Customer Reviews

Sisterchicks in Sombreros (Sisterchicks Series #3)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I loved this book. Took me about three hours to read from beginning to end! I couldn't put it down and you won't either! The story is a great one, of two sisters who have inheritated a beach front property in Mexico and go down to sign some bank papers, taking a cruise to get there part away. They have some mishaps which will make you laugh and want to have a robe just like them!

They become closer to each other and to the Lord, one already believing and the other drawing nearer every day. They meet a few interesting people and learn about others and ways of life along the way.

You won't want to miss out on this book and I will be looking forward to all the others!! BRAVO!

In an interview on FaithfulReader.com earlier this year, I asked Robin Jones Gunn if her "sisterchick" characters would always be sisters in Christ; she answered, "This will be an interesting angle to explore in these books." Little did I know --- and savvy of her not to say --- that her next book, already written, would address this angle. Fortysomething sisters Joanne and Melanie are certainly not diametrically opposed; Joanne does attend church, after all. But while Melanie's life is centered on her personal relationship with God, Joanne's is centered on the daily dilemmas of family life.

For Joanne, the devil is in the details: organizing and planning have become a form of serenity. When the sisters discover that they have inherited a vague piece of property in Mexico, Joanne is the one who tries to make everything flow perfectly. Jones Gunn has used this character device in the first two Sisterchicks books, mainly to show that things are out of our hands --- humans can't try to make things go the way they want them to. Here, she quietly but effectively shows that Joanne has allowed her need for control to cover up her lack of inner peace. The women start off on a cruise ship because of their aunt's generosity and well-maintained status as a preferred passenger on the line. When they run into an eccentric and likable group of women throwing a fabulous chocolate-tasting party, they first hear the term "sisterchicks" --- and Joanne sees in those spontaneous, exuberant ladies qualities that she not only lacks, but also covets.

Soon, Joanne gets the opportunity for spontaneity when she and Melanie discover that they are going to have to rent a car and drive to their deceased uncle's property in order to meet a legal deadline. When they then arrive and see that their inheritance is apparently a lot containing an Airstream trailer, they're a bit downcast. Guess what? They haven't seen the big picture --- and when they do, Joanne is so amazed that she opens up to her sister's spiritual guidance in an entirely new way.

Like the earlier Sisterchicks books, the characters experience both joys and difficulties, and these are interwoven with scenes from the local culture that are meant to show sisterchicks can learn from experiences quite foreign to them. In SISTERCHICKS ON THE LOOSE they took a Finnish sauna and in SISTERCHICKS DO THE HULA tried a Hawaiian lei-making class. The sombrero-sporting sisterchicks wind up needing overnight accommodations and meet an extremely poor and generous Mexican woman who embodies Christian hospitality. It is a credit to Jones Gunn that she does not allow this character to lapse into stereotype or flatness.

At the end of the interview, Jones Gunn wrote, "Being a sisterchick...becomes a validation that within the heart of a sisterchick grows a deeply rooted relationship with Christ." Melanie experiences growth (and will probably experience some change, too), but it is Joanne whose sisterchick experience, newly hatched as it were, is most interesting in this installment.

--- Reviewed by Bethanne Kelly Patrick

These sisters are typical siblings that have grown up and desire to have a better relationship than when they were kids. I can identify with so much of how this went in my own life and it made me love the book even more.

Joanne shows a lifestyle in the Lord to Melanie that makes Melanie desire to know Christ for herself. I just loved the trust and faith in all circumstances that Joanne had in the Lord: a true depiction of having a peace that passes all understanding. Although Joanne doesn't preach AT Melanie, Melanie saw the Lord. Again I say, EXCELLENT!

I loved this book so much by Robin that if I ever see the opportunity to read a book by her I will NOT hesitate. I definitely put Robin Jones Gunn among the list of my favorite authors and would recommend this book to anyone.

This is a great book about the relationship between two sisters and an adventure of a lifetime. It's a great beach read, light and easy but thought-provoking. It's a great piece of women's fiction that shows how God can work in our lives when we least expect it. Reading it made me want to take a cruise to Mexico someday with my girlfriends.

Robin Jones Gunn is one of my favorite authors, and her books almost always are written for one audience but are appreciated by a much wider group of people. Sisterchicks In Sombreros is no exception.

This book opens with Melanie and her sister Joanne going on a last-minute whirlwind trip to Mexico. Their crazy (excuse me, eccentric) aunt has discovered that their uncle, who died three years ago, left his beachfront property to Melanie and Joanne. Before Melanie can even begin the usual planning, her aunt's lastest cruise tickets are exchanged for two cruise tickets to Mexico, and the 'almost twins' are on the adventure of a lifetime.

Accidentally sneaking into a private party, discovering Melanie's allergies to mango (or is it guava?), and a heroic act on Joanne's part, the duo find themselves driving across the desert in a Jeep with no roof. Sharing a dinner of tortillas and cactus and a night in a single bed with a Spanish woman teaches them to count their blessings. The sisters run into a cop who doesn't speak English and a doctor who is surprisingly single. Then, after enjoying a few days in the 'silver sci-fi' trailer, complete with hammock and four-foot stuffed marlin, they drive back to the other side of the Baja Peninsela and finish the trip with an on-board cake decorating contest.

All through their trip, God seems to be working in the sisters' lives. Joanne is opening up to the dreams God might have for her and Dr. Matthew, while Melanie must learn to stop running from and start running to God. The sisters learn to count their blessings and let God, not their plans or dreams, reign over their lives.

This book is full of laughter and lessons, and a few kooky characters. All in all, I give this book the full five stars.

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The Sister Chick series is wonderful! Each book is a quick and light read, between the heavier tomes into which we delve. Thanks for sending this book on to me so quickly. I needed it for a quick gift and was so pleased when it came in plenty of time. Thanks for your professionalism and heart. Good work. I'm collecting the series to pass around to younger women who need encouragement. Thanks for helping make this goal possible.

This was my least favorite of the Sisterchick series and I gave it four stars. Enough being said... You ought to read it!

I didn't expect to "especially" enjoy this book. It just happened to be our book club's May selection. But - for me - it was a great surprise! It was a quick read in that the writing was easy going and pleasing. And the story lines were funny & interesting. I very much enjoyed the obvious external story line. However, it was the internal, more subtle subject matters that brought me satisfaction and reading pleasure - and which I connected with ....I imagine other readers might find themselves also taking a moment to reflect upon themselves to imagine how THEY might relate (to the story line and the internal subject matter).

So many funny one-liners and situations. Again, a quick read and I greatly enjoyed. Now I'm searching for the which of the other "Sister Chicks" I'd like to delve into....

Great transaction. Book was in good shape and I enjoyed it very much. Went to my bookclub meeting last night!

I love these books. Fun and light hearted, but watch out you'll be touched by them. It always makes me miss my friends and want to travel more! Easy to read. You'll feel like you have been on an adventure! Sisterchicks Rule!