Whether the local is a summer cottage in Maine, South Carolina’s Lowcountry, the eastern shore of Maryland, or the island of Nantucket, these character-driven novels emphasize the importance of women’s relationships, all while transporting you to beach. Go ahead, grab your flip flops!
For a printable copy of this list, click here: Beach Books
Beach Town
Mary Kay Andrews
Greer Hennessy is a struggling movie location scout. Her last location shoot ended in disaster when a film crew destroyed property on an avocado grove. And Greer ended up with the blame. Now Greer has been given one more chance—a shot at finding the perfect undiscovered beach town for a big budget movie. She zeroes in on a sleepy Florida panhandle town. There's one motel, a marina, a long stretch of pristine beach and an old fishing pier with a community casino—which will be perfect for the film's climax—when the bad guys blow it up in an all-out assault on the townspeople. Greer slips into town and is ecstatic to find the last unspoilt patch of the Florida gulf coast. She takes a room at the only motel in town, and starts working her charm. However, she finds a formidable obstacle in the town mayor, Eben Thinadeaux. Eben is a born-again environmentalist who's seen huge damage done to the town by a huge paper company. The bay has only recently been re-born, a fishing industry has sprung up, and Eben has no intention of letting anybody screw with his town again. The only problem is that he finds Greer way too attractive for his own good, and knows that her motivation is in direct conflict with his. Will true love find a foothold in this small beach town before it's too late and disaster strikes? Told with Mary Kay Andrews inimitable wit and charm, the New York Times bestseller Beach Town is this year's summer beach read!
Read More View in CatalogHello, Summer
Mary Kay Andrews
New York Times bestselling author and Queen of the Beach Reads Mary Kay Andrews delivers her next blockbuster, Hello Summer. It’s a new season... Conley Hawkins left her family’s small town newspaper, The Silver Bay Beacon, in the rearview mirror years ago. Now a star reporter for a big-city paper, Conley is exactly where she wants to be and is about to take a fancy new position in Washington, D.C. Or so she thinks. For small town scandals... When the new job goes up in smoke, Conley finds herself right back where she started, working for her sister, who is trying to keep The Silver Bay Beacon afloat—and she doesn’t exactly have warm feelings for Conley. Soon she is given the unenviable task of overseeing the local gossip column, “Hello, Summer.” And big-time secrets. Then Conley witnesses an accident that ends in the death of a local congressman—a beloved war hero with a shady past. The more she digs into the story, the more dangerous it gets. As an old heartbreaker causes trouble and a new flame ignites, it soon looks like their sleepy beach town is the most scandalous hotspot of the summer.
Read More View in CatalogThe High Tide Club
Mary Kay Andrews
"When ninety-nine-year-old heiress Josephine Bettendorf Warrick summons Brooke Trappnell to Talisa Island, her 20,000 acre remote barrier island home, Brooke is puzzled. Everybody in the South has heard about the eccentric millionaire mistress of Talisa, but Brooke has never met her. Josephine's cryptic note says she wants to discuss an important legal matter ... Over a few meetings, the ailing Josephine spins a tale of old friendships, secrets, betrayal and a long-unsolved murder. She tells Brooke she is hiring her for two reasons: to protect her island and legacy from those who would despoil her land, and secondly, to help her make amends with the heirs of the long dead women who were her closest friends, the girls of The High Tide Club"--Amazon.com.
Read More View in CatalogSavannah Blues
Mary Kay Andrews
“Quirky, endearing characters make Savannah Blues one heck of a good time.” —Jennifer Crusie “Mary Kay Andrews has perfect pitch when it comes to endearing, smart-mouth heroines, and she has caught the languid looniness of the Low Country perfectly.” —Anne Rivers Siddons Meet Weezie (aka Eloise) Foley, a feisty antiques “picker,” banished by her spiteful ex-husband from the house she herself restored in Savannah’s historic district, who must come to terms with a life that has suddenly changed…and not, it, seems for the better. In Mary Kay Andrews’s delectable New York Times bestseller, Savannah Blues, readers will feel the sultry Georgia breezes and taste sea salt in the air, as they lose themselves in a wonderful, witty tale brimming with sass and peopled by a richly endearing cast of delightfully eccentric characters. Revenge is sweeter than sweet in Mary Kay’s capable hands, and readers of Fannie Flagg, Adriana Trigiani, Emily Giffin, Rebecca Wells, and Jill Conner Browne will definitely want to spend some quality time in Savannah.
Read More View in CatalogSummer Rental
Mary Kay Andrews
From the "New York Times"-bestselling author of "The Fixer Upper" comes a novel filled with her trademark warmth and humor--the story of four women, a month at the beach, and the healing power of friendship and second chances.
View in CatalogSunset Beach
Mary Kay Andrews
The New York Times bestselling author and Queen of the Beach Reads delivers her next blockbuster: Sunset Beach is a compelling ride, full of Mary Kay Andrews' signature wit, heart, and charm. Pull up a lounge chair and have a cocktail at Sunset Beach – it comes with a twist. Drue Campbell’s life is adrift. Out of a job and down on her luck, life doesn’t seem to be getting any better when her estranged father, Brice Campbell, a flamboyant personal injury attorney, shows up at her mother’s funeral after a twenty-year absence. Worse, he’s remarried – to Drue’s eighth grade frenemy, Wendy, now his office manager. And they’re offering her a job. It seems like the job from hell, but the offer is sweetened by the news of her inheritance – her grandparents’ beach bungalow in the sleepy town of Sunset Beach, a charming but storm-damaged eyesore now surrounded by waterfront McMansions. With no other prospects, Drue begrudgingly joins the firm, spending her days screening out the grifters whose phone calls flood the law office. Working with Wendy is no picnic either. But when a suspicious death at an exclusive beach resort nearby exposes possible corruption at her father’s firm, she goes from unwilling cubicle rat to unwitting investigator, and is drawn into a case that may – or may not – involve her father. With an office romance building, a decades-old missing persons case re-opened, and a cottage in rehab, one thing is for sure at Sunset Beach: there’s a storm on the horizon.
Read More View in CatalogThe Weekenders
Mary Kay Andrews
Some people stay all summer long on the idyllic island of Belle Isle, North Carolina. Some people come only for the weekends-and it's something they look forward to all week long. When Riley Griggs is waiting for her husband to arrive at the ferry one Friday afternoon, she is instead served with papers informing her that her island home is being foreclosed. To make matters worse, her husband is nowhere to be found. She turns to her island friends for help and support, but each of them has their own secrets and the clock is ticking as the mystery deepens. Cocktail parties and crab boil aside, Riley must find a way to investigate the secrets of Belle Island, the husband she might not really know, and the summer that could change everything.
Read More View in CatalogThe Cottage at Glass Beach
Heather Barbieri
Heather Barbieri follows her acclaimed Gaelic-tinged drama The Lace Makers of Glenmara with the resonant tale of a woman who, in the wake of scandal, flees to a remote Maine island to reconnect with her past—and to come to terms with the childhood tragedy that has haunted her for a lifetime. Set on the rugged New England coast, Barbieri’s The Cottage at Glass Beach strikes the perfect balance between high lit and mainstream women’s fiction, infusing a potent and unforgettable love story with unforgettable characters that will remain with you long after the final chapter. Richly evocative, Barbieri’s narrative of intimacy, struggle, and redemption will call out to readers of Joanne Harris, Alice Hoffman, and other modern masters of drama.
Read More View in CatalogSummer Longing
Jamie Brenner
When a baby is left on the doorstep of a Cape Cod beach house, an unlikely group of women risks all they hold dear to harbor and protect her in this "touching, nuanced summer yarn" (Publisher's Weekly). Ruth Cooperman arrives in beautiful beachside Provincetown for her retirement, renting the perfect waterfront cottage while she searches for her forever home. After years of hard work and making peace with life's compromises, Ruth is looking forward to a carefree summer of solitude. But when she finds a baby girl abandoned on her doorstep, Ruth turns to her new neighbors for help and is drawn into the drama of the close-knit community. The appearance of the mystery baby has an emotional ripple effect through the women in town, including Amelia Cabral, the matriarch who lost her own child decades earlier; Elise Douglas, owner of the tea shop who gave up her dream of becoming a mother; and teenage local Jaci Barros who feels trapped by her parents' expectations. Ruth, caring for a baby for the first time in thirty years, even reaches out to her own estranged daughter, Olivia, summoning her to Provincetown in hopes of a reconciliation. As summer unfolds and friends and family care for the infant, alliances are made, relationships are tested, and secrets are uncovered. But the unconditional love for a child in need just might bring Ruth and the women of Provincetown exactly what they have been longing for themselves. With heartfelt storytelling, Summer Longing is Jamie Brenner's eagerly anticipated return to Provincetown; another unforgettable tale about motherhood, friendship, and finding your way home. "Welcome to the gold standard of summertime escapism." ---Elin Hilderbrand, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Summer of '69
Read More View in CatalogThis Too Shall Pass
Milena Busquets
An irresistible, vivid, and wise story of one woman's reckoning with loss and love Blanca is forty years old and motherless. Shaken by the unexpected death of the most important person in her life, she suddenly realizes that she has no idea what her future will look like. To ease her dizzying grief and confusion, Blanca turns to her dearest friends, her closest family, and a change of scenery. Leaving Barcelona behind, she returns to Cadaqués, on the coast, accompanied by her two sons, two ex-husbands, and two best friends, and makes a plan to meet her married lover for a few stolen moments as well. Surrounded by those she loves most, she spends the summer in an impossibly beautiful place, finding ways to reconnect and understand what it means to truly, happily live on her own terms, just as her mother would have wanted. A refreshingly frank and ruefully funny portrait of a grieving daughter, THIS TOO SHALL PASS explores how our deepest relationships are changed by tragedy, with bonds often becoming stronger in ways we never expected.
Read More View in CatalogThe Beach Quilt
Holly Chamberlin
Set in a picturesque Maine beach town, bestselling author Holly Chamberlin’s heartwarming and insightful novel delves into the choices and changes faced by two families over the course of one eventful summer . . . Everyone in Yorktide, Maine, knows sixteen-year-old Sarah Bauer. She’s a good student and a dutiful daughter, as well as a beloved best friend to Cordelia Kane. So it’s a surprise to all when sensible Sarah reveals that she is pregnant. Though shocked, Sarah’s family is supportive. But while Sarah reconciles herself to a new and different future, the consequences ripple in all directions. Her father—a proud, old-time Mainer—tries to find more work to defray expenses. Her younger sister grapples with a secret she can’t share. Cordelia feels abandoned, and Cordelia’s mother faces the repercussions of a long-ago decision. As Sarah’s mother, Cindy, frets about how she’ll juggle childcare with her job at the local quilting store, she seizes on an idea: to band together and make a baby quilt. Piece by piece, a beautiful design emerges. And as it progresses, reflecting the hopes and cares of the women who create it, each will find strength in the friendship and love that sustains them, in hardship and in joy . . . Praise for the novels of Holly Chamberlin “There is sure to be much clamor for this latest beach read. Recommend it to fans of Claire Cook and Elin Hilderbrand.” —Booklist on Home for the Summer “Chamberlin’s latest is a great summer read but with substance. It will find a wide audience in its exploration of sisterhood, family, and loss.” —Library Journal on Summer with My Sisters
Read More View in CatalogOwl Island
Randy Sue Coburn
Living in the Pacific Northwest enclave of Owl Island, widow Phoebe Allen has raised her only daughter and built a successful business, but the return of her old boyfriend forces her to come to terms with the secret of her daughter's birth.
