5 Things I Loved About Daughters of the Bride by Susan Mallery | Review

Daughters of the Bride (Los Lobos #3) by Susan Mallery

Published: July 12, 2016

Publisher: HQN Books

Pages: 416

Received: via NetGalley for honest review (I'm playing catch up)

Find Online: Goodreads 

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.

Why this took me so long to get to I'll never know, but am I ever glad that I finally made the time to catch up on this book for review. Instead of a full length review, I'm just making a list of five things I loved about the book. 

1) Fantastic characters! 

In the first third of the book I already knew that adored Courtney and that her storyline would be one I would be cheering for from the start. BUT, Rachel was the character that struck me the hardest. In actuality, it was the things her ex husband says to her about how she always has to be in control, be the one to do everything so she could be the martyr... that got me and I realized I AM RACHEL! GAH! (Not the single mother part, but the needing to control things so they are done right my way - EEP!) So overall, the characters are very relatable and the sisters were true sisters in the sense that they bickered, they hard each others backs and more.

2) Feel the Love

This book had so many relationship statuses in it - widowed, divorced, broken engagements, second chances, head over heels. So much love! I enjoyed the idea that all four women (mother and daughters) find love but all in different ways. I think Rachel's build up to finding love again was my favourite because she was so closed off to letting it in again after her divorce. Come find out who gets their HEA!

3) Bridezilla

Imagine being the wedding planner and dealing with a bridezilla, but then add to that the fact that the bride is your mother! This made for a fun aspect of the story. Maggie didn't get the wedding of her dreams the first time around and this time she wants it ALL - from pink everything to swans and from cake pops to pom pom confetti. Her ideas are a mixed bag of everything anyone could dream up but all mixed into one wedding. The sisters handle it with class and style, trying to give their mother the wedding she deserves.

4) The setting - hotel in a seaside community

The main setting of the story is set in Los Lobos, California and mainly at a hotel. I loved the backdrop of this cozy little town and this adorable hotel. It sounds charming and the perfect setting for a wedding and for love to blossom. Much of Courtney's storyline is set at the hotel since she lives and works there, but also many scenes leading up to her mother's wedding take place there. Everyone seems to know everyone else in the community and I always love books that have enough character overlap between books that you'll remember a character from a previous companion novel and have a little flash to their story in your mind. 

5) Realizations!

This was a book filled with realizations. From figuring out that you've pushed love away from the wrong reasons to finally letting yourself see that what was always right there in front of you. Each character in the book grows in such amazing ways including the three main characters, their Mom, a few of the men in their lives, and even the hotel owner. These are fun to read about and help you cheer for your favourite characters. 

I'm actually really glad that I listened to the audiobook version of this to catch up on reviewing in. The narrator was brilliant and caught the personalities of each sister perfectly.

Have you read Daughters of the Bride - what did you think? Can you recommend any other Susan Mallery books that you think I'd enjoy?