Review Catch Up - 2 Recent Releases

NEW RELEASES

California Girls by Susan Mallery

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Review Copy Provided by Author

As I read/finished California Girls several tried and true ideas resonated with me:
- the idea that people come into your life for a reason/season
- when one door closes, other opens
- what doesn’t kill you, only makes you stronger.
3 sisters, 3 break ups, 1 week. Seems crazy, right? But, that’s the premise here and watching Finola, Zennie, and Ali deal with their relationships was both raw and realistic. I could easily see parts of myself in each of the sisters and related to their struggles and appreciate their emotional evolutions.
For me, it seemed that Finola and Ali both went through the relationship crucible to come out stronger versions of the person she had been before. It seemed that both ended up where she needed to be making the journey worth it. Zennie’s “break up” was less dramatic, but sent her on a journey of her own that would fundamentally change who she was.
California Girls is well written and thought provoking. I think it applies/has lessons for anyone who is/was/wants to be in any kind of relationship.
The only drawback for me - and this is strictly preference- was the fact that some of the non romantic relationships were left unresolved. We had glimpses of the sisters working on their relationship and I would have appreciated more of that.

Amazon

My Favorite Cowboy by Donna Grant

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Review Copy Provided by Publisher via Net Galley


This was a book I wanted to read because I had enjoyed the first two books in the series. Caleb and Aubrey’s story is a quick and entertaining read.
Caleb, the youngest of the Harper siblings, has never had a serious relationship. It was fun watching the lust/longing at first sight for him and the equally relationship adverse vet.
As with the previous books in the series there is a suspense plot going along side the romantic story. While both plot lines were interesting, I didn’t feel as if either was as fully developed as I would have expected from this author.
It also appeared that certain elements were inserted into the story and not resolved, especially as relating to Brice/Naomi (Caleb’s brother and sister in law) and Aubrey’s father. I don’t know if these are elements that will be in future books, but they did leave with an unresolved feeling here.
Overall, this was a book I enjoyed and would recommend to fan’s of Grant and the Heart of Texas series, but I would suggest finding it at the library or on sale versus paying full price as it didn’t feel as strong as the rest of the series.

Amazon

View all my reviews