"Blue Sisters" by Coco Mellors is a gripping exploration of family dynamics, addiction, and the complexities of sibling relationships. The story follows the lives of the three Blue sisters—Avery, Bonnie, and Lucky—as they navigate their individual paths amidst the shadow of their sister Nicky's death.

What sets this novel apart is its portrayal of messy, flawed characters. Each sister copes with their family's tendency toward addiction in a unique way, adding depth to their personalities. I was particularly drawn to the push-pull relationships between the sisters, which felt authentic and raw.

The first two-thirds of the book had me hooked, with its absorbing writing and compelling narrative. However, I found the last third to be a bit lacking, which dropped my overall rating. I would still give "Blue Sisters" a solid 4-star rating for its engaging story and well-developed characters.

One aspect that could have been improved is the portrayal of the relationship with the parents, which felt somewhat flat compared to the vibrant dynamics between the sisters. Nevertheless, "Blue Sisters" is a powerful novel that delves deep into the complexities of family, loss, and self-discovery, making it a worthwhile read for fans of contemporary fiction.

A sincere thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors receives a resounding 5-star read! This compelling narrative delves deep into the complexities of sisterhood, grief, and the intricacies of familial relationships. Mellors weaves a poignant tale that resonates for a long time. The characters, Avery, Bonnie, and Lucky, are masterfully crafted, each with their own flaws and strengths, making them feel remarkably real and relatable. Their individual journeys through grief, addiction, and self-discovery are portrayed with authenticity and depth, drawing readers into their tumultuous lives. Mellors skillfully navigates heavy subject matter with a delicate touch, exploring themes of loss, identity, and the enduring bonds of family. The alternating perspectives offer a nuanced understanding of each sister's struggles and triumphs, creating a rich tapestry of emotions that captivates from start to finish.
Blue Sisters is a triumph of storytelling, brimming with heart, depth, and emotional resonance. It's a book that has stayed with me long after I've turned the final page, leaving an indelible mark on my soul. Whether you're drawn to stories of sisterhood, grappling with grief, or simply seeking a beautifully crafted narrative, Blue Sisters is a must-read.

Coco Mellors continues to impress me with her upcoming novel, "Blue Sisters". Even though I enjoyed "Cleopatra & Frankenstein" much more, this novel was still fascinating to me. Mellors is a talented author, and her snappy and quick dialogue is what makes her writing stand out to me. The scene where all 3 Blue sisters are arguing in their childhood home is the funniest/heartbreaking scene in the whole novel. Mellors always does a tremendous job fleshing out characters. My favorite sister was Bonnie. She was so relatable, sweet, and the most sympathetic sister of the bunch. Even though Avery and Lucky had aggravating qualities about them; I still cared about them as people. I loved the flashback scenes where each sister describes their love for their sister, Nicky (who died the previous year). My only gripe is the book length. It's a little too long, but it still kept my attention. This book was poignant, witty, and very touching. Coco Mellors is a wonderful storyteller. I will read anything she writes in the future.

Thank you, Netgalley and Random House for the digital ARC.

Three sisters return home to stop the sale of the New York apartment they were raised in. While grieving for their sister, who had recently passed, they must come to terms with their grief and the paths that they veered off after her passing. Facing their loss and struggles along the way will help to heal the sisters and allow them to change their course or accept who they’ve become.

I really enjoyed this novel and loved each sister like my own. With an almost “Virgin Suicides” feel to their sisterly bond, I was intrigued by their connections and withheld secrets from the beginning.
While this was a slow burn, I believe this story was paced perfectly and allowed the grief these sisters still carried with them to flow into the page like fresh tears.

Overall, this is a gut-wrenching and gorgeous story.

The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars. Aww heck, let's just go 5 stars. Reading about sisters always fascinates me. I have none and I always wonder what it would have been like. These four sisters have such an interesting dynamic. We have Avery, the oldest, who had to step up when their mom kind of stopped wanting to be a mom. She has battled substance abuse, gotten clean, but is what I'd say is a dry drunk. She may not partake, but she still exhibits addiction behaviors. One of the best lines in here states something like "I do things that make me feel good until they eventually hurt me." I totally get that!!! The next sister, Bonnie, is a boxing champion, who doesn't know who she is without that in her life. Her drug of choice is facing pain and the discipline of training. The next oldest is (was) Nicky. It is no secret that she dies, as I think that's in the blurb so I'm not spoiling anything. She suffered from endometriosis, couldn't get a proper diagnosis for a long time and her pain from it was never truly dealt with by the medical people she sought help from. Sadly, this leads her to seek pain relief elsewhere and she gets a batch of opioids presumably from on the street that were laced with fentanyl. We all know where that ends up. Then the baby sister, Lucky, is such a hot mess. Drinking, drugs, promiscuous behaviors dominate her young life. Each of these sisters struggled in their own way. No one dared mess with them, as they fiercely had each other's backs, but the interpersonal relationships between them were fraught with insecurities, jealousies, unmet expectations, disappointments. They were great with hellos an

“Blue Sisters" by Coco Mellors is a story that fosters deep connection and empathy with its characters. You feel their pain and, even if you don't fully agree, you can grasp the reasons behind their actions. The novel delves into the dark side of addiction and explores the various ways we can self-sabotage. However, amidst these heavy topics, the book also exudes themes of love, hope, resilience, and the importance of learning to lean on and trust those who love us most.

