| Title | : | Forgotten Sisters |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1662513909 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781662513909 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 298 |
| Publication | : | First published March 19, 2024 |
Sisters Anna and Jennie live in a historic bungalow on the Chicago River. They’re tethered to a disquieting past, and with nowhere else to go, nothing can part them from their family home. Not the maddening creaks and disembodied voices that rattle the old walls. Not the inexplicable drownings in the area, or the increasing number of bodies that float by Anna’s window.
To stave off loneliness, Anna has a podcast, spinning ghostly tales of Chicago’s tragic history. But when Anna captures the attention of an ardent male listener, she awakens to the possibilities of a world outside.
As their relationship grows, so do Jennie’s fears. More and more people are going missing in the river. And then two detectives come calling.
They’re looking for a link between the mysteries of the river and what’s housed on the bank. Even Anna and Jennie don’t understand how dreadful it is—and still can be—when the truth about their unsettled lives begins to surface.
Forgotten Sisters Reviews
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Forgotten Sisters is a very different sort of book, kind of a horror novel and a fairy tale and a police procedural and a fever dream all rolled up into one.
Chicago is a city near and dear to my heart and Ravenswood is a great neighborhood, so the setting is fantastic. I'd never heard the stories of the SS Eastland or the Union Stockyards before, so I really enjoyed learning more about the city's dark history through Anna's podcast.
The chapters involving the two police detectives, Kowalski and Rodriguez, were also entertaining and I wish there had been more of them. They aren't really the main focus of the story, so you only glimpse bits and pieces of their investigation … which is too bad, because I would happily read a book that focused entirely on the two of them.
Oh, and Clover and Thistle were the best part of the book, because … dogs! And, in case you were wondering, they do survive.
The rest of the book, which revolves around sisters Anna and Jennie (and later, Anna's boyfriend Peter), is just … weird. None of them talk like normal people – the dialogue is stilted and they all speak as if they're giving some sort of modern day Shakespearean soliloquy, Jennie in particular. The romance between Anna and Peter doesn't seem at all authentic, perhaps because the book skips over most of the beginning of their relationship, but also because you never learn much about Peter other than that Anna's obsessed with him. And, really, other than at the very end, nothing really happens plotwise. The police investigate a bit, Jennie waxes poetic a whole bunch, the house throws temper tantrums when it doesn't get its way, and that's about it.
The ending did surprise me, though. I'd already guessed who the killer was, but I hadn't guessed who the killer was (which I realize makes no sense, but I'm trying to avoid spoilers). The ending actually would have been pretty good if it hadn't been bogged down by all the weirdness that permeates this book, but the twist gets kind of watered down by all of the … *gesticulates wildly* … rest of it.
Overall, this book had its interesting moments but it just wasn't really my thing. If you like your books to read like a Shakespearean fever dream, you'll probably love this one, but it was just kind of “meh” for me. 2.75 stars, rounded up.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for providing me with an advance copy of this book to review. -
This book sounded very intriguing, and I was excited to dig in. However, I found it to be a bit odd, and rather confusing. There was a lot of point of view switching and it was difficult for me to keep track. I also found it hard to connect to the characters, probably because I spent most of the book in a state of confusion. These are books that make me wonder why I don’t give up, then I remember I am stubborn and want to see how things end. I found certain elements of this book to just be bizarre and I am still shaking my head trying to figure them out, but I guess the author is tying in The Little Mermaid? I don’t know, it didn’t work.
While I did find this story compelling, I think that this book had structural issues that I couldn’t reconcile and it took away from my enjoyment.
Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review. -
A modern, haunting, gothic-style, ghost story incorporating a lot of themes specific to Pelayo's work. Longtime fans will dive right into the crime noir investigation into the disappearance of young men, the laser-focused advocacy for victims, and the mysterious/complicated female main characters. And of course one of the main POVs, Anna Arbor, has a Chicago Haunted Histories podcast!
Full review soon!
I'll be doing an in-conversation with Cina in March at a local WA B&N! -
A new Cynthia Pelayo book is a pleasure. The author has a unique voice and can make you love even the most unlikable of characters.
