This was a story of family, forgiveness, love and alcoholism. Finley and Sloan are sisters and they take us on quite a ride, from Finley the solid dependable sister, who felt the world on her shoulders, Sloan the pretty sister who is an alcoholic mother to a darling little girl, the flighty mother who is a denier and very flighty and Lester the grandfather, who left when the sisters were very young, and who now wants make amends. I enjoyed every character and their place in the family, but there was a lot of baggage there. This is truly a women’s fiction as the romance is there but it is so not the main focus of the book. What a book!

Susan Mallery always writes characters that the reader cares about, and the characters in her latest novel, The Sister Effect, just might be her most compelling ones yet.

Finley works installing plumbing in new homes and is the legal guardian to her sister Sloane's eight year-old daughter Aubrey after Sloane was unable to care for her daughter. Finley and Sloane know what it's like to be abandoned; their mom Molly frequently left the girls in the care of her father Lester while she chased dreams of an acting career that never panned out.

Sloane and Finley loved their grandfather but when he petitoned for full custody of his granddaughters and lost, he disappeared from their lives for twenty years. Now Lester is back, elderly and infirm, and asks to move in his daughter Molly, Finley, and Aubrey. Finley is adamantly opposed, still hurt and angry after his disappearance all those years ago, but Molly insists on taking her father in.

Jerico owns the construction business building the homes that Finley is working on. His marriage ended when his wife declared that she was in love with his brother Gil and wanted a divorce. Jerico was stung by this betrayal and wants nothing to do with either of them, though his mother pushes him to reconcile with his brother.

Jerico and Finely are drawn to each other, sharing their family drama and traumas. They listen to each other's problems and debate what they owe to family members who have disappointed and betrayed them.

Mallery really draws the reader into these characters's complicated family lives, and she handles Sloane's addiction issues with such realism and empathy. Everyone here is trying to do the best they can within their limitations.

I really felt for Finley, the responsible one who always tries to do the right thing and feels that it gets her nowhere. Finley's love and care for her niece is so moving. I also adored Antonio, Jerico's interior designer and best friend since high school. His loyalty to Jerico is touching.

I've read many of Susan Mallery books and The Sister Effect is one of her best books yet. She drew me in right away with characters that are relateable, and a story that engages you from beginning to end. I highly recommend The Sister Effect.

Thanks to Harlequin for putting me on Susan Mallery's Blog Tour.

I like Susan Mallery the more I read her novels. Sister Effect is a good book with some whiny moments, but I enjoyed it

Another wonderful Mallery novel focusing on one of her favorite topics -- the relationship between sisters and the way to forgiveness and connection for even the most broken of relationships...

I love a good Susan Mallery book and this was no exception! I loved the characters and obviously enjoy the author’s style of writing. The perfect spring break or summer read. Pick this one up, you won’t regret it.

There's a lot going on in Susan Mallery's latest novel, and at times, it was hard to get through. It's definitely intense as this family struggles with forgiveness and redemption. Of course, real life often gets intense where family is concerned, so it has a realistic edge. Intense or not, it's still a beautifully written family drama, and even though I had to step away and take a breather here and there, I genuinely wanted these characters to work it all out. It's well written, as expected from Susan Mallery, and I'd certainly recommend it. I'd warn against starting this one when you're feeling down, but it's well worth the read, and it's a good way to spend the weekend when you want to curl up with your drink of choice and a good book.

Finley works and takes care of her niece Aubrey. Aubrey's mother Sloan is a alcoholic and is trying to get her life back to normal. Finley and Sloan don't always see eye to eye. Finley thinks Sloan has it to easy and Sloan thinks Finley is to judgemental.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC and to the publisher Harlequin.

THE SISTER EFFECT by Susan Mallery is an emotionally intense women’s fiction/romance featuring two very different sisters, their complex relationship and their generational family’s interactions and struggle for forgiveness. This story includes scenes revolving around realistic depictions of alcohol addiction, the struggle for sobriety, and a sub-plot involving infidelity.

Finley McGowan is the younger sister, but she has always been the strong sister, who worked hard and stayed on the straight and narrow path. When she and her older sister, Sloane were growing up, their mother would leave them with their grandfather as she went in pursuit of stardom. Their grandfather tried to gain legal custody and it split their family with their grandfather disappearing from their lives and the girls feeling abandoned.

Finley is now an adult, living with her mother and raising her eight-year-old niece, Aubrey. Sloane has returned, says she is sober, has a job and a place to live and wants more of a relationship with her daughter. Finley has been burned one too many times and doesn’t trust her sister’s sobriety. Finley is fiercely protective of Aubrey and her own heart. When she meets a man who understands how messy families can be, Finley finds a release and understanding that just may allow her to find peace in letting go.

This is an emotional and heartfelt deep dive into families with realistic problems. Ms. Malley’s story pulls you into the serious repercussions of addiction, abandonment, and infidelity, but also has lighter happier moments layered throughout the story. Forgiveness is a big theme in this story, and I feel everyone will have their own beliefs on how they feel about the way Finley and Jericho moved from injured parties to understanding and forgiveness. Individuals dealing with alcoholism or any addiction in their families have very differing experiences and resolutions. I was happy with the resolution for both sisters in this story.

I LOVE SUSAN MALLERY!!!!!! I can't say that enough! Her latest novel, "The Sister Effect" is wonderfully written!!

A sweet, predictable story. Once again tge results of a DNA test are used to reveal long hidden secrets. The characters are likable. One has to suspend disbelief to make this story work.

Thank you Netgalley for fis ARC.

Susan Mallery is an auto-read for me and The Sister Effect was one of her best. Finley and Sloane are sisters. Sloane is a recovering alcoholic who is struggling with her addiction. She went on a binge and stole Finley's work van and sold all the materials that were inside it. She was arrested and served time in prison. She gave Finley guardianship of her daughter, Aubrey. She loves Aubrey and wants her to feel loved, but Sloane is now out of prison and wants to spend more time with Aubrey. Finley is still angry with Sloane and doesn't trust her after all that has happened. She doesn't quite understand about addiction and is unable to forgive Sloane or trust her to gain custody of Aubrey. Will these sisters be able to reconcile?

I loved this story. There was a lot of family drama surrounding Finley. Not only is she dealing with issues she had with Sloane, but her grandfather who abandoned her years earlier has returned and wants to be welcomed back into the family. Finley also has a lot going on in her professional life, trying to rebuild her career flipping houses. There is some romance as she develops a relationship with her boss, who runs a construction company. He also has issues he is dealing with in his personal life. Finley was not my favourite character as she was very judgmental and unable to forgive either her grandfather or sister for a long time, but she finally comes around. I know she had a lot of pain to deal with, and there were times I wanted to hug her as well. Sloane was a wonderful character. She tried so hard to reach out to Finley and life was not easy for her at all. The characters were all well developed and I love Aubrey. She was a delightful, precocious little girl who had a wonderful attitude, especially after everything she had been through. It sounds like there is a lot going on, but Susan Mallery does a wonderful job bringing all these storylines together to a brilliant conclusion. This book has themes of family relationships, forgiveness, redemption, addiction, and recovery. With some romance, this was a perfect story for me. I have read many stories that deal with addiction, but I loved the way this story portrayed recovering alcoholism, those relationships and the setbacks that occur. This was an excellent story that I recommend to anyone who enjoys family stories, stories of reconciliation, forgiveness and love.

Susan Mallery writes in the Romance and Women’s Fiction genres. This is definitely a Women’s Fiction book. While it does have a sub-plots of couples finding their way in new relationships, the main focus of the book is dealing with serious issues of sobriety, abandonment, infidelity, forgiveness, guilt and dealing with difficult family personalities.

I think most people would like their families to get along. Unfortunately, that is often not the case. I knew this book would be a difficult one to read, and when reading it, that was exactly the case. Ms. Mallery tackled many emotional issues within the pages with kindness, knowledge, and grace. She created a wonderfully complex story.

I want to thank Harlequin Trade Publishing, HQN and NetGalley for allowing me to read the advance reader copy, with no obligation to write a review. My review is written freely as a hobby, and is totally my own opinion, not influenced by receiving the ARC.

Finley McGowan is not only rebuilding her life after suffering a financial loss, she is also now legal guardian and full-time carer for her 8-year-old niece Aubrey. They live with Finley’s mother who is more than helpful. More recently, Finley’s sister Sloane is back in their lives. She gets to see her daughter for a few hours each week, but wants her family to believe in her when she says she has changed and would like at the very least more time with Aubrey.

While Finley and Sloane we’re close as children they grew apart the older they got, especially when it is something that Sloane did all that ruined Finley’s life. Finley is struggling to forgive Sloane for that situation and for other things that were done to the detriment of the family.

There is something else that affects the lives of the McGowan family, and this has to do with Finley and Sloane‘s grandfather. These changes are all having a deep affect on Finley. One way that Finley is finding comfort is with a new friendship with someone she meets on one of her job sites and his name is Jericho. He is someone who has family problems of his own and while he works on healing his situation, he Poohs instrumental in helping Finley to learn about forgiveness when it comes to her sister, but also her grandfather.

The Sister Effect is highly emotional because forgiveness is not the only factor here. In fact, Sloane has been struggling with alcoholism for years in the story shows how her family deals with this very sad disease, and how they all can find a way to heal, despite hiccups that happen along the way. It was very easy to feel for Finley and Jericho, and how they were learning how their lives could benefit from forgiveness, By the same token, it was very sad to see what Sloane continually went through and how this lifelong disease of alcoholism impacted her life in more than one way.

Susan Mallery is a very effective author, one who brings characters to life in her stories, makes her readers feel, and brings about endings that are more than satisfying.

Many thanks to HQN and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

Please enjoy my YouTube video review - https://youtu.be/byUKRFYLPQ8

Family. You can't live with them, you can't live without them.

Finley and Sloane were once close until alcoholism tore them apart. Jericho and Gil were close until a woman tore them apart. Finley and Jericho both have meddling mothers. Both love their siblings despite their anger and hurt. Aubrey is the lovable kid caught in the middle and Antonio is the BFF to Jericho we all wish we had.

Specific sibling issues aside, Finley is a younger me. She is incredibly handy (though it's her profession and I may be jealous of that). She is all about jeans and hoodies or flannels, but knows how to shine if she needs to. Expects honesty and the best someone can give. To a fault. To say she was relatable to me is an understatement and I adored her. She was a strong character. They all were, really, just in different ways.

Each individual character is developed well, as are their relationships with each other. Susan Mallery does not shy away from the hardships of alcoholism and the difficulties it can bring to all members of the family, not just the one suffering from the disease. I appreciated the dirty honesty of it all, while still keeping with the heart her books are known for.

Just say Susan Mallery and visions of literary entertainment pop into my brain. Master of dialog can’t help laughing out loud at some of the audacious conversations her characters have. Segue to emotional conversations where deep-down angst is the catalyst. Susan Mallery does interpersonal relationships better than most any writer. THE SISTER EFFECT is another example of this authors mastery. I never miss a story by Susan Mallery. Wait until you meet the newest cadre of folks created for THE SISTER EFFECT.

Life sometimes gives us apples and other times lemons. How we react and regroup after a sour moment is important to our psyche. After the anger passes how do we move on and somehow forgive. Is that even possible. The folks in THE SISTER EFFECT experienced events that made them question their vulnerability and ability to make good choices. We learn that each tolerated their angst in very different ways.

For example when Jericho discovered that his wife Lauren and his brother having an affair in his own house he reacted with anger. Now after a few months he realizes he doesn’t miss her, but he does his brother even though he can’t forgive him. The hurt has a life of its own. Even his mother has seemed to join the team of Gil and Lauren. The nightmare has wings of its own. Jericho feels like he is on the outside of his family.

Sloane and her sister Finley are trying to work together bringing normalcy to the life of Aubrey, Sloane eight-year-old daughter. Sloane is approaching one year of sobriety. Having spent time in jail Sloane’s life slowly edges toward a new normal for herself. Each day is a struggle. Finley as the court appointed guardian protects Aubrey, limiting the time between mother and child. The talk about alcoholism is frank, honest, and blunt. Through Sloane we get quite an enlightened view of this disease.

