This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Reviewed by Susan Lobban
Over the years as their family has grown, Gus and Joan Shine have been determined to give their children everything they never had. Each child has grown up able to do exactly what they wanted, safe in the knowledge that their parents’ money was behind them.
Gus knows that the financial tides have turned, however, and now the day has come when he must share his burden with the rest of the family. Needless to say, Tara, Damien and Vee are shocked, but they are no longer children and it is time for them to make their own way and cut the purse strings. Niall does not even live near the rest of his family anymore and his travels are instantly curtailed when he gets a visit from a local realtor.
This is one family that has lost its shine and now it’s each to their own. However, standing on their own feet may just be the making of them.
The Shine siblings have lived a comfortable life courtesy of their parents’ financial situation. Each one has made their own decisions and subsequent mistakes while safe in the knowledge that the bank of mum and dad could bail them out. Now, after building up a successful company through years of hard work, Gus’s business is suffering and he has no other option but to let the rest of the family know – especially as they all have to collectively tighten their belts. Each and Every One follows the whole family as they come to terms with how their lives are about to change.
Rachael English has created a wonderful cast of characters, each one with hidden depths. Each sibling was completely different and brought with them their own set of problems and losing their financial safety net had very different implications. My favourite character was Tara as I felt her father’s revelation actually set her free – especially from her sponging boyfriend – and left her able to concentrate fully on the human interest aspect of her journalist job. Around the same time her life is changing she meets little boy Ben, who unexpectedly touches her heart and makes her realise what is really important in life. The troubled life and times of Ben and his sister Jenelle could have filled a book on its own!
What could have been a superficial story was actually a heartwarming tale showing that as an adult you have to make your own way, but your family will still be there when you need them.
8/10