Letters From My Sister ~ Reader Friday

Patricia Bradley Reader Friday 45 Comments

Letters From My Sister; Psalm 34:8

Letters From My Sister by Valerie Fraser Luesse is this week’s Reader Friday. Here’s the first line: Callie Bullock traced an imaginary circle on the windowpane, framing a cluster of women in their picnic dresses–swirls of fine cotton in shades of spring.

But first the photo and verse. The monarchs are back!!! I love it each summer when the monarchs arrive on my lantana. There was an odd brown one that wouldn’t be still long enough for me to get its photo, though. And I thought Psalm 34:8 was a perfect verse for these feeding butterflies. This is the verse I quote to myself when an upcoming event gets overwhelming.

Now for Letters From My Sister by Valerie Fraser Luesse (pronounce Loosey). Here’s the cover and back copy:

Two Sisters. One Single Event. A Family Changed Forever.
Letters from my Sister; Valerie Fraser Luesse
At the turn of the twentieth century, sisters Emmy and Callie Bullock are living a privileged life as the only daughters of a wealthy Alabama cotton farmer when their well-ordered household gets turned upside down by the arrival of Lily McGee. Arrestingly beautiful, Lily quickly–and innocently–draws the wrong kind of attention. Meanwhile, Callie meets a man who offers her the freedom to abandon social constraints and discover her truest self.

After Lily has a baby, Callie witnesses something she was never meant to see–or did she? Her memory is a haze, just an image in her mind of Emmy standing on a darkened riverbank and cradling Lily’s missing baby girl. Only when the sisters are separated does the truth slowly come to light through their letters–including a revelation that will shape the rest of Callie’s life.

Bestselling author Valerie Fraser Luesse weaves a complex and suspenseful tale dripping with intrigue, romance, and Southern charm.

My take:

I read this months ago in view of an endorsement and here’s what I said: “Letters From My Sister drew me in on the first page with the delightful Callie Bullock, and Luesse’s lyrical style and wonderful characters kept me glued to the story. Meals, shopping–everything waited until the last page and The End.”

This is a book I couldn’t put down. I’m not kidding. I didn’t do anything until I finished the book. Thank goodness I’m a fast reader.

This is a story about family, the love of two sisters, as well as the times around the beginning of the 1900s. There’s humor, love and a bit of a mystery. Valerie Luesse has a way of drawing the reader in and keeping them flipping pages. It’s a story you’ll remember long after you close the book.

Leave a comment telling me what you’re reading this week…or let me know if you’ve read any of Valerie Fraser Luesse’s books. I think I’ve read them all! I’ll enter you in a drawing for a book from my library!

Letters From My Sister by Valerie Fraser Luesse is this week's Reader Friday. Leave a comment on th blog and I'll enter you in a drawing for a book from my library! Share on X

 


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Comments 45

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  1. Delores Topliff

    Gorgeous photo and I think I’ve read and loved all of her books including this, excellent and memorable. Right now I’m reading The Thief by Minnesota author, Stephanie Landsem–you’ll also enjoy hers if you haven’t discovered already.

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  2. Toni Stevens

    That is a gorgeous photo set. I love pics of Gods creatures. I haven’t read this author but agree that your write up has me wanting to. I’m in between so when that happens I go to old favorites. In this case Agatha Christie’s The Hollow. I just finished Charles Martins trilogy The Water Keeper, The Letter Keeper and The Record. High octane story around human trafficking and the power of love to overcome.

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  3. Heather Ward

    Wow! That sounds like a book that needs to be added to my TBR pile! I have just finished reading Dark Intercept by Andrews and Wilson; I’m not sure what I will start this weekend.

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  4. Tim Johnson

    Pat, those butterflies could just as easily been enjoying my lantana. I love to see them hanging around, too.

    I have not yet read anything from Ms Luesse.

    “Mr. Tompkins” by George Gamow begins with “It was a bank holiday, and Mr Tompkins, the little clerk of a big city bank, slept late and had a leisurely breakfast.” George Gamow was a physicist and writer of popular science books. He wrote the Mr Tompkins series in the 1940s through the 1960s. In this book which anthologies the series, Mr Tompkins is an ordinary person, but his father-in-law is a professor of physics. Mr Tompkins feels obligated to listen to the public lectures his father-in-law presents to introduce new discoveries to the average person. He usually falls asleep, and has some very interesting dreams in which he is placed into a universe where the speed of light is 20 miles an hour, or he is reduced to the size of an electron, etc. As such, he experiences a world that we don’t notice, and the rules seem to be very counterintuitive. The book is not for everybody. But, Gamow has a way of explaining that is fun, and if you’re daring, you might learn some interesting things about the world you live in, but never see. The more I learn of the intricacies of God’s creation, the more I am utterly amazed at the depth of His design and creative work.

