With All My Love by Patricia Scanlan

When Briony McAllister takes a trip to visit her mother, Valerie, she uncovers a letter from her long-lost grandmother, bringing to light a nearly unforgivable act her mother has kept secret for decades. Having always believed that her grandparents didn’t want to see her, she finds that the opposite is true: her grandmother had been seeking her out all along, and it was her own mother who willfully kept them apart.

Devastated that her past has come back to haunt her, Valerie realizes that her daughter’s anger might cause their troubled family history to repeat itself in a new generation. Rich with emotion and featuring magnificent descriptions of Ireland, With All My Love deftly weaves the stories of the past and present to take us into the heart of a family at war. As the truth is revealed, so too are the complex yet enduring bonds between mothers and daughters.

When I started reading this book I thought it was going to be somewhat of a boring story as it didn't really grab my attention.  However, after I read the through the first five chapters I was immediately intrigued by the story and couldn’t wait to get to the next chapter.  

I have never seen a character with a name like “Briony”, but I loved that Patricia Scanlan thought to use a unique and somewhat of a strange name. I wish more authors would come up with and use more unique names in their stories. I loved the character “Briony”; I thought she was strong willed and had a quite a temper as is the norm for Irish people.

I also loved how this story played out, I was able to clearly imagine how the main character felt and I could feel the betrayal she felt from her mother and how sad she felt as well. I think this was a wonderful story and I loved how Patricia Scanlan made the main character strong willed as well as a little helpless all at the same time. Overall I give this book a “A-“ and the author an “A.”

 

*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.  Tiffany