I found this book a very absorbing read. It's a real character driven novel and the detailed examination of the characters' relationships are what make this book so fascinating.

First of all we have the mother and daughter relationships. Margo is a larger than life, quite bohemian in outlook. I actually loved the way her character was portrayed, loving life, loving parties and not afraid to do what made her happy. Her passionate relationship with her girls' father had come to an end many years ago and it's been The Garnett Girls together ever since. The daughters all have a very different kind of relationship with their mother clearly heavily influenced by what happened when their parents' relationship broke down. What really happened is a bit of a mystery throughout the book since Margo won't talk about it and this adds a level of intrigue.

Then we have the relationships between the sisters. Like many families, the girls are very different. Rachel is the oldest and feels a great sense of responsibility not just for her sisters but for the family home, Sandcove. Imogen is very much a middle child and almost drifts along particularly in her relationships. She is certainly takes her sisters and herself by surprise though and starts to think about what she might want. Sasha was always the baby, perhaps more indulged, which led to her being rather wild at times. So it's concerning that her marriage seems to be making her quieter and more subdued. With such different personalities, it's inevitable that the relationship between the sisters is fiery and volatile at times. And yet, the bonds of sisterhood are strong and they are there for each other when they need each other.

Finally, there are the relationships that the sisters have with their partners. I've alluded to those above but their relationships are also quite different and not without their ups and downs. All three have struggles of some kind with their relationships which come to a head over the year or so of this novel. There are affairs, new awakenings, an undercurrent of threat and danger and secrets which, once revealed, both shock and allow the family to move forward.

The Garnett Girls is an impressive debut, a family drama with so much going on. It was easy to get engrossed of the lives of the women, The Garnett Girls, and to want everything to work out well for them. Georgina Moore has created a compelling set of characters, ones I would like to read more about actually, and I am looking forward to seeing what she writes next.

I really really enjoyed this book. I loved the Garnett girls - warts and all. They are a lovely set of sisters and I felt for each one of them as they navigated their trials and tribulations. They are a tight-knit family - the men sort of danced around the edges - the sisters are always at the heart of everything. The story is set on the Isle of Wight - a place I spent many a happy childhood holiday so it reminded me of endless beach days and summer ice cream. I'd like to read more about where they go next so a sequel, please!

I can honestly say that The Garnett Girls is a book I have been looking forward to for months, so expectations were high going in! And I am delighted to report that expectations were not just met but exceeded – I flew through it as I got totally caught up in the lives of the Garnett family and can honestly say I didn’t want it to end.

Set on the Isle of Wight and centred around Sandcove, the family home, it is the story of Margo and her three daughters, Rachel, Sasha and Imogen. It is a tale of mother/daughter relationships and of sibling relationships, all shaped in part by their family history and in particular by the departure of their father Richard when Sasha, the youngest, was just four. As we get to know them all we begin to understand the impact of their complex shared history on four very different individuals – and whilst at times the past, and the secrets each of them is hiding, wreaks havoc on their familial relationships, it never totally breaks their remarkable bond. Moore skillfully brings each character to life in all their complexity, all flawed and all at times frustrating, but utterly relatable and a family I defy anyone not to fall a little in love with.

As someone whose reading as a young adult was dominated by authors such as Mary Wesley, Elizabeth Jane Howard, Maeve Binchy and Rosamunde Pilcher, my diet of family sagas seems to have taken a back seat to other genres, so this felt at times like a somewhat nostalgic read for me, reminding me of how much I enjoy character-driven novels and being swept up into the complex dynamics of families. The Isle of Wight setting is hugely evocative and transported me from a gloomy January day to its seaside location - the author’s love for the island clearly comes through throughout the book. It is an emotional read at times, at others utterly joyful but never less than delightful and a remarkable debut. I can’t wait to see what comes next!

A very readable and enjoyable family saga. This is an engaging tale of sisters with their secrets, family ties, interactions and rifts.
The book is well written and painted a believable picture of both the Isle of Wight and the relationships within the family.

With thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance review copy.

This is definitely one for fans of Mary Wesley and Elizabeth Jane Howard's Cazalet novels. The titular Garnett girls are Rachel, Imogen and Sasha, three sisters brought up by their idiosyncratic, redoubtable mother Margo after their alcoholic father Richard leaves them. He was the love of her life, and after his departure she refuses ever to mention him again and takes to her bed in a deep depression, leaving her sister Alice and 11-year-old Rachel to manage the younger girls and large house somehow.

The novel follows the now grown-up siblings, their spouses/partners and Margo as they navigate the various family relationships, while the shadow the unknown hangs over everything in the form of unanswered questions about their father's departure.

The novel is very readable, and the characters are complex and well fleshed out. I didn't come away with any great psychological insights, but as an engaging story well told, this was enjoyable. The Isle of Wight setting is evocative and beautifully described, and I was compelled to keep reading to find out what was happening next with Rachel's exemplary-seeming marriage, Sasha's very dysfunctional one, Imogen's doubts about her engagement to the very safe William, and Margo's racy, secret sex life. This would make a great holiday read but if you like depth, it's probably not for you.

A seaside family drama which does great things for the Isle of White tourism I really wanted to visit after reading the book the island and it’s beeches are a massive part of the book
The story of the family of girls and their mother abandoned by their father and moving to a family property on the island is slowly revealed in flashbacks and forwards allowing us to slowly know more about what has made these young women behave as we are shown they do in adulthood .
I wouldn’t usually reach for books of this type I suppose it could be classed as chick lit but it does have additional depth that made it an interesting read for anyone who likes character development in a novel .I am sure it will prove a very popular book and sell well
The author has a nicely flowing writing style which was easy to read and the book kept my attention for the few days I was reading it
I read an early copy on NetGalley Uk the book is published in Uk 16th February 2023 by HQ

I really enjoyed getting to know the Garnett Girls throughout this book.
The story centres on the Garnett siblings who are Rachel, Imogen and Sasha and their larger than life mum Margot.
Rachel is married to Gabriel, she’s a lawyer and is a typical first-born child, and she’s a problem solver and decision maker in the family.
Sensitive Imogen is the middle child she’s a playwright, engaged to steady William whose marriage proposal in Venice is not particularly romantic or surprising.
Sasha is the youngest and was the wild child but since being married to Phil she’s sadly lost her spark and spunk.
Margot, a journalist, whose impending 60th birthday is refusing to age gracefully and is not the typical grandmother at all – she has a much younger lover and is a care free spirit.
Their father, Richard is an alcoholic who abruptly leaves the family when Sasha is only four years old and this has left a huge mark on each of the Garnett girls.
All four Garnett girls are blessed with brains and beauty!
They all hold onto the past which most certainly informs the present especially in their behaviour.
This is their story as the past and present collide.
The Garnett Girls is a well written character driven novel.
I really felt like I’d been transported to the Isle of Wight through the wonderful descriptions of their home.
All the characters are well portrayed, they’re fundamentally flawed but likeable.
Margot’s infamous parties sound like something I’d absolutely love to be a fly on the wall to.
The dynamics are really interesting between each of them.
Their loves and relationships with partners are very much affected by the loss of their father and by Margot herself which makes for interesting reading.
They are all coming to terms with the impact and fallout of Richard leaving and the resentment and secrets all start to come to the surface.

I found myself fully invested in the Garnett Girls lives.
This is an enjoyable read.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to HQ for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

There is something gloriously old fashioned about the Garnett girls. It has that lovely yet intense family interplay between sisters, parent and partners that I adored in novels as such writers as Mary Wesley and Elizabeth Jane Howard.
Rachel, Imo and Sasha are the daughters of Margo and Richard. Their young childhood was spent idyllically in the Isle of Wight until their father brutally leaves them, causing their mother to have a catastrophic year long breakdown. The damage this wrought never leaves them, affecting their relationship with their mother, each other and potential partners for years to come.
The action moves between the Isle of Wight, where Margo and Rachel ( reluctantly) still live, and London. As the novel progresses, flashbacks to the girls’ and Margo’s childhoods help the reader understand the decisions the characters have made and continue to make. The relationship between the sisters and with their mother are wholly believable. I did feel that they husbands and lovers could have been fleshed out more, at times they felt more like cyphers. The sense of place is so strong, I’ve visited this particular part of the Isle of Wight and it came back to me so vividly with this novel! Her descriptions of London are also beautifully realised.
This is an incredibly strong debut novel, destined to be passed from friend to friend this summer. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next, and I’d rather like to meet the Garnett Girls again in the future.

‘Now she knew it was childish to think of Sandcove as a place with a heart and soul. It was just a draughty old house. She was the one with the secrets.’

When I read the synopsis for this one, I just knew it was going to be a good one - and it was amazing!!

Definitely more character driven than plot, but still manages to take you on a ride. The story weaves through past and present to give us an all round view of the Garnett girls and the people around them. The characters were all so well developed and had so much depth to them - I can’t believe they’re not real people.

The imagery was stunning, you could imagine yourself right there - it was all so vivid. It put you right at the heart of the story, making the whole reading experience feel fully immersive.

It explores the girls so well, showing all their complexities and differences beautifully. I also found it highlighted the burdens we carry, as women, so well. Certain aspects of it really resonated with me.

The ending (even though the letter may have made me choke a little) was so well done, it was perfect way to draw everything together. The epilogue was the cherry on top for me and I think it was the most incredible way to end their story.

Incredible debut novel, those Garnett girls will be with me for a long time. Definitely recommend this read, I loved it.

The Garnett Girls is a story of mothers and daughters, of sisters and aunts, family love and romantic love, about the patterns made during childhood & rebelling against them or conforming to those boundaries.

Three sisters, Rachel, Imogen and Sasha have been brought up by their charismatic mother Margo ever since their father Richard walked out during their childhood. Growing up in their family home Sandcove, they had an idyllic upbringing on the Isle of Wight but as they’ve grown up, aspects of their bonds have soured and stiffened .

The story follows their various relationships with husbands and partners, who don’t often come across well! Margo is refusing to grow old quietly and clashing with her daughters as she does.

There’s so much to unpack in this powerful and delicious story, I would completely recommend immersing yourself in their world for a few hours

Thank you to Anne Cater of Random Things Tours and HQ Stories for the invitation to join the blog tour for The Garnett Girls and a digital copy of the debut novel by Georgina Moore.

I've always been fascinated by stories about sisters - I never had a sister and loved reading the Little Women series during my childhood. This stunning debut novel features three young women and their mother. Rachel, the eldest, has moved back to the Isle of Wight with her own family, living in the former family home whilst her mother Margo lives nearby. Middle sister Imogen has exciting changes to both her personal and work life and Sasha, the youngest appears to be unhappy with her life.

Using flashbacks, we find out more about what really happened to Margo and her daughters when their father left them. There are many secrets and misunderstandings between the family members - can their love for each other help them move forward together and find the happiness they deserve?

I loved how the story evolved, as we got to know more about the four female main characters and I felt sad to say goodbye to The Garnett Girls. This is a beautifully crafted debut novel and I'm eager to read more by Georgina Moore in the future.

I love love love the concept of this book, a family saga about charismatic and mercurial journalist Margo and the three daughters she raised alone. Throw in a crumbling mansion, some buried secrets, and a lot of fabulous parties, and I was all in.

I felt let down a little by the execution - in particular, lots of the dialogue is clunky or painfully expository. Overall though the story carried me along.

This is a family saga covering Margo, the mother and her three daughters. I must admit that I struggled with this book, I like to be able to relate to the characters, however struggled to like these women (and some of their partners come to that). It is well written, bringing the various locations to life and the interactions between the characters are realistic, it is just not to my taste and if you enjoy family sagas I am sure that you will enjoy this one and as such I have given it 4*
I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley, however this did not influenced my review of the book.

When Margo met Richard she thought they would be together forever. After he left her and their three young daughters, Rachel, Imogen and Sasha, she didn't know how to carry on. Now the girls are adults and have their own issues to deal with, yet Margo still can't speak about Richard, which is causing rifts in the family. Even worse, Sasha is keeping a huge secret from the others.

A wonderful emotional rollercoaster of a book.

I loved how the plot was so well-written and every detail had its part to play, coming together to create an unputdownable story.

Georgina Moore has painted a beautiful picture of the Isle of Wight setting that really came to life on the page. I visited the island for holidays when I was a child and the descriptions of the coast have brought back some lovely memories!

The best part of this book is definitely the strong female characters. They felt so real to me and I desperately wanted to get to know them. I was fully invested in their lives and the relationships that they had with each other.

This is a really absorbing story that you won't want to miss out on.

Thank you NetGalley and HQ for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

The Garnett Girls is one of those books that pulls you in and keeps you up to the early hours. A family saga that keeps you on your toes and rooting for each of the sisters despite the fact that they are by no means perfect. A book that takes you back to holidays spent lazily on the beach with friends and family and the memories that are made. Do your selves a favour and pick up a copy of this novel as I’m sure you won’t be disappointed. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this novel in return for an honest review.

I’ve loved being a part of The Garnett Girls lives.

I found it easy to identify with each and every character (Richard included). I think this is a blessing as I felt every nuance, laughed with them, cried with them and wanted what was best for each of them. They became my family …

The format is great. Flipping back to Margo as a teen gives shape to her relationship with Richard. This reinforces what a force she is, even back then.

From Rachel (as the oldest) we get to experience what life was like after Richard left.

The majority of the story is told in present day with a window into Margo’s and each siblings’ lives. I felt envious of the siblings’ bonds, even when things go wrong.

There’s so much I could say, but you need to experience their lives for yourself! I will say there is SO MUCH DEPTH of emotion.

I read one scene on Boxing Day with my mouth wide open – not so much in surprise or horror but because of how huge it was and how it affected everyone’s lives. Such a complexity of feelings for everyone!

