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16 reviews for:
The Good Sister: A twisty, dark psychological thriller that will have you gripped
Jess Ryder
3.76 AVERAGE
16 reviews for:
The Good Sister: A twisty, dark psychological thriller that will have you gripped
Jess Ryder
3.76 AVERAGE
Josie learns of her dad’s death in a motorbike accident where she finds a mysterious. Soon after she discovers that her dad led a double life and she has a half-sister Valentina , who could be passed off as her identical twin and was born just a few days apart. Where Josie is calm, collected and leads a stable life, Valentina leads a troubled life involving drugs , booze and no job . Valentina turns up at Josie’s workplace and insists on building a relationship with her sister. Is Valentina just trying to know her sister better or does she have an ulterior motive in following her sister?
The book is narrated in alternating chapters with both sisters POVs and a lot of reference to Viking gods and their lifestyles. There were a lot of twists and turns with a surprise ending that I did not expect. Even though I felt something’s were left unexplained in the book it still was a very interesting read and I will look forward to read more by this author.
Many thanks to Bookouture & NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review.
This and more reviews at https://chloesbooksblog.wordpress.com/
The book is narrated in alternating chapters with both sisters POVs and a lot of reference to Viking gods and their lifestyles. There were a lot of twists and turns with a surprise ending that I did not expect. Even though I felt something’s were left unexplained in the book it still was a very interesting read and I will look forward to read more by this author.
Many thanks to Bookouture & NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review.
This and more reviews at https://chloesbooksblog.wordpress.com/
The Good Sister by Jess Ryder is the ultimate, dysfunctional family, dirty little secrets kind of story. It was a bit shorter than my usual reading material, a mere 230 pages, but those 230 pages pack a punch.
It was straightforward, to the point, with little pussyfooting around. For a shorter novel, it had great character development, and I enjoyed the added touches with the Viking history.
As the title suggests, this story revolves around a pair of sisters, Josie and Valentina.
When Josie's beloved father dies, she very quickly discovers that he had a secret family. Josie is both disturbed and excited to learn that she had a half sister, Valentina.
They look strikingly similar, but that is pretty much the only thing they have in common. But Josie and Valentina couldn't be more polar opposite otherwise.
Although this is a quick read, it is still full of twists and turns. There are several "gasping" moments. And at one point, I had to go back and re-read the prologue and first chapter to look for clues I might have missed.
It is a little creepy how their lives mirrored each others from childhood. Their dad told them the same stories, called them both Viking princesses, and they even had the same necklaces. It sort of ties in with the mirrored images of the girls on the front cover.
I also enjoyed Josie's boyfriend Arun. Although he held a secret of his own (involving the sisters, of course), he loved Josie with all his heart and was such a good guy.
I teetered between four and five stars. It was such an enjoyable story, so the short length was a bit of a turn off for me. But then I reminded myself that not all good stories have to be long. Jess Ryder's The Good Sister was succinct and well told. Five stars it is.
Thank you Netgalley, Bookouture, and Jess Ryder for an advanced copy of The Good Sister. My opinions are my own.
It was straightforward, to the point, with little pussyfooting around. For a shorter novel, it had great character development, and I enjoyed the added touches with the Viking history.
As the title suggests, this story revolves around a pair of sisters, Josie and Valentina.
When Josie's beloved father dies, she very quickly discovers that he had a secret family. Josie is both disturbed and excited to learn that she had a half sister, Valentina.
They look strikingly similar, but that is pretty much the only thing they have in common. But Josie and Valentina couldn't be more polar opposite otherwise.
Although this is a quick read, it is still full of twists and turns. There are several "gasping" moments. And at one point, I had to go back and re-read the prologue and first chapter to look for clues I might have missed.
It is a little creepy how their lives mirrored each others from childhood. Their dad told them the same stories, called them both Viking princesses, and they even had the same necklaces. It sort of ties in with the mirrored images of the girls on the front cover.
I also enjoyed Josie's boyfriend Arun. Although he held a secret of his own (involving the sisters, of course), he loved Josie with all his heart and was such a good guy.
