An interesting novel written with chapters that alternate between the story of two present day sisters and their dysfunctional family, and the historical female samurai Tomoe Gozen. The intriguing mystery is how the two narratives are related, the character development is based on how the sisters' reading Tomoe's life story changes their lives and their relationship.

The author does a great job taking us back and forth in time - both in each sisters' life and in Tomoe's. I personally found the samurai story more intriguing, but I did enjoy how the two stories intertwined. Interspersed is the family story of the sisters, their mother was a mail-order bride. She is now suffering from dementia. The sisters are in a legal battle over her care and their estranged father is threatening to reveal a dangerous secret about their mother that could do her harm. The sister's hope that the secret is hidden in the a book their mother kept hidden, but it is written in Japanese and time is running out....

I did enjoy this book a great deal. Some story lines resolved themselves a bit too neatly, and the mother's big secret (and therefore the reason for her lifelong behavior) was a bit of a let-down for me, but nonetheless I can forgive all that and will admit to shedding a few tears a the end! ( )

I like this story of a half-Asian family with ties to a medieval Japanese legend, but I struggled to get into the story for the first third. After a slow start - the plot involves a lot of history (both historical events and the personal background of the characters) that has to be explained before the book really starts to flow. It's a good family story, with an emotionally abusive father who won't change and a mother battling dementia and carrying secrets from her own past. The novel isn't perfect, but the relationship between the sisters Rachel and Drew provides plenty of satisfaction for the reader. ( )

so good!!!!!!!!!!! ( )

The third book by Margaret Dilloway, Sisters of Heart and Snow, has two interwoven stories. The first is contemporary and is about two adult sisters who have been estranged since their bully of a father kicked the eldest out of the house at sixteen. Their mother, a mail order bride from Japan who always remained distant to her daughters, is now suffering from dementia and living in a nursing home.

During a visit to the home Rachel, the eldest, understands that there is a book her mother wants her to find. She calls her sister Drew and asks her to go to their childhood home with her to help find it. When they do find it they can't read it because it's in Japanese. After hiring a translator they learn it is about a woman samurai who lived during the 12th century in Japan.

The two stories, the first of the sisters and the second of the samurai, are intermittently told from that point on. The purpose of the book to the plot is to lead the sisters to reconciliation, but the story of the samurai never seems anything but inconsequential. In the beginning the sisters are good characters but they become so predictable that they become boring, particularly the youngest who wallows in immaturity. Near the end there are a couple of revelations that are meant to be bombshells but they fizzle because the reader has seen them coming. My impression is that Dilloway had a plot in mind that she just couldn't pull together. ( )

On the surface, Rachel and Drew Snow had a fabulous family: a charming and doting father as well as a loving mother that was always there for them. Appearances are often deceiving, as their father was often verbally and emotionally abusive and their mother never stood up for her children. Twenty years have passed and now Rachel and Drew are brought together in their quest to help their mother deal with dementia and uncover secrets of her past in Sisters of Heart and Snow by Margaret Dilloway.

As a teenager, it was presumed that Rachel Snow might one day make it to the Olympics as a swimmer. Her father was proud of her accomplishments and praised her abilities until an injury permanently sidelined her from competition. She then began to act out and was eventually thrown out of her parent's home at the tender age of seventeen. Drew was considered the quiet child and once her idolized older sister was gone, she made no effort to rock the boat. Drew immersed herself in music, but always knew she could count on financial support from her father as long as she behaved appropriately. Neither Rachel nor Drew know anything about their mother's life in Japan, how she wound up becoming a mail-order bride, or why she stayed with such an abusive partner for all those years. All that changes when Rachel launches a legal battle against her father to continue his financial support for his wife, her mother, as she suffers from dementia. One of the things Rachel and Drew uncover is a handwritten book detailing the life of Tomoe Gozen, an onnamusha (a female warrior) and concubine in 12th-century Japan, as well as that of Yamabuki Gozen (her sister wife). Rachel and Drew have this book translated and try to find out the meaning it has for their mother. Can they uncover the true meaning of this book entitled "Sister of Heart" before it is too late?

As most of you know by now, I enjoy reading stories that blend historical elements with a contemporary timeline. Sisters of Heart and Snow provides a fascinating fictionalized glimpse into the lives of two amazing women from 12th-century feudal Japan, one that is perceived as pampered and cultured and the other seen as a fierce warrior. The more that is revealed, the more the reader realizes that both women are warriors in their own right and that Rachel and Drew exhibit qualities from both of these warrior women. I found Sisters of Heart and Snow to be a fast-paced and engrossing read that provides dysfunctional family drama, a bit of romance, sibling rivalry, and a search for purpose. This is one of those books that provides such great information on historical figures that I now want to learn more about the history of the warrior geisha (fortunately, Ms. Dilloway provides a bibliography for additional reading). If you enjoy reading historical fiction or contemporary family dramas, then you'll want to add Sisters of Heart and Snow to your TBR list. I enjoyed reading Sisters of Heart and Snow so much I'll be recommending it to my local book groups as a future group read. ( )