The California sunshine’s not quite so bright for three sisterswho get dumped in the same week… 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.
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I love Susan Mallery’s books. They are light fluffy reads that make me feel good. I wish this one was as good as some of the others I’ve read. That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy it, because I absolutely love books about sisters. However there were two characters I just couldn’t like, Finola and the mother. OMG, these two women needed slapped upside their heads. Finola was so self absorbed and the mother, all she cared about was getting grandchildren. She didn’t seem to really care about any of her daughter’s happiness or unhappiness. I think because my mother was such a wonderful, caring woman, I can’t deal with mother figures like this. She absolutely brings out the feminist in me.
All three women are very different and dealing with issues in their life, most of them being the end of a relationship. That’s where this book kind of lost me, because I couldn’t wrap my head around a whole family of women having their relationships go south at the same time. (Well except for Zennie, her breakup wasn’t really an earth shattering one). That said, I loved Zennie and her selflessness, even when having the baby for her friend was becoming burdensome. I wouldn’t mind revisiting her life to see how Bernie handles still being friends with her, as their baby grows up. That could be a very interesting story indeed.
I can’t pick which sister I most identified with, but I loved Ali, because her breakup just sucked. Plus..well…Daniel was so lovely. I think of all the characters Ali grew more as a person as the story went on. Finola, became more accepting of her responsibility in the breakup of her marriage, but other than that, she wasn’t much different. I wanted to hate Nigel for being an ass, in the way he dealt with things, but in some ways, I wanted to see if these two people could make a go of their relationship after a betrayal, though I did appreciate that Finola didn’t quite get the romance novel happily ever after.
This was an enjoyable read…definitely one for the beach.
What a terrifically fun book to read! The three main characters, FInola, Zennie and Ali, are sisters with some rather traumatic events happening in their lives. Finola’s husband dumps her. Zennie is faced with choosing to be a surrogate mom for her best friend, and Ali’s fiancé doesn’t want to marry her…two weeks before the wedding. What a fiasco everyone starts with! I love how the author made me a part of the story by weaving the tale deeply into my heart and mind. I felt bad for FInola (actually I had all kinds of bad things in my mind that I wanted to do to her heartless husband) and for Ali (I think her fiancé would make a good eunuch). I was troubled like Zennie, not really knowing what to do and once the decision was made having to live with it. Isn’t that what life is all about? That is what Susan Mallery does best; she paints a picture of real life, not as we would like it to be, but as it sometimes turns out in spite of our best efforts. This was a wonderful story that will touch hearts and make people think about making wise choices and living with them. My favorite character was Ali because she was so resilient and spunky! Fans of romance with a twist of underlying lessons to be learned will thoroughly enjoy this latest book from a mistress of hilarity and love!
Disclaimer
I purchased this book from Amazon. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own.
I loved this book! Characters engage you from the beginning to the end! Such easy reading!
This is a book about three sisters who are dumped by their, husband, fiancé and boyfriend. This is their trial and tribulations that they go through during their lives. This is about their happy ever after and a different scenario for one of them. This is a true Susan Mallery story!
Yes, Susan Mallery writes a lot of fun, light, happily-ever-after romance novels, but she also writes women’s fiction. These books do include a bit of romance, but they have more bite to them, they go into more detail, really getting into the feelings and issues we often have. Her writing is genius. I love the characters, the dialog and their storylines. Each time I read one of her stories I feel as if she has actually lived each and every experience. During this specific read, I found myself questioning my own relationships and wondering how I can do and be better.
California Girls is the story of three sisters who each get dumped over the same weekend. A broken marriage, a broken engagement and a short-term dating situation. Each obviously feels they’ve been unfairly wronged, and yet their mother asks them each what they did wrong. This story delves into the interactions of many types of relationships; parent-child, spouses, siblings, friends and even co-workers. It makes you think. Who is your support group? Who really has your back? But more important, do you have theirs? The sisters look into themselves, and decisions they’ve made, and start to pay attention to those around them and their interactions, eventually they evolve into more sensitive, caring, and confident women.
Please note I was given this book in exchange for an honest review. Although I had fully planned to purchase it.
I can not say enough good things about this book but I will try. This book has such depth, it is one of the best novels I have read in a long time. Its not just a story of sisters its a story about life and the pitfalls of falling in love with the wrong person and then the right person. Three sisters and their mother are finding out love is better with the right person but getting to that point is hard, the hardest thing they will ever do. This will be the hardest book to put down, all books from this day forward will have a high standard to live up too.
Mallery’s newest is definitely more women’s fiction than romance, so you need to be prepared for time spent with the sisters but hardly any with their respective men.
Well, two of the sisters – one of them definitely has a bit more of a love story going on, without shortchanging any of her personal growth and development. There is a new(ish) man in Ali’s life and he helps her see herself differently. She listens and learns and finds her true self buried behind years of doubt. I really like the woman she becomes and where her life is heading.
Finola has to do a lot of self-evaluation. With the betrayal by her husband it is easy to lay the blame totally on him but every relationship has two people in it. No one wants to hear that some of the fault is their’s when a spouse cheats and Finola is no different. But time and a few tough conversations has her looking at herself and exactly how much she’s invested in the people around her.
