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 loved this book! I don’t just read Susan Mallery’s stories, I “feel” them. I can’t wait for her next one!
Very enjoyable. The stories of three cousins: Sophie, Kristine and Heather their cousin Amber’s daughter.
Each is dealing with the struggle to control their own lives. Sophie is single and owns her own company and feels she needs to micromanage everything. Kristine who is married with children, feels she defers too much to her family’s wants. And Heather who is stuck with a mother who depends solely on her.
The book works through the issues of women trying to balance their lives. Each feels they are unfairly taken advantage of. It had me questioning ‘Exactly how much are you supposed to do for family?’ Is it selfish to say no?
As always you can depend on Susan Mallery writing a great story. She has the proper balance of highs and lows, offering subjects that most every reader can see in their own lives. Interesting characters with unique occupations, good dialogues with out annoying slang trends.
Please note: I was given this book in exchange for an honest review.
I have read and loved almost all,of her books. This one not so much.
Having lots of extended cousins along with first cousins, this story of sisterhood was highly relatable. I found myself reflected in Sofie’s controlling, “only I can do it the best” approach to work. Her experiences (and errors) are something I am currently experiencing in real life. Kristine’s desire to do something different and after supporting her husband and making her family a priority for years was inspiring while heartbreaking at the same time. Her past choices significantly influenced her sons, and not in a good way. But it’s Heather who is portrayed as stuck that truly breaks your heart, especially when her attitude is drawn as a parallel to her awful, blaming mother.
As usual, this book read quickly. And the different family dynamics were fun to explore.
I’m a huge Susan Mallery fan but I had a hard time getting into this book. I wasn’t fond of all the characters, especially Amber. This book weaves the story of the lives of three cousins. I have read all Fools Gold and BlackBerry island book series but this wasn’t one of my favorites.
I had an extremely hard time putting this book down in order to do needed tasks like, well, eating, and sleeping. Susan’s characters are deeply drawn, and throughout the book, sometimes you want to smack them upside the head, while other times pull them in for a much-needed hug.
I was (and still am) a huge fan of her Fool’s Gold series, and was a bit leery when she took off on other tracks. I am now so glad she did. Read this one. You won’t regret it.
These are the types of Susan Mallery books I like-Real people dealing with other real world problems. Well, this had mostly real world problems. Some of the characters were so genuine, they were hard to read like Kristine’s husband and Heather’s mother. They were well written, but not very likable characters who in my opinion had it too good. That was probably my biggest issue with this book: we had great characters who have these emotionally abusive users in their lives and we see how it affects them and how they try to break away from them. In Kristine’s husband we see him kind of change, but his reasons for how he acted didn’t make sense. In Heather’s mother we see everyone enabling her ‘victim’ behavior and no one is calling her on her crap and making her try to be a less abusive person. Instead they buy her things or do things for her that come with stipulations that if is she says or does certain things, these things will be taken away. But when she breaks these stipulations, they don’t follow through and let her have her way anyway. It made me like the book less, I guess because everyone likes to see the bad guy get his comeuppance. I also felt detached from Sophie and Dugan’s relationship. It progressed okay, but it felt like he had serious emotions quick and was punishing her because she didn’t have them as quick.
But I liked how all the cousins grew and expanded their own horizons, be it opening a bakery or simply asking for help and relying on other people. I just wish we got to see more of them after their life changing moments.
Susan Mallery is one of my auto click authors, I read everything she writes. This book is another hit. I love the way she brings real emotions be it anger or joy to the readers. I liked Sophie and Dugan and their relationship. Amber on other hand was horrible person and I felt bad for Heather . Kristen I related to the most. Trying to live her dream. Definitely recommend this book and look forward to next.
Sisters by Choice is a lot of what I would expect from a Susan Mallery book. It’s well written, a little thought provoking, a little heartwarming, and has a dose of humor as well.
Sophie, Kristan, and Heather are cousins and all at a cross roads. I found myself relating to each of them at various points in the book. I appreciated seeing the growth that each of the ladies went through as they found their footing with the changes taking place.
Ms Mallery does an excellent job of pulling the reader in and giving small lessons about change, communication, and being brave enough to take a chance.
Three friends, all on different paths who make tough decisions to follow their dreams. I loved the characters, except Amber. It must have been so fun to write Sophie, because she has so many things going on in her head. I was happy for her in the end, but I thought her relationship with Dugan was weird. I was really into Kristine, and how she went for her dream even though the consequences could be devastating. I stayed up late a couple of nights reading, because I wanted to know if she gave in. When I first encountered Amber, I didn’t know if I could finish the book because she was such a witch. I wanted her punished for being such an incredibly bad person, but I kept reading in the hopes that she would get what she deserved. I would recommend this book. It’s a fun read.
At first glance, a 3 star review for one of my favorite authors may seem a bit harsh. At least it did in my eyes. But even though I didn’t necessarily love many of the characters in this book, overall I did enjoy the story.
I’m more of a straight romance reader…women’s fiction, which is what I would classify this book as, is a genre I reserve for authors who’s previous work I’ve enjoyed. It often hard to like a book where everyone doesn’t get a HEA. I’m not saying that’s the case in this book, but it can be the case in the genre.
Family is messy. I think that’s a big theme in this book; the dynamics twist and turn, as do actual family relationships. Not every character is likeable…far from it, in Amber’s case! Some you want to cheer for, but they can’t get out of their own way, like a Heather. But she’s young and you make adjustments for her age. I wanted to like Sophie and feel sorry for her, but her self-pity made it hard. I did adore her relationship with Kristine, though. And Kristine is the “sister” I loved. I understood her, I sympathized with her, I loved her relationship with her boys. For me, she was the star of the book.
