I read Susan Mallery’s novel, Already Home, over the course of a few weekends and found it delightful, particularly as it got rolling toward the middle. Because I think this was more women’s fiction than true roman fiction the female characters were plentiful and well-developed, even some of the secondary characters had a rich backstory. But I’m getting ahead of myself–the jist of the story is a LA chef returns to Texas to put her life back together after a failed marriage. In the course of figuring out how she’s going to support herself–and still satisfy her creativity–she opens a kitchen shop on a cute town square. But, she’s a chef not a businesswoman and she comes to rely heavily on the savvy salesperson she hires. These two unlikely friends grow to depend on each other quickly, particularly through the upheaval caused when biological parents arrive on the scene and boyfriends turn bad. Ms. Mallery gave full entre into the women’s minds/perceptions/backgrounds and even so much with mothers too that it was really a girl fest for strong, amazing women. The men in this book get a bit of short shift. They don’t seem to have the same depth or resonance as the women—even the good guys don’t get a lot of stage time. I think where this novel is so lovely is weaving together the influence of mothers and daughters, both biological and adopted (even those that are absorbed into families.) You’ll enjoy this peek into a family and come away wishing you could be friends with the characters.