Susan Mallery is one of those writers who has the gift of bringing fictional people to life, and I’m always left invested in their stories. Family-focused and romantic with real-world problems, I thoroughly enjoy reading another installment of the Mischief Bay series and getting to know a new set of main characters. SISTERS LIKE US features a set of siblings–Harper and Stacey–who couldn’t be more different or at different points in their life. While eager to please, happy homemaker Harper is still dealing with the effect that her divorce from a cheating husband that she put through podiatry school has on both her and her sixteen-year-old daughter, pragmatic and highly intelligent Stacey is happily married to both Kit and her scientific job trying to find the cure for MS but she’s uneasy about her pregnancy. Throw in Harper’s client Lucas, a sexy womanizing cop from the last book and a very judgmental and pushy mother of the sisters, and there’s a ton of complications and obstacles to be faced along the way.

Both Harper and Stacey grew up living under their mother’s impossible to follow Susie-homemaker example, and they couldn’t have turned out more different if they tried. Harper tries to be just like her mom–decorating the table for dinner every night, making everything they eat from scratch, even going above and beyond for her clients in her fledgling virtual personal assistant business that she’s started to bring money in after the divorce. But her mother believes in being a supportive wife that stays home and cooks, cleans, and takes care of the children, and Bunny is very vocal about the turn Harper’s life has taken for the worst in the last few years. All Harper wants is to provide a stable life and to earn enough money to keep her and daughter Becca comfortable, but everything is so much harder than she’d thought it would be–especially under the scrutinizing, disapproving eyes of her mother.

Stacey is a brilliant scientist, even graduating from high school early with the support of her astronaut grandfather–much to Bunny’s chagrin. She is married to a wonderful teacher named Kit, who’s happily agreed to be a stay-at-home dad to the baby girl that Stacey is actively trying to only gestate in her belly. Socially awkward but super caring is a great way to describe her. From a young age, Stacey has been told by her mother that she’s not like normal girls, so she’s convinced that she can’t bond with their child and she’ll be a horrible mother. When Kit’s nephew Ashton comes to live with them for the summer before he goes off to MIT, Stacey finds that she has trouble relating to an older teenager, so how will she deal with a baby of her own? Bunny will disapprove of Stacey’s return to work so early after giving birth, as well as Kit’s roll as caretaker, so she just doesn’t tell her mother that she’s pregnant–until the evidence of her growing baby bump is front and center.

Harper’s daughter Becca is struggling with normal teenage things, and she’s isolated since her best friend moved across the country. She finds solace in the dobermans that her father’s great-aunt left her in the will, and she must work to earn the car that she was left as well. Since her father has checked out after the divorce and finding a new wife, she turns to Lucas to fill the fatherly roll. Lucas is surprisingly charming and loyal as he’s constantly at Harper’s house, even doing little things to make both Harper and Becca’s lives a little easier. As he integrates himself in their lives, they all find that he’s a welcome addition to their family–even if he speaks the truth a bit gruffly and often. There’s no sugar coating things as far as Lucas is concerned.

I give SISTERS LIKE US a five out of five. I really liked both Harper and Stacey. Their sisterly bonds were strong and true, especially when they have to deal with their mother. This book really explored the complicated relationships between family: mother and daughters, sisters, daughter and father. But the main theme of family isn’t just blood, it’s who you choose to share your daily life with that really shines throughout the turbulent times in this novel. Lucas proved to be deeper than we saw in A Million Little Things, and I really loved getting to know his character through his actions with the three generations of women in SISTERS LIKE US. These novels are stand alone books, and a few characters from the previous novels do pop in from time to time. I highly recommend any of Susan Mallery’s novels for their warmth, sprinklings of humor, and the realistic and heartwarming exploration of women’s lives.

This is another very enjoyable entry in the Mischief Bay series. I liked both of the main characters, two extremely different sisters, each trying to cope with the ups and downs of their lives. In addition, the supporting cast characters are all very likable, especially the two leading men. I only wish the ending hadn't been quite so abrupt, as I wanted to savor the happy ending.

Harper and Stacey are nothing alike, and yet as sisters they are each other's champion. Family drama, love, growth, and humor are hallmarks of Mallery's writing, and this newest offering does not disappoint. Life is never going to go the way you planned, but if you have the support of those you love you can make it through anything.

