Blue Sisters is about 3 sister who could not be more different. Avery is a recovering heroin addict who has become a successful lawyer. Bonnie is a former boxer who had a promising career and is now a bouncer at an LA club. And Lucky is a successful model living in Paris who is partying way too hard. They all end up in New York one year after their beloved sister Nicky died unexpectedly. They are each grieving and handling their grief in very different ways, none of which are healthy.

This story is about the good, the bad and the ugly of sisterhood. These sisters come from a very dysfunctional family and all exhibit addictive behaviors. And once they are all together, all of the secrets come out. No one can love you more or push your buttons more than a sibling. Blue Sisters is a story of grief, anger, guilt, identity, love and the messiness of family.

This one was an emotional roller coaster that brought me to tears. Such a heartfelt story! I highly recommend it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine Books for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was much heavier than I expected, but I loved it. It’s about complicated family relationship, addiction and grief.
Highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the eARC, and to Coco Mellors for writing the book. I was very drawn to the book by its description and reviews I'd seen on Instagram -- and the book itself did not disappoint. Although I don't enjoy boxing, Bonnie was surprisingly my favourite sister and I enjoyed reading her storyline the most. The only thing I'm ambivalent on is the ending. As in many other books, it felt too clean, but I'm not sure how else I would have wanted it to end.

I’ve been waiting to read this for a while and I’m so happy I got to read it. I really enjoyed this book. This was beautifully written. I even made this my Book of the month pick after reading it!

Thank you!

I pushed this to the bottom of my pile because, well, I thought it was just another story of a dysfunctional family. And it is, yes, about a dysfunctional family but it's so much more. Nicky died and her sisters Avery, Lucky, and Bonnie are, a year later, dealing with the fallout. Each sister-save Nicky who lives through the other three-has their own chapters, telling their stories before and after Nicky. Avery, the oldest, is meant to be the most stable, the one who raised the other three, fell into addiction, cleaned herself up, and is living in London working as an attorney married to Chiti. Alls not well in her world. Bonnie is a world class boxer now working as a bouncer. And Lucky, a model, has fallen completely apart. These three are vivid, sympathetic, and wonderfully realistic. This is topical and turns a bright eye on addiction and recovery. No spoilers from me - this unfolds gracefully thanks to the wonderful storytelling and prose. If I have a quibble, and it's a small one, it's with the epilogue (and I'm not going to tell why because, again, no spoilers). Regardless, thanks to Netgalley for this terrific read. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

“True sisterhood, the kind where you grew fingernails in the same womb, were pushed screaming through identical birth canals, is not the same as friendship. You don’t choose each other, and there’s no furtive period of getting to know the other. You’re part of each other, right from the start.”

I needed this book. I am 1 of 3 sisters, and the youngest of the 3 at that. I have 7 siblings in total (my family tree would melt your brain) and I somehow fall in the middle because I’m the oldest of my estranged mother’s children and the youngest of my father’s. But enough about me, my point is that I could feel it all between the 4 sisters. Avery, Bonnie, and Lucky Blue are stuck in different places a year after the death of their sister Nicky, whom I felt like I knew myself between the other 3 sisters’ grief and memories. I don’t know much, but if any number of my siblings died, nothing would ever be the same. It puts a pit in my stomach just even imagining it. Any book that navigates grief through different perspectives has my apt attention. I could’ve highlighted everything in this novel, it seemed every paragraph had something noteworthy to me. I know I say that a lot when I’m giving a review but I always mean it!

“Once Bonnie noticed it, she saw the world was made up of fours. The seasons. The elements. The points on a compass. Four suits in a pack of cards. Four chambers of a human heart. Bonnie loved being a part of this mystical number, this perfect symmetry of two sets of two.”

Oddly enough, Bonnie was the sister I felt closest to. I’m not a middle child, but I’ve always felt like I was in my family’s hierarchy. Battling my emotions by myself, being the closest with my oldest sibling, my father’s favorite daughter for reasons I wish were different. Avery was very much my oldest sister, an ex addict who got her life together but still has some bad habits to kick that replaced one addiction. I couldn’t relate to Avery but it made her no less essential to the story. Lucky was downright infuriating, she reminded me so much of Effy Stonem from Skins. I’m not kidding, the parallels were endless, which is not a complaint at all, it was a nice addition to the nuances of the family. Addiction was a central theme throughout, coming from a family of addicts I was all too familiar with the topic, which again, is where I could relate to Bonnie as she was the only sibling that managed to surpass the addiction with stimulants gene.

