Sister Dear :A Novel (Hannah Mary McKinnon) wasn't really my cup of tea, although I am sure there are readers for whom it will be. It started so slowly for me and I found the characters drawn too narrowly, i.e., lacking the nuance of real life. Consequently, the storyline's potential declined as I read through. I am generally drawn to "family secret" plots, but I just didn't find Eleanor that interesting/likable. Honestly, it didn't keep my on the edge of my seat; more realistically, it kept me rushing forward to try to finish it so I could move on to the next book.

A special thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin/MIRA for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Eleanor Hardwicke has just lost her beloved father. Her world is beyond shattered when she learns that the man that she cherished was not actually her father and that she was the result of an affair. Eleanor's biological father, Stan Gallinger, is alive and well. He's a successful businessman with an adoring family.

Victoria, Eleanor's half sister, had the loving childhood that Eleanor so desired. She has a doting husband, a budding business, and lives the charmed life that should be Eleanor's. But sisters are supposed to share...and now it's Eleanor's turn.

That was all kinds of crazy, and I loved it!

Eleanor is a flawed and imperfect character that was also compelling to read about. She is not without faults and the reader will have sympathy for her. McKinnon juxtaposed this against Victoria's beauty, wealth, and success.

The line between good and evil is not a defined one as we've been led to believe—it is blurred. With her characters exhibiting both qualities, McKinnon explores some pretty toxic familial relationships.

Deftly plotted and perfectly paced, Sister Dear will have readers enthralled until the stunning conclusion. It is a story about love, loss, and the best dish of all, revenge.

First, I want to thank Hannah Mary McKinnon, Harlequin Books S.A., and NetGalley for providing me with this book so I may bring you this review.

WOW!! Hannah Mary Mckinnon continues to write incredible books with jaw dropping shocking endings! Sister Dear Is just as good if not better than all of the others I have read from her.

This book starts off in the present day and then jumps back to fifteen months earlier when Eleanor’s life is flipped upside down.

Hannah from chapter two immediately pulls hard on my heart strings. We learn that her Dad only has four months to live as he is dying of pancreatic cancer. Even though they were close there were secrets he was keeping from her that would tear her world inside out.

Hannah did an incredible job portraying the love that this father had for his daughter. So much emotion poured into this relationship.

I will admit there were some scenes when I wanted to yell and scream at some of the characters for the way they were behaving towards Eleanor. There were things done that were just so wrong on so many levels within the family.

There were some shocking twists and turns towards the end of this book that left me speechless.

There were enough inter-sentence redundancies to be distracting. Also the characters, especially the main character, are exceptionally difficult to get behind for the first third of the book. That said, the conclusion, while not entirely shocking, was really fun.

I have incredibly mixed feelings about this book, and especially about its protagonist, Eleanor Hardwicke. Sister Dear is written entirely in first person, from Eleanor’s perspective, and let me tell you, her mind is not a pleasant place to stay for nearly 400 pages. Which doesn’t make sense, because I should have related to her, and in some ways I did relate to her. I have also dealt with crippling self-esteem issues and emotional eating. But her relentless self-pity, defeatist attitude, and wishy-washy decision-making were too much. She read like a poorly written young adult protagonist… except she’s almost thirty.

Eleanor had enough good moments to keep me reading. Her grief over her father’s death and her frustrating relationships with her mother and sister tugged at my heartstrings. There’s a romance subplot, which was… okay. Lewis, the love interest, was pretty typical: handsome, fit, nice. But at least he’s inoffensive. I might have actually enjoyed the romance – in a mindless, feel-good way – if Eleanor hadn’t sabotaged her budding relationship with Lewis at every turn.

In terms of plot, boy was this book a disappointment after reading the blurb. I was expecting an unrepentant, conniving protagonist who, motivated by jealousy and grief, sets up an elaborate scheme to take over her half-sister’s life. That’s not what this book is at all. Eleanor oscillates between fretting over what a good person she is who has never hurt a fly and deciding she’s a ruthless you-know-what who takes no prisoners (but never showing it). She briefly considers taking petty revenge on Victoria for living a privileged life, but instead ends up befriending her.

Sister Dear is marketed as ”psychological suspense.” There is no suspense. There wasn’t even a solid narrative arc. There was some excitement and a twist toward the end that would have been clever if there’d been any build-up to it, but at that point it was too little, too late.

holy cannoli macaroni, this was awesome! I finished this in under 24 hours because I just couldn't put it down. Wherever I want, so did Dear Sister.
Such an interesting cast of characters and a very unique plot. This one will have you gasping and saying Oh My God! It was a ping pong game of "i like her. I dont like her. I like her. I dont like her."
The whole story was a twisted thriller but the ending was a bonus. thats all I can say.
I think this is going to be a very in demand book when it is published in May. I need to double my stars and give it 10!!
Thank you Netgalley, the author and the publisher for my free ARC in exchange for my honest (and raving review!)

