Sisters by Choice (Blackberry Island Series #4)
4.5
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Paperback(Original)
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Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780778309390 |
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| Publisher: | MIRA Books |
| Publication date: | 02/11/2020 |
| Series: | Blackberry Island Series , #4 |
| Edition description: | Original |
| Pages: | 448 |
| Sales rank: | 1,462 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.30(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.20(d) |
About the Author
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Sisters by Choice: A Novel
4.5 out of 5
based on
0 ratings.
91 reviews.
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Ms. Mallery has brought us all a new book that will leave you wanting more and the more still. Sophie, Kristine, Heather and Amber. Show how the dynamics in family can be draining, exhausting, and stressful. It showes how the sisters of your heart will always be there to help with all of life's Joy's and pain and will always have a shoulder if you need it. this book was given to me from the author for an honest review
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In Sisters By Choice by Susan Mallery, three women are on the brink of dramatic change in their lives. Sophie Lane's business has burned to the ground and she has returned to her home town to rebuild her business and her life. Kristine Fielding has finally decided to pursue her lifelong dream and open a bakery and wonders how it will effect her family and her marriage. Heather Sitterly must decide whether or not to leave everything familiar to her and pursue her dream of going to college.
Mallery brilliantly illustrates the compassion, love, and support all three woman offer each other as they each pursue their dreams and fight to overcome both their fears and family's objections to the changes in their lives.
I can't praise this book enough! Susan Mallery has yet again created a wonderful town and wonderful community of women that love and support one another as they grow and pursue their dreams, I cannot wait for Susan Mallery's next wonderful novel!
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I love the Blackberry Island series and this book was no different. All three of these ladies have overcome hardships and have grown stronger. I did find one of the ladies a bit hard to relate to, but, was very happy with the ending. I really enjoyed getting to know all of the characters and learning how they individually dealt with and overcame obstacles and how they came together as a family… or, sisters by choice!! I would definitely recommend reading this book and this entire series!
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Another great read by Susan Mallery. It is the fourth book in the series but even if you haven't read the other books you will enjoy this one! Susan Mallery always writes about strong characters that have overcome things in their past that make them what they are today. One of my favorite authors and she doesn't disappoint with this one either!
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Heartwarming story of cousins who are closer than sisters. Very different personalities and lives but the love for each others is beautiful. And there are, of course, those people who make you want to remove them from your family! Very insightful read.
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Susan Mallery never fails to draw readers in with her mostly likable characters! This definitely was hard to put down. Three cousins more like sisters and the complex lives they lead. If you have never read Susan’s heartwarming stories I definitely recommend you do!
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Sisters by choice is another women's fiction book by Susan Mallery, with her love , humor and charm, set at Blackberry Island. I liked the first 2 Blackberry island books, but in a different way then I do her Fool's Gold ( my favorite), and Happily Inc. (second favoirte). These books usually pull at your heart and make you feel the issues the characters are going through, I didn't like a couple characters so this one was a little harder to love. This story we follow 3 cousin who are raised like sisters, Sophie,Kristine & Heather. Sophie moves back to Blackberry Island after she loses her business to hopefully rebuild her life. Kristine is a mom & wife but wants to do something for herself and wants to open a bakery and that comes with struggles of family and the want to succeed and Heather, whose mother is awful and always has some crisis come up every time Heather gets some money saved up that she wants to put towards her dreams. Overall, it was okay. I like how each character either learned to ask for help, open her own business ad go for something for herself or became more independent towards her own hopes and dreams.I love Susan Mallery but this wasn't my favorite. It was ok. Maybe the next one will be my book.
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I love the Blackberry Island books and this one is no exception. I was hooked from the first page and couldn't get enough of Sophie, Kristine and Heather, however Amber was not my favorite. Sisters of the heart, they are there for one another and help each other with the ups and downs of life. If you looking for a new book to read you won't be disappointed.
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The wonderful entertaining stories of Blackberry Island continue with “Sister by Choice”. I enjoy the strong women that Susan Mallery develops in her books. I love Sophie, Heather and Kristine but cannot stand Amber and her self-centered attitude.
Each story that Susan Mallery writes is developed well and has such believable and endearing characters. I love reading her books and will continue reading them from wherever she takes me.
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Sisters by Choice.
Four Women, all cousins, none of them are easy, but with the Susan Mallery style, you find yourself relating to them in some way or another.
Sophie loses her business in a catastrophic fire and decides to relocate to her hometown, Blackberry Island, With her unrealistic 'micro-manager' management technique she must change her business habits.
Kristine, with 3 sons and a husband she loves dearly, plus a flourishing mini-bakery business that she runs out of her house. Something needs to give.
Heather has ‘mothered her mother’ since her mother, Amber, blamed her for everything bad that happened and made her the ‘adult’ in the family far too early.
Amber…Whiny, entitled, blame everyone else for my problems because it can’t be me. Amber is so very hard to describe. Manipulating everyone, all the time. This character is unlikeable.
In one book…Four women with very different personalities but Sisters by Choice and how they deal with each other or not.
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Ms Mallery has brought us another good book. Though I wouldn’t put it at the top of my priority reading list, I’d still recommend it. The four women are interesting through Amber can be exhausting just reading her story. Cannot imagine trying to be a part of her life. Sophie, Heather and Kristine are much more interesting to follow. Well developed, intertwined relationships. Loved the cat theme!
Still not a “won over” by this relationship genre. Wears me out jumping from one character to another. Much prefer the escape in a “happily ever after” romance.
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Sisters by Choice -- the best!
Susan Mallery tells a wonderful story of cousins who are “sisters by choice”. Single cousin Sophie has a very successful company catering to all products cat related, but has trouble letting go of the control of her company to allow the business to grow as she’d like. Kristine wants to open her own bakery in a location other than her own kitchen, but has a problem getting support from her husband and sons. Heather, cousin Amber’s daughter, is trying to break free from Blackberry Island to be able to make something of her life, despite her mother trying to drag her down. The cousins’ lives are intertwined as they struggle to grow and become the women they would like to be. This is a book that keeps a reader interested until the very end.
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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.
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Finding your Dream
Sophie, Kristine and Amber are all cousins that grew up together on Blackberry Island. Sophie decided to return with her business as a fire destroyed her previous building in LA. Kristine married out of high school and has three children, but has a dream that she has worked on for the past two years. Amber is horrible and blames her problems on her daughter, Heather she raised as a single mom. Sophie and Kristine try to protect Heather from all of Amber’s cruelty to her daughter. As Kristine’s dream of a bakery becomes a reality her marriage falters. Sophie with unappreciated help from her new employees, learns loosen the reins on her business to have a more balanced life. They both help Heather find a way to escape Amber’s grasp on Heather so she can achieve her dreams. I breezed through the book and enjoyed the interaction and growth of the characters.
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Sisters By Choice by Susan Mallery takes the reader back to Blackberry Island, a wonderful hometown in which I would love to live. After a devastating tragedy, Sophie Lane returns home to start over. While there, Sophie and her two cousins, Kristine and Heather, learn to lean on each other and become Sisters By Choice.
I love reading Susan Mallery. Her books aren't just your typical romance books. Yes, there is romance. But there is also family, friendship, community, and so much more. Her characters are extremely believable (and believe me, there is one you will love to hate!) and relatable for the average reader.
I give this book five huge stars and would recommend to anyone who wants to escape for a while to a beautiful small town on an island. The characters will capture your heart from page one and won't let go even after you close the back cover.
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4.5 Stars. I was slow to start this because I didnt enjoy the last book in this series as much as I would have liked, but once i started i couldn't put it down.
Sisters by Choice had all the things I loved about this series; strong friendships, personal growth of characters and a feel good vibe.
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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.
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This book was a great read and it made me uncomfortable, in a good way. It really got me thinking about how I think and treat people (and family) around me and how they treat me. Sophie is such an interesting character. She made something from nothing, lost it all and built it back up, but it would never be like it was before, but in a good way, if she can give up some control or lose it all. Change can be a positive thing. I think every woman as see themselves in Kristine. We give ourselves to our family and their support; and we lose who we are or want to be in the process. It is hard to break out of that persona and not be treated as the bad guy. Heather represents every fear and joy we have. Fear that we are not good enough and the joy of getting out there believing that it is the best choice. There is so much more to this book than what I can say here. Read this book and experience life through their eyes and it will give you new sight too.
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This is a story of family and how love can make you act contrary to what you would normally do. Sophie’s business literally goes up in flames and her first call is to Kristine who drops everything to be there for her. Sophie moves back to Blackberry Island to rebuild, bringing her closer to family. Kristine is a mom who has a dream of opening a bakery on the island. Unfortunately, her husband doesn’t understand why he and their sons aren’t enough for her. Heather is only twenty, but has been taking care of her mother Amber for years. She feels stuck on the island, even though Amber is capable of taking care of herself-if she only would. They are all cousins, but Sophie, Kristine and Heather are “Sisters by Choice”.
Each woman is ambitious in her own way and they help each other grow and make their dreams a reality. Sophie thinks success precludes having a loving relationship until Dugan comes into her life and shatters all her preconceived notions. Kristine must decide if she is willing to continue in her marriage as it was and give up on her dream, or will she stand firm and go for it. Heather tries to make something of herself, while her mother keeps holding her back. She has to decide if she can break away leaving Amber to take care of herself. All these relationships are complicated, but very real. Mallery has a knack for creating characters that we recognize, dealing with real problems we can relate to. And she does it all with humor and charm.
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In this new novel by Susan Mallery we are introduced to 3 very strong women and 1 other woman who will make you mad, laugh and just shake your head. Four women with strengths that make everyone of us wish to have a cousin who would always have our back. The cousins were also friends and brought out the best in each other. This is definitely a wonderful read.
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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.
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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.
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I normally adore Susan Mallery's books so giving this one 2 stars hurts a bit but it was just an okay read for me. From the start I found Sophie utterly annoying. I wanted to like her! I mean, she had built herself a huge successful business. She has to start over (not a spoiler as it happens in the first few pages) which she does while barely batting an eyelash. That was impressive but she's just not likable and I couldn't care about her or her story.
Thankfully Mallery's trademark wit and the character of Kristine brought some joy to this book for me. Overall, it was just an okay read, though.
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#4 in the ‘Blackberry Island’ Series, “Sisters by Choice” follows three women, cousins by birth, as they make life changing choices.
Sophie loses her business in California and move back to Blackberry Island to start again. Kristine, a stay-at-home mom who is fighting for a chance to do something of her own and her husband isn’t happy about any changes. Heather, who is actually a 1st cousin once removed (daughter of the cousin), whose mother is a difficult woman wanting Heather to do everything for her, like a servant – but one who pays for everything too.
The challenges and life choices these three women make in the course of the story are touching and poignant. I had a difficult time with this one, even though it had an HEA ending, it was difficult to get past some of the personalities and keep reading. Sophie bounced between wonderful and strong and a leader and not, Kristine seemed the most levelheaded and strongest of the group. Heather struggled with her mom and her own hopes and wishes.
I did like the book, i just didn't like some of the characters :-)
This book came to me as an ARC in exchange for an honest review
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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.
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