Publication: 18th October 2018 – Orion
Three women, three birthdays, one year that will change everything…
Ginger isn’t spending her thirtieth the way she would have planned. Tonight might be the first night of the rest of her life – or a total disaster.
Sam is finally pregnant after years of trying. When her waters break on the morning of her fortieth birthday, she panics: forget labour, how is she going to be a mother?
Callie is celebrating her fiftieth at a big party in her Dublin home. Then a knock at the door mid-party changes everything…
I have to admit that this is only my second novel by Cathy Kelly, but the more I read her books the more I am captivated by her clear and fluent writing, her brilliant plots, and her engaging characters. And the protagonists of this novel really kept me glued to the page. Three women from different backgrounds and with different lives. The only thing they have in common is their birthdays that turn into life-changing moments for all of them.
Callie is beautiful and rich. She is happily married, she has a teenage daughter, she has a big house and everything that money could buy. Her life should be perfect, but, on her fiftieth birthday, she finds out it isn’t. Sam and her husband Ted had been trying for years to have a child and, when they were finally giving up on the idea of starting a family, she found out she was pregnant. Now, on her fortieth birthday, Sam is ready to give birth, but she also has to face her fear of becoming a mother. Ginger is looking for real love and, on her thirtieth birthday, which she is spending at her best friend’s wedding, she thinks she has finally found the right man for her.
THE YEAR THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING sees three women dealing with ghosts from their past and problems in both their personal and work lives. Over a year, they see their lives completely changing and I loved reading how they grow and become stronger. The author created multi-layered and engaging characters that with her attention to details and her descriptions come to life and, page after page, seem more realistic and likable. I found myself involved in their stories, their troubles, and I cheered at their successes. It is a feel-good and fabulous novel about friendship, love, and family bond, and it is also a story about betrayal, body-image, post-natal depression, and addiction. THE YEAR THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING is enjoyable, moving, and captivating and I’d like to thank Poppy Stimpson and Orion for inviting me to take part in the blog tour.
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