Zennie is probably the hardest for me to connect to. I get where she’s coming from and really you can’t understand what pregnancy does to you until you actually experience it (man, those hormones!), but it’s such a unique situation. I did enjoy how Mallery explores, at least for a while, the idea that not everyone wants or needs to be coupled up. That is the most interesting part of Zennie’s story – her comfort with her life as it is, with friends, family, work, and hobbies.
My only real complaint is that, with three sisters all having a big part of the story, there is a lot of back and forth between them. It is kinda hard to really get into one part of it knowing you are going to be pulled out and into another. After a while I got used to it but I don’t think that I was ever fully able to commit.
Charm, though, is always a mainstay of Mallery’s stories and this one is no different. There is plenty to smile about but she also delivers on the harder emotions as the sisters evaluate themselves and their lives. It’s not easy when you have to face your shortcomings but these women manage to come out of it stronger.
**Review given honestly and freely after receipt of a reader copy. This opinion is completely my own and was not influenced in any way.**
I received this book for free in exchange for my honest opinion.
This was my first time reading a book by Susan Mallery and boy did I pick a great one to start with. It hooked me from the start and I could not put it down.
Three sisters, three broken hearts. It sucks going through the kind of heartbreak these sisters are experiencing but having your sisters there to go through it with you makes it a bit easier.
I highly recommend this book either to read on your own or perhaps as a book club book or even to read with your sisters if you have them. It would be interesting to read and then discuss how each person would handle the situation these sisters are in.
I freely admit that I am a huge Susan Mallory fan, but I swear, she just gets better and better, and her characters and situations just get deeper and more complex. Try this one; you’ll like it!
I always find something relatable in Susan Mallery’s characters and stories but this book checked all the boxes for me. I found something in each of the main characters that drew me to them and had me turning pages into the night. Another winner from Susan Mallery…she spoils us.
The various events within the story impacted each woman (and me) emotionally. Witnessing Finola, Zennie and Ali change (and grow) throughout the story was incredible. Each woman remained loyal to their character throughout. While I didn’t always agree with how things evolved – Susan Mallery has written another winner!
Another win for Susan Mallery! The story encompasses three sisters and their crazy love lives. It is entertaining, and both happy and sad at the same time! A definite must read by current Mallery fans and newcomers alike!
Susan Mallery had done it again! I love California Girls! Every time I think that the author can’t come up with other strong female characters that I would love, she does. The novel is centered on three sisters Ali, Finola, and Zennie. All of them seem to have men trouble at the same time in different stages – single, married, and engaged. Their mother, Mary Jo, seems to react and to their situations with the same remark, “I’ll never have grandchildren.” I love to see how the story unfolds with the support of their family and friends – especially Daniel. To quote a line in the book, “Fate is sure a bitch with a sense of humor” This is not only a good beach read but a wonderful story enjoyed anywhere, at any time!!
When I first started reading this book I almost couldn’t go on because my heart kept breaking for each sister….. But I knew Susan Mallery would make it all better and she did! I am a huge fan of SM and this book is another reason why. Even though it was about three sisters you could kept the stories straight the way that it is written. I was not a fan of the mom at first but I grew to love her too (; Being a California girl myself I love being able to picture where they were when certain places are mentioned, gives it a more realistic feel to it. This is a stand alone book with an HEA and I highly recommend it. I voluntarily reviewed an advanced copy of this book.
I loved this book! I enjoyed following these three very different sisters through a very emotional time of their lives. I really did not want this story to end. This is another great Susan Mallery book.
Wonderful book!! I will admit that I actually hated Finola in the beginning. I guess we needed that for character development, but still. Why want a guy who did that to you?? I like the bond between the girls through the good and bad. I have 3 sisters and I like to think we are very close so I love stories about sisters. Good story and can’t wait for the next one by this author!!
I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Susan’s writing in this book is very relatable. All 3 sisters deal with a life changing event, they all learn that they can lean on each other. This is a wonderful sisterly bonding book. They learned that with their sisters by their side you can find an inner strength you didn’t know you had. Loved every page of this book.
This was a pretty good book. Great to read while sitting on the beach. 3 sisters basically all broke up in one way or another on the same day. This book is basically 3 stories of them putting their lives back together or figuring out what to do next. I really liked Zennies story the best especially the surrogate part. I liked her ending the best as well. I highly recommend if you are looking for a good sisterly, friendship and love.
It was a fun read.
A while back, I mentioned to Susan Mallery that Fool’s Gold needed a divorce attorney. I believe she was truly mortified. So I was absolutely thrilled by California Girls.
Everyone deals with loss in their own way, especially loss that comes without a death. California Girls offers three very real journeys through the pain and discovery required to survive. Too often we forget that we don’t have to live to please others; our feelings matter, even when they don’t seem “normal.”
As a family law attorney, I often refer to books and movies as a way to help my clients related to their own feelings. I know that I’ll be referring to this book for a long time.