were able to get to know each character very well and seen how and where they fit into the dynamics within the family and how each was affected by other members of the family.
I really enjoyed this book and I thought the ending was sad but hopeful and left me with a warm and shivery feeling and even some goosebumps.
To sum it all up it was an enjoyable, memorable, thought-provoking, insightful, and entertaining read that was a realistic portrayal of a dysfunctional family that I found quite enjoyable. Would recommend!!
Traveling Sisters Group Read - Thank you so much for another wonderful reading experience! It is always a pleasure reading along with these awesome group of ladies and I felt so much love and support sharing some personal experiences in our discussion!
Thank you so much to Edelweiss, Berkley / Penguin Publishing Group and Francesca Hornak for the opportunity to read a copy of this book in exchange for a review.
September 29, 2017
This is an engaging festive read featuring the Birch family, forced to spend 7 days together for the first time in years over Christmas and New Year. It is said that this is the most traumatic time of year for many families, having to endure the presence of those you spend the rest of the year avoiding like the plague. Ahh, yes, the plague, Olivia is the eldest daughter, a medic who has been working as an aid worker to combat the deadly Haag epidemic in Liberia. On her return to Britain, she and her family are in quarantine for 7 days, cut off from the world with poor wifi, in the family's dilapidated country house in Norfolk as they escape London. Andrew was once a war reporter, who sacrificed this to be there for Emma and his children. He has been a restaurant critic for many years, taking pride in writing his snide reviews. Emma, once a caterer, gave up her career to bring up her 2 beloved daughters, Olivia and Phoebe. Phoebe is a daddy's girl, still living at home, working on aspects of reality television, estranged from Olivia, rather frivolous and shallow, whose sense of identity revolves round planning her upcoming nuptials in a year's time.
The narrative is delivered from the perspective of the four Birch family members and an unexpected American, Jesse, who gatecrashes the families festive celebrations and ends up staying, thanks to the quarantine. This is a family harbouring secrets and trauma ranging from cancer, past indiscretions that come back to haunt the present, covert relationships, and problematic issues over sexuality. Olivia is having problems adjusting to her return, still reeling from the horrors of Haag and finding her family and their concerns trite in comparison. As Shaun, an Irish paediatrician, with whom Olivia broke medical protocols, contracts Haag, Olivia writes a blog in support of him and her personal difficulties in coping on her return. Phoebe, upon learning of her mother's secret, reveals her selfishness in focusing on her wedding to fiance, George, a Hooray Henry, albeit a nouveau riche one. As the melodramas in the family reach ridiculous proportions, no-one in the family remains unscathed as tragedy beckons.
Hornak has written a feel good family drama that touches on many issues that afflict families, although she does lay it on a tad thickly. There are coincidences galore, but you go with the story as the characters face their travails, regrets and yearnings, garnering the reader's interest through the character development that takes place. I have no doubt that the issues raised will resonate with many, particularly over the lack of communication in families and relationships. This turned out to be an enjoyable, light and entertaining read. Many thanks to Little, Brown for an ARC.
The narrative is delivered from the perspective of the four Birch family members and an unexpected American, Jesse, who gatecrashes the families festive celebrations and ends up staying, thanks to the quarantine. This is a family harbouring secrets and trauma ranging from cancer, past indiscretions that come back to haunt the present, covert relationships, and problematic issues over sexuality. Olivia is having problems adjusting to her return, still reeling from the horrors of Haag and finding her family and their concerns trite in comparison. As Shaun, an Irish paediatrician, with whom Olivia broke medical protocols, contracts Haag, Olivia writes a blog in support of him and her personal difficulties in coping on her return. Phoebe, upon learning of her mother's secret, reveals her selfishness in focusing on her wedding to fiance, George, a Hooray Henry, albeit a nouveau riche one. As the melodramas in the family reach ridiculous proportions, no-one in the family remains unscathed as tragedy beckons.
Hornak has written a feel good family drama that touches on many issues that afflict families, although she does lay it on a tad thickly. There are coincidences galore, but you go with the story as the characters face their travails, regrets and yearnings, garnering the reader's interest through the character development that takes place. I have no doubt that the issues raised will resonate with many, particularly over the lack of communication in families and relationships. This turned out to be an enjoyable, light and entertaining read. Many thanks to Little, Brown for an ARC.
December 20, 2017
3.5 stars
Entertaining read about a dysfunctional family quarantined together for seven days over the Christmas holidays. Told through alternating POV’s’, secrets are exposed, true feelings come to light, and broken relationships are mended.
Seven Days of Us was a nice change of pace from all the dark books that I read. Even though I enjoyed some POVs/characters more than others, I thought the characters were distinct and well-developed as they spend a lot of time self-reflecting and experience many introspective moments, which is what makes this a worthy read. The whole time I was reading this, I kept picturing it as a movie. Some bits were a little cliche and formulaic, (just like my favorite holiday movies), but these moments didn’t detract from the enjoyment of my reading experience. Overall, I found this to be a feel good read, perfect for the holiday season!
Entertaining read about a dysfunctional family quarantined together for seven days over the Christmas holidays. Told through alternating POV’s’, secrets are exposed, true feelings come to light, and broken relationships are mended.
Seven Days of Us was a nice change of pace from all the dark books that I read. Even though I enjoyed some POVs/characters more than others, I thought the characters were distinct and well-developed as they spend a lot of time self-reflecting and experience many introspective moments, which is what makes this a worthy read. The whole time I was reading this, I kept picturing it as a movie. Some bits were a little cliche and formulaic, (just like my favorite holiday movies), but these moments didn’t detract from the enjoyment of my reading experience. Overall, I found this to be a feel good read, perfect for the holiday season!
October 21, 2017
3.5 stars.
This novel begs the question of how well do we really know our family? Secrets of a dysfunctional family come to light to the reader in these short chapters of alternating narratives by each of the characters and this made for a quick read. I really liked the structure because we got to know the characters from their point of view as well as what they were thinking about each other. I nearly put this aside because I was tiring of their self absorption and I just didn't like them very much. Quarantined for seven days - I shuttered when I Imagined how it would be with my own family! I found this story to be melodramatic and predictable in some ways, but something kept me reading. Maybe I just wanted to know if this family would still be a family when all of the secrets that the reader knows became known to them. Maybe it's because there's probably a little dysfunction in all families so I felt for them. By the end I came to understand and like them a little more.
The Birch family: Andrew, the father, a war correspondent as a young man is now a snarky restaurant critic and is in for a big surprise stemming from his past. Emma, his wife, sweet but harboring resentment is keeping a secret from her family to get through Christmas. Olivia, the oldest daughter is a doctor and has been in Africa treating people during a deadly virus outbreak. Her exposure to the virus is the reason for the quarantine. She keeps her own secrets. Phoebe, the younger sister, perhaps the most self absorbed is planning her wedding and is also in for some surprises. Jesse, the young American who comes to England seeking out his birth father was the one I liked the most.
Coincidences occur which seem a little contrived but there are some serious things going on - a secret cancer diagnosis, a secret son, a secret love affair, perhaps two and a contagious disease. It reminded me in a way of This is Where I Leave You - about another dysfunctional family not quite quarantined together for seven days but forced to spend days together sitting shiva for their dead father . That was also a funny, sad and secret filled family story. In the end, I'm glad I didn't put it aside, a good story, an entertaining quick read.
I received an advanced copy of this book from Berkeley Publishing Group through NetGalley.
This novel begs the question of how well do we really know our family? Secrets of a dysfunctional family come to light to the reader in these short chapters of alternating narratives by each of the characters and this made for a quick read. I really liked the structure because we got to know the characters from their point of view as well as what they were thinking about each other. I nearly put this aside because I was tiring of their self absorption and I just didn't like them very much. Quarantined for seven days - I shuttered when I Imagined how it would be with my own family! I found this story to be melodramatic and predictable in some ways, but something kept me reading. Maybe I just wanted to know if this family would still be a family when all of the secrets that the reader knows became known to them. Maybe it's because there's probably a little dysfunction in all families so I felt for them. By the end I came to understand and like them a little more.
The Birch family: Andrew, the father, a war correspondent as a young man is now a snarky restaurant critic and is in for a big surprise stemming from his past. Emma, his wife, sweet but harboring resentment is keeping a secret from her family to get through Christmas. Olivia, the oldest daughter is a doctor and has been in Africa treating people during a deadly virus outbreak. Her exposure to the virus is the reason for the quarantine. She keeps her own secrets. Phoebe, the younger sister, perhaps the most self absorbed is planning her wedding and is also in for some surprises. Jesse, the young American who comes to England seeking out his birth father was the one I liked the most.
Coincidences occur which seem a little contrived but there are some serious things going on - a secret cancer diagnosis, a secret son, a secret love affair, perhaps two and a contagious disease. It reminded me in a way of This is Where I Leave You - about another dysfunctional family not quite quarantined together for seven days but forced to spend days together sitting shiva for their dead father . That was also a funny, sad and secret filled family story. In the end, I'm glad I didn't put it aside, a good story, an entertaining quick read.
I received an advanced copy of this book from Berkeley Publishing Group through NetGalley.
July 17, 2017
At one point in
Seven Days of Us
, Andrew, the somewhat snarky and elitist patriarch of the Birch family, equates all of the drama affecting his family with a popular British soap opera. But then he realizes it's even crazier than all that.
"Never mind EastEnders —this was pure telenovela."
He's not quite wrong. In her debut novel, Francesca Hornak throws more issues and crises at the Birch family, more secrets thought buried, than you can even imagine. It's like multiple Jodi Picoult novels meshed together without the ethical issues her characters have to consider. And yet despite all of it, you can't help but feel sympathy for some of the characters, anger for others—you want to shake some of them just to get them to say what they need to—but you find yourself moved by what is happening to them.
It's been a long while since the Birches eldest daughter Olivia has come home for Christmas. She always has obligations which keep her away—or are they excuses? But this year, after a stint treating a major disease in Liberia, she must be quarantined for seven days, so she and her family are going to spend it together, cozy as anything, at the family's seen-better-days country estate. They're not allowed to go anywhere or see anyone, and to top it off, wi-fi and cell coverage is spotty at best.
Andrew, a haughty former war correspondent-turned-restaurant critic, would rather be anywhere but stuck with his family for seven days, especially once he receives an email he has subconsciously been expecting for a while now. His wife, Emma, who once shelved dreams of her own career in order to raise their children, can't wait to spend the week nurturing both of her children, especially since it will keep her mind off a secret of her own.
