Seven Days of Us by Francesca Hornak

Summary:

     It’s Christmas, and for the first time in years the entire Birch family will be under one roof. Even Emma and Andrew’s elder daughter—who is usually off saving the world—will be joining them at Weyfield Hall, their aging country estate. But Olivia, a doctor, is only coming home because she has to. Having just returned from treating an epidemic abroad, she’s been told she must stay in quarantine for a week…and so too should her family.

     For the next seven days, the Birches are locked down, cut off from the rest of humanity—and even decent Wi-Fi—and forced into each other’s orbits. Younger, unabashedly frivolous daughter Phoebe is fixated on her upcoming wedding, while Olivia deals with the culture shock of being immersed in first-world problems.

     As Andrew sequesters himself in his study writing scathing restaurant reviews and remembering his glory days as a war correspondent, Emma hides a secret that will turn the whole family upside down.

     In close proximity, not much can stay hidden for long, and as revelations and long-held tensions come to light, nothing is more shocking than the unexpected guest who’s about to arrive…

 

My Thoughts:

     Well guys, I’ve done it again. I have gotten sucked in by a beautiful, eye-catching cover and foregone the whole reading-the-synopsis-and-knowing-what-the-story-is-actually-about thing.  I don’t like family drama stories where there is nothing but family members fighting and hating each other and guess what Seven Days of Us is? Family Drama and nothing else.

     The problem with family dramas, for me anyway, is that the characters are never likeable and this held true with the Birches.  Andrew, the dad, is in the midst of a big old pity party and is sulky and rude. Emma, the mother, whom I feel I should like is clingy and hopelessly lost in the past. Then there are the daughters.  Olivia isn’t too terrible but she is very preachy and looks down on everyone who doesn’t sacrifice their lives for third world countries. And Phoebe? Oy, Phoebe is the worst! This is supposed to be a 29-year-old woman? She acts like an immature, selfish and irresponsible 15-year-old. Ugh.

     The only character that I had any good feelings towards is a surprise plot twist characters that I cannot even mention here as I never want to post spoilers.  I REALLY wanted to give up on this book about sixty percent into it but battled through just for this one character’s storyline…that’s it, that is all that kept even a tiny bit of my attention. I feel that only one or two of the characters really grew or changed but even they didn’t change into likeable people.  Usually the reading for the beautiful cover thing works out okay for me but not this time.  1/5 stars