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thephdivabooks's review
3.0
There is no greater love and greater betrayal that occurs than between two sisters… Wow, what a wonderful book this is by Laurie Petrou!!! I had the pleasure of reading this with Brenda, Norma and Berit as a mini Traveling Sisters read. Of course, as many of you know, Brenda and Norma are real life sisters and they live in Canada! In fact, they recognized many of the settings in this book, so that was an added layer of delight I got to have when we discussed it.
About the Book
Penny and Hattie lost both of their parents at different points in childhood, and developed a sort of dependency that can only happen through a tragedy such as the one that took their mother from them. Penny was in a challenging marriage when Hattie assisted her in freeing herself from the hold her husband Buddy had on her. But a secret that large can both strengthen and overwhelm the bond two people share.
This story then truly begins, like many stories do, with a stranger coming to town. A stranger named Jameson who will soon become anything but a stranger. As Jameson, Hattie, and Penny become more entangled with one another, the secrets and demons that haunt the sisters may come to light and destroy the bond holding them together. Can the love of sisterhood prevail?
Reflection
The title of this book I found to be perfect. Sister of Mine has a certain old-fashioned charm to it, but it also suggests a bit of that possessiveness and competition that sisters have. The love between sisters is stronger, but more volatile, than the love between others. I have a sister, and what I will say is that sisters are capable of intensely loving and intensely despising eachother almost in conjunction. Of course, my sister and I do not despise eachother, but let me say we’ve had a few fights over the years that at the time we would have said that’s what we were feeling!
There is something old-fashioned feeling about this book. Brenda mentioned that this is how thrillers used to feel—like dark character-studies. It wasn’t about the twists, it was about the way the characters developed over the pages. That is the perfect way to describe this book! In fact, many of the twists you will know even from reading the back cover of the book. This book doesn’t rely on twists and it doesn’t need them. The characters and the smoothness of the writing and the story are what propel this book forward.
And finally, we should probably talk about those sisters. Oh, these sisters!!! What to make of them? It is a huge credit to Laurie’s writing that I couldn’t decide what to make of each of them. Which one was the good sister? Which one was the bad sister? Of course, the reality is neither of them is the good or the bad sister. But they both have such an intense bond. It is as though they want to free themselves of that bond, but when they find themselves away from it they are afraid. But boy, do these sisters know how to get under the other’s skin!!! The conclusion did shock me, I will say. It wasn’t what I expected at all! But that was the brilliance of this book. In a way, it was the perfect conclusion and it rounded out the development of the characters and plot in a wonderful way.
See my full review here!
Many thanks to Crooked Lane Books for my advanced copy of this book.
About the Book
Penny and Hattie lost both of their parents at different points in childhood, and developed a sort of dependency that can only happen through a tragedy such as the one that took their mother from them. Penny was in a challenging marriage when Hattie assisted her in freeing herself from the hold her husband Buddy had on her. But a secret that large can both strengthen and overwhelm the bond two people share.
This story then truly begins, like many stories do, with a stranger coming to town. A stranger named Jameson who will soon become anything but a stranger. As Jameson, Hattie, and Penny become more entangled with one another, the secrets and demons that haunt the sisters may come to light and destroy the bond holding them together. Can the love of sisterhood prevail?
Reflection
The title of this book I found to be perfect. Sister of Mine has a certain old-fashioned charm to it, but it also suggests a bit of that possessiveness and competition that sisters have. The love between sisters is stronger, but more volatile, than the love between others. I have a sister, and what I will say is that sisters are capable of intensely loving and intensely despising eachother almost in conjunction. Of course, my sister and I do not despise eachother, but let me say we’ve had a few fights over the years that at the time we would have said that’s what we were feeling!
There is something old-fashioned feeling about this book. Brenda mentioned that this is how thrillers used to feel—like dark character-studies. It wasn’t about the twists, it was about the way the characters developed over the pages. That is the perfect way to describe this book! In fact, many of the twists you will know even from reading the back cover of the book. This book doesn’t rely on twists and it doesn’t need them. The characters and the smoothness of the writing and the story are what propel this book forward.
And finally, we should probably talk about those sisters. Oh, these sisters!!! What to make of them? It is a huge credit to Laurie’s writing that I couldn’t decide what to make of each of them. Which one was the good sister? Which one was the bad sister? Of course, the reality is neither of them is the good or the bad sister. But they both have such an intense bond. It is as though they want to free themselves of that bond, but when they find themselves away from it they are afraid. But boy, do these sisters know how to get under the other’s skin!!! The conclusion did shock me, I will say. It wasn’t what I expected at all! But that was the brilliance of this book. In a way, it was the perfect conclusion and it rounded out the development of the characters and plot in a wonderful way.
See my full review here!
Many thanks to Crooked Lane Books for my advanced copy of this book.
kazza27's review
5.0
As soon as I began to read this great book, I was captivated by a sense of foreboding that the author conveys through the relationship of the of two sisters who have a big secret that will not go away.
The sister’s have lived in the small town of St Margaret’s all their life and as most small town everyone thinks they know all the secretes about the two. As they grow up tragedy strikes and their lives are never the same. Penny the older of the two takes on the role of the protector in the relationship but when she meets Buddy things change forever.
