Thank you Netgalley and the Publisher for my ARC in exchange for my honest review. This was an enjoyable book.

The Orchid Sister is the first book I have read by this author. The synopsis intrigued me and I'm glad I was able to read this book as it's captivating and one I could not put down until the very end.

Looking forward to reading more by this author in the future.

I loved the cover for this book and it is what really drew me in. The story overall is good; I was very interested because of what was written about the book but to be honest, this was not really my cup of tea. It was nicely put together and the plot was there, but I felt like it could have been better written at parts. However, this was a fantastic idea and I am glad to have read it.

The Orchid Sister was one of the first books I was approved for on Netgalley. Unfortunately, it was buried under my TBR mountain and I was unable to come back to it until recently.

This book gave me a touch of mystery, family, romance, self-love, fantasy, folklore, trauma, and courage. Going in, I was expecting nothing, but I was enraptured with this world and felt for the characters.

From the first chapter alone, this story has proved to be very intriguing. I enjoyed the pacing and the different revelations you will find as you go. I was fascinated by the overall plot points of this novel, and I was not expecting that this was where I will be brought by this read.

Overall, an absolutely amazing read!

As with most books on NetGalley, this book is a great read. Captivating and intriguing. Thematically beautiful. Gorgeous writing.

A captivating quick read, of sisterly love and devotion. Great mystery and unexpected twists in the plot, this book was wonderful. Thank you NetGalley for the e-reader for review, all opinions are my own.

Let me start by saying that overall I really enjoyed this book. I enjoyed the characters and their POVs. There were many unique stories that all intertwine in the end. This is a story that starts with the backstory of the sisters, Maddie and Kat, whose parents were killed in a plane crash. Maddie was also involved in that crash but survives, spending months in the burn unit going through difficult treatment and being left with scars that she must live with forever. It is clear from the beginning that the two sisters are extremely close as a result of these events so that when Kat doesn't call or contact Maddie for several week, it is obvious to her that something is not right.
I thought the author did a thorough job of detailing how Maddie would go about hunting for her sister and what might clue her into there being a problem.
The issues I had with the story were 1) some pacing issues, seemed like a lot of detail in some areas and not enough in others, 2) If someone is missing, why would any solo female go off alone when she has a trusted male friend to help (in a foreign country no less) and 3) ending felt rushed compared to the build-up.
I liked the book and I am glad that I read it but there were small issues for my taste.

#TheOrchidSister #NetGalley #LakeUnionPublishing

This is a very wet written story that held my attention from the very first page and kept it until the last. The characters are very well drawn. They are also likable Believable believable. I definitely recommend this book as it is one of the best O have read this year. It's five stars from me for sure!

Thank you Net Galley for allowing me to read this ARC.

The beginning of this book starts off well and draws you in. Kat and Maddie are sisters who lost their parents to a fiery plane crash that Maddie survived. For years, Kat has been Maddie’s rock - now, she’s missing.

Following Maddie’s journey to find her sister and overcome her fears and trauma is inspiring. The love she finds and fears letting in along the way is something I empathize with. Trauma will do that to someone. Also interesting is that Maddie is an artist, known for creating masks, which is a motif used throughout the novel.

Told by 5 different narrators, LeClaire does a wonderful job creating different voices and capturing a beautiful culture. However, I believe that the several narrators convoluted some important character building. I felt like there was a lot of build up and not enough actual story. There was so much more that could have been done with these beautiful characters, and it all felt so stunted. The end, especially, felt rushed.

All in all, it’s a fine read. I think it could have been better, and it may be more for other readers than me, but I really wanted to like this more than I did.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion!

Woah.. words completely escape me. I seriously set this book down, and I feel like I can breathe again. This book was amazing.

This was my first Anne D. LeClaire book. I went into it with an open mind. The premise really intrigued me and I thought it would be a book that ended up sticking with me for a long time.

I didn't dislike this book, but I was a little disappointed with it. Perhaps I put too much pressure on it based on my own expectations. Very possible.

