A review by briarsreviews
Between Sisters by Cathy Kelly
4.0
Between Sisters by Cathy Kelly was a beautiful contemporary drama.
This novel follows a family through their treasures and troubles. Cassie and Coco are sisters whose Mother left them when Coco was only one and Cassie was eight. That memory hurts and shapes them as adults, leading to a lot of the conflict in this novel. Pearl is their grandmother, who took care of the girls with the help of their Father, when their Mother left.
As adults, Cassie is married and is a strong, working woman. She has two beautiful daughters, Beth and Lily, and seems to have it all: a nice house, a loving husband, two beautiful girls, a lovely sister and a helpful grandmother. Alas, that is not true. Cassie enjoys the drink when life gets tough, and life has been very tough lately. Shay, her husband, seems to be more interested in his Mother than Cassie. Even when Cassie brings it up, Shay doesn't seem to realize that he doesn't spend anytime with his wife or kids anymore.
Coco is thirty, flirty and thriving... or so we think. She owns her own vintage clothing store (life goals, much?) and has an awesome bestie named Jo, and is close to Jo's daughter. A few years back, Coco broke up with her fiancee Red when she thought he was cheating on her. Ever since, she's had some dates but hasn't settled won. But, Red has been seen around town... is she over him? And what will she do when tragedy strikes close in her life?
I absolutely LOVED Cassie and Coco. Their story lines kept my hooked to this book like there was no tomorrow. I couldn't help but binge their stories because I needed to know how they turned out. I felt these girls were very relatable (either hurt or thriving in the loss of a parent) and dealt with realistic scenarios in realistic ways. I did find their intertwined stories very sad (and I kind of want to know how a couple of them played out) but in the end I think it had a good message and moral. We can either grow, do nothing, or let the hurt define us.
The ending itself is very beautiful and I'm glad a certain plot line was able to close. There are some open ended questions left with us, but the ending itself felt... good. It felt nice and made my heart sing and soar! It's the happy ending I won't get, so it makes me feel very good inside.
I didn't enjoy every plot line as much, but not because they were bad. Pearl and Pheobe's stories didn't intrigue me as much, but it's because I just didn't relate as much to them. They were still beautifully written and a marvelous addition to the book though! Don't be scared off because I don't relate to an older grandmother! I also really did not like Shay. Man, was he dumb... He loves that his wife is blunt and to the point, but doesn't like it when he's called out on his bullcrap.
If I had a negative for this book, it would be that some chapters moved at a really fast pace while others were slow. Since there was enough fast to out-weight the slow, it didn't bother me as much. I can see some people not enjoying it though.
My biggest positive is that all storylines eventually intertwine. I love books like that! When you start the book, some of the people seem like they don't belong... until they do. Cathy does this seamlessly and makes it super impressive! That's one of the reasons I can rate this book so high. Not only does Cathy have excellent style in her writing, but she can also make it work!
Overall, I am so happy I read this book! It gave me a few too many tears for my own personal liking, but it's still a gem hidden among my shelves.
Four out of five stars!
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
This novel follows a family through their treasures and troubles. Cassie and Coco are sisters whose Mother left them when Coco was only one and Cassie was eight. That memory hurts and shapes them as adults, leading to a lot of the conflict in this novel. Pearl is their grandmother, who took care of the girls with the help of their Father, when their Mother left.
As adults, Cassie is married and is a strong, working woman. She has two beautiful daughters, Beth and Lily, and seems to have it all: a nice house, a loving husband, two beautiful girls, a lovely sister and a helpful grandmother. Alas, that is not true. Cassie enjoys the drink when life gets tough, and life has been very tough lately. Shay, her husband, seems to be more interested in his Mother than Cassie. Even when Cassie brings it up, Shay doesn't seem to realize that he doesn't spend anytime with his wife or kids anymore.
Coco is thirty, flirty and thriving... or so we think. She owns her own vintage clothing store (life goals, much?) and has an awesome bestie named Jo, and is close to Jo's daughter. A few years back, Coco broke up with her fiancee Red when she thought he was cheating on her. Ever since, she's had some dates but hasn't settled won. But, Red has been seen around town... is she over him? And what will she do when tragedy strikes close in her life?
I absolutely LOVED Cassie and Coco. Their story lines kept my hooked to this book like there was no tomorrow. I couldn't help but binge their stories because I needed to know how they turned out. I felt these girls were very relatable (either hurt or thriving in the loss of a parent) and dealt with realistic scenarios in realistic ways. I did find their intertwined stories very sad (and I kind of want to know how a couple of them played out) but in the end I think it had a good message and moral. We can either grow, do nothing, or let the hurt define us.
The ending itself is very beautiful and I'm glad a certain plot line was able to close. There are some open ended questions left with us, but the ending itself felt... good. It felt nice and made my heart sing and soar! It's the happy ending I won't get, so it makes me feel very good inside.
I didn't enjoy every plot line as much, but not because they were bad. Pearl and Pheobe's stories didn't intrigue me as much, but it's because I just didn't relate as much to them. They were still beautifully written and a marvelous addition to the book though! Don't be scared off because I don't relate to an older grandmother! I also really did not like Shay. Man, was he dumb... He loves that his wife is blunt and to the point, but doesn't like it when he's called out on his bullcrap.
If I had a negative for this book, it would be that some chapters moved at a really fast pace while others were slow. Since there was enough fast to out-weight the slow, it didn't bother me as much. I can see some people not enjoying it though.
My biggest positive is that all storylines eventually intertwine. I love books like that! When you start the book, some of the people seem like they don't belong... until they do. Cathy does this seamlessly and makes it super impressive! That's one of the reasons I can rate this book so high. Not only does Cathy have excellent style in her writing, but she can also make it work!
Overall, I am so happy I read this book! It gave me a few too many tears for my own personal liking, but it's still a gem hidden among my shelves.
Four out of five stars!
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.