Today I am so happy to start the Blog Tour for Sisterly Love by Michelle Vernal. Thank you to Rachel’s Random Resources for organising the blog tour and asking me to take part.
Sisterly Love
Nobody’s Perfect Are They?
Rebecca Loughton’s bumbled her way through her thirty-something years making a few cock-ups along the way. Of course, these wouldn’t be so obvious if it wasn’t for her golden haired, older sister Jennifer.
In a bid to escape Jennifer’s lengthy shadow and to find her happy ever after Rebecca, high-tails it out of her hometown of Christchurch to the other side of the world landing a legal secretary job in the buzzing city of Dublin.
A few drinks later, all she has to show for her new life is an embarrassing one-night stand and a dollop of flirtatious banter with her boss Ciaran, who just happens to have a predatory receptionist in hot pursuit of him.
Amidst plans of preventing such a merger, Rebecca receives news that Jennifer’s picture perfect life has a big, fat crack down the middle of it in the form of a philandering husband. Summoned home to look after her sister’s children and cooking school while she works on her marriage, Rebecca finds the reality of looking after two young children along with the bizarre array of guests booked into the cooking school grim. The only bright spot on her horizon are Ciaran’s e-mails but then she meets David Seagar whom she thinks might just be the ending to her happy ever after but will he prove to be far from perfect too?
My Review
This is the second book that I have read by Michelle Vernal. Sweet Home Summer was an absolutely delightful read and so I was excited to discover what Sisterly Love had in store.
The only thing that Rebecca and Jennifer have in common is that they are sisters! One lives in Dublin with a carefree lifestyle, the other in New Zealand with a husband, two children, and a business. One day, whilst Rebecca is struggling to overcome yet another hangover she gets a phone call. It seems that Jennifer’s life isn’t as wonderful as it seems and she turns to her sister for help. Reluctantly Rebecca prepares for a two-week trip to New Zealand where she will look after her niece and nephew whilst her sister is away trying to fix her troubled marriage.
For me, the story didn’t really get started until Rebecca has a very eventful journey back to New Zealand and this provided some real laugh out loud moments.
The characters of Pamela and Dick, the girl’s parents also had me chuckling they were funny, adorable and totally believable. It was fun to read how the very non-maternal Rebecca coped with her little niece and nephew and how she adapted to her new role as a substitute mother. Hannah and Jack, the children, were so endearing and brought about some heartwarming and amusing moments.
Can Rebecca put her thoughts of Ciaran, her boss in Dublin, to one side when unexpectedly she meets the handsome David on the school run?
Sisterly Love is not just about sibling rivalry but relationships, family, loyalty and proves that not everyone’s idea of perfection is the same.
A warm uplifting story, with humour, romance, and some truly unique characters.
Thank you to the author and Rachel’s Random Resources for supplying a copy of the book which I have reviewed honestly.
Author Bio –
Hello, my name is Michelle Vernal, and by way of introduction, I’m Mum to Josh and Daniel and am married to the super supportive Paul. We live in the garden city of Christchurch, New Zealand with our three-legged, black cat called Blue. BC (before children) Paul and I lived and worked in Ireland, the experiences we had there have flavoured my books.
I’ve always written, but it was only after my first son was born that I decided to attend a creative writing course at Canterbury University. Oh the guilt dropping him at pre-school so I could learn the basics of story writing, but oh the joy of having conversation to contribute other than the price of nappies that week! The first piece I ever penned post course was published by a New Zealand parenting magazine. I went on to write humorous; opinion styled pieces of my take on parenting, but when the necessity for being politically correct got too much, I set myself the challenge of writing a novel. Six books later and a publishing deal with Harper Impulse here I am. These days I write for a North Canterbury lifestyle magazine and my latest book Sweet Home Summer has just been released by Harper Impulse.
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