How can four sisters build the futures they so desperately want, when the past is reaching out to claim them?

When the Patterson daughters return home to Meadow Brook to be with their father after their mother’s death, they bring with them a world of complication and trouble.

The eldest sister, obstetrician Madeleine, would rather be anywhere but her hometown, violinist Abigail has fled from her stellar career, while teacher Lucinda is struggling to have the children she and her husband so desperately want. The black sheep of the family, Charlie, feels her life as a barista and exercise instructor doesn’t measure up to that of her gifted and successful sisters.

Dealing with their bereft father who is determined to sell the family motel, their loves old and new and a series of troublesome decisions doesn’t make life any easier, but when they go through their mother’s possessions and uncover the shocking secret of an old family curse, they begin to question everything they thought they knew.

A warm and wise novel about secrets revealed, finding your soulmate and the unique bond between sisters.

Rating: 5/5

The Patterson Girls is Rachael Johns' first foray into contemporary fiction, while retaining some of that rural romance we all know and love her for. This novel, like all of her others, is well written and contains a strong plot and solid primary and secondary characters.

When the Patterson girls return home for their first Christmas without their mum they're faced with the daunting task of packing away her things. They reminisce over the items and bicker over what to keep, and what to throw or give away, until they come across a box full of congratulatory cards from their parents wedding - and one very interesting card that speaks of a family curse. Intrigued, the girls ask their father and their much adored aunt whether they know anything about the curse, and their aunt reluctantly tells them although labelling it "codswallop and hogwash".

The idea of the curse becomes an obsession to the girls and they set about trying to disprove it. As time passes, the sisters become weary of their obsession and each one makes the decision to return home to the motel and to their Dad.

Will the Patterson girls be able to break the curse?

Another fantastic novel by Rachael Johns.

Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Publication Date: October 2015
RRP: $29.99 AUD

I purchased this book for my own collection and was not required to give a review.