4.5 stars. One year after their sister’s unexpected death, the three remaining sisters are still grieving the loss as their lives spiral downward. A moving familial character study that paints a vivid, angsty portrait of each life and interrelationships via lively dialogue, flashbacks, and reflection.

Netgalley and the publisher provided this book for review consideration, but all opinions are my own.

HOLY SHIT.
There was a quiet, beautiful comfort in this book and I mourn not getting to read about these characters anymore. The navigation of trauma is done very well and realistic. This author is true a gem and I will read anything she touches a pen to.

Thanks so much for this beautiful arc NetGalley & Random house pub.

This book is very French. Maybe too French for me. So much navel gazing. I did not like the dialogue and could t find myself connecting with the characters. The way that a character is cured for their chronic condition isn’t really accurate either.

Coco Mellors has done it again!!

What a beautiful ode to sisterhood and its intricacies. I was hooked by the first pages and then I couldn’t put it down.

Blue Sisters was a lot heavier of a read than I expected. I always enjoy books with multiple siblings, especially sisters, but each of these sisters were so flawed it was sad. The four Blue sisters are each living their own lives and trying to recover from a less than ideal childhood. After their sister's death, and while worrying about each other, they let their own lives fall apart.

Positives:
I was engrossed until the end.
I did grow connections to some of the characters. Others were hard to like.
There was heart at the root of this novel.
Coming home theme

Negatives:
The writing was good. This just isn't going to be a book that sticks with me.
The theme of addiction runs heavy throughout and I wasn't expecting it.

This is easily a top book of the year for me. I loved Coco's writing and her perspective/portrayal of humans in Cleo & Frank, but this book was next level for me. I cried constantly, I definitely sobbed the entire last 50 pages of the book. I grieved alongside the Blue Sisters, was slowly healed, and came to a peaceful ending, working through my own grief. The writing was EXCELLENT, and I cannot wait to physically reread and annotate the copy I immediately bought after reading this arc, because I had so so many highlights.

Blue Sisters follows the four Blue Sisters, one of which passed away a year ago. You follow each living sister's perspective, Avery, Bonnie, and Lucky. Avery is the epitome of the eldest child, the mother of the group, the one that helped raise her 3 younger sisters and still cannot let go of that role even as an adult. Bonnie is the typical middle child, independent, craving adventure, sometimes feeling disconnected from the others, living her own life as a pro boxer. Lucky is the youngest, the one who was closest to Nicky, a girl who has spent most of her life modeling and fighting the addictions and trauma that comes with that career. Each of the girls is dealing with the grief of losing their sister in their own ways. Some turn even more to the comfort of addiction to numb their pain. Others withdraw further into themselves, refusing to live the life they did when Nicky was still alive.

This book handles some very raw and dark topics, including grief and addiction. Each of these characters are flawed in their own ways, struggling with their emotions, and turning to different vices to cope. The depiction of suffering from addiction, and how addiction affects the ones who love you most really moved me. I also loved the way that Coco wrote grief, the everlasting bond between siblings but especially siblings, and the way she captured the highs and lows of grief, and how it affects every person differently. I have read very few books that I felt depicted these hard subjects in such an open and honest way. For anyone who has ever loved their siblings, for anyone who has ever lost someone they loved, for those who suffer with addiction or want to understand why the ones they love suffer with addiction, this book is for you.

Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for providing me with this advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review!

Ugh Coco Mellors you got me again! I was a huge fan of this author’s debut novel ,Frankenstein and Cleopatra. It was such an experience for me and it left me wanting more of this author’s work. I could not wait to start Blue Sisters and did not disappoint. It was heartbreaking, heart wrenching, and full of love. As someone with her own sister, I understood the feelings of loving someone and being sick of someone all at the same time. I also could not imagine my life without her. I loved reading how each sister was doing after dealing with the death of their youngest sister. Grief manifest in many different ways and that’s all I could think about reading this novel. In many ways this book resonated with me about addiction, emotional trauma, grief, and so much more. 5⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

There were so many times I was speechless while reading this book. I laughed, and when I cried, I sobbed. I loved the connection I was able to feel with the characters. I felt as though I was on their shoes, being the one to live their life and their pain. This book changed me for the better. I need everyone to read it immediately.