All the best if Susan Mallery was there, in the dialogue, in the plot and in the interpersonal relationships. But because I just had such apathy towards almost everyone, it wasn’t a favorite read for me. I’ll still loan my copy to friends. I’d love to hear their opinions and discuss it with them. Maybe they’ll show me something I missed. I’m glad I read Sisters By Choice.
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.
Susan Mallery has a way with writing stories about strong women and she does it again with Sisters by Choice. She often writes characters and stories where the reader can relate and this one, a story about finding the women in your life that are your “family”, really hit home for me. The powerful connections they formed with each other while overcoming life’s challenges were believable and touching. An enjoyable read.
Susan Mallery has again created frustratingly real characters (along with the requisite romance novel white whale – the billionaire good guy) that make me want to make her books required reading for my clients. I can’t count how many times someone has said: “if only it was really like that,” and I’ve said: “it can be.” I’ve met a lot of Sophie’s and Amber’s, the annoying professional victims, but I’ve yet to meet an effective Dugan or Maggie – an honest sage, who bluntly tells it like it is and to whom the Sophies and Ambers of the world actually listen and learn. Perhaps if more people read these books and realized that they should be how real life works, we’d be getting somewhere. Until then, at least I know one person gets it. And I still think Sophie’s ultimate solution is wrong and will bite her in the ass, but maybe that’s for the sequel.
I guess I need to remind myself that reading women’s fiction is not the same as reading a HEA romance. There are so many people in the world as frustrating as these characters. The cousins, Sophie, Kristine and Amber, are Sisters by Choice. They each frustrated me in different ways because none of them really truly triumphed or totally learned from the trials in their lives. Well maybe Sophie did learn a little bit and tried to stop micromanaging her business. The romance between her and Dugan never really gave me the feels that I wished it would. The relationship between Kristine and Jaxsen was just plain sad. Do not even get me started on my thoughts of toxic Amber, all I can say is poor young Heather needs to be thankful for her aunts, because her mother has a hideous personality. I guess we are to learn that we do not have to be perfect to be loved.
Keep an open mind when reading the story and use it to learn how to take control of your own decisions and relationships, especially the toxic ones. There are many lessons to be learned throughout this book. I think I wish the ending wrapped up a few issues a bit more than it did. I now have to think about what happens next.
This 4th addition to the Blackberry Island series is a definite must read. It can also be read as a stand alone. It is so good. It’s filled with love, humor, wishfulness, hopefulness, optimism, and pessimism. Three cousins, Sophie, Kristine and Heather, who are great friends as well as being cousins. There is a fourth cousins , Heather’s mother, Amber, who is full of self-pity, thinks everyone owes her and blames others for her wrongs or whatever she doesn’t have. She adds frustration and challenges to the other’s while they are each trying to deal with what’s going on in their own lives. I really enjoyed this book and think others will, too.
Susan Mallery’s “Sisters By Choice” is another winner. It is a story of complex people and relationships. The story is about 2 cousins and their other cousin’s daughter. They each have problems that must be overcome. But it will take courage and self-knowledge. The ladies have depth and personality. They make hard decisions that allow them to grow and change. In the end all their struggles and problems help them to achieve a better life for themselves and their loved ones.
This book is a really fun read. The three female characters are all dealing with pretty serious issues in their lives and trying to get through them as best they can. From the perspective of the reader, I found myself wanting to scream at them to get out of their own way – but logic and objectivity are often hard to find when we are in the throws of our own personal meltdowns. Dugan is my new book boyfriend – oh my! He’s good. Amber was so toxic – she was the only problem for me – just too much of her negativity, even toward her own child. All in all, a good book you’ll want to read.
I really enjoyed this book, Susan Mallery totally outdid herself. I enjoyed all three sisters by choice and their individual families and how Sophie, Kristine and Heathers were all intertwined. Sophie’s business burned down and she relocated back to Blackberry Island, Kristen wanted to open a bakery and her husband didn’t agree. Heather story is the most intense she has supported her mother since she was 16. Amber is not very nice to her daughter and quite mean at times. Always blamed Heather for being born. All of the stories could be related to and kept my interest form beginning to end. Did not want to put down. They were always there for each other they were needed. Very well written and highly recommend. Always anxious for the next book.
When I receive a new Susan Mallery book – I am usually lost almost immediately in the world with the characters, picturing myself in their lives, etc. I will admit with Sisters by Choice, it took me longer to become entranced, but I found myself quickly engrossed wondering what the next page turn would bring. Perhaps it is because I can identify a bit with some of Sophie’s characteristics, her struggles with allowing other people to assist with her company that she has allowed to consume her life, and I didn’t want to admit some of the truths Sophie reveals about her management style could be mirrored by me!! Kristine, on the surface, appears to have it all, but as the reader digs deeper, she has unrealized dreams and lacks the confidence to share her vision with her husband. Heather’s plight made me want to reach through the book and quite frankly slap her mother!! I love the way Susan Mallery wove these three stories together and once again, brought the reader into these ladies’ lives on the island. I loved the way Sophie and Kristin were there for each other without fail and how they extended that to Heather, helping her to see her dreams could become reality. Susan Mallery has a unique way of bringing her characters to life in very realistic settings so that I truly feel that I could visit Blackberry Island!!