Kate Canterbary’s Santillian Triplets Series: Delightful Reads

An offshoot of Kate Canterbary’s very well-received and highly popular Walsh Family series, The Magnolia Chronicles, Boss and the Bedsheets and The Belle and the Beard tell the story of the Santillian triplets who made cameo appearances in the Walshes.

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“The Magnolia Chronicles: Adventures in Modern Dating” tells the story of RGG (Roof Garden Girl) or GiGi for short as readers knew her from the Walsh series. Her real name is Magnolia, and she has quite a messy dating history. As the title implies, this is how she traversed modern dating; where “modern” has become synonymous with using dating apps to meet someone.

So, you “hear” (read) a lot of Magnolia’s monologues as she meets her “dates” in person. These monologues are the reason why this story is engrossing. Snarky yet contemplative, Magnolia is relatable to women in her age bracket. And if you happen to be outside that said bracket or very happy with a significant other, the dialogue is laugh out loud funny. Hence, this book encompasses all age groups.

Amy McFadden and Tim Paige are new to me as narrators. And I’m glad that I was introduced to them via this book. Ninety-five percent of the book was Ms. McFadden’s, but with what Tim Paige had, his performance was impeccable.

If you believe in love at first sight, you will find “Boss in the Bedsheets” a different take on how attraction starts. Ash and Zelda met in very unusual circumstances which unexpectedly brought Zelda to his bed.

This makes Ash sound like a fast worker, but he was actually a true gentleman, plus or minus a few inappropriate words. Like “The Magnolia Chronicles,” the banter is so engaging. Kudos to author Kate Canterbary for her knowledge of present-day lingo. A true wordsmith, Ms. Canterbary’s should get an award for her witticism alone. And though it was very hard for me to choose a favorite among this trilogy, if hard pressed, I will choose “Boss and the Bedsheets” because Ash and Zelda are three-dimensional characters who come alive on the pages.

Additionally, Jason Clarke and Emma Wilder voiced Ash and Zelda, respectively. Their interpretation of the two main characters are on it, the delivery of the punchlines in the banter was perfect. If this was an Olympic sport, I’ll give a 10 to both narrators.

Rounding up The Santillian Triplets is “The Belle and the Beard,” where readers finally meet the mysterious Linden. Laid back, seldom speaking and very quiet like the trees he cares for, his love interest is Jasper-Anne Cleary, a political consultant from Washington D.C.

Intelligently written with enough knowledge of the comings and goings inside the Washington D.C. beltway alongside a short treatise on forestry, the banter “The Belle and the Beard” is both laugh out loud funny and insightful at the same time. It’s also about acceptance of each other’s interests and acknowledging their differences.

Zachary Webber as Linden was a hoot. For him alone, I would have bought this book. This is my first Jo Raylan book, and she did not disappoint.

As this is the third and final book of the trilogy, there were cameos of all the Santillian triplets and their partners, plus their parents. Though chances are we will meet these characters again, this book fairly rounded up the future of the Santillians.