Note: We were sent this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 

First can we take a second to appreciate this breath-taking cover. Okay, now that that’s done. Far From The Tree is the story of three half-siblings who were all put up for adoption and have only just been made aware of each other’s existence. Grace recently had to give her own daughter, Peach, up for adoption as she was only 16, Maya’s family have a lot of problems under the surface, and Joaquin has through a lot of foster families and the couple he’s living in now want to adopt him. Together, they want to try and find their birth mother.

It’s about feeling like the odd one out, and trying to find the people who feel like family, and sometimes, they turn out to be just that!

I cried so much at the end of this book. I guess, I didn’t realise how connected I was to the characters until that point. Except, I knew from the very beginning that I loved Joaquin, I would’ve read 400 pages JUST about him. Seriously, I was only trudging through Maya (who was mostly unbearable) to get to Joaquin. Grace had the most secrets, and her story was one of repair, so I was always excited to get back to her POV since her emotions were so complex.

I really like books about siblings and this was no exception. The only thing is, the pacing was a bit off for me. Joaquin was the last to be introduced so it wasn’t until 30-40% through that we learned about his ex-girldfriend, etc, and they all felt like things I needed to know right away, so in a way it was like reading three beginnings, then three middles, but one ending.

There was also an issue with repeating conversations, so I’d say the stand out scenes were when the characters were on their own, rather than together because there was almost too much catching up to do. Still, reading about their progression from perfect strangers to devoted siblings was so heartwarming to read. Obviously, it didn’t happen over night, but there wasn’t one moment where It bought they wouldn’t accept one another.

Far From the Tree obviously took me by surprising, I was hoping I’d love it, since Emmy & Oliver is one of my favourites of all time. The emotions are raw and the characters are the bravest I’ve ever encountered. Now, please can I have a companion follow up book about Joaquin and Birdie?