The Gin Sisters’ Promise by Faith Hogan

EXCERPT: It occurred to Georgie that their father’s death was almost like a final loosening of whatever ribbons still joined the sisters together. She experienced the thought as a weight being removed from her shoulders, and then felt immediately guilty. How had things got so bad? Georgie’s eyes shot across to Iris when she spoke of Nola and she could feel it, writ large between them. Nola hated both of them and even if Georgie and Iris managed to rub along together until this ordeal was over, Nola was quite a different matter.

Georgie shifted uncomfortably in her seat. When Georgie thought of Nola she had to admit that her feelings for her younger sister were complex. There was always a hint of jealousy. Everything seemed to come so easily to Nola. She gathered up friends as effectively as Georgie pushed the chance of any away. She sighed deeply, elbowed her way further down in the passenger seat and pretended to sleep for the rest of the journey home.

ABOUT ‘THE GIN SISTERS’ PROMISE’: When Georgie, Iris and Nola’s mother died and their father disappeared into his grief, the sisters made a pact: they would always be there for one another, no matter what.

Now, decades later, they haven’t spoken for years and can barely stand to be in the same room. As his health declines, their father comes up with a plan to bring them back to one another. In his will, he states that before they can claim their inheritance, they must spend six months living together in their childhood home in the village of Ballycove, Ireland, and try to repair their broken relationships.

As the months progress, old resentments boil over, new secrets threaten to come out and each sister must decide what matters more: their pride, or their family. Can they overcome their past and find a way to love each other once more?

MY THOUGHTS: What’s not to love about a book that made me laugh (a lot), cry (a little), and exhale a huge sigh of regret that my visit with the GIN (Georgie, Iris, Nola) sisters was over. But I also had, and still have, a huge smile on my face.

I do love a good story about family inheritances, and The Gin Sisters’ Promise definitely also ticks that box. Add into the mix that it’s largely set in a small Irish Village, and Faith Hogan’s ability to write realistic characters we can all relate to, and I’m in book heaven!

Who’s never fallen out with their siblings? There always seems to be at least one of my three brothers not talking to me over some slight or another, real or imagined. But these three, they take sibling alienation to a whole new level. Georgie is a hard-hearted bitch; Iris is a doormat; and Nola a traitor. There’s things gone on that all of them are determined not to forget, and definitely not to forgive. But when their lives are in tatters, and they find themselves all living under the same roof, the fun begins . . .

Faith Hogan has written an utterly charming, absorbing and uplifting family drama about the importance of family, forgiveness and second chances.

⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

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T: @GerHogan @HoZ_Books

#contemporaryfiction #familydrama #irishfiction #sliceoflife #smalltownfiction #womensfiction

THE AUTHOR: Faith Hogan is an Irish award-winning and bestselling author. She was born in Ireland. She gained an Honours Degree in English Literature and Psychology from Dublin City University and a Postgraduate Degree from University College, Galway.

She lives in the west of Ireland with her husband, four children and a very busy Labrador named Penny. She’s a writer, reader, enthusiastic dog walker and reluctant jogger – except of course when it is raining!

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Head of Zeus, Aria, for providing a digital ARC of The Gin Sisters’ Promise by Faith Hogan for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

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