View in CatalogLife’s a Beach
Claire Cook
New York Times bestseller! Chosen as a best summer read by People, Redbook, Good Housekeeping, and Good Morning America! Life's a bit of a beach these days for Ginger Walsh, who finds herself single at 41 and back home living in the family FROG (Finished Room Over Garage). She's hoping for a more fulfilling life as a sea glass artist, but mostly she's babysitting her sister's kids and sharing overnights with Noah, her glassblower boyfriend with commitment issues and a dog Ginger's cat isn't too crazy about. Then a shark movie comes to town, and everyone is clamoring for a close-up. "Midlife love, laughter, sibling rivalry and self-discovery . . . Goes down as easy as it sounds."—People "A gleefully quirky coming of age story."—Redbook "Laugh out loud."—Good Housekeeping "As always, Cook's delightful way with dialogue and her deft demonstrations of how family members manage to support one another even while driving each other crazy, make reading this book a day at the beach."—Hartford Courant "A funny page-turner."—Fort Worth Star-Telegram "Perfect-for-the-beach summer novel. . . a bumpy delight."—Boston Common "In this lighthearted, breezy read, Cook displays a wry sense of humor and knows how to write realistic characters."—Library Journal "Claire Cook has an original voice, a sparkling style, and a window into family life that will make you laugh and cry. Life's a Beach is filled with hilarity, sister love and sister hate, juicy arguments and hard-won reconciliations, but most of all, heart."—Adriana Trigiani "If I had a sister, I'd want her to be Claire Cook. If I had a summer, I'd want it to be the summer that two sisters stropped their tongues and sparred over everything from fertility to photography to family. And if I could follow up the wry, wacky poignancy of Must Love Dogs with any book, it would be Life's a Beach. Claire Cook is wicked good."—Jacquelyn Mitchard "Life's a Beach is a delicious coming-of-age novel—about two forty-something sisters who don't quite manage that feat until it's almost too late. I devoured this slice of family life served up in Claire Cook's inimitably warm and witty style. Tender, touching, and terribly, terribly, funny!"—Mary Kay Andrews
Read More View in CatalogSeven Year Switch
Claire Cook
“[A] beach chair worthy read."—New York Times "[A] hot summer beach book."—USA Today "Bestseller Cook charms again in this lively, warm-hearted look at changing courses mid-life."—People Just when Jill Murray has finally figured out how to make it on her own, her husband Seth is back, proving he can't even run away reliably. Now Jill has to face the fact that there's simply no way she can be a good mom without letting her ex back into her daughter Anatasia's life. They say that every seven years you become a completely new person, and it takes a Costa Rican getaway to help Jill make her choice - between the woman she is and the woman she wants to be. "A beach tote couldn't ask for more."—Kirkus Reviews "Seven years ago, Claire Cook told us we 'Must Love Dogs." But must we also love ex-husbands?…Cook takes a closer look at a complex situation."—New York Post “Roll out your beach blanket for this sweet summer read about making mistakes and moving on.”—Publishers Weekly "A lot of fun to read? Definitely!"—Redbook "With wit and tenderness, Claire Cook sweeps us into the life of Jill Murray, a feisty single mom trying to stitch together a future after being abandoned by her husband. This is a delightful story of love, loss, and the surprising events that healed her heart. I cheered for Jill the entire way."—Beth Hoffman "A perfect beach read. Claire Cook once again demonstrates that she's a master in creating funny, warm, relatable characters you root for from the very first page."—Allison Winn Scotch "Smart, truly hilarious, and entirely sympathetic. Like a hot bubble bath or a holiday at the beach, you won't want it to end."—Cecily Von Ziegesar
Read More View in CatalogThe Wildwater Walking Club
Claire Cook
Don't Miss Book 2, The Wildwater Walking Club: Back on Track! "The Wildwater Walking Club is a quick smart read that will get you thinking about walking, friendship, and making time for the things you love."—Bookreporter.com By the New York Times bestselling author of Must Love Dogs, a fun and inspiring novel about women and friendship—and how even big changes happen one step at a time. Join Noreen, Tess and Rosie as they walk and talk, talk and walk, tally their steps, share their secrets, and begin putting their lives back together. You'll be lacing up your own sneakers in no time. "Lively and inspiring!"—Hartford Courant "A great feel-good story."—Philadelphia Examiner After losing her boyfriend and her job in one fell swoop, Noreen has no idea what her next step is. So she puts on a new pair of sneakers and a seriously outdated pair of exercise pants, and walks. Before long she's joined by two neighbors as lost as she is and figures out time flies and fitness is actually fun when you're walking with friends. Throw in a road trip to Seattle for a lavender festival, a career-coaching group that looks like a bad sequel to The Breakfast Club, some terrific romantic comedy twists and turns, a quirky multigenerational cast of supporting characters, and the result is a tribute to female friendship that will inspire you to pick up the phone and call all your old friends—or maybe even start your own walking group. Walking Group Guide and Book Club Questions included. "Readers who enjoy a celebration of friendship will want to walk the beach alongside the Wildwater trio."—Midwest Book Review "The Wildwater Walking Club reminds us of what's important in life - the joy of friendship, the power of a brisk walk, and of course the importance of a good book. I couldn't put it down.—Anisha Lakhani "The woman of The Wildwater Walking Club are a delightful trio, full of heart and determination. As they - literally - put one foot in front of the other, the three new friends find unlikely paths that point them toward more fulfilling lives. Their journey left me genuinely inspired (and with the curious urge to go out and buy a clothesline)."—Jean Reynolds Page
Read More View in CatalogHello, Sunshine
Laura Dave
"Sunshine Mackenzie is living the dream: she's a culinary star with millions of fans, a line of #1 bestselling cookbooks, and a devoted husband happy to support her every endeavor. And then she gets hacked. When Sunshine's secrets are revealed, her fall from grace is catastrophic: she loses the husband, her show, the fans, and her apartment. She's forced to return to the childhood home--and the estranged sister--she's tried hard to forget. But what Sunshine does amid the ashes of her own destruction may well save her life"--Amazon.com.
Read More View in CatalogCoast Road
Barbara Delinsky
Hearing that his ex-wife, Rachel, is comatose following an automobile accident, architect Jack McGill puts his own troubled life on hold to be with her and his children, and while waiting for Rachel to recover, he begins to understand himself and his feelings for her. Reprint.
Read More View in CatalogSweet Salt Air
Barbara Delinsky
Can the bonds of friendship weather a betrayal? Charlotte and Nicole were once best friends, spending long, idyllic summers together in Nicole's family home on the island of Quinnipeague, but they have since grown apart. After ten years, their writing careers bring them back together - to write a cookbook about island food in their childhood haven. When both women reunite, it becomes clear that they are both guarding secrets of the years spent apart. But when Charlotte learns that her secret is the key to saving Nicole's husband's life, she must face her painful past and risk the consequences that honesty might bring ...
Read More View in CatalogA Week at The Shore
Barbara Delinsky
THE BRAND NEW NOVEL FROM NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR BARBARA DELINSKY 'Fans of Jodi Picoult will love this' Daily Express 'If you're a fan of Jodi Picoult you'll love this thoughtful read' Woman's Way 'Warm, rich, textured and impossible to put down' Nora Roberts *********** One phone call is all it takes to lure real estate photographer Mallory Aldiss back to her family Rhode Island beach home. It's been twenty years since she's been gone?running from the scandal that destroyed her parents' marriage, drove her and her two sisters apart, and crushed her relationship with her first love. But going home is fraught with emotional baggage?memories, mysteries and secrets abound. Mal's thirteen-year-old daughter, Joy, has never been to the place where Mal's life was shaped and is desperate to go. Fatherless, she craves family and especially wants to spend time with the grandfather she barely knows. In just seven watershed days on the Rhode Island coast three women will test the bonds of sisterhood, friendship and family, and discover the role that love and memory plays in defining their lives. Praise for Barbara Delinsky: 'Fans of Jodi Picoult will love this . . . a poignant family story' Daily Express 'Compelling reading' The Sun 'Delinsky's writing is fluid and makes for a hard-to-put-down book' Glamour
Read More View in CatalogGood Harbor
Anita Diamant
Follows the growing friendship between fifty-nine-year-old Kathleen, recently diagnosed with breast cancer, and the slightly younger Joyce, increasingly distant from her teenage daughter and struggling to write a second novel.
View in CatalogAll Summer Long
Dorothea Benton Frank
Dorothea Benton Frank novels are filled with smart and witty fiction that every reader wants on their bookshelf: soulful, edgy stories about realistic characters familiar to us all that explore the most deeply felt moments of life with wry humor and heart. All Summer Long follows one charming New York couple – prominent interior designer Olivia Ritchie and her husband Nicholas Seymour, an English professor and true southern gentleman. They are seemingly polar opposites, yet magnetically drawn together and in love for more than fourteen years. As they prepare to relocate to Charleston, S.C., Olivia, the ultimate New Yorker, has reservations about the promise she made to retire in the Lowcountry, where Nick wants to return home and lead a more peaceful life. They are moving north to south, fast pace versus slow pace and downsizing. Nick is ecstatic. Olivia is not. She can’t let Nick know that their finances are not what he thought. Her client list is evaporating, their monetary reserves are dwindling and maybe that house she picked out on Sullivans Island needs too much work. Thank God, for her assistant, Roni Larini, her right (and sometimes left) hand. As they find themselves pondering the next step of their lives, Olivia and Nick travel with her billionaire clients and their friends and are swept up into the world of the ultra-rich and explore the globe with a cast of zany eccentrics over one tumultuous, hot summer. All as Olivia grapples with what lies ahead for her and Nick. This is a story of how plans evolve and lives change in unexpected ways, how even those who have everything are still looking for something more. Even the most successful people can often struggle to keep things together. All Summer Long asks the ultimate question: can money buy happiness? From Sullivans Island to Necker Island to Nantucket to the beaches of Southern Spain, we’ll come to recognize the many faces of true love, love that deepens and endures but only because one woman makes a tremendous leap of faith. And that leap changes everything.