Now, Forgotten Sisters absolutely surprised me. I expected fairy tales and the weird and dark history of Chicago (honestly, Pelayo makes me want to visit Chicago more and more each book), but I wasn’t expecting…Shirely Jackson!
This reads like a dark and supernatural police procedure mixed with We Have Always Lived in the Castle – and a ton of Merricat! I was so here for it.
The writing style moves between a more mystical and fantastical style and a harder, crime filled edge. It depends on which character’s head we’re in and the disparity works well.
Above all, the author brings us a tale that is both mysterious and enormously sad and I simply loved it.
• ARC via Publisher -
STAR review in the January 2024 issue of Library Journal
Three Words That Describe This Book: pervasive unease, strong sense of place, gorgeous prose that enhances the story.
Draft Review: Early in Pelayo’s novel Anna remarks, to the listeners of her podcast about the haunted history of Chicago, that all good ghost stories are based in fact. Anna knows this all too well as she and her sister Jennie live alone in a meticulously maintained, but clearly haunted, historic home on the banks of the Chicago River. The same river that took the lives of their parents in a tragic accident, the same river where the bodies of missing young men have been turning up with alarming frequency, but also the same river that has been her comfort since childhood, alongside her Gradmother’s copy of the Little Mermaid fairy tale. But as Anna struggles to keep the house and its ghosts happy and watch after her sister, who is suffering from troubling spells and wanders the banks of the river each night, detectives also come knocking with questions about the bodies, Jennie, and Anna’s new boyfriend. Overflowing with as much love as anguish, as much hope as death, a compelling mystery told with gorgeous prose that mimics the rhythmic flow of the river itself and sympathetic, complicated characters that feel as if they will materialize off the page, this is a haunted house story unlike any readers have encountered, one that will strike fear, while it also eulogizes the ghosts of a city, no longer to be forgotten.
Verdict: Marked by its pervasive unease and riveting storyline, Pelayo has given readers another can’t miss entry in her Chicago Saga. For fans of ghost stories that mine memory, fairy tales, and/or mystery resulting in immersive, heartbreakingly beautiful stories such as those written by Simone St. James, Jennifer McMahon, and Helen Oyoyemi. -
This was a beautiful lyrical story that swept me up in its magic right from the start, the pacing in this was fantastic you can tell you're reading the work of a poet it was suspenseful whilst also introspective, delicate and haunting the prose is stunning and beautifully written, Cynthia weaves magic with words somehow making the many different elements of this work together seamlessly, police procedural, true crime, thriller, gothic ghost story and dark fairy tale? You got it all here, deftly drawn characters that you root for and will struggle to forget, this was a lush gothic tale about grief, murder and family.
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Two sisters, the waters of Chicago swallowing men and then spitting them out, and a spooky dripping house. One sister so lonely she speaks into a microphone for her Podcast and tell everyone about history and unsolved mysteries. The other sister is a mystery - she keeps disappearing into the night and speaking in riddles every time she's in the room.
There was definitely a spooky feel to this but I struggled to get pulled into it. I found the sisters odd - every time they chatted I wondered who would talk to each other like this. They felt like they both spoke in old-timey poems and odd thoughts. I struggled to pay attention and try to decipher what they were really trying to say. I found the little mermaid and other fairytales charming at first, but as the story went along, I felt frustrated trying to figure out how they tied in.
My favorite parts were the two detectives. I found their POV a nice break into reality and I liked how they felt the most realistic, even if they were a bit much. I wish I'd liked this one more but I don't think I ever connected enough to want to decipher it all. The audio did help with some of the chapter confusion others had, so I highly recommend enjoying it this way. The narrators were wonderful!
A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book. -
4.5 stars
The nitty-gritty: Cynthia Pelayo's latest love letter to historical Chicago is infused with ghosts, fairy tales and an intriguing mystery, perfect for genre fans who love surprises.
Forgotten Sisters was such a unique reading experience, and I’m so glad I’ve finally read a book by Cynthia Pelayo. This is a weird, spooky ghost story with elements of historical fiction, mystery, horror, and even fairy tale lore, and I’m not sure how the author fused all these different genres together, but she did! I had some flashbacks to one of my favorite books last year, The September House, which is also a highly original haunted house story, so if you read and loved that book, I would definitely give Forgotten Sisters a chance.
The story takes place in Chicago and revolves around two sisters named Anna and Jennie Arbor. Anna and Jennie have inherited their Grandmother’s Craftsman bungalow, which sits at the edge of the Chicago River in the Ravenswood neighborhood. The sisters agreed to Grandmother’s odd request to live in the house together and never, ever sell it, but this has led to Anna in particular feeling lonely and stuck, unable to pursue any kind of life for herself. Other than hosting a podcast about Chicago’s haunted history and keeping the house spotless, Anna feels lost and wants nothing more than to fall in love. Jennie, on the other hand, revels in the seclusion and won’t allow strangers inside the house.
But the outside world is starting to intrude. A body has just been pulled from the river near the sisters’ house, the fourth one in recent months. All the drowning victims have been young males, and so the detective on the case suspects they might have a serial killer on their hands. At the same time, Anna receives an intriguing email from a man named Peter, who is a big fan of Anna’s podcast The Chicago Vault, and they immediately hit it off. But Jennie has begun to act strange, and refuses to meet Peter or even consider that her sister deserves to be happy. And when Detective Kowalski knocks on the door, both girls realize their lives are about to change.
Right away the reader knows something is “off” with Anna and Jennie. They appear to be older, spinster-type women, unmarried and jobless. But no, Anna is twenty-three and Jennie is twenty-six, and their past has been marred by tragedy, after their parents drowned in the river during a freak accident. Both are still dealing with the trauma and not doing very well. Anna has occasional hallucinations, mostly involving water and drowning—which isn’t surprising considering where they live. Jennie appears to be mentally disturbed in some way. She dresses in old fashioned clothing and her speech is stilted and formal, and the only time she leaves the house is to go on long, rambling walks along the bank of the river—at night. Oh, and did I mention that their house is haunted? Strange noises permeate the rooms, and ghosts randomly appear on the stairs. There is the constant noise of a faucet dripping, and Anna is determined to locate and fix it, even if she has to tear up the walls to do so.
Then there’s Grandmother’s book of fairy tales, one of Anna’s most beloved possessions. Grandmother read them stories from the book as children, and Anna’s favorite was—and still is—The Little Mermaid. Pelayo weaves the tale into her story beautifully, and it’s almost as if Anna was living her own version of the story, casting herself as Ariel, the girl who wants nothing more than to leave her family home and make her own way in the world. The author includes fascinating history about the origins of The Little Mermaid as well. Forget the Disney version, the Hans Christian Andersen tale is bleak and gruesome and doesn’t end well for poor Ariel.
The mermaid’s tale also fits in with Pelayo’s water theme, which infuses every part of Anna’s and Jennie’s story. From the Chicago River, winding its way through the city, full of mysteries and dead bodies, to the ghostly water drip and overflowing bathtub in their house, to The Little Mermaid story and even mentions of tragic historical shipwrecks like the Titanic and the SS Easton, Forgotten Sisters is steeped in watery imagery.
Interspersed with the sisters’ chapters we meet Detective Kowalski and his partner Rodriguez, who are investigating the latest river drowning and are very interested in Anna and Jennie, since their house is close to the site where one of the recent drowning victims was found. I liked these chapters, which added a different perspective to the story, and even though the author doesn’t spend much time with them, it was enough to get a sense of their personalities.
Anna and Jennie are wonderfully weird characters, and although it was hard to connect with Jennie, who is just plain strange and bit scary, Anna is relatable, even though she’s a bit odd herself. She’s obsessed with the history of Chicago, and the story is full of interesting facts and stories about some of the less savory things in the city’s past. We learn about the Union Stock Yards (meat packing plant), the Hawthorne Works, the first company to make telephones, and the terrible tragedy of the SS Easton, none of which I had ever heard of before.
