Wednesday, May 28, 2014

A Good Year for the Roses by Gil McNeil

When Molly's Aunt Helena passes away, she inherits Harrington Hall, a rundown old manor with beautiful gardens. Moving to back to her hometown of Devon with her three sons, she's definitely in the mood for a change after her divorce.  Is living with her Uncle Bertie and Betty (his crazy parrot) while trying to raise her sons on her own and doing renovations on the hall going to be too much for her to handle?  A Good Year for the Roses is a delightful story filled with humor, friendship, and the bonds of family. Perfect for readers who enjoy Jojo Moyes' contemporary novels.  It will be published in July.

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

The Matchmaker by Elin Hilderbrand

Dabney Kimball Beech lives and breathes Nantucket. With the exception of going to Harvard, she's pretty much spent her whole life there, refusing to move to Thailand with her childhood love, Clen, after college. She raised their daughter, Agnes, on her own, until she married economics professor, Box. While happy with Box all these years, Clen has always been the love of her life. When Dabney gets an e-mail from Clen telling her that he's coming back to Nantucket, she's stunned, since she hasn't seen him in over twenty-five years. Keeping Clen's arrival secret from everyone, Dabney also hasn't been feeling well lately and wonders what's wrong. Combining the lifelong love story of Dabney and Clen with accounts of Dabney's matchmaking abilities for more than forty couples, The Matchmaker packs an emotional wallop. Make sure to have tissues handy...

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Tangled Lives by Hilary Boyd

Annie Delancey has a successful specialty cake business, three grown children, and has been married to her husband, Richard, for almost thirty years. When she receives a letter that Daniel, the son she gave up for adoption thirty-five years ago, wants to meet her, it throws her life into an emotional tailspin, even though it's welcome news. Richard knew about Annie's past, but she never told her children that they have an older half-sibling. Her two daughters, Marsha and Lucy, are fine with the news, but son, Ed, feels his place in the family is threatened, now that he's not the only son. Soon, Daniel's presence and Annie's desire to make up for lost time puts a strain on her marriage. Annie's complicated relationship with her mother, Eleanor, is also pushed to the forefront, because Eleanor was the one that pushed Annie into adoption. Will Annie be able to bring all those that she loves together?  Give to readers who enjoy Joanna Trollope. Tangled Lives will be published in July.

Sunday, May 11, 2014

One Plus One by Jojo Moyes

Jess Thomas' and Ed Nicholls' paths really don't cross, even though she cleans his vacation home.  When Ed sees Jess and her kids (teenager Nicky and math whiz Tanzie) on the side of the road after a disastrous traffic stop, he agrees to drive the family to Scotland so Tanzie can participate in a math exam in hopes of getting enough money to supplement her scholarship to a private school. The family's huge dog Norman is with them, and the car can't go more than 40 miles per hour (because Tanzie gets carsick), so everyone gets to know each other quite intimately, especially Jess and Ed.  Ed, however, is facing the possibility of prison time for insider trading and is upset about his father's imminent death from cancer. Told through the eyes of Jess, Ed, Nicky, and Tanzie, the reader feels every emotion of these characters and roots for everyone's lives to have a happy ending.  It will be published in July.