Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

Great sophomore novel!

The Connellys of County Down follows 3 siblings.

Tara Connelly: Tara has been serving time in prison for the last eighteen months for trafficking drugs. Tara was an art teacher but she won't be able to return to her job. She will need to start her life all over again. Without a place to call her own and without money, she will need to stay at their childhood home with her other 2 siblings and her nephew.

When her sister, Geraldine is not there to pick her up, she is offered a ride home by Brian Nolan. Brian is one of the two cops who arrested her. Why is he there?

Eddie Connelly: He had a traumatic brain injury many years ago but he's still dealing with the sequela of his trauma. He gets debilitating headaches. Eddie has a son, Connor who lives with him after his mother left them.

Geraldine Connelly: She likes rules and tries to keep the house running. She feels responsible for her family. She is also very stressed at work and in reality, being overwhelmed is a better way to describe her.

I love the dynamics of the main characters brought to life by Tracey Lange. Despite being flawed characters, it was hard not to root for a good outcome for all of them. The Connellys had not been treated well by life and you wanted a win for them.

Cliffhanger: No

4/5 Fangs

A complimentary copy was provided by Celadon Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Tracey Lange's second novel, following the popular We Are The Brennans. I enjoyed this book immensely.
Tara Connelly has just been released from prison after serving a year and a half for drug trafficking. She returns home to her brother Eddie, his son Connor and her sister Geraldine. There is a lot of history with this family and the dynamics are played out beautifully by the author. There are some roadblocks for Tara as she attempts to get her life back on track. There are themes of forgiveness, drugs, family love, and loyalty. Highly recommend.

Tara Connelly returns from a stint at a local prison in New York for a drug charge and attempts to restart her life again in The Connellys of County Down by Tracey Lange. With no idea what she will do as a second act, she moves back in with her brother, a single father with issues, and her sister who faces her own problems, and there's Conor, her beloved nephew who's always good for a joke. But why is the cop who turned her in coming around and what does he want now? Will Tara be able to carve out a happy life after all the pain she's been through, and will her family survive intact?

After reading the author's debut novel, We Are the Brennans, I couldn't wait to get my hands on this book. It wasn't necessarily the plot that drew me in or the pretty cover--Lange's writing style and ability to create thoughtful and engaging storylines with well-drawn characters did. I love the New York setting she picks because I've been there, and it rings true. Plus, I like the family dynamics and her focus on an Irish-American family having grown up with relatives and friends who have that background.

In this book, as short as it was, she truly created an atmosphere and packed so much into the book. Yet it wasn't overwhelmed with plot, and the characters all felt fully-formed and empathetic. I agree with one reviewer who said that she didn't necessarily connect with any of the characters, but I felt that I could. Some characters really rubbed me the wrong way, but I felt that the frustration meant that I did care about the characters.

If you're a fan of Anna Quindlen and her fiction books, you will love this author. AQ is one of my idols, and I think that Tracey Lange is the heir apparent to her books. This is not really a comparison, but there are similarities in the sparseness of their writing that speaks volumes and some of the backgrounds and characters. Everyone has problems that must be resolved yet they may not be resolved. And that's why I liked this book. I originally gave the book four stars, but I really loved it and couldn't figure out a reason not to give it the whole five.

I can't wait until Tracey Lange's next book comes out in August 2024. Whether or not I receive it to review, I'll be eager to read it. I'm on board for any book that she writes in the future.

This was a fun buddy read. And I look forward to reading more from this Author. I went in blind and thoroughly enjoyed it.

⭐⭐.5/5

• family drama
• slow burn

I was hooked in the beginning but found myself drifting away at about 30%. I just couldn't connect to the characters or the plot.

🗣️ Thank you to @netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book via gifted eARC! All opinions are honest and my own.

(3.5 stars rounded up to a 4)

The Connellys of County Down by Tracey Lange is a contemporary literary fiction focusing on a group of siblings.

Tara Connelly was just released from prison after serving a year and a half on a drug charge. She knows that life will be difficult, but thankfully she is returning home to live with her siblings: a single dad struggling with lasting effects of a traumatic brain injury he sustained in his youth, and a neurodiverse perfectionist who focuses on calm and order. All of them have secrets, and some may threaten all of their futures as they unravel.

I borrowed the audiobook from the library because this one has been on my TBR for way too long. The narrator, Barrie Kreinik, does a great job.

For a while, I haven't been sure I am still a literary fiction girlie, but I really did enjoy this one. I ended up staying up really late to finish it in one sitting. I'll have to check out the author's debut novel, We Are the Brennans as well.

This book really goes in depth with the questions of how far someone might go to protect a loved one. It is equal parts heart warming and breaking. Though these characters make a lot of mistakes, you still feel for them and care about them. The relationship between the siblings felt very lived in and real.

My biggest issue with this book was the pacing. The middle dragged a bit for me, and the end felt too fast. The main romance was also a bit too insta-lovey for my taste, but overall I think they were good for each other. I was very much rooting for the secondary romance.

Boy do I love a complicated family story, and this one does not disappoint. Lange does an incredible job of allowing us to peer into the lives of this family. Excellent!

The Connelly siblings have had a rough life but have managed to stick together through it all. Tara, the youngest sibling, is coming home from prison and trying to rebuild her life amongst the chaos that is just regular, everyday happenings with the family. This is a story of survival and overcoming a shitty hand delt in life. Mental health is represented. An enemies to lovers relationship is woven in. Its overall a really good story, that unfortunately is very true to life. Lange writes the characters so well, its easy to empathize with their situation. I was rooting for Tara the whole way.

I don't even know what to say about The Connellys of County Dawn other than I absolutely loved this book. Lange is a master at putting together multi-layered family dramas that completely draw you in. The characters are so well-developed and the plot here is gripping, powerful, and moving all at the same time.

We meet the main character Tara as she is being released from prison after an 18-month sentence for trafficking drugs. Her sister is supposed to pick her up once released however she exits the facility to be faced with the same cop who arrested her and helped to put her in prison.

Once home, the story really takes off as we meet her brother Eddie, nephew Colin, and her sister Geraldine.

I really enjoyed how Lange brought all the various plot points together and loved watching the characters overcome obstacles and grow.

This is another wonderful book by Tracey Lange (if you haven't read, We Were the Brennans yet you need too!) and will definitely go down as one of my favorites of 2023.
Thank you Celadon Books and NetGalley for the eARC!

I loved this book just like I knew I would. "We are the Brennan's" was one of my favorite books of 2021 so I was sooo excited when I saw Tracey Lange had a new one.

The best thing about Lange's books are the amazing family dynamics. The families in her stories are messy and sometimes a bit crazy but they love deeply and have each other's backs always. She has an amazing way of adding real like problems (like trauma, mental illness, death) and normalize them without being problematic. All. three siblings were so different and struggled with different things, but they made it work and were always there for each other, even if they bumped heads. Tara was such an amazing strong character, a great sister and a great aunt. I really liked her character a lot.

If you love strong family dynamics with some drama mixed in, you will love this book!!

I was (and still am) obsessed with Lange’s first novel but this one doesn’t quite measure up. I liked Tara as a main character, and I enjoyed all the family drama, but it just didn’t have that special something to make it a memorable story.

Tracey Lange follows her debut novel with another solid work. She creates believable characters and engaging plots centered on love and family. I enjoyed reading about the Connellys. The characters are sympathetic and believable.

This story was a slow burn for me - the characters were frustratingly human and you can’t help but to root for them. The loyalty and sacrifices the siblings make for each other was heartwarming amongst the circumstances they faced. With this book and WeAreTheBrennans, Tracey Lange has become a go-to for family dramas.

I have been provided with a review copy of The Connellys of County Down from NetGalley for an impartial review. Oh my gosh this story was just epic. I just couldn’t put this story down and I was just captivated by everything that was taking place. The author truly outdid herself with this story. This story just had my emotions all over the place and I am so sad to see this book end. I just can’t wait to see what’s next from this author.

3.5 rounded down

Thank you to Celadon & Netgalley.

Overall, I enjoyed the story. I liked the characters and each had their own little storylines. But it felt a tad underdeveloped. It was hard to believe that Tara would come out of prison and all these things would fall into her lap.

I think I could have gotten past the abundance of predictable moments, but at the end we just got left hanging. What happened? Can I get an epilogue or another 50 pages?

If you like family dramas, pick this one up.

I am officially a huge Tracey Lange fan. The way she writes these complex families, full of flaws but you can’t help but be endeared to them. I loved that this was also a bit of a forbidden love story. So so good!

After not loving the Brennans like the rest of the world seemed to I was hesitant to request The Connellys of County Down by Tracey Lange. Man am I glad I did because this one gets 4.5 stars rounded up to 5 for me. The complexitites of the characters and the family drama that isn't over done but is ever present was great.
I loved the loyalty and perseverance shown by Tara. I loved the lightness that her nephew, Connor, added into the mix. I just felt like this was a true representation of a family that has been through it but still sticks together despite all of the hurdles in their path.

I will definitely not hesitate to pick up the next thing Tracey Lange puts out.

Thank you to Celadon for the advanced copy of this book for review.

I’m not sure what I expected from The Connelly’s of County Down, but I went in semi-blind and was drawn in right away! I loved following along with Tara as she adapted to life after leaving prison and getting to know her and what led to her being in prison. Family relationships are fascinating to me, and the author did a great job of building Tara and her siblings as individual characters, but also made their sibling relationships feel very real, with the right balance of showing the reader and telling through dialogue and inner monologues. There was the right amount of mystery/suspense as well to keep the reader engaged, without relying too much on that to drive the story along. It was great to see the characters self-reflect and grow as the story went on. Overall I loved the book and will recommend it to friends! Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the eARC.

Tracey Lange writes about families in a way that really makes you care about each character in some way. The Connellys siblings are an Irish family from New York who are trying to coexist together while each working on their individual complicated lives.
I just loved how Tracey ties in a visit to Brennan's bar a nod to her first book.
It's a perfect length for a quick read I breezed threw it during a busy weekend.
Based off of the enjoyment I've had reading both of Tracey's books I must Tracey Lange is now officially an auto but author for me now.