This is about three generations within one family and an event that changes all their lives and brings them to reassess family ties and relationships. There are the grandparents, Monica and Gus, their three grown up children, Sebastian, Kate and Jake and their children.

Monica and Gus live in Spain and have run a successful vineyard for a lot of years. They uprooted their young family from Britain, putting the eldest two in boarding school and the youngest Son stayed with them and went to the local Spanish school. Monica just went along with what Gus wanted.

Gus has a stroke and Monica goes to pieces somewhat as she is use to Gus being in charge. She contacts the children, who she hasn’t seen for some years. Old resentments and new issues come to the fore.

Gus is selfish, grumpy and antisocial, all too used to getting his own way. The family make their way - but not all at the same time - over to Spain to see their Father and to help Monica. Sebastian is married to Anna who has never really got on with Monica. Anna has a strong personality, and she and the kids seem to barely interact or have anything to do with Sebastian.
Katie has been with her partner, Nic, for twenty years and have three teenage girls, She is a hard working lawyer, Nic a laid back teacher. They are so busy that they miss some of problems, distress and secrets that her daughters have.
Jake, is a laid back nothing much bothers him person and is married to Bella. They have an eighteen month old Daughter that they call Mouse.
All have their own different ideas with regard to their parents ill health, business and age issues. There are resentments, rivalries, poor communications, secrets, all exacerbated by their past distance from each other.

I have to say I didn’t warm to any one of the characters and found the story quite annoying as there was far to much going on to develop any one of the relationships with any depth.

A great book. I’ve always enjoyed books set in Spain as I love the country and culture, well written, flows well,
Thanks to both the publisher and NetGalley for inviting me to read this book

It’s been a very long time since I’ve read a book by Joanna Trollope and that’s my loss. I’d forgotten what an engaging writer she is.
This is a great read. A family saga. When Gus the patriarch of the family suffers a stroke in Spain where he’s lived with his wife for 25 years the shockwaves are keenly felt in London where their three grown children and six grandchildren live. As everyone comes to terms with a new way of life it soon becomes apparent that no one has the ideal life that they all think each other have. As the siblings relationships are stretched more than they’ve ever been, the characters all grow and it appears that what could have been the end is actually the beginning. I loved that the book finished as it began with leaves on the patio, proving that some things never change when others will never be the same again

The characters in this book are wonderful.
The setting of Spain is beautifully depicted in this book.
This book is filled with family drama.
A great book.

Joanna Trollope is ten years older than me, so she's been writing for about eighty percent of my reading life. This is the first of her books I've read, and I now I'm chastising myself for waiting this long.

Mum & Dad is a story of a fractured family, whose dysfunction is unravelled when Dad suffers a stroke in Spain, where he (and Mum) have lived for twenty-five years. Their three children, and their own children (ranging from toddlers to moody teenagers) have to disrupt their London lives to help.

Trollope writes thoughtfully, articulately, with emotion and compassion. Her characters are realistically imperfect: they're human and relatable. Their life stresses and pressures, their worries, their hopes are all recognisable.

Despite the slightly underwhelming ending, I found the story and the characters engaging and interesting, and as an introduction to this well-known author, it has propelled me into Trollope world! Many, many more to be read, very definitely!

Firstly thank you to Netgalley for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review. I’m sorry it’s taken me so long.

This book wasn’t what I expected. I knew it was about a family coming together which I love but the clashing amongst all the family members, although great for the characterisation, was the least interesting part of the story.

It all starts when the father, Gus, has a stroke and all his children go to visit him in Spain, where he lives.

Things go from there.

I did enjoy it for the most part, but there were some elements I didn’t like. I didn’t like the youngest son, Jake, trying to take over his fathers business when his father wasn’t coherent.

It felt like he was using the stroke as an opportunity but going about it completely the wrong way!

There is a trigger warning for self harm, the daughter, Katie, has a daughter who has started cutting. It was hard to read how Katie and her partner Nic were trying to help their daughter but she refused.

I’m not a parent so I can’t imagine how hard that is but I am a teacher and I know how much children can feel closed off.

The characters are a lot older than I am so I couldn’t relate to them which I think effected how I saw the story.

It is a lovely story and has a heart I just feel I wasn’t the right target audience.

3/5 stars

Whilst I appreciate receiving an ARC of this book, unfortunately, it was not one for me. I found that I was unable to get into the story or care about the characters and ultimately this was a DNF. However, we do all have different tastes and I'm sure there are people who will enjoy this book.

A great read, really heart-warming. The story was so lovely and left me with a smile on my face. Definitely worth a read. Thank you NetGalley.

An enjoyable read that I will go on to recommend. I found the characters interesting and the plot line engaging. Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a nice story, a little bit of a non story but nice all the same. It ended nicely with the family all coming together but I wouldn't be inclined to read it again.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Joanna Trollope is what I class a quality writer. This novel does not disappoint and has for me a personal side as I also left England to live in Spain and also have regrets

When Gus has a stroke the whole 'living the dream' theory vanishes and then it is down to real life, struggles and bitter relationships.

Well-drawn characters, setting and the simplicity and warmth of the setting is so believable.

