Book Reviews
Deliciously romantic and often heartbreaking, this is a book you'll want to climb inside of and stay as long as possible.
People
In her 17th novel, bestseller Hannah portrays the delicate and enduring bonds of sisterhood. The story of the Grey sisters is set in a small Washington town and follows Winona, Aurora and Vivi Ann from the time of their mother's death, when they are young teens in 1979, on through adulthood, cataloguing their trials and the men who typically come bearing them, beginning with Luke, Winona's high school best friend and secret crush. But when he falls in love with Vivi Ann, who later cheats on him with farmhand Dallas, it leads a jealous Winona to betray her sister. Vivi Ann and Dallas get married, have a baby and run the Grey family farm, but Dallas is eventually arrested for murder, and lawyer Winona refuses to take his case, seemingly killing her relationship with Vivi Ann. Dallas is convicted and things look bleak for Vivi Ann and her son, but Winona's late-breaking friendship with her nephew paves the way for the happy ending. Though Hannah boldly embraces over-the-top drama, she really knows what women—her characters and her audience—want.
Publishers Weekly
As Hannah explores the deep, emotional connection between sisters, she creates a beautiful and captivating story of love and rivalry, family and community, that readers will happily devour.
Booklist
Teenage sisters Winona, Aurora, and Vivi Ann are shattered when their mother dies, but what comes close to destroying their relationship is the reaction of their father, a hard man who dotes on his youngest daughter, Vivi Ann, disparages Winona, the eldest, and ignores Aurora, who tries hard to keep peace in the family. Flash-forward 13 years, and Winona is still desperate for her father's approval and increasingly jealous of Vivi Ann. When Luke Connelly, the man Winona has always loved, begins dating an oblivious Vivi Ann, events are set in motion that will hurt everyone involved and come close to destroying one sister's life. It is difficult to care for the self-righteous Winona, the novel's central character, but Hannah, a former romance writer (Once in Every Life) and prolific novelist (Firefly Lane), does a lovely job of handling the relationship between Vivi Ann and her husband. An engrossing, fast-paced story that will appeal to readers of Barbara Delinsky and fans of women's fiction.
Library Journal