AMANDA BROOKFIELD'S RELATIVE LOVE

Amanda Brookfield was delightful for me to read. Right now I am in the middle of some reading which is taking me a bit of time to wade through. This was just the thing to do the trick and get me in reading mode.
A mix of Joanna Trollope, Rosamunde Pilcher and a touch of Rosy Thornton I found this family saga absolutely riveting.

The Harrison family with John and Pamela leading the brigade. We have elder son Peter and following them Charlie, Elizabeth and Cassie. Every sibling totally different - from the serious, very responsible Peter who wants/needs to think matters through carefully, weighing all options before speaking to the carefree Charlie and then we have Elizabeth who has been the odd man out, never quite fitting in with the family and always feeling that she has somehow failed the Harrison test and Cassie nursing a hopeless love for a married doctor and keeping it secret from all.

The traditions of Easter and Christmas at the Harrison family country house were accepted by all - not just the children, but strangely by the in laws, and grandchildren even though teenagers may have preferred to be somewhere else. There was no shaking those traditions. The generous hospitality of Pamela and John making their children's stay back home as comfortable and luxurious as possible was something to be admired.  For Pamela particularly it was a feeling of continuity and stability that things would always be the same.

The spanner in the works inevitably has to happen and happen it did. It disrupted not just the immediate family where it happened but the ripples spread to the entire Harrison clan. How it enveloped all and how it very insidiously spread affecting everyone's personality - from the littlest to the biggest is the second half of the story.How the Harrisons overcame the obstacles and stayed strong and together is the final focus of the book.

It was not just the family saga and the philosophical aspect of families that entranced me. It was the descriptiveness that was involved not just in the country but throughout the story.

Loved this read and hoping that I will find more by the same author.