Hilary Boyd

Lizzie Delancey is happily married, in her early 50s, with three grown children. But Lizzie guards a dark secret. At age 18 she had a baby boy, and gave him up for adoption. She still thinks of him every day. Then, out of the blue, she receives an official-looking letter from Kent Social Services. Her son, Daniel, wants to make contact. On one hand she is overjoyed - she longs to meet him. On the other, she has never told her children that they have another sibling. Tangled Lives follows the effect this revelation has on her family, as, with Daniel as the catalyst, a few small tears in the family fabric suddenly gape wide.

Tangled Lives

Julie Twist

This is what is probably a very common situation these days - birth mother and adopted son get in touch. People think or hope that everything will be fine and it's a happy ending. It doesn't always work that way as this book shows as the story unfolds. Annie is happily married with three grown up children when she receives a letter via Kent Social Services from the son she gave up after birth - Tom, or Daniel he is now called. Annie is over the moon that her son has got in touch, and hopes that her husband (who knew about him) and her children (who don't) will accept him into their family with open arms. The repercussions are like ripples in a pond....

From the bestselling author of Thursdays in the Park comes a tense, emotional drama about what happens to a family when a secret is kept hidden, and a stranger is suddenly introduced into the dynamic. Annie Delancey is happily married, in her early 50s, with three grown children. But Annie guards a secret. At age nineteen she had a baby boy and gave him up for adoption. She still thinks of him every day. One day she receives a letter from Kent Social Services; her son Daniel wants to make contact. A part of her is overjoyed--she longs to meet him. But another part fears what this revelation will do to her family, none of whom know about her past.When Daniel is introduced to Annie's family, a few small tears in the family fabric suddenly gape wide, and the impact of is greater than she could have ever imagined.

Briar's Reviews

This book was very believable and easy to read, but very slow and boring in my opinion.

This story follows Annie Delancey and her happy, grown family as the child she gave up for adoption while she was a teenager tries to contact her. This ends up causing trouble within the family and the story follows this very drama.

While the drama that occurred was believable, I found that a little bit more action or drama could have happened to make the story more interesting. While more drama might have made it seem less realistic, it also would have made for a better novel.

The story moved very slowly, but the writing was very beautiful. The descriptions and word choices by the author made it a very beautiful read. Once I got about two thirds into the book, I did find myself hooked to the story since I wanted to find out what was happening to the characters.

I found the ending to be quite lame and uneventful. I expected an interesting ending that showed how the characters were years later, instead of a small summary of a random event to the family.

I did enjoy this book, and I would suggest it to other people but I would not read the book again. Well written with a believable plot, but not the most attractive read to keep you hooked onto the book.

I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.