The Sisters Hemingway by Annie England Noblin is a heartwarming novel of healing.

Following the death of their Great Aunt Beatrice, sisters Hadley Lawrence, Pfeiffer Hemmingway and Martha Hemingway return to their Cold River, MO for her funeral. Aunt Bea raised the girls following the tragic death of their mother and youngest sister. Each of the sisters moved away as soon as they could and at Aunt Bea's insistence, none of them returned to visit. The Hemingway sisters have drifted apart over the years but will their unexpected reunion prove to be a turning point in their strained relationships?

Everyone in Cold River was surprised when Hadley broke up with her high school sweetheart Brody Nichols and then left town. She quickly met and married law school graduate Mark Lawrence who then went into politics. Now the consummate politician's wife, Hadley is keeping a fairly large secret from her sisters.

Pfieffer left Cold River for college and after graduation, she moved to New York City. A fortuitous encounter with a publishing executive led to a lucrative career as an editor. Pfieffer is also holding back information from her siblings, but Hadley has her suspicions about what is going on in her sister's life.

Martha ran away from Cold River to pursue a career in country music. She rose to stardom then married fellow musician and songwriter Travis Tucker. Now divorced and recently sober, Martha is hoping to revive her career.

The sisters are a little on edge around each other as they say their final goodbyes to Aunt Bea. All of them harbor regrets about some of their decisions and as they spend time together, they gradually let go of some resentment toward one another. They pull together to attempt to put their family home to rights and with help from family friend Rufus Crowley and Brody, they are making headway when the men make a shocking discovery. The truth about this inexplicable finding lies deep in their family's past but will they uncover the truth about what happened? And how will the stunning revelation affect the women's plans for the future?

The Sisters Hemingway is an engaging novel with an interesting storyline and a charming cast of characters. Hadley, Pfeiffer and Martha remain deeply affected by the events of their tragic childhood. However, as they spend at the family farm, they finally begin to heal from the wounds of their past. Annie England Noblin brings this touching novel to an uplifting conclusion that is quite satisfying. Although characters from the first installment in the Cold River series make a few guest appearances, this newest release can easily be read as a standalone. ( )

Done. One day, fabulous read, different plot and great characters. I did have a cold and that permitted me to read all day but the book would have kept me busy reading either way. I also loved the setting in the Ozarks. ( )

I jumped at this book because of the title. I know some people don't like Hemingway. But I fell in love with his The Old Man and the Sea when I first read it in school (junior high? high school?). And I have been fascinated by his complicated, ultimately tragic life ever since. So I might have felt a small stab of disappointment that there's nothing really Hemingway about the book other than the nod to Hemingway's multiple wives in the names of the main characters. But I got over the disappointment as I sank into the story of this messy family, the dysfunction amongst the adult sisters, the tragedy that set them on their respective paths, and the secrets, long buried and of newer province both, that were uncovered in the course of Annie England Noblin's newest novel.

Hadley, Pfeiffer, and Martha have all come home to the tiny Missouri Ozark town that they grew up in for the first time in years. They're back for the funeral of their Aunt Bea, the great aunt who stepped into their lives when their mother and youngest sister died in a tornado. Their father having died young of cancer, the sisters' lives were full of tragedy and sorrow. As each grew up in turn, they all moved away from town, never going back to visit, as much their own choice as because Aunt Bea, who hadn't spoken a word since her own girlhood flight from the town, didn't want them to come back. But each of them returns to pay tribute to the woman who stepped up for them and returned to the town she had left so long ago without a second thought. And each of the estranged sisters comes home bearing secrets and baggage she's keeping from her sisters.

Oldest sister Hadley is polished and poised, married to a Senator. She's incredibly worried about appearances, an uptight, unhappy cold fish but she's hiding the fact that her less than happy marriage has been over for a long time. Pfeiffer had gone to New York to be a writer but ended up as a successful senior editor, certain of her taste and opinions until she passed on the biggest, most successful book to come out in years, doing so in spectacular fashion and ending up by getting herself fired, something she's not willing to share with her sisters just yet. And Martha, the youngest, shot to fame as a country singer in Nashville, marrying another huge star who took credit for her songwriting. When her marriage failed, assuming she'd be nothing without her talented husband her label dropped her, and she sank into alcoholism. Now she's just out of rehab and trying to rediscover herself. Each of the sisters is at rock bottom and it will only be by relying on each other and old friends who have always cared about them to find a second chance, especially when Aunt Bea's journal surfaces and a secret far older than the sisters is uncovered in their own front yard.

The novel rotates among the sisters' perspectives so the reader knows each of the womens' secrets long before her sisters do. This style of narration highlights each sister's frustrations, fears, insecurities, and vulnerabilities very clearly and shows the slow building of trust as the sisters learn to rely on each other and to address the truth and tragedy of their shared past. The resolutions for the sisters are appropriate after all of the healing they faced together and although several of the plot lines, including the reveal surrounding the decades old family secret, are fairly predictable, this is still a likable story of family, resilience, and second chances. Fans of women's fiction and sister stories will gulp this down in no time at all. ( )

https://iwriteinbooks.wordpress.com/2019/02/18/the-sisters-hemingway-a-novel-ann...

I have always had a thing for Hemingway so this was an automatic “Yes, please!” when TLC offered a spot on the tour.

I thought I was in for a rather heady, solemn treck through the Ozarks, Lost Generation style. Which I would have been fine with.

However, what I got was so much more.

The story finds the three adult Hemingway sisters, Martha, Pfeiffer, and Hadley, thrown to the four corners of the wind. A Nashvile-based superstar, a successful book editor in New York City, and the sparkling wife of a senator, they have all outgrown their humble beginnings.

But the death of the aunt who raised them brings them back to their rundown little town for what they hope is a very short visit.

These things never go the way they’re planned, of course, and the sisters have barely set foot on Missouri soil than they are wrapped up in town drama, extending their stay indefinitely.

As I mentioned above, I got way more than I thought I would with this story. The characters are all at their own version of rock bottom, hiding their downfalls from the other sisters. Little by little, though, their stories leak out, leading the women to question why they kept the others at arm’s length for so long to begin with. Each of their stories winds together to create this incredible tapestry of love, loss, and resilience that I’m not entirely sure my heart was prepared for.

The book is exquisitely sweet, sometimes a little heartwrenching, but ultimately healing in the best possible way. ( )