Sisters of the Sweetwater Fury

by Kinley Bryan

Three sisters. Two Great Lakes. One furious storm.

It's 1913 and Great Lakes galley cook Sunny Colvin has her hands full feeding a freighter crew seven days a week, nine months a year. She also has a dream—to open a restaurant back home—but knows she'd never convince her husband, the steward, to leave the seafaring life he loves.

In Sunny’s Lake Huron hometown, her sister, Agnes Inby, mourns her husband, a U.S. Life-Saving Serviceman who died in an accident she believes she could have prevented. Burdened with regret and longing for more than her job at the dry goods store, she looks for comfort in a secret infatuation.

Two hundred miles away in Cleveland, the youngest sister, Cordelia Blythe, has pinned her hopes for adventure on her marriage to a lake freighter captain. Finding herself alone and restless in her new town, she joins him on the season’s last trip up the lakes.

On November 8, 1913, a deadly storm descends on the Great Lakes, bringing hurricane-force winds, whiteout blizzard conditions, and mountainous waves that last for days. Amidst the chaos all three women are offered a glimpse of the clarity they seek, if only they dare to perceive it.

Inspired by actual events during the Great Lakes Storm of 1913, Sisters of the Sweetwater Fury is meticulously researched and grippingly told. A powerful debut.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Book Club, Adult Fiction, Adult

315 pages, Paperback

Published October 12, 2021

About the author

An Ohio native, Kinley Bryan lives in South Carolina with her husband and three children. Her debut novel, Sisters of the Sweetwater Fury, inspired by the Great Lakes Storm of 1913 and her own family history, won the 2022 Publishers Weekly Selfies Award for adult fiction. The Lost Women of Mill Street is her second novel.

Reviews

[Katy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is our January 2022 read for book club!

What a brilliantly written book! So much history brought to life by vivid descriptions. It would seem that the author clearly did her homework to ensure the correct terminology was used to explain life on a freighter. Language of the past described the jobs of those at the life-saving stations, and the emotions of those left ashore were passionately felt as you experienced the raging storm of November 1913 as it appeared yet only in words.

I loved this novel!! This story grabbed me right from the get-go. Now I’m sure it has something to do with the fact that I live on Lake Erie (on the Canadian side near the western basin before you get to the Detroit River) and am familiar with many of the locations referenced. But there is no denying the skilled storytelling of this debut novel.

As I read this story I found my self googling the bays, inlets, harbours mentioned, looking up the ports and lighthouse locations. Also googled the nautical terms referencing everything from parts of the ship, jobs of the crew, to the variety of threatening waves. I just found every word to be so fascinating.

Life on the freighters was interesting as well and the chores and responsibilities of each crew member were worked into the story. Even the meals chosen and the preparation were described so as to be a pertinent part of the tale. The author has quite a talent for making every detail an important fact to heighten the drama.

As one of the sisters lives in Port Austin the workings of the life-saving station figure heavily into the theme. Additionally, the camaraderie amongst the townsfolk and the station workers is developed, as is the relationships of the crew on the freighters. The historic backdrop of over one hundred years ago works so well with the plot. Included in this is the description of clothing, treatment of injuries, personal conduct and attitudes. They all figure into the setting adding greatly to deliver a most believable tale. While based on actual events and of course the truly horrific storm, this is a stunningly masterful work!

Five stars is hardly enough!

[Deacon Tom (Feeling Better) · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Sisters of the Sweetwater Fury” is an exciting book full of adventure and drama on the high seas – – the American Great Lakes.

The book is a very fast read and after chapter 2 completely sucks you into all of the struggles that the crew are going through.

I was very much attracted to this book because I lived in Marquette Michigan for a few years as well as was a sailor for summer between high school and college. So, as I read the book I have personal flashbacks of small towns surrounding the Great Lakes and my own personal experience. Fortunately we didn’t have any major storms or crashes

Released into the cement your story is a bit of romance that will keep everyone interested.

