The Stepsisters

Strong Character Study With Maybe Not Quite Enough Introspection. This is one of those strong women-bonding-as-character-study type books where we get to see three very different women thrown together as a result of a family that blended and then dissolved years ago, and how that blending and dissolution affected all of them and even their common parents (one step father, one stepmother, both of whom combine to be the natural parents of the third sister). As someone who has a cousin that is actually in the exact position of the third sister - both parents having been previously divorced and having kids from those marriages - this was particularly interesting. As with the other Mallery book I've read so far, she does excellent work keeping things mostly realistic, and really my only fault here - potentially intentional, as it is still a realistic scenario - is that one of the three sisters perhaps doesn't look into herself as deeply as the other two do. Ultimately an engaging and satisfying book, this is thus very much recommended.