Blue Sisters was one of my most anticipated reads for this year. Imagine my surprise when I got approved for an eARC on NetGalley of it only to win a physical ARC of it from a Goodreads giveaway a few weeks later (like who knew people actually won those) !!!!!!

This book follows 3 sisters after the 1 year anniversary of the loss of their sister, Nicky - a kindhearted school teacher. Lucky is the baby of the family, a model in Paris with demons she does not want to face. Bonnie is a former champion boxer who ran away to Los Angeles from life in the boxing ring after Nicky’s death. Avery is the oldest daughter whose life is perfect on paper, but is crumbling beneath the surface.

It’s a little tricky when books are hyped up this much because there is a very good chance they fall somewhat flat. But I am very happy to say that this was the beautifully written literary fiction book with complicated characters I wanted it to be.

Shortly before I read this book, I read Little Women - obviously, another story about sisterhood. I liked drawing parallels between the two stories (intentional or not, I don’t know) - for example, Nicky reminded me of Beth and Lucky reminded me of Amy.

Because of Little Women, I’ve been thinking a lot about sisterhood lately - I have a little brother and know that our relationship is not comparable to sisters. But I’ve also been thinking about sisters I know in real life and how I see the world differently than they do. This book was a beautiful portrayal of these dynamics I don’t have firsthand experience with.

However, this book was also about more than sisterhood—it was also about grief, family dynamics, addiction, love, and most of all, hope. Even if you don’t have a sister, I am sure you will see yourself in at least one sister (if not all, like me!).

Anyways, all of this to say that I really really enjoyed this book 💙🦋

Blue Sisters is a story of four sisters full of grief, forgiveness, and addiction... with a glimmer of hope. It's very readable despite the dark subject matter.
Now, I have been known to love a character driven, heart-wrenching family tale but I'm left with mixed feelings at the end of this. I can't quite pin down my thoughts because it left me wanting just a bit "more" of something - backstory, maybe?
I still cried.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine for the ARC!

I'll be the first to say, I did not like Coco Mellors' debut novel Cleopatra and Frankenstein and debated if I even wanted to read this. This book is STUNNING. With each perspective you can feel yourself in each sister's life. With each major mistake, you understand and sympathize. The flow of addiction, family trauma, and just life through each sister's eyes is so telling of how we could all follow the same path yet somehow end up somewhere different. My favorite of 2024 so far. Thank you to net galley and the publisher for the ARC!

i didn't like this one bit, i'm so sorry. It was full of clichés and very lesbophobic...?. What happened in the author's head? I don't like writing bad reviews so i'm gonna let that one go. Again, so sorry.

Coco Mellors’ Blue Sisters is a compelling and emotionally rich novel that explores family, loss, and self-discovery. The story follows the three Blue sisters—Avery, Bonnie, and Lucky—who reunite in New York to deal with the sale of their childhood home after the death of their fourth sister, Nicky.
Mellors excels in creating distinct, flawed characters: Avery is a recovering addict and lawyer in London, Bonnie is a former boxer struggling with defeat in Los Angeles, and Lucky is a Parisian model trying to escape her tumultuous past. Their return to their old home brings long-buried secrets and unresolved tensions to the surface, and Mellors handles these revelations with sensitivity and skill. The novel’s strength lies in its balance of humor and emotional depth. Mellors manages to infuse moments of levity into a narrative about grief and healing, making the story both touching and uplifting. While the pacing can occasionally slow during introspective passages, the richly developed characters and heartfelt storytelling more than makeup for it. Blue Sisters is a poignant exploration of familial bonds and personal redemption, blending humor with deep emotional insights. It’s a standout read that earns a solid four-and-a-half stars.

What happens when three sisters must confront their grief over the loss of their beloved fourth sister, the one who brought out the best in each of them? Blue Sisters explores how each sister has been faring (not well!) and delves into how shared history and trauma shapes a family, specifically sisters.

