EXCERPT: She studies the envelope as she climbs the stairs. A new enquiry, maybe - she still gets the occasional letter, although most people email or phone now.
In her room she takes the reunion invitation from the wastepaper basket and studies it for several seconds before tearing it into pieces that float back down like snowflakes. Despite what Florence says, she has nothing she wants to prove: let them reunite without her.
She slides a finger under the flap of the other envelope. She pulls out the single page and unfolds it and begins to read.
Her hand flies to her mouth.
She sinks onto a chair.
Her eyes fill. The words swim together.

ABOUT 'THE REUNION': It's their twenty-year school reunion but the Plunkett sisters have their own reasons for not wanting to attend ...

Caroline, now a successful knitwear designer, spends her time flying between her business in England and her lover in Italy. As far as she's concerned, her school days, and what happened to her the year she left, should stay in the past.

Eleanor, meanwhile, is unrecognisable from the fun-loving girl she was in school. With a son who is barely speaking to her, and a husband keeping a secret from her, revisiting the past is the last thing on her mind.

But when an unexpected letter arrives for Caroline in the weeks before the reunion, memories are stirred.

Will the sisters find the courage to return to the town where they grew up and face what they've been running from all these years?

MY THOUGHTS: I started reading The Reunion thinking it was one thing, but it quickly changed into something else, and what a read! I finished reading this morning with tears sliding silently down my cheeks - tears of joy, of sadness, of appreciation at the sheer beauty of the writing.

This is not simply about a school reunion to which neither of the sisters wants to go for various reasons. It is a story about reunions of other kinds, the important kinds. It is a story that I immediately got lost in, my heart breaking for each of the sisters in different ways while at the same time wanting to give each of them a wake-up call.

I loved Caroline's loyalty. She is a very strong woman in most ways but riddled with self-doubt in others. You would wonder how she could have sprung from her mother's loins . . . I also loved Florence, Caroline's mother's cousin. Gruff but kind, she provides a refuge for Caroline when she needs it most and runs interference with Caroline's stuck-up, status conscious mother. There are some really wonderful characters in this book - mostly friends of Florence and who add color and charm to the storyline.

The Reunion has been sitting on my shelf since 2016. Apologies to the author and publisher. I wish I had read it sooner. In the meantime, I have missed out on many more wonderful books by this author. I won't be missing out on any more.

⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

#TheReunion #NetGalley

THE AUTHOR: I was born in the beautiful market town of Listowel in Co Kerry, (host to the famous Writers’ Week Festival every summer), and my growing-up years were spent mainly in Limerick city. After leaving school I qualified as a teacher and taught in Dublin for a handful of years, taking a few breaks along the way – two years teaching English in Zimbabwe (wonderful), three years working as an advertising copywriter in London (exciting) – until finally in 2001 I decided to try my hand at writing a book, something that I’d been thinking about for years. I took another break from teaching and flew to San Francisco, where one of my brothers lived, and it was there I wrote my debut, The Daisy Picker. To my delight, it won a ‘Write a Bestseller’ competition that Tivoli, a new Irish publishing house, was running to launch itself, and my prize was a two-book deal. I returned to the Irish classroom and wrote in my spare time, and in 2006, with two published books and another just completed, I signed up with Hodder Headline Ireland, Tivoli sadly having folded. In 2008 I took a deep breath and gave up teaching to become a fulltime writer, and so far, so good.
These days I divide my time between Limerick city and Miltown Malbay in West Clare. I take breaks from writing to drop into schools and chat about being an author, and to tell stories to tots in libraries.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Hachette Books Ireland for providing a digital ARC of The Reunion by Roisin Meaney for review. All opinions expressed in this revie are entirely my own personal opinions.

Sisters and secrets..... I loved this book and couldn’t put it down. All families have some type of drama or secret and the author delved into the lives of these sisters and how they were affected by theirs. This is a new author to me and I will be seeking more of her work.
Many thanks to Hatchette Books Ireland and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

4.5 Stars

What can I say about The Reunion, other than it was a fabulous story, and that I was hooked from the first few pages. The story was a reasonably quick read and when I first looked up I couldn't believe how much I had already read, and how much I was enjoying the content too.

This is the story of two sisters, and it spans around 22 years since they were teenagers to the adults they are today. It is predominately spread around two particular time frames, although there are additional flashbacks in places. Thanks to all of this by the time you get to the main section about the present day, I felt very connected to both Eleanor and Caroline and was fully engaged with their stories.

Equally I loved the section based in Ireland in the early 1990s, as it really shows how times and attitudes have changed over the years, with regards to certain issues. It was Caroline's early story that I was most interested in, and just why it was she went to England and turned out how she was. And by the present day though it was perhaps Eleanor that attracted more of my interest.

In each segment of the book, the story would alternate between the two sisters, and I just had great sympathy for the family as a whole. The other character I really enjoyed reading about was their older cousin Florence. She isn't the easiest of ladies to get to know but had a wonderful group of friends and was a massive unexpected support to Caroline.

The Reunion is all about family, although the title refers to a school reunion which triggers the sisters reminiscing, there are some secrets to come out of the woodwork, and a whole variety of mini reunions going on throughout the book too. It is great to see a title that really does sum up some of the theming of the novel.

I'm so glad I finally got around to reading The Reunion, and taking another chance on a Roisin Meaney book. I will be mentally adding her to my much loved Irish Women's fiction authors list and will try to remember to read more books from her in the future, as I definitely love her writing style and way she tells a story.

Thank you to Hachette Books Ireland and Netgalley for this copy of the book which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.