Tracey Lange is quickly becoming a favorite author of mine. I’ve now read three of her books and they’ve all been five star reads. ⁣
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I am a sucker for second chance romance stories and I felt like this one broke my heart and then put it back together again. The small town setting, the hockey team and the message of family really won me over. ⁣
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Kyle and Casey’s love story started off so innocently when they were kids and we know as readers that somewhere along the way their love story ended, but we don’t know the catalyst for this breakup. Discovering what ended their marriage is heartbreaking-all I can say is have tissues handy as you read this book. ⁣
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This book deserves all the stars and I highly recommend picking up anything from this author. Huge thank you to Netgalley for sharing an ARC with me.

I absolutely love this book and all the characters! Nobody writes family drama this exceptionally!

Heartbreaking, heartwarming, funny, all the feels and emotions for sure.

I was not ready for our small town story about Kyle, Charlie, the hockey team, and the girl next-door to end! Definitely does the family drama twist and turns, I didn’t see all of them coming and most of them are definitely emotion invoking. No spoilers here!

Absolutely cannot recommend the story enough. I even slowed down my reading some because I just wasn’t ready for it to be over.

Thanks to NetGalley and Celadon Books for my advanced electronic reader copy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own and this one is now available!

I've been waiting to read this story for months. I was pleased to finally have the opportunity to read the arc just before the book was published! And I was not disappointed! Lange did yet another fantastic job of weaving a family drama full of emotion (tears, laughter, anger, the list goes on), found family and second chances!!! There were times when my emotions were riding a rollercoaster. I lost it all in the last quarter of the book and the last chapter took me forever to get through because I could not see the words through my tears. So well done!
I'm looking forward to reading what Lange puts out next! She is definitely the master of family tales!

Thanks so much for the opportunity to read this ARC!

I've read a couple books by Tracey Lange, and this was by far my favorite. Lange weaves family dynamics, suspense, and genuine human emotions together skillfully. The McCray family feels real, their struggles raw and relatable. Each character is richly developed, and the twists and turns in the plot are masterfully executed. I couldn’t put it down — it’s a page-turner that kept me thinking about the complexities of loss, secrets, and human relationships. I was drawn into the world of the McCrays every step of the way. This book will stick with me for a long time.

Tracey Lange continues to be an auto-read author. The way that beautifully broken characters leap from the page and into the reader’s heart should be studied. This particular novel had a heartbreaking twist that each main character faced differently, grappling with their own guilt, shame, and sadness. While difficult at times, the overarching narrative of familial love remains as expected from this talented writer.

This was raw. Visceral. Real. The exploration of family trauma, the writing and the way it draws you in. The multi faceted characters are well written and complex. Truly a masterpiece.

This is a wonderful story of family trauma and the time and work it takes to try to work through it. Tracey Lange did a wonderful job of ale demonstrating the importance of not only family, but also the importance of one's friends and community. This was a really good book. Thanks #NetGalley #CeladonBooks

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE MCCRAYS? feels like the big-armed, fully enveloping hug you need when you are feeling your lowest, a somber yet enriching novel about the second chances that only exist for a moment in time, and how we act when faced with them.

For years, Kyle and Casey McCray were an It couple in their hometown, a hockey legend and a girl with a bright academic future pairing up in the strangest of circumstances, bound by their shared love of family, community, and hockey. Tracey Lange's newest novel, however, does not begin with their glory days. Rather, as the story unfolds, we learn that Kyle has isolated himself across the country, Casey is living a shell of her past life, and their community is still reeling from their separation. But when Kyle is called back to care for his ailing father, he realizes all that was left behind, and wonders if it's worth trying to reclaim any of it. It helps, of course, that the local middle school boys hockey team (and their manager, Casey) needs a little help.

Tracey Lange's third novel once again centers around a complex family dynamic, this time with a deeper second chance narrative fueling its characters motivations. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE MCCRAYS? reads like a mix of BEARTOWN, ALL YOUR PERFECTS, and MERCURY. Which is to say: It's going to make you cry. It's going to make you feel. It's going to make you love the life you have and the family that holds you up. And it's going to make you want to try and play hockey again. The dual timelines helps build the mystery of the story, making it compulsively readable. The tender reveal about halfway through the novel comes in a series of heartbreaking moments, but they make the reward that much sweeter. I need the movie adaptation of this, STAT!

Thank you to #NetGalley, Celadon, and the author Tracey Lange for the opportunity to read, #WhatHappenedtotheMcCrays?, a wonderful novel about love, hope, family, friendship, and second chances.

