She Taught Me Everything is an exploration of sisterly relationships and family dynamics. The story focuses on Nicola who receives a phone call informing her that her sister Viv has been in a car accident and is now in a coma. When Nicola travels down to be with her she realizes her sister has been keeping secrets from her.

I thought the concept of this book sounded really interesting and I really liked the cover which is why I requested it. However this book wasn't for me at all. The biggest issue I had with this book was the pacing; it was so slow and felt like the plot never really got going. The plot is also extremely repetitive. For the entire book we go through a loop of Nicola visiting Viv in the hospital, Nicola going home to feed Viv's dogs and Nicola reading Viv's diaries. I didn't find any aspect of this loop very interesting so this book felt like it went on forever. Usually I can read a book of this length in around 3-5 days however this book took me 20 days to get through and I was having to really force myself to pick up my kindle to read a chapter. If this wasn't an ARC I probably would have DNF'ed at around the 20% mark.

Furthermore I really struggled to get any sense of the setting in this book. I think this largely stems from the fact that I'm British and this book is set in the USA. The author will name places in the US in place of describing a location which works if you know the places however when you don't know the places in question it makes it very difficult to build up a picture of where this book is actually set. This issue wasn't helped by the fact that Nicola and Viv's childhood was quite nomadic and Nicola continues this lifestyle as an adult so we keep getting more US town names thrown at us and very limited description of what these places are actually like.

Overall I really didn't enjoy this which is disappointed because I thought the concept sounded promising.

In general I enjoyed this book. I like reading about family dynamics and relationships that are not romantic. Having an older sister as well and reading about Viv and Nicola's relationship made me think a lot about my own relationship to my sister. The writing is beautiful and easy to read, but for me personally the pacing felt off. I put it down a lot in favor of other books and it couldn't hold my attention very well. That's why I give this one 3 stars.

I can recommend this to anyone who doesn't mind flashbacks and slowly revealing secrets as well as family sagas. Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Such a beautiful book. As a younger sibling with an older sibling who, although we are close, has a totally different life, it felt so cathartic to read. Was so tough to face the truths of Viv's injury and the aftermath as well as reconcile with the past.

Loved it! i can’t wait to read her upcoming releases. definitely worth your time if you are interested

Nicola and her sister Viv have a strong bond, having faced life's challenges together since their parents abandoned them. When a late-night phone call reveals that Viv has become injured in a car wreck, Nicola is thrust into a journey of discovery where she slowly uncovers her sister's secrets. As Nicola cares for her sister and unravels the mysteries of their family's past, the novel explores the intricate dynamics of sisterhood and the choices that reshape their family's future.

I love books that explore complicated family dynamics, especially sisterhood. The novel was highly engaging and beautifully written. You can really get a feel of how different yet similar the sisters are and how complex relationships between sisters can become. I did find that the pacing of the book was a bit slow at times, which made me lose interest in the middle, however it picked back up by the latter half!

"She Taught Me Everything" is poignant family saga with unexpected twists and turns that evoke a sense of mystery, all the while keeping a central emphasis on the characters themselves. Thank you to NetGalley and Lifted Board Press for providing me with a digital arc in return for an honest review. "She Taught Me Everything" is out now!

Two sisters had a neglected upbringing but survived. Now Nicola comes to Nashville after her sister Viv has been in a terrible accident. While she waits for Viv to regain consciousness Nicola realizes just how many secrets her sister has kept from her. Turns out, a lot.
I liked finding out about all the background information Because I always ask what is their story?
I really liked how other people stepped in to form a new kind of family for Nicola.
It’s sad but also touching.

I really enjoyed this one! I love a good book about sisters and this really delivered. It could have been a very one-sided story since only one sister was narrating but somehow you really got to know both of them and their mysterious past. I thought the explanation was well-plotted and made sense and even though the ending was a little pat, it did sound exactly like what should and would happen. A real slice of life type book about family and mysterious parents. It somehow didn't seem soap opera-y even though given the plot points it really could have.

Nicola has always relied on her older sister, Viv, to take care of them. When Nicola suddenly assumes control after Vivs suffers an accident, she learns more than she could have imagined about Viv's family life as well as their own childhood. This is an emotional family drama, full of twists and turns that feel like a mystery while still maintaining focus on the characters themselves.

The introduction is a bit longwinded, enough that I did not actually pick up interest at all until about a third of the way through the book. However, from that point on it was a page turner. Despite Nicola's character not being as fleshed out as I would like, we learn all sorts of things about Viv that make her a compelling, complicated character. Working through family tragedy was both fascinating and tragic. I would recommend this for those who like stories of sisterhood and resilience.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lifted Board Press for the advance review copy.

This was an engaging and heartfelt story about the relationship between two sisters, Nicky and Viv. While Viv is in a coma, Nicky uncovers secret after secret and realizes how much she did not know about her sister, and their upbringing. I love stories that emphasise the importance of sisterhood and this novel kept me guessing! I absolutely loved the way the story ended - it was not what I expected.

This was a really enjoyable novel. Nicola's sister Viv has just had a car accident, in which her husband died, and lies unconscious in hospital. When Nicola goes to see her, she finds out her sister was pregnant and had hired a private detective to look into something for her.
The whole novel is Nicola trying to understand her sister's life and remembering how her sister protected her and looked after her when they were growing up with a depressed mother and a violent father who abandoned them when Nicola was just thirteen. Viv's character is fascinating, gritty, strong, determined and also mysterious and judgemental. The novel was very tense and hard to put down. I found at the end I still had questions unanswered but it had a good plot twist and kept me interested.

The level of intricate detail the author put into this book is outstanding. It was so incredibly well done. A completely unique book premise and excellent writing. So glad I had the opportunity to read this.

Because I know the author personally, I will not be giving detailed feedback about this novel. I downloaded it in order to double-check that the electronic file was complete.

Nicola’s life is turned upside down when she gets a call that her sister has been in a car accident and is in a coma. Nicola quickly rushes to be by her sister’s side and finds herself helpless amidst whirring machines and doctors. Viv’s husband died in the car accident, ironically killed by pottery purchased for his collection slamming in to his head. Ouch! A large house, two enormous dogs, and Viv’s father-in-law make up Nicola’s new, strange surroundings. As she tries to keep everything operating smoothly - bills to be paid and the like - Nicola is confused by a man who keeps leaving messages and discovers her sister hired him as a private detective. Soon, more secrets emerge, and Nicola learns she didn’t really know her sister as well as she thought. She begins uncovering family secrets with every new string she tugs. This novel is a great read about family and loss and the secrets we keep for others and from others.

I feel so conflicted to write this review. I'm grateful for the opportunity to have read it. I can see the author spent a lot of time writing this book. I unfortunately found this book to be incredibly boring. I rarely DNF a book but with only 80 pages left I decided I just didn't need to know how this book ends. It's quite long with an incredibly slow burn. I'm not sure why at 200+ pages you still don't know much about the secrets that her sister is keeping. I think that a saving grace of this book is the sisterly connection and the complicated layers of a sister's relationship. I personally don't connect with that story so that being said, the mystery element really needed to gas me... and it just didn't.

What a wonderful, complex, enchanting book. It's an absolute must-read for those who enjoy literary fiction. I'll be picking up more from this author and recommending it to other readers.

This book was such an unexpected and wild ride. Told over two timelines, the story centers on two sisters who had a lot of trauma and anguish growing up, and who are in a crisis as adults. I couldn't put this book down because I had no idea where it was going and what might happen next. I also was really pleasantly surprised by the ending.

I’m not really sure what to say about this one. The whole book made me feel very sad.. the entire way through but not in a tearful way, in more a lost sort of way. This is some really beautiful writing from the author and you can really feel how the main character is feeling throughout the book. I really enjoyed this one and will happily read anything else from the author :)

Nicola rushes to the hospital after her sister Viv has been badly injured in a car accident in which her brother-in-law dies. Viv and Nicola survived a childhood in which they mainly raised themselves after their parents took off and left them.

As grown-ups they don't see each other that regularly anymore, but the bond is still strong. Viv is a succesful surgeon. Nicola is an artist who,creates beautiful murals and watercolors. Nicola would trust Viv with her life,but discovers at Viv's sick bed that Viv kept a lot of secrets from her. Secrets about past and future she slowly discovers.

It's a compelling story, that drew me in from the beginning. Viv and Nicola are very different and I love how they interact, even if Viv is not there. They are both very strong women, whose characters are revealed through flashbacks and memories.

The narrative structure is one of my favourite things in this book. Past and present intertwine in the most delicate way and reveal the story of their lives and shape the future at the same time. I also loved the pace of this book. Revealing flashbacks are being countered by Nicola taking care of Viv's dogs and household.

Thank you NetGalley and Lifted Board Press, LLC for the ARC.

even though this was not a perfect book and in fact i found the dialogue annoying and in fact some characters were very half-baked and seemed to be mostly made up of one trait, like blinking or saying "ah," and in fact i didn't enjoy the way the plot moved...

i liked this.

maybe because it's a perfect title / cover combo.

maybe because i love sisters.

maybe because writing-wise and thought-wise and ideas-wise, it had a lot going for it.

but i liked it!

Speechless in the best way. What an incredibly moving and poignant story. As a big sister myself, I understood Viv and her actions and wanted nothing more than to reach through the pages of the story and tell her that she was doing the best for her younger sister that she could. I adored the way this was told, through flashbacks and journal entries and present day. I think the book ended perfectly, and it left me in a puddle of tears. There was so much going on in this book, but none of it felt overwhelming. It’s a story about self discovery, but more than that it’s about family, in whatever shape that takes. I’m so grateful to have read this, and will be thinking about it for a long time. Simply beautiful.