Hello Friends! I can finally, finally say I’ve read a novel by Susan Mallery. She is an author that I have followed for a while now since my journey began of reading romance, but that I’m just now getting around to reading…
California Girls
Published February 26, 2019 by Mira Books
4/5 Stars
Synopsis:
The California sunshine’s not quite so bright for three sisters who get dumped in the same week…
Finola, a popular LA morning show host, is famously upbeat until she’s blindsided on live TV by 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 Thoughts:
While reading this book, I secretly wished I was reading it with a group of girlfriends. I’m not always a fan of the label, “Women’s fiction,” but I am a fan of finding the right book to read with a group of girlfriends. This one would’ve made a perfect buddy read.
Creating a story that follows more than one perspective can be tricky, but when done well, can be awesome. Susan Mallery does a fantastic job of creating this plot line where right off the bat, we meet three sisters as they’re being dumped. From there we follow each one through the aftermath of being newly single, as they navigate their relationships with each other, as they navigate their relationships with their mother and moving on. I think Mallery does an amazing job of keeping each sister’s individual stories interesting enough to where I wasn’t preferring one story line over any of the others.
I didn’t expect to laugh out loud as much as I did while reading this book. Each sister felt very realistic with how flawed they were, and oh their Mom! I looked forward to the scenes with their mother because although she could be very unlikeable at times, you as the reader understand she wants to see her daughter’s married and giving her grandchildren. You understand this, while also being very unaware of how unlikely this is due to each sister’s situation.
In the midst of each sister being dumped, I like that Mallery was also able to squeeze in true to life sisterhood emotions, feelings.. Things aren’t always glitter and gold when it comes to sisters and I liked that the author didn’t attempt to make it seem like these sisters had no baggage or elephants in the room when it came to their relationship. They could be selfish. They could say the wrong things. They didn’t necessarily speak everyday.
Romance wise, I enjoyed the bits of romance in this book. When it came to the romances, I enjoyed seeing the sisters have to find themselves before that happened. I was a tad nervous when I started the book, knowing I’d be following three different women..I was nervous things would feel rushed. I’m happy to report that, that’s not at all how I felt. Each storyline felt wrapped up in a way that left me feeling satisfied in the end.
Overall I enjoyed this book. I’m happy it was my introduction into the world of Susan Mallery. I have friends who love just about everything she has written, so I’m excited to continue on and read more by her.
xo,
