Nicole Lord wants to be a good wife, but there's a difference between being supportive and supporting her husband, who quit his job to write a screenplay she's never seen. He won't even help take care of their son, leaving Nicole to run the house and work full-time.
Sacrificing a personal life for her career is how Shannon Rigg became VP at her firm, but she wonders now whether she made the right choice. An exciting new relationship with a great guy convinces her that it might not be too late—until he drops a bombshell that has her questioning whether she really can have it all.
Although Pam Eiland adores her husband, she feels restless now that the kids are grown. Finding sexy new ways to surprise him brings the heat and humor back to their marriage, but when unexpected change turns her life upside down, she'll have to redefine herself. Again.
Through romance and heartbreak, laughter and tears, the girls of Mischief Bay will discover that life is richer with friends at your side. (Synopsis courtesy of Amazon.)
This is my first experience with a Susan Mallery novel and I already know that I want to read her previous books. I really liked how The Girls of Mischief Bay was written. I instantly felt like I was having lunch out with three girlfriends whom I've known forever. Pam, Nicole, and Shannon were all easy to relate to and sympathize with in various ways. The dialogue felt genuine and there was a lot of humor mixed in with the sincerity and sensitivity that the women injected into their friendship and conversations. It didn't matter that Nicole was ten years younger than me or that Pam was ten years older. I felt connected to them just as much as I did to Shannon, who was closest to my age and reminded me of my sister. The descriptions made everyone and everything easy to visualize and I was even taken on an armchair adventure at one point.
There's one part of the story that was emotionally heavy, so I want to warn everyone to have a lot of tissues on hand. It's a topic that has come up in previous novels I've read and I handled it okay in the past. However, the way the character handled the situation felt more raw in some ways. I liked how things were resolved later on, but for a while, I was overwrought with emotion for this character. I cried for her a bunch of times, as well as for one of the other characters (but for different reasons). Susan Mallery handled the topic in a sensitive way that didn't condescend to her readers, but it still felt darker to me than how this situation has come up in other novels I've read. Maybe because I felt like the character and I had some things in common and that she was like a book version of me? That I'd possibly react to the situation the same way she did?
Overall, I was very impressed with Susan's writing style and the way she drew me in right away and didn't let me go, even after I put it down. I already can't wait for the next Mischief Bay novel to come out. I'm thankful to Marlene at Book Mama for recommending it to me. (See her review.) This is one of those books I want my mom to read.
Naturally, I was casting it in my head the whole time...
Nicole: Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting
Shannon: Christina Hendricks
Pam: Julie Warner
John: John Corbett
Adam: Scott Weinger
Eric: Dustin Milligan
Thanks to TLC Book Tours for the book in exchange for an honest review. They have one copy for a lucky reader in the US or Canada! Learn more about Mischief Bay here.
How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here.
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US/Canada only. Giveaway ends March 24th at midnight EST.
Visit the other blogs participating in the review tour:
Monday, February 23rd: The Romance Dish
Monday, February 23rd: A Bookish Escape
Tuesday, February 24th: Peeking Between the Pages
Tuesday, February 24th: Book Reviews and More by Kathy
Wednesday, February 25th: For the Love of Words
Wednesday, February 25th: 5 Minutes for Books
Thursday, February 26th: Read – Love – Blog
Friday, February 27th: Mom in Love with Fiction
Monday, March 2nd: Luxury Reading
Monday, March 2nd: As the Pages Turn
Tuesday, March 3rd: Bewitched Bookworms
Wednesday, March 4th: Always With a Book
Thursday, March 5th: A Chick Who Reads
Friday, March 6th: Not in Jersey
Monday, March 9th: Drey’s Library
Monday, March 9th: BookNAround
Tuesday, March 10th: Book Mama Blog
Wednesday, March 11th: Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers
Thursday, March 12th: From the TBR Pile
Monday, March 16th: Why Girls Are Weird
Tuesday, March 17th: Sara’s Organized Chaos
Wednesday, March 18th: Mary’s Cup of Tea
Purchase THE GIRLS OF MISCHIEF BAY:
This just happened on Monday when my cat Pono was so sick. My friend Marla works at home taking calls for a chiropractor and realtor. Mondays are super busy for her and she often works from sun up to sun down taking and making phone calls. She took off a couple hours in the afternoon to go to the vet with me because she didn't want me to go alone. I had no idea at the time that Russ took off work early and planned to meet me there too. But Marla stayed with me the entire time. She's always there for me good and bad times when in the past if a bad time came up, the friends I had seemed to disappear. She sticks around for me no matter what and I will always do the same for her too.
ReplyDeleteA friend gave me some books to read. We always like to share. Thanks for the giveaway.
