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hhanki1 's review for:
Dear Sister
by Ruth Harrow
**** SPOILERS****
I selected this ARC from NetGalley. I hadn't read any of Ruth Harrow's works before. I did however upon seeing her ARC look into reviews of some of her works. Others had some pretty high remarks so I went in head first with enthusiasm.
Dear Sister centers around two sisters, Rachel and Laura. The pair have had a rocky path through life. Having lost their mother in the mists of their childhood and their father being MIA during said time, the girls were put into foster care. Here the two were separated and had very different experiences. Defying the odds they kept in touch. Rachel having succeeded in keeping their sisterly bond alive into adulthood regardless of their circumstances.
This book though it does develop the sister's back stories, is set in their adulthood. Rachel has beaten the odds, overcome her past, and made quite a nice life for herself. That was until her own pride, jealousy, and ambitions cloud her judgement. Rachel is a secondary teacher and has been recently promoted due to the head of her department going on maternity leave. She has quite the shoes to fill. However, Rachel struggling to pick up the pieces of her life after her long term boyfriend and colleague, Paul, drops her like a bad habit. You see Rachel has a tendency to push too far and cross unspoken boundaries once she sets her mind to wanting something. In the spring she found herself trying to trap Paul into family life even after he voices that he isn't ready. Paul is a good guy but he has ambitions of his own and Rachel crosses the line ultimately pushing him to drastic measures... BREAK UP. As the book starts Rachel is starting back to school in the fall. Her life still in shambles when she is reminded of the new responsibilities she is to take on this school year whilst still facing Paul every day at work. YIKES... Yes, this story goes there.
Laura, on the other hand, is married to Ash. She works as a maid and her husband a life guard. To put it nicely "They struggle." Laura likes to keep up appearances. She buys nothing but the best for Amy, their daughter. She even goes without at times wearing worn, old clothing. She likes to keep up the façade of a perfect marriage in front of others. It's no wonder everyone thinks they have the perfect marriage. Ash comes off as overly protective of his daughter and even controlling of his wife at times. AND WITH EVERY RIGHT.. I'll let you into that.
The sisters are close being the only biological family either of them are still in contact with, but one day Laura decides to reach out to dear ole long lost dad. Blessing or mistake? Where has he been all this time? and Why hasn't he even tried to reconnect before? Laura is eager to move past the past, but Rachel is leery. What are Peter's intentions? Lets just say their worlds go topsy-turvy, lives start to unravel and secrets come to light, but not all of them.
This novella flows well enough. It is not a genre I typically read a lot of. However, there is plenty of excitement. There were times I wanted to just yell at the both of the main characters for being absolutely ridiculous! LIKE GET A CLUE! It was a quick and easy read. I found myself being propelled along. I had a pretty chill weekend and was able to complete this book from one afternoon to the next. It is told from two perspectives at once. I didn't mind that as Ms. Harrow did a very good job of flowing between the two sisters. Keeping the reader guess who exactly is the heroine, the victim, the villian... who knows? You find yourself second guessing and changing your ideas of what exactly is going on. I'd have gladly given this book another star, however, there were some pretty easy to spot errors, some wording choices, and even missing words or typos. Not a lot. Just enough to where I get flowing along, then all of a sudden HAULTED... suck finding myself re-reading to figure out what exactly was trying to be said...
Anyways, good read and I would definitely recommend.
I selected this ARC from NetGalley. I hadn't read any of Ruth Harrow's works before. I did however upon seeing her ARC look into reviews of some of her works. Others had some pretty high remarks so I went in head first with enthusiasm.
Dear Sister centers around two sisters, Rachel and Laura. The pair have had a rocky path through life. Having lost their mother in the mists of their childhood and their father being MIA during said time, the girls were put into foster care. Here the two were separated and had very different experiences. Defying the odds they kept in touch. Rachel having succeeded in keeping their sisterly bond alive into adulthood regardless of their circumstances.
This book though it does develop the sister's back stories, is set in their adulthood. Rachel has beaten the odds, overcome her past, and made quite a nice life for herself. That was until her own pride, jealousy, and ambitions cloud her judgement. Rachel is a secondary teacher and has been recently promoted due to the head of her department going on maternity leave. She has quite the shoes to fill. However, Rachel struggling to pick up the pieces of her life after her long term boyfriend and colleague, Paul, drops her like a bad habit. You see Rachel has a tendency to push too far and cross unspoken boundaries once she sets her mind to wanting something. In the spring she found herself trying to trap Paul into family life even after he voices that he isn't ready. Paul is a good guy but he has ambitions of his own and Rachel crosses the line ultimately pushing him to drastic measures... BREAK UP. As the book starts Rachel is starting back to school in the fall. Her life still in shambles when she is reminded of the new responsibilities she is to take on this school year whilst still facing Paul every day at work. YIKES... Yes, this story goes there.
Laura, on the other hand, is married to Ash. She works as a maid and her husband a life guard. To put it nicely "They struggle." Laura likes to keep up appearances. She buys nothing but the best for Amy, their daughter. She even goes without at times wearing worn, old clothing. She likes to keep up the façade of a perfect marriage in front of others. It's no wonder everyone thinks they have the perfect marriage. Ash comes off as overly protective of his daughter and even controlling of his wife at times. AND WITH EVERY RIGHT.. I'll let you into that.
The sisters are close being the only biological family either of them are still in contact with, but one day Laura decides to reach out to dear ole long lost dad. Blessing or mistake? Where has he been all this time? and Why hasn't he even tried to reconnect before? Laura is eager to move past the past, but Rachel is leery. What are Peter's intentions? Lets just say their worlds go topsy-turvy, lives start to unravel and secrets come to light, but not all of them.
This novella flows well enough. It is not a genre I typically read a lot of. However, there is plenty of excitement. There were times I wanted to just yell at the both of the main characters for being absolutely ridiculous! LIKE GET A CLUE! It was a quick and easy read. I found myself being propelled along. I had a pretty chill weekend and was able to complete this book from one afternoon to the next. It is told from two perspectives at once. I didn't mind that as Ms. Harrow did a very good job of flowing between the two sisters. Keeping the reader guess who exactly is the heroine, the victim, the villian... who knows? You find yourself second guessing and changing your ideas of what exactly is going on. I'd have gladly given this book another star, however, there were some pretty easy to spot errors, some wording choices, and even missing words or typos. Not a lot. Just enough to where I get flowing along, then all of a sudden HAULTED... suck finding myself re-reading to figure out what exactly was trying to be said...
Anyways, good read and I would definitely recommend.