I warmed to Penny throughout the story but Hattie I found to be immature and selfish even when she goes into adulthood and marries, she still relies upon Penny.
I felt sorry for Penny who does try to leave her old life behind her but finds the pull of the sisterhood to be too much.
A really enjoyable quick read which I read in one afternoon, if you like a domestic psychological thriller you will enjoy this
Thank you Anne Cater for the invitation to the tour and to No Exit Press for the gifted copy of the book.
The sister’s have lived in the small town of St Margaret’s all their life and as most small town everyone thinks they know all the secretes about the two. As they grow up tragedy strikes and their lives are never the same. Penny the older of the two takes on the role of the protector in the relationship but when she meets Buddy things change forever.
I warmed to Penny throughout the story but Hattie I found to be immature and selfish even when she goes into adulthood and marries, she still relies upon Penny.
I felt sorry for Penny who does try to leave her old life behind her but finds the pull of the sisterhood to be too much.
A really enjoyable quick read which I read in one afternoon, if you like a domestic psychological thriller you will enjoy this
Thank you Anne Cater for the invitation to the tour and to No Exit Press for the gifted copy of the book.
snowybookcorner's review
4.0
Sister of Mine is a psychological thriller that leans more towards literary fiction / psychological drama. Full review: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cs6cE4JrE2a/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
lucys_library's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Grief, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence
elizabeth_24's review
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Death, and Fire/Fire injury
lisabreads's review
2.0
Thank you Crooked Lane books for a copy of Sister of Mine for review. I am not a fan of the characters in the book, and that made this story a long one for me. It is a lot of character development and talking about the fire and their childhood on repeat. I felt there wasn't enough driving the story or my interest. If you are a fan of character development and domestic drama, you'll probably enjoy this story a lot more than I did. Sibling drama can be hit or miss for me and unfortunately this one was a miss. Sister of Mine publishes August 7, 2018.
asreadbyallie's review
5.0
This book was really one big emotional rollercoaster! A lovely yet heartbreaking tale about two sisters, and the endurance of love.
daniellelouis_'s review
4.0
The core part of the storyline revolves around sisters Hattie and Penny who constantly stand by one another, protect one another and love each-other as sister do. The community in which they live has condemned them as cursed after an incident involving their parents, so they had no other choice that to rely upon one another. But what happens when a dark debt filled secret looms over the relationship that quite frankly spells disaster with a capital D?! The sisters have always been a twosome, but what happens when it flourishes into a foursome? The narrative creates claustrophobic thriller that inches closer to the steep cliff drop edge with every page.
Penny and Hattie are like night - day, ying and yang. As readers we get pulled into their timeline feet first, from the sister's shared histories to the relationships that they both endured. This is when we get a twisted peak of the ever building debt between the two, that neither can pull themselves free of. As the tagline says; 'Two Sisters. One fire. A secret that won't burn out' and doesn't this read deliver from everything to suspense, brutal truths and blackmail, you'll find it difficult not to devour!
The shared and independent experiences magnifies the depth that Laurie has gone into to create this bond, as well as the wedge that begins to push the sisters apart. Sister of Mine is a written in a naturally entwining narrative which is darkly intoxicating, yet sharply poetic. Easy to follow once you get the hang of the flash backs and view point changes, wished they had been labelled at first but when I got into the rhythm I noticed the change of tension and view of words.
At times I found the storyline to be unsettling and chilling, whereas at other times I felt that my heart would break in two. The plot developed at the perfect pace accompanied with a sisterly flair that has turned on its axel, while being drenched with glorious lies, betrayals and revelations - where relationships teeter on the edge of toxicity and dysfunctionality. I found Sister of Mine to be deliciously warped at times and shook with excitement as the puzzle pieces begun to slot into place. Bravo Laurie!
Penny and Hattie are like night - day, ying and yang. As readers we get pulled into their timeline feet first, from the sister's shared histories to the relationships that they both endured. This is when we get a twisted peak of the ever building debt between the two, that neither can pull themselves free of. As the tagline says; 'Two Sisters. One fire. A secret that won't burn out' and doesn't this read deliver from everything to suspense, brutal truths and blackmail, you'll find it difficult not to devour!
The shared and independent experiences magnifies the depth that Laurie has gone into to create this bond, as well as the wedge that begins to push the sisters apart. Sister of Mine is a written in a naturally entwining narrative which is darkly intoxicating, yet sharply poetic. Easy to follow once you get the hang of the flash backs and view point changes, wished they had been labelled at first but when I got into the rhythm I noticed the change of tension and view of words.
At times I found the storyline to be unsettling and chilling, whereas at other times I felt that my heart would break in two. The plot developed at the perfect pace accompanied with a sisterly flair that has turned on its axel, while being drenched with glorious lies, betrayals and revelations - where relationships teeter on the edge of toxicity and dysfunctionality. I found Sister of Mine to be deliciously warped at times and shook with excitement as the puzzle pieces begun to slot into place. Bravo Laurie!