SERENDIPITOUS FRIDAYS: BOOK BEGINNINGS & THE FRIDAY 56 — TWO SISTERS

On By Laurel-Rain SnowIn Book Beginnings, The Friday 56

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Welcome to some bookish fun today as we share Book Beginnings, hosted by Rose City Reader; and as we showcase The Friday 56 with Freda’s Voice.

To join in, just grab a book and share the opening lines…along with any thoughts you wish to give us; then turn to page 56 and excerpt anything on the page.

Then give us the title of the book, so others can add it to their lists!

If you have been wanting to participate, but haven’t yet tried, now is the time!

What better way to spend a Friday?

Today’s featured book is an ARC I’ve received from Amazon Vine.  Two Sisters, by Mary Hogan, is a story about one family, two sisters, and a lifetime of secrets….

 

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Beginning:  Muriel unfolded the old bath towel and flung it open with a snap of her wrists.  Gently, it floated over her duvet like a jellyfish, the frayed ends dangling in a tentacled kind of way.

***

56:  While Owen searched for the ideal place to stop, kill the engine, then douse Madalyn’s dreams of their future together, Le Chez came into view.  People were laughing inside, bathed in the flattering light of disposable income.

***

Amazon Blurb:  Mary Hogan’s powerful and poignant debut novel about two sisters—opposites in every way—plus their mother and the secrets and lies that define them all.

One family, two sisters, a lifetime of secrets . . .

The third child in a family that wanted only two, Muriel Sullivant has always been an outsider. Short, dark-haired and round, she worships her beautiful blonde sister, Pia, and envies the close bond she shares with their mother, Lidia. Growing up in their shadow, Muriel believes that if she keeps all their secrets—and she knows plenty, outsiders always do—they will love her, too.

But that was a long time ago. Now an adult, Muriel has accepted the disappointments in her life. With her fourth-floor walk-up apartment and entry-level New York City job, she never will measure up to Pia and her wealthy husband, their daughter, and their suburban Connecticut dream home. Muriel would like nothing better than to avoid her judgmental family altogether. One thing she does quite well.

Until the day Pia shows up to visit and share devastating news that Muriel knows she cannot tell—a secret that will force her to come to terms with the past and help her see her life and her family in unexpected new ways.

***

I love books about family…especially the kind with secrets.  What are you sharing today?

21 thoughts on “SERENDIPITOUS FRIDAYS: BOOK BEGINNINGS & THE FRIDAY 56 — TWO SISTERS”

  1. Hi Laurel-Rain,

    I love family sagas, particularly when there is a feud or a falling out involved, so this book sounds right up my street!

    The writing is so descriptive as well, and it would seem that Mary Hogan has made the transition between writing for the YA market, to writing for the more discerning adult, look very easy and seamless.

    This is a definite for my reading list, so thanks for sharing and have a good weekend.

    Yvonne

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  7. rosecityreader

    That’s an evocative beginning — I like it! But why was she putting an old bath towel on her bed? Hmmmmm . . .

    This is the first week in a while I’ve had time to leave comments and not just fly by. Thanks for participating in Book Beginnings on Friday!

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