It’s a good author who crafts her description says allowed me to bring back old memories.

This is a good book – – I recommend it.

I received an advance copy of this book. The opinions expressed in the review are my own.

[Pat Trattles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. This story was a nail biter. I live in Michigan and was somewhat familiar with the hazards of traversing the Great Lakes in November, especially the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald chronicled in the Gordon Lightfoot song by the same name but was unfamiliar with the 1913 storms in which dozens of ships and hundreds of sailors were lost. In this fictionalized version we follow three sisters who experience it firsthand; Sunny who works as a cook on one of the ships along with her husband, Herb; Cordelia, the youngest sister who elopes, then joins her ship captain husband on his journey in what she thought would be a ‘honeymoon adventure’ but turned perilous instead; and Agnes, the eldest sister who lives along the shores of Lake Huron and is caught in the storm as it batters the area inland. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Connie Donnelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book. Living on a great lake I can appreciate the fury of the lakes. I can remember a visitor to the area saying, on a day when Lake Erie was smooth as glass, "whats the big deal". I wish he could have seen it on a day when the wind is howling and the waves crashing against the breakwall shake the whole house.

Kinley's description of the raging lakes will chill you on the warmest day.

The three sisters are all different and yet are bound together by their love of the lake and of the courageous people who work on the lake, manning the large lakers and the rescue boats plucking survivors from the sweetwater's fury.

Give this book a read. You won't be disappointed.

[Tiffanie22 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I discovered this book thanks to Book Bub. I liked the cover so read a bit of the blurb and knew I wanted to read this! Having grown up surrounded by Lake Erie and the Detroit River, seeing the straight deck lake freighters is a common occurrence, yet I never gave thought to life on these giants, nor to the sailing these vessels during the violent Great Lakes storms. This book is set during the great storms of 1913, that took out many freighters and other boats in all the lakes but Ontario. This story follows three sisters, all of whom know full well the fury of the lakes, as they all experience this storm from differing vantage points. This book sparked my curiosity like very few have before - I spent a lot of time googling about sailing the Great Lakes, straight deck freighters, sailing in storms, the difference between salties and lakers etc. This is a page turner with much action and suspense. Well worth the read!

[Booknblues · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was something serendipitous to my discovering Sisters of the Sweetwater Fury: A Novel on November 7, about a storm which blew from November 7 to 10 in 1913. I thought that I must read this immediately, and then it began to rain here in California in 2021.

Kinley Bryan's novel is a historical fiction about the storm known as the Freshwater or Sweetwater Fury which devastated shipping on the Great Lakes, in which 250 people perished and as many as 19 ships sank. It was recalled as having 90 MPH winds and waves as tall as 35 feet.

The story involves three sisters who have ties to the shipping industry in the Great Lakes. One sister is actually a cook aboard a ship. It is quite an exciting story and I was on the edge of my seat while reading it and could actually feel the chill of the white out conditions of this storm.

I'd recommend this for anyone who lives or is interested in the Great Lakes region.

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

What do I think? A well researched historical fiction novel by first time author Kiley Bryan was chosen for our January 2022 book club selection. I loved the premise of the story, however there were parts that dragged as each of the three sisters were in different locations all having similar experiences from chapter to chapter, all to do with the Great Storm of 1913 in my beloved Great Lakes. I have lived in this area my whole life and understand the fury the Great Lakes can bring during storms either in winter or summer. As I think on each of the sisters, Agnes, Sunny and Cordelia, the character development was just not there.
I did refer to google maps and the dictionary a lot in this book to keep me in line with the sailing terminology. I also loved how there was a tie in to the Three Sisters description of the waves and how a freighter can survive them.
One of the biggest bothers to me, why did the author refer to the Not Ernie, assistant engineer fellow so often after Ernie left. that just irked me. Just give him a name.

One of my favourite quotes:

"When others are speaking, don't put in your oar every few sentences, her mother would say.