Younger daughter Phoebe can't concentrate on much more than the excitement of her recent engagement. She wants the perfect wedding, the perfect life, and she's not happy that her older sister can't focus on anything but the disease in Africa. It's not all that's important, after all! Olivia lives in constant trepidation that she might test positive for the disease and put her family in danger, and she can't seem to focus on her family's first world problems. But all the while she is haunted by a decision she made in Liberia, and wonders how it will affect her future.
As the family unearths old arguments and wounds, and inflicts new ones on each other, the arrival of two unexpected guests throw everyone and everything completely off-kilter. It seems like the perfect recipe for a dysfunctional holiday—but the stakes could be higher than nearly anyone realizes.
"This was why she despised secrets. When they emerged, as they always did, they opened up a whole labyrinth of other unknowns."
About halfway through Seven Days of Us , I wasn't sure if I was enjoying it, even though I was hooked on the story. The characters really weren't likable, and I just didn't understand why no one would talk to each other and say what they're feeling. I get the whole British stoic stiff-upper-lip thing, but come on. But the more I read, the more I found myself immersed in all of the drama, and even if some of the problems the characters faced were all too familiar, it didn't matter.
That's mainly because Hornak made her characters very real, despite all the drama swirling around them. You've seen these people in real life—heck, some of them may even be your own family members, with or without the British accents. The book is sappy and a little silly but it's ultimately warm and sweet. While there's no way I could spend seven days quarantined with my family, after reading this book I just had to call everyone, just to make sure everyone was okay.
If you like a healthy helping of melodrama along with your family dysfunction, definitely pick up Seven Days of Us . See if you agree that it's a little like a telenovela.
NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!
See all of my reviews at http://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blo....
"Never mind EastEnders —this was pure telenovela."
He's not quite wrong. In her debut novel, Francesca Hornak throws more issues and crises at the Birch family, more secrets thought buried, than you can even imagine. It's like multiple Jodi Picoult novels meshed together without the ethical issues her characters have to consider. And yet despite all of it, you can't help but feel sympathy for some of the characters, anger for others—you want to shake some of them just to get them to say what they need to—but you find yourself moved by what is happening to them.
It's been a long while since the Birches eldest daughter Olivia has come home for Christmas. She always has obligations which keep her away—or are they excuses? But this year, after a stint treating a major disease in Liberia, she must be quarantined for seven days, so she and her family are going to spend it together, cozy as anything, at the family's seen-better-days country estate. They're not allowed to go anywhere or see anyone, and to top it off, wi-fi and cell coverage is spotty at best.
Andrew, a haughty former war correspondent-turned-restaurant critic, would rather be anywhere but stuck with his family for seven days, especially once he receives an email he has subconsciously been expecting for a while now. His wife, Emma, who once shelved dreams of her own career in order to raise their children, can't wait to spend the week nurturing both of her children, especially since it will keep her mind off a secret of her own.
Younger daughter Phoebe can't concentrate on much more than the excitement of her recent engagement. She wants the perfect wedding, the perfect life, and she's not happy that her older sister can't focus on anything but the disease in Africa. It's not all that's important, after all! Olivia lives in constant trepidation that she might test positive for the disease and put her family in danger, and she can't seem to focus on her family's first world problems. But all the while she is haunted by a decision she made in Liberia, and wonders how it will affect her future.
As the family unearths old arguments and wounds, and inflicts new ones on each other, the arrival of two unexpected guests throw everyone and everything completely off-kilter. It seems like the perfect recipe for a dysfunctional holiday—but the stakes could be higher than nearly anyone realizes.
"This was why she despised secrets. When they emerged, as they always did, they opened up a whole labyrinth of other unknowns."
About halfway through Seven Days of Us , I wasn't sure if I was enjoying it, even though I was hooked on the story. The characters really weren't likable, and I just didn't understand why no one would talk to each other and say what they're feeling. I get the whole British stoic stiff-upper-lip thing, but come on. But the more I read, the more I found myself immersed in all of the drama, and even if some of the problems the characters faced were all too familiar, it didn't matter.
That's mainly because Hornak made her characters very real, despite all the drama swirling around them. You've seen these people in real life—heck, some of them may even be your own family members, with or without the British accents. The book is sappy and a little silly but it's ultimately warm and sweet. While there's no way I could spend seven days quarantined with my family, after reading this book I just had to call everyone, just to make sure everyone was okay.
If you like a healthy helping of melodrama along with your family dysfunction, definitely pick up Seven Days of Us . See if you agree that it's a little like a telenovela.
NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!
See all of my reviews at http://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blo....
October 22, 2017
4 Stars.
Imagined being locked in your family’s home for a week over Christmastime. Quarantined to be exact. Could be alright, yeah? Or maybe not so much, depending on whose family you’re talking about. Mine, would be a Trainwreck for sure.
In “Seven Days of Us” the Birch family, (which includes parents, Andrew and Emma and their two daughters, Olivia and Phoebe) are locked in their family estate, Weyfield Hall in England for seven days over Christmas. You see, Olivia is a Doctor and she was exposed to the Haag (a deadly ebola-like virus), while helping treat others who were afflicted with the epidemic. Now the whole family is under “house arrest” for the holidays.
Olivia and her sister Phoebe don’t get along. Phoebe is young, self-centered and spoiled beyond all get out. She is also completely immersed in wedding plans to her fiancé George. George is well, rich and athletic. Olivia is quiet and reserved and has never really fit in anywhere. She is also terrified. Terrified that she has Haag and terrified about a decision she made while abroad.
Emma and Andrew have been married forever. Over the years, they have grown apart. Emma has a secret that she hasn’t shared with anyone. She is hoping to keep it to herself until after the holidays. Andrew is a food critic, who thinks very highly of himself. He takes his wife for granted. He too has a secret. His, could tear the family apart.
Jesse is a young man who travels to London with a secret of his own. He intends to crash the Birch family’s Christmastime festivities, not knowing they are in quarantine.
Will all hell break loose during the seven days the Birch family spends with each other?
Though “Seven Days of Us” sounds a little campy and “soap opera-ish,” it is a story about a dysfunctional family at its absolute best. Each character is extremely well written. The book is delightful and has a lot of heart. I admit that it took me a while to get into this one, but after a while I was fully invested and couldn’t wait to find out whether or not the Birch family survived Christmas.
My favorite character was Jesse. He had a very strong sense of self and captured my heart from the first moment I “met him.” Emma was pretty fabulous as well. For me, however, I identified most with Olivia. She and I have a lot in common, except for the fact that I haven’t been exposed to Haag. That would be bad.
This was a Traveling Sister Group Read. It included Brenda, Norma, JanB and Dana.
I have to say that it was my favorite sister read thus far, hands down! We all invested so much of ourselves in this read and our discussions were very personal and came from the heart. It was our first read with Ms. Dana and it was just fabulous. Welcome to the sisterhood Dana! To Norma, Brenda, JanB and Dana, I, thank you. I just loved reading this with you.
Thank you to Edelweiss, Penguin Publishing Group and Francesca Hornak for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Published on Edelweiss, Goodreads, Amazon, Twitter and Facebook on 10.22.17.
Imagined being locked in your family’s home for a week over Christmastime. Quarantined to be exact. Could be alright, yeah? Or maybe not so much, depending on whose family you’re talking about. Mine, would be a Trainwreck for sure.
In “Seven Days of Us” the Birch family, (which includes parents, Andrew and Emma and their two daughters, Olivia and Phoebe) are locked in their family estate, Weyfield Hall in England for seven days over Christmas. You see, Olivia is a Doctor and she was exposed to the Haag (a deadly ebola-like virus), while helping treat others who were afflicted with the epidemic. Now the whole family is under “house arrest” for the holidays.
Olivia and her sister Phoebe don’t get along. Phoebe is young, self-centered and spoiled beyond all get out. She is also completely immersed in wedding plans to her fiancé George. George is well, rich and athletic. Olivia is quiet and reserved and has never really fit in anywhere. She is also terrified. Terrified that she has Haag and terrified about a decision she made while abroad.
Emma and Andrew have been married forever. Over the years, they have grown apart. Emma has a secret that she hasn’t shared with anyone. She is hoping to keep it to herself until after the holidays. Andrew is a food critic, who thinks very highly of himself. He takes his wife for granted. He too has a secret. His, could tear the family apart.
Jesse is a young man who travels to London with a secret of his own. He intends to crash the Birch family’s Christmastime festivities, not knowing they are in quarantine.
Will all hell break loose during the seven days the Birch family spends with each other?
Though “Seven Days of Us” sounds a little campy and “soap opera-ish,” it is a story about a dysfunctional family at its absolute best. Each character is extremely well written. The book is delightful and has a lot of heart. I admit that it took me a while to get into this one, but after a while I was fully invested and couldn’t wait to find out whether or not the Birch family survived Christmas.
My favorite character was Jesse. He had a very strong sense of self and captured my heart from the first moment I “met him.” Emma was pretty fabulous as well. For me, however, I identified most with Olivia. She and I have a lot in common, except for the fact that I haven’t been exposed to Haag. That would be bad.
This was a Traveling Sister Group Read. It included Brenda, Norma, JanB and Dana.
I have to say that it was my favorite sister read thus far, hands down! We all invested so much of ourselves in this read and our discussions were very personal and came from the heart. It was our first read with Ms. Dana and it was just fabulous. Welcome to the sisterhood Dana! To Norma, Brenda, JanB and Dana, I, thank you. I just loved reading this with you.
Thank you to Edelweiss, Penguin Publishing Group and Francesca Hornak for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Published on Edelweiss, Goodreads, Amazon, Twitter and Facebook on 10.22.17.
July 22, 2017
It's Christmas..that happiest time of year. When your family gets together to spread the joy and love!
The family in this book is no different than the rest of us.
They all are going to Weyfield Hall, theirfalling down aging country home. They will be quarantined there for seven days.
With each other.
And each of them has secrets.
The youngest daughter, Phoebe. She has just gotten engaged and is the favorite child.
Other daughter, Olivia. Who is the cause of the quarantine. She took herself off to Africa to help fight a deadly disease called Haag. I have her cast in my head perfectly....
Mom Emma, who has a secret she won't let out until after Christmas because she wants the family all together and not fighting. Good luck with that.
Andrew the father, is a former war correspondent turned snooty food critic.
This was a really decent book. It's not filled with twisty turny stuff and it's not needed. I can only imagine buying this near Christmas and curling up in front of the Christmas tree with it for a good time with a family like this one. Because I love 'looking in windows' at other people's family drama. I always hope that they are as bat-shit crazy as my family is.
