Sisters by Choice: A Novel

I waffled a bit in how to rate this clever women's fiction story of friendship and family drama as a lot was going on and there were elements and characters I adored, and others – well, not so much, and still others… not at all. But every family has at least a few of those not so much and not at alls, although, unfortunately, the majority of those within my DNA grouping seem to fill those last two categories. So the feelings toward those exasperating characters were all too familiar and annoying, but that is where the similarities end as this story was vastly more amusing, intelligent, cleverly staged, and attractively populated than those trying travesties of familial gatherings of my laboriously suppressed memories. Sigh, if only… The engaging storylines were perceptively written and highly entertaining and were peppered with sassy banter, clever quips, witty wordplay, and humorous observations. I was completely enamored, besotted, and intrigued by the sexy Dugan who was so wise and insightful he was practically mystical. I have enjoyed every Susan Mallery book I’ve ever picked up and truly revel in her wit and levity. I always seem to learn something interesting and useful from her books. This time she taught me quite a bit about marketing, and business plans, and unlike my deadly dull Econ course during college, it wasn’t painful at all ;)

Sisters by Choice. Wow, you almost have to define the issues of each one of the lead characters in this book individually. None of them are easy, but with the signature Mallery style, you find yourself relating to them in some way or another. Sophie loses her business in a catastrophic fire and decides to relocate to her hometown, Blackberry Island, where she can rebuild with her extended family close. With her unrealistic 'micro-manager' management technique, Sophie buffaloes her way into all aspects of the business like she did when she began. Unfortunately, she can't do this any longer. Her 'I'm the only one who can make sure the job gets done correctly' management mantra has to change. Will she let this happen? Kristine, house-wife extraordinaire, with 3 sons and a husband she loves dearly, plus a flourishing mini-bakery business that she runs out of her house. Something needs to give. Will her desire to have a REAL bakery, away from her house, be the stepping stone she needs to succeed as her kids need her less, or will her marriage suffer irreparable harm if she follows her dreams? Heather was adultified as a young teen since her mother, Amber, blamed her for everything bad that happened and made her the ‘adult’ in the family far too early. Now Heather wants to get out. She wants to be a 20-year-old college student, rather than a convenient source of income for her mother. As she begins to work for Sophie and dreams that she'll be able to leave sooner rather than later, will her mother's actions sabotage her efforts? Amber…OMG…Can we just agree that Amber is a piece of work? Everything always goes wrong for her because, she got pregnant, and had Heather, and never got a chance to do anything. Whiny, entitled, blame everyone else for my problems because it can’t be me witch doesn't even begin to describe Amber. Manipulating everyone, all the time, I just don't like her or any of her actions! Taking on a multitude of psychological issues for four women with such different personalities in one book is difficult. Susan Mallery is up to the task! Power and control, throttle and brake, manipulation and acceptance. How these women deal with others and themselves as they go forward was amazing to watch. All of the women in this book have flaws. Some are on the way to being fixed. Others won't ever change. The take-away from this book is, some things and people never change but when you can make positive changes, the world opens up to you in marvelous ways.

This is book 4 in the Blackberry Island series and it features cousins, Sophie, Kristine and Heather. Sophie is a mess! She has major issues with being in a relationship because of her past. She’s got an unnatural OCD with running her multi million dollar cat supply empire, which is REALLY strange. Even though she hires people to run certain departments, she can’t seem to stop interfering with their jobs. Kristine just wants to open her own bakery after being a stay at home mom and wife for so long. Her husband was really a jerk about it all. Heather just wants to live life for herself instead of taking care of her totally able-bodied mother, Amber. Amber is an awful person. She’s rude, entitled like no one I’ve ever seen and just wants to be taken care of, even though she is 100% able to take care of herself. I think I liked only one character in the whole book and that was Kristine. The family dynamics were interesting but the romance was horrible and made ZERO sense. It probably would have been better with no romance at all. I’m a big fan of this author but this book was a HUGE let down for me.