The author also gives us some good reading sources for reading about the true stories of the Great Lakes.

I may be back after book club tonight to update to 4 as I am wavering on my 3 star review right now.

[Chelsea Pinkard · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.75 stars - A 99c Kindle novel telling the story of the 1913 Great Lakes storm and its countless shipwrecks through the perspective of three women? YES PLEASE! I really enjoyed this story and the way it was told, giving us multiple angles through which to immerse in the shipboard experience of the Great Lakes Storm from the stranded crew to the lifesavers on shore and those who ended up in the frigid water as their vessels sank beneath them. The writing itself wasn’t anything spectacular and the characters were a touch bland but I appreciated the POV shifts between the three sisters because it meant the pacing kept quite steady and engaging. It also allowed me to learn a great deal more about a maritime event which I was previously mostly unfamiliar with! Overall a decent quick read, finished in a day.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's 1913 and a storm is brewing ... in the lakes and the hearts of three sisters whose lives are tied to the waters. Sunny and her husband work on a freighter, Cordelia recently married a freighter captain, and widowed Agnes lives with her mother near the lifesaving station where her father served. Each have dreams of a life different from the one they're living. None of them would have envisioned the fate the storm had in store for them. Each sister's strength and fortitude was challenged beyond human limits, causing the reader to stall and examine their own self. Full disclosure ... I cried.

The book is well researched from accounts of those that survived the 1913 storm that hit Lake Michigan and Lake Superior along with other stories of Great Lakes shipwreck survival.

[Natasha Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Last weekend I went to Marblehead Lighthouse State Park in Ohio where I found this gem in their gift shop. I never heard of this book nor the author, but I decided I needed to give this one a chance because, one, the historical aspect had its appeal being the history lover that I am, and two, I haven’t read much about the 1913 Great Lakes winter storm, so my curiosity won out on that. What a read this was! Full of adventure and drama, tragedy and new beginnings. It had me engrossed from the start. This is Kinley Bryan’s only book so far. I have my fingers crossed she puts out another historical fiction novel soon. 🤞🏻

[Marta-Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

The survival stories of 3 sisters all experiencing the deadly great lakes hurricane of 1913. One on a ship near Lake Superior's Whitefish Bay, another in Lake Huron, and the third at the lifesaving station in Port Austin. You'll gain a new appreciation for the lakes, sailors, and lives impacted by them.

[Meg Dowell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't expect to fly through this book so quickly! Thrilling, heartbreaking, and a story I'm going to be thinking about for a long time. Definitely worth a read!

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had fun reading this book, as I live on the shore of Lake Superior and have watched many storms out my front window, including the coast guard fish a body out of the lake right in front of my house after a storm! The book is a bit sappy, but I appreciated the setting, the life and the general idea of life based around seafaring.

[S · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually read the blurb and clearly took nothing in when I purchased this novel..
The title lets on about very little in that regard - for me at least. Turns out this is a historical fiction set on the great Lakes system in North America. As an Aussie, this is a topic I had no idea about. I learnt a lot, googled a lot and actually really enjoyed the writing and plot. Based on a terrible storm in the early 1900's, I never expected to be so enthralled by boats and the great lakes history.

[Naomi McMillan · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a native of northeast Ohio I was mesmerized by this book. I learned so much about the Great Lakes and the perils involved. The only thing familiar was the “lake effect” snow. I felt like I was living an episode of Deadliest Catch from discovery channel. I honestly could not put this book down and read it in 2 or 3 days. So glad I found it. I also looked up the storm and found a 20 minute account on YouTube validating the entire event. All I can say is wow! Highly recommend.

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this as an ARC for an honest review. Very interesting read. I learned something new about a real event in history. I had no idea that the great Lakes had such horrible storms and high waves. The story was well written and the character were well developed. I would definitely recommend this book.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Felt like I was there with everyone throughout the ordeal. Heartbreaking. Love a good historical fiction.