Booksource?: I received a copy of this book from the publisher. How cool is that? They didn't ask me for any thing but as soon as I find a big enough box I'm gonna send them a certain family member of mine. I'm a giver.
The family in this book is no different than the rest of us.
They all are going to Weyfield Hall, their
With each other.
And each of them has secrets.
The youngest daughter, Phoebe. She has just gotten engaged and is the favorite child.
Other daughter, Olivia. Who is the cause of the quarantine. She took herself off to Africa to help fight a deadly disease called Haag. I have her cast in my head perfectly....
Mom Emma, who has a secret she won't let out until after Christmas because she wants the family all together and not fighting. Good luck with that.
Andrew the father, is a former war correspondent turned snooty food critic.
This was a really decent book. It's not filled with twisty turny stuff and it's not needed. I can only imagine buying this near Christmas and curling up in front of the Christmas tree with it for a good time with a family like this one. Because I love 'looking in windows' at other people's family drama. I always hope that they are as bat-shit crazy as my family is.
Booksource?: I received a copy of this book from the publisher. How cool is that? They didn't ask me for any thing but as soon as I find a big enough box I'm gonna send them a certain family member of mine. I'm a giver.
August 5, 2017
Can you imagine being quarantined with your family for an entire week? Over Christmas holidays? Can't go out and anyone who comes in must stay? The thought of all seven of my, now grown children, coming home and stuck for a whole week together fills me with, well let's just say a great deal of angst, or should I say terror?
That is exactly what happens in this story, when Olivia, a doctor returns home for the first time in several years. She has been treating patients with the haag virus, overseas, a terrible epidemic which has taken the life of many. Her sister, Phoebe, nearing thirty and newly engaged still lives at home, and her mother has just received some horrible news on the health front. As they all gather, secrets will be exposed, fate will rear it inoportune head, and the family will find out exactly where they stand with other family members.
Quite well done, this first novel, some very interesting characters and some tension fraught happenings during this week of enforced closeness. A smattering of ironic humor and although at the beginning I had a few favorite characters, by the end we know them so well, see how they change in the face of some astonishing revelations, I quite ended up liking the lot of them. I also applaud the author for not going with the expected happy ever ending, but portraying life as it actually, many times, plays out. Some sadness, mixed with hope.
ARC from publisher.
Publishes October 17th by Berkley.
That is exactly what happens in this story, when Olivia, a doctor returns home for the first time in several years. She has been treating patients with the haag virus, overseas, a terrible epidemic which has taken the life of many. Her sister, Phoebe, nearing thirty and newly engaged still lives at home, and her mother has just received some horrible news on the health front. As they all gather, secrets will be exposed, fate will rear it inoportune head, and the family will find out exactly where they stand with other family members.
Quite well done, this first novel, some very interesting characters and some tension fraught happenings during this week of enforced closeness. A smattering of ironic humor and although at the beginning I had a few favorite characters, by the end we know them so well, see how they change in the face of some astonishing revelations, I quite ended up liking the lot of them. I also applaud the author for not going with the expected happy ever ending, but portraying life as it actually, many times, plays out. Some sadness, mixed with hope.
ARC from publisher.
Publishes October 17th by Berkley.
October 23, 2017
3.5
Ghosts, then witches, so now what's my beef? Boring suburban family celebrating Christmas, that's what! Made me pull the Complaint Board right out of the shed. I will begrudgingly admit that this isn't your typical Christmas. The family is under quarantine because daughter Olivia has been working in Africa as a doctor, treating people afflicted with a deadly virus. Her return shakes up the holiday and makes it interesting. In fact, she was the only character whom I wanted to be in the room with. I would have preferred being in Africa with her, living through drama there.
Decorating a tree and baking special Christmas-y treats makes me unchy in a bad way. I know the point was to create a festive traditional holiday that is ruined by all sorts of drama. The sweet holiday that’s supposed to be all comfort and joy being eclipsed by discomfort and woe. Even so, it makes me want to beat feet out of there, to hide out in the backyard with wine and cigarettes while I spew rapid-fire cuss words. My reaction is especially strange because cussing is the only one of those three things that I do. My holiday-in-the-suburbs aversion probably relates back to the days when I needed to rebel but was too goody-two-shoes to do so, but who cares. This isn't Dr. Phil.
The family consists of Olivia the Mother-Theresa daughter, dad the food critic, Phoebe the vapid valley girl (hm…if there is a British version) younger daughter, and a mom so clueless and Betty Crocker-y it sent me to my pretend backyard vices way too often. There are two minor characters—a long-lost son and Olivia’s Father-Theresa boyfriend—who are interesting, but they don’t have enough airtime. Then there’s Phoebe’s asinine boyfriend who I always wanted to ditch.
Okay, I’ll switch to the Joy Jar for a bit, just so you can see why it earned a 3.5.
-What’s majorly good: I wanted to see what would happen. There was no chance I'd stop reading.
-I believe in you! The boring characters, plus Olivia The Interesting, were all well-drawn and believable.
-I love me a secret! There are several—all believable and mostly intriguing. I always love it when people are trying to hide something; it ratchets up the tension. Everything gets all messed up as people do some combination of lying, covering their tracks, cringing, and getting all verklempt. And then there’s always luscious excitement and chaos when, ta da, the secret is exposed.
-Good bones. The book had good bones yet didn't strut its stuff. By this I mean it was a seamless read--the plot and the pace at which it unfolded was well done, yet we didn't see any self-conscious effort behind it. It was smooth going.
Now, back to the Complaint Board:
-Save me! From the boring people in a boring family at a boring holiday. Bah humbug! (I know I’m getting boring by repeating this complaint, but it was the number 1 downer for me. Okay, I promise never to mention it again.)
-Golly. Oh dear. That’s a direct quote uttered by Emma the Mom. Mom was just too old-fashioned, clueless, and repressed. Maybe there are tons of 65-year-old women like her (I’m in my 60s and I don’t know any), but even if there are, I don’t want to be stuck with them for seven days. I think the author could have made her less of an old-fashioned dummy.
-The quarantine! The quarantine! Now wait just one minute. You mean to say that the national health department wouldn’t have been monitoring the quarantine, making sure no one came to or left the house? It was all too loosey-goosey. “Oh, George showed up; come on in!” “Darn it, Phoebe and George left the house for a while.” “Oh dear, Andrew went for a run.” “Gee, I hope none of them spread the deadly virus.” I just find it hard to believe that the government would have trusted people to obey the rules of quarantine without monitoring.
-Spare me the coincidences.
-Nah, I don’t believe Dad would have done THAT! And because he did THAT, it was obvious that later it would wreak havoc.
-I knew it. Oh, you’re so predictable. Toward the end, there was one thing going on with Olivia that was totally obvious. We were supposed to think something else was happening, but I knew it wasn’t. (Sorry for being vague, but I don’t want a spoiler.) I’d be surprised if others didn’t suspect what I suspected. This pretty much wrecked the suspense.
-I say the “She said” and the “he said” were confusing. Each chapter was written from a different character’s point of view, with third-person narration. I’m not sure this type of narration always works when you alternate chapters, especially so often. I guess I’m used to the easier-to-follow first-person style. Here, every time I got to a new chapter I was jolted. Whose point-of-view do we have here now? The author was careful to mention the character’s name right away, but as I said, it was jolting. Plus within the chapters, I sometimes had a little trouble remembering whose point-of-view it was.
So see, the Complaint Board is bigger than the Joy Jar, so this book stays in the Meh camp. Basically I was trapped in a house for seven long days with mostly boring people, but I was still anxious to see how it all panned out. I liked it okay, but a lot of things made me whine whine whine.
Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.
Ghosts, then witches, so now what's my beef? Boring suburban family celebrating Christmas, that's what! Made me pull the Complaint Board right out of the shed. I will begrudgingly admit that this isn't your typical Christmas. The family is under quarantine because daughter Olivia has been working in Africa as a doctor, treating people afflicted with a deadly virus. Her return shakes up the holiday and makes it interesting. In fact, she was the only character whom I wanted to be in the room with. I would have preferred being in Africa with her, living through drama there.
Decorating a tree and baking special Christmas-y treats makes me unchy in a bad way. I know the point was to create a festive traditional holiday that is ruined by all sorts of drama. The sweet holiday that’s supposed to be all comfort and joy being eclipsed by discomfort and woe. Even so, it makes me want to beat feet out of there, to hide out in the backyard with wine and cigarettes while I spew rapid-fire cuss words. My reaction is especially strange because cussing is the only one of those three things that I do. My holiday-in-the-suburbs aversion probably relates back to the days when I needed to rebel but was too goody-two-shoes to do so, but who cares. This isn't Dr. Phil.
The family consists of Olivia the Mother-Theresa daughter, dad the food critic, Phoebe the vapid valley girl (hm…if there is a British version) younger daughter, and a mom so clueless and Betty Crocker-y it sent me to my pretend backyard vices way too often. There are two minor characters—a long-lost son and Olivia’s Father-Theresa boyfriend—who are interesting, but they don’t have enough airtime. Then there’s Phoebe’s asinine boyfriend who I always wanted to ditch.
Okay, I’ll switch to the Joy Jar for a bit, just so you can see why it earned a 3.5.
-What’s majorly good: I wanted to see what would happen. There was no chance I'd stop reading.
-I believe in you! The boring characters, plus Olivia The Interesting, were all well-drawn and believable.
-I love me a secret! There are several—all believable and mostly intriguing. I always love it when people are trying to hide something; it ratchets up the tension. Everything gets all messed up as people do some combination of lying, covering their tracks, cringing, and getting all verklempt. And then there’s always luscious excitement and chaos when, ta da, the secret is exposed.
-Good bones. The book had good bones yet didn't strut its stuff. By this I mean it was a seamless read--the plot and the pace at which it unfolded was well done, yet we didn't see any self-conscious effort behind it. It was smooth going.
Now, back to the Complaint Board:
-Save me! From the boring people in a boring family at a boring holiday. Bah humbug! (I know I’m getting boring by repeating this complaint, but it was the number 1 downer for me. Okay, I promise never to mention it again.)
-Golly. Oh dear. That’s a direct quote uttered by Emma the Mom. Mom was just too old-fashioned, clueless, and repressed. Maybe there are tons of 65-year-old women like her (I’m in my 60s and I don’t know any), but even if there are, I don’t want to be stuck with them for seven days. I think the author could have made her less of an old-fashioned dummy.
