The Family was a very mixed listen for me. I was drawn to it by the synopsis and the gorgeous cover. I love historical, family dramas and there was much to enjoy in this story of the friendship between two daughters of Mafia bosses. It’s set in New York over a 20 year period between 1928 and 1948 and I loved how the author brought a changing New York to life. I loved the relationship between Sofia and Antonia and how their loyalties are tested over the years.
I really enjoyed Marin Ireland’s narration and she brought the characters and story to life.
This was however a very slow paced novel and at points I felt that the writing was awkward and didn’t flow well. An interesting listen and I’d definitely read more from the author in the future.
Many thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

This was a great story. I knew from the start that I was going to like this book. It was well wrote and had a great sense of atmosphere that I thought the narrator did an excellent job at bringing it through on the audiobook. The narrator was a perfect fit for this story and I loved her tone and pitch. The story is like a mafia story where the wives doesn't know until suspicious thinks start happening. Her husband never see sense. I was at the edge of my seat throughout and I loved the unexpected twists to the story. I liked the development of the characters they were oth engaging and interesting but you never get to know them fully as that's the point to make you think. I enjoyed the run up to the ending as the secrets starred to ome out of the woodwork. When the 2 friends started to suspect all is not well. Then before I knew it was the end. For the 5th star I would of like to see a bit more in the ending to make it feel more complete. I definitely recommend this book if you like family sagas and mafia type families. 

So much praise goes out to the author and publishers for creating this very engaging page turner. I will definitely be looking out for more books by this great author. 

The above review has already been placed on goodreads, waterstones, Google books, Barnes&noble, kobo, amazon UK where found and my blog https://ladyreading365.wixsite.com/website/post/the-family-by-naomi-krupitsky-harpercollins-4-stars either under my name or ladyreading365

Antonia Russo and Sofia Colicchio are two girls of Italian heritage growing up together in Brooklyn. They are best friends and they share everything, and their families are close too. Their fathers work together for “the family”, but Antonia and Sofia are too young to know what that entails. When Antonia’s father disappears in thin air soon after having announced that he doesn’t want to work for the Family anymore, the girls start to understand that their father’s work is very peculiar, and not legal at all.

I really enjoyed this novel which follows the lives of the women from childhood to adulthood, always in the shade of the “family”, a criminal organisation based in Brooklyn that will soon involve their husbands too. I appreciated the prose and the style, and the way the characters were developed through the story. This is a family saga that spans through the twentieth century while telling a story of migration, desire to belong and friendship. I listened to the audiobook and I really enjoyed the narration too. Recommended!

•thanks to #netgalley and the publisher for the #ALC in exchange for an honest review•

1.5/5 stars

This book has possibly the worst writing I have ever read in a fiction book. The most basic writing advice every aspiring writer gets is to "show not tell". But this published book has nothing to show, only tell. The book is narrated in some omniscient third person voice which tells everything and shows nothing. "He felt guilty for...". "She missed her friend". "She felt sad...". Even the characters' emotions are told to you, along with unnecessary descriptions of furniture and food.

Speaking of characters, they have no personality whatsoever. The two main characters, Sofia and Antonia, are indistinguishable. They have no personality nor any physical descriptions so the reader can't even picture what they look like. The relationships between the characters too is told and not at all developed. Since the two protagonists are besties, of course they get pregnant at the same time and this is what rekindles their friendship. There are endless pages of this pregnancy plot and how being pregnant is the greatest joy in the world etc etc. I know being pregnant is very painful yet beautiful experience for some, but it felt like the book was trying to say being pregnant and giving birth is the best thing a woman can do!? Cause there's literally nothing else these girls do.

Though I am not Italian, I felt the book played on Italian mafia stereotype. There is mention of Italy's political scenario as the book takes place in 1930s-40s. But it is so scarce it comes across as ticking a box rather than a meaningful comment. Something that weirded me out was the main girls pitying over her status of being an immigrant in America. Okay I know being an immigrant is difficult for anyone, but you are a rich white Christian girl so maybe don't while so much!?

Utterly predictable and incredibly boring. Literally nothing happens in the plot. The only thing I remember is that these ladies get pregnant together and one of the girl's dad died when she was a kid. I am not exaggerating, literally nothing of significance happens in this 9 hours audiobook of which every second I agonised through.

I have no hesitation in saying this is the worst book I have read in a while.

A slow moving family mafia drama, the story held me in places but overall was very slow and I struggled to connect with the characters, written in 3rd person had a child like quality about it, was ok but wouldn’t necessarily recommend

Not usually a historical fiction fan but this family history has enamoured me! Really liked the narrator as well.

The Family follows two New York/Italian families over a period of twenty years from 1928 to 1948. They’re Mafia but the real interest in this title is that the main POV is female; the two central characters are daughters from each of the families. The girls are very different, but form a bond as children. When the father of one disappears, life changes irrevocably.

Whilst the book touches on the Mafia side of things and the brutal code they ignore at their peril, the story is more about the nature of family bonds and female friendship, plus the strength of women particularly in adversity. There are many warm and human touches throughout and overall, the book was engaging, but it felt just a little flat. The narration is good and after a slow start, the tensions and differences move the pace up a little. A family saga with a bit of a kick.

My thanks to the publisher for a review copy via Netgalley.

Family is Everything

"If you can see me, I must be here!"

Antonia and Sofia, two friends since birth, different characters, different families but in the same job! Their fathers are Italian in New York, so this may remind you of THE GODFATHER, this is exactly what they do. When they got their daughter in arms for the first time, Antonia's father was shamed and Sofia's father bought a gun, this separated their destiny.

The story starts from 1928 till 1948, we know Antonia and Sofia as children, teenagers, wives, and mothers. They lived in a family then built one and try to protect. I really enjoyed the message of friendship and family.

The author beautifully built different characters with individual traits. Antonia a bookworm but Sofia is more like her father, a punch girl. They are likable, choose different paths, made mistakes, and got regret.
There were options that were never considered, and now it's too late. No matter what we choose, there is always this thought of "what if", my whole life would change, regret is a constant companion.

Excellent narrator, engaging story, great characters, plot and setting in a time about WWII in New York, so what is more needed for a book to get 5 stars?!

Many thanks to HarperCollins UK Audio via NetGalley for giving me the chance of listening to The Family by Naomi Krupitsky, Narrated by Marin Ireland, I have given my honest review.
Duration: 9 Hours, 53 Minutes

I enjoyed this book, it tells the story of Mafia and friendships and a lot more along the way, I read it in one sitting..

2.5 stars

I liked the premise of "The Family" but this audiobook, unfortunately, just left me bored. The characters were underdeveloped, some plot points didn't really make sense (or at least lacked an appropriate build-up in the story).

Really memorable and stunning, moving story.


Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me access an advance copy of this audiobook in exchange for my feedback.

A story of two girls from similar families who belong to the world of New York mob, sticking together through life, even when they take different paths they still mange to reconnect and often wonder about a different life. A story of friendship and importance of connection is tested during the plot. All a bit slow to start with as the author explains the back story. Thank you #NetGalley for the audiobook to review.

I really enjoyed listening to this book. It was raw and brutal and also strangely innocent. There was a lot of description but I found that made it easy for me to drift away into the world of The Family. A great listen.

I was so excited to receive a ARC copy of this book and jumped straight in! The cover was inviting and the plot intrigued me. Love a bit of Al Pacino, Scar Face and Godfather Style. Very different genre of book for me to enjoy.

The story focuses on an Italian family embroilled in' a Mafia Style family' during the 2nd World War ', ''The family' typically maintain status with trading, protection and in typical powerful, violent methods. Sometimes quite graphically violent.

The plot follows two girls, best friends Antonia and Sofia, growing up together in a very different world. Surrounded by lots of non biological aunties and uncles dangerous mafia style world, they learn they are very different from others there age and are also treated as such.

Unlike their conforming mothers before them who are expected to be happy with their lot and to be good Catholic mothers and wives, they both have very different experiences and expectations and rebel against their expected roles. Strong women being vocal back then!

I quite enjoyed this real aspect of the book. There was quite a focus after a difficult childbirth scene that i found very interesting and real as the author touched upon postnatal depression and how it was dealt with.

Additionally the need and want to be more was inspiring and the result of which was unexpected.

Without saying too much the saying ' behind every good man is a strong woman' seems to be the moral to this book.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I found it quite difficult to keep track of the characters and the story at times and did have to rewind a few times to re- listen. I also felt that there was excessive use of description. Although in contradiction I sometimes wondered how on earth did the author think of that!

The narration was ok. I cant find fault as she was clear and not annoying, however i dont know what is was but the voice didn't quite grab me. Maybe it was due to me keep having to rewind.

This book is a strong 3 stars for me. DefinItely worth a go if you like this genre. I am pleased I have experienced and stuck with this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for letting me listen to this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

An interesting story about an italian family in the US and how their lives intertwined with ‘The Family’.

All in all the book is well written and the narrator very pleasant to listen to, the story is a bit slow in places but then picks up again.

Unfortunately is not a book for me though hence the 3 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for letting me listen to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

**please note due to low rating I will not be leaving a public review for this book as I have not paid for it.**

Narrator 5 stars
Good voice.

Story 2. 5 stars
I struggled to get into this book. If I had read it instead of listened to it I definitely would not have finished. The biggest reason for that was it was very heavy on description and light on actual dialogue.

An excellent saga told in a very entertaining way. The mix of innocence and criminal is chilling. I found myself trying to figure a way out for the characters but no great ideas came to me. I enjoyed it from start to finish. A super audio book with enough tension and plenty of drama but a story of friendship more than anything else.

I was so interested in giving this book a try, since I adore the Godfather. Overall, the story is great, I enjoyed the description of the friendship, Family's tranditions and the whole Italian families in the US vibe. The voice of the narrator is also extremely pleasant to listen to.

The only issue I was struggling with was the fact that the story seemed super slow. It is just 9/10 hours long, but I had a feeling that it was 15+ hours. This is the main reason why it is 3 stars overall.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the audiobook arc in exchange for an honest review!

A captivating debut novel about the tangled fates of two best friends and daughters of the Italian mafia, and a coming-of-age story of twentieth-century Brooklyn itself. The narration has good pace and flow,and the narrators voices seemed right for the characters they were portraying.

I had high hopes for this book. I really liked the front cover and I love novels set in the recent past. Unfortunately, I just couldn't get into it, Thank you to NetGalley for the free copy in exchange for my honest review.