I’ll miss being in the lives of the Blue sisters but for now I leave you with knowing it was an interesting read. I’ll need to read Coco Mellors other novel, Cleopatra and Frankenstein, so that I can see what other magic she cooked up. I was hooked on this book from the first chapter and knew it would be an instant classic for me. If Hulu or HBO decided to pick this up it would be a wonderful mini series I’d devour in a heartbeat.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing me with the e-arc and giving me the opportunity to share my thoughts!

Blue Sisters follows Avery, Bonnie, and Lucky Blue a year after the loss of their fourth sister, Nicky, when they must reconvene to handle the sale of their childhood home, amongst other chaotic happenings in their lives. It’s a family drama that explores themes of addiction, grief, chronic pain, sisterhood, et cetera.

As for the things I liked: There were a couple of scenes that were quite immersive, and I normally don’t have that experience of “feeling like I am there”, but Mellors achieved that in a few instances. The language could also be quotable at times. I also enjoyed the focus on sibling relationships and their impact on character development throughout the narrative over that of parental relationships.

But there were a few things that detracted from the reading experience for me. For one, I personally couldn’t fully buy into the supposed closeness between the sisters. I think it was a combination of narrative style and the timeline of the novel. The author repeatedly and explicitly told us the sisters were close, but it wasn’t always depicted via scenes, and if it was it wasn’t necessarily done in a compelling way for me. And since the novel takes place a year following many of the sisters’ separations and one’s death, readers do not get to witness a lot of formative experiences, except through some flashbacks. I think because of this, I felt less invested.

I also wish the characters felt more distinct from one another. They are all described similarly, swapping out a few particulars and birth-order quirks. Their narratives even take similar paths. I also don’t feel like there was a whole ton of character development throughout the story, so once again, I just wasn’t all that invested.

Overall, I had an up and down reading experience with Blue Sisters. There were parts where I was more engaged than with others. But ultimately I just never got invested with the characters, the relationships, or the story. And even though heavier topics are explored in this novel, I did notice some tropes/clichés/inaccurate information, so that also detracted from the reading experience and my level of investment. I do think the author is talented though, and I would love to read her next novel. I just think this specific one didn’t work for me personally. But looking at other reviews, it might be right for you!

*Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!*

I feel like I really came to know these characters and I’m sad I can’t be in their heads anymore. Wow wow wow.

This was my first @cocomellors novel, but it won’t be the last. In Blue Sisters, Mellors creates three distinct, but similar, voices in the three Blue sisters - Avery, Bonnie, and Lucky. Distinctly different in personality, goals, and lives, the three women share their grief over losing their fourth sister, Nicky.
What struck me was how Mellors took common traits and experiences, like grief and addiction, and wove them into the narrative of each sister in such a way that the reader is left with the sense that these shared experiences are inescapable, despite how differently they appear in each persons life. No matter how diverse the addictions, the day to day lives, or the methods for coping with grief, the pain of each individual sister is crystal clear to the other two.
A beautiful and moving novel about nature versus nurture, familial support, and sisterhood, Blue Sisters is a must read for the fall. If you have @bookofthemonth I highly recommend making this your September choice! Thank you Ballantine Books for the copy I got to read and review early! #ballantinebooks #bluesisters #cocomellors #arc #booktok #bookstagram

I loved this book. Idk why it took me so long to read it it. But it was so good! I need the physical copy. It literally had me in from sentence one.

THIS BOOK!!! It is soo heavy in the best way. I loved it. The characters are imperfect and real. I was rooting for them so hard and the multiple POVs lends itself the amazing, detailed writing of the author. It is a book about grief at it's core and if you have lost someone close, you might be able to relate to the way any of the characters grieve the loss of a loved one. While the Blue sisters disappointed me at times and made me proud at others, I think that's the sort of complicated reality that makes this such a beautiful story. Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House for an advanced copy of this book. I am so grateful I got to know these women.

I knew from page one this was going to be a 5 star rating. I could totally see this book as a mini series. I loved the relationships these sisters had. Messy but beautiful!

Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC of this novel. I tore through this novel of three grieving sisters brought back to New York because of the sale of the family apartment one year after their fourth sister's death. All suffering from the fallout of self-absorbed, negligent parents and family history of addiction, the death of their sister has sent the remaining sisters into their own separate spirals. They all land in NY with little understanding of themselves or how to reach out for help from each other. Although the sisters were all somewhat character types, I was absorbed in their struggles and interested in their backstories. Most of it felt like watching an indie film. The issue I had with the novel is that, like an indie movie, the resolutions were way too fast and neat. The novel was 80% about their dysfunction, and they're all able to come to profound realizations very quickly at the end. I.know it is the end of summer but this is a perfect beach read. Or for a longer airplane ride.

This book had a slow start and for sure a very slow burn but it was worth every second!

By the end, I felt like I truly knew these sisters. This is a beautiful story about life, loss, grief, family, addiction. It had it all.

As someone who has struggled with grief and not knowing what to do with it... I loved this part of the book where it says:

"I miss her and I miss her and I miss her. And, I wait for the feeling to end because every other feeling has ended, no matter how intense, no matter how hard-but this won't. There is just no ending to the missing. There was life before and there's life now. And, I can't seem to accept it. I can't accept that I'll have to miss her forever. There will never be relief."

My heart!!! I feel like this author just spoke the words of my heart out loud! I loved this book!

Thank you Coco Mellors, Random House, and NetGalley for providing this book for me to give my honest opinion.

#BlueSisters #CocoMellors #Netgalley #RandomHouse

As an only child, I am always drawn to stories where the dynamic of a large family is central to the book. Part of me wants to gain deeper insight into what an experience so different from my own looks like. The other part of me wants to be reminded of what I love about being an only child.

Blue Sisters gives the reader a glimpse of a family rocked by tragedy: the fourth sister, Nicky, suddenly passed away due to an overdose of painkillers taken to treat her chronic illness. The effect of her passing is staggering - on the sisters, on their parents, on friends and other family members, and even on near strangers.

We get to spend quite a bit of time with each sister. There’s Avery, the eldest, who is grappling with her own demons and self-inflicted pressure to maintain her facade of perfection, all while desperately clinging to her marriage to her wife Chiti. There’s Bonnie, who is taking a break from her career as a boxer and trying to nurse her broken heart after realizing the man she loves might not feel the same. And then there’s Lucky, a model who is battling addiction that flirts with disaster and reminds the family of what happened to Nicky with every turn.

It is impossible to choose a favorite Blue sister. Their strengths are presented just as artfully as their weaknesses. They are, at their very essence, real. There is just as much to dislike about each sister as there is to like, which is so undeniably human that at times I forgot this was indeed fiction. I do not have sisters but I imagine that the tapestry woven by Coco Mellors is spot on.

To call this book a “family drama” is accurate to a point. But it is so much more than that. It is a testament to the human condition. To the strength we must call on in times of self-doubt, which can often be found in our loved ones just as easily as in ourselves. It is about learning to let go, to bare your soul and say, “this is who I am, and this is all I can be,” and trusting that your people will accept you. It is about grief and how it morphs over time, and how it is reflected differently within all of us.

Read this book if you enjoyed Hello Beautiful, Little Women, etc. It is a heavy read, but a beautiful one.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This is my first experience with Coco Mellors, and while it wasn't necessarily what I was expecting, I definitely wasn't let down.
4.5 ⭐️
Coco Mellors creates worlds, vast and unforgiving, with characters whom you simultaneously love and hate. The Blue sisters are no exception. Mellors lays out each and every flaw, but unfolds everything good about the characters slowly throughout the story, so that you really grow to love them, despite their (sometimes quite egregious) flaws.

The writing is simple and succinct, but it's depth has no need for flowery language. Mellors is a wonderful writer, and she knows it!

The Blue sisters are insanely fun to follow, warts and all, and though it might take a little bit to get into the story, it's worth it once you do.

A gripping novel that follows three sisters as they come to grips with their tumultuous childhood. This novel had me reading faster than I've ever read before. I enjoyed every page and will recommend Blue Sisters to all of my patrons.

I enjoyed the alternating perspectives of three sisters as they grapple with the loss of the 4th Blue sister. All of the sisters as self-destructive in different and yet similar ways. This book was deeply sad.

3.5 stars but rounding up.

Thank you for the advanced reader copy Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Ballantine Books & Netgalley.

Three sisters are grieving the loss of their fourth sister a year ago. Mellors takes us through each sister's life - which takes up most of the book - then brings them together for the end. They had a dysfunctional childhood and each of them has significant issues. Perhaps I am growing tired of books about dysfunctional families, or maybe I didn't care for these particular characters, but about halfway through, I just wanted it to be over.

I was pretty confident I would love this, and it met my expectations. Wow, what a great, heartbreaking, moving story about sisterhood. It deals with hard topics like addiction, adultery, and grief with such poise and care. I love this book and the Blue sisters so, so much. I will read anything Coco Mellors writes for the rest of forever.