There were four Blue Sisters but after the death of Nicky the remaining sisters are bereft and floundering. We learn Nicky is deceased at the beginning of Blue Sisters, but her death resonates on every page. Blue Sisters is a poignant look at life and loss, death and desire, learning to live again after unfathomable tragedy. The plot does have some cliches-alcoholic father, distant mother, and the remaining sisters battle various addictions-but the heartfelt writing more than makes up for this. Blue Sisters is about navigating life when everything has changed and starting over seems like a Herculean task. Blue Sisters is nearly perfect-you'll laugh, cry, bemoan fate, and mourn the loss of the Blue sister we never knew.

What a beautiful, heartbreaking, and reflective familial saga filled with dynamic characters and an immersive and realistic look at addiction. The writing truly jumped off the page--it was tactile, specific, and riveting. I felt I was living alongside the characters. I was in the boxing ring, crying with sisters on the bathroom floor mid-fight, on a drug-induced bender, etc.

Unfortunately, I could not get over the age difference between Bonnie and Pavel. I actually really liked their dynamic together and found their relationship beautiful. But I wish he would have been closer in age to Bonnie, or that the author wouldn't have mentioned their age difference. I just couldn't see them through anything other than a grooming lens.

I really enjoyed the ending. It seemed like a realistic conclusion to me, considering how deep addiction runs in this family. And as the oldest sister of 3 girls, this story hit me hard, and it will stay with me for a long time.

I am grateful for the free ARC ebook copy that was provided to me by NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group, and Ballatine Books. All opinions are my own.

Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors is a poignant exploration of family dynamics and personal redemption wrapped in a story of profound grief. Mellors masterfully delves into the lives of three estranged sisters who return to their childhood home after a devastating loss, unraveling their own secrets and confronting their pasts with a blend of raw honesty and emotional depth. Each sister’s journey is richly textured, offering a compelling look at how we grapple with loss, addiction, and the search for identity. The novel's sharp, evocative prose and its ability to balance humor with heartache make it an unforgettable read. If you’re drawn to stories about complex family relationships and the transformative power of coming home, Blue Sisters will resonate deeply with you.

A book about four sisters immediately brought to mind Ann Napolitan’s “Hello Beautiful,” but Coco Mellors’ sisters are millennials who are grappling with more contemporary issues. Avery, the eldest is sensible, born wise and world-weary. She completed her education at an accelerated rate, ran away to join a commune in Berkeley, became addicted to heroin, checked into detox, and enrolled in law school. When the novel opens, she is a successful corporate lawyer, living in London with her wife, Chiti, a psychotherapist, but Avery is hiding a secret that could upend her seemingly perfect life. Bonnie, a professional boxer, is the gentlest of the sisters. At the prime of her career, Bonnie quit boxing after a devastating defeat and fled to Venice Beach where she took a job as a bouncer at a renowned dive bar. Lucky, the youngest Blue sister, has been a successful model since she was fourteen, but her hard partying is so extreme that, even in the tolerant standards of the fashion industry, throwing up in a couture gown gets her dropped by her agency.

The sisters are lost. Nicole, the third born Blue sister, unexpectedly died a year ago of a drug overdose after developing central pain sensitization from endometriosis. Nicky, the most feminine of the Blue sisters, would have said that she had an extraordinary life although she worked as a tenth grade English teacher just blocks away from where she grew up The remaining sisters come together at their childhood home after their distant mother, who had tended to her daughters’ basic needs, but seemed overwhelmed by them, abruptly announced her plans to sell the family’s Manhattan apartment.

