OMG!

Is this book going to become a Netflix movie? Because I am here for it!

I laughed so hard when the reveal happened. I would looove to see that on TV.
Really enjoyed reading this one. Fast-paced, don't know when the time passed, and I've found myself more and more curious about the main character's past, her childhood days and how will things wrap after all of this messiness and craziness.

I didn't like the mother, though....


Random quotes that keep me up at night:

<<‘Be honest. Did you want to throw in a cheeky Bible quote?’
‘Eh, I could have chucked in Luke 6:31,’ he says, pondering. ‘But you’re not ready for the Psalms. The language is a bit more … fire and fury.’
‘Isn’t that a Game of Thrones book?’
Ross grins. ‘An unfortunate coincidence. Shall we crack that whiskey open now?’>>

<<He might get the wrong idea if he reads. “Just wait until you eat this” followed by a string of peach emojis and water droplets.’
‘But … they’re juicy.’
‘Oh, your innocent mind,’ I say, deleting them for her and handing the phone back. ‘Keep it simple. “Hey, would be cool to hang out soon”, you know?’>>

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for this ARC <3

A truly heartwarming novel that I didn't want to put down. When I did finish it I just felt so happy, and it was a wonderful experience to read!

Ava Atmore reports for Snooper and her work completes some testing of free DNA samples for a fun look into the subject for discussion. Ava knows little about her father, believing him to have died, and her hippy mother provides only minimal detail into the man and what he was like. Through the DNA testing ava learns she has a half-sister who lives in a small country village of about 300 people. Ava's boss thinks it would make a great story for Ava to track down her sister whilst all the world is watching.

Ava moves to the country, and gets a job on a farm, hoping to catch a glimpse of her sister. In the process she meets a sexy Minister (that's a first in a rom com I've met) and there's some initial attraction. What follows is Ava's acclimatisation to country living, a friendship formed with her sister, with the looming possibility it's all going to come crashing down once people find out who Ava is.

This was a mild, gentle read with a little promise of love sprinkled in. An eclectic family, with an absence of effective communication, despite Ava working in well....... the communication field. It's a closed door romance and was all quite nice, if but a little slow.

Thank you to One More Chapter and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

This is such a fun read. Ava is an engaging character and her attempts at farming do make you smile. The setting, the range of characters and Ava’s attempts to merge into life in Kilross all combine to make this a warm, uplifting read. Ava wears her heart on her sleeve and I totally bought into her love of life. There is a gentle, slow burn romance and some subplots which keep you engaged. I can recommend this for a lovely relaxing read.
Thanks to the publisher for a copy of the book

I enjoyed reading this book, well written and a joy to have been able to have this copy. 4 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for this ARC

A well written funny book and I wanted it to carry on! I’ll definitely be looking out for more by this author. Well written and well done!

Cute story, so timely with the popularity of DNA tests. I enjoyed that the romance wasn’t the one I expected and I loved the close bond between sisters! Side characters were great and the story was enjoyable.

When Ava takes a DNA test and discovers a half-sister living in a remote town in the Scottish Highlands, you know there’s going to be adventure involved. The book was so easy to read, and the character development is spot on. You end up feeling like you really know these people and are invested in their story! I liked that the story stuck with the relationship between Ava and Moira, and didn’t lose that to include loads of romance. A wholesome, feel-good read!

Thanks to #NetGalley, the publisher @onemorechapterhc and the author @abigailemann for providing me with a digital ARC of #thesistersurprise in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and not influenced in any way. I loved reading this book from start to finish – it is so easy and entertaining to read. I loved the way all of the characters are interlinked and the effect that taking an ancestry test had on them. This book comes highly recommended.

I thought this book was really funny. Following Ava’s story as she attempted to track her sister down after a humiliating start to being a journalist… the setting in Scotland was fab and the relationships between all the characters were fun, authentic and believable. It was a light hearted and uplifting read and has made me seek out her other book to give that a try too. Would highly recommend!

Journalist Ava Atmore gets the results of a DNA test live online. Hoping to discover more about her ancestors she’s stunned to learn that she has a sister living in Scotland. While initially horrified Ava soon decides to travel to a small town population 300 and track down her sister whilst helping out on a farm for somewhere to stay. She learns that her sister is her complete opposite but enjoys getting to know her. However that makes telling her the news harder as more and more time goes by.
I did like this book but found it took me longer to read than normal. It’s a lovely heartwarming story just a little drawn out in places. It is worth reading and I would recommend it. I would love to read a sequel to this book too as there is plenty of scope for what could happen next.

I adored this book!
This one takes a humorous look at a woman’s life and the changes she is going though and then discovers she has a half-sister that she never knew existed. Ava is such a strong, funny character whose voice lifted my mood and made me want to keep reading!
When she discovers that she has a secret sister in a remote Scottish town, she decides to take this opportunity to push forward her career and get her long awaited answers about her paternal family. I enjoyed reading this! This is my first novel by Abigail Mann and it will not be my last!

"The Sister Surprise" is a great novel which highlights the difference between London city living and remote Scottish highland farming life. The fact that Ava from Dulwich can survive the latter is a bit of a stretch, although she obviously has a few mishaps on the way. The premise for Ava's adventure is imaginative and allows for plenty of white lies to disguise the true reason for her trip to a remote Scottish coastal village. The locals are a great mix of friendly, eccentric and downright antagonistic without turning in to cliched caricatures. A lovely, warm-hearted novel.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

A warm, lighthearted and delightful book. A wonderful setting where I could feel the cold wind blowing and see the sheep in the field. The characters are all likeable and realistic. I would love to be friends with these characters. To sit down and have a cup of tea and a scone or a glass of whiskey as they talk about their memories.

The author has written a great book full of love and humour. The story flowed Smoothly from beginning to end. It included family, friendship, love and life goals while the main character was up to her knees in mud and manure.

Thank you to One More Chapter and NetGalley for the chance to read this beautiful book.

“‘Oh, he’s got a nice Heathcliff feel, don’t you think?’ she says in a whisper. ‘The right amount of brooding without the disturbing violence.’”

I just finished Abigail Mann’s The Sister Surprise and I LOVED it.
Ava, late-twenties child of an only mum, is an editor for an online entertainment/news site in London. She ends up in the spotlight after doing a promo for a genealogy kit, discovering on-air that she has a half-sister… in Scotland. She’s assigned to go investigate/meet her sister, who has no idea Ava even exists, and ends up with a few surprises in the teeny little community she visits.
The characters were so real and refreshing, the banter so fun and the animals… I have never enjoyed a book full of farm creatures more! Pickles, Jesse, Babs, and Miranda the 🐑… I loved them all!!!
Thank you to OneMoreChapter and Netgalley for the copy in exchange for review.

The Sister Surprise was heart-warming and fun chic-lit that revolved around Ava and DNA test that changed her life. The story was about family, friendship, finding yourself and small-town farm life.

Writing was witty, entertaining and vivid. The story was written in first person narrative from Ava’s POV. Setting of Scottish Highlands was picturesque and lovely.

Plot was interesting and fun that started with Ava’s relation with her mother and feeling anxious for live article she had in line about DNA kit and it’s result being revealed online. She never knew her father and her mum evaded the topic every time she brought it up. When she found out she had half sister, Moira, in Scotland her boss thinks it’s a clickbait story and send her to find her half sister and record her experience for the blog. She decided to volunteer farm in exchange for accommodation and arrived in small town Kilorch with only 300 population. As she get more involved with farm life, town people, finding Moira, things get more complicated with her secret of her main reason coming so far from home to the town that wasn’t touristy.

It was interesting to read how she would meet her sister, how she would find farm life, what drama her secret and work project would cause and how she would tell Moira she was her sister and how Moira would react to it.

