Under One Roof – review (AD)

8th May 2022 2 By Rachael Stray

I was kindly given an electronic copy of Under One Roof by Samantha Tonge in exchange for an honest review*.

Under One Roof book blurb

Perfect for fans of Beth O’Leary and Paige Toon.

One forgotten discovery will change three women’s lives for ever…
Robin hasn’t been home for decades.

After running away to London, she never expected to see her cantankerous mother, Faye, again.

But when Faye has a fall, the two women are thrown together once more.

The years apart have not made their hearts grow fonder and the ground between them is unsteady.

Then Robin finds an unopened scroll – the last of the treasure hunts her much-missed father used to take them on every Sunday.

A hunt he believed might change everything.

Yet, not even this gift from her beloved father can smooth the way until Robin’s daughter, Amber, arrives to meet her grandmother for the first time. Amber is determined that the decades-old mystery be solved.

Can a 30-year-old treasure hunt really ‘change everything’?

My overall thoughts on Under One Roof

I really enjoyed Under One Roof – it focuses on three strong female characters, three generations from the same family and their complex relationships but this book is more than just that.

The main protagonist is Robin who moved (ran) away from home a very long time ago following the untimely death of her much-loved father.

Robin is really close to her uncle who asks her to confront her past when informing her that her mother had a fall and could do with some help to get her back on her feet.

When Robin turns up at her childhood home for the first time in some thirty years, her relationship with her mother is not any easier and she soon discovers that the past is not as buried as she thought it was.

Set in the present day but looking back over the years we begin to learn more about the way these two mothers mother and why their relationships with their daughters have been so strained.

Many secrets are revealed and it’s so sad how different life could have been if they’d spoken about things at the time.

Although I was born in the 80’s I’m really a 90’s child, but I really enjoyed the time capsule that is Robin’s old bedroom – the posters, the girly magazines and the clothes – a proper blast from the past.

The ‘Dear Debbie’ letters written to a teenage magazine in the 80’s were very relatable.

I enjoyed Robin’s “journey” of coming to terms with what happened when she ran away to London, her mother’s difficult upbringing and the impact this had on her own childhood and reconnecting with old friends and Yul!

Although there are lots of tender and sad moments in Under One Roof, there’s lots of humour and uplifting moments too.

I really enjoyed the treasure hunt scroll challenge and trying to work out the clues with Robin, Faye and Amber.

And the retro 80’s themed night out was a good laugh!

A compelling and heartfelt read that I throughly recommend.