-The quarantine! The quarantine! Now wait just one minute. You mean to say that the national health department wouldn’t have been monitoring the quarantine, making sure no one came to or left the house? It was all too loosey-goosey. “Oh, George showed up; come on in!” “Darn it, Phoebe and George left the house for a while.” “Oh dear, Andrew went for a run.” “Gee, I hope none of them spread the deadly virus.” I just find it hard to believe that the government would have trusted people to obey the rules of quarantine without monitoring.
-Spare me the coincidences.
-Nah, I don’t believe Dad would have done THAT! And because he did THAT, it was obvious that later it would wreak havoc.
-I knew it. Oh, you’re so predictable. Toward the end, there was one thing going on with Olivia that was totally obvious. We were supposed to think something else was happening, but I knew it wasn’t. (Sorry for being vague, but I don’t want a spoiler.) I’d be surprised if others didn’t suspect what I suspected. This pretty much wrecked the suspense.
-I say the “She said” and the “he said” were confusing. Each chapter was written from a different character’s point of view, with third-person narration. I’m not sure this type of narration always works when you alternate chapters, especially so often. I guess I’m used to the easier-to-follow first-person style. Here, every time I got to a new chapter I was jolted. Whose point-of-view do we have here now? The author was careful to mention the character’s name right away, but as I said, it was jolting. Plus within the chapters, I sometimes had a little trouble remembering whose point-of-view it was.
So see, the Complaint Board is bigger than the Joy Jar, so this book stays in the Meh camp. Basically I was trapped in a house for seven long days with mostly boring people, but I was still anxious to see how it all panned out. I liked it okay, but a lot of things made me whine whine whine.
Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.
February 28, 2018
Why This Book
I was surfing NetGalley when this one appeared on my screen. Given it's a family drama, one of my favorite sub-genres, I had to read it. I'm on a kick to finish reading all my NetGalley books by 12/31 before I can request anything else, so this moved to the top of the list. I added it as a book on my 'Book Bucket List' on my blog at https://thisismytruthnow.com/my-very-..., where my followers choose one book for me to read each month. This was the winner for December, so I moved it up the queue.
Plot, Characters & Setting
The Birch family, parents Emma and Andrew, have two daughters, Olivia and Phoebe, in a small lovely English town. Olivia is visiting for the first time in a very long time, taking a week's vacation from her work in Africa. Due to working with a particular type of disease, she and her family must live in quarantine for 1 week to ensure the disease doesn't spread. Each family member has their own secret, which are all starting to come undone during this week long exercise in re-connection. I won't spoil anything, but it's a very warm-story about how everyone relates with each other, or fails to connect, over the course of this 7-day period. A few visitors stop by the house, not realizing they must stay once they've been exposed, which makes the drama level heightened.
Approach & Style
I read the Kindle version on my iPad of this 350 page book over the course of a week. It's a contemporary fiction family drama novel told from the perspective of each of the major characters in the main family. The novel is in third person POV with relatively short chapters.
Strengths & Concerns
Hornak excels at creating distinct family members with believable characteristics and stories. I liked them all for different reasons, but even better as a family unit. The English setting is quite charming and helps shine a light on the type of 'off-balance' relationships going on in the Birch family. The story doesn't get nicely wrapped up in a bow at the end, which is always a good thing -- it's nice to leave a bit of drama still circulating around the edges. The writing is crisp and clean. I find myself thinking about the family days after I've finished reading it.
While I enjoyed the construct of the seven day period, it felt a bit rushed as there is a bit of history to get caught up on with each character. It's minor, and there's really no other way around it (I've written a novel in a similar structure, so I totally get it!). I would have liked some additional content in the Epilogue to know where the characters went eventually; the current version was way too short. Both are minor and nothing to even distract or worry. I always try to leave a small suggestion.
Author, Other Similar Books, & Final Thoughts
I believe this is her debut, and it's outstanding under that context. I truly look forward to reading more from her. Thank you to NetGalley for granting me the ability to read this book, as well as the publisher and author.
About Me
For those new to me or my reviews... here's the scoop: I’m Jay, an author who lives in NYC. My debut novel, Watching Glass Shatter, can be purchased on Amazon. I write A LOT. I read A LOT. And now I blog A LOT. First the book review goes on Goodreads, and then I send it on over to my WordPress blog at https://thisismytruthnow.com, where you'll find the revealing and introspective 365 Daily Challenge – words and humor. You can also find all my social media profiles to get the details on the who/what/when/where and my pictures. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Thanks for stopping by. Note: All written content is my original creation and copyrighted to me, but the graphics and images were linked from other sites and belong to them. Many thanks to their original creators.
I was surfing NetGalley when this one appeared on my screen. Given it's a family drama, one of my favorite sub-genres, I had to read it. I'm on a kick to finish reading all my NetGalley books by 12/31 before I can request anything else, so this moved to the top of the list. I added it as a book on my 'Book Bucket List' on my blog at https://thisismytruthnow.com/my-very-..., where my followers choose one book for me to read each month. This was the winner for December, so I moved it up the queue.
Plot, Characters & Setting
The Birch family, parents Emma and Andrew, have two daughters, Olivia and Phoebe, in a small lovely English town. Olivia is visiting for the first time in a very long time, taking a week's vacation from her work in Africa. Due to working with a particular type of disease, she and her family must live in quarantine for 1 week to ensure the disease doesn't spread. Each family member has their own secret, which are all starting to come undone during this week long exercise in re-connection. I won't spoil anything, but it's a very warm-story about how everyone relates with each other, or fails to connect, over the course of this 7-day period. A few visitors stop by the house, not realizing they must stay once they've been exposed, which makes the drama level heightened.
Approach & Style
I read the Kindle version on my iPad of this 350 page book over the course of a week. It's a contemporary fiction family drama novel told from the perspective of each of the major characters in the main family. The novel is in third person POV with relatively short chapters.
Strengths & Concerns
Hornak excels at creating distinct family members with believable characteristics and stories. I liked them all for different reasons, but even better as a family unit. The English setting is quite charming and helps shine a light on the type of 'off-balance' relationships going on in the Birch family. The story doesn't get nicely wrapped up in a bow at the end, which is always a good thing -- it's nice to leave a bit of drama still circulating around the edges. The writing is crisp and clean. I find myself thinking about the family days after I've finished reading it.
While I enjoyed the construct of the seven day period, it felt a bit rushed as there is a bit of history to get caught up on with each character. It's minor, and there's really no other way around it (I've written a novel in a similar structure, so I totally get it!). I would have liked some additional content in the Epilogue to know where the characters went eventually; the current version was way too short. Both are minor and nothing to even distract or worry. I always try to leave a small suggestion.
Author, Other Similar Books, & Final Thoughts
I believe this is her debut, and it's outstanding under that context. I truly look forward to reading more from her. Thank you to NetGalley for granting me the ability to read this book, as well as the publisher and author.
About Me
For those new to me or my reviews... here's the scoop: I’m Jay, an author who lives in NYC. My debut novel, Watching Glass Shatter, can be purchased on Amazon. I write A LOT. I read A LOT. And now I blog A LOT. First the book review goes on Goodreads, and then I send it on over to my WordPress blog at https://thisismytruthnow.com, where you'll find the revealing and introspective 365 Daily Challenge – words and humor. You can also find all my social media profiles to get the details on the who/what/when/where and my pictures. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Thanks for stopping by. Note: All written content is my original creation and copyrighted to me, but the graphics and images were linked from other sites and belong to them. Many thanks to their original creators.
October 23, 2017
Traveling Sisters Group read with Norma, Susanne, Jan, and Dana.
I read Seven Days of Us with four of my Traveling Sisters and this one will be added to one of our best discussions we have had.
Seven Days of Us is a well written warm, funny, and insightful character-driven family drama that explores the dynamics of a family with realistic and interesting characters. The Birch family could be any family and we could see ourselves and our family in these memorable characters and we began to open up with each other and sharing some of our experiences in our discussion.
The story is told from different perspectives of each of the family members. When we first met each member of the family we started to see how self-absorbed each one was in different ways from their experiences and environment. We found ourselves judging them quite harshly. Francesca Hornak does a good job with the family dynamics and showing us different sides to each member from the different perspectives allowing us to see and understand how each affected the other members of the family. The way we felt about the characters started to change and we really started to see them more as I family and we really enjoyed the dynamics of the family. I really loved how I started to see in our discussions how our opinions and our discussions started to change as the characters developed and grew.
Thank you to Francesca Hornak for writing such an insightful and thought-provoking book that could bring out so much about ourselves that allowed us to share our own experiences with each other making this one of our favorite Sister reads. It will be a special one for all of us. We highly recommend for group club reads.
Thank you so much to Edelweiss, Berkley Publishing and Francesca Hornak for the opportunity to read a copy of this book in exchange for a review.
All of our Traveling Sisters Reviews can be found on our sister blog:
http://www.twogirlslostinacouleereadi...
I read Seven Days of Us with four of my Traveling Sisters and this one will be added to one of our best discussions we have had.
Seven Days of Us is a well written warm, funny, and insightful character-driven family drama that explores the dynamics of a family with realistic and interesting characters. The Birch family could be any family and we could see ourselves and our family in these memorable characters and we began to open up with each other and sharing some of our experiences in our discussion.
The story is told from different perspectives of each of the family members. When we first met each member of the family we started to see how self-absorbed each one was in different ways from their experiences and environment. We found ourselves judging them quite harshly. Francesca Hornak does a good job with the family dynamics and showing us different sides to each member from the different perspectives allowing us to see and understand how each affected the other members of the family. The way we felt about the characters started to change and we really started to see them more as I family and we really enjoyed the dynamics of the family. I really loved how I started to see in our discussions how our opinions and our discussions started to change as the characters developed and grew.
Thank you to Francesca Hornak for writing such an insightful and thought-provoking book that could bring out so much about ourselves that allowed us to share our own experiences with each other making this one of our favorite Sister reads. It will be a special one for all of us. We highly recommend for group club reads.
Thank you so much to Edelweiss, Berkley Publishing and Francesca Hornak for the opportunity to read a copy of this book in exchange for a review.
All of our Traveling Sisters Reviews can be found on our sister blog:
http://www.twogirlslostinacouleereadi...
