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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
This is such an easy read. it's a bit predictable but I didn't feel like it took away from the story. sometimes you need a book like this. The characters fit into these little boxes but they are still unique. I think if you like "chick lit" you will enjoy this book very much.
DNF @ about 60ish%. I just couldn't get into it, and the story seemed predictable (I skimmed to the end and most of my predictions were confirmed). I like Jane Green's books usually, but this one just didn't do it for me.
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book will be a great summer read. It has a good mix drama and mom issues while mixing in trendy restaurant/food references. Some of the sub-plots are a little predictable, but it doesn't take too much away from the story. If you just keep in mind that this is a light summer read, then you will be fine.
I generally like Jane Green books however, it seems like the story keeps switching between serious fiction and chick lit. I will get into the mindset that it's a serious read, then the characters do something zany and I have to do a double-take.
Overall, I would recommend this as a beach read, or something to read while having a nice, tall, pink drink with an umbrella in it.
I generally like Jane Green books however, it seems like the story keeps switching between serious fiction and chick lit. I will get into the mindset that it's a serious read, then the characters do something zany and I have to do a double-take.
Overall, I would recommend this as a beach read, or something to read while having a nice, tall, pink drink with an umbrella in it.
I didn't think it was great but I started coming around on it towards the end.
At first, I didn't enjoy the book very much and I found the characters quite unlikeable. However, I couldn't stop reading and had to see where the story was going. In the end, I was sad the story was over and I thoroughly enjoyed the journey with the Sunshine sisters.
The Sunshine Sisters by Jane Green. This book wasn’t really that beachy, but it would still be the perfect book for a summer afternoon. Ronni Sunshine is a former actress who recently got a bad diagnosis/death sentence of sorts and wants to end her own life before she has to endure all the pain the disease will bring. She calls her three estranged daughters home to reveal the news and her plan. She wants to apologize for not being the mother they deserved and have them all there with her when she dies. Her diagnosis made her made her realize the damage she has done to her daughters. The one last thing she can for them is try to bring them back together. She now realizes she wasn’t a good mother, too focused on her career and disinterested with her children. “By the time they were old enough for me to want to get to know them, none of them were interested.” Dying has brought everything back into focus.
Enters Ronni’s three daughters, the Sunshine Sisters:
Lizzy is the youngest sister and she is the most like her mother. She is a renowned chef, in a failed marriage, driven and gorgeous. She has always been the wild child and the one who got away with the most when it came to getting in trouble with her mother.
Meredith is the middle sister. She left home for London because her mother never made her feel good enough. She is engaged to a man she really doesn’t like. She is a very sweet person who lacks self-confidence and doesn’t think she can do any better than her fiancé.
Nell is the oldest daughter. As soon as she was old enough she fled her mother’s home to work on a farm and has been there ever since. Nell is a loner who doesn’t expect anything from anyone. She is strong, self-sufficient, but scared to let her guard down. She is alone because of her fears.
None of the sisters have ever been able to accept their mother with all her self-absorbed, dramatic flaws. They resent her for not being warm, interested, concerned and for not being maternal.” They have all endured a lot of hurt and have issues because of their mother. Will they be able to forgive their mother before she dies? Will they be able to build their relationships with each other?
The book goes back to look at all their lives leading up to where they are now. A really good women’s fiction, chick-lit, beach read.
Quote: “If we’re not showing other people our true selves, our weaknesses and flaws, how can we ever allow ourselves to be known?”
Enters Ronni’s three daughters, the Sunshine Sisters:
Lizzy is the youngest sister and she is the most like her mother. She is a renowned chef, in a failed marriage, driven and gorgeous. She has always been the wild child and the one who got away with the most when it came to getting in trouble with her mother.
Meredith is the middle sister. She left home for London because her mother never made her feel good enough. She is engaged to a man she really doesn’t like. She is a very sweet person who lacks self-confidence and doesn’t think she can do any better than her fiancé.
Nell is the oldest daughter. As soon as she was old enough she fled her mother’s home to work on a farm and has been there ever since. Nell is a loner who doesn’t expect anything from anyone. She is strong, self-sufficient, but scared to let her guard down. She is alone because of her fears.
None of the sisters have ever been able to accept their mother with all her self-absorbed, dramatic flaws. They resent her for not being warm, interested, concerned and for not being maternal.” They have all endured a lot of hurt and have issues because of their mother. Will they be able to forgive their mother before she dies? Will they be able to build their relationships with each other?
The book goes back to look at all their lives leading up to where they are now. A really good women’s fiction, chick-lit, beach read.
Quote: “If we’re not showing other people our true selves, our weaknesses and flaws, how can we ever allow ourselves to be known?”
The Sunshine Sisters by Jane Green is a 2017 Berkley publication.
This book is the ideal beach read.
Ronni Sunshine was once a famous actress, defining the narcissist personality we so often associate with that occupation. But, she also has three daughters, Nell, Meredith, and Lizzy, all of whom couldn’t wait to get away from Ronni… and each other.
But, now they have all been summoned home by Ronni, who has been diagnosed with a fatal disease… for real this time. She only has a little time left to get her daughters back together in one place, and to apologize to them for being such a wretched mother, and hopefully receive their forgiveness, but she also needs their help to carry out one final, shocking request.
After years of estrangement from their mother, the girls gather together with all their resentments and baggage coming along for the ride. Can they make peace with their mother and mend their broken relationship with each other?
