My thoughts: this book picks up right from the last chapter of the first book, and I don’t mean afterwards, I mean that you get to experience Rabbits death all over again 😭 – right from the off this book made me cry and being totally honest I lost count of the amount of time’s I cried and the amount of tissues I used.

I devoured this book in one day, part of me always feels guilty when I do that because I know how much work goes into creating it, but I just COULD NOT put it down, by this point I was so invested in all of the characters lives I needed to know that they were going to be ok!

It’s heartbreaking to read them all experience grief in such different ways, some of them retreated into themselves, whilst others acted out. We even had people acting like nothing had changed, when in reality all of their lives had been completely turned upside down, how do you cope with the loss of such a big personality within your family unit?

The parts about Grace had me feeling devastated for her, it’s really not the news you need when you’ve just lost your sister, but I have to say the way the whole thing was dealt with was incredible, it was done in such a sensitive way that it added to the feeling of realness that was also in the first book.

I won’t give too much of the story away because it was an absolute delight discovering it all along the way, but just know that although a lot of this book made me cry, there was lots of laughter and smiling at the book too!

Such a beautiful story that will stay with me for a long time, thank you for giving me the opportunity to read it and share my thoughts.

„Below the Big Blue Sky“ picks up from where „The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes“ ended. Rabbit, young and full of life, loses her fight with cancer, leaving behind her whole crazy family and friends who now try to come over their heartbreak and emptiness that Rabbit’s death has left them with. Rabbit’s beloved and loving parents, Molly and Jack, her daughter Bunny, her brother Davey and sister Grace who discovers she also has the gene that killed Rabbit, they all try to deal with their grief and many other challenges in their lives. Is this even possible, to simply move on, without the person that was everything to them?

Anna Mc Partlin has left us waiting for her new release a long time, and then she has chosen to write a follow up to „The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes“, a book that if you’ve read it, you’ll never going to forget. Let me tell you that it was absolutely worth waiting for so long for this novel, as it’s as special as its predecessor, actually, as all Anna’s books, and it for sure lived up to my expectations. I wasn’t afraid that I’m not going to like it, I was only afraid that it will leave me a crying, snotty mess and well, what shall I tell you, it did. But it also left me with my heart singing, showing there is always hope.
“Below the Big Blue Sky“ can be read as a stand – alone, though I’m rather careful here, and even though the author herself gives you a green light I’d really rather read the first Rabbit Hayes book – I personally think you’ll miss too much jumping directly into this book.

Being back with the Hayes family and some of their friends was brilliant, even though the circumstances were not the easiest. The author has taken us on the most brilliant and intimate journey with all of them together, letting us experience everything with them, to live their lives actually, so much have I been invested in them. She has incredibly well captured the void in their lives after Rabbit’s death. The characters were honest and genuine and no kind of emotions were spared but this only made them even more real and true to life, and the way they tried to deal with this searing pain, no matter if they’re old or young, is absolutely relatable to all of us out there who have lost their closest ones. You will quickly find yourself rooting fort hem all. They are all so special, so well – developed, with their own distinctive voices, all so brave and I loved all of them. They’re so absolutely Irish, that’s the first thing that made me like them so much, so stone mad but also so down to earth.

The story is divided into parts and it deals with many, many threads, each of them even more important and thought – provoking than the previous one, each of them made me want to reach out to the characters, to simply be there for them. Anna McPartlin has a way with words and how she deals with the subject of grief is absolutely of the highest level. She’s sensitive, but she doesn’t beat around the bush because when it comes to the feelings and emotions they’re not always nice, and she shows us that it is absolutely okay to be angry, that it’s allowed to swear and to show the world that you’re hurting. The mix of sadness, heartbreak, grief and humour and hope is simply perfect in this story, and the author knows when to add Molly’s one – liner to brighten the atmosphere.

Even though it is a book dealing with death and grief, it is absolutely not all gloom! There is so much of this feel – good vibe in this story, you know, and even though you cry crocodile tears one second, you will find yourself laughing out loud the next second. Hats off to Anna McPartling for capturing the balance between sadness and fun so well, and for her lovely, beautiful, brilliant writing style!

“Below the Big Blue Sky” is so beautiful, clever, full of insights and authentic feelings and emotions. It is incredibly moving, touching and poignant but also filled with the most hilarious humour and one – liners that lightens the atmosphere. It is a book about moving on, or at least trying hard to move on, which, as we could see, is absolutely not easy; about family, friends and relationships, about grief and how it can affect people. But most of all it is about love. About pure, simple and unconditional love, love that makes your life fullfilled and worthy. Love that creates so many beautiful memories, love that can also be painful but love nevertheless, a feeling that will conquer everything. Beautifully written, with understanding and without judging, I loved how the author allowed her characters to make mistakes but also gave them second chances. It was inspiring, unputdownable and captivating story that tugged at my heart – strings. It’s full of warmth, truth and it simply feels so human which only makes this book even more special. Truly, highly recommended!

As someone who adored The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes I was overjoyed when I heard that Anna McPartlin had written a sequel to her much loved book, although I do have to admit to feeling a little bit worried that it wouldn’t be able to live up to the pure perfection of its predecessor. But I needn’t have worried as Anna McPartlin has done it again! Below the Big Blue Sky is (in my humble opinion) even better than the first book.

Although a sequel to The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes, Below the Big Blue Sky could easily be read as a standalone. It begins directly after the last book ends, which is with the passing of forty year old Rabbit Hayes after a long battle with breast cancer. We are instantly drawn back into the lives of the wonderful Hayes family as they begin the process of mourning their loss.

We have Molly, Rabbit’s larger than life mother, who begins to question her faith in God after the loss of her youngest daughter. With her colourful language and side splitting Irish humour, Molly will have you howling with laughter one moment and then crying with emotion the next.

Then there’s Jack, Rabbit’s distraught father, who ‘goes out to lunch’ by hiding away in the attic and losing himself in his memories of the past as he pores over his old diaries of happy times gone by, talking to his beloved Rabbit as if she is still there.

Rabbit’s brother Davey finds himself as guardian to her twelve year old daughter, Bunny (now only wanting to be known as Juliet) after promising Rabbit he would take care of her after she was gone. But how is Davey going to be able to help Juliet come to terms with the loss of her mother, when he can barely cope with his own loss as it is?

And then there’s Grace, Rabbit’s older sister, who as well as struggling to come to terms with her grief, is doing her best to look after her husband and four sons, all at the same time as having to cope with a decision that has the potential to change her life forever.

Below the Big Blue Sky is a beautifully written story that draws you back into the lives of the Hayes family as if you had never been away. It feels like coming home, almost like slipping into a pair of comfy slippers at the end of a long day, as you find yourself caught up in their lives, feeling every emotion right alongside Molly and her family. And even though she is no longer with them Rabbit is still very much present throughout, her voice a constant companion to her family as they slowly begin to navigate their way through their ‘new normal’.

How is it even possible to do this beautiful, moving, often hilarious, but always emotionally satisfying book justice? Anna McPartlin brings the Hayes family so vividly to life you feel as if you really know them. I felt bereft as I turned the last page of this warm, at times heartachingly sad, but ultimately uplifting story.

Below the Big Blue Sky is the story of a family as they try to come to terms with an unbearable loss, each dealing with it in their own individual way. It’s about learning to live with grief and, eventually, finding the strength to move forward with your life, at the same time as keeping your loved one’s memory alive in your heart. But most of all it’s a very real, very human story of hope and how the love of those around you can help you through even the most testing of times.

I honestly can’t praise this book highly enough. Anna McPartlin is an extraordinarily gifted story teller and I can’t wait to read whatever she comes up with next.

I’m going to start with a massive apology to the author, the publishers and tour organiser – I just couldn’t read this book through to its end. I've just lost my mum, and if I tell you that I returned from the interment of her ashes to join Rabbit lying in her open coffin in the rearranged dining room surrounded by her wonderful family, I hope you’ll understand why. Having sobbed through the book up to that point – but laughed so much through the tears – the sealing of her coffin finally broke me and I couldn’t make myself follow her to the funeral at Glasnevin.

But even though I’m going to have to return to this book later to read it through to its end – and I’ll share my full review as soon as I do – I loved what I did read entirely without reservation. Anna McPartlin creates the most wonderful characters, and it was so very good to be back in their company: I don’t think you need to have read the first book to love this one, but I really would recommend that you read them as a pair, just because.

And she writes with sheer love – none of her characters are perfect in any way, but my goodness, she makes you feel so much for every single one of them. The humour is just perfect – at times entirely inappropriate but at the same time absolutely right. The author’s use of dialogue – giving shape to her characters, revealing their personalities and inner feelings, is every bit as stunning as it ever was. And there are those little touches that break you – Rabbit’s father going “out to lunch”, the choosing of the right clothes for the viewing of the open coffin, the holding of her hand. Daughter Juliet’s grief – no longer Bunny – totally broke my heart, particularly that small fleck of blood found on the skirting board.

I’ll stop there – it broke my heart that I had to set the book aside, but I’m so looking forward to trying it once more when I feel a little stronger. Anna McPartlin, you are just magnificent – and I’ll never forget Rabbit.

When I heard that Anna McPartlin was writing a sequel to The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes, I was thrilled because it is one of my favourite books of all time. I loved Rabbit and her crazy family and I was desperate to find out how the Hayes family were.

Below the Big Blue Sky picks up directly from where The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes left off. It follows Molly Hayes and her family as they navigate life after Rabbit dies from cancer.

Although this is a sequel, it could be read as a stand-alone as Anna McPartlin has carefully weaved enough back story in for each character. However, I do think that it’s worth reading The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes or listening to the audio book to understand this family and their quirks. It will make you appreciate the story even more.