Mellors has written a novel of family and grief where each character has a distinct voice. Each of the Blue sisters has different wants and desires, but they all share the need to connect with each other, although they act in destructive ways to avoid the discomfort of being alive. The relationship between sisters can be as loving as it is devastating. Mellors’ novel explores this dynamic as her characters reunite, reminisce, grieve and heal. Thank you Ballantine Books and Net Galley for an advanced copy of this moving novel.

Wow! This book really takes you on a journey! Our prologue starts by giving us the POV of each Blue sister. We have Avery -a recovering addict turned lawyer, Bonnie - a former boxer hiding in LA, and Lucky - a model living a huge party-life in Paris. The fourth Blue sister, Nicky, has tragically passed away and now one year after her death Avery, Bonnie, and Lucky are trying to process their grief and navigate their relationship with each other and themselves.

It's so crazy that these are not real people because this read like I was living inside another person. The hurt, pain, and anger each sister feels felt like my own! And the tension between each relationship was so palpable! This was interesting in that there wasn't really a single character that you could deem the "good guy" because they all had flaws and their actions were sometimes frustrating. And yet..... you couldn't help but root for them. You wanted them to overcome their obstacles and better their lives. This is a character study so do go into it knowing you don't get much in terms of plot but the past/present timelines in my opinion keep the story moving forward at a good pace. I also personally enjoyed that it was only 12 chapters because it tricked my brain into thinking it was a short read but the chapters are actually quite long. That is a testament to the writing again that so much emotion was conveyed with such precision! And the story ended in a way that is true to real life - because it was not the most perfect of happily ever after's. Each sister dealt with the consequences of their actions in very real ways. Overall, a great read that I think will really stay with me!

(Please read the trigger warnings for this one!)

I had pretty good feelings about this book from the moment it was announced and I didn’t even know what it was about yet. Having now read this book, I can easily say that it is a masterpiece and will stay with me for years to come.

My favorite thing about Coco Mellors’ writing is that she doesn’t shy away from the ugly; she really digs into the darkness of her characters and brings their flaws to light. The stories she tells and the characters she creates might not be pretty and perfect but they are deeply impactful because of that. It’s real and raw and that’s what makes it so great.

This story is such a beautiful display of grief and sisterhood, each character so distinct yet all suffering from the same heartbreaking loss. It was such a joy seeing these sisters respectively tear themselves and their lives apart and then finally seek each other out, overcome their grief, and decide to live for the one they lost.

Despite not having faced any great loss like the one depicted here, I found my own emotions reflected on the page and related to each of the Blue sisters in some form, which I am confident will be true for most readers. I honestly cannot say a single bad thing about this book, and I look forward to what comes next from Coco Mellors.

Thank you, netgalley and Ballantine Books! All opinions are my own.

The Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors is a heart-wrenching story told from the POV of three sisters grieving the loss of their sister, Nicky. It's been a year since her passing and all three sisters think they are doing good but they are all falling to pieces. But sometimes things need to fall apart so they can come back together stronger.

I gave Blue Sisters 4 Stars.

Reasons I loved Blue Sisters: This book will have you cringing, crying you eyes out, and laughing out loud throughout most of it's chapters. You'll want to shake the Blue sisters and tell them to get it together but then remember they went from a perfect square to a triangle with the loss of their sister. As someone who has two sisters (middle child here!) this book ripped me apart. There's nothing like the love and resentment of sisters. It's incomparable.

Why I took away one star: This book is heavy, not only in content, but the chapters are long. The story telling is very flourished and could have been trimmed. If you read this get ready for a bit of a slow section about 80% in.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone with a sister, anyone who's grieving, and anyone who loves emotional novels that make you uncomfortable in the realest way.

Thank you to Ballantine Books and Netgalley for this ARC copy.

