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.

~Standalone~

This story may contain language, violence, and/or sexual situations intended for an adult 18+ audience.

Title:  Otherwise Engaged
Series:  ~Standalone~
Author:  Susan Mallery
Published:  November 4, 2025
Publisher:  Harlequin/MIRA
My Rating:  4.5 stars

Otherwise Engaged is intense.  There is really no other way to describe these women’s stories; they are at times heartbreaking and frustrating, sometimes with laughter and often with anger and tears.  One woman’s decision changed the direction of four lives; they are all about to come face-to-face once again.  And the fallout from that meeting will forever change how they see themselves and their mother/daughter relationships.

I enjoyed Otherwise Engaged very much, although I did miss the author’s usual infusion of light humor to break ice jams… and there were a lot of them.  It’s an emotionally devastating story on some levels, and uplifting on others.  I couldn’t help but feel for Cindy and Shannon, as well as Ava and Victoria, and put myself in their shoes.  It’s the type of story that kept me thinking long after the final page was turned.  The “what if’s” certainly abound in their story… “if only” plays a part, too.  Yet, a decision was made, and as heartbreaking as that first decision was for one woman, it did not justify the way she continues to treat her adoptive daughter to this day emotionally.  There were definitely characters that I liked or related to more than others.

Their story is well-written, definitely emotional on so many levels, and complicated.  Sometimes, life (even fictional life) is messy, complicated, and hurtful for those who had no say in so many events in their lives.  This was definitely a story that made me think… and be grateful for the mother/daughter relationship I had with my own mom.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley, and I sincerely thank the author or publishing house for their trust. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*

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