'Below the Big Blue Sky' is the followup to the sucessful 'Last Day of Rabbit Hayes'. However, as I quickly discovered, it is not at all necessary to have read the preceeding novel in order to read and enjoy, 'BtBBS'. The story tells of the Hayes family and their friends as they struggle to come to terms with the death of Rabbit (Mia) from cancer and how to continue with the gaping hole left in their lives:
• Molly, the staunch matriarch of the clan, is slowly going off the walls
• Jack, goes 'off to lunch' (a euphemism for hiding in the attic) and reads his old diaries about his daughter
• Grace, the eldest, wife and a mum of 4 boys is struggling with the loss of her beloved sister and also the realisation that she has the BRCA2 gene
• Davey, the irresponsible brother, is now the guardian of, Juliet, (Rabbit's 12 year old daughter)
• Marj, the best friend is at a loss at how to cope but is supporting the family as best she can - while falling apart
Despite their pain, the family clearly love each other dearly and are absolutely bonkers – but in the best way of course! Sad, funny, poignant, this is a big-hearted novel that deserves your attention.
I received an ARC from Zaffre via Netgalley in return for an honest review.

“From the bestselling author of The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes comes a huge-hearted novel about death, family and finding laughter in the most bloody mental places”
Rabbit has now died and her family are coming to terms with her passing and how they will cope with the huge hole that she has left in their lives. Davey, Rabbit's brother, was elected by her to look after Juliet, her daughter. No longer Bunny but Juliet. Rabbit's sister Grace discovered as Rabbit died that she too had “the gene”. She now has to decide what her next and best course of action would be.
This is a beautifully written book about a sensitive subject. It does need to be read after the first one “The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes”. (which is a 5* read) There is laughter and memories, tears and smiles and that feeling that Rabbit hasn’t left them but is still in their hearts. I had to smile at the Irish menu (I have an Irish family by marriage) and that here in England we wouldn't be having a funeral 3 days after the event, more like 3 weeks.Molly is a real character and I liked her bravery over the water meter. The Irish really don’t hang about. A truly wonderful touching read, like the first book, its one to remember and savour.
(rest of links as part of blog tour)

How wonderful I found it to be back in the Hayes lives, it’s like meeting up with old friends again. This story follows on from the wonderful novel The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes and we are treated to the thoughts and lives of Rabbit’s family members and her friends after her death. The novel tells of how each of them are coping and moving on with their life without the person who was always central to them. The topic of this book suggests that it will be a sad, depressing read but that is not the case, yes there are some heart wrenching moments, but even these are lifted with funny words often spoken by Molly, the matriarch of the Hayes family.

Below The Big Blue Sky is about moving on and building relationships that have somehow broken in the struggle after losing someone who was so prominent in their lives.

An inspiring read that I was so absorbed and mesmerised by from page one.

My thanks to Net Galley for the digital ARC. These are my own thoughts of this wonderful book

The Hayes family are mourning the loss of Rabbit, daughter, sister, aunt, friend, and mother of Juliet. This follows the characters through their period of mourning, and shows that however difficult, life must still go on. Grace, Rabbits sister, discovers she carries the same gene as Rabbit, and makes a decision that causes further heartache. Juliet has been bequeathed to her uncle Davey, who takes her back to America with him. Matriarch Molly has her own secret, and has lost her faith in God. All of the characters have their own problems coming to terms with the Rabbits death. This is the story of how they all come out the other end.

This book is beautifully written and tackles a subject that we should all talk to our loved ones about but rarely do. I laughed and cried in equal parts through this book, which I read in one (late and long) sitting. I hadn’t realised this was a sequel, but I shall certainly get the first book. However that doesn’t diminish how much I loved this book, despite not knowing the background. I would whole heartedly recommend it.

Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in return for an honest opinion.

Loved it. Absolutely fantastic piece of writing as good as if not better than the first book about Rabbit Hayes. Can't recommend it highly enough. Thank you Netgalley.

Poignant, heartfelt, funny and slightly mad. Welcome back to The Hayes family, whose love for youngest daughter, Rabbit continues to shine through even though she is no longer with them.

I loved the Last Days of Rabbit Hayes, so I put off reading this for a while as I didn’t want to be disappointed. What a silly thing to do, this book is every bit as humorous and full of quirky family traits now that Rabbit has died and the story telling is masterful.

