A great addition to the Blackberry Island series. My only complaint is the time between releases. From the first book to this book 7 years have passed which I feel is too long. On the plus side, even though part of a series, based on the location, this is a standalone story.

A story of three cousins who have followed different paths in their life. They stand by each other in support even when it's a challenge. Through the process of growing up and closer they come to new realizations about their relationship with each other and themselves.

I received a free ARC eBook from Net Galley and the publisher in exchange for my honest opinions.

In this book you are introduced to three cousins and their life choices. Sadly some family members can take advantage even of their children. While they cannot control every aspect of their lives, they manage to overcome obstacles and succeed. This book presents strong, intelligent and successful women. A great read!

I loved this book her book's are alway's so good to me! I could not put it down!
I can not wait to read more from her!

I really enjoyed this story. As book 4 in this series, you don't have to read others to enjoy it, but you should because, well they're really good. And it's Susan Mallery after all. This is a nice, easy read that I was able to read in one sitting. Full of heartwarming and charming moments, even though there was a lot going on in each of the women's lives, it was still quite humorous at times as well. I liked getting to know the 3 main characters, Heather, Kristine and Sophie, and was pulling for them to come out the other side better off. They seemed very relatable which I liked a lot and their family like friendship was absolutely wonderful.

Susan Mallery has a signature style of writing that is comortable and easy, and her novels involve relatable characters facing familiar situations. Sisters by Choice is a perfect example of Mallery's classic style. I breezed through it in two days and was happily engaged and interested the entire time. I am a huge fan of novels about family; I love the psychology, the dynamics, the emotion, and the drama that each family holds, and am intrigued how each family and family member interacts and evolves as different situations arise. This novel is able to capture all of the topics I am drawn towards, and it is done with such talent and ease that I was completely enraptured. Highly recommended!

I also want to add that I did not realize this was book four of a series that I had yet to read any of the previous ones, and I was able to jump right in easily.

Another great read by Susan Mallery. The 4th book in this series was a fun, easy read. I loved the 3 cousins , and watching how their relationships developed along the way. I will recommend this book to my fellow Susan Mallery fans !

Susan Mallery, who resides in Seattle, is a New York Times bestselling author. She writes romance and women’s fiction books. Some of her most notable books are the “Fools Gold” series.
“Sisters By Choice” follows Mallery’s tradition style of writing. I have read nearly every book written by Susan Mallery and fallen in love with many of her characters.
“Sisters By Choice” is the fourth book in the Blackberry Island series. “Barefoot Season”, “Three Sisters” and “Evening Stars” are also part of this series. Even though these are a series, they can also serve as stand alone novels.
The setting, Blackberry Island, has been described in great depth throughout the series. Susan Mallery has even created a website devoted to the town and its history that will help readers become more captivated by the location. You can view that information at https://blackberryisland.susanmallery.com/about.html
Girl Power. That is the overall theme of the story. Three cousins who are each embarking on a journey of self-discovery and realization. Each cousin has their own problems and must learn how to overcome these problems while growing as a person.
Sophie Lane had left the island to build her business empire. A fire causes her to lose everything, and she must rebuild from the ground up. Relocating to Blackberry Island has provided her with the opportunity to be closer to family but proves challenging when none of her employees want to move with her. She has to start over from scratch, which forces her to look at herself and her leadership style. Can she relinquish control and give up her “I am always right” attitude in time to save her business?
Cousin Kristine is a stay-at-home mom of three boys. She married her high school sweetheart, but lately has been feeling like she needs something more. However, in chasing her dreams, she is being forced for choose between them and her husband. His lack of support has Kristine reevaluating everything about their relationship.
Heather is the daughter of Sophie and Kristine’s first cousin Amber. Amber is a manipulative, controlling woman who has left Heather to take care of both herself and her mother. Heather has worked since she was 16 to support the both of them, and in the process has lost her dream.
The characters, even the minor characters, all provide complexity and depth to the story. Kristine is the character I most resonated with. She is wrestling with the idea of what she wants out of her life, while still trying to stay true to her family. I feel she also had the most growth in the story.
Amber is the character I liked the least. She is manipulative, narcistic, and controlling. Everything that happens to her is someone else’s fault and she cannot take responsibility for herself. She had no growth in the story, and I disliked the way that everyone always caters to her.
While I always love reading Susan Mallery’s books, this one was not one of my favorites, but was still a good read. The overall rating that I would give this book is a 3.5 out of 5. I think the issue for me was the controlling and manipulating relationships that were entangled in the story line. The ending left me wanting to know more about each of the characters and how their lives end up.
I think that the relationship dynamics between Amber and Heather, as well as Kristine and her husband could be triggering to someone who has been involved in controlling and emotionally abusive relationships.
“Sisters by Choice” has a February 11, 2020 publication date from MIRA Publishing. It can be purchased from amazon in Kindle format for $9.99, paperback for $11.59 and hardcover for $18.99.
I was given an advanced reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review..

