Pleasant enough

A very easy listen but the characters were never really developed and the narration was very irritating.

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The tapestry of imperfect lives

I enjoyed this audio book and the subject matter. Perhaps there is not sufficient material written about how adoption affects both the child and the mother, which is of course different in every case according to the new family the child finds themselves adopted into and the life that the birth parent goes on to live.
Marnie and Cecillys story was unusual in the way the first meeting was arranged in a neutral spot in another country by Marnie. It was interesting and a bit of a mystery for the reader too because it was not disclosed until later, why Cecilly was going abroad.
Marnie, it slowly became clear, had not had an easy upbringing and hence had some sharp edges. She was very different from the other 3 daughters Cecilly had brought into the world. They were a close family but as all families, there were unspoken resentments, issues, even lack of trust which were not aired.
Marnies entry into their lives ignited and brought to light some of those issues and appeared to rock their cosy world somewhat.

My heart went out to Cecilly in her attempts to create a perfect fit of these new circumstances which was naive but understandable and I think the ending was so apt on this occasion. Just one of many possible outcomes for similar circumstances.

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Predictable

Really struggled to finish. I guessed correctly what would happen next and was never wrong. Boring.

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Enjoyable

Took a while to get started. Once in an excellent storyline with an ending that was understandable

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A very "nice" story

In the recent time of darkness, I really felt like I needed to hear something nice and safe. I didn't get entirely what I expected in that sense but I enjoyed the relationships between the characters.
I particularly liked the section recalling Cecily's childhood. I thought it was beautiful and sensitively handled.
The main "mystery" for Cecily's visit to Kefalonia is the most obvious reason that occurs to you but the story is more about the resolution of unfinished ties.
I've read another review saying that the narrator sounds like she is reading to children. I know what they mean BUT I found her voice charming, reassuring and I loved listening to the narration.
This book will especially appeal to people who like stories that feel more real and grounded in events that are likely to happen.
(This won't appeal to people who are after action, darkness and sinister twists.)
It verged on a bit too "nicey-nicey" for me but as I was looking for a more mellow read than usual, I was able to appreciate the characters and subtle plots.

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1 person found this helpful

Bittersweet

A bittersweet tale about a young girl falling pregnant a mere child herself and she had to give the child away for adoption.

Fifty years later the child she gave up now a woman decides to get in touch. We then see what happens when the mother Cecily is reunited with her daughter. Cecily’s own children are none the wiser so there is a lot to explain and will it be happy ever after.....

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The Missing Piece

An ordinary family with lovely, real characters. A great story with a bitter sweet ending. I loved it

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Left Wanting :-(

This reminds me of an episode of the 90s sitcom 'Keeping Up Appearances', with Cecily falling nicely into Patricia Routledges character Hyacinth Bucket and Norman as the ever patient but underheel Richard Bucket. However, sadly, as it's not written to be a comedy it had none of the charm, the punchlines or the humour that made the iconic tv program a hit. In my opinion the story was dull, tedious and unremarkable. Considering the heartbreaking theme of a baby taken from it's mother over 50 years ago where was the passion pulling at the heartstrings? I kept waiting throughout to be drawn in, I wanted to feel/share the emotion the pain and subsequent joy but disappointingly it didn't happen. The narration, however slightly irritating, was excellent for putting some colour on the pages and life in to characters that were otherwise flat and mundane

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Disappointed

Shame to say I would have loved the story but the Narrator seemed to speak very quickly and with no feelings to the story..
I like a audible to relax me and put me in the moment . Sad to say it’s not worth the audible version..

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pointless

not much of a story, so easily could have been better with a few twists and turns. was an effort to get into for not much reward

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