The Connellys of County Down pulled me right out of a reading slump and kept me furiously flipping pages until the very last word. I tend to gravitate towards romance and thrillers...pretty much anything with grand romantic gestures or crazy plot twists. But a good book is a good book and this is a good book! More of a contemporary fiction, there are hints of romance, crime, mystery, and all the family dysfunction you can handle! These characters feel as honest and real as they do dysfunctional. At the end of the day family is family, no matter how many secrets they carry or quirks they have. I love Tracey Lange's writing style and find it similar to Ethan Joella, who I love!

Thank you to Celadon & Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. 4.5 stars

I absolutely loved this story! Once again, Tracey Lange hit it out of the park.

This book explores the depths we'd go to protect our families, the resilience of damaged families after trauma, and the ripple effects of our choices on our lives and our loved one’s lives. There’s also a captivating forbidden romance and thought-provoking questions about morality and ethics that were so well done.

Another aspect of this book I appreciated was how the author addressed the challenges faced by individuals with criminal backgrounds reintegrating into society. It shed light on society's unforgiving nature, even after someone has served their time. The story powerfully conveyed the ongoing punishment people endure long after their release.

Though somewhat predictable, the writing and characters truly tug at your heartstrings. Tara's connection with her nephew and the growth among her siblings are particularly endearing. I’d be remiss not to say how much I loved the love story, too. This is the kind of story that steals your heart and leaves a lasting imprint.

The New York setting also hits home with me and scores points since I’m a New Yorker. 🙃

In short, this was a fantastic read that combines themes of family, romance, morality, and resilience and I adored it!

Thank you so much NetGalley, Celadon Books, and Tracey Lange for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Read if you like:
🥈 Second Chances
🏡 Stories about Family
❤️ Romance
✨ Magical Stories
🥰 All the Feels

Tara Connelly knows all about the messiness of life and family. We first meet her as she is being released from prison after serving an 18 month drug sentence.

We see the mess of her family immediately as we learn all about the dynamics where her siblings didn’t really visit her in prison and her sister is clearly ashamed of her and her brother is just struggling to be a dad and live with a life altering disability from when his dad wrecked the car he was in leaving him with a TBI and then leaving the oldest Geraldine to finish raising her two younger siblings at only 19 years old.

We see the truths start to unfold of how Tara ended up in prison and why she wouldn’t flip on the drug dealer to save her own skin and truly learn the value that family holds for Tara and how much she is willing to sacrifice for her siblings.

This one while I wanted to slap characters at times, also felt so raw and real and loved every second of getting to read about the messy lives of The Connelly’s and how important family and protecting the people she loves is to Tara.

I also loved the subtle but nuanced discussion on the prejudice and biases against those that have been perceived to have broken the law and really hope that others come out of reading this book with another perspective on those with criminal records and how we treat those individuals in society.

If you are looking for your next story about family dynamics I highly recommend checking this one out. Thanks so much to Celadon books for my ARC of this one!

Tracey Lange has such a great talent for developing very real, flawed, characters and sibling relationships that you just can't help but root for and love. I think I loved this one even more than the first. I can't wait to see what she does next!

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

4. 5 stars
As much as I loved Lange’s debut, 𝘔𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘴,
I love her sophomore book even more. She took everything that was likable in her first book (sibling relationships, building a business together, family tradition) and then dug even deeper, showcasing the writing chops this author owns.

The Connellys are your normal, dysfunctional family. No, really - if your family is perfect, yay. Mine was not, far from it, and I was always made to feel like that was abnormal, thanks to the television and movie families i watched. Thanks to Tracey Lange for acknowledging that screwed up families are the norm.

Tara Connelly just got out of a two year stint in prison for running drugs, Eddie is raising a son on his own after a traumatic brain injury has left with him with massive fall out, and Geraldine, the oldest, has some serious anxiety issues, manifesting in addictive collecting. And this is all on top of their car-stealing father running away following the early death of their mother, leaving the kids to basically raise themselves on their own. Yep, there’s some deep issues in this family.