October 31, 2017
EXCERPT: Here it was, the voice he had been half dreading, half expecting. He thought back to that sultry night in Beirut 1980, the one he had tried to convince himself had never happened. And then he thought of the strange little letter that Leila Deeba had written him eighteen months ago, which had been forwarded from The World's offices. He still had it, hidden from Emma. 'My late birth mother was ...' So the glorious, firm-bodied woman he had fucked between hotel sheets was dead. He stood up and stared out of the rain-flecked window. 'Frosty the Snowman' came floating up from the basement kitchen. How had he reached an age when a woman he had slept with could be dead - and it wasn't even remarkable? It was a bleak train of thought, and he forced himself back to the present. What, if anything, ought he to reply to this man? And, more to the point, what on earth was he going to tell Emma?
THE BLURB: A warm, wry, sharply observed debut novel about what happens when a family is forced to spend a week together in quarantine over the holidays...
It’s Christmas, and for the first time in years the entire Birch family will be under one roof. Even Emma and Andrew’s elder daughter—who is usually off saving the world—will be joining them at Weyfield Hall, their aging country estate. But Olivia, a doctor, is only coming home because she has to. Having just returned from treating an epidemic abroad, she’s been told she must stay in quarantine for a week…and so too should her family.
For the next seven days, the Birches are locked down, cut off from the rest of humanity—and even decent Wi-Fi—and forced into each other’s orbits. Younger, unabashedly frivolous daughter Phoebe is fixated on her upcoming wedding, while Olivia deals with the culture shock of being immersed in first-world problems.
As Andrew sequesters himself in his study writing scathing restaurant reviews and remembering his glory days as a war correspondent, Emma hides a secret that will turn the whole family upside down.
In close proximity, not much can stay hidden for long, and as revelations and long-held tensions come to light, nothing is more shocking than the unexpected guest who’s about to arrive…
MY THOUGHTS: Written in short chapters, alternating between the members of the Birch family and their unexpected guest, who finds himself in a situation he could never have imagined, this is an emotional and sometimes amusing story of a family forced to spend seven days sequestered together cut off from the outside world.
Previously the author of two non-fiction books and numerous newspaper and magazine articles, this is Hornak's first foray into the world of the fictional novel. And it is an impressive foray. She displays a great descriptive turn of phrase, describing age spotted mirrors as being like over-ripe bananas. She also has a good understanding of family dynamics and a talent for conveying them, realistically, into words. You will grow to both love and detest her characters, you will want to hug them and slap some sense into them.
This is not a book that is going to set the world on fire. It is a book that is a quietly satisfying read and should be read with a supply of tissues within easy reach.
Seven Days of Us by Francesca Hornak is due to be published 31st October 2017.
Thank you to Hachette Australia via Netgalley for providing a digital copy of The Seven Days of Us by Francesca Hornak for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own. Please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the 'about' page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com for an explanation of my rating system. This review and others are also published on my blog sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
THE BLURB: A warm, wry, sharply observed debut novel about what happens when a family is forced to spend a week together in quarantine over the holidays...
It’s Christmas, and for the first time in years the entire Birch family will be under one roof. Even Emma and Andrew’s elder daughter—who is usually off saving the world—will be joining them at Weyfield Hall, their aging country estate. But Olivia, a doctor, is only coming home because she has to. Having just returned from treating an epidemic abroad, she’s been told she must stay in quarantine for a week…and so too should her family.
For the next seven days, the Birches are locked down, cut off from the rest of humanity—and even decent Wi-Fi—and forced into each other’s orbits. Younger, unabashedly frivolous daughter Phoebe is fixated on her upcoming wedding, while Olivia deals with the culture shock of being immersed in first-world problems.
As Andrew sequesters himself in his study writing scathing restaurant reviews and remembering his glory days as a war correspondent, Emma hides a secret that will turn the whole family upside down.
In close proximity, not much can stay hidden for long, and as revelations and long-held tensions come to light, nothing is more shocking than the unexpected guest who’s about to arrive…
MY THOUGHTS: Written in short chapters, alternating between the members of the Birch family and their unexpected guest, who finds himself in a situation he could never have imagined, this is an emotional and sometimes amusing story of a family forced to spend seven days sequestered together cut off from the outside world.
Previously the author of two non-fiction books and numerous newspaper and magazine articles, this is Hornak's first foray into the world of the fictional novel. And it is an impressive foray. She displays a great descriptive turn of phrase, describing age spotted mirrors as being like over-ripe bananas. She also has a good understanding of family dynamics and a talent for conveying them, realistically, into words. You will grow to both love and detest her characters, you will want to hug them and slap some sense into them.
This is not a book that is going to set the world on fire. It is a book that is a quietly satisfying read and should be read with a supply of tissues within easy reach.
Seven Days of Us by Francesca Hornak is due to be published 31st October 2017.
Thank you to Hachette Australia via Netgalley for providing a digital copy of The Seven Days of Us by Francesca Hornak for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own. Please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the 'about' page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com for an explanation of my rating system. This review and others are also published on my blog sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
August 5, 2019
See my EXCLUSIVE interview with Francesca Hornak here!
Seven Days of Us is the quintessential heartwarming family novel, a quick and quaint little holiday read to be devoured in one sitting. With flashes of wit, intellect and social reflection peppered in, Seven Days offers a great combination of laughter and insight, as we get to know these characters while they re-get to know each other. Imagine being stuck in your home for seven days with your family, unable to flee into the night, unable to avoid the unavoidable. To me, that sounds like the worst kind of torture! And Francesca Hornak brought that feeling to life in a meaningful way that allows the reader to identify with at least one of the characters, always a treat.
This read is not one that will bog you down, nor is it one that will stay with me, personally, for very long. Seven Days of Us is a novel that stays in its lane; it doesn't try to masquerade as something it's not, and I can respect that. I don't know that it was "sharply" anything, as the blurb implied, and the ending did hurry to a close like an urgent hand at your back. BUT, it is a read for the lovers of the quaint and cozy literary experience, a novel for anyone who loved the movie The Family Stone (2005), and a delightful treat for those on holiday to pass the time and enjoy a chuckle. If that's what you're looking for, you've found a home and a warm mug of Earl Grey within the pages of Hornak's Seven Days. 3*
**Thank you so much to Berkley Publishing who reached out to me and sent me a physical ARC of this book!
FOLLOW ME HERE:
Art + Deco Agency Book Blog | Twitter | Instagram | Art + Deco Publishing Agency
Exclusive FRANCESCA HORNAK INTERVIEW: Francesca Hornak Muses on her Journey to Seven Days of Us
Seven Days of Us is the quintessential heartwarming family novel, a quick and quaint little holiday read to be devoured in one sitting. With flashes of wit, intellect and social reflection peppered in, Seven Days offers a great combination of laughter and insight, as we get to know these characters while they re-get to know each other. Imagine being stuck in your home for seven days with your family, unable to flee into the night, unable to avoid the unavoidable. To me, that sounds like the worst kind of torture! And Francesca Hornak brought that feeling to life in a meaningful way that allows the reader to identify with at least one of the characters, always a treat.
This read is not one that will bog you down, nor is it one that will stay with me, personally, for very long. Seven Days of Us is a novel that stays in its lane; it doesn't try to masquerade as something it's not, and I can respect that. I don't know that it was "sharply" anything, as the blurb implied, and the ending did hurry to a close like an urgent hand at your back. BUT, it is a read for the lovers of the quaint and cozy literary experience, a novel for anyone who loved the movie The Family Stone (2005), and a delightful treat for those on holiday to pass the time and enjoy a chuckle. If that's what you're looking for, you've found a home and a warm mug of Earl Grey within the pages of Hornak's Seven Days. 3*
**Thank you so much to Berkley Publishing who reached out to me and sent me a physical ARC of this book!
FOLLOW ME HERE:
Art + Deco Agency Book Blog | Twitter | Instagram | Art + Deco Publishing Agency
Exclusive FRANCESCA HORNAK INTERVIEW: Francesca Hornak Muses on her Journey to Seven Days of Us
October 17, 2017
!! NOW AVAILABLE !!
“A week is a long time to spend with your family.”
Picture your family gathered together to celebrate the holidays, a stressful time of year for some, for others an excuse to indulge in excesses. You’ve come back to the family “home” which has been used for the holidays for years, an older, slightly worn down much larger home in the country, a home that belonged to those no longer alive. You arrive thinking it’ll be like all the other years, but instead of the usual two or three days, it’s 7 days. Seven days of being reminded why it’s nice to visit, but leaving feels like such relief.
The father is Andrew, once upon a time he was a war reporter, but traded in those days to be a food critic, so he could be around for his two daughters and wife.
Emma is the mother, and wife of Andrew; it is her parents’ home where they will gather, a home to which she has strong emotional attachments. Once upon a time Emma was a caterer, in her other life, before their daughters Olivia and Phoebe arrived.
Olivia is a doctor, heading home from Liberia where she has spent the last few Christmas days treating patients who have contracted Haag, a lethal plague. She flies back to London with a co-worker by her side, Shaun, who is heading home to Ireland.
Phoebe is a daddy’s girl and frequently seems to use it to get her way. She’s a bit of a flibbertigibbet who would be right at home on a reality-TV show. She works in reality television, of course. Her world revolves around her, what to wear, how to dress, making sure to be center-of-attention worthy. She can’t relate to her sister anymore, can’t remember when she last could. Olivia’s life sounds dreadful to her. She’d rather focus on her upcoming wedding.
Olivia’s return home means potential exposure to the Haag virus for anyone she comes in contact with, means that everyone in the home, once she arrives, is quarantined, stuck in the house. No one leaves; no one else is allowed to enter. If they do, they are subject to the quarantine. Seven days.
This is the Birch family. Andrew, Emma, Olivia and Phoebe. A few additional people wander into the story, but they are the family with whom you will spend their holiday.
"Never mind EastEnders —this was pure telenovela."
Eventually, they begin to get on each other’s nerves. It’s inevitable. Tempers flare, things are said, feelings are hurt. It’s family, they spent years perfecting those little snarky comments that they swore they would not use this time, but they fly out before they’ve even had time to think them, like an automatic weapon. Secrets are exposed, and once they’re out, you can’t just put them back.
If you’re looking for a heartwarming read, something to remind you why the holidays are such a peaceful, loving time of year when we wish goodwill to all we see, and carry nary a bad thought – this is not that book. It’s not “White Christmas” or “Miracle on 34th Street” or “It’s a Wonderful Life.” It’s not so much hysterically funny as it is charmingly so, amusing if not laugh-out-loud funny. More “This is Where I Leave You” funny.
This is, more or less, a dysfunctional family melodramatic comedy-lite that takes place over the holidays, but for those who prefer their holidays without religion, this could easily be any holiday.
Pub Date: 17 Oct 2017
Many thanks for the ARC provided by Berkley Publishing Group / Penguin Random House
“A week is a long time to spend with your family.”
