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3.61 AVERAGE
3.61 AVERAGE
The characters were one dimensional and not believable.
I went into this book thinking it was a traditional romance story and while it does have a romance element, it’s more of a sisterhood/girl power/finding yourself type of story. I loved the humorous parts of this book, especially how the author mixed them so skillfully with the heartbreaking parts. The three sisters find themselves in really crappy situations, relationship wise, and it was really interesting and enjoyable to see how the author matured them through the story and grew their relationships with each other into something strong and beautiful.
lighthearted
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Three sisters: the youngest, Ali, who is about to get married, those oldest, Finola, who has the perfect marriage, and the middle, Zennie, who is not really interested in dating. All of them are dealing with personal crises and milestone. Ali's fiancé's brother shows up. The fiancé doesn't especially want to get married but he's not going to tell her himself. Finola's, who is a TV personality, husband shows up half an hour before she's going on air to tell her that he's been having an affair. Zennie has a best friend who can't get pregnant, would she mind being the surrogate?
I generally like Ms. Mallery's non-series books. This had some really big themes that I thought were handled sensitively and well. But there were a couple of things that brought the book down for me. One was the views on Finola's marriage. We were just told that she accepted blame for it going south but we never really saw how she played into it. A big part of her ending was that she realized what part she played but... it felt forced; more tell than show. And I wish we had seen more of Zennie's romance. It was just tacked on at the end.
I generally like Ms. Mallery's non-series books. This had some really big themes that I thought were handled sensitively and well. But there were a couple of things that brought the book down for me. One was the views on Finola's marriage. We were just told that she accepted blame for it going south but we never really saw how she played into it. A big part of her ending was that she realized what part she played but... it felt forced; more tell than show. And I wish we had seen more of Zennie's romance. It was just tacked on at the end.
One of the greatest joys of reading is the ability to escape to a different locale. In the midst of a cold Minnesota winter, escaping to California with sisters Finola, Zennie, and Ali was an absolute delight!
☀️ ☀️☀️
Three sisters, all dealing with various dramas in their life. Morning show host Finola is blindsided on national TV when she finds out her husband has been having an affair. Zennie is content with her small life so her breakup is no big deal...until she’s presented with the opportunity to be a surrogate for her best friend. And then there’s poor Ali...her fiancée calls off her wedding a month before but refuses to do it himself and sends his brother to break up with her instead. These sisters deal with life changing events, leaning on each other and finding that maybe these endings are just new beginnings. I loved this story and was completely invested in the characters. This was wonderfully written and a fabulous representation of a sisterly bond. For me, California Girls was ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars. Thank you @harlequinbooks for this advance reader in exchange for my honest review.
☀️ ☀️☀️
Three sisters, all dealing with various dramas in their life. Morning show host Finola is blindsided on national TV when she finds out her husband has been having an affair. Zennie is content with her small life so her breakup is no big deal...until she’s presented with the opportunity to be a surrogate for her best friend. And then there’s poor Ali...her fiancée calls off her wedding a month before but refuses to do it himself and sends his brother to break up with her instead. These sisters deal with life changing events, leaning on each other and finding that maybe these endings are just new beginnings. I loved this story and was completely invested in the characters. This was wonderfully written and a fabulous representation of a sisterly bond. For me, California Girls was ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars. Thank you @harlequinbooks for this advance reader in exchange for my honest review.
Honestly, it was everything I thought it would be! Drama, tears, happiness. I fully recommend reading it!
I skimmed the last half of this more than I really read it because I honestly wasn’t that interested. It was hard to care about the characters for me because there was so much going on with all three of them. I did genuinely like the ending though and I liked that all three sisters finally figured themselves out.
Did not finish. For whatever reason, I just couldn't get into this book.
Susan Mallery. I was timid. Until this book, I had never heard of her. I was hoping it wasn't some overly gushy romance book. And it wasn't. It was the perfect amount of humor, heartache, handclapping (for the romance part), and overall great story.
Three sisters. Three broken hearts. Three wonderfully different stories of finding love, losing love, and gaining love again. Finnie, Finola, and Ali are completely opposite in every regard. Finola is the older sister who has it all. Finnie is the tomboy middle sister who just wants to be left alone. And last but not least is Ali the baby of the family who doesn't think much of herself at all. But they all have something in common, their parents suck. Yep I said it. They do. The mother is horrible and the father isn't much better.
Finola is a up and coming television star who finds out thirty minutes before show time that her husband is cheating on her with the person she is about to interview on live television. Finola's story takes you through her finding her own self worth and realizing that she was in fact a stuck up snob.
Finnie is an OR nurse who really isn't into the whole dating scene and gets dumped on the same night as her older sister, but is absolutely thrilled about it. Finnie is the tomboy who wears her hair short, loves to exercise, climb rocks, run and do yoga. She also has a best friend who can't have a baby because she has cancer. So Finnie selflessly agrees to have the baby for her. In the midst of pregnancy she find a man she can't live without.
