Low key romance, sweet family story. Nice to see Allie owning up to her flaws. There are still secrets and mysteries, bring on book three!

Desdemona Hudson and her sister, Allie, and half-sister, Cara, have been working to restore the old theater in their father's hometown in order to each inherit a portion of his estate. Things are getting trickier as a storm blows through town and damages the roof of the lobby and the beautiful painted ceiling inside. Additionally, the million dollars their father left for them to use for the renovation has almost run out, and they're not even close to finishing the project. Des and her sisters start to think of creative ways to stretch the money and accomplish their projects. In addition to the work on the theater, they also grow closer to each other, their aunt Barney who they had never met before moving to Hidden Falls to work on the project, and various people in town. They're free to leave once the project is complete, but will some of them put down ties that keep them in town?

This book was fair. It's the second in the series, but there was enough information about the situation and the characters to understand what was going on and continue the story even though I had missed the first one. The characters were relatable and nice, and the setting is an idyllic small town. Sometimes the writing wasn't the best. In the beginning, there were conversations between the characters that were giving back story to the reader about their lives. Authors often make these kinds of conversations feel natural, but some of them felt very forced like the character was reciting a passage from their diary or something. It did get better as the book went on. The other thing to be aware of is this is a SLOW moving book. If you're looking for a fast-paced plot, this series is not for you. Very little actually happens action-wise, although there is some good character and relationship development. If that's what you're looking for, you would probably enjoy this book. It was interesting the things the author chose to devote time to. For instance, there's a scene where the sisters and their teenage daughter/niece are washing Aunt Barney's classic car for the 4th of July parade. You're given clues that they had a lot of silly fun by the description of them after the fact, but the actual scene is left to your imagination. However, the author did devote a few pages to Des explaining to her friend Seth how to plan a large party for the town for the holiday, how to figure out who's planning on coming, how to plan food and make potluck assignments, all of this minutiae in a lot of detail. I would have probably reversed where I spent my precious page time had I been the author. Overall, it was nice but nothing special. I wasn't sucked in enough to look up the rest of the series. Thanks to NetGalley for the free ebook.

I really loved the characters in this book. The characters in this book are believeable and fun. You want to get to know them as they grow on the journey. Can't wait to see what happens next with these 3 sisters. This book is the first in a series that I'm looking forward to reading.

Yet another hit installment from Mariah Stewart in the Hudson Sisters saga. I love the characters she has created. I sink into these books and envelope myself in the storyline. I will read them as long as she writes them.

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review of the story.

If you are a fan of family sagas, this series is perfect for you.

This book combines romance and relationships - sisters, friends that span years.

Another hit from Mariah Stewart in the Hudson Sisters saga. I will read them as long as she cranks them out!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ecopy for my Kindle.
This is the 2nd in the series, but you don't need to read the 1st one to understand this book.
Easy to read and no real surprises, but I'm looking forward to reading the 3rd one in this series.

Mariah Stewart has wrote the second book of The Hudson Sister series. We get to know more about Des in The Sugarhouse Blues.


We pick up where we left off in the first book. Des is managing the finance of the theater. And it is becoming a headache for days. Things are starting to get more expensive and money starting to get less and less. She needs to think really creative what to do and the town major, Seth, is willing to help.

While Des enjoy Seth company, she has also other things that she needs to worry about. She is fighting some demons that she needs to face. It may be very uncomfortable but she is determined to it. And she is willing to express her feelings to her sisters too. Their relationship are rocky especially with Ali but she wants to improve.

Seth is a wonderful guy. He is willing to help Des no matter. And that’s a large thing to do. She is facing a lot of things but he is not pushing and he is willing to wait. They have a great friendship that will turn their relationship even more.

The Sugarhouse Blues will explores Des life, professional and personal. Three ½ stars.

Favorite Quotes:

Nothing says time to move on like having your husband file for divorce so he can marry one of your best friends.

“Ordinarily, I’d have a retort for that, but right now, I’m all out of snark.” “Allie, your snark well has never run dry.” “Well, it did today, Des. I used it all up on Clint.” Allie grinned. “But it was snark well spent, believe me.'

It’s not a big deal, Allie. He’s a good kid… Allie, you act like the guy came in here with punk green hair smoking a joint and grabbing her butt.

I have visions of people lined up for miles for burgers but we’ve run out. They’re carrying pitchforks and chanting your name. I’m hiding out in the vineyard with the dogs, by the way.

