An extraordinary, intense and accomplished exploration of multiple generations of women who live between New York and rural Ireland. There are so many fascinating threads and relationships, surprise connections and compassionate acts as the women live their lives against a background of changing women's rights over the generations. It's a story of lives lived and loves lost and lives carrying on, with some super characterisations and extraordinary creation of unusual situations that are all very relatable. Absorbing and enticing, the book couldn't go on long enough for me, super.

I thoroughly enjoyed the beginning stories of the two sisters in Ireland followed by Maire's life in New York then Cora's story after her father's death. I became confused when Cora moved to Ireland and suddenly Lyca appeared and Gaga. It felt as though I had missed part of the story. Things eventually unravelled, but I felt rather cheated by how the story was strangely told.

I can’t believe this is a debut! Confessions is a rich, layered novel about three generations of women, set between New York and the west coast of Ireland, spanning from the 1970s to 2023. As the title suggests, it’s a story of secrets, shame and religion, with a central focus on reproductive rights.

The novel begins on 11th September 2001, when Cora’s father dies in the 9/11 attacks, leaving her a 16-year-old orphan. When a letter arrives from an aunt she’s never heard of — the estranged sister of her mother, Máire, who tragically took her own life seven years earlier — Cora packs a suitcase and flees to Ireland, returning to her parents' birthplace and the location of the mysterious ‘Scream School’ which has fascinated her since childhood. In the second section, the perspective shifts to her aunt Róisín’s childhood, and we learn more about the imposing building in their hometown of Burtonport, as well as the dynamic between the two sisters. The novel continues in this way, unfolding the stories and secrets of the women in the family — Máire, Róisín, Cora, and her daughter, Lyca — while also offering insights into the life Cora’s father, Michael. Each section begins with a short, formally distinct extract from a text-based choose-your-own-adventure video game called Scream School, which invites the reader to decide how the story unfolds. While the reason for these passages is initially unclear, the game eventually becomes central to the story’s plot, and the school itself takes on a character-like role.

Moving back and forth across the Atlantic between the 1970s and the present day, the characters’ struggles, suffering and confessions paint a rich but disturbing picture of women’s rights — from mother and baby homes and backstreet abortions in Ireland to sexual violence, abuse and addiction across the pond. Airey deftly weaves these dark themes alongside moments of love, hope, art and beauty, often switching the perspective before the subject matter becomes too heavy. Plot and politics are part of the fabric of this novel, but it’s clear that character is of utmost importance to the writer. The five protagonists’ confessions reveal their fundamental humanity, as they keep secrets from one another out of love and fear, rather than malicious intent.

At its heart, Confessions is a moving family drama about two sisters who let their secrets come between them — a novel that underscores how every choice we make moves our future in a different direction. But how do we know which path to take? Life and novels cannot be done over like a video game; we only get one shot.

Thank you to NetGalley and Viking for the arc of this stunning debut.

Cora is living in NYC with her Father who works in the Twin Towers it is September 11th 2021 her Mother had died years ago so now she is an orphan .An Aunt she didn't know existed invites her to live with her in Ireland. The book follows 3 women across 3 generations between NYC and Ireland .A slow but beautiful story of Family friendship and choices .Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC.

Confessions follows three generations of women and their struggles with love, loss, and family secrets. The story begins in New York after 9/11, where Cora, a teenager, loses her father and is sent to live with her long-lost Aunt Róisín in Ireland. From there, we learn about her mother Máire, Aunt Róisín, and later, Cora’s daughter Lyca

The book explores powerful themes such as motherhood, mental health, and personal choice, blending in real events - 9/11 and Roe v. Wade. The shifting timelines can be a a bit confusing at times but it’s worth sticking with it till the end.

Whilst it’s a bit dark at times, it’s really a worthwhile read.

This book starts well as Cora copes with the death of her father in the Twin Tower massacre. Her mother is already deceased and by all indications, Cora is a troubled youth. Then she is invited back to live in Ireland where her family come from. The rest of the book goes back and forward between New York and Ireland and at times it can be confusing as to which generation the story is about and, indeed, which person. It is a tale of what happened to this family including unwanted pregnancies and off and on relationships. All the reader is doing is learning about this family. The story has no climax. I found difficulty in reaching the end.