Ali works for a parts warehouse where she is virtually invisible. But on the plus side, she's getting married! Until she gets home on the same night that her sisters both got dumped, to her soon to be brother in law standing at her door to break off her engagement. Yes, her fiancé sent his brother to break off the engagement. Daniel and Ali become friends...and the rest is history.
This is really one of the best story-lines I have read in a while. The editing could have been better. But overall I would give this book 5 stars. The character build-up is perfect.
Three sisters. Three broken hearts. Three wonderfully different stories of finding love, losing love, and gaining love again. Finnie, Finola, and Ali are completely opposite in every regard. Finola is the older sister who has it all. Finnie is the tomboy middle sister who just wants to be left alone. And last but not least is Ali the baby of the family who doesn't think much of herself at all. But they all have something in common, their parents suck. Yep I said it. They do. The mother is horrible and the father isn't much better.
Finola is a up and coming television star who finds out thirty minutes before show time that her husband is cheating on her with the person she is about to interview on live television. Finola's story takes you through her finding her own self worth and realizing that she was in fact a stuck up snob.
Finnie is an OR nurse who really isn't into the whole dating scene and gets dumped on the same night as her older sister, but is absolutely thrilled about it. Finnie is the tomboy who wears her hair short, loves to exercise, climb rocks, run and do yoga. She also has a best friend who can't have a baby because she has cancer. So Finnie selflessly agrees to have the baby for her. In the midst of pregnancy she find a man she can't live without.
Ali works for a parts warehouse where she is virtually invisible. But on the plus side, she's getting married! Until she gets home on the same night that her sisters both got dumped, to her soon to be brother in law standing at her door to break off her engagement. Yes, her fiancé sent his brother to break off the engagement. Daniel and Ali become friends...and the rest is history.
This is really one of the best story-lines I have read in a while. The editing could have been better. But overall I would give this book 5 stars. The character build-up is perfect.
I don't even know where to start with this.
I'm starting this review before the book even ends because I feel like I need to jot down all of my thoughts because MORE terrible things keep happening and I don't want any of them to be overlooked.
So buckle up because I'm going to spoil this ENTIRE BOOK.
This book starts with 3 sisters, one is successful and married, one is successful and basically asexual, and the other is 20lbs too heavy, and about to be married (she's described this way, this is not my commentary).
Then BOOM. The one who is married finds out her husband has been cheating on her with...basically Taylor Swift, and she finds this out one day before their vacation where she was going to try to get pregnant, while she's 30 minutes away from doing a live TV show, where she's going to be interviewing none other than the other woman (who has booked the show as a way to rub it in Finola's face - because apparently people are heartless monsters?). Absolutely terrible and sad, but I am now at the end of the book and Finola is STILL like, well maybe he will come back and apologize and we can fix our marriage. MA'AM. No. He cheated on you, that's terrible enough, but he cheated on you and then let you get ambushed by the woman on national TV and had zero care about your well-being. You. Shouldn't. Want. Him. Back. Boy, bye.
Also, why is EVERYONE awful to this woman when the news comes out? Like random people on the street are like, oh you couldn't keep your man, you're pathetic. I'm sorry, what? Again, who are the humans in this story? Who is running into this many monsters in general life? Why isn't anyone dragging the country star that stole this woman's husband and then rubbed it in her face on live TV???
Theeeeen her step-dad (who basically is her dad) is like, well you need to ask yourself WHY he cheated. It's never all one person's fault. Bruh.
Ali is 7 weeks away from being married. Then her fiancé's brother shows up and BREAKS UP WITH HER for him? Her ex sends a $500 check for everything and is like BYEEEEE. But don't worry, his brother sticks around, helps cancel the wedding plans, and then they obviously fall in love. They are probably the only characters in the book that are safe from going into the garbage disposal.
Zennie. I thought Zennie and I were going to jive. She's a successful adult who doesn't really care about relationships. But then she's ALWAYS out on dates. Like, girl, stop dating if you hate it and genuinely aren't trying to find someone. But whatever, no big deal. Thennnn she literally shames Finola about being a bad sister because she's only been concerned about her marriage falling apart and not about Ali's breakup....except they never told Finola about Ali's breakup. They kept it from her. So like, how is she supposed to be supportive when she doesn't know her sister is going through something? All of you are a mess. Then Zennie decides to be an egg donor and surrogate for her best friend. Which is lovely, but woof she really didn't give it any time or thought, which obviously causes issues. When she tells her friends, they literally tell her they don't support her? Like, I can understand not understanding why someone would do it, but they are straight up like, this is a terrible mistake and we don't support you.
The mom. Throw the entire human being away. All she wants are grandchildren. And when her children do not do exactly what she wants she has a full blown meltdown. She sets Zennie up with a woman because she doesn't believe her daughter just don't want to date...she must be a lesbian. She wants to know what Ali did to make her fiancé leave her. When Zennie becomes pregnant as a surrogate the mother has a full on breakdown about how selfish she is being because she's finally having a child, but it won't be her grandchild. Ali wants an old clock they have, and the mom wants to give it to anyone but her, and would rather give it to the thrift store than give it to her daughter. Why? Who knows. There's literally no reasons. She's just a monster.
