This was more family saga and sisterhood tale than mystery, which unfortunately is not what I was looking for. Though lyrical and a beutiful interwoval tale of the sister's voices, it was not exactly what I was expecting. As YA mysteries are some usually of my favorite reads, I had high hopes for this one. Unfortunately, this was not for me.

-- review is being left several years late due to the many issues of 2020. Thanks a million to the publishers and netgalley for an early copy of the book for review.

Equal parts murder mystery and sister/friendship story, this book really had me hooked. I really enjoy Kathryn's writing style a lot

DNF. Couldn't get into this book, this book just wasn't for me, sadly. Thank you for approving me and I'm sorry I didn't enjoy the book.

I even bought a finished copy to try again but nope.

I loved the atmosphere of this novel. It had strong character development that drove the story forward.

THE SULLIVAN SISTERS is truly a coming-of-age tale. This well-crafted story brings to light the distance that can be between family. Sometimes people aren't as close as they once were, but an event such as death can change all of that. These three girls will tackle a mystery in a way that will pull you in until the very end.

I love stories about sisters so I was really looking forward to this one, but the plot here didn't end up doing a whole lot for me.

I am serving on the Notable books for a Global Society Selection Committee and am reviewing books for the 2021 list. The Sullivan Sisters does not really meet the criteria for selection to move on to the next level of review. While the book will be of interest to students in middle school and high school, the content does not really meet the criteria as I see it.

I was actually pretty disappointed in this one. I was hoping for a YA mystery or a thriller and what I got was a family saga that focused on the them of sisterhood. I liked the bond between the sisters and the way they grew. I honestly just couldn't get into this one though. The sisters voices muddled together and the pacing seemed to drag a bit in parts. overall this was one was okay but I just enjoy it.

The Sullivan Sisters was an amazing story of sisterhood and self-discovery that I couldn’t get enough of. Each of the sisters had their own distinct personality but they had this wonderful bond that was unbreakable no matter what. You could see that each of them were facing their own demons but the idea of an inheritance and a family member they never knew brought them on a road trip that could change everything. The Sullivan Sisters is a story that you won’t forget so add it to your TBR today.

This book had all the makings of my perfect kind of read. Pacific Northwest setting, intriguing and possibly deadly family secrets, and three sisters torn apart but centered in a narrative intent on putting them back together again. What could I not love? But as much as I enjoyed this book's concept and the sparse, lyrical prose that generally defined the reading experience, I was left generally unimpressed, as it felt increasingly lackluster.

This book reminded me a lot of Tigers, Not Daughters by Samatha Mabry. The narration in the flashbacks was engaging, each of the sisters had a similar arc of development, and the general plot and trajectory were similar. However, I found that after a while, I started to become very irritated by each of the characters, and not in a productive way.

Claire's whole shtick became crueler and more elitist by the minute, and all of the sisters felt like they had voices much younger than their supposed ages—especially Murphy, who, I could easily see, was treated like a child because her voice reflected someone closer to ten, not 14. Though it was frustrating that her sisters treated her like she was so young, it didn't help that the prose did as well.

And despite how immersive the setting was, how well-described the exposition as a whole, the dialogue lacked, and the prose started to become incredibly repetitive. Much of this book was spent regurgitating memories, and it slowed the pace of the story tremendously. I wanted so badly to feel engaged with the mystery elements, but it never felt high-stakes. Every time I though something explosive was on the verge of occurring, the reveal was a letdown. By the time the Big Reveal happened, it was uninteresting and had such a quick and unrealistic fix within the context of the situation.

While I did generally enjoy the book, I felt like I was always wanting More from it. I appreciated that the ending didn't tie everything into a neat little bow, but instead put each of the sisters on the right path towards recovery, but nothing ever really clicked for me character or plot-wise. This could've been a good 100 pages shorter, and would've been a much more clear and concise novel for it.

I'm not sure what I expected when I picked up The Sullivan Sisters, but I do know that I was pleasantly surprised. Though it's listed as a mystery, it's far more about the sisters and their relationships than it is about the mystery, which was completely fine by me. I love stories about sisters, sisterhood, and relationships.
The girls set out to get to the bottom of a mystery, but what they really find is how much they mean to each other. We get each girl's perspective as they are each going through their own issues.
This was a wonderful little book!
Thank you so much to Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of The Sullivan Sisters in return for an honest review.

Sisters Eileen, Claire, and Murphy used to be close. A visionary, a planner, and a performer respectively the sisters could accomplish amazing things--like making their house feel like a home even with their father dead and their mother increasingly absent.

But that was years ago. Now the girls can barely stand to be around each other.

At eighteen Eileen has been carrying a potentially dangerous secret for years. She is working a dead end job. She's managed to hide her drinking from her mother so far. Her sisters aren't as easy to fool.

Seventeen-year-old Claire is an Exceller and she is ready to use everything at her disposal to Excel, succeed, get the hell out of her small Oregon town, and find her first girlfriend. With advice from her favorite self-help Youtuber, Claire has done everything right. But she still didn't get into Yale--the only college she applied to.

Fourteen-year-old Murphy has always felt like a fifth wheel in her family. She never met her father so she can't miss him. Her mom is never around. Eileen and Claire never have time for her. Luckily, Murphy has her magic tricks to keep her company. She used to also have Siegfried the family turtle. But then she forgot to feed him one too many times.

Days before Christmas Eileen receives a letter that could change everything. The sisters have inherited a house from an uncle they've never heard of. A house that could have answers for Eileen, money for Claire to get out of town, and a chance for Murphy to feel like she's part of a family again in The Sullivan Sisters (2020) by Kathryn Ormsbee

The Sullivan Sisters alternates between third person chapters from each sister. Unfortunately, the clinical tone of the narration also makes the sister's blend together. A heavy reliance on quirks to define their personalities doesn't help matters.

Your feelings about this book will depend heavily on your expectations going in. If you are looking for a heartfelt story of sisters reconnecting, this is the book for you. If, like me, you came expecting an atmospheric house mystery you will likely be disappointed.

Ormsbee tackles a lot in the book and the mystery aspect, such as it is, barely makes the list. What The Sullivan Sisters does well is present three flawed characters (four if you count their mother) who have gotten so used to drifting along that they need a major jolt (like a surprise inheritance) to get back on track.

Throughout the book Eileen is forced to confront her alcoholism (she is in AA by the end of the story). Claire has to admit that her self-help idol may not be as helpful as she thought but also it may not be as terrible as Claire thought to be queer in a small town--even without a plan. Murphy is a hard one. She is funny and often the most approachable of the sisters. But she also killed Siegfried the turtle through her own neglect--something that was hard to swallow even with an abundance of remorse on her part.

The Sullivan Sisters is a story about connection and secrets. Recommended for readers who enjoy reading about complicated sibling relationships, family secrets, and flawed characters.

Possible Pairings: Serious Moonlight by Jenn Bennett, Everything All at Once by Katrina Leno, Tigers, Not Daughters by Samantha Mabry, Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters by Natalie Standiford, The Insomniacs by Marit Weisenberg

*An advance copy of this title was provided by the publisher for review consideration*

This is such a wonderful coming of age story. I loved the connection between each of the sisters. If you enjoy reading about family relationships this is definitely a book for you.

I ENJOYED…
☂️
- The Sullivan Sisters really is a book about sisters and I loved it all the more for it. I’m always looking for great siblings relationships in books and here, well, I got what I wanted for sure. Told from 3 different POV, we get to hear the side of each sisters’ story.
- Claire was my favorite character of the lot. She’s an overachiever, she’s a planner, she’s a creative and she’s stubborn as heck. I really loved and related to her in some ways, too.
- Murphy was a lovely character to follow, too, with her enthusiasm and curiosity, her little pet turtle she mourned and her wanting to fit in.
- The oldest sister, Eileen, gave up on art and lost herself in alcohol consumption after discovering a disturbing family secret.
- I think what I loved the most about The Sullivan Sisters, was this: the exploration of sisters’ relationships, how their relationship shattered, little by little with each year, the misunderstandings and closed doors and everything else. As the story goes on, we see these sisters getting to know each other again, opening up to each other again and I just loved that so, so much.
- This book really is a family mystery. Little by little, we discover this dysfunctional family and slowly peel the layers of their past and I was always curious to read on, to know more about what had happened. I didn’t guess anything!
- The setting! I also really appreciated this small-town, Oregon Coast setting and this big, spooky manor, too.


I HAD A HARD TIME WITH…
☂️
- The Sullivan Sisters falls on the slower side …. so if you’re looking for an action-packed kind of story, I’d recommend finding another book. While I appreciated the characters a whole lot, the story, for me, took a whooping 65% to really kick off.
- I think my expectations for The Sullivan Sisters might have been a little off, too, unfortunately (and that’s entirely on me!). I thought that this book would be a thrilling mystery from beginning to end, and I found it to be more of a family’s past slow-paced exploration, more character than mystery focused. Don’t get me wrong! I love the characters, I was a bit thrown off by this, though. Expectations, the worst, right?

OVERALL
☂️
- If you enjoy stories exploring complex family and siblings relationships, I’d recommend The Sullivan Sisters. It’s a slow kind of mystery, but the characters and sisters’ relationship and growth is worth it if you’re into this kind of thing!

This book was right up my alley. I have a soft spot in my heart for stories about dysfunctional families coming together to work out their differences. Throw in creepy, old Victorian houses over looking the ocean inherited from estranged family members, the Pacific Northwest, and the uncovering of family secrets, you pretty much have a recipe for my next favorite book.

All three of the Sullivan Sisters were so different. They all had completely different hopes, dreams, and personalities from each other which made them really pop into reality fro me. Each one of them had their own kind of secrets that they were carrying and each of them had their own secrets that they were carrying. Those secrets were the driving force behind each of the girls' character arcs through out the book.

This book takes place in small town Oregon. The author really captured the feeling of small town hopelessness, especially where Claire is concerned. I wasn't a huge fan of Claire through the first half of the book, but her desperate need to get away from her home town really resonated with me. Small towns are like boxes and when you already feeling the other people in that box with you aren't going to accept you for who you really are that box gets smaller and smaller every day until you can't breathe. I think watching Claire become self aware towards her behavior was one of the most incredible parts of this book. Coming to terms with the fact that you, yourself, might actually be the problem is such a rough thing for a teenager, but that struggle was shown very well on the page in this book.

All three of the Sullivan Sisters were incredibly well written. It's rare for me to find a book where all of the characters have such clearly different voices to the point that it would be impossible to ever get them confused. This book is primarily character driven an it's done so well. Each of the girls had their own stories to tell and demons to face within the overall happenings of the book, but never once did I get bored with any of the point of views.

I really loved being included on the road trip that changed the Sullivan Sisters' lives. This is a story about three girls who had drifted apart and managed to find their way back to each other. If you like hidden family secrets, sister bonding, small Pacific Northwest towns, and even a little magic this is the book for you.

BOOK REPORT for The Sullivan Sisters by Kathryn Ormsbee

Cover Story: Color It In
BFF Charm: Natalie Imbruglia
Swoonworthy Scale: 0
Talky Talk: Sistery
Bonus Factor: Oregon
Anti-Bonus Factor: Underage Drinking
Relationship Status: Open My Mind

Cover Story: Color It In
The illustrations on this cover are lovely, and the girls well-depicted. (Minus the middle girl, who I think is supposed to be the youngest sister, but she has curly hair, so I'm not quite sure.) I don't really get why they're hanging out in flowers, but that's OK. The part I don't love, and feels quite disconnected from the rest, is the space background. Which, I know, LE GASP; I always love space backgrounds. But it's not working here. Here it makes it seem like someone started coloring the cover and then just gave up when they realized how complex filling in the rest of it was going to be.

The Deal:
The Sullivan Sisters—Eileen, Claire, and Murphy—used to be close. But two years ago, when Eileen was 16, she discovered a family secret that shocked her to her very foundation and made her draw away from her sisters, her passion for art, who she was. Now 18, Eileen is barely functioning, working a full-time job at Safeway and drinking heavily to numb, well, everything. But then she gets a letter in the mail that says she and her sisters are set to inherit a house from an uncle they didn't know existed. Eileen hopes this strange turn of events will help her make sense of the secret. What she doesn't know is that her sisters have plans for it, too.

BFF Charm: Natalie Imbruglia
While all three Sullivan sisters were interesting to read about, I didn't find myself really wanting to be friends with any of them. Eileen is, to put it bluntly, fucked up, and spinning wildly out of control. Claire is obsessed with a YouTube influencer who makes her think poorly of people who don't have their shizz together (glass houses, girrrrllll). And Murphy, while adorable, is definitely 14; she swings back and forth between being quite mature and totally childish. I want to help all of them, but the last thing they need is another sister in the mix.

Swoonworthy Scale:
The Sullivan Sisters is not a book about romantic love, and that's OK. There are other types of love that certainly deserve to be explored, and the love between sisters—in all its forms—is high up on that list.

Talky Talk: Sistery
In The Sullivan Sisters, Ormsbee has crafted a beautiful and sometimes brutally honest version of what it's like to have sisters—at least, I think so, not having any blood sisters of my own. The story unfolds through the POVs of all three Sullivans, and they're all distinctly different, with their own goals, ambitions, and view on the story as it unfolds. The plot itself isn't as mysterious as the blurb had me believing it would be, and I got a bit frustrated at the girls not figuring out elements that I figured out long before them. (But thems the pitfalls of having the ability to follow all of the threads at once, I suppose.) The mystery's not the heart of the story, though; it's the path(s) the sisters three take to get to their conclusions and figure out their relationships with each other, and in some ways, themselves.

