Secrets of the Tulip Sisters - Contemporary Romance Review

Goodreads:  Secrets of the Tulip Sisters by Susan Mallery

Rating: Very Good
Source: Library (Audio)

Description:  Kelly Murphy's life as a tulip farmer is pretty routine—up at dawn, off to work, lather, rinse, repeat. But everything changes one sun-washed summer with two dramatic homecomings: Griffith Burnett—Tulpen Crossing's prodigal son, who's set his sights on Kelly—and Olivia, her beautiful, wayward and, as far as Kelly is concerned, unwelcome sister. Tempted by Griffith, annoyed by Olivia, Kelly is overwhelmed by the secrets that were so easy to keep when she was alone.
But Olivia's return isn't as triumphant as she pretends. Her job has no future, and ever since her dad sent her away from the bad boy she loved, she has felt cut off from her past. She's determined to reclaim her man and her place in the family…whether her sister likes it or not. For ten years, she and Kelly have been strangers. Olivia will get by without her approval now.

While Kelly and Olivia butt heads, their secrets tumble out in a big hot mess, revealing some truths that will change everything they thought they knew. Can they forgive each other—and themselves—and redefine what it means to be sisters?

Genre: Romance - Contemporary

Why I Picked This Book:  To be honest the title grabbed me!  I love tulips and on top of that I can't resist books about sisters.

My Impression:  I've always enjoyed Susan Mallery's writing style but I kind of burned out on her Fool's Gold series so I was really excited to try her more stand alone novels.   I was really excited about this one mostly based on the title - I love tulips and I love books about sisters as only an only child can!  I thought I was going to have some mixed feelings about this one.  I loved Kelly and the world she lived in right from the beginning but I wasn't so sure what I was going to think about Olivia.  She comes off a little self involved at first but once she starts to adjust to being home I immediately fell in love with her too.  She's smart, she knows what she's good at, and she's mature.  Her relationship with her sister had some rocky moments but I really appreciated the way they listened to each other and were able to apologize when needed.  It was really fun watching Olivia gain confidence and figure out what she wants and Kelly begin to start dealing with her issues and letting people help her occasionally.  I especially enjoyed how important the sister relationship was to both of them and how delighted they were when they began to realize that the potential to develop a close bond was really there.

The romantic relationships were really nice with a number of sweet moments in each one.  I don't want to say too much because I really enjoyed watching different relationships develop with no expectations.  This was definitely a book that I thoroughly enjoyed with an ending that made me smile.

Audio note - I thought Tanya Eby did a good job with the narration.  She was able to make characters sound distinctly different without coming off as theatrical.  I'm not sure she's one of my favorite narrators but she's definitely one I'd listen to again.

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?  I would.  While I kind of burned out on her series romances I've really been loving these more stand alone books.

Would I Recommend this Book?  If you enjoy books about sisters this is a must read!