But here is where the story faltered a bit for me. Pelayo gets caught up in all those interesting facts about Chicago, which resulted in lots of info dumps. The first chapter starts out with vivid descriptions of what a drowned body looks like, which I didn’t mind, except they went on, and on, and on. (Really, I just need to hear about how skin sloughs off a drowning victim once.) Later in the story, Anna and Peter decide to tour the old Union Stock Yards, and Anna tells Peter in detail about how animals were butchered and the body parts were thrown into the river. This went on for almost an entire chapter, and it was just too much. The only time this “info dump” style of relating facts worked for me was at the end, when Anna is narrating one of her podcast episodes. Don’t get me wrong, I loved reading about all the history (and much of it relates to the story, so it felt pertinent), but it would have worked much better in shorter bursts, and perhaps in snippets at the beginning of each chapter, rather than interrupting the flow of the story.
But aside from that, there is so much to love about Forgotten Sisters. There are a couple of epic twists at the end that I wasn’t expecting, and I thought they made the story even better. I had chills when I turned the final page, and I loved the way Pelayo brought all her story threads together in the end. Highly recommended for readers who are looking for something different.
Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy. -
Haven't read yet.
Author was victim of 1 star review bombing (see her IG). I'm just balancing the scales. -
Cynthia does it again! A beautiful gothic, historic ghost story set in Chicago that introduces us to sisters Anna and Jennie who live in a beautiful house on the river. Their life has been full of tragedy and they both deal with it in their own way. I can always count on Cynthia for an incredible history lesson and crime novel all rolled into one. With her beautiful gothic storytelling she pulls you in until she reveals the climax that you never saw coming! All the stars to this incredible work of fiction!!
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This book was a bit off for me. The actual story was good, but there was a lot of historical information interspersed with the story. It was a bit too much for me.
I like the supernatural ghosty aspects mixed in with the thriller storyline.
I'd give it a 3.5 stars. Will round up to 4 on Goodreads.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC -
4.5 rounded up !
So this is the first book I’ve read by Cynthia Pelayo and it will surely not be my last. This book was an
intriguing mystery full of suspense and paranormal aspects. It’s set in Old Chicago which is the perfect gothic setting and makes it epically dynamic.
I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys gothic fiction/ magical realism and are fans of Sarah Penner!
Thank you Thomas & Mercer and Cynthia Pelayo for the eGalley in exchange for my honest review! -
I am reading bangers ONLY this year it feels like. This book was GOOOOD. I want everyone I know to read it so I can talk about it!! It was like a history lesson, a little detective novel, a little (lot) of ghost story aka a perfect combo. 10/10 recommend reading this book.
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Are ghosts and haunted houses real? I do not really know what to believe, but I know what it is I live with, this haunting in my heart.
I don't think I've ever read a book quite like Forgotten Sisters, which is an intriguing blend of haunted house horror, crime noir, urban fairy tale, magical realism, and dark historical fiction. It reads like
Catriona Ward meets
We Have Always Lived in the Castle, but it did leave me feeling a bit perplexed and wishing for a more focused narrative.
At its heart, Forgotten Sisters is about two insular sisters named Anna and Jennie, who are haunted in more ways than one, and what happens when bodies start washing up in the Chicago River that flows behind the historic Craftsman bungalow they've lived in all their lives (and almost never leave).
This is my first experience with Cynthia Pelayo's writing, and it's clear she has a distinctive style. Her prose reads like a fever dream which entranced and confused me in equal measure and kept me off-balance for the entire book. With characters that behave and speak in strange, dated ways, the book has a decidedly gothic tone and reads like something out of time, so it's all the more startling when the modern world intrudes in the narrative, with mentions of murders and detectives and podcasts. I don't know if I've ever read a book that combines supernatural fairy tale elements with a hard-nosed police procedural, but that's exactly what Pelayo does in Forgotten Sisters. Her storytelling is so strange, so bold, so hypnotic.
Forgotten Sisters delves into Chicago's dark history, which was probably my favorite thing about it. This is an intensely atmospheric and descriptive book, and it's clear Pelayo has a lot of love for the city of Chicago. But despite that, Forgotten Sisters wasn't an entirely enjoyable reading experience for me overall. There is a lot going on in the narrative, but at the same time there isn't really much of a plot to speak of. Structurally, the book just meanders along until it reaches an intriguing, but in my opinion not fully supported, conclusion. Anna's romantic relationship feels rushed and lacks nuance and depth, and all of the various genre elements become a bit muddled after a while.