Totally absorbing, heartbreaking, joyous and complicated, a family saga across three generations of women but a story for all of us in its way. I loved the interweaving of real events, notably 9/11, and how they can bring people together as well as split them apart and I loved the complexity of the characters making good and bad decisions, being real. A real triumph of a book.

What a fantastic debut novel. I’m always a bit nervous for a chunkier book but I feel like I flew through this and if you love your complex characters this one will be right up your street.

The book centres around three generations of women and the story is ever changing depending on the perspective. There is so much packed into this and definitely some dark themes explored; 9/11, abortion, women’s rights, sexual assault and religion to name a few. I was constantly guessing at what would happen and the author leaves us with mini cliffhangers to keep the suspense. It’s at parts an uncomfortable read and you know disaster is looming around the corner but I’m in awe at how immersed I felt in the story.

The characters are SO well developed and you feel the depths of emotion and injustice they experience. Confessions was so much more than I was expecting.

A well accomplished debut.

Told in part as diaries/memories from the POV of four women, across three generations.

A captivating book, though not for the faint hearted as the plot and relationships are so intricately woven that a quick read is impossible, with the movement between characters names and timelines at times so convoluted that the reader needs to take their time and absorb it all.

After an invested and enjoyable read, a disappointing ending for me.

3.5*

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin General UK.

This is a novel to read slowly as there were lots of parts to digest and enjoy. Some tough moments but in the lives of three women, there would be. I think this is a nice look at friendships and hardships and everything in between. Loved the US and Irish connections. I am looking forward to what this author does next.

In general, I enjoy domestic suspense novels and there was certainly plenty of intrigue in this story of three generations of women spanning 50 years and two continents. However, with its fractured timeline and multiple narrators, the novel raised more questions than it answered. ‘Confessions’ was like the jigsaw puzzle pieces tattooed on Maire’s arm, but they didn’t fit together to create a coherent whole and I was left feeling frustrated and confused at the end. The Scream School game device added nothing to the narrative and aspects of the plot such as Scarlett’s imprisonment were insufficiently developed, and yet the novel felt overlong.

Many of the reviews that I have read of this novel express surprise that it is a debut and I would agree 100%. This reads like an accomplished novelist who has found her voice rather than a debut.

The book begins telling the story of Cora(line), who loses her father in 9/11 and feels lost in New York City. A letter from an unknown aunt propels her across the Atlantic and the story moves on to hear about her mother and aunt's lives growing up in Ireland and then a third story (won't say who) is also told.

All in all, a moving story above love, loss. grief and many more issues which I really enjoyed.

I really enjoyed this book. It covered a lot of topics and I really warmed to the characters. Set between Ireland and America during some real turning points in the countries histories. I felt a lot of emotions reading this one and will remember it for time to come.

In September 2001 the world changes and it certainly does so for 16-year-old Cora Brady, who like many others posts pictures of her missing father, Michael. She’s all alone now, her mother dying seven years previously. Out of the blue, she receives a letter from her estranged aunt Róisín in Ireland, who is now not only her legal guardian but also offering her a home in Burtonport, Donegal, which she accepts. This is a family saga, the story of three generations of women,
Maire, Cora‘s mother, Róisín, Cora‘s aunt and Cora’s daughter Lyca.

I thoroughly enjoy this debut novel which has a constantly changing tone depending on whose narrative is. At times it’s haunting, some of the characters are certainly haunted by what’s gone before. Is the story of power that individuals over others, there’s conflict and tragedy, injustice and trauma as well as being a story of well concealed secrets. There’s love and care, there’s mystery but it’s mostly a novel about finding the strength to overcome major challenges. It’s an ambitious first novel, it’s very creative and beautifully written.

I find it becomes increasingly immersive, I want to know and understand. Some of their stories are tough, heartbreaking and leaving them with real issues to either overcome or go under. It makes me feel a range of emotions from anger to sympathy and empathy.

The characters are the main features inevitably in a tale like this. None of them are run of the mill, all are interesting, and quite deep making it hard to understand them at times but I enjoy the puzzle. Each one feels unique and they have a different voice. I like Lyca the best as she has less angst and there’s more hope there! The dynamics between them fascinating as they struggle or compete, they’re complex and their stories are woven together with skill.

Overall, it’s an engaging and compelling read and I’m sure that this author has a bright future ahead of her.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Penguin General UK, Viking for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

A wonderful story about three generations of women, all affected by the oldest woman's mental illness which reverberates through their lives. The story is engrossing, the writing is beautiful and although very little happens at times it's never boring and never drags. I found the switch to the second person narration for Máire a little confusing and strange and it briefly interrupted the flow but then I felt that it actually added another dimension to the wonderful story-telling. Highly recommended.

I’m not sure I should be reviewing this book. I found it a confusing read. It lost me when the other points of view took up the narrative. The style definitely took me out of my comfort zone.

What can I say about this book! A solid 5 stars - I was completely absorbed from beginning to end. The story was immersive, the writing sublime and the characters were so well developed! A wonderful new writer, and I can't wait to see what comes forth in the future. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance reader copy.

I couldn’t stop reading this accomplished debut novel. 'Confessions' gets off to a dramatic beginning – New York, September 2001, the day the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre were attacked. And that’s where teenage Cora’s father works. There’s her slow realisation that he won’t be coming home. Help comes from an unexpected quarter – an Aunt Roísín she didn’t know she had, and it’s away to Ireland and a new life.

Rather than following Cora’s fresh start in Ireland, the story switches back to describe two sisters growing up and struggling with the sudden loss of their father. Their mother takes to her bed and the sisters, Maire and Roísín, do their best. Maire is a brilliant artist but has mental health issues. Fortunately there’s Michael who adores her and is like a brother to Roísín. We’re also with Maire when she earns a scholarship to New York and her struggles to fit in with a narrative shift told interestingly in the second person.

Almost like a character in itself is the big old mansion outside the village, once a stately home, that has become a refuge for women seeking an alternative lifestyle. Known as The Screamers, it offers a new chance first to Maire, and later the home for Roísín and the returning young Cora. It is where Cora’s daughter, Lyca, digs into the past and finds some long buried secrets.

In 'Confessions' we have the repeated themes of girls growing up without a father, teen pregnancies, too much freedom or too much restraint. These young women are all smart enough to do well in a world that accepts them for who they are, but it’s going to take more recent generations – Cora, and then Lyca – for that to happen, and a more modern Ireland. But it’s the long buried secrets that keep the reader on their toes to the end. How will they disturb the fragile memories Cora in particular has of her parents?

And the writing is wonderful, finely tuned to each character and allowing them to tell their story, vivid and at times very intense. The setting of New York in particular is an interesting highlight – it comes through as a walker’s city, shown from the ground up, as well as a place of surprising vistas when seen from a high-rise building. The contrast with a small Irish town couldn’t be more stark – the closed-in feel of the early interiors, then Screamers with its warren of rooms.

This is a well put-together story, the threads of the different characters carefully woven in and, at the same time, written from the heart. I was glad to receive this advance reader copy thanks to Netgalley, in return for an honest review. 'Confessions' is due for release late January and a four-and-a-half star read from me.

I felt rather like this novel ate me up and spat me out. At first I was intrigued, then engrossed, confused, curious, fascinated, more confused then engrossed again.

Whilst it is easiest summed up by saying this is a story of three generations of women, that doesn't really get to the guts of the book. It covers Ireland, religion, family, education, New York, unplanned pregnancy, art, travel, womens rights, emigration, madness, AIDS, 9/11, Roe v Wade, Irish abortion vote - to pick out some of the themes.

The reader has to work as the generations use different names for the same cast of characters and individual stories are told from a variety of perspectives and timeframes. These are cross hatched with gaming episodes from their earliest incarnation. It is an impressive novel. Extraordinary.

With thanks to #NetGalley and #PenguinUK for allowing me to read and review

A really perfect novel - not what I was expecting at all. Impeccable writing style with an intriguing story that kept me reading and wanting to know more - I still want to know more about this family. Loved it.