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, … 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?
Don’t miss Susan Mallery’s latest book, The Stepsisters! A heartfelt tale of friendship between two women who used to be sisters.
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I really enjoyed this Blackberry Island story by Susan Mallery. Great story line, compelling and emotional as 3 women find ways to deal with finding or continuing their dreams. It shows the strong bond of friendship to face adversity and come through stronger for their experiences. It’s a page turner to the end. I wish to see what happens to these girls and hope they will appear in future books.
Sophie Lane returns to the place she grew up, Blackberry Island, after her company goes up in flames and she decides to rebuild on the island. She knows her business and she knows she has a great company…but can she loosen her control and trust others to make her company bigger and better? After meeting a man that challenges her relationships…Sophie will have to decide if she will take a chance and grab the love and happiness that has eluded her for so long.
Kristine has devoted her life to being a great wife and stay-home mom to her three boys. But she has dreamed of more….and finally has a chance to grab that dream and open her very own bakery on the waterfront. She had everyone’s support except the one person she needed most…her husband. Kristine must decide if what is more important…going after your dreams…or settle to keep your marriage.
Heather is young…but decided long ago that she must get off the island, and away from her mother, if she is ever going to make something of herself. After taking a job at Sophie’s new company, Heather meets someone that develops the confidence in her…that she needs in herself to take the leap and put herself first.
This is a great story about 3 very different woman and the choices they have to make for themselves to find the happiness they deserve. Susan delivered another great story that makes you feel everything her characters are experiencing and cheer for their happy ending. There are characters you don’t like…and always the ones you love and it keeps you up all night reading.
I don’t give five stars all that often (anymore). This book deserved it. The three cousins in this book had all different lives and perspectives. As I started the book and you learned how awesome the each were I wanted to find pieces of them that were me.
Let’s face it Susan Mallery books are that way. You want to be that girl or at least be her best friend.
Then as the book continued and you saw story lines implode, the thought of “oh crap that is me”
Then as the ending happened I felt the longing of “I want that to be me”
I can’t wait for me to get the audio book so I can read it again. I am sure I will pick up on some other things.
Warning. If you like cats and are thinking about getting one, this book may not be for you. You might end up the crazy cat lady with 12 or was that 11 cats.
She makes me laugh and she makes me cry. I’ve said it before but growing up in a small town is a unique experience and the author captures it so well. It’s just uncanny! And while you think you know where the story is going, it can and does take a sharp turn to the left or right.
These characters are everyone you’ve ever met and those that you haven’t but want to meet. Even though they are not all the same age, they can be just as close friends and confidants as if they were. There is no way I should pick a favorite but Sophie and Dugan are it. He’s just so smug but clueless sometimes and she’s me. So there it is.
I received an ARC from the author for an honest and unbiased review. No compensation was promised or received.
I loved the characters in this story. Sophie has a big heart, is hardworking and hardheaded. After a disaster, she went home to Blackberry Island and found so much more than she bargained for. Kristine has always known she wanted to be a wife and mother. She married her high school sweetheart right after graduation. Now she has a husband and three boys who would be content to keep everything just as it has always been. Kristine wants to open a bakery and has received strong opposition from her husband. Will she lose him over this? Heather just wants to go to college, but her mom is a professional victim and Heather has been taking care of her mom for years. Will she break away? Good story.
Can one overcome a disaster and rebuild? Can one start her dream? Can one get her head above water and take the step to hers? Read and find out how three women help each other achieve their dreams! Great story.
This story brings us back to Blackberry Island,where cousins come together to help one another out and for each to find their way to happiness.
Sophie comes back to Blackberry Island after her cat business burns to the ground,she starts the business from the ground up. She doesn’t want to give up control in her business or her personal life.
Kristine is at a crossroads in her marriage and her small cookie business. Her husband is 100% on board and it put a strain in her marriage. They finally try to work things out.
Heather is the daughter of the other cousin Amber. Heather is a hard worker, Amber is a free loader and doesn’t want to work. Heather helps her mother out but wants to leave the island and make something of her life.
See how the cousins work together in this heartwarming story. I would recommend any Susan Mallery books.
Susan Mallery is an icon in women’s fiction & this book shows that once again. She creates characters with an emotional depth that the reader feels like they are in the story with them.