Read More View in CatalogAll the Single Ladies
Dorothea Benton Frank
The perennial New York Times bestselling author returns with an emotionally resonant novel that illuminates the power of friendship in women’s lives, and is filled with her trademark wit, poignant and timely themes, sassy, flesh-and-blood characters, and the steamy Southern atmosphere and beauty of her beloved Carolina Lowcountry. Few writers capture the complexities, pain, and joy of relationships—between friends, family members, husbands and wives, or lovers—as beloved New York Times bestselling author Dorothea Benton Frank. In this charming, evocative, soul-touching novel, she once again takes us deep into the heart of the magical Lowcountry where three amazing middle-aged women are bonded by another amazing woman’s death. Through their shared loss they forge a deep friendship, asking critical questions. Who was their friend and what did her life mean? Are they living the lives they imagined for themselves? Will they ever be able to afford to retire? How will they maximize their happiness? Security? Health? And ultimately, their own legacies? A plan is conceived and unfurls with each turn of the tide during one sweltering summer on the Isle of Palms. Without ever fully realizing how close they were to the edge, they finally triumph amid laughter and maybe even newfound love.
Read More View in CatalogBulls Island
Dorothea Benton Frank
“Dottie Frank’s books are sexy and hilarious. She has staked out the lowcountry of South Carolina as her personal literary property.” —Pat Conroy, author of The Prince of Tides Bulls Island is a supremely satisfying tale of honor, chance, and star-crossed love, infused with Southern wit, grace, and charm, from the phenomenal New York Times bestseller Dorothea Benton Frank. The much beloved author of Plantation, Return to Sullivan’s Island, Land of Mango Sunsets, and a host of other winning novels of the North Carolina lowcountry, Frank stands tall alongside Anne Rivers Siddons, Sue Monk Kidd, Rebecca Wells and the other masters of contemporary southern women’s fiction. Devoted Dottie Frank fans and newcomers alike will adore this sun-drenched story of the uncomfortable homecoming of a former Bulls Islander who plans to transform the unspoiled paradise for profit…and her inevitable reencounter with the scion of a wealthy family whom she once was scheduled to marry until cruel innuendo destroyed their engagement.
Read More View in CatalogBy Invitation Only
Dorothea Benton Frank
“If I could only read one writer from now until the end of my life, it would be Dorothea Benton Frank.” --Elin Hilderbrand, New York Times bestselling author of The Identicals The Lowcountry of South Carolina is where By Invitation Only begins at a barbecue engagement party thrown by Diane English Stiftel, her brother Floyd, and her parents to celebrate her son’s engagement. On this gorgeous, magical night, the bride’s father, Alejandro Cambria, a wealthy power broker whose unbelievably successful career in private equity made him one of Chicago’s celebrated elite, discovers the limits and possibilities of cell phone range. While the mother of the bride, Susan Kennedy Cambria, who dabbles in the world of public relations and believes herself deserving of every square inch of her multimillion-dollar penthouse and imaginary carrara marble pedestal, learns about moonshine and dangerous liaisons. Soon By Invitation Only zooms to Chicago, where the unraveling accelerates. Nearly a thousand miles away from her comfortable, familiar world, Diane is the antithesis of the bright lights and super-sophisticated guests attending her son Fred’s second engagement party. Why a second party? Maybe it had been assumed that the first one wouldn’t be up to snuff? Fred is marrying Shelby Cambria, also an only child. The Cambrias’ dearest wish is for their daughter to be happy. If Shelby wants to marry Frederick, aka Fred, they will not stand in her way—although Susan does hope her friends won’t think her daughter is marrying more than a few degrees beneath her socially. At the same time, Diane worries that her son will be lost to her forever. By Invitation Only is a tale of two families, one struggling to do well, one well to do, and one young couple—the privileged daughter of Chicago’s crème de la crème and the son of hard -working Southern peach farmers. Dorothea Benton Frank offers a funny, sharp, and deeply empathetic novel of two very different worlds—of limousines and pickup trucks, caviars and pigs, skyscrapers and ocean spray—filled with a delightful cast of characters who all have something to hide and a lot to learn. A difference in legal opinions, a headlong dive from grace, and an abrupt twist will reveal the truth of who they are and demonstrate, when it truly counts, what kind of grit they have. Are they living the life they want, what regrets do they hold, and how would they remake their lives if they were given the invitation to do so? By Invitation Only is classic Dorothea Benton Frank—a mesmerizing Lowcountry Tale that roars with spirit, humor, and truth, and forces us to reconsider our notions of what it means to be a Have or a Have Not.
Read More View in CatalogFull of Grace
Dorothea Benton Frank
For Big Al and Connie, their move from New Jersey to Hilton Head, South Carolina, has been fraught with complications, especially for their daughter Grace, a thirty-two-year-old single, Catholic woman struggling for independence.
View in CatalogThe Hurricane Sisters
Dorothea Benton Frank
Hurricane season begins early and rumbles all summer long - for three generations of one family, drama is headed in their direction too. At eighty, determined matriarch Maisie Pringle is a force to be reckoned with. She will have the final word on everything, especially when she's dead wrong. Her daughter, Liz, is caught up in the classic maelstrom of being middle-age and in an emotionally demanding career that will eventually open all their eyes to a terrible truth. And Liz's beautiful twenty-something daughter, Ashley, dreams of a future that keeps them all at odds. This storm season, Maisie, Liz, and Ashley will deal with challenges that demand they face the truth about themselves. Can they establish a new order for the future of the family? This is the often hilarious, sometimes sobering but always entertaining story of how these unforgettable women became The Hurricane Sisters.
Read More View in CatalogThe Last Original Wife
Dorothea Benton Frank
Leslie Anne Greene Carter is The Last Original Wife among her husband Wesley's wildly successful Atlanta social set. But if losing her friends to tanned and toned young Barbie brides isn't painful enough, a series of setbacks shake Les's world and push her to the edge. She's had enough of playing the good wife to a husband who thinks he's doing her a favour by keeping her around. She's going to take some time for herself - in the familiar comforts and stunning beauty of Charleston, her beloved hometown. And she's going to reclaim the carefree girl who spent lazy summers with her first love on Sullivans Island . . . and find the life of which she's always dreamed.
Read More View in CatalogReturn to Sullivans Island
Dorothea Benton Frank
“Her books are funny, sexy, and usually damp with seawater.” —Pat Conroy, author of The Prince of Tides In Return to Sullivans Island, Dorothea Benton Frank revisits the enchanted landscape of South Carolina’s Lowcountry made famous in her beloved New York Times bestseller Sullivans Island. Frank focuses on the next generation of Hamiltons and Hayes, earning high praise from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which writes, “Frank brings to vivid life the rich landscape and its unpretentious folks….A reader need only close her eyes for a moment to feel that thick-sticky heat, smell the wild salt marshes.” If you enjoy getting lost in the works of Anne Rivers Siddons, Rebecca Wells, and Pat Conroy—novels brimming with atmosphere and strong Southern charm—you are going to love Dotty Frank’s Return to Sullivans Island.
Read More View in CatalogSame Beach, Next Year
Dorothea Benton Frank
A chance meeting on the Isle of Palms, one of Charleston's most stunning barrier islands, brings former sweethearts Adam Stanley and Eve Landers together again. Their respective spouses, Eliza and Carl, fight sparks of jealousy flaring from their imagined rekindling of old flames. As Adam and Eve get caught up on their lives, their partners strike up a deep friendship -- and flirt with an unexpected attraction -- of their own. Year after year, Adam, Eliza, Eve, and Carl eagerly await their reunion at Wild Dunes, a condominium complex at the island's tip end, where they grow closer with each passing day, building a friendship that will withstand financial catastrophe, family tragedy, and devastating heartbreak. The devotion and love they share will help them weather the vagaries of time and enrich their lives as circumstances change, their children grow up and leave home, and their twilight years approach.
Read More View in CatalogFlight Lessons
Patricia Gaffney
Anna has studiously avoided her Aunt Rose—the woman she once loved more than anyone else in the world—ever since the night Rose betrayed Anna and her mother, Rose's own fatally ill sister. In the sixteen years that have passed, Anna has built another life for herself far from her hometown on Maryland's eastern shore, but she can't forgive or forget. Now another betrayal, by a faithless lover, has brought Anna back to her family's restaurant, where Rose needs her estranged niece's help—and trust—more than ever before. Determined to leave as soon as the struggling business is back on its feet and her own hurt is healed, Anna joins Rose in the kitchen of the Bella Sorella, resolved to remain unaffected by Rose's longing to undo the past. But Anna's resistance could blind her to a true and unexpected love that's reaching out to grab her by the heart. New York Times bestselling author patricia gaffney's Flight Lessons is a poignant, funny, and wise story of truth, loyalty, and the bonds that shape, sustain, and ultimately uplift us.
Read More View in CatalogThe Beach House
Jane Green
From the author of Jemima J and Falling comes the New York Times bestseller about finding your place in the place you call home. Ever since her life took an unexpected turn, Nan Powell has enjoyed living alone on the sun-drenched shores of Nantucket. At sixty-five, she’s just as likely to be found at Windermere, her beach front home, as she is skinny dipping in her neighbor’s pool. But when the money she thought would last forever starts to dwindle, Nan decides to do something drastic to keep hold of her free-spirited life: open up Windermere to strangers. After placing an ad for summer rentals touting water views, direct access to the beach, and a sexagenarian roommate, Nan’s once quiet house is soon full of noise, laughter, and the occasional bout of tears. Between her eclectic new tenants and the sudden return of her son, Nan gets a taste of what life is like when you have someone to care for besides yourself. But just as she starts to happily settle in to her new existence, the arrival of a visitor from her past threatens to turn everyone’s lives upside down...
Read More View in CatalogDune Road
Jane Green
A single mom working for a famously reclusive author in a tony Connecticut beach town stumbles on a secret that many of the eccentric and moneyed locals would love to get their hands on.
View in CatalogSisterchicks Do the Hula
Robin Jones Gunn
Some dreams take a while before they come true. Best friends Hope and Laurie never made it to Hawaii during their college years. But when they're about to turn forty, the islands still beckon, and off they go - with an unexpected stowaway on board (Hope happens to be seven months pregnant). A little pineapple, a little sunshine, and a surprising little surfing lesson give these two sisterchicks all their crazy hearts could hope for - and more - as they enter the next season of their lives with a splash and with a beautiful vision of what God has dreamed up for them. Wherever there’s chocolate, there’s sure to be a sisterchick celebrating, and this trip to Hawaii is no exception. Best friends Hope and Laurie are on an audacious mission to commemorate their fortieth birthdays in style. Surfing and sailing, sushi and snorkeling—these two macadamia nuts from the mainland sample it all, unhindered by a surprise little stowaway. __________________________________________________________________ Sisterchick n.: a friend who shares the deepest wonders of your heart, loves you like a sister, and provides a reality check when you’re being a brat. __________________________________________________________________ Luaus are only the beginning. The island experience binds Hope and Laurie’s souls together, gently restoring their unfinished dreams. Garlanded with leis or swimming with sea turtles, they join the dance of delight in their Maker, entering the next season of their lives filled with the unforced rhythm of grace. Story Behind the Book We lived in Hawai’i when our son was in elementary school and have returned many times for visits. I have a deep and abiding love for all that is Hawaiian so of course the islands were my location of choice for this second Sisterchick novel. The art of hula is an intricate form of storytelling has gone through many changes over the years. Every woman’s life has a story. Every woman goes through many changes over the years. But not every woman has yet learned to "hula". This book will encourage her to "hula" through life as she learns to live out her story with the unforced rhythm of grace.
Read More View in CatalogEvery Time You Go Away
Beth Harbison
In New York Times bestselling author Beth Harbison's most emotional novel ever, a fractured family must come together at a beach house haunted by the past. Willa has never fully recovered from the sudden death of her husband, Ben. She became an absent mother to her young son, Jamie, unable to comfort him while reeling from her own grief. Now, years after Ben’s death, Willa finally decides to return to the beach house where he passed. It’s time to move on and put the Ocean City, Maryland house on the market. When Willa arrives, the house is in worse shape than she could have imagined, and the memories of her time with Ben are overwhelming. They met at this house and she sees him around every corner. Literally. Ben’s ghost keeps reappearing, trying to start conversations with Willa. And she can’t help talking back. To protect her sanity, Willa enlists Jamie, her best friend Kristin, and Kristin’s daughter Kelsey to join her for one last summer at the beach. As they explore their old haunts, buried feelings come to the surface, Jamie and Kelsey rekindle their childhood friendship, and Willa searches for the chance to finally say goodbye to her husband and to reconnect with her son. Every Time You Go Away is a heartfelt, emotional story about healing a tragic loss, letting go, and coming together as a family.
Read More View in CatalogThe Bookshop at Water’s End
Patti Callahan Henry
By the acclaimed author of The Idea of Love Southern women unravel the mysteries of summers past in a small coastal town draped in secrets as thick as the marshes that surround it...
View in CatalogUntitled Summer 2020
Elin Hilderbrand
Their secret love affair has lasted for decades - but will it last one more summer? For the last twenty-eight summers, Alice and Tom have met to rekindle the passionate love affair they began all those years ago. Each married to someone else, with busy lives and happy families, they've managed to keep their secret, and to keep their love alive. But nothing is forever. Tom's wife is in the national spotlight for her controversial and increasingly popular campaign for political office, and Alice has received a diagnosis that puts her future in doubt. Could their twenty-eighth summer together also be their last? Praise for SUMMER OF '69: 'Superb . . . Hilderbrand hits all the right notes about life in a tightly knit family, and this crowd-pleaser is sure to satisfy both her fans and newcomers alike.' - Publishers Weekly 'Hilderbrand's first foray into historical fiction will rouse curiosity in new readers as well as devotees of her annual summer smashes.' - Susan Maguire, Booklist 'Hilderbrand's characters are utterly convincing and immediately draw us into their problems, from petty to grave . . . To use the parlance of the period, a highly relevant retrospective.' - Kirkus
Read More View in CatalogBarefoot
Elin Hilderbrand
Visiting Nantucket for the summer, three women seek peace and comfort as they cope with the challenges in their lives--from marriage, infidelity, and the mayhem of motherhood to scandal, tragedy, and illness. Three women--burdened with small children, unwieldy straw hats, and some obvious emotional issues--tumble onto the Nantucket airport tarmac one hot June day. Vicki is trying to sort through the news that she has a serious illness. Her sister, Brenda, has just left her job after being caught in an affair with a student. And their friend Melanie, after seven failed in vitro attempts, is pregnant at last--but only after learning that her husband is having an affair. They have come to escape, enjoy the sun, and relax in Nantucket's calming air. But into the house, into their world, steps twenty-two-year-old Josh Flynn. Barefoot weaves these four lives together in a story with enthralling sweep and scope--a novel that is as fun and memorable and bittersweet as that one perfect day of summer.
Read More View in CatalogThe Beach Club
Elin Hilderbrand
In The Beach Club, the juicy first novel by talented newcomer Elin Hilderbrand, a series of personal dramas are played out during one summer at a Nantucket Beach Club. It's about the love of summer, summer love, and the special feelings we all have for that special summer place--in this case, a hotel and an island. Mack Petersen, manager of the hotel, has been working at The Beach Club for 12 summers. Only this summer is different. His boss, the owner of the hotel, Bill Elliot, shows up in the spring with a new set of demands. His girlfriend Maribel is pressing Mack to get married and Vance, the African-American bellman, who has hated Mack since the day Mack stole his job 12 years ago, threatens him in a deadly scene. Mack knows something's got to give. Love O'Donnell, the new front desk person straight from the slopes of Aspen, is desperately searching for a stranger to father her child. The bellman, Jem Crandall, who posed as Mr. November in his college calendar, is on his way to LA to break into agenting, until he falls in love with Maribel. Emotions are at a peak when a hurricane threatens to wash away The Beach Club and all it stands for. An engrossing, sexy novel that will sweep you away to the beach any time of the year.
Read More View in CatalogThe Blue Bistro
Elin Hilderbrand
Having worked for six years in the hotels of exotic resort towns, Adrienne Dealey relocates to Nantucket in the hopes of recouping her finances and gets a crash course in restaurant management at a popular locale that is preparing to close, an endeavor that is compromised by her budding relationship with her boss. Reprint.
Read More View in CatalogThe Identicals
Elin Hilderbrand
"Harper Frost is laid-back, easygoing. She doesn't care what anyone thinks of her. She likes a beer and a shot and wouldn't be caught dead wearing anything fashionable. She's inherited her father's rundown house on Martha's Vineyard, but she can't hold down a job, and her latest romantic disaster has the entire island talking. Tabitha Frost is dignified, refined. She prefers a fine wine and has inherited the impeccable taste of her mother, the iconic fashion designer Eleanor Roxie-Frost. She's also inherited her mother's questionable parenting skills--Tabitha's teenage daughter, Ainsley, is in full rebellion mode--and a flailing fashion boutique on Nantucket in desperate need of a cash infusion. After more than a decade apart, Harper and Tabitha switch islands--and lives--to save what's left of their splintered family. But the twins quickly discover that the secrets, lies, and gossip they thought they'd outrun can travel between islands just as easily as they can. Will Harper and Tabitha be able to bury the hatchet and end their sibling rivalry once and for all? Before the last beach picnic of the season, there will be enough old resentments, new loves, and cases of mistaken identity to make this the most talked-about summer that Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket have experienced in ages."--
Read More View in CatalogThe Island
Elin Hilderbrand
A summertime story only Elin Hilderbrand can tell: a family in upheaval after a cancelled wedding fill an island summer with heartache, laughter, and surprises. Birdie Cousins has thrown herself into the details of her daughter Chess's lavish wedding, from the floating dance floor in her Connecticut back yard to the color of the cocktail napkins. Like any mother of a bride-to-be, she is weathering the storms of excitement and chaos, tears and joy. But Birdie, a woman who prides herself on preparing for every possibility, could never have predicted the late-night phone call from Chess, abruptly announcing that she's cancelled her engagement. It's only the first hint of what will be a summer of upheavals and revelations. Before the dust has even begun to settle, far worse news arrives, sending Chess into a tailspin of despair. Reluctantly taking a break from the first new romance she's embarked on since the recent end of her 30-year marriage, Birdie circles the wagons and enlists the help of her younger daughter Tate and her own sister India. Soon all four are headed for beautiful, rustic Tuckernuck Island, off the coast of Nantucket, where their family has summered for generations. No phones, no television, no grocery store - a place without distractions where they can escape their troubles. But throw sisters, daughters, ex-lovers, and long-kept secrets onto a remote island, and what might sound like a peaceful getaway becomes much more. Before summer has ended, dramatic truths are uncovered, old loves are rekindled, and new loves make themselves known.
Read More View in CatalogThe Love Season
Elin Hilderbrand
It's a hot August Saturday on Nantucket Island. Over the course of the next 24 hours, two lives will be transformed forever. Marguerite Beale, former chef of culinary hot spot Les Parapluies, has been out of the public eye for over a decade. This all changes with a phone call from Marguerite's goddaughter, Renata Knox. Marguerite has not seen Renata since the death of Renata's mother, Candace Harris Knox, fourteen years earlier. And now that Renata is on Nantucket visiting the family of her new fiancé, she takes the opportunity, against her father's wishes, to contact Marguerite in hopes of learning the story of her mother's life—and death. But the events of the day spiral hopelessly out of control for both women, and nothing ends up as planned. Welcome to The Love Season—a riveting story that takes place in one day and spans decades; a story that embraces the charming, pristine island of Nantucket, as well as Manhattan, Paris and Morocco. Elin Hilderbrand's most ambitious novel to date chronicles the famous couplings of real lives: love and friendship, food and wine, deception and betrayal—and forgiveness and healing.
Read More View in CatalogThe Matchmaker
Elin Hilderbrand
A touching new novel from bestselling author Elin Hilderbrand in which a woman sets out to find love for those closest to her - before it's too late. 48-year-old Nantucketer Dabney Kimball Beech has always had a gift for matchmaking. Some call her ability mystical, while others - like her husband, celebrated economist John Boxmiller Beech, and her daughter, Agnes, who is clearly engaged to the wrong man - call it meddlesome, but there's no arguing with her results: With 42 happy couples to her credit and all of them still together, Dabney has never been wrong about romance. Never, that is, except in the case of herself and Clendenin Hughes, the green-eyed boy who took her heart with him long ago when he left the island to pursue his dream of becoming a journalist. Now, after spending 27 years on the other side of the world, Clen is back on Nantucket, and Dabney has never felt so confused, or so alive. But when tragedy threatens her own second chance, Dabney must face the choices she's made and share painful secrets with her family. Determined to make use of her gift before it's too late, she sets out to find perfect matches for those she loves most. The Matchmaker is a heartbreaking story about losing and finding love, even as you're running out of time.
Read More View in CatalogNantucket Nights
Elin Hilderbrand
The ties between women can run as deep as the ocean--but so can the secrets. For 20 years, Kayla, Antoinette and Val have performed their own special summer ritual. Once a year, the old friends put aside their daily, separate lives to drink champagne, swap stories and swim naked under the Nantucket stars. But on one of those bonding nights, one of their trio swims out from the shore and doesn't return. After the surviving friends emerge from their grief, they realize that the repercussions of their loss go far beyond their little circle, and they begin to uncover layers of secrets--and their connections to each other--that were never revealed on the beach. What has made their friendship strong now has the power to destroy--their marriages, families, even themselves, in Elin Hilderbrand's Nantucket Nights.
