Review & Contest: Three Sisters by Susan Mallery

Title: Three Sisters by Susan Mallery
Blackberry Island Series Book Two
Publisher: Harlequin
Imprint: HarlequinMIRA
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Women’s Fiction
Length: 352 pages
Book Rating: A+ & A Recommended Read

Review Copy Obtained from Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

New York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery’s prose has been called “gritty and magical” and “luscious and provocative” (Publishers Weekly). Now she returns to Blackberry Island with the story of three women whose friendship will change their lives forever.

After Andi Gordon is jilted at the altar, she makes the most impetuous decision of her life—buying one of the famed Three Sisters Queen Anne houses on Blackberry Island. Now the proud-ish owner of the ugly duckling of the trio, she plans to open her own pediatric office on the first floor, just as soon as her hunky contractor completes the work. Andi’s new future may be coming together, but the truth is she’s just as badly in need of a major renovation as her house.

When Deanna Phillips confronts her husband about a suspected affair, she opens up a Pandora’s box of unhappiness. And he claims that she is the problem. The terrible thing is, he’s right. In her quest to be the perfect woman, she’s lost herself, and she’s in danger of losing her entire family if things don’t change.

Next door, artist Boston King thought she and her college sweetheart would be married forever. Their passion for one another has always seemed indestructible. But after tragedy tears them apart, she’s not so sure. Now it’s time for them to move forward, with or without one another.

Thrown together by fate and geography, and bound by the strongest of friendships, these three women will discover what they’re really made of: laughter, tears, love and all.

The Review:

With her Blackberry Island series, Susan Mallery brings her readers stories about realistic characters whose lives are far from perfect. The second installment, Three Sisters, is a touching and heartfelt novel that is deeply compelling and full of emotion. The main characters are three very different women who form an unlikely friendship as they cope with some serious challenges in their private lives.

Following the breakup of her ten year relationship, Andi Gordon purchases a run down and decrepit Victorian home on Blackberry Island. Desperate for a new beginning, Andi is renovating more than her house; she is making over her entire life. A fresh start in a new place is just what she needs to recover from her broken heart and she has a strict no dating policy firmly in place. That is until she meets Wade King, the sexy contractor in charge of her renovations.

The homes on either side of Andi are beautifully restored and Andi is a little envious of her seemingly perfect neighbors. But as she gets to know each of the women living next door to her, Andi soon discovers that each of the women are dealing with some very painful issues.

Deanna Phillips is married with five beautiful daughters. Her husband, Colin, is a traveling salesmen who is away more often than he is home. When she discovers what she thinks is incriminating evidence of an affair, her accusations force Colin to reveal his growing dissatisfaction with their marriage. His angry allegations shake Deanna to the core and she will have to come to terms with her ugly and dysfunctional past in order to save her marriage.

Boston King and her husband Zeke are high school sweethearts who have been married for a long time. A devastating and traumatic loss has driven a wedge between this once devoted couple. Their once strong marriage is disintegrating and they have fallen into a very destructive pattern as they try to accept their unbearable loss and move forward.

The three women’s stories unfold separately then slowly converge as their lives begin to fall apart. In the beginning, Deanna is difficult to like but as her self-awareness grows and her past is revealed the more likeable she becomes. Of the three, she has the most to lose and overcome. Boston’s story is the most heartbreaking and her recovery takes the longest to achieve. Andi is the most optimistic and despite her reservations about getting involved with Wade, she is willing to open her heart to love again.

While Three Sisters is mainly a novel about overcoming life’s obstacles, there are romantic elements. Both Deanna and Boston’s marriages are rocky and it is incredibly uplifting watching them fight to save their respective marriages and rediscover their love for their spouses. Andi’s new relationship with Wade is incredibly sensual and while their road to happily ever after is a bit rocky, it is emotionally satisfying when they finally figure out their future.

Susan Mallery’s Blackberry Island series is definitely more serious than her more light-hearted and romantic Fool’s Gold series. She tackles some of life’s more serious moments head on and provides readers with thought-provoking and emotional storylines that will make you laugh and cry as each of the characters triumph over adversity.

Three Sisters is a captivating novel about friendship, facing fears, overcoming tragedy and finding the courage to love again. This installment of the Blackberry Island series can be read as a standalone story, but you won’t want to miss a single book in this delightfully heartwarming series.

Read my reviews of the other novels in this series HERE.

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I am giving away one print copy of the Three Sisters to one lucky commenter. This contest is open to US addresses only.

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