I expected to love The Sister Surprise, but not as much as I do after finishing it. I hadn’t read anything from Abigail Mann before, but after the success of my reading experience with this one, I’ll surely be picking up more of her books in the future.

The Sister Surprise follows Ava Atmore, a journalist, who takes an opportunity at her work to particulate in a DNA testing for a livestream. A lot of what drives to her do this is the very fact she doesn’t know her dad – it’s just been her and her mum all her life. Every time to asks her mum about her dad, her mum is reluctant to say anything about him. In the livestream in front of all her colleagues, her boss and 100,000 people, she finds out she has a half-sister, Moira in the Scottish Highlands. This reveal pushes Ava onto a journey of self-discovery and makes her questions where she wants to be in her life.

Not only was this endearing, heartbreaking and beautiful, but it was also hilarious. The way Abigail Mann writes was a breath of fresh air. It flowed well, the pacing was excellent and a multiple lines had me laughing out loud. This way of writing made me really bond with Ava – I cared about her from the very beginning until the very end. She was relatable, someone you would want to be friends with. I also love the fact that Ava was in her late twenties, and I think Mann really captured this within the narrative.

With no available B&Bs in the area of Kilroch, Ava volunteers at a local farm in exchange for lodgings. This is how we’re introduced to Kian; he’s taken over the family farm after his grandfather’s health declines, and he had to put his wants and needs behind him to save the heavily in debt farm. He was just a wonderful character! Usually in these types of situations (in books & movies) when a ‘city girl’ come to the country, a man of some sort is usually quite judgemental towards her for her ignorance. But there was none of that. He was warm and funny and inviting. Another character I loved was Moira, Ava’s half-sister. I was expecting something completely different to who Moira was. I feel like Abigail Mann knew the tropes of these types of situations and completely subverted them. Moira is bubbly, a hugger, incredibly accomplished and just lovely. It seemed like Ava and Moira bonded instantly and it was cute – despite them living separate lives, not knowing about one another, it was like they were never apart in the first place. I liked that the most.

This book was all about sisterhood, family and motherhood. There was a little romance between Ava and the hot Reverend, Ross, but it never took over like I thought it would. From the start, this was about Ava looking for her half-sister and learning more about the father she never knew, and that remained the focus throughout. It was honestly such a pleasure to read. It kept me entertained with Ava trying to navigate the farm and its various troublemaking occupants. The animals were characters themselves, honestly, especially Babs the chicken. I couldn’t put this book down and I had to force myself to get some sleep. I really enjoyed every word of it.

I also posted this review on my blog: https://bookswithbroganx.wordpress.com/2021/03/14/arc-review-the-sister-surprise-by-abigail-mann/

Journalist Ava takes a DNA test live on air with unexpected results, she’s got a half sister, Moira. Her boss at Snooper, sees this as a great opportunity for her to explore this further so off she goes to a tiny village in the north east of Scotland in search of her sister. She’s decided to go undercover volunteering on a far until she finds Moira. With growing pressure for her boss for details of the big reunion, Ava feels under pressure as she’s struggling to tell Moira who she is.

This is a great novel that I found hard to put down. It’s pacy and punchy with fabulous characters and a great plot line. I can highly recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley, One More Chapter and the author for the chance to review.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for letting this book be available to read.
Overall I enjoyed this book, although it did take a while for me to really get into it. I think I'm like Moira, where I have to tell everyone about everything, so for Ava to keep things to herself for so long, grated on me a bit. Once it was all out in the open I appreciated the characters so much more.
There were definitely some funny lines, particularly about headbutting mothers, and pork buttocks, and there were some lovely moments between the sisters.
The romance issue wasn't really stated as fact at the end, but I'm assuming all went well there.
3.75 stars

For all of her years, Ava has been part of a twosome –just her and her Mum, Every question about her father was fobbed off, and soon activities were moved on to other, more pressing issues with one of her mother’s many causes. But, an opportunity at work to increase her visibility and possibly open new doors arrives with the office-wide DNA test. Ava and her best work friend Max were chosen to star in a live reveal webcast, with much of the focus being on Ava’s half-hearted interest in her parentage.

The webcast was full of surprises and plenty of embarrassing moments for Ava, but the discovery of a half-sister in the highlands of Scotland opens yet another option. Assigned to write a travelogue on her search and reveal of her paternal ties leads her to a ‘volunteer for housing’ position at a small, struggling farm – where she’ll be helping out with sheep, pigs and chickens.

