Tag Archives: Siblings

Tweet Cute [Book Review] #ThrowBackThursday

April 21, 2022

Tweet Cute by Emma Lord
#throwbackthursday

Tween Cute by Emma Lord (cover) Image: two apartment buildings with a teen in each using social media on their phones

 

Genre/Categories/Setting: Contemporary Young Adult Fiction, Family Life, YA RomCom, Coming of Age, New York City

Welcome to Throwback Thursday where I highlight an older review or post a current review of an old read. Today, I’m re-sharing a sweet YA romcom, Tweet Cute by Emma Lord. (It’s my fav of her three books.)

I’m linking up today with Davida @ The Chocolate Lady’s Book Review Blog for #throwbackthursday.

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

My Summary:

grilled cheese sandwichThe setting is New York City. Pepper (Patricia) is the swim team captain at her private school, achievement-focused, and a perfectionist. Her family owns a large fast-food burger chain, and Pepper runs the twitter account. Jack is a classmate and fellow swim team member. He secretly develops apps, enjoys being a class clown, and experiences episodes of sibling rivalry with his twin brother. Jack’s family owns a small downtown deli. A few things happen to put the story in motion: the big burger chain copies (steals) Jack’s family’s grilled cheese sandwich, a twitter war ensues that Jack and Pepper instigate and fuel, and Jack and Pepper find themselves becoming close friends on the school’s app where identities remain anonymous.

You’ve Got Mail meets Tell Me Three Things meets With the Fire on High….

Continue here for my full review of Tweet Cute..

QOTD:

Have you read Tweet Cute or is it on your TBR?

 

Books About Sisters #NationalSiblingsDay #Sisters

April 10, 2022

Books About Sisters

Books About Sisters (two sisters lie on their backs with heads touching)

Image Source: Canva

#NationalSiblingsDay

I’m celebrating National Siblings Day with a post about sisters! I love reading books about complicated family drama and I especially love stories featuring sisters!

             By My Side

I have two Siblings….two treasured Sisters. In the picture below, I’m standing and my two sisters are seated on either side of our mom. This pictures was taken in the “before” times. You see, my sister Jollene (seated on the left) is now in Heaven. Dearly loved and gone too soon.

three sisters and mom

*Titles are links to my review or Amazon affiliate links.

Books About Sisters

(In no particular order)

Daughters of War by Dinah Jefferies

(histfic: WW11)

Daughters of War by Dinah Jefferies (cover) Image: a woman stands with her back to the camera in a field with trees and a house on a hill in the distance

The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth

(contemporary thriller)

The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth (cover) Image: a young girl peers out the window of a house at the red roses growing in the garden

Three Words For Goodbye by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb

(comtamporary women’s fiction: Europe)

Three Words For Goodbye by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb (cover) Image: two young women holding promotional materials and wearing hats stand next to a railing on an ocean liner

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Black Cake [Book Review]

February 1, 2022

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson (cover) white text over a background of various multicolored graphic shapes

Genre/Categories: Contemporary/Historical Fiction, Complicated Family Drama, Adoption, California/Caribbean/London

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

My Summary:

Thanks #NetGalley @RandomHouse for a complimentary eARC of #BlackCake upon my request. all opinions are my own.

On the occassion of their mother’s passing, Byron and Benny are left with their mother’s voice recording and specific instructions: they are to listen to it together in its entirety and in the presence of the family lawyer. In addition, they are to share the “black cake” (Caribbean rum soaked fruit cake) in the freezer when the time is right, and they’ll know when it is the right time. Byron and Benny were close as children and grew up in a loving home, but they have grown apart as adults. In fact, Benny hasn’t seen the family in twenty years. Can they overcome their bitterness and deal with the secrets their Mom shares about her history? Will a secret sibling add further complications to an already strained relationship?

a slice of black cake

My Thoughts:

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The Holley Sisters of Thornthwaite Series #AVicarageChristmas #AVicarageReunion #AVicarageWedding #AVicarageHomecoming [Book Review]

January 28, 2022

The Holley Sisters of Thornthwaite Series by Kate Hewitt …..The “Vicarage” Series

Genre/Categories: Women’s Contemporary Fiction, Sisters, Family Drama, Village Life, England

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

My Summary:

As the title might suggest, each of the stories in the Vicarage series focuses on one of the four Holley sisters. Their father is the Vicar of Thornthwaite and Mom is the heart of this busy and complicated family. Each book in the series deals with a substantial theme or two including infertility, grief, social anxiety, finding your soul mate, broken relationships, unplanned pregnancy, forgiveness, reconciliation, etc. The strength of the stories and the thread that ties them together is the bond between the adult sisters and their commitment to family. Each book can be read as a stand alone, but as always reading them in order is a richer reading experience.

