Hurricane Season


Lauren K. Denton - 2018
    While Ty manages their herd of dairy cows, Betsy busies herself with the farm’s day-to-day operations and tries to forget her dream of motherhood. But when her free-spirited sister, Jenna, drops off her two young daughters for “just two weeks,” Betsy’s carefully constructed wall of self-protection begins to crumble.As the two weeks stretch deeper into the Alabama summer, Betsy and Ty learn to navigate the new additions in their world—and revel in the laughter that now fills their home. Meanwhile, record temperatures promise to usher in the most active hurricane season in decades.Attending an art retreat four hundred miles away, Jenna is fighting her own battles. She finally has time and energy to focus on her photography, a lifelong ambition. But she wonders how her rediscovered passion can fit in with the life she’s made back home as a single mom.When Hurricane Ingrid aims a steady eye at the Alabama coast, Jenna must make a decision that will change her family’s future, even as Betsy and Ty try to protect their beloved farm and their hearts. Hurricane Season is the story of one family’s unconventional journey to healing—and the relationships that must be mended along the way.“A story both powerful and enchanting: a don’t-miss novel in the greatest Southern traditions of storytelling.” —Patti Callahan Henry, New York Times bestselling author for The Hideaway

The Rosebud Girls


Julia Clemens - 2021
    The five of them promised that if it ever went up for sale, they'd buy it. Together. So when real estate mogul Callie sees it for sale, she knows it's time to pounce. Except that all of her friends seem to be holding back when they should be pressing forward. So Callie decides it's up to her to help them take the leap. As part owner of one of the hottest restaurants in San Francisco, Saffron is living the life. Well, if the life includes working fourteen hour days and having the work load of her partners heaped onto her while they sat back and accepted all of the accolades. But she's great. She is fine. She's still executive chef and doing what she loves. Except when she begins to realize that she isn't spending any time with the people she loves. So when Callie storms into Saffron's kitchen telling her that the lodge is up for sale, their lodge is up for sale, Saffron has to re-evaluate. Is she really living her dream? As a high-powered CFO, Kenzie has achieved every success she could have imagined. She is married to the beautiful man of her dreams, is working the job she's always desired, and has a penthouse condo to boot. But when that man of her dreams drops earth shattering news, Kenzie is second guessing everything. She's where she's supposed to be, isn't she? Then why when the going got tough did home, the Rosebud Girls, and even the lodge call to her? The only thing worse than a divorce...a public divorce. But when one is married to the biggest country star of the decade and then becomes no longer married to him, that's news. And while Hazel isn't too broken up about the end of her marriage, it was a long time coming, she is concerned about her two teenaged boys who love her and idolize their father. She knows tearing their family apart isn't what she would have wanted to do. And she didn't. But when Owen, her ex, asked for a divorce, Hazel wouldn't fight him. And she does come out of the divorce with everything she wants, including full custody of her boys. So she moves to the place that will heal them all, Rosebud. But when healing doesn't come fast enough for either of her children, Hazel isn't sure what to do, especially when her oldest, Chase, decides that everything wrong in his life is Hazel's fault. Will Hazel be able to fix things before Chase tries to leave Rosebud for good? Laurel has a secret. One she can't even tell her friends. So even as the four of them decide that they need to buy their lodge, Laurel can't. Not without revealing what is about to blow not only her marriage and her life, but the maybe entire town of Rosebud apart. And she can't do that. Not yet. So it means she has to miss out on the opportunity of a lifetime with the girls she loves like family. Meet the Rosebud Girls as they join back together to fulfill their childhood dream. Ups and downs are promised as well as an eventual happy ending. Because with women like this who always have one another's backs, if things aren't happy, the journey isn't quite at its end yet.

Crazy for You


Jane Fenton - 2019
    Kate Barnes decides she’s still going on their romantic Bahamas getaway—alone. Her vacation takes a turn for the weird when an eccentric bookstore owner insists Kate purchase Pirate’s Treasure, claiming it’s the perfect book for her. The more she reads, the harder it is to separate fiction from reality, especially when the devastatingly handsome Captain Blackjack swoops into her life to save her from ruffians at a bar.As they grow closer, the similarities between the book and Kate’s real life become more pronounced. When the arrival of a puzzle-box from one of Kate’s patients launches her into a mystery that seems like it was pulled straight from the pages of Pirate’s Treasure, Kate starts to wonder if her sanity is leaving her, too.But when bullets start flying, the book may be Kate’s only clue to solving the puzzle box—and saving her life.