I just finished reading the latest Susan Mallery novel, Sisters by Choice, the 4th book in the Blackberry Island series. It was an enjoyable, quick read. The story follows three cousins: a single CEO, a married SAHM who is searching for more, and a young 20 year old trying to find her place in life (which his hopefully far from Blackberry Island). Throughout each chapter, the story unfolds through the POV of each woman, although their lives are wholly intertwined. There is not as much “romance” in this book as in her other series, but watching as each of their relationships with their husband, new boyfriend, and mom grow and change was very satisfying. For fans of Susan Mallery, a must-read.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book in return for an honest review.
#SistersbyChoice #NetGalley

Please note that the copy I received (that I read on my Kindle app on my phone) had a lot of spacing issues. Anytime a word started with an "f," it was followed by an extra space. Also, it was VERY hard to tell who was "speaking" when the POV changed as there were no breaks or symbols between paragraphs.

Susan Mallery has done it again. Sister's by Choice is not your typical contemporary romance novel. Sophie, Heather and Kristine are family but each woman has their own lives that come with its own set of problems. They are able to rely on each other in their time of need but its still up to them to make the changes they need to get the life they want. One of my favorite characters is Dugan as he defies the societal male role. And then there is Jaxsen who fits it to a tee. Both of these men play an important role in the book and the way that Mallery balances the different roles is extraordinary. Reading this book brought on a lot of moments where I was encouraging the characters or shaking my head at their decisions. At the same time it had me bursting with laughter at the conversations as I was able to imagine the witty banter in play. Take a chance and read this book if you haven't read a Susan Mallery book before. If you have, then you won't be disappointed. A great read, that i'm looking forward to reading again.

Sisters by Choice is about three cousins. Each have their own problems but struggles to find their way. Sophie is a bit of a control freak but meets her match when a man with a lot of patience enters her life. Kristine has a husband and three boys but needs to be more than just mom running everyone's world. Her husband is quite on board when she wants to open a bake shop. Heather is 20 and under her mother's thumb. She's been taking care of her mom since she was 16. She's working several jobs to keep them afloat and then with the help of her cousin and a stranger she might finally get a shot at her dream if she can break away from her mother. This is a dramatic look at three women's lives. It at times was fun and intense. Not quite a the fairy tale we all hope for but none the less realistic. Heather's mother was a bit over the top for me and i got really tired with her. If she was in capable of working due to age or injury i might have understood but the women is not even 40. You have to try to put yourself in these ladies shoes to try to understand them. I enjoyed the story but it was not one of my favorites of the series.



Find out more about this series and Susan Mallery here www.susanmallery.com

An amusing and lovely story about families and the interaction between three cousins. Sophie Lane’s life changes in a heartbeat and she returns to Blackberry Island to rebuild her business. Her cousin Kristine is married with three sons and is hoping to open her own bakery. Her cousin Amber is selfish, expecting everyone to take care of her, especially her daughter Heather. Sophie has control issues and is unable to delegate, always needing to be in total control. As her business grows, can handsome Dugan Phillips help her to relax and learn to let go? The author travels seamlessly between the cousins’ individual issues as Kristine works to convince her family that opening a bakery is something she needs to do? Will Heather see that moving on from her selfish mother is the best thing for both of them? A wonderful return visit to Blackberry Island. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (by paytonpuppy)

A great addition to the Blackberry Island series. Sophie's business, Clandestine Kitty, burns down in California, so she moves home to Blackberry Island to rebuild the company. She is a control freak and has a hard time delegating tasks. She is trying to figure out how to run a successful company and trust employees to help. She also ends up having a fling with the local Tai Chi teacher who is not quite what he seems...

Meanwhile, her cousin Kristine wants to start a bakery business, but her husband is less than supportive. He desires a full time stay at home wife and mom to their three kids. Kristine is a very relatable character as she tries to find the line between supporting her family and her own dreams without compromising either.

Finishing off the cousins is selfish Amber, the least likeable character of this book. Her poor daughter, Heather, is trapped taking care of both of them and the book focuses more on Heather trying to discover freedom and a better life. Amber is a character you wish you could just slap really hard.

