Book Review: The Good Wife, by Jane Porter

The Brennan sisters are back again in Jane Porter's third novel in the series, The Good Wife. I enjoyed reading about this lively Irish family in both The Good Woman and The Good Daughter. I knew I couldn't pass up the latest installment of these inter-connected stories.

Each book focuses on one sister; the eldest, Meg, in The Good Woman; Kit, in The Good Daughter; and now the youngest sister, Sarah, in The Good Wife. There is still another sister, as well as a sister-in-law, who haven't been highlighted yet, and I hope Porter plans on continuing the series with both of them. Although the characters are better and more deeply understood when all the books have been read, it is not necessary to have read them all to enjoy each one individually.

There is a lot going on in The Good Wife, including an ancillary story about a friend of one of the sisters. The Brennan family is in turmoil, reeling from loss and dealing with disappointments, fears, and major changes. But Sarah is the focus, and she has her own problems to deal with - on top of those with which her entire family is struggling.

After an ultimate betrayal, Sarah works hard for three years to maintain her family and her marriage. But when her life is knocked off balance by tragedy, Sarah's world begins to teeter on the brink of disaster. She doesn't know if she can continue pretending that everything is fine. She doesn't know if her marriage can survive. But her relationship with herself might be suffering the most.

Throughout the book, the Brennan family rallies together with varying degrees of success. Will they be able to help Sarah make the right decisions to once again set her life on a positive path?  They are a real family, loving and supportive, yet not without fault. Some things may be crumbling, but the Brennans are ever determined to set things right and come out on top.

I keep coming back to these books for the richly developed characters. They are more than one dimensional; they feel real. Like I could be having lunch in the Bay area and spot them at a table across the restaurant; laughing and crying together, having each other's backs, yet also causing one another to bristle with spoken harsh truths and perceived judgments. Like a real family.

I look forward to the next book and can't wait to get personal with another Brennan sister. Hopefully Porter complies!

Book Review: The Good Daughter, By Jane Porter

A few months ago, I published a review of The Good Woman, also by Jane Porter. The Good Daughter picks up where The Good Woman left off.

Since I really enjoyed reading Jane Porter's The Good Woman,  I was looking forward to delving deeper into the Brennan family's affairs. To offer a brief re-cap, the Brennans are a large Irish Catholic family living in the San Fransisco area. The close knit clan consists of four sisters and a brother, along with their parents, spouses, and children. While The Good Woman was written from the perspective of the oldest sibling, Meg, The Good Daughter is the story of Kit.

Kit Brennan is a born people pleaser and peace maker. Likeable and smart, she sees the best in others, even if that means that she doesn't take her own needs into account as often as she should. The expectations of others, including her parents and siblings, somehow end up taking precedence over what Kit wants out of life. She is so busy trying to make everyone else happy, that she hesitates to do what could give her life the fulfillment she desperately craves. Kit is the dependable one, the giver of sound advice, the reliable set of listening ears, and the one to always step up and offer help where it's needed. While her family loves her and wants the best for her, they also tend to take her for granted.

Everyone has a breaking point. Kit finds hers and begins to admit to herself  that some of her choices in life are in direct conflict with her deepest desires. Little by little, she gains courage and begins making choices that facilitate, rather than hinder, the fulfillment of her life goals. Kit's set backs and conflicts are sure to resonate with many readers who work hard making life great for everyone else, while consistently putting themselves at the bottom of their own priority lists. Every time Kit made a choice for her own personal happiness, without taking into consideration how it would affect everyone else and their opinion of her, I silently cheered her on. I saw some of my own struggles in Kit's story, because I, too, tend to grapple with becoming my own person while worrying what my loved ones will think or how they'll react.

Although I fully recommend reading The Good Woman before beginning The Good Daughter, the second book in the Brennan family saga works as a stand alone as well. My fingers are crossed that Porter will continue with more books about this delightful family.

 Are you reading anything good right now? Tell  me about it in the comments!

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I received a complimentary copy of The Good Daughter for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

Book Review: The Good Woman by Jane Porter

Best-selling author Jane Porter's* latest novel, The Good Woman, follows the Brennan sisters and family, a big Irish-Catholic clan living in the San Fransisco area. Meg Brennan Roberts is the eldest child, and now as a married mother of two, she is still the one looking out for her younger siblings, even while attempting to keep up the facade of the perfect family with her own husband and kids. Her entire life, Meg has prided herself for having a good head on her shoulders, for being responsible, and for making good choices. She is the voice of reason, always ready with good advice, and always knowing what is best for her family.

But is everything as perfect in Meg's world as she would have everyone believe? She begins to realize that her life is not satisfying, and that while she is busy worrying about everyone else and taking care of her loved ones, no one is looking out for her best interests - not even Meg herself. When a business trip with her boss, vineyard owner Chad Hallahan, turns a little too personal, Meg begins to realize what is missing in her life. From this point on, she begins a downward spiral of doubt, remorse and self-discovery, but where will she wind up in the end?

I love stories about big families, and The Good Woman was no exception. Although I personally grew up as an only child, I always had my large extended family surrounding me, and from my mom (one of seven kids) learned glimpses of what it might have been like to live in a home crawling with people. Maybe that's partly why I wanted a big family of my very own. I can imagine Meg's frustrations as she tries to set an impeccable example at all times, yet suddenly feels she is under everyone's scrutiny when she begins to question her place in the world. While she has her large family to support her, she also has to deal with the sometimes too-close-for comfort opinionated voices of all of them as well. I enjoyed the characters and the story of The Good Woman. What 21st century mother can't relate to the expectations to be and do everything at once, and the panic of feeling that all the balls you're juggling are in danger of crashing down around your feet at any moment? I look forward to the next Brennan Sisters novel, The Good Daughter, which will be coming out in February, so I can get to know this literary family even better.


* Porter is the author of She's Gone Country, Easy on the Eyes, and Flirting with Forty, the basis of a Lifetime movie.

I received a copy of The Good Woman for review purposes. All opinion are my own.