One of my good friends from bookstagram received this book as an arc, and, barely two chapters in, she told me I simply had to apply for it on NetGalley. This seems like it dabbles in the litfic genre, and I have to admit, I am not usually a big litfic girly. I find the genre quite intimidating, but I didn't feel that way about Blue Sisters at all. It felt very inviting while still containing a lot of drama, conflict, and shocking prose. I loved it. It challenged me, especially as I grew up an only child who desperately wanted a sister for a time. This book showed both the beautiful aspects of having sisters as well as the gritty, ugly side that I totally imagine can accompany such intense love. This book left my heart viscerally aching at times, and at others my jaw actually dropped with an audible gasp. This was my first Coco Mellors book, so thank you NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for introducing me to another incredible author. I will absolutely be going back to read Cleopatra and Frankenstein! Review on bookstagram to come on pub date!

Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors
✨ Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📕 If you like ______, you’ll like this: Hello Beautiful; women’s fiction
📖/🎧 Read Type: E-book/ARC (thank you @netgalley, Coco Mellors, and Ballantine Books!)

Blue Sisters revolves around Avery, Bonnie, and Lucky, three sisters who have drifted apart in the past year after losing their sister Nicky. In addition to their grief, each has their personal challenges—Avery, a successful lawyer, grapples with the guilt of her impulsivities and feeling like she’s failed as a big sister; Bonnie, a former boxer, has retreated into a world of isolation and self-destruction; Lucky, the youngest, is a model struggling with addiction and a sense of emptiness. When their mother announces plans to sell their childhood home, the NYC apartment where Nicky died, the sisters are forced to return and confront their unresolved issues and painful memories of their loss.

I’m crying, you’re crying, we’re all crying. This novel pained me, but it is equal parts beautiful and devastating in the best ways. It is a master class on describing the complexities of grief and how that shows up with complicated family dynamics. Told from each surviving sister’s POV, the characters feel so real and their struggles and inner demons are palpable. It’s an incredibly raw story that leaves us heart warmed and heartbroken, which is the best kind of feeling to leave a book with. If you like hanging out in your feelings, clear your schedule on September 3 when Blue Sisters is released!

As always, please look up trigger warnings!
(Slight Spoiler ********* If you are easily upset by relationship strain due to differences in whether to have children, probably swipe left.)

#bluesisters #cocomellors

Whenever I start a new book I find that it typically takes me a few chapters to feel like I am part of the story and to form a bond with the characters. This is not the case when reading a book written by Coco Mellors.

I read her debut, Cleopatra and Frankenstein, and was amazed how I felt like I was immediately thrown into the story. Her second book, Blue Sisters, was no different.

This is a character-driven novel about three sisters who return to their family home in New York after their sister’s death. Each sister has their own clear and unique voice but also one that felt familiar to the others, which made me think of how it is with my siblings. Bonnie, Avery and Lucky are flawed and relatable characters and I was invested in all of them equally as they attempted to grieve their sister, Nicky, and figure out how to navigate this new ‘normal’ without her. The choices they made were often unhealthy or reckless, but I found it impossible to not remain empathetic and hopeful.

Coco Mellors has a deliberate and honest way of writing her stories where they can feel larger than life, yet intimate. Each sentence serves a purpose and this is especially apparent in the way she writes dialogue between characters. There were so many moments that had me in awe of the way she was able to mirror my own feelings and emotions.

One of my favorite books of the year and one that will be tattooed on my brain.

*This book covers many difficult/sensitive topics. Please check TW.*

I want to begin with saying thank you to @cocomellors @netgalley @ballantine @randomhouse for this beautiful ARC of Blue Sisters that I instantly fell in love with from the beginning.

Release date: September 3, 2024

Grief will rock your core and leave you to figure out how to balance yourself out again. After Nicky’s death, Lucky, Bonnie, and Avery were rocked by grief, addiction—of their own and in their own ways—and life’s memories, never knowing where to begin with balancing themselves out.

Since children, they struggled with their relationships with their parents. Seeing their father’s alcoholism take over his every being and how their mother lived in denial and left Avery to be the one to clean things up for her. Seeing this as children, it bled into them as adults.

Avery, the oldest, has always been a mother to her sisters and later struggling with an addiction as soon as she was able to finally live for herself. Bonnie, the second born, never touched alcohol or drugs in her life but used boxing as an outlet and the pain from it as her own addiction. Nicky, the third, suffered from her addiction with pills to numb the pain of her endometriosis. Lucky, the last of the bunch that packs a punch, numbed life with everything she could get her hands on which was easy in the modeling world.

When it comes to death, there is a before and there is an after. It’s like an ink mark that cannot be removed. Before Nicky’s death, these 4 women were inseparable in their own way, in a way that only sisters, siblings, can be and understand. After her death, there was a break, an ink mark that scarred their story.

I cannot organize my thoughts well enough to explain how beautiful this story was because in a way, beautiful isn’t even the word. It’s so raw in the descriptions and realism of addiction of all the characters, especially the Blue sisters. The feelings of grief are so exposed, you can’t help but feel like you’re sitting at the same table or bathroom floor as Lucky, Avery, or Bonnie.

Tears of happiness will fall from your eyes. This book is not all about sadness, grief, addiction, death. This is about the process. It’s the in between that no one talks about but many live through. The Blue sisters lost Nicky in such a tragic way, then lost themselves and one another. Then they found themselves. They learned they had to process their feelings, deal with their addictions, lean on one another, leap into opportunities, fall into love and not hate and anger, and more importantly, they had to let go of whatever wasn’t serving them anymore. They had to forgive even if they couldn’t forget, and “Go lightly”.

If you don’t have a sister, this book will definitely make you lay in bed staring at the moon, wishing you had one. It sure as hell made me do this exactly.

I’ll leave you with one of the quotes I loved. “They were not four, and they never would be again, but they were starting to find the symmetry in three.” (Ch. 12)

I will also quickly add this: Coco, if you read this review, I am always in awe of your writing. Thank you for gifting us readers with the opportunity to read your work and the chance to get little pieces of you and your world through these works of fiction and these characters. Your writing is beautiful and I wish you great success on Blue Sisters. 🩵🦋

This reads like a funky indie movie. Great aesthetic, flowery writing, mediocre plot. Yet another Little Women inspired contemporary literary fiction tale, with morally grey characters.

The book starts out really well, and just steadily sprints downhill, along with the characters' self-destructive spirals. It picks up significantly in the second half, I have to admit, and I do love messy family dynamics and emotionally satisfying endings. Since so much of it is predictable and has been done before, my judgement/enjoyment of this comes down to the prose, which is...lackluster. This book deals with chronic pain and addiction issues, and surprisingly gets it wrong here and there, but I won't judge this too harshly because it's fiction and doesn't peddle erroneous views, just overly rosy ones. This is pretty perfect for a travel or casual read, or just because that cover is very pleasing artwork.

Thanks Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the ARC! Blue Sisters is being published in the US on September 3rd, 2024.

Nicky Blue was the third of four sisters…
at 27 she died from a fentanyl overdose when she could not get any more pain pills for her endometriosis from which she greatly suffered.
In this story, the family apartment in New York that they were all raised in is about to be sold by the parents who now live in upstate New York, and the three remaining sisters come together to clean out Nicky’s belongings.
The three remaining sisters all have thoughts that they should have known about Nicky’s addiction and all have issues stemming from their mother’s disinterest and their father’s alcoholism. A couple have addiction problems.
I enjoyed this and will take a look at her previous book, to read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC!

After the sudden death of their sister Nicole, the surviving three Blue sisters find themselves adrift. Avery has secretly reverted back to bad habits, Bonnie has quit her career in boxing and fled to the west coast, and Lucky tries her hardest to outrun her feelings one party at a time. Even though this book is quite heavy, I throrougly enjoyed how it depicted realistic sibling relationships and still found a way to remain hopeful.

This felt like a deeply personal story in many ways. The author has been open about her own struggles with addiction and as a result there is a lot of compassion given to all of her characters, even as they continue to mess up. The ending also appears to have been inspired by life events in the author's life so I'm inclined to give a pass for an epilogue that might not have been necessary. Overall, I highly recommend this book. I loved the writing style and was very sad to leave these characters behind.

Blue Sisters • Coco Mellors

Thank you so much @randomhouse for letting me get access to this one ahead of the US pub date.

Stayed up way too late last night reading this & then kept reading almost as soon as I woke up. The characters of this book are so complex and well written. Mellors really did a fantastic job of capturing sisterhood and familial grief and putting it down on paper. Just an absolutely beautiful family story. Found it way too easy to get invested in their struggles both personally and as a collective.

