This is a lovely book about sisterhood and secrets, jealousy and redemption, abuse and longing. Penny and Hattie are orphaned as youngsters but are as close as they can be until a devastating event reshapes their bond and changes everything about their futures. Years later when an interesting young man enters their lives, of course only one of them can have him...but this only tests the bonds of sisterhood, further complicating their lives. And as we all know, secrets come out and as this novel winds down to its shocking conclusion, you may gasp because what you assume you know is not the truth. Lovely writing and pacing make this a one-sitting read!

I found the initial part of this book confusing.
I couldn't figure out what era the book is set in, there were no mention of modern devices. It felt like somewhere around the 1950s when attitudes mixed with settings were presented.
The characters were not likeable nor could I relate to them.
The story is depressing and at times convoluted.
I read it hoping for something positive to rise up but nothing surfaced beyond a few pages.

While it didn't take me long to read, I found Sister of Mine to be an okay read. I don't know if it was the writing style or the flow of the story. I didn't like the second storyline involving the son and I wish the author had went there with the sisters. Go all the way to the edge.

Penny and Hattie Grayson have a dark secret? What could it possibly be? Their father left them when both girls were young. Before that, the Grayson house was always filled with lots of friends and parties. Now, it was just their mother raising the two girls the best she could with good morals. After a freak accident of their mother being stung by a bee, the girls were left to take care of themselves. They remained very close and lived in the same house in the small town, where everyone knew their business. Everyone, including Detective Lain Moore, seemed to know their business. And Det. Moore stops by their house to investigate a fire at Penny’s former house. Det. Moore’s showing up, makes the sisters very nervous. What are they hiding? Both sisters worked hard and stayed to themselves. Then comes Jameson, a teacher at the school. Penny was excited to meet him. She actually invited him to dinner. He enjoyed the dinner with the sisters. The next day Jameson asked Penny if he could date Hattie. Everything seemed fine; both sisters and Jameson hung around together and it was working. Then Jameson asked Hattie to marry him, and once they were married, the turmoil began. Hattie asked both Jameson and Hattie to do the unthinkable. What was it? How could this act affect all of their futures? Would the dark secret come back to haunt them? What a great psychological thriller. The plot was great and the character development was great as well. The ending really surprised me. It wasn’t what I expected. I look forward to the next book.

This was okay but was ultimately a disappointment.

The sisters were jealous,co-dependent, and unlikable. this was a well written book and I was curious about what would happen but I never connected to most of the characters.I am an older sister myself so perhaps that colors my perspective.This just didn't work for me.

Peggy and Hattie are very very close as sisters, they will do anything for each other. Yet as much as they owe each other for things that have been done for them it seems to never be enough. As we read on we see what causes the rift between the two sisters and how it seems neither can move far from the other because they both need each other.
As the story moves along at a good pace we see what each sister has done for the other and we see the changes start happening between them. Within the pages you can start to feel the jealousy and the anger among other feelings. The sisters were really well developed as characters and I loved how different they were from each other and were willing to protect all they had even though their relationship wasn't easy going or perfect. Overall a really good story with good characters and a steady plot. When everything comes together it is amazing how well the author made it all work out.

I quite enjoyed this story that follows the lives of two sisters and the secrets that they hide from the world, as well as each other. It was a very bittersweet story, and very well written. Laurie Petrou did a fantastic job building the drama, and I simply did not want to put this book down.

This was a dark, sad, and brooding story, with an ensemble-like cast of characters. I liked the main characters and the convoluted relationships that ring true. I found myself rooting for them. I also really liked the author’s writing style. It was an easy and fast read, and very easy to pick back up after a break. I will look for more from this author.

Throughout the book there is an almost tangible tension between these orphaned sisters, whose love for each other is only outweighed by the resentment that simmers beneath the surface. Told in the voice of the oldest, who escaped an abusive marriage, detail of their entwined relationship seep out as the pages turn and lead to a surprising ending.

The twists and turns of this story are pretty predictable except for one; the biggest secret that ties the sisters together. I enjoyed this up to a point, but it really is a silly and unbelievable story.

Sister of Mine really grabbed my attention form the start and did not let go until the end! I don't want to give details away, but this is definitely a page turner and a twisted story at that. Recommended!

Sisters will have each others back through thick or thin, usually. How far would you go to help your Sister? Hattie and Penny are sisters that would protect each other, no matter what. That's not to say there isn't any sibling rivalry because there most assuredly is. Especially for their mothers attention. Father has run off, so the three women only have each other. In each of the girls mind is the desire to escape from their home town, and each other. When a freak accident happens to kill their mother, Penny returns back to the home to put the pieces back together. There is a bit of contention due to the fact that Hattie was home when their mother died. She had earphones in listening to music, when the wasp stung the mom. Who knew that she was deathly allergic and Hattie couldn't hear her cries. She slowly suffocated in the garden, Penny the oldest, comes home and takes the role of oldest adult.
The sisters have done things and said things that only they know. Who will be the first to crack? Who will turn on whom?
Great read, enjoyable, entertaining, everything you want in a good book. Great characters, smooth storyline.

This was a book about secrets and what keeping those secrets will do to a family of two sisters. I did not like either of the sisters, the only characters that I did like was Jacob, Jameson and Iain Moore. I also think that the jealousy between the two sisters and how they treat each other and the secrets that they had to keep from not only each other but everyone in town was all part of their downfall. I like reading Psychological thrillers but this book although written good was not for me. This is why I give it 3.5 stars. I don't know if I would go to these measures to protect my sisters.

