Movies, Shows, & Books: BLOG TOUR: The Sweeney Sisters by Lian Dolan

Welcome to the Official Blog Tour for Lian Dolan's The Sweeney Sisters! Today, on our tour stop, we close this tour with my review on this entertaining and heartfelt novel! Plus, we have a tour-wide giveaway to share, too! So... Be sure to check it out and grab your copy now! Follow the tour, HERE!

Genre:

New Adult

Women's Fiction

Publish Date:

April 28, 2020

Publisher:

William Morrow

(imprint of HarperCollins Publishing)

Synopsis:

An accomplished storyteller returns with her biggest, boldest, most entertaining novel yet—a hilarious, heartfelt story about books, love, sisterhood, and the surprises we discover in our DNA that combines the wit of Jonathan Tropper with the heart of Susan Wiggs.

Maggie, Eliza, and Tricia Sweeney grew up as a happy threesome in the idyllic seaside town of Southport, Connecticut. But their mother’s death from cancer fifteen years ago tarnished their golden-hued memories, and the sisters drifted apart. Their one touchstone is their father, Bill Sweeney, an internationally famous literary lion and college professor universally adored by critics, publishers, and book lovers. When Bill dies unexpectedly one cool June night, his shell-shocked daughters return to their childhood home. They aren’t quite sure what the future holds without their larger-than-life father, but they do know how to throw an Irish wake to honor a man of his stature.

But as guests pay their respects and reminisce, one stranger, emboldened by whiskey, has crashed the party. It turns out that she too is a Sweeney sister.

When Washington, DC based journalist Serena Tucker had her DNA tested on a whim a few weeks earlier, she learned she had a 50% genetic match with a childhood neighbor—Maggie Sweeney of Southport, Connecticut. It seems Serena’s chilly WASP mother, Birdie, had a history with Bill Sweeney—one that has remained totally secret until now.

Once the shock wears off, questions abound. What does this mean for William’s literary legacy? Where is the unfinished memoir he’s stashed away, and what will it reveal? And how will a fourth Sweeney sister—a blond among redheads—fit into their story?

By turns revealing, insightful, and uproarious, The Sweeney Sisters is equal parts cautionary tale and celebration—a festive and heartfelt look at what truly makes a family.

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Praise for The Sweeney Sisters

"This is a big-hearted belly-laugh of a book, told with wit and poignancy. Family secrets, laughter and tears, shocking reveals, and an uplifting ending make this a story to savor--and share." —Susan Wiggs, New York Times bestselling author of The Oysterville Sewing Circle

"Dolan uses her experience in podcasting with her own sisters to craft believable women characters who worry about real problems and use wry humor to push through dark moments . . . . A warmhearted portrait of love embracing true hearts." —Kirkus

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**About the Author**

Photo Content from Lian Dolan

Lian Dolan is a writer and talker. She’s the author of two Los Angeles Times best-selling novels, Helen of Pasadena and Elizabeth the First Wife published by Prospect Park Books. Her next novel, The Sweeney Sisters, will be published in 2020 by William Morrow. She’s a regular humor columnist for Pasadena Magazine and has previously written monthly columns for O, The Oprah Magazine and Working Mother Magazine. She’s also written for TV, radio and websites.

Lian is the producer and host of Satellite Sisters, the award-winning talk show she created with her four real sisters. On Satellite Sisters, she’s interviewed everyone from Nora Ephron to Madeleine Albright to Big Bird. Satellite Sisters began life as a syndicated radio show and is now a top-rated podcast for women. The recent book by the Satellite Sisters, You’re the Best: A Celebration of Friendship, is popular with book clubs.

A popular speaker who combines humor and heart, Lian has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, CBS Sunday Morning and The Today Show and many local TV stations. She’s been a featured speaker at the LA Times Festival of Books, the Santa Barbara Celebrity Authors Lunch, the Literary Guild of Orange County Festival of Women Authors and dozens of other events at libraries, book stores, schools and women’s organizations across the country. In 2020, she’ll be on the faculty of the Erma Bombeck Writers Workshop.

Lian graduated from Pomona College with a degree in Classics. She lives in Pasadena, California with her husband, two sons and a big German shepherd.

Stay connected with Lian Dolan

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*My Thoughts*

Note: This review contains NO spoilers

Being the first book I have read from this author, the synopsis wasn't far off in describing this latest novel by Lian Dolan. The Sweeney Sisters IS an emotional and humorous story of sisterhood and family. Although it starts off with the loss of a family member, The Sweeney Sisters tells of how they deal with the unexpected death of their father, well-known literary writer, William Sweeney.

The story dives into the sisters dealing with their fathers death and the aftermath of it all. From dealing with each other, other family and friends, plus their father's "dirty laundry," the sisters also learn and deal with the secrets that their father kept, but now, they have to face. With every turn of the page, I was taken down "memory lane" as William Sweeney's life was told... Well, in particular, through they "eyes and memories of his daughters. With its steady pace of unraveling William Sweeney's life, the pages also revealed the lives of his daughters as well. The Sweeney sisters each go through these emotional ups and downs in their own ways as well as they can. They have all established their lives after growing up, then this untimely death brings them back together. And, to add to the "stress" of handling their father's final arrangements, secrets he kept comes to light.

I was completely caught up with their plight with dealing with "everything." Each with their own emotions and personalities, they each deal with this information in their own way, including finding out they have another sister. Although set in the childhood town/home, a lot happens with this family that got me all emotional and laughing at the same time. I enjoyed this read of family, especially on how these sisters dealt with all the intensely emotional ups and downs. In the end, family is family.

All in all, The Sweeney Sisters is a poignant and enjoyable read with a beautiful setting and complex and well-developed characters walking readers through a difficult and emotional time of their lives and how they handled it. As being a big sister myself, I could pretty much say that those with siblings, could relate, in one or another, with this story.

My rating: