Nothing like putting five cousins together in a property that is a shared inheritance amongst them, a lot of skeletons are bound to fall out of the closets ..

The Family Compound by L. Parker, published by Lake Union Publishing is a book like no other.
It tells the story of two families, five cousins who have to decide the future of their inheritance.
Penny, Halsey, William, Laurie and Chris all have their own issues, have the scars to prove it. But can they really unite for the greater good of the family?
This book paints a beautiful picture. Beautifully thought out, beautifully written and told was this a read in one sitting book for me, 5 stars.

This book snuck up on me. I had read about 25% and put it down for awhile, wondering if it was going to hold my interest. I went looking for something else, but found that I couldn’t stop thinking about the two families that shared the family compound. The parents had died and the property was left in a trust. I really didn’t think the terms of the trust were fair. I won’t spoil it for the reader but I absolutely did not feel that two of the cousins would be underwriting most of the expenses just because the others weren’t interested in working as much or as hard. The cousins had to decide whether to keep or sell the place. Of course, family memories mean more to some than others, everyone has their own problems, etc. and I picked the book back up and did not stop reading until the book was over. This may be a slow start but it hooks you. I think this could be a finalist in family sagas this year. Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was sadly an underwhelming read for me. I loved the premise - a family inheriting a farm and having to come together to make things work. Family novels are usually right up my alley. However, the execution didn't live up to my expectations. The story didn't pull me in from the get go. I found the cast of characters a little tricky to follow, and I wasn't invested in any of them. For me, their development felt somewhat cliched and hollow. Several chapters of this book are written as flashback scenes, which at first I found jarring and difficult to follow as there is no indication at the start of the chapter that these are occurring at a different time. Putting a date stamp on these would really help the logical flow of the story. I also found much of the writing in this to be clumsy, and as a result, I found it hard to get through. I absolutely can see why so many people have raved about this book, so I'm disappointed that it wasn't everything that I'd hoped for.

Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for a chance to review this book.

The Family Compound is a quick enjoyable read that reminds you that cousins are often the first friends you have. In this book five cousins must come together to share an inheritance of a family compound that they all spent the best times of their youth at. With some strict rules that their Grandfather set the cousins must band together and make a unanimous decision about the future of The Family Compound. 4 Stars!

I love and appreciate a good story about a family, and I was so excited to read about the compound. I can’t decide if it’s a drama, light read, or literary novel. This copy was an unproofed ARC and perhaps that was part of the reason I struggled a little with this book.

I loved the premise of the novel: several siblings and cousins inherited a large compound and all the problems, financial and otherwise, that went with it.

Despite the great premise I could not get into the characters. I gave it a few chapters but just didn’t care enough about any of them to continue reading. They felt unlikable, and there wasn’t enough backstory about the compound to make me fall in love with the area they were fighting for.

I wonder if the copy that I read had simply not been edited yet? I appreciated this ARC and want to be honest in my review.

A compassionate and insightful novel about family, broken dreams, and holding on to everything in life that matters.
Five cousins must band together to decide the future of their shared inheritance—the family’s sprawling property in Stowe, Vermont—but with each at a different place in life, reaching a unanimous decision seems unlikely. Wow what a rollercoaster of a ride… jaw-dropping and edge-of-the-seat… Instantly hooked… I literally couldn't put it down…

After an untimely family tragedy, five cousins are forced to come together and make some hard decisions about their beloved "family compound" in Stowe, VT. While they all grew up on this land, the cousins are not as close as they once were and are all at very different places in life. Will their childhood memories be enough to inspire them to come together and make the best decision for the land and their family?

Stories of unexpected love, mental health, career drama, secret-keeping and much more kept me turning the pages. This was an especially fun read as a nature-loving New Englander.

Thank you Net Galley for the ARC - don't miss this one when it is published on August 23rd.

This was a very interesting story and a hard book to put down. All of the characters have redeeming qualities even though they may not come across that way at first glance. I enjoyed the flashback scenes and individual character chapters, However, I don't think that we really got know William and Chris as well as the other.s.

I just finished this book and it was great! If you like messy families (and come on, who doesn’t and fine, I may be biased but I love them), this is a fun read. It’s about 5 cousins who have inherited a large plot of land and need to get their crap together to see if they can afford to keep it. At times heartbreaking, this story starts out with a death but is ultimately about life lived. I didn’t see the end coming!

The Family Compound by Liz Parker @wizpower comes out August 23, 2022.