But the one constant in their life is the sibling’s love and loyalty to one another. I was utterly engrossed with this family, staying up way too late to see where life takes them next. Love Love Love and Love!

⭐️⭐️ “I miss Sunday and Kale,” -Me, wishing I was still reading We are the Brennans.

🥂𝒫𝒶𝒾𝓇𝓈 𝓌𝑒𝓁𝓁 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽: Hofbräu from the German bar across the street from the Irish pub you just left.

✍️ Whenever my friends want to go to an Irish pub, a little leprechaun inside my head says, “but we can go somewhere more fun?” yet every now and then there’s a pot of gold at these dive bars and I’m glad someone nudged me out of my comfort zone. 🇮🇪 Before you know it, I’m taking a purposeful sip of Guinness in hopes that the liquid line will land in between the words and the symbol. (No small feat…)

Such is the story of me picking up We are the Brennans for a book club back in pandemic-four-book-clubs-a-month days. (RIP 💔) I loved that story so much and could not wait until Tracey Lange tried to convince me again that maybe an afternoon at Petey O’Doyle’s isn’t all that bad.

No such luck. 🍀 The leprechaun that led me to the pot of gold that was the Brennans decided to unleash his mischievous side and bring me the Connellys. Feeling pretty duped right now, and not in a good way like skincare for 1/10th of the price.

When it comes to The Connellys of County Down, I guess you could say the Guinness had been kicked.

⚠️May cause readers to look forward to Pi Day in March over St. Patrick’s Day.

Sometimes I think a book’s rating is entirely dependent on how it makes you feel, IF it makes you feel anything particularly strongly. And let me tell YOU, this one made me feel a MESS of emotions. Particularly frustration at their sheer lack of communication. But that’s what made it so good! It moved along specifically because of those frustrations.

Just wish the chapters weren’t so freaking long!

Thanks to Celadon for including me in the #celadonreadstogether campaign for this title in April to read this early with new-to-me bookstagrammers! It was awesome to be paired up with a small group of similar readers to read and discuss the title and get to know each other. I appreciated getting a NetGalley copy, too, so I could read it on my travels.
For me, this read started out really well - I was engaged in the story from the beginning and excited for the first quarter, but then I paused to meet the reading schedule. This unfortunately led to me losing momentum and setting the book aside, and I didn’t finish the book until well after we were supposed to discuss it.
Lange does a great job crafting a beautifully flawed family. Their struggles felt realistic and able to be identified with. I wasn’t as much of a fan of the romance that developed - it felt problematic and unstable. Overall, I liked this family drama, and I obviously loved that the main characters went to dinner at Brennan’s (from the author’s previous book) for a dinner date. I think fans of family dramas will enjoy this one, and I also recommend the author’s debut, We Are the Brennan’s.

It is important to note that most of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, therefore, touches on these topics as well. Many people might find the book's subject matters & those detailed in my review overwhelming. I would suggest you steer clear of both if this is the case. Please note that from this point forward I will be writing about matters which contain reflections on Hoarding Disorder, Traumatic Brain Injury, parental abandonment, the death of a loved one, grief, terminal illness, substance abuse, & others.

North of New York & south of the city, to the west of the centre, & east of the middle vagrants a subtle Irish diaspora intermingling in a fulsome lineage of burdens. Lange has introduced the reader to this part of the State before via the Brennans; a dynamic family unit ripe with secrets & mysteries, both of which might have been resolved with a bit of gumption & a salivated tongue. However, that is not how families are run. That is not to say that all units have their weak point, yet, this would remain an accurate statement. I mean to say that Lange writes about families that are quite similar to the one you might have heard about from a friend, or, maybe they are like your own.

