Otherwise Engaged by Susan Mallery

Otherwise Engaged by Susan Mallery

Published by MIRA ISBN 9780778387268

Hardcover, $30, 368 pages

From the publisher:

When Shannon gets engaged, her beloved mom, Cindy, is the first person she wants to tell—and the last. Cindy’s engaged, too, and has already hinted at a double wedding. The image of a synchronized bouquet toss with her mom fills Shannon with horror. She’ll keep her engagement a secret until Cindy’s I-dos are done.

Victoria has never been proper enough for her mother, Ava, so she stopped trying. She lives on her own terms and amuses herself by pushing Ava’s buttons. Ava loves but doesn’t understand her stuntwoman daughter. When a movie-set mishap brings Victoria home, Ava longs to finally connect.

Chance brings the four women together at a wedding venue, where a shocking secret comes tumbling out. Twenty-four years ago, desperate teenager Cindy chose wealthy Ava to adopt her baby—then changed her mind at the very last second. The loss rocked Ava’s world, leaving her unable to open her heart to the daughter she did adopt, Victoria. As Shannon and Victoria deal with the fallout from the decisions their mothers made, they wrestle with whether who they are is different than who they might have become.

My thoughts:

The premise of this novel is intriguing and unique. Victoria has always known she was adopted, but when she discovers that she was not the baby her parents thought they were getting, it knocks her for a loop. It also causes more friction between her and her mother.

Shannon discovers that her mother, who raised her as a single mom, almost gave her up for adoption. She loves her mother even as she feels her mother is a bit too close to her. She works for her mom and is engaged to a great guy, but she feels something is missing in her life.

Victoria now thinks she understands why she and her mother never had a close relationship; she was second choice. It should have been Shannon that her parents raised. 

Running into Cindy after twenty-four years has brought back so many feelings that Ava had buried. She felt that Cindy was like a sister to her, they took her into their home and lives, and then she just disappeared with the baby that thought would be theirs.

There is a lot here for great book club discussions especially about mother-daughter relationships and how fraught they can be. People will see themselves in these characters and wonder if they would react the same way. I know I did. 

Thanks to Harlequin for putting me on their Fall 2025 Blog Tours.