Following Rabbits death we share the highs and lows with each family member, with each chapter giving life to a different voice. Molly, Rabbits ma who is beside herself, has lost her faith and uses the f word, a lot! Juliet (Bunny), Rabbits daughter who is struggling without her ma and is unsure of her place in the world. Davey and Marjorie who can only hope to recreate the true live Rabbit had with Johnny. Grace, who has difficult decisions to face after the death of her sister. And of course, Da who loses himself in the past but just in time manages to secure a future voice for Rabbit and reclaim his Molly.

I enjoyed this book so much that I feel a little bit lost without them, don’t put off reading it like me - read and enjoy!

Below the Big Blue Sky is a continuations of the Last Days of Rabbit Hayes. Heartbreaking and uplifting in equal measure. There may have been a bit of ugly crying on the train. The family are coming to terms with the death of Rabbit.everyone deals with grief in a different way.

Poignant, heartfelt, funny and slightly mad. Welcome back to The Hayes family, whose love for youngest daughter, Rabbit continues to shine through even though she is no longer with them.

I loved the Last Days of Rabbit Hayes, so I put off reading this for a while as I didn’t want to be disappointed. What a silly thing to do, this book is every bit as humorous and full of quirky family traits now that Rabbit has died and the story telling is masterful.

Following Rabbits death we share the highs and lows with each family member, with each chapter giving life to a different voice. Molly, Rabbits ma who is beside herself, has lost her faith and uses the f word, a lot! Juliet (Bunny), Rabbits daughter who is struggling without her ma and is unsure of her place in the world. Davey and Marjorie who can only hope to recreate the true live Rabbit had with Johnny. Grace, who has difficult decisions to face after the death of her sister. And of course, Da who loses himself in the past but just in time manages to secure a future voice for Rabbit and reclaim his Molly.

I enjoyed this book so much that I feel a little bit lost without them, don’t put off reading it like me - read and enjoy!

A sincere thank you to the publisher, author and Netgalley for providing me an ebook copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. I enjoyed this story very much and felt like I knew each character personally due to the description of them. I enjoyed the storyline. This is not my usual genre but in this instance I am extremely pleased and grateful for opening up my mind to something totally different. Thanks again.

Below the Big Blue Sky is the continuation of the last days of Rabbit Hayes which I loved so I was interested what happened next. This is another moving and emotional story about the Hayes family who are struggling to comes to terms with Rabbit’s death and each member grieves in their own way. Her mother Molly is doubting her faith doesn’t want to talk with her Husband jack. While jack goes into the attic and reads the old diaries of Rabbit’s life. Whereas Sister Grace has the same gene as her sister Rabbit’s and what she does to not end up like Rabbit. Also, Davey, coming to terms with Rabbit’ s death but also looking after her 12-year-old daughter Juliet and bringing her on tour around America. Taking her away from her family in Ireland.
This is another beautiful written story which is just as good as the previous book, which I also loved. They where sad moments in this book with the family trying to come to terms with everything. But also, funny moments, especially with Rabbit’s mother Molly. I highly recommend.

I read Anna McPartlin’s last novel The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes just last year and remember being profoundly moved by the story of Mia ‘Rabbit’ Hayes and her love for Johnny Faye. Johnny was the singer in her older brother’s band and Rabbit went from lurking around to catch sight of Johnny to becoming the band’s sound engineer. Sadly they didn’t have much time together as Johnny was diagnosed with MS in it’s most aggressive form and he died. They had a short but glorious time in love, but then Rabbit was diagnosed with cancer and also died young leaving behind her daughter Juliet. This sounds like a really heavy, issue led, novel but somehow the author managed to keep it light by bringing in the exploits of the band and the Hayes family. The Hayes family are a boisterous Irish clan who are as funny and fierce as they are loving and supportive. I really enjoyed the novel, so when I had the chance to read this sequel I couldn’t wait to get started.

This novel follows the aftermath of Rabbit’s death, from organising her funeral it covers a time period of two years. The entire Hayes family is in shock and everyone reacts in different ways. Her father Jack retreats to his attic and tries his best to get his daughter’s diaries published. Her mother, the formidable Molly Hayes, struggles with some of Rabbits final decisions. There’s the question of who Juliet will now live with, whether any of her other children have the ‘gene’ and firstly what on earth they will Rabbit wear for her funeral? All of which is told in well researched detail and with a hefty dose of black humour.

The author explores how people grieve differently. Some people shut themselves away and wallow in nostalgia. Others might put in a brave face to support others but feel like they are dying inside. Some get lost in distractions to avoid the pain. The author is very skilled at presenting family dynamics and how each person, although seemingly very different, fits into their place.. As a family the Hayes often argue, storm out and have to take time away to see things more clearly. It shows how grief is as individual as the relationship every character has had with Rabbit. Each character is trying to find a way to keep Rabbit close, relevant and present in their day to day lives. This could be through their faith, by talking to her still or by publishing a book so that every one of them can spend time with Rabbit between those pages.

