The Sister Returns (A Stitch in Tme Book 3) by Joanna Rees

Synopsis
It’s 1929 and after running away from her family in Lancashire, becoming a dancer in London and having a riotous time in Paris with her best friend Nancy, would-be fashion designer Vita Casey is now living a much more sedate life in New York with her baby son, Bertie, far away from her evil brother, Clement, and her nemesis, Edith.

When the disastrous events of the Wall Street Crash change their destinies, Vita and Nancy flee to Los Angeles, where Nancy is determined to make it in the talkies. Schmoozing their way into the ranks of the Hollywood elite, Vita is starting to think that she can begin to fulfil her fashion ambitions. But when the love of her life, Archie, is hired as a writer on Nancy’s new movie and Clement exacts his ultimate revenge, Vita’s past and present collide.

She has no choice but to tell the truth and try to reclaim what is rightfully hers before it’s too late.

Review
I have to be honest and admit that when I joined the blog tour for The Sister Retrns I hadn’t realised that it was the final book in a trilogy. However, this didn’t spoil my enjoyment of the book. What drew me to this the book was the setting of 1929 New York, the speakeasy’s, jazz and of the Wall Street Crash which changed America forever. As well as New York, the plot also takes the reader to Hollywood at a time when the silent movies are being replace with ‘talkies’ where Nancy sees her future. Full of glamour, secrets, lies and revenge this is a fast paced read, and one I read in a day.

As I said I didn’t realise this was the final book in a trilogy, which is my fault for not checking. I did however love this book and following the story of Nancy and Vita. Both characters have a background that was not accepltable at he time, from living it up in the roaring twenties of Paris and London, dancing at the Folies Bergère, and living life to the full. Nancy comes from an entitled backgound, and in this book she is trying to conform to her families expectations, marrying a resrpctable man that she doesn’t love. The Wall Street Crash gives both her and Vita a way out, to travel to California and start a new life, Nancy to be an actress and Vita as costume designer. Vita is still running fom her family in England, and her life in Paris. She now has her son Bertie to think about and to try and protect, but her past soon catches uo with her. I think she was my favourite of the two female lead characters, she was the most grounded of the two, was supportive and caring towards Nancy and wanted to protect her son at any expense. In contrast to the likeable Nancy and Vita is Vita’s brother who is an odious character in my opinion with his wife Edith not being much better.

I actually have several books by Joanne Rees on my ever overflowing bookshelves that I am now going to push up my list of books to read. From the first page her writing gripped me, both her plot and her fantastic characters. I may have only read this one book, but I felt I knew Nancy and Vita, and became invested in their lives. I loved her descriptive prose, making me feel I was in the speakeasies with Nanvy and Vita, and part of the glamour of Hollywood; the costumes, the beautiful actresses, and the parties. I felt she. captured the zeitgeist of this important period in American history.

I really enjoyed The Sister Returns, the characters of Nancy and Vita were full of life, ambition and fun, definitely women I’d like to know. Yes, there were references to the events in the previous books that maybe I didn’ fully understand, but this was not a negative to me, in fact it has resulted in me buying the two previous books,The Runaway Daughter and The Hidden Wife which I can’t wait to read. The Sister Returns is a fast paced rollercoaster of a book, full of secrets, lies and plenty of drama, which grabbed my attention immediately.

I would like to thank Pan Macmillan and Anne Cater from Random Things Tours for the opportunity to be part of the blog tour in return for my honest review.