Great book! I really enjoyed this story and hope it's continued. The characters are interesting and easy to follow in this story. My favorite character is Denny. While everyone has issues to deal with, it seems that Denny has had the most. Even though Sunday has a lot to deal with as she got older, Denny is now dealing with more issues. I think it was a great book and really enjoyed it.

This starts with Sunday, the only Brennan daughter getting into a car accident in LA. This alerts the rest of the Brennan family, and soon Sunday is on her way back to New York...where she hasn't been for 5 years. Now all the Brennans are reunited and ready to dig up the past.

Lange does a beautiful job of letting us get to know each of the Brennans. They are all complex characters and together, they create a very dynamic family. I was immediately invested in this family, and sucked into this story.

I loved the writing style. I really enjoyed that the story moved from character to character. And the last line of each chapter becomes the first line of the next chapter, as the character changes- an interesting way to move the story along. I am really fascinated by the dynamics of big families- especially if they are also working together.

Although there were a few things I did not like about the book- the ending being one of them, I still really appreciate the detailed character development and family dynamics.

This was a great read about an Irish family in NY and the secret that almost destroyed them all. Each sibling trying to pretend and protect the others from what happened almost destroyed them all

Enjoyed and will recommend this to my friends

An engrossing, impossible-to-put-down debut novel chronicling the events that lead up to Sunday Brennan, only daughter of the family, abandoning her life and love and abruptly leaving for California, and how it all unravels 5 years later when her eldest brother, taking advantage of a moment of weakness, convinces Sunday to move back to New York and face everything and everyone she ran away from.

This novel has so many elements of what I love in a story: a family saga, family secrets waiting to implode, sibling dynamics, dealing with abandonment, small town vibes, family owned business drama, rekindled love, and second chance romance.

Not to mention the writing and pacing of the novel is excellent. I mean, I stayed up until 2 am to finish this one. A little fair warning, once you hit the 45% mark, just find a comfortable spot on the sofa or in bed where you can read undisturbed, because you’re not going to be able to move or do anything else for the next 2 hours until you turn the last page.

If I have any criticisms, it is that the book ended a little abruptly and much too soon! I totally would’ve relished another 100 pages with the Brennan family, especially once most of their secrets were out in the open and they were beginning to get a handle on their lives. But, I guess all good things come to an end - and I did get my nugget of satisfying resolution for Kale in the end.

I highly recommend this to everyone, but especially if you liked Malibu Rising, Ask Again, Yes, and Everything I Never Told You.

Finally, thank you to Celadon Books and Netgalley for providing me a digital arc in exchange for an honest review. And congratulations to Tracey Lange on a wonderful debut novel!

Thank you to Celadon Books for allowing me to participate as a reader in an early review and Little Free Library book drop for this book! I am super stingy with my FIVE STAR ratings but I LOVED THIS BOOK. I want to be in the Brennan Family, I need to be the sister Sunday never had, I love the character Sunday, and I finished the book in less than 36 hours. THAT HAS NOT HAPPENED IN A WHILE. I also have decided I need to open an Irish Pub or maybe just have a brother like Denny who owns a pub. (Well, maybe not exactly like Denny.)

I recommend this book to each and every one of you! Go Read It Today!

I went into this book with no expectations nor any synopsis. I devoured this book. Loved that the chapters were told by different points of view. No matter what .., family is not always perfect, there are secrets and lies but family and especially this one will love you despise all
Their disfunction !

WE ARE THE BRENNANS is being compared to ASK AGAIN YES and I found it to be a very apt comp. It starts off with Sunday Brennan slamming her car into a wall after an ill advised drunk driving incident. Her oldest brother comes to LA to be with her and she’s forced to move home, tail between her legs. No only does she have to own up to the drunk driving and the fact that her life in LA hasn’t been what people think it’s been- she has to answer for leaving her family high and dry 5 years ago with no explanation.

When she gets back, she immediately assumes her role within the family as a fixer. Turns out, she isn’t the only family member with secrets and things really come to a head when an enemy from their past re-emerges. I thought this was full of heart and well plotted. I loved the family dynamics and watching them stand up for each other, regardless of what they’ve done to each other in the past. There’s also a storyline that explores “the one that got away” that I appreciated. It was good! I think if you like character driven family drama heavy on exploring sibling dynamics, this could be for you!

I loved this book. Sunday Brennan is forced to return to NY from LA after finding herself in a serious car accident as a result of her drunk driving. Upon returning home she realizes just how complicated her family relationships really are. Truths are unraveled and secrets are revealed.

I absolutely loved this story about the Brennan family - a family dealing with secrets, failed relationships and most of all - loving and being there for each other through it all.

I don't have a lot to really say about this book. It was just really really good! An Irish family that loves strongly, struggles strongly, with each member doing the best it can. Loving all the different personalities within the family and feeling their emotions and learning their heart-wrenching secrets made for a completing engaging read. I also really liked the transitions between chapters and points of view. It did a terrific job of keeping the story and keeping me reading!

We Are the Brennans by Tracey Lange follows a large Irish-American family as they grapple with some wrong decisions each of them have made and how these decisions affect each member of the family. Sunday is involved in a car accident and ends up moving home to New York from California. Her arrival means secrets that have long been held are being revealed with big consequences. Read and enjoy, especially if you love family drama.

