This book is depressing. That doesn't mean it wasn't worth reading though. The Blue sisters are from oldest: Avery, Bonnie, Lucky and Nicky. They grew up in a small house and had to share a room so they were very close (literally). Their father was an abusive drunk and their mother was not very nurturing although she did keep them away from the dad when he was on one of his binges. The sisters all went their separate ways when they grew up. Avery became a successful lawyer. Bonnie, became a female boxer but after a horrendous loss ended up being a bouncer at a bar.
Lucky started modeling before she finished high school and Nicky became a teacher. They all inherited the addiction gene from their father. One is hooked on drugs, another alcohol and another to both. Bonnie does not partake in any. This is a book about their lives. It is how they cope, how they don't cope. It is about sisters, who love each other but also can't stand each other. It is about their struggles through life. It was sad, but it was also enlightening and at times happy. I do not have any sisters so I only can relate through the good friends that were like sisters. It is worth the read.
Thanks to #netgalley, #ballantinebooks and @cocomellors for an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

thank you netgalley for the e-arc. i'm an only child and quite enjoy stories about sisterhood and the sister relationship i guess because i don't have one. i thought the writing and story were fine but the sister characters seemed to all be done before where they could have each been a defined personality.

This was one of the best books I’ve read in a long time! The writing, the plot, the characters, the character development 😩 AMAZING
I can’t wait to read more by this author !

I was drawn in by the cover and stayed for the story! Sisterhood, family, pain, substance abuse, addiction, grief, and loss are major themes of this thought provoking novel. This family IS dysfunctional. Avery, Bonnie, and Lucky are all trying their best and have SO MUCH going on. I think this is what made this read so addicting. I really enjoyed getting to read from each of the three remaining sister’s POVs. Blue Sisters is a read I will continue to think about. I cannot wait to read more from Coco Mellors.

Coco Mellors has taken off in a BIG way, which is a bit surprising to me considering how complex her characters are. They're often difficult to love and confusing in behavior, but that's what makes them so real.

Blue Sisters picks up where Mellors left off with Cleopatra and Frankenstein, with characters who make lots of questionable decisions but who you root for in the end. Mellors also returns back to the theme of family, what it is, how it shapes us, this time through the lens of three sisters, grieving the death of their fourth.

A beautiful exploration of grief and love, Blue Sisters is a fantastic read for people who love character driven stories and literary fiction.

I heard so many people talking about this book that I had to read it. I liked the premise, but I just wasn't able to fully engage with the story.

Beautiful, emotional, complicated story about the bond between sisters. Tough subjects are tackled through this thoughtful story. Told from the perspectives of each sister. Really a good read!

I am rating this 2.75 as I had difficulty getting into the book. Initially, it started strong, but unfortunately, by the second or third chapter, it was losing me. I think the amount of boxing talk turned me off. However, I found the plot interesting so I kept going and finished the book! There were some bright spots and important themes around sisters, family, faith, death, and addiction. The problems throughout the book are problems any family could have, but how you work through them is what matters most.

It isn't a "feel good" book with quintessential "lovable" characters. There are clear trigger warnings, the content is heavy, and the character's behaviors are frustrating at times but I think that's what any family is at one point or another.

Blue Sisters is a beautiful novel about grief, friendship, family, and loving one another in the face of hard times. Lucky, Bonnie, and Avery are three sisters trying to move on after the tragic death of their sister, Nicky. How each of these sisters copes if completely different, but yet they all three are there for each other. Following three different POVs through the novel made it a little difficult to keep the stories straight, however once you nail down which character is who- it reads very easily. Long chapters are a little of a “turn off” to many readers, but the payoff is worth it.

Thank you Coco Mellors, NetGalley, and Ballantine Books for the ARC of this novel

Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors is a luminous exploration of sisterhood, desire, and the complexities of relationships, set against the backdrop of New York City... Mellors intricately weaves together themes of intimacy, self-discovery, and the quest for emotional fulfillment through her well-drawn, imperfect characters. Mellors, who is known for her keen psychological insights and lyrical prose, delivers a story that is both intimate and expansive, rich with emotional depth.

I was obsessed from start to finish. Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous story.

I was obsessed with Coco Mellors' previous book, CLEOPATRA AND FRANKENSTEIN, so I couldn't wait to get my hands on BLUE SISTERS. Needless to say, it did not disappoint, and I think I loved this one even more. Being able to get in the minds of each of the sisters was so interesting -- what an emotional and unputdownable journey!

Four sisters form part of a dysfunctional family (father a violent alcoholic, mother distant and unloving) with the central event being the one year anniversary of the death of the most well adjusted sister Nicky, despite her constant pain with endometriosis. The three remaining sisters though seemingly accomplished, each cope with life through addictions-Avery to kleptomania, Bonnie to pain and the youngest Lucky to sex drugs and cigarettes.
The sisters meet at their childhood apartment on the anniversary and it is then that they bond, share their resentments and love for each other. Each seemingly turns their life around and it is this section of the book which is poignant and well and particularly well written.
A long but interesting read -I would think particularly so for sisters.

thank you to netgalley and random house ballantine for the digital arc! surely you have now learned to stop approving my requests because i am simply a menace with an overly critical brain and just enough free time to weaponize it!

blue sisters follow (you guessed it) sisters avery, bonnie, and luckie one year after the death of their fourth sister, nicky. as the sisters grapple with their grief in different (and often self-destructive) ways, we learn about how nicky died and what that means for the blue family. the sisters are forced to confront their grief over nicky and their past when the new york apartment where they spent their childhood is put up for sale by their parents. what follows is a story of sisterhood and resiliency and blah blah blah

to tell the truth, this book didn't work for me from the jump. while i enjoyed coco mellors's writing in the past, here it felt so basic and dull. the characters felt so one-note, entirely defined by their professions and roles as sisters with not much else to hold on to. i did not like anyone in this book, and i was never rooting for any of them to do anything other than have ONE productive conversation. these women will do ANYTHING other than confront their father, i mean come ON.

