Sunday 7 October 2018

BLOG TOUR: What Happened to Us? - Faith Hogan


Carrie Nolan is devastated when she is dumped by Kevin Mulvey after more than a decade without even a backwards glance! On reflection, she has sacrificed her own long term happiness establishing their critically acclaimed Dublin restaurant and pandering to his excessive ego.

Meanwhile Kevin can’t believe his luck. Valentina, their new waitress is a stunner, the kind of girl that turns heads when she walks in a room and surprise, surprise she has chosen him! He is living the dream!

Carrie seeks solace from a circle of mismatched friends who need her as much as she needs them. Jane, who struggles to run the pub on the opposite side of the street, Luke, who has stopped drifting while his father settles in a nearby nursing home and Teddy, a dog who asks for nothing more than the chance to stay by Carrie’s side.

With Christmas just around the corner, all is not quite as it seems and a catastrophic sequence of events leads to the unthinkable...

How far do you need to fall before you learn the true value of family and friends? And is it ever too late to start again...


What did I think?

I absolutely adore Faith Hogan's books so I was really eager to read her latest book, What Happened to Us?  With a main character that you will instantly take to your heart, this is a beautiful story of relationships and friendship with a surprising twist of fate.  

Carrie and Kevin seem to have the perfect partnership: a long standing relationship and owners of a prestigious restaurant in Dublin.  When Kevin drops a bombshell that he is dumping Carrie for their sexy Columbian waitress, Valentina, Carrie thinks her world has ended.  With Valentina eager to get her claws into Kevin's business too, Carrie feels more and more pushed out.

Taking a step back from the restaurant, Carrie spends more time with Jane Marchant who owns a pub over the road.  It may seem like an unlikely friendship but fate has played a hand in this one, especially when handsome Luke and cute dog Teddy enter Carrie and Jane's life.  It just shows that some things are meant to be.

I loved the characters in this book, from lovable Carrie to detestable Valentina with spineless Kevin in between.  Carrie has such a huge heart and Kevin clearly didn't deserve it so I was delighted when he gets a taste of his own medicine with Valentina.  I also loved the story around Jane who has kept her pub running after being widowed despite being scared to be on her own.  The growth of her friendship with both Carrie and Luke left a warm fuzzy glow around my heart; something that Faith Hogan always seems to manage to do through her beautifully emotive writing.

What Happened to Us? is a heartwarming story of love, loss, friendship and new beginnings that completely captivated me and effortlessly spirited me away to Dublin for a short while. 

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

My rating:


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About the author:

Faith was born in Ireland and currently lives there with her husband, four children and two fussy cats. She gained an Honors Degree in English Literature and Psychology from Dublin City University and a Postgraduate from University College, Galway. She was a winner in the 2014 Irish Writers Centre Novel Fair- an international competition for emerging writers. When she’s not writing, she’s an enthusiastic dog walker and reluctant jogger.

Follow Faith
Twitter: @gerhogan
Facebook: @faithhoganauthor



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