This book was definitely not what I expected and I am still gathering my thoughts on it, but I know one thing, it will stay with me for a very long time. This book is at times heart-breaking and devastating, but at the centre of it all is generations of women who become the victims of the patriarchy and are taken advantage of by it, with history repeating itself throughout the generations. I think this is an astonishing debut and think people are best going into this somewhat blind because I personally believe the power of this book comes from the not knowing and pushing to know what comes next. I would highly recommend this book but flag the content warnings first.

Absolutely adored this book! It was so easy to read but so rich in character detail, and the way that all the different plotlines were woven together was seamless. I really enjoyed the combination of New York and Ireland as the settings, and the way that each new piece of the puzzle gave you a new perspective on each character. An amazing family saga!

Ireland has always had wonderful writers and Catherine Airey is a new one to watch. Her writing is precise, emotive, incisive, imaginative and compelling. Heartbreaking events and secrets form the underlying story, with characters who bear the burden and pay the price. Moving from New York and the Twin Towers travesty to Ireland, three generations of women tell their stories. Wide-ranging, each story provides another clue, another secret unveiled. ‘Confessions’ will probably win many awards.

This book had me, from the very first pages right through to the end and I loved it. On the first page is a quote from Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories:

<blockquote>'She herself is a haunted house. She does not possess herself; her ancestors sometimes come and peer out of the windows of her eyes and that is very frightening.' </blockquote>

And this perfectly sets the scene for this story about three generations of women. Focusing on each as a teenager, and how they cope with the magnitude of the situations they face. Each decision creating ripple lines, carrying their secrets far into the future. Fragments of each to be slowly revealed, and like pieces of a puzzle joined back together to create a fuller picture of their combined past. While not a thriller, there is a breadth and suspense which makes it a hard book to put down.

Few books I have read, have such a dramatic start.

<blockquote>'Two days after she disappeared, most of my mother's body washed up in Flushing Creek.'</blockquote>

Cora is reflecting on her past and on the day of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. She is a teenager, skipping school and looking forward to spending the day with her boyfriend when she hears the news about the World Trade Centre and comes to the realisation that her father would have been in the tower at the time.

While there is an urgency and despair in these pages, there are also beautiful moments of such poignancy. This combination of writing continues throughout the book and creates such warmth.

<blockquote>'There was a bowl of dry oatmeal on the kitchen island. My father prepared it each morning to encourage me to eat breakfast, as if the effort of pouring out the oats from the packet was the thing stopping me from eating.'</blockquote>

There are four stories, the first is Cora's, then we go back to the childhood of Cora's mother and sister, Maire and Roisin in a small town in Ireland and then the book concludes with Cora's daughter Lyra's. Each story creates and unravels many of the family's secrets and history, but there are common issues in each, such as growing up with the loss of (or without) a father, pregnancy, religion, and mental health.

There are some interesting choices in this book, such as Maire's story which is told in second person, which I found a little strange. In addition, the sections of the book are also introduced with an excerpt of an old 'choose your own adventure' computer game, which I actually thought was very clever and was another interesting link between the generations. Finally, there are a couple of bits at the end which didn't fully sit with me such as Scarlet's story and the outcome with the mansion. But all in all, it is a strong novel of hope, love, loss and making peace with oneself and the past.

Airey is a masterful author, and I am sure that I will be looking out for whatever she does next. Highly recommend!

Confessions is a multi-faceted story of 4 Irish women - 2 sisters, a daughter and granddaughter. I enjoyed it but, mainly due to the disjointed way it is written across multiple time lines, I found it hard to remember who was who and where we were in the story. I’m not sure I really got to know any of the characters in depth as we meet them at different points and often through other characters eyes.
However, the narrative was compelling and it is exteremely accomplished for a debut novel.

Loved this debut novel, out in the UK 23rd January.

Cora is left alone in NYC in Sept 2001 when her father dies in the Twin Towers. She travels to Ireland to live with her Mother‘s sister, who had been estranged from the family for years. We travel back in time to learn about Cora‘s mother, Maire, and her aunt Roisin, and then forwards as Cora‘s own daughter starts to piece together the family history.

Ultimately this is a book about women‘s agency over their own bodies and how they are treated by men. Only two little niggles - there was an unnecessary computer game storyline and the ending was slightly pat. 1w

I absolutely loved the journey that I was brought on by this book. Although there were times when I was jolted from one reality to another, I enjoyed the twists and turns. Catherine Airey is a true storyteller of the best kind.

A strong debut with complex, fleshed-out characters, following multiple generations of Irish/Irish-American women. I especially enjoyed the sibling dynamics - Róisín being punished for keeping it together while Máire was such a difficult character to like, but still easy to understand.

A story of "What ifs," the plot centres on abortion and unwanted pregnancy - issues deeply tied to recent history, with abortion only being legalised in Ireland as recently as 2018 and facing renewed criminalisation in various U.S. states today.

I would definitely recommend this if you like family stories that span decades and centre complex female characters.

Thank you to Catherine Airey, Mariner Books, and NetGalley for the ARC.