My Review:

I was further drawn into the steady current of Ms. Stewart’s smooth storytelling and was soon fully immersed and residing in the small town of Hidden Falls along with her enticing and cunningly nuanced characters. I was fully invested in their saga and labored beside them during renovation efforts as well as with their budding relationships with each other and new community. The rehab of the historic theater was bumping along until a massive storm wrought major damage and a setback to their plans and depleted bank balance. Another fly in the ointment continued to be the contentious and shrewish personality of Allie, who appeared to be gradually softening but still leaning toward the vile harpy end of the scale.

This series would make an excellent miniseries as I hung on each new twist and complication. The relationships and family dynamics were front and center and quite compelling as the storylines continued to expand and interweave with additional layers or mystery, revelations, and insights. An unexpected discovery indicates papa appears to have more of a bounder than anyone knew. I am hooked and more than eager to dive into the next installment. I don’t recall four hundred pages ever flying by so quickly!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

Allie, Des, and Cara are renovating the theater their great-great-grandfather built, a stipulation in their father's will to inherit his estate. The women have found much to love in the small town where their father grew up, but renovating the theater has not been without its setbacks. The ceiling of the theater has been ruined by a violent storm, and the money they have is quickly running out. Meanwhile, Cara continues to deepen her relationship with Joe, and Des deepens her friendship with Seth.

I love this series! It is a heartwarming, feel-good series about the bonds of women's relationships. My only (small) complaint is that the characters occasionally seem to say things out loud only to explain them to the reader. I can't wait for the finale in this trilogy!

I received an arc from Netgalley. I do admit I skimmed over the start of this book as it took some time to get into but once I was through the first few chapters, the story of Des and Seth grabbed my attention. I also would love to read the story between Allie and Ben. The ending didn’t feel much like an ending but it Turned out to be a great book regardless.

Within a few pages, I realized that this story is not for me. I can see the events, the people, the twists and turns coming -- and they do not draw me into a world that I want to inhabit. If you like dogs, building renovation, sisters, small towns...whatever your particular passion might be, if it falls within your circle of favorites, this may well do it for you. Cliche ridden, awkward....possibly could have been something good. But, as I said, not for me.

Mariah Stewart is bringing us a brand new series called The Hudson Sisters, this is actually book 2 and I cannot wait to read other books in the series. These are characters who feel real and are figuring out how to solve problems. The town feels like somewhere I would like to live and that always helps draw me in. This is light reading but not fluff. I totally enjoyed this book and look forward to the next installment

The second in a series and this is one of those series where you completely need to start with book one. This series is about three sisters and both books had full plot points for each sister, so start this series at book one - The Last Chance Matinee. Be warned that since this builds off book one, there will be spoilers below.



Ok. Now that you have been warned. I loved book one and was excited to see that there was a book two and already knew before starting this book that there will be a book three!

Allie, Des and Cara are sisters, but Allie and Des didn't know about Cara and vice versa until recently when their father passed away and left them a theater that needed a lot of love and attention and was a condition of their inheritance. That was book one.

This book starts right where that book ends and they must deal with the consequences of costly repairs that need to take place at the theater and their budget is limited now. I felt as though book one was very focused on them meeting and dealing with the theater and book two dove more into their lives and less repairs and their relationships with each other and people in the small town. I loved the new focus of this book.

I love each sister and where you can see how their parents and their upbringing affected each one so differently. It was also so fun to read them more ingrained in the small town and learning about the town and how their theater affected this town.

I completely can't wait for book three. I am so interested to see where these sisters go from here and if they decide to stay in this town or move back to where they were before this book.

I thought this was a good story about family dynamics when dealing with family you didn't know you had but had to live with. I have not read the first book in the series so was a bit lost at times. That being said, I did enjoy this book and will go back and read the first and look forward to more by this author. I received a copy from NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

When I started this book, I realized that it was book 2 to The Last Chance Matinee. Now that I've finished this book, I'll definitely be going back to read The Last Chance Matinee to learn more of the back story for this book, even though I did feel like The Sugarhouse Blues served as a standalone.

The three Hudson sisters, Allie, Des, and Cara are obligated to work together and renovate their family’s old theater, the Sugarhouse, as a condition of their father’s will so that they can receive the inheritance. They are living temporarily at their aunt’s home in Hidden Falls, Pennsylvania and are combining forces to get the renovation done.

Between the three of them, they dig into the history of the theater and they learn about their father's hidden lies and secrets that were buried with him. As the days go by, they learn of ceiling leak damages and suffer a financial setback as a result of the need to repair it. With the rising costs of construction, there might not be enough money to finish this renovation, unless these sisters can work together and find a way.

The Sugarhouse Blues is a story of sisters working together, and discovering their own capacity for forgiveness, understanding and love, while gaining the the restoration of family and building memories together. As I stated above, I'm definitely going to read book 1 while I wait for book 3 to come out!