Stacey and Harper are two very different sisters who each struggle to make their way in the world. Harper has a hard time navigating the financial and teen-parenting lands of the newly divorced, while Stacey makes bank but can’t respond to social cues to save her life.

Lucky for them, Susan Mallery has just the challenges they need to figure out that they can shift focus, ask for help, and come out the other side nearly unscathed. Nearly.

Harper’s story was a little better fleshed out than Stacey’s, but I enjoyed them both. Harper’s nutty mom, ex-husband, teenager, clients and new employees were rich fodder for big laughs and tender moments. Stacey’s story was going to break my heart until her husband’s nephew saved the day with his gentleness, gratitude, and earnestness. Just like in real life, sometimes all it takes is that one person to give a couple of meaningful minutes for you to realize you’re not alone, and you can do that thing you thought you couldn’t.

Really heartwarming, Susan Mallery. Those are some pretty awesome sisters, and they’ve got a pretty terrific circle around them.

A fast paced,original,funny and realistic story!This, is a story about the relationships between mothers and daughters.Refreshing and sweet.It was perfect for the period I wanted to read it!!I think the family relationships were written excellent. There are many characters intermingling in this book, adding depth, and intrigue to the novel. I was utterly absorbed in their stories. Sisters Like Us put me on an emotional roller coaster from the first page until the last.

Harper Szymanski is struggling to make ends meet after her divorce, raising her teenage daughter and meddling mother who thinks a woman should be a domestic goddess in all ways. But for Harper, trying to make ends meet is catching up to her and if it wasn’t for her loyal clients in her virtual-assistant business, she would be in curled up ball of goo.

Dr. Stacey Bloom is a renowned scientist who can tell you all about the brain’s makeup and more but when it comes to motherhood, Stacey is utterly out of her league. With time running out, Stacey has to figure out how to tell her mother she is having a baby and figure out this whole nurturing thing.

As these two sisters figure out life and all its messiness, both women will find the strength to move forward, together, and that they can survive anything.

SISTERS LIKE US is a fun and poignant look into the lives of two sisters and family. Told with Susan Mallery’s trademark style of humor and warmth, the author delivers a wonderful story filled with great moments of life lessons learned, humor and a romance you don’t see coming. I love this author’s Mischief Bay series and was thrilled to see a few familiar faces pop up and the surprise of Lucas, who readers met in book 3, A Million Little Pieces. The writing is tight, that flows smoothly from one scene after another. With each page I turned, I got more and more invested within Harper and Stacey.

I loved these two sisters and found them to be as unique apart as they are together. Stacey is the brain and loves science, taking after her grandfather who was an astronaut back in the day. Harper took to her mother’s Susie Homemaker lessons to heart and has more of a nurturing gene than Stacey does but its getting hard for Harper to keep up with all the rules her mother installed in her about her home and everything. Sometimes, as Harper finds out, life won’t blow up if you get a take-out pizza or don’t make meals from scratch. Susan Mallery has a way of creating some amazing characters that I can relate to and with all the characters in the series, I loved each and everyone of them immensely. They are life-like and it doesn’t take me long to wonder if I could meet them in real life one day and go for coffee. Add in some amazing secondary characters such as the sister’s mom, Bunny, the sleazy ex of Harper’s and Harper’s daughter, Becca, adding teenage angst even as life tosses lessons to her in the form of Lucas. With each introduction of characters, the story doesn’t feel overfilled with competing characters but a close-knit family that you can’t help but fall in love with.

SISTERS LIKE US is a wonderful story about family dynamics, even as the sisters try to meet their mother’s high expectations about how they are to live their lives, even as life has shown them, sometimes you just have to wing it and hold on for the ride. I loved SISTERS LIKE US and can not wait to see where the author goes in this series. If you enjoy a story filled with family drama, romance that turns into something much more than expected then you will enjoy reading about Mischief Bay and all its quirky residents there. I highly recommend reading from the beginning of the series to get all the back characters stories who show up here in SISTERS LIKE US. A wonderful addition to the series and one I plan to read again soon.

f you can get over the fact that the main characters all come across as caricatures, this isn't a bad read. Harper feels guilty for not making fresh pasta (you know the kind you make with flour and ...I don't know,,, I did it once, definitely didn't think it was worth the trouble and she always layers the table cloths and place mats on her table to create a coordinated look. She's beyond Suzy Homemaker but now that she is trying to run a business, she just doesn't have time for all that anymore.

