Welcome friend! I love small town stories and though I don’t read many of them, as we explore romances through the challenge, I am picking up more of them. 🙂 Susan Mallery is an author I read a few books of before I started blogging and I am excited to share about this book of hers which I just read – Daughters of the Bride. Set in the small town of Los Lobos, this is the story of three women and the events that help them get their happy endings while they plan their mother’s wedding. Take a look at the synopsis below and then read on for my thoughts:
With Joy, Love and a Little Trepidation, Courtney, Sienna and Rachel Invite You to the Most Emotional Wedding of the Year… Their Mother’s
Courtney
~ The Misfit ~
As the awkward one, Courtney Watson may not be as together as her sisters, but she excels at one thing—keeping secrets, including her white-hot affair with a sexy music producer. Planning Mom’s wedding exposes her startling hidden life, changing her family’s view of her—and how she views herself—forever.
Sienna
~ The Free Spirit ~
When Sienna’s boyfriend proposes—in front of her mom and sisters, for crying out loud—he takes her by surprise. She already has two broken engagements under her belt. Should she say “I do” even if she’s not sure she does?
Rachel
~ The Cynic ~
Rachel thought love would last forever…right up until her divorce. As Mom’s wedding day draws near and her ex begs for a second chance, she’s forced to acknowledge some uncomfortable truths about why her marriage failed, and decide if she’ll let pride stand in the way of her own happily-ever-after.
Content notes include reference to learning disability, infidelity, losing a loved one to a car accident, divorse, broken engagements.
Thoughts on Daughters of the Bride
Planning a wedding is a lot of work, even with a wedding planner. There are so many decisions to make and that is why I have been gravitating towards finding similar characters in the books I read – those who have a lot of going on and they are somehow making it through. Some days, it is hard to keep my head above water, and I can’t even swim so fear and terror are a huge part of the cycle.
Daughters of the Bride is a lovely tale centred around three sisters, but it also has so many other amazing women characters who have made a name for themselves that it is hard not to love all of them! This is the third book of the Los Lobos series and the others do not have to be read to enjoy this one – though I am sure seeing characters whose backstory you know from other books is always a bonus! I love when that happens.
Maggie, the bride, had three daughters. Her husband passed away when the oldest, Rachel, was only nine years old. The family went through a tough time as they lost their house and Maggie had to step up and take control of her husband’s business to survive and give the girls a good life. That came at the cost of weak relationships, being lost in one’s own problems and misunderstandings.
That is how the youngest, Courtney, came to leave home as soon as she turned eighteen and forge her own path. Working as a maid at the town hotel, she is educating herself and is driven to stand up on her own two feet, even if the family has their doubts.
Every sister has her own troubles and challenges. Rachel has been divorced from her childhood sweetheart for two years and still can’t seem to want to be with anyone else. She is hurt by his actions but doesn’t know how to let go. Sienna has been engaged two times and the guy she is dating doesn’t seem to be the one, but what if he is meant to be? Courtney has internalized that love means hurt and that is something she is going to avoid so as not to get distracted from her career goals. I loved all the sisters and related to each of them in a unique way.
On Personal Struggles
With Rachel, I pondered the concept of loving someone for life and being willing to admit how much it means to have someone in our lives. Our childhood helps form habits and self-assigned roles that can be very hard to break and in Daughters of the Bride, Rachel gets a chance to learn more about herself and how and with whom she wants to live her life.
I would have liked to see more of Sienna. She comes off as an arrogant person but she is actually very passionate about her work and helping women in need. She works for a charity and has walked away from men who she knows were not right for her. But time changes all of us and over the course of months as her mother’s big day comes closer, she has to figure out how she feels, about herself and the man who wants to marry her. I did not like David at all and I am very happy that Clinton’s family is not as crazy and pressuring as David’s was (his mom showed up with his grandma’s wedding gown, expecting Sienna to get it altered for her wedding, not caring that Sienna might not be interested and also it might not be possible as Sienna is a good few inches taller than the grandma). With Sienna, I pondered how the people we care about doesn’t always mean we are meant to be with them forever. Every love teaches us something.
Courtney was the one I was cheering for. I loved her chemistry with Quinn. This was her journey to understand her fear around love and I appreciated how her relationship with her mom amended through the book. There is a scene towards the end where Maggie offers a rare bit of insight into herself and the life she has led. She says how it isn’t love that hurts but losing someone. By taking a chance, we make ourselves vulnerable to being hurt and the lesson isn’t to never take a chance, it is to know when it’s worth it and to have the belief that no matter what happens, we will personally make it. No one plans on things not working on but we have to be real and face life as it comes while making it as beautiful and comfortable for ourselves.
On being the bride
I enjoyed reading about Maggie as a bride. At her first wedding, her mother had controlled everything. This time, she wanted everything to go the way she wanted, some of her choices being what she would have made as a teenager. It is easy to judge but ultimately, I feel like only the bride knows what she wants and why, and the people around her have to trust her.
Maggie wanted flamingos. Not sure if she got them but she did get bees.
I picked 4 vibrant colors for our wedding palette and while everyone complimented them, I am sure people had their doubts. But I know the vision I am going for and we are going to have to wait and see how it plays out. I am actually surprised how supportive everyone has been. There have been some minor critiques here and there, but otherwise, it is my day and I get to make it what I want with some reasonability checks and a lot of help.
Have you read any books by Susan Mallery? Find Daughters of the Bride on Goodreads and Storygraph.
Check out our romance challenge for more romance books.
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