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Maria_H
Heartfelt Characters
Amelia Ireland's debut novel is ostensibly about four people who come together to heal from their respective traumatic experiences. The grief group therapy theme was initially off-putting to me. However, the author is able to quickly enmesh you in the protagonists' lives and leaves you seeking more information about them. Each chapter is presented from the point of view of a different character and allows the characters to develop slowly and thoroughly. Almost imperceptibly, you come to care deeply for the four main characters. I was equally shocked, saddened and elated at different times throughout the book. This is quite difficult to achieve and makes the book a special read.
This is also an effortless read that still has me thinking about the characters well after the story's conclusion. I highly recommend this debut novel.
Peggy_H
Could Not Put This One Down
Four strangers come together with a therapist to work on an experimental technique to help each recover from a personal trauma. Over the course of the novel, each character unravels. We learn about them, without learning about their actual trauma throughout the novel. Each of them starts to relate to the other, finding that the relationship and act of communicating is, in itself, healing.
Then we find out why they are there. (No spoilers here.) I came to alternately love, hate, and feel for each of these characters more and more throughout the book. What a great debut novel!
Victoria B. (Little River, SC)
Exceeded Expectations
When I first read about this book, it seemed like an interesting read. It is a story of four strangers who are finding it difficult to move past a traumatic event in their lives. As the author weaves the tale of the four who have been put into an experimental group therapy program, the reader becomes invested in the lives of the strangers. There is Mischa who is a young woman recently off being a caretaker to her mom. Freya, is a 30-something year old who finds it impossible to get on with her life and is still very much grieving. Victoria, imperious and cold, in the denial of her own grief. Finally, the reader meets Callum, a rockstar battling addiction and sorrow.
Over the stages of grief teased out by Genevieve, the counselor, the reader gets to know the people, the stories, and how they help each other out of the stasis which each character is in.
The book has two unexpected turns at the end which make the story that much richer and more interesting. For a debut author, Amelia Ireland has captivated this reader with her story, the novel construct, and the quality of the writing. Definitely looking forward to reading more from this author.
Marianne L. (Syosset, NY)
Full of Surprises
Working through grief is the premise upon which this book opens with four of the most unlikely characters expected to meld successfully into a cohesive support group. Just as I was thinking I could predict where this story was going, the bombshell lands and blows all my predictions out of the water. The characters draw you in as the book proceeds and brings you to a satisfying ending. This book surprises with its twists and turns, a really fun read, time well spent!
Rebecca_H
Enchanting Story
I loved this; it's a really different premise and an excellent read. You wouldn't expect a story about a disparate collection of people who come together for group grief therapy to make such a completely absorbing novel, but it does. Each character has such a unique voice; I could have told which one was speaking in each chapter without looking at the chapter heading, and I pretty much fell in love with each one. The story says some profound things about bereavement and grief and its stages while doing so with delightful touches of humor. The story takes an unexpected turn at a certain point, which I won't say any more about because of spoilers, but I found it engaged me in the novel even more as I raced toward the conclusion. Excellent pacing and even a touch of suspense and romance add to the enjoyment.
Kathryn_H
The Weight of Grief
If you're looking for a book with car chases, explosions, and double agents, you're not looking for "The Seven O'Clock Club." If you'd feel at home with a book about four strangers who have each endured a tragedy from which they can't seem to heal, Amelia Ireland has written the perfect story for you.
Genevieve is a therapist who has developed a technique to help people get back to wholeness and functioning. Freya, Mischa, Victoria, and Callum are the suffering souls invited to join this group. If they accept, they commit to at least four sessions.
It isn't easy. At the first meeting, Genevieve asks everyone to recount a happy experience from their childhood. It's heart-wrenching how difficult this is for some.
Then the twist comes-- one of the biggest I've encountered in a novel. The conclusions I'd reached no longer made sense. The story became all the more compelling and I read chapter after chapter to learn what might happen to these characters.
"The Seven O'Clock Club" is Amelia Ireland's first novel. It is so well written that the characters seem to jump off the page. I strongly recommend it.
Thank you to BookBrowse for allowing me to read this book. This is my honest review.
Dorothy_Schwab
Good Grief!
Four strangers, each grieving a loss, are brought together for an experiment conducted by an aspiring young therapist. Each Tuesday at seven o'clock the proverbial onion layers are peeled back to reveal the situations that brought the four together. The therapist begins by asking each wary client to hearken back to a happy childhood memory. Through weekly conversations and outside interactions, bonds are slowly built, showing the power of sharing, trust, and speaking the truth aloud. The revelations are spellbinding, heart wrenching, and believable, making for anxious reader moments awaiting the next meeting. Startling discoveries lead to an unsettling, thought-provoking ending.
The Seven O'Clock Club is a scientific rather than spiritual approach to grief. Unpacking feelings of guilt, learning to trust, seeking forgiveness, and finding truth, are themes in this soul-searching journey through grief.
Susan_Bailey
Refreshing, inspirational, pageturner
Grief, not the easiest of topics, comes full circle in this book. Well written, four people in the depths of grief, each with a heart catching story, come together with a therapist who has sought them out to work thru their pain. Little by little we come to know each of the four, their lives, loves, worries, and pain. The author discloses it bit by bit and I was left wanting more after each chapter. The ending was a surprise, one I will not disclose, but worth the entire read. I found it really was a book I could not putdown.
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