A review by bringmybooks
The Lost Sister by Kathleen McGurl

adventurous emotional lighthearted sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

 Thank you to NetGalley, HQ Digital, and HQ for the opportunity to read and review this book before it's publication date! This in no way affected my review, opinions are my own.

OH HEY WHERE MY 90S BABIES THAT WERE OBSESSED WITH SHIPWRECKS AT because hey-oh, this book is for you! Olympic? Titanic? Britannic?? The White Star Line??? Honestly I don't need any other bit of synopsis, this is enough. But if you need more, here's a full review:

Yet another Kathleen McGurl that I completely devoured! In my opinion, there aren't many authors that can consistently write a dual timeline historical fiction with equally compelling timelines, but Kathleen McGurl is definitely one of them. (I know I will for sure continue reading her books and suggesting her to other lovers of the hist fic dual timeline trope.)

Regarding the historical timeline, I love, love, LOVED reading about life as stewardesses on the ship(s), and I loved all of the historical bits that were mentioned in the book. (I do think my slightly above average knowledge of the history of these particular ocean liners hampered some of my potential enjoyment of the book, because there were quite a few things that were supposed to be a surprise that I already knew were coming.)

I had a couple of squabbles with the modern day timeline, namely that I super didn't like the characters and kinda wanted to smack the eldest daughter upside the head (bad decisions were made), and to a lesser extent wanted to smack the youngest daughter upside the head (you're being a prat). All of that being said, I think there was a satisfactory ending to the novel and I liked how the two timelines connected.

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