Picture your family gathered together to celebrate the holidays, a stressful time of year for some, for others an excuse to indulge in excesses. You’ve come back to the family “home” which has been used for the holidays for years, an older, slightly worn down much larger home in the country, a home that belonged to those no longer alive. You arrive thinking it’ll be like all the other years, but instead of the usual two or three days, it’s 7 days. Seven days of being reminded why it’s nice to visit, but leaving feels like such relief.
The father is Andrew, once upon a time he was a war reporter, but traded in those days to be a food critic, so he could be around for his two daughters and wife.
Emma is the mother, and wife of Andrew; it is her parents’ home where they will gather, a home to which she has strong emotional attachments. Once upon a time Emma was a caterer, in her other life, before their daughters Olivia and Phoebe arrived.
Olivia is a doctor, heading home from Liberia where she has spent the last few Christmas days treating patients who have contracted Haag, a lethal plague. She flies back to London with a co-worker by her side, Shaun, who is heading home to Ireland.
Phoebe is a daddy’s girl and frequently seems to use it to get her way. She’s a bit of a flibbertigibbet who would be right at home on a reality-TV show. She works in reality television, of course. Her world revolves around her, what to wear, how to dress, making sure to be center-of-attention worthy. She can’t relate to her sister anymore, can’t remember when she last could. Olivia’s life sounds dreadful to her. She’d rather focus on her upcoming wedding.
Olivia’s return home means potential exposure to the Haag virus for anyone she comes in contact with, means that everyone in the home, once she arrives, is quarantined, stuck in the house. No one leaves; no one else is allowed to enter. If they do, they are subject to the quarantine. Seven days.
This is the Birch family. Andrew, Emma, Olivia and Phoebe. A few additional people wander into the story, but they are the family with whom you will spend their holiday.
"Never mind EastEnders —this was pure telenovela."
Eventually, they begin to get on each other’s nerves. It’s inevitable. Tempers flare, things are said, feelings are hurt. It’s family, they spent years perfecting those little snarky comments that they swore they would not use this time, but they fly out before they’ve even had time to think them, like an automatic weapon. Secrets are exposed, and once they’re out, you can’t just put them back.
If you’re looking for a heartwarming read, something to remind you why the holidays are such a peaceful, loving time of year when we wish goodwill to all we see, and carry nary a bad thought – this is not that book. It’s not “White Christmas” or “Miracle on 34th Street” or “It’s a Wonderful Life.” It’s not so much hysterically funny as it is charmingly so, amusing if not laugh-out-loud funny. More “This is Where I Leave You” funny.
This is, more or less, a dysfunctional family melodramatic comedy-lite that takes place over the holidays, but for those who prefer their holidays without religion, this could easily be any holiday.
Pub Date: 17 Oct 2017
Many thanks for the ARC provided by Berkley Publishing Group / Penguin Random House
August 2, 2017
When Olivia Birch heads home for Christmas after relief work in Liberia, she dooms her family to spend seven days in quarantine. Can the family survive its own company?
This is not the type of book I usually read. The publisher contacted me and I accepted a print ARC for some reason. I'm quite glad I did.
Seven Days of Us is a tale about secrets, the secrets a family keeps from one another. Being locked up together over the holidays is like a steel cage match, even for a stiff upper lip British family like the Birchs.
Secrets can devour a person and the Birch family and their associates get hit by a swarm of piranhas. Illegitimate children, gay fiances, cancer, secret relationships, you name it. Some of the twists were predictable, unbelievable even. Others were like a punch in the groin. The last one was like bungee jumping, having the band snap, and landing on a mountain of broken glass. Once I got into the groove, I felt like Seven Days of Us was glued to my hands and eyes.
It's a compulsively readable book. The characters are well-nuanced and I couldn't wait to see what happened to them. It's begging to be made into a movie starring probably Colin Firth.
It's not my usual cup of tea but we all need a sip of Oolong instead of the usual Earl Grey now and then. Four out of five stars.
This is not the type of book I usually read. The publisher contacted me and I accepted a print ARC for some reason. I'm quite glad I did.
Seven Days of Us is a tale about secrets, the secrets a family keeps from one another. Being locked up together over the holidays is like a steel cage match, even for a stiff upper lip British family like the Birchs.
Secrets can devour a person and the Birch family and their associates get hit by a swarm of piranhas. Illegitimate children, gay fiances, cancer, secret relationships, you name it. Some of the twists were predictable, unbelievable even. Others were like a punch in the groin. The last one was like bungee jumping, having the band snap, and landing on a mountain of broken glass. Once I got into the groove, I felt like Seven Days of Us was glued to my hands and eyes.
It's a compulsively readable book. The characters are well-nuanced and I couldn't wait to see what happened to them. It's begging to be made into a movie starring probably Colin Firth.
It's not my usual cup of tea but we all need a sip of Oolong instead of the usual Earl Grey now and then. Four out of five stars.
February 9, 2018
Audiobook Library overdrive ebook
I finished this about a week ago --
I enjoyed it --
To be quarantine for seven days with these people -- was as challenging as the issues each character was dealing with.
But............leave it to MOM:
"Mother" just wanted EVERYONE to be HAPPY.....
If only everyone would just listen to her --life would be smooth sailing ...........
Well, life wasn't all that easy for these folks..........but made for some emotional heart felt reading for us. Great character development -(somebody to connect with for every reader) -
lots and lots of family drama!!!
Merry Christmas in February!
I finished this about a week ago --
I enjoyed it --
To be quarantine for seven days with these people -- was as challenging as the issues each character was dealing with.
But............leave it to MOM:
"Mother" just wanted EVERYONE to be HAPPY.....
If only everyone would just listen to her --life would be smooth sailing ...........
Well, life wasn't all that easy for these folks..........but made for some emotional heart felt reading for us. Great character development -(somebody to connect with for every reader) -
lots and lots of family drama!!!
Merry Christmas in February!
October 13, 2017
Olivia returns home from treating an epidemic in Africa and it forces not only her, but her entire family to be quarantined for the entire week over the Christmas holidays. A GR friend of mine compared this to This is Where I Leave You. But this is bittersweet, sad really, not humorous. Almost everyone is hiding some sort of secret, all of which will rock the family. The thing here is that these folks just don't talk to each other. Is it, as Jesse thinks, that whole British stiff upper lip thing? The story is told from all the multiple points of view, so you are privy to all their thoughts, the same ones they aren't confiding to each other. This book reminds us why family is so often best taken in small doses. You see the sibling rivalry, the parental favorites.
One of the main themes here is feeling out of place. Whether it's Olivia feeling overwhelmed to be back in England and dealing with first world problems or Jesse flying from L.A. to the Norfolk seaside of England to meet his birth father. As Olivia writes “Because it turns out that coming back home can be lonely”.
I alternated between feeling sympathy for Phoebe and irritated by her. The typical young thing, no concerns beyond her wedding dreams. Flip side, I wanted to strangle Andrew, who thinks playing ostrich will solve his problems. Hornak does a wonderful job of fleshing out each one of these characters and getting the whole family dynamic thing.
This a lovely, sad character study. There are a few too many melodramatic turns, some of which you can see coming from miles away. But that doesn't stop this from being, in the end, a heartwarming tale of family love.
My thanks to netgalley and Berkeley Publishing for an advance copy of this novel.
November 7, 2017
Seven days of togetherness along with secrets and tension make up the Birch family's Christmas holiday this year.
Emma has a health secret.
Andrew has a really big secret from his past.
Olivia has something she has to keep secret while in quarantine.
Phoebe really doesn't have a secret but is very self centered.
Staying in Emma's family estate is a bit challenging since Emma doesn't like to change anything from when she spent time there as she grew up. Things are old and decaying, and the technological side of it is very slow.
I wasn't sure what this book was going to be like at first, but once each chapter began to reveal things about each character, it became a very good read for me.
I laughed a lot as well as worried a lot. The funniest thing was that each year they planted the Christmas tree back in the same spot and uprooted it again for the next Christmas. The worries about their secret were intense for some of the characters, and I worried along with them.
SEVEN DAYS OF US was well written and a light read even though some of the issues were not light. The family grew on me to the point that I would have liked to be quarantined with them.
An enjoyable read that will have you wondering what decisions you would have made about your secrets and situations. SEVEN DAYS OF US also has some heart wrenching events.
Excellent debut novel - marvelous writing and detail as well as a great story line. 4/5
This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher, NetGalley, and Great Thought's Ninja Review Team in return for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Emma has a health secret.
Andrew has a really big secret from his past.
Olivia has something she has to keep secret while in quarantine.
Phoebe really doesn't have a secret but is very self centered.
Staying in Emma's family estate is a bit challenging since Emma doesn't like to change anything from when she spent time there as she grew up. Things are old and decaying, and the technological side of it is very slow.
I wasn't sure what this book was going to be like at first, but once each chapter began to reveal things about each character, it became a very good read for me.
I laughed a lot as well as worried a lot. The funniest thing was that each year they planted the Christmas tree back in the same spot and uprooted it again for the next Christmas. The worries about their secret were intense for some of the characters, and I worried along with them.
SEVEN DAYS OF US was well written and a light read even though some of the issues were not light. The family grew on me to the point that I would have liked to be quarantined with them.
An enjoyable read that will have you wondering what decisions you would have made about your secrets and situations. SEVEN DAYS OF US also has some heart wrenching events.
Excellent debut novel - marvelous writing and detail as well as a great story line. 4/5
This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher, NetGalley, and Great Thought's Ninja Review Team in return for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
July 19, 2017
Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/
I normally throw a little “thank you” disclaimer at the very end of my reviews when I score a freebie in order to cover my tail for the FTC guidelines and not much more. That’s because 99.99999% of the time I am the onebegging requesting the ARC myself, and also because by now it should be glaringly obvious that I’m brutally honest in my reviews no matter what manner I obtained any given book. This time the case is different and, although I’m under no obligation to do so, I want to say thank you to the publisher for being brave enough to poke this old grizzly bear in order to see if I was interested in an advanced copy and risk my wrath should things have not gone well.
Seven Days of Us may have never ended up on my radar if she wouldn’t have contacted me and I would have missed out on meeting my type of people.
The story here goes a little something like this . . .
“By the time you read this, my family and I will be under house arrest. Or, more accurately, Haag arrest. . . . . For exactly one week we are to avoid all contact with the outside world and may only leave the house in an emergency. Should anyone make the mistake of breaking and entering, he or she will be obliged to stay with us, until our quarantine is up.”
