Welcome to Litsy!

Youth sports completed for a Saturday, the sun is shining and the summerhouse is the perfect spot to enjoy this cracker of a book. Loving it so far.

A great story of the family dynamics between four sisters, reflecting on their childhood, addiction and troubled parents, I tore through it. Her books seem to be targeting/resonating with a younger generation of female readers and I quietly wonder if she might turn out to be their Maggie O‘Farrell, thinking back to the vibe of MO‘Fs very early books. Watching with interest!

Sad, compelling, full of sisterly love, competition, and disappointment. Content warnings for addition, child abuse, and suicide.

2-7-25: My 11th book of 2025! The Blue sisters started out as a foursome, Avery the lawyer, Bonnie the boxer, Lucky the model and the youngest Nicky. After the loss of one, the other three must come to terms with their grief both separately and together. When their parents decide it is time to sell their NYC apartment, the sisters must come together to empty the place and say goodbye to their lost sister. Moving, sad, uplifting.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️📖#️⃣1️⃣1️⃣

Three sisters are drawn together around the first anniversary of the death of their fourth sister. They are all in various states of emotional disrepair, having struggled unsuccessfully to manage their grief. Their reunion is complicated by the unresolved wreckage of an unstable childhood. It‘s a compulsively readable book. Much of the sisterly connection lands true, but there were times it felt a bit contrived.The ending tied up a tad too neatly.

Good read especially if you have a sister. We all have our demons to deal with. Four sisters, one is gone. Good read. Mothers try their hardest.

1/3 of the way in and I kept asking myself why am I reading a book about four sisters who do not at all seem real. Lots of people and Jenna loved this book, but I gave up. Maybe it was going to get better? If the characters can‘t come alive for me, I‘m just not interested. Farewell Blue Sisters.

Started yesterday and finished today. I loved this book. It underscores the bittersweet nature of sisterhood and it feels authentic.

Maybe it was all the hype around this book before I read it, but I‘ll say I liked this but didn‘t love it. The characters felt artificial and manufactured to me at many points in the story, doing what you‘d expect them to do. It just didn‘t come together for me and I didn‘t feel any of the characters as authentic enough versions of themselves (likeable or not). 🤷🏻‍♀️ A low pick.

25 Nov-26 Dec 24
The Blue Sisters grew up with an alcoholic father and a mother who had prioritised him over her four daughters. Now, 12 months after an opiate overdose by Nikki, the most conventional of the four sisters, the remaining three are each unravelling. Mellors tells the story of the sisters‘ grief and of the friendship and friction between them incredibly well. I love Mellors‘ stories and their (primarily) NYC backdrop.

I accidentally deleted this…oops.

#12Booksof2024

So many bad decisions made by the Blue sisters, but this is ultimately a hopeful book about the power of sisterly bonds. I enjoyed and liked each sister individually. Beautiful day today; I could‘ve worn shorts. #audiowalk

A book topping many a Litten‘s top reads of 2024 list (it is certainly high on my list) and the ebook is on sale for $1.99 in case anyone has been waiting to grab a copy.

Finally got my Christmas tree up today! It was a beautiful day to walk, so I took a short walk and then spent the rest of the day relaxing with my husband and daughter. #audiowalk

I had passed on this one earlier this year, so I‘m really glad the #TOBlonglist got me to circle back to it. Not only is it a great read about family, depicting very realistic relationships, it‘s so well crafted, giving the right time to each story and making each sister distinct.

My daughter wanted to deep clean the house, so she encouraged us to go the beach. We didn‘t need much convincing as it was a beautiful day. We didn‘t have a road trip book as we listened to Christmas music instead, but I continued with Blue Sisters on my #audiowalk. They all keep making such bad decisions, but I‘m pulling for them.

I had started this before but wasn‘t in the mood for it, now I am so it‘s my new #audiowalk book. So far, I‘m enjoying it. The weather was lovely, so my walks were long.

Three sisters are destroyed by the death of their fourth sister. All three deal (or don‘t) in their own way, not looking out for each other because being together makes them feel so incomplete without Nicky. Their stories make a raw and tender portrait of grief and unconditional love.

#ToB25Longlist
📸 Frankfurt, Germany

Loved this. Dysfunctional family. Sad and probably not recommended if you‘re still looking for your Christmas smiles.

I loved this book. Sisterhood, grief, and the different facets of addiction were masterfully handled. It had the perfect amount of plot to keep me turning, and reflectiveness to slow me down and make me think. I especially loved and related to the eldest sister Avery who hides behind a facade of perfection while secretly falling to pieces and struggling to identify what she actually wants. 10/10 one of my top reads (the top?) of the year.

I‘ve finished for Christmas….I survived this semester.
Meeting friends for tea but I‘m early, so reading it is.

My first #HyggehourReadathon turned into a family reading session with the pups. Made myself a virgin hot toddy, lit a candle, and wrapped up in a blanket and my LL Bean slippers. A delightful end to a busy holiday weekend.
@AllDebooks @TheBookHippie @Chrissyreadit @jenniferw88

I was worried I might be in a reading slump when I ended up not loving Intermezzo which I‘d been so excited for. Happy to report it‘s not a slump, I‘m gobbling up Blue Sisters. Still too soon to say but it may just end up being one of my top books of the year!

