This is a family drama that felt different to what I have read before, it’s not afraid of showing the flaws and negatives within a family whilst at the same time celebrating the quirks and ties. Cecily seemed like a good mum and the centre of her family and her daughters whilst all so different still remembered to take time for their siblings and had overall an enviable relationship. This didn’t explore anything too deeply yet still cover several issues within the family well, the fact that it was told in parts with months in between helped the story flow well. Overall I think this was an interesting take and very thought provoking.

I read this novel in one sitting. It was stunning! As the Brits say.. ‘‘twas brilliant! I am the adoptive mother of a daughter who never withheld that information. I intimately know firsthand everything the author describes in her wonderful and thoughtful story of a mother and child separated by societal prejudices and demands. I was waiting the entire book for it to deteriorate into a classic feel good story with a happily ever after ending. It did not and I almost cheered out loud. I have read some of the last conversations in the novel out loud to my husband and myself many times.... they are so revealing and true they make me weep. As the book progressed, the author described the lives of the main characters and it was done so vividly. All of the family members were depicted with honesty and discernment. This is a subject that has been written about endlessly, but The Last Piece does it better than any other. In addition, the title is so appropriAte it is almost like a mystery solved at the end of the book when you realize why she named it so appropriately.. Bravo! Loved it.

The Last Piece is the first book I have read by Imogen Clark.
It’s the story of Cecile. She has a husband, Norman and 3 grown up daughters, Lily, Felicity and Julia. Cecily’s daughters friend out that she has jumped on a plane and jetted off to Greece. Not only did they not know she was going (leaving them in the lurch for childcare and needing them to look after their Dad) they don’t know why she would take this trip.
Suffice to say, Cecile has a secret and the trip to Greece is to revisit her past and try to join the path to her present.
I have to be honest and say before I had finished the first couple of chapters I had figured out what the secret was but for me it didn’t detract me from the rest of the book, nor did it end the way I thought it would. I have been lucky enough to visit Greece a few times and the book describes the beauty of the island very well, taking us abroad in our minds - which is a good job as non of us are going anywhere in lockdown!
Overall this is a lovely summer read.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for gifting me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Cecily's gone to Greece and her husband Norman won't tell her daughters Felicity, Julia, and Lily why. It's not a spoiler to tell you that Cecily had child when she was 16- Marnie- and gave her up for adoption and Marnie's now contacted Cecily. This is the story of these five women, all of whom has an issue to deal with. Marnie, who should be sympathetic, really isn't. She's held a lot of anger toward Cecily over the years. The other three daughters are more well rounded as characters but they are, occasionally, annoying (as in real life!). There aren't any big surprises here but Clark's a good storytelling and the pages do zip about. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This would have made a good beach read but it was just fine as one read in an armchair in the AC.

This was such a unique read. I appreciated how easy it was to read and get through. You really do come to appreciate the message.

Loved it!! Imogen Clark is one of my favorite authors and I always get excited when she has a new book out. They never disappoint and I always end up loving the story. Julia, Lily and their father Norman ended up being my favorite characters. I loved reading about the family and getting to know each of them. Felicity was extremely judgmental, even though her life wasn't the perfect picture she tried to make it out to be. How can she tell Julia that children need to be raised by two parents? I wished I found out more about Marnie. I'm not sure I believe that her parents were as horrible as she portrayed them to be. She seems like a difficult person to live with and blames her struggles on other people. I never warmed to her and shows my least favorite character. I hated the way she treated the Nightingale family. She seemed like a very hard person to love. i hated her a little more when Cecily and Norman find all the pictures. I really think she had ulterior motives for contacting Cecily and wanted to hurt her. Cecily excused all of Marnie's actions, even though her other daughters felt hurt.

Definitely recommend the book. I loved the characters, story and writing style. I wouldn't mind reading more about the Nighingales. I would love to see what Julia, Lily and Felicity are up to and what is going on in their lives. Look forward to reading more books by the author. Loved the cover of the book.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Amazon Publishing UK through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The last piece by Imogen Clark ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Summary 📖 - Each family is built up of puzzle pieces, that eventually create the puzzle. Some pieces aren’t as spoken about as others, and this book is no exception.

This book follows Cecily, wife to Norman and mum of four daughters, one of which she gave up following her parents wishes when she was just 16. Cecily has heard nothing for fifty years, until one day she received a letter out of the blue inviting her to Greece for the week - so without warning, Cecily disappears to a Greek island retreat leaving her three daughters puzzled and her husband Norman in charge of not just the child care of their grand children but the understandable worry that comes from their mum leaving without an explanation. Cecily is looking to have the chance to explain herself and find a the final piece to add to her puzzle, but will it go as she hoped?

Review ⭐️ - Firstly, thank you to Net Gallery, for an advance copy of this book in exchange for my review.

This may of been my first Imogen Clark book, but I definitely don’t think it’ll be the last - I loved the character development throughout this book, especially Cecily and her daughters - if anything I’d love to know more about them and continue reading about their stories however I have to say I didn’t warm too Marnie at all - her life must of been tough don’t get me wrong, but she didn’t show much or any compassion to her mother who didn’t have any choice in the decision to give her up! This book gave such a real account that not all meetings go as planned.

