Woman in the Photo by Mary Hogan

Happy Monday, readers! Today I'm a stop on the TLC blog tour for Mary Hogan's The Woman in the Photo.

Lee was adopted eighteen years ago and the only thing she and her family knew about her biological mother was that she'd drowned. But a letter claiming new genetic information available to her on her eighteenth birthday is the promise of discovery and the chance to finally learn more. 

The information, a genetic heritage and a photo, is enough of a starting point for Lee. It's a search that will lead her to her great, great, great grandmother and a legacy that's tied to one of history's biggest disasters. 

I love that Mary Hogan refers to The Woman in the Photo as "Downton Abbey meets Titanic!" If that's not enough enticement for any historical fiction fan, I don't know what is. I didn't realize, though, in starting The Woman in the Photo that it was indeed based on a very real event: the 1889 flooding of Johnstown, which is the focal point of just one of the two story lines of The Woman in the Photo.

Chapters alternate between socialite Elizabeth Haberlin, her family's trip to the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, and the eventual flood and Lee's present day search for her biological history. The two of them couldn't live in more different circumstances: Elizabeth - a doctor's daughter - is almost stifled by wealth, privilege, and connections while Lee's family has lost everything in a risky investment scheme, leaving her and her mother residing in a moldy pool house as live-in help. And yet, in spite of the social differences and the years that separate them, Elizabeth and Lee (also an Elizabeth) are linked by a genetic heritage that's as strong as ever.

As is sometimes the case with multiple narrators, I did find myself more drawn to one than the other (Elizabeth rather than Lee). As a result, I spent much of Lee's story anxious to return to Elizabeth's. Part of this is definitely due to my own curiosity about the flood and I did love the way Hogan weaved that into the tale. Research into the event was obviously of large focus to Hogan and I think that paid off in spades, making that part of the story in particular both fascinating and richly detailed.

To see more stops on the tour be sure to check out the official TLC tour page here.

For more on May Hogan and her work you can visit website here. You can also follow her on Twitter.

Purchase Links: HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Two Sisters by Mary Hogan

Hi, readers! Today I'm a stop on the TLC book tour for Mary Hogan's Two Sisters.

Muriel has been keeping secrets her whole life - things she knows about her mother, things she knows about her sister... And the truth is that although neither of them have been especially affectionate with her, she's never, ever revealed what she knows to anyone. When her sister arrives one afternoon for a surprise visit, however, Muriel is faced with the biggest secret of all. One that will have devastating results. Finally Muriel will have to face the truth about her family and the things they've all been keeping from one another. 

On the one hand I found Two Sisters to be something of an easy read. I was quickly swept up in the story through Hogan's somewhat breezy style. Her imagery in particular was beautiful. But the actual story itself was an emotionally rough one for me. I have three sisters, all quite a bit younger than me, and a brother as well, so the that any siblings would have such an awful relationship with each other or with their parents was hard for me to read.

And my first instinct really is to say that this whole family is pretty much awful. No, they aren't physically abusive to one another, but for the main character (Muriel) to literally question why no one loved her is truly painful!

Hogan's adult debut does give the reader lots to think about, especially with regards to family relationships. This is yet another read that I can't truly say I enjoyed - it was just too heart wrenching for that.

Rating: 3.5/5

To see the rest of the stops on the tour be sure to check out the official TLC tour page here.

For more on Mary Hogan and her work, you can visit her website here. You can also like her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter.