If you enjoy love-to-hate characters, Virginia Franken's upcoming book Half-Sisters has them on a silver platter. While the book starts slowly, the ending makes up for it. This novel's last chapters are shocking and jaw-dropping.

Maddy and Emily are half-sisters who lost touch after a rough childhood. Years later after their father passed away they reunited to settle his estate. All seems to go well considering Maddy has married her sister Emily's high school sweetheart Joshua in her absence. Suddenly, Maddy discovers pictures of her sister Emily on Joshua's phone raising her suspicions of an extramarital affair. Is Maddy just overreacting?

Half Sisters is available on June 21st.

Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing, for allowing me to review this exciting book.

This book wasn’t for me. I like stories of sisters and thought this one would v=be interesting. I never established an affinity for any of the cjsrscter, in fact, disliking most of of them.

Half Sisters by author Virginia Franken is set to release on June 21, 2022 by Lake Union Publishing. It’s a story of psychological suspense where a lie told many years ago has a lifetime of repercussions on the lives of two sisters. It’s a tale of jealousy and revenge that has a surprising twist at the end. In the beginning, Maddie seems like such a good girl, the perfect sister while Emily, who has experienced a volatile childhood already, comes off as a dark, evil bad-ass. As the story progressed, the truth came out and it had a big impact on the way I felt about these two sisters. It’s a story of revenge and setting the record straight and I feel Maddie got what she deserved. I’d like to thank NetGalley for the arc that I obtained off the Read Now section. I enjoyed reading this and think others will as well. I’m giving it a 4 star rating.

Maddy is shocked when her older half-sister, Emily, moves in with her family after the death of Emily's mother. Due to the difference in their ages they are not close and Emily leaves home as soon as she is old enough.

Twenty years later the two sisters meet to settle their father's estate. In the meantime, Maddy has married Emily's childhood sweetheart, Joseph, but she now becomes suspicious that her husband is having an affair with her sister. Slowly Maddy feels as if she is losing her mind.

I found the ending rather unlikely and was disappointed. Half Sisters is a good read for fans of psychological family drama with a touch of unreality. Many thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This is a pretty typical psychological thriller. The writing is fine, but the secrets were obvious to me. This is the kind of book that makes me wish there were previews on NetGalley, because from the cover and summary I was expecting a more literary novel. If you’re a fan of psychological family drama with shocking twists, this one fits the bill.

Lots of family drama here! Maddy and Emily are half sisters who didn't know about each other until they were teens. Emily, the older, was angry, having lost her mom and been forced to move in with Maddy. And then she left, leaving behind Maddy who marries Joseph, Emily's high school boyfriend. The marriage is a bit rough- they've got financial and infertility problems- and Maddy's only friend is Bea, her sister in law. Now they need to sell the family home to keep afloat and Emily is back. And things are getting weird for Maddy. What's wrong with her? No spoilers from me but know that you'll find yourself annoyed at more than one character. Maddie and Bea tell the tale in the present while Emily provides the back story. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. It's twisty.

I'm a big fan of book about family dysfunction. Virginia Franken mixes family drama with a dose of psychological suspense in Half Sisters! I had trouble putting this book down. When Maddy is 14 years old, her older half sister, Emily, comes to live with her and her parents. As I was reading the novel, I kept asking myself which sister is the good sister. I loved the storyline ( I will not give a summary and they are easily found on the internet) and strongly disliked the characters. I think that the author chose to make most of the characters unlikeable to add to the suspense and drama. I highly recommend this novel to fans of books about sisters! Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

This book had me extremely invested! I was so shocked at the ending of this book. Definitely not what I expected but in a good way!

Maddy and Emma are half sisters--they share the same father but different mothers. They were separated and then reunited after their father's death to settle down an estate. Maddy was in fact married to Emma's high school sweetheart Josh. So when she discovers a picture of Emma and Josh together, she was suspecting if they were having an affair behind her back.

The book started out a little boring and slow. However, towards the middle of the book, it got interesting and then the ending was a mouth hanging openly good! The writing was great too and the characters were however not very likable in my opinion which lowered my rating of the book.

Overall, if you like a famiyl drama with a hint of mystery, then this book is one for you--worth three stars.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

This was such a suspenseful read and we really are not sure who's fooling who in this one. I love how the story starts off slowly and layer by layer all is revealed and by the time we get to the end all hell has broken loose. This was a real page turner and I managed it in a couple of sittings. I was completely enthralled. The three points of view and different timelines are seamlessly executed and is my favourite format.

Such an amazing psychological, family drama, with plenty of unreliable narrators and unlikeable characters. That last scene was pretty awesome, when everyone reveals their true selves and I hope we hear more from these characters as I would love to know what happens to them next.

Muffin Fluffin'!! 😳😯🤯😳😯

Wow! Holy cannoli! Oh my fluff! This book was so much more enjoyable then I had hoped or thought! Although I will say, at times in the middle it seemed to drag on a bit, the rest of it was so good! The back and forth between Maddy & Emily's perspectives gave so much insight into the past and present. I found myself loving, disliking and even frustrated with each character during the whole novel. I honestly had no idea where it was going or how provoked my emotions would be from these two main characters.

It's been twenty years since Maddy has seen or heard from her half-sister, Emily. But after running into Maddy's husband, Joseph, she comes back to town to settle the estate of their father. Life stresses are plaguing Maddy and making her suspicious of Joseph and Emily - as they were each other's first love as teens. As Maddy feels she's losing her mind, her sense of reality, & even her life, there's a far greater secret then she's ever known that's about to be revealed. The question is, can she handle it?

The ending was excellent! I'm still thinking about this novel even a few hours after finishing it. The experiences for each of them, the trials & tribulations, & how family & blood aren't always so strong. Such a genuine novel I couldn't get enough of.

Thank you to NetGalley & Lake Union Publishing for this ARC.
Release Date: June 21, 2022

I give this 4 / 5 Lily's! 🪷

Maddie and Emily are half sisters, sharing a father. Emily moves away and Maddie still lives in her childhood home with her husband who used to be Emily's boyfriend back in the day. Emily moves back to town to help Maddie sell the house after their dad dies. There are quite a few twists and turns but over all the story moves slowly. I honestly didn't care for either of the sisters as they both are hiding a lot of secrets. I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.

This story was interesting and I love it. It was twisty to find out which sister was good and bad. Ending was jaw dropping. Definitely would recommend. Only negative would be the choice of book cover. I would personally use a different catching look.

Maddy has known for most of her life that she has a half-sister Emily. What she doesn't expect is for her to come and live with them and not want to be best friends. Maddy isn't old enough to understand everything Emily has gone through, and all she does see is her stealing precious time with her mother and their father.
In the present, Maddy and Joseph are married and even though they are having some fertility and financial issues, they are still very much in love. Until the missing Emily returns to town and just like when they were teenagers, Emily wants everything that Maddy has. Adding to the mix, Joseph was Emily's boyfriend first, but that is all in the past, or is it?
Told mostly by Maddy with Emily and Bee, Joseph's sister narrating some chapters, we go from the present to the past to find out what happened. Ironically, Emily's return coincides with Emily potentially suffering from the same horrible disease that killed her mother. She misplaces things and forgets conversations and it leads me to wonder if she was a reliable narrator or not. When the truth emerges, I was shocked, and saddened, and felt an overwhelming amount of sympathy for one of these women. I never trusted Joseph, but you will have to read this twisty tale to discover the wicked games people play.

I love a good unlikeable protagonist, and Franken delivered with hers! Half Sisters keeps you guessing and interested, and it was fun to hate basically every character in the book. While the ending wasn't shocking, it was satisfying, and the plot was engaging and interesting. I definitely enjoyed!

I absolutely loved this book. I read for a living, so I don't get many chances to read for pleasure (and books that aren't well edited annoy me). But this is my favorite kind of novel. It built up so nicely, and I was completely invested in the characters throughout. I actually spent an entire day in my pajamas reading it. I loved the descriptions of the town and thought the story was so well executed. I'd love to read more from this author.

I feel a little like Maddy when she first found out she had a half-sister. This book sounded exciting and I started out liking it, but I ended up not really liking it at all.

As a child, Maddy lives in Myrtlebury, California, a relatively small town outside of Los Angeles. She has known her best friend Bee and Bee’s older brother Joseph since she and Bee were five years old. When Maddy is in her pre-teen years, Emily comes to live with them because her mother died and her uncle was abusive.

Emily’s age is never disclosed, but we know she’s a few years older than Maddy because she and Joseph are close in age. (In the present day in the book, Maddy is 34 and Joseph is “not yet 40,” so we can assume probably around 39.) My guess is that Emily is about 14 when she comes to live with Maddy’s family, and having a talkative, excitable, nine-ish sister is annoying at best.

Maddy’s parents try to shield her from Emily’s abuse injuries, so they tell Maddy to leave Emily alone. Being an excited younger sister, Maddy sneaks into Emily’s room after three days. As Maddy becomes increasingly annoying, Emily lashes out, and Maddy bumps the dresser but isn’t badly hurt. When Maddy’s mom sides with Emily, the stage is set for Maddy to start disliking Emily instead of enjoying having her around.

Fast forward to the present day, Maddy’s parents have both died — her mother from dementia and her father just a couple of years ago — and the family home has been left to both Maddy and Emily. Maddy and Joseph have been living there to save money. Maddy teaches dance classes for not much money. Joseph works in the music industry and has been struggling lately, and they are nearly broke.

Emily left town as a teenager, and Maddy and Joseph don’t know where she is. If they sell the house, Emily’s half would go to the county comptroller, but if she doesn’t claim it, that half goes to the state. If Emily isn’t found within five years, however, Maddy and Joseph can sell the house and keep all of the proceeds.

When the book begins, Joseph has found Emily at a party in New York where they have a mutual friend in the music industry.

Now for the spoilers outlining how the book falls apart for me. If just one of these storylines had been the storyline, it would have been better. As it is, the book is so convoluted that none of it ends up making much sense. And because there are so many people doing the wrong thing, there is no one to root for here.

