A bittersweet inheritance reunites three estranged sisters in a novel of family, trust, and forgiveness from New York Times bestselling author Carolyn Brown.When they were growing up, Dana, Harper, and Tawny thought of themselves as “sometimes sisters.” They connected only during the summer month they’d all spend at their grandmother’s rustic lakeside resort in north Texas. But secrets started … Texas. But secrets started building, and ten years have passed since they’ve all been together—in fact, they’ve rarely spoken, and it broke their grandmother’s heart.
Now she’s gone, leaving Annie’s Place to her granddaughters—twelve cabins, a small house, a café, a convenience store, and a lot of family memories. It’s where Dana, Harper, and Tawny once shared so many good times. They’ve returned, sharing only hidden regrets, a guarded mistrust, and haunting guilt. But now, in this healing summer place, the secrets that once drove them apart could bring them back together—especially when they discover that their grandmother may have been hiding something, too…
To overcome the past and find future happiness, these “sometimes sisters” have one more chance to realize they are always family.
An Amazon Charts bestseller.
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I love how real to life the characters are. Brown is exceptional at capturing the cultural nuances of ordinary folk of Texas and Oklahoma.
Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team
Mary Jo –
This book was as emotional as you can get. You share the tears of grief as Zed watches his beloved Annie breathe her last. You see the resilience that Zed has to make sure that Annie’s last wishes are carried out and to bring her girls home.
Dana, Harper, and Tawny each have a lot of baggage that they have carried by themselves for years. Having been betrayed by the people who were supposed to have loved them unconditionally, they are wary of trusting anyone, including their “sometimes sisters.”
Annie somehow knew that her granddaughters needed a home to come to and she not only provided that home, but also the family that they had been missing for a long time.
Ruthie –
This is a beautiful book, which has many layers, and is deeply emotional – i.e., expect to need tissues. Even though the reason is clearly signposted, it makes it no easier to bear and big ugly tears were inevitable – for me at least!
It was a really clever way of giving us many stories in one and especially that of Annie and Zed. There were lovely little hints, such as the lack of a perfume smell in the room Dana takes over. Such attention to detail without being too flowery is a feature of Ms Brown’s writing, and it is highly effective.
There was also a wonderful message of how easy it is to assume that everyone’s reaction will be negative, given the feedback we get from those who are supposed to love unconditionally. That level of judgment which caused sadness 50 years ago, still persists in other forms right now. The setting, the behaviours of the sisters and their parents, all combined to give a truly meaningful and special story for us to enjoy. Thank you, Ms. Brown, for sharing it with us.
Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of The Sometimes Sisters by Carolyn Brown to read and review.
A full story of family love, heart break and forgiveness that brings tears and laughter and many other emotions.
So many families are broken apart by circumstances beyond the kids controls yet the kids feel the brunt of it. With the Sometimes Sisters the family has Granny Annie keeping them together until their lives spiral out of control and they stay away to deal with their own lives.
The Sometimes Sisters is a story of three sisters who have grown up and are now hiding out from life at Granny Annie’s. They fight, they point fingers but most importantly they protect each other and stand up for each other. Each of the sisters is working through their issues and must have the support of the other sisters to find their way out the other side of life.
Zed, Granny Annie’s forever friend, is the angel in this story. He is carrying on Granny Annie’s legacy after she passes by taking care of her granddaughters. He deals with the drama, the tears, and the love of these grown girls. Many men, especially those not related by blood, would have ran away as far as they could get from all their problems but he stood strong, supported, loved, and gave them the gentle pushes in the directions needed to heal themselves.
I loved reading about these Sometimes Sisters becoming Forever Sisters. Carolyn Brown in a must read author. I definitely recommend picking up your own copy and enjoying meeting these wonderful characters.
This was a nice re-read of a heat warming tale. I didn’t recognize the book at first as one I read, but a couple chapters in, it became familiar.
I thought the sisters over reacted to things, but that’s my opinion. Sensible sisters wouldn’t make for dramatic tension.
This is a 2018 Montlake book, which means it’s an enjoyable, clean, uplifting read.
Would reccomend.
The Clancy sisters used to spend their Summer vacations at their grandmothers cabins at the lake. When the middle daughter, Harper, turned sixteen, the summer visits stopped and only an occasional visit could be remembered. When the dreaded phone call was placed to the three sisters, shock and grief set in. Grandmother Annie Clancy passed away and Uncle Zed, grandmother and grandfather’s best friend from childhood, needs the girls to come to the lake more than ever. Little did they know that Annie had everything arranged long before her passing, to put her girls back on the right track. Through all the grief and tears, the sisters begin to show their trust and open up. As the truth starts coming out, the girls begin to heal and find love again. But will they be in for more grief so soon after they begin to heal? Will all of Annie’s planning work out or will it go up in flames? Author Carolyn Brown can make her novels come to life and give her readers a feeling of happiness and peace!
A laid-back resort by the lake welcomes back three half-sisters when their grandmother dies. Grandma Annie’s last wish is to see these three Sometimes Sisters work past whatever made them all go their separate ways as teens and become a family again. With the help of the resort, old Uncle Zed, memories of Annie, chances at new and old love, the Clancy sisters return to the lake.
I enjoyed this touching story that focuses on the lives of three estranged sisters who have all hit rock bottom and need a do over on life and a new chance at being family. The death of their grandmother and the summons from beyond the grave for them to all return to the lake resort where they used to spend their summers is the catalyst that is needed. Dana, Harper, and Tawny, along with Dana’s precocious teenage daughter must now run the resort together per Annie’s wishes.
It starts out really rocky with these three and I was ready to hose the lot of them down. They each come burdened down with secrets and baggage and poor Zed has his hands full fulfilling his deceased love’s last wishes and his own before he is gone, too. I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it through the acrimonious snipping the sisters did, but the author found a good balance there and started having them begin to heal and change just at the right moment. It was gradual and just the right pace to be believable for the type of past hurts and pains these three were suffering.
The author’s usual wry country humor, engaging characters, and charming nostalgic setting was all there, but it was pared with touching family issues of these three women and young woman who have all had the bitter pain of disappointing parents to deal with and Annie, the grandmother, being the one who held them all together for a while and the one they could count on. Now, they are slowly learning to count on themselves and each other even as their healing brings the chance for old romance and new romance opportunities.
The romances were sweet, but I was definitely more attracted to the sisterly relationships and the coming back together as family. Old, darling Zed was my favorite character. I enjoyed those bittersweet moments where he ‘talked’ and ‘listened’ to Annie while he tried to corral those younger women and know just how to handle them all particularly in the beginning when they were so hostile.
All in all, this was a gently-paced story that tugged at my heart, made me chuckle a little, and tear up once or twice. It had lighter qualities, but it was a little bittersweet, too. This will match up for those who enjoy stories of family healing and a side of sweet romance.
I rec’d this book from Net Galley to read in exchange of an honest review.
Good read!
Carolyn Brown doesn’t disappoint.
I wanted to like this book due to the tons of positive reviews it had, but for the life of me I had the hardest time getting through it. It is extremely rare for me not to immediately whip through an entire book within a day or two. For this book, I kept getting bored and disinterested and it took me several months before I finally forced myself to finish it. Bland and not something I will ever read again.
Fun, light hearted read.
Get to know the characters (family and long time fixtures) as they pull together to run a business left to 3 sisters when their grandmother died. Pleasurable reading; you will enjoy the challenges and mysteries revealed within this story.
I’ll admit it took me a little while to get into this story. So many new characters and back stories that I was a little lost. It soon all fell into place and I was sobbing by the end. Three sisters came together after their Grannie died, running the resort and learning to love each other. After a death, secrets are learned, bittersweet tales are told from a letter. Life was different for their Gran, actually racial hatred is still around. ‘Love knows no colour’, beautiful line, great story.
This is the story of three sisters who grew apart as they got older. The oldest is a half sister and has always felt like the outsider. During the summer months, they all came to their grandmother’s lakeside resort as children. Now, their grandmother has passed away and in her will, she has asked the three sisters to come back and help at the lake house. Over the years, secrets have built up between the sisters that drove them apart, but now that they are back together, they hope that they can share and become close once again.
I actually can’t really write any more else about this book becuase it was terrible. IT wasn’t well written, and the story lines were beyond cheesy. I barely could finish it – not even sure why I did.
Steer clear of this one.
Love it! Looking forward to reading her next book!
THE SOMETIMES SISTERS by Carolyn Brown is a wonderfully written emotional story of three “misfit” sisters. The sisters are so different and yet so much alike. Each carrying their own emotional baggage, secrets and dislike for each other, when they arrive back at Granny Annie’s lakeside resort in north Texas after her passing for the reading of her will. The will states that to get their inheritance, they must learn to work together and keep the resort up and running.
Dana, the oldest sister, found the unfortunate death of her beloved Granny to be a lifesaver after losing her current long time job after being wrongly accused of stealing and cheating with the boss’ husband. Dana and her daughter, Brooke, have the relationship she wished she had had with her own mother. They’ve always been honest with each other, but she’s been hiding that she was never married to Brooke’s father and how abusive he was.
Harper. At 16, was forced to go to a home for unwed mothers when she found herself pregnant. She never told her boyfriend, Wyatt, that she was pregnant. After giving up her daughter, Emma Joanna, up for adoption she never went back home. She was out on her own at a young age with nothing but ache and emptiness in her heart. She often tried to fill the void with alcohol or men she picked up along the way going from job to job.
Tawny was the youngest and thought of as the one to have it all. Little did they know that she had been disowned by her mother for being arrested for drugs when her boyfriend Matt’s drugs were found in her purse and thrown out of college. She’s been on her own with no funds to fall back on learning to survive on her own. Times have been tough, but she’s learned to fight back.
After the reading to the will, they each know what their new jobs at the resort will be. They adapt to them, start to remember their fond memories of their times at the lake with Granny Annie and Uncle Zed, and learn to call it home. Each has to rid themselves of the demons they have been carrying around and learn to lean on each other for understanding and support before they can find happiness with themselves and with others.
They are encouraged and loved by Uncle Zed as he teaches them how to keep the place up and running. He had promised Granny Annie that he would get them back to the resort after her passing, find out what their heartaches were and help them get their lives in order while encouraging them to be happy running the place after his passing. Each of the girls adore Uncle Zed taking their problems to him first and learning some of life’s lessons from him.
In this story there is also the heartwarming story of true friendships, undying love, eradicating prejudicial boundaries, of lessons learned and promises kept. It will have your heart full of happiness and sorrow and reaching for the tissues more than once. You will learn to love not only the three sisters, Brooke, and Zedekiah aka Uncle Zed, but also the new men in the girl’s lives – Patton, Nick, Johnny and Wyatt, the one that shows up from the past.
There are old sayings throughout the book that had me laughing and thinking. Loved the name Aunt Annie called her store – Beer, Bait and Bologna. Several of the saying I’ve heard in my life growing up, but two that I really liked were:
If you get up each morning and eat a frog, then the rest of the day has to be better.
Some of us get to be delicate little pansies and some of us have to be big sunflowers.
Highly recommend this book to anyone that loves a well-written book that makes you think and feel. I know I LOVED it and I’ve already passed on my copy to another and recommended it to several. Can’t say enough positive about it – JUST READ IT!
The sisters coming to know each other and learn to trust each other was very heartwarming
Enjoyed these characters and hope for a sequel. Sounds like a delightful spot to vacation.
Excellent, excellent story! Very moving!
In The Sometimes Sisters, Carolyn Brown tells a story of estranged sisters rebuilding their lives and building a relationship with one another, going from sometimes sisters to always sisters.
Carolyn Brown fills the pages with wonderful characters with whom I fell in love. Tears were brought to my eyes by some of the emotionally touching scenes. It was a very heartwarming story. There is romance in the story but as a part of the story not the whole as the main focus is on the sisters truly becoming family.
It does not contain graphic sex, violence or anything more than a couple of mild curse words.
I highly recommend to anyone who just wants to get lost in a good story.
A beautiful novel about sisters and what makes a family. This book had me crying at the beginning and the end. It details a beautiful love story that defies time and boundaries. Not my usual read, but after some darker reads, this was perfect. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.