A Time To Reflect

Family drama set in America

Fiction - Drama
334 Pages
Reviewed on 11/25/2019
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    Book Review

Reviewed by Lucinda E Clarke for Readers' Favorite

A Time to Reflect by Joanna Warrington is a family saga that spans three generations. Pandora and her brother Jules are brought up on a farm, their father commuting to work weekly and their mother in the shadow of her domineering husband. Pandora is a high achiever while Jules bears the brunt of his father’s cruelty and verbal and physical abuse. Jules finds solace in gambling, experiencing the highs and lows and his dreams of making it big. His marriage is floundering so Pandora brings up his daughter and takes her niece on a trip to Boston. But everyone has a secret, something shameful to hide, and it becomes increasingly difficult to deny the truth.

This is an amazing book. In A Time to Reflect by Joanna Warrington, we are taken into the dark world of the compulsive gambler. The characterization is so real you can believe you are about to place a bet and hold your breath as you wait to hear if you have won. The book is also a travelogue of the history of New England and the surrounding areas. It’s informative as Pandora and Ellie, her niece, explore Salem, Plymouth and other settler towns on the northeast coast. Their holiday is interrupted by the arrival of Jules who is desperate to make up for his past behavior, but can an addiction like his be cured and how do the confessions of past events affect their relationships? Can they ever be a family again? I was drawn into this book and turned the pages fast and furiously as I lived and bonded with the characters, all of whom I cared about. It was shocking in places, informative in others, and is a recommended read. Well written, it is one of those books I did not want to end. Five stars.