I’ve been sitting here after finishing Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors for a hot minute now, and I have to say I’m in total awe. What an incredible read.
Sisters. Addiction. Loss. Hope.
While this book was emotionally heavy for me, the writing was so beautiful it also felt like a balm to my soul, making me not want to put it down.
The story follows three of the four Blue sisters in the aftermath of losing their beloved sister to an overdose. While two of the other sisters struggle with addictions themselves, they each are struggling as they face their loss, grieving and trying to find the joy that they felt snuff out with their sister’s life.
This is a book for anyone who themselves have struggled with addiction or has had someone in their life battle it. Yes, it’s a hard story of loss, but it’s also a beautiful tale of hope.
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
I can’t wait for y’all to read this one!!



Thank you NetGalley & Random House for the chance to read this masterpiece.
And most importantly, thank you Coco Mellors for writing this- I can’t describe how incredible this book was and how deeply it struck a chord in me.

Blue Sisters tells the story of 3 sisters, who had become estranged over time. Through the story they try to navigate their complex relationship and personal lives in the wake of their sisters death. The heart of this novel is the bond these sisters share. There are so many moments within this story that reflect the true sisterhood they share. Although, this book contains heavy subject matter (addiction, and the determination to break the cycle of addiction within a family. This has "fun" setting as it rotates between Paris, London, New York, and L.A. Each of the different settings illustrates the emotion of each of the sisters as they try to find a sense of belonging in there respective locations Blue Sisters contains the emotional results of grief and the reconnection of siblings.
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC! Blue Sisters out Sep, 3, 2024.

“Now, when she closed her eyes, she saw every mistake she had made leading up to this moment. Her inner weather, once a calm, had become stormy again.”

What an incredible character study of three sisters who lose one to overdose, and how they each deal with their grief separately and together. The writing was incredibly intimate, fresh, and heartfelt. Following three separate POVS, we follow each sister as they are not only trying to come to terms with their sister’s death, but also their childhood and the decisions they made to get to where they are. The characters seemed incredibly real and individual from one another, while still having similarities as sisters. This book deals a lot with grief and addiction, but I really enjoyed how it also touched on children being a product of who raised them, and the complex feelings that can come along with that. Are we predestined to make the decisions we do, due to our childhoods, or are we always in control of the person we are? Does that keep us from being who we want to become? I absolutely recommend this one when it publishes September 3, 2024.

“Blue sisters” from the genius mind of Coco Mellors, who did impeccable work on Cleopatra and Frankenstein. The captivating novel is about the tumultuous interconnection between sisters against family dynamics and personal growth. Mellors meticulously etches out the themes of sisterhood, identity, the hones in one the complexities of human relationships. The Blue Sisters truthfully are one of the most complex and soul-crushing characters I’ve ever encountered in a piece of literature. Mellors is an expert of creating a compelling body of work which highlights the raw nature of sisterhood and family ties. I will be stuck with this in my head for a while.

Besides some small typos throughout the book, I believe it was written very well.

I enjoyed that it touched on so many REAL issues: love of all forms, addiction, grief/loss, family dynamics, etc. This felt like a story that very much could be a legit family. The only part that doesn’t fall into that would be the ending, which I felt came off (to me) as a forced happy-ever-after.
The whole family dealing with the (assumed) genetic addiction in different ways and for different reasons was someone I haven’t seen much. The trope of one “black sheep” struggling with addiction is so overplayed and in reality, what happens in Blue Sisters is more likely to be the case.

Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors was also so good! If you liked Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano, you’ll love this one – it feels like it basically picks up where Hello Beautiful ended but with a different cast of wacky sisters. At the start, one of the sisters has died and the three others are working out their lives while carrying this heavy grief. I found these sisters to be messed up but also very fun to read about! 4.5 stars

Blue Sisters is a tragic, but beautiful story about grief, addiction, and sisterhood. The dynamics between the four sisters, each with their own hopes and burdens, felt so real; it made me wonder what it might have been like to grow up with siblings and to have our lives intertwined from the beginning.

Coco Mellors’ descriptions of life in New York are entrancing, just as they were in Cleopatra and Frankenstein. I loved catching a glimpse of life in Los Angeles, London, and Paris in this book as we switched between each sister’s perspective.

Seeing the remaining three sisters slowly grow and forgive themselves after their fourth sister’s death was bittersweet, and I found myself rooting for all of them as they took tentative steps to move on and live lives their sister would be proud of. The one drawback for me was that the ending felt a bit too tied-up-with-a-bow and too perfect to be believable given everything the sisters have gone through.

Heartbreaking, beautiful, raw, and real. It’s hard to articulate how much you will feel when reading this book. Coco Mellers made an impact with her amazing debut novel, Cleopatra and Frankenstein. Who would have thought that her second would add to her depth as a writer and storyteller?

I LOVED this book. The prose is beautiful, the characters well-developed, and the story heartbreakingly real. I have been a big fan of Mellors after "Cleopatra and Frankenstein," and this novel did not disappoint. In fact, it completely exceeded my expectations. This is in line to be one of my very favorite novels of the year. Thank you for the opportunity to receive and read this ARC!

I was excited to read Coco Mellors sophomore effort after loving her debut, Cleopatra & Frankenstein. Mellors returns to form with a rich, deep exploration of character - this time in the form of a family, specifically the Blue sisters. The four girls could not be more different, yet their shared history, which includes a healthy amount of trauma and anguish, and their unwavering love for one another unite them throughout the years and across the globe. When one of the sisters passes tragically and unexpectedly, the remaining three are left to navigate the puzzle that is the world with their shared missing piece. Tracing all three sisters over the course of the year after the death and highlighted the complex nuances of grief, addiction, shame, and, ultimately, love - this novel's beating heart shines throughout each chapter. Mellors' talent lies in her ability to make her characters full individuals, despite their broken pieces. By the end of the novel, I felt like I had truly spent a year getting to intimately know each character and their motivations and actions made complete sense for their personalities. For fans of Sally Rooney, Dolly Alderton, and Ottessa Moshfegh. This one was a winner for me!

<blockquote>"She was home, the only one she knew, not because she always lived in it, but because it always lived in her."</blockquote>

Oof. That line hit me hard.

Thank you Random House for giving me an e-arc of this book. 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.

This is a very introspective novel about three sisters grieving the loss of their fourth. In a multi-POV novel, it's expected that you'll feel more connected to some characters than others. I really enjoyed reading Avery and Bonnie's POVs, especially Avery's. I thought she was flawed and realistic and I thought the journey with her relationship was the most dynamic. Bonnie was also an interesting character, though the "romance" with her story I didn't like as much. Lucky was my least favorite of the sisters.

The novel had a lot of beautiful lines about sisterhood and feeling lost in life. One thing I felt oddly missing was Nicky. She's dead, but she's "on the page" a lot through flashbacks (maybe too many flashbacks? I thought some could've been cut). However, I didn't really feel like I got to know who Nicky truly was as much as I would've liked. Basically, even though this is meant to be a very emotional novel, I didn't feel too many emotions regarding Nicky because she wasn't as fleshed out as the other sisters in my opinion.

<spoiler>*SPOILER*
I did not like how Bonnie's arc with Pavel ended. I was hoping, because he gave zero signs of being interested in her, that Bonnie would've had to learn to deal with loving someone who doesn't love her back, at least not romantically. But nope. She admits she's always loved him and bam, next thing you know they're having a baby. Firstly, it's very hard to convince me this relationship is cute and wholesome when this man knew her when she was 15 and he was pushing 30. </spoiler>

This book is set to release September 3, 2024 and I'd recommend it for lovers of literary fiction who enjoy slower paced, character studies.

Link to review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6411771111

we follow the four blue sisters: avery, bonnie, nicky and lucky. nicky died by an accidental overdose; leaving her sisters behind. each extremely different from one another. avery is the eldest; who acts as a second mom. she struggled with addiction in her youth but since then followed a program and is in active recovery; she becomes a successful lawyer. bonnie is super sporty and tough but deep down she is the most tender of the sisters. she was a rising boxer but after nicky's death she moves to california leaving behind her promising boxing career. lucky is the youngest and wildest from the bunch. launching a successful modeling career at 15, she's always been a wild child but she finds herself lost and wanting to find another path that isn't modeling.
the girls all had a difficult relationship with both their parents. their dad struggled with alcohol so they didn't have a stable life at home; finding solace in each others' company growing up. now a year after nicky's death, their parents decide on selling their childhood home which brings them to an unlikely reunion that's filled with pain, suppressed anger and ultimately love.
i have been looking forward to this read especially after reading the description. coco mellors has a way of writing that's very current to this generation without trying too hard. it was easy for me to imagine all the characters and scenes with the detailed description. i was drawn to bonnie's story the most! such an easy character to love. i also appreciated how coco mellors wrote about the fellowships and rooms so well; this book tugged on multiple heartstrings for me. the acknowledgments section was also so heartwarming to have read, especially the section acknowledging the rooms of aa.

At its center this novel is about sisterhood, but it is also about the universal hurt that we will all experience at least once in our lives: grief. How do we respond? How do we live our lives carrying this hurt around?
 
Told from the perspectives of the Blue sisters, in the wake of tragedy, this novel is both cerebrally tender, and achingly melancholic.
 
Having no sisters myself, I put my trust into Mellors to bring me forth into the messy web that is sisterhood, and she delivered.
 
A beautiful and brilliant book about familial bonds and how misfortune is dealt with within the family dynamic and beyond.

I was spellbound, completely desperate for the next page as I was turning them.

(Many thanks to Random House for the eARC of this wonderful novel)

Heartfelt and beautiful, I couldn’t put it down. Mellors’ stunning prose will stay with me for a long while