#BlogTour Mary Kate by Nadine Dorries

Today it's my pleasure to take part in the BlogTour Mary Kate by Nadine Dorries. It's heart-warming, sometimes tragic and it's also quite amusing at times. Topping off the emotional turmoil and drama with a cheeky sense of humour is what makes this a compelling story.

About the Author
Nadine Dorries grew up in a working-class family in Liverpool. She spent part of her childhood living on a farm with her grandmother, and attended school in a small remote village in the west of Ireland. She trained as a nurse, then followed with a successful career in which she established and then sold her own business. She has been the MP for Mid-Bedfordshire since 2005 and has three daughters.

Follow @NadineDorries @HoZ_Books on Twitter
Buy Mary Kate

About the book

Mary Kate Malone is seventeen and bitterly unhappy that her father has married again after the death of her mother. On her last day at school, she decides to leave home in Tarabeg on the west coast of Ireland and head for Liverpool to find her mother’s sister, Aunt Bee.

But absolutely nothing goes to plan. Within hours of disembarking, she finds herself penniless and alone, with no place to stay and no idea how she will survive.

Meanwhile, back in Ireland, where old sins cast long shadows, a long-buried secret is about to come to light and a day of reckoning, in the shape of a stranger from America, will set an unstoppable chain of events in motion.

Review
This is the sequel to Shadows in Heaven, and although one might assume that the main focus is on Mary Kate and the people who love her, the rest of the family tries very hard to draw attention away from her. It is a layered family saga with entertaining characters. Never a dull moment with any one of them.

The fact Mary Kate has decided to embark upon wildly exotic travels, from Ireland to Liverpool, comes as a shock to her family. They expect her to settle down near them and stay within the inner hub. She has other ideas and sense of adventure to placate.

Rosie is a character who may divide opinions. At times I felt sorry for her, because living her life in the shadow of a ghost is difficult. Then there is the other side of Rosie, the more spiteful and harsh version of the woman always destined to be second best.

I was annoyed on her behalf about the way she was treated by her husband Michael, his family members and of course by Mary Kate. This woman has raised Mary Kate's brother since his first moments, becoming his surrogate mother after his mother died in childbirth. She is his mother, just not genetically, and yet everyone still behaves as if she is an usurper.

Sarah's presence is felt throughout, as are other ghosts, which is a delightful addition to the story. It gives this family a stronger sense of being bonded together. Daedio in particular is driven by the advice given by long lost loved ones, and he is also the one who made me smile the most.

It has a Catherine Cookson vibe, but less gritty and with more emphasis on the chaotic family entanglements, and of course the family is Irish. It's heart-warming, sometimes tragic and it's also quite amusing at times. Topping off the emotional turmoil and drama with a cheeky sense of humour is what makes this a compelling story.

Buy Mary Kate (Tarabeg #2) at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.
Publisher: Head of Zeus; pub date 10 Jan. 2019
Buy Shadows in Heaven (Tarabeg #1)