ARA Review by Lucy Appadoo of The Reel Sisters

[Lucy Appadoo]

[Following is an OnlineBookClub.org ARA Review of the book, The Reel Sisters.]

---

4 out of 5 stars

---

Share This Review

---

The Reel Sisters is a story of friendship, love, hardship, resilience, grief, and growth. It is a story about a group of friends who share their love of fly fishing by joining together at a cabin belonging to their oldest friend, Rose. They also help each other out with their diverse challenges.

The story begins with the group of friends meeting up at the cabin and fly fishing at the river. Each part of the story shows a different point of view character so we get to understand their quirks, personalities, and lifestyles. Each friend: Rose, Sophie, Amanda, Veronica, and a new addition to the group; Melody, all join together for fly fishing and banter.

The story shows a photographer by the name of Melody who ends up near the cabin, taking photos of herself in the nude. She slips and falls into the river until Veronica helps her out of the water. The friends soon befriend Melody and she forms part of their friendship circle.

Throughout the course of the story, it shows each of their lives outside of fly fishing and the cabin, and each of them working through their own issues. Sophie struggles to trust in relationships; Veronica struggles with a challenging journey; Amanda works through her anxiety about her husband fighting in Afghanistan and wanting him home; Rose works diligently to cope with a traumatic past; and Melody challenges herself to break out of her social isolation.

As each problem is resolved in the story, the women come together to share in a comforting ritual to work through a significant loss. What I enjoyed about this story was the well-written prose, authentic descriptions, diverse characters, and interesting plotline. I gave it four out of five stars rather than five stars as I felt the beginning of the story started off a bit slow with the developing conflict, and could have toned down on the fly fishing descriptions. The story was beautifully written but could have had the story move forward a little quicker in the first few parts, but generally, the book was an inspiring and entertaining read.

***
View The Reel Sisters on Bookshelves