[Helen Blackthorne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before picking up this book, I did not know much about the Great Lakes, other than where they were and that they consisted of five different lakes. I do, however, love books that are based on true events, for they always display an astounding amount of dedication from the author, who has to have spent so much time researching the events and finding out what happened, let alone putting it down in words. And so, it did not take much for me to agree to read this book.

This novel follows three different women, three sisters. The eldest, Anges, is at home, looking after her mother, and wishing she was anywhere but where she was. The middle child, Sunny, is working on the Titus Brown, as a cook who is much loved by the sailors for her baked goods. The youngest, Cordelia, embarks on the Marguerite, captained by her new husband, in a bid for adventure and to get to know her husband better, having only known him for a short time.

With the arrival of a storm, everyone is sure it will simply blow over, that ships will be able to ride it out, and that it won’t last too long. After all, deliveries must be made, so stopping for too long, or being delayed, was undesired. However, with the storm worsening and the ships showing signs of succumbing, rather than powering on, all three sisters find their lives thrown into chaos.

Strong female characters are always a joy to read about, but not every strong character feels the same as how they portray their emotions. When the Titus Brown sustains damage, Sunny focuses on making sure the crew is fed, and keeping their spirits up, and grows desperate to try and get food to the officers stuck at the other end of the ship. But, inside, she is terrified. She has dreams to open a restaurant, to stay onshore and not boarding a ship come Spring. The storm gives her the opportunity to evaluate her life. Why should she continue to live a life she doesn’t want to, when another option is available? And yet, to make her dreams come true, she first has to make it back to shore alive.

This novel is full of moments that have you on the edge of your seat, and almost every chapter ends with a cliffhanger. With Sunny and Cordelia out on the water, you cannot help but force your eyes open, to stay awake for another chapter, for you really feel for the characters, and I am not sure I would’ve been able to sleep without knowing what happened next anyway! I will certainly be reading this book again, and I strongly suggest you grab a copy as well.

*I received a copy of Sisters of the Sweetwater Fury from The Coffee Pot Book Club for review consideration.

[Laurie Brunton-stalker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This debut novel is a wonderfully written story about a storm on the Great Lakes in 1913 and the people whose lives are affected. The characters have depth, there is suspense to keep one wanting to turn the pages, the descriptions of the storm are visceral, and the history is meticulously researched. Highly recommend!

[Dayna Phelps · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exciting historical read!

If you live on the lakes you'll become part of this story. If you don't, it will make you want to visit one! The storm of 1913 and the agonizing loss that occurred because of it can be found in some form in any museum around the Great Lakes. This story is a terrific starting point!

[Beatrice Rivers · Rating 5 out of 5]

In her day-to-day life as a galley cook, Sunny Colvin works hard and is a beloved crew member for the food that she makes. Hers is the kind of ship that people clamour to be on, for they know that as a part of that crew, they will be well fed. But, in her private life, Sunny has a secret. She would like to go ashore, to not return to the crew of the Titus Brown, but to run a restaurant, where she can serve all the things she loves to make.

Agnes Inby, Sunny’s older sister, is living in her hometown on Lake Huron, looking after her mother, and putting up with the life she has been left with. Her husband died working as a Life-Saving Serviceman, and she is the only one left at home to look after her mother, a job that she wishes she did not have, for it seems that, in her mother’s eyes, she can do nothing right. But, with the friendship with the family of Keeper Duncan, the new leader of the U.S. Live-Saving Serviceman, Agnes sees new opportunities opening before her.

Cordelia Blythe, the youngest sister, ran away from home to marry a ship captain. And, she is determined to get to know him. Despite knowing he will be working, Cordelia insists on accompanying him on his last trip of the season, viewing it as a honeymoon for the pair of them. She has always felt alone, and spending time with her new husband is something she is eager to do. Plus, with him being the captain of the ship, she will have status aboard and views the whole thing as an adventure.