The dad. Also throw him away. He says Finola's husband cheated because of her. No. Look. Marriages take two people to be committed, but if you want out of the marriage, then get out. Cheating isn't justified. Maybe the marriage falling apart could be both their faults, but not him cheating. C'mon. He also tells Zennie she's making a mistake and asks if it's too late for her to get an abortion. THROW. THE. PARENTS. STRAIGHT. INTO. THE GARBAGE. DISPOSAL. TURN ON.
Also, both the men come back at the end, because of course they do. And can't understand why the women reject them? Like....???
Then Zennie, the girl who never cared about sex or wanted a relationship....ends the book in a relationship, talking about sex.
Basically, BOOOOOOO.
I'm starting this review before the book even ends because I feel like I need to jot down all of my thoughts because MORE terrible things keep happening and I don't want any of them to be overlooked.
So buckle up because I'm going to spoil this ENTIRE BOOK.
Spoiler
This book starts with 3 sisters, one is successful and married, one is successful and basically asexual, and the other is 20lbs too heavy, and about to be married (she's described this way, this is not my commentary).
Then BOOM. The one who is married finds out her husband has been cheating on her with...basically Taylor Swift, and she finds this out one day before their vacation where she was going to try to get pregnant, while she's 30 minutes away from doing a live TV show, where she's going to be interviewing none other than the other woman (who has booked the show as a way to rub it in Finola's face - because apparently people are heartless monsters?). Absolutely terrible and sad, but I am now at the end of the book and Finola is STILL like, well maybe he will come back and apologize and we can fix our marriage. MA'AM. No. He cheated on you, that's terrible enough, but he cheated on you and then let you get ambushed by the woman on national TV and had zero care about your well-being. You. Shouldn't. Want. Him. Back. Boy, bye.
Also, why is EVERYONE awful to this woman when the news comes out? Like random people on the street are like, oh you couldn't keep your man, you're pathetic. I'm sorry, what? Again, who are the humans in this story? Who is running into this many monsters in general life? Why isn't anyone dragging the country star that stole this woman's husband and then rubbed it in her face on live TV???
Theeeeen her step-dad (who basically is her dad) is like, well you need to ask yourself WHY he cheated. It's never all one person's fault. Bruh.
Ali is 7 weeks away from being married. Then her fiancé's brother shows up and BREAKS UP WITH HER for him? Her ex sends a $500 check for everything and is like BYEEEEE. But don't worry, his brother sticks around, helps cancel the wedding plans, and then they obviously fall in love. They are probably the only characters in the book that are safe from going into the garbage disposal.
Zennie. I thought Zennie and I were going to jive. She's a successful adult who doesn't really care about relationships. But then she's ALWAYS out on dates. Like, girl, stop dating if you hate it and genuinely aren't trying to find someone. But whatever, no big deal. Thennnn she literally shames Finola about being a bad sister because she's only been concerned about her marriage falling apart and not about Ali's breakup....except they never told Finola about Ali's breakup. They kept it from her. So like, how is she supposed to be supportive when she doesn't know her sister is going through something? All of you are a mess. Then Zennie decides to be an egg donor and surrogate for her best friend. Which is lovely, but woof she really didn't give it any time or thought, which obviously causes issues. When she tells her friends, they literally tell her they don't support her? Like, I can understand not understanding why someone would do it, but they are straight up like, this is a terrible mistake and we don't support you.
The mom. Throw the entire human being away. All she wants are grandchildren. And when her children do not do exactly what she wants she has a full blown meltdown. She sets Zennie up with a woman because she doesn't believe her daughter just don't want to date...she must be a lesbian. She wants to know what Ali did to make her fiancé leave her. When Zennie becomes pregnant as a surrogate the mother has a full on breakdown about how selfish she is being because she's finally having a child, but it won't be her grandchild. Ali wants an old clock they have, and the mom wants to give it to anyone but her, and would rather give it to the thrift store than give it to her daughter. Why? Who knows. There's literally no reasons. She's just a monster.
The dad. Also throw him away. He says Finola's husband cheated because of her. No. Look. Marriages take two people to be committed, but if you want out of the marriage, then get out. Cheating isn't justified. Maybe the marriage falling apart could be both their faults, but not him cheating. C'mon. He also tells Zennie she's making a mistake and asks if it's too late for her to get an abortion. THROW. THE. PARENTS. STRAIGHT. INTO. THE GARBAGE. DISPOSAL. TURN ON.
Also, both the men come back at the end, because of course they do. And can't understand why the women reject them? Like....???
Then Zennie, the girl who never cared about sex or wanted a relationship....ends the book in a relationship, talking about sex.
Basically, BOOOOOOO.