Very early on, I knew where the book was going but nothing fully prepared me for the shock of their trip to London - though with that in mind, after the reaction from Marnie I wasn’t exactly surprised. This is definitely one of them books, that you can get lost in for the afternoon! 🏠

This was a good summer read. A little slow in parts but kept my interest.
Secrets, even secrets by omission, create lies and lies in a family are never a good thing . I wanted to reach through the pages and slap some of the characters sometimes!
I would recommend.

The Last Piece is the twonderfully written story of a family that has to deal with a secret that was kept for decades. Clark kept up the suspense until the very end, only letting us know enough to keep us wanting to know more about the family and she keeps surprising us with unexpected details and twists.
I highly enjoyed this page-turner!

With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Sisters Fliss, Julia and Lily are a little perplexed when their mother flys to Greece on an impromptu trip with the apparent blessing of their father. High flyer Fliss is put out, as who will now look after her son Hugo? GP Julia wonders if she should do a few things with her Dad and Lily with 5 children just rolls with life.
But will things be the same when their mother returns from Greece?
I really enjoyed this family drama, I’ve read a previous novel from this author and found she has a lovely way way of immersing me into the story.
I almost don’t want to go too much into the story or other characters, as I feel it would really spoil the story. We find out early on why Cecily goes to Greece but the sisters don’t find out till quite late in the story. I really enjoyed all their interactions with each other and I could certain relate to their thoughts at the end.
A pleasant way to spend a few hours.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy to read.

Thanks to netgalley and imogen Clarke for an early copy in return for an honest review.
I've read all books written by Imogen Clarke and have really enjoyed them all, this book is no exception. .
This is a far from straight forward story with many twists and turns. A real page turner.
The attention to detail in the descriptions of situations and places is commendable.
As I live in the area of the UK in which the story is set I very much appreciated the mention of places close to my heart!
I can highly recommend this wonderful book.

I really wanted to love this book but it was a huge let down. The premise had so much promise but there was no follow through. It is still worth a read but I wouldn’t purchase it; get it from your library.

The Last Piece by Imogen Clark was a good read that made you think about adoption in a different light and it really pushed me to see the story from both sides - the mother who gave her child up for adoption, as well as the child who always had questions and hurts from being placed for adoption. The characters were believable and endearing, and while some of the story felt a little "extra" to add to the length, it was still enjoyable to read.

The Last Piece is a really nice story,.
It was a bit of a surprise as it didn't go in the direction I thought it would but I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I thought Cecily was an strong character and I loved Norman's role as family protector! The family dynamics were authentic too and I liked all the sisters.

An enjoyable read.

I really struggled with the layout of this book. I didn't get into it and found that I couldn't connect with any characters or the storyline.

Cecily, who never does anything out of character has suddenly flew off to Greece for a week. Her three daughters are shocked and it's pretty clear that Cecily is concealing a big secret. I loved reading the different perspectives and appreciated the viewpoints of the three daughters, Felicity, the oldest, and Julia and Lily, the twins. I'm also one of three daughters and could really see similarities of the sister dynamic in the book from my own life. Without giving away any spoilers, I think the author does a great job depicting such a tough reality for young mothers back in the 60s. I wish I had more of the other sister's storyline towards the end. I feel like those kind of fell off. Overall, I enjoyed this family drama and read it very quickly.

A lovely family drama, different to Postcards, but none the worse for that. Cecily travels to Kefalonia to meet the daughter she gave up. Her other three daughters react very differently to the news that their mother has gone to Greece on a whim and also to the news that they have an unknown sister. However Cecily isn't the only one with secrets and each daughter has things they're not admitting to the rest of their family. Recommended, not for the overly dramatic expecting blood and gore, but for those who want a family drama with fantastic descriptions of scenery, family relations and emotional reactions.

This was a nice and easy read. I did crave a little more drama/excitement in the story, but overall it was an engaging family drama

My rating:

Plot: 4 out of 5 stars
Writing: 4 out of 5 stars
Character development: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Overall: 4 out of 5 stars

Recommended for readers of:

Women’s Fiction
General Fiction



Review:

An interesting story, that is both captivating and entertaining. The family bond between the main character was nice and hearth warming. The characters were depicted in enough detail so that their actions felt natural which made them appear realistic.

Overall this is a well written story, about a nice family, with realistic characters. That allows you to escape and forget about every day live for a while.

Review copy provided by NetGalley at no cost to me

#TheLastPiece #NetGalley

A well written heart warming family drama about a mother of 3 daughters who reveals in her sixties that she's in fact a mother of 4 daughters. After 50 years apart since she gave her for adoption, Marnie contacts Cecily inviting her to a yoga retreat in Greece. Not a spoiler actually since the reader could easily see where the story was building up to.
Most of the characters are likable, even Felicity with her neurotic high functional life style. I liked the sisters relationship who seemed to be a harmonious unit despite their differences.
Cecily and Marnie though I couldn't grasp a solid opinion regarding them, I don't know if Cecily is kidding herself about having no option but giving her baby to adoption yet in the same time I really wouldn't know, different circumstances, different time who knows if that wasn't really her only option. Then comes Marnie, the most character I struggled to like or accept then I keep reminding myself about her situation, shouldn't that give her card blanche for however she behaves. I don't really know since the story left us with more questions about what actually happened in her life to make her unsatisfied about her adoptive parents.
As a whole I liked the book and would recommend reading it.