I teetered between four and five stars. It was such an enjoyable story, so the short length was a bit of a turn off for me. But then I reminded myself that not all good stories have to be long. Jess Ryder's The Good Sister was succinct and well told. Five stars it is.
Thank you Netgalley, Bookouture, and Jess Ryder for an advanced copy of The Good Sister. My opinions are my own.
The Good Sister is a well-done suspense novel told from the point of view of two sisters. When Josie’s father dies, she discovers she has a half-sister named Valentina who looks like her. They were born only a few days apart, and though her father is technically married to her mother, he has spent half his life living with Valentina and her mother. All those times he said he was at conferences or when he took an apartment in Manchester to be closer to his job, it was a ruse so he could have two families.
The twists in the novel were good. It wasn’t always clear which character was speaking or telling the story from her point of view, but you figure it out eventually. I liked the way Ryder opened each chapter with the Viking lore that the sisters’ father was so enthralled with.
Valentina is a troubled woman, but Josie, who has a loving boyfriend and a good job, wants to be connected to her sister, so she ignores the warnings of her boyfriend and aunt and uncle, causing her a tremendous amount of trouble.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to review this book.
For more of my reviews, please visit: http://www.theresaalan.net/blog
The twists in the novel were good. It wasn’t always clear which character was speaking or telling the story from her point of view, but you figure it out eventually. I liked the way Ryder opened each chapter with the Viking lore that the sisters’ father was so enthralled with.
Valentina is a troubled woman, but Josie, who has a loving boyfriend and a good job, wants to be connected to her sister, so she ignores the warnings of her boyfriend and aunt and uncle, causing her a tremendous amount of trouble.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to review this book.
For more of my reviews, please visit: http://www.theresaalan.net/blog
*Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.* [a:Jess Ryder|16557458|Jess Ryder|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]'s 'The Good Sister' is a gripping novel, full of intricate characters and lots of twists and turns as we have come to expect from this genre. The story focuses around Josie, whose world begins to crumble after the unexpected death of her father. She soon discovers that her mild mannered professor father was living a whole other life, with a mistress and a daughter the same age as her, called Valentina. As the father had been an expert in the ways of the Vikings, each chapter begins with a little snippet of information about the Vikings, which is a really nice touch and adds to the mood of the story. A thoroughly enjoyable and suspenseful novel.
Disappointingly, I found The Good Sister to be quite predictable and the characters unlikable. The story started off intriguing enough, but quickly lost momentum, and at the halfway point I found myself contemplating whether I should put it aside. I was also confused a little by the constant mention of the Vikings, because it didn't tie very well to the story, in my opinion, apart from the fact that their father was obsessed. Overall, just a bit of a miss for me. I'm definitely not writing off this author, though, as I've enjoyed other books by her in the past.
Find more reviews and bookish fun at http://www.princessandpen.com
Find more reviews and bookish fun at http://www.princessandpen.com
This book was provided to me by NetGalley for free in exchange for an honest review.
I have to be honest when I say that I did not enjoy this book. It reeled me in by the premise and I was really looking forward to figuring out this mystery. I was extremely disappointing at how the girls ended up having different mothers but the same father. I understand that the whole idea was that the father's genes took over and that is why they were so similar. Are we to believe that the girls themselves just thought they were more similar than they really were? I know they mentioned that Valentina has almond shaped eyes and different coloured hair but that still means that they are basically the same person. I was looking forward to hearing something about how they were separated at birth, NOT switched. I found Josie to be a ridiculous door mat, which I understand was supposed to be a contrast between her and Valenitna but it was to a point where she made stupid decisions just because it was convenient for the book and not because that is something a person would do.
The texting also bothered me. I get that they were younger women but I honestly haven't met anyone who is under the age of 17 who still texts using shortened version of words, like we did when we used to use messenger in elementary school (circa early 2000s).
We were supposed to believe that Helen never at first suspected that he had another family? I know that Josie was supposed to be the naive one but Helen didn't even question the trigger fingers, even though it is something a child is born with. Do the doctors not say anything when she was taken in for an operation? Or are they in cahoots with Jerry as well?
I found Josie's and Arun's relationship to be ridiculous as well. They are together for 5 years, if I remember correctly, and he can't possibly tell her that he doesn't want Valentina around without backing it up? That is not how a healthy couple functions,. which we were lead to believe they were.
Also the fact that they are British is very played up with the "hun" etc. in the beginning but then completely disregarded for any other part of the book.
Josie's arrest made the cops look like bumbling idiots. Sure they were waiting for the DNA tests to come back, but they really could have just left her in there until after they came back. What was the point of harassing her?
I fount Brett and Lisa to be useless side characters and didn't seem to add anything to the story except for the fact that maybe Brett was super creepy towards Josie. Did he think that because they weren't really family that it was appropriate?
I just felt like the book didn't answer any questions, and it's not in the sense that we are supposed to let our mind wander and figure it out for ourselves but it was just basic questions that needed to be answered to clear up the plot.
I have to be honest when I say that I did not enjoy this book. It reeled me in by the premise and I was really looking forward to figuring out this mystery. I was extremely disappointing at how the girls ended up having different mothers but the same father. I understand that the whole idea was that the father's genes took over and that is why they were so similar. Are we to believe that the girls themselves just thought they were more similar than they really were? I know they mentioned that Valentina has almond shaped eyes and different coloured hair but that still means that they are basically the same person. I was looking forward to hearing something about how they were separated at birth, NOT switched. I found Josie to be a ridiculous door mat, which I understand was supposed to be a contrast between her and Valenitna but it was to a point where she made stupid decisions just because it was convenient for the book and not because that is something a person would do.
The texting also bothered me. I get that they were younger women but I honestly haven't met anyone who is under the age of 17 who still texts using shortened version of words, like we did when we used to use messenger in elementary school (circa early 2000s).
We were supposed to believe that Helen never at first suspected that he had another family? I know that Josie was supposed to be the naive one but Helen didn't even question the trigger fingers, even though it is something a child is born with. Do the doctors not say anything when she was taken in for an operation? Or are they in cahoots with Jerry as well?
I found Josie's and Arun's relationship to be ridiculous as well. They are together for 5 years, if I remember correctly, and he can't possibly tell her that he doesn't want Valentina around without backing it up? That is not how a healthy couple functions,. which we were lead to believe they were.
Also the fact that they are British is very played up with the "hun" etc. in the beginning but then completely disregarded for any other part of the book.
Josie's arrest made the cops look like bumbling idiots. Sure they were waiting for the DNA tests to come back, but they really could have just left her in there until after they came back. What was the point of harassing her?
I fount Brett and Lisa to be useless side characters and didn't seem to add anything to the story except for the fact that maybe Brett was super creepy towards Josie. Did he think that because they weren't really family that it was appropriate?
I just felt like the book didn't answer any questions, and it's not in the sense that we are supposed to let our mind wander and figure it out for ourselves but it was just basic questions that needed to be answered to clear up the plot.
The Good Sister was a brilliant psychological thriller with an amazing twist that had me hooked and not wanting to put my kindle down, loved it!
Josie learns of her dad’s death in a motorbike accident where she finds a mysterious. Soon after she discovers that her dad led a double life and she has a half-sister Valentina , who could be passed off as her identical twin and was born just a few days apart. Where Josie is calm, collected and leads a stable life, Valentina leads a troubled life involving drugs , booze and no job . Valentina turns up at Josie’s workplace and insists on building a relationship with her sister. Is Valentina just trying to know her sister better or does she have an ulterior motive in following her sister?
The book is narrated in alternating chapters with both sisters POVs and a lot of reference to Viking gods and their lifestyles. There were a lot of twists and turns with a surprise ending that I did not expect. Even though I felt something’s were left unexplained in the book it still was a very interesting read and I will look forward to read more by this author.
Many thanks to Bookouture & NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review.
This and more reviews at https://chloesbooksblog.wordpress.com/
The book is narrated in alternating chapters with both sisters POVs and a lot of reference to Viking gods and their lifestyles. There were a lot of twists and turns with a surprise ending that I did not expect. Even though I felt something’s were left unexplained in the book it still was a very interesting read and I will look forward to read more by this author.