It was lovely to be back in the company of the Hayes family. It was like being with old friends. The characters reacted how I expected them to – you become so invested in them, in The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes, you just know! I love that it’s a complete continuation of The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes. Molly, the matriarch of the Hayes family, is still stubborn, funny, and fowl mouthed (not offensively); Jack, Rabbit’s dad, has ‘gone fishing’; Juliet, Rabbit’s daughter, is trying to deal with losing her mum as well as living with her uncle Davey; Davey is juggling being Juliet’s guardian and his band life in the US; Grace dealing with the fact that she has the gene that gave Rabbit cancer; and Marjorie, Rabbit’s best friend, dealing with the Rabbit-shaped hole in her life.

Below the Big Blue Sky is not a depressing read though. You will laugh through the tears and feel the warmth, compassion and love of the Hayes family radiate from the pages.

I’ve said it before but Irish writers just have a knack and a way with words that makes them natural storytellers. Anna McPartlin’s writing flows seamlessly and appears effortless. Although this is a longer book – my copy was just over 480 pages – it didn’t feel long at all. I was absorbed from page 1 and raced through it.

In Below the Big Blue Sky, Anna McPartlin explores loss, grief, heartbreak, and family. Through the Hayes family, she shows how we all experience and deal with grief in different ways. Having experienced it personally, there is no singular way of dealing with it. Most importantly, Anna McPartlin shows that if you have the love of your family, you can get through the toughest of times and rise above it all.

Below the Big Blue Sky is another outstanding read from Anna McPartlin. It is just as brilliant as The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes and it was everything I had hoped it would be: big-hearted, amusing, compassionate, emotional, and truly Irish. Thank you, Anna McPartlin 🙂

I have to disclose that I had not read The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes and I was apprehensive that I may not get the story and it’s characters. I need not have worried everything is so beautifully written that I fell into the Hayes family immediately. It is also probably one of the most emotional starts to a book I have read in a long time.

The family are gathered at Rabbits side as she leaves her family and friends forever. Their grief is palpable and when Davey has to tell Rabbit’s daughter Juliet that her Mum had gone my heart was broken.

The story takes us through the days after Rabbit’s death, the funeral and into the future that none of them can imagine without Rabbit.The characters are a triumph, Molly Rabbit’s mother who is the matriarch of the family is hilarious, honest and fiercely protective of her family.

Grace Rabbit’s sister who finds out she also has the breast cancer gene on the same day as she loses her sister is the cruellest blow to her. Davey who is now a guardian to Juliet and feels all at odds with it even though he knows it is the best thing to do.

Dear Juliet, who breaks my heart as a Mum thinking about her without hers, but how she is surrounded by love from the rest of the family.

I loved this book and I think one of the things that stood out for me was the overwhelming feeling of love all the characters have for Rabbit and that is why I am going to have to read the first book to find out even more about the Hayes family.

It is a very sad but it is also funny and honest and realistic story but there is a massive feeling that they will be ok somehow, even though a massive part of them has gone.

A truly wonderful experience which I will be recommending far and wide.

When I think of the author Anna McPartlin, I think of her astounding book The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes and I think many other readers do too. It’s a book that holds a special place in so many readers hearts for the impact it makes whilst you were reading it and for the impact that still remains even though it’s been such a long time since I have read it. Now many years later Anna has chosen to write a follow up, Below the Big Blue Sky. I’ll be honest and say I was apprehensive about reading this book because I was worried that it couldn’t live up to the impossibly high expectations that I had for it given how good the previous book had been.

It’s such a tough and traumatising subject matter but it was dealt with in the most beautiful and sensitive way with a pitch perfect balance between heartbreak, grief and loss, humour and hope. Since reading Rabbit Hayes, I have dealt with my own personal loss and I wondered would the subject matter be too raw and too close to the bone for me? Was I ready to read this kind of my book given my new perspective? Would it all be to much for me or would it in fact help me and prove to be another outstanding read from the author?

I needn’t have worried in the slightest as all my apprehensions about starting the book immediately dissipated within the first chapter or two. Once again Anna McPartlin gently takes the reader by the hand and leads them on a journey following the Hayes family and some extended friends as they cope with the loss of their remarkable daughter, sister and mother. There is a huge void left in their lives which affects each and every one of them in a different way but it’s how the author handles the topic in just the same caring and considerate manner as she did with the previous book that makes Below the Big Blue Sky one of the best books that I have read this year.

I’m sure it will feature in endless books of the year round ups come December and deservedly so. The same mixture of humour and heartbreak awaits you between the pages but again it’s all done in just the most perfect way. One minute you could have tears rolling down your face and then within a turn of the page you’re laughing out loud at the antics, comments and sayings that this Irish family get up to. You really do feel like the Hayes family are true friends and that you are there with them every step of the way as they try to come to terms with such trauma.

You may think god I could never read a book that deals with the themes of death, loss and grief because it would be very hard going but it’s not like that in the slightest. It’s not in the least bit doom and gloom and you never feel as if you are wading through the pages. That’s testament to the brilliant writing and the sensitive nature in the way the subject matter is dealt with by the author. It’s like she knows what level the reader can take and she never goes overboard. Instead this book is filled with honesty and intensity and everyone’s emotions are laid bare for the reader to see. Yes it’s heartbreaking and I did read the first part with a huge lump in my throat but at the same time it is hopeful that things will turn out all right at some stage in the future. Well as best they can be given the circumstances. That the one we loved and lost is out there looking down on us and will guide us through the tough times we will all experience at some stage in our lives.

The book is split into nine parts in total each with a different heading but it all felt so well connected and never disjointed separating it out in this way. There are lots of characters to get to know or refamilairise yourself with but I didn’t become confused working out who was who and what their story was. The only characters I would say I felt were kind of surplus to requirements were the former bandmates and friends of Rabbit’s brother Davey. I didn’t think they added anything really significant to the story and they could perhaps have been omitted but apart from that each character was carefully crafted and I identified, empathised and connected with each and every one of them.

None more so than Rabbit’s parents Molly and Jack. The way they react to the loss of their daughter after she endured such pain for several years is varied and I could see elements of myself in both of them. The agony of loss, the searing pain that comes in waves and threatens to overwhelm you so much that you think how can I go on? Well it’s all laid bare on the pages and I am so glad Anna was so honest in the way she wrote every character, and nothing was spared. She never shied away from difficult subjects or taboo feelings. Really you couldn’t with this kind of book.

A warm, vibrant, close and loving family have been left with a gaping hole and the anger, fear, pain and confusion in their world which has been completely turned upside down is clear for the reader to see. The unfairness of it all eats away at many of the characters but at the same time Rabbit has left a lasting impression and a legacy in the form of her daughter Juliet who Davey agreed to take on and everyone carries a little piece of Rabbit inside them, her resilience, wisdom and kind heart. As you delve deeper and deeper into the story, you realise this is like a guide for life in how to cope and that it is so important for those left behind to talk and communicate and rebuild and strengthen relationships. So many important life lessons and little snippets of advice are to be found in this fantastic read and you soon come to root deeply for each character that features and you admire the way they attempt to pick themselves up and try and put the pieces of their lives back together one little step at a time. None more so than Rabbit’s sister Grace.

Grace is married to Lenny and they have four sons. She has secretly been tested for the cancer gene that Rabbit carried and she has now learnt that she too is a carrier. She faces some difficult decisions and struggles with what to do. I felt every bit of her indecision and the sheer panic and fear that reverberates throughout her. At the same time she is trying to maintain a brave face for the sake of all her family and to also try and prevent her parents from losing it completely. No one can replace Rabbit and even though she is gone her personality and memory echoes from every page and Grace would never try to replace her but she does a remarkable job of following her instincts and staying true to herself when others perhaps feel she is making a mistake. I thought the development and exploration of her relationship with Lenny given the changes and decisions they must look to make was just brilliant and again there was never this sense of glossing over facts or emotions. No matter how the reader was going to feel reading this it just had to be done for to skim through events and emotions would have made the book such a let down.

Davey, Rabbit’s brother, is grappling with the loss of someone he loved so much but at the same time it's made him really grow up and face responsibilities. He doesn’t want to let Rabbit down and wants to do his best by Juliet, but what does he know about raising a teenage girl? Is taking her away on the road with him touring America the right thing to do? Davey seemed lost and at sea and it was like he thought sure things will always turn out all right in the end. I think Rabbit was very wise and knew exactly what she was doing when she entrusted Juliet to him and perhaps despite this horrific loss it would be the makings of him in more ways than one. As for Juliet her grief ran deep and she is bewildered at everything that has befallen her. Her mother gone just as she is entering some of the most important and life changing years of her life and then to be taken from safe and familiar surroundings. I didn’t like what happened to her., it was very upsetting but the revelation/resolution of this was just so apt and brought a tear to my eye.

Marjorie, Rabbit’s best friend, whose marriage has broken was someone who I perhaps thought would feature on the edges of the story but no she got her chance to shine and I thought her own personal story mixed in very well with how the family were coping and trying to move on. Her story took a surprising but welcome turn. But for me it’s Rabbit’s parents Molly and Jack who I just wanted to read more and more about. Married for so long and so close but the loss of Rabbit threatens to tear them apart. A fissure opens between them that grows wider and wider. Jack retreats to the attic and all forms of communication cease as he becomes lost in old diaries. His pain and agony become very difficult to talk about.My heart literally ached for him.

Molly was always so staunch and supportive of everyone and she was written as the typically Irish mammy who had me laughing quite regularly as did many of the characters in particular Grace’s sons. But Molly completely changes and is done with God when Rabbit dies. She transforms and becomes this angry person out to fight and protest for rights and water charges. Her family can’t understand how she can have done a complete 360 but death and loss does strange things to different people. The moment her child died marked Molly and it’s only as her full revelations are disclosed to the reader near the end that we can truly understand why she went off the rails so to speak. But my god I loved Molly and even though both her marriage and life were imploding and something was eating at her soul. I knew deep down there was the old Molly waiting to be freed to show just how remarkable and stalwart she truly was.