Heather, Sophie & Kristine all live on Blackberry Island & come together to build each other up & help each other out.
It can be read as a stand alone.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
So … this is a hard review to write. I usually love Susan Mallerys books – light, hearted, fun reads. This latest one though, whew … it was hard to finish. I really did not care for this story at all. The characters were so unlikeable – you just wanted to shake them. The only one that seemed to have a backbone was Kristine – I found myself rooting for her. The other women came across as sniveling, weak and entitled – you just wanted them to fail so they would grow up.
You can’t win them all and, as a reader, you can’t like them all. Won’t stop me from reading more by Susan Mallery. Just not anymore in this particular series.
Thank you #netgalley and #HARLEQUIN – MIRA (U.S. and Canada) for the eARC.
Sisters by Choice by Susan Mallery
Blackberry Island #4
Mixed feelings on this book. The writing was excellent and the issues believable but I really had trouble relating to some of the characters and the issues they were facing. I think that it might have been too laden with negative issues that had to be dealt with and provided too little happiness and light to be one of my favorite books by this author.
My thoughts:
* Amber was awful – she was petty petulant and perfectly horrid in her way of treating everyone and that included her daughter
* Sophie was hard to relate to – she was driven, unable to trust, a micromanager and rather immature – wasn’t sure what Dugan saw in her
* Kristin had a dream – organized, efficient, great mom and wife but unfulfilled. Pursuing her dream had the potential of derailing all she held dear – was it worth it?
* Heather was trapped – her mother the mooch took and took and kept her tied down – would she ever get away?
Jaxsen – flawed but Kristine loved him and he loved her – if he could get his head screwed on straight and then communicate with Kristin – well – they might have a future that was better than their previous years together
* Dugan – a hunk and a half – really do not see what he saw in Sophie but liked him as a book boyrfriend
* Supporting characters were great: Maggie, Eliot, Tina, Bear, the three sons of Christine, Lily & Mrs. Bennett.
* I think I was expecting a more upbeat story…and this left me a bit unsettled.
Did I enjoy this book? Yes & No
Why no? It didn’t make me happy…left me feeling unsettled with a HFN feel at the end
Would I read more by this author? Yes
Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin – Mira for the ARC – This is my honest review.
4-5 Stars
Mallery excels at real-world situations and characters. I find her heroines imminently relatable and woman I’d like to be friends with. Each new book is an excuse to curl up with a favorite drink and make new friends and this one is no exception.
4.5 Stars
Yay! Another good one that I got sucked into each time I picked it up!! While it was entertaining and well written, I took off half a star because I can’t believe how one character got away with so much!
*SLIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD**
This story is told from the point-of-views of cousins Sophie, Kristine and Heather. I liked how each cousin was different and had their own flaws and needed to grow/learn something about themselves. Heather’s mother Amber is actually the cousin but the story is never told from her view. I know that Amber was made to be hated and I know why the author did what she did, but I still think there should have been SOME kind of consequence for her! She still pretty much got everything she thought she deserved and they made it seem like she would in the future too. Bleh… I do think we needed an epilogue (or a future novella??) of the girls a year later.
I can’t wait to read the next book of Ms. Mallery’s!!
This thought provoking Women’s Fiction book is a gem! Susan Mallery is one of my favorite authors and Sisters By Choice is a prime example why she is placed on highly on favorite list. Sisters By Choice explores the lives of three women, their interaction, and the relationships they have with other people. Being a Women’s Fiction’s book, the plot is not a lightheaded story staying on the surface. The reader is invited into the true life of these women and witness all the issues they deal with.
Sophie had learned early in life that nothing is guaranteed and that hard work, determination and independence will get her to her goals. She is now discovering that there is more to life than success, and that the brick wall to her emotions needs to be torn down to have a fulfilled life.
Heather is super loyal to a fault. Always placing the needs of her mother before herself and dreams of being able to escape, yet cannot find a way to actually leave.
Kristine is the closest thing to a “perfect” wife and mother, yet she wants something for herself and is torn between going for her dream or just going along with the life that seems to be taking control over her.
I was drawn into the story immediately and this book definitely is a page-turner. While was I was not reading, the story remained with me. I kept thinking of what happened and where the story might go.
Susan Mallery is a master of character development. I was so annoyed with a couple characters and my heart went out to most of the others. These characters were not just on paper to me; I knew them and cared about them. That is a sign of a great book!
I want to thank NetGalley and HARLEQUIN – MIRA (U.S. and Canada) for allowing me the great pleasure of reading this book. I have read and enjoyed many other books by Susan Mallery and this is another deeply moving story to add to her collection. My review is completely my own opinion, not influenced by receiving the ARC of this book.
Susan Mallery brings all the feels with Sisters by Choice. I’m in love with this book. I love how each of the ladies go through so much change and get stronger from it. Sophie you just feel for her as she is starting all over back in her home town. She has her family around her but it’s both for the good and well not exactly bad but close too it. You will see what I mean as you read this one because I’m not going to say more on it. I love how she changes from the control freak workaholic to an almost more relaxed and balanced person. She has a lot of help along the way with this one and you will just love Dugan for her. Then there is Kristine. She is this fabulous mom who is just trying to add more to her life. The struggle she goes through you feel in your heart. You want to yell and scream at her husband Jaxsen at times too. You get the whole picture as you read on and I love how Susan Mallery gives you the full picture slowly. You will just love how everything comes together. Lets not forget. Heather and her mother Amber. You just want to take Heather in your arms and tell her it is okay to go. I love the changes in Heather and with the support from Kristine and Sophie she grows so much. Amber you just want to say grow up already. But I think most of us can relate to knowing someone like Amber from somewhere. This book is all family and the trials of the ups and downs. The support and the bond these ladies have is truly amazing. I loved this book so much and couldn’t put it down. I love everything Susan Mallery throws at us.
Favorite Quotes:
“I’ll be fine. You have eight kids to deal with. They would die without you.” Kristine laughed. “It’s three kids.” “When I visit, it feels like more.”
He sure was pretty, she thought absently. He must work out a lot to get shoulders and arms like that. Given the fact that the Lord gaveth and tooketh away in equal measure, she could only assume he had the IQ of a tree stump but that was okay. Sometimes pretty was plenty.
“You’ll be fine,” the woman added. Sophie nodded because curling up in a ball and keening didn’t look good on anyone.
It’s hard to be smug when you figure out the rest of the world is just as smart as you.
“From what you’ve told me, your mother took a difficult situation and made it worse.” “It’s a gift,” she said lightly…
“I hate it when you’re right.” “Then you hate it a lot.”
My Review:
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 😉
I really enjoyed this story. As book 4 in this series, you don’t have to read others to enjoy it, but you should because, well they’re really good. And it’s Susan Mallery after all. This is a nice, easy read that I was able to read in one sitting. Full of heartwarming and charming moments, even though there was a lot going on in each of the women’s lives, it was still quite humorous at times as well. I liked getting to know the 3 main characters, Heather, Kristine and Sophie, and was pulling for them to come out the other side better off. They seemed very relatable which I liked a lot and their family like friendship was absolutely wonderful.
Ms. Mallery has hit another one out of the park!
Sophie, Kristine and Heather are actually cousins, but they are as close as sisters. They would do anything for each other.
When Clandestine Kitty, the business that is Sophie’s whole life, burns to the ground, she moves back home to Blackberry Island to try to rebuild. Her family is there to support her. Even though everyone wants to help her, Sophie has control issues and has difficulty letting go and letting them help. She thinks that she is the only one capable of doing every job right. Even after hiring a warehouse manager, she can be found operating a forklift after business hours. Sophie struggles to let her employees do their jobs without her help. She takes micro-management to a new level.
Kristine is the mother of three boys. She loves being a mom and runs her home and family flawlessly. But, something is missing from her life. Her dream is to some day own a bakery, but her husband, Jaxsen, is happy with things the way they are. He doesn’t want Kristine’s attention anywhere but on him and the family.
Heather dreams of leaving the island and going to college and making something of herself. She has been working and taking care of her mother, Amber, since she was sixteen. Not that her mother couldn’t take care of herself, but why should she if Heather will do it? Amber has spent her whole life feeling sorry for herself. She is a professional victim. She blames everyone else for problems she created herself.
I enjoyed reading about these three women as they struggled to reach their goals. I recommend Sisters by Choice and the entire Blackberry Island series.
I received an ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.