NetGalley
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The Sunshine Girls was my favorite 2022 read. This book is about friendship and honoring the secrets to death do they part.
Three women (Kitty, BettyKay, and Jenny) become friends in nursing school during the Vietnam era. Each has a very strong and differing reason to be attending nursing school. Thus the kindle to spark a unique trio.
Years later, movie star, Kitty attends BettyKays funeral. BettyKays daughters are in shock why someone so famous would be attending their mothers funeral. Hiding their (1960’s) friendship opens many twist, proven loyalty, and bondage their friendships has held throughout decades. Each chapter reveals more silences, mysteries, stories and depths of confidences friends keep.
Dual timeline from present day, Vietnam era, and days between.
Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Publishing for digital ARC read.

Such a good romance! The characters were likable and believable. The story was great and the steam was perfect!

Interesting to read about why the term "Sunshine Girls" is used. From Iowa to Vietnam to Hollywood 3 nursing students and their journey through life and their careers. All take different paths and all have secrets. At times I found the book a little too wordy and too detailed, but then I would read on and I was very glad that I did. My favorite aspect of the story is through the eyes of the daughters discovering their parents life/journey.

As a nurse, I couldn't wait to read "The Sunshine Girls" and it didn't disappoint! Having gone through nursing school, I could completely related to the bond between these women and I can understand how it was able to endure hardship.

The dual timelines really brought so much depth to this story and a bit of mystery. I truly enjoyed the writing and fell in love with the characters.

4 stars! The Sunshine Girls-a lifelong friendship set in the 60’s and 2019. The daughters of Betts, one of the three, learn of secrets at their mothers funeral. To find out the truth Clara and Abby take a ride down memory lane through their mothers journals. They learn to become family in more than one way.

Thank you to NetGalley,

Three young women in the 1960"s in nursing school. Their experiences during this time stays with them for the rest of their lives.
This book is for the readers that love how women grow through time.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC and to the publisher Graydon House.

This was an enjoyable read. If you like books about sisters, mother/daughter relationships, and the tough choices women often have to make, this book is for you. This is the story of two adult sisters who recently lost their mom, only to find out that she is lifelong best friends with a famous Hollywood movie star. The book is told in dual timelines. The mom's story (Betsy), who came of age in the late 60s/70s, was what drove the plot and the action throughout the book. I loved reading about her time in nursing school and visiting Kitty in Hollywood. The modern day plot was a little less exciting. For fans of historical fiction, what goes on behind the scenes in Hollywood, the strong bond between female friends.

This book just wasn’t for me. I felt like the pacing was a little too slow and I never found myself eager to pick the book back up. It wasn’t the writing that I didn’t care for but the development of the story.

This novel sucked me in from the beginning. I felt like I was a nursing student in 1967, as I was reading BettyKay’s sections. No one does complicated quite like Molly Fader and this is no exception. A must read.
4.5 stars

I liked this book - fast moving plot, good characters, and fun to read. The author did a great job with the story, plot, and setting. Overall, I would definitely recommend!

A refreshing novel on the Historical Novel genre list. Not only is it the Vietnam era, the author took and spread that sense of Americana across the country. I feel this wasn't all that long ago but when you think of the innovations of the last half century--then it becomes Historical (vintage) fiction. We have played WWII out , now it is time to move on to the middle of Americana. Growing families in the suburbs. Houses full of squabbling children who grow up and move out. A story of building friendships away from home for the first time. And true to not only lifelong friendships to family drama in any era, a funeral brings family back together.
Highly recommended for the GenXers out there, especially if you are from the Midwest where we progressed a little slower in this Era compared to the Larger cities in the U.S.

