*Possible Spoilers*

3.5 Stars

I really enjoyed this book and the writing of the story. I enjoyed that each chapter was from a different sister’s POV and went through their life and grief. The only thing that I was that I wanted more of the sister together. I would’ve liked to see their relationships with each other grow a little more in the story. Overall, this was a beautiful story of sisterhood, grief, and love. I would definitely recommend reading this especially if you are a sister!

If you like Little Women, Normal People or just sisterhood/girlhood in general, read this book! I knew it was going to be a five star from the very beginning. It was so incredibly, beautifully written, I was highlighting every other page. It was so special to see how these three sisters dealing with grief, grow and heal in their own ways. I can't really find more words to describe how I feel about this book other than: it's so good (read it).

The Blue sisters are remarkable. Avery, the oldest, once a heroin addict, is now a high profile lawyer living in England with her wife. Bonnie, working as a bouncer in LA, was a world champion boxer who suffered a terrible defeat and walked away. Lucky, the baby, is a world famous model traveling the globe and falling into her own addictions. And Nicky.

She’s dead.

A year ago, Nicky, a popular high school teacher in the city living with unimaginable pain, overdosed - on purpose or by accident, no one knows - and the sisters are unsuccessfully trying to manage loss, grief, desire, and family.

After each sister implodes their existing life, they converge in the tiny apartment in NYC where they grew up to say goodbye to their home and pack up Nicky’s belongings. But no one is getting out of this without a reckoning.

What a mess. But in a good way?

Not one of the sisters is particularly likable, but it’s hard to discount them all the same. The girls were shaped by an alcoholic father and disinterested mother, living in a tiny apartment and actively avoiding conflict and danger within those four walls. Avery spent her childhood raising and teaching and protecting her sisters and now harbors a healthy amount of resentment. But that goes both ways, as her two remaining sisters want her to chill out and let them live and make their own mistakes.

It’s an absolute mess of a family drama that kept me engaged completely. It’s achingly sad but has these tiny bursts of joyous memories. The ensemble cast means you never get too comfortable, and the vulnerability of each character shines. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the too tidy ending but the author’s note explains that.

This is the sophomore novel and I’m very much looking forward to reading Cleopatra and Frankenstein.

Thanks to @netgalley, @randomhouse and @ballentine for the eARC to read and review. This one comes out September 3, 2024.

Blue Sisters is the sophomore novel by Coco Mellors, the author of Cleopatra and Frankenstein. The story follows Lucky, Bonnie, and Avery Blue in the the period surrounding the one year anniversary of the death of their sister Nicky. All three sisters have coped with their grief differently and it has led them all down very different paths. When they have to return to their childhood home in New York City to prepare it to be sold, they have to confront all the things they’ve avoided for the past year (and some longer than that).

I enjoyed this novel, especially the ensemble cast, which I think can be hard to do well. It felt like all three of the main characters were given the time and space to develop into full people, which made the story even more compelling. This story tackles the complexities of grief and sibling relationships with nuance and care. Reading this made me want to pick up Coco Mellor’s debut to get more of her writing.

Please check the trigger warnings for this book, specifically surrounding addiction, sexual assault, drug use, overdose, and death of a sibling.

This is the story of three sisters Avery, Bonnie + Lucky, grappling with their fourth sister, Nicky’s death, nearly a year later. Each of them live very different lives, and spend the year apart from one another trying to come to terms with an untimely and devastating ending. They come together when their mother decides to sell their NYC apartment and they must go through Nicky’s belongings.

This book tackles grief in a big, messy way that felt real and vulnerable. It was a beautiful depiction of siblings, and sisterhood especially— and how they lean on each other for survival especially in challenging upbringings.

I really loved the writing and level of description, that allows us to get to know each sister in the present, but also what they’ve been through. The character development was perfection, and I rooted for these women so much.

Mellors once again gives us a dazzling, emotionally charged literary experience that captivates from the very first page and doesn't let go.

Mellors' storytelling is both lyrical and incisive, painting vivid portraits of her characters with an authenticity that makes them leap off the page. The narrative follows the intertwining lives of the three remaining Blue sisters a year after their fourth sister’s death. With a delicate balance of tension and tenderness, exploring themes of sisterhood, identity, and self-discovery in a way that feels both innovative and deeply resonant even for this only child. I can only imagine how moving this will be for those with sisters.

Five stars, without a doubt. This is a must-read for anyone who appreciates beautifully crafted literature and characters that feel as real as your closest friends.

TL;DR: I loved this book. If you enjoyed Hello Beautiful, books by Claire Lombardo, and you’re a fan of elegant, character-driven family dramas, this is a must-read.

