Portobello Book Blog

I’m very excited to be sharing my review of The Garnett Girls by Georgina Moore today. It’s a book I’ve been looking forward to ever since I first heard about it probably over a year ago! Georgina is well known in the book industry as a publicist extraordinaire and this is her debut novel.

About the book

A brilliant debut and powerful tale of sisterhood and home, set on the beautiful beaches of the Isle of Wight…

Love makes you do things you never thought you were capable of.

Margo and Richard’s love affair was the stuff legends are made of—forbidden, passionate, all-encompassing. But ultimately, doomed.

When Richard walked out, Margo shut herself away from the world, leaving her three daughters, Rachel, Imogen and Sasha, to run wild.

Having finally put the past behind her, the charismatic Margo holds court in her cottage on the Isle of Wight, refusing to ever speak of Richard. But her silence is keeping each of the Garnett girls from finding true happiness.

The eldest, Rachel, is desperate to return to London, but is held hostage by responsibility for Sandcove, their beloved but crumbling family home.

Imogen, the dreamy middle child, feels the pressure to marry her kind, considerate fiancé, even when her life is taking an unexpected turn.

And wild, passionate Sasha, the baby, trapped between her increasingly alienated family and her controlling husband, has unearthed the secret behind Richard’s departure… and when she reveals it, the effects are devastating.

Set on the beautiful beaches of the Isle of Wight, The Garnett Girls asks whether children can ever be free of the mistakes their parents make.

My Thoughts

I found this book a very absorbing read. It’s a real character driven novel and the detailed examination of the characters’ relationships are what make this book so fascinating.

First of all we have the mother and daughter relationships. Margo is a larger than life, charismatic character, quite bohemian in outlook. I actually loved the way her character was portrayed, loving life, loving parties and not afraid to do what made her happy. Her passionate relationship with her girls’ father had come to an end many years ago and it’s been The Garnett Girls together ever since. The daughters all have a very different kind of relationship with their mother clearly heavily influenced by what happened when their parents’ relationship broke down. What really happened is a bit of a mystery throughout the book since Margo won’t talk about it and this adds a level of intrigue.

Then we have the relationships between the sisters. Like many families, the girls are very different. Rachel is the oldest and feels a great sense of responsibility not just for her sisters but for the family home, Sandcove. Imogen is very much a middle child and almost drifts along particularly in her relationships. She certainly takes her sisters and herself by surprise though and starts to think about what she might want. Sasha was always the baby, perhaps more indulged, which led to her being rather wild at times. So it’s concerning that her marriage seems to be making her quieter and more subdued. With such different personalities, it’s inevitable that the relationship between the sisters is fiery and volatile at times. And yet, the bonds of sisterhood are strong and they are there for each other when they need each other.

Finally, there are the relationships that the sisters have with their partners. I’ve alluded to those above but their relationships are also quite different and not without their ups and downs. All three have struggles of some kind with their relationships which come to a head over the year or so of this novel. There are affairs, new awakenings, an undercurrent of threat and danger and secrets which, once revealed, both shock and allow the family to move forward.

The Garnett Girls is an impressive debut, a family drama with so much going on. It was easy to get engrossed of the lives of the women, The Garnett Girls, and to want everything to work out well for them. Georgina Moore has created a compelling set of characters, ones I would like to read more about actually, and I am looking forward to seeing what she writes next.

Huge thanks to the author for arranging for me to have an early copy of the book for review
and to Anne at Random Things Tours for the invitation to take part in the blogtour.
The Garnett Girls is published by HQ Stories and is available now in hardback, ebook and audiobook.

About the Author

Georgina Moore grew up in London and lives on a houseboat on the River Thames with her partner, two children and Bomber, the Border Terrier.   The Garnett Girls is her first novel and is set on the Isle of Wight, where Georgina and her family have a holiday houseboat called Sturdy.