The Bakery Sisters trilogy by Susan Mallery consists of Sweet Talk, Sweet Spot, and Sweet Trouble.
I’d read one of Susan Mallery’s categories after a friend recommended, and I liked it so much that I bought up Sweet Talkalmost as soon as I saw it in stores, though it wasn’t until I listened to a workshop the author gave on writing trilogies at last year’s national conference that I bumped it up on the TBR list. Once I started the first, I knew I’d have to get the rest. I finished them all within a couple weeks, which includes the go-out-and-hunt-down-the-other-two time.
I enjoyed the first one, featuring Claire, whose determination to overcome her own doormat tendencies kept her from drifting too far into the overly sweet. The hero, Wyatt, was a good match for her, and I appreciated the connection between him and Claire’s sister, the heroine in the second book. And as much as I enjoyed the first, I liked the second more, and not just because the heroine’s name is Nicole.
She and Hawk are a great match, and I loved one of the secondary characters so much that I sincerely hope Susan Mallery gives him his own story one day. Hawk’s daughter is a realistic teen for once, who’s still a manipulative child at heart but does not fall into either of the cliches of being too enamored of her father’s relationship with Nicole, nor too vindictive.
I do have to say, however, that I seem to have poor luck with the final book in trilogies. I had a hard time liking the third sister, Jesse, in either of the previous books, but she won me over to her side within a few pages of her own story. That alone is no easy feat, and I applaud Ms. Mallery’s skill in gaining sympathy for our intrepid heroine. But it’s the hero, Matt, who kept me from thoroughly enjoying this book. His initial reaction to Jesse’s return is to seek revenge by taking steps to gain full custody of their child, a storyline that carries out long after my sympathy for him waned. I found myself distrustful of him even at the end, and I couldn’t help but wonder–once they were married–how he’d react the next time she made him angry.
While I wished I could have found the ending more satisfying, I’d still recommend this trilogy, albeit with a caveat, and I plan on reading some of the other series Ms. Mallery has written.