It's rare for a book’s opening sentence, paragraph, or prologue to captivate me so thoroughly that I want to drop everything and spend my day reading. Blue Sisters did just that. I have a soft spot for character-driven stories, and this one is a real treat. The author skillfully presents multiple points of view, giving each sister her own distinct voice and story, while maintaining a steady, meaningful pace and theme development. Though it deals with grief, loss, and addiction, it’s also a celebration of love, resilience, and the journey back to family and hope. Each character is perfectly developed and the book as a whole, as well as each chapter, are wholly satisfying.

Four women make up the Blue sisterhood. The eldest, Avery, a mother figure and highly driven lawyer, Bonnie, a rigidly disciplined boxer, sensitive Nicky (Nicole) a teacher and Lucky, the baby of the family, the secretly shy world traveling model.

It is immediately established that Nicky has died by suicide a year before the story begins. This devastating event supremely affects the three sisters as they grapple with moving on one year later. Nicky’s death, like her absence, reverberates strongly. How can they continue moving through life without their fourth?

This story hit me hard. It was brutal in its messiness and honesty about the pain pulsating from these three women, both in their grief and in mourning the trauma of the past layered deeply throughout family. Nicky suffered from chronic pain from endometriosis, an excruciating condition where tissue grow outside the uterus.

As someone who lives with life altering high impact chronic pain, I found author Coco Mellows’ description of the realities of living with such pain stunningly accurate and relatable. Blue Sisters is an immensely readable, powerful portrait of a family burdened by grief but deeply connected by the bonds of family. A definite recommend.

I received this free advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and feedback.

One year after the tragic death of their sister, the three remaining siblings of the Blue family reunite at their childhood home in NYC and come face to face with their unresolved grief. Each sister is dealing with intense personal issues and you get to know them separately as well as seeing their complicated familial dynamic. This has lots of really interesting things to say about addiction and captures the dynamics of sisterhood in a tender, accurate way. The prose is gorgeous - very first and last paragraphs in particular were literally perfect.

This was such a good, heartbreaking, family drama book. The characters were so well developed, I loved reading each of the sisters points of view. Addiction is so sad, and never fully cured. I liked reading about how it affected not just the person, but everyone around them. Definitely recommend! Thanks NetGalley for the ARC!

Gave me all the feels! The writing was exceptional. Very. Character driven and each sister was fully developed into these women who felt so real. Even as an only child I got to feel this deep love for these sisters relationship and I loved the journey through their grief!

I knew pretty quickly when picking this up that this book was for me. Coco Mellors did a phenomenal job inviting us in to a glimpse of three sisters’ lives to discover what does it mean to be who we really are. It’s heavy but a good heavy. And throughout it all there is hope and love. I loved it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for an ARC of this incredible novel.

Blue Sisters shows the depth of true sisterhood, from its heartfelt beginning and through its entirely. Gritty, emotional, and real - Avery, Lucky, and Bonnie bring you along through their lives as they cope with the loss of a sister and the intricacies of a family plagued with addiction issues. Messy and grueling, to lovely and loving, this book is irresistible and one I couldn’t put down. Made me want to hold my own sisters closer.

Prologue: “A sister is not a friend. Who can explain the urge to take a relationship as primal and complex as a sibling and reduce it to something as replaceable, as banal as a friend?[...] You’re part of each other, right from the start. Look at an umbilical cord – tough, sinuous, unlovely, yet essential – and compare it to a friendship bracelet of brightly woven thread. That is the difference between a sister and a friend.”

The first paragraph in the prologue perfectly captures the incredible messiness but also equally intense compassion that sisters have for each other. Blue Sisters follows Avery (33, eldest), Bonnie (31, second eldest), and Lucky (27, youngest) as they navigate their lives 1 year after the death of their second youngest sister, Nicky. While the actual present-day events of the story happen over a relatively short period of time, we learn about each woman’s intricate backstories which are all very different, but also quite heavy.

I was pleasantly surprised by how even though I am an only child, I found I related a lot to Avery, who struggles with essentially trying to carry the weight of the world on her shoulders – she feels it is her job to keep it together for her family emotionally, and to extent, financially. I thought all the characters were extremely well written and appreciated that Mellors did not try to hide their flaws. I liked how the characters were all pretty self-aware, but it still didn’t stop them from being self-destructive, irrational, and sometimes just mean!

I think what really kept me from giving this book 5 stars was that I didn’t really “enjoy” the story very much. The ending is predictable, not that there is anything wrong with that – I think that is just how “slice of life” stories are. I didn’t really root for any of the sisters but I respected their journeys and the depth of their characters. I also found each chapter in this book to be unusually long – It sometimes felt like finally gasping for air at the end of the chapter, and not in a thriller-y edge of your seat way but in a way that kind of dragged just a teeny bit. I realize this is very subjective – I wouldn’t let my personal gripes deter you from picking this up if the story sounds interesting. The writing is solid, with self-assured prose and poignant and vibrant dialogue that carries through.

Thank you very much to NetGalley for the ARC and privilege of writing this review!

5 ⭐️

“Squeezed beside Bonnie and Lucky now, it was superfluous to describe what she felt for them as love. They were love, beautiful and unbearable and hers.”

One of the most brilliant books on sisterhood and second chances I’ve ever read. I have a twin sister, and sometimes it’s difficult to find a book that encapsulates a relationship like ours. Blue Sisters depicted complex sister relationships perfectly.

“‘There's just no end 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. There will never be a reunion. And I wish I had a God. I wish I believed in an afterlife or something, anything. But when I try to talk to her in my head, there's no response. I can't hear her. And I can't feel her. All I have is this missing. And part of me is glad it won't end because it's all I have to connect me to her now.’”

While this was such a heavy & tough read, I flew through it. Coco’s portrayal of sisters is refreshing and I was captivated. She weaved an incredibly compelling narrative with emotional depth and characters that felt so real. Coco skillfully explored sisterhood, grief, & religion. I can’t imagine losing a sister and the phantom limb that would accompany you forever, but Coco really puts you in that position in this story. I would recommend this to women with sisters, but it truly is a book to be read by everyone. The twisted family dynamics, especially surrounding the sisters’ father and generational addiction, was painfully accurate & insightful. I especially loved the smiles that come on the sisters’ faces after intense arguments, it is so so so on point.

Thank you to Random House Publishing for this stunning advanced copy.

Really enjoyed this! A beautiful exploration of family bonds, the different forms addiction takes, and navigating feeling lost, only to realize that feeling lost is the only way to be found again. The characters felt lived-in and specific, and their relationships were all very well-realized. I definitely recommend!

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for my advanced review copy!

I so wanted to love this book. It had so much of what interests me - particularly, the lives of lawyers and models, sisterhood, and grief. Unfortunately, the book is seriously hampered by its narrative style, which is often a distanced third person “tell, but don’t show.” There are some really lovely sentences and even passages here (e.g., the way Mellors describes getting high at a club, or the resolve to live after experiencing grief), and even some exceptional ones. Some of these do a great job of evoking a place or a feeling (I can picture people underlining many phrases), but the narrative style, which I found grating, overshadowed the book’s strengths for me. Additionally, while I applaud the use of an epilogue here, the epilogue was predictable. That said, I really appreciate that the book spotlit endometriosis and sisterhood, which are two under-appreciated topics. There will be an audience for this, and it could become a movie.

Even though bound by blood, these four sisters were each others confidants and greatest supporters. They truly wanted the best for each other and each truly did willingly step into the role of parents due to their mother's coldness and father's drunkenness. Avery looked out for Nicole, Bonnie and Lucky such as taking them out for a walk when their parents fought. Because of their closeness, two bedrooms in an Upper West Side apartment was perfectly sufficient. This novel is a realistic portrayal of addiction with respect to Avery and Lucky and having a support system is crucial. Bonnie took care of Lucky as without her and the path that Lucky was following, she may have died. Her successful modeling career was a means to support her drinking and drug habit. However, addicts such as Avery often substitute one for another such as her with heroin which turned into working all hours of the day. What further brought them together was the unfortunate passing of their sister Nicole. They all wished they have saved her as they as well as Nicole had so hoped she would be a mother. Life is precious and shouldn't be taken advantage of. Like Bonnie's baby at the end of the book, she opened her eyes and knew she was loved and safe.

An extraordinary novel that weaves themes of grief, identity, and family dynamics. The author’s writing captivates with emotional depth and vivid character portrayals. Stunning.
Many thanks to Random House and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

There are many things to love about Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors, not least of which is the fact that, having devoured this sophomore release by a new-to-me author, I now have her debut to look forward to. All three Blue sisters were equally compelling (no mean feat) and complex--they felt more real to me than some people I know in real life. I cared deeply for them (Mellors clearly writes from a deeply emphatic and emotionally insightful place, treating her flawed protagonists with so much more tenderness than they treat themselves) and never once felt like I knew where the story was going--which meant I could not put the book down and stayed up long past my bedtime to keep reading it. Blue Sisters will easily be among the best books I read this year, and I will read whatever Mellors writes next.