Susan has done it again. Another wonderful book that you'll find hard to put down. The characters will fill your heart with their ups and downs of life and love.

Blended families come with their own sets of problems and drama. That’s more than evident in Mallery’s new book THE STEPSISTERS.

Daisy, Sage, and Cassidy.

Sage’s mom married Daisy’s dad and that new stepmom had Cassidy. Confusing? Not really. What was a tad confusing to me was the animosity Sage and Cassidy felt for Daisy while they were growing up.

Now all three are adults. They haven’t seen one another is almost 20 years. The old hurts, issues, and dramas unfold when the three of them are thrust together when all 3 are at a crossroads in their lives.

Daisy’s marriage is failing and she has no idea why.
Sage is a serial bride, and now has no one.
Cassidy is emotionally stunted and untrusting.

Not exactly the family you most want to be in.

The story was sound, the characters were, mostly okay. Although the stepmom Joanne, and Daisy’s husband Jordan were horrible people. But I think they were supposed to be for the storyline.

Another solid Mallery book. Thanks to netgalley for a sneak peak. 4 stars.

Okay so two of the stepsisters make Cinderella look like true fairytale. Evil stepsisters. Daisy’s sisters make them pale by comparison. I can’t even imagine where Susan Mallery’s mind was when she created these three steps. Two sisters, Cassidy and Sage, have the same mother Joanne. Cassidy and Daisy have the same father. By all examples Sage should have been the one on the outside. But not in Susan Mallery’s imagination. Daisy is the one on the outside of this lovely, pardon the intentional pun, family. Sage had been pampered. Cassidy was the baby. And that left Daisy. Well you get the picture, but ah ha this is another masterpiece by Susan Mallery so you have no idea of the history of the stepsisters. Welcome to THE STEPSISTERS.

Use care reading THE STEPSISTERS in public. Impossible to count how often you stare at the page gasping at how hurtful the relationship had been. Daisy is a nurse, married with two children and an absentee husband. Jordan took himself off to a hotel and alerted Daisy of his plan by text. Sage is back from Europe renting a room from her mother. Cassidy is recovering from an accident ending up at Daisy’s home, the one place she detests.

The conditions are ripe for angst and confrontation. Again welcome to THE STEPSISTERS.

Susan Mallery is a genius keeping her characters real. If they are stiff and uppity on page one they will still exhibit some of those traits by the last page. Joanne is absolutely no ones idea of a mother, good or bad. There isn’t a smidge of maternal instinct in this woman. She competes with her daughters for every bit of attention. Her indifference makes you cringe, actually indifference would be more kind. Sage and Cassidy are used to their mother, this comeuppance attitude prevailed during their childhood leaving them both with some deep seated issues.

Here’s the thing, the surprises keep on coming. How many times did I find myself, sometimes aloud, saying oh my god you’re kidding. Just when you think Joanne may have turned a page, perhaps finding her own place removed from her daughters lives. A place where she can be dare I say be happy, content, she up and does another very underhanded thing.

Feelings are constantly changing in THE STEPSISTERS. Evolving, maturing, growing. We learn to really love the steps and their newfound relationship. We equally learn to hate some of the people who had filled an important place in their lives. Lots of laughs, mixed with disappointment and anger. THE STEPSISTERS is a fabulously enlightening tale of what could certainly be considered a dysfunctional family. Susan Mallery takes such good care of her characters. THE STEPSISTERS is a prime example of that care.

Great book that really takes a deep look at what family is and means. I loved this story for all that it is. Wonderful weekend read kind of book.

Despite abject hatred amongst the three sisters and two stepsisters, it was an accident that brought them all together. Daisy, Sage and Cassidy through the willingness to be truthful with each other and therefore fully understand how Joanne and her statements with the purpose of taking her side actually brought them back together. They in turn loved each other which made them realize they had the capacity to love. Heartfelt and wonderful read.

Family can mean so many things, and in this case those you might call family may change as life changes you. Once related by marriage, and now only tenuously connected a chance meeting on the side of the road brings Sage and Daisy back into each other's lives just when they might need each other the most. Mallery captures the real complications of family while adding in her trademark humor, and has created another winner.

I am a huge Susan Mallery fan and her stand alone books are usually a disappointment. However, The Stepsisters was a refreshing surprise! All three sisters are flawed and filled with self doubt per usual, but Mallery makes all three extremely likable and gives her readers a believable, realistic ending. This reader for one would appreciate a sequel.

Family turmoil and drama abound in this newest book. The coming of age for three women, all grown yet each still struggling with their childhood trauma and the constant circling of bad decisions and current situations makes this story excel with keeping the reader involved. One of my top reads this year. Do not miss this one.