With the boastful delight of a welcomed breached birth, Lange has offered the reader a new family to ponder & possess. The Connelly family is quite unfortunately in utter disrepair. The youngest sibling, Tara, is on the brink of release from a stint in the penitentiary where she served a sentence for being charged with transporting drugs. Here, the reader is immediately required to forgive the New York State legislation that indicates that this is actually classified as a Major Felony—resulting in between eight (8) & twenty (20) years of served time—rather than a crime that might allow Tara the two (2) year sentence she was granted. Indeed, we may note that Tara is a first-time offender which might mean the law would be gentle—2.5 years maximum.

However, Tara is accused of being in an intimate relationship with a known drug lord, she has been charged with battery after physically assaulting her sister-in-law; she has a history of disregarding the legal system, including in school, & others. Perhaps we have come to this hard stance rather quickly. You will forgive my lack of a smooth introduction in this case. I feel inclined to delve into this story & its logistics rather harshly because I feel let down.

When Lange released her debut novel, “We Are The Brennans” (2021), I was lucky enough to be granted an Advanced Reader’s Copy (ARC). At this time, I was still new to the game—I have been a reader all the days of my life; via the narration of a parent & guardian until I was literate all by myself. I appreciate the nuance that exists in reading. Sometimes, we find ourselves in a place in our lives wherein the story clicks & we fill the page with colourful words of praise. While, other times, we are disappointed & morose as a consequence of what we had hoped would be a grand adventure. In the year 2021, I was at a place where audiobooks were greatly appreciated. I had been dealing rather heavily with a health condition—one that tenderly remains with me to this day—& found myself able to immerse my brain in the world of the Brennans.

This time around, without the narration of a dedicated professional or the atmosphere of belief that I was in for a real treat, I found myself wrinkled & confused at the quirky language & superfluous plot of this book. That being said, this book will be appreciated by the same crowd that adored Lange’s first book. I am rather inclined to believe that, in this age of social sharing, many of the more platformed folks will find themselves with their ideal book in hand. The premise of this story will offer them the ease of a conclusion they can find comfort in & a story that presents some of the more unseemly aspects of life without the trauma that decimates the carrier.

To begin at the start, this story is about Tara as she adapts to life outside of prison. Both of her parents are absent from her life. Her mother died from cancer & her father is a deadbeat. Rather than explore the repercussions of this reality Lange presents the orphaned children in a mystic mirrored fashion. The trauma that each of the characters carries is reflected in very specific ways though there is no real exploration as to the root cause. By this I mean, Geraldine suffers from a Hoarding Disorder, Eddie has a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), & Tara remains coffined in a perpetual state of fight or flight—which might be attributed to Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

I have a rather well-rounded experience in a significant portion of the subject matter explored in this book. Therefore, while getting to know each of the characters & their “quirks” I felt encouraged to give more leeway than was perhaps necessary. After all, these are grown adults—the choices they make are their own. On the other hand, the consequences of traumatic events on the brain of a child remain present for the rest of the person’s life. It would be a crude oversimplification to claim that because Geraldine was habituated to being responsible she could clock her own disorder for the repercussion to trauma that it was.

As the story progresses the turbulence of the narrative veers from one thing to another. At first, the antagonist is Roland, the lowly kingpin. The local police have their sights set on him & have been badgering everyone in town in the hopes of being granted some form of intel that would allow them to lock Roland away for life. Then, when it’s apparent that Tara is not romantically involved with Roland, the local Detective jointly responsible for her imprisonment feels that this is the appropriate time to begin an intimate & romantic relationship with her. To the great confusion of many readers, this relationship becomes the focal point of the narrative.

As Tara struggles to regain her place in the family home, tries to find herself employment, & advocates for her libidinous desires; the world of the Connelly family stalls. This book is not very long, clocking in at around 288 pages. However, near the middle point, right after the cast of characters has been presented & tepidly explored; the author seems to lose her way. Nothing of note happens & though one could certainly argue that the tedium of the middle adds to the reality of the subject matter, I do not believe this to be the case.