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  5. Barbara Diggs

    What a delightful photo of the lantana and monarchs. How long will your bushes bloom?

    Valerie Fraser Luesse is a new-to-me author and your review intrigued me! Adding her to my list right away!

    I’ve been reading The Global Search and Rescue Series by one of your favorite people, Susan May Warren! “In the daylight, Jake Silver wasn’t the devil,” is the first line of book two in The Heart of a Hero. It’s going to be another page-flipping day of reading as I am about to experience a hurricane in The Florida Keys as Susan writes about this adventure!

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      Patricia Bradley

      Hi Barbara! My lantana will bloom until frost. They come back every year and just keep getting bigger and bigger. Valerie is a great writer, one I think you’d really enjoy. They aren’t romantic suspense, but you definitely won’t be able to put them down! SMW is also a great writer!

  6. Kim Brookman

    Believe it or not, I am reading your latest book, “Counter Attack!” Love your books! I also have checked out Nancy Mehl’s, “Cold Pursuit” and Robert Whitlow’s, “Double Indemnity.” I have placed on hold, “Letters from my Sister.

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  7. Caryl Kane

    Lovely photo, Pat!
    Thank you for sharing your thoughts on Letters From My Sister, Sounds like a must read for me.

    Enjoy your weekend.

  8. Edward Arrington

    Your montage of butterflies reminds me of the plant our son gave his mom on Mother’s Day. Almost any time I stepped on the front porch, the bees are busily pollinating the flowers. One morning I looked out the window as we were eating breakfast and saw a monarch butterfly flitting around the flowers. Such a pretty scene. I love that verse.

    I am reading Debby Lee’s Beneath a Peaceful Moon. It’s part of the Heroines of World II series. First line: Private Mary Wishram clenched the dreaded telegram in her hand and dropped into a chair in her small duplex apartment. Wounded.

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  9. Alicia Haney

    Good morning, Valerie Fraser Luesse is a new to me author, I love the sound of her book and the cover looks very intriguing ! Thank you for introducing her to me. I will for sure add her book to my TBR , Thank you for sharing about it. I love the photo with all the butterflies and the verse suits it just right, Thank you. I am reading Cold Case Revenge by Jessica Patch. Have a great weekend.

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  10. Gloria A

    I have not read books by Ms. Luesse but this sounds like a great one. I love to read a book that I cannot put down. I remember seeing Monarch butterflies more when I was growing up but don’t see them much anymore. Lovely! I am reading The Christmas Quilt by Lenora Worth. The first line is: Her sister was getting married today.

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  11. Megan

    I haven’t read anything by Ms. Luesse but I’ve heard wonderful things about her newest book. I’m hoping to read a copy of it eventually.

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  12. L. Murphy

    Your photo and verse for today are just breathtaking! Butterflies and flowers are so intricate and fragile.
    Thanks for introducing me to Valerie Luesse. She sounds like an author I would enjoy.
    Right now I’m in the middle of Impending Strike from Lynette Eason. The first line is, “Did the crazy girl want to get herself killed?” I read the first three Elite Guardian books several years ago, and am really enjoying getting caught up with the series.

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  13. Shelia Hall

    book sounds delightful! Currently reading Cold Pursuit by Nancy Mehl and Small town Dangers by Mary Alford & others

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  14. Trixi

    This one is already on my want-to-read list! I really like your endorsement of a fantastic sounding story, books that make time & places disappear are some of my most favorite. I’m hoping my library will purchase this one so I can read it sooner than later 🙂

    I love your butterfly pictures, we see so many different varieties here on the Oregon coast. I have a couple of butterfly bushes on the side of my house that they love (along with the bees).

    I’m going to be starting “Counting on a Cowboy” by Debra Clopton. It’s the second book in the Four of Hearts Ranch series; here’s the opening lines:

    “”Wake up Abby,” Abby Knightly demanded of herself through a huge yawn. Sitting straighter, she gripped the steering wheel of her car as if her life depended on it–and it did. “

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  15. Miss Mary

    Wow! The lantana and butterflies are awesome!! Ps. 34:8 very fitting.
    The Charles Martin Trilogy listed by Toni are really good reads as are Susan Warren’s Global Search and Rescue series commented by Barbara.
    Valerie Luesse is a new author to me and Letters From My Sister sounds like another good read! Thanks, Pat, for the review and recommendation. As I’ve stated before too many good authors, too many good books and too little time.
    Just finished reading Wild Landing by Edie James

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  16. Lelia “Lucy” Reynolds

    My butterflies are enjoying the flowers now also. Beautiful photo and verse. I have that book on my wish list. I just finished A Beautiful Disguise by Roseanna M White

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  17. Gail Hollingsworth

    I’m 3/4 of the way through with Letters of Comfort by Wanda Brunstetter. And I love that scripture you used along with the photo.

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