A review by abooknomad
Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors

dark hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

My first Coco Mellors and it did not disappoint. Cleopatra and Frankenstein has been on my tbr since it was released, but when I heard Blue Sisters was a story about sisterhood it immediately became a priority. If there’s something that I love having in my stories, it's the angst, complexity, love and pain of family relations. 

Overall, this was a well-executed portrait of a family torn apart by tragedy and trauma, and the different (and toxic) coping mechanisms that each member finds to deal with the ghosts of the past. The writing pulled me in, and the various points of view kept the story moving, enriched the narrative, and contributed to the overall themes. These sisters are so deeply flawed and at times despicable, but the truth is that it is often our family that sees our ugliest sides, and, in that, this book is brutally honest and raw. 

My only qualm is a personal one: the short flashbacks in the middle of chapters – at times, they took me out of the story, but I understand this was the better way to do it since I think whole flashback chapters would be even more jarring.

All in all, this was a great read and I’m even more excited now to read the author’s debut.