This isn’t my usual genre and I was hesitant on whether I would like it or it would bore me. I listened to the audio version and it held my attention from the first chapter. I loved the different POVs for the chapters, I liked the family dynamics and found myself captivated by the story.

We Are The Brennans by Tracey Lange is publishing Tuesday August 3rd. This was Lange's debut novel and It was an excellent read. I really enjoyed how the story was built up and the twists and turns kept me on my toes. I also enjoyed the characters, their dynamics and dysfunction was so well currated. I also loved how the story was told in multiple points of view, it really worked well, and flowed nicely. I would highly recommend this book if you are a fan of dysfunctional family reads and books told in multiple points of view

In the novel we follow Sunday Brennan who had been living in LA after fleaing her family and high school sweetheart 5 years earlier without explanation. When an accident occurs and Sunday needs to return to her family in NY. Sunday really needs her family and doesn't realize how much they needed her until she returned. Their family pub is on the brink of financial ruin. Will the family finally come together and confront all that's been left unsaid?

I don’t want to share too much of the plot because I went in blind and felt that worked really well, but here is my quick synopsis: an Irish Catholic family that was torn apart by secrets and shame is reunited and secrets are exposed.

These characters are all deeply flawed and make some terrible decisions, yet you find yourself rooting for all of them. This book is beautifully written and I was captivated by the family from the very first chapter. I loved the multiple points of view so I could really understand what was going on in everyone’s minds. I thought it was incredibly creative that the last piece of dialogue of each chapter was the start of the next chapter. There is a ton of drama, but also a lot of love. This is a book I’ll be recommending for a while!

I switched between book and audiobook on this one and loved both versions equally. The narration was excellent, especially for one narrator to be doing so many characters and points of view.

Thank you to Celadon Books, MacMillan audio and NetGalley for the advanced copies!

This is my favorite kind of book. Slow, quiet, dysfunctional family drama, character driven. There are dark secrets hidden within this family that propel the storyline. One of the complaints I saw repeatedly about this book is that the problems would have been nonexistent if the family members had just communicated with one another. I think this is a huge misunderstanding of how this family worked. There was no communicating, that was the problem. The mom was completely distant and closed off, the dad was doing his thing, and when Sunday asked for advice her mom basically told her to leave. I loved the relationship between the siblings, their commitment to each other. And I loved watching the truth unfold.

DNF @ 35%

Hmmm. I really tried with this book, but it was just so cookie-cutter and too melodramatic for my taste. Usually I like reading about dysfunctional families, but this one read so Lifetime movie to me. Even though many of the characters, including the protagonist were written in a cliche way. No one felt unique or well fleshed-out.

This book has been getting SOO much love and I have only good things to say about it too. If you enjoy a good family drama full of secrets and complicated relationships this is definitely the book for you. The Brennans are a big Irish Catholic New York family who own a bar and are all struggling in their own ways. When the only daughter Sunday gets a DUI in LA and ends up coming home after a five year absence, long buried secrets and resentments get brought to the surface. The Brennans kept me entertained and I was really rooting for Sunday and her childhood sweetheart/family friend Cale. I also appreciated that the character of Shane, the youngest Brennan with a intellectual disability, was treated so sensitively and well-loved by most of the family (his mother struggles with his diagnosis and accepting his limitations). Highly recommended for fans of books like Ask again, yes, The nest or The most fun we ever had. Much thanks to NetGalley and Celedon Books for my advance review copy.

CW: miscarriage, alcohol abuse, sexual assault

Holy Moly! What a debut! A riveting story of family secrets and lies.

Sunday Brennan, the golden child, has a bad night and in an error in judgment, gets behind the wheel while intoxicated. This precipitates a landslide of secrets she and her family have been keeping from each other. There were so many secrets, I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop and I couldn’t put the book down.

The characters are so well developed with a lot of backstory and so so flawed. One has to wonder what the heck they were thinking! The story is masterfully told from differing points of view, which I enjoyed very much. It’s complex and full of poor decisions made in desperate situations. I highly recommend this book!

Thank you NetGalley and Celadon Books for the ARC.

Sunday Brennan wakes up in a hospital bed after being involved in a drunk driving accident that she caused. Her family lives on the east coast and she lives in Los Angeles so she is surprised when her brother is at her bedside. He convinces her to come home to recover. Sunday left five years ago and isn't sure how she is going to fit back into her family and the fiancé she left behind...especially when both she and her family are carrying around a boatload of secrets.

I really wanted to like this book. After reading the First Look I was instantly drawn into the world of the Brennans. I wanted to know their secrets and their stories. Unfortunately this book didn't deliver. First of all, there were far too many characters and the switching of POVs got confusing. I felt like I never really got to know any one character very well. Second, much of this story revolves around events in the past...so much so that I would have rather read a book about what happened in the past then to keep skipping back and forth between timelines. And finally there are some big reveals in the last sixty pages of the book that are very rushed. I think the novel could have used some better pacing. (And this is just a pet peeve of mine, but the chapters were WAY too long.) But that being said I did like the way the Brennans were there for each other and came together as a family.

I was given this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the ARC.

What a wonderful debut novel this was. An Irish Catholic Family shows strength and support for one another as many family secrets unfold.