Below the Big Blue Sky can be read as a stand alone and Anna McPartlin has stated this too but really do yourself a favour and read the amazing Rabbit Hayes before you start this book. In fact read one directly after the other. You’ll be put through the emotional ringer in more ways than one between both laughter and tears but you will be oh so glad you read these impressive, compelling, fabulous book that deserves to be consumed in one go. It’s infused with warmth, humour and human understanding which contrasts with the trauma and heartache. The wait may have been long for this follow up but it was more than worth it. It was a balm to the soul and it made me look at my own loss in a new way. I am so glad we got to read more of the Hayes’ story and such justice was done to it. I feel in a way the reader has gotten closure now that this story has been told. I really can’t recommend this enough, make sure you read it as soon as possible.

I absolutely loved the prequel to this book and count it as one of my favourite books of all times. I was therefore very excited to read Below The Big Blue Sky and to spend some more time with the Hayes family.

This book follows on straight from the previous book with a highly emotional scene which helped emerse me straight back into the story. I have always loved spending time with the Hayes family and it was like being back with old friends again. Their big, crazy family made me feel like I was part of their world and helped provide some much needed comic relief at times.

The author handles a difficult and sensitive subject beautifully throughout this book. I liked how they were the impact grief can have was explored and how the reader could gain an understanding of what it could do to a person. I could fully emphasise with the characters who lost their faith due to it as I lost mine when my son died.

Overall I absolutely loved this book which manages to be heartbreaking and funny at the same time. I found myself crying one moment and then laughing the next. I can’t wait to read more from this author!

Huge thanks to Tracy Fenton for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Zaffre for my copy of this book via Netgalley.

I was worried that this wasn't a standalone but the beautiful writing quickly dragged me in and made me want to go back to the start and read the first book.

When I received an email last October from Tracy Fenton (Compulsive Readers) asking who’d be interested in participating in a blog tour for this in April this year, my immediate response to her was “OMG!! Are you bloody kidding me?!?!?!” This is the sequel to The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes, which anyone who knows me well enough can tell you, is one of my all-time favourite books! Well … the tour was supposed to happen in April when the book was meant to be out, and I don’t need to tell you … it all went to shite (as most members of the Hayes family would say)! So, here we finally are at the end of July and we’re doing this!! Yay!!

Get the tissues ready folks because you’re going to need them! The book opens in that hospice room where Rabbit departs this world and leaves her family (and best friend Marjorie, who’s practically a part of the family) a broken mess. Below the Big Blue Sky follows the next couple of years in their lives and we see how they pick up the pieces and carry on. Rabbit Hayes may be gone, but she lives on every single page of this book!

Her mother Molly suddenly turns her back on God and the Church, leaving her friend and confidante Father Frank feeling bereft and abandoned. But Molly is adrift and no compass can help her find the right direction … and she carries the repeated mantra of ‘Sorry’ with her, in her head, wherever she goes and whatever she does. Her father Jack finds solace in his attic, reading old diaries and feeling sad that his wife is not the person she used to be and seems so lost to them all. Her sister Grace has her own problems to sort out, together with a houseful of sons to keep up with, one of which seems intent on criminal activity. But Grace’s lovely husband Lenny does his best to keep them all together and on the straight and narrow. Her best friend Marjorie who knows she’s always been part of the Hayes clan isn’t so sure where she fits any more. Overcome by overwhelming sadness, with Rabbit gone, Molly off on her own mission, her own mother as cold and unwelcoming as ever and an unfulfilling job, she really doesn’t know what her purpose in life is right now. (Who loves you Marjorie …?)

And then there’s her brother Davey who agreed to be the guardian to Rabbit’s young daughter Juliet. He has no clue as to why Rabbit decided it should be him, and to be honest, nobody else does either, and they don’t mind telling him that! But if that’s what Rabbit wanted, then he’s determined that’s what he’s going to do. And Juliet herself is just as determined. As unsure and scared as she is to leave her family, everything and everyone familiar in Ireland, and jet off with Davey to his life in America … if that’s what her mom wanted, then that’s what she’s doing!

And throughout the trauma of it all, Rabbit’s voice carries on, inside of their heads; conversations that give them confidence, upliftment, peace, truth, and laughs … a lot of laughs that will have you smiling and literally laughing out loud!

If there’s one message that Below the Big Blue Sky conveys, it’s that everyone reacts to death, mourning, and grief in their own way and that there are no hard and fast rules as to how this can and should be done. The story is told from the point of view of each family member (and Marjorie, of course), and it was just so lovely to be back in warm (admittedly chaotic, more than slightly nuts) embrace of the Hayes family. Thank you, thank you, Anna McPartlin for continuing Rabbit’s story, for keeping her love story with Johnny going, and for reminding us that you don’t have to be the same and think the same to be hopelessly, romantically and completely head-over-heals besotted with someone … to the grave and beyond!!

