The Lemon Sisters: A Novel

How do you keep moving forward when life is determined to hold you back? The Lemon Sisters first and foremost is a tale of two sisters. Mindy and Brooke are pushing the boundaries of their relationship. Mindy is the sister that always has her world together. Brooke is the sister struggling not to drown in her shadow. That's the way it's always been, until one day it wasn't. Shalvis explores the ups and downs of sisterhood with an empathetic ear, an optimistic outlook and some painful moments. Sometimes the people we thought we knew, can turn out to be a strangely beautiful surprise.

Most of the time I don't really care that my sister and I are estranged, but then I'll read a book like The Lemon Sisters and it will sort of, kind of, make me wish she and I had a relationship like these fictional characters. But then I come to my senses and remember the key word- fiction. Although Brooke and Mindy had a bit of a contentious relationship, which let's be honest, pretty much all sisters do, theirs wasn't too far gone that it couldn't be repaired. Even with the distance Brooke put between them, both emotionally and physically, all hope was not lost for them. Nothing was easy, but they were both willing to do what it took to make things right, because deep down you knew they really did love each other and want what was best for the other. And that was true for Brooke and Garrett as well. Theirs was a hard fought love, with so much past pain and hurt, it was hard to imagine them finding their way throught the heartache. But there was so much love between them, so much history, I just couldn't imagine things not working out for them! The Lemon Sisters was an emotional journey, for both sisters. Brooke has put so much distance between herself and her family, it takes her sister Mindy showing up unexpectedly at her doorstep for her to realize that maybe it’s time to put some things to right. And what ensues is a poignant, heartfelt, and quite charming, story. While the main focus is on Brooke and the fallout from her past choices, including making amends with her first love, Garrett, we’re also treated to a side story with Mindy and her family. I really liked that we got to see inside the lives of both sisters. I liked that things weren’t easy, that there were no quick fixes, the work everyone had to put in was real.

Brooke Lemon packed her bags at eighteen and went off to chase her dreams: photographing and producing shows about extreme: sport, landscape, daring to be different. Now working in the ‘office’ and behind the scenes after a helicopter crash that killed one person and nearly killed her, she’s not been back to Wildstone for years, and has essentially cut herself off from family and friends there. Until her older sister Mindy appears on her doorstep with three children in tow, a complete wreck. Now Brooke has a choice: ignore her sister, take the kids to Disney, or bite the bullet and take them home, allowing her sister to follow her in a couple of days. Three kids, a control-freak sister married to a doctor who always seems to be working or away and returning to her childhood home isn’t the hallmark of relaxing, especially when there are people she needs to apologize to, a schedule and activities for the kids to maintain, and well, being responsible for someone else. When you add in the fact that Garrett is living next door, and is the only person who won’t allow Brooke to lie, noticed her little “tics” that tie to her OCD, and the fact that her little niece is also displaying the tics that Brooke hid for so long – the story has so many layers of emotional punches that it’s hard to pick just one. With Mindy’s marriage on auto-pilot and her so determined to be ‘perfect’, her husband always taking up the slack in the practice he shares with his brother who is, to say the least, selfish and unable to accommodate anyone but himself, and Mindy feeling unseen and unappreciated, worried that Liam is unfaithful, and utterly absorbed in micromanaging everyone’s life, it strikes a chord with couples in long term relationships everywhere. Finally with some time to face (sometimes unwillingly) her past, her issues and Garrett and the damage she did to their relationship, Brooke grows in leaps and bounds – unwittingly or purposefully, and we see the power of love, family, acceptance and even the moments when things are on the precipice of falling apart. Shalvis does this by making her characters sympathetic, flawed and wholly engaging – from a barking three year old to three cats with major attitude, several reunions and a ‘dawn breaks over marble head’ moment for both Brooke and Garrett, the story is fun, easy to read and loaded with compassion and the power of acceptance – from everyone. I received an eArc copy of the title from the author for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.