These sisters spent their years growing up, taking care of one another although it seems like they hardly noticed they were doing it. And seeing them come back together after the loss of one of their own was special. But also highlighted all the unique ways one might choose to grieve a loved one.

Made me grateful my own sister calls every day and that we’re almost always texting (even though I’m certain she’s cringing if she’s reading this).

Out already elsewhere but US pub date is Sept 3, 2024

I loved this book so much! I have seen this book everywhere for a while, on instagram and pinterest and when I saw it was avaliable on netgalley I knew I had to read it. This book beautifully captures and talks about grief. I felt compassion for every single one of them and understand the feeling of grief. Cannot reccomend this book enough!

*"Blue Sisters" by Coco Mellor is an absolute masterpiece that beautifully weaves together themes of family, love, and the complexities of sisterhood. From the very first page, Mellor draws you into the world of four sisters, whose bond is tested by secrets, distance, and the twists of life. Her prose is both lyrical and evocative, painting vivid pictures of the emotional landscapes the characters navigate. The depth of the character development is incredible; you can feel every heartache, triumph, and moment of growth as if you’re right there with them. Mellor’s storytelling is both poignant and compelling, making it impossible to put the book down. The narrative balances moments of joy and sorrow with such grace, leaving you reflecting on the beauty and challenges of relationships long after you’ve finished. If you love richly drawn characters and stories that explore the intricacies of human connection, "Blue Sisters" is a must-read. Five stars for this unforgettable, heartwarming, and deeply emotional novel!

i think that as an only child i can only give you a tiny bit of the impact this book had on me, from my perspective, which is very far away from the topic this story is about.
i always loved being an only child, since i was little, my life was not pretty at all, with a very messy separation from my parents and living most of my life with one of them, what i always thought was: "well at least there's only one they have to worry about", at that time i didn't think that maybe if i wasn't alone it could be easier to take, all the fights and problems, two is always better than one right?
but now that i'm an adult, and i see what the future will bring, i really wish i had a sibling, someone to walk this life with. being an only child is both a blessing and a burden sometimes, the good part is that i don't have to deal with nobody else's problems, or bad attitude (there's a lot of bad relationships between siblings in my family), but the ugly part is that i'll have to deal with everything alone, and yes i have friends that are like family now but there's always that little thing that's missing, the bond that only blood can give you, even when sometimes i tell myself that's not important when it comes to how much you love someone, see? it's a weird feeling this 'only child' mindset.
this book showed me how beautiful and messy a sister bond can be. it show me that no matter what you say or do, at the end of the day they're always there, picking you up, walking with you, this is the kind of sibling relationship that i hope everyone has, the way it should be.
i was so emotional since the very beginning, it became one of my favorite books now, and i hope it becomes one of yours too.
thank you netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange of an honest review.

Blue Sisters, told from alternating POV’s, was not one of those reads that grabbed me by the hair and yanked me in. A melancholy slow-burn with no shortage of trauma, grudges, addiction, grief and loss.

The Blue sisters were well-written characters as well as the struggles portrayed amongst this poor family. I felt their suffering and sorrow in abundance. But I still found myself opening and closing my kindle often; stopping and starting over and over again, which is not something I typically do. Not sure if that was a me-thing/mood-thing or if that “pull” was missing for me.

Regardless, I am grateful to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine Books for this arc in exchange for review.

Pub date: Sep 03 2024.

Blue Sisters
This novel is about 4 sisters, Avery, Bonnie, Nicky and Lucky in that order. The story opens around the one year anniversary’s of Nicky’s death from an overdose of narcotics. Their mother asks the sisters to go to New York to clear out the apartment where they grew up and where Nicky last lived. Avery is living in London with her wife, she is an attorney after she overcame her own addiction to alcohol and drugs. Lucky has been a model since she was 14, living in Paris, she is on a quick slide down from alcohol and drug addiction. Bonnie is a boxer, she is the only one who is dealing with their upbringing and her guilt over Nicky’s death through boxing and not chemical addiction. The sisters grew up with an alcoholic father and a mother who left child rearing to her oldest daughter, Avery. No wonder these ladies are not happy and can not face their problems. Eventually the three remaining sisters do go to New York and start clearing out the apartment, while reminiscing. Overall, it’s an ok, not great book, 3 stars for me. I am not a prude but I could have done without the details of sexual encounters.
I received a complimentary copy, opinions are my own.