My Thoughts:

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The Dutch House [Book Review] #ThrowBackThursday

November 4, 2021

The Dutch House by Ann Pachett
#throwbackthursday

Genre/Categories/Setting:  Literary Fiction, Complicated Family Drama, Siblings

In 2020, I decided to systematically revisit my older review posts and update them. On Thursdays, I’ll be re-sharing a few of these great reads. Today, I’m re-sharing a character-driven story from a popular author, The Dutch House by Ann Pachett. I definitely recommend the audio performed by Tom Hanks for this one!

I’m linking up today with Davida @ The Chocolate Lady’s Book Review Blog for #throwbackthursday.

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

My Summary:

“Siblings Danny and Maeve are living in The Dutch House when their mother abandons the family. Their father remarries, but after he dies, their (wicked) stepmother kicks Danny and Maeve out of her life and out of the house. Suddenly, all Danny and Maeve have is each other. This story explores their complicated lives and relationships.”

A character-driven, complicated family drama….

Continue here for my full review of The Dutch House…

QOTD:

Have you read The Dutch House or is it on your TBR?
(Definitely recommending the audio for this one!)

 

If You Want To Make God Laugh [Book Review] #ThrowBackThursday

September 9, 2021

If You Want To Make God Laugh by Bianca Marais
#throwbackthursday

If You Want To Make God Laugh by Bianca Marais (cover) black text on a yellow background....a graphic image of a dog and bird surround the title

Genre/Categories/Setting:  Historical Fiction, (post Apartheid) South Africa, Family Life, Sisters

In 2020, I decided to systematically revisit my older review posts and update them. On Thursdays, I’ll be re-sharing a few of these great reads. Today, I’m re-sharing a compelling family drama, If You Want To Make God Laugh by Bianca Marais.

I’m linking up today with Davida @ The Chocolate Lady’s Book Review Blog for #throwbackthursday.

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

My Summary:

“If You Want to Make God Laugh is the compelling story of three unforgettable women living in post-Apartheid South Africa at the time of a growing AIDS epidemic and threats of civil war. Zodwa is seventeen, pregnant, poor, and lives in a squatter’s camp. Ruth and Delilah are middle-aged sisters who live on an inherited, rural farm. While Ruth is an unhappy, disillusioned, and newly divorced socialite, Delilah is a former nun and social worker who is hiding a big secret. A newborn baby will bring these characters together, and this is a story of their precarious relationships, of sibling jealousy, rivalry, and healing, and of found family.”

“I’d often wondered since then if a child could be inoculated in the womb against the horror of the world through the power of its mother’s love; if that love could infuse joy into a child even when her presence couldn’t.”

If You Want to Make God Laugh…..tell Him your plans…

Continue here for my full review of If You Want To Make God Laugh…

QOTD:

Have you read If You Want To Make God Laugh or is it on your TBR?
Have you read Hum If You Don’t Know the Words by the same author?

 

The Vanished Bride [Book Review] #ThrowBackThursday

September 2, 2021

The Vanished Bride by Bella Ellis
#throwbackthursday

The Vanished Bride Review

Genre/Categories/Setting:  Historical Fiction, Siblings, Cozy Mystery, Yorkshire

In 2020, I decided to systematically revisit my older review posts and update them. On Thursdays, I’ll be re-sharing a few of these great reads. Today, I’m re-sharing a historical fiction mystery, The Vanished Bride by Bella Ellis.

I’m linking up today with Davida @ The Chocolate Lady’s Book Review Blog for #throwbackthursday.

