Review: Identical Triplets - Rare Happening with Angst
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 19, 2014
I really didn't have much hope for this trilogy when I saw the girls names: Billie Jo, Betty Jo, and Bobby Jo. Pulleezee!  What I found was 3 sisters who lived with a biological anomaly- they were identical in appearance and so different in personality. Not only did Juliana Stone create the triplets, she built a small town whose residents revolved around the town hockey rink. They were fun, involved, real, and made the 3 stories much more interesting. There were the good guys, the misfits, the powerful, the not so much, and the resident bad boys, as well as the nasties. Yet none of them seemed contrived, or included for anything but creating a real small town.Billie is a former ice hockey pro who played on an all male team in Europe until an injury took her out of her lifelong dream. Returning home, she runs the town hockey rink, training kids, and participating in the weekly town competition. She also confronts her former lover, Logan. Of course, a woman playing ice hockey with the guys is a community divider. Everyone has an opinion. It doesn't help that Billie is a whole lot better than most of the guys. Billie has never forgotten Logan, still regrets that their separation was so bitter. Both still have a problem. Their passion is barely under control though both fight it and wish things could be different. Their story is the first to show how lack of communication can take a simple problem and turn it into a game changer.Betty Jo has been in love with Shane forever. He's the bad boy who spends time in jail, returns home to try and get himself together. He takes a job with Logan, revamping motorcycles for honchos who want something unique. He is also an immensely talented artist and carpenter. Their angst is fueled by one statement Betty shot at Shane when she found out she was pregnant. Lets just say that by the time things worked out, I was exhausted.Bobby is the star - literally - with life in Hollywood and a reputation of a sexpot and bitch with a out of control alcohol and drug problem. None of this helps her when she returns home in disgrace. She is the most damaged of the triplets. It doesn't help that Beau has followed her, wanting her to star in his next movie because during her audition he saw something no one else did. He's risking everything to convince her to take the part. Her story is the most painful to watch. Everything she says and does betrays the depth of her pain. Her sisters can't figure her out and aren't sure they ever will. But then Bobby knows something about Betty no one else knows and that secret gets in the way of their relationship.The family includes the triplets' father and grandfather. Granddad is caretaker of his son who is slipping too quickly into dementia. How the family comes together because of Dad is such an endearing experience - even when they disagree, argue, and weep.I highly recommend this trilogy to anyone who enjoys a family saga filled with laughter, tears, misunderstandings, and resolution.  It is NOT anything like the family on Dallas or any of the other shows on TV.