Such a good read that I enjoyed! I'm so glad that I got the chance to read it early and will definitely be recommending it to multiple people who enjoy these types of novels. I enjoyed the characters and especially enjoyed the writing by this author. I'm excited to see what the author comes out with next as I'll definitely be reading it! Thank you to the publisher for my early copy of this book!

I kept seeing this book on my feed lucky I was able to find it on NetGalley

Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors

Follow the story of Avery,Bonnie, Nicky and Lucky a bond unlike others but after one of their sisters passing everything seems out of balanced.The remaining of the three sister deals the grief differently and development addiction and trauma as you read their point of view.

This book did not disappoint I am so grateful I got the chance to read this book it made me laugh, cry and healed. I love the sisters and their personalities hope to read more from Coco Mellors books.

Thank you Net Gallery for the advance reading ☕️

2.5 stars

Few motifs are more likely to thrill me in a novel than a four-sibling focus. I'm almost certain to love a book that centers on a sibling relationship, especially when it moves into adulthood. This book, unfortunately, is an exception to that general rule.

There are four titular Blue sisters, and these women are struggling with the loss of one of their own. The event occurs prior to the start of the novel, and for me, the most engaging parts of the narrative are about this sibling (Nicky).

While the remaining three sisters all have distinct plot points and interesting identities in theory, I had a hard time staying engaged with their individual storylines and getting invested in their outcomes. When they do finally come together, these struggles persist.

I came to this novel because I was hearing and reading about it everywhere and the motif seemed on point for me. However, I'm finishing the novel remembering few details and wishing there were more connections to enjoy.

The writing, the writing, the writing! This is a truly an exceptional novel by Coco Mellors, who has become one of my favorite authors. I loved her debut novel Cleopatra and Frankenstein and loved this just as much. Blue Sisters centers around 3 sisters who after experiencing a tragic loss are trying their best to figure out how to move forward. The experiences and feelings are so relatable, the emotions so raw, honest, heartfelt, and thought provoking, I could not put it down.

Thank you to Coco Mellors and Random House Publishing Group - BallantineBlue for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. I loved it!
Blue Sister is is out 9/3, highly recommend it!

4.5

Blue Sisters was beautiful. Under 300 pages and yet full of the feelings of being left to carve out a new existence without someone you love. I loved this.

"I miss her and I miss her and I miss her," she began. "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'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.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group / Ballantine Books, and NetGalley for the ARC.

Three remaining sisters - fighting separate, lonely battles - come together a year after their lives changed forever with the death of their sister Nicky.

A fleshed-out, beautiful novel on how grief consumes people differently. It was a bit slow to start, but after each introductory POV, it does not let up. I'm having trouble finding words to describe everything I'm feeling after reading this, but it's safe to say I know this book will never leave me. One of those special works that remind you how fleeting life is, and to keep those you love close to you.

<i>Go lightly.</i>

Blue Sisters is one of those books that made me really question how I rate books & how arbitrary ratings really are & where the line is between critique & personal experience.

This was my first read by Mellors & I can say undoubtedly I am a huge fan of her writing. The prose was exquisite & drew me in instantly & I’m unquestionably excited to read more of her work. Additionally, the characterization of these 4 sisters was incredibly well done which is really the entire basis of this heavily character-driven novel (and it’s really well done even when it really makes me hate one or more of the characters). For these reasons alone, Blue Sisters gets 4 stars from me.

Where it loses a star is deeply rooted in the personal for me, and I struggle with knocking off a star for something like that but I want to be clear that it’s simply because I don’t think I connected with this book in the way it was intended, in the sense that it might not have been for me. So it’s not one of MY 5 stars this year, but I fully understand why it might be for others.

To be honest, I am an only child who has dealt with narcissistic family tendencies in the past. Chosen family & friendships are everything to me. I struggled with some of the messaging & language in this book (the second sentence calling friendship “replaceable” and “banal” for example) that seemed to imply essentially “blood is thicker than water.” I don’t particularly ascribe to beliefs that family should be forgiven no matter how toxic the behavior or that chosen family or friendships are somehow less than. However, I also fully acknowledge that I have absolutely ZERO personal experience with the sibling relationship, so maybe I interpreted things here in a way that wasn’t the intention.

Overall, I definitely recommend Blue Sisters if you enjoy complex character-driven novels that will put you in your feelings & make you think.