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

My Summary:

“The Vanished Bride is the highly imagined story of the famous Brontë Sisters before they were authors. In 1845, when all four Brontë siblings return home to live with their father (for various reasons), Charlotte, Emily, and Anne hear about the disappearance and suspected murder of a young neighbor woman, they decide to become lady detectors and embark on an ambitious endeavor to solve the mystery. Relying on their resourcefulness, determination, energy, wits, cleverness, and creativity, they investigate, interrogate, analyze clues, and follow leads. The sisters need to pursue these activities without drawing attention to themselves because of the expectations for women and their roles at that time. Since they are already intrigued by the idea of becoming authors in a male-dominated field, they are already thinking outside the box and challenging boundaries. Although at times they need to involve their brother, most of the investigation is accomplished without the knowledge of their protective father. Will they solve the mystery of the vanished bride?”

Authentic and delightfully entertaining characterizations of the three Brontë sisters….

Continue here for my full review of The Vanished Bride…

QOTD:

Have you read The Vanished Bride or is it on your TBR?

The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters [Book Review] #ThrowBackThursday

August 19, 2021

The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters by Balli Kaur Jaswal
#throwbackthursday

Unlikely Adventures of Shergill Sisters Review

Genre/Categories/Setting: Contemporary Women’s Fiction, Sisters, Family Drama, India

In 2020, I decided to systematically revisit my older review posts and update them. On Thursdays, I’ll be re-sharing a few of these great reads. Today, I’m re-sharing a family drama, The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters by Balli Kaur Jaswal.

I’m linking up today with Davida @ The Chocolate Lady’s Book Review Blog for #throwbackthursday.

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

My Summary:

“To honor their mother’s dying wish, three Punjabi sisters travel to India on a pilgrimage to visit sacred places that are special to Mom and to scatter her ashes. Told from the three perspectives of three very different sisters, The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters explores sibling relationships, modern vs traditional roles of women, secrets, and the importance of family.”

Can three very different sisters living three vastly different lives come together to honor their mother’s last dying wish of traveling to India and scattering her ashes?

Continue here for my full review of The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters…

QOTD:

Have you read The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters or is it on your TBR?

Three Words For Goodbye [Book Review]

August 4, 2021

Three Words For Goodbye by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb

Three Words For Goodbye by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb (cover) Image: two young women reading promotional material and wearing hats stand against the railing of an ocean liner

Genre/Categories: Historical Fiction, Sisters, (1937) Europe

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

My Summary:

In 1937, two sisters are sent to Europe by their beloved grandmother to deliver three letters. Complicating this mission is the fact that the sisters haven’t spoken to each other in years and have grown apart in many ways. Clara is the careful and dutiful one and is engaged to marry millionaire, Charles Hancock. Madeleine is more independent and free spirited and strives to be a journalist like her hero, Nellie Bly. Both sisters are devoted to their grandmother and are committed to fulfilling her dying wishes. Clara looks forward to embracing her love of art and visiting Europe’s art galleries while Madeleine envisions writing articles on the political unrest in Europe and submitting them to U.S. newspapers in an attempt to be published. The sisters traveling experiences on the Queen Mary, the Orient Express, and finally the Hindenburg provide the backdrop for many of their most dramatic and challenging moments. What will this trip mean for their relationship? Will they successfully deliver the letters and what secrets will they discover?

My Thoughts:

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Under the Magnolias [Book Review]

July 20, 2021

Under the Magnolias by T.I. Lowe

Under the Magnolias by T.I. Lowe (cover) Image: a young woman with long blond hair stands under the branches of a magnolia tree

Genre/Categories: Christian Fiction, Southern Fiction, Complicated Family Drama, Coming of Age, Side of Romance

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

My Summary:

Thanks #NetGalley @TyndaleHouse for a complimentary eARC of #UndertheMagnolias upon my request. All opinions are my own.

In 1980 in Magnolia, South Carolina, a young teenager, Austin Foster, finds herself caring for her six siblings (all named after cities) when her mother dies in childbirth. Austin’s father is a preacher and works a tobacco farm, but he suffers from mental illness and is unreliable in many ways. Austin tries her best to keep the family fed and clothed and still attend school for a time. She has members of the community she can turn to, but no one really knows the extent of her hardships. Austin is attracted to Vance, the handsome son of a wealthy family in the community, and he is there for her when the truth of her circumstances is revealed.

My Thoughts:

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