I was intrigued by this storyline about an adopted child looking for her birth family. It posed the question of how do early experiences (some not consciously remembered) affect a child's life, even if most of their life has been with a loving family. Equally, what happens if a child doesn't get a new family and grows up in care.
I thought that the subject was covered well from all angles but somehow the characters weren't quite rounded enough for me to give a 5. However it was an interesting read.

The Forgotten Sister is the story of Cassie and her search for information about her birth mother. When she begins to look for clues, she finds her adoptive parents have not been completely truthful about her past

This was an interesting read and detailed some of the difficulties those looking to adopt might face but I found all of the characters unlikeable and unsympathetic. I didn't really care what happened to any of them in the end and found the conclusion dull.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The synopsis of this book really intrigued me but when I started reading the book just didn’t draw me in. It was ok but not one of those books I couldn’t put down which was disappointing

To be honest it was a readable book but pretty much unforgettable . I wasn't hooked nor was I drawn into the story line .

This book tells The story of adoption and what happens afterwards. How does the adoption affect all members of the family?
In this story we meet Cassie who was adopted by Grace and Tom when she was 3. They went on to have their daughter Erin.
When Cassie is 17 she suddenly wants to find out more about her birth mother. She starts remembering things from before her adoption and wants to unravel these memories
Who is the mysterious Leah who responds to her Facebook appeal?
Despite being a little disjointed and sometimes unclear who was narrating at certain points (I put this down to reading an unedited arc and I feel sure this will be corrected) I thought this was a well written book and would recommend.
This is the 1st book I’ve read from this author but I will be looking out for more.

Beautiful, confident Cassie is part of a happy family unit of four.. Her parents care deeply for her and she has a close, loving relationship with her younger sister. A question posed by a health professional causes her to experience flash backs to early childhood and to seek out her birth mother.

An exploration of adoption, by turns challenging and bursting with emotion.

I didn't find this an easy read, but it was ultimately satisfying.

I came to ‘The Forgotten Sister’ with high expectations, having been enthralled by Caroline Bond’s debut novel, ‘The Second Child’, and I was not disappointed. The Prologue opens with a phone call from an A&E department informing Grace and Tom Haines that their teenage daughter, Cassie has been admitted. The opening chapter then shifts to a flashback four months previously and we discover that Cassie is both troubled, wayward and has a fractious relationship with her parents. However, it is through her relationship with her sister, Erin, that we discover a more sensitive and vulnerable facet of Cassie’s personality. This helps us to empathise with Cassie’s character as we learn that she is in fact adopted and desperate to trace her birth mother. This unleashes a chain of events, which test the whole family in ways they couldn’t have imagined. As with her previous novel, this story also explores the nature of love in both biological and adopted relatives and is really moving. To reveal more would be to ruin the story but following Cassie’s journey was a real treat. I became immersed in the life of her character, such is the writer’s skill for creativity believable characters who display emotional depth - combined with the requisite tension needed for a thrilling page-turner.

Really really enjoyed this book. The plot moved along well with enough twists and turns along the way.
I would reccomend this book to anyone.

It's hard enough being adopted... but a loving family makes it all worthwhile, right?

What if you find out that they have been lying to you about your birth mother, and other connections too?

Cassie is a young girl at the cusp of womanhood, wanting to explore her own independence, and all is well. Her adoptive parents and sister, Erin, are wonderful, but they can't answer the questions thrown at her by the Family Planning Clinic nurse about her birth mother...

Cue a search for her real mum, or at least information, and boy does she find some... but not what she was expecting.

A highly sensitive read, emotional in many ways.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Atlantic Books and Corvus for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

An interesting story which outlines the reasons why the truth is always best. Life starts to spiral for Cassie when she decides to find her real mum. This is a difficult story that touches on emotional topics but i enjoyed it nevertheless.

Would recommend to family and friends.

An emotional look into Cassie's family and what happens when she wants to find out more about her birth mother. Her adoptive family are perfect; they love each other very much, but she feels like she needs to know more about where she came from. Some of the characters are not likeable, but you can certainly empathise with them and understand why they are the way they are. Compulsive reading.

Cassie has always known she is adopted and she lives with her adoptive parents and their daughter, Erin. But Cassie and Erin are sisters no matter what.
Cassie decides to be sensible and arrange contraception cover but she is asked about family ailments and is distressed to realize she knows very little about her birth mother. She decides to find out about her and uses social media as her contact. She then finds out that her adoptive parents have kept a secret from her.
Can she forgive them or will it destroy everything she holds dear.