Recommended.

Tess is grieving for her mum and running herself into the ground working for the family business. When sorting through her mother’s possessions she finds out a secret that rocks her world.

The beautiful seaside town of Wynmouth, where Tess spent precious family holidays, keeps creeping into her thoughts. In urgent need of some time to herself, she rents a cottage in the village and arrives hoping to go on a trip down memory lane and take some time to reflect. She is welcomed by the close community and soon finds herself making friends in the tranquil coastal town.

There is always a strong community theme in Heidi’s books and this was no exception. The characters are totally relatable and kindhearted but as always there are twists and turns around every corner which makes this an emotional read. The story is a great reminder to enjoy the simple things in life, like a salty sea breeze or a starry sky. This book will make you yearn for rock pools and beach huts and the company of genuine people.

A very welcome and relaxing distraction, another absorbing read from Heidi Swain.

4.5 stars

An interesting read. This is my first time reading Joanna Trollope and I enkoyed the experience. Her descriptions are vivid and her conversations very engaging. If a few of the characters are a bit too woke, that's just something I will have to suffer. The father, the mother and the youngest brother are not modern at all. The story is about a family. The parents went to live in Spain some time ago, running a vineyard. The eldest children went to boarding school, the youngest is bilingual, having been brought up in Spain. The father suffers a stroke and all three children help in various ways. For some its a trial, whilst balancing their own lives, for others it's a relief and a life line. Self harming is included so if that might be a trigger subject be aware. I might look out some of her other novels but I can recommned this one.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

This book doesn't end. It just cuts off. I didn't warm to the characters at all. I didn't like any of them and maybe that was the intention but it mean't that I didn't really care what happened to them.

I remember reading Joanna Trollope’s novels in the Eighties – ‘The Choir’, ‘A Village Affair’, ‘A Passionate Man’, ‘The Rector’s Wife’ – and loving them. Somehow, I stopped reading her and I can’t remember why. These weren’t strictly her first novels, she’d previously published a number of historical novels under the pen name Caroline Harvey. So now I come to ‘Mum & Dad’. I devoured it in a couple of days, partly because it is set in a part of Spain I know very well, and partly because Trollope is a master storyteller.
When her husband Gus has a stroke, Monica’s three children descend to their parents’ vineyard in Southern Spain. Gus and Monica have lived near Ronda for twenty-five years; it is their home, but they are distanced from their children who have children of their own, busy lives and marital tensions. The eldest Sebastian runs a cleaning company with his wife, Anna, who has never got on with her mother-in-law. Katie is a lawyer who, with husband Nic, must deal with a bombshell dropped by one of their three daughters at an inconvenient time. And Jake, with partner Bella and toddler Mouse, seems to deal lightly with the truth and is oddly eager to move to Spain and help out his father.
The problem is, Monica is not sure any more what she wants. She loves her house in Spain but struggles with her irascible grumpy husband; she is terrified of what his stroke will do to his personality, and to their life. Their life there seems so settled. They run the vineyard and their house with the help of Pilar and a team of Spanish workers. Gus is proud of the awards his wines have won, and Monica loves her early morning cup of tea looking at the view south to Gibraltar. But now all this is under threat. Each of the three children arrives at the vineyard with their own ideas of what is best for Monica and Gus, and for themselves. What none of them anticipate is the way long-held resentments, jealousies and misunderstandings will affect what happens next.
Trollope is a master at showing the complexities of ordinary people, the things they don’t know about themselves, and the way families inter-act by sticking with good and bad habits ingrained by time as the normal way of communicating. When something happens, like Gus’s stroke, those habits are broken. Trollope turns a magnifying glass on petty jealousies, unrealistic expectations and lies told that are bigger than they first seem. She gets under the skin of how families react to challenges, how choices made by one member of the family affect everyone else, and where responsibilities lay.
The solution found at the end is perhaps a little too easy but this is a positive story about how lack of communication and the fissures this causes over the years, can be rectified with a little forgive and forget.
You can expect to read a lot more reviews here of Joanna Trollope’s books as I starting re-read them from the beginning.
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-reviews-a-z/

I love Joanna Trollope’s books and this one didn't disappoint. It was an easy read but I got fully immersed in the characters and the family dynamics. A good story well told - solid 4 stars from me.

As Always Joanna Trollope provides a fabulous page turner book. I have read most of her books and I have never failed to enjoy, I’m always disappointed when I have finished it. The cover is absolutely beautiful too!

never read this author before so wasnt sure what to expect but to be fair i wasnt wowed by it and found the main character annoying in all honesty but it was readable but wouldnt rush out to purchase more of her books. Not sure if i expected more as ive heard a lot about this author. Just didnt dazzle me but it was ok as books go.

I found this book very difficult to get into. to me it was a very weak story which never really got started.

A good read .When Gus and Monica move to Spain to start a new life they leave their two eldest children at boarding school in England taking only their youngest son Jake, as a result they never had a meaningful relationship with them.Everthing changes when Gus has a stroke and needs help running his vineyard. As the eldest come back into the picture can they mend bridge's and help sort things out or will the problems with their own families make it Impossible.