Product Description

When an aunt she never knew existed phones Laurie Vale out of the blue, she soon discovers that everything she ever believed about her family is a lie. Fifty years earlier, in the idyllic coastal village of Stepmouth, a forbidden love affair and a devastating flood drove the Vale family apart, but now her aunt is determined that Laurie should know the truth. Laurie escapes to the balmy warmth of Majorca only to find the hopes and passions burried in the past resurfacing in the present. But the more she seeks to heal old wounds, the more she becomes ensnared in a complex love affair of her own: one that could destroy her family for good.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #138032 in Books
• Published on: 2005-05-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
The fifth tome from the Lloyd/Rees writing duo opens with pretty Laurie Vale enjoying her very own private view in a chic London gallery. Within two pages we learn the key facts: Laurie is on the slow road to recovery from an emotionally crippling holiday romance; this is her last stab at making her living from her painting; and she feels guilty that she doesn't see more of her recently widowed father. And then a chance phone call blows her life apart when an Aunt she didn¹t know existed informs her that her Uncle has just died.

But before we can discover more, the scene shifts. It is half a century ago in a small coastal village somewhere in North Devon. Laurie's father and sister are living with their disabled mother above the family run shop. A family feud of monumental proportions has torn the Vale and Glover families apart so that when Laurie's Aunt begins stepping out with handsome young Tony Glover, you just know that no good will come of it.

Presumably, Josie Lloyd and Emlyn Rees have taken one half of the story each--regular readers may even be able to work out whose is the 1950s drama and whose the modern day denouement. While there is as much action, surprise twists and skeletons in cupboards packed into We are Family as a month of bumper edition episodes of Eastenders, it is to the authors' credit that they manage to sustain a powerful storyline with hard-edged realism.

The surprises are (mostly) genuinely unexpected: Lloyd/Rees do not shirk from tragedies and unhappy turn of events. We are Family is not a jolly holiday with neatly tied storylines. For fans and those looking for a cracking, fast-paced read, this will hit the right buttons.--Carey Green

Woman's Own, 3 April 2004
'A vivid story'

Company, June 2004
'A beautifully written novel'

Customer Reviews

The Best Book Ever
This is by far the best book I have ever read, I have read all of the other books by the authors, but this one had me totally gripped, I couldn't put it down and didn't want it to end - keep up the fantastic writing Lloyd and Rees.

Okay.
I've read most of the books written by these authors, but don't feel that this was their best. The story jumped between the past and present, and at times it did get slightly confusing over who was who and what was happening where.
I was also a bit disappointed with the ending, as everything seemed to come together just a little bit too neatly. I think it should have been drawn out a bit more to make it more realistic.
But this book is well worth reading, and I did enjoy the story.

Every family has its skeletons...
Flashing between past and present, this is the story of three generations of a family torn apart by both prejudice and natural disaster.

The love, lies and tragedy that make up the fabric of this family make for a moving, captivating, and (surprisingly) a relatively `light' read. I loved it.