Format Read: Ebook
Number of Pages: 240 pages
Release Date: February 1st 2009
Publisher: Severn House Publishers
Formats Available: Hardcover, Paperback, Audio
Purchasing Info: GoodReads, Author’s Website, Amazon

Book Blurb:

A captivating novel about forbidden love – Cathleen Brogan is a young widow, struggling to bring up her family in 1960s north London. Times are tough for the Irish immigrants who live there, their hardships comforted by local Catholic priest, Father Jerry Brogan. Over time it becomes clear that Cathleen feels more for Father Jerry than perhaps she should. She hopes confession will ease her troubled mind, not realizing that she is confessing to the man she loves..

My Thoughts:
I had no idea how I was going to review and rate this book. A good Confession was some kind of challenge for me because it’s out of my ‘comfort-zone’, but sometimes it’s a good thing to try new things. Let’s just say I had a shaky start because I began crying from chapter 1 (and I hate crying), but that was bound to happen when you start a book with a death.

I’m torn, it would have been easier if I had not liked this book . I really enjoyed reading A Good Confession but it went against all the things I love (e.g. the ending). From the book synopsis I jumped to the conclusion that this book was mostly about forbidden love…well it is, but it’s not the main part of the book. For me it’s about what happens after mourning for your husband…How to go on with your life, It’s about Cathleen’s journey to new beginnings. Cathleen finds comfort in Father Jerry Brogan and it’s not until halfway through the book that things really change between them. I loved reading about Cathleen and her girls and the scenes in Ireland looked ‘authentic’, I felt like I was there. The writing style is compelling and Bridget Whelan succeeded in making me crave for this sense of community, I was longing for Ireland.

I need to mention something that I wasn’t used too anymore…well let’s say I’m used to ‘explicit’ sex scenes, (lol I know you are too) but this book is very ‘chaste’. There was a scene with a lot of potential but it went from ‘they kissed’ to ‘the next morning’…argh out-of-the-page Sex scenes are frustrating when you’re not used to it. But that’s only my dirty-minded opinion. *wink*

Bridget Whelan did something impossible…she helped me understand priests. I never understood their motivations (I’m not a religious person) but by the end of the book I understood. Father Jerry loves his congregation (I’m not sure that’s the right word) and they love him. He care for them and like a good leader he helps them, he’s not just praying for them he acts, he starts helping single Irish immigrates write letters ‘home’. The fact that he loves being a priest and being part of a community is the reason why I accepted the ending.

What about the ending? I’m the HEA lover…that being said, the author made the best choice for the ending! It’s not what I wanted but it was the most logical one. I would have hated if thing had happened differently. There’s hope at the end, and that’s more than Cathleen would have had otherwise. See, this is why this book was a challenge for me, I’m left here rethinking my definition of a Happy Ever After. The more I think about it the more I like Cathleen’s choice in the last scene.

I was surprised by how easy it was to read A Good Confession, I didn’t want to stop reading. I was trying to rate this book but it’s so different than what I’m used to that I just can’t rate it in comparison to what I usually read.

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

About Caro The HEA Lover

Caroline is a HEA loving, yarn addicted French who's desperately hoping to get a HEA of her own. If she's not reading then she can be found knitting while listening to Audiobooks or watching Tv shows. Her secret addiction is reading websites that make fun at other people's expense (DYAC, Failbook)! Caroline also blogs at the Secret HEA Society with Susi.

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