Read More View in CatalogThe Perfect Couple
Elin Hilderbrand
From New York Times bestselling author Elin Hilderbrand, comes a novel about the many ways family can fill our lives with love...if they don't kill us first. *New York Times bestseller* It's Nantucket wedding season, also known as summer-the sight of a bride racing down Main Street is as common as the sun setting at Madaket Beach. The Otis-Winbury wedding promises to be an event to remember: the groom's wealthy parents have spared no expense to host a lavish ceremony at their oceanfront estate. But it's going to be memorable for all the wrong reasons after tragedy strikes: a body is discovered in Nantucket Harbor just hours before the ceremony-and everyone in the wedding party is suddenly a suspect. As Chief of Police Ed Kapenash interviews the bride, the groom, the groom's famous mystery-novelist mother, and even a member of his own family, he discovers that every wedding is a minefield-and no couple is perfect. Featuring beloved characters from The Castaways, Beautiful Day, and A Summer Affair, The Perfect Couple proves once again that Elin Hilderbrand is the queen of the summer beach read.
Read More View in CatalogThe Rumour
Elin Hilderbrand
Rumours can change lives . . . Author Madeline King has a new novel coming out, and it's got bestseller potential. But Madeline is terrified, because in her desperation to revive her career, she's done something reckless: revealed the truth behind an actual affair involving her best friend, Grace. And that's not the only strain on Madeline and Grace's friendship. One fateful night, the two women argue, voicing jealousies and resentments that have built for twenty years. Bereft of each other, they get caught in the snares of a mysterious and destructive stranger. ************** Praise for The Rumour 'A fun, breezy read' - Literary Treats 'The Rumor is an excellent choice for a Saturday evening book or a relaxing read if you're lucky enough to be at the beach this weekend' - The Naughty Mommy 'A great story of how a small rumour can effect everything in that person's life and all those around them too' - Chick Lit Club ************** Further praise for Elin Hilderbrand 'A gritty and moving read that oozes plenty of drama' - Heat 'A gem of a summer read with a glamorous location, elite lifestyle, and Hilderbrand's appealing take on the constant stress that fills the lives of women everywhere' - Booklist 'This book was a great read - you really care what happens to the characters. Perfect holiday reading. I didn't want to put it down' - Candis 'Touching and uplifting' - U Magazine
Read More View in CatalogSilver Girl
Elin Hilderbrand
Who would you run to if your life fell apart? Meredith had a perfect life. Until her husband was arrested for defrauding everyone they knew out of millions. Hounded by the press, shunned by society, there's only one person she can turn to: her childhood best friend Connie, who she hasn't spoken to in years. But as they retreat to Connie's holiday home on a glamorous island, it seems that some of Meredith's ghosts may have followed her. What are Connie's real motives for wanting her there? Who is the mysterious figure out at sea, photographing the two women? And does Meredith know more about her husband's dealings than she's prepared to admit to anyone - even herself? One thing's for sure, before the summer is out, everyone's lives will have changed beyond recognition . . . ************** Praise for Silver Girl 'Reminiscent of Jodi Picoult's work, this is an engaging, intricate read I didn't want to end' - The Bookbag 'It provides a pacey read, with colourful characters that have fascinating motivations. I couldn't get them out of my head for days' - Sunday Express 'Hilderbrand captivates with racy narrative, topical references, and characters who are both familiar and memorable' - People ************** Further praise for Elin Hilderbrand 'A gritty and moving read that oozes plenty of drama' - Heat 'A gem of a summer read with a glamorous location, elite lifestyle, and Hilderbrand's appealing take on the constant stress that fills the lives of women everywhere' - Booklist 'This book was a great read - you really care what happens to the characters. Perfect holiday reading. I didn't want to put it down' - Candis 'Touching and uplifting' - U Magazine
Read More View in CatalogSummer People
Elin Hilderbrand
"Things get more twisted at every turn, with enough lies and betrayals to fuel a whole season of soap operas...readers will be hooked."—Publishers Weekly on Elin Hilderbrand's Summer People Every summer the Newton family retreats to their beloved home on Nantucket for three months of sunshine, cookouts, and bonfires on the beach. But this summer will not be like any other. When Arch Newton, a prominent New York attorney, dies in a plane crash on his way home from a business trip, his beautiful widow, Beth, can barely keep things together. Above all, though, she decides that she must continue the family tradition of going to Nantucket, and at the same time fulfill a promise that Arch made before he died. Beth invites Marcus, the son of Arch's final and most challenging client, to spend the summer with her and her teenage twins, Winnie and Garrett, who have mixed reactions to sharing their special summer place with this stranger. Always a place of peace before, Nantucket becomes the scene of roiling emotions and turbulent passions as Marcus, Winnie, and Garrett learn about loss, first love, and betrayal. And when they stumble upon a shocking secret from Beth's past, they must keep it from destroying the family they've been trying so hard to heal.
Read More View in CatalogWinter in Paradise
Elin Hilderbrand
A husband's secret life, a wife's new beginning: escape to the Caribbean with #1 New York Times bestselling author Elin Hilderbrand. Irene Steele shares her idyllic life in a beautiful Iowa City Victorian house with a husband who loves her to sky-writing, sentimental extremes. But as she rings in the new year one cold and snowy night, everything she thought she knew falls to pieces with a shocking phone call: her beloved husband, away on business, has been killed in a helicopter crash. Before Irene can even process the news, she must first confront the perplexing details of her husband's death on the distant Caribbean island of St. John. After Irene and her sons arrive at this faraway paradise, they make yet another shocking discovery: her husband had been living a secret life. As Irene untangles a web of intrigue and deceit, and as she and her sons find themselves drawn into the vibrant island culture, they have to face the truth about their family, and about their own futures. Rich with the lush beauty of the tropics and the drama, romance, and intrigue only Elin Hilderbrand can deliver, Winter in Paradise is a truly transporting novel, and the exciting start to a new series.
Read More View in CatalogCure for the Common Breakup
Beth Kendrick
Welcome to Black Dog Bay, a tiny seaside town in Delaware known as “the best place in America to bounce back from your breakup.” Home to the Better Off Bed-and-Breakfast, the Eat Your Heart Out bakery, and the Whinery bar, Black Dog Bay offers a haven for the suddenly single. Flight attendant Summer Benson lives by two rules: Don’t stay with the same man for too long and never stay in one place. She’s about to break rule number one by considering accepting her boyfriend’s proposal—then disaster strikes and her world is shattered in an instant. Summer heads to Black Dog Bay, where the locals welcome her. Even Hattie Huntington, the town’s oldest, richest, and meanest resident, likes her enough to give her a job. Then there’s Dutch Jansen, the rugged, stoic mayor, who’s the opposite of her type. She probably shouldn’t be kissing him. She definitely shouldn’t be falling in love. After a lifetime of globe-trotting, Summer has finally found a home. But Hattie has old scores to settle and a hidden agenda for her newest employee. Summer finds herself faced with an impossible choice: Leave Black Dog Bay behind forever, or stay with the ones she loves and cost them everything....
Read More View in CatalogQueen of Broken Hearts
Cassandra King
The national bestselling author of The Same Sweet Girls and The Sunday Wife returns with another compulsively readable novel It's not easy being the Queen of Broken Hearts. Just ask Clare, who has willingly assumed the mantle while her career as a divorce coach thrives. Now she's preparing to open a permanent home for the retreats she leads, on a slice of breathtaking property on the Alabama coast owned by her mother-in-law. Make that former mother-in-law, a colorful eccentric who teaches Clare much about love and sacrifice and living freely. When Clare's marriage ends in tragedy, her work becomes the sole focus of her life. While Clare has no problem helping the hundreds of men and women who seek her advice to mend their broken hearts, healing her own is another matter entirely. Falling in love again is the last thing she wants. So when Lex -- a charismatic, charming, burly sea captain -- moves to town to run the marina, Clare insists they remain friends and nothing more. But even though she fights it, she begins to fall for him -- and then finds she has a rival, his estranged wife Annalee. A story infused with all the flavors, textures, and intrigues of a small Southern town, with a rich, resonant center, Queen of Broken Hearts is a bold step forward for Cassandra King.
Read More View in CatalogThe Same Sweet Girls
Cassandra King
The new novel by the celebrated author of The Sunday Wife chronicles the lives of a tight-knit group of lifelong friends. None of the Same Sweet Girls are really girls anymore and none of them have actually ever been that sweet. But this spirited group of Southern women, who have been holding biannual reunions ever since they were together in college, are nothing short of compelling. There's Julia Stovall, the First Lady of Alabama, who, despite her public veneer, is a down-to-earth gal who only wants to know who her husband is sneaking out with late at night. There's Lanier Sanders, whose husband won custody of their children after he found out about her fling with a colleague. Then there's Astor Deveaux, a former Broadway showgirl who simply can't keep her flirtations in check. And Corinne Cooper, whose incredible story comes to light as the novel unfolds.
Read More View in CatalogThe Sunday Wife
Cassandra King
Married for 20 years to the Reverend Benjamin Lynch, a handsome, ambitious minister of the prestigious Methodist church, Dean Lynch has never quite adjusted her temperament to the demands of the role of a Sunday wife. When her husband is assigned to a larger and more demanding community in the Florida panhandle, Dean becomes fast friends with Augusta Holderfield, a woman whose good looks and extravagant habits immediately entrance her. As their friendship evolves, Augusta challenges Dean to break free from her traditional role as the preacher's wife. Just as Dean is questioning everything she has always valued, a tragedy occurs, providing the catalyst for change in ways she never could have imagined.
Read More View in CatalogThe Widow Waltz
Sally Koslow
“This heartfelt, witty addition to women’s fiction will appeal to fans of Elizabeth Berg and Anna Quindlen.” (Booklist) Georgia Waltz has things many people only dream of: a plush Manhattan apartment overlooking Central Park, a Hamptons beach house, valuable jewels and art, two bright daughters, and a husband she adores, even after decades of marriage. It’s only when Ben suddenly drops dead from a massive coronary while training for the New York City Marathon that Georgia discovers her husband—a successful lawyer—has left them nearly penniless. Their wonderland was built on lies. As the family attorney scours emptied bank accounts, Georgia must not only look for a way to support her family, she needs to face the revelation that Ben was not the perfect husband he appeared to be, just as her daughters—now ensconced back at home with secrets of their own—have to accept that they may not be returning to their lives in Paris and at Stanford subsidized by the Bank of Mom and Dad. As she uncovers hidden resilience, Georgia’s sudden midlife shift forces her to consider who she is and what she truly values. That Georgia may also find new love in the land of Spanx and stretch marks surprises everyone—most of all, her. Sally Koslow’s fourth novel is deftly told through the alternating viewpoints of her remarkable female protagonists as they plumb for the grit required to reinvent their lives. Inspiring, funny, and deeply satisfying, The Widow Waltz explores in a profound way the bonds between mothers and daughters, belligerent siblings, skittish lovers, and bitter rivals as they discover the power of forgiveness, and healing, all while asking, “What is family, really?”
Read More View in CatalogSisters By Choice
Susan Mallery
The unmissable new read from the #1 New York Times bestselling author Over 40 Million copies of her books sold worldwide You Can’t Choose Your Family...