ReplyDeleteI am usually the one to plan and organize everything our group does. So what a fantastic surprise it was to show up at book club and all the ladies had planned a surprise birthday party for my 50th. We had champagne to toast, delicious book club snacks, rub on glitter tattoos and general silliness. It was awesome and I will never, ever forget it.
ReplyDeleteI have a friend who lives in another State who recently left her home and her plans to come stay with me and help me out in a time of trouble for me. She is a true friend and I am grateful.
ReplyDeleteA thing that I did recently for a friend is bring her dinner after having a baby!! Great giveaway.
ReplyDeleteMy childhood best friend had a surprise birthday party for me. It was so much fun and meant so much to me.
ReplyDeletelast thing i did for a friend was give her a book that i had won but my kids had already bought. we both love the author, so it was a win-win!
ReplyDeleteI brought over snacks, books, and a lunch to a friend who was always kind to me and needed TLC. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com
ReplyDeleteI gave a friend some cookies and magazines. It made her day!
ReplyDeleteA friend on Facebook wasn't doing so hot, and instead of "liking" his post or commenting, I popped a card in the mail. Nothing beats snail mail in this day and age, in my opinion!
ReplyDeleteShe made me a week's worth of dinners after I had a baby.
ReplyDeleteMy grandson, who was 10 years old ( last year ) set up my Facebook page for me and showed me how to use the computer ( IPad ). His nickname is Tech Whiz. It was amazing how knowledgable he is and how great he was at teaching me the basics.
ReplyDeleteI have an online friend that lives across the country that I mail books to.
ReplyDeleteOh gosh, it was many years ago. A special elderly friend heard that I liked carrot cake and baked me a gorgeous carrot cake for my birthday. It was a surprise. Her husband brought the cake to church where we were counting money. Felt special.
ReplyDeletebluedawn95864 at gmail dot com
I've been off of work with a serious illness so I don't have the money to shop very much any more. For my birthday my best friend told me to pick out any purse I wanted from the online Coach outlet and she would buy it for me. It was so exciting to get something luxurious and a bit frivolous. I've used that purse every day since and always get compliments on it! Considering I'm usually in sweatpants going to the hospital or the doctor it is nice to feel stylish in at least one aspect! :)
ReplyDeleteOk, it's not a serious one, but a good friend just explained the way to do emoticons with the smartphone. Whether they support us emotionally or just physically help us out, good friends are worth it.
ReplyDeleteI made dinner for my friend and brought it to her house when she wasn't feeling well.
ReplyDeletei friend of ours if having a hard time due to her husband being in the hospital so another friend of ours and myself bought birthday presents for her son and wrapped them
ReplyDeleteMy neighbor who also had one of her daughter's in my daughter's class told me while we waited for our daughter's that her cancer had come back. Since we were neighbors and I considered her a friend, I would helped her by taking one of her daughter's to and from school. I am happy to report she is in remission and enjoying her family again.
ReplyDeleteI was going through a rough time at home and a friend offered me to come and stay with her for a bit. I did and had a great time.
ReplyDeleteI'm always doing nice things for my friends because it's the kind of gal I am. Being able to do things for the people I love means more to me than them doing things for me.
ReplyDeleteA friend helped me out with a new business venture and it meant the world to me!
ReplyDeleteMy best friend Melissa and I live states apart and yet we talk daily, we know everything about each other, when she makes trips home we always have time together, I plan to go to NC after she moves to spend time. We have been friends for over 15 years through thick and thin.
ReplyDeletebaked cookies for a friend
ReplyDeleteI enjoy buying the people I love gifts throughout the year and sending surprise packages. You never know if tomorrow is promised so live for today.
ReplyDeleteA short while ago, I was stuck in my house with a big purple cast on my leg. My friend ordered food from a restaurant and brought it to me so we could have lunch and I could have a nice distraction in my day.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad that you loved this one! Thanks for being a part of the tour!
ReplyDeleteMy dad had brain surgery, I had lost my job so my best friend paid for my trip home.
ReplyDeleteI listened to my friend discuss how difficult her job is right now. She wants to quit but we discussed how she could cope and I could pray for her.
ReplyDeleteI had major surgery 12 years ago, and my best friend surprised me by driving from Dallas to Houston, where we spent only a couple of hours together. He also brought me a huge stuffed dog. I cried when he left, but when I came back to Dallas after the surgery, he was the first one at the door. I'm honored to say that he's still my best friend. I'm also the godmother of his and his beautiful wife's baby boy.
ReplyDeleteI have a friend moving out of state and last Friday I picked her up, we shopped, and then went out to eat. I'm gonna miss her!
ReplyDeleteI got one of our a friends a gift card to his favorite restaurant for helping us fix our hard drive!
ReplyDeleteA couple of months ago a friend spent the night in the hospital with me while my mom was in there. Thanks.
ReplyDeletepartymix25(at)hotmail(dot)com