Mary Indiana


Anneke Campbell - 2004
    There’s just GOTTA be an explanation.But it’s not coming from Mary, as she’s quickly dubbed. She seems to have taken a vow of silence. So it’s up to the citizens of Bellingham to make their own miracles—or at least their own myths. The new celeb is instantly surrounded by hangers-on, miracle-seekers, paparazzi, preachers, and promoters—to hilarious effect.But are they dealing with an angel here, or someone playing an angle? Con, in a word, or icon? And by the way, what’s up with that strange light in the sky? Could be she came off a spaceship.Neither sacred nor profane, nor even paranormal, Campbell’s beautifully written book is at once funny and wise, a savvy story of how myths are made, how minds twist and turn around the extraordinary, how the human organism just can’t help grabbing for the supernatural, whether out of the spiritual need for a miracle or a mundane desire for cash.Think Barbara Kingsolver, Margaret Atwood, Anne Tyler, only really really funny.

A Lawman for Lisette


Teresa Slack - 2019
    What she doesn’t expect is to fall in love with the U.S. Marshal whose life she saves on her way to town. Federal Marshal Grayson Dutton spent his career protecting pioneers, chasing down bandits, settling disputes before they erupted into gunfire, and returning fire when needed. None of it prepared him for dealing with a feisty lady doc who can’t see when she’s in over her head. When Grayson hears the gang of outlaws that attacked the stagecoach that brought Lisette to Willow Wood have targeted the lady doc, he’ll stop at nothing to protect her. Lisette doesn’t want to give the lawman the reins to her life. She came west to serve the people of Willow Wood, not hide under her bed in fear at the first sign of danger. She certainly didn’t plan to fall for a long-legged lawman whose kisses make her dream of marriage, babies, and happily-ever-after, all the things that conflict with her call to medicine. Can she find a place in her life and her heart for love? Can Grayson tame the wild filly before she gets both of them killed?

The Mountain Between Us


Charles Martin - 2010
    But when unthinkable tragedy strikes, the pair find themselves stranded in Utah's most remote wilderness in the dead of winter, badly injured and miles from civilization. Without food or shelter, and only Ben's mountain climbing gear to protect themselves, Ashley and Ben's chances for survival look bleak, but their reliance on each other sparks an immediate connection, which soon evolves into something more.Days in the mountains become weeks, as their hope for rescue dwindles. How will they make it out of the wilderness and if they do, how will this experience change them forever? Heart-wrenching and unputdownable, The Mountain Between Us will reaffirm your belief in the power of love to sustain us.

The Carlswick Affair


S.L. Beaumont - 2013
    One house belongs to her family, and one is the ancestral home of James Knox.Can she trust him? This smiling musician has stolen her heart, but her mind is full of doubt. He is a rising rock star, who has captivated her from his first hello, but an old family feud stands between them.Stephanie's beautiful great-aunt Sophie died suddenly seventy years ago, just before she was to elope with James' uncle. Village gossip about this tragic wartime romance is mingled with whispers of secretive visitors, smuggling and - perhaps - collaboration with the Nazis.European history reaches forward to intrude on James and Stephanie's modern love. She is driven to find out the truth about her great-aunt, whose lost romance in many ways parallels her own. However great the danger, she must uncover the secrets that lie hidden beneath the ancient roof of Knox Manor.(less)

The Most Fun We Ever Had


Claire Lombardo - 2019
    By 2016, their four radically different daughters are each in a state of unrest: Wendy, widowed young, soothes herself with booze and younger men; Violet, a litigator-turned-stay-at-home-mom, battles anxiety and self-doubt when the darkest part of her past resurfaces; Liza, a neurotic and newly tenured professor, finds herself pregnant with a baby she's not sure she wants by a man she's not sure she loves; and Grace, the dawdling youngest daughter, begins living a lie that no one in her family even suspects. Above it all, the daughters share the lingering fear that they will never find a love quite like their parents'.As the novel moves through the tumultuous year following the arrival of Jonah Bendt--given up by one of the daughters in a closed adoption fifteen years before--we are shown the rich and varied tapestry of the Sorensons' past: years marred by adolescence, infidelity, and resentment, but also the transcendent moments of joy that make everything else worthwhile.

Stella Rose


Tammy Flanders Hetrick - 2015
    But Abby struggles to connect with Olivia and she soon finds guardianship of a headstrong teenager daunting beyond her wildest misgivings. Despite her best efforts, and the help of friends old and new, she is unable to keep Olivia from self-destruction. As Abby’s journey unfolds, she grapples with raising a grieving teenager, realizes she didn’t know Stella as well as she thought, and discovers just how far she will go to save the most precious thing in her life.

The Futures


Anna Pitoniak - 2017
    For Evan, who grew up in a small town in Canada, Yale is a whole new world, and Julia--blond, beautiful and rich--is part of his vision for a successful future. After they graduate in 2008, they move together to New York city, where Evan takes a job at a hedge fund--another step forward in the life he imagines for himself.Julia, who has only known a life of privilege, graduates with an art history degree and no plan for her own future. She lands a low paying assistant job at a nonprofit, unsure about what she really wants, and wondering when everyone else figured that out for themselves. With the market crashing and banks failing around him, Evan becomes involved in an increasingly high-stakes deal at work, and begins to realize that the price of privilege may come with dangerous strings attached. Meanwhile, Julia reconnects with someone from her past--someone who offers her a vision of a different kind of life.Told in alternating perspectives, The Futures is a vivid story about love--falling in and out of it--betrayal, and the burning desire to be valued.

House of Trelawney


Hannah Rothschild - 2020
    By 2008, it is in a complete state of ruin due to the dulled ambition and the financial ineptitude of the twenty-four earls, two world wars, the Wall Street crash, and inheritance taxes. Still: the heir to all of it, Kitto, his wife, Jane, their three children, their dog, Kitto's ancient parents, and his aunt Tuffy Scott, an entomologist who studies fleas, all manage to live there and keep it going. Four women dominate the story: Jane; Kitto's sister, Blaze, who left Trelawney and made a killing in finance in London, the wildly beautiful, seductive, and long-ago banished Anastasia and her daughter, Ayesha. When Anastasia sends a letter announcing that her nineteen-year-old daughter, Ayesha, will be coming to stay, the long-estranged Blaze and Jane must band together to take charge of their new visitor--and save the house of Trelawney. But both Blaze and Jane are about to discover that the house itself is really only a very small part of what keeps the family together.

A Most Eligible Rake of a Duke


Harriet Caves - 2021
    Even if that means literally throwing herself at the Duke and risking her own ruination.No man is arguably more broken and debauched than Timothy Burton, the Duke of Marfront. But, according to his father’s will, he needs to wed and produce an heir. Only, he never sleeps with the same woman twice.When Diana finds herself bound to the same man she wanted to frame, she starts discovering not only his tender, guarded heart, but the big secret surrounding his mother’s death. For, she is about to follow her cold trail...

The Boys' Club


Erica Katz - 2020
    Accepting a dream offer at the prestigious Manhattan law firm of Klasko & Fitch, she promises her sweet and supportive longtime boyfriend that the job won’t change her. Yet Alex is seduced by the firm’s money and energy . . . and by her cocksure male colleagues, who quickly take notice of the new girl. She’s never felt so confident and powerful—even the innuendo-laced banter with clients feels fun. In the firm’s most profitable and competitive division, Mergers and Acquisitions, Alex works around the clock, racking up billable hours and entertaining clients late into the evening. While the job is punishing, it has its perks, like a weekend trip to Miami, a ride in a client’s private jet, and more expense-account meals than she can count. But as her clients’ expectations and demands on her increase, and Alex finds herself magnetically drawn to a handsome coworker despite her loving relationship at home, she begins to question everything—including herself. She knows the corporate world isn’t black and white, and that to reach the top means playing by different rules. But who made those rules? And what if the system rigged so that women can’t win, anyway? When something happens that reveals the dark reality of the firm, Alex comes to understand the ways women like her are told—explicitly and implicitly—how they need to behave to succeed in the workplace. Now, she can no longer stand by silently—even if doing what’s right means putting everything on the line to expose the shocking truth.

Deadly Dancing


Nicolette Pierce - 2011
    . . until reality hits. And it hits hard! He has a secret and a long list of aliases. He’s not what he seems and Mars is dragged into a killer’s path. Mars needs to outsmart an irresistible man and outrun a killer, all while pulling off her friend’s wedding without a hitch. Unfortunately, when it comes to the exotic dancer, she just can’t say no.

Sleight of Hand


V.F. Streets - 2021
    But with a past that still haunts her, she prefers to serve justice on the bad guys, instead of helping them go free. So when she gets offered a job to frame a wife-beating police officer, despite her reservations, she takes it.But when the facts don’t add up, and the man she’s hired to frame turns out to be the lead investigator for a suspicious death, Bristol decides to change sides before more lives are lost. Unfortunately, that means teaming up with her rival, Cole Sullivan, a move that carries risks of its own.As the questions pile up and every lead dead ends, Bristol's move to double-cross her employer leads to the discovery that her past choices have made her a pawn in a much bigger game, a game that now threatens those closest to her.Now, there is only one choice she can make to save the ones she loves … she must surrender herself to the truth she’s spent her whole life running from. A truth that could destroy her from the inside out.