The Sunshine Sisters

Author: Jane Green
Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Women's Fiction
Type: Trade Paperback
Pages: 384
Source: Publisher
Publisher: Berkley Books
First Published: June 6, 2017
First Line: "All those years when Ronni thought she was sick, all those years convinced that every mole was melanoma, every cough was lung cancer, every case of heartburn was an oncoming heart attack, after all those years, when the gods finally stopped taking care of her she wasn't scared."

Book Description from GoodReads: Ronni Sunshine left London for Hollywood to become a beautiful, charismatic star of the silver screen. But at home, she was a narcissistic, disinterested mother who alienated her three daughters. 

As soon as possible, tomboy Nell fled her mother's overbearing presence to work on a farm and find her own way in the world as a single mother. The target of her mother s criticism, Meredith never felt good enough, thin enough, pretty enough. Her life took her to London and into the arms of a man whom she may not even love. And Lizzy, the youngest, more like Ronni than any of them, seemed to have it easy, using her drive and ambition to build a culinary career to rival her mother's fame, while her marriage crumbled around her.

But now the Sunshine Girls are together again, called home by Ronni, who has learned that she has a serious disease and needs her daughters to fulfill her final wishes. And though Nell, Meredith, and Lizzy are all going through crises of their own, their mother s illness draws them together to confront old jealousies and secret fears and they discover that blood might be thicker than water after all. 

My Rating: 3 stars

My Review: Ronni Sunshine spent years as a B-list actress and enjoyed the fame that came along with it. Unfortunately, she'll never be nominated as Mother of the Year by her three daughters. Ronni was narcissistic and often cruel to her daughters which has caused a long estrangement between the four women. Now that Ronni has been diagnosed with a terminal illness, she is adamant to end this estrangement and calls her girls home to patch things up.

While this book addresses serious issues I'd still call it a light, beachy-type of book. It was enjoyable enough to keep my interest and was a quick read but I felt it was too predictable and didn't go deep enough into the issues it raises. I also wasn't a fan of the loose ends in the plot that leave readers hanging (What happened to Nell's first love?, How does the most important person in her life react to her new love?).

The book had a good premise and had the potential for an emotional family drama.  Unfortunately, I found the plot to be contrived and the characters one-dimensional with the self-absorbed, nasty Hollywood mother and her three daughters --- Nell, the people pleasing, serious older sister, Meredith, the insecure middle child and Lizzy, the baby who can get away with anything. People reacted as expected and events unfolded as anticipated - there are no surprises here, folks.

If you're looking for an escapist kind of read then you'll probably enjoy this book because it's light and has a good pace. But if you're looking for a book that surprises you with family secrets and twists, and gives you 'all the feels' with some gritty family turmoil then Sunshine Sisters may not feel substantial enough for you. 

Overall, this is a good light read if you're looking for something in the easy-breezy category that touches on some big issues but is fairly predictable and has a conclusion that is nicely wrapped up. 

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to Berkley Books for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.