They say you pick your friends but you are born with (and stuck with) family, but I don't think that's necessarily true. Yes, you are born with family but you get to pick how you interact with them and this book shows how both family and friends (defining "friends" as people you choose to have in your life) can move you ahead or hold you back.



Sophie lost her parents when she was in high school but has built a successful business named after the most important being in her adult life--her cat. The book is about her learning to properly relate to others--to the man in her life, to her employees and to her family and friends.



Kristine wonders whether finding herself and moving on in life means leaving her husband behind. Will he learn to let her have what she need? What should be the balance between what is good for a person and what is good for their marriage? Should one overwhelm the other, or without one, does the other not exist?



Amber is Sohie and Krisitine's aunt, and a professional victim. Nothing ever goes right, and she seems determined to make sure her daughter follows in her footsteps. What constitutes helping Amber? Enabling? Does it matter?



Heather is Amber's daughter and the person who has been taking care of Amber for the last five years. Of course that doesn't leave her much time to be a twenty year old. How can she escape? Should she?



The strength of Susan Mallery's Blackberry Island books is her characters and these women are no exception. While the book contains a romance subplot, it is secondary to the relationship between the women in the story. At first I was very annoyed that Sophies relationship seemed to be about nothing but sex, until I realized that it fit her and where she was at that point in her life. Luckily, she had a good guy who realized that was what was going on, and once he decided he wanted her, he put the brakes on that part of their relationship,which I found interesting for a modern book.



I'd like to thank the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley. Grade: B+

Susan Mallery does it again, she wrote an engaging novel that focused on three women who are in on different life paths but are connected as family.
I loved that each of the main characters was in a different place in their life with very different goals. Yet their stories were interlinked and each had an influence on the others.
One of the things that I really loved, and was a refreshing change, was that only one of the characters happily ever after ended with a husband and family. While I have nothing against the husband and kid ending, it was validating that Susan Mallory choose to have the different happily ever afters come in different forms.
An amazing read of characters with real flaws finding their version of happiness. Well written and this read will not disappoint.

This is another good women's fiction read in Susan Mallery's Blackberry Island series. Family is complicated, especially when cousins are forced to re-evaluate their lives and decide what is really important and worth fighting for in both romance and careers. Despite the fact that some of the characters are difficult to like (including one who is pretty much irredeemable), ultimately strength, conviction, and love win out in the end.

. Sophie's business goes up in flames - literally. With nothing left but a nice insurance check she retreats to her childhood home of Blackberry Island.. None of her former employees come with her so she has to start from scratch hiring new people in order to rebuild her business. Along the way she learns a few home truths about herself, but still manages to find love. Another excellent book Ms. Mallery..

Excellent. The characters are so well written and alive. The storylines intertwine through the cousins. Didn’t want this book to end.

Sister’s By Choice by Susan Mallery is a story about three cousins who are more like sisters to each other. They story intertangles their relationships and their life struggles. The characters were all well defined and the story moved along at a good pace. It was definitely full of drama, problems, and issues. It was enjoyable to see how they all interacted, but was also a bit hard to read all their struggles. I would recommend this story if you enjoy drama and how it all works out.

Sophie returns to Blackberry Island to start over after her business burns down. She chose Blackberry Island because it is her hometown and she has cousins who live there. Re building has some bumps along the way, some caused by Sophies need to control everything. I enjoyed this book but I didn’t like Amber, she was a self entitled woman who loved being a victim. In the end Amber was never held accountable for her actions. If you want a fast read book with a romance this is for you. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

Successful business owner, Sophie returns to Blackberry Island after her companies warehouse burns down. Her cousins Kristine and Amber still live on the island, so going home seems like a good idea. Rebuilding her company in her hometown ends up being more complicated than she thought. Owning her business is a part of her identity and Sophie must learn how to delegate. Family dynamics are complicated and both Amber and Kristine have troubles of their own. As these cousins navigate their issues family ties are tested. I enjoyed the way these characters evolve as the story is told.

I read this feeling that the storyline must soon heat up! Found it to be too simple and a bit boring! Sorry not for me!

I'll start by saying that I usually love Susan Mallery's books. This one was a miss. It's well written, it was a good story, it flowed well. I just didn't care for the characters. At all! I couldn't stand Amber, she was an epically terrible person who still won in the end....and never learned the error of her ways and was never held accountable. I couldn't stand Sophie. She was mean. Just plain arrogant and unyielding (not to mention a major enabler), and Kristine was just meh for me. There was literally no growth to any of the characters. I love that this is a series, I'll be curious to see where this all goes, but I'm really hoping for some growth, maturity, and a sprinkle of comeuppance.

Thank you Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are mine and mine alone.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3097998613

Whenever I pick up a book by this author I know I'm in for a treat .I love how she takes fun , strong willed woman with complex issues and weaves a story that is intriguing and fun to read.

Where to start with Sisters By Choice – if you scroll through my Goodreads “reads” you’ll see I’m a fan of Susan Mallery. But I’ve always had some difficulty reading her Blackberry Island Series.

Her previous series mainly focus on the romantic relationships for the main character, with a good dose of small town living. She writes beautifully and creates such likable characters that it makes you feel like you really know the characters.

With her Blackberry Island Series she’s taken a slight detour, in this series the focus is on the women’s relationships, between mother – daughter, wife – husband etc. For me though it lacks the depth of character from her previous series.

Sisters By Choice focuses on three female characters Sophie (Successful Business Owner), Kristine (Stay at home mom) and Heather (Teenager with dreams of leaving the island).

Personally I couldn’t connect with Sophie, even when her back story is laid out to explain why she does what she does – I’m still left thinking I don’t get it!

Heather – I felt sorry for her – even though she was living on an island there doesn’t seem to be a community vibe (which we had in abundance in Susan Mallery’s Fools Gold Series). A number of people must have been aware of her home life and did nothing. I know that’s probably more true to life in this day and age but it made me a little sad.

Kristine – I think I liked her the most. She was relatable, the relationship she has with her husband and her dreams to open her own bakery and the woes that she had to go through made her feel more realistic.
Overview: If you haven’t read any of Susan Mallery’s previous books then you’d more then likely enjoy this series, if you have I fear you may be a little disappointed.

**Thanks to the Author and Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

I’ve enjoyed this book very much. I liked the characters and the storyline. I found the strength and Independence of the women to be amazing! The only character that I didn’t like was Amber, but totally get that’s how she was meant to be in the story. I most definitely would recommend this book to fellow readers. Another well-written Susan Mallery book.

*I received a free copy of the book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

This book is about 4 women who are cousins by birth, but nearly sisters by their family situations. They work through building businesses, relationship struggles, and finding their paths forward. The book was an easy read, but felt a little tiresome for me to read about continuous problems from each of them.

This book follows 3 cousins who are like sisters. Sophie is a driven, controlling business women, and is having to rebuild her business after a fire. Kristine is a stay at home mom, but wants to open a bakery. Heather wants to go to college and get off the island but her mom is needy and is guilts her into taking care of her. This is a story that follows them through their struggles. I enjoyed this book and watching these women grow. There is a romance for Sophie but this book is more focused on the 3 women.

It's impossible for Susan Mallory to write a bad book. Sisters by Choice is another hit. Sophie, Kristine, and Heather have so. Much character development. Heather finally learns how to stand up to her mother and embark on new adventures off the island. Kristine, despite great spousal opposition, pursues her dream of her own bakery and changing the dynamics of her marriage. Sophie begins anew on the island, but has to face hard truths about her management style and her personal life. The most unpleasant character is miserable Amber. Everyone keeps enabling her, which I disagreed with, but it's not my story to change. Readers with inhale this latest great book!

Sisters by Choice was another visit to Blackberry Island told again in threes.Unlike her other series, Mallery does not utilize her strong set of secondary island characters to interconnect the story. Her only tie in this series seems to be the inn as the focal point. This series does not have the same warmth as most of her others, but fans just need to accept that these books can be read a stand alone novels and that this may be the only time that we see them on the island. If you can work with that, read this book.

The true sisters of choice were Sophie, Kristin and Heather and they demonstrated how you can be soft and loving but with an inner strength and determination of steel. They knew when to speak and when to listen but they always were there to help. I feel that Amber was brought in to further personify how darkness will never prevail and only created isolation and further misery. I would read more books about the lives of these women.

Endearing story of cousins in the Northwest who each aspire for something fulfilling, but seem trapped by their own making. Each must learn something to move on.

So ... this is a hard review to write. I usually love Susan Mallerys books - light, hearted, fun reads. This latest one though, whew ... it was hard to finish. I really did not care for this story at all. The characters were so unlikeable - you just wanted to shake them. The only one that seemed to have a backbone was Kristine - I found myself rooting for her. The other women came across as sniveling, weak and entitled - you just wanted them to fail so they would grow up.

You can't win them all and, as a reader, you can't like them all. Won't stop me from reading more by Susan Mallery. Just not anymore in this particular series.

Thank you #netgalley and #HARLEQUIN - MIRA (U.S. and Canada) for the eARC.