#Blogtour Saoirse by Charleen Hurtubise

It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour Saoirse by Charleen Hurtubise, courtesy of #RandomThingsTours. Publishing 26th February 2026 - HB | Eriu | £16.99 - Available in Audio & eBook.

About the Author

Charleen Hurtubise has lived in Dublin, Ireland for over 25 years, having moved from Michigan, USA. She is a teacher and artist as well as a writer, and her short fiction, essays and poetry have appeared in various publications. She holds an MFA Creative Writing from University College Dublin (UCD) where she has also facilitated creative writing modules.

About the book

Can a great love survive a great deception?

In the wilds of Donegal, Ireland, 1999, Saoirse is an artist living an outwardly idyllic life. Her tender husband Daithí and two beloved daughters are regular subjects for her work, and in them she has found the safe home that she has always longed for. She tends not to talk about her past, and those that love her have learned to accept that the full story is too painful for her to disclose.

When her Dublin exhibition unexpectedly wins a prestigious award that invites a swarm of publicity, Saoirse is left panic stricken. The unanticipated recognition threatens to expose a decade's worth of buried memories and past crimes. Because what her family and friends don't know is that Saoirse has been on the run since she was seventeen, she has stolen an identity to survive, and whilst Ireland might now be her home, it wasn't her first - and now her past life is poised to reclaim her. Follow @charleen_hurtubise on Instagram

Review

If this author isn't already on your radar, then she should be and I am happy to see her get more of the recognition she deserves for her excellent writing and exemplary storytelling. Although this has less of a literary fiction feel than her Polite Act of Drowning, it is equally as gripping and memorable.

The exploration of emotional layers built like a pyramid brick by brick gives the story an imperceptible instability within the outside appearance of control and an almost nonchalant-like stability. Saoirse is a product and victim of her childhood, which also accounts for the majority of her choices. Risk taking, ignoring gut instincts and succumbing to her fate, even when that leads her on paths that are filled with fear, oppression and violence.

I enjoyed the way the last few chapters gave a more non-fictional view of attitudes and opinions about Sarah, instead of bending to a more frivolous fictional ending. It's also quite timely given the current dismissive attitude towards crimes against children at the moment. Internalised misogyny, victim-blaming, the blind support of men who rule the world and treat women with violence and cruelty. There is no such thing as an underage woman (or man), they are called children. Sarah the child. Saoirse the woman who is still Sarah the child.

Saoirse makes decisions in the moment, often with the best interest of others in mind. To an outsider it may appear calculated, but there is a tendency to save others before self. She is hypervigilant and vulnerable in equal measures, ergo recognising why Paul is a threat and falling prey to his abusive nature, despite it seeming to be a contradiction. Not unusual for a personality and instinct forged in fear, survival and emotional turmoil.

I really enjoyed the read. It has the making of a story told on-screen, the type of book and story that stays with you.

Buy Saoirse at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Published by Eriu - Bonnier Books Uk, pub date 26th February 2026. Buy at Amazon com. Buy via Bookshop org.

#Blogtour The Polite Act of Drowning by Charleen Hurtubise

It's an absolute pleasure to take part in the Blogtour The Polite Act of Drowning by Charleen Hurtubise.

About the Author

Charleen Hurtubise has lived in Dublin, Ireland for over 25 years, having moved from Michigan, USA. She is a teacher and artist as well as a writer, and her short fiction, essays and poetry have appeared in various publications. She holds an MFA Creative Writing from University College Dublin (UCD) where she has also facilitated creative writing modules. Follow @CharliSolo on Twitter, Visit charleenhurtubise.com

About the book

Michigan, 1985. The drowning of a teenage girl causes ripples in the small town of Kettle Lake, though for most the waters settle quickly. For sixteen-year-old Joanne Kennedy, however, the tragedy dredges up untold secrets and causes her mother to drift farther from reality and her family.

When troubled newcomer Lucinda arrives in town, she offers Joanne a chance of real friendship, and together the teenagers push against the boundaries of family, self-image, and their sexuality during the tension of a long, stifling summer. But the undercurrents of past harms continuously threaten to drag Joanne and those around her under...

Review

Joanne, a young woman on the cusp of adulthood and in the midst of discovery of self. Her coming-of-age journey isn't just identifying her sexuality, to whom she may or may not be attracted - it's also about redefining the nature of all her relationships. 

When sibling rivalry takes on a secondary role as the loyalty towards her parents is questioned, as generational family disputes and trauma threaten to sever loosely threaded ties. The way Joanne moves from child to more mature thinking and engagement becomes more evident as the story evolves, whether that is via the painful teenage moments of humiliation or those moments of clarity when the adults in her life are seen as more than the position they retain in the family dynamic.

Simple mistruths and facts are re-evaluated as buried secrets give better insight into the people she calls parents. Mother is suddenly seen as traumatised child, the guilt-laden sister, the scarred young woman and then the fragile adult who is barely holding on to life. Father is seen as the young man torn between warring families, and the man who is helpless when it comes to comprehending his wife and her struggles.

It's a siren's song of sisterhood in the form of a mother and daughter, sister and sister, girl and female friendship, and it even reflects the more damaging aspects of women's relationships with each other. Nothing is quite so sharp as the knife wielded by the person who should be able to understand you the most.

I absolutely loved it. It's an intricately woven web of emotional despair and yet it simultaneously echoes how small a drop of water we are in the ocean, and how often it's also just that tiny drop that weighs us down and pulls us under.

In the right hands with enough vision this has the potential to be award-winning screen material. It's a heart-wrenching coming-of-age story that takes place in the midst of family dysfunction and generational trauma. Hopefully this will be recognised for the gem it is.

Buy A Polite Act of Drowning at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Published by Eriu, pub date 6th April 2023 - Hardback, eBook and Audio, £14.99. Buy at Amazon com.