spoilers from here on out!

what really irked me about this book, and has me hopping on a soapbox, is the narrative of addiction. both avery and lucky are addicts. avery was a heroin addict, got clean, became a lawyer (oh my god, i'm sure the character and fitness was a nightmare but go off), and has stayed clean. lucky not so much. the model lifestyle begets drugs and booze and blackouts galore, with absolutely no regard for genetic predisposition to addiction or the well-being of oneself or others, but whatever. but these are not the addicts i take issue with. no, my issue is with nicky.

it is slowly revealed that nicky died of a drug overdose. but no! she was different! she was taking pain pills to deal with the chronic pain she suffered alongside endometriosis! as a person with a uterus, my sympathies to those with this unimaginably tough condition. however, if you become addicted to pain pills as a result, you don't get my sympathies over other addicts. that's not how this works.

this entire novel, i am told that nicky's condition was different, she wasn't like other addicts, whatever. and you don't get to play that game, plain and simple. one person's struggle with addiction is not any more moralistic than another's, and none of these characters (or coco mellors, for that matter) is qualified to make that judgment. you don't get to decide who is worthy of suffering.

so forgive me if i simply didn't buy into what this book was selling!

AND THEN. UGH. i almost forgot to complain about this, too. bonnie, who is nice and normal and that is basically all about her, is a boxer. and she is in love with her boxing coach. who she met was a teen. but he is like 15 years older than her and was married at one point but no longer is. so guess what? THEY END UP TOGETHER. and that is simply disgusting. you don't get to work closely with someone since they were a literal child and then marry them, sorry! and you'll never guess what they name their child...nicky! because of course!

so yes. i hate this book. sorry!!

tldr this was bad! and predictable! and preachy! and stupid! and infuriating! and did i mention it was bad?

I have to admit I was so in the mood to read something like this, about family togetherness, failure and redemption, and "Blue Sisters" did not disappoint me. I loved this beautifully written dysfunctional family saga about four sisters who practically raised themselves in their crowded NYC apartment, because of an alcoholic father and emotionally distant mother.
The family dynamics are so realistic, Coco Mellors writes with so many layers of feeling and emotion of each character dealing with the death of one sister, yet it never got maudlin. Each sister's character was perfectly imperfect. The part I enjoyed most was the dialogue whenever all the sisters were together, fighting or laughing.
My sister is one of my favorite people in the world. We read this book together and enjoyed it so much, we wished there were four of us!

I really love books with family, especailly sisters. I think that this book ended a lot stronger than it began, but overall all of it was rather fine. I would say going in to it, and this is maybe a spoiler, but there is a grooming plotline with a sort of "student/teacher" relationship, and that gave me the ick. I for sure could have done without that. I am definitely interested in picking up other books by this author because the writing is incredible.

Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors
All families have characteristics that manifest repetitively in generations. For the Blue family, that characteristic is addiction. While each of the four sisters this novel revolves around, the addiction is obsession with their chosen field with an unhealthy dose if substances. Until one of them dies and they have to face the self-destruction that they each practice alone and realize how much they need each other.
This novel tells the four different stories of the sisters, twining them together to a finish that was not predictable. The sisters are unique and frustrating, but we cheer them on anyway. It is a love letter to family, home and New York City. Thanks to NetGalley and Random House/Ballantine for the review copy.

A beautiful story about sisterhood, grief, and addiction. The characterization was absolutely perfect, but a few cringey parts kept me from falling in love. 100 percent, this is literary character study at its finest.

A complicated story of sisters and grief, the Blue sisters must discover themselves before helping one another heal in this heartbreaking and tender story. Avery, Bonnie and Lucky are all dealing with grief differently, yet they refuse to admit that they are all feeling the same way. As each story unravels, the characters are equal parts likeable and unlikeable and you find yourself rooting for the family the whole way through.

Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors sold me from the cover art alone! Who were these girls and what made them tic? I was thrilled to dig into the audio version of this one and so glad for the opportunity to review it.

These sisters are entirely different from one another, yet they love each other wholly and completely. They are the yin to each other’s yang. When one of the sister’s dies, the siblings are broken. Rather than leaning into each other, they fall apart and use destructive behaviors as coping mechanisms. Addiction is a huge theme throughout the novel, including addiction to drugs and alcohol, to pain, to stealing and to lying.

Watching these girls come to terms with their childhood trauma, the loss of their sister and finding a way to come back together was messy and raw. This story was crafted in a way that made you feel the sibling’s angst and pain. Their personal growth was described with sensitivity and tenderness.

I own the author’s previous book Cleopatra and Frankenstein and look forward to reading it soon.

“Being one of four sisters always felt like being part of something magic.”
“Their family had always been good at hellos and goodbyes, moments ending even as they began. It was easy to love someone in the beginnings and endings; it was all the time in between that was so hard.
“She was home, the only one she knew, not because she always lived in it, but because it always lived in her.”
"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?"


Blue sisters is a book written for the girls who GET IT. This book is not for everyone, but it was for me. I devoured this in one sitting. Bring your sticky notes, tabs and highlighters because you are going to want to annotate and discuss with friends. Her writing made this book a delight to read and given the subject matter. This is a book about addiction and the default roles people take in their families. It ties in grief, responsibility and longing. By showing a moment in time from three points of view, the reader is given insight into the pain and longing of modern women.