September 11th, 2001 and Cora suddenly finds herself orphaned as her father was working in one of the towers of the World Trade Centre. For a while she is adrift in New York, wandering a city that has been wallpapered with missing persons notices. After a month or so she hears from an aunt in Ireland, a woman she has never met, but a woman who promised her father that if anything ever happened to him, she would look after Cora.
This is the beginning of the story which zigzags between characters and across timelines going forward to 2018 and back into the 1970's when Cora's aunt and her sister were children. To say much more than that would spoil the plot but in each sequence it is easy to get tied up in the character's story and perspectives.
This is a book about complex family relations and it also touches on women's rights especially in Ireland almost up to the present day. It is not always an easy read but it is a gripping story. I found that New York set against the 9/11 attacks and the Screamer's House in Ireland were excellent and easily imaginable as places. The link the game and the paths that it is possible to take only to find the same ending is an interesting image and theme through the book.
All in all an excellent read, a book I will keep thinking about for a while. With thanks to Netgalley and Rachel Quinn, marketing, for an arc copy in return for an honest review.

Confessions by Catherine Airey is a debut novel set in Ireland and America from 1970 - 2023. The book begins with Cora Brady in 2021 New York, confronting the profound loss of her father in the 9/11 attacks and the lingering effects of her mother's suicide from seven years prior. At Just 16 years old, Cora faces the reality of being orphaned, navigating a world that feels isolating and bewildering. She receives a letter from her aunt Roisin, her only legal guardian who lives in Donegal, Ireland, offering Cora a new home. This unexpected communication marks a pivotal moment in her life.
The novel starts slowly but ultimately transforms into a powerful and captivating story that spans three generations. Catherine Airey effectively tackles significant issues such as mental health, suicide, rape, women's rights, abortion, dementia, substance abuse, love, loss, secrets, and familial tensions with commendable skills.
The book is a multi-layered narrative that shifts between different timelines and characters. Despite its complexity, it successfully ties up loose ends, making it worthwhile.
Overall, it earns a strong recommendation as an excellent debut from me.

The book follows four women, all part of the same Irish family. Let's call them "the mother", "the sister", "the daughter", and "the grand-daughter". Their story spans several decades and moves between the Irish countryside and New York, as these women grow up, and learn about themselves. It also packs a few punches - parental loss, abortion, teenage pregnancy, suicide, mental illness, obsessive love, religion, etc. There is even a reference to 9/11 and the impact of the losses it caused at a micro-level (family).

I really liked the writing. It was compelling and fluid - the book was hard to put down, and the story read almost like a thriller, where one knows there is something to uncover, but it's not always clear what that thing is. The voices of the protagonists were also vivid and vibrant - they came across as real people and it was easy to believe such people exist, and think the way they do.

Upon reflection, though, I'm not sure I felt there was enough newness in the story. I recalled Amy Tan, Min Jin Lee, Rajasree Variyar, Isabel Allende, and found it difficult to get truly excited about this book, which came across like mix of all the above with Salley Rooney and Naoise Dolan. Nothing wrong in that per se, but it just felt a bit lazy storytellin-wise. I also struggled with the themes being treated in the same way as many other books that came prior, and the accumulation of terrible things in one family or blood-line.

It's a solid book nonetheless, and I think I would have enjoyed it much more had I not read so many similar books prior to this. So, if you're looking for an emotionally captivating and well written book about three generations of women struggling with being women in Ireland and the US, suffering from some men around them, the society that boxes them in, and their own resulting twisted psychology, this book is great for you.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an early copy of this book in return for an honest review.

A really compelling read, if somewhat disjointed in places. It moves around between characters and time which meant I had to pause and work out who is who and how the characters are connected.

'Confessions' explores a number of important themes: abortion rights, drug use, family secrets, the impact of 9/11, gaming, art and exploitation. There is so much to discuss.

I imagine this novel is going to be widely discussed and end up being one of the big sellers of 2025.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

For a debut novel Confessions is a surprising well written book.
As you read through the story you can understand the meaning of the title.
The story unfolds and reveals hidden secrets long buried with regards to the three generations of he family, starting with Cora in New York and of her mother Maine, aunt Roisin and her father Michael. The story switches between New York and Ireland.
A wonderful, gripping and emotional journey.

I loved this multi-layered story which felt very accomplished for a debut. It traces the arc of three generations of women as they experience in their own time the intense gravity of the past. The characters are so well-realised and the strands between the perspectives offers a very satisfying payoff. Highly recommend!

Ok, let’s talk about the book that everyone’s talking about! Confessions by Catherine Airey is one of the major debuts of early 2025, and understandably so - this is a big book, both in length and in all of its themes and storyline’s. Nonetheless it remains entirely readable, which is why I think it will have broad appeal.

It’s about three generations of Irish women moving through their lives - they fall in love, they form friendships, they fight for rights they don’t have, they have children. It starts with Cora in New York just after 9/11, in which her father has died. Her mother is also dead - now orphaned, she moves to Ireland into the care of her estranged Aunt Róisín. From there, the story blooms - we go back in time and hear from Róisín herself as a young woman, as well as her sister Máire (Cora’s mother), and eventually, leaping forward, we hear from Cora’s own daughter.

Airey is obviously a promising young writer, and the book is ambitious because of its many plot points and narrative styles. She moves through these with confidence: each narrator’s voice is tonally distinct and clear, and the book for me never felt superfluous in the way it addressed many of its big themes - mental illness, rape, unplanned pregnancy, abortion rights and more.

But I will say that at times I was taken out of the story by the coincidences and recurring plot lines (which I don’t want to spoil). I was invested though - I was so keen to see how it would all come together. There was just a lot going on and it felt busy at times.

This has been compared to other big, literary books - The Goldfinch, for example - and I can completely understand why from a narrative perspective. I didn’t find myself moved by the writing stylistically - there’s an elegance to Tartt’s writing that feels lush, for example. Rather, I would say this is a VERY engaging story, VERY well told and I can see why it’s SO loved already. She’s a writer to watch, and I really enjoyed it!!

Big thanks to netgalley and penguinuk for the early copy!

“She herself is a haunted house.”

My first advance reader copy (ARC)! The minute I read the synopsis of this book, I knew I needed to get my hands on it ASAP.

Confessions opens with Cora, a teenager in New York left orphaned by 9/11. After the attacks, she receives a letter from an estranged relative - her Aunt Róisín, the sister of Cora’s late mother Máire - who never left her home of Burtonport, County Donegal.

The plot then switches to Róisín’s childhood, growing up in Burtonport with Maire and neighbour Michael, before following Máire to New York. We are eventually introduced to Cora’s daughter Lyca, who delves into her complicated family history and realises the full extent of who her mother and great aunt really are.

Although we are filled in on Máire’s time studying and living in New York, Confessions primarily follows Cora, Róisín and Lyca - three generations of women connected by more than just blood. It’s a very detailed story, but is well sectioned out. You finish it feeling like you know all three women - and their stories as individuals - really well.

I was really engaged with this book, and found myself reading snippets whenever I could grab a spare minute. Though I wish there was a family tree so I could keep track of everyone - I nearly grabbed a pen and paper on more than one occasion.

This book is fantastic. Something original and fresh right at the beginning of the year.

Wonderful in passages, but overall the storyline was fragmentary and lacking flow. Despite some beautiful writing the pacing was slow and the novel eventually just seemed too long. The structure did not hold the book together well enough. Special thank you to Viking/Penguin Books and NetGalley for a no obligation advance digital review copy.

Confessions is a family saga that takes place in New York and rural Ireland, set over three decades. Mairie and Roisin are two Irish sisters who lead very different lives: Mairie emigrates to America while Roisin stays behind in County Donegal. The book jumps backwards and forwards in time telling their stories and that of Cora, Mairie's daughter, and finally of Lyca, her own daughter. It is a revealing portrait of mother/daughter relationships as well as the secrets that pass down the generations. Secondary characters are as well defined as the primary ones, in particular, Michael, and his relationship with both sisters. The descriptions of the devastation of the Twin Towers atrocity and contrasting life in rural Ireland were so well depicted. Confessions will rank as one of my favourite reads of 2025. It was an engrossing and powerful debut and it deserves to be very successful. Highly recommended.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin UK for the opportunity to read and review this excellent novel.

A sweet and thoughtful book and impressive debut. As a multi-generational saga set between New York and rural Ireland, the plot and themes were ambitious and Airey handled the multiple voices, viewpoints and eras in the book with aplomb. I do think however that the contemporary character Lyca was the one whose story really shone and who Airey really seemed to believe in. This is not so much a criticism as an observation, but to me it felt as if the book was driven very much by the needs of the plot and this sometimes meant a lack of authenticity (a huge coincidence at the end leading to a revelation for the characters, and a section of discovered letters explaining the viewpoint of a character who had died so couldn't tell their own story). The themes of religion, family bonds and growing up female were well handled and the secrets and betrayals came thick and fast. The slight gothic element worked well too.
Personally I found the heightened drama a bit unbelievable but that is an individual preference and I think a lot of people will be captivated by this. As a debut novel it is very accomplished and I think that Airey is set for a stellar career.

This is a story that tells the story of three generations of women from one family. Set in New York and Donegal, Ireland we learn the fates of sisters Maire and Róisín, Maire’s daughter Cora and Cora’s daughter Lyra. Told in multiple timelines, which move back and forth, and from multiple POV’s, this is an evocative and compelling read. If like me you are a bit confused at the beginning, by the video game references, it will become clear later in the book!

Briefly, 2001 and following the terrorist attacks on the twin towers 16 year old Cora Brady is orphaned. She receives a letter from her Aunt Róisín in Ireland and leaves New York for a very different life, with a family she knows little about. Cora’s mother Maire died when she was just 8 years old.

This is quite a sad book, none of the women ever seem truly happy and they all have traumatic experiences, of which the family did seem to have more than their fair share. A family saga full of secrets makes for an interesting and engaging read, complex relationships and some distressing themes tug at the heartstrings. A competent debut.