What could be better than a week spent surrounded by loved ones in a stately manner home in jolly old England????? Oh, right . . . .
“This whole family is so – so fucking self-absorbed. What’s wrong with you all?”
If you like your characters and plot to be sunshine and unicorn farts and your manor house to be magazine worthy, the Birch family and their dilapidated property probably aren’t where you’d like to spend your time. If you’re like me and enjoy taking a trip to Dysfunction Junction where others’ skeletons might come tumbling out of any opened closet at any moment, this one might be a winner. Although Seven Days of Us doesn’t come out for several months, I’m jumping the gun on posting a review here to get it on your radar if you already know you will find yourself surrounded by loved ones during the holiday season . . . .
I received a free copy of this book. Duh. It didn’t sway me in any way to post a positive review. The blurb was right – I enjoyed The Vacationers and I enjoyed this. Now I’m questioning why I’ve avoided reading The Nest.
I normally throw a little “thank you” disclaimer at the very end of my reviews when I score a freebie in order to cover my tail for the FTC guidelines and not much more. That’s because 99.99999% of the time I am the one
Seven Days of Us may have never ended up on my radar if she wouldn’t have contacted me and I would have missed out on meeting my type of people.
The story here goes a little something like this . . .
“By the time you read this, my family and I will be under house arrest. Or, more accurately, Haag arrest. . . . . For exactly one week we are to avoid all contact with the outside world and may only leave the house in an emergency. Should anyone make the mistake of breaking and entering, he or she will be obliged to stay with us, until our quarantine is up.”
What could be better than a week spent surrounded by loved ones in a stately manner home in jolly old England????? Oh, right . . . .
“This whole family is so – so fucking self-absorbed. What’s wrong with you all?”
If you like your characters and plot to be sunshine and unicorn farts and your manor house to be magazine worthy, the Birch family and their dilapidated property probably aren’t where you’d like to spend your time. If you’re like me and enjoy taking a trip to Dysfunction Junction where others’ skeletons might come tumbling out of any opened closet at any moment, this one might be a winner. Although Seven Days of Us doesn’t come out for several months, I’m jumping the gun on posting a review here to get it on your radar if you already know you will find yourself surrounded by loved ones during the holiday season . . . .
I received a free copy of this book. Duh. It didn’t sway me in any way to post a positive review. The blurb was right – I enjoyed The Vacationers and I enjoyed this. Now I’m questioning why I’ve avoided reading The Nest.
November 8, 2018
4 dysfunctional family stars to Seven Days of Us! ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
A few of my friends read this book last year, and it turns out not only did they have a wonderful discussion, they connected to the book and its characters. That’s one of my favorite aspects of reading, and since that time, I have wanted to share in the same experience with reading this book.
The Birch family reunites at Weyfield Hall, their country estate, for Christmas after many years apart.
Olivia is one of the adult children, and she is a doctor who has been abroad and exposed to an epidemic. She is told she and her family must be quarantined for a week. The father, Andrew, is a restaurant critic wiling away his time solo writing reviews, with a secret tucked away, and meanwhile, his wife, Emma, has a secret of her own. Also present is another daughter, Phoebe, who only seems to care about planning her wedding.
The entire Birch family is living under one roof, and they have to interact again, good, bad, or indifferent.
The Birches are on top of each other in the estate, which forces their honesty and communication about past transgressions. But when the biggest secret of all arrives with a knock at the front door, will their family ever recover?
Seven Days of Us is an entertaining family drama. The nuances to each character brought the family dynamics to life. Even though at times the drama is … well, pretty over-the-top, the issues at the heart of this family are distinctly relatable to most anyone, including strained communication, hidden family secrets, and yearning for a sense of belonging. The characters are insightful about themselves, which is refreshing and adds to the relatability.
Seven Days of Us is a heartwarming, dramatic, engaging, and ultimately uplifting read. The Birches are as dysfunctional as they come, and I was fully invested in their escapades and efforts to survive their holiday together. This is truly the perfect book to read this time of year; maybe even share it with one of your favorite (dysfunctional?) family members? I know know I plan to!
Thank you to Berkley for the invitation to be part of the blog tour and for the paperback copy. All opinions are my own.
My reviews are also available on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com
A few of my friends read this book last year, and it turns out not only did they have a wonderful discussion, they connected to the book and its characters. That’s one of my favorite aspects of reading, and since that time, I have wanted to share in the same experience with reading this book.
The Birch family reunites at Weyfield Hall, their country estate, for Christmas after many years apart.
Olivia is one of the adult children, and she is a doctor who has been abroad and exposed to an epidemic. She is told she and her family must be quarantined for a week. The father, Andrew, is a restaurant critic wiling away his time solo writing reviews, with a secret tucked away, and meanwhile, his wife, Emma, has a secret of her own. Also present is another daughter, Phoebe, who only seems to care about planning her wedding.
The entire Birch family is living under one roof, and they have to interact again, good, bad, or indifferent.
The Birches are on top of each other in the estate, which forces their honesty and communication about past transgressions. But when the biggest secret of all arrives with a knock at the front door, will their family ever recover?
Seven Days of Us is an entertaining family drama. The nuances to each character brought the family dynamics to life. Even though at times the drama is … well, pretty over-the-top, the issues at the heart of this family are distinctly relatable to most anyone, including strained communication, hidden family secrets, and yearning for a sense of belonging. The characters are insightful about themselves, which is refreshing and adds to the relatability.
Seven Days of Us is a heartwarming, dramatic, engaging, and ultimately uplifting read. The Birches are as dysfunctional as they come, and I was fully invested in their escapades and efforts to survive their holiday together. This is truly the perfect book to read this time of year; maybe even share it with one of your favorite (dysfunctional?) family members? I know know I plan to!
Thank you to Berkley for the invitation to be part of the blog tour and for the paperback copy. All opinions are my own.
My reviews are also available on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com
October 23, 2017
Olivia Birch is a doctor who is returning to England to spend the holidays with her family. Because she was treating an epidemic in Liberia, her entire family will be quarantined during her visit. Her mother Emma is looking forward to the week together since it is rare for everyone to be in the same location. The siblings are less enthused since they will be forced together and can't leave the house. Phoebe, the youngest daughter, is the only child living at home but that will change shortly as the family prepares for her upcoming wedding.
Olivias father Andrew recently learned that his illegitimate son wants to meet him. This news weighs on him since he never told his wife about his illegitimate child who was conceived during a brief affair. Living in close proximity starts to wear on the family and life deteriorates further as the week progresses. The lack of privacy affects everyone pushing them outside of their comfort zone. Secrets are revealed causing friction among the family members. Soon extra house guests arrive adding to the intrigue and mystery.
This is a debut novel by Francesca Hornak. Each chapter is a day in their week and is presented from each family member's point of view. The author does a wonderful job of reflecting the complications of family relationships.
Olivias father Andrew recently learned that his illegitimate son wants to meet him. This news weighs on him since he never told his wife about his illegitimate child who was conceived during a brief affair. Living in close proximity starts to wear on the family and life deteriorates further as the week progresses. The lack of privacy affects everyone pushing them outside of their comfort zone. Secrets are revealed causing friction among the family members. Soon extra house guests arrive adding to the intrigue and mystery.
This is a debut novel by Francesca Hornak. Each chapter is a day in their week and is presented from each family member's point of view. The author does a wonderful job of reflecting the complications of family relationships.
November 27, 2021
Ooo… this was just terrific! It reminded me so much of an Elin Hildebrand book in the best way even though we’re not at the beach. You’ve got this huge family with all these damning secrets. They’re all stuck together for the holidays, and everything is about to EXPLODE. I LOVED the characters. You’ve got a daughter planning a wedding, her sister who just returned from treating a terrible epidemic and who may be contagious??, a mother and father with awful secrets of their own, and other people who may be showing up at their door. It’s just all the juicy makings of a great holiday drama-fest, set on the backdrop of Christmas in the English countryside. Love love love! The family relationships were what made this shine, for good and for bad.
October 22, 2017
Seven Days of Us is a light, quick holiday read that is perfect for anyone who loves character studies. It was reminiscent of the movie The Family Stone, which I very much enjoy watching every Christmas.
An entire family is quarantined under the same roof for seven days after one of the siblings comes home for Christmas after being exposed to the Haag virus. But she is not the only one dealing with problems. As the story unfolds, we see each family member has their own issues and secrets.
I enjoyed each of these characters in different ways (having some strong initial dislike for some, that changed with time) and loved peeking into their lives. They show us, as with most dysfunctional families, that though we may appear to be wrapped up nicely in a box with a big bow on top, we are all a little broken inside.
The story has a lot of struggle and sadness, but overall, it left me feeling hopeful.
I enjoyed reading this with the Traveling Sisters Group (my first!) - Norma, Brenda, Susanne and Jan. It brought about wonderful discussions and we gleaned a lot of insight from one another. It was such a treat to read this together.
4.5 Stars rounding up
An entire family is quarantined under the same roof for seven days after one of the siblings comes home for Christmas after being exposed to the Haag virus. But she is not the only one dealing with problems. As the story unfolds, we see each family member has their own issues and secrets.
I enjoyed each of these characters in different ways (having some strong initial dislike for some, that changed with time) and loved peeking into their lives. They show us, as with most dysfunctional families, that though we may appear to be wrapped up nicely in a box with a big bow on top, we are all a little broken inside.
The story has a lot of struggle and sadness, but overall, it left me feeling hopeful.
I enjoyed reading this with the Traveling Sisters Group (my first!) - Norma, Brenda, Susanne and Jan. It brought about wonderful discussions and we gleaned a lot of insight from one another. It was such a treat to read this together.
4.5 Stars rounding up
December 31, 2018
Seven Days of Us is a touching yet funny drama set over the Christmas period. Full of witty observations into family life and thought provoking moments, it was a pleasure to escape into over the craziness of Christmas time.
Thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for the opportunity to read this ARC, in return for an honest and unbiased review.
Thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for the opportunity to read this ARC, in return for an honest and unbiased review.
December 27, 2017
Over and over I’m drawn to books about families from the mildly flawed to the seriously dysfunctional. Before you draw any conclusions about my family’s skeletons, we’re not vanilla, but not all the way to rocky road, probably somewhere in the fruity middle. What draws me to these tales is how characters interact, the baggage they carry, the grievances they won’t let rest and overall how they adapt to one another especially when they’re related. It fascinates me.
