Author: Catherine Barry
Publisher: Endeavour Press
Publication Date: October 2016
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Buy The Book: Amazon
Description: When life gives you a second chance…
At sixteen years old, Jack Joyce loses her virginity to her brother’s charming and charismatic friend, Matt. She finds the experience an unexpected disappointment and whilst her friends spend their twenties settling into their careers, Jack spends it partying, desperately trying to recreate the youth she felt she should have had.
More than a decade on — living in a tiny flat in Dublin, as a single mother and in a dead-end job — she still dreams of Matt, Thin Lizzy and those days of old. So, bumping into her first love at the point when her future seems its bleakest feels like destiny. Is this Jack’s second chance? Matt may be married, and have kids, but surely divine intervention must count for something? If only Jack can shift some weight and stop drinking, who knows what might happen.
When Matt invites her to join an evening class he's teaching, Jack’s fantasies soar to new heights. She soon finds that he has set her on the first step of a journey that will change her life forever. Only it isn’t quite the journey she had in mind…
My Thoughts: The House That Jack Built by new to me author Catherine Barry introduces the reader to Jacqueline “Jack” Joyce, a woman whose life isn’t going at all the way she had hoped. While her childhood friends have all grown up and settled down into careers and relationships, Jack seems to be on an ever-spiraling descent of hopeless dreams and missed opportunities. When she becomes pregnant, she moves back home to Dublin, but having the added responsibility of a child seems to feed Jack’s resentment.
This story is not all what I was expecting. I was expecting a cute chick-lit type story about a woman who has failed miserably in love, but somehow reconnects with the man she lost her virginity too and before you know it they ride off into the sunset. No, instead, this book gives the reader an in-depth look into the life of a woman who is holding on the glory days of the past and an unplanned pregnancy doesn’t seem to change her outlook. As resentment about the failures in her life increases, she begins over comforting herself with alcohol, a lot of alcohol. Parts of this story were disturbing to read as she takes out her anger and frustration on everyone around her, including her son, David. Growing up as a child of alcoholic parents, this book triggered me on several occasions to the point of tears. My heart broke for David and for the people in Jack’s life who are powerless to help her. My heart also broke for Jack and the pain she suffered in her life and her inability to love herself.
This book is powerful and raw with truth and emotion. Jack is forced to face the mess she has made of her life, admit she’s an alcoholic and that she needs help. The author does an amazing job of bringing Jack to life and the journey she is on is told with complete honesty, brutal at times, but full of the pain Jack is carrying, the reader can’t help but have empathy for her.
My Final Verdict: For a book that I was not expecting, I loved this story. Through the pain and tears I felt and shared with Jack, this story is so worthwhile as everyone is worthy of love and second chances are possible. I highly recommend this story to readers who like stories that give them strong connections to the characters and don’t mind when life isn’t always sunshine and daisies.
Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of The House That Jack Built from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
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