Ronni Sunshine is a narcissistic self-absorbed actress who has managed to estrange her entire family. Her husband has divorced her, married and moved on. Her daughters have little contact with her and even less with each other.

Growing up, her girls had learned to read her moods and each had a different way of dealing with the need to run for cover and each left home as soon as they possibly could. Nell the oldest, lives closest, but only in terms of distance. She makes a new family for herself and her son and has been running a local farm since high school. Meredith, always not quite good enough in her mother’s eyes, has settled for a life in which she spends her time trying to convince everyone else that she is happy. The youngest, Lizzy, who is most like her mother, has become a successful celebrity chef. She selfishly balances her work life with her family life leaving both her husband and young son coming up on the short end of things quite often. When Ronni calls her girls home, they expect her usual drama and vitriol. What they find is that this time their mother actually is quite ill.

I found the story an enjoyable read. I admit that I was expecting a different kind of story based on the cover, which near as I can tell has very little to do with the story, except for showing the distance between the sisters. The characters are compelling and well fleshed out. After reading about the girls' childhood, even I had a bit of PTSD. Though in the end, I came to respect Ronni Sunshine, I was angry with her for most of the book for pushing her daughters into the unhappy lives they ended up in. While the ending was bittersweet, and when dealing with a terminal illness it can be no other way, I did find it to be a satisfying one. I can add Jane Green to my list of go-to authors.

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Much better than the silly beach read I was anticipating, still a quick, easy read, but entertaining. ( )

The Sunshine Sisters by Jane Green is an emotional family drama about a movie star and her dysfunctional relationship with her three daughters.

Ronni Sunshine never quite reached the pinnacle of stardom she hoped for and her quest for success and self-centered behavior took a huge toll on her marriage and daughters. Her three daughters dealt with her volatile behavior in very different ways. Oldest daughter Nell is indifferent to her mother’s rage-filled diatribes and she shuts down when faced with conflict. Middle child Meredith is a people pleaser with extremely low self-worth due to her mother’s cutting remarks about her appearance and weight. Youngest daughter Lizzy is spoiled, selfish and acts without considering how her choices affect others. The three girls left home as soon as possible and over the years they have grown estranged from their mother and each other. Living completely separate lives with little interaction with one another, Nell, Meredith and Lizzy come together at Ronni’s request but is it too late to repair their fractured relationships?

Nell found solace working on a farm not too far from her family’s home and after becoming a single mom at a young age, she devoted her life to her son. Content to raise her son on her own while running the farm, she never really thinks too much about her lack of companionship. After her son goes off to college then grad school, Nell is finally ready to begin dating but has the time for romance passed her by?

Meredith calls England home and despite the distance between her and Ronni, she still lacks confidence and turns to food for comfort. Now an accountant, she is engaged to a handsome, successful man that no one in her family cares for. Meredith is not exactly thrilled with how he controls nearly every aspect of her life, but her insecurities make it impossible for her stand up for herself. The trip back home is fraught with tension but Meredith is enjoying the freedom to express herself without her overbearing fiancé by her side. When faced with the prospect of returning to her regular life, will Meredith be able to go back to a life that no longer feels right?

Lizzy has a wildly successful career as a chef but her selfish and thoughtless choices might destroy her marriage. She is impulsive but well-liked and respected by the people who work for her. Never having dealt with the consequences of her actions, is it too late for Lizzy to repair the mistakes she has made?

The Sunshine Sisters by Jane Green is an engrossing novel of forgiveness, healing and redemption. Ronni’s decision to bring her daughters to her side is not exactly selfless, but the reunion does provide Nell, Meredith and Lizzy the opportunity to reconnect and move past some of their emotional wounds. The storyline is bit predictable, but the growth of the characters is quite satisfying. An overall entertaining read with emotional depth that fans of the genre will enjoy. ( )

Review:

This book started out a bit slow for me. We meet a young Ronni in the beginning of the book. Ronni is the mother of Nell, Meredith, and Lizzy,, the Sunshine Sisters. I have to admit that I did not like young Ronni, an aspiring self centered actress or old Ronni, a lonely woman. Ronni was a horrible mother and as a result her daughters have a lot of issues. This book deals with a lot of heavy family issues which the author did a superb job of weaving into this story. I had a hard time, at first, connecting to the sisters but as the book went on and I got to know each of them the connections grew stronger. Ronni is very ill and wants her daughters home with her one last time. There are lots of emotions running high in this books and the three siblings do not get along. They each have their own issues and problems to deal with as well. These are complex women due to Ronni's parenting, or lack of. It was so hard for me to like Ronni and I really did not like her until the very end of the book as she speaks to each daughter separately. It is only then during Mother and Daughters' private moments together that we really get to know who Ronni really is, that is when I finally decided that I liked her.

Conclusion:

This book started out slow and I felt very disconnected to the characters a third of the way through the book. All of a sudden it opened up for me. I began to get to know and understand Nell, Meredith, and Lizzy. Each sister is interesting and a bit quirky with their own unique story. Ronni's true self is revealed to me eventually. All said this book worked well for me.This review was originally posted on Cindy's Book Binge ( )

Ronni was a decently famous actress when she had a family, three daughters named Nell, Meredith and Lizzy. Ronni definitely put her ambitions first and was a rather thoughtless and unkind mother.

Her children grew up and distanced themselves from her and each other.

One day Ronni asks her daughters to all come home, she knows she is very sick and won't live long. She wants to attempt to make amends with her daughters but even more importantly she wants them to make up with each other. She wants to know that when she's gone, they will have each other.

Quick, easy read.

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