End - (ch 16-End)

[Krista]

And done!

How do you feel about the ending?
Were you satisfied with how it wrapped up?
What do you think Mary Beth Keene was trying to say with this book?
Any themes or images that stand out to you throughout this one?
How did you like the writing style/characters/pacing?
What rating will you give this book?

Final thoughts...

[ReadAlongWithSue]

Hi Krista, I read this last year. Was on the blog tour for it. Is it ok to link my review here?
Delete if not appropriate

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Really enjoyed everything about this book.,

[Sarah]

I finished this book. Gave it a 4/5; would give it a 4.5 if Goodreads would let me. I would read this author again.
I have mixed feelings about the ending. I felt it kept with the overall pace and style of the book but at the same time was wanting something a bit flashier. That being said, the book is perfectly relatable. And in real life, not many of us get flashy endings.
One message that I took from the novel is the importance of communication. So many things went wrong because characters were afraid or ashamed to speak to others.

[Kathryn]

I really liked this book.
The positive effect that the power of forgiveness had on the characters- Peter and Anne, Kate and Peter, Lena and Francis, and Francis and Anne- forgiveness bettered their lives. It’s something to remember to always practice in life. Page 388, Francis: “He had not lost anything; he’d only gained..... For the very first time he felt that Peter was his blood.” Family!
I’d rate this a 4.5 star read.

[Deb]

I finished the book and rated it 3.5 stars. The ending just fell flat for me. I will read this author again though. I liked her writing style and character development.

[Kathleen]

I liked the book a lot. I think the author captured family dysfunction so well. Peter's gradual slip into alcoholism, the denial and lack of understanding and honesty in dealing with it.

I think one of the things Mary Beth Keane was showing was the importance of communication, between families, between spouses. There were a lot of secrets here.

There was a divide that started happening with Francis and Lena as they went through that very stressful time of Francis's and then Lena's recovery which helped lead to Francis's infidelity.

Kate and Peter loved each other but that wasn't enough, they also had some secrets, even though overall Kate was a practical and blunt person, she kept Anne's appearances secret and Kate also didn't help Peter face up to his alcoholism as soon as she could have, although I certainly didn't blame her for his problem.

Also Anne's mental health situation and her relationship with Brian was another example the author wrote into the story of imperfect people coping imperfectly.

Before the book ended everyone seemed to have better understanding and forgiveness for each other, with a hopeful note for the future.
I gave it 5 stars. I really enjoyed it. I liked the writing style.

[Kristi]

I'll be giving this 4 stars. It was a good book and I enjoyed the author's writing style and character development.

I think it is and was an intense read. It would be easy to get lost in the heaviness of family dysfunction and mental illness issues.

I also feel that it's realistic. It is a good reminder that we never really know what someone else is going through and should act accordingly.

[ReadAlongWithSue]

I’d read this one a while ago. So was waiting to see what thoughts you all had.

I struggled at the start as it was a little slow, the writing was different to what I’m used to, but, whilst I got used to that I felt it all come together.

There’s a lot of heavy subject matter to get lost in, but for me it gave me food for thought.

Mental health cannot be clearly seen, or understood.

We never know what someone is going through.

That’s a few things I got from this book

[Jamie]

Rating it 3 stars
My rating is *probably* closer to a 3.5 than a 3 star rating, but that's only because my reading experience of this book was a 3 and the 'how-well-I-think-the-book-was-done' is a 4. But, all that to say, I feel I am one of the very few dissenting opinions of this work as many of those I follow, and those whose reading taste mine typically aligns with, rated it 5 stars.
So, here is what I loved: the writing was excellent, the characters realistic, flawed, and ultra-complicated, and I even enjoyed the slower-paced, character-driven pacing, though I am a plot driven reader. And, you know I love a good, multi-generational family saga! Give me all of that, puh-lease! But even amidst all that good stuff, this just didn't fully land for me. It is a dark, family drama with themes of violence, alcoholism, depression and felt so bleak with very little hope until roughly halfway to 3/4 of the way through. And even then, the ending does end hopefully, but felt rather rushed for all the build up throughout.
I would give this author another chance as I did really enjoy this work, but just didn't love it as much as others.

[Krista]

Jamie wrote: "Rating it 3 stars
My rating is *probably* closer to a 3.5 than a 3 star rating, but that's only because my reading experience of this book was a 3 and the 'how-well-I-think-the-book-was-done' is a..."

I felt very similarly to you, Jamie. I ended up rounding up to a 4, but it feels so much more like a 3 to me. I may end up changing it. We'll see. I agree that it just all felt so bleak until just a few moments near the end. I appreciated the quality of writing and depth of characters, but didn't really enjoy reading it.

[Debbi]

I think the ending just went flat for me. We never really found out if Anne and Peter's family spent Christmas together...after she invited them to come. I just think she should have written more on the relationship of Peter and Ann.

Pages 247 and 248 stood out to me. Mary Beth was writing about good cops vs. bad cops. It almost felt like what is going on in our country today.

I think Mary Beth was trying to say that no matter what families stick together. Marriage is truly for better or worse. And there is no one who knows you better than your own mother.

The theme of alcoholism stood out to me the most...having been married to an alcoholic for 12 years. Like Peter, my ex was what you call a "functioning alcoholic", never missed a day of work after a night of drinking. Also, she strongly wrote that the person doesn't have to hit the hard stuff to be an alcoholic. Beer does the same thing to you as a mixed drink would.

I really liked her writing style and character development. I would definitely be up to reading more from her. I gave this one 4 stars.