My thanks to Netgalley and Orion for a copy of The Family Gift” for an honest review.

Unfortunately , for me , this wasn’t one of Cathy Kelly’s best books . I struggled to get into the story and it failed to keep me interested .i think the storyline was a bit downbeat for me at the moment.
An ok read but sadly not one I will particularly be recommending .

I really did not get on with book and therefore did not enjoy it at all and didn’t like the characters

I very much enjoyed this book. It has a good story and excellent main characters. I would definately recommend this book.

International bestselling author Cathy Kelly has written a wonderfully witty and wise novel about ordinary people coping with day to day problems. The Family Gift the author's 20th novel, is a story of family politics, relationships, self-doubt, and trauma.

This delightful tale deals with complex family relations within the context of careers, relationships, life and altered circumstances. Freya Abalone is not coping with all of the problems that arise from living within an extended family. When her husband’s ex-wife, Elisa, arrives on the scene and causes trouble, it severely takes its toll on Freya. She must find her inner resolve so she can mend the broken pieces of her shattered family.

The Family Gift revolves around the life of Freya, a woman with many complications in her life when the reader first gets to meet her. Her life is chaotic and I didn’t envy her at all. As the story unfolds, narrator Freya hits rock bottom and she must regain the upper hand over her fractured life. Developing parallel with Freya’s story, her family are experiencing their own complicated life battles that see Cathy Kelly pull in some powerful themes for the storylines of an abundant character set, including abandonment, custody, marital issues, and trauma. I managed to keep track of the array of characters and their respective foibles, traits and troubles and I was intrigued as to how Freya and her family's stories would eventually conclude. Intermittently, I have puttered with Cathy Kelly's books, and I appreciate the touches of soft Irish humour she adds to her insightful tales.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Orion Publishing Group via NetGalley and this review is my unbiased opinion.

Loved it! Fantastic read. So comfortable and like a great big hug. I was wrapped up in this tale from the first page. The characters within the family are relatable and entertaining, you just want to get to the end to see what happens but actually once the book had finished I missed them! A must read.

Thank you Netgalley.

Freya and her beautiful family have moved to the perfect home and to an outsider they are perfect but Freya is hiding a lot of things from her husband and everyone close to her. Only Mildred her inner voice knows everything and she has a knack of making her feel worse about her life. The talented tv chef is living the perfect insta life but is it time to tell the truth and maybe it could help more people than herself.

I’ve been reading Cathy Kelly books for a long time and I think this is a favourite as it rings very true, ultimately a beautiful read about trust, family and love

A warm, realistic book that will keep you reading until the end. The Family Gift is an unputdownable and enthralling story about family loyalty, deep hidden secrets and toxic relationships Cathy Kelly fans will not want to resist. I loved the story found it easy to get into, although it was a bit depressing in places (which is unlike other Cathy Kelly books) however I felt a deal of empathy with our heroine, Freya, she represented the woman of today who is expected to deal with everything life throws at them whilst keeping a family, including step-children on a even keel.

a well written, empathetic book about modern family life. I thoroughly recommend it.

Thank you to Netgallery for an advance copy in return for an honest review

Despite this being her 20th book and that I have heard many great things about her work, this was the first of Cathy’s books that I have read and it definitely lived up to expectations.

What stood out for me and made me love this book was the issues that it tackled. There were many humorous moments along the way but beneath it there was some very important topics being tackled, ones that many people avoid in real life.

I warmed to Freya as the book went on, I think I personally found it hard to relate to her at the start as she felt closed off to me and is very different to my own circumstance. Freya is a TV chef, mum to three, a wife and a member of a very close family. As the book went on and I could understand her more, I 0warmed to her and was cheering her own.

Her family were also a great bunch of characters with varying personalities which added to not only the humour of the book but also the heartfelt storylines along the way.

If you were to take anything away from reading this book it should be that its ok not to be ok. Life can get on top of all of us and that’s ok, reaching out to those closest to you is important, don’t hide from it.

