Familia by Lauren E. Rico had me glued to my seat, stressed and mind blown. This nail-biting mystery of a story follows a woman, Gabby, who, after doing a genealogy test, discovers she may have a sister. But Gabby is a fact checker for a magazine. Finding out the truth with concrete facts is her job. So, to discredit the GeneTeam company and write her first story, she sets out to find evidence that she does not have a sister.

This review took me so long to type because my mind was still trying to process everything I read! The first half of the book was wonderful and engaging, but it could not have prepared me for the second, face-slaping, half of the book. I was on a literal rollercoaster. I was tense and stressed, I laughed, and I cried. The characters were believable and relatable. Rico wrote the emotions and dilemmas so well that I felt everything along with the characters.

Familia is written in several POVs, which is not something I'm used to, but it worked so well with the story. I found myself wondering what other characters were doing and thinking during a particular scene. And Rico gave us that and more!

This was a fantastic book!

This was one of two books I read that dealt with the trauma of being a daughter in a Latin American family; I enjoyed the stories the author told and how her life was altered because of the sacrifices made by her family. Where many Latin American daughters can relate,

The cover of this book pulled me in - it's so lovely! The story is told from different POV's and different timelines which I always love because I love that well rounded experience. The genetic part of the story was fascinating and the rest of the story is full of emotion, action, twists and secrets. Overall it's a very great story!

(Small error around chapter 51. It was Gabby's chapter but there was a sentence written where the wrong sister was talking: "You okay?" Gabby asked from behind me.)

This. Book. Was. Gorgeous. I cried. It was so heartwarming and the ending was so feel good. Almost helped me cure my own daddy issues lmao. I'm angry at you lot for making me wait so long for a physical copy tbh how dare you? But I loved every page. Hung off every word. This was stunning.

I absolutely loved this book. The setting was beautiful. The storyline was engaging and very interesting. I was immersed in the story from the very beginning.

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Books for this digital arc in exchange for my honest review which is not affiliated with any brand.

This book is absolutely fantastic and pulled me in from page one. The premise is good and the story telling is emotional, vivid and captivating. Favorite book I’ve read this year. Would definitely recommend it to anyone.

During the last few years many books have been written about the effects of DNA test results on shocked recipients of often startling information. Without a doubt, this is the best of the fiction DNA books (Dani Shapiro has written the best non-fiction account).

I loved the main characters, Gabriella and Isabella,, triggered by the results of a DNA test begin a search for the truth about their relationship. The author weaves this search into a fascinating story about the real circumstances and people behind this wonderfully twisty and compelling story.

It is set in Puerto Rico where Gabby goes in search of her history. It is there she meets Isabella who has no doubt about their history.

I enjoyed this novel and the backstory. Rico made even minor characters accessible and likable. This novel ends with the most perfect closure I have ever read, what satisfaction for a reader!

Thank you Netgalley for this original take on DNA I really enjoyed it and highly recommend it.

Isabella, a young Puerto Rican woman, has been searching for years for her sister Marianna, who disappeared without a trace as a baby. Her search is in vain until a genealogy test shows a match with Gabby, a New York journalist, who adamantly denies that she could be Isabella's missing sister. Nevertheless, Gabby flies down to Puerto Rico to meet with Isabella, and before she knows it, she's drawn into the mystery and puts her investigative skills to work.

I really enjoyed this book--I especially loved the setting, which the author brought vividly to life. She also did a wonderful job of creating two compelling main characters in Isabella and Gabby, and describing the sometimes fraught relationship between them. Would definitely recommend!

Familia is a well written book about sisters, family, genetic testing and what does it mean to be genetically linked?

When two women come together after genetic testing reveals that they are sisters - it is not a welcome reunion. Suspicion and a doubt of whether they both actually want a sister relationship are at the core of this book.

It is fascinating and intersectional. Puerto Rico plays as crucial a role as do the well fleshed out characters.

This was a really well done story of connecting with your past, and in this case a past you didn’t know you had. While multiple perspectives can sometimes take me out of a story (I always have a favorite POV and want to skip the chapters that aren’t that character) the multiple perspectives in this story actually kept me interested the whole time.

I truly enjoyed the journey of Gabby and Isabella. Every time they found new information and getting the back story of where it came from. Dots were connecting the whole time and leading me deeper into wanting to know more. While the pace wasn’t super fast, the twists kept me interested throughout the book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington Books for allowing me to view to an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

A beautiful story that sometimes suffered from a slow pace but that may just be a personal issue. by and large i would recommend this book to anyone.

This was a good book! I enjoyed it, thank you team for sending me this copy!
I loved the blurb in the beginning, and she's right it's never too late to look into family history and see how everything came about. I loved how we got both sisters perspective and along with other relatives. It makes want to do something like this and have this background history.

Spectacular!
I read this book in a single day. Nothing was more important than this book to me today. It had all the right elements. Lauren drew me right in. The miracle of technology being sometimes a blessing and sometimes a curse - imagine finding out the life you had lived and loved could potentially be a lie. We journey with Gabby DiMarco to unlock the truth. The descriptions of Puerto Rico's beautiful landscapes definitely makes me want to plan a trip to see it in person. The twists and turns kept me on the edge of my seat. I absolutely loved the experience of this read, the characters were so real to me, like I was right there with them. Thank-you.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read Lauren E. Rico's latest triumph. 5 stars!

A beautifully written book. I enjoyed the characters and setting very much. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. Five stars!

I wasn't sure about this book at the beginning, but fell into the story very quickly. Told from multiple perspectives, and multiple timelines, once you get into the rhythm it becomes a story you don't want to put down! Isabella and Gabby tell the lion's share of the narrative, but we have important testimony from supporting characters in both the past and the present. There are some very big twists and turns toward the end, too, but one of my favorite parts is how the author brings la isla to life. Being from Santurce, I loved experiencing the area through Gabby's eyes and reliving my childhood memories...

Beautifully written. Love the characters. I love how everything comes together with the different perspectives.

Wow, this was a beautiful read. The writing pulls you in, I couldn't stop reading, I had to know where it would all go.
Isabella and Gabby are both wonderful characters who are learning about themselves and each other as they also learn what happened to Gabby/Marianna when she disappeared all those years ago.
There were twists and turns along the way and lots of unexpected things happening.
I really enjoyed this one. It's a beautiful story of family and the depths of love that lie within.


The last line of this book is just so beautiful that I wanted to share. "Then they huddled together, devouring the pages as big, salty tears came, falling to the ground and baptizing the world in their joy."

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!