I just finished an ARC I received for free from Goodreads First Reads and have to say that this is my favorite book in the Blackberry Island series. This book is about Nina, who more or less had to raise her sister, Averil, because their mother would not "grow up" and be responsible. As a result, it was left to Nina to make sure bills were paid and that Averil had a chance to go to college. Things start happening all at once for Nina, with her sister leaving her husband and returning home, her mother and partner coming back from a treasure-buying trip, and not one, but two men to juggle. Throughout the book, Nina and Averil try to turn their almost mother-daughter relationship into one between sisters. Their dynamic, along with the one with their mother, kept the book moving at a quick pace. With the guys added in, there is now always something going on in Nina's all-to-recent dating drought, which caused more than a few laughs. I really enjoyed this book and found it hard to put down from the very beginning. Another great one by Susan Mallery!

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I dont know what it is about these books that scare me. I always find myself putting off reading them like I am NOT going to enjoy them. It must be the heavier than normal subject matters. I was hesitant with the first two, yet ended up loving them, and still hesitated with this one and loved it.

Nina has been living on Blackberry Island her entire life. Once she had big plans to leave the island, go to medical school and become a doctor, but family obligations kept her home. Now she is a nurse, still living at home with her mother and her mothers partner. She starts dating one man from her past when her first love comes back.

Averil is the younger sister of Nina and seems to not know how to make up her own mind. Living with a husband who adores her she cant understand why she feels discontent. She heads home to Blackberry Island to find herself.

Reading the dynamics of this family it was easy to compare my own family here and there. Everyone has a Nina and an Averil in their life. Everyone knows the adult who is perpetually stuck in Teenage Town, choosing to live recklessly without plan. I saw a lot of myself in Nina - the control freak constantly running around trying to prevent disasters where she can, and mop up after the ones that happened anyway.

I am always impressed with the character depth and detail in her books. This was another wonderful read and a great addition to the series. I enjoyed watching the 4 woman live in the same households and figure out there place and positions in the family. They all changed and grew a little bit from the experience and it made for a very enjoyable read.

Cherise Everhard, April 2014

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