Can’t Wait Wednesday #158: Otherwise Engaged by Susan Mallery

Can’t Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they’re books that have yet to be released. It’s based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the Jill at Breaking the Spine. So let me introduce you my Can’t Wait Wednesday #158 pick. Click on the book’s cover to add it to your Goodreads shelf (opens in a new window).

Otherwise Engaged by Susan Mallery book cover — Expected Publication: November 4, 2025 by MIRA / Harlequin Audio.
Length: 368 pages / ~12 hours.
Narrator: Tanya Eby.
Genre: Women’s Fiction

From The Publisher:

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.

Why I Can’t Wait To Read Otherwise Engaged:

I’ve enjoyed many books by this author, and I’m always drawn to stories about mothers and daughters. Since these two individual journeys intersect, I can’t wait to see what unfolds when their paths finally cross.