Blue Sisters: The instant top ten bestseller from the author of Cleopatra and Frankenstein - your perfect summer 2024 read Paperback – 23 May 2024

I'd been recommended this book a few times so was pleased when we chose it as our latest book club read. I'd not heard of the author and have since seen that she has only written one novel before this. This book was first published in 2024. There are 339 pages split into 12 chapters, plus a prologue/epilogue.Immediately this felt like my sort of book. I love a family setup and like that the relationships here feel plausible straight away. In the prologue we are introduced to the Blue sisters and given their brief backstories.It's a surprisingly visual book with descriptions and dialogue being very natural.Coco Mellors writes emotions perfectly. Moving between sisters we easily step into their heads and understand their motives. It doesn't mean that you will agree with their actions but I knew the reasons behind what they all did.The author uses some interesting words that I had to look up (e.g. excoriate and alacrity), which is always a joy, and many more that I know but are rarely used. I often had to stop so I could say a word out loud (e.g. capitulate and catatonic).I don't have siblings and don't have this relationship with anyone but I could imagine the feelings through reading this book.The sex is well written - without glamour ad varying levels of passion.Particularly interesting is the charting of how the relationships between particular sisters changes over time. Nicky and Lucky are the best example - if they had just been friends then they would probably have drifted apart but the shared upbringing doesn't allow them to split. The magnetic pull of family is show powerfully, even connecting to a reader without these links in their real life (i.e. me!!).The sisters are all flawed but I was left feeling that I wanted to have sisters like these in my life which I decided meant that the book worked for me.Most interestingly, the writer shows a way of illustrating the difference between what is inside the characters and what they portray to those around them. And she does it without using first person narrative which is really clever. Relationships are explored in similar ways - comparing what is actually happening to what those around are thinking.Addiction runs through the book as it runs through the family. We see different levels and wide ranging focuses. We see reasons for addiction starting and the battles in order to fight it. We see hard drugs, shopping, boxing, alcohol and others, all causing problems in their own ways.We see the self centred angst of the sisters who seem to feel guilty about everything. Towards the end of the book this gets analysed more deeply and effectively than years with a therapist could achieve.The book encourages the reader to self reflect but it's important to remember that "None of us are that important".Some stories from the family's past are repeated during the book, in a way that people do. Retelling tales and achievements, gradually increasing their importance.The ending actually made me cry - it is perfect and flawed at the same time. It seems to sum up the core of the story in a concise way which fits perfectly into an Epilogue in a wonderful way that most writers do not achieve.

Great exploration of complex family psychology, with fascinating character development. Not so keen on some of the sexual descriptions, not that this is a dominant theme. Overall, a brilliant read.

THE 10-WORD REVIEWthree sisters making sense of the fourth one’s early deathQUOTE“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? Yet this status is used again and again to connote the highest intimacy.” [Prologue].

I adored Cleopatra and Frankenstein and was really looking forward to reading Blue Sisters. Sadly, I was left feeling a bit flat, disappointed and deflated. It is a good book but it’s not a patch on Cleo and Frank.Avery, Bonnie, Nicky and Lucky Blue, four sisters, all individually exceptional and all individually battling inner demons. After Nicky’s funeral the three sisters go their separate ways before meeting up in NYC one year later to finally go through Nicky’s stuff so the family home can be sold.My favourite bits were the go-lightly eulogy at Nicky’s funeral which was incredibly moving. Troll Doll and Flopsy, the posh, hard-core party girls Lucky hangs out with in London who were spot on, suitably cringeworthy and wryly amusing. Venice Beach, Peachy’s nightclub and Bonnie’s last night as a bouncer, all evocatively described creating a vivid sense of character and location.Unfortunately, it was also repetitive, flagging, a tad unrealistic and unengaging in places. And too long. I would have liked more about the parents and less about the boxing. Sisterhood and addiction, loss and grieving, guilt and responsibility, recovery and self-discovery, Blue Sisters kept the pages turning but lacked that special certain something.3.5 *

good story - enjoyed reading this. Not sure if I would buy the other books by the author as it would appear there is a theme....

A great journey of a family of sisters

Loved this book , how the relationship between the sisters developed through a close bond of love .I liked the way the characters had different ideals but the same childhood

I quite enjoyed this. Thought it was well written and emotional in parts, but some of the sisters’ antics got a bit annoying as the story progressed although the ending was well done.