The last part of the story I read through tears. I felt cleansed and healed too.

I’m a great believer that making mistakes in relationships doesn’t necessarily mean that what is ‘broken’, can’t be fixed. The Garnett Girls is proof of that.

Roles within the family blur, childhood perceptions are carried for years and motivate actions. And it’s through facing the pain that understanding happens.

Can we love too much?

An easy 5 * read for me.

Right at the heart of the story are strong women who collectively make up The Garnett Girls, three adult sibling sisters who have each been damaged by the events of their upbringing at Sandycove, the idyllic family home on the Isle of Wight. Their mother’s doomed relationship with their alcoholic father has left its mark on each of the girls and as the story unfolds and we get to know more about Rachel, Imogen and Sasha so we understand the destruction nature of witnessing a tremendous love which ultimately destroyed everything.

The story flows seamlessly introducing us to each of the sisters, getting to know more about them as adults and yet glimpsing within the vulnerable children who had been so let down by family secrets and lies. Their mother, Margot, is a force of nature, not always likeable and very often exasperating and yet I was fascinated by her and thoroughly enjoyed getting to know more about her and her ill-fated love affair with the girls’ father, Richard, and her subsequent attempt to remove him totally from their lives.

The story is beautifully accomplished and almost magical in places, bringing place and people so vividly alive I felt as if I stood in the grounds of Sandycove looking out across the bay. The stultifying nature of living within a close community where everyone seemed to know each others’ business only reiterates the sense of atmosphere and makes the story quite memorable.

The Garnett Girls is that special story I was waiting to read and devoured it in the space of a couple of days. It proved to be both fascinating and thought provoking and is such a wonderfully presented debut by a talented writer who knows how to hold the reader in the palm of her hand.

This is a perfectly pleasant, if slightly dull, family drama, probably rendered a little less enjoyable by my having read This Family (another family drama about three sisters in a dysfunctional English family) by Kate Sawyer very recently. Both books had similarities and I felt This Family was the stronger read.

The Garnett Girls is set on the Isle of Wight, and features Margo Garnett, and her three daughters Rachel, Imogen and Sasha. Margo, an incorrigible flirt and indomitable matriarch, had a torrid marriage to Richard, a hopeless alcoholic who left Margo to raise their children alone.

The daughters all have their relationship travails and we get their perspective on how their abandonment by their father has affected them in different ways and how they are inexorably drawn back to their home place, Sandcove (a rambling, crumbling beachfront property which sounds totally idyllic by the way).

The book is set in the present day, with the occasional flashback to the past, which I didn’t feel added a huge amount to the story. There were also a few plot lines that could have been chopped without making a substantive difference to the story.

It’s an easy holiday read, not at all taxing and overall quite pleasant, if not ground-breaking or thrilling. Sometimes that’s enough - there’s very much a place in the world for books like this. 3/5 ⭐️

*Many thanks to the author, publisher @hqbooks and @netgalley for an advance copy of the book. The Garnett Girls is published today, 16 February 2023. As always, this is an honest review.*

As a teenager, Margo ran away from home to live with her older boyfriend, Richard. Their love affair continued, they married and had three daughters - Rachel, Imogen, and Sasha. Then one day Richard left, leaving Margo plunged into despair, and the girls having to fend for themselves. When she picked herself up, Margo vowed that her girls would never suffer as she had. So she brings them up to be well-educated, strong career women, to marry safe, dependable men, to create for themselves the life that she would have wanted, but somewhere long the way the girls, trying so hard to live up to Margo's expectations, lose sight of themselves and their own desires. Now young women, each successful in her field, they have to confront the impact of their father's sudden disappearance from their lives before they can find true happiness.

There's been a lot of hype about The Garnett Girls - the author is, after all, a publicist - but it's a stunning, captivating debut that definitely lives up to everything I've read about it. A warm, intimate story of the Garnett family - Margo the matriarch, and her girls, Rachel, Imogen, and Sasha - their loves and losses, the secrets they keep, and the younger generation's struggles for independence from their mother's overwhelming influence and expectations. In many ways, living up to Margo's standards has stunted her daughters' emotional development, and I felt it was telling that Rachel, Imogen and Sasha are more often seen as a trio - the Garnett girls - rather than as individuals and as women.
The story is not wholly set on the Isle of Wight but Sandcove, the family home, plays such an important part in the Garnett's lives that it's like a character in itself. It's the place they come to to settle family disagreements, to heal, to find themselves, to party on the beach till dawn.

I loved every page - and I now want to live by the beach and drink cocktails every night.

This is a charming tale of the family which brings them closer together as they grow into their 30's.
The end uncovers the secret kept so long from the three sisters.
Overall 4 stars!