Thanks so much to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read and review this wonderful book!

I'm on a roll of loving everything I've been reading lately and this is no exception! This is a wonderful female multi-generational story and I really liked all of the characters. Honor is in her 80s, living alone, when she falls and breaks her hip. She is forced to move in with her daughter-in-law, Jo, with who she has always had a contemptuous relationship. Jo was married to Honor's son, Stephen, but he is deceased. They had a daughter together, Lydia, who is in her late teens studying for her exams at school. After Stephen's death, Jo got remarried to Richard, they had two children, Oscar and Iris, and Richard left Jo for the au pair. Whew.

Each of these female characters is holding onto a secret, leaving us to realize how we can hide ourselves so completely even from those that we love. I really enjoyed reading about these women - they are all so relatable - and the writing was wonderful. Great read - highly recommended!

There are all sorts of falls.

For Honor, it is an actual fall. An intelligent, proud woman, Honor raised her son, Stephen, alone. But Stephen married and then unexpectedly passed away, and Honor lives by herself. A fall down the stairs of her stately home lands her in the hospital with a broken hip and her pride deeply wounded. Suddenly, Honor is at the mercy of her former daughter-in-law, Jo, who was Stephen's wife, to help care for her.

For Jo, her fall may not be physical, but she feels as if she's always trying to catch up. Perpetually optimistic, Jo is constantly cheerful for those around her, but she cannot always hide her own doubts about where her life is headed, or if she's doing right by her three children. She's a busy mom to Lydia, Oscar, and Iris, and recently divorced from Oscar and Iris' father. She also fears she may be falling... for another man.

And for Lydia, she too has fallen in love. But she's also a teenager, who lost her father young, and she's dealing with the trials of school and exams. Lydia has a secret, as well: one that threatens her ability to blend in at school and home.

This book, oh this book. I adored this book so much. I fell for these characters (so sorry for that awful pun) hard. From the moment I started reading about feisty Honor, cheery Jo, and teenage Lydia, I loved them. I loved their problems, their sense of humor, and their family. This novel is beautifully written, achingly touching, and often laugh out loud funny.

It alternates between the points of view of our three main women: Honor, Jo, and Lydia. Honor and Jo have never been close, as Honor resented Jo marrying her son, and Jo felt intimidated by the intelligent and strong Honor. But after Honor's fall, she's forced to move in with Jo, her granddaughter Lydia, and Jo's young children with her second husband. The book slowly unfolds the details of how Stephen (Honor's son) passed away and the effect it had on all three women. The entire novel, really, is about little life details and how each they've impacted the three in various ways. In fact, you learn that while we are hearing these stories from three connected people, they really don't know each very well at all. Cohen captures so well how much they need each other, but can't admit it.

As such, there is a poignancy to the novel, as we watch the women navigate life and keep a variety of secrets and hidden sadness from each other. But unlike so many novels, where I want to just scream at the characters to communicate, or where it seems like the entire plot could have been avoided by someone simply talking to another character, this novel is real and true. For instance, Lydia's teen angst and the trials of her adolescence are also so beautifully (although heartbreakingly) portrayed.

It also captures the trials of having children so perfectly. There are some hilarious scenes as Jo navigates caring for her two younger children. Even better are the moments of prickly Honor interacting with young Iris and Oscar. You cannot help but laugh. There is a moment with Oscar and Honor that made me laugh and nearly cry; it was just so funny and touching. The novel is filled with many of these wonderful and witty moments.

I loved how these characters never failed to surprise me. Yes, there were some plot points you could see coming, but they didn't diminish my joy for the book or the depth of the characters. Nothing felt too cliche, and I remained captivated and intrigued. I felt a part of their story and lives. The novel really makes you think; its plot is not just "fluff."

By the end, I still loved all three so much, and my only disappointment was that the book ended. A beautiful 4.5+ stars.

I was given an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an independent review.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It has a wonderful range of characters who are very well depicted.
The secrets of a family unravel at a good pace and made for intriguing reading. The three stories interweave cleverly.

Originally read as After the Fall in 2016.