There is some romance thrown in, but this book leans more towards women's fiction. Everyone's story is so well woven together and Susan Mallery has once again written a great story that I found very hard to put down.

Thanks to the author for a review copy.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and once again, Susan Mallery captured me from the start. I was expecting the threes cousins but as I started reading there were so many other characters that made such an impression on me. There was Jaxsen who was married to Kristine. When I first met him, I thought there is more under the surface and when I learned more about him, I felt the same way that Sophie did when she told him the facts. There was, Bear who Sophie hired to manage the warehouse. He was the first person she hired when she was getting the warehouse ready. It was hard for Sophie to give up control of anything to do with her business but she hired people that were just as determines as she was so it made for some wonderful dynamics.
Then there was Amber and she made my blood boil. Dugan was a surprise that just kept on with more unexpected things. There were many people that kept this book so charged with things that had such an impact.
This is a must-read book to add to your list and preorder it to get it the day it is released. It was amazing reading this book and discovering all the different feelings that it brought up in me. It isn't many books that do that.
Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC. If I could give it higher than a 5, I would.

Book 4 Blackberry Island Series
So happy to see new book in this series, Book 3 was in 2014.

Sophie is married to job - CK Industries began in a bedroom now is in a warehouse which goes up in flames forcing changes from a big move to leasing a new larger warehouse.
Kristine married and raising 3 boys trying to mold them into gentlemen.
Heather works and saves only to have her mother "need" it all.

WOMAN'S AMBITION
As women, since young age taught to accommodate husband, kids, family, friends
lessons learned become lessons relearned

I want my kitty to be a Clandestine Kitty

I always enjoy Susan Mallery books. So far I want to live in Fool's Gold, Happily Inc., and now on Blackberry Island. That being said, this was my least favorite of the four books in the Blackberry Island series. I loved Kristine - she was determined and wasn't going to back down until she was able to chase her dream. I despised Amber. There is literally not one good thing I can say about her. I'm torn about Heather. I can see why she did the things she did, but I would have liked to have seen a little more growth in her character sooner. And then there's Sophie. I really want to like Sophie, I really do. But she's just so unlikeable so much of the time. I mean, I really can't figure out why anyone would want to date her, work for her, or even hang out with her.

All in all I enjoyed this book. I mean, it's a Susan Mallery book...what's not to enjoy!!

**I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review**

I have mixed feelings about this story. I love this author’s books and was excited to dive in. The characters in this story were a bit rough and I couldn’t connect to them or their storylines. If anything I found myself disliking them and their views on situations. Not every book is for everyone so I encourage others to give it a chance. I will continue to look forward to each book this writes and can’t wait to see what she comes out with next.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend to everyone.

Sisters of choice is a wonderful story about cousins who have hang ups but stick together. The characters are interesting and the storyline will keep you reading until the end. A control freak learns to give up some of hwr power and maybe find love.

Another fantastic book by Susan Mallery. A great addition to the series. Good plot and character development. I highly recommend this book. My thanks to the publisher for my advance ebook. This is my unbiased review.

This is my first title in the series. From my research each books can be read independently. This storyline focuses on three female cousins. Sophie's cat food company burnt down in California and has left her completely heartbroken. She makes the decision to restart the business in her hometown of Blackberry Island in Washington State. Sophie is an alpha female and has a hard time asking or accepting help. Her cousin Kristine is a stay at home more of three tween/teen boys but want more, her dream of starting a bakery becomes a challenged as her husband still wants her to be housewife. Amber the third cousin has a toxic and attachment issues with her twenty year old daughter Heather who Amber manipulates to get her daughter to take care of her. This reads first and foremost as women fiction with a pinch of romance thrown in. Ms. Mallery goes in depth of how Sophie tries to start back up her business and her learning to accept help from her employees, there is also a love interest thrown in for her where she constantly battles with him and finding hard to accept Dugan as a man who could be right for her. Kristine faced with the challenge of if she would lose her husband over wanting her dream of a bakery and Heather having to decide is she going to go for it and leave the island or remain where her mother will be constant burden to her. This was a terrific read, I have read Susan before but I really truly enjoyed the different dynamics she created in theses storyline and how those of us who may seem so strong can be just as vunerable as anyone of us. Enjoyed the gritty realism of a marriage having tremendous challenge a mother/daughter relationship that realistic is not have a truly good ending but a realism of life challenges and a woman accepting that she is lovable and she is loved. Review on goodreads and amazon.