View in CatalogSisters Like Us
Susan Mallery
A worldwide success in mass market, trade paperback and hardcover formats, #1 New York Times bestselling author SusanMallery returns with the next highly-anticipated trade paperback connected to the bestselling Mischief Bay series, following THE GIRLS OF MISCHIEF BAY, THE FRIENDS WE KEEP, and A MILLION LITTLE THINGS. The grass is always greener on your sister's side of the fence... Divorce left Harper Szymanski with a name no one can spell, a house she can't afford and a teenage daughter who's pulling away. With her fledgling virtual assistant business, she's scrambling to maintain her overbearing mother's ridiculous Suzy Homemaker standards and still pay the bills, thanks to clients like Lucas, the annoying playboy cop who claims he hangs around for Harper's fresh–baked cookies. Spending half her life in school hasn't prepared Dr Stacey Bloom for her most daunting challenge – motherhood. She didn't inherit the nurturing gene like Harper and is in deep denial that a baby is coming. Worse, her mother will be horrified to learn that Stacey's husband plans to be a stay–at–home dad...assuming she can first find the courage to tell Mum she's already six months pregnant. Separately they may be a mess, but together Harper and Stacey can survive anything – their indomitable mother, overwhelming maternity stores and exes' weddings. Sisters Like Us is a delightful look at sisters, mothers and daughters in today's fast–paced world, told with Susan Mallery's trademark warmth and humour.
Read More View in CatalogSisters By Choice
Susan Mallery
The unmissable new read from the #1 New York Times bestselling author Over 40 Million copies of her books sold worldwide You Can’t Choose Your Family...
View in CatalogA Palm Beach Wife
Susannah Marren
For readers of Elin Hilderbrand, Susannah Marren's A Palm Beach Wife is a delicious and irresistible commercial novel set among the high society galas and gossip of Palm Beach. Amid the glamour and galas and parties of Palm Beach, Faith knows that image often counts as much if not more than reality. She glides effortlessly among the highest of the high society so perfectly that you would never suspect she wasn’t born to this. But it wasn’t always so; though she hides it well, Faith has fought hard for the wonderful life she has, for her loving, successful husband, for her daughter’s future. In this town of secrets and gossip and rumors, Faith has kept a desperate grip on everything she holds so dear, built from so little. And yet even she—the only one who knows just how far she has to fall—never suspects from which direction, or how many directions all at once, betrayal will come.
Read More View in CatalogBarefoot Beach
Debbie Mason
Can a summer of love make up for a lifetime of secrets? Wedding fever has taken over Harmony Harbor this summer, and the local matchmakers have set their sights on Theia Lawson, a former navy pilot who's in town for a stay at Greystone Manor. And while Theia's got her reasons to put this small town behind her as fast as she can, there's a certain tall, dark, and irresistible man that she can't seem to get off her mind. Firefighter Marco DiRossi wants to beat the matchmakers at their own game so he conspires with Theia to pretend they've already fallen in love. It's only for the summer. What could go wrong? Yet as the beach season draws to a close, Marco and Theia find their pretend relationship has led to very real attraction. But when a secret from the past is revealed, jeopardizing everything they hold dear, can this unlikely couple find their way to a happily-ever-after?
Read More View in CatalogThe Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club
Gil McNeil
For every woman who has ever dreamed of starting over, or being a better mother, or just knitting a really nice scarf . . . When her husband dies in a car crash--not long after announcing he wants a divorce--Jo Mackenzie packs up her two rowdy boys and moves from London to a dilapidated villa in her seaside hometown. There, she takes over her beloved Gran's knitting shop--a quaint but out-of-date store in desperate need of a facelift. After a rough beginning, Jo soon finds comfort in a "Stitch and Bitch" group; a collection of quirky, lively women who share their stories, and their addiction to cake, with warmth and humor. As Jo starts to get the hang of single-parent life in a small town, she relies on her knitting group for support. The women meet every week at the shop on Beach Street and trade gossip and advice as freely as they do a new stitch. But when a new man enters Jo's life, and an A-list actress moves into the local mansion, the knitting club has even more trouble confining the conversation to knit one, purl two. The Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club is an uplifting, winning tale about the healing power of friendship and new beginnings. It's a charming novel that will delight all passionate knitters--and win over befuddled, would-be knitters, too.
Read More View in CatalogRevere Beach Boulevard
Roland Merullo
Revere Beach Boulevard, a novel both literary and suspenseful, tells the story of a family that rallies around an errant son, even as a dark secret that has blighted all their lives comes to the surface. For Peter, the son who battles a gambling addiction for most of his adult life, it means having the courage to stand up to Eddie Crevine, a Mafia thug to whom he is in debt. For Peter's famous sister, Joanna, it means admitting that she shares some of her brother's anger at their parents and that she is no longer wholly responsible for saving him from the consequences of his gambling. For Vito, the father who hasn't ever had an easy time with his son, and Vito's wife, Lucy, it involves dealing with the aftereffects of a youthful indiscretion, a moment of unchecked passion that changes all of their lives in ways that can never be undone.
Read More View in CatalogExclusive
Fern Michaels
After she moves into a beach-front estate formerly owned by Lucille Ball, Toots Loudenberry finds she has some high-profile ghostly roommates, all while trying to assess the true intentions of her friend Ida's suitor and helping her daughter's celebrity magazine stay afloat, despite it being the target of a competitor's dirty tricks. Original. 250,000 first printing.
Read More View in CatalogThe Beach House
Mary Alice Monroe
From the New York Times Bestselling Author of On Ocean Boulevard! Caretta Rutledge thought she’d left her Southern roots and troubled family far behind. But an unusual request from her mother—coming just as her own life is spinning out of control—has Cara heading back to the scenic Lowcountry of her childhood summers. Before long, the rhythms of the island open her heart in wonderful ways as she repairs the family beach house, becomes a bona fide “turtle lady” and renews old acquaintances long thought lost. But it is in reconnecting with her mother that she will learn life’s most precious lessons—true love involves sacrifice, family is forever and the mistakes of the past can be forgiven. The perfect summer read!
Read More View in CatalogLast Light over Carolina
Mary Alice Monroe
Last Light Over Carolina Every woman in the sultry South Carolina low country knows the unspoken fear that clutches the heart every time her man sets out to sea. Now, that fear has become a terrible reality for Carolina Morrison. Her husband, shrimp boat captain Bud Morrison, is lost and alone somewhere in the vast Atlantic fishing grounds, with a storm gathering and last light falling. Over the course of one terrifying, illuminating day, Carolina looks back across thirty years of love and loss, joy and sorrow: How she rejected a well-to-do upbringing to marry Bud and embrace his extraordinary lifestyle by the sea . . . how hard times and loneliness have driven them apart . . . and how, with one mistake, she may have shattered their once-unbreakable bond forever. While their the close-knit community rallies together to search for one of its own, Carolina knows their love must somehow call him home, across miles of rough water and unspeakable memories. New York Times bestselling author Mary Alice Monroe explores a vanishing feature of the southern coastline, the mysterious yet time-honored shrimping culture, in a compelling tale of a strong woman struggling to prove that love is a light that never dies.
Read More View in CatalogOn Ocean Boulevard
Mary Alice Monroe
Instant New York Times Bestseller The New York Times bestselling author of The Summer Guests returns at long last to her beloved Isle of Palms in this breathtaking novel about one family’s summer of forging new beginnings against the enduring beauty and resilience of the natural world. It’s been sixteen years since Caretta “Cara” Rutledge has returned home to the beautiful shores of Charleston, South Carolina. Over those years, she has weathered the tides of deaths and births, struggles and joys. And now, as Cara prepares for her second wedding, her life is about to change yet again. Meanwhile, the rest of the storied Rutledge family is also in flux. Cara’s niece Linnea returns to Sullivan’s Island to begin a new career and an unexpected relationship. Linnea’s parents, having survived bankruptcy, pin their hopes and futures on the construction of a new home on Ocean Boulevard. But as excitement over the house and wedding builds, a devastating illness strikes the family and brings plans to a screeching halt. It is under these trying circumstances that the Rutledge family must come together yet again to discover the enduring strength in love, tradition, and legacy from mother to daughter to granddaughter. Like the sea turtles that come ashore annually on these windswept islands, three generations of the Rutledge family experience a season of return, rebirth, and growth. “Authentic, generous, and heartfelt” (Mary Kay Andrews, New York Times bestselling author), On Ocean Boulevard is Mary Alice Monroe at her very best.
Read More View in CatalogSwimming Lessons
Mary Alice Monroe
Rediscover this uplifting tale of the healing power of nature and the strength of friendship by New York Times bestselling author Mary Alice Monroe. It’s been five years since the original turtle lady, old Miss Lovie Rutledge, passed away, but her legacy lives on with some special women, especially Toy and her daughter, young Little Lovie. Toy Sooner kept her graveside vow to her beloved mentor. She left behind an abusive, dysfunctional lifestyle to become a strong single mother and aquarist at the South Carolina Aquarium. But success has taken its toll, leaving Toy fearful of change and risks. Caretta Rutledge, Florence Prescott and Emmaline Baker have all experienced loss. This summer, with each other’s friendship and support, they will try to make their dreams a reality. The turtle season begins the day Toy rescues a sick sea turtle on the beach. When Toy brings the loggerhead to the aquarium, she begins a turtle hospital with the help of her boss, Ethan. As the summer progresses and the sea turtles take their measured steps toward healing and freedom Toy, Cara, Flo and Emmi must find their own strength to face their fears and move courageously toward their futures. Originally published in 2007
Read More View in CatalogThe Summer Girls
Mary Alice Monroe
From New York Times bestselling author Mary Alice Monroe, the heartwarming first installment in the Lowcountry Summer trilogy, a poignant series following three half-sisters and their grandmother. Three granddaughters. Three months. One summer house. In this enchanting trilogy set on Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina, New York Times bestselling author Mary Alice Monroe captures the complex relationships between Dora, Carson, and Harper, three half-sisters scattered across the country—and a grandmother determined to help them rediscover their family bonds. For years, Carson Muir has drifted, never really settling, certain only that a life without the ocean is a life half lived. Adrift and penniless in California, Carson is the first to return to Sea Breeze, wondering where things went wrong…until the sea she loves brings her a minor miracle. Her astonishing bond with a dolphin helps Carson renew her relationships with her sisters and face the haunting memories of her ill-fated father. As the rhythms of the island open her heart, Carson begins to imagine the next steps toward her future. In this heartwarming novel, three sisters discover the true treasures Sea Breeze offers as surprising truths are revealed, mistakes forgiven, and precious connections made that will endure long beyond one summer.
Read More View in CatalogSweetgrass
Mary Alice Monroe
Sweetgrass is a historic tract of land in South Carolina that has been home to the Blakely family for eight generations. But Sweetgrass—named for the indigenous grass that grows in the area—is in trouble. Taxes are skyrocketing. Bulldozers are leveling the surrounding properties. And the Blakelys could be forced to sell the one thing that continues to hold their disintegrating family together. In this poignant novel of hope, acceptance and the powerful gift of forgiveness, Mary Alice Monroe paints an intimate portrait of a family that must learn to unravel old patterns and weave together a new future.
