Review: Sister Pact by Ali Ahearn and Ros Baxter

Title: Sister Pact

Published: Harper Collins Australia May 2012

Synopsis: Two very different sisters. Once inseparable, they have long been estranged after an unimaginable betrayal. Organised and uptight Frances married the only man she′d ever slept with. But no-one told her that seven years later she′d be having sexual fantasies about everyone from the pizza delivery guy to Denis Thatcher. Scatterbrained animal-lover Joni never knew she was so attached to her kneecaps until she thought she might have to say goodbye to them forever. After their beloved grandmother — a game-show addict — dies, they discover that they have each been left one million pounds in her will. The kicker is that they can only inherit if they participate as a team in a gruelling reality TV program, Endurance Island. They can survive the jungle. They can survive the humiliating challenges. But can they survive each other?

Status: Read on December 08, 2012 — I own a copy {Courtesy the author}

My Thoughts:

Sister Pact is a funny and heartwarming novel about betrayal, sisterhood and forgiveness co-written by siblings debut author, Ros Baxter and Ali Ahearn (aka Amy Andrews).

Sisters, Frances and Joni, haven’t spoken for seven years and their estrangement would have continued had they not been forced to attend the reading of their beloved G’s will. Determined to reunite her granddaughters even from the grave, G places an unusual condition on their right to inherit £1 million, they are to join forces to reach the finals of the reality show, Endurance Island. Though reluctant, Frances and Joni are both in need of the money and agree to work together. Surviving the trials of a remote jungle island will be hard, but surviving each other may prove to be even harder.

The relationship between Joni and Frances is fraught with tension and pathos, both regret their estrangement but are unable to move past the betrayal that divided them. Their very different personalities contribute to their troubled interaction, Joni is impulsive with a history of drug addiction while Frances is ordered and upright. What they learn on Endurance Island is that to begin to forgive each other, the pair first need to come to terms with their own flaws, and forgive themselves. I really enjoyed seeing the sister’s repair their bond, there are some surprisingly tender moments in amongst the bickering, and the relationship between the two rings true.

Endurance Island is no holiday resort, but it does provide plenty of opportunities to combine drama, humour, action and romance, which the writers do with consummate ease. It’s all a little over the top, but great fun.
Fans of the television series, Survivor and the the like, will enjoy the authors’ mimicry of the format in Sister Pact, from the harsh physical challenges to the emotional manipulation in the pursuit of ratings. Throw in a smuggled ferret, a sadistic producer, and a fellow cast that includes two big breasted, bikini clad bombshells and Japanese weekend warriors and the sisters feud is the least of their worries.

Though co-written by sisters, Ros Baxter and Ali Ahearn, the narrative of the novel is seamless, no doubt a testament to their own close bond. An entertaining read, I enjoyed Sister Pact and I am looking forward to it’s sequel in early 2013.

Click here to read a guest post from Ros Baxter posted earlier today