That said, I am definitely interested in reading more of Pelayo's work, because I think her writing is my vibe. -
[3.5 stars] A genre-bending novel of twists, fairy tale, and crime, "Forgotten Sisters" divulges the mystery of the sudden disappearances of men near the Chicago River and the inexplicable bond between two sisters, Anna and Jennie. We follow Anna and Detective Kowalski's perspectives, and through their eyes a rich history of Chicago along with a retelling of The Little Mermaid.
Anna and Jennie's identities revolve around the house they've lived in their entire lives, it's the one thing that bonds them after their parents' accident and demise. Jennie in particular seems obsessed with it and too attached: "The house aches, as if it's got an open wound, and I will do anything to heal it. I will do anything for this house." With Anna drifting away from the house's grip and wanting to go on ventures with her new boyfriend Peter, Jennie feels like she's losing her sister, and therefore also herself. Jennie grows more erratic and in turn, the house seems to match that energy too — do the house and Jennie complement each other like puzzle pieces, or is Jennie simply trying to lead Anna to the "correct" path? Through Anna's podcast and her past with her family, the importance of the Little Mermaid and their parallels become even more conspicuous: "Running water has long been venerated, and the flowing water offers a protective boundary."
This book almost feels like it has a tinge of historical fiction with Chicago's impact and lore on Anna and the entire plot, and it's clear that the author has a deep love and appreciation for it. I do love the intertwining of elements that usually don't mesh together, such as the hardline police procedural aspect with the vaguely supernatural. It's relatively slow-paced, but once the twist and climax arrive there's quite a bit of information to process. With the podcast that's inserted into the narrative, it does sometimes come across as too much unnecessary info-dumping; that's probably the main gripe I have that bogs the pacing down a notch, and maybe a few of Jennie's diatribes could have been edited down as well. The slightly dramatic flair of the prose/dialogue imbues the more gothic feel, all the more tying the historical elements together.
But overall, it's a thoughtful and wonderful novel that kept me guessing constantly and engaged. Would recommend for those who love a good gothic mystery with a twist.
Thank you Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for the arc. All opinions are my own. -
This is my third or fourth book I've read by the author, and I love the way she writes these sort of fever dream, fairy tale-esque stories so much! Her love of Chicago is a common theme throughout her books, and enjoyed the tidbits of info we learn about the city here as much as I did in CHILDREN OF CHICAGO - it gives the city a sort of life of its own, turning it into more of a character than a location in certain ways, which I think is super cool.
The story of the two sisters here, Jennie and Anna, is a very emotional one. It's a little bit of a slow burn, but the ending wraps things up quickly and nicely, tying loose ends and bringing things full circle. We get multiple perspectives, from the sisters to podcast bits to the detectives investigating a string of murders along the river, and I liked that things jumped around a bit - it kept me on my toes, unable to find solid footing (which I think really lent itself well to the dreamlike nature of the story).
Thank you to NetGalley for an early copy of this one!
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This is my first Pelayo book and, I had a blast with this one! The haunted atmosphere and historic aspects of this story kept me hooked! If you enjoy historic supernatural stories with a bit of a fairytale touch definitely check this one out!
Thank you, netgalley for this arc! -
A strange and liminal read, part ghost story, part fairy tale, and part police procedural. This book shimmers in the places in between. An interesting and atmospheric read.
I enjoyed the atmospheric moodiness of this book. But at times I felt myself drifting off and somewhat lost and untethered to what was happening. I would have liked a bit more of the police procedural part of the story, it felt like it was only a small piece of it and it seemed like it could have been more. Overall it was a very unique and ghostly story with good bones. -
I would rate this story 2.4 stars.
I wouldn't say I disliked the story, but it was certainly slow and lacked engagement. I struggled to immerse myself in it; in fact, I never fully did. The characters were vague at best, resembling shadows more than fleshed-out individuals. Although they exhibited distinct personality traits at times, they often seemed more like who they were supposed to be rather than who they were. The story centered around a few characters, yet none seemed capable of driving the narrative. However, the narrative, as told by one character, was intriguing due to the detailed stories used for the internal podcast and the research sequences.
