Sawyer has a gift for displaying the minutiae of family life in a really engaging way; she manages to weave together the past and present of various family members into a compelling drama. We experience the details of this family drama - the fights, the secrets, the unwavering love - and follow the journey to see whether redemption is possible. A great read.

Mary is getting married and moving out of the home that she raised her children in. The house is important to Mary and her daughter but there is tension between her daughters and they are coming back together for the wedding and to say goodbye to the house. The story is told from the perspectives of the 4 women. This is just the sort of story that I love - family saga at its best.

Absolutely wonderful book, I loved every moment spent in the world of the characters. Dilemmas and joys all expertly crafted thank you!

I really enjoyed this book - it took a bit of getting into, but once I was in the swing of things, I wanted to know what happened next.

It wasn't all doom and gloom, it was very insightful and a good read!!
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.

A unique family drama told from multiple perspectives over a long period of time gave us a much more in-depth connection to the characters and what led to their individual decision making.
In my minds eye I could really imagine the main settings of the family homes and gardens in which a lot of the action is set. I enjoyed the writing style of Sawyer and her method of connecting the reader to the characters. When I think back about this book it feels like a memory of a film I must have seen recently, that is how well her descriptive prose resonated with me. Definitely looking forward to reading The Stranding as I know I will love it too.

A story about one family told over the course of a summers day. A wedding held in the families ancestral garden.

The story mainly focuses on familial relationship and the trials and tribulations of a family event while trying to keep so and so away from the other. They’ve all promised to be on their best behaviour but can they follow through!

This is an an utterly engaging read, a family story that gradually unfolds but is so beautifully articulated that it had me absorbed from the outset.

Set on a searingly hot September day, it is the story of a family all returning to the family home in Suffolk to celebrate matriarch Mary’s wedding. Mary’s great wish is that this complicated family can all get on for just one day, and say goodbye to the family home that has now been sold.

Woven between events of the day are flashbacks to the past forty years of this family’s life told from different points of view, gradually providing additional insight into the complex family dynamics and roots of their strained relationships.

Beautifully written, with a setting that is wonderfully described and a cast of flawed but relatable characters, it is an emotional read that reminds us of the messiness of life - and I loved it!

This was fab! I wasn't sure at first and some of the sentences were really long and I was struggling to adjust to Sawyer's writing style. It frustrated me that it felt like everyone was in on a secret that I was not, yet I found everything out, exactly at the right time. Beautiful book. Beautifully written. Excellent insight into just how complex what a family is can really be.

This would have been 5*s but it was a bit too open ended. I had questions. But that's just personal preference.

A great twisty turny family saga. While it is set over the course of one day, we get many flashbacks into the past that slowly lead us to the unraveling of relationships that are alluded to in the present. It is a beautiful, gripping story that kept me turning the pages as the plot continued to thicken and secrets continued to reveal themselves.

I love being given the opportunity to update our school library which is a unique space for both senior students and staff to access high quality literature. This is definitely a must-buy. It kept me absolutely gripped from cover to cover and is exactly the kind of read that just flies off the shelves. It has exactly the right combination of credible characters and a compelling plot thatI just could not put down. This is a great read that I couldn't stop thinking about and it made for a hugely satisfying read. I'm definitely going to order a copy and think it will immediately become a popular addition to our fiction shelves. 10/10 would absolutely recommend.

I always love a good family saga where secrets are slowly exposed and this one was no different. What a great novel!

I really enjoyed this book.
I enjoyed this authors last book so was intrigued to read this one and wasn’t disappointed.
4 ⭐️’s

This Family by Kate Sawyer has been on my ‘to be read’ pile for too long. I am now kicking myself for not reading it sooner as I absolutely devoured it. It ticked so many boxes for me. The family dynamics, and slow reveals were excellently executed. I was invested in the characters and really wanted to understand what had happened and why.
Beautifully written with descriptions of the house in the country on a hot late summer day, that I could absolutely see and feel. I envisaged the bunting, the sunflowers and the long tables with mismatched chairs under the willow tree.
The voice of the female characters were strong and relatable - right down to the final chapter voiced by three year old
Clara.
I particularly recommend this book for book clubs. There is so much to discuss and I would love to dissect and analyse this clever book with mine. It is a definite five stars from me.

I had high hopes for this one but struggled with it. It was too slow paced despite being set over one day, and not as exciting or tense as I was expecting. I don't think this book is for me.

This Family was definitely a novel I had to work hard at- it took me two attempts to become absorbed in it and I almost gave up. The issue for me was the slow pace and the confusingly defined characters and relationships in the first part of the novel, it was difficult to differentiate and remember who was who. However once I got through this I did find it an enjoyable read. It is an absorbing story of a fractured family coming together for a wedding at the family home with a strong focus on mother and daughter relationships. The author writes beautifully and really evokes the atmosphere of the rural family home and their life there.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC
3.5 stars

This is a very slow story and I had trouble trying to follow the story and remember who the characters were. If this is typical of this author I'm afraid I won't be reading any more from them.

I really enjoyed this family saga set on a special day but actually covering the family history and exploring relationships that can be fractured between sisters. I loved the characters and the unfolding of their stories.

Kate Sawyer’s first novel ‘The Stranding’ received lots of recognition and praise and so I was keen to read her latest book ‘This Family.’ The story centres around Mary who is preparing for her wedding in the house she raised her family in. Her children have all grown and moved to various corners of the globe with some members no longer speaking. Fractures and disharmony have grown over time, with hurts being unresolved and allowed to fester. However, on this day the family will all return to mark the special occasion, motivated by the thought of making Mary happy. Set over the course of one summer’s day the novel jumps back in time to delve into the past of individual family members focusing not just on a young Mary but also that of her daughters Emma, Phoebe and Rosie. Over the course of the story, relationship dynamics are explored and secrets uncovered that are both upsetting and universal. Sawyer creates a vivid story world and compelling characters whilst delving into and exploring themes such as grief and loss. It has a universal appeal as it speaks directly to the human condition of family, forgiveness and hope.

Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. It’s about the nuances of family dynamics. It’s more slow placed.

A really enjoyable read that I couldn't put down it had me hooked right from the very start. I would recommend