Synopsis:
Carrie Nolan is devastated when she is dumped by Kevin Mulvey after more than a decade without even a backwards glance! On reflection, she has sacrificed her own long term happiness establishing their critically acclaimed Dublin restaurant and pandering to his excessive ego.
Meanwhile Kevin can't believe his luck. Valentina, their new waitress is a stunner, the kind of girl that turns heads when she walks in a room and surprise, surprise she has chosen him! He is living the dream!
Carrie seeks solace from a circle of mismatched friends who need her as much as she needs them. Jane, who struggles to run the pub on the opposite side of the street, Luke, who has stopped drifting while his father settles in a nearby nursing home and Teddy, a dog who asks for nothing more than the chance to stay by Carrie's side.
With Christmas just around the corner, all is not quite as it seems and a catastrophic sequence of events leads to the unthinkable...
How far do you need to fall before you learn the true value of family and friends? And is it ever too late to start again...
My Review:
Carrie seeks solace from a circle of mismatched friends who need her as much as she needs them. Jane, who struggles to run the pub on the opposite side of the street, Luke, who has stopped drifting while his father settles in a nearby nursing home and Teddy, a dog who asks for nothing more than the chance to stay by Carrie's side.
With Christmas just around the corner, all is not quite as it seems and a catastrophic sequence of events leads to the unthinkable...
How far do you need to fall before you learn the true value of family and friends? And is it ever too late to start again...
My Review:
Welcome to my stop on Faith Hogan’s blog tour for her new book ‘What Happened to Us?’ I am so excited to be part of a jam packed tour and share my review with you all!
Thanks to NetGalley and Aria Fiction for allowing me a sneak peek of this wonderful Autumnal story about friendship, family and love. I’m ashamed to say this is my first ever Faith Hogan book and I am sure I have missed out on some great reads.
The story follows Carrie who has just been dumped by Kevin (we hate him by the way…!) not only has she been dumped without a second thought but Kevin leaves her for a younger woman, here we meet Valentina a Columbian waitress who works at the restaurant Carrie and Kevin co own in Dublin. Awks!
First off, all of the characters are so well written, I liked them all apart from a few who I really disliked and after reading the synopsis I am sure you will know who I am talking about… ‘cough Kevin cough!!’ Of course my favourite was Carrie who by the way is the most nicest character I have ever met in a book. I really did feel sorry for Carrie when Kevin paraded his new romance in her face and she still had to work with him, how she kept her calm throughout the breakup of their relationship and still kept it business as usual at the restaurant I do not know! I salute you Carrie Nolan!
With Christmas soon approaching Carrie turns to some new friends for support. Jane who owns the pub across the road from the restaurant and also Luke who she happened to meet only by chance one evening. Oh and Teddy, cannot forget to mention Teddy a gorgeous dog who Carrie finds on the street and becomes Carrie’s confidant and shadow.
Both Jane and Luke have their own troubles which Faith touches on throughout the story. Luke a Historian back in town visiting his dad who has just moved into a nursing home and Jane, elderly and living alone in the pub she shared with her husband who has past; she finds herself feeling vulnerable, sad and very lonely. Thankfully both Carrie and Luke rally round to help fill the void for Jane and bring life back to the pub while learning some surprising secrets along the way.
I think the three of them came together at such a great time and were huge supports for each other, I really liked reading the scenes where the three of them were together.
Stopping briefly back to Kevin, Faith wrote his character perfectly. He came across as a very weak, pathetic man who actually relied on Carrie more than you first thought. Both characters Kevin and Valentina were portrayed so well that you have this dislike for them while reading which shows how well written they are. I won’t spoil the story for you but I love that Carrie stands up for herself and doesn’t let them run her out of her life and if anything gives her the opportunity to find the time to do all the things she loves in life, one of which is investing more time in her blog. (Love a blog!)
Ok so the story is a little predictable in parts but I never mind that in a book, a thoroughly enjoyable story from start to finish a book I would recommend to friends and family best read indoors on the sofa in happy clothes under a blanket with a big mug of tea and a constant flow of biscuits! Brilliant!
Make sure to purchase your copy today!
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Author Bio
Faith was born in Ireland and currently lives there with her husband, four children and two fussy cats. She gained an Honors Degree in English Literature and Psychology from Dublin City University and a Postgraduate from University College, Galway. She was a winner in the 2014 Irish Writers Centre Novel Fair - an international competition for emerging writers. When she's not writing, she's an enthusiastic dog walker and reluctant jogger.
Follow Faith!
Twitter: @gerhogan
Facebook: @faithhoganauthor
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Website: www.ariafiction.com
Twitter:@aria_fiction
Facebook: @ariafiction
Instagram: @ariafiction
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