This was an entertaining holiday read as the plot takes place over Christmas and it felt very much like a play with all the drama unfolding on one stage. I loved the setting, a family’s ancestral English country home in all its dilapidated, but posh grandeur. And I found the characters to have distinctive voices due mostly to the author’s use of dialogue. Where it fell a bit short for me, however, is that the characters never felt fully fleshed out. Some of that may be due to the tight narrative structure--we have only seven days to get to know them--or it may have to do with the short chapters, but nevertheless it felt a little wanting in this category.
Still, as dysfunctional families go, the Birch clan has enough warmth, humor and heart that you’ll find them endearing just as often as you might find them irritating. This was a smart, often humorous and all around entertaining read and I’m going with four stars for sheer page-turning pleasure.
And for the record, my favorite flavor is coconut followed closely by pistachio. See? A little fruit mixed in with some nuts.
This was an entertaining holiday read as the plot takes place over Christmas and it felt very much like a play with all the drama unfolding on one stage. I loved the setting, a family’s ancestral English country home in all its dilapidated, but posh grandeur. And I found the characters to have distinctive voices due mostly to the author’s use of dialogue. Where it fell a bit short for me, however, is that the characters never felt fully fleshed out. Some of that may be due to the tight narrative structure--we have only seven days to get to know them--or it may have to do with the short chapters, but nevertheless it felt a little wanting in this category.
Still, as dysfunctional families go, the Birch clan has enough warmth, humor and heart that you’ll find them endearing just as often as you might find them irritating. This was a smart, often humorous and all around entertaining read and I’m going with four stars for sheer page-turning pleasure.
And for the record, my favorite flavor is coconut followed closely by pistachio. See? A little fruit mixed in with some nuts.
October 2, 2017
This novel is set mainly over seven days during Christmas week, when a family have a seven day quarantine. Andrew Birch is a former journalist, turned sarcastic food critic. His wife, Emma, a loving mother who wants to have a perfect family Christmas now that her daughters are both home for the holiday, despite having concerns of her own. Then there are the daughters; Phoebe, who has recently become engaged to George and Olivia, who has returned from Liberia, where she has been treating the Haag Virus (an endemic which seems based on Ebola). Olivia is a very serious young woman, compared to the frivolous Phoebe, but she has let her guard down and had a banned relationship with one of her team; an Irish doctor named Sean, and is obviously a little overwhelmed at being back home in England.
The family have de-camped to their country house in Norfolk, a home that Emma inherited and which means more to her than to the other members of her family. However, their attempts to spend their Christmas quietly in quarantine is not going to be easy. Firstly, all of the family have secrets that they are hiding from each other and, secondly, tensions and stress quickly come to the fore. Andrew is often caustic and tends to remove himself from the family; while he finds the adoring and cheerful Phoebe much easier to deal with than Olivia. Likewise, difficulties between Olivia and Phoebe soon occur – with Phoebe feeling she is always having to take into account her sister’s heroic work in Africa as more important than anything going on in her life, while Olivia is equally nonplussed by Phoebe’s obsession with her forthcoming wedding.
When the family have not one, but two, visitors invade their seclusion, it causes the family to change the way they look at each other, and their lives, forever. Meanwhile, Olivia is in quarantine for a reason, but she cannot seem to get anyone else to realise the seriousness of what is at stake. This is a very unusual book for me, but I did enjoy it. I liked the family members, and, although the sheer number of secrets between them was a little unbelievable, the author managed the different threads of the plot well. If anyone wishes for an emotional Christmas themed novel, this would be particularly good for book groups, with lots to discuss. I received a copy of this from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.
The family have de-camped to their country house in Norfolk, a home that Emma inherited and which means more to her than to the other members of her family. However, their attempts to spend their Christmas quietly in quarantine is not going to be easy. Firstly, all of the family have secrets that they are hiding from each other and, secondly, tensions and stress quickly come to the fore. Andrew is often caustic and tends to remove himself from the family; while he finds the adoring and cheerful Phoebe much easier to deal with than Olivia. Likewise, difficulties between Olivia and Phoebe soon occur – with Phoebe feeling she is always having to take into account her sister’s heroic work in Africa as more important than anything going on in her life, while Olivia is equally nonplussed by Phoebe’s obsession with her forthcoming wedding.
When the family have not one, but two, visitors invade their seclusion, it causes the family to change the way they look at each other, and their lives, forever. Meanwhile, Olivia is in quarantine for a reason, but she cannot seem to get anyone else to realise the seriousness of what is at stake. This is a very unusual book for me, but I did enjoy it. I liked the family members, and, although the sheer number of secrets between them was a little unbelievable, the author managed the different threads of the plot well. If anyone wishes for an emotional Christmas themed novel, this would be particularly good for book groups, with lots to discuss. I received a copy of this from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.
June 25, 2017
Seven Days of Us starts out slowly but stay with it because it is one of the best books I have read in a while. Told in alternating viewpoints, the Birch family chronicles the seven days they spend in quarantine (or as the patriarch Andrew Birch calls it “Haag arrest”) following the older daughter Olivia’s return from Africa where she was treating a deadly ebola-like virus called the Haag virus. Each Birch member has secrets that are slowly revealed as the story unfolds. Francesca Hornak masterfully weaves various characters’ tales together in a witty and believable manner that kept me laughing (except for one heartbreaking scene) and dying to know what would happen next. The characters are well-developed, and the author delves into the circumstances that create each individual’s current circumstance and personality. In doing so, Hornak adds depth to each character, and I found myself more sympathetic to the characters that were not as likeable initially.
On a side note, Hornak delves into the treating of the Haag virus, and I found the required protocols followed by Olivia and her fellow doctors fascinating and somewhat depressing and scary. While humans have made great strides treating various diseases, Olivia’s tale is a reminder that we still have a long way to go towards eradicating other maladies. Such detail also made me sympathize with Olivia as she tries to reintegrate into first world society.
I highly, highly recommend Seven Days of Us and am certain it will qualify as a top ten book of 2017 for me. Thanks to BookBrowse for the chance to read this ARC.
On a side note, Hornak delves into the treating of the Haag virus, and I found the required protocols followed by Olivia and her fellow doctors fascinating and somewhat depressing and scary. While humans have made great strides treating various diseases, Olivia’s tale is a reminder that we still have a long way to go towards eradicating other maladies. Such detail also made me sympathize with Olivia as she tries to reintegrate into first world society.
I highly, highly recommend Seven Days of Us and am certain it will qualify as a top ten book of 2017 for me. Thanks to BookBrowse for the chance to read this ARC.
September 27, 2017
Well one third of the way through this book I didn’t think I could take any more of this family and it’s British-ness, so up tight! I have four daughters and son in laws and five grandchildren so I know a bit about family get togethers. It’s true that often when we are all together the girls drop back into their slot in the family, oldest, baby, funniest, most laid back, etc. This family didn’t seem to have any humor to tie them together but I muddled on. But SEVEN DAYS, we never go more than four days all together, that is the absolute limit, so I was willing to see how they would survive the quarantine.
What a surprise the rest of this book was!! Ms. Hormak, in the space of just seven days, managed to make these characters grow, or maybe “come out” to each other would be a better way to describe it. I will quickly go through the characters as there are many other reviews that have written at length about them, but then what is the surprise for the new reader?
Dad Andrew writes a review column about restaurants, has done so for many years, he can be quite snarky. His first job and passion was being a war correspondent, but when children arrived he gave that up as it was too risky. He ends up being quite funny, forgiving and open.
Mom Emma loves them all to tears and just wants everyone to get along (I know this feeling well). She has just been diagnosed with what could be a devastating cancerous growth but chooses to hide it from the family until after the quarantine. She is truly a caring, open, warm and funny person who will have to learn to lean on others sometimes.
Oldest sister Olivia is a doctor just returning from treating an outburst of Haag virus in Liberia and needs to be quarantined, her family insists that she come home and they will all sit out this quarantine together. She has always been very independent, interested in helping people and getting to know other cultures, though she doesn’t understand her own family. She has a new love which she is keeping secret until after the seven days are up.
Little sister Phoebe has always been a daddy’s girl. She goes to all of the restaurants he visits and he often incorporates her viewpoint and impressions into his reviews. She is newly engaged and thrilled to finally be adding her name to the list of her friends who are getting married. She loves Olivia and likes to remember the days when they were younger and spent many fun times together. She spends lots of time obsessing about the correct make up, clothes to wear, etc.
There is a surprise guest at Christmas this year, only Andrew had an inkling that something or rather someone, might be calling upon him soon but he didn’t expect it at Christmas, especially since they are under quarantine!
As the secrets that these characters hold tight begin to come to light and they share what’s in their hearts, the family and this book takes off. By the end I was sobbing at one point, that’s how much I felt about these people who were suddenly not so different than my family, or probably yours and many others.
I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher and NetGalley.
What a surprise the rest of this book was!! Ms. Hormak, in the space of just seven days, managed to make these characters grow, or maybe “come out” to each other would be a better way to describe it. I will quickly go through the characters as there are many other reviews that have written at length about them, but then what is the surprise for the new reader?
Dad Andrew writes a review column about restaurants, has done so for many years, he can be quite snarky. His first job and passion was being a war correspondent, but when children arrived he gave that up as it was too risky. He ends up being quite funny, forgiving and open.
Mom Emma loves them all to tears and just wants everyone to get along (I know this feeling well). She has just been diagnosed with what could be a devastating cancerous growth but chooses to hide it from the family until after the quarantine. She is truly a caring, open, warm and funny person who will have to learn to lean on others sometimes.
Oldest sister Olivia is a doctor just returning from treating an outburst of Haag virus in Liberia and needs to be quarantined, her family insists that she come home and they will all sit out this quarantine together. She has always been very independent, interested in helping people and getting to know other cultures, though she doesn’t understand her own family. She has a new love which she is keeping secret until after the seven days are up.
Little sister Phoebe has always been a daddy’s girl. She goes to all of the restaurants he visits and he often incorporates her viewpoint and impressions into his reviews. She is newly engaged and thrilled to finally be adding her name to the list of her friends who are getting married. She loves Olivia and likes to remember the days when they were younger and spent many fun times together. She spends lots of time obsessing about the correct make up, clothes to wear, etc.
There is a surprise guest at Christmas this year, only Andrew had an inkling that something or rather someone, might be calling upon him soon but he didn’t expect it at Christmas, especially since they are under quarantine!
As the secrets that these characters hold tight begin to come to light and they share what’s in their hearts, the family and this book takes off. By the end I was sobbing at one point, that’s how much I felt about these people who were suddenly not so different than my family, or probably yours and many others.
I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher and NetGalley.
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