The Starfish Sisters

A Novel

By: Barbara O'Neal

Narrated by: Laura Jennings, Jenn Lee, Shaun Taylor-Corbett

Length: 11 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

From the USA Today bestselling author of When We Believed in Mermaids comes an emotional novel about two women facing the betrayals, heartbreaks, and refuge of true friendship.

Phoebe and Suze used to be closer than sisters. Growing up in a quiet and wildly beautiful coastal town in Oregon, they shared everything. Until the secrets they couldn’t share threatened their bond and complicated their lives.

Now, decades later, Suze, a famous actress desperate for safe haven following a brutal attack, is back in town. Phoebe, a successful illustrator and fabric designer, has discovered keeping a secret means she can’t let anyone get close, aside from her beloved granddaughter, Jasmine. As Jasmine’s move to London looms, Phoebe doesn’t know how to face the return of her old friend and all that’s still unsaid between them. Can the two women who’ve never confronted their past do it now when the choice is between healing and survival?

Heartfelt and layered, The Starfish Sisters is a moving story about the complicated nature of female friendship, the joys and heartbreaks of life, and the resiliency and power that women possess.

©2023 Barbara Samuel (P)2023 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“Barbara O’Neal is at the top of her game. The Starfish Sisters is a gorgeous, heartfelt story about two lifelong friends who, now estranged, must battle their way back to each other after years of betrayals and jealousy and misunderstandings. Suze is a famous, world-traveling movie star who seems to have everything but love—while her former best friend, Phoebe, does art and nurtures the people around her. O’Neal has written a deeply harrowing, suspenseful, and ultimately loving book that explores the nature of women’s friendships and the lengths to which we all will go to protect those we love from danger. I read it far into the night, and, yes, I wept a few tears along the way.”—Maddie Dawson, Washington Post bestselling author of Matchmaking for Beginners

Glad it was Included(free) in KindleUlimited ;)

This was just okay for me ... I think some of it was the way it was set up. I listened to the audio (included in KindleUnlimited, Read and Listen for free) and while the narrators were really good, all the jumping around in time, and the fact that the chapters in the audio weren't labeled and didn't match up to the text copy was an annoyance (as I'd sometimes attempt to shift between reading and listening). IF I'd listened from the Kindle App itself (you can have the text up, download the audio and then follow along) it would have been better and I should have switched to that, but that doesn't give you Audible options (changing the speed, timer, etc.) In the text copy, the "past" parts were written in different fonts (representing the kids writing, letters/journals) and while the narrators did a decent job of changing their voices from the "older" selves to the "younger" selves, it was still a little hard to keep track of. There was also the tense ... the current day was (logically) in present tense, while the "then" chapters and random memories in the "current day" were past tense

It starts with a prologue (then ... the past), then "six months ago" (so "present day" but ... six months ago. A newspaper article about a physical attack on a movie star). Then a "Current Day" heading, then Chapter 1 (Phoebe POV), Chapter 2 (Suz POV), Chapter 3 (Phoebe POV)

... then a THEN heading "You've Got a Friend" ... then a Phoebe POV, not listed as a chapter (memory, then, the start of the writing/letters/journals). As the letters were started there was a date given (first one was August 29, 19--) While the letters were cute, and I've enjoyed journals/letters in books before, the lack of an actual year listed annoyed me to no end (especially as it repeated so many times on every letter). Is the author just attempting to make this more flexible in it's time setting by not committing to a particular date/decade? It was especially jarring in audio ... just "ninteen" left hanging.

Examining the Table of Contents, I can now see that the THEN (with a Chapter Heading) sections were between chapters, and the letters/journals section. I'm just not sure why it wasn't just all kept within chapters, instead of spaced between chapters (like most dual-timeline books). It just made the TOC look weird (of course the Audible TOC was useless, just chapters listed, and they didn't line up -- if you go to Chapter17 in Audible, it's "Current Day/Phoebe - Chapter 11".