Many thanks to Bookouture & NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review.
This and more reviews at https://chloesbooksblog.wordpress.com/
***3 stars***
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This took me a while to finish. I stopped a little over halfway and took a couple week break from reading all together.
I liked this book, but I just couldn't get super into it. I didn't have a problem putting it down and coming back later.
Josie's character was kind of bland, which I suspect was on purpose. Valentina was the opposite. Wild and crazy and unpredictable. The contrast between the two sisters is very obvious and I'm sure it was intentional, hence the title.
There could have been more action in this book. I felt like it lacked some excitement, and I think authors have to be careful when they reveal the majority of the secret at the beginning of the book. You have the rest of a book to write, so making sure it stays exciting seems like it's a tough task sometimes.
Again, I enjoyed this book, I just didn't love it. I liked how the author revealed the first part of the secret in the first few chapters. It was unique and I wasn't expecting that. That was my only 'oh shit' moment in this book.
The second big reveal in the last few chapters...although a big dramatic reveal considering the situation, it lacked some build up for me and seemed like an afterthought.
Also, Vikings? Really?
A big 'Thank You' to the publisher and NetGalley for my copy. I do look forward to reading more Jess Ryder. This one wasn't totally my taste, but I like her writing style!
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This took me a while to finish. I stopped a little over halfway and took a couple week break from reading all together.
I liked this book, but I just couldn't get super into it. I didn't have a problem putting it down and coming back later.
Josie's character was kind of bland, which I suspect was on purpose. Valentina was the opposite. Wild and crazy and unpredictable. The contrast between the two sisters is very obvious and I'm sure it was intentional, hence the title.
There could have been more action in this book. I felt like it lacked some excitement, and I think authors have to be careful when they reveal the majority of the secret at the beginning of the book. You have the rest of a book to write, so making sure it stays exciting seems like it's a tough task sometimes.
Again, I enjoyed this book, I just didn't love it. I liked how the author revealed the first part of the secret in the first few chapters. It was unique and I wasn't expecting that. That was my only 'oh shit' moment in this book.
The second big reveal in the last few chapters...although a big dramatic reveal considering the situation, it lacked some build up for me and seemed like an afterthought.
Also, Vikings? Really?
A big 'Thank You' to the publisher and NetGalley for my copy. I do look forward to reading more Jess Ryder. This one wasn't totally my taste, but I like her writing style!
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookoture for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed Jess Ryder's first book but it was not as suspenseful as it was made out to be. This book was different and totally lived up to its description. It is a nail biting, roller-coaster ride. I absolutely loved it!
The story is about two sisters. Josie's father has been leading a double life. He is married to Josie's mother but has been having an affair with another woman and they have a child together. Her name is Valentina. Josie and Valentina find out about each other when their father passes away. The two sisters are almost identical but the similarities end with their looks. Their personalities are completely different.
The story is told by both sisters but the author does not mention which sister it is. Initially, I was a bit irritated as you first had to try and figure out which sister it was, but I realised afterwards that this adds to the suspense throughout the novel. This book really had me gripped and I could not put it down.
There were a few completely unexpected twists which left me absolutely shocked (I really didn't see that coming) and the ending was really jaw-dropping!
I highly recommend this book. Well done to the author, this is a winner!
I enjoyed Jess Ryder's first book but it was not as suspenseful as it was made out to be. This book was different and totally lived up to its description. It is a nail biting, roller-coaster ride. I absolutely loved it!
The story is about two sisters. Josie's father has been leading a double life. He is married to Josie's mother but has been having an affair with another woman and they have a child together. Her name is Valentina. Josie and Valentina find out about each other when their father passes away. The two sisters are almost identical but the similarities end with their looks. Their personalities are completely different.
The story is told by both sisters but the author does not mention which sister it is. Initially, I was a bit irritated as you first had to try and figure out which sister it was, but I realised afterwards that this adds to the suspense throughout the novel. This book really had me gripped and I could not put it down.
There were a few completely unexpected twists which left me absolutely shocked (I really didn't see that coming) and the ending was really jaw-dropping!
I highly recommend this book. Well done to the author, this is a winner!