Review: Sins of the Mother by Tara Hyland

Name: Sins of the Mother

Author: Tara Hyland

Publisher: Atria Books

Genre: Historical Fiction
Release Date:
August 9th 2011 

Source: Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon

From the author of Daughters of Fortune comes a sweeping family drama that follows a mother and daughter through the poverty of post-WWII Ireland and London and into the glamour of 1950s Hollywood and beyond, revealing the ways in which family ties can never be broken.

Tara Hyland is beloved by readers for her exquisite talent at weaving family sagas that journey through the rocky roads of secrets, lies, and betrayals, only to show that no challenge, no matter how difficult, can ever truly sever the bonds of love.

The novel opens in 1946, when Franny Healy is a beautiful and spirited teenager living in the poverty of County Cork, Ireland. Franny wants nothing more than to escape to the excitement of London. But when she discovers she is pregnant, her boyfriend abandons her. Undeterred, Franny leaves the baby with her mother and flees to the city, where she finds work as a nightclub performer. She shines onstage and is soon propelled into a life she’s only dreamed of, filled with Hollywood stars, glamorous parties, furs and fashion, plus a new husband—who must never know of the daughter she left behind in County Cork.

Over thousands of miles and three decades, through heartbreaks and death, Franny and her estranged daughter live vastly different lives, but remain connected, showing once again that the bond between mother and child always endures.

I loved this book for the simple reason that it wasn't what I was expecting. It was more. The story, that for a moment I thought it would be simple and perhaps somewhat tedious, talking only about disputes and problems between mother and daughter, turned out to be a story full of drama, love, relationships with no future, injustice, mystery and incredible twists. 

The story is more than credible. Tara Hyland does a magnificent job creating those characters and developing their story, so I'm not so surprise why this book caught my attention immediately. The situations, the places and the relationships are described perfectly. I spent two days reading the book and couldn't put it down until I finished. There were occasions I felt happy for the characters, other times I felt sorry and sad to see the extreme situations in which they were, and that I was unable to do something to help them. I even got angry with the author for writing those things. But I really enjoyed it. 

UK Cover (Different Name)

What I didn't like too much was the speed with which the author ends the story. After so much suffering and so many mixed stories, the book ends abruptly, as if there was no more space to write on. I would have preferred to read an epilogue and to know more about the relationship between Franny and Clara, (their real relationship) and to know more about Clara's life and to read more about some other characters that the author didn't talk about at the end. 

So, what can I say? If you like family dramas, family secrets, intrigues and stories like real life, this book is for you, but if you prefer short stories, not so dramatic and kind of fairytales, skip this one. Recommended for adults and older teens.

Happy Reading!

I really like it!

Tara Hyland was born in Surrey, England, in 1976. After studying History at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, she worked in the City for several years before leaving to write full time. She currently lives in London with her husband. DAUGHTERS OF FORTUNE is her first novel. To learn more about Tara and her books, you can visit her website