Rather than encourage the material to spider itself into webs that the reader will need to untangle, the plot remains dull. Tara has sexual encounters with the Detective (whose name I have all but forgotten); Geraldine steals from her place of work instead of admitting that she fell behind; Eddie is doing nothing but going to work & kissing his coworker; & that’s all there is to say about the middle. Because the middle bits of stories are often where the marrow is found, the disappointment that arises due to the sluggish centre of this book is rather unfortunate.

It would not be wrong to feel disgust towards the apparent “romantic” relationship that is blossoming between Tara & the Detective. Why did this need to happen at all? If one can cast aside the absolute poverty of morals that overshadows this story, one is still left with questions. If the intent was for Tara to learn to try & overcome her coping mechanisms as she learns that they do not serve her & in fact cause harm to those around her, why does the story spend so much time with her lallygagging around town with the man who was & is leading the case against her? Tara is never actually granted the ability to work through her own trauma. In the place of self-efforts & coming to terms with the past we witness a romance that is severely misplaced.

This story would have benefitted from the inclusion of realism. One can certainly hope to find a tender version of the more crass reality of the human world. I do not fault readers for seeking out a story that might allow them to escape their reality. However, the apparent aspect that remains lacking throughout the twists & turns of the straight-lane Saskatchewan highway is the truth. One single moment in which Tara came to terms with how difficult it might be to be in Geraldine's shoes; one moment to appreciate that headaches were the cherry coating on a mold-ridden sundae of issues associated with a TBI; time to appreciate that people hurt each other even when they are trying very hard not to.

The depth of the relationships that the characters shared was all but non-existent. Due to this fact, the chapters on end wherein the same situation was repeated—over & over again—felt insulting. In all of this, there is a child that is suffering the silence of adults. It would not have been too much to hope to see consequences be met with actions. The ending of this book all but swept everything under the rug in a Cinderella style-maneuver. Though I can appreciate that Tara wasn’t going to have the heart-to-heart she deserved to have with her father in the few pages they shared, it mattered to see them awkwardly sitting together vying for the first word after years of solitude from each other.

Overall, this was not the book for me. I wanted the story to offer further opportunities to the characters; for them to be seen as tangible, well-rounded, entities in the world. What was given instead was very surface-level. Everyone felt like a caricature of themselves. I return to my original point which is to say that I know other people will love this book. If you find yourself with similar reading tendencies to me you may row your boat onwards to fuller waters.

Ultimately, I found the language crass & cringe-worthy; the obstacles anthills alongside the dunes. The blockade of suspense never reaches its full potential & yet I appreciated the mention of the Brennans & their bar. The story maneuvers itself well in the universe of families in New York State who long for proximity to a home they have never known. Whereas the essence of this story hints at folklore & fairytale stories of old, little of this transpires within the story. Instead, these imaginings remain locked in the childhood mind of the Connelly children & are rather absent from the narrative altogether.

For readers who enjoyed the first book by this author, the Connelly crew will undoubtedly present a new aspect of the realm of fiction they came to enjoy. As for myself, I disembark from the boat that led me here to make way for easy readers who won’t scoff at the corroded fiction they seek to behold.

Thank you to NetGalley, Celadon Books, & Tracey Lange for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

What would you do to help out your family? The family of the Connelly’s have a loft of baggage and secrets! Three siblings Tara, Eddie and Geraldine have a relationship like no other family.
Read this novel to see what they do for themselves and for each other!
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

The Connellys of County Down is about a thirty year old art teacher who finds herself in jail for 18 months. The book starts out with Tara getting out of jail and the detective who placed her there thinks she didn’t really commit the crime. The detective is really trying to figure out why she took the blame. As he is trying to get to know her, I should say fall in love, we also start to figure out the whole story. This book is filled with so much romance, family drama, and true friendships. I loved all the contemporary aspects of this book like the fortnite references and Tara creating the illustrations for two teenage gamers. You can truly love these characters and this story but I felt like the story just ended. As a reader I didn’t feel like I got closure for this story or for Tara. For that reason I had to rate it lower. It also made the ending feel very rushed. I could have done without Geraldine as a character but I guess this means the story is more realistic since we have to deal without people we wish we didn’t everyday!

