The Kinsella Sisters by Kate Thompson

Rio and Dervla, sisters who have not spoken in two decades, are thrown back together by a tragedy in the family. As they begin to rebuild their relationship, things are complicated by the arrival of various men in the seaside village they once called home. There's a baby daddy, a millionaire and, oh, actually, another millionaire too. Set against the backdrop of a charming Irish village, the book provides a scrumptious look at family lives and love lives and the confusion that occurs when the two meet. It makes village life appealing and Ireland appear amazing. Even the world of estate agents sounds awesome thanks to the talented voice of the author.

Littered with literary references (Yeats may not rhyme with Keats, but both get mentioned) my only complaint was the slight over reliance on the same, slightly obscure phrases and erudite vocabulary that would have had me running to a dictionary on dozens of occasions had I not had a human dictionary (in the form of my mother) lying next to me on the beach. It was probably not a bad thing that this book taught me some new words, since there's no such thing as useless knowledge after all, but it struck me as slightly strange for chick lit.

Long words aside, this book thrilled me. The writing was amazing, like a comfortable chat with a good friend, and as the story began to develop I was loathe to put it down. The sisters, though different in many ways, were equal heroines in the book, and I warmed to both immediately. The book flits around from character to character, with the story going off to follow different people at different times. It's not immediately clear why a two generational approach is needed (we have some sections focussing on the sisters, and others with their children / friends) but at the end when things come together nicely, you can see why it was done.

Sometimes I dislike it when you find a book ends sooner than expected, and the last few pages are a sample chapter from another title. Here, rather than being annoyed that I'd misjudged how much I had left, I was relieved, because I couldn't bear the story to end, but from the looks of things in those extra pages it will continue in another book to be released next year. This is one of the best books I've read in ages. Highly recommended.

Thanks go to the publishers for sending this title to The Bookbag.

If you like the sound of this, why not also check our out reviews of Anybody Out There? by Marian Keyes or perhaps Tell Me Something by Adele Parks.

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You can read more book reviews or buy The Kinsella Sisters by Kate Thompson at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy The Kinsella Sisters by Kate Thompson at Amazon.com.

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