This can be read as a stand-alone. There’s enough background supplied that you know who’s who and where everyone fits. But I really recommend that you read The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes first … not just because it’s an epically fabulous read … but because it will give you even more depth and inside to what makes the Hayes family and their surrounding clan tick. You most certainly won’t regret it.

Admittedly, I did find this second book sadder and a bit darker than the first. But there’s still that incredibly fine balance between the happy and the sad; between the tears of laughter I cried while I was laughing out loud at some of the antics and banter, and the tears that I found silently (and copiously) rolling down my cheeks at the almost-too-painful moments that are endured by a family experiencing the most unimaginable heartache.

This is a 5-star read that I absolutely loved! Thank you to Compulsive Readers and Bonnier for inviting me and allowing me the chance to read this more or less before most of the world. Anna McPartlin … I hope we won’t have to wait so long for part 3!

I absolutely loved Anna McPartlin’s The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes so I was beyond excited to be invited onto the blog tour for its sequel, Below the Big Blue Sky. And wow, it did not disappoint! Starting this book gave me such a comforting feeling, like revisiting old friends. It follows the Hayes family as they deal with the aftermath of the tragic and untimely death of their daughter, sister, mother, and best friend.

This is a clan you really want to be part of. Full of the most wonderful, larger-than-life characters, they love wholeheartedly, argue fiercely, and welcome others into their fold with open arms. Rabbit’s death rips their worlds apart and this time round we are with them as they try to learn to live without her and to piece their lives back together.

Matriarch Molly Hayes, Rabbit’s mother, is the standout character for me and in this book we see how Rabbit’s death impacts both her religious faith and her faith in her marriage. The narrative alternates between her perspective and that of Grace (her daughter), Davey (her son), Jack (her husband), Juliet (her granddaughter) and Marjorie (Rabbit’s best friend).

This is a book that makes you feel every possible emotion. It’s obviously incredibly sad and, in parts gets even sadder than I imagined it could get. And yet I lost count of how many times I laughed out loud, with some completely hilarious moments and one-liners cutting through the tension. Anna McPartlin’s whip-smart writing is wonderful, and I now need to read everything she’s ever written!

Though Below the Big Blue Sky follows on from The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes, it has been written so it can also stand alone and you can easily still read and follow it if you haven’t read the first book. But, trust me on this, you’re definitely going to want to read both because they form part of the same beautiful, moving, hilarious and unforgettable story. They reflect the messy reality of life’s ups and downs, loves and losses, life and death and I wholeheartedly recommend them both.

I read Below the Big Blue Sky by Anna McPartlin in staves with other Pigeonholers as part of a group.

Although I hadn't read the prequel to this, named The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes, I jumped in to read Below the Big Blue Sky anyway after checking out its fabulous premise. It worked out brilliantly for me, but admittedly, I would recommend reading The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes first.

This fabulous, bittersweet literary tale has some truly wonderful characters. I loved Anna McPartlin's writing style, the complexity of the story and the many surprises along the way. Set over a two-year period mostly in Ireland, I liked the zany, straight-talking, forthright Molly very much, and Juliet and Grace were also stupendously portrayed, the former for her resilience and level-headedness, and the latter for her bravery and stoicism. All of the characters were distinct and well-developed and I was enraptured by the compelling, poignant and heartfelt storyline with its dashes of humour and comedy. There were several plot threads to retain my interest and I appreciated the eloquent and uplifting finale. Below the Big Blue Sky was a blissful read and I felt lost as I headed towards the end of my time with the Hayes clan.

A special thank you to Bonnier Books UK/ Zaffre, Anna McPartlin, NetGalley and Pigeonhole for a complimentary copy of this novel at my request. This review is my unbiased opinion.

