Valerie Fraser Luesse
320 pages
Revell, 2023
Two Sisters. One Single Event. A Family Changed Forever.
At the turn of the twentieth century, sisters Emmy and Callie Bullock are living a privileged life as the only daughters of a wealthy Alabama cotton farmer when their well-ordered household gets turned upside down by the arrival of Lily McGee. Arrestingly beautiful, Lily quickly–and innocently–draws the wrong kind of attention. Meanwhile, Callie meets a man who offers her the freedom to abandon social constraints and discover her truest self.
After Lily has a baby, Callie witnesses something she was never meant to see–or did she? Her memory is a haze, just an image in her mind of Emmy standing on a darkened riverbank and cradling Lily’s missing baby girl. Only when the sisters are separated does the truth slowly come to light through their letters–including a revelation that will shape the rest of Callie’s life.
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Thanks to Revell Reads for sending me a copy to review. All thoughts and opinions are my own and a positive review was not required.
Wow! This book has a solid shot at a place in my top ten of 2023 list at the end of the year. At its core, it is the story of a family. The Bullocks love and support each other so well in a way that feels tender but not saccharine. They are generous in the way they treat everyone in their community, and they are quick to bring people into their fold.
The main character in Letters from My Sister is Callie, the second Bullock sister. I loved her relationship with her sister Emmy and the way it showed that you can be close to someone even if you’re very different from each other. Even though the family faces loss and hard times, they show a strength of character and care for each other that is really touching. I might have teared up once or twice in the second half of this story.
One thing that I enjoyed is that Letters from My Sister turned out to be more than I expected. There are so many elements from the mystery to the family dynamics to the romance that Callie finds with the Bullocks’ new neighbor that make this a complex and fascinating story. It took me three days to finish it and it only took that long because real life kept me from reading as quickly as I wanted. I give this book five stars and a hearty recommendation for readers of historical Southern fiction.
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