Family Album [Mass Market Paperback]

The basis of the book was very good. The story was one I was very interested in reading. I just couldn't seem to get completely interested in this book. It seemed to be too choppy and not flow from one scene to the next. The characters didn't seem to be fully developed either. Hannah and Simon are supposed to have the perfect marriage but on paper it just doesn't come across that way. They seem more like strangers than husband and wife. The best interaction between characters is Jenny and her Grandmother Ferris. Aunt Marcy also seems to be a likable and genuine character. The story of Hannah and Mark was wonderful to read.

I wanted to like this book so much. I wanted it to be a page turner that I just couldn't put down. I was quite disappointed that this book fell short of my expectations. Half the book is setting up the meeting between Hannah and her son. And then at the end the book just ends abruptly. It's as if the author ran out of words. I was left wanting more closure when I finished this book. This was my first Kay book and sorry I just wasn't impressed.

Twenty years pass, and Hannah has achieved a wonderful life with a loving husband and a daughter of whom she is proud and loves dearly. Yet all of this might be shasttered when a young man enters their lives. At first, David Conway comes asking for a job, then he saves Jenny, Hannah's daughter, from drowning, and Simon, her husband gives him an even better job. .However, when Hannah gets a close look at David, she knows the truth, her son has come looking for her.

When she faces David, Hannah tells him her heartbreaking story and who his father is. Though he seems to understand what happened and much of the boy's resentment fades after hearing her side, he still disappears shortlly thereafter. Determined to not fail her oldest child again, Hannah goes in search of David, risking her family, and forced once more to face her past and her first love.

Heart rending and touching, this novel touches your soul,. Seeing the story from both sides, you feel the sorrow of each character and the hurt one moment can cause. The cast is easy to relate to and understand, each member being realistic as they try to handle what can at best be described as an awkward, difficult situation. Ms Kay never fails to deliever this kind of story, and through seeing the scars of the characters, perhaps the reader will find healing for their own. *****

Reviewed by Amanda Killgore.

Hannah is living a privileged life. She is wealthy, is adored by her husband and has a wonderful relationship with her teenage daughter. But she also has a big secret. On her 17th birthday, she gave birth to a baby boy. She only held him once before she had to give him up.

And now 20 years later, her world is going to come crashing down around her when her son shows up at her door.....

The people draw you in and you keep reading hoping for a happy ending.

An author to watch for.