An enjoyable book about what happens when a family, comprised of very different personalities has to decide what to do when they are left with a large, multi-family property I would have given it five starts but the ending seemed like the author couldn't figure out how to end the book and it came out of left field.

I spent winter holidays in Vermont growing up so I have a weakness for the setting in this book. Five cousins inherit a Vermont estate and must decide together whether to sell it or what use to make of it. The cousins share a childhood past but have all gone down separate paths and are facing different difficulties in their current day lives. An enjoyable family drama.

The Family Compound was an interesting read about a group of cousins trying to come to terms with land and two homes left to them after their parents die. The problem comes in because the land and homes are all part of one parcel and it's an all or nothing deal.

The characters, each with their own quirky personalities, were well written and their interactions were always unique and sometimes puzzling and/or heartwarming.

At one point, I did quit reading because I just couldn't get into it, but eventually I realized I wanted to know what they ended up deciding about the land. So I started reading again, and at that point, maybe 40%, the pace picked up and other characters entered the story, helping to drive the pace.

I think that if you like family sagas, tales of family and found family you'll enjoy this book as I did. Give it a shot!

Thanks to Netgalley, the author, and publisher for an ARC. All thoughts are my own.

This is a compelling novel that focuses on family and relationships. A great conflict sets up the drama, and secrets and disagreements are revealed over the course of the story. The Family Compound is a clever and character-driven family-centred drama. The flawed characters are well-drawn, and the descriptions are excellent.

Thanks to NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing and Liz Parker for an advanced copy of this book.

Family drama abound!!!!!!!!!! I really enjoyed this story about how family members come together after an unexpected loss.

This is a good summer read. You need some time to absorb the characters and warm to their quirks. Families are messy and this one is no exception. The story deals with the aftermath of the family patriarchs death and how the younger generation will deal with their shared inheritance of the family compound in Vermont. I spend a good amount of time in Vermont and really enjoyed the well described setting. The reader can see the beauty of the area and appreciate the love/hate relationship the cousins have with the property. The characters are believable if not always likable and I really cared about their situation and struggled along with them as they tried to decide whether to sell or keep the family compound.

Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union for the opportunity to read this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Lake Union Publishing and Net Galley for providing an ARC of this book.

This is a story of siblings and cousins, and their relationships as adults. They are forced to come together after their father/uncle passes away to manage their shared family land, and, of course, drama ensues and secrets are revealed. I had a hard time connecting to the characters, and many of their actions and their dialogue felt stilted and not very genuine to me. It wrapped up nicely at the end, but I still just felt blah about this one.

Family is huge for me, so when I saw this, I knew I wanted to read it. Boy oh boy was I glad I did! This was a great read & I can’t wait to read more from this author!

The Family Compound by Liz Parker
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Start date: June 16, 2022
Finish date: June 19, 2022
Release date: Aug 23, 2022

Thank you Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for a digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

Family drama, big decisions, personality conflicts, individual drama, this book has a lot going on! I loved all of their individual storylines, dealing with and overcoming their problems. This book is extremely character-driven. I really wanted to know how it would end, and where our characters would end up - and this ending was a really satisfying conclusion. It was a relatively easy read but had some deeper moments and storylines, too.

I’m giving this 3.5 stars because it did flip back into the “past” a few times, without telling us it was doing so… it would take a few paragraphs into the chapter for me to have any idea what was going on. I think a timeline of some kind would’ve been helpful, even chapter titles such as “September 2022” or something.

I asked for this title because I love family dramas, but this one started off very slow and never really picked up the pace. I didn't really connect with any of the characters and found them very immature, and the storyline was a tad predictable. It was really hard trying to keep all the characters straight too. I did like how the cousins and siblings finally got their acts together and started to grow as human beings. The family dynamics part of the story felt very real and true to life and I enjoyed that. This was a great premise but I am sorry to say the execution was lacking.

Whoa! What a ride. It was very fast-paced. The writing style kept me hooked and I didn't find myself losing any interest. I enjoyed getting to know each of the characters and how real the story felt. The author did a great job painting the setting, so it was easy for me to visualize the scene played out before me. I recommend giving this one a chance!

THE FAMILY COMPOUND by Liz Parker is an easy read, very reminiscent of Emma Straub's familial novels. Whilst the character developments were limited and lacked scope or deviated much from convention, I found it an easy read and finished the book quickly. It does feel like a novel that was written about 20 years ago as the character twists were nothing surprising, but the dynamics between siblings and cousins was definitely interesting.

Thanks to NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing and Liz Parker for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was an interesting story. Enjoyed reading it. Pretty predictable, but still a fun read. Thanks to NetGalley for opportunity to read for honest review. Actually 3.5 stars. I hardly ever give 5’s, so it was good !

THE FAMILY COMPOUND is one of those delightfully meaty novels about family dynamics after the daeth of a parent. Each of the characters are flawed, but flawed in such relatable ways that they will remind you of your own siblings or friends you have had in the past. The characters are fully formed; they could step off the page and waltz into the real world without having to change a thing. Parker's language is also stirring - she makes the landscape and the family compound come alive as well as artfully describing emotions and situations in lyrical yet realistic ways. I just loved it!

When a family is faced with difficult choices following the death of a loved one, it can be daunting. When the 150-acre compound of the Nolan and Ridge families is willed to the cousins, it can be very complicated.

Parker carefully develops each family member (3 siblings, 2 siblings, all cousins) showing their personality vulnerability, and their place in the family. The characters grow together while trying to decide the fate of their beloved family property. The book shows how families can be challenged, disagree with one another, but still work together to make choices and decisions. The relationships are not sugar-coated but have a feel of a real family and the dynamics of an extended family.

A family thrown into conflict over the family compound they have inherited is the basis for the novel. The story is woven with the personal conflicts of the female cousins and with the arguments over whether to sell or not. The men in the book drift in and out but this is not their story. It is the story of the women and all the turmoil they are experiencing.
I really tried to enjoy the novel but felt there was a lack of cohesion and wearied of such immature adults.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

ARC provided by NetGalley and the publisher.

This was a delight to read! The beginning was a bit hard with all the characters showing up almost all at once but once I had theirs names straight, I finished it in two days. I love the family dynamics and dramas, especially Halsey!
The only thing is that I wish we had more of the guys perspectives and their personal lives.

Primero que todo gracias a Netgalley y a la editora por permitirme leer esta historia.

The Family Compound trata sobre dos familias, cinco primos quienes quedan como herederos de unos terrenos. Entre los cinco primos deben decidir que harán con estos terrenos y llegar a un acuerdo. A lo largo de esta historia podemos ver como los primos deben dejar sus diferencias a un lado y comenzar a trabajar juntos.

Con esta descripción me parece suficiente para atrapar al lector. Aunque al principio se me hizo un poco difícil continuar con esta historia porque me parecía un poco lenta, me di cuenta que mientras más avanzaba se ponía más interesante. El drama, el amor y lo desconocido hacen que esta historia sea única. Es asombroso ver como cinco personas pueden trabajar juntos para continuar con un legado familiar.

4/5 estrellas porque considero que por momentos se hace difícil de leer. Excelentes personajes y trama.

This book was sent to me electronically for review by Netgalley. Could not get into the story…others might like it.

thought this was a quick read re: a family drama re: a land inheritance. Sometimes this type of story takes a nasty turn, but that wasn’t true here. It skirted on the top without ever going too deep, but it was still enjoyable.