An ok read but I didn’t really get fully engaged with the characters or the story. The plot was interesting and I’m sure that there are all kinds of pitfalls that adoptive parents can fall into, I can imagine that lies are often told, but none of these characters come out well and I didn’t really care what happened to them I’m afraid.
My thanks to Netgalley for this copy.

Cassie was the child Grace and Tom had been waiting two long years for their adoption society to find for them. She was beautiful and innocent; everything they had dreamed about. The adoption goes ahead and soon they are a family. Soon afterwards Grace falls pregnant. What a shock for them both, but a second daughter, Erin, completes their perfect family. They are a professional couple with a lovely house and hearts full of love. They nurture their girls through all of their milestones and make many happy memories
When Cassie is seventeen years old she realises that she wants to know who she really is and where she came from, so she decides to ask her mother and father if they can help her to find her birth mother. It’s like an itch in her life that she is compelled to scratch. Her parents and sister know how much Cassie loves them and so begins the search for Cassie’s roots. It’s a frustrating business and incredibly slow. Unable to quash her need for information, Cassie puts out a request for information about her first few years on Facebook and is both amazed and warily delighted when her first positive lead comes in the answer to her request. This is Cassie’s story of a forgotten sister called Leah and what happens when they meet.
The characters in this novel were diverse and interesting. As in life some were ‘Goodies’, kind and warm-hearted and some were ‘Baddies’, hateful and manipulative. Some had blurred and erratic personalities: there were a real hotchpotch of culprits but all were carefully created and developed. The overall plot was really interesting and asked many questions about adoption, family loyalty and the ethics of secrecy and lies within a family, whatever the motive. Are they justified if they protect a vulnerable child? These themes were thought provoking and I found the novel going up in my estimation.
The story started as a slow burner, lacking in grit and excitement right until the very last 20% of the novel, when it becomes dynamic and full of drama and intrigue. Parts of the story were very dark but there were some lovely lighter moments to balance it out. I found the construction of the novel quite tricky. It was almost arranged like a play script but with no stage directions or change of scenes. At least in a play you have visual clues and stage settings because you can see what is happening. This is not the same with a narrative story when different threads of the story clash together haphazardly in a single chapter with no acknowledgement of changing settings or characters. I found this even more of a challenge as I got deeper into the story timeline and the confusion was very frustrating. This was a structural fault in the book in my opinion.
I received a complimentary copy of this novel from publisher Corvus through my membership of NetGalley. Thank you for my copy sent in return for an honest and unbiased review. I found the decision of how to grade the novel very challenging because of the different factors I have already explained. Whereas I’m glad I read the novel and would encourage other readers to read it, I cannot give it more than a 3.5* rating.

Read and reviewed in exchange for a free copy from NetGalley. Although I found this book to have a slow start, I was soon intrigued. Bond explores family and adoption in a sensitive and intriguing way. Cassie's backstory was not one I expected, which added to the interest of this story.

This book gives real insight into the adoption system and how it can work fantastically one one hand but lets down vulnerable children at the same time. The dual experiences of Cassie and Leah are poles apart despite their common origin and the devastating consequences of these differences and the semi truths and outright lies surrounding the story of the two women make for an emotionally charged read.
The characters are very believable, from the initially outgoing and happy Cassie to the resentful and bitter Leah and the anxious (below the surface) Grace and Tom and the situation that Cassie and her adopted sister Erin find themselves in is terrifyingly well written.

Really enjoyed this book, heartbreaking at times as the reality of adoption and it's long term effects are explored. Very well developed and authentic characters brought the story to life. Beautifully written.

A very complicated tale of adoption and what happens when questioned are asked by a teenager about her birth mother.Wasn't sure where this story was going but it all became clear when we realise who the forgotten sister was.

A beautiful and emotional story that was heartbreaking in places and completely believable. It left me wanting to know what goes on to happen in the future lives of the characters. I can’t recommend this book enough.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for an honest and unbiased opinion.

Like many other readers, I agree that you cannot describe this book as an enjoyable read. It is hard hitting and brutal at times. A novel about how adoption can go on being problematic way beyond the first few years and how the relationships broken and reformed have ripple effects for many years and even generations. I have friends who are/have been involved in different aspects of fostering and adoption and can tell you that this story is not beyond the realm of realism. Perhaps a bit too long with too much dialogue. It is not a book which I enjoyed but if you like writers such as Jodi Picoult and Jojo Moyes then you will cope with and find this read an equal challenge.