Kyle McCray left his hometown in New York to move far away from his family, friends, and the love of his life. Two years after he moved to Spokane, Washington he found out his father had a stroke and he rushed back, not knowing whether anyone would even speak to him upon his return, to help his father with his recovery.

After he arrived back in his closely knit small town, he realized the friends and family he thought would be angry with him were actually being very kind, everyone except his ex-wife, Casey. All Kyle wanted was to try and find a way to break through the wall that had been built between them and find their way back to some kind of friendship. Every time he felt like they were making progress Casey shot his efforts down again. It was obvious that something horrible had happened between them.

When Kyle realized his Dad's recovery was going to take longer than expected he decided to try and find ways to show Casey he still cared about her. He decided to help out with the middle school hockey team, knowing the kids were taught by Casey and were extremely dependent on her. He also tried to figure out a way to convince Casey to open up to him.

The author, Tracey Lange, did an amazing job of building intense and layered characters, convincing the reader to be empathetic to both sides of the overall conflict. There was a significant secret that Kyle, Casey, and the entire town shared. I found myself rooting for both sides and for Kyle and Casey to find their way back to one another. I wanted hope and love to ultimately win in the end.

I absolutely was enthralled with this story. It was definitely a five star book in my opinion and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good old fashioned love story.

DNF at 23%

I think I saw that a lot of people were reading this book, and though I read the description, I didn’t read it closely enough to see that it was going to be a romance and not an edgy family drama. I don’t really do romance (though I guess I’ll be reading TWO this year for the Book Riot Read Harder Challenge. There’s usually one, but two?! There’s “read a romance book without an illustrated cover” and “read a holiday romance that isn’t Christmas.” Sigh.), so I won’t be finishing or rating this one. It started off fine, I guess. Seemed like a lot of people are liking it OK. You can definitely tell exactly what is going to happen.

Thank you @celadonbooks @netgalley for the free review copy!

📖 When Kyle’s father suffers a stroke, Kyle must go back to his small home town to take care of him. He’s not looking forward to reuniting with everyone, considering he left town over two years ago without so much as a goodbye. Now he must face everyone and the past he’s been running from.

💭 Lange is a master of writing family dramas. I’m always so pulled into her stories and invested so much in her characters. What Happened to the McCrays? is my favorite of her books to date. I loved the way she told the story, going back and forth from present day to the past. The mystery as to what happened between Kyle and Casey to end their marriage kept me turning the pages. I laughed, I cried, I cheered them on. Lange is an official auto buy author for me.

📚Read this if you like…
Family dramas
Second chances
Small town
Dual POV
Beartown by Fredrik Backman

⚠️ This book has some heavy grief themes, so I recommend checking content warnings before reading if this is something that might bother you.

✍️ How I rated other books by this author:
We Are the Brennans- 5⭐️
The Connellys of County Down- 4.5⭐️

I have really enjoyed all of Tracey Lange's books so far, but this has to be my favorite, and probably a favorite read for the year! I love how the author tells a story with complicated family drama. The main characters, Casey and Kyle are written beautifully! The backstory on this one is heartbreaking, but there is also so much hope in the story itself. It's so hard to review without spoiling the story. I cannot say enough good things about this book!
Thank you for granting my wish to read and review!

What Happened to the McCrays tells the poignant story of Kyle and Cadey McCray over the course of 2 decades. Their marriage has been shattered by past circumstances. The story starts with Kyle coming back to his hometown after a few years after his father has a stroke. Kyle has to face his demons of the past, present and future with Casey.

I really enjoyed this book, and have enjoyed the authors other two books. She has a knack of writing about family drama. It grabbed me in by the first chapter. If you liked her other two books, you'll enjoy What Happened to the McCrays?

I went into this book blind not knowing what to expect - I didn’t read any prior reviews or the summary of this book because I wanted to go into it with a clear perspective. Sometimes you come across books that you feel might be too depressing or too emotional so you skip them and end up missing out on reading, albeit sad, amazing books. What Happened to the McCrays was exactly that, deeply woeful but extraordinary nonetheless. It started off a bit slow for my taste but once I started reading more I was hooked. I will admit that there are trigger warnings for this book and advise caution to those readers who are more sensitive around those subject matters. While this book was incredibly sad I appreciated the way the author wrote the characters and their relationships with one another. I praise the author for talking about grief with care and describing how grief impacts relationships and how everyone handles their grief differently. The author does an amazing job of writing realistic family dynamics and trauma as well. This is an emotionally challenging book to get through and while I don’t regret reading this one I do wish the ending didn’t feel so rushed especially after reading about so much sorrow. Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review and feedback.