This story focuses on family dynamics and family drama. Daisy, Shay, and Cassidy are a complex mix of half-sisters and stepsisters and have had a tricky history as they grew up and dealt with the tumultuous relationship of their parents. They each have lived very different lifestyles, and have had different experiences with dating and marriage. A series of circumstances bring the three sisters together again, and tensions run high as they begin to talk, learn, and work through some past history to move forward.

So a widower named Wallace marries Joanne to give his daughter, Daisy a mom and a sister, Sage.... then together they have Cassidy. A few years later they divorce and the girls don’t remain in touch at all.
Daisy, married ( but separated..maybe ) with two kids and a career she loves, gets a call from her dad that Cassidy has had an accident and needs not only Daisy but also Sages help.
The three slowly put the past behind them and explore where it all went wrong and come out stronger than before. That is until Sage does the unthinkable..... is forgiveness and love enough?
This was a good read, with a lot going on. I felt Daisy deserved better, from everyone.
A quick page turning read in the style of Susan Mallery that we have all come to love.

I recently became a huge Susan Mallery fan reading her last summer! I was so happy to be approved for this book as it was one of my most anticipated books of 2021! Mallery does such a good job writing about some ugly areas of family and The Stepsisters was so good. These women were thrown a lot of curve balls and I enjoyed watching them handle it and grow!

I really really really enjoyed this book! At first I wasn't sure I would be able to keep up with the different point of views but it was very simple to follow along. This book was deeply layered with stories and emotions and levels of pain, I couldn't put it down! I was so happy that it was a nice long book because I didn't want it to end!

This book had a lot going for it initially; sisters that do not like each other, jealousy, complex characters and a great setting. Each sister has her own problem and relationship issue and this puts distance between them and this was messy through the whole book. Some of the characterization of the sisters makes them all unlikeable characters, in my opinion. The few times they all meet up, there is a hope for reconciliation that never happens. It makes you appreciate your relationship(s) with your own siblings.

This book was a mixed bag for me regarding how much I liked it. Anyone can identify with sibling relationship issues but these sisters were all over the place to the point I did not care and I wanted an actual point to the book which seems to positive sibling relationships can fail no matter how hard you try and other factors complicate this further. Overall, just an ok book to me. This is my book by this author and I would read more from her.

Thanks to Netgalley, Susan Mallery and Harlequin Trade Publishing Mira for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 5/25/21

Loved this book. Mallery is wonderful when writing about strong female friendships and sisterly bonds. The characters were well developed and mixed well with each other. Perfect as a feel-good read.

Not my favorite Susan Mallery. I really never did connect with either of the three sisters. Maybe I need to try this one again at another time.

Susan Mallery is a master storyteller and a reader can never go wrong choosing one of her books to read. Years ago I read my first book by Ms. Mallery and I have read every book she has written since then. The Stepsisters is another emotional journey that had me interested from the first chapter. I cannot say that I have anything in common with these characters, but I soon cared very much about them.

The story revolves around three sisters (step and half) who did not get along well as children and now as adults are bought together due to several situations. It was entertaining, heartbreaking and heartwarming to read of their journey to blend into a united family.

I want to thank NetGalley and HARLEQUIN – Trade Publishing (U.S. & Canada) for giving me the pleasure of reading the advance reader copy, with no obligation to write a review. My review is written freely as a hobby, and is totally my own opinion, not influenced by receiving the ARC.

Another great Susan Mallery book — I like the way she mixes traditional romance tropes (hunky guys and happy endings) with messages about things that are frankly more important: the value of friendship, standing up for yourself, and recognizing that the happy ending you think your due isn’t actually the one you end up getting. While these characters are all more honest and self-aware than most of us manage, it’s enlightening to hear how they make sense of their situations and how they can move forward rather than make the same mistakes over and over. A romance with honest reflection and personal growth — who woulda thunk?

As an aside, Mallery writes some very interesting mother-daughter relationships. I’d love to meet her mother and see where this all came from! Some mothers are just mean, some selfish, some flaky, but all have some fraught relationship with one of the heroines that needs some solid attention!

Fun book — streamed right through it.

This is a story about family, 3 sisters who have been estranged begin to re build their relationships. The sisters have a lot of issues that they have to put behind them in order to become a family again. This would be a great book to take to read sitting under an umbrella at the beach. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

People, love and family are not perfect. All three take effort to make them work. People make mistakes and stumble but how you handle the mistakes are what counts. This story is about three sisters who fight a lifetime of misunderstandings and regret to be able to become true sisters.

I enjoyed this book! Enjoyed the story line and loved seeing the characters unfold and how their relationships evolve. My first book by Susan Mallery, but won't be my last!

Thank you to netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.