***SPOILERS*** SPOILERS***SPOILERS***

At the beginning, Joseph and Maddy are made out to be this loving couple. They’ve known one another all their lives. Selling Maddy’s parents’ home will help them recover financially. They just needed to find Emily. There is also an underlying concern that Maddy is beginning to be forgetful and confused, and Joseph is worried that she’s beginning to show signs of the early onset dementia that was so traumatic for them with Maddy’s mother.

So let’s deal with the idea of Joseph and Maddy being nearly broke first. Joseph has been telling Maddy that his music industry work has been drying up, and of course, Maddy shares that with her best friend Bee. When Bee hears about a licensing deal that Joseph brokered with Apple and that he must be doing well financially, however, she confronts him. Joseph tells Bee that he’s planning to leave Maddy because he doesn’t want to end up caring for her with dementia like Maddy’s father did. He’s squirreling away money to avoid paying too much in alimony, figuring the sale of the house will be enough to sustain Maddy.

Bee and Joseph already have a rocky relationship, so this doesn’t really fix anything. When she begs him to tell Maddy the truth, he says that he can’t, that Maddy is not totally innocent but he can’t say anymore because it has implications for Greg as well.

Being the nosy town gossip, Bee then confronts Greg, asking if he and Maddy are having an affair. Greg has always been fond of Maddy, but he just loves her from a distance since she is with Joseph. When Bee tells him that Joseph is thinking of leaving Maddy, Greg thinks maybe he can just take Maddy and move away. So then he tells Bee a long-kept secret that he promised Maddy he would never tell about a fire that started in the girls’ school that Maddy and Bee attended when they were 14, a fire that changed everyone’s lives when it happened. The secret is that it was Maddy’s fault. (It’s actually kind of Greg’s fault too but mostly Maddy.)

At this point, Bee starts to second-guess everything that Maddy ever told her, especially about Emily, because Emily was accused of setting the fire. Because of her past, it resulted in Emily going to juvie, and it was the end of her relationship with Joseph. So now Bee starts to do things to separate from Maddy and begins to rebuild her relationship with her brother.

Even from this point, there’s so much to uncover, so I’ll try to break it down into small enough pieces. Bee resents Maddy for lying to her for their entire lives and basically destroying her brother’s life. Maddy believes that Joseph is hiding a rekindled affair with Emily but she can’t prove it because Joseph is gaslighting her (and everyone else) and convincing her that she’s suffering early onset dementia.

Emily tells Maddy and Joseph that she’s going to buy them out of the family home because she wants to live there when, in reality, she wants to tear down the house and build apartments or condos just to punish Maddy for ruining her life. Emily and Joseph actually have rekindled their relationship, and Joseph found Emily two years ago right after her father died. The assumption we’re supposed to make is that they have been hatching this plan for the past two years because Joseph has been funneling money into an account that’s in Emily’s name.

When we get to the end of the book and Maddy figures out everything, Emily implies that the only reason Joseph married Maddy 15-some-odd years ago was because she reminded him of Emily. And by the way, Joseph has still been having sex with Maddy after finding Emily because they were trying to get pregnant. He’s avoided going to a fertility doctor because he had a vasectomy when he found Emily because he knew Emily didn’t want children.

So he’s hatching a plan to go back to Emily but still having sex with his wife, and Emily is ok with that? To say nothing of the fact that he didn’t go looking for her sooner? Oh, and to top it off, Maddy is kind of crazy in that she sliced her arm open as a kid and blamed Emily, told her parents that Emily and Joseph were having sex in the treehouse, let Emily take the blame for the fire in the school, and so many other things.

I’m a fan of a story with twists and storylines that make you second guess, but come on! At the end of the day, we spent the entire book assuming that Joseph is trying to convince Maddy that she’s getting sick. In actuality, she’s already a little out there! Gaslight her…OR let her have antisocial personality disorder…we don’t need both! It was just all too confusing, and at the end of the day, not a single character in this book ended up being likeable…not even as a villain.

And then Maddy just drives away. After confronting Emily and Joseph at the house that Emily bought (not their family home) and after Joseph admits to having a vasectomy, she tries to run them down with her car. But then she just drives away, thinking about how she is the monster they turned her into. Umm…she sliced her arm open with a knife when she was a kid just to try to get her sister in trouble. I think she was already a monster…an antisocial monster.

The only reason I gave this 2 stars instead of 1 is that each of the options — either Joseph and Emily gaslighting Maddy or Maddy actually having antisocial personality disorder — could have made for an excellent book.

I would call this 3.5 stars rounded down. The characters were not too likeable which is why I’d rate it 3 stars but it was very suspenseful and hard to put down so I’d bump up the rating a little to 3.5 stars. I did enjoy it!

I enjoyed this book although I found it a little predictable at times.
Some characters were more well rounded than others, while some fell flat. There was a scene or two that didn't really do anything for the story, so I'm not sure why they were included.

A single lie becomes a defining moment in a family’s life in an unforgettable novel of psychological suspense.

Give me a thriller with sisters and this compelling story with half sisters. One returns after two decades to help settle their father’s estate. Jealousy, secrets, family drama and unlikeable characters -always a great combo. I liked this one!