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challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
SYNOPSIS
- Three sisters, Avery, Bonnie, & Lucky, are all living in different cities. It is the one year anniversary of the death the of Nicky, their fourth sister.
- Their parents have never been great.
- Avery is the eldest sister, and she is an attorney living in London in with her wife. She is also a recovering heroin addict.
- Bonnie is a boxer, and she’s currently working as a bouncer in LA after having a bad loss in her boxing career.
- Lucky is the youngest. She is a model & living in Paris. She is dealing with her own addictions - drugs, alcohol, etc.
MY THOUGHTS
- How is this my first Coco Mellers book?! Such incredible writing.
- There’s so many great topics covered in this book - generational trauma, the roles we take on in families, chronic illness, addiction, sibling love.
- The characters are nuanced, complex, messy, & real.
- Loved the settings & descriptions of the different settings.
TL;DR: ⭐️⭐️⭐⭐️⭐️beautiful writing + amazing. I will never forget this read.
Thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Ballantine and Netgalley for this digital ARC in exchanges for an honest review. This book will be published on September 3, 2024.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Grief
Minor: Rape, Vomit, Death of parent, Pregnancy
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I didn't think it was possible for a book to pierce my heart with tiny needles consistently and then put a bandaid on it simultaneously. But here I am in a puddle of tears along with tiny droplets of hope mixed in it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Grief, Alcohol, Sexual harassment
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
One, if not the only, reason I love to read, is to be captivated into a parallel world, where characters that do not exist as matter, make me believe in their stories.
Coco Mellors is one of the only authors I have ever read capable of so beautifully crafting a narrative I am drown to in a way that makes me painfully sad to leave as I read the last page, the last phrase, the last word, the last period.
This book was heartbreaking, sad, happy, grieving, funny, and above all, unapologetically real. The sister bond between three sisters that have to move on with their lives after the loss of their fourth sister, due to an overdose, is such a compelling and well written plot. All of them have flaws (which is clearly a preference of this author, to craft dubious and grey characters: truthfully, we are not black and white, most of the time we are a grey tone that darkens or lightens depending on our circumstances), however, they all manage to accept grief for their sister will compose them. It’s her way to remain as part of them, forever.
This book made me cry. The thought of leaving Avery, Bonnie, and Lucky’s stories behind was taunting. But the privilege to have their stories told to me in such a believable and gut wrenching way was enough.
Cleopatra and Frankenstein was my favorite book last year. Blue Sisters is my favorite this year, I can say confidently.
“I can’t accept that I’ll have to miss her forever. There will never be relief. There will never be a reunion… I can’t hear her. And I can’t feel her. All I have is this missing. And part of me is glad it won’t end because it’s all I have to connect me her now.”
Coco Mellors is one of the only authors I have ever read capable of so beautifully crafting a narrative I am drown to in a way that makes me painfully sad to leave as I read the last page, the last phrase, the last word, the last period.
This book was heartbreaking, sad, happy, grieving, funny, and above all, unapologetically real. The sister bond between three sisters that have to move on with their lives after the loss of their fourth sister, due to an overdose, is such a compelling and well written plot. All of them have flaws (which is clearly a preference of this author, to craft dubious and grey characters: truthfully, we are not black and white, most of the time we are a grey tone that darkens or lightens depending on our circumstances), however, they all manage to accept grief for their sister will compose them. It’s her way to remain as part of them, forever.
This book made me cry. The thought of leaving Avery, Bonnie, and Lucky’s stories behind was taunting. But the privilege to have their stories told to me in such a believable and gut wrenching way was enough.
Cleopatra and Frankenstein was my favorite book last year. Blue Sisters is my favorite this year, I can say confidently.
“I can’t accept that I’ll have to miss her forever. There will never be relief. There will never be a reunion… I can’t hear her. And I can’t feel her. All I have is this missing. And part of me is glad it won’t end because it’s all I have to connect me her now.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
At first glance I thought the characters lacked depth but I liked how the author ended up not caging them in their “role”. I could’ve done without the graphic sex descriptions and unfortunately I can’t get behind this writing style no matter how hard I try. Still a great depiction of addiction and loss and it did get me teary eyed often.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Vomit, Alcohol
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors follows three sisters a year after the unexpected death of their fourth sister, Nicky. Oldest sister Avery is a lawyer who lives in London and has been in recovery for over a decade. Bonnie, the next oldest, was a rising star in the boxing world before she blew up her life and moved to southern California, where she works as a bouncer. The youngest sibling, Lucky, is a model in Paris whose hard-partying ways have detoured decidedly into addiction. When the women hear that their mother plans to sell the apartment where the sisters grew up, they separately make their way back to New York, forcing them to deal with the fallout of their grief over their sister.
This book deals with heavy topics-- grieving the loss of a sibling, the unique and powerful bonds between sisters, addiction, and chronic pain, to name a few. I thought it was well-written and even though all the characters were blowing up their lives left and right, I was invested in them and wanted things to turn out well for them. The book's discussion of both sisterhood and addiction was particularly compelling. I recommend this to folks who enjoy books exploring complicated family relationships or grief.
I received this book through a Goodreads giveaway. Thanks to the publisher for a free copy in exchange for an honest review!
This book deals with heavy topics-- grieving the loss of a sibling, the unique and powerful bonds between sisters, addiction, and chronic pain, to name a few. I thought it was well-written and even though all the characters were blowing up their lives left and right, I was invested in them and wanted things to turn out well for them. The book's discussion of both sisterhood and addiction was particularly compelling. I recommend this to folks who enjoy books exploring complicated family relationships or grief.
I received this book through a Goodreads giveaway. Thanks to the publisher for a free copy in exchange for an honest review!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Grief
Moderate: Death, Infidelity, Sexual assault
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Grief, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol
Moderate: Child death, Rape, Sexual content, Violence, Vomit, Classism
Minor: Body shaming, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“Look at an umbilical cord—tough, sinuous, unlovely, yet essential—and compare it to a friendship bracelet of brightly woven thread. That is the difference between a sister an a friend.”
from the very beginning, Mellors had me believing that these sisters and their characteristics were cemented, forever encased in their grief. however, as the story took shape and their dreams, hopes and fears became my own, i was pleasantly surprised to feel my own grief.
to think back on my own experiences and see myself in these characters. a TikToker whose video i once watched (wild thing to be writing in a book review) stated, “it’s like i pull up my grief to every table i sit at,” and i think that holds true to myself, to the Blue sisters, and to anyone who has ever experienced grief.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Grief
Moderate: Chronic illness, Infidelity
Minor: Pedophilia, Sexual harassment
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Alcohol