Official Review: The Reel Sisters by Michelle Cummings

[Zainodin Saripada]

Yeah, clearly that we all have potential abilities, men or women anf the book can help us by going back to remember our past lives & the incoming days of our remaining lives. Readers must notice it.

[Megisa]

It was a good read. Might enjoy more books by her

[GathuaM]

Special Note: This is a review of an old edition of the book. The book has since been updated and improved since the review based on some of the points in the review.]

[Following is the original OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Reel Sisters" by Michelle Cummings.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Imagine not only having a hobby that you love, but sharing that hobby with several of your closest friends. Weekend getaways and shenanigans among friends are bound to ensue. These lighthearted moments are expertly weaved among lessons of companionship and bonds that can never be broken in The Reel Sisters by Michelle Cummings.

Four women have been brought together over the years through a unique love of fly fishing. While fishing during one of one of their cabin weekends, a woman comes flailing down the river and screaming for help. They manage to pull her out of the water only to realize that she is naked and nearly hypothermic. What starts out as a very awkward situation quickly turns to understanding as the friends learn more about how the woman came to be naked and alone in the river. The group shows her the ropes of fly fishing in the hopes that she'll develop her own love of the sport. But can she open up to these total strangers enough to be welcomed into their sisterhood?

My favorite thing about this book is easily the characters. The book is told through alternating points of view, which allowed me to really dig in to each perspective. Cummings was able to create believable friendships among this group of women who seemingly have nothing in common. Their bond never felt forced and their interaction with each other was amusing to read.

Though it would have been easy to get bogged down in all the fly fishing talk in this book, the author does a wonderful job of balancing the information so it never felt like too much was being thrown at me. As a result, I became genuinely interested in several facets of the the sport and was eager to learn more about their experiences.

One problem I did have with the book was the writing felt stiff at times, particularly the dialogue. There were many instances in the dialogue where contractions weren't used and it interrupted my reading flow because the words didn't feel natural. A couple of examples are when the characters said "it is my favorite" and "you are welcome". I honestly sat there for several minutes trying to remember the last time I heard someone say "you are welcome" instead of "you're welcome" and I couldn't come up with anything. It seems like such a small gripe but it really is the difference between imagining these things being said by real people versus their voices sounding robotic.

Obviously the main theme throughout this book is friendship. Some other themes touched on in the novel include love, motherhood, and empowerment. I love that the book takes on a sport not typically done by many women. I can easily see how this book can help give women the confidence to go outside of their comfort zones and try things they normally wouldn't have the courage to do.

Due to the problems with the writing that I mentioned and the many typos that are present throughout the book, I have to bump it down to 3 out of 4 stars. Overall, I really enjoyed this novel and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys women's literature and books about friendship. It would also make a good read for a book club as it has many aspects to dive into and also comes with a set of discussion questions at the end of the book.

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The Reel Sisters
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Like ashley_claire's review? Post a comment saying so!

I enjoyed reading your review. The book does sound interesting. For people who enjoy literature on friendship,this would be fun for them.

[Hephzi Lolami]

Wow. These women bonding together and being that it even has something to do with fly-fishing. This is interesting. The characterssure bond together as women.

[gali]

A tale revolving around the shared hobby of four women sounds like a fresh concept. I don't recall reading a book about fly-fishing. The naked woman adds a touch of suspense to what could be a dry tale. It is great that the author balanced the info well. Too bad about the unnatural dialogues, though. I am glad you enjoyed the tale. Thank you for the review!

[mindyg123]

This sounds like a great book about women and friendships between them. Encouraging another woman to start enjoying the thing that binds them while helping her sounds interesting. Cant wait to read this adding this to my TBR list. Congrats on being BOTD.

[Kenko Betty]

I have absolutely no idea what fly fishing is. It's my first time ever hearing about it. I would really like to know more about it and also why the woman was naked. Thanks for your beautiful review.

[embalmergirl2008]

After reading through the excerpt of The Reel Sisters, I now understand a wee more about fly fishing and still have no interest in it. But, the amount that I read did seem interesting as to how our main character came upon each of the other women and became friends. Sophie talks on her age and childhood memories about her most loved hobby and how she became friends with other women by chance and brought them into fishing as well as how her first love broke her heart.

Although the underlying loneliness I get from this small amount of reading seems to be a side note, I think later she may just get the chance to be happy with someone. Sophie does seem to get happiness through her hobby and friends at the cabin, but she seems like she needs a bit more out of life. The small amount of interactions in this portion available seemed to be a bit forced in writing style. I'm not certain if this is due to the author not having enough by way of backstory in her mind while writing these conversations, or if it is simply the take of this reader.

All in all, I feel that it may be a good read for someone who can look past the fishing information to get to the meat of the story but it is not for me. The focus being on a sport that I have no interest in makes it a bit daunting for me to get past and actually enjoy the interactions of the characters.

[Boyko Ovcharov]

Really helpful review, even from an author's viewpoint. The issues with naturalness of language and dialogue come in quite handy:-)
Otherwise, the read sounds deep and psychological with some adventure activities against the backdrop of hidden drama, suppressed emotions and personal matters. The topic of friendship in a ladies' circle also seems a complicated one, which speaks of the writer's talent and courage to experiment.

[OPgirl9122]

the review was quite concise and crisp. It gave me a great amount of idea to what I could expect from the book.

[Yoli García]

I like that the story centers around a diverse group of women who share a strong friendship. I think it is a great choice for February. This one is already downloaded in my tablet. Thanks for the review!

[mohammedaslam]

An unbiased review about a book on love and sisterhood. The review is comprehensive enough and gives a fair idea about the story and the characters, making it easy for readers to decide whether to read or skip the book.

[ktrae910]

I couldn't get into the sample, but it wasn't because of the dialogue. The beginning didn't move fast enough for me, I guess. I often say, "You are welcome."

[Peterhchurch]

Thank you for your review, fly fishing has long been used as a synonym for life and how to live it. This book seems to do a good job of it. I'm looking forward to reading it.

[ReyvrexQuestor Reyes]

The Reel Sisters should be a nice book for the women, as a respite from the girlie chores they always do. I can just imagine the enactment of the rescue the sisters made on the naked woman. As the woman floats along carried by the current of the river, the sisters must have cast their line, hook, and sinker into the grasp of the woman. The three of them pulling the woman towards the bank or the boat would likely be possible as the combined tensile strength of the lines will warrant it. One caveat I should remember, though, if I have to read the book: I should opt for the latest version in the hope that all issues about editing and unnatural dialogue format had been resolved beforehand. Thanks for your informative review.