This is a romance between Flora and Jack. Jack is a widow, but is he hiding a bad marriage? His wife, Becca seems perfect but is she all that she seems? Flora has never felt liked she belonged. Her mum dies and now she is trying to blend into Jack's family. This book addresses the insecurities of becoming a part of a blended family. Izzy, the teenager is struggling with the arrival of Flora. Flora, Clare and Izzy were strong characters but I couldn't warm to Jack because he didn't feel real and didn't have the usual Sarah Morgan hero sparkle. Otherwise a super romance. Another brilliant book by Sarah Morgan. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me review this book.

Another absolutely brilliant book by Sarah Morgan! Her characters and relationships are always so real and this book is no different. Flora, our main character is so likeable, wise and brave - with far more patience than I could ever have. The storyline is beautifully crafted, taking us through highs and lows and dealing with love, loss, friendship and grief, without ever becoming too downhearted and sad. I enjoyed every minute of it and am now off to find others books by Morgan that I may have missed!
Thank you to netgalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an unbiased review.

Family For Beginners, Sarah Morgan

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre: General Fiction (Adult), Romance

I've read and enjoyed several of Sarah's books, her writing style matches what I want to read. She doesn't just do a romance, but a story that has lots of sub plots, plenty of other things going on, and characters that feel so real. That's what I want to read, real lives but with good things in. A story that has more than just A meets B and they have a few drama and lived HEA.

I loved Flora, such a hard life she'd had and of course we are what life shapes us. Flora has become one of life's Pleasers, hates conflict and always tries to help, subjugating her own needs to make others happy. I hate conflict too, and I recognise facts of Flora in my own character, and understood her actions.
Jack, ahhh Jack. What a wonderful guy, loved his family, tries so hard after the unexpected death of his wife, and yet he's a bloke and of course they see events and things differently. I so felt for Flora when she felt “outside” the family, and yet I understood too why Jack couldn't see what his actions were doing.
The kids too, poor confused Izzie, teen years are tough but add in a dead mum, a grieving little sister, and a dad who seems to be getting close to his new girlfriend, and no wonder she was obnoxious at times. Molly, her little sister, was a real gem and provided some fantastic light when it was needed.

Of course there's more to the story than we first know, slowly secrets come out and have repercussions. A little ripple turned into some pretty big waves.
I enjoyed the story and the pacing, the way what seemed clear kept changing as more things were revealed. I enjoyed Clare and the family in the Lake district too, some fabulous summer days played out there.

Stars: Five, another wonderful read from Sarah, with real people and plots, to make a story that's totally absorbing.

Arc via Netgalley and publishers

I completely fell in love with this book and the characters, even the ones with a spikey personality. This book is so beautifully written.and also with a such a sense of feeling and knowledge. The book has it all, loss, grief, secrets and lies, family dynamics, friendships old and new but most of all, true love. A totally engrossing story that I heartily recommend.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It shows the feelings of the characters really well. The grief shown by the girls and not wanting to accept another woman in their dad's life. Heartfelt,sorrow,love,loss and new friendships.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and to date I think it is the best one I've read from Sarah Morgan. The characters are totally believable and the essential essence of the book, bereavement and grief, are sympathetically dealt with and how family and friendship dynamics change over time with many peaks and troughs. The difficulties encountered with moving forward, which are shown in a positive light, maybe all a bit too glib for some readers but there is an uplifting feel good factor in the book which does make it not all gloom and doom. Thoughtfully and well written.

Sarah Morgan has done it again! This book captures all of the complexities of family life: hurt, distrust, secrets, love, hope, ambition, friendship, security and strength. It is another fantastic addition to the Sarah Morgan bookshelf!

Another great read from Sarah Morgan! I read this in one sitting, completely engrossed in the characters. I was rooting for Flora, Izzy, Molly and Jack from the very start. Such a good read and I actually feel like I know Flora after reading this!! Loved it!

This is the second book by Sarah Morgan that I attempt to read - and whereas I could not finish the first one, at least I managed to get to the end of this one. The book is perfectly well written, but I am sorry to say it is really not my cup of tea. I found the story boring and superficial, and so are the characters. Dialogues are often too long and the story develops without anything actually happening. We are supposed to believe the main characters fall in love, fine. But how? When? Do they even have anything in common? A lot of 'story' is missing, to make the events believable. I am sure Sarah Morgan has several loyal readers that loved this title, but as I said, it is really not for me.

With Family For Beginners, Sarah Morgan has surely added another bestseller to her ever-growing list.
The story flows beautifully with deep secrets gradually unfurling and while you might have ideas about what’s coming, I was still surprised.
It perfectly explores various themes including single life in our modern world, grief, human nature, blended families and love in its many forms.
As ever, the writing is first class. Even though the point of view switches, Sarah seems to understand the complexities of navigating life for different generations. I felt Flora’s loneliness, the pressure building in teenage Izzy was palpable, the guilt and anger in Becca’s best friend soul destroying.
In short, this book was a delight from start to finish and reading it made me sigh with pleasure.

I loved this book so much, it was beautiful. I don’t know what else to say! I loved the characters, and their development, the way they all slowly learned the true meaning of family, and acceptance. I loved the fact that they all fought for each other, and particularly that Flora didn’t just go storming off when she was upset. Sarah Morgan’s writing just seems to get better and better. Highly recommended.

I was given a free copy of this book. My opinions are my own (as always).

What a very intuitive book, somewhat different from many of Sarah Morgan's. Dealing with family dynamics, relationships, 'blended' families, this touches on so many issues.
Flora is a delight, a lovely florist , shy and a bit of a people pleaser. Meeting Jack, over a bouquet of flowers, brought a new dimension into her life, one that she wasnt really sure how to deal with..
Izzy and Molly, Jack's daughters,are beautifully portrayed.
Unputdownable (is that a word?)
Thanks to NetGalley for a review copy which I enjoyed reading.

Family secrets are best kept, or are they?

Clare lives in the Lake District with husband, Todd, ironic as she's afraid of water. She grew up there, moving back to be near her mother. Her best friend, Becca, has recently died, leaving Clare with a secret she'd rather not have known. Clare flies out to New York for the funeral and to comfort her god-daughter, seventeen year old Izzie. Then she invites them for a return visit, hoping to give them a relaxing break.

Flora (great name as she's a florist) lives a lonely life in NY until she meets Jack, who is Izzie's father.

Izzie herself is keeping secrets, grieving for her feisty, dazzling mother and trying to take care of her young sister, Molly. She resents Flora's new place in her family.

Love the way family dynamics change and grow as the story unfolds. This is one of Sarah Morgan's best. Enjoy!

Family for Beginners is a wonderful read. Flora a florist meets Jack a widower with two girls, he is trying to find a birthday present for his eldest daughter Izzy, his wife Becca having died suddenly 12 months earlier. They connect instantly and slowly the relationship develops, when Jack introduces Flora to his two girls it doesn’t quite go to plan, the youngest still openly missing her mother and Izzy having taken on her mothers role and still grieving badly but silently feels threatened by Flora.
Every year Jack and the family fly to the Lake District from the USA to spend time with Beccas best friend’s family, this time Jack takes Flora. So begins an emotional journey of epic proportions for all involved. With the dynamics between the two families the emotions pour off each page, the characters and dialogue are brilliantly executed. Each starts to heal in their own way, but not without much heartbreaking honesty between them all.
A story of healing, love, pathos and friendship.....fabulous I didn’t want it to end.
My thanks to net galley and publisher for the opportunity to review this book honestly.

What a fabulous book, I raced through it in an afternoon. Beautifully and thoughtfully written, looking at coping with bereavement, loss and building new relationships with a partner who has children who have been through a lot. It also looks at female friendships and the complexities of friendships that you have had since childhood and how people change over time. I really liked the characters too, all dealing with different issues. I’ve read a lot of Sarah Morgan’s books now and I think this is one of my favourites so far. Thank you for letting me review this book.

I have never read a bad book yet by this author. And once again she gets the thumbs up for this one. It’s very true to life. Nice characters. Once you start you can’t put this one down. Very well written

Another fantastic book from Sarah Morgan, she really understands complex family dynamics and the complexities of human relationships. A book that once you pick it up you won’t want to put it down till you have finished it!
Likeable characters particularly the lovely flora and spiky teenager Izzy! The way the relationship between the two of them grows and develops is lovely to see particularly how it is helped along the way by aiden, his mum Clare and eventually Izzys dad! A lovely read that will stay with you long after you have read it!
Thank you net galley for this early read.