Review: The Stepsisters

 

The Stepsisters

About the Book:

Once upon a time, when her dad married Sage’s mom, Daisy was thrilled to get a bright and shiny new sister. But Sage was beautiful and popular, everything Daisy was not, and she made sure Daisy knew it.

Sage didn’t have Daisy’s smarts—she had to go back a grade to enroll in the fancy rich-kid school. So she used her popularity as a weapon, putting Daisy down to elevate herself. After the divorce, the stepsisters’ rivalry continued until the final, improbable straw: Daisy married Sage’s first love, and Sage fled California.

Eighteen years, two kids and one troubled marriage later, Daisy never expects—or wants—to see Sage again. But when the little sister they have in common needs them both, they put aside their differences to care for Cassidy. As long-buried truths are revealed, no one is more surprised than they when friendship blossoms.

Their fragile truce is threatened by one careless act that could have devastating consequences. They could turn their backs on each other again…or they could learn to forgive once and for all and finally become true sisters of the heart.

My Comments:

During your teenaged years it is tough to love a sister you've grown up with, much less a step-sister your age whose strengths are your weaknesses.  No, Sage and Daisy didn't like each other, but they both loved Cassidy and by helping her they learned that the other wasn't so bad.

Sage has lived a rough life--her mother was a woman who married for money but never managed to stay that way, probably because she never learned to love.  Sage sees that she is heading down that same road and decides to change--but then there is the BIG thing.  I'm all for forgiveness but in this case that forgiveness seemed to come awfully easily.  

I enjoyed the book and enjoyed watching these three women outgrow childhood animosities and realize that they are loveable, but some of it just seemed too easy.  Grade:  B.

Review: The Vineyard at Painted Moon

The Vineyard at Painted Moon

About the Book

Mackenzie Dienes seems to have it all—a beautiful home, close friends and a successful career as an elite winemaker with the family winery. There’s just one problem—it’s not her family, it’s her husband’s. In fact, everything in her life is tied to him—his mother is the closest thing to a mom that she’s ever had, their home is on the family compound, his sister is her best friend. So when she and her husband admit their marriage is over, her pain goes beyond heartbreak. She’s on the brink of losing everything. Her job, her home, her friends and, worst of all, her family.

Staying is an option. She can continue to work at the winery, be friends with her mother-in-law, hug her nieces and nephews—but as an employee, nothing more. Or she can surrender every piece of her heart in order to build a legacy of her own. If she can dare to let go of the life she thought she wanted, she might discover something even more beautiful waiting for her beneath a painted moon.

My Comments

This is a starting over story and while it includes romance, the real story is Mackenzie choosing to leave the safe but unsatisfying world of her ex-husband's family business and striking out on her own.  She has it a lot better than a lot of divorcees--her husband is wealthy and writes a generous settlement check, much to her mother-in-law's chagrin--but she has spent her adult life living in their family compound and her sisters-in-law are her best friends.  The story explores how much life changes after even the most amicable of divorces, and how divorce not only affects the couple but the extended family as well in some cases.  

I enjoyed the book and thank the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley.  Grade B. 

 

Review: California Girls

 California Girls 

About the Book:

 Finola, a popular LA morning-show host, is famously upbeat until she’s blindsided on live TV by the news that her husband is sleeping with a young pop sensation who has set their affair to music. While avoiding the tabloids and pretending she’s just fine, she’s crumbling inside, desperate for him to come to his senses and for life to go back to normal.

Zennie’s breakup is no big loss. Although the world insists she pair up, she’d rather be surfing. So agreeing to be the surrogate for her best friend is a no-brainer—after all, she has an available womb and no other attachments to worry about. Except…when everyone else, including her big sister, thinks she’s making a huge mistake, being pregnant is a lot lonelier—and more complicated—than she imagined.

Never the tallest, thinnest or prettiest sister, Ali is used to being overlooked, but when her fiancé sends his disapproving brother to call off the wedding, it’s a new low. And yet Daniel continues to turn up “for support,” making Ali wonder if maybe—for once—someone sees her in a way no one ever has.

But side by side by side, these sisters will start over and rebuild their lives with all the affection, charm and laugh-out-loud humor that is classic Susan Mallery.

 

My Comments:

When couples break up it is easy to blame the other partner. Either the other partner did something to cause you to want out, or the partner initiated the breakup.  In this story, three sisters had break-ups with the course of a week, and we follow them as they move from blaming the other person to accepting their part in it, and moving on.  

I like the way Mallery not only looked at the couples' relationships but also the relationships each of the women had with people in general and how those relationship traits affected not only their romantic relationships but also the rest of their lives.  

I don't think I was every surprised about how things happened, but this was a light interesting read.  

I'd like to thank the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley.  Somehow this didn't make it to the top of my list near publication time.  Grade: B.

 

Book Review: Happily This Christmas

 

Happily This Christmas

About the Book:

Wynn Beauchene has a thriving business, a great kid and a mildly embarrassing crush on the guy next door—local cop Garrick McCabe. She’s a strong, independent woman who can’t help dreaming what-if about a man she barely knows. Until he needs her help…

Garrick’s pregnant daughter will be home for Christmas, and his house needs a woman’s touch. Garrick and his little girl were tight once and he’s hoping a small-town Christmas will bring her back to him. But thawing his daughter’s frosty attitude will take more than a few twinkle lights. Maybe sharing the holiday with Wynn and her son will remind her of the joy of family.

As the season works its magic on these wounded souls, Wynn realizes it’s time to stop punishing herself for a painful secret, while Garrick remains haunted by the ghosts of past mistakes. Will he allow Wynn to open the only gift she truly wants—his heart?

My Comments:

When I went to Amazon to grab the "About the Book" copy, I noted that this was book six in the series.  I haven't read any of the others, but honestly, I wondered if Happily This Christmas was part of a series, because like much series fiction it had a lot of characters who seemed to get too much attention in the book for very little reason.  Susan Mallery took time to catch readers up with what happened in the lives of characters from other books, one of whom happens to be the ex-boyfriend of Wynn, the heroine of Happily This Christmas.  

As noted in the blurb above, Wynn, Garrick and Garrick's daughter all need to let go of past pain to open themselves to the joy of the season, and, of course, love.

I likes Garrick and Wynn and enjoyed seeing them get to know each other.  I loved Garrick's relationship with his daughter and how he was able to get his little girl back.  

Yes, its a Christmas romance.  Yes, everyone lives happily ever after.  You didn't expect anything different, did you? 

I'd like to thank the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley.  Grade:  B. 

Review: The Friendship List

The Friendship List

About the Book:

[ ] Dance till dawn
[ ] Go skydiving
[ ] Wear a bikini in public
[ ] Start living

Two best friends jump-start their lives in a summer that will change them forever…

Single mom Ellen Fox couldn’t be more content—until she overhears her son saying he can’t go to his dream college because she needs him too much. If she wants him to live his best life, she has to convince him she’s living hers.

So Unity Leandre, her best friend since forever, creates a list of challenges to push Ellen out of her comfort zone. Unity will complete the list, too, but not because she needs to change. What’s wrong with a thirtysomething widow still sleeping in her late husband’s childhood bed?

The Friendship List begins as a way to make others believe they’re just fine. But somewhere between “wear three-inch heels” and “have sex with a gorgeous guy,” Ellen and Unity discover that life is meant to be lived with joy and abandon, in a story filled with humor, heartache and regrettable tattoos.

My Comments:

I think all of us reach times in our lives when we realize that if we don't charge our life, life will leave us behind. A child-focused life is great for the mother of school-aged kids, but when those kids go to college it is time to find another focus or to focus on other kids.  When you move to "part-time" at the office, you can pack your desk and head for the golf course, library, gym or fishing hole, or you can come in every morning to see if anything is happening that they need your help on.  Which is healthier?  Unity and Ellen both realize their lives need to change and as best friends they challenge each other to make the changes needed.  

While I found some of their choices questionable, I enjoyed watching them embrace a new time in their lives. 

Ellen got pregnant the night of her Junior Prom and had to grow up in a hurry.  The baby's father signed over his rights, so she has been the only parent her son has ever known--but now the ex wants a chance to know his son--the son who is between his Junior and Senior year of high school.

Unity lost her parents when she was in high school and moved in with her best friend Ellen's family until she moved out to marry her high school sweetheart.  She followed her husband, who was in the military, from base to base until he was killed and she returned to his childhood home where she has spent the last three years wallowing in grief and depriving herself of the normal life of a 30 something--her friends are Ellen and the people in the local seniors-only community  When Unity and Ellen challenged each other to move out of their neat little boxes, it was just what both of them needed.

That being said, I'll admit I'm old as dirt, overly religious and old-fashioned but I had a real problem with Ellen's behavior.  An important part of the book takes place on a school trip chaperoned by Ellen and her best friend (male), each of whom have a child on the trip.  On that trip, where she was responsible for other people's kids, Ellen was drinking alcohol, drinking enough of it to get drunk, and then sleeping with the other chaperone.  Just no. 

One thing I found interesting was that the other chaperone had a teenage daughter.  He regularly inspected her birth control pill boxes to make sure she was taking them.  However, when he found out that she was actually "using" them, he blew his stack.  The daughter then pointed out that he had not made a rule against that activity. 

Mallery's books are not the squeaky clean type, but I found this one to be more graphic than normal, unnecessarily so.  

I'd like to thank the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley. Grade:  B. 

Sisters By Choice: My Review

Sisters by Choice

About the Book:

From the New York Times bestselling author of California Girls comes an all new original Blackberry Island novel told with Susan Mallery’s trademark humor and charm. Sisters by Choice is a heartfelt tale of love, family and the friendships that see us through.

Cousins by chance, sisters by choice…

After her cat toy empire goes up in flames, Sophie Lane returns to Blackberry Island, determined to rebuild. Until small-town life reveals a big problem: she can’t grow unless she learns to let go. If Sophie relaxes her grip even a little, she might lose everything. Or she might finally be free to reach for the happiness and love that have eluded her for so long.

Kristine has become defined by her relationship to others. She’s a wife, a mom. As much as she adores her husband and sons, she wants something for herself—a sweet little bakery just off the waterfront. She knew changing the rules wouldn’t be easy, but she never imagined she might have to choose between her marriage and her dreams.

Like the mainland on the horizon, Heather’s goals seem beyond her grasp. Every time she manages to save for college, her mother has another crisis. Can she break free, or will she be trapped in this tiny life forever?

My Comments:

They say you pick your friends but you are born with (and stuck with) family, but I don't think that's necessarily true.  Yes, you are born with family but you get to pick how you interact with them and this book shows how both family and friends (defining "friends" as people you choose to have in your life) can move you ahead or hold you back.  

Sophie lost her parents when she was in high school but has built a successful business named after the most important being in her adult life--her cat.  The book is about her learning to properly relate to others--to the man in her life, to her employees and to her family and friends.

Kristine wonders whether finding herself and moving on in life means leaving her husband behind.  Will he learn to let her have what she need?  What should be the balance between what is good for a person and what is good for their marriage?  Should one overwhelm the other, or without one, does the other not exist? 

Amber is Sohie and Krisitine's aunt, and a professional victim.  Nothing ever goes right, and she seems determined to make sure her daughter follows in her footsteps.  What constitutes helping Amber?  Enabling?  Does it matter?

Heather is Amber's daughter and the person who has been taking care of Amber for the last five years.  Of course that doesn't leave her much time to be a twenty year old.  How can she escape?  Should she? 

The strength of Susan Mallery's Blackberry Island books is her characters and these women are no exception.  While the book contains a romance subplot, it is secondary to the relationship between the women in the story.  At first I was very annoyed that Sophies relationship seemed to be about nothing but sex, until I realized that it fit her and where she was at that point in her life.  Luckily, she had a good guy who realized that was what was going on, and once he decided he wanted her, he put the brakes on that part of their relationship,which I found interesting for a modern book.  

I'd like to thank the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley. Grade:  B+

Review: Sisters Like Us

Sisters Like Us

About the Book:

Divorce left Harper Szymanski with a name no one can spell, a house she can't afford and a teenage daughter who's pulling away. With her fledgling virtual-assistant business, she's scrambling to maintain her overbearing mother’s ridiculous Susie Homemaker standards and still pay the bills, thanks to clients like Lucas, the annoying playboy cop who claims he hangs around for Harper's fresh-baked cookies.

Spending half her life in school hasn't prepared Dr. Stacey Bloom for her most daunting challenge—motherhood. She didn't inherit the nurturing gene like Harper and is in deep denial that a baby is coming. Worse, her mother will be horrified to learn that Stacey's husband plans to be a stay-at-home dad…assuming Stacey can first find the courage to tell Mom she's already six months pregnant.

Separately they may be a mess, but together Harper and Stacey can survive anything—their indomitable mother, overwhelming maternity stores and ex’s weddings. Sisters Like Us is a delightful look at sisters, mothers and daughters in today’s fast-paced world, told with Susan Mallery’s trademark warmth and humor.

My Comments:

If you can get over the fact that the main characters all come across as caricatures, this isn't a bad read.  Harper feels guilty for not making fresh pasta (you know the kind you make with flour and ...I don't know,,, I did it once, definitely didn't think it was worth the trouble and she always layers the table cloths and place mats on her table to create a coordinated look.  She's beyond Suzy Homemaker but now that she is trying to run a business, she just doesn't have time for all that anymore.  

Lucas is Harper's age but dates the twenty year old airhead of the week--but is becoming more and more a part of Harper's life every day.  Where do you think this is going?

Stacey is the stereotypical science nerd.  She just doesn't "get" so many social things, but she marries a kind nurturing man who wants a baby, so she obliges, and is then terrified that she won't love her baby.  Stacey and her husband take in his nephew, who is eighteen.  When Stacey learns he is dating her niece, she gives him the condom talk--and then tells him how he needs to stimulate a woman to orgasm, but the scene comes off not as erotic but as a sadly funny reflection of Stacey's lack of social skills. 

Clearly this book is far more about the characters than about the plot line, which is pretty is obvious from the beginning.  Still, it was an enjoyable and relaxing read, so I'll give it a B. 

Thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy via NetGalley.

Review: A Million Little Things

A Million Little Things 

About the Book:

Zoe Saldivar is more than just single—she's ALONE. She recently broke up with her longtime boyfriend, she works from home and her best friend Jen is so obsessed with her baby that she has practically abandoned their friendship. The day Zoe accidentally traps herself in her attic with her hungry-looking cat, she realizes that it's up to her to stop living in isolation. 

Her seemingly empty life takes a sudden turn for the complicated—her first new friend is Jen's widowed mom, Pam. The only guy to give her butterflies in a very long time is Jen's brother. And meanwhile, Pam is being very deliberately seduced by Zoe's own smooth-as-tequila father. Pam's flustered, Jen's annoyed and Zoe is beginning to think "alone" doesn't sound so bad, after all. 

My Comments:

The book is primarily about three women:  Zoe and Jen are probably in their early thirties and Pam is Jen's mom. 

 Jen is married and the mother of an eighteen month old who does not talk, at all.  She was already on the high-strung "supermom" side--organic everything, no chemicals or dirt in the house etc--but the lack of speech is highly concerning and no one else seems concerned, which makes her even more anxious. 

Zoe  just broke up with her long-term boyfriend because they wanted different things from their relationship, but now she is trying to start living the life she wants.  Part of that is dating Jen's brother. Part of that is exploring her career options.  Just when things look like they are falling into place, she gets some news that changes everything--or does it.

Pam is a couple of years younger than I am.  She's a grandmother and a widow.  She volunteers at a center that helps new businesses get off the ground or expand, though that tread of the story never really seemed to connect with the others.  She meets Zoe's dad at a party and accepts a lunch date with him, without really considering it a date.  She doesn't want to forget her husband, she really isn't ready to move on--or is she?

I liked the strong supporting characters.  Lucas was Jen's husband's partner.  During the course of the story he moves from being someone she dislikes and resents to being "like a big brother".  He is the one person in her life who seems unafraid to tell it like it is to her, and he convinces her to get the help she needs.  Steve, Jen's brother and Zoe's love is a real sweetheart.  Pam's traveling buddies, a group of widows she met on a cruise shortly after her husband died, sound like a lot of fun--women who are now alone but who aren't letting life leave them behind.  

For those who care, there are a couple of graphic romantic scenes.

I'd like to thank the publisher for making a review copy available via Edelweiss.  Grade:  B. 

Review: The Friends We Keep

The Friends We Keep

About the Book:

After five years as a stay-at-home mom, Gabby Schaefer can't wait to return to work. Oh, to use the bathroom in peace! No twins clamoring at the door, no husband barging in, no stepdaughter throwing a tantrum. But when her plans are derailed by some shocking news and her husband's crushing expectations, Gabby must fight for the right to have a life of her own. 

Getting pregnant is easy for Hayley Batchelor. Staying pregnant is the hard part. Her husband is worried about the expensive fertility treatments and frantic about the threat to her health. But to Hayley, a woman who was born to be a mom should risk everything to fulfill her destiny—no matter how high the cost. 

Nicole Lord is still shell-shocked by a divorce that wasn't as painful as it should've been. Other than the son they share, her ex-husband left barely a ripple in her life. A great new guy tempts her to believe maybe the second time's the charm…but how can she trust herself to recognize true love? 

My Comments:

...and they all lived happily ever after.  Given that the book is classified as "women's fiction" and is written by Susan Mallery, that can't be any great spoiler.  I enjoy books about groups of women whose lives intertwine and Mallery did a good job with this one.  She also showed that there is more than one way to get what you want in life.  

The women were true friends to each other and I enjoyed joining them for their long conversations where they figured out what was wrong with themselves and others.  I liked the way they learned to stand up for themselves and their needs without ignoring the needs of those around them.  

It is mentioned that non-marital sex takes place, but we aren't watching.  

I'd like to thank the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley.  Grade:  B+

My Review: Three Sisters

Three Sisters (Blackberry Island)

About the Book:

After Andi Gordon is jilted at the altar, she makes the most impetuous decision of her life – buying one of the famed Three Sisters Queen Anne houses on Blackberry Island. Now the proud-ish owner of the ugly duckling of the trio, she plans to open her own pediatric office on the first floor, just as soon as her hunky contractor completes the work. Andi's new future may be coming together, but the truth is she's just as badly in need of a major renovation as her house. 

When Deanna Phillips confronts her husband about a suspected affair, she opens up a Pandora's Box of unhappiness. And he claims that she is the problem. The terrible thing is, he's right. In her quest to be the perfect woman, she's lost herself, and she's in danger of losing her entire family if things don't change. 

Next door, artist Boston King thought she and her college sweetheart would be married forever. Their passion for one other has always seemed indestructible. But after tragedy tears them apart, she's not so sure. Now it's time for them to move forward, with or without one another. 

Thrown together by fate and geography, and bound by the strongest of friendships, these three women will discover what they're really made of: laughter, tears, love and all.

My Comments:

I like stories about the relationships between women.  I like romance novels.  This book is both, and no, the romance is not between two women.  Andi has spent her life not living up to her parent's expectations/desires.  Even her fiancee was the guy her parents liked, and when he leaves her at the altar, she is as relieved as anything.  She's attracted to her contractor, but he's sure that she wouldn't like a blue collar guy like him.  Deanna and Boston are married, but going through rough spots, each for a different reason.  As the women grow closer they help each other find the love of their men.  Boston lost a child and is suffering from depression as a result.  Deanna has OCD.  I enjoyed watching them heal but the healing wasn't pat or easy.

There is non-marital intimacy in the book though it isn't real graphic.  

The book is loosely part of the same series as Barefoot Season (my review); however, there is no backstory from that book that is part of this one.  

I'd like to thank the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley.  Grade:  B+

Barefoot Season by Susan Mallery: My Review

Barefoot Season (Blackberry Island)

About the Book:

Michelle Sanderson may appear to be a strong, independent woman, but on the inside, she's still the wounded girl who fled home years ago. A young army vet, Michelle returns to the quaint Blackberry Island Inn to claim her inheritance and recover from the perils of war. Instead, she finds the owner's suite occupied by the last person she wants to see.

Carly Williams and Michelle were once inseparable, until a shocking betrayal destroyed their friendship. And now Carly is implicated in the financial disaster lurking behind the inn's cheerful veneer.

Single mother Carly has weathered rumors, lies and secrets for a lifetime, and is finally starting to move forward with love and life. But if the Blackberry Island Inn goes under, Carly and her daughter will go with it.

To save their livelihoods, Carly and Michelle will undertake a turbulent truce. It'll take more than a successful season to move beyond their devastating past, but with a little luck and a beautiful summer, they may just rediscover the friendship of a lifetime.

My Comments:

Have you ever just wanted to go home?  To just go back where you know life is good, to where you were happy?  Well, Michelle in this book wishes she could do that, but realizes in more ways than one that she can't--her mom is dead, there was a reason she left in the first place, and all is not well  with the inn.  Michelle herself is suffering from physical and psychological ills as a result of her military service.  Getting "home" and finding that things have changed, and  not for the better, is just one more thing to overcome.  

Carly has been at the inn since Michelle left and had been under the impression that she would end up owning part of it.  After Michelle's mom died, she learned that the inn had belonged to Michelle all along.  

As these two women, who used to be best friends, are more or less forced to work together, they learn to deal with their pasts and work toward the future they want.  Of course that future includes guys for both girls.  

I enjoyed the story.  Though the romances were not major parts  of the story,I was disappointed there was not more development of relationships shown.  In both cases, I didn't really think I knew why these people liked each other.  Both couples end up in bed before marriage and while the language is more flowery than descriptive, we are in the room with them when it happens.  

I'd like to thank the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley.  Grade:  B.