This book was much grittier than I usually enjoy and included lots of destructive behavior from the main characters (drug use, sex, etc.). However, I loved these flawed characters (especially Bonnie!) and felt their sister bond so deeply. Each character felt distinct and well-crafted. New York City also felt like a side character which added to my enjoyment and the audiobook narrator’s accent was another bonus for me.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced digital copy!

This book was just SO slow. I can understand why people are grabbing this book off the shelf, the cover is interesting , and the overall premise is giving 21st century little women but still!

The POV from each of the sisters was unique and I liked the bond that held them all together was some form of addiction. It showed a family that was fractured and touched by real life when I find a lot of books cannot capture the rawness of sisterhood like Blue Sisters truly did & that was this novels saving grace.

The three remaining Blue sisters certainly have many problems following the death of their sister, Nicky. The author did a great job of character development with the sisters having some typical birth order personalities. As the oldest, Avery is an over achiever and keeps her flaws hidden. Bonnie is the quiet, almost invisible middle child who doesn’t voice her desires in spite of her semi-fame as a boxer. And Lucky is the flamboyant acting out and irresponsible youngest. Nicky was seemingly the most stable sister but only on the surface. Although, the book was a little slow at times, I did enjoy the great character development and the way the author was able to portray the many different ways that the characters expressed their grief. It was nice to see how they were able to eventually support each other in spite of their struggles and the poor parenting that they received. The author had a real knack of making the reader feel all the emotions that the sisters were feeling. The ending was good but realistically alluded to the sisters having ongoing issues.

Genre: Literary Fiction
[TW: grief, addiction, mild violence]
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thoughts: Reading the synopsis of this novel, I knew I had to get my hands on it. Described as a family drama with strong themes of grief, healing and the bond of sisterhood - this was guaranteed to be a book I would love. And, despite going into it knowing how much I would love it, I was still surprised by how much I really loved it. Definitely a stand out of the year, and maybe the book that surprises me the most! I'll be raving out this novel for a long time.

"It was easy to love someone in the beginnings and the endings; it was all the time in between that was so hard."

This book spoke to my soul. Written in alternating points of view between three sisters - Avery, Lucky and Bonnie - we follow the innermost emotions as the sisters reckon with their intense grief (and guilt) and how they navigate their own vices as they explore what it means to be three after the loss of their sister Nicky.

This is not only a captivating read with such a beautiful writing style that brings the reader directly into the minds of the characters - there is also some humor, so much love, and healing. A must read of 2024 and I will definitely be going back to read more from this author.

The blue sisters are a mess. They have lost their sister Nicky to a drug overdose and they are all failing to deal with it well: they have not been close to each other and have all been ruining their private relationships and lives. They gather together a year after Nickys death to go through her belongings and face their problems head on, lots of changes happen, thank you netgalley for this arc that has some realistic struggles being faced by this family: four stars.

Blue Sisters was a captivating read that transported me to the sun-drenched Italian countryside. The story of two sisters, bound by a childhood tragedy and a shared love for art, was both heartwarming and heartbreaking. Mellors' prose is lush and evocative, painting vivid pictures with lines like, "The sky was the color of a bruise, a deep, aching blue that mirrored the sadness in her eyes."

I was drawn into the sisters' complex relationship and the secrets they held. The exploration of love, loss, and the enduring bonds of family resonated deeply. However, the pacing felt a bit slow at times, and I found myself wanting a bit more momentum in certain parts of the story.

Overall, Blue Sisters is a beautifully written and emotionally resonant novel that explores the complexities of sisterhood and the enduring power of love.

Gorgeous writing with meticulous attention to detail; characters so real they walk off the page; dialogue so believable you forget there’s a page between you and the characters talking. Coco Mellors, you’ve done it again……. but somehow, even better!!!

Unpopular opinion here but this story didn’t work for me. I didn’t connect with any of the characters and found the story boring and almost dnf’d several times. Something was missing that kept me from connecting with these sisters , their relationship and their experience with grief. It all seemed very surface level to me.