4 stars

This book is about three women. Honor, the grandmother, her daughter in law Jo who was mWe arried to Honor's son Steve, now dead and Jo's daughter Lydia. The three stars are for the relationships of these women and how they evolve during the novel. Honor is forced to move in with Jo after falling down the stairs at her home, breaking her hip and not being able to take care of herself. After Steve's death, Jo marries Richard and has two more children with him before Richard had an affair with the au pair and takes off. Honor, Jo and Lydia each have a secret, which eventually the reader finds out. I liked Honor's character the most and understood what made her seem unfriendly in the beginning. Lydia is a typical teenager struggling with teen age issues, coming of age, school pressure, etc. I could not like Jo's character at all, especially as it related to her relationship with Marcus. Marcus is her next door neighbor, also Lydia's teacher and more than 10 years younger than Jo. At the very first time Jo visits Marcus, she immediately asks "where is your bedroom?" Give me a break! You can guess the rest. Overall this was a disappointing book for me.
Thanks NetGalley, StMartin Press and the author, Julie Cohen for the advanced copy.

This is my favorite theme of story. Multi-generational family sagas with the women's point of view. Jo receives a phone call from the hospital that her mother-in-law has had a severe fall. Honor misses a step and ends up with a broken hip, and must rely on her daughter in law Jo and granddaughter Lydia. These three women are connected by a dead man and all have a secret that will change each of their lives. Beautifully written with strong ladies who strive to keep their small family together. I love Honor, always so strong and independent. I love Jo who has her hand full with 3 children, a job and a secret friend. And I love Lydia who is a teen experiencing bullying and threats that has her wondering if life is worth living. A great read from Ms. Julie Cohen who I can't believe I've never read before. Bravo!

I loved Dear Thing by Julie Cohen, so I was excited to get an ARC of her newest book. And I was definitely not disappointed.

Jo's recently divorced - her husband took up with their nanny. Even though this is a pretty awful thing to do, Jo keeps bowing and scraping to him and acting like he's not a total pig.

When her first husband's mother, Honor, takes a nasty fall, it's impossible for her to return home. She is not close to Jo (or anyone for that matter), and actually isn't even very nice to Jo, but true to her subservient nature, Jo brings her home to recuperate at her house.

The timing couldn't be worse, as Jo's daughter, Lydia is struggling with her realization that she is gay, and in love with her best friend.

Jo has a secret affair with one of Lydia's teachers, who is also their neighbor.

And they are all skirting around the issue of Jo's first husband, Lydia's father and Honor's son, and their relationships with him an his untimely death.

They are all circling each other, each trying to hide their own secrets. But as they begin learning to talk to each other, they find that the family they are making is more than enough.

I love the characters that Julie Cohen creates, they are flawed, human and you end of caring about every one of them.....except for the nanny and the ex!

Honor Levinson slips on the stairs of her childhood home, and everything changes. Jo, her daughter-in-law, insists that she move in while recuperating, and so the once-widowed and once-divorced Jo, her three children - the teenage Lydia and infants Iris and Oscar, and Honor find themselves under the same roof. The story focuses on the three generations of ladies - Honor must face losing her independence while living with the daughter-in-law she never approved of; Jo tries to keep the peace while struggling with how to balance finding happiness and guilt; and Lydia tackles all the problems of adolescence while hiding a burdensome secret.

By far the wow factor of this novel was the emotional impact of the storyline, particularly in the latter half. I was startled by how while I didn't necessarily like the main characters, but found myself empathizing with them - a testament to how well-written the story was. And despite not being a huge fan of the main characters, there is no denying that they all seemed realistic and accurate portrayals of people - and specifically, women - at different stages in life. The angst and obstinacy of teenagers, the stubbornness of a grandmother, the obsessiveness of a mother are all very real feeling. And as a lover of all well-written books that explore interactions within families and focus on crossgenerational relationships, After the Fall definitely hits all those points. The unraveling of the plot was well-executed with excellent foreshadowing.

I highly recommend this novel that explores family and friend relationships, questions of sexuality, of widowhood and guilt, of long-buried secrets.

Thanks to the publisher for an ARC in exchange for a fair review!

What a brilliant read! So many serious, real life issues explored within such a cleverly woven, gentle plot. A really emotional, deeply moving experience, with such well drawn believable characters who you find yourself rooting for all the way. This novel has so many layers - humour, suspense, despair, romance to name just a few - all rounded up so beautifully in the most satisfying ending I have come across in a very long time!

It’s always a pleasure to read a book by Julie Cohen, I am a fan!
Three women, all connected by love , loss and secrets. Jo is Lydia’s mom, both hiding a secret that could change friendships and relationships with each other forever. Honor is the grandmother, finally realizes that she cannot manage her elderly-self without help. They all have something in common: the loss of Stephen: husband, father and son.
Julie Cohen has an incredible talent for bringing characters to life, and I would definitely recommend this book to anyone.
I received a copy from Netgalley, in return for an honest review.