Lucas is Harper's age but dates the twenty year old airhead of the week--but is becoming more and more a part of Harper's life every day. Where do you think this is going?

Stacey is the stereotypical science nerd. She just doesn't "get" so many social things, but she marries a kind nurturing man who wants a baby, so she obliges, and is then terrified that she won't love her baby. Stacey and her husband take in his nephew, who is eighteen. When Stacey learns he is dating her niece, she gives him the condom talk--and then tells him how he needs to stimulate a woman to orgasm, but the scene comes off not as erotic but as a sadly funny reflection of Stacey's lack of social skills.

Clearly this book is far more about the characters than about the plot line, which is pretty is obvious from the beginning. Still, it was an enjoyable and relaxing read, so I'll give it a B.

Thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy via NetGalley.

"In the Bloom family, words were the true weapon, and expectation was the ammunition."

This is the fourth book in author Mallery's Mischief Bay series. I read the first book in the series and enjoyed it, haven't read the next two but I didn't feel like I was missing too much. This book can definitely be read as a standalone.

This is a book about sisters, daughters, and mothers and all the craziness that can happen in those relationships.

Harper Szymanski is in her early 40s, is divorced, has a teen daughter Becca, and has become a virtual assistant to try to make ends meet. She is a friend for decorating for all holidays (taught to her by her mother Bunny) and has a hard time finding time for her daughter.

Stacey Bloom is Harper's sister. She's brilliant, a scientist, and six months pregnant. Her husband is going to be a stay-at-home dad when the baby is born.

I definitely had a problem with Bunny, their mother, who believes the man is always right in a relationship and women should stay at home and make the home a castle for their man. Phooey on that. (You can probably tell I was always a working mother.)

The characters are drawn vividly and all types of relationships are explored in this story. I enjoyed the book even though it upset me at times. And I felt the ending was a bit rushed but still okay.

I received this book from MIRA Books through Net Galley in the hopes that I would read the book and leave an unbiased review.

I really liked the opposite personalities of both sisters. One a suzy homemaker type who is struggling to build her business and keep her daughter happy. The other is a brilliant scientist but struggling to come to terms with the fact that she is having a baby, feeling like she is missing the maternal instincts. Their mother seems perpetually disappointed in both of them. Loves of fun characters, and relationships building.

My only criticism was the ending, it was a little to abrupt and buttoned up too easily.

I've been a fan of this series ever since I read The Girls of Mischief Bay in 2015. The books are such comfort reads and the characters feel like real friends after a while. I like that Susan Mallery revisits some of her characters from previous novels. This time around, she included a couple of secondary characters from her first few books, but one had an even bigger role than last time. (I am still waiting to revisit with Shannon from the first novel of the series.)

Mischief Bay is easy to visualize from Susan's descriptions, and I can also picture the characters and their homes easily. I really got into this story to the point where I was squealing when certain things happened that I had been hoping for. Having said that, some parts felt a bit predictable, but there were still other surprises and I didn't mind when I got my wish for a particular outcome or two.

I liked that Becca was one of the narrators, as I always enjoy hearing a teenage perspective in a novel. Susan did a great job making Becca seem realistic. She was awkward and impulsive, dealing with peer pressure and feeling lonely and left behind. Bunny, on the other hand, seemed like a caricature. I had a hard time believing anyone could be that difficult to reason with. However, her role made me feel even more sympathetic toward Harper and Stacey.

Overall, Sisters Like Us was a sweet story and it is now my favorite in the series. I already am looking forward to a fifth novel (and a sixth, seventh, eighth, etc.) in this series. While it can be read as a stand-alone, I highly recommend starting with the first book and just binge-reading because they're that good!