Sisters Anna and Jennie reside in a historic bungalow on the Chicago River, bound to a troubling past. With no other refuge, they remain inseparable from their family home, undeterred by the eerie creaks and disembodied voices that shake the ancient walls, the mysterious drownings nearby, or the growing number of bodies drifting past Anna's window.
To combat loneliness, Anna hosts a podcast, weaving spectral stories of Chicago's sorrowful past. But when Anna engages a devoted male listener, she becomes alert to the prospects of life beyond her confines.
As their connection deepens, Jennie's apprehensions escalate. The river claims more lives, and soon, two detectives arrive.
They seek a connection between the river's enigmas and the secrets held on its banks. Even Anna and Jennie are unaware of the full horror—both past and potential—when the reality of their unsettled existence starts to emerge.
I had guessed part of the mystery's resolution long before any hints were disclosed. Anna's timidity and Jennie's excessive aggression and gloom didn't appeal to me. I understood the intended direction, but it wasn't an enjoyable journey.
The decision to include both a male and a female perspective was the sole aspect that pleased me in this narrative. -
The chill wind of Chicago seeps into every page of Forgotten Sisters; a fairytale-laced gothic ghost story, it's rife with modern elements while still maintaining an air of classicism. Pelayo masterfuly weaves magic through the story, meshing it with elements of a police procedural, and perhaps, most notably, never allows the reader to feel settled. The prose is stunning and the story is deeper than the Chicago River. Pelayo is to Chicago as Lehane is to Boston.
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7/10
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I don’t often play with these genres. See, I adore poetry and genre fiction, and I delight in ghost stories that pull the narrative into a sharp focus of reality versus the unsaid. Pelayo does a brilliant job of telling an uncomplicated story: a huge bulk of the narrative is an attempt to make you care about side characters because it wants you to care about one character. and that’s where I checked out: the end. At no point did I as the reader understand or recognize a motive or story, and that was because all of that was crammed at the ass-end. Should this novel have been about how impossibly weird and unknowable its main character and her sister could be, I’d have definitely enjoyed it more. Instead, the reader is subjected to a flying fantasy grounded in realism in the hope that an audience could… care? About a ghost? About a woman that couldn’t grasp reality after trauma? There were two detectives and neither had a story but we were forced to follow their narratives. There was a love interest that didn’t get any more interesting or integral at any point.
Look, it’s difficult to not enjoy or like a novel that shared so much life and love and appreciation for the human condition of loss and wanting better than losing someone/something. But by the time this third act slammed down, it was obvious this novel was an exorcisism of loss and despondency. Easily should have been a real murder mystery. Difficulty level made it a suspense thriller that kept hinting at supernatural and frightening things without confronting anything. Good luck to the house. Blessings to the fairy garden of no real consequence. I’ll be reading more Pelayo, but not gonna say I enjoyed this one so much as read it. -
This was my first Pelayo read and MAN, did I devour this. You ever find a book that scratches JUST the right itch during a book slump? This was the one for me. This book is for the readers who cling to their fairytales with a death grip, while they listen to Florence + the Machine and fall asleep watching true crime. I’m sure that sounds chaotic, but the ones who get it, GET IT and if they haven’t read this yet, then they need to finish their current listen through of TTPD and pick up a copy. (I listened to the audiobook and it was superb 👌🏻)
Also, I won’t elaborate but this book and Looking Glass Sound complete each other. (That’s another the “ones who get it get it” thing ✨) -
If this book was a cake...
It would look absolutely delicious on the outside. You'd start to salivate over all the possibilities of what it could taste like. It has all the smell and visuals that you know you love.
But once you took a bite you would be disappointed by how bland it was. Too many flavors mixed together until it eventually tasted like nothing.
Things I Did Like:
- The Premise and Setting in Chicago has all the makings of a good ghost story with historical tie-ins.
- The authors hand isn't tipped until they reveal their cards at the end. I'm usually 90% accurate at predicting what is happening when reading books and I was only 50% accurate at my prediction in this one.
Things That Didn't Work:
- Outside of the beginning and the end, nothing really happens in between to make a true story structure.
- The MC's inner monologue takes over after the 1st few chapters and you have to listen to it repeat itself and ramble over and over again. I could skip several pages of this and not miss anything of relevance to the story.