Anyway - all the jumping around in time was a little hard to keep track of. Even though the narrator's voices were different, I had a little trouble telling them apart (who is speaking??) It was 1st person, changing perspectives. In addition to Phoebe and Suz, we get a little Joel too (just in the past, in letters). I don't know why, but I was struggling to keep things straight possible SPOILERS <spoiler>... Phoebe, artist, had a daughter, now grand-daughter, had to leave when young to live with parents in Portland, was rich growing up, has grandmother/Amma, now involved with Ben ... Suz, beautiful but hard childhood, father preacher, successful actress later in life, attacked, no children (well ... forced to give up daughter for adoption), reunited with Joel. I think I'd checked out a little by the end, so when Suz and her daughter were reunited I was like "um, wait, what, how/when did this happen?" </spoiler>

Honestly - I just got a little tired of both these girls/women and their troubles and their love/jealousy toward each other. Phoebe iterates at one point "just because you don't have the worst problem in the world doesn't mean it isn't a real problem to you" which IS a profound truth, but still, I was annoyed with Phoebe much of the time for all her complaining, both in the past and present. The attacks on Suz seemed a little forced, added to move the story along.

The letters/journals appeared in different fonts in the Kindle copy read on a Kindle or in the app on phone/tablet, but NOT in the Kindle Cloud Reader (which is what I pull up when writing reviews and such).

Covid is in this book - talk of the pandemic and isolation, people having been affected (knowing people who died). Not really a main theme, I think it could have been written without it (that dates things). It will be interesting to see how Covid is handled, left out of stories, featured, a mention but not a main point ... ironically Hubs and #4 tested positive while I was reading this book (their first time, here in 2023, happily things are not nearly as stressful, even though isolation and missing work isn't ideal, neither that sick).

Title-tie in ... The Starfish Sisters is a "trio of sea stacks - offers habitat for birds and seals" and Phoebe writes/illustrates a book about "two girls who love the tide pools" ... but I never REALLY felt the connection. I guess the fact that they aren't "sisters" IRL but have that close a connection and conflicts. Not sure there is a better title, but I love it when it totally clicks!

Content - some proFanity (x5), some sex - nothing too explicit.

Loved it!

I liked the many layers to the tale and the story ended well. An easy listen.

Good story.

The narrator for Pheobe is excellent, but the narrator for Suz was not great (overly dramatic). That kind of ruined it for me. But the story is excellent.

Beautiful

Barbara O'Neal never lets her readers down. This is a story of two friends whose lives are very different and yet they are so important to each other. Their differences are what make them such great friends, but those differences also almost tear them apart permanently. Like all of Barbara O'Neal's books, this book is worth reading and thoroughly immersing yourself in.

Excellent!

I love the stories by Barbara O’Neal, and this didn’t disappoint. Such a warm tale of deep friendship, and the sisters we are blessed with who may not be related. It held me until the end, waiting to see where these friends would go together. The dialogue was spot on, as was the narration.

Heartwarming

Another fantastic book by Barbara.. friendship, love, lost and family! This listen was very heartwarming which I finished in 2 days..

Just okay

I didn’t hate the book, I just didn’t love it. Reminded me a lot of Firefly Lane. It just didn’t hook me, maybe it took too long to get into it. Not sure.

Emotional friendship story

I’ve read this author before and love the way she brings her characters to life. The narration kept me in the story which is both personal and emotional. It does drag a bit in spots.

This is a must-read

What a beautiful story of friendship or sistership- the kind we all yearn for. Thank you for sharing.

Story with no excitement nor thrill.

NARRATORS, Great and made the story variable.
The story tried really hard to get the reader emotionally involved...but it doesn't work. Instead it drags along so much that instead of feeling emotional I felt like; (get to the point!)
Many useless details, many key points were held, some not answered. Ending was just as bad as the story.
At least I didn't waste a credit.