First half of the book was all about building story and character. I did struggle a bit at some points in this part but second half was perfect and loved every moment in this part.

Characters were lovely. I enjoyed reading about all characters in this. Both Ava and Moira were my most favourite characters. They were both so different from each other, one city girl and other country girl but with similar looks and some of the habits.

Ava was clumpy, accident prone, lively, lovely, and independent journalist with penchant for highlighter pen and organising documents or work. Her reaction to DNA test was genuine and realistic. I loved her for thinking about her mother first. I could understand why she kept the result and her journey to Kilorch a secret. I get Ava’s feeling being out of country, away from home for the first time. She was developed character and yet it was amazing to see how much Kilorch and working on farm changed her and her life style.

Moira was chatterbox, livelier and free spirited, and like synopsis said, pig-wrestling version of Ava. Her worries for her mother were so similar to Ava. I enjoyed reading about her life in Kilorch, her struggles and dreams. The more I read about her the more I liked her. her reaction to Ava’s secret and lies was natural. I loved how she took it all.

Ava’s relationship with her mother was lovely. She wanted to know about her father all her life but it was great to see she never was desperate. I enjoyed conversations between them and their relationship developed by the end of the book.

Best part of the book was Ava time on farm and in Kilorch. It was hilarious to read antics of farm animals. I enjoyed reading more about the Kilorch, its ups and downs, small town community, and how they helped each other and gave things in exchange for other things not money, and how much work it takes to keep the farm running. Dialogues were fun and enjoyed the conversations between characters.

This wasn’t big on romance and it wasn’t at the centre of the book but it was sweet to read about Moira and Kian (farm owner for whom Ava worked for her stay) and Ava and Ross (the hot church minister). It added more fun to the story.

Twists and turns were well written. Most of them were predictable but some managed to surprise me. Climax with the way Moira found out about Ava’s secret was predictable but what came next was shocking. I loved the way they both talked about it, how things got settled, and confusions and misunderstandings were cleared. End was perfectly uplifting and lovely.

Why 4 stars-

Like I said, I did struggle a bit in first half of the book. I found myself getting easily distracted at some points.

Overall, The Sister Surprise was refreshing, uplifting, and entertaining chick-lit was great plot, characters and setting.

I recommend this if you like,
City girl to farm life arc
Scottish getaway
countryside small town setting
Good sister relationship
Light romance but not centre of the story
fun and hilarious moments and dialogues

The Sister Surprise by A. Mann is a witty and fun read. The perfect summer and baech read, fluffy, entertaining and has everything I love in a great story.
Ava , a journalist takes a dna test and suprise, there's a sister she knew nothing about out there somewhere. Ava would be bad at her job if she couldn't find out who this mysterious sister is. So up she goes and is visiting undercover the sister and her family.
I started reading and was pretty quick intrigued. I read the whole book, cover to cover, in one sitting, unputdownable.

When I read the premise of this book, I knew I had to read it straight away - journalist Ava takes a DNA test as part of her work, and discovers she has a sister (when she is on live stream!). My mum was adopted and we met her half siblings (and their siblings) when she was in her 50s, so this really resonated with me!

Ava grew up with only her mum, so when she discovers she has a sister, she decides to go to rural Scotland to meet her. She starts out as a farmhand and becomes entrenched in the community, getting the know her half sister Moira - without anyone knowing who she really is. Cue lovely (gruff) farmer who Ava stays with and hot priest, and you’ve got an entertaining, feel good book. I really loved reading this and was sad to finish it!

Thanks to @netgalley and @onemorechapterhc for the review copy!

This was quite different and wonderful, different from other stories. I liked that it was more of a women's fiction which made it interesting. A DNA test and going to Scotland to meet her half-sister got Ava on an adventure. I liked that the author wrote a wholesome story with a few other subplots and secrets. I quite enjoyed it.

This was a funny book which I thoroughly enjoyed . The only down side it was very predictable . Having said that I liked the pace and the characters.