Review: Evening Stars (Blackberry Island #3) by Susan Mallery

Evening Stars (Blackberry Island #3) by Susan Mallery

Published February 25th 2014 by Harlequin MIRA

(first published January 1st 2014)

Paperback, 368 pages

Series: Blackberry Island

Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance
Heat Rating: Kissing to some steamy

Source:  I got a copy of this book from the publisher from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.
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Summary from Goodreads

New York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery returns to Blackberry Island with the poignant tale of two sisters on the verge of claiming their dreams.

Small-town nurse Nina Wentworth has made a career out of being a caretaker. More "Mom" than their mother ever was, she sacrificed medical school—and her first love—so her sister could break free. Which is why she isn't exactly thrilled to see Averil back on Blackberry Island, especially when Nina's life has suddenly become…complicated.

Nina unexpectedly finds herself juggling two men—her high school sweetheart and a younger maverick pilot who also wants to claim her heart. But as fun as all this romance is, Nina has real life to deal with. Averil doesn't seem to want the great guy she's married to, and doesn't seem to be making headway writing her first book; their mom is living life just as recklessly as she always has; and Nina's starting to realize that the control she once had is slipping out of her fingers. Her hopes of getting off the island seem to be stretching further away…until her mother makes a discovery that could change everything forever.

But before Nina and Averil can reach for the stars, they have to decide what they want. Will Averil stay? Will Nina leave? And what about the men who claim to love them? Does love heal, or will finding their happy ending mean giving up all they've ever wanted?

Evening Stars is the third book in Susan Mallery's Blackberry Island series. This one is about a woman named Nina who grew up on the island and has been unable to escape it, even when she had plenty of opportunities.

Nina grew up being the responsible one ever since she could remember. Having a mother who refused to grow up and a younger sister who needed to be taken care of, Nina took the wheel. For that, there seems to have been a strained relationship between her, her mother and her sister Averil. It has also caused a rift in her relationship with Dylan, a man she had been in love with and was suppose to marry after they both attended medical school. Which Nina did not.

I have to admit, I love Susan Mallery, but I did not think that this was one of her stronger works. In fact, I had a hard time finishing it and almost didn't at 70%

The story was not what I expected and a lot of things left me kind of scratching my head. Like Nina and her relationship with her sister. Averil and her just cannot seem to get along and I just couldn't understand why? Nina grew up taking care of her mother and Averil, making sure that both of them survived because her mother refused to take any form of responsibility so she made Averil's life easier. Yet Averil complains about her evil sister all the time and how bad she is? Really? This is the same sister that gave up her dreams and money to put you through one of the best school in America and this is how you come out thanking her? I didn't enjoy all their bickering and the tense relationship between them. I'm sorry, but this point blank did not sit well with me and her reason for hating her did not make any sense to me.

Second, Nina's own mother resents her.....uh...wait...WHAT? You refuse to take responsibility, act like a mother and when your daughter does, you resent her for that? You say she isn't very fun and constantly bitch about her? I'm sorry, but what kind of a mother are you? She should really evaluate her priorities. Not to mention that she keeps screwing up all throughout the book and Nina is always there picking up the pieces. She should have let her mother fall on her face a long time ago. This honestly would probably make more sense if her mother had some mental instability and I was totally waiting for something like that to come out - alas - she was just a bad mother.

The love triangle did not work for me either and neither did Nina's actions in it. Yes, it was pretty clear from the beginning who she was going to end up with but eh... no...just no... some parts felt like cheating to me. Especially when her and Dylan started with the kissing while she was still seeing the other guy. I understand she was confused, but instead of asking herself internally what was happening, why didn't she ask Dylan? Instead, she continued sleeping with the other guy while Dylan kept coming around and stealing kisses. Good job swift. I especially had a difficult time with this after the second kiss and him asking her away for the weekend. You would think that Nina would step back, ask or re-evaluate what was going on? Nope, she jumps straight into bed with the other guy.

So what did I like about this book then?

I liked the fact that her mother had a lover and partner named Bertie - a woman who seems to be her anchor and takes care of Bonnie (the mother) basically like Nina does. Bertie is a sweetheart and is very patient when it comes to Bonnie and seems to understand the woman's behavior. She tries to lead her in the right direction and manages to success half the time.

Dylan. I did love him, he was amazing. It was terrible that the break-up between him and Nina felt like a lame excuse especially after so many years of being together but also because they were so young - understandable? I guess. He was still awesome, especially when he took care of Nina when she got sick.

In the end, I applauded Nina for getting her life back together and finally on the right track.