Movie casting ideas:
Harper: Michelle Monaghan
Stacey: Shannyn Sossamon
Becca: Mackenzie Foy
Ashton: KJ Apa
Kit: Mark Duplass
Bunny: Frances Fisher
Dean: Tom Ellis
Lucas: Johnny Messner (I chose him when I read A Million Little Things)

Like candy, Mallory’s books are sweet and addictive. The main characters in this book are sisters Harper and Stacey, and Harper’s daughter Becca. The sisters are very different, and the one thing I would have like to see more of was their relationship, as their stories were quite separate, except in their interaction with their old fashioned and annoying mother. Becca’s is more of a coming of age story, dealing with betrayals, her parents’ divorce and boys. A good light vacation read.

Sisters Like Us is an amazing look at family dynamics, love, and growing up. Most especially, it’s about getting over yourself. 😉

I loved that, while Sisters Like Us is the fourth book in the Mischief Bay series and their were drop ins by previous characters, there is nothing in the storyline that requires reading the other books. (Though you’ll want too!!)

You won’t want to miss Sisters Like Us!!

See more: http://www.hottbooks.com/review-sisters-like-us/

When I'm in the mood for a light hearted contemporary romance, I turn to one of Susan Mallery's novels. I have read many of them and I'm never disappointed. Although this is Book #4 in the Mischief Bay series, it can certainly be read as a stand-alone.

Sisters Like Us is more about family than just the sisters, Harmony and Stacey. There is an old fashioned, overbearing mother, a teenage daughter dealing with teenage problems and experiencing her first love with Ashton (very sweet), and an ex-husband who is dating a much younger woman and neglecting his daughter. And then there is Lucas. Not exactly family, but he spends so much time at Harper's house that he seems like 'family'.

Once again, Susan Mallory has created characters that come to life on the pages of her books. This time, even with the problems that unfold, there is so much humor in their conversations that you can't help but smile. Loved it!

Sisters Like Us is the fourth book in the Mischief Bay series. Besides this one, I had only read the first book, The Girls of Mischief Bay, before going into this one. It definitely stood up well as a stand alone, so I don't think it's necessary to have read the other books in the series before this one. of the two, I have to admit I liked this one more than the first. It wasn't as heavy as I remember the first book being. There were a lot of funny and light hearted moment with great characters that had a lot of room for growth.

I will also admit I didn't care for any of the women in the story at first. Harper was too much of a miss perfectionist in everything (think Martha Stewart on steroids) and Stacey was in almost complete denial she was having a baby. I mean she was over 6 months and hadn't told her mother. Becca reminded me of why I hated high school and thought she was kind of a brat. Then I was introduced to Bunny and I understood why both sisters turned out the way they did. She was a piece of work and I never warmed up to her.

I am happy to say that I ended up being sucked into the story and before I knew it, I was over 65% in and loving it. I found myself rooting for all of the characters (not Bunny though) and enjoyed watching them grow and change. I especially loved Stacey's "moment" after returning to work. It was so sweet. This book also reminded me that sometimes you have to trust in the author and their process because you might just end up with another great read. I definitely recommend this one.

This story is quintessentially women’s fiction. The story revolves around the women of the Bloom family; sisters Harper and Stacey, Harper’s daughter Becca, Stacey’s soon-to-be-born daughter Joule, and their mother Bunny. Definitely their mother Bunny. OMG Bunny.

The men in this story revolve around the women. One of the men definitely believes that he’s a planetary body in his own right, and that some of the Bloom women are his satellites, but he is so, so wrong.

This one is all about the relationships between the women, especially the relationship between the sisters in the title, Harper and Stacey.

Harper and Stacey are in their late-30s, and they are certainly opposites. But then, they always have been. Harper became the perfect Ms. Susie Homemaker, just as their mother Bunny wanted. But Harper can’t please her hypercritical mother, no matter how much she overdoes.

And it’s overdoing that she no longer has time for. Harper’s marriage failed, leaving her to raise her daughter Becca mostly alone. With no training for any regular job, Harper has turned her super-organized, super-crafty, super-creative energies into her own Virtual Assistant company – but it isn’t quite working. She needs a not-so-virtual assistant of her own to manage her over-scheduled time and keep her from undercutting her own worth.

She already has her mother for that.