Finley doesn’t have much of a social life. She is devoted to Aubrey. Lives with her mother and now her grandfather will be joining them. All and all how much chaos can one household manage.
Molly, Finley, and Sloan hadn’t experienced much of good parenting. Molly had dreams of being an actress. Followed that dream until it shriveled and died. Relied on her father to raise the girls. Then that relationship died a harsh death. Grandpa was a vindictive man and Molly, and daughters paid a price.

When you look at the issues Sloan and her sister have it doesn’t really surprise you. Kids need security, love, and stability. They had none.

So in THE SISTER EFFECT we have a bird’s eye view of how people adapt. Hopefully change along the way into confident, secure folk. Hard work for sure especially when you have no real support team. Finley flips houses to help her move toward her dream of a real home. For years she basically raised Aubrey. Their relationship is solid. Any angst for Finley is her worry about Aubrey and Sloane’s future. Sloane’s sobriety is fragile. Aubrey is a bright happy little girl with a wondrous love. Sloane lives an unrealized life. Wants things she candidly knows won’t be. She can’t make those big steps.

THE SISTER EFFECT has, as usual for anything by Susan Mallery, some of the best conversations. Her dialog is second to none. In discussing whether Jericho will make his brother a bachelors party he says no, when asked if his mother will yell at him, again no, but she will say she is disappointed. So much worse. Families, what was god thinking. Love it.
Susan Mallery paints a realistic picture of a chaotic family that needs time and support to make it through still another trying time. Families are tough. With her engaging dialog Susan Mallery helps us identify with her characters and feel their anxiety and pain. But at the same time she incorporates promise of a hopefully happier, well-adjusted future for all of them. Crazy good supporting cast of characters. THE SISTER EFFECT grabs your heart right from the start and holds on for the entire voyage with this family. It’s not what she says it’s how she says it. That’s the Susan Mallery effect, loud and clear in her newest prize THE SISTER EFFECT.

This book deals with some heavy subjects, so beware if addiction and cheating are triggers for you. With that in mind, I will add that the author deals with the issues surrounding addiction realistically and with so much heartfelt emotion. I’ve seen firsthand how addiction affects a family, and I honestly thought the author did an excellent job showing the good, the bad, and the ugly in a tactful yet entertaining way. I giggled, and I cried. I wanted to shake then hug all the characters alternately. It was indeed an emotional rollercoaster I’d ride again and again. If you’re looking for an angsty, emotional read full of crazy family dynamics, don’t miss this one!

Another beautiful story written by Susan, filled with characters that will worm their way into your heart. 5 stars for this one!
Finley is tired of being the responsible sister, after all she is raising her sister Sloane's daughter Aubrey. Finley lost a lot when her sister let alcohol take over her life, sending it spiraling, leaving her daughter in the care of Finley.
Finley is finally seeing a light at the end of the tunnel, and she is back on track with her life taking care of Aubrey as well as getting back into purchasing a home to flip. She resents her sister for the choices she's made, and finds it hard to forgive her, and rightly so, she's lost a lot.
This story will take you on a journey with a family who's been through a lot, and learning to forgive and trust again is not easy. Enjoy their story as it unfolds, you will love this one!

I have really enjoyed Susan Mallery in the past so when I saw she had written a book about sisters, I couldn’t pass it up. The Sister Effect was more serious than I thought it would be. It handled tough topics with sensitivity. Finley is a sympathetic character who could have gone the wrong way but didn’t. I was rooting for her to have her happy ending. This is a great beach read.

Such a great story of families effected by abandonment, trauma, and generally feeling not good enough. Sisters struggling to trust and believe in each other. Brothers also struggling to get past dishonesty and betrayal. Very strong believable characters, that I cheered for and others that I had a hard time trusting and forgiving. A child who only benefits when the adults in her life figure it out!

I was Team Jericho and Finley for the entire book. I empathized with what their siblings had done to them and felt their actions and feelings were validated. Why indeed were they required to be the ones to always bend.
I thought Gil and Lauren were very selfish, especially with their demands and expectations. I would have told them to take a hike.
I never warmed to Sloane. I understood her issues and glad Ellis was rock steady.
It’s a good book about family, being wronged, moving on, and letting go.