The year of books that stay with you, and what an incredible read about family, love, and loss. I'm glad I got the opportunity to read this, and agree with the rest of the reviews noted.

Thank you to Tracey Lange, Celadon Books and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review

1/27/25: Just published Jan 14th - congratulations to author Tracey Lange for another heart-felt family drama novel. I previously gave 5-stars to her 2021 book We Are The Brennans and I was all-in for her latest, with thanks to NetGalley and Celadon Books for providing the book in exchange for my honest review.

This novel utilizes an alternating chapter flashback structure starting with current time and Kyle McCray traveling back to Potsdam NY to help his father. We soon learn of his connection to Casey, who still lives across the street with her disabled adult brother. The book then goes back in time to when Kyle and Casey met back in high school. The timeline slowly merges together until the big reveal the book is built around and hints at throughout.

I really enjoyed the story arcs between Kyle and his father, Kyle and Casey's brother, and Kyle as a hockey coach. I felt Casey's narrative was very compelling, but still less interesting to me. In the second half I questioned some of her choices - they felt less authentic to me than I expected after reading the first half, but not way off the mark. There are 2-3 very heavy topics the book is centered around and is focused more on in the 2nd half that would make it unsuitable for some readers, so proceed with caution (no spoilers). I would love to read a future novel about Casey's brother!

With all that said, I really love Lange's writing, her character development, the scope of her "cast," and unique characteristics of each person that make us respect, empathize and love their journey. This is a book where there are no bad guys, just humans doing the best they can. Overall a very enjoyable read for me, and I'm not finding a lot of those lately. 4-stars.

1/11/25: Just approved by NetGalley to review this upcoming release! Looking forward to reading it as it looks like it has great reviews.

I really enjoyed Tracy Lange's new book What Happened to the McCrays. The story centers on Kyle, who left town and left his loved ones behind. Now he's come home to deal with family difficulties. As the story unfolds we come to understand why Kyle left and we learn about his and Casey's story. The supporting characters of Kyle's father, Wyatt, and the hockey players add depth to this family drama. I appreciate how the author unfolded the backstory of how and why Kyle and Casey came to be separated

I was leaning toward a four-star ranking until the author had me in tears at one crucial part of the story, which lifted this to a five-star read. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. What Happened to the McCrays is available now.

What a beautiful, sad and heartwarming story. Casey’s and Kyle’s grief is felt through the pages while they navigate loss, both mental and physical. This is exactly what I look for in a great story. Tracey Lange will always be an automatic buy for me.

You can go home again but then you have to deal with the reasons you left.
What happened to the McCrays? This is Tracy Langes third novel. Like her past two, it revolves around family dynamics. I normally adore stories about families messy business.
We meet Casey McCray, middle school teacher, newly divorced and dealing with some heavy emotional baggage but we aren’t introduced to why for quite some time.
Kyle McCray, Casey’s ex husband, gets a call his father had a stroke and he has to come home to his former town in New York and help his dad get back on his feet. Only problem is- Casey is there and why he left is unknown.
We flash back and forth from the present to the past when Casey and Kyle met in HS and got married. We learn about their heavy emotional baggage. And we wade through a lot of unnecessary ice hockey filler…
This one was definitely too Hallmark for me. It was a typical story of a couple who love each other but separated but will never stop loving each other- yadda yadda- and then the ending you can use your imagination for.
I much prefer Langes last two novels that had some grit.
If you like romance stories you may really enjoy this one- if you like ice hockey- you may really enjoy this one. We all know I require more disfunction in my books.

This book is a poignant exploration of love, loss, and the complexities of family dynamics. The narrative centers on Kyle McCray, who returns to his hometown of Potsdam, New York, after his father suffers a debilitating stroke. Having abruptly left two and a half years prior—abandoning his wife, Casey, and the life they built together—Kyle faces the challenges of confronting past mistakes and seeking redemption.

The novel delves into the reasons behind Kyle’s sudden departure and the subsequent unraveling of his marriage. Through a dual timeline structure, Lange skillfully unveils the couple’s shared history, allowing readers to empathize with both perspectives. The characters are richly developed, each grappling with their own grief and guilt, making their journey toward healing both authentic and heart-wrenching.

A notable subplot involves Kyle’s involvement with a struggling middle school hockey team. As a former high school hockey star, coaching becomes a conduit for his personal growth and a means to reconnect with the community he left behind. This element adds depth to the story, highlighting themes of mentorship, community, and the redemptive power of sports.

This was an emotionally resonant story that lingered long after the final page.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for sending a digital; ARC in exchange for an honest review.