The Sisters of Hope Square by Faith Hogan review – An emotionally-charged story of family drama
I’m not afraid to admit I had to reach for the tissues.
The Sisters of Hope Square by Faith Hogan: Key details
- Publish date: 4 June 2026
- Genre: Drama
- Publisher: Aria
- Available formats: Hardback, audio and ebook
- Series/standalone: Standalone
- Length: 416 pages
Blurb: All Blythe Carney ever wanted was to become a hotelier and run her family’s business, the Hope Square Hotel. But fate, and her grandfather, intervened and it fell into her younger sister Rae’s lap, taking her dreams with it. Now Blythe owns Still Water House, the most exclusive guest house on Pin Hill Island, but she can’t help but feel she’s still not living the life she was meant to.
Rae Johnson had no interest in taking over the hotel, her dreams lay elsewhere, but when she ended up with the family business her sister had set her heart on, her sense of duty to continue their family legacy with her husband was too strong to ignore.
Now, fifteen years later, newly widowed Rae is struggling to keep the hotel afloat and she knows that selling it could be the final straw in her already fragile relationship with her sister.
What do you do when your sister lives the life that you’d set your heart on? And when the perfect storm is brewing, surely, it’s time to put aside the jealousy and disappointment that can tear a family apart, and fight for the future you have always dreamed of?
The Sisters of Hope Square by Faith Hogan: The review
Sisters Blythe and Rae grew up in the shadow of the Hope Square Hotel, their family’s thriving business. Blythe was supposed to take it over, but thanks to Rae’s husband, it ended up in her hands, and with it came a years-long wedge between the once-close sisters.
Years later, Blythe is newly widowed and struggling to keep the hotel afloat. She doesn’t want to disappoint her sister further by losing the hotel – but despite the hotel’s name, hope seems to be nowhere in sight.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from The Sisters of Hope Square, my first book by Hogan. But I came away with a heart that had been broken and tenderly stitched back together. What a beautifully written story, teeming with real, human emotion. If you’ve struggled with grief, the guilt of carrying familial responsibility, parental anxiety, domestic violence – The Sisters of Hope Square will get you right in the feels.
It’s a little slow to get going, mind. The novel jumps between present day and the past, giving us a great insight into Blythe and Rae’s life, both now as middle-aged women and some 18 years ago when the fate of the hotel was being decided. There’s initially quite a lot of characters to keep track of, but stick with it and you’ll soon find a wonderful cast of richly-written, believable people – both good and bad.
I’m not ashamed to say that The Sisters of Hope Square made me tear up at a number of points. That’s testament to Hogan’s effective prose; intensely moving and beautifully detailed that it puts you right at the heart of Pin Hill Island, the small Irish island where the novel is set.
It isn’t action-packed or thrilling, but if you revel in emotionally-driven novels that focus on character, family and everything that goes with it, you’re going to love this. I’ll certainly be reading more from Faith at some point.
Is The Sisters of Hope Square for you?
- FOR FANS OF: Emotionally-charged family drama
- EXPECT: Tender moments, one particularly abhorrent character, plenty of feels
- READ IF YOU LIKE: Susan Lewis, Jo Thomas, Adele Parks
Thank you to the publisher, Aria, and @squadpod2021 for providing a copy of the book for the purposes of this review.
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