Blue Sisters - Coco Mellors

Three very different sisters—still grieving the loss of their fourth—are forced back together to save their childhood home, and in doing so confront grief, secrets, and the chaos of their separate lives. Their reunion becomes the catalyst that helps them rebuild themselves and rediscover connection.

As a sister myself, this novel is held very close to my heart. It was breathtaking from the very beginning with its opening sentence, “A sister is not a friend.” In fact, the entire opening paragraph grabbed my heart and caught my undivided attention like no novel has done before. The complexity of the sisters’ lives astonished me, and their delicate yet strong relationships with each other plucked at my heartstrings as certain feelings and events between the three of them unfolded. Not only did I find their bonds relatable, but the conflict within their intertwined lives was incredibly compelling.

I’m a massive fan of domestic and urban fiction, and family sagas—one of my favourite books is Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid, after all—and Coco Mellors’ attempt at this genre was mind‑blowing. I will forever hype this book up and recommend it to all the girls out there who have a sister or sisters, because this is a novel that should be treasured and read with care. A close friend once told me she felt she could eat certain books, they were that good. And it wasn’t until I read this, after she said that, that I truly understood what she meant.

I felt this story in my bones; it was that powerful and genuinely exhilarating. I just wanted to consume it—not only with my eyes and mind, but I wanted to eat it and have it live in me, because the words on every page hit harder than the one before. Mellors has such a beautifully illustrative way of describing everything that I’m a little jealous of all her metaphors, similes, idioms, analogies, and the different ways she uses objects or ideas to represent deeper meanings. It was a truly inspiring read, and I hope every single person who picks it up finds those same aspects just as striking as I did.

Mellors’ Blue Sisters is a five‑star novel and you can disagree with that all you want, but don’t dismiss it until you try it. I didn’t find a single fault as I read, and because every page felt like perfection to me, attempting to put this novel down for the night was like trying to remove a limb. I got attached very quickly and was saddened every time I had to set it aside because I didn’t want any of the sisters’ journeys to end. And though I felt this way throughout, the ending was satisfying and didn’t leave me wanting more. If you’re a bookworm and you’ve experienced the pain of needing to know more but were being told this is the end forever, then you’ll know how rare and delightful that is. It’s disappointing otherwise; like ordering a cup of coffee only to take the lid off and see it’s half full. A story that starts in the right place and finishes in the right place is a story definitely worth reading.

So if you want a story that’s unpredictable, humorous at times, and ready to take you through a storm of emotions, then Blue Sisters is for you. It’s the kind of book that confirms ones love for reading, and if you don’t enjoy reading, or simply don’t read, I hope this book gets you in the mood and inspires you to pick up more. Even if it’s not your jam, Mellors’ other novel Cleopatra and Frankenstein might be. I can’t vouch for it as I’ve never read it, but if it’s written anything like this one, it’s probably an absolute banger too. Or maybe other novels in this genre will tickle your fancy, who knows? But one things for sure, you’ll never know unless you try.

Buy your copy of the book here:

https://amzn.eu/d/7e2DN5c

Sisters Under the Rising Sun - Heather Morris

When nurse, Nesta James, and English musician Norah Chambers find themselves on the Vyner Brooke, fleeing Singapore to escape the Japanese in February 1942, disaster strikes the ship they’re on and nothing is the same again. Captured by the Japanese they have to find strength in places that make them weak, yet they stand united as one, lifting each other up as they endeavour a journey full of disease, exhaustion, starvation, and heartbreak.

This story highlights events of World War II that many people are unaware of. It focuses on Japanese prisoners of war, who were held for just over three years with little food and extremely poor living conditions. Many died, and many suffered the consequences of this prolonged period of deprivation for years after their release.

I was genuinely fascinated to learn more about this side of the war, and I was deeply moved by it. It broke my heart to read the true stories of two women who survived to tell their experiences to their children, who then passed the stories on to their own children. And eventually, writers turned these memories into novels that retell the events these people endured, in great detail.

Despite Morris's hard work on this novel, I feel her writing style let the story down by being too technical rather than descriptive. It felt very straight to the point, without much in the way of setting description or character building. While this directness might suit the topic and genre, it prevented me from connecting with the characters on a deeper level. Firstly, they didn’t feel real enough, and secondly, I didn’t have enough time to build a connection with them because I only knew about their jobs and immediate families - due to the lack of descriptive writing. The dialogue didn't offer much insight into their personalities, which is crucial in storytelling; the way someone speaks can reveal a lot about them, and this novel was missing that element.

However, the core story was strong. Morris clearly did extensive research on this topic, interviewing family members of the women involved, and she portrayed it all in a plot that likely closely resembled the actual events. I particularly appreciated the additional sections at the end of the story where Morris provides informative profiles of each woman she mentions, detailing what they did after the war. She also listed all the women in the Australian Army Nursing Service, including those who died. The photographs of the women were a great addition too; I found they helped solidify the characters I had just read about. In other words, the photos made each character feel more real. Having a face to associate with each name gave me insights into their personalities that Morris's character descriptions didn't provide.

I did really enjoy this read despite its flaws. It’s a novel that’s made me want to read her other books and I’m looking forward to the day that I do. Stories from the war are interesting to me, and if it’s a type of history you enjoy as well, I would highly recommend giving Heather Morris’s books a go. I found myself to be quite tearful towards the end of Sister’s Under the Rising Sun and it’s quite hard to get a tear out of me when a book’s involved, so I give her an extra star for that. She moved me with her words, and for a story like this, that’s all I ask for.

Buy your copy of the book here:

https://amzn.eu/d/ak6pZpV