I received an advanced readers digital copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to provide a positive review, but I did because the book was great!! Thank you NetGalley!

A nice story filled with great charecters in a small town setting. I enjoyed reading about the sisters and their trials and tribulations. I loved how I was able to escape into the story! I would have to say Barney is my favorite charecter!

Book two in a series, The Sugarhouse Blues continues the sister drama among Des, Cara and Allie, while filling in the family tree with their Aunt Barney and third generation Nikki.

Reading this is like watching a home renovation show on HGTV, the Real Housewives of Small Town America, and a Hallmark movie all rolled into one. You’ve got your historical theater renovation, the dwindling inheritance, a spitfire auntie, the cute-no-nonsense-friendly-yet-alpha sheriff, a boyfriend or three, and the sisters who love each other – most of the time – and have very little patience for each other’s antics. I love it all.

Read book one first so you’re not lost, then get a hold of this one, pronto. And then you can wait with me – watching Housewives and eating popcorn – until Ms. Stewart releases book three.
https://randombookmuses.com/2018/06/13/review-the-sugarhouse-blues-by-mariah-stewart/

With a large inheritance at stake, the Hudson sisters-Allie, Des and Cara- find that they need to work together to get the last project their father wanted them to work on, finished to its natural beauty. The family owned Art Deco theater was a gem at a time when people got dressed up to go to the theater and more. Now as they try to restore it, the sisters also must navigate past secrets and try to deal with all the secrets their father had hidden. When a freak storm damages the building as well as the hand painted ceiling, its up to Des to find the money to repair it. But as Des figures out the ways of grants, donors, etc. as well deal with secrets and old hurts, all three will need dig deep and find out, once and for all, just what the true meaning of family is.

I adored the first book, The Last Chance Matinee, and was thrilled to see Des get her story next. In this second book, we learn more about Des and how her past wasn’t all so rosy, why she moved so far from Hollywood and how her relationship with Allie is so strained to this day. Ms. Stewart continues the story of the Hudson sisters with THE SUGARHOUSE BLUES and I loved each bit of it. From the dynamics of the sisters to Des trying to navigate the money portion of the project they are working on. When Des confronts her past hurts and tries to keep a promising love interest in the friend category, I was rooting for her all the way. I love all three sisters and thought the relationship with Allie and Des was interesting especially as Cara is a sibling they had no idea existed. Ms. Stewart delivers an emotionally charged second book in her new trilogy, The Hudson Sisters, and I couldn’t put it down.

Des is a former child star who now rescues dogs. While being in Pennsylvania to restore the family theater isn’t one that she actively wanted but now that she is in the middle of the project with Allie and Carta, she finds herself enjoying every minute of it, even with the damage the storm did to the theater. The familiar cast of characters from book one continues to take center stage in book two and I loved how we got to know Des better as well as know what caused the strain between her and Allie. The author does an amazing job in capturing each of the sister’s different personalities perfectly in THE SUGARHOUSE BLUES. Ms. Stewart delivers an amazing story that will keep you riveted and as you flip the last page, eager for book three, which is Allie’s story. If there is any indications, Allie’s story is going to have fireworks especially with a certain town cop who drives her batty most of the time. But with Des, she finds herself drawn to Seth and I was really rooting for her to get him out of the friend zone she put him in. All the characters are well written and just leap off the pages. I loved all the characters we have met so far and a few new ones in THE SUGARHOUSE BLUES.

If you enjoy a fast pace family centered story, then I highly recommend this new series by Mariah Stewart. Though I caution that you need to read these to get all the details that are mentioned from book one her in book two. So, start with The Last Chance Matinee then move to THE SUGARHOUSE BLUES next. Now all I can ask the author is- Book three soon I hope?

This is an objective review and not an endorsement

This second book in the Sugarhouse series was good. I found myself flipping through the pages, anxious to see more into the lives of the Hudson sisters. This book is more from the viewpoint of Des, so you get a little different aspect (the first book was more from Cara's viewpoint).

You continue to fall in love with the town and people of Hidden Falls. The continuing renovations of the Sugarhouse Theater gives you an inside view of the people involved in the creation of the theater as well as the Hudson family history. Allie, Des, and Cara are developing a relationship and growing closer. And the author does a great job of bringing you into their lives and discovering their faults, failures, and positive attributes.

I am looking forward to continuing the adventure and learn more about Allie and how she resolves the conflicts with the people in her life. I would encourage all lovers of books to begin a journey with the Hudson sisters and the life and times of Hidden Falls.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.