Stacey, on the other hand, is happily married, six months pregnant, and scared to death to tell her mother. If Bunny has been hypercritical of Harper’s perfect Ms. Susie Homemaker personality, she has been even more censorious of Stacey’s success as a molecular biologist. As far as Bunny is concerned, there is something wrong with Stacey and her laser-focus on her career. Actually, as far as Bunny is concerned, Stacey is just not normal and she’s not shy about letting Stacey know that at every opportunity.

But Stacey and Harper have always supported each other, possibly as a result of being united against the common enemy – their mother.

As this story unfolds, they both need all the help they can get. Stacey, faces her impending motherhood absolutely certain that she will be unable to bond with her child. Harper faces Becca’s junior year in high school feeling that she’s lost touch with her daughter, and feeling that she is a failure in her business, her life, and her relationship with her daughter.

Standing together, just like they always have, helps them both find a way forward. With just a little help from their friends.

Escape Rating B: I absolutely adored Stacey. I completely understood her focus on her career, her fascination with her work, and her extreme social awkwardness. She was a character I could really relate to.

At the same time, while Harper’s Ms. Susie Homemaker shtick would drive me crazy, her courage at starting her own business and the way that the desire to please that had been ingrained in her (by her mother) kept holding her back, also felt very familiar.

And I totally envied Stacey her close relationship with her grandfather the astronaut, and how that relationship didn’t just change but absolutely made her life. (I have a thing about the space program)

Even Becca’s trials and tribulations felt real and familiar, even though it has been a very long time since I was a teenager.

This is, of course, leading up to a great big BUT. I hated Bunny. She set up both of her daughters for failure, and continued to reinforce those feelings of failure at every turn. Whenever she appeared in the story I wanted to cringe. The terrible mother seems to be a stock character in women’s fiction, and it’s not a stock character I ever enjoy seeing.

(Yes, Bunny reminds me of my own mother, and right now I have enough unresolved feelings in that direction to fill my own book. Seeing those feelings reflected in fiction was a bit cathartic, but also quite annoying the longer it went on. Your reading mileage may vary.)

Harper and Stacey’s stories, while complicated by Bunny, also do a marvelous job of showing a range of women’s choices and how they can go both right and wrong. But mostly right. Stacey’s husband Kit in particular is a real gem of a husband and a great character. As is Harper’s business partner Dean.

Harper’s ex-husband is more than a bit of a tool, not surprising. But so is Lucas, the man she finally falls for. The difference is that Lucas gets better – even if he doesn’t grovel nearly enough. Still I liked the way that their romance does not become the focus of the story, and that Lucas forges a friendship with Becca separate from whatever relationship he does or does not have with Harper.

In the end, a good time was had by all, and I liked both Harper and Stacey and really enjoyed seeing them both figure out their lives.

If you like contemporary romance that has a good dose of real life, this book is for you. Sisters Harper and Stacey are quite different, but both their storylines ring pretty true. Their mother Bunny is a handful. Being in her late 50; she almost seems to young to subscribe to the man is always right adage, but that is how she raised her girls. Harper took that Susie Homemaker lifestyle to heart, and now divorced, is trying to make ends meets as a Virtual Assistant for people and businesses. It seems to be a jack of all trades/work from home job, but she still has time to spend with her teenage daughter Becca. (Not that Becca wants to spend time with her). I truly enjoyed the return of Lucas, a cop from an earlier Mischief Bay story. Stacey took after their grandfather and is a scientist worthy of a role on Big Bang. Her pregnancy seems to be upending her life, even if she doesn't know it. Her husband Kit is a perfect complement to their family, as is his nephew Ashton. Mallery lets us share these lives and the result is a well written, strong story. These Mischief Bay books keep getting better and better.

An engaging, enjoyable novel from an author who always delivers with books that are equal parts humorous and heartfelt. Relationships are complex, messy, and yet bring such joy and meaning to our lives. The fictional folks in this novel were well-designed and fun to read about. Each had a particular characteristic that brought them to life for me, but if I had to choose one, I think Stacey was my favorite. Her raw honesty and misgivings about motherhood, as well as her growth as a character throughout the story really impacted me as a reader.
Initially I wasn't sure how I felt about a teenage character with a significant POV. Ultimately, she added a well-rounded perspective to the story line and her struggles and fears tugged at my heartstrings, too.
All in all, another delightful and well-written book from the talented Susan Mallery.