A very good novel with interesting characters and an intriguing premise! I wasn't sure what to expect as I have never heard of the author before, but I am pleased with this one. I would certainly pick up another book by Laurie in the future.

3.5 stars

"Keep your enemies close and your sister closer."

Sisters Penny and Hattie have always had secrets! It began in childhood and continues to the current day. But the current secret is the biggest one of all - it is the one which could lead to their downfall. Will the truth come out or will they crumble under the weight of the secret they share? After Penny's husband dies in a house fire, Penny and Hattie live together in their childhood home and things appear to be great between them. But then Penny brings a man home and he enters their lives changing things between all of them forever. Words such as "you owe me" are said, hidden resentments, jealousy, secrets and lies bubble to the surface. Will their loyalty and sisterly bonds be enough to weather any storm? Will the burden of keeping a secret burn a hole in their relationship and sever their bond?

"Let no man put asunder. Let no man pull us under."

I read this book in one day, which was very easy to do. I was drawn into these sister's world and wanted to know what would happen next. Relationship are complicated, and they certainly are in this book. There are a lot of dynamics going on between the two sisters. They have a close bond not only because they are sister very close in age but also because they share a secret which can only tear them apart or keep them close together.

This is a book is a mystery and not a mystery at the same time – confusing I know. The reader is given hints and will eventually learn the truth, but this book is about more than just a mystery. It is about family ties, domestic abuse, secrets, lies, resentments, sharing a history with someone and love. How far are you willing to go for someone you love? What are you willing to sacrifice? What are you willing to do to pay a debt?

I found this book to be well written and captivating. These women had a dysfunctional family that leaves the reader to question "what is going to happen next?"

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. The thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Penny and Hattie are sisters who live in a small town. Penny resembles her Mother and Hattie her Father. When they are young Hattie takes a pair of her Mother’s earrings to give to Penny. This act ultimately causes the breakup of the parents’ marriage. The girls remain very close throughout their teens, but after finishing high school, Penny moves to the city and meets and marries Buddy and returns to the small town. Buddy is immature and abusive and eventually dies in a fire in the home he and Penny share while Penny is at her sister’s. As years go by Penny meets Jameson, brings him home for dinner where he meets Hattie. They soon link up and Hattie wants a child but appears to be unable to conceive. Once again the horrible dysfunctional connection between the family comes into play and Elliot is born. More years go by and more troubling circumstances arise and the complexity of the family grips the reader. It is well written and plotted and a psychological study worth spending some time with. Thanks to Net Galley and Crooked Lane for an ARC for an honest review.

Sister of Mine Written by Laurie Petrou Reviewed 6/14/18
Sisters, like secrets, are best kept close.

Penny and Hattie, orphaned sisters in a small town, are best friends, bound together to the point of knots. But Penny, at the mercy of her brutal husband, is desperate for a fresh start. Willing to do anything for her older sister, Hattie agrees to help. A match is struck and a fire burns Penny’s marriage to the ground. With her husband gone, Penny is free, and the sisters, it seems, get away with murder. But freedom comes at a cost. More than a year after the fire, a charming young man comes to town. Hattie and Penny quickly bring him into the fold and into their hearts but their love for him threatens the delicate balance. Soon long-held resentments, sibling rivalry, and debts unpaid boil over, and the bonds of sisterhood begin to snap. As one little lie grows into the next, the sisters’ secrets will unravel, eroding their lives until only a single, horrible truth remains: You owe me. A compelling novel of suspense from a talented new voice, Sister of Mine asks us to consider the bonds of family, what it takes to commit the unthinkable, and how far you’ll go to protect the ones you love.
What did I like? Having two sisters of my own and being active, rambunctious girls, we had secrets and I believe those secrets will be kept and will go to our graves. I personally never experienced the cruelty that Penny went through but one of my sisters did, so I understood what she was going through. I could totally feel for both girls and put myself in both of their shoes. Would I have done what they did, I am not sure! I am glad that I was never put in that position to have to make that decision.
What will you like? This is a well written domestic suspense novel by a new author and we should make room on our bookshelves as this girl is going to be heard from in the future as well. She crafted an awesome storyline about the what happens when lies are told and what we must do to keep our lives in check. How far would you go? I know that my sisters are important to me even if we don’t see each other. Very involved and complicated webs of lies that lead to an unbelievable ending! I highly recommend this book to everyone. I received this from the author and Net Gallery for an honest review with no other compensation.

I picked this book up because of the cover. It was an interesting and intense read. I would recommend this one to those who enjoy thrillers.

This story was good; it is a tale of two sisters that would do anything for each other. They share a secret that they cannot escape. They try to live their lives after what happens but things do not work out that way when guilt eats away at one of the sisters.
I loved the authors style of writing I read it in one sitting I really couldn’t put the book down it had me turning the pages to find out what was going happen this is my first book by this author and will not be my last I can’t wait to see what she brings us next.

This novel contains a good combination of suspense and family relationships. Penny and Hattie are two young women that are sisters. They have had quite a bit of heartache in their lives-having their father leave when they were children, and losing their mother to a tragic accident. Now they share a secret, one that could eventually be uncovered and change their lives dramatically. Suspense builds as they learn how to live with the fear and guilt of their secret. Sisterly ties are damaged as each sister acts through their guilt. After Jameson comes into their lives and marries Hattie things become even more troubled. Will their secret be found out? How will the relationships between Hattie, Jameson and Penny and Hattie and Jameson's son Elliot develop? Easy to read in a day.