3.75 (rounded to 4)

The three Blue sisters are exceptional—and exceptionally different. Avery, the eldest and a recovering heroin addict turned strait-laced lawyer, lives with her wife in London; Bonnie, a former boxer, works as a bouncer in Los Angeles following a devastating defeat; and Lucky, the youngest, models in Paris while trying to outrun her hard-partying ways. They also had a fourth sister, Nicky, whose unexpected death left Avery, Bonnie, and Lucky reeling. A year later, as they each navigate grief, addiction, and ambition, they find they must return to New York to stop the sale of the apartment they were raised in.

But coming home is never as easy as it seems. As the sisters reckon with the disappointments of their childhood and the loss of the only person who held them together, they realize the greatest secrets they've been keeping might not have been from each other, but from themselves.

This was a story about a lot of trauma, from childhood clear through the messy present. These girls were all so damaged and messed up. They are just trying to survive the loss of their sister and figure out their own lives. These were at most times, very unlikable characters, and I found them very hard to root for. I'm finding it hard to figure out exactly how I do feel about this one. It was definitely a character study on grief, addiction, loss, family trauma and trying to move on from all of it. I just had a hard time connecting with the sisters for a lot of the story. It did have a satisfying ending with a great epilogue to tie it all up. I think it would make a great one for book clubs, so much to unpack here. I see that @readwithjenna picked it for September. I can't wait to hear the discussion!

Thank you to @netgalley, @randomhousepublishinggroup, @ballantine and @cocomellors for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. Out today, 09-03-2024

Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors was one of my most anticipated reads of 2024 and it did not disappoint!
This incredible book on sisterhood was beautiful, thought-provoking and so realistic.
Mellor’s writing pulls you in and makes you feel like you are part of this story and each experience that these sisters are going through.
A stunning story showcasing how three sisters process their grief and handle life in their own ways after losing a sister.
My heart felt heavy in the best way reading every page. I can't wait for the rest of the world to read this.

I didn’t think she could top Cleopatra and Frankenstein. I really didn’t.

I was sadly mistaken. Blue Sisters is pure mastery. As a sister myself, this was one of the most honest takes on sisterhood I’ve ever seen reflected in a novel.

5. Freaking. Stars. Keep going, Coco!

I thought this book was fantastic. I especially loved her writing style and I had already highlighted several sentences by the time I finished the first chapter. I instantly knew this book was going to hit different. You feel for and root for each sister through every battle they face while they’re already trying to handle going through a tremendous loss. They are messy and lost but I couldn’t help but adore each sister.

Honestly, I might be biased because I love a good story about sisters (Practical Magic, Little Women, etc.), they are complicated relationships unlike any other and I absolutely loved how this book expressed sisterhood.

It is heartbreaking and I absolutely cried but I loved every page and couldn’t get enough of it. I will be recommending this to my two older sisters…and also everyone else, let’s be real.

This is my first Coco Mellors novel and I will absolutely be reading her debut ASAP.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publish Group for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Posted on Goodreads on 9/3/24.

I wanted to binge Blue Sisters in a day, but my emotions wouldn’t let me. From the first line of the book I was hooked and teary eyed “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?”.

I read Blue Sisters over the course of 15 days because it hit too close to home withthe emotional complexity’s of feeling like you’re not whole without your sister/s. But I digress because it’s too early for me to get emotional. 🥹

A little synopsis:

This is an ornate character study that
delves into the emotional complexities of grief, addiction, family dynamics, and sisterhood.

We follow the lives of three sisters a year after the passing of their beloved sister Nicky. We have Avery a strait laced lawyer who lives in London with her wife. Bonnie a boxer turned bouncer who lives in Los Angeles and Lucky a supermodel who currently resides in Paris. After a year of partial estrangement Avery, Bonnie, and Lucky find themselves in childhood home in New York. While they clean out Nicky’s belongings, their strained relationships, and secrets come to light.

@cocomellors did not disappoint!! Blue Sisters is stunning!! Truly unforgettable characters 🦋

also thank you NetGalley for a digital arc of this lovely novel!