As an audiobook the narrator did an amazing job with voicing different characters. I felt all the emotions the main character was feeling and to me this is everything. This was my first audiobook by this narrator and I am excited to listen to more of her work as she has narrated many of Sally Hepworth’s novels.

Read this if you like:
➜ dysfunctional family drama
➜ nods to Ireland
➜ mental health rep
➜kid jokes

Thanks to Macmillan Audio, Celadon Books, and Netgalley for the gifted audiobook in exchange for my honest review. Pub Date: 8/1/23

This author is quickly becoming one of my favorites. Her books are incredibly moving in. The characters are well developed. I also very much enjoy her writing.

The Connellys of County Down by Tracey Lange
Narrated by Barrie Kreinik

I wasn't sure how much I'd enjoy a book about a women being released from prison. It's so easy for such a character to make excuses for herself and just stay in the same rut as she's been in for years. But in this case Tara Connelly doesn't make excuses. She did what she had to do, she has no regrets on that front, but she is going to be sure to stay far away from trouble from here on out. I can't help liking Tara a lot. She's smart, she's compassionate, she's hurt by slights from her family, but she's going to make it, she has what it takes.

Then she is home again with her older brother and sister and life is hard. She has a roof over her head and food on the table but she needs to contribute to the finances and who wants to hire a someone right out of prison? Her sister is still a watch wound way too tight and her brother ignores the big thing that should be said. But there is no changing Geraldine, she is so mired in her routine that trying to muck with it will bring a mountain of nagging on one's head. Eddie deals with a traumatic brain injury from his teen years and may never get past the grief and pain it causes him. Still, this is family and they will stick together despite the nagging, the prison stint, and the many things that go unsaid.

These are flawed people but I could not help having sympathy for each of them. Geraldine was the hardest to like but the author does a great job of helping me to understand her. She isn't just a screeching, nagging cliché. She has reasons for being the way she is today. It seems each sibling has fallen into their roles and can't deviate from them no matter how much change would do them good. Eddie is going to try to get the feuding sisters to get along and Tara is going to try to fix things no matter the cost to herself.

This is the second big winner for me from Tracey Lange and I can't wait for her next book. The audiobook is narrated by Barrie Kreinik and she does a great job with all the characters. I was afraid how she'd handle a nag like Geraldine but she didn't go overboard with a character that was already too abrasive. Oh, I have to give shout out to the two gaming nerds that give Tara a chance. I love those characters and their mother. They are especially funny while listening to the audiobook. I was able to enjoy both the ebook version of this book and the audiobook version.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio, Celadon Books, and Netgalley for this ARC.

Absolutely fantastic plot! Could not put the book down once I began reading it. Cannot wait for it to be released. I will recommend it to everyone I know!

Unfortunately fate has not been kind to the Connelly’s- left on their own after the death of their mother, they survived the only way each of them knew how, with Tara’s release from prison, theirs lives are yet again turned upside down but maybe this time they will all land right side up. Releasing August 2023 The Connelly’s of County Down belong on the top of your summer reading list! Loved this book! Thanks to Celadon Books I was able to download both the audio and the ebook. It was a great listen and a fast-paced read. I loved the characters, the story flowed beautifully and was so heartwarming!

4.5 ⭐️

Tracey Lange follows up her wonderful debut novel, “We Are the Brennans” with a story about three siblings who test the bounds of love and loyalty, when the youngest is released from prison after serving eighteen months on a drug charge.

Because of that conviction, Tara Connelly will never be allowed to teach Art to children again, and she must move home at age 30, to live with Geraldine, the bossy older sister who raised her, and her brother, Eddie, a single Dad who is still struggling with the ongoing effects of a brain injury sustained years ago.

Trying to rebuild your life after serving time is challenging enough, and in Tara’s case whenever she takes two steps forward, she is pushed one step back, by the secrets her family keeps from her, and by one of the two cops who put her in jail, continuing to follow her-convinced she is hiding the information he needs to convict the town’s main drug supplier.

Fortunately, her strong bond with her adorable joke telling nephew, Connor, two unlikely allies in the guys who take a chance on her and give her a job, and the possibility of a new love interest, all help to keep pushing her forward whenever it all seems too overwhelming.

There is even a visit to the Brennan’s bar.

Tracey Lange writes likable, imperfect characters who you want to root for, and captures the intricacies of family dynamics in a way that makes me want to keep turning the pages long after I should be turning out the lights and getting some sleep!

She has definitely now become an auto-request author for me, and I look forward to what’s next!

AVAILABLE SOON! August 1, 2023.

Thank You to Celadon books for the invitation to read an ARC provided through NetGalley. It was my pleasure to offer a candid review!

After spending eighteen months in prison, Tara Connelly is finally being released on parole. A drug trafficking conviction had landed Tara in the Taconic medium security facility. It wasn’t Tara’s fault, but she had her reasons for taking the fall.

Tara was to live with her brother and sister, Eddie and Geraldine, when she got released. Tara hoped that her stay with her siblings would be short-lived. But that would not be the case considering her criminal record. And forget about going back to teaching.

The Connellys suffered a lot of setbacks growing up. First they lost their mother to cancer. Their dad wasn’t the best role model, being a car thief. And if that wasn’t enough, their dad was the cause of Eddie’s traumatic brain injury from a motor vehicle accident. Add insult to injury, their dad left the family high and dry. Which then meant, eldest Geraldine was to become the head of household, even though she was still in her teens.

After being away for eighteen months, Tara was expecting some changes in the family dynamic. But to Tara’s surprise, she couldn’t believe how controlling Geraldine had become. And Eddie just became so complacent. It was Tara’s nephew, Conor, that bore the brunt of the psychological changes in his dad and aunt. And all of that had to stop. And soon…

I loved The Connellys of County Down. I certainly enjoyed it much more than Lange’s previous novel, We Are the Brennans. Though some of the plot twists were expected, it didn’t deter me from enjoying the journey. Tara’s steadfastness, and family conviction really shined in this novel. And I loved the Conor jokes dispersed throughout the narrative. It lightened the dark mood when needed. A clever and nice touch to a tough and emotional novel.

The characters in the novel were nicely fleshed out. And I connected with all of them. They were all engaging, even if I didn’t care for some of them.

Overall, The Connellys of County Down was a captivating story about family and the lengths each member would go to save it from collapse. Five stars.

I received a DRC from Celadon Books through NetGalley. The review herein is completely my own and contains my honest thoughts and opinions.

Tara has just been released from prison and heads home to her brother, Eddie, his son, Conor, and her sister, Geraldine. This is the home they grew up in and life hasn’t been especially fair to this family. Their mother died when they were young and their father abandoned them. Eddie is still dealing with a brain injury, and Geraldine doesn’t seem especially happy that her felon sibling is home. Lots of secrets that might bring these people closer together or break them apart for good.
I don’t want to say too much since many many secrets are revealed. I didn’t love how it ended. No spoilers but things just wrapped up a bit to neatly for my taste. Overall, though, it was a great story about family, assumptions, how cruel the world can be, and also how forgiving and loving. I’ll think about the Connellys for quite a while.

I can not stop thinking about this book!! Even though We are the Brennans was a quick read, it was one of my favorite books of last year and I was excited to see this new book by the author listed on NetGalley. The way that it delves into a complicated family dynamic and really makes you sympathize and root for each character is amazing and I think this book deserves some big hype! I can not wait to see what this author does next!

Wow….I actually enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. Geraldine basically raised her siblings Tara and Eddie. She doesn’t know how to handle her stress and anxiety when she gets in over her head at work. Tara just got out of prison. Eddie has a traumatic brain injury. But these siblings will do anything for each other. Great read!