California Girls by @SusanMallery #WomensFic #BookReview

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 the 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.

From Amazon

Biography

Susan Mallery is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of books about the relationships that define women’s lives—romance, friendship, family. With compassion and humor, Susan keenly observes how people think and feel, in stories that take readers on an emotional journey. Sometimes heartbreaking, often funny, and always uplifting, Susan’s books have spent more than 200 weeks on the USA Today bestsellers list, thanks to her ever growing legions of fans.

Critics, too, have heaped praise on “the new queen of romantic fiction.” (Walmart) Booklist says, “Romance novels don’t get much better than Mallery’s expert blend of emotional nuance, humor, and superb storytelling,” and RT Book Reviews puts her “in a class by herself!”

Although Susan majored in Accounting, she never worked as an accountant because she was published straight out of college with two books the same month. Sixteen prolific years and seventy-four books later, she hit the New York Times bestsellers list for the first time with Accidentally Yours in 2008. She made many appearances in the Top 10 before (finally) hitting #1 in 2015 with Thrill Me, the twentieth book in her most popular series, the Fool’s Gold romances, and the fourth of five books released that year.

Susan lives in Seattle with her husband, two ragdoll cats, and a small poodle with delusions of grandeur. Her heart for animals has led Susan to become an active supporter of the Seattle Humane Society. Animals play a big role in her books, as well, as she believes they’re an integral component to a happy life. Visit Susan online at http://www.SusanMallery.com.

My Review

Just when the world seems against them, three sisters find an inner strength and a bond they never expected.

Television personality, Finola is finally ready to give her husband his greatest desire-children. She plans to tell him on a rare getaway that goes awry when she learns he’s been having an affair.

Zinnie is happy on her own. She’s focused on a nursing career and only dates because it’s ‘the thing to do.’ So, when her best friend (a cancer survivor) approaches her to be a surrogate, Zinnie jumps at the opportunity to help. Except, being pregnant and alone, is harder than she expected.

Ali is getting married in six short weeks and she’s going crazy between preparations and keeping up to her mother who needs help decluttering her home so she can sell it. Then, in a cowardly move, her fiancé sends his handsome brother to call off the wedding.

What follows is how these three so-different sisters overcome the crisis each of them face and find strength from unexpected places.

Some of my favorite scenes happened in the family home as the three girls and their mother come together amid thirty years of memories.

I give California Girls 4 lovely kisses- An enjoyable read!

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin-MIRA books for this opportunity.