Dear Fellow Reader,

Happy Holiday season! Time to put together that list of books that you want to read over the holidays. What? You don’t think you have time? Sure, you do. Get those gift bags stuffed and hide out in a corner with a book.

This week, I have a fresh off-the-press book for you. I was given this book in exchange for an honest review. (Are you sick of that disclaimer? I’m sick of giving it.)

The Sisters Sweet is the story of Harriet Szasz. Harriet was born to parents who are in love with the theater. Her mother was a rising star until she had an accident. Her father was full of design ideas for staging. Both came from non-show-business backgrounds but fell in love with the bright lights. Since their prospects were limited, they decided to push their twin daughters into the limelight. But just being twins that could sing wasn’t enough. They hatched a plan to make their daughters (via a harness) conjoined twins. To make this lie work, the girls had to wear the harness most of the time. This became apparently harder and harder for Josie, Harriet’s twin. Harriet’s natural inclination to be the “good girl” takes over as she tries to help her family.

So, here’s the thing about this book. I would have told you that I didn’t care about the characters. I put this book down and read other books. (Remember my mystery book binge a month or two ago?) Usually, that is pretty much the kiss of death for a book. I forget everything about it and never go back. But I did go back to this book and most importantly, I remembered what was going on. I take that as a positive for the book. Did the plot get bogged down’ occasionally? Yes, but not for long. It moved along. Here’s the thing, while I accept the ending, I am not sure I thought it was totally in character for Harriet. It is unexpected but good. You want to cheer for Harriet. For the first time, she decides to do what she needs rather than trying to save her family. Three cheers for her!

So, once again, I would not put this on the top of my TBR pile, but it is worth the read. Oh, and this is another book that goes back and forth in time. (This seems to be quite a trend. At least in the books I have read this year.)  It is not my favorite thing. So often it is not done well. This author did a good job. I was not confused – it was apparent which character was going back in time.

Thanks for reading!