I switched between reading an ARC and then listening to the audiobook once The Sunshine Girls was published. This is an engaging dual-timeline novel that ticks so many boxes: secrets revealed, estranged sisters, strong female protagonists who face tremendous obstacles, and unlikely friendships that form in the midst of the Vietnam war era.
At first, I wasn't quite sure how the author was going to weave all the plot threads together, but I'm glad I kept reading and listening because the transitions between the historical timeline and the present day are seamless. The narrator is fantastic as well.
I have tremendous respect for healthcare workers, especially nurses, so I'm drawn to books that feature nurses who served in combat zones. Even if that isn't your jam, I highly recommend reading The Sunshine Girls. It's beautifully written and the characters will feel so real. I can't wait to read more by Molly Fader.

Two sisters return home for the funeral of their beloved mother -- town stalwart and career nurse Betty Kay, who has led an exemplary life and is a pilar of the community. They are shocked when globally famous movie star Kitty Devereaux shows up to pay her respects, and appears to be a dear friend of their late mother. They want answers, and this wonderful book delivers them in the form of alternating points of view, going back to their mother's youth in the 1960s, all the way to the present. Multigenerational, historical fiction that is truly engaging. I couldn't put it down, and can't wait to recommend it.

I was drawn to this book by the description and hoped to learn more about nursing school in the 1960's, a period I lived through. Though I am impressed that the author wrote this based on some true stories, in the end I found it disappointing in both depth and description. I simply wanted more and a lot of the story simply seemed too improbable to me. Your milage may differ.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.

I enjoyed this book, but the ending was abrupt. I enjoyed the past and present flood in viewpoint. I will read something else by this author.

I really enjoyed the Sunshine Girls. It had me captivated from the beginning. It was a easy and enjoyable read. You really got to know the characters and kinda form a relationship with them. I thought it was really well done and you couldn’t predict what was going to happen next. I look forward to reading more of Mollys books.

I really didn't know what to expect going into this novel about friendship, but it will definitely be in my top 3 books of 2022. Ms. Fader does great job of pulling you along by using a dual timeline and different POVs. The historical fiction focuses on the period during Vietnam and the affect it has on the country. She also highlights the struggles that women faced when wanting to be more independent.

Mainly, the book is about friendships that are like family and that secrets can tear a family apart .and bring them together.

Oh how I loved this book. Heartwarming book about love and friendship through good times and bad.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review

The Sunshine Girls is a story about an unlikely friendship and the lengths one would go for a friend. It mixes Hollywood glamour, family secrets, suspense and romance in a way that keeps you turning the pages. Literally by the end I could not put it down!! Told in a dual timeline and alternating perspectives format, Fader did a great job at weaving the past (1970s) and the present as well capturing the ups and downs of life during the Vietnam war. I listened to the audiobook and LOVED it. Andi Arndt is one of my favorite narrators and while I typically listen to her narrate more steamy romances, she did such an amazing job with this genre! All the characters had very distinct voices and personalities that set them apart, and I truly felt all emotions.

Read if you like:
-Vietnam era
-Family secrets
-Estranged sisters
-Mother/daughter stories
-Diane Chamberlain books


Thank you HTP for the advanced copy. Out now!

Synopsis: Nursing school roommates BettyKay and Kitty are nothing alike, except in their desire to prove themselves as women during a time in which women are undervalued. In an unlikely turn of events, the farmer's daughter (BettyKay) and the cosmopolitan beauty (Kitty) forge a sister-like friendship, supporting each other through love, marriage, failure, and death. Fifty years later, estranged sisters Clara and Abbie are grieving their mother's death, and a famous movie star shows up at the funeral. Over the course of one emotional weekend, the women learn the shocking truth about their family that will change their lives forever.

Thoughts: I binged this book in one day! It was completely enthralling, and I needed to know how it all ended. This story blends a variety of genres (historical fiction, women's fiction, contemporary), which will make it attractive to a wide audience of readers. While I was not necessarily "shocked" by the big reveal, Fader wrote it beautifully. I particularly enjoyed the historical fiction elements and how the female. bonds were incorporated throughout. A fantastic read to end out this year.