Traveling With T’s Thoughts:

I have really enjoyed Susan Mallery’s Mischief Bay series since the beginning (check out my reviews of The Girls of Mischief Bay, The Friends We Keep and A Million Little Things).

However, I think that Sisters Like Us may be my fave of the series- because I love those sisters- Harper and Stacey.

Harper is a great character- and a reminder to girls everywhere that just because you marry the guy who is a doctor that it does not mean you need to slack on your education/skills…. because the fairy tale may turn terrible.

However, I really dug how Harper took her crappy situation (getting divorced and being concerned about making a living for her and her daughter) to a chance to pull herself up by her bootstraps and make a go at a career- Harper Helps- where all the things she was good at naturally thrived (well mostly!)

Stacey was something else. At times, I wondered if Susan Mallery was going to reveal to her to be “on the spectrum”-but I think, basically, that Susan has written a female Sheldon from Big Bang Theory ( although Stacey did not have roommate agreements and other such things.) I admired Stacey for being true to herself- she didn’t try to hide her smarts- she was proud of them.

I really wanted to choke Bunny, their mother, for most of the book. And tell her for the last time: NORMAL IS JUST A SETTING ON A WASHING MACHINE. The damage (while not intentional) she did to Stacey during her earlier years was a shame.

And if you were a fan of Lucas’s in A Million Little Things– he’s prominently featured here and we hear about some other characters from the previous book!



What I liked:

The cover!

The 2 sisters. They each had the other’s back and taught each other a bit about the other!

The romance. I won’t say anymore because I don’t want to spoil it- but the romance had me grinning.



Bottom line: Pick this book up to read now to escape the January blues or save it for the beach. But just get it!



*This book was sent to Traveling With T by Harlequin Books. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone.*

**Sisters Like Us is a January #FuturisticFriday pick of Traveling With T’s!**

If I was having a contest for characters I hated the most Bunny would definitely be in the lead at the moment. I get that the ridiculous standards she expects her daughters to meet are based on her own issues but that didn't mean I could like her. What I did love was how all of this affected Harper and Stacey. I loved that they were friends and hadn't let their difficult mother drive them apart and I loved how they started to resist. It was interesting to see how different the two sisters were and how they responded to their incredibly overbearing mother. Harper desperately wanted to live up to her mother's standards whereas Stacey just tended to avoid them. And in the middle of this is 16 year Becca, desperate to fit in, desperate to be noticed, and desperate to have someone think she's special. My heart broke for her even when she was at her most self-involved 16 year old self.

I really enjoyed this book. There is some romance but what really stands out is the women themselves. All 3 are so different and in such different phases of life and I think I connected to each of them in a different way. This is a light read but not a fluffy one. There is heart and emotion and the characters came alive as I read. This was the first book in the Mischief Bay series but it won't be last. I'm looking forward to reading lots more from Mallery!

Sisters Like Us is #4 in the Mischief Bay series, while part of a series it is very much a stand alone as well. I had been anticipating it with reading relish because so far I have really liked this series.

There are two sisters - Stacey who is about to become a Mom, she is about 6 months pregnant and as sure as can be that she will not make a good mother. Her mother - Bunny sent her the message in childhood that there was something wrong with her, and every since she has believed it. She has a wonderful husband Kit and his insightful nephew Ashton who would most likely hold a different opinion entirely about Stacey.

Harper runs her own business and seems often to be overwhelmed by it, taking on too much and not standing up to one demanding client. Her mother - Bunny is always harping on to her about getting all the home things right. As the book opens she isn't getting things quite right with her daughter Becca, who is struggling with some pertinent issues.

We also meet the police cop from the book A Million Little Things. He uses Harper's business to deal with some of the details of his life like paying his bills. I really liked him and his approach especially to Becca, although I felt one thing he did was really not quite in character, but everyone seemed to understand!

So this story deals with mothers and daughters - what makes a good mother? How can you juggle an important job and be a mother too? And the messages we receive as children from our parents can have a huge impact. As well we see two sisters who do really support each other, teenage friendships explored, the need for a strong father in one's life and what makes a great teenage romantic relationship.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book - just as I expected. 4.5 stars