Bad Relations spans multiple generations of a family from the Crimean War to current times from the battlefields, to England, Australia and back. The opening left me wondering if this was the book for me as it was heavy with detail of the Crimean War and life in the trenches, without any dialogue. However, once the story go to the letters between William and Alice I was hooked. I found the lack of transition between each time period quite jarring and was left wondering about the characters from the previous time period, until the links and consequences between the generations were eventually revealed. Whilst jarring it did serve to condense what could otherwise be a 500+ page family saga to the succinct 300ish pages it is. Despite the length the author deftly creates a sense of place and time in each era. William’s Victoria Cross earned in the war and the pervasive theme of loss is what links the generations. I really enjoyed Bad Relations and will now seek out Connolly’s other works. Thank you to Netgalley and Viking Books for an early edition. #Badrelations #PenguinUKBooks #VikingBooksUK #netgalley

I really enjoyed "after the party" and was looking forward to reading this book. The writing gave it an easy to read style and I always enjoy a family saga demonstrating how the actions of one generation have, often unforseen, consequences on the family for many years to come However, in the end, I didn't really feel particularly connected to the characters or have strong feelings about what happened to them Thank you to netgalley and Penguin Books for an advance copy of this book