Thursday 19 March 2020

BLOG TOUR: The River Home - Hannah Richell


The river can take you home. The river can take you under...

In their ramshackle Somerset home, its gardens running down to the river, the Sorrells have gathered for a last-minute wedding.

Lucy is desperate to reunite her fractured family. Eve is fighting to keep her perfect life together. Their mother, Kit, a famous author whose stories have run dry, still seethes with resentment towards her youngest child. And Margot, who left home eight years ago under a black cloud, is forced to come face to face with her darkness...

As the family come together for a week of celebration and confrontation, their relationships are stretched to breaking point. Can you ever heal the wounds of the past? Or will it always rise up to haunt you - like the echoes of a summer's night, like the relentless flow of a river...


What did I think?

I wasn't sure what to expect from reading the synopsis of The River Home; I was thinking something along the lines of a slow burning family drama but this is definitely more of a bonfire than a slow burner.  What I did not expect was to feel so emotionally invested in the story that I cried buckets at the end.  Seriously, I was crying so much that I ended up with crinkly pages.

I loved the story of the three sisters returning home for the last-minute wedding of middle sister, Lucy.  Oldest sister, Eve, takes charge of the organisation which takes her mind off her own marital difficulties whilst youngest sister, Margot, is not looking forward to returning home.  Margot is such a complex character, having left home under a cloud many years ago she keeps her feelings buried and her alcohol levels topped up.  With emotions running high and alcohol flowing freely at weddings, secrets are often spilled but it is no easy feat for Margot to part with the darkness that she has lived with for so long.

As we delve into the Sorrell family's past and present the river theme running throughout keeps the story flowing effortlessly.  It feels like each and every one of them is a key character but I really felt for Margot.  Her pain is evident but her family can't see it; I think it's a case of not seeing what's right in front of you when you love someone.  Margot's story is so heartbreaking and it's even more tragic when she has never felt able to share her problems with her family.  If only one of them had thought to ask her what was wrong, her life could have been more bearable.

The River Home has to be the most emotional book I have read for quite some time.  I thought I was just reading about a dysfunctional family but then the emotion completely caught me out and I couldn't stop the tears from falling.  The River Home didn't just sweep me away, it completely blew me away.  It is a stunning book that is as beautiful inside as out and is without doubt a five star read.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

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