I've gone a little bit crazy thinking a little bit too much: SISTER DEAR.

Sister Dear by Hannah Mary McKinnon

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Eleanor Hardwicke grew up in the shadow of her perfect older sister, Amy, and dealing with a resentful mother. But she always had her father, who loved her no matter what. Now Eleanor's dad is in hospice care, dying of pancreatic cancer. As Eleanor cares for her father, she learns a heart-wrenching secret: her father isn't her biological father. She is the result of her mother's affair with a wealthy man. With her only loving family member dead, Eleanor's life is shattered and she seeks out her biological father--and her half sister, Victoria, who appears to have the perfect childhood Eleanor longed for. Victoria has everything: loving parents, wealth, and love. And Eleanor is going to get her share now.


"Every last detail leading up to one fateful night. The night someone died because of me. The night I lost you, too."


This was my first Hannah Mary McKinnon book--I was very excited to give her books a try. This was a slow and steady read with a dark and twisted plot. Eleanor is not the most likable of characters, though her mother is an absolutely terrible person and, with the death of her father (at least the person Eleanor thought was her father), you can't help but have sympathy for the poor girl. Alas, Eleanor makes a lot of stupid decisions in this book, making it hard to retain said sympathy. Couple this with a handful coincidences that seem to be thrown in to keep the plot moving and eh. I wound up mostly liking this book, but not really loving it.

I also guessed a lot of what was going to happen--though I'll give McKinnon credit that I was still wondering along the way. She had me wavering in my decisions several times. The book does a good job delving into family dynamics and the complicated ways a family forms us. And while the ending is explosive, so to speak, I had most of it figured out and honestly, I found it depressing. I'm going to give this one 3 stars, but it just barely ekes them out.

I received a copy of this book from Harlequin/Mira and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review; it is available as of 5/26/2020.

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