The Lost Sister: An unforgettable and heartbreaking historical timeslip novel

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Thank you to NetGalley, HQ Digital, and HQ for the opportunity to read and review this book before it's publication date! This in no way affected my review, opinions are my own. me, deep in an elaborate fantasy sequence in which Jude forces me onto a throne for her own selfish gain and is an ambitious bitch to me and treats me terribly but also we have a lot of sexual tension: uhhhhh well I just really like the plot twists Let’s start with a love story. Or maybe it’s another horror story. It seems like the difference is mostly in where the ending comes.

This was such an interesting book to read, not only because I have a keen interest in RMS Titanic but it is also a dual-timeline book which I always enjoy. I would like to thank #KathleenMcGurl and #RachelsRandomResources and #HQStories for an ARC of #TheLostSister in exchange for an honest review. Let’s start with a love story. Or maybe it’s another horror story. It seems like the difference is mostly in where the ending comes.” The Olympic is a sister ship to the Titanic, the Britannic is also a sister ship to the Titanic. At one point, all three sisters go to sea, Emma is the sister who goes on board each of the ships, with her two sisters. Each ship has its own adventure.

I have this fear when reading the middle book of a trilogy that it won't be as exciting as the first book (all that setup!) and the last book (the ultimate climax is here!). And this does start off a little bit slow. Not much really happens in the first two-thirds, though it was still an interesting read. Could this be the dreaded middle-book slump?

the "politics" everyone loves in this one? girl. what politics. okay, technically, i guess it's politics, but i don't claim her, because a) i didn't understand it, so no i don't love it, i don't even know what's going on. i don't know what day it is or who just died. get your "politics" out of here. and b) it doesn't feel like politics, it feels like children playing dress up. children that don't know what they're doing and DEFINITELY SHOULDN'T BE DOING IT?? it's just a bunch of teenagers that need to be on a bunch of mood stabilizers. Avril Lavigne’s song I Fell in Love with the Devil is the perfect companion to this short story written in the form of a mental letter from Taryn to Jude, listening to it while reading was a delight ( you can find that and other series-related songs in my playlist at the end of the review).Once upon a time, there was a human girl stolen away by faeries, and because of that, she swore to destroy them.” Jude's actions and attitudes get excused on the basis that she's been through a lot of trauma and abuse in her life. But--here's the thing--so has Taryn. Taryn had to watch her parents be murdered in front of her too. Taryn was kidnapped too. Taryn too has spent years being bullied and abused by vicious, racist faeries. Taryn too has longed to fit in her whole life. And, to top it all off, Taryn is constantly being told how she'll never measure up to her oh-so-butch twin sister. He is ridiculously beautiful as ever, mouth soft, lips slightly parted. Lashes so long that when his eyes are closed they rest against his cheek.”

Another common feature was difficult sibling relationships and mother/daughter relationships. Emma, Ruby and Lily in the early 20th century were very different kinds of people. Emma was the hardworking responsible, eldest daughter and the narrator for most of that part of the story. Ruby was the middle daughter, harder to like, a bit of a handful and a bit flighty. The youngest daughter Lily was so sweet and having been ill for much of her young life, was well looked perhaps a bit babied, by her mother. In the present day, Harriet has drifted apart from her brother, though not because of any great falling out. She also has an estranged daughter and grandchildren she never sees. Her daughter Sally who stayed nearby always looked out for her mother, although was a bit over-bearing at times, However, with another issue having a huge impact on her life, I could see why she was so protective of her family. The author portrayed all these relationships very realistically and they felt like an accurate portrayal of the sometimes strained relationships within families Two sisters, raised in a land of beautiful nightmares. Both terrified. Both hungering for a place to belong, to be important. Both selfish, lying snakes. And my not-dear Taryn, that will not change however much you chant to all who would Runaway" by Bon Jovi - Eleven gets off a bus in Chicago, to look for her other girl from Hawkins Lab. But alas he is still who he is and any sort of personal feelings he may have fall second to his boundless ambition. Though, I also love all the characters. I love Madoc and the strange relationship between him, Taryn, and Jude - he is their father figure, and yet he also murdered their parents. I love Vivi because she just knows "Revenge is sweet but ice cream is sweeter." I love the Bomb, and all the villains.I’ve wanted this and feared it, and now that it’s happening, I don’t know how I will ever want anything else.