Excellent thriller with a main character I felt came to life on the pages due to the author's descriptive writing. I have a pet peeve with English writers writing for an American character that don't fully ring true to me. Eleanor has lived her entire life in the U.S.A., she never lived in the U.K. herself --although her Father's family originated from somewhere in England. It kind of grates on me--This is nitpicking ....I know... but this is my review and I want to mention it lessened my reading pleasure. All in all, I still liked the story and it was fun being on the ride until the very end. The end was just not a good one for me. I may be in the minority here due to all the 5 star reviews I have been seeing. In any event, I definitely recommend to anyone who likes fast paced writing and unique and twisty story lines.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review

Eleanor finds out that her father is not her biological father just before he dies, which has a devastating effect on her as he is literally the only person in the world who cared for her. She then goes out to find her real father and finds out she has a half sister, Victoria. She befriends Victoria and then enters her life which is filled with luxury. From there, the life of the two sisters changes beyond belief as they become friends and get closer.

I devoured this page turner. It started off with a bang with an interesting premise. It was a slow burn suspense but right at the end, the plot changes unbelievably. Just when I thought where it was going, the plot did a complete turnaround. It ended at a point where I definitely need a sequel! It is the kind where the predator becomes the prey and keeps you wondering who is the predator in the first place. Amazing ending! I seriously felt it wasn’t fair to end that way and I hope there is a sequel soon.

I highly recommend you add this book to your TBR as soon as you can. This is one you will surely not want to miss out on.

While the book is a decent enough read, it got more and more unbelievable and crazy. However, the ending basically destroyed any hope this book had of earning three stars, at best. I do not recommend. Much better books out there and I'm sorry I wasted my time.

So poor Eleanor loses her beloved father a few hours after hearing a devastating secret her loving father and truly cruel mother have kept from her. Why does her mother seem to hate her? In her grief, Eleanor follows up on the secret she overheard and suddenly, the possibilities for her small, rather limited,, life opens up and perhaps she can have the stable prosperous loving family she’s always wanted. We are sympathetic to her and will her to confront her mothers past. And discover a beautiful sister. Who loves her. Steady on, Eleanor is playing in the big leagues now and has no idea what’s in store for her. Nor did I, Totally didn’t see the big twist coming and was truly and totally shocked by the ending. Hannah, please tell us that Daughter Dear is coming soon. Pretty, please, don’t leave us hanging.

Taut suspenseful thriller!) The climatic experiences of the main character are interwoven into a thrilling tapestry of suspense, drama,confusion and mystery.

Book Review:
Sister Dear by Hannah Mary McKinnon

A huge thank you to Hannah Mary McKinnon for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy.

I was instantaneously swept away into each of the characters and woven into the fabric of their lives. I felt them, I loved them, I hated them, I envied them, I loathed them!

The very beginning hit extremely close to home and had me reading the first few chapters through an endless sea of tears having recently gone through the same horrific loss in a similar horrific manner as Eleanor went through with Bruce.

While it emotionally ripped me apart, I needed to keep going. I wanted to see Eleanor end up with everything she deserved given the terrible things that she had gone through for so many years.

The betrayal and the deceit were beyond imaginable and made me angrier and angrier with every chapter. I’ve experienced manipulation and seen just how far people will go to get what they want, what they think they deserve. I’ve seen the naivety and the innocence of the people who trust them and who can’t fathom that such evil exists. This story was that and more!

Whether you loved them or hated them, you were emotionally and physically driven to continue page by painstaking page to get to the bottom of this ruthless story! To connect the dots and understand “why?”

Hannah has done it agin! Pulled you in to the point of no return. Made you adjust your calendar to allow you to spend hours away from things you should be doing to make your way to the last page in record time.

I’ll close with this... when will you be releasing the sequel? There has to be more! It can’t end like this. It can’t!

No question! 5 ⭐️’s!!!

Wow Hannah is easily becoming one of my go to top authors! I Don’t even read what the book is about, I go in blindly knowing I’m going to devour it and love it! Her books always throw me for a loop and you get that jaw dropping moment and this one is no different! I highly recommend it!!! Thank you for the advanced readers copy ,all opinions are my own.

WOW. That was utterly FANTASTIC. I finished this bingeread-worthy book in under 36 hours! If it hadn't been for work and sleep it would have been MUCH faster! The twists and turns and family-drama keep you guessing til the very end. You won't see this one coming!
I HIGHLY reccommend Sister Dear, by Hannah Mary McKinnon, and seriously see her becoming a household name if she keeps this up! WOW!

A brilliantly twisted slow burn of family, love, loss and REVENGE. Hannah Mary McKinnon is back with some seriously complex characters that have you wondering who is up to what...you'll be quite surprised at what happens in this #creeptastic, un-put-down-able thriller.
I love everything about this book and highly recommend it to all. Hunker down when you crack it open because you wont put it down. 5 sparkly stars!
Thank you to the author and publisher for my copy.
#SisterDear #NetGalley #MIRA #harlequin

Delicious and devious, readers will devour this page-turner. A fantastic, smart thriller that will appeal to all kinds of readers.

It’s bad enough dealing with the death of her much loved father, but then Eleanor discovers that the man she called father really wasn’t her dad at all. The product of an affair her mother had with a wealthy man, Eleanor finds herself increasingly angry and jealous of the life she could have had – of her half sister Victoria. Victoria had the kind of life Eleanor dreamed of, and now Eleanor intends to be sure she gets exactly what she deserves. Sibling rivalry on steroids!