Kian has put his doctoral work on hold to run and save the family farm after his grandfather’s health takes a turn for the worse. A struggle at the best of times, the farm is heavily in debt, with papers and invoices unpaid, ignored or simply buried in a large pile. All of which start Ava’s fingers itching to file, organize, highlight and help. While completely out of her element with the animals, Ava is meeting the townsfolk in the small village, and trying to stealthily discover and meet her sister, all while providing ‘click content’ for her employer.

From sheep with a tendency to dive off cliffs like lemmings, to unfriendly sows, a chicken with an attitude and an arguably sexually confused cockerel (Ava’s theories) she’s got little more than cold, rain, work and exhaustion to occupy her time, and she’s able to sort through her worries, for the most part, about finding her sister and how her mother will react. The sister part was easy, and the bond with Moira was instant – even as Ava continued to hide the real reason for her stay.

With plenty of laughs where the animals and Ava’s wavering confidence are concerned, a solid friendship being built with Kian and the animals at the farm, some dodgy escape-artist sheep and plenty of moments to bond with Moira and her confusion over the dishy ‘priest’, the story is full of questions, moments, growth and above all, discovering yourself and family you’d never heard of in ways that are positive and helpful. With plenty of secrets unearthed, stories unfold and weave together to give Ava a new strength and purpose that she never expected that brings her closer to finding her true joy.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Review first appeared at <a href=” https://wp.me/p3OmRo-aSk /” > <a> I am, Indeed </a>

Ava is close with her mother, but has never known her father. While at work, live on an Internet stream, Ava finds out results of a DNA test. Her results are a surprise, and lead her to Inverness, Scotland to pursue more information regarding the results. With humor, as well as appealing characters, this is a nice, quick enjoyable book. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

This would be a good story to read on a dreary day. It was such a cute story and it made me feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside. I loved Ava’s and Moira’s characters. They seem so completely opposite but they mesh so well with each other, and their bonding made the whole game worth the wait on them.

This was a really sweet, enjoyable read. It was witty and heartwarming, and a complete joy from start to finish. Ava and Moira's immediate sisterly bond was wonderful, and I'm glad that things turned out the way they did!

The Sister Surprise was a quirky and fun read, perfect if you are looking for something light and humorous. I thank the author for writing this during lockdown so that is readers could enjoy reading it to break up the droll restrictions.

Upon seeing at the beginning of the book description that a DNA test was involved, I could kind of guess what was going to happen. Nonetheless, there is a colorful story surrounding it, giving the lead up to what you can guess will happen more enjoyable. I am a sucker for the Scots; the country itself, the people, the dialect, the accent (oh, how I adore the accent!), and the slang and sayings. My husband and I went to Scotland on our honeymoon and I loved every single minute of it, even the unpredictable downpour of rain that occurred. All of this made the book more fun for me to read, and I could appreciate so much of it.

Publication date: March 25, 2021

#TheSisterSurprise #Netgalley @AbigailEMann @HarperCollins #omcreads #BookReview

The Sister Surprise by Abigail Mann is a sweet and funny story, a lovely cosy read.
Ava is an online journalist who takes a DNA test for a story about how popular they are becoming, but her world is rocked when she discovers live on air that she has a half sister she has never met. Her boss thinks that sending her to Scotland to find this sister , Moira, will make for even higher ratings, and Ava is keen, not only to stay in his good graces, but also to find out more about this woman , and about the father she never met. So she boards a train and heads north, to a village so small that the only accommodation she can find is as a volunteer farmhand. Village life is definitely different than anything she has experienced before, and Ava is left feeling like an something of an outsider given the rather lukewarm reception she gets from some of the locals. However she soon gets stuck in on the farm with her host Kian , and eventually meets the elusive Moira in some rather unusual circumstances. When she learns some surprising things about her father and her half sister, she decides the time is not yet right to reveal the truth to Moira, but this is a decision that could turn round and bite her.

This sweet and often hilariously funny book was a real treat , the humour was so skilfully handled, and veered between the simply silly and the truly slapstick variety without ever feeling over done. I really appreciated the growing friendship between Ava and her host, Kian, it was really refreshing that the author kept them as friends . (Just in case you are worried, there is some romance in the story, and it is really sweet too, but this was just so nice to see that I really wanted to mention it in my review.) . The title of the book is the Sister Surprise, so it should come as no surprise that the relationship between Ava and Moira is the real heart of the book, and it is beautiful.
With all the stress and chaos in the world right now ,this is an ideal book to curl up with and escape for a few hours,
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

This book was equal parts sweet and funny. I loved the relationships between the characters and I kind of want a sheep now.

A cute little story about the lengths we will go to connect with family. I enjoyed this book. It was a quick read with likable characters, and a fun escape from today.

