Member Reviews
A big family saga that's really about forgiveness not unforgivable things, Kate and Dan wanted nothing more than a baby and so they're over joyed when IVF results in quadruplets. But one of the babies doesn't make it. And then Dan brings home another child, Now, Dan is gone and Natalie is getting married, prompting all of them to think about the past. It's a good emotional read.
Unfortunately this book was not for me, it was a bit slower than I would like and it just didn't hold my attention. I am sure other people will love it!
Five Unforgivable Things tackles the difficult topic of infertility, especially the relationship issues that can arise from the stress and anxiety. Kate and Dan are realistically drawn characters, who face problems in their marriage as a direct result of their trouble getting pregnant.
The biggest problem that I had with the book was the focus of the novel. I really liked the concept, especially regarding the way that Kate spells out the five unforgivable things. The novel itself, however, covers too much ground to be cohesive. The story was predictable and I did not particularly like some of the plot line choices that the author made. Overall, Kate's strengths were not enough to overtake her weaknesses. Additionally, Dan's reactions to the situations at hand were far too stereotypical in my opinion. For these reasons, I would be hesitant to recommend Five Unforgivable Things to other readers.
Disclaimer: I was given an Advanced Reader's Copy of Five Unforgivable Things from NetGalley and the publisher, One More Chapter. The choice to review this book was entirely my own.
Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.
After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.
I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.
Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.
Thanks to NetGalley and to Harper Impulse for an advance copy of Five Unforgivable Things.
I wouldn't normally pick up a story about family relationships let alone infertility and IVF, so I am grateful to have been granted this opportunity.
I found it to be very well written, from start to finish. It's a great story touching upon a once taboo subject with lots of very good, fully formed characters ... apart from Phil, Natalie's partner. He was a bit shadowy. I thought all of the siblings had great relationships, both with each other and with their parents.
I have to say I didn't like the Kate character very much. I found her to be quite selfish and wasn't surprised at all with her husband's reactions - unforgivable, yes; surprised, no. In truth, her only redeeming act was over the Jenny situation. So I was very glad when she finally got over herself.
This is a great read, though, with page-turnability. I look forward to another from the same author.
I received a digital ARC of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This was my first encounter with this author's work so I wasn't sure what to expect.
This has been sat on my kindle waiting to be read for far too long. I kept putting it off due to the length of it - at over 500 pages it is quite a beast! I assumed it would be a long hard slog of a book that would take days to read. In actual fact I couldn't have been more wrong. Whilst this was a 500+ page book, it honestly didn't feel like that and I finished it in a day. I've read much shorter books that were a lot harder going than this was. I found it compelling to read and was intrigued by the story - specifically Kate and Dan's relationship.
There were quite a lot of characters to get my head around but I loved all of the sub-plots and back stories to the characters. I would say the five things, whilst being mistakes or errors of judgement and certainly they are things which changed the course of the main character's life, were not unforgivable. This is definitely an emotional read about family relationships and forgiveness. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend, although if you are going through any of the issues in the book you will find it rather close to home and much more emotional.
I am in charge of our Senior School library and am looking for a diverse array of new books to furnish their shelves with and inspire our young people to read a wider and more diverse range of books as they move through the senior school. It is hard sometimes to find books that will grab the attention of young people as their time is short and we are competing against technology and online entertainments.
This was a thought-provoking and well-written read that will appeal to young readers across the board. It had a really strong voice and a compelling narrative that I think would capture their attention and draw them in. It kept me engrossed and I think that it's so important that the books that we purchase for both our young people and our staff are appealing to as broad a range of readers as possible - as well as providing them with something a little 'different' that they might not have come across in school libraries before.
This was a really enjoyable read and I will definitely be purchasing a copy for school so that our young people can enjoy it for themselves. A satisfying and well-crafted read that I keep thinking about long after closing its final page - and that definitely makes it a must-buy for me!
Five Unforgivable Things by Vivien Brown is actually a story about the healing power of forgiveness. As you discover all of the secrets within a family, you can see the walls being torn down, and sometimes they can be repaired or built back up. This story is extremely heartbreaking and heartwarming, all at the same time.
Kate wanted a baby so bad, she had dreamed of having a child her entire life. Her and her fiancé Dan got pregnant and everything seemed perfect, until their wedding day. Kate lost the baby right before she was supposed to walk down the aisle. This caused so much pain for the couple, and eventually they started to try again, to no avail. That's when they decided to try IVF, and finally got pregnant again. They were able to successfully conceive, and their daughter Natalie was born.
