Confessions by Catherine Airey was kind of a sleeper hit of the winter. There are so many automatic box-checkers for me in this book; a bold debut, a sweeping generation-spanning story, secrets, letters (!!), and a focus on art. Confessions is long but never felt that way, and while there were a lot of POVs and pieces to put together (some may say too many), this chunky book flew by. For me, the sense of time and place is the strongest aspect of this book, and Airey’s prose is beautiful yet approachable. I’m not a frequenter of Irish lit (that’s @agrayreads territory) but I loved unpacking some of the themes that seem to cut across the books by Irish authors I have read, and if Irish fiction is your vibe I think this one's definitely worth picking up.

A note about comps: the publisher compared Confessions to Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow and The Goldfinch. While I can see what themes they were picking up on from each of those works, I think those titles are almost too beloved and singular to really help you decide if Confessions will be right for you. Those comps certainly got me (they're two of my all-time favorite books after all), but I also think they might have impacted my reading experience. I’m curious what others who read it might think, but I would say that if you enjoyed The Rachel Incident and like your books a little sadder and with multigenerational family secrets, then you’ll really like this.

I so wanted to like this one but I just could not get into it. I'm quite bummed as the premise was so interesting! The execution just wasn't working for me at all. The large chunks for each POV made the pace feel extra slow and made each transition really jarring. I ended up DNFing it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Mariner Books for this advanced copy.

This was a good book! I did not like the length and depth of it but I would recommend. I don’t think I was in the right reading headspace for this one

thank you to netgalley for the e-arc. this was really good. i thought it was cool how the characters connected throughout the years pretty much seamlessly.

Thank you for the advanced copy of Confessions.

After about a week of reading this very slowly and taking all the notes, I am DNFing this book about 61%. The biggest issue that I am having is how disjointed this story is. I am not understanding how all of these side stories as it seems they are, are going to come together by the end and I have decided that it is not worth it to stick this story out. I did enjoy the beginning of the book. Cora lost both of her parents by the age of 16ish and is coping with the lose of her father from the 9/11 attacks and gets a letter from a relative in Ireland asking her to come visit and that she feels responsible for taking care of Cora. But then I just got so lost in the history of the two Irish sisters and I was trying to hang on for Cora's sake, but I just can't.

Despite all the hype surrounding this book, I never felt truly engaged in the story. It follows a fairly traditional narrative about three generations of Irish women navigating love, sex, pregnancy, childbirth, sibling rivalry, and family secrets. The plot leans into melodrama, and while Airey's writing is polished and proficient, it didn't necessarily draw me in.

Omg, wow. This is one of those books that's going to stick with me for a long, long time. With multiple generational stories in one, the way Catherine Airey connected every story line back together was chef's kiss. Despite not being very far into 2025, I can confidently say that it will remain one of my favorite books of the year.

This multi-generational book follows three women in Ireland and New York. I was hooked into the first storyline, which follows a girl whose father dies on 9/11, and I found it a bit harder to get into the second and third storyline because that first story was just so compelling, but overall I really enjoyed Confessions.

Really found this difficult to get into. The connection between the daughter and mothers stories was too tenuous and hard to follow.

"Confessions" by Catherine Airey was a powerful, complex novel tackling topics including 9/11, mental illness, trauma and dysfunction. Compelling and interesting! Thank you NetGalley for the review copy. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Mariner Books for this review copy.

This multi-generational story of women’s lives hit all the right spots for me. Hardship, love, trauma and perseverance. The story follows three generations of women who live in Ireland and NYC - and back again. No character was followed for very long which gave the feel of a story pieced together in the very best way. I was pulled in immediately and while the middle was a bit slower I gobbled up the end. And I was left with lots of thoughts about the choices we make to forge our own paths - and the choices made for two many.

This book has been comped to "Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow" and "The Goldfinch" which is initially what drew me to pick this up, both books being favorite reads for me when they each came out. I will say that the comps are accurate and I would add that Tracey Lange fans will also really enjoy this.

This story is complex and compulsive that unravels twists and revelations among three generations of women told from multiple POVs, each having a very strong sense of voice. I loved the time that I got to spend with these characters and I don’t think I will be forgetting them for a long long time. Dramatic, messy intergenerational novels are becoming one of my favorite to read and this one did not disappoint.

This debut novel was enjoyable from start to finish! A complex, character-driven story that slowly pulls you in and keeps your attention with the events that ensue. The way that all the stories come together in the end of the story is brilliant and the strong finish makes the lulls that sometimes occur worth enduring. I recommend Confessions to any Sally Rooney and Caroline O'Donoghue fans.

