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Title: The Girls of Mischief Bay

Series: Mischief Bay #1

Author: Susan Mallery

Publisher Date: February 24, 2015

Publisher: Mira

Format: Kindle

Page Count: 416 pages

Source: Library via OverDrive

Date Read: May 24-27, 2020

Review

I wanted to read something set in California because I am somewhat homesick for the Golden State. Let's face it, I would rather be quarantining in CA than in KS. I have enjoyed Mallery's works in the past and was eager to try a new series not in the romance genre. Hence, I picked up The Girls of Mischief Bay, a contemporary women's fiction title.

Overall, I really enjoyed this look at female friendship with woman at different ages/stages of life, yet can give each other perspectives that help. Hands down, my favorite MC was Pam. Her character arc was so well done and I was emotionally invested in her story. And her discovering another girl squad to go traveling with was a such a sweet ending, contrasting with the darker parts of her arc. Shannon's arc was second favorite; my one quibble with Shannon was that she forgave her man for doing throwing her under the bus when his daughter decided to play mind games with her divorced parents. I would have made him grovel A HELLA LOT MORE.  My least favorite was Nicole; she came across too much like a doormat. Her divorce should have been a release and she was still too much sulking at the end of the book for my liking. Her ex was an useless asshole - good riddance to bad rubbish. I did like that Nicole was a pilates/yoga instructor and owner of her studio, rather than something cutesy like a baker or party planner. 

I am going to continue with the series after my summer project is over.

So here is my reading wrap up for March, April, and May. 

March

1. Golden in Death (In Death #50) by JD Robb - 4 stars

2. Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera - 3.5 stars

3. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot - 2.5 stars

April

1. Pox: An American History by Michael Willrich - 4.5 stars

2. A Distant Melody (Wings of Glory #1) by Sarah Sundin - 3 stars

3. The Scandalous Suffragette by Eliza Redgold - 3 stars

4. The Final Days by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein - 5 stars

5. Beauty Queens by Libby Bray - 4 stars

6. The American Plague: The Untold Story of Yellow Fever, the Epidemic That Shaped Our History by Molly Caldwell Crosby - 4 stars

May

1. The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty - 1 star

2. Eisenhower 1956: The President's Year of Crisis - Suez and the Brink of War by David A. Nichols - 4 stars

3. War on Peace: The End of Diplomacy and the Decline of American Influence by Ronan Farrow - 5 stars

4. Oklahoma City: What the Investigation Missed - and Why It Still Matters by Andrew Gumbel and Roger G. Charles - DNF

5. Stillhouse Lake (Stillhouse Lake #1) by Rachel Caine - 1 star

6. Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth by Sarah Smarsh - 4.5 stars

7. The Dead & the Gone (Last Survivors #2) by Susan Beth Pfeffer - 3 stars

8. 1666: Plague, War, and Hellfire by Rebecca Rideal - 3 stars

9. The Girls of Mischief Bay (Mischief Bay #1) by Susan Mallery - 4 stars

10. A New Life (West Meets East #1) by Merry Farmer - 2.5 stars

Goals and Challenges:

GoodReads: 40/125 (32%)

Library Love: 17/24 (70%) - I am thinking of moving up my goal to the next level

Participated in BoB28

Participated BL's Snakes & Ladders 2020

Participated in Dewey RAT

Participated in 24 in 48 Stay at Home RAT

Not a lot to say other than my heart goes out to the Floyd family and the protestors in MN. Kansas' governor is sick and tired of everyone complaining about stay at home orders, so she is now leaving it up to the counties and city government to set limits for re-opening. I'm parking my ass at home for the summer regardless of how "safe" it is to venture to places that can amass a crowd. 

So for this last Friday in May, I am continuing my read stories 5-7 in Because He's Perfect, then onto my book for BL-opoly turn This World We Live In. Finally I hope to get through Sisters By Choice, which I had a hold on and it came through on Tuesday. 

COYER hosts are hosting read-a-thons within the greater COYER, and this next read-a-thon is the Diversity Read-a-thon. So for the next two weeks I will be knocking out the novellas on my summer list that fit the theme. 

I will be back on Monday. Taking a break from social media this weekend.

Please note that I received this via NetGalley. This did not affect my rating or review.

Well this was really good! I enjoyed the two main characters (Ellen and Unity) and their "list". I also felt frustrated with both of them while still rooting them on. I also really liked the epilogue we got in the end. I think Mallery typically does not include those in her romance novels. Both of the heroes (Thaddeus and Keith) were great though I wanted to shake Keith a lot especially when it concerned his daughter. I thought that all of the plot lines were realistic and I think that Mallery did a great job of capturing teenagers who (shocked gasp) actually do have sex. It was nice to see parents in this one talking about it as a known thing along with discussing safe sex and making sure that they are enjoying it and ready.  

Ellen and Unity are long time best friends in their mid-30s. They love their sleepy little home town and are content with their lives. However, Ellen overhears her 17 year old son is scared to leave home for college since he thinks his mother needs him too much. Unity is still in love with her dead husband who passed away 3 years prior to the start of the novel. People have been patient with her, but now even her grief counseling group is telling her she needs to move on. (ASIDE FROM ME: Girl she needs to...badly). When the two friends have a falling out, they both separately realize that they need to move past things in their lives. They settle on having separate lists that they will accomplish over that summer with the winner getting an all expenses paid weekend spa trip with the loser.  

So I actually really did like Ellen and Unity both. Even when I wanted to shake them both. Ellen had cold fish for parents, so after getting pregnant as a teenager she really didn't do much besides go to school and take care of her son. She hasn't had a romance since that time and is scared to lose her son. I did love that she realizes that and takes steps to make sure that he is moves on from her though. 

Unity, woo boy. She got kicked out of a grief counseling group! Honestly at first I thought Mallery wanted us to dislike her since she was so obtuse about things. When she was rude about Ellen's problems, I didn't like her much. But she started to grow on me. She's stuck in her past and doesn't know how to move on from it. I know some romance readers don't like romances with widows or widowers, but I think Mallery did a great job with this character.

The heroes in this one have some..pizzazz? I think I can say that. Thaddeus's backstory was unexpected. Think Magic Mike. Keith was kind of stupid about things here and there, but in the end showed he was a very good dad. Though he was pretty invasive with his daughter's privacy.

The writing was really great and the dialogue was crisp. I loved the secondary characters like Dagmar, Cooper (Ellen's son) and Lissa (Keith's daughter). The flow worked nicely and I found myself rushing through this one. 

The ending was pitch perfect and we get to see a Happily Ever After (HEA) for both characters. The only reason why I didn't give this 5 stars was that I did not quite the initial connection between Unity and her hero. It just didn't work, but then it did and I loved it. Other than that, things were fantastic.