I found the first few chapters a little tough to get going and if I had been reading this by my own choice rather than an ARC I may have DNF'd it, as it just wasn't speaking to me. However I powered on and it did get better. It was just a bit of a slow book. There wasn't any major slumps in the writing, apart from the beginning, it just seemed to plod on. But that meant there were no major tense moments either. Nothing that made me desperate to turn the pages.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions in this review are my own and are in no way influenced.

“Everyone has scars, Maddie. They just hide them in different ways.”

Beautifully written and with a vague hint of lore and mystery, Anne D. LeClair’s The Orchid Sister was simply magical. In the wake of a challenging upbringing, two sisters prove that their bond is greater than the bad things that come their way. This suspenseful women’s fiction novel is a beautiful story, and one with many layers.

The girl with the scars. The girl with many masks. Maddie has many names, and many ways she is described by others. It is hard for people to see past the scars that Maddie wears, marks from the plan crash that killed her parents. Marks of a survivor, though they don’t always feel that way. When Maddie met Jack, handsome and adventurous, she fell for him quickly. Jack was one of the first men that didn’t recoil from her scars. He sees Maddie as the beautiful person she is, inside and out. Her scars are just on display.

Maddie is fascinated with masks, and she also creates her own masks. Perhaps this is part of her healing, a way to show that the outward appearance often hides who someone is. But the masks also have so much meaning, and Maddie is fascinated by the way different cultures create and use masks. The symbolism and the work that goes into them lends to the magical and ethereal quality. And of course, the masks also have symbolism in this book!

Maddie’s sister Kat has disappeared, and though the police initially doubt Maddie’s insistence that something happened to her sister, Maddie knows it to be true. It is the kind of thing you can feel when you have a bond like Maddie and Kat. But of course, we know where Kat is, because half of the chapters are told from Kat’s perspective. And the more we learn about where Kat is, the more sinister it becomes…

There are eventually 5 narrators to this novel, though Maddie and Kat narrate the most chapters. Structurally the changes between the storylines kept it engaging. I ended up listening to the audiobook for this one, and all of the voice actors were fantastic. It made it so easy to follow whose chapter it was. Each was very unique, as were the stories they had to tell!

A good portion of the book takes place in the Yucatan in Mexico, and it really is the sort of book that transports you there. I loved the local lore that surrounded Kat’s disappearance and discovery. There was a dark, mystical quality to this mystery that leant to the atmospheric feel of the book. Wonderful!

Many thanks to Lake Union publishing for my copy. Opinions are my own.

The Orchid Sister was an alright book, but one I know I'll essentially not remember reading in a year or two. However, I guess I can say it simply didn't quite speak to me, but it might speak to you. At first, I wasn't too invested, but after reading about a third I decided that I'll stick with it to the end because I just want to find out what happens to the characters. You could say this is one of those steady books where everything is written quite simply and it progresses smoothly, there are no slumps in the storytelling or anything like that. But at the same time, there are no real tense moments either. For me, it lacked a spark. It's both a story of sisterly love, as well as a story of moving on. Perhaps it was just that there were too many things it was trying to talk about. Anyway, I find that I have nothing to say in the review, and I guess that tells a story on its own.

Triggers include: PTSD, missing persons, plane crashes, fire and severe burns, family members dying in accidents (these are not spoilers, they're part of the setting).

I thank the publisher for giving me a review of the ebook through NetGalley in exchange to an honest review. It has not affected my opinion.

I haven’t picked up anything by this author, Anne D. LeClaire before I chose to read her latest novel THE ORCHID SISTER. I selected this to read because I liked the interesting premise and I was attracted by the beautiful cover design. I can’t resist a novel which is about sisters, although don’t ask me why!

After her parents were killed in a plane crash, Maddie decided that she no longer wanted to be close to anyone again except her sister, Kat. Growing up, the two girls had always been there for one another. Now, Maddie has decided to risk her heart by forming a relationship with Jack, a pilot, but another plane crash devastates her all over again. She needs Kat, but her sister, a journalist followed a story to the Yucatan and is now missing. Maddie must confront her greatest fear and board a plane, perhaps to find that the one person she had left has gone forever.