I do not know how any review can possibly do this book justice.
Very definitely a stand out book for 2020 for me and an author who quite frankly is a GENIUS!
I read The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes a long time ago and loved Anna McPartlin's beautiful story about a very unusual girl with a very vibrant family and a real zest for life, which she is sadly denied through terminal illness.
Below the Big Blue Sky is a follow up that is even better. Yes, it is heart-breaking, yes it will make you cry and yes there are parts that are unbearably cruel. The opening certainly sets the scene for the emotional roller-coaster ride this book takes you on, as we meet Rabbit and her family in the hospice, just moments before Rabbit dies.
What then follows is a truly remarkable, poetic, compassionate and HILARIOUSLY funny tale of the Hayes family, each one trying to come to terms with their bereavement.
This Irish Catholic family have a different way of doing things. Molly, the matriarch has a bag of oranges as her weapon of choice for keeping unruly family members in line and Jack, her husband, goes out to lunch when things get tough. Not literally, but he takes himself off and cannot be disturbed. Ryan is outspoken in the most inappropriate of ways but also has a heart of gold which would make any mother proud. Grace is tortured by some results she has received and the decisions she needs to make and Juliet, Rabbit's daughter is living on the road with uncle Davey in the USA.
Every single member of the family is vibrant, feisty, unpredictable and mad! I fell in love all over again with these larger than life characters, wanting desperately to live next door to, or live with them. They struggle, things are not easy, there are rifts and arguments and all sorts of comic moments of disaster but overshadowing all that is LOVE, pure and simple, a joy for and of life, beautiful memories and sayings that make you laugh out loud as well as tug hard on the heart strings. There is romance and endings and beginnings and everything associated with coming to terms with the death of a loved one.
The book is quirky, original, superbly written and I felt extremely sad getting to the end of the book as it was then time to say goodbye to characters that had become my fictional friends.
The ending is out-of-this-world tender and touching and I have nothing but praise for the skills of the author in creating a comic, but also very insightful and realistic, portrayal of human needs, emotions and responses.
Never have I laughed so much at a book.
And if I can't live with the Hayes family I want just a millionth of Anna McPartlin's warmth, wit and sensitivity.
Who loves ya Hayes Family? Fay does!

A story full of love, loss, and finding happiness again. I loved everything about this book!
The Hayes family are all coming to terms with the tragic loss of Rabbit, each of them feeling the weight of the loss in different ways.
Molly Hayes is the head of this busy family, and is certainly a force to be reckoned with!
All of the characters are endearing in their own ways, but the thing I loved most about the characterisation throughout this book was the deep sense of family love and pride. No matter what happened, they always pulled together in the end.

A poignant, heartwarming read. I would highly recommend to everyone!

Below the Big Blue Sky is a circle of life book, that starts with a family death and ends with a new life.
It's a sequel to The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes written in 2014. I haven't read this, so the characters and story was all new to me.
All of the trauma and emotions around losing a child are handled very well in a portrait of an Irish family that has enough crude and funny humour and language to offset the melodrama.
Lots of other issues are woven amongst the family members - cancer, surgery, abusive relationships, pregnancy - and this mood boosting book copes with all that is thrown at them by sharing and helping one another.
The dialogue is cracking and there are some great Irish words of wisdom dispensed throughout!

A bittersweet tale with relatable characters and an uplifting resolution.

How I loved this book. I was immediately swept into the heart of the Irish Hayes family, all in mourning following the death of the youngest daughter, Rabbit, from cancer. At its helm is the outrageously feisty, fierce, unflinchingly honest and hilarious Molly. In her wake are her husband, Jack, and her two children, Grace and Dave. Jack is battling to come to terms both with his daughter’s death and the changes in his wife (“ a slightly different version of herself; a little less hopeful, a little more fierce.”).
Molly is an absolute scream. Her actions land her in more hot water than usual at one stage and she finds herself in a court of law, where “the judge had all the power and she had none; this was a dynamic that did not suit her.” Molly’s fierceness comes from a place of pain and guilt and suffering, and I couldn’t help but love and admire her.
I hadn’t read the Last Days of Rabbit Hayes, although I vividly remember all he praise when it was published, but this didn’t detract at all from my total enjoyment of this, the sequel. It begins on Rabbit’s deathbed, where the entire family is gathered to say goodbye. Despite being incredibly sad – I wept buckets – this book is also joyful and sidesplittingly funny and utterly authentic.
There is never a false note. Anna McPartlin doesn’t do sentimentality. She simply creates a totally compelling story about a family that is facing the absolute worst that could possibly ever happen. Each member of the family handles it differently, and this is their story. It’s about: Rabbit’s daughter, suddenly orphaned and uprooted to go and live with her travelling musician uncle, Dave, in America; Rabbit’s sister, Grace, who faces her own immortality; and Rabbit’s large extended family and friends with all their ups and downs. It’s also about faith, and whether one can continue to have faith in the face of life’s unfairness.
I cannot recommend this highly enough – 10 out of 5 stars.

Having absolutely adored ‘The last days of Rabbit Hayes‘, I jumped at the chance to read this sequel and I was not disappointed. It is both funny and tender, heartbreaking yet uplifting. Characters that have stayed with me since the previous book, I instantly recognised and fell in love with them all over again. The humour within these pages had me laughing out loud so many times but then just a few pages along and I’d be reaching for the tissues and crying. It is a book about family, grief and relationships but above all this, it’s a story of love. Highly recommended.

As is probably the case for many fans of The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes, this sequel has been a long time coming. I couldn’t wait to be reunited with the Hayes family and discover how life was treating these larger than life characters in the aftermath of Rabbit’s death.

