Susan Mallery (Barefoot Season; Three Sisters) has created a lovely little world in Blackberry Island, Wash. Located near Seattle, it was once home to three very different cousins. Kristine stayed on the island and has been married to her high school sweetheart for 16 years. Sophie moved to Southern California to start a business empire selling cat-related items. And discontented Amber remains dependent on her family amid perpetual victimhood.
When Sophie's business burns down, she takes the insurance money and moves back to Blackberry Island for a new beginning. She enjoys spending time with Kristine, her "sister by choice," who is trying to launch her own bakery, as well as with Kristine's handsome tai chi instructor, Dugan.
Kristine's husband, Jaxsen, however, attempts to prevent her opening the bakery, because he wants her to continue being a stay-at-home mom, effectively forcing her to choose between her dream and her marriage. Amber's problems continue to worsen, making things complicated for the cousins. And Sophie herself is struggling both to get Clandestine Kitty Industries up and running again--and to define her relationship with Dugan.
Nuanced and realistic, showing the complicated problems that family can create, Sisters by Choice is a satisfying read. Mallery knows how to capture her readers; Sophie's stubbornness, Kristine's real dilemmas and Amber's imaginary woes make all three women interesting in their own ways. --Jessica Howard, bookseller at Bookmans, Tucson, Ariz.