This book has gotten a lot of love & for good reason! With an alcoholic dad & a distant mom , the Blue sisters raised themselves. When they lost sister Nicky, they went on with their lives in different locations with some success yet struggling with grief & addictions. When mom lets them know the apartment the oldest Avery kept paying for must be sold, they come together again to deal not only with Nicky‘s things + some of their own demons. great!

About 150 pages in , loving this book so far . Really well written. 👏

I liked this book. A complicated relationship between sisters who are loyal to a fault. Sounds like me and my sisters!

@AmyG it came yesterday and I forgot to check the mail 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ Thank you so much, my friend ♥️♥️♥️

Rarely do I pick up a book amidst this much hype and love it this much, but this one is just that special.

A year after the death of their sister Nicky, the remaining Blue sisters try and find their way back to each other, and to themselves, amid the fog of grief, anger, and addiction. Their journeys, alone and together, are difficult and heart wrenching. But even in the darkest moments, it never feels exploitative.

cont'd in comments

I may be waiting at the auto shop for a few hours (yay). First…finish this book which I really enjoyed. A favorite subject for me…dysfunctional family. 🤣

5🌟/5🌟

Who else loves it when their car needs an oil change, because it means you have no choice but to sit and read for a while? 🙋‍♀️🙋‍♀️🙋‍♀️ I'm being productive AND reading! Yay!

P.S: so far, this book truly lives up to the hype.

The hype is real for this one! The Blue sisters have lost one of theirs — Nicky. The three who are left are each destroyed by the loss of their beloved sister. This book is about sibling relationships and responsibilities, sister love, and absent parents. It‘s about addiction and substance abuse. It‘s about coping with all life has to throw at you and facing it with the right people in your corner. I loved it and now have to read Mellors‘ debut.

4/5⭐️

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6833608571

I recently read Mellors‘ debut and loved it but wow has her writing only gotten stronger. I really adored this book about three sisters and their grief for their fourth sister that they have all been trying to avoid in their own ways. They could not be more different in personalities and life styles but they have the way they love and wound each other fiercely in common. They also all have experiences with addiction which also cannot be ignored.

The thread of addiction and generational trauma is woven into these sisters lives prominently in the way they act and in the way they live their lives but it‘s also just in the background in the way it‘s written - the focus is very much on the characters lives and their relationship with each other and their grief. I loved the moment near the end with Avery and her Mam. Very character driven which I love.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

You don‘t just read this book, you FEEL this book! The exploration of grief, addiction, and family was messy and raw, yet compassionate and hopeful. The characterization was phenomenal; I really felt like I knew and loved each of the Blue sisters. #BOTM

I liked Frankenstein and Cleopatra but wanted a narrower focus on characters. So far Blue Sisters is delivering on the exquisite prose and close character studies. 💙

I enjoyed this story about a dysfunctional family coming to terms after the death of a sister.

The characters recognize each other's flaws and love anyway.

#WondrousWednesday

1) Tagged
2) They all play an active role in my reading. The preference depends on where, when I‘m reading.
3) Historical Fiction, Mysteries, Literary and contemporary fiction

Want to play? @Ruthiella @RamsFan1963 @Lesliereadsalot

@Eggs

Every once in a while, I read a first paragraph of a book and know I‘m going to love it. This is one of those books

About four sisters Avery, Bonnie, Nicky and Lucky. Only Nicky died a year ago. Instead of dealing with the grief, they run away from it. Now their mother have sent them an email that they are going to be selling the family home, so if they want anything of Nicky‘s they need to do so by the end of the month.

I‘m wrecked. Family is complicated, this one is super-sized. A little slow moving at times but so worth it. It is rather heavy with grief, which I occasionally like to soak in. It is also filled with addiction.

These sisters tugged at my heart. The thread of addiction, loss, and unavailable parents broke my heart. NGL, totally cried at the end.

When Nicky died of an overdose, it flung her three sisters‘ lives apart. Avery disappears into work while chafing at her marriage. Bonnie gives up her boxing career lost and alone. Lucky falls into addiction herself risking her modeling. When the sisters reunite a year later, old wounds and rivalries surface.

I‘m always down for fictional sister drama if for no other reason than to normalize life with my sisters 🤪. Boy I get the grief thing when the most-beloved-among-us sister dies leaving the question of who are we without her. I don‘t even want to imagine what our grief would be if generational addiction was part of that process, as well.

I just love this description of the oldest sister

Just started this, and I know I‘m going to love it when I love the first paragraph.

I can see why this sisters-drama was a #BOTM pick for the month! The book opens one year after Nicky Blue‘s death, leaving her older two sisters, Avery & Bonnie, along with younger sister, Lucky, adrift in their grief. Their mother‘s sudden decision to sell the NYC apartment where they grew up, brings them back together as each flounders forward in the aftermath of their sorrow. Dealing with grief, addiction & trauma, there‘s plenty to discuss!

September #BookspinBingo board! My #Bookspin this month is Blue Sisters (BOTM box supposed to be arriving today!) and #Doublespin is Mythology by Edith Hamilton (which I‘m currently reading on Kindle). I‘ve got several books in progress already, so I‘m hoping I‘ll have a better reading month in September.

I‘m halfway through this one, and I‘m just hoping it will lighten up soon. I‘ve contemplated giving up on it (it‘s heavier than I anticipated), but I‘m now determined to stick with it and give it a chance.