We Are the Brennans: A Novel

Tracey Lange

Aug 2021 · Sold by Celadon Books

About this ebook

**INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER**

In the vein of Mary Beth Keane’s Ask Again, Yes and Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney's The Nest, Tracey Lange’s We Are the Brennans explores the staying power of shame—and the redemptive power of love—in an Irish Catholic family torn apart by secrets.

When twenty-nine-year-old Sunday Brennan wakes up in a Los Angeles hospital, bruised and battered after a drunk driving accident she caused, she swallows her pride and goes home to her family in New York. But it’s not easy. She deserted them all—and her high school sweetheart—five years before with little explanation, and they've got questions.

Sunday is determined to rebuild her life back on the east coast, even if it does mean tiptoeing around resentful brothers and an ex-fiancé. The longer she stays, however, the more she realizes they need her just as much as she needs them. When a dangerous man from her past brings her family’s pub business to the brink of financial ruin, the only way to protect them is to upend all their secrets—secrets that have damaged the family for generations and will threaten everything they know about their lives. In the aftermath, the Brennan family is forced to confront painful mistakes—and ultimately find a way forward, together.

Ratings and reviews

When Sunday Brennan wakes up in the hospital after a drunk driving accident, she decides to go home to her family in New York. However, five years ago, she abandoned them and her long-time boyfriend/fiancé with no explanation. She knows that this reunion isn't going to be easy. Sunday is determined to get her life back on track on the east coast, even if it means dealing with an angry ex-fiancé and resentful brothers. However, she starts to realize that they might just need her as much as she needs them. An old character from their past comes back into their life and almost takes the Brennan family's pub to the brink of financial ruin. To save the pub Sunday realizes that she must dig up old secrets. Secrets that cause the Brennan family to confront their mistakes and attempt to find a way forward together. The alternating view points really added to the suspense and kept the reader interested. I enjoyed that this one was a thriller but also had the heartfelt tones of what it's like to stick together as a family.

This has been all over booksta, so I was very excited to get an early copy from BookishFirst! Family drama is a genre I always enjoy! Synopsis: Sunday Brennan, after a bad drunk driving accident, decides to move back home after she left suddenly 5 years earlier. She has to face her family and the boyfriend she abandoned and secrets - both why she left and secrets the others are harboring - start to come to the surface. This started out really strong for me. I enjoyed the alternating POVs, and the character development was really good. And kicking off with her car accident was definitely powerful. But it lagged for me in the middle and the end wasn’t as powerful as I expected. I think my issue is that the book focused so much on this family being special but they really seemed kind of terrible, and no one ever faced any consequences for their actions. I don’t want to be too negative though! I did like it, I think the writing was great and I enjoyed reading it. I just didn’t love it quite as much as it seems others did.

This is a good story about flawed people torn apart by secrets but working hard to become a family again and that family is stronger than individuals standing alone. Nobody on this earth is perfect and it is nice to read about this sometimes to remind us that we too can live and be stronger when we have others to lean on. The Brennans are extra cool because they are also Irish though they are living in New York and have a cool pub and are working to open another one. But secrets are getting in the way and the secret that drove Sunday away must now come out in order to save the rest of the family. It is well said by Sunday that when you deal with one Brennan you will have to deal with all six of them. This book drew me in and it was a easy read and I enjoyed it, getting a glimpse into the lives of the Brennans. It also made me want to learn more about them, especially what will happen after then end. That, to me is the mark of a good book, if I want to know more even after a satisfying end.

About the author

Born in the Bronx and raised in Manhattan, Tracey Lange comes from a large Irish family with a few secrets of its own. She headed west and graduated from the University of New Mexico before owning and operating a behavioral healthcare company with her husband for fifteen years. While writing her debut novel, We Are the Brennans, she completed the Stanford University online novel writing program. Tracey currently lives in Bend, Oregon, with her husband, two sons and their German Shepherd.