Category Archives: Brennan Sisters Series

September 3, 2013 · 3:57 am

Review: The Good Wife by Jane Porter

Title: The Good Wife by Jane Porter
Brennan Sisters Series Book Three
Publisher: Penguin Group
Imprint: Berkley
Genre: Contemporary, Fiction, Romance
Length: 432 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through Edelweiss

Summary:

Is it possible to love someone too much?

Always considered the beauty of the family, the youngest Brennan sister, Sarah, remains deeply in love with her husband of ten years. Boone Walker, a professional baseball player, travels almost year-round while Sarah stays home and cares for their two children. Her love for her husband is bottomless—so much so that her sisters say it will end up hurting her.

Living apart most of the time makes life difficult, especially since Sarah often wonders whether Boone is sharing his bed with other women on the road, even though he swears he’s been true to her since his infidelity three years ago. While she wants to be happy and move forward in her life, Sarah constantly fears that Boone will break his promise. Now with Boone facing yet another career change, tension rises between the two, adding more stress to an already turbulent marriage. Emotionally exhausted, Sarah can’t cope with yet another storm. Now, she must either break free from the past and forgive Boone completely, or leave him behind and start anew . . .

The Review:

Jane Porter’s The Good Wife explores the devastating and lingering effects of infidelity. This third installment of the Brennan Sisters series is youngest sister Sarah’s long awaited story and I eagerly devoured every page.

Married to a professional baseball player, Sarah is still working on forgiving Boone for a short-lived affair three years earlier. Although Boone has sworn it will never happen again, Sarah finds it virtually impossible to trust him while he is on the road. In the wake of her mother’s death and another unexpected family tragedy, Sarah is quickly overwhelmed by Boone’s traveling schedule and her (unfounded) fears that he is once again cheating on her. Late in the story, an angry confrontation and ugly accusations take this passionate couple in a very unexpected direction.

Throughout the Brennan Sisters series, Sarah has been plagued by her unresolved issues with Boone’s infidelity. In an effort to keep the peace with Boone, Sarah keeps her anger and hurt bottled up but following her mother’s death, she becomes obsessed with her fears. Feeling she has lost her identity, Sarah questions her past decisions regarding her relationship with Boone and their marriage. With another career change for Boone, Sarah’s anger becomes unmanageable and she finally explodes. This conflict will either make or break their marriage and Sarah is finally forced to take a long hard look at what she wants for herself and ultimately, her marriage.

Characters from other novels Brennan Sisters series are also revisited in The Good Wife. Meg’s marriage to Robert is on shaky ground months after her affair and a stunning plot twist reveals surprising information. The Brennan family continues to distrust Kit’s love interest, Jude and the sisters’ attitudes toward him are source of friction. Everyone continues to worry about Brianna’s health and she finally reveals the nature of her illness. Brother Tommy’s marriage is still rocky and he stubbornly refuses to listen to his family’s advice.

As with most of Jane Porter’s novels, The Good Wife is a realistic portrayal of life and all the messy emotions that accompany it. The characters are faced with real life problems that do not always have easy answers. The Brennans are close but they also have disagreements and there are tense moments between various family members. However the tight bond shared by the members of this loving family is strong enough to withstand any obstacle that life throws their way.

Another outstanding addition to the Brennan Sisters series that I absolutely love and highly recommend.

Read my reviews of the other novels in the series HERE.

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Filed under Berkley, Brennan Sisters Series, Contemporary, Fiction, Jane Porter, Penguin Publishing, Rated B+, Review, Romance, The Good Wife

February 5, 2013 · 3:58 am

Review: The Good Daughter by Jane Porter

Title: The Good Daughter by Jane Porter
Brennan Sisters Series Book Two
Publisher: Penguin Group
Imprint: Berkley Trade
Genre: Contemporary, Fiction, Romance
Length: 384 pages
Book Rating: B+

Review Copy Obtained from Author

Summary:

Love was given to all, except herself . . .

Kit Brennan has always been the most grounded of her sisters. A Catholic school English teacher for seventeen years and a constant giver, her decisions have been sound—just not very satisfying. Her fortieth birthday is right around the corner, causing Kit to consider some wilder notions, like skipping right past the love and marriage to raising a child all by herself . . .

A girls’ weekend away is just the reprieve Kit needs from school, Mr. Wrongs, and life-changing decisions. It’s there that she meets a man who’s dangerous; a man who challenges who she thought she was, or rather should be. Kit wants to indulge herself this once, but with one of her students in crisis and the weight of her family’s burdens weighing heavy on her heart, Kit isn’t sure if now is the time to let her own desires take flight . . .

The Review:

In The Good Daughter, the second installment of the Brennan Sisters trilogy, Jane Porter brings her readers another novel that is as heartwarming as it is poignant. It a journey of self-discovery for middle sister Kit as she struggles with an impending loss, unsettling memories from her past and what she wants for her future.

In The Good Woman, high school English teacher Kit Brennan broke up with her longtime live in boyfriend. She is quite close to her family and she shares a tight bond with her sisters. As the middle daughter, Kit is the family peacemaker. Her twin sister, Brianna, is the family wild child while Kit is content to stay out of the limelight. She does not do anything to rock the boat and she is not very assertive. But all of that begins to change when Kit meets a man that her family most likely will not approve of.

Kit is very reflective in The Good Daughter. Her forays into the dating scene ended with disastrous results and she is contemplating what she wants for her future. With the purchase of her first home and with a few successful home renovations under her belt, she realizes she does not need a man in her life. What Kit really desires is a family and she knows what she is considering will not go over very well with her rather conservative and very Catholic family.

The two men that Kit meets prove that appearances can be deceiving. Michael Dempsey is a clean cut professional and new to the area. Kit is not really interested in dating, but she has a hard time saying no so she agrees to go on a date with him. Kit is quite uncomfortable with some of the things he reveals and she realizes that something is not quite right about Michael.

The other new man in Kit’s life is Jude. He is sexy and mysterious. A bad boy biker type that Kit is drawn to despite the fact that he is nothing at all like anyone she knows. Like many people, Kit is guilty of judging someone based on their appearance, so she quickly dismisses the possibility of any type of relationship with Jude.

Eventually Kit’s personal and professional lives converge and both men play key roles in this part of the storyline. We discover the secrets both men are hiding and Kit learns a lot about herself as the story arc plays out.

The Brennan family remains on the periphery for much of The Good Daughter. While Kit shares many scenes with her parents, most of the interactions with sisters Meg, Sarah and Brianna are mainly on the telephone. Her brother Tommy and his wife Cass are still at an impasse in their struggle with infertility. Brianna is dealing with a health issue of some kind. Neither Brianna and Kit have yet to come to terms with an incident from their childhood.

The Good Daughter is full of deep emotions and some of the scenes moved me to tears. Jane Porter provides Kit with a happily ever after ending, but the remaining unresolved storylines will leave readers impatiently awaiting the next book of the Brennan Sisters trilogy which is scheduled for release later this year.

Click HERE to read my review of The Good Woman .

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Filed under Berkely Trade, Brennan Sisters Series, Contemporary, Fiction, Jane Porter, Penguin Publishing, Rated B+, Review, Romance

September 4, 2012 · 3:58 am

The Good Woman by Jane Porter

Title: The Good Woman by Jane Porter
Brennan Sisters Series Book One
Publisher: Penguin Group
Imprint: Berkley Trade
Genre: Contemporary, Fiction
Length: 368 pages
Book Rating: B+

Review Copy Obtained from Publisher Through Edelweiss

Summary:

Is it possible to leave it all behind?

The firstborn of a large Irish-American family, Meg Brennan Roberts is a successful publicist, faithful wife, and doting mother who prides herself on always making the right decisions. But years of being “the good woman” have taken a toll and though her winery career thrives, Meg feels burned out and empty, and more disconnected than ever from her increasingly distant husband. Lonely and disheartened, she attends the London Wine Fair with her boss, ruggedly handsome vintner, Chad Hallahan. It’s here, alone together in an exotic city, far from “real” life, that Chad confesses his long-standing desire for Meg.

Overwhelmed, flattered, and desperately confused, Meg returns home, only to suddenly question every choice she’s ever made, especially that of her marriage. For Meg, something’s got to give, and for once in her life she flees her responsibilities—but with consequences as reckless and irreversible as they are liberating. Now she must decide whether being the person everyone needs is worth losing the woman she was meant to be.

The Review:

The Good Woman by Jane Porter is a captivating novel about the complexities of sibling and marital relationships. This first book in a series about a large, close-knit Irish Catholic family details Meg Roberts’ complicated yet loving relationships with her sisters. It is also a compelling story about her unhappiness with her marriage and her unexpected attraction to her sexy boss Chad.

The oldest of the Brennan children, Meg is the responsible one. She holds herself to high standards and the stress of always being perfect is wearing thin. She is overwhelmed by the demands of a busy life as a working wife and mother who works a “second shift” at home taking care of their children and household chores. After seventeen years of marriage, she is feeling neglected, overlooked and underappreciated by her husband Jack.

Another source of contention for Meg is her close but complex relationships with her family. The annual Brennan women’s retreat is anything but peaceful as each of the women is experiencing their own personal crises. Sarah, married to a major league ballplayer, is dealing with her insecurities in the aftermath of her husband’s affair. Kit is tired of waiting for her boyfriend of ten years to propose. Kit’s fraternal twin sister, Brianna is hypercritical of Meg, rude and sometimes downright hateful. Sister-in-law Cass and brother Tommy are struggling with infertility. But the news that devastates the family is the fact that their mother’s cancer has returned.

I think there are many women who will be able to relate to Meg and some of what she is going through. Busy, hectic lives keep us frantically trying to keep up with our kid’s various activities. It is easy to become complacent in long term relationships. Communication between partners fails when resentment builds. The dynamics between adult siblings are oftentimes mired down by long held rivalries and disagreements.

The Good Woman is an incredibly realistic novel that is heartbreaking and poignant. It is an accurate depiction of both the good and bad that comes with family life. Jane Porter takes her characters and her readers on an emotional journey that is full of surprising twists and turns.

An excellent first installment in a promising new series that I greatly enjoyed and highly recommend. I am greatly anticipating The Good Daughter, the next novel in the Brennan Sisters trilogy.

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Filed under Berkely Trade, Brennan Sisters Series, Contemporary, Fiction, Jane Porter, Penguin Group, Rated B+, The Good Woman