November on the Great Lakes was known for its storms, for it was an unpredictable time of year on the water. When a storm hits, everyone thinks it will blow over quickly, like so many of the other storms they have experienced, but when it doesn’t let up, and instead, grows deadly, the three sisters quickly realise that this storm isn’t like the others they have seen – this one is the kind of storm that changes lives forever.

This is the kind of book that reminds you why you love reading. The characters live and breathe within the pages, and the author has so clearly spent hours and hours researching to make this book as accurate as possible. The pure devastation, and the fear, have been depicted with incredible skill, and I was almost certain I was living the events alongside the characters, rather than simply reading them from words on a page. Not many novels have left me reeling quite so much as this one did. I poured over the author’s note at the end, and went on to research this era more, trying to find out all I could about the Great Lakes and the storm of 1913. This book left me desperate to find anything else the author has written, simply to gush over that as well.

My favourite character, of the three sisters, was certainly Sunny. This is nothing against Agnes and Cordelia, but Sunny was a character I could not get enough of, and her story was nothing if not suspenseful and dramatic. She is such a brave woman, not because she doesn’t feel fear, but because she pushes her own fear aside to make sure the other members of the crew are not afraid. She is incredibly hardworking, and it seems that, in desperate times, she is the person who will go above and beyond to make sure everything is running as smoothly and normally as possible, even in dire situations. Sunny is a character based on a real-life woman, and this novel is not fictitious but based on real events. It only takes a moment to think about being stuck in a situation like any of the sisters to realise how utterly terrifying it would have been to live through this storm, and even then, I am not sure I could ever truly imagine the horrors the sisters in this book, and everyone fighting the storm, faced.

While Sunny was my favourite character, Cordelia and Agnes have also found a place in my heart. I don’t want to give any spoilers, but with a book about a deadly storm, and three sisters all tied up in it, there is destruction and, with as deadly as this storm was, there is heartbreak. And I mean the kind of words that you read that physically grab your heart and crush it. The way this book has been written constantly keeps you on edge as you read, and it is absolutely impossible to put down.

There are some authors in this world, who write so amazingly, that you are sucked into the story and you truly feel unhappy every moment you are away from the book. This is one of those books. It feels like something has been added to your life, and when you have finished reading it, a chunk of your heart is missing, because this book had become such an integral part of your life. The only problem is, with most of these kinds of books, you can then buy every book the author has written, and read them as well. This is the author’s debut novel, and it has only just come out. I do not know if the author is planning on writing anything else, but I am certain that, if she does, I will be one of the first to buy it, and devour it as I devoured this one.

*I received a copy of this book from The Coffee Pot Book Club for review consideration.

[Elise Larson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A riveting story of courage in the grip of a monstrous Great Lakes storm! Five extraordinary stars!

If you enjoy riveting, meticulously researched and beautifully written historical fiction, grab this book! I'll never forget the time I crossed Lake Michigan during a storm, and I'm sure my uncle encountered rough weather when he worked as a cook on a Lake Superior ore boat, but we never experienced a storm like the "White Hurricane" that struck the Great Lakes with relentless fury in November of 1913.

From November 7th-10th, a blizzard with hurricane-force winds, waves over thirty-five feet high, and whiteout conditions, destroyed nineteen ships and stranded nineteen others, with most wrecks occurring on Lake Huron. This story focuses on two lakes--Huron and Michigan--and three sisters whose lives are dramatically changed by the forces of this incredibly powerful storm.

Agnes, Sunny and Cordelia were raised at Port Austin Life-Saving Station on Lake Huron in Michigan, where their father served as keeper. Agnes, now the eldest at thirty-seven, lives with her demanding mother but dreams of an independent life with Lizzie, the beautiful sister of the station's new keeper. Sunny, the middle sister, works with her husband as a cook on the Titus Brown, but after ten years on the lakes she dreams of opening her own restaurant on land. Cordelia, the youngest at twenty, recently eloped with a Great Lakes captain, and she impulsively decides to join him on his last trip of the season for a "romantic cruise" on the Marguerite. Their terrifying journey turns out to be anything but romantic!

As the freighters head north on Lake Huron, they run straight into the teeth of the fierce storm. The author's descriptive, often horrifying details of the storm's damage to the ships and the fate of the embattled crews are among the most chilling words I've ever read. I can't imagine how anyone survived the hurricane-force winds, blinding snow, and constant assault by frigid waves often more than thirty-five feet high. Freezing temperatures coated everything with ice, including the beards and eyelashes of the crew! (Although I read this book during a record-setting heat wave, I couldn't help but feel the penetrating cold.)

While Sunny and Cordelia struggle to stay alive on their badly damaged ships, Agnes remains at Port Austin Station but volunteers to help row a rescue boat to a broken-down ship stranded on a reef nearly two miles from shore. Will the rescuers arrive before the crew members freeze to death or the ship completely breaks in two and slips off the reef? Will Agnes, Sunny and Cordelia manage to survive the storm and achieve their dreams? I'm not saying, but the emotional final chapters are the best part of a truly remarkable story. This extraordinary debut novel easily earns five stars and my enthusiastic recommendation!

[The Book Bandit · Rating 5 out of 5]

📚📚📚📚📚⭐ = A book in a million

There are some books that you read, and that you know you will, eventually, read it again, because you enjoyed it, and know that you will enjoy it a second time through. This book is not one of them. This book is the kind of book that you finish and do not set aside, but immediately turn back to the start and start again, because this is not the kind of book that you move on from, but the kind that stays with you forever.

The three sisters, something that occurs in Lake Superior, where three waves hit a ship, the last one accumulating the other two to create a wave that lands on the deck of the ship. Something that no one wants to come into contact with. And yet, this book is about a different kind of three sisters. Three women who have grown up around water, who are all affected differently, but equally, by the onslaught of a storm, a storm worse than any ship’s crew has ever seen.

Sunny and Cordelia find themselves on ships, Sunny as a cook among a crew she has known and worked alongside for years, and Cordelia being newly married to a ship captain and wanting to spend more time with him. Agnes, the eldest, is on shore when the storm hits, but that doesn’t mean she is safe. With a storm such as the one that overtook the Great Lakes in 1913, no one was entirely safe.

This book puts you in the shoes of these three women, as they battle the storm from where they find themselves. I have never read anything about the Great Lakes before, to be honest, I didn’t know they existed until I read this book, and I knew little about ships. This book didn’t just give me a story, it instilled within me something I am not sure I have felt when reading a book before. I truly lived this story alongside the characters. At times, when reading, I was sure my feet were numb from the cold, and that I could hear rain and wind outside, and yet, I was warm and the weather was mild. I don’t live near water, but I could hear crashing waves, and I felt the fear that the characters felt.

My reviews do not usually last for quite this long, but I find myself incapable of stopping. I can easily see this book as an award-winning movie, something like Titanic, but much more fast-paced, and with multiple different perspectives, showing the true extent of the damage. That is a movie I would love to see, although saying that, I have already seen it, when I read this book. This book is calling me back to it, like the pull that some people have towards the water. I am drawn towards this story, and I can do nothing but read it again, and again, and again, until I know every word by heart.

[John Szalasny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book through The History Quill Book Club.
Living along the Great Lakes, I know how bad a storm can get over a wide area. In 1977, while my parents in Buffalo were getting buried under 6 feet of snow over three days, I was in Cleveland (200 miles away) dealing with minus 20 degree temperatures. So when I found reports of this storm in research on the Great Lakes, I was still fascinated that the centennial anniversary of the storm was commemorated in several communities.
When I found the listing for Sisters of the Sweetwater Fury, I knew I had to read it. And I was not disappointed. The Fury plays a major role in the story as the blizzard storm lasted three days across Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron and Erie in November 1913. The story follows the sisters (Sunny, Cordelia and Agnes) through the calm before and nail biting fury during the storm. Their family hailed from the thumb of Michigan. Sunny followed her husband to the inland seas, working as the galley cook on the Titus Brown. Cordelia joined her husband, the captain of the Marguerite, on what she hoped would be a honeymoon of sorts on what would be one of the last runs of the season. And Agnes was landbound, home tending to her mother.
Having three sisters in the book has to be a play on The Three Sisters, a storm surge feared by sailors on Lake Superior. The first sister (wave) is bigger than most, the second bigger still, but a seasoned crew can ride these out. It's the third sister that is the biggest and meanest (and deadliest) of them all. Each of the sisters ride out their own panic and peril ride through this storm. Sunny, keeping morale up and bellies sated with her culinary wizardry after most of the stores were waterlogged and her concerns with her husband, injured during one of the pitches of the boat. Cornelia, unseasoned and untrained for her experiences on her boat, trying to take her cues from her husband despite rising panic. And Agnes, who grew up at the US Life Saving station, finds her self trapped by the storm with her best friend (who happens to be the daughter of the current keeper) but makes a vital contribution to the saving of lives to a ship that was damaged and floundering off shore.
For a first novel, author Kinley Bryan wrote a gripping account of three accounts of what may be the worst winter storm event in North America.

[Lost in a book · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three sisters. One storm. A storm that would make the history books with how destructive it was. This novel is about that storm and how it would change the lives of these sisters, forever.

This novel is about an event I know nothing about, and yet, the blurb and the cover reeled me in and I couldn’t help but set my expectations, for this story, high. I was so sure it was going to be a fabulous book, just from reading the blurb! When I turned the first page, I admit, I was a little trepidatious that I had set my expectations too high, and that I would end up being thoroughly disappointed in this novel. This was not the case at all. Somehow, this book exceeded the expectations I had set.

With three different perspectives, some may be cautious about reading this book, as multiple perspectives can sometimes make it confusing to follow a story. Please let me lay such concerns to rest! Having the three sisters, watching the storm unfold from different parts of The Great Lakes, gives an entirely rounded view of the horrors as well as demonstrating just how deadly the storm was. Nearly every chapter leaves you on a small cliffhanger, making you perpetually concerned for the characters, and eager to keep reading, for you will be desperate to get back to each character, which means you are simply longing to keep reading - in other words, you will find yourself devouring this book.

As I was reading, I loved and was scared for the characters as if they were my own sisters. I had to know they were safe, and I absolutely had to know what happened next. This book is written so fabulously, I lived the story.


This is an author to keep an eye on, for someone who can create a masterpiece such as this is certainly someone who has some more tricks up their sleeve.

*I received a copy of this novel from The Coffee Pot Book Club. I was under no obligation to leave a review.

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes, I finished this book in two days. I was completely captivated by this story of the harrowing voyages of two sisters on Great Lakes and the third sister, Agnes who while not on a freighter also makes a harrowing and heroic voyage of her own.
I am a big fan of shipwreck stories and as a book club pick I honestly didn’t even know the subject of the book until I purchased it. Although the story takes place in the early 1900’s, the book felt as contemporary as many books I’ve read with a modern day timeline.
I loved Sunny’s commitment to sail with her husband as the cook on a coal hauling freighter, while aspiring to own her own restaurant in her hometown someday. Sunny loses two items dear to her in the worst storm you could imagine, and manages to survive conditions aboard the ship that make you wonder if she’ll make it through alive.
Newly wedded Cordelia embarks on his first freighter voyage with her husband (different ship) the Captain in hopes that this “honeymoon “ as she views it will help her get to know him better. Her fate not so fortunate.
Widowed sister Agnes is the most interesting and most complex sister. Her later in life discovery of falling in love with Lizzie is played out delicately as she too finds a new life after the storm.
Highlights were reading this story that takes place on the familiar Great Lakes with mentions of cities and the Soo Locks I visited as a child. There’s even a few references to Toledo, my hometown!

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always been partial to a good seafaring or shipwreck story, and this is one of the best I've ever read. Unlike most, this one features the experiences of three women, sisters from Port Austin, MI. I totally enjoyed this female spin on the genre.

I was unfamiliar with the story of the November, 1913 storm that was the deadliest in Great Lakes History. It affected all of the lakes but Ontario, sunk 19 ships, stranded 19 others, and caused the death of more than 250 people. Just astonishing. Kinley Bryan draws from family history and clearly knows her stuff - not just the storm, but the Great Lakes, its shipping industry, its history, its culture - and told an engaging story that was full of interesting information. The story itself really drew me in. I felt like I was there. I felt the fear, the dread, the cold, the joy, relief, desires, heartbreak, all of it. Several times I wanted to stop and look up some place, or sailing thing, or historical info, but I couldn't stop reading and ended up just jotting down things I would look up later after I finished the book.

I stumbled upon this at the National Museum of the Great Lakes and am glad I did. I have visited most of the locations in this book and grow more fascinated by the lakes - and protective of them - every day.

[Margo Allore · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the book. The novel is the fictional story of three sisters during the Great Storm of 1913 on the Great Lakes. The book was inspired by real events.

The three sisters: Agnes - 36 - widowed three years - lives with her overbearing 55 year old mother in Port Austin, Michigan; Sonny - 33 - is the cook and her husband, Herb, is the steward, on a Laker (Titus Brown) (they live and work for nine months of the year); and Cordelia, 20, who had recently eloped with a Laker Captain and wants to sail with him on the last voyage of the year on the Marquette.

The novel takes us from November 7th to November 12th - the trial and tribulations on the ships and on shore during this terrible storm - the worst in the Great Lakes history. The novel was well researched about the Great Lakes, ships and the shipping industry at that time period. There were dozens of shipwrecks and 250 lives lost on the lakes. Unknown how many on land. The novel also shows the development and strengths of these women.

One downside I found - was too much description and pages to the the breaking up of the ships on the lakes. It went on and on here - more editing was needed. Also, there were many nautical terms that I did not know---I spent a fair bit of time researching those terms. Until I read this book, I never knew about this terrible and destructive storm on the Great Lakes (four out of the five had destruction).

[Marcia Crabtree · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free advanced electronic copy of the book Sisters of the Sweetwater Fury written by Kinley Bryan. I would like to thank Ms. Bryan for writing this book and Ms. Bryan, her publisher Blue Mug Press, and Book Sirens for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book prior to its publication. I am posting this review voluntarily.

The book chronicles a catastrophic storm on the Great Lakes during 1913 and the men and women caught up in it, both on land and at sea. It captivated me from beginning to end. I loved every word of it. I found it to be so compelling that I fought off sleep several evenings in order to keep reading. It was difficult for me to put down, to say the least. I loved and cheered for all of the characters; there wasn’t one for which I failed to root or empathize. Each one was thoroughly fleshed out and contained significant substance, even the minor characters. The settings and events came alive to me, as well, as Ms. Bryan painted their pictures with fine, poignant details and provided ample substance. I definitely would read another book written by Ms. Bryan and highly recommend reading this one—her first.

[Cindy Gillespie-Lena · Rating 5 out of 5]

And fury it is, what a nail-biting story! Being a resident of Michigan and having visited most of the places in this book brought the historical 1913 terrifying storm to life. I enjoyed a behind-the-scenes look at life on a freighter. I never gave it much thought, but living in Michigan, you cannot visit any of our Great Lakes without seeing the freighters out on the lakes. The story intertwines three sisters' lives and their relationship to the Great Lakes and living a life on a freighter, being part of the crew, not a traditional setting for a story but, this one pulled me in and did not let me go. In this story, there were heroes on the freighters and onshore. In addition, an unexpected and riveting twist in Agnes's life journey, a challenge she must navigate for that time in history. Kudos to all the sisters for having a dream and going after it.