I will definitely be keeping my eye out for more Cathy Kelly books and hopefully will be tucking into some of her previous novels too.

Found this book a bit hard to get into at the start but glad I stuck with it. Well written & at times humorous id recommend this to anyone.

Loved this book,Cathy Kelly never fails to please. A great read. Freya has it all....or does she? Freya is not coping with life in any way at all... juggling and not always catching the ball..a series of events rock her world...
A good read..a little slow to start witg,but thoroughly enjoyable.

Freya on the outside seems to have it all. A gorgeous husband, three beautiful children, a successful career and a massive new dream house but inside she has a raging voice inside her wanting to scream, 'I am not coping!'
A few weeks before she had been mugged and left injured, what's more, is that the person who attacked her had not been caught. This completely destroyed her confidence in herself but to the world, she seemed her old self and she hated herself for it. Her life consisted of lying to her family that knew what had happened, that she was alright while pretending to the rest of the world that nothing had ever happened. In the meantime, her own inner voice was shouting to be heard and beg for help. I loved that she had a name for her inner voice of Mildred, which did give her doctor a cause for concern!
The thing is once one thing crumbles it is a little like Jenga, everything else seems to crumble around it too. The molehills become mountains that just seem to get bigger. There are some lovely characters in the story that Freya meets on the way, that she wouldn't have known if tragedy hadn't brought them together.
Even in tragedy, some people see it as a way to make extra cash because of who she is. It is a real learning curve for Freya in so many ways. Realistic characters with real family and personal problems to overcome. It is learning not just to talk but also to listen to others too.
I wish to thank NetGalley and the publisher for an e-copy of this book which I have reviewed honestly.

As soon as I get my hands on a new Cathy Kelly novel, I clear my schedule and switch my phone off because I know that once I start reading a book by Ireland’s queen of women’s fiction, putting it down is simply not an option. In her latest novel, The Family Gift, Cathy Kelly has written another witty, heart-warming and astute tale that continues to affirm her status as a writer who is at the very top of her game.

Freya Abalone has a life most people would envy. Although she had been a teenager plagued by self doubt and anxiety, Freya has matured into a woman who has managed to carve out a successful life for herself. She had been plucked from obscurity to become one of Ireland’s best-loved cookery writers with a string of TV shows and best-selling books to her name and her personal life is just as impressive as her career. Married to good-looking economist Dan, Freya has three beautiful children: Lexi, Liam and Teddy, whom she loves with all of her heart. Dan and Freya have just bought a new house that nearly bankrupted them, but one which they are sure they will be immensely happy in. Sure, they will need to tighten their belts and do some scrimping and saving, but they cannot wait to move into their new home – especially as Freya recently has gone through a terrifying ordeal that has meant that she needs the security and protection of a well-fortified home like Kellinch House…

Despite of all the problems weighing heavily upon her mind, Freya is determined that nothing and nobody will spoil her beautiful new house with a kitchen to die for. She cannot wait to see her children grow and prosper in their new surroundings, however, no sooner have Dan and Freya unpacked that a blast from the past comes wreaking havoc and pulls the rug out from under their feet! Their beautiful and beloved blended family is under threat and Freya wonders whether she is going to end up losing the people she loves most in the world.

Dan’s first wife Elisa had absolutely no qualms about abandoning Lexi to their care. She had been too busy jet-setting, partying and trying to get her claws into a sugar daddy to keep the spoilt princess in the style she was accustomed to. Elisa has never had much time for her daughter nor has she ever tried to have any kind of relationship with her. But all that looks set to change as the glamourous and manipulative stepmother is back in Dublin determined to bond with her daughter – leaving a worried Freya to wonder whether she will be left out in the cold in her own house.

What is Freya going to do? Will she allow Elisa to muscle in on her life and take her husband and her kids away from her? Or will she find the courage to fight for her family and show Elisa the door?

Reading a new Cathy Kelly novel is always a joy and The Family Gift is certainly no different! Like having a long and gossipy catch-up with your best friend over several glasses of wine, The Family Gift is an addictive, engrossing and captivating tale about family loyalty, intimate secrets and toxic relations readers will not want to resist.

Freya is such a fantastic heroine. She leaps off the pages from the very first page and she is witty, clever, intelligent and flawed and a character readers would love to have as a friend.

Brilliantly written, wonderfully funny and simply irresistible, Cathy Kelly has got another surefire bestseller on her hands with her latest novel, The Family Gift.

This book has some glowing praise from some well respected Authors and magazines already.

Cathy Kelly has a way with words that draw you into the lives of the characters that she writes about. I was happy to give this 4 stars or 8/10.

It was an entertaining and humorous at times story about the lives of Freya, her husband Dan and their extended family. As family life and life in general take their toll, Freya outwardly seems to be coping, but inwardly she is imploding. These are feelings that at some time in our lives many of us will be able to identify with. To find out just how Freya deals with it, you'll need to grab a copy for yourself.

This is the perfect read for those long winter nights, with the curtains drawn and your comfiest clothes all curled up on the sofa in the warmth.

I enjoyed this, it’s typical Cathy Kelly, guaranteed to entertain and enthrall from the first page. I have one criticism that it didn’t seem quite as good as some of her other books, but that is just a personal opinion I think I’ve enjoyed other plots and characters more. But this is still a steady, entertaining read, full of drama, family, friendship, basically everything you’d expect from Cathy so always recommended

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

I have always really enjoyed Cathy Kelly novels and was very excited to read her latest. I did enjoy it but I did find it hard to get into. However I was glad that I persevered and started to warm up to Freya, the main character. An enjoyable read

So … The Family Gift … a book that falls into what I think must be my favourite book genre: Irish (I don’t care if that isn’t an official genre – it is to me!) And with a recommendation from the amazing Marian Keyes on the cover, well … need I say more?

To the outside world, 40-something Freya looks like she has it all: the gorgeous husband, the 3 adorable kids, a dream career as a TV-chef with a few published books under her belt, a close, loving extended family and a gorgeous, large new home! I mean really, what more could anyone ask for? Well, actually … stability? Sanity? For her cranky inner-voice Mildred to shut up, maybe? As they say, #TrueStory, all is not what it seems.

To put it bluntly, Freya is not coping with life. A series of events over the past year have conspired to make her feel as if the very foundations of her world are about to implode at any moment. But as we women tend to do, she soldiers on, believing that she must display an outer facade of strength and support to everyone around her, while inside she slowly collapses. In a world where the conversation about mental health still seems to bear a stigma, regardless of how much we attempt to encourage acceptance and speaking out, the relevance of this theme cannot be emphasised enough. There is no individual group that escapes the cruel tentacles of anxiety and stress – it can affect anyone and everyone, and it does: Men and women of all ages, youth, and even very young children.

I completely related to Freya and the way she felt pulled in every single possible direction. But I also had some really fantastic laugh out loud moments at the descriptions of how she was told to portray herself on social media, which she found completely ridiculous – which is exactly what it is: fakery at its best! I work in the Social Media/TV/Theatre/Film industry and most of the time, the only thing that’s real about it is the fact that it’s all totally phoney! Cathy Kelly got that so spot-on! As for all the insight into publicity and how to work around it to the benefit of your public persona – the manipulation and decision-making that’s done seemingly with your consent, but often without it too – was also very tactfully dealt with, might I say, even gently! It’s not an area that’s usually given such moderate treatment, and I won’t even go into how this all contributes to the pressure that it puts on people who feel that they need to ‘measure up’ to the images they see online. Suffice to say: “the model you see in the picture doesn’t even look like the model you see in the picture.” (With apologies – I don’t know who to attribute that quote to, but I absolutely love it and I’ve never forgotten it!)

I think that what I loved the most about this book is the warmth that I felt from Kelly’s characters. It’s possible that I’m biased as I tend to feel that way about many Irish books, but I truly do feel that there’s something quite unique about the way these stories play out. There’s a distinctive wisdom and humour that’s threaded throughout their pages that I just don’t see in other books, and The Family Gift certainly had these elements by the bucket-load!