Bonus Factor: Oregon
The small town the Sullivans live in doesn't exist (that I could find), but I love that Ormsbee set this book in a small town in Oregon all the same. Having grown up in a similar small Oregon town, I totally commiserated with some of the pitfalls discussed in the book, and the fact that the shine of (constant) rain wears off pretty quickly. They also visit a fictional coastal town that has me wanting to run out of my house and drive to the Oregon Coast as fast as my car can take me. The Oregon Coast is by far my favorite coast. (And I haven't really left my house in SO LONG.)

Anti-Bonus Factor: Underage Drinking
I'm not trying to judge anyone's recreational pursuits, but Eileen's got a real problem.

Relationship Status: Open My Mind
You're not what I expected, Book, but I think I liked our time together more because of that. Your story didn't make me wish I had sisters growing up, but I do appreciate that I gave me insight into what it might have been like.

Literary Matchmaking:
● For more sisters and suspense, but with a fantasy spin, check out Erin A. Craig's House of Salt and Sorrows.
● For another story about sisterhood that focuses on addiction, try Lizzy Mason's The Art of Losing.
● And then there's Jenny Han's To All The Boys I've Loved Before series for a more lighthearted look at sisterhood.

FTC Full Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from Simon & Shuster, but got neither a private dance party with Tom Hiddleston nor money in exchange for this review. The Sullivan Sisters is available now.

Having sisters must be wild. In fiction and in reality, there is always a story with sisters. And with The Sullivan Sisters, there certainly is one. And it's changed over the years as the girls have gotten older, developed their own lives, and drifted a bit away from one another. But a chance letter revealing a relative they never knew existed thrusts them back into each other's orbits.

I absolutely loved that they had this chance to reconnect. There is a lot of love among these young women, of that I had no doubt. But there is also a lot of pain. Their mother works so much to provide that she's basically absent and each sister is on her own. Eileen, the oldest, is a mess, she's become an alcoholic, and sees pretty much no future for herself. Claire tries to overcompensate by being the best at all the things and assumes that she needs to be some perfect version of herself. Murphy, the youngest (and my favorite) is lonely and lost, but such a genuinely delightful character. So off they go to a quaint town on the water to an old, inherited house.

The atmosphere of this place is perfect for both a mystery and a rediscovery of sisterhood. As it's a small town, the sisters have little choice but to sort out their problems, and the clues of their ancestors. And while I won't say too much about either journey, it's wonderful to see the parallels between the mystery and their own reconnection.

It's obviously a very family-focused story, but also a story about self-discovery too. For the sisters will never be able to properly patch their relationships if they first cannot heal within themselves.

Bottom Line: Atmospheric and full of love and heart, this mystery-slash-sisterly love story is one not to be missed!

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this for early review! Even since reading Tash Hearts Tolstoy by Kathryn Ormsbee, I've loved her work. This was a different story, but still a thoroughly engaging story. While it's a bit slow moving at first, the story itself is atmospheric and it draws you in quickly.

While this book is being pitched as a mystery, it's more of an unraveling of family secrets through the voices of the three Sullivan sisters: Murphy, Eileen, and Claire. For the most part, the voices of each of the sisters were unique enough to tell them apart, but at times, they tended to blur together. Out of the three, Murphy might have been my favorite to read just because she had the most engaging voice. There were times, though, where she seemed younger than she was supposed to be.

If you're looking for a suspenseful mystery/thriller, this definitely isn't it. There is death mentioned in the book, but it isn't a huge part of the plot line. It's more focused on relationships and the ways that family relationships change. This book will suit those looking for relationship based stories, exploring family histories and family secrets. It is definitely more of a character driven story than a plot driven story.

Adding a bit more suspense might have made this book a little more engaging plot wise. Overall, an interesting read featuring strong characters.

Ugh, I gotta be honest y'all. This book was really underwhelming. I've wanted to read something from this author for ages and I'm worried that I may have started with the wrong book :c It had so much potential to be amazing (spooky seaside town! sister bonding! queer characters!), but it just felt like.. nothing happened and I am SAD. I will still go back and read more from Ormsbee's backlist because I did enjoy the writing style, but I can't pretend that the plot as a whole didn't leave a lot to be desired for me. Womp.

TW: animal neglect, death of an animal, alcoholism, underage drinking, terminal illness (cancer), death of a parent