The intriguing story-line totally captured my attention from the start as I found myself transported to a different world, planting me firmly into the life of Maddie. With perfect pacing, I was totally absorbed all the way through, until the fulfilling conclusion. The author’s writing style was very appealing, brilliantly encapsulating the core of the scenes that I was visualising whilst reading. Anne D. LeClaire’s special way with the narrative made this complex and enthralling novel quite distinct.

Overall, THE ORCHID SISTER is a very worthwhile read with loads of raw emotion and plenty of heartache and relationship dynamics to unearth. If you’re a fan of general or women’s fiction you should really read this captivating and wonderful book!

Thanks to NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing and the author, Anne D. LeClaire, for my complimentary copy of The Orchid Sister. My honest review is entirely voluntary.

Didn't really like nor could I get into this book. The story was just off to me and it took me a while to get into.

My rating:
Story: 4 out of 5 stars
Writing: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Character development: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Overall: 4 out of 5 stars

Review:

This is a poignant story about the bond between two sisters and how the main character Maddie has to overcome her fears in order to find her sister. The relationship between the sisters is described vividly and is realistic. The story is suspenseful and nail biting at times. It was hard to put the book down.
After I finished the book I felt that the story of Maddie and Kat was a little bit unfinished.
It would have been nice if the author would have gone into a bit more detail about the past. Explain how the plane crash happened Maddie was in all those years ago.
How did Kat get into the clinic and what happened there? This would have strengthened both story and the character development and also made their actions more realistic.

Overall this is a nice story well worth reading.

I enjoyed this book, story of two sisters and overlapping story of an older psychic, that part was the weakest and could have been left out, it was as if the author was trying to create magic rather than trust in the story of the sisters and their growth. I did enjoy it though

Rating 3.5 stars!

When I saw this cover, I was in love......it's beautiful.... I couldn't help myself from requesting the opportunity to read and review it from NetGalley, so I was happy to see I was approved.

Kathrine ("Kat") is Madison's older sister, who cared for Madison ("Maddie") as she survived and suffered horrible burns and injuries in a plane crash that killed their parents.  The Orchid Sister is a story of two sisters who share a bond strengthened by loss and hardship. Readers learn about each sister and understand each of their feelings.

The sisters are older now and Maddie is an artist who makes expressive masks. She lives alone with her cat, Winks, and lives a very peaceful and secluded life.  Kat is a freelance journalist who travels extensively tracking down stories for the news. She's often on secret assignment and while doing so, she goes missing. Maddie must face the fact that her sister may be gone forever.

The story then shifts to Maddie overcoming her fears and flying out to try and find her sister.  I won't post spoilers, but Maddie has to seek out clues in order to find out what has happened to Kat in Mexico. 

I loved the bond between the sisters.  The author made it very believable, and they obviously loved each other.  This is a tragic yet beautiful story. The characters are believable and engaging. I recommend The Orchid Sister anyone who enjoys a good read that you can't put down. 

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary digital copy of this book that I received from Lake Union and NetGalley.  All views expressed are my honest opinion.

I was a little wary of this book based on the first chapter, but I am glad I gave it a shot. It is a simple story (in some ways) of two sisters who share a bond which has been strengthened by loss and hardship. We get equal time with each sister to understand their current situation. 

One sister is caught in a trap and the other starts a hunt to find her. There are men and other supporting cast thrown in for good measure but they were quite interesting, sometimes I liked them more than the leading ladies. The rest of the story is punctuated by other characters who are also living in the same town in Mexico and they are placed strategically to try to confuse us about the solution. The relationships and the emotional quotient of the book were satisfying but as a thriller/mystery, it did not work since we are aware of the background from the beginning. There is the extra tale of another pair of sisters that does not end as happily as our main protagonists which adds to this book's status as a family drama than anything else. It was well narrated and overall a pretty interesting read

Maddie and Kat have a special bond as sisters. They lost their parents in a plane crash when they were young and had only each other. Now Kat is missing and Maddie must find her and face her fears.
I enjoyed this book, however there were a few parts that I found unrealistic. Overall it was very good and I recommend it.
Many thanks to Lake Union Publishing and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.