Now, it's been 20 years and it's Natalie's turn to walk down the aisle. Natalie and her siblings must now come together to work through the different areas of their lives that they've found unforgivable, especially when it comes to their mother and father, who is no longer with them.
At more than 500 pages, I felt like I was going to have a hard time reading this book, but truthfully, it went by so fast, and the stories were grabbing my attention left and right. I love books that follow families stories, and the weaving storylines between characters and time was just incredible. It almost reminded me of the TV show This is Us, which always has some sort of surprise. The book was wonderful, I may have shed a tear or two throughout the book, but don't judge because so will you. I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.
Don't let the title fool you: this book is not about unforgivable things. Rather, it's very much about forgiveness.A book about, love, growth, family, loss, pain, triumph, and forgiveness.
What happens when you are young in love and begin your life together already with loss?
This is a story of forgiveness. I enjoyed it and the writing style was interesting. It was nice to see the story unfold from all the different character’s perspectives. Enjoy!
I would like to thank NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC ecopy for my Kindle.
Kate miscarriages on the day of her wedding. Dan and she then have infertility issues and end up with IVF which leads to her pregnancy with 4 babies. Even though 1 baby is still born and the couple struggle with the expense of raising and coping with 3 babies, they try to make their marriage work. When it looks like their marriage may survive, Dan brings home his 3 yr. old daughter from an office affair. The marriage still has its ups and downs and struggles to survive throughout the book. But the most interesting part of the book for me was the lives of the children once they were grown and left the home. In all, this was a good book especially for young, married couples with infertility issues.
Twenty years ago Kate and Dan were planning their perfect family. These dreams had to change but thanks to IVF Kate becomes pregnant.
The book is written from the POV of Kate and her children as they fight their own battles to become independent and follow their dreams. Kate is talking to someone and explaining the unforgivable things that shaped her family and their lives.
I loved this book and found it an easy but gripping read. I quickly found myself enthralled with the lives of Kate and her children rooting for them to get their dreams.
Thanks to Harper impulse and NetGalley for an ARC
#FiveUnforgivableThings #NetGalley
Thankyou to NetGalley, Harper Impulse and Killer Reads and the author, Vivien Brown, for the opportunity to read a digital copy of Five Unforgivable Things in exchange for an honest, unbiased opinion.
I was sucked in from the start. I thought this book was well thought out and written with intriguing characters. Very hard to put down.
This is an emotionally charged story - Dan and Kate are striving for a baby through IVF. Their life is an emotional rollercoaster.
This is a difficult and emotional subject matter for a matter. The entire books was quite emotionally charged & people may want to refrain from reading this is public places. Unfortunately I found that much of the power was lost by the disjointed writing. The story frequently chopped and changed between people and events meaning that the reader had to stop and take stock frequently to keep up with the changes. I found that this rather spoiled the story & I lost the desire to complete the book as a result.
I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley
This story got under my skin as soon as I started it. I was thinking about it whenever I wasn't reading it and having just finished it now, I miss being involved in the story. Simply put, that is how really good this book is.
There are two concurrent story lines running throughout the book. One is from the point of view of Kate, wife of Dan, a couple who in the very beginning of their marriage learn they are unable to conceive a child naturally and decide to use IVF to have their family. After several attempts they are ultimately successful and have three children. The second story line is from the point of view of the children as young adults and beginning to make their way in the world. There are many ups and downs in the book, just like real life, and they are thoughtful and well written. Having known people who lived through the same sort of IVF roller coaster ride as Kate and Dan, I can say that this is very realistic writing and shows how difficult the entire process with its successes and failures can be. The toll it takes on Kate and Dan is enormous and lifelong.
I strongly recommend this book and am very grateful I was able to read it. It will stay with me for a long time. Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for a review copy. This is my honest opinion.
This book brings a little bit of everything to the table, things we wrestle with, love and agonize over.
Family. Marriage. Loss, Love. Parenthood.
Not always an easy read but compelling.
Really could not get in to this title due to to many flip flops and character changes. Was really a compelling story.
Difficult read because I lost interest right in the middle and never regained it. Too many characters
I really wanted to like this book, but the characters and the back an forth between everyone was so confusing.
This book was an emotional rollercoaster! I was crying! Dan and Kate are a married couple who have been struggling to get pregnant and when she finally does through IVF and this whole book was so up and down everyone dealing with emotional issues some mistakes bigger than others. There were times I had to put the book down for a relief.