The Marvelous Monroe Girls by Shirley Jump

Hi everyone! If you like Women’s Fiction/Romance novels involving sisters you will enjoy The Marvelous Monroe Girls by Shirley Jump.  This is the first book I’ve read from this author, but it won’t be my last.  This book publishes on January 11.

From The Publisher:

Gabriella Monroe is doing her best to pretend that everything is fine, but her life is a mess. Sales are down at her vintage dress shop, her beloved grandmother isn’t her usual spunky self, and Gabby desperately misses the closeness she had with her sisters, Margaret and Emma—who were once so inseparable that their family called them the Monroe Musketeers.
When the sisters stumble across a stash of letters that reveals their grandmother’s secret life, Gabby sees an opportunity to bring the sisters back together again and best of all, raise her grandmother’s spirits. And sure, this new project makes it easier to pretend her own life isn’t crashing around her, but concentrating on helping everyone else and ignoring her own feelings is what Gabby does best.
Except when it comes to Jake Maddox. Once the boy next door she crushed on—hard—he’s grown into an even more intriguing man, and her attraction to him isn’t so easy to hide. It’s clear he’s just as interested in her, but dating Jake would only muddy up her already complicated life. Or is it finally time to put herself first and risk it all for a chance at happiness?

Book Review:

I found The Marvelous Monroe Girls to be entertaining, easy to read and with likeable characters. While the book includes all three Monroe sisters and their Grandmother, the book focuses primarily on Gabby which leads me to believe this is the first book in a series.  The book is set in the charming town of Harbor Cove.

The sisters lost their mother in a tragic accident as young girls and were thereafter raised by their Grandmother.  Their father was deep in grief and moved on to another relationship and family shortly after this tragedy.  Gabby blames herself for her mother’s accident and has made a promise to her mother to watch over the rest of the family.  Everything Gabby does involving her family centres around this promise.

This is a story of family love and romantic relationships.  Gabby is finding it more and more challenging to resist her “more than friends”  feelings for Jake.  With her mother’s tragic death in mind, she does not believe in a happy ever after.  She’s afraid to risk the lifelong friendship she’s had with Jake in the event of it becoming a romantic relationship going wrong.

Margaret is Gabby’s married older sister.  She has not been attending the weekly family dinners for quite some time.  The family is concerned that there is something wrong but Margaret isn’t open to talking about it. Emma is the youngest of the sisters, loves to travel and has no interest in romance.  She also seems to be the focus of the next book in the series.

What I Liked:

• The friends to lovers trope involving Gabby and Jake
• The small-town vibe of Harbor Cove
• The role that the Grandmother has played in the girl’s lives.

I Recommend This Book To:

Those readers who enjoy Women’s Fiction/Romance novels about sisters.

My Rating:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Add The Marvelous Monroe Girls to your Goodreads shelf

Acknowledgments:

Thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Similar Books I’ve Reviewed:

The Summer Sisters by Sara Richardson

Sisters Like Us by Susan Mallery

Sisters by Michelle Frances

Thanks for reading!  Do you enjoy reading books about sisters?  Let me know in the comments.  I hope you have a wonderful day. ☺️