Dear Reader,
 
It’s always wonderful to return to a favorite place. That’s how I feel about Bittersweet, Oregon, the fictional setting for my 1990s trilogy, Forever Family, now collected here in one volume with a new title—Envious! I’m delighted to revisit Bittersweet in the company of Bliss, Katie, and Tiffany—three women who’ve just discovered they are half-sisters . . .
 
Bliss Cawthorne is John Cawthorne’s only legitimate daughter, but her father’s wealth has complicated matters. Mason Lafferty believed he wasn’t good enough for the boss’s daughter and broke Bliss’s heart after saving her life. Yet now he’s back in Bittersweet, determined to make her trust him again.
 
Tiffany Santini is widowed and struggling to raise two children after a car accident. That doesn’t mean she needs interference from her powerful brother-in-law. And Katie Kincaid is too busy wrangling her rambunctious son to get involved with the enigmatic cowboy next door. Then there’s the mystery at the heart of Bittersweet—the recent disappearance of an elderly local, Isaac Wells, who has vanished without a trace, casting a dark cloud over all their lives . . .
 
Join me in Bittersweet as these three very different, independent women try to escape the shadows of their pasts.

*previously published now all three stories in one book*

Title:  Envious
Series:  previously published as the Forever Family trilogy
Author:  Lisa Jackson
Genre:  Romantic Suspense
Published:  March 31, 2020 (original trilogy 1990s)
Publisher:  Kensington Books – Zebra
My Rating:  4 stars

If you read the Forever Family series back in the 1990s, as I did, then finding those three stories in one book to read once again will be a treat.  If you had no clue about the books previously then Envious is an even sweeter treat for you since you’ll get to experience these stories for the first time.  Either way, there is no denying that Bliss, Katie, and Tiffany will draw you into their lives, maybe break your heart a bit, and heal not only themselves but their relationships with women who they’ve only recently discovered are their sisters… eventually.

I enjoyed stepping back into this world once again.  There’s conflict, anger, tensions between these three women.  Add to that their (collective) father has suffered a heart attack and now is trying to make amends to the women who never knew about each other.  With an underlying mystery going on as well there is a lot to keep you engaged throughout Envious.  Finding real, true love hasn’t come easy to these sisters but love is on their horizon as they all learn to trust, forgive, and take a chance on a forever love for themselves.  I had fun with this combined story, and seeing it with fresh eyes caught things that I didn’t remember from my previous reading of the trilogy.  That’s always a fun discovery for me, and one of the reasons I do re-reads for I always find something new.

If you love a good, solid second chance at love romance with a bit of suspense then you’d enjoy the Forever Family trilogy brought together in Envious.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from Kensington Books via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this story.  It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*

Available in paperback, audio and for the Kindle