All of Ronni’s daughters bring high drama with them- Nell, a single mom, who has never been able to get over her first love, no matter how hard she tries to feel a connection and real passion with someone else.
Meredith took a dull job, has a boring boyfriend, and finds great comfort in food, while trying to make everyone else happy.
Lizzy, is the youngest, and the most like her mother. She’s a successful celebrity chef, with a husband and young son, but she is also having a long running affair, she can’t seem to withdraw from, having also inherited her mother's spoiled self-absorbtion.
Under the same roof, the sisters become catty, with their barely contained annoyance with each other simmering just underneath the surface. But, when they find out their mother is gravely ill, they each take stock of their lives, and find the courage to take risks, embrace their sisterhood, and commonality with each other, and embark on a new chapter in their lives.
The story got off to a slow start, for me, but I’m glad I stuck it out. The real turning point comes when a writer shows up at Ronni’s, hoping to do a documentary over her life. His presence allows the sisters to look back over their mother’s life, and helps them put their childhood’s in perspective.
Other than Ronni’s illness, the story is not too heavy, and there are several comical moments along the way, but the emotional levels stay on an even keel, so you won’t have to worry about doing the ugly cry sitting poolside.
But, mostly this is a story about three sisters who did not have a strong parental influence in their lives, because their mother was so caught up in her career, always trying to keep the attention on herself and was a real life drama queen, and father who chose his second family over them. They all endured some kind of side effect from their upbringing that influenced the decisions they made and the actions they took as adults, with disastrous results.
They now have the rare chance to change the course of their lives, to make peace with the past and with each other and enjoy the last, but best gift their mother ever gave them… each other.
Overall, this is a nice and easy read, with nice character growth, and a feel good ending.
3.5 stars
This book is the ideal beach read.
Ronni Sunshine was once a famous actress, defining the narcissist personality we so often associate with that occupation. But, she also has three daughters, Nell, Meredith, and Lizzy, all of whom couldn’t wait to get away from Ronni… and each other.
But, now they have all been summoned home by Ronni, who has been diagnosed with a fatal disease… for real this time. She only has a little time left to get her daughters back together in one place, and to apologize to them for being such a wretched mother, and hopefully receive their forgiveness, but she also needs their help to carry out one final, shocking request.
After years of estrangement from their mother, the girls gather together with all their resentments and baggage coming along for the ride. Can they make peace with their mother and mend their broken relationship with each other?
All of Ronni’s daughters bring high drama with them- Nell, a single mom, who has never been able to get over her first love, no matter how hard she tries to feel a connection and real passion with someone else.
Meredith took a dull job, has a boring boyfriend, and finds great comfort in food, while trying to make everyone else happy.
Lizzy, is the youngest, and the most like her mother. She’s a successful celebrity chef, with a husband and young son, but she is also having a long running affair, she can’t seem to withdraw from, having also inherited her mother's spoiled self-absorbtion.
Under the same roof, the sisters become catty, with their barely contained annoyance with each other simmering just underneath the surface. But, when they find out their mother is gravely ill, they each take stock of their lives, and find the courage to take risks, embrace their sisterhood, and commonality with each other, and embark on a new chapter in their lives.
The story got off to a slow start, for me, but I’m glad I stuck it out. The real turning point comes when a writer shows up at Ronni’s, hoping to do a documentary over her life. His presence allows the sisters to look back over their mother’s life, and helps them put their childhood’s in perspective.
Other than Ronni’s illness, the story is not too heavy, and there are several comical moments along the way, but the emotional levels stay on an even keel, so you won’t have to worry about doing the ugly cry sitting poolside.
But, mostly this is a story about three sisters who did not have a strong parental influence in their lives, because their mother was so caught up in her career, always trying to keep the attention on herself and was a real life drama queen, and father who chose his second family over them. They all endured some kind of side effect from their upbringing that influenced the decisions they made and the actions they took as adults, with disastrous results.
They now have the rare chance to change the course of their lives, to make peace with the past and with each other and enjoy the last, but best gift their mother ever gave them… each other.
Overall, this is a nice and easy read, with nice character growth, and a feel good ending.
3.5 stars
Ronni Sunshine was a Hollywood celebrity who lived a charmed and beautiful life. She had 3 daughters, Nell, Meredith and Lizzy, and fans adored her.
But, life at home was very different. She was a distant mother, someone solely consumed with themselves. Their mother’s words and actions pushed the sisters apart, and eventually everyone was estranged from one another.
Fast forward and Ronni is sick. She calls her daughters home, hoping to reunite them before her illness takes over.
This book is definitely an emotional read. By the end of the novel, I’ve come to like and admire all 3 sisters, but Ronni never warmed to me. She’s not a great character, and I was really frustrated reading some parts of this novel.
Overall, it’s emotional in a way I didn’t expect, but overall a good read.
But, life at home was very different. She was a distant mother, someone solely consumed with themselves. Their mother’s words and actions pushed the sisters apart, and eventually everyone was estranged from one another.
Fast forward and Ronni is sick. She calls her daughters home, hoping to reunite them before her illness takes over.
This book is definitely an emotional read. By the end of the novel, I’ve come to like and admire all 3 sisters, but Ronni never warmed to me. She’s not a great character, and I was really frustrated reading some parts of this novel.
Overall, it’s emotional in a way I didn’t expect, but overall a good read.
Entertaining 'beach' read. Thee sisters, one dysfunctional family, and some lovely resolutions. 3.5 stars.