What Happened to Us? – Book Review

Hello all!!!!!!! I am back to do review after a looong time! So today, I am going to do a book review on What Happened to Us? written by an Irish author, Faith Hogan.

Sometimes the end is only the beginning…

After ten years together, Carrie Nolan is devastated when she’s dumped by Kevin Mulvey without even a backwards glance! But on reflection, she has sacrificed her own long-term happiness by pandering to his excessive ego in their successful Dublin restaurant (and out of it) – but not anymore!

While Kevin is ‘living the dream’ with his beautiful new Brazilian girlfriend, Carrie seeks solace from a circle of mismatched strangers who need her as much as she needs them.

Then suddenly a catastrophic sequence of events leads to the unthinkable…

How far do you need to fall before you learn the true value of family and friends? And is it ever too late to start again…

Perfect for fans of Cecilia Ahern, Jodi Picoult and Sheila O’Flannagan.

Pages:- 444 pages

Genre:- Holiday Fiction/ Contemporary Fiction

Date Published:- October 2018

My Rating:-

Faith Hogan is an Irish award-winning and bestselling author of five contemporary fiction novels. Her books have featured as Book Club Favorites, Net Galley Hot Reads and Summer Must Reads. She writes grown up women’s fiction which is unashamedly uplifting, feel good and inspiring.

Her latest book, The Place We Call Home is published in January 2020.

She also writes Crime Fiction as Geraldine Hogan – HER SISTERS BONES is the first in a new series set in Ireland.

Faith gained an Honours Degree in English Literature and Psychology from Dublin City University and a Postgraduate Degree from University College, Galway.

She is currently working on her next novel. She lives in the west of Ireland with her husband, four children and a very busy Labrador named Penny. She’s a writer, reader, enthusiastic dog walker and reluctant jogger – except of course when it is raining!

You can find out more about Faith on her website http://www.faithhogan.com
http://www.Facebook/FaithHogan.com
@gerhogan

This is the first time I have started reading Faith Hogan’s books and I must say, Faith Hogan is literally the Irish version of Jodi Picoult. So in a nutshell, the story starts with Kevin Mulvey who tells his long time girlfriend, Carrie Nolan that he was in love with a Colombian woman named Valentina, who is working at the restaurant, Sea Pear which both Carrie and Kevin opened together. Of course Carrie was devastated and while she was going through an emotional phase, she meets a dog named Teddy who she finds at the back of the restaurant. Teddy changes Carrie’s life. Along the story, we also meet an elderly woman named Jane Marchant who owns an inn, Marchant Inn across the restautant and how she is leading a lonely life, and Luke Gibson whose father is in a nursing home in Dublin. The three characters, Carrie, Jane and Luke come together through the dog Teddy and the story tells how each of their lives are changed.

So I will start the review in the list form

• There were nineteen chapters in total and an epilogue. In each chapter tells the perspectives of each of the characters and how they are going through with the life–Carrie who is heartbroken and trying to cope up with the break, Luke Gibson who is deciding what to do in his life, Jane Marchant who is struggling with loneliness and of course the relationship between Kevin and Valentina. So, there are four main characters in the book, mainly Carrie, Jane, Luke and Kevin.
• Some of the chapters were utterly boring but some chapters was interesting, particularly towards the end, where it go more and more interesting.
• I like how the author made Kevin a whiny and unlikable character, though in the end, he realizes his mistake, making the reader feel a bit sorry towards him.
• I also like how the author had portrayed the growing relationship between Carrie and the dog Teddy, eventually changing Carrie’s life for good. I also like how Teddy the dog affected both Luke and Jane’s lives too.
• The story is all about friendship and emotions–I really like how Carrie’s friends supported Carrie during her break-up with Kevin.
• I have never been to Dublin so as a reader, I could feel that I am in Dublin as I read the book.
• The writing was good and interesting.
• Sometimes, I feel that there were some unnecessary parts in the book, which is not really relevant to the book.

Overall, this is an emotional and good book to read., worth four stars in my opinion!!!

Favorite character in the book:- Carrie Nolan –because she is the main female protagonist and a bit inspiration to females too.

Least favorite character in the book:- Kevin and Valentina (I became OK with Kevin in the end and started hating Valentina)

Favorite quote from the book:– None