I enjoyed this quite a lot. I think coming from a big Catholic family with lots of women who are of an age with the main characters really helped this come together for me. Much of it seemed very, very real.

Alice, the matriarch of the Kellehar family is really a rotten old apple. Sure, she has some demons, but is seems like she's been rotten since the beginning. Her husband seems almost too perfect and I am still not sure if we're supposed to believe that she loved him or that she just tolerated him in order to get to heaven.

I liked the ambiguous ending to the book, too.

I want a follow up where were learn more about all the screwed up men in the family! ( )

Kind of what you expect from a beach read book. Page turner; dysfunctional family, religion and family issues in the mix. ( )

Boring and simplistic despite an interesting setting. ( )

Read about 40 pages. Not my kind of book.

If I hadn't been left with such an unsatisfactory conclusion I might have given another star to this one. A summer read for certain...the stories are not light but the setting calls you to the coast. Each character, though not exactly all lovable, was someone you could understand all their human quirks and forgive them. In fact, the awful review that I have read about this one seem to mostly complain about just how human the characters all are...and that was what I liked most, how imperfect and impulsive and single focused they could be yet gave concessions when they could truly see one another. ( )