The Family Tree by Lana Melyan (The Weight of Magic #4)

Synopsis:

New Orleans. That's the place where magic happens. But I’m not here to do magic. I need to keep a low profile. I'm here to find out more about my parents' life and check out their house, which I never knew existed.

In my dad’s study, I discover a crucial piece of information. There’s a man out there who can identify me and sell me out to the Order. Will we be able to find and stop him before he puts the mission and all of us in grave danger?

At the same time, I bump into one of those things Gran and Sam once warned me about regarding Nate’s life. Things that happened before he met me, which he hoped I would never come across.

Well, we hope for a lot of things.

Review:

Fourth book in the Weight of Magic series and I feel like the story is starting to move on nicely. All the characters are growing within their magical powers and we are starting to find out more about their mission and what needs to be done.

Nicki and Nate’s relationship has its ups and downs and I feel that for me that’s the only stumbling block in these books as I feel like their teenage-ish behaviour and irrationality takes my focus away from the real story here.

This book has also taken the series to a darker level with the introduction of new characters and I am looking forward to finding out what more is in store for us.

Thank you very much to the author and TBConFB for this book.

Rating: 3/5

Available from:

Amazon UK

Amazon US

Between Sisters by Cathy Kelly

Synopsis:

Meet the women of Delaney Gardens, a bustling suburban village in the outer reaches of Dublin. There's Cassie, who's spent her married life doing everything right for her children, husband, and mother-in-law, yet feels so exhausted that "wine o'clock" comes a littler earlier each afternoon. There's her sister Coco, who runs a vintage dress shop, but has avoided the complications of romantic commitment. Watching over them is their grandmother Pearl, who, despite caring deeply for her family, is contending with a long-buried secret. And then there's Elsa, the polished face of daytime TV, who's triumphed over demons before, but is now facing her toughest battle yet. At every crossroad these women face, readers are taken deeper into the heart of what it means to be a family.

Review:

I usually love the books by this well know Irish author, but this one unfortunately came up short. I have always been a fan of Cathy’s books, her great understanding of family dynamics, the dramas that come with friendships and relationships, changes that occur in people’s lives.

Between Sisters is essentially a story of two abandoned sisters Coco and Cassie. Their mother was there one day and vanished the next, nobody talked about her, just that she is never coming back. However, there are always two sides to every story and the girls’ lives turn out to be affected more by their past than anyone could have ever predicted. They both have abandonment issues, which nearly destroy their relationships with the loves of their lives.

So far so good. However, then we have grandmother Pearl, who is suggested to be holding on to this massive secret about their mother, which makes you think she’s done something terrible. We have Phoebe, a country girl, studying fashion. We have Antoinette, the mother in law from hell. We have best friend Jo and her daughter Fiona. We have Shay, Red, Lilly, Beth, Eddie, Gloria, Elsa, the whole village and their dogs.

Just too much in this one. What could have been a great read became a hard labour of getting through and skipping paragraphs, because it just wasn’t that interesting. Which is a shame as the basis of the novel is good. So give it a go, but I feel Cathy’s other books were just a bit better and clearer.

Thank you very much to NetGalley for this book.

Rating: 3/5

Available from:

Amazon UK

Amazon US