“The Family Compound” by Liz Parker revolves around family and finding strength in oneself. This book takes a different twist on the chestnut of land inheritance, where instead of a set of siblings deciding what to do with it, instead it’s a group of cousins. I felt the beginning set-up to be interesting, where a family friend and lawyer explains what’s been set up by the will and how everything has to be a group decision. For me, this book moved a bit slowly, and I never felt like I “knew” the two male characters - it seemed more that they’d pop into the story then disappear again to the wings. I also found some of the chapters a bit jarring, as I realized they were set in the past - but there wasn’t a note or chapter title indicating this, so it seemed like it was present time. I found the “final decision” to be a bit too perfect in the setting up and resolution. I did, though, like how the family dynamics seemed real - spending time with family when younger doesn’t always mean everyone’s the “same” when grown-up and with other responsibilities (work, family) start taking precedence. Overall, for me this was a good book, but it didn’t always work for me; I’m glad I read it and for those who like family dramas I’m sure they will enjoy it.

Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the arc!

So, this book is family drama between five cousins that inherited a property in Vermont as equal owners. They have to come up with a decision together whether to keep it or sell it. The cousins shared some history that they used to spent time together in the property. As times goes by and they grew up, they grew distance and becoming strangers to each other, untill they have to gathered up when patriarchy of the family died. Filled with secrets and struggles they barely shared, they have to come through a lot of things to reach the final decision regarding the land.

It's my first time reading family drama book and I don't have any expectations about it. To my surprise, this book focused on the relationship between siblings and cousins that grew distant and relearning about each other again after some times (which is a theme that very close to me). The author also successfully brought the issue about being a kid trapped in adult body which might be relatable to many!

I love the three women characters (Laurie, Penny, and Halsey)'s development and growth, since the story is written around their POVs. it's exciting to explore more about them, their secrets and struggles, and how to overcome it. Not to mention how the women are the force that determined the decision!

Overall, it's a heartwarming and very nice first read experience for me on this genre!

This author has a nice style of writing which flows well. The plot is interesting and the characters are well-drawn, the women more strongly than the men. I could not quite picture the set-up of the two houses and the land, so a little more description would have helped. The cousins took quite a while to come up with the obvious solution, but it all ended well.

Families. Talk about drama. And with the Nolan and Ridge families, there is no shortage of drama. Everyone used to exist on their own, floating along, until the patriarch (and remaining adult of that generation) of the Nolan family suddenly passes away and they're forced to grow up and deal with their shared family inheritance of land and ultimately, figure out what really matters to them.

The Nolan family has 3 siblings, Laurie, Chris, and Penny. Laurie and Chris are successful in the traditional sense, professionally and therefore financially. Penny is the youngest and is floating along, working at the local grocery store and contemplating her next move.

The Ridge family has 2 siblings, Halsey and William. Halsey is a recently divorced single mom to Miles and is the only family member of the current generation to live full time in Stowe and on the inherited land. William is a yoga "influencer".

The land is shared between the two families, used as weekending property and summering property throughout their childhoods. Each family has fond memories of times spent at the family compound in Stowe, but each one is unsure of its role in their lives as adults. The stipulation of the will when the land was left to the cousins, was that they either live owning the property together or sell it together. Cue drama. Only 2 of the cousins have jobs to support the taxes and expenses of the property. 1 lives elsewhere and is uninvested in the property, 1 is unsure of everything in her life, and 1 desperately needs to stay but has no money to do so.

The story mainly focuses on the drama in Laurie, Halsey, and Penny's lives. Each one is forced to move forward and take those terrifying steps into the unknown to see what lies ahead of them in their lives. One thing I wish for this story was that some of the more stories were more flushed out, I felt like I needed to know more about Chris and William. They gave their stories a little bit of depth but then left it with loose ends that were tied quickly at the end. Sometimes the flashback the author uses could be a bit jarring and was hard to figure out if they were in the past or present at first. The authors imagery of the land was amazing and made you want to be in rural Vermont. Overall, the story was a good one, with a resolution that was heartwarming. I definitely enjoyed spending time in the world of the Nolans and Ridges.

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.

I had trouble really getting invested in this story, but that’s partly due to personal preference- I’m generally not a fan when the point of view skips around a variety of characters. That being said, it’s an interesting read about the family drama that happens around estates and inheritance and family life in general. I connected with the musings about how we still see ourselves as “the kids”, but the older generation is passing on and we haven’t come to grips with the fact that we’re the grown ups now.

(I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.)

Thank you to Lake Union Publishing, Net Galley and the author for an e-ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review. When five cousins, who share a history but are all very different, inherit the family property, there are conditions that come with the bequest. They must all agree what the sprawling Vermont property is used for, and whether it will be sold. They are all struggling with different aspects of their lives, and they don't understand where each other is coming from in the decisions they make. Once they start spending time together, they each start to look forward, but with hesitation and fear. They share a past, they share so many memories, but can they be the adults they were meant to be? Can they come together and make a good decision on the path for their lives and for the "The Family Compound."

Loved this family drama. Lots of different angles.

Thanks to author, publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While I got the book for free, it had no bearing on the rating I have it.

I was surprised by how much I liked this book. It’s the story of a messy family dealing with life after their father dies. The writing made it really easy to get into and read.

A family must decide what is more important, a family compound left to them or selling it. Not a great story. I did finish it but did not care for it,