- The two detectives relationship dynamic shifts drastically back and forth from chapter to chapter. There's no consistency to it. Their actions and dialogue are so unrealistic it became frustrating.
- The MC, who 90% of the book is from their perspective, makes zero sense and has zero continuity to their actions/words with others. It was entertaining at first, I thought perhaps we were seeing the world from an insane person's perspective and found the thought intriguing. But it grew more tiresome as the book progressed especially since none of what she thought mattered to what was actually happening.
- The references to The Little Mermaid seemed forced, like the author picked that book at random and then tried to force the plot and narrative to frame it inside.
I hate giving reviews less than 4 stars but I had to here. There wasn't enough to redeem the book for what it actually was, a slog of mostly nonsense with a flimsy plot. -
Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC of this novel. I really wanted to like this book because it is a love letter to Chicago, but there was a lot going on that did not work together. A haunted house, a fairy tale, the Titanic, a serial killer, a police procedural, a romance, even old phones and phonographs. It's like the entire history of Chicago and every water mythology and/or tragedy got stuffed into one book. The scenes with the detectives are more compelling than the scenes in the house, which are honestly just confusing because of all the active water mythologies at work, but the detective work is secondary. The passages containing Chicago history were interesting but many did not really fit in the book. The concept of the book needed to be streamlined, with one or two ideas taking precedence.
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I was fortunate to read this early via a publisher copy and it’s a highly recommended book from me. The banks of the Chicago River overflow with suspenseful horror and elegiac beauty in Forgotten Sisters. Pelayo’s dark fairy tale has the glinting sharpness of a thriller. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 🧜♀️📖🌃
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Wow. What a wild ride. What began as me wanting to dip my toes into NetGalley by choosing the first “read now” book that sounded interesting enough turned into one of my favorite reads of 2023. I really had no idea what I was walking into.
The writing was absolutely phenominal, and I include the dialoge in that, which was definitely reminiscent of Shakespeare as one or two other reviewers mentioned, but I didn’t mind in the slightest. I really felt like the dialogue was unique and perfectly tailored to each character, all of whom were incredibly compelling.
The story itself was full of twists and turns that were wholly unexpected. The entire vibe was eerie, but fantastical at the same time. I thought this novel was especially interesting because it explored themes of loss and grief and the importance of history and rememberance. All this while telling stories of love from sisterly to familial to romantic and even obsessive. The embedded history of Chicago and the focus on the house and the river were especially impactful. The focus on fairy tales and the supernatural also put this book over the top for me.
If I had anything to nitpick at, it would be that some things were a little repetitive and that the story maybe got a little convoluted and harder to understand toward the end. That and the fact that this is still clearly a draft, as there were quite a few typos and punctuation errors that stood out. Nothing about the plot needs changing though. I’m quite happy with my decision to read this novel and I can’t wait for its release so other people can experience it too!
(I will be updating and adding a blog post later once I am able to gather my thoughts and write something a little more coherent) -
I read this book in one sitting. The book is so engaging and compelling. The vibe of the book is atmospheric. The author has added the elements of horror to psychological suspense with history and mystery. I loved the book and would recommend it.
There are two sisters; Anna and Jennie. They have lost their parents in an accident but they have been living in grief since then. They live in the historic bungalow on the Chicago River. The mystery of the bungalow and the river are interlinked with the past. The house has a ghostly history and it is full of strange occurrences. Chicago has a tragic history and people are going missing in the river. Anna had started doing podcast to avoid the feeling of lonesome. But her world turns upside down when she try to move forward and her sister goes missing. She believed in Little mermaid story, Ghostly tales and the gruesome things she has experienced. But when the truth comes out in light, It splatters light upon their unsettling lives and the delusions.
Many Thanks to Publisher, Author and Netgalley -
I mostly enjoyed this gothic novel of possession, but I think one more developmental edit would really help make it stronger. The unreliable narrator is done well, as is the foreshadowing, but other aspects remain weak, including the whole romance aspect, which is very thin and hard to believe. The protagonist--when her own persona is in charge--is also lacking in weight, and while her weirdness in changes of diction and vocabulary is explained at the very end, she needs a bit more heft to come to life. Just a bit more development, please!
