Book Review: Seven Days of Us by Francesca Hornak

 GOODREADS 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…

TEE'S THOUGHTS:

Seven Days of Us was published in 2017 and has been sitting on my shelf pretty much that entire time, so when I was picking my holiday reads for this year, I knew this needed to be one of them.

The story does take place during the Christmas holiday, however, it isn't so much a Christmas book, it is more a book about a dysfunctional English family that is stuck in a seven-day quarantine because daughter Olivia, a doctor, has come home from a time in Liberia treating people who had contracted a plague-like disease called Haag.

NOTE: I didn't really understand why Olivia was able to quarantine with her entire family, I feel like if it was a plague-like illness the government would have kept her isolated... This one fact seemed to bother me throughout the book.

The four Birch family members, sister Olivia, a doctor, sister Phoebe, engaged to George, Emma, the mother, and Andrew the father, are all featured as POVs, along with an American named Jesse who is Andrew's long lost son he never knew he had.

Each family member is hiding a secret as quarantine begins, but as the story moves forward they each come to light to the rest of the family members.

Francesca Hornak did a wonderful job of writing Seven Days Of Us, it is a humorous family drama that touches on a lot of real subjects, especially what I felt was the lack of communication between the members. It is something that seems to get overlooked in many families who think they are doing ok and really are not.

I am not going to sit here and tell you that I loved the characters because I honestly didn't. I found them to be very self-centered, and many of them were just downright pompous, but I didn't hate them either. I did at times find myself feeling a bit sympathetic towards each of them and their problems. 

If you haven't read this one yet, it is worth the read. I love how it ends up showing the power of a family and of the love the family has for each other. The book is sad at times, and will make you laugh at other times, but mostly the entire story will show you hope in people.