I knew there would be so much emotion packed into the pages of this book and from the very beginning I practically inhaled every single word. Jack,Molly, Grace, Davey and Juliet (bunny) alongside Rabbit’s best friend Marjorie are literally falling apart at the seams. The theme of grief, the way it impacts on every individual differently and how to cope with death is explored through their eyes. The author has captured the uniqueness of grief with such tenderness that I wondered how I was going to read this without falling to pieces, especially as we are reminded in the opening pages of Rabbit’s last moments with her family gathered around her hospice beside . Beautifully and sensitively written, these initial passages are incredibly moving but this is by no means a depressing read. With dialogue that is overflowing with (often mental!) Irish humour the storyline is elevated beyond that of Rabbit’s death and transforms into one that is a celebration of life and family.

You couldn’t find a more welcoming, loving, loyal and utterly bonkers family than the Hayes, making me believe if you were part of their inner circle, enveloped in their love then you would consider yourself to be very lucky indeed.

Told from every family members POV there’s no denying the huge impact Rabbit’s death has not just on her immediate family but the wider community. She’s left a gaping hole that is impossible to fill which is apparent in the ways in which everyone copes with this tragedy. I either had a huge grin on my face laughing out loud at all the antics or else I was welling up so be warned, you may need tissues at the ready! To carry on living whilst a loved one no longer no exists is a pain like no other so with Jack hiding in the attic,Molly losing her religion, Davey bewildered by responsibilities that come with guardianship of Juliet, Grace facing her own health problems and Marjorie who is simply left adrift questioning her place within the Hayes family, it’s a rollercoaster of a ride as time moves on.

It really is a case of BR and AR (before and after Rabbit) and I relished the opportunity to rekindle memories of Johnny Faye, Rabbit’s true love, and all the band members of The Kitchen Sink and The Sound. Johnny’s presence is felt as the Hayes come to terms with their loss, everyone dredging up fond memories of this pair whose lives were destined to be cruelly cut short. Every single character merits a place in the storyline with no one person surplus to requirements and I loved the very bones of them. The likes of Kyle and Grace and Lenny’s four boys had me in stitches but it is the figurehead of the family, Molly, who perhaps provides us with the most outstanding entertainment of all. She has the foulest tongue but the biggest heart and cannot understand why everyone else is still able to converse with Rabbit except her. Her loss and grief compel her to become a lesser version of herself but as her madcap antics prove, that inner strength and spirit cannot be diminished.

The very soul of Rabbit’s character is alive and kicking in every word the author writes. Her legacy lives on in these pages and I felt like an honorary member of the Hayes clan whilst reading this sequel. She doesn’t feel like a fictional person to me but rather like a close friend such is the depth of emotion reading this story invoked. I absolutely loved her voice that still punctuates everyone’s thoughts and feelings, that mixture of feistiness, bravery and straight talking that is the essence of Rabbit.

Fans of the Hayes family have been waiting patiently for this next instalment in their lives and it’s been well worth the wait. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to Anna McPartlin for carrying on Rabbit’s story beyond the grave. With hijinks galore, priceless banter and a story that is suffused with love, the author has found the winning combination yet again with Below the Big Blue Sky. This is a sequel not to be missed. It’s a pure joy to read and I felt bereft as I came to the end of my time with the Hayes family.
My thanks as always to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read. Deserves 5 stars without hesitation and is firmly placed in my top ten favourite reads of this year.

There are many different things you can get out of this follow up to The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes but for me this was about the way that grief is experienced in different ways.

I could relate to this – 2 years ago when my father passed away a good friend did what most people do when facing with a friend’s grief. She brought me (unwanted) food and wanted me to cry on her shoulder. And she was adamant that I HAD to cry! That’s her way of dealing with grief.

I felt uncomfortable with this pressure to “perform” but after the 5th time she said “You are so brave for not crying” I forced/faked a few tears out just go get her off my back. I directed my anger at the situation onto her even though her intentions were 100% pure. Grief is a personal and tricky thing and I really appreciated that the book focused on the myriad of ways that grief can manifest.

After Rabbit succumbs to her cancer each family member deals with her loss in their own unique dysfunctional way.

The matriarch of the family stops believing in God and goes on a spree of charity and protesting the new water meters in her neighbourhood. The daughter, who tested positive for the same gene that gave her sister cancer, decides to cut out her perfectly healthy female parts as a preventative measure.

Rabbit’s daughter, Juliet, goes to live with her uncle Davey and he has absolutely no idea how to take care of a child, and a blossoming teenager to boot. And Rabbit’s best friend feels like she did not only loose her best friend but also a family.

And Rabbit’s father? He tries to honour his daughter’s last wishes but that will lead to the fight of all fights and potentially break up his marriage forever.

There was also a lot of laughter with the depiction of a sprawling Irish family and their antics, which in a book like this, was very needed.

I laughed, I cried (unforced) and I thought about the people in my life that matter most to me.

An easy recommendation

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bonnier Books UK for this book. This is the sequel to The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes and literally picks up from where that book ends. I strongly recommend reading that one first as it sets the scene for what follows. The book is brilliant - simultaneously hilarious and very moving. It beautifully captures every aspect of humanity in all its flawed wonder. The characters are just fabulous. Utterly wonderful.