This is a 5-star read that will leave you with that warm, fuzzy feeling that you get when you’ve snuggled up with your favourite blanket, your fluffy socks and a mug of foamy, marshmallow-topped hot chocolate … or whatever (or whoever) takes your fancy!

There are days when the mind is fluttering

There are days when the stress is flying

There are days when I want to do nothing

That's the day I picked up Cathy Kelly for lazing

The story was slow in opening

The characters were totally abounding

The inner voice Mildred was confusing

When the thoughts were many, it was clamoring

Then came the point of turning

The story changed to gently flowing

The emotions struck me high with feeling

I was filled with joy and soaring

A woman strong, a mother, the author was showing

She did it all for kids, family, career, she was trying

Her parents too had a tale saddening

An attack was her time of reckoning

What can I say about the author's writing

It was true, it was honest oh so loving

My pain was forgotten, so true was the writing

Her words were sweet, they kept shining

It took me time, the effects would be lasting

My first by Cathy Kelly showed love & family are everlasting

The words of the poem came automatically after reading the book. Freya was the mom, wife, chef with a TV show and a cookbook coming up, a daughter who helps her mom with the caring of the father.

Cathy Kelly showed me a slice of life of Freya which could be any woman's story in times of today. The words and scenes were honest and showed me the strength of a woman. It was a journey of a woman with her family with its ups and downs. A honest portrayal, I would say.

The only niggles for me were the book was slow to start and it took me time to connect to Freya. Those were minor. The whole book reflected relationships with genuine bonds between friends and family members. Humor too struck in so that the story was balanced.

Overall, a fun story and I completely enjoyed my midnight read.

I love to read Cathy Kelly books and have read them all over the years so I jumped at the chance to read this for the blog tour.

The Family Gift is the story of Freya and her family, set in Ireland just outside Dublin. Freya is a parent we can all connect with on some level, juggling to keep all the balls in the air with 3 kids and her own career. During this story you get to know Freya and her alter ego Mildred and you gain in insight into the grief she is experiencing due to a series of events that have taken place over the last 12 months. 

A wonderful reminder of how fragile life is and how when you scratch below the shiny surface that life isn't always as it appears on social media and how everyone chooses to tackle their grief in different ways. In a world where mental health is now being recognised and peoples views and opinions are slowly starting to shift to not shaming people. This books is a powerful reminder to the damage social media can cause to everyone regardless of their age and how people still feel they are weak or an inconvenience when they need to reach out for help.

I'm not sure what to say about this book. I used to love Cathy Kelly's books, but more recently I'm not enjoying them so much. They're still good, but I'm not gripped by them as I used to be. The Family Gift fell a bit flat for me. I couldn't quite engage with Freya. To be honest, she annoyed me at times (Mildred too). The anger that came across - I skipped some passages. It did keep my attention, and the ending was good. I think the way Freya seemed to just switch and all of a sudden was the wonder woman she had wanted to be earlier on was a bit unrealistic. Dan was too nice. A good read, but not a particularly memorable one.

Freya is a 40 something successful television chef, and writer of popular cookery books. She is happily married and the mother to three absolutely adored children. Unfortunately Freya’s life is only perfect to outsiders, for in fact her father has had a debilitating stroke, her mother is wearing herself to a frazzle being the primary carer of him, as well as his cantankerous ancient father and her elderly mother. Scarlett, Freya’s sister is in despair and debt due to endless IVF treatments that have not worked, it has gotten so bad, she and her husband have separated. Freya is also in bits because her husband’s first wife, and biological mother of her eldest child is making noises about getting back into her daughters life. Four months prior Freya was mugged in a car park and now she is finding she can't cope with the lasting fear and insomnia from this traumatic experience. Although there are some helpful life lessons in the novel, I found it hard to like Freya. I found her to be extremely over emotional and found the first half of the book a bit of a trial to get through. I imagine quite a few people will really engage with this book, but it was not for me.
Thank you to netgalley and Orion books for an advance copy.