The Sister Surprise by Abigail Mann was a cute story about Ava finding a sister she never knew she had. While the characters were likeable and the story humorous in spots, I found that it dragged on a bit. If I were not reviewing the book, there were a few times I might have moved on to something else.

The Sister Surprise by Abigail Mann

Ava is shocked to find out she has a half sister, and she finds out while reporting on live tv. Her sister lives in a teeny tiny town in Scotland. So she is assigned to go investigate and meet her sister, preferably while live streaming.

This book was hilarious at times, heart warming at times, and altogether lovely. There was a chunk of the book after the initial drama that I found dragged quite a bit. But I did love the characters, and was very invested in their relationships! Plus the small town in Scotland was an amazing setting, and I could practically feel the breeze and hear the accents.

Thank you to @onemorechapterhc and @netgalley for my early copy! The Sister Surprise is out on March 25th!

What’s your favourite accent to listen to? I love Irish or Scottish! I spent a couple days in Scotland and I swear I didn’t stop smiling the whole time any local talked to me.

#onemorechapter #onemorechapterhc #abigailmann #thesistersurprise #netgalley #arc #gifted #loveofreading #bookreviews #bookrecommendations #mybooks #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #canadianbookstagrammers #bookishgirl #ukbookstagram #harpercollinsuk

I did not want this book to end and it left me wanting more in a really really good way!! I want to read everything this author has written!

This was a nice read! It was slightly disappointing as I loved The Lonely Fajita, and this one slightly missed the mark.

The story follows Ava who find out via livestream that she has a half sister living in a remote Scottish village. Under the agreement she writes about the reunion, her boss sends her to Kilroch to meet her new sister Moira. Ava stays with a young farmer who offers a free bed in exchange for help on the farm. When she eventually finds Moira, they get on like a house on fire, except Ava still hasn’t told Moira the truth about who she is.


I found the characters were really likeable, especially Moira. I did find the first half dragged quite a bit and I almost had to force myself to keep going but I’m glad I did. This is a really sweet story about family and I ended up really enjoying it.

Thank you to the author, publishers and NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

The Sister Surprise is a joy! A funny, uplifting read, with Scottish wilds, errant pigs and a sheep called Miranda, it left me with a wide smile on my face

This was such a cute story. And to be honest quite possible today, my family has has a few people show up didn't know about due to DNA testing. I loved that Ava went in search of Moriah. I loved how the girls met and how their friendship developed organically. I liked the rural setting of Scotland. This was a good story and it made you feel good. There were some parts that made you sad and hurt for the characters, but for the most part it was a feel good story. I loved the ending and can envision what happens for these characters in the future.

Thank you to Haper Colllins UK and NetGalley for the ARC of The Sister Surprise. All opinion expressed are my own.

Thank you NetGalley, author Abigail Mann, and One More Chapter for giving me an Arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and feelings are my own.
4 stars
This book had wonderful balance of humor, romance, family, and self discovery. I am a huge fan of small town/village life settings! This book was lighthearted and full of laugh-out-loud moments. The characters were well developed and a very realistic feel to them.
Ava, after taking an DNA test, finds out she has a half-sister in rural Scotland. After deciding to find her long lost half-sister, Ava makes the decision to go undercover as a farm hand in the village she thinks her sister might live in in exchange for a room. Ava was so charming! I loved her different sides of her personality come out throughout the story. She had a great friendship with Kian, the farmer Ava worked for. (It was exciting to read a book where there was a platonic relationship between a single man and a single woman.) Moria was hilarious! She had a no nonsense woman! I enjoyed how much Ava and Moria were able to become true sisters at the end! Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to those who love a book that feels like wrapping up with a warm blanket!

I really enjoyed this book, possibly for the references to the highlands which has my heart but also because the story was just that little bit of light relief we all need just now!
Ava has spent her life with just her and her mum counting as her family, obviously though she has wondered who her dad was, what he was like and even where he came from! When she gets the opportunity to take a DNA test as part of her reporting job she is excited to hopefully get the answers that she hasn't been able to get from her mum. However when the answers lead her to the fact she has a half sister who lives in the highlands of Scotland Ava is left with a pull in her heart that goes against everything she knows. She's never even been out of London, never gone 'off grid' and even calls her mum if she's on a night out to say where she is going!
On a whole I enjoyed the book, possibly more than the Lonely Fajita, and I really loved the characters, however there were some parts that left me wanting more and some parts that jumped about leaving me a little confused with the timelines.

**TW death of a loved one, family illness, alcoholism, gambling

I loved this book! Such a cute, fun read with just the right amount of family issues! I laughed hard multiple times. Definitely a cheer up book! Ava is an absolute wonderful disaster can't help but love her!