This book was absolutely astonishing. It’s the best thing I’ve read this year. Coco Mellors is a master writer and somehow captures grief, longing, love, sisters, and the complications of family relationships with a surprising reality and insightfulness. It’s a really beautiful book with complicated characters. I’m so sad that it’s over and I will be looking for similar titles from her and other authors for a long time to come.

Thank you to Net Galley and Ballantine for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. We meet the Blue sisters after being estranged for a year when their beloved sister Nicky died unexpectedly from an overdose. Eldest Avery, who has had a heroin addition in the past, is a lawyer living in London with her wife. Bonnie is the second sister who lives in New York and was a champion boxer until she lost just after Nicky's death and gave it up. And the youngest Lucky who never stays still has been modelling since she was 15. She's just be fired from her agency for being unreliable and showing up hungover to jobs and avoids almost any discussion of her future and the decisions she makes when questioned. They are all brought back to together when their distant mother announces that Nicky's apartment is being sold and they should come and collect any items they want before it all goes. Each has a different response and the story reflects on their lives before and after Nicky and how their loss and grief has affected them Nicky seemed to be the glue that kept them all together and they're all struggling to move forward hiding their pain and coming to truths about their own individual lives. This was an interesting read especially if you gravitate towards stories of families and relationships.

Blue Sisters tells the story of 3 sisters a year after a great tragedy in their family. We meet each sister and learn how they are doing now after the tragedy, and how their relationships with each other and their parents has impacted them. Their parents are selling their family apartment which has brought up alot of feelings and conflicts. I enjoyed getting to know each sister, unique in their own way with their own trauma. I wish there was more time with all of them together, but that doesn't really happen until the end of the book. Overall this was a sweet touching women's story of grief, moving on and family.

This story was a beautiful ode to sisterhood, and to all the things that change as we grow, as well as all that stay the same. Mellors walks us gracefully through the grief and addictions of the Blue sisters and reveals the indelible hope that holds families together. I will be thinking about this book for a long time.

OMG this book wow was exactly what I needed at this time. Following 3 sisters each with their own POV, the Blue sisters have been through a lot through a dark childhood and a dark adulthood but what stays strong is their unwavering love of each other even when they don't agree on each other life decisions. I love a novel about the complex relationships of siblings and this really explored the sister relationship. One of the few books where I understand the hype. 4.75*

As someone who is a sibling to a brother, this book has me yearning for the intimate and complex relationships of sisterhood. Coco Mellors describes the grittiness of family and how different people handle the grief of losing a sibling. The writing was so immersive, making the book feel like I was a fly on the wall in some of these tense, emotional scenes. I leave the book feeling both satisfied and sad with having to be separated from these characters. I want more Coco Mellors!

Blue Sisters
By:Coco Mellors
5 stars

“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?”

This was an emotional read as we navigate the lives of three sisters after their fourth sister tragically passes away. I found myself connecting to so many moments in this book, highlighting again and again as I read this eARC. Some lines simply a beautiful description of life, sisterhood, and love. The remaining sisters, Avery, Bonnie, and Lucky morn their sister Nicky and we jump into the lives one year after the death. Every sister is a mess in their own ways. Whether its by drowning their sorrows in drugs and alcohol, running away from their life’s purpose, or uprooting their perfect life as a form of self sabotage, each chapter follows one sister as they wade through their grief.

The common thread among the sisters is their reliance on addictive behaviors as a mechanism to cope with their dysfunctional family. Growing up in a 2 bedroom apartment in New York, the family of 6 dealt with their mothers unhappiness with motherhood, forcing Avery, the oldest daughter, to become a second more reliable mother, while their father spiraled deeper into alcoholism. Their sister who passes, Nicky, died in their family home and as their parents moved upstate, the apartment has sat empty for the last year. On the one year anniversary of her death, their parents inform the girls that they’re going to sell the family home which causes them to all come together and confront their mistakes and grief head on.

I was so wrapped up into this story and could not put it down. Each chapter had me itchy to learn what was going to happen next. It was gorgeously written, had impeccable attention to detail, characters that felt so raw and real, and anyone with siblings will definitely understand the bonds these sisters share.