This book transitions between Tudor era and modern times. Amy Robsart and  her modern cousin Amelia both died from a fall down the stairs, potentially due to a curse that Amy's death started. In modern day, Lizzie Kingdom is being questioned in regards to Ameila's death, because Lizzie is Amelia's husband's best friend. Can Lizzie find out the truth about Amelia's death and break the curst that Amy's death started hundreds of years ago? 

The plot was fascinating and the historic aspect was very well done, however the book did not pull me in. It felt like the pacing was slow and the characters were one dimensional. I enjoyed the book and felt that the choice of climax was very well done.

The Forgotten Sister alternates between two storylines set in 1560 and present day. Amy Robsart married Robert Dudley, favourite of Queen Elizabeth I. She's trapped in awkward love-triangle. Lizzie becomes public enemy #1 after her best-friend Dudley's wife is found at the bottom of the stairs with a broken neck. Two very different women who somehow finds their stories inexplicably intertwined.

I really enjoyed this book and read it in a single sitting.

I loved the supernatural elements in the story. They put a perfect twist on a  familiar story. I did think that some character's reactions to learning about the supernatural elements were unrealistic. They either guessed it existed or were too quick to come to terms with its existence. 

I read this book in an entire sitting. I'm familiar in the story of Amy, Robert and Elizabeth I. There is so little written about Amy's perspective. Normally I'm rooting for Elizabeth but this was not the case here. 

I instantly connected with both storylines and thought they were equally well-written. I think the author tried to make Lizzie appear unlikeable at the beginning of the novel. Instead I ended up hating everyone she surrounded herself with. 

I did find the title of the story to be a massive spoiler and kind of gives the plot away once you've read a few chapters.

I think anyone who is familiar with history, particularly the Tudor era knows who Robert Dudley is. However, this was the first book I can remember where his wife Amy plays a role. This deals with the fallout from Amy’s death since Dudley was accused of murdering her. 

The book started off a bit slow but picked up its pace toward the middle of the book. I kind of wish this was two separate books though. I enjoyed reading the historical events but thought some of the modern timeline with Lizzie to be kind of absurd. So I’m sticking with 3 stars.

3.5 stars.  It is a popular story from Tudor history, Robert Dudley and Elizabeth I and there daring love affair and the scandal that followed after his wife's (murder?) death.  This is actually the first time I have read a fictional account of his wife, Amy Robsart, and her marriage to this overly ambitious man. Alternating with the historical chapters, narrated by Amy, are a current day drama featuring a pop star named Lizzie.  Her long time friend, Dudley, is accused of pushing his wife, Amelia, down the stairs of their manor and Lizzie must sort out her feelings for her friend while dealing with some (mostly absurd) paranormal activity.   I enjoyed the historical aspect of this book.  I have read a ton of Tudor inspired fiction and feel as if this is a mostly unexplored aspect of the Elizabethan history.  It is an entertaining book, even if I did wish the modern day portions weren't so silly at times, and it was a nice distraction for a while.  I received a digital ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Book: The Forgotten Sister
Author: Nicola Cornick 
Rating: 2 Out of 5 Stars

I would like to thank the publisher, Graydon House, for providing me with an ARC. 

This one is a rather difficult one for me to rate. On the one hand, I had a great time reading this. On the other, I really didn’t. I think a lot of it had to do with the pacing. I found the first half of the book to be very boring. Nothing really happened until at least the halfway point and it was really annoying to have to wait that long to actually be hooked. If you are going to try to hook your readers, you need to have something to hook your readers and make them want to keep reading. I just didn’t get that here. I felt like the author was trying to hook us with the murders, but it wasn’t enough. 

The murder hook didn’t work for a couple of reasons. The first reason was that it happened so early in the book that we didn’t really have a chance to feel a connection to the characters. This is supposed to be a love triangle. Yes, it is told in two times and two points of views. Yes, I am fully away that it does follow history. However, had I not known the backstory, I don’t think I would had been able to grasp what was actually going on. I think that had the murders happened a little bit later in the story, giving us a time to actually bond and feel something for the characters, then the events would have had a much greater impact. I just felt like it was missing that punch that we needed. 

I think a lot of it comes back to the writing as well. I did feel something, but, again, with all of the gossip and whatnot, it felt like it was missing something. I know some people have said that and I agree. I think it would have met more had we also had the men’s point of view. They are the ones dealing with backlash and suffering. I’m not saying that the women didn’t have it, but their point of view just seemed shallow. Had we gotten the men’s point of view, I think the point would have been driven home a lot more and a lot harder. 

I really did like the characters and getting to see the dual histories. I think that this was done pretty well. I liked that in both the now and then that we got to see the backlash of the actions and see just how the females wanted to be the males and how the males were keeping them away. I liked this and getting to see the women struggle with it was amazing. Again, had we gotten some of the men’s point of view, I think it would have driven the point home even more. 

I really did kind of struggle with rating this one. I went back and forth between a two and three star rating. I did decide to settle on a  two star because there really a lot of things that just didn’t work for me. 
This book comes out on November 10, 2020.

This story has dual time lines. I had a hard time getting into the past story. I thought the present day story much more interesting. I will say that the past story became more interesting more than half way through. Lizzie‘s character grew on me as the book went on. The idea of time travel appeals to me and to know things by touching them is interesting. I enjoyed the book!
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy