The cover of this novel first piqued my interest and the publisher's teaser interested me further. Unfortunately, this one fell flat for me. I didn't like a single one of the characters as a whole, although in bits and pieces there were redeeming aspects. The story was told in multiple timelines which is fine, but the contemporary timeline frustrated me. Kudos to the author for tackling some tough stigmas throughout and painting the stark and dark realities of living with antepartum/postpartum mental health issues. For an honest review, I'd have to say I have mixed feelings on the novel as a whole. It was often difficult to read through, the cadence was off for me, but the storyline was important and heartbreaking and well-done at the same time. I will give it a mid-level rating but don't say it was poorly done, it just didn't hit all the high points for me.

This was a moving story of family, loss, love and forgiveness. There were many strong characters in this book and the author did a wonderful job describing them so I was able to form an opinion quickly. I liked that they each had faults and were not perfect as it made them more believable. Julia was an amazing character and I liked that the author dealt with mental illness with her, making Julia strong even as she was sinking into a terrible dark hole of depression. I couldn’t like David or Sally even at the end of the novel I couldn’t like or forgive them. Alex, Johnnie and Lala were lovely and each dealt with an important issue. It was all woven into the story so each story became about the character and not a “lesson”. I would have liked more of a story involving some incidents that I thought could have been interesting. Overall a book that you will enjoy and that will transport you back and forth through some historical events in England. Thank you Net Galley, Lulu Taylor and Publishers Group Canada for the opportunity to read this book.