Finally, the author shows that life truly does go on despite most of the characters not being ready for it yet. Grief can make us feel like our life is on pause, but around us things are changing and we can’t stay still forever. So we see Rabbit’s best friend Marjorie struggling to build a relationship with her mother, who hasn’t always been there for her. Now she needs help and Marjorie needs to decide whether she can do it and whether she will always be in love with Rabbit’s brother Davey. Juliet has to start a whole new life with her guardian and starts to feel the stirrings of first love. Grace, the eldest sister, has a huge secret she knows will further devastate the Hayes family and can’t bring herself to tell. Molly’s exploits, including protesting the introduction of water charging in Ireland, are loud, comical and unexpected. She is an absolute powerhouse, supporting and feeding everyone, taking on waifs and strays and constantly pulling the family together. Yet she seems dogged by guilt and struggles with her faith, wondering whether Rabbit was right and there really is nothing after death. These are big subjects but I found myself laughing more than feeling sad. I loved the black humour that’s common where people are facing dark times and the warmth of the Hayes family. I could imagine each family member vividly thanks to the author’s skill in creating these characters. Once the novel was finished I knew I would miss them all.

I loved this. I’d read The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes years ago and I re-read it before starting Below the Big Blue Sky so the characters would be fresh in my head.

Anna McPartlin writes beautifully and her characters are sublime. I loved them all and I’d quite like to be part of the Hayes family!

The story starts directly after Rabbit dies and takes us two years onwards. It’s a story of love, friendship and a grieving family struggling to come to terms with their loss. I think we are given the right amount of detail for each character and while I’d have liked a little more closure on the Trevor storyline, I could see why the author chose to leave it there.

I was intrigued by the mentions of symphysiotomy and had to look it up. I was shocked to read about this procedure and including it in a book such as this can only help the poor women who are still fighting for justice.

This is a great book and I’m certain it will do well. I will look for more of this talented authors works in the future. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my copy of this book.

Having read and loved The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes a few years back I was delighted to be approved for this sequel. I will admit to being slightly nervous about starting it, would I enjoy it as much ? Well there was nothing to fear, this book was just fabulous. There was sad moments and there was also laugh out loud moments. From the first page I was absorbed by this book and as I was getting nearer the end I just wanted to savour it and for it not to end. Without a doubt a massive 5⭐️ read for me.

The only thing that could have possibly made this book better was, if it had never ended. It feels so real, so raw, so emotional, so hilarious and beautiful that it's easy to forget its not true. I laughed, I cried, I laughed until I cried. I didn't want it to end

Brilliant follow on from The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes. Anna McPartlin writes brilliantly just wish there wasn't so much bad language!

Absolutely adored this , it follows straight on from the last days of rabbit Hayes and it’s like we’d never left, it flows seamlessly. This is an emotional read, I laughed, I cried and inhaled a box of tissues. The characters are still wonderful, well developed and there development still carries on here. This is just of a magic book as the first and if you haven’t read it, why not, go read it and then this. Highly recommended.

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

I laughed and I cried reading this. It was beautiful, I was captivated from the first paragraph, I adored the characters and how they played out, they were all so relatable. An honest and open portrayal of grief from an incredible talent. Thank you for giving me the pleasure of reading this book.

This was a fabulous follow on novel, I’d really enjoyed ‘The last days of Rabbit Hayes’ and this catch up with her friends and family both in the immediate aftermath of her death and the couple of years following was a mix of every emotion with a good chunk of humour thrown in. I think I would have liked a better timescale of events, there was quite a focus on the few days after her death and around the first anniversary but year 1 and 2 just told through key details. I personally found the detailed parts had more personality although both aspects were relevant. All in all though this is as much of a gem as the first book, definitely a worthy sequel.

I read 'The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes' a couple of years back and I loved every moment. It was heart warming and sad and full of life. This is no different. Picking up from the aftermath of Rabbit's death if follows the cast of wonderful characters as they face the world without her. Truly a wonderful follow up .

Thanks to Bonnier Books and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this amazing book. Not having read the first one I did not know what to expect from this follow on but what a ,lovely surprise I had.. I absolutely fell in love with the Hayes family, just a normal everyday family that you can laugh with and at and share their ups and downs. A Thoroughly recommended read.