Tuesday, June 18, 2019

Review - California Girls

Title:   California Girls
Author:  Susan Mallery
Genre:   Women's Fiction
Publisher:   Mira / Harlequin
Format:  Kindle ARC
No. of Pages:  432
Date of Publication:  February 26, 2019
My Rating:  4 Stars

DESCRIPTION:
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 fiancĂ© 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:

How is it three sisters, Finola, Zennie and Ali, all get dumped in the same week? Well, that is what happened, and in this engaging story by Susan Mallery, we get to meet each sister. Their breakups, relationship, and future are explored in this wonderful book.

Finola, an LA morning show host, finds out, while on live TV, that her husband is having an affair. To say Finola was in shock is indeed an understatement. Finola must fight the tabloids, as the rumors are vicious. Then we meet Zennie, who really could care less about being broken up. Her mind is set up as to what she plans on doing. Ali is the most surprising of all the sisters. Ali's fiancĂ©  sends his brother, Daniel, to let Ali know the wedding is off. Now that Ali and Daniel seemed to be thrown together, the two of them learn a lot about each other and something slowly begins to bloom.

Watching each sister rebuild her life was very rewarding while reading this book. I could barely put this book down. I felt so connected to Finola, Zennie and Ali. Daniel was exception in this story, as was his family. Zennie was exceptional, because she made an amazing decision to help her best friend. That truly was impressive. 

In writing this review I keep thinking who might be my favorite of the three. I will easily say Ali. She had real problems with insecurity and her growth was just so impressive. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to checking out Ms. Mallery's backlist and well as any future works that are released.

Many thanks to Mira Books and to NetGalley for this ARC to review in exchange for my honest opinion.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

SUSAN MALLERY is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of novels about the relationships that define women's lives—family, friendship, romance. Library Journal says, “Mallery is the master of blending emotionally believable characters in realistic situations," and readers seem to agree—40 million copies of her books have sold worldwide. Her warm, humorous stories make the world a happier place to live.

Susan grew up in California and now lives in Seattle with her husband. She's passionate about animal welfare, especially that of the two ragdoll cats and adorable poodle who think of her as mom.




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