Read More View in CatalogTime Is a River
Mary Alice Monroe
While recovering from breast cancer in a remote cabin in North Carolina, Mia Landan finds the journal of Kate Watkins, a 1920s fly fisher, and, inspired by Kate's example, learns to fish and uncovers many secrets around her.
View in CatalogTwo Truths and a Lie
Meg Mitchell Moore
From the author of The Islanders comes a warm, witty and suspenseful novel filled with small-town secrets, summer romance, big time lies and spiked seltzer, in the vein of Liane Moriarty. Truth: Sherri Griffin and her daughter, Katie, have recently moved to the idyllic beach town of Newburyport, Massachusetts. Rebecca Coleman, widely acknowledged former leader of the Newburyport Mom Squad (having taken a step back since her husband’s shocking and tragic death eighteen months ago), has made a surprising effort to include these newcomers in typically closed-group activities. Rebecca’s teenage daughter Alexa has even been spotted babysitting Katie. Truth: Alexa has time on her hands because of a recent falling-out with her longtime best friends for reasons no one knows—but everyone suspects have to do with Alexa’s highly popular and increasingly successful YouTube channel. Katie Griffin, who at age 11 probably doesn’t need a babysitter anymore, can’t be left alone because she has terrifying nightmares that don’t seem to jibe with the vague story Sherri has floated about the “bad divorce” she left behind in Ohio. Rebecca Coleman has been spending a lot of time with Sherri, it’s true, but she’s also been spending time with someone else she doesn’t want the Mom Squad to know about just yet. Lie: Rebecca Coleman doesn’t have a new man in her life, and definitely not someone connected to the Mom Squad. Alexa is not seeing anyone new herself and is planning on shutting down her YouTube channel in advance of attending college in the fall. Sherri Griffin’s real name is Sherri Griffin, and a bad divorce is all she’s running from. A blend of propulsive thriller and gorgeous summer read, Two Truths and a Lie reminds us that happiness isn’t always a day at the beach, some secrets aren’t meant to be shared, and the most precious things are the people we love.
Read More View in CatalogThe Best of Us
Sarah Pekkanen
Paradise isn’t quite what it seems as four college friends meet for an island vacation in this captivating new novel from the acclaimed author of These Girls. An all-expense-paid week at a luxury villa in Jamaica—it’s the invitation of a lifetime for a group of old college friends. All four women are desperate not just for a reunion, but for an escape: Tina is drowning under the demands of mothering four young children. Allie is shattered by the news that a genetic illness runs in her family. Savannah is carrying the secret of her husband’s infidelity. And, finally, there’s Pauline, who spares no expense to throw her wealthy husband an unforgettable thirty-fifth birthday celebration, hoping it will gloss over the cracks already splitting apart their new marriage. Languid hours on a private beach, gourmet dinners, and late nights of drinking kick off an idyllic week for the women and their husbands. But as a powerful hurricane bears down on the island, turmoil swirls inside the villa, forcing each of the women to reevaluate everything she knows about her friends—and herself.
Read More View in CatalogThe Deep Blue Sea for Beginners
Luanne Rice
Years ago, Lyra Davis fled the people she loved most, unable to reconcile the expectations of her wealthy family with the longings of her own wild heart. Now she lives quietly among a community of expatriates on the isle of Capri, slowly, carefully learning to live fully for the first time. Pell Davis, wise beyond her sixteen years, and her younger sister Lucy still long for the mother who ran away from them when they were children. Pell thinks she knows why Lyra left. Now she will travel across an ocean to find the mother she remembers and learn the deeper truths Lyra has never been able to reveal.
Read More View in CatalogThe Silver Boat
Luanne Rice
Returning for a final visit to the Martha's Vineyard beach house where they were most happy in childhood, three sisters struggle with family memories and discover astonishing truths in a cache of old letters that compels a journey to their ancestral Ireland.
Read More View in CatalogLost And Found Sisters: Wildstone
Jill Shalvis
Lost And Found Sisters is the new novel from New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis, a story of friendship, love, family and sisterhood, for fans of Susan Mallery, Kristan Higgins and Robyn Carr. Life can change in an instant... After losing her sister in a devastating car accident, LA chef Quinn Weller seems to be getting her life back on track. So why does she feel so empty, like she's looking for a missing piece she can't find? The answer comes when a lawyer appears, revealing a bombshell secret and mysterious inheritance in the small town of Wildstone, California. On impulse, Quinn heads up the coast and finds herself drawn to Wildstone's simple pleasures...and the handsome, dark-haired stranger who offers friendship with no questions asked. But there's another surprise to come. The inheritance is something earthshattering, that will make Quinn question everything she knows about herself and her family. Now with a world of possibilities opening up, Quinn must decide if this new life is the one she was always meant to have - and could finally give her the fulfillment she's searched so long for. Check out Jill's warm, funny Heartbreaker Bay novels, visit gorgeous Cedar Ridge, spellbinding Lucky Harbor or experience some Animal Magnetism in Sunshine, Idaho in Jill's other unforgettable series.
Read More View in CatalogThe Girls of August
Anne Rivers Siddons
Anne Rivers Siddons's New York Times bestselling novel about four friends whose lives are forever changed by the events of one summer. For fifteen years, four "girls of August" would gather together to spend a week at the beach, until tragedy interrupts their ritual. Now they reunite for a startling week of discoveries. The ritual began when they were in their twenties and their husbands were in medical school, and became a mainstay of every summer thereafter. Their only criteria was oceanfront and isolation, their only desire to strengthen their far-flung friendships. They called themselves the Girls of August. But when one of the Girls dies tragically, the group slowly drifts apart and their vacations together are brought to a halt. Years later, a new marriage reunites them and they decide to come together once again on a remote barrier island off the South Carolina coast. There, far from civilization, the women uncover secrets that will change them in ways they never expected.
Read More View in CatalogIslands
Anne Rivers Siddons
Anny Butler is a caretaker, a nurturer, first for her own brothers and sisters, and then as a director of an agency devoted to the welfare of children. What she has never had is a real family. That changes when she meets and marries Lewis Aiken, an exuberant surgeon fifteen years older than Anny. When they marry, she finds her family—not a traditional one, but a group of Charleston childhood friends who are inseparable, who are one another's surrogate family. They are called the Scrubs, and they all, in some way, have the common cord of family. Instantly upon meeting them at the old beach house on Sullivan's Island, which they co-own, Anny knows that she has found home and family. They vow that, when the time comes, they will find a place where they can live together by the sea. Bad things begin to happen—a hurricane, a fire, deaths—but still the remaining Scrubs cling together. They are watched over and bolstered by Camilla Curry, the heart and core of their group, always the healer. Anny herself allows Camilla to enfold and to care for her. It is the first time she has felt this kind of love and support.
Read More View in CatalogThe Irresistible Blueberry Bakeshop & Cafe
Mary Simses
"You will devour The Irresistible Blueberry Bakeshop &Cafe. Mary Simses can write evocative detail that puts you right in the scene, with dialogue that always rings true."-James Patterson A high-powered Manhattan attorney finds love, purpose, and the promise of a simpler life in her grandmother's hometown. Ellen Branford is going to fulfill her grandmother's dying wish--to find the hometown boy she once loved, and give him her last letter. Ellen leaves Manhattan and her Kennedy-esque fiance for Beacon, Maine. What should be a one-day trip is quickly complicated when she almost drowns in the chilly bay and is saved by a local carpenter. The rescue turns Ellen into something of a local celebrity, which may or may not help her unravel the past her grandmother labored to keep hidden. As she learns about her grandmother and herself, it becomes clear that a 24-hour visit to Beacon may never be enough. THE IRRESISTIBLE BLUEBERRY BAKESHOP & CAFE is a warm and delicious debut about the power of a simpler life.
Read More View in CatalogBeach Roses
Jean Stone
Miracles happen where you least expect them. No one captures the tides of a woman’s heart quite like Jean Stone. Set on New England’s celebrated Martha’s Vineyard, this novel brings together three courageous women whose struggles reveal startling truths and ultimately change their lives. The women begin as strangers: Rita has a past that cannot stay hidden for long; Katie, the vibrant rock star, must choose between saving her own life and the life of her unborn child; Hannah, a selfless housewife, finds herself abandoned by her friends just when she needs them most; and Faye, the wealthy executive, thinks she’s already survived the greatest fight of her life. Before the summer ends, these women will form a lasting bond—in a season when old hurts are finally healed, love is rekindled, and life begins anew.
Read More View in CatalogMaine
J. Courtney Sullivan
Three generations of women converge on the family beach house in this wickedly funny, emotionally resonant story of love and dysfunction.
View in CatalogBeachcombers
Nancy Thayer
New York Times bestseller Nancy Thayer tells the compelling story of a bittersweet reunion set over one exhilarating Nantucket summer. Perfect for readers of Santa Montefiore and Barbara Delinsky. Jet-setting Abbie Fox hasn't seen her family for almost two years. But when her sister Lily starts sending urgent emails begging her to come home, she knows it's time to return. Devastated by the loss of her job and break-up with her fiancé, their sister Emma has taken to her bed, with little sign of progress. To make matters worse, Lily has concerns that the glamorous woman renting their guesthouse has her sights set on their widowed father... The sisters' lives soon grow as turbulent as the waters surrounding their Nantucket home. And as they strive to pick up the pieces around them, each will undergo transformations that surprise even themselves...
Read More View in CatalogGirls of Summer
Nancy Thayer
One life-changing summer on Nantucket brings about exhilarating revelations for a single mother and her two grown children in this sensational novel from New York Times bestselling author Nancy Thayer. Lisa Hawley is perfectly satisfied living on her own. Having fully recovered from a brutal divorce nearly two decades earlier, she has successfully raised her kids, Juliet and Theo, seeing them off to college and beyond. As the owner of a popular boutique on Nantucket, she’s built a fulfilling life for herself on the island where she grew up. With her beloved house in desperate need of repair, Lisa calls on Mack Whitney, a friendly—and very handsome—local contractor and fellow single parent, to do the work. The two begin to grow close, and Lisa is stunned to realize that she might be willing to open up again after all . . . despite the fact that Mack is ten years her junior. Juliet and Theo worry that Mack will only break their mother’s heart—and they can’t bear to see her hurt again. Both stuck in ruts of their own, they each hope that a summer on Nantucket will provide them with the clarity they’ve been searching for. When handsome entrepreneur Ryder Hastings moves to the island to expand his environmental nonprofit, Juliet, an MIT-educated web designer, feels an immediate attraction, one her rocky love life history pushes her to deny at first. Meanwhile, free spirit Theo finds his California bliss comes to a brutal halt when a surfing injury forces him back to the East Coast. Upon his return, he has eyes only for Mack’s daughter, Beth, to whom he is bound by an unspeakable tragedy from high school. Can they overcome their past? As the season unfolds, a storm threatens to shatter the peace of the golden island, forcing Lisa, Juliet, and Theo to decide whether their summer romances are destined for something more profound. Nancy Thayer dazzles again in this delightful tale of family, a reminder that sometimes, finding our way back home can bring us unexpected gifts.
Read More View in CatalogThe Guest Cottage
Nancy Thayer
New York Times bestselling author Nancy Thayer whisks readers back to the beloved island of Nantucket in this delightful novel about two single parents who accidentally rent the same summer house—and must soon decide where their hearts truly lie. Sensible thirty-six-year-old Sophie Anderson has always known what to do. She knows her role in life: supportive wife of a successful architect and calm, capable mother of two. But on a warm summer night, as the house grows quiet around her and her children fall asleep, she wonders what’s missing from her life. When her husband echoes that lonely question, announcing that he’s leaving her for another woman, Sophie realizes she has no idea what’s next. Impulsively renting a guest cottage on Nantucket from her friend Susie Swenson, Sophie rounds up her kids, Jonah and Lacey, and leaves Boston for a quiet family vacation, minus one. Also minus one is Trevor Black, a software entrepreneur who has recently lost his wife. Trevor is the last person to imagine himself, age thirty and on his own, raising a little boy like Leo—smart and sweet, but grappling constantly with his mother’s death, growing more and more closed off. Hoping a quiet summer on the Nantucket coast will help him reconnect with Leo, Trevor rents a guest house on the beautiful island from his friend Ivan Swenson. Best-laid plans run awry when Sophie and Trevor realize they’ve mistakenly rented the same house. Still, determined to make this a summer their kids will always remember, the two agree to share the Swensons’ Nantucket house. But as the summer unfolds and the families grow close, Sophie and Trevor must ask themselves if the guest cottage is all they want to share. Inspiring and true to life, The Guest Cottage is Nancy Thayer at her finest, inscribing in graceful, knowing prose matters of the heart and the meaning of family. Praise for The Guest Cottage “[The Guest Cottage] will make readers want to hop on the next ferry to seek out their own dreams and romance.”—Laurie Higgins, Cape Cod Times “[A] delightful beach read.”—InStyle Praise for Nancy Thayer Nantucket Sisters “Thayer obviously knows her Nantucket, and the strong sense of place makes this the perfect escapist book for the summer, particularly for fans of Elin Hilderbrand.”—Booklist “Thayer keeps readers on the edge of their seats with her dramatic story spanning the girls’ childhood to adulthood. This wonderful beach read packs a punch.”—Library Journal Island Girls “[A] book to be savored and passed on to the good women in your life.”—Susan Wiggs “Full of emotion and just plain fun, this novel is delightful.”—Romance Reviews Today Summer Breeze “Nancy Thayer is the queen of beach books. . . . All [these characters] are involved in life-changing choices, with all the heart-wrenching decisions such moments demand.”—The Star-Ledger “An entertaining and lively read that is perfect for summer reading indulgence.”—Wichita Falls Times Record News From the Hardcover edition.
Read More View in CatalogHeat Wave
Nancy Thayer
Lyrical, emotional, dramatic, and packed with Nancy Thayer’s trademark warmth and wisdom, Heat Wave tells the moving story of a woman who, after her seemingly perfect life unravels, must find the strength to live and love again. After her husband’s sudden death, Carley Winsted is determined to keep her two daughters in their beloved home on Nantucket. To ease the family’s financial strain, she decides to transform their grand, historic house into a bed-and-breakfast. Not everyone, however, thinks this plan prudent or quite respectable—especially not Carley’s mother-in-law. Further complicating a myriad of challenges, a friend forces Carley to keep a secret that, if revealed, will undo families and friendships. And her late husband’s former law partner is making Carley confront an array of mixed feelings. Then, during a late-summer heat wave, the lives of Carley and her friends and family will be forever changed in entirely unexpected ways.
Read More View in CatalogIsland Girls
Nancy Thayer
When the will of a deceased ladies' man mandates a reunion for his daughters from different marriages at his posh Nantucket house, the three sisters are forced to confront resentments and misunderstandings.
View in CatalogThe Island House
Nancy Thayer
Courtney Hendricks will never forget the magical summers she spent on Nantucket with her college roommate, Robin Vickerey, and Robin's larger-than-life family, in their gorgeous island house. Now a college English professor in Kansas City, Courtney wants one more summer in this sun-swept paradise. She needs to know whether Robin's brother James shares the feelings she's secretly had for him. But while the Vickereys celebrate a milestone birthday, trouble is brewing. Unspoken tension looms over oldest son Henry, a respected young surgeon.
Read More View in CatalogMoon Shell Beach
Nancy Thayer
Having left Nantucket eleven years earlier in the wake of an elopement and shattered relationships, Lexi returns home a bitter divorcee and unsure of what to expect; while her best friend Clare, a chocolatier living with her crotchety widowed father, finds forgiving harder than she imagined. Reprint.
Read More View in CatalogNantucket Sisters
Nancy Thayer
"When Maggie and Emily meet as girls on the Nantucket beach, they are instant best friends--even though Emily's mother would much prefer she play with the daughters of senators and statesmen than a seamstress's kid like Maggie. But after many golden summers spent building sandcastles and sharing their dreams for the future, Emily and Maggie grow apart. In her twenties, beautiful and spirited Emily worries she'll never amount to more than the glittering wife of a successful husband, while hardworking redheaded Maggie scrimps and saves her pennies, wondering if she'll ever have the luxury of a passionate romance. It seems they have little in common...until Cameron Chadwick appears on the island. A wealthy Wall Street broker, Cameron takes moonlit walks on the dunes with Maggie and romances Emily in Manhattan with lavish nights on the town. When both women discover they're pregnant, it looks like the end of their already-distant friendship. But as Maggie and Emily struggle to decide what their lives will be, they realize more than ever before how very much they need a friend"--
Read More View in CatalogSummer Breeze
Nancy Thayer
House-sitting her aunt's lake cottage in the Berkshires while mending a broken heart, Manhattanite Natalie bonds with a smitten shopkeeper who is caring for an aging parent and a reluctant stay-at-home mom with whom she commiserates over romantic complications. By the best-selling author of Heat Wave. 50,000 first printing.
Read More View in CatalogSummer House
Nancy Thayer
BONUS: This edition contains a Summer House discussion guide and an excerpt from Nancy Thayer's Island Girls. Thirty-year-old Charlotte Wheelwright seems to have at last found her niche, running an organic gardening business on the island of Nantucket, thanks in large part to her spry grandmother Nona, who donated a portion of land on the family’s seaside compound to get Charlotte started. Though Charlotte’s skill with plants is bringing her success, cultivating something deeper with people—particularly her handsome neighbor Coop—might be more of a challenge. Now the entire Wheelwright clan is making its annual summer pilgrimage to the homestead, including Charlotte’s mother, Helen, who brings a heavy heart as she confronts a betrayal that threatens her sense of place and her sense of self. Bringing together three generations of strong-willed women, each wrestling with life-changing decisions, Nancy Thayer’s luminous novel shows that no matter where life’s path may lead, love always finds a way back home.
Read More View in CatalogBest Beach Ever
Wendy Wax
Despite their hopes for smooth sailing, the ladies of Ten Beach Road confront choppy seas in this novel in the bestselling series. Forced to rent out or lose their beloved Bella Flora after the loss of their renovation-turned-reality-TV show Do Over, Maddie, Nikki, Avery, Kyra, and Bitsy move into cottages at the Sunshine Hotel and Beach Club believing the worst is over. Only to discover just how uncertain their futures really are. Maddie struggles with the challenges of dating a rock star whose career has come roaring back to life while Nikki faces the daunting realities of mothering twins at forty-seven. Avery buries herself in a tiny home build in an attempt to dodge commitment issues, and Kyra battles to protect her son from the Hollywood world she once dreamed of joining. And Bitsy is about to find out whether the rewards of seeking revenge will outweigh the risks. Luckily, when the going gets tough, the ladies of Ten Beach Road know that their friendship--tried and tested--can chase away the darkest clouds and let the sun shine in...
Read More View in CatalogSunshine Beach
Wendy Wax
In this brand-new summer read by the USA Today bestselling author of The House on Mermaid Point, three women join forces to bring a historic seaside hotel back to life… There’s nothing that a fresh coat of paint and a few glasses of wine can’t fix… After losing their life savings in a Ponzi scheme, Maddie, Avery, and Nikki have banded together to make the most of what they have left, using their determination, ingenuity, guts, and a large dose of elbow grease. It’s Maddie’s daughter Kyra who stumbles across a once glorious beachfront hotel that has fallen into disrepair. The opportunity to renovate this seaside jewel is too good to pass up—especially when they come up with the idea of shooting their own independent television show about the restoration. What could possibly go wrong? Everything. With the cameras rolling, Maddie’s second-chance romance with her all-too-famous new boyfriend gets complicated, Avery struggles with grief over the loss of her mother, and Nikki’s reluctance to commit to the man who loves her could leave her to face the biggest challenge of her life. Even the hotel seems to be against them, when their renovation uncovers a decades-old unsolved murder which just might bring their lives tumbling down all over again… From the Trade Paperback edition.
Read More View in CatalogOne Good Thing
Wendy Wax
In this return to the beloved world of Wendy Wax's Ten Beach Road, Maddie, Avery, Nikki, and Kyra find themselves not only at loose ends, but unable to make a living as they battle for control of their renovation-turned-reality TV show, Do Over. As the expensive legal wrangling drags on, each woman must also deal with personal upheaval and change.
Read More View in CatalogTen Beach Road
Wendy Wax
Three strangers discover their life savings and their trusted financial advisor have vanished, leaving them with co-ownership of a ramshackle beachfront house they decide to restore in this new novel from the author of The Accidental Bestseller. Original.
Read More View in CatalogA Week at the Lake
Wendy Wax
Twenty years ago, Emma, Mackenzie and Serena bonded over their New York City dreams. Then, each summer, they spent one week together at the lake. It's been five years since Emma has seen her friends, but now she's in desperate need of their support. But when a terrible accident keeps Emma from saying her piece, Serena and Mackenzie begin to learn about the past on their own. Now, to heal their friendship and their broken lives, the three women will have to return to the lake that once united them and discover which relationships are worth holding on to.
Read More View in CatalogFly Away Home
Jennifer Weiner
From the author of In Her Shoesand the forthcoming Who Do You Lovecomes a story of a mother and two daughters rebuilding their lives ... Sylvie Woodruff has spent the last 30 or so years being the ideal politician's wife and raising two daughters. When her world crashes down around her after a painful, public betrayal, she retreats to her grandmother's rambling seaside home to wait for the scandal to blow over. Sylvie's eldest daughter, Diana, married out of friendship and respect, not love... then years later, finds herself falling for a most unsuitable man. When the affair ends badly, she sets off in search of a new beginning. Lizzie, Diana's younger sister, who caused her parents such heartache as a teenager, is finally getting her life together. When a summer fling leaves her pregnant, and her charming boyfriend turns violent, she too heads out of town.
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