4 stars
This book was beautifully done. The story was told with such an intricacy that l've not found in a lot of other books. I really enjoyed seeing the different generations of women interwoven together. The timing was occasionally choppy, but something I can look past for such a complex thread of generational character study and traumas. I felt like I got to know each character adequately. I wish there'd been a bit more depth and clarity on the scream school game though. Finally I enjoyed the social commentary in this book, specifically surrounding abortion in Ireland.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for access to an ARC of this book.

This book is set in the USA and Ireland.
It starts in New York in 2001 at or around the time of the twin Towers attack.
The story is effectively the story of three generations of Irish women.
These women are unusual and live a full, but strange and interesting life.
The book moves from 2001 back to Ireland in 1974 where it all started, then later to 2018, where it ends, at least for now.
The characters are strong and interesting, the stories are good but not complete.
I really enjoyed this book but finished wanting more of some of the parts of the story.
This may be accidental, or it may be left so that a sequel can be brought out. I would definitely look forward to a sequel.
My thanks to the author for the hours of enjoyment that the book has brought me, I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Confessions by Catherine Airey
Published by Penguin General Uk
Publication Date 23/1/25

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I was invited to read this and was so glad that I was as it totally enthralled me from start to finish. Original, honest and extremely moving, I could not put it down. Opening on 9/11, and then skipping back and forward a generation from the viewpoints of 4 women from the same family, I was interested and engaged through. Loved it.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and to netgalley for providing me with this advance digital copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

Catherine Airey’s Confessions is a hauntingly intricate story of family, secrets, and the enduring pull of the past. Spanning New York City post-9/11, 1970s County Donegal, and contemporary Ireland, the book weaves together three timelines connected by a mysterious video game, “Scream School,” and the complex relationships between generations of women.

The characters are the book’s greatest strength, each vividly drawn and connected through shared quirks, history, and trauma. Cora Brady’s search for her father in 2001 sets off a chain of revelations, while her daughter Lyca unearths long-buried family secrets in 2018. At the heart of the story is the fraught sisterly bond between Roisin and Moira in 1974, whose choices echo through time.

Airey’s ability to balance emotional depth with sharp, evocative prose keeps the narrative engaging, even when the shifting timelines and perspectives become a little disorienting. While the book tackles heavy themes, moments of humour and warmth provide balance.

Confessions is a richly layered and beautifully written debut that rewards attentive readers with its compelling exploration of family, memory, and identity.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

This is a tome covering three generations of women, their relationships and traumas. It starts with 9/11 where Cora realises her father has died in the terror attack as he was on the 104th floor of the North Tower. She meanders through the streets in a haze along with everyone else and tries to piece her life together as a newly orphaned 16 year old. A letter from Donegal arrives revealing an aunt who has knows nothing about with an invitation to visit- she flies to Burtonport.
The story continues with the narrative of her mother Maire and her journey from Ireland to New York and as she fights her personal demons. For a debut author, this is a highly ambitious story but it works and despite the sorrow, it is gripping. Donal Ryan has competition!

On a captivating and moving novel that traces the lives of three generations of women, set in rural Ireland and New York City. I love family sagas and I think great ones can really take you out of your reading slump.
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The novel begins with how a 16-year old girl, Cora Brady loses her father to the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers and she then receives a letter from her estranged aunt, Róisín, who is now her legal guardian. Her aunt offers her a home in Burtonport, Donegal in Ireland, and a new life for her. The book also then goes on to tell the story of Cora’s mother, Maire, who is an artist, and that of Róisín. Both sisters live in a dairy farm in Ireland before Michael comes into their lives and along with Róisín, they manage to help Maire get an artist’s residence in New York. Then the story moves to that of Lyca Brady, Cora’s daughter, who’s now living with her in Burtonport. We follow how Lyca unearths the secrets of her family which have been buried for decades. ⁣
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Ultimately, the book is all about family and love, but it’s also about secrets. I kept on thinking about the line “we’re only as sick as our secrets” and wondering whether some secrets should just be left hidden.⁣
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“There were the things you presented to people – your stories. Then there were the things you never confessed to a soul – your secrets. That was how we existed, how we knew ourselves at all.”⁣
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What a brilliant book.

Confessions follows four women from different generations of the same family.

At the centre of the book is Cora. Cora is living in New York, her mother has taken her own life and the 9/11 attacks have left her an orphan after her dad dies in the Twin Towers. With no family left, Cora moves to Ireland to live with her mother’s sister Roisin who she’s never met before.

The book is told from the perspective of Cora, Roisin, Maire and Lyca (it will all become clear who is who as you read on).

It’s a very emotional and multi faceted family saga that’s incredibly Irish (big compliment), it covers so many topics such as the eighth amendment, immigration and sexual abuse. At its very core however, it’s a story about survival and family - and how we never really know the people we love.

Confessions joins Blue Sisters and Hello Beautiful in my very niche list of books about complicated sister relationships that made me cry but I really loved.

The only negative aspect for me and the reason the book isn’t a five star is that there’s a side plot that revolves around a video game that I just didn’t really understand the point of personally I think the book was enough without it. That’s completely personal preference however as i’m sure a lot of readers will like that part.

"I lost so much time, then wished I could go back. But real life doesn’t let you go back. You have to do it wrong, to live with your mistakes and go on.”