Confessions is a multi-generational saga that takes place in Ireland and the United States. The saga begins with two sisters, Róisín and Máire live in County Donagel and both have a close relationship with Michael, a boy who works on the family farm and their father treats like a son. Máire is artistic and Michael and Róisín conspire to get Máire a position as the Artist in Residence at the Screamers House down the street. (Note: I googled the Screamers to learn they were a therapy commune in Ireland, but I might have missed that explanation in the novel.). Then, Máire gets a scholarship to study art at NYU. The other time periods/characters that the book focuses on is Cora in 2001 after the Twin Towers fall in NYCl and Lycra in 2018 who lives with her great-aunt Ro and her mother Cora.

This book started off extremely strong telling Cora’s story after she lost her father, her only living parent, in 9/11 in NYC. It then focused on Róisín and Máire and Máire‘s coming-of-age in NYC. Parts of that story nearly brought me to tears.

This is a seriously ambitious debut at 480 pages and about 1/2 the way through, the story lost its focus, in my opinion, and tried to do too many things and follow too many storylines. (One of them seemingly out of nowhere that did not fit at all had to do with video games.).

I will certainly keep my eye out for Catherine AIrey’s next book.

3.5 stars

DNF REVIEW • On paper, CONFESSIONS — following three generations of Irish women — was right up my alley. It’s an ambitious story divided into several parts, opening in 2001, shifting to 1974, and then jumping forward in time. The writing immediately captured my attention, but the characters remained elusive. Before I could fully connect to one, we were shifting to a different timeline. There was a disjointed element to the story that slowed the pace to the point that it felt like a chore to read. When I found myself constantly checking the percentage that I’d read (and then lamenting that I wasn’t further along), I realized it was time to call it quits. CONFESSIONS gotten a lot of positive feedback, and I do think it will be perfect for a different reader. I appreciated the opportunity to read it, even though it wasn’t the right fit for me.

If you enjoy books about family dynamics told from multiple POV, definitely grab Confessions!

I really enjoyed this book about several generations of women! I immediately was drawn into the story and didn’t want to put it down. I was a little surprised when the book shifted narrators and it took me a little longer to feel invested in Moira’s story as the voice shift was a bit jarring for me. I did eventually get invested in each narrator’s story and enjoyed how they all came together! It was interesting to see the women from different perspectives as well as at different ages.

I would have loved more of Cora’s perspective but overall found this book to be a great read that I think most people will enjoy!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

Confessions by Catherine Airey was an exceptional read, timely and important.

In alternating timelines, we travel from 1970s Ireland, to aughts NYC, back to modern Ireland after the referendum. Catherine Airey's debut is thoughtful and contemplative and I really enjoyed the ways that each storyline connected with the others. Some authors struggle with this but I think it was very deftly managed by Airey.

A family saga that contends with what is to be a woman, what it is to be part of a family, and the complexity of the world around us, Confessions tackles a lot. What I think it does best is give us the characters of Maire, Cora, Lyca, and Roisin. All beautiful characters who feel real and fleshed out, I was deeply invested in all of their lives.

I had not heard of this book when I decided to download it from NetGalley, but recently started to see it talked about on social media so decided to bump it up in my stack. I am obsessed -- probably the best book I've read so far this year and I could not put it down.

This book shifts narrators, time periods, and contents. At first I was so invested in the first narrator that I was frustrated to switch away from her, but then I got so invested in the next and ultimately love how the story was woven together and all the information was revealed. I had chills at one point and was just in awe of how the narrative is told. The writing itself is so lovely too, I loved each of the characters deeply and could visualize all of the locations.

Catherine Airey writes all the different ages of women so accurately -- I could relate to so much of it from so many times in my life. I loved the historical events and movements that were woven in as well.

Lyca was my favorite of the narrators - I loved her story, it was so sweet and tender.

I would recommend this book to anyone -- it is really so good. I am so excited to see what Catherine Airey writes next -- I cannot believe this was a debut novel! So, so good.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!

Thank you to Mariner Books for the free ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Out now!

NYC, September 11th. 15 year old Cora Brady watches the towers fall and knows her father, Michael, was one of the many people that day who didn’t make it out. Totally alone, she receives a letter from her long lost aunt Roison in Ireland inviting her to come live her. What follows is the story of sisters Roisin and Moira - Cora’s deceased mother - and how their secrets and decisions shape the future generations of women in the family, up to Lyca Brady in 2018.

This book really covers a lot - loss and grief, abandonment, r*pe, drug use, mental health, abortion. It felt a little disconnected - each POV is mainly without or apart from the other characters presence, if that makes sense, for various reasons. Ex Moira’s POV is her on her own in America, Cora’s POV is her alone in NYC, Roisin’s POV is mainly herself alone in Ireland. I found it interesting that we didn’t see many interactions between the main characters but they still had secrets that profoundly impacted one another. Overall a solid generational drama.

Quite good but moves very slowly. I wouldn't recommend to someone looking for a real page turner, but you won't put it down either. Need to sit with it longer to process but enjoyed a lot.