Beginning on the morning of 11th September 2001, Confessions takes no prisoners as we first meet teenager Cora Brady bunking off school and dropping acid in the hours before the planes hit the Twin Towers, her father’s workplace. Having already lost her mother, Cora finds herself suddenly orphaned and alone in New York. She soon receives a letter from her mother’s estranged sister Róisín offering to look after her in Ireland despite the pair never meeting. With nothing else to lose but a family member to possibly gain, Cora books herself a flight and leaves for her parents’ homeland where she discovers more about her mother, and raises her own daughter Lyca who ends up unearthing all of the family secrets along the way.

Confessions is a hard-hitting multigenerational novel that beautifully explores some heavy themes such as abortion rights, misogyny, and sexual assault. The fact it’s a debut novel genuinely astounds me; it is incredibly captivating and moving and each of the characters is well-developed and complex. Can’t wait to see more from Catherine Airey. Thank you to Viking Books and Netgalley for the advanced copy of this one.

Sorry could not finish this book so disjointed and confusing and could not get into the story as it kept jumping around. and I could not connect with the characters.

This was not what I expected. Sadly it just didn't work for me.
The pacing felt very slow. But I also struggled to care for the characters backstory we were being told.

I got automatically approved for this book last week, and in all honesty knew nothing about it, but as a lover of contemporary fiction decided to pick it up straight away. And wow, I'm so glad I did.

First of all, how is this a debut? Constantly throughout this novel I found myself reminding myself that this is Airey's debut novel. Based on the depth, complexity, and sheer emotion in this novel, I find this fact simply astounding. I myself have been in a bit of a reading slump for a few months now, and after reading this book towards the end of December it is in the running to be my favourite book of the year, I loved it that much.

I went in blind with this one, knowing nothing about the plot, and the beauty and craft of it took me completely by surprise. Airey has mastered a beautiful family saga that is tragic and emotional, yet so wonderfully and intricately crafted. The way everything connected together was done so spectacularly, this was honestly such a pleasure to read, and I found myself so connected to the characters and not wanting it to end.

I'm finding it difficult to express how good this book was, and how much I loved it, but still just find myself dumb struck that this is a debut novel? Honestly, this novel is a testament to how brilliant this author is, and has me eager with anticipation for what she has in store for us all next.

Thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for this ARC. I have preordered a physical copy of this sensation book to add to my bookshelves I enjoyed it that much.

I have to say that for the most part I absolutely loved this debut novel. I was drawn into the story and the characters were well established I would have given the book five stars however I felt the end w a bit contrived and there too many coincidences.

I liked the beginning of this, but then it seemed to change to a completely different story. It took me ages to work out who the characters were and how they were related to each other. The story of the game which ran through the plot did not interest me. I though there were too many issues; if the author had taken some out and stuck with a linear timeline, then the story of the family would have been interesting enough.. And how do you pronounce Maire? It said it almost rhymed with Laura, so Maura? I was saying Mare in my head, so a heads up would have been good. However, well done to the author for her first novel.

I have been waiting to get my hands on this one for months! I loved it, and I hated it. I will say the characters are interesting (some more than others), and I found myself at work desperate to get back to it so I could find out what happened next, and by the end of it I was glad I read it.

However, the cliches in this book nearly killed me. Pulling tabs of acid from the pages of Beloved? I nearly threw the book out the window. That and you can see how much the author is trying to touch on (so many) really important issues, but it felt more like ticking boxes rather than exploring them and using them to tell the story. Race? Here's a character who's not white. Abortion? Have an activist. Queerness? Have a lesbian. While for the time period she is writing about, in Ireland each of these issues are so complex, everything is just... smoothed over.

Overall, for a debut, it's pretty good. It will be easy to sell and I expect it will fly off the shelves. I will read all her future books, cause she's got serious talent... just leave Toni Morrison out of the next one?

Confessions is a multigenerational story following 4 women of the same family. It starts in September 2001 during 9/11. Cora’s father is killed in 9/11 and Cora spirals. She is an orphan after her mother died by suicide years ago. Cora is all alone in New York but she receives a letter from her aunt in Ireland. Cora moves to Ireland with her aunt and this unspools a lot of family secrets.

The first part of this with Cora in 2001 was really well done and emotional but then it switched to the other time periods and other POVs and I lost interest. This had a strong start but I’m not sure this author really knew what to do with the rest of the story. The writing got weaker as the book went on. That said, I think this book has an audience and I can see many people enjoying this particularly for people who enjoy stories following different types of women.

Wow! A very different read for me, I thoroughly loved it! What a story, mixing many different people, years and life stories! The author writes with such passion and really brings each person to life. Didn’t think i’d enjoy as much as I did! Recommended read

Confessions is nicely written and atmospheric, with some interesting characters and family dynamics. For me, though, that the stories of the protagonists are a bit samey (there’s a fine line between echo and repetition and for me it didn’t always fall the right way). I would have enjoyed Confessions more if it was shorter, given it was fairly clear where the story was going. It does tackle some big themes, and I don’t think it needed the device of the computer game to tie them together.

The story grips you in instantly as it starts off with Cara’s experience of September 11 2001. As she copes with the grief of losing her father in the attack, it’s revealed she has family in Donegal.

The writing is so beautiful, emotive and gripping. Cora’s families story transcends through generation’s and draws you into background of the people who raised her. Maire’s story is so deeply heartbreaking, it’s a tough read but you cannot help but want to read more about her life.

Each character feels fully developed yet realistic that the reader cannot help but feel fully immersed in the characters stories

The is a stunning debut novel, I will personally keeping an eye out for more of the authors releases.

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.