The Weekenders


Mary Kay Andrews - 2016
    Others come only for the weekends-and the mix between the regulars and “the weekenders” can sometimes make the sparks fly. Riley Griggs has a season of good times with friends and family ahead of her on Belle Isle when things take an unexpected turn. While waiting for her husband to arrive on the ferry one Friday afternoon, Riley is confronted by a process server who thrusts papers into her hand. And her husband is nowhere to be found.So she turns to her island friends for help and support, but it turns out that each of them has their own secrets, and the clock is ticking as the mystery deepens...in a murderous way. Cocktail parties 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.Told with Mary Kay Andrews’ trademark blend of humor and warmth, and with characters and a setting that you can’t help but fall for, The Weekenders is the perfect summer escape.

Getting Rid Of Matthew


Jane Fallon - 2007
    The only trouble is, she doesn't want him any more. Now she has to figure out how to get rid of him...

Mafia Chic


Erica Orloff - 2004
    But now, determined to live her own life, she has decamped to Manhattan with dreams of making it in the brutal restaurant business.Soon, however, she is finding her dinner plate is more than full as she juggles an old-money, news-anchor boyfriend, a devastatingly handsome FBI agent trailing her 24/7, a nervous accountant concerned her business is failing and her cousin Tony acting as her bodyguard. Toss in bringing her new beau home for Sunday dinner and trying to explain the hundred pairs of stolen Jimmy Choos in her Uncle Vito's living room...and Teddi Gallo's already-chaotic life is made all the more messy. Maybe a few well-hatched plans, a bit of matchmaking and a dose of Mafia Chic will get her out of this jam.

Hand-Me-Down


Lee Nichols - 2005
    So how'd she fall for a secondhand man?Charlotte had the Malibu Barbie with a full wardrobe. Emily inherited a slightly used Barbie with two outfits and Anne was left with a one-armed, bald Barbie who enjoyed nudist colonies. It's little wonder that at twenty-nine, Anne drives a new car, eats only from freshly opened packages and thinks antique is a euphemism for moldy.After growing up in the shadows of her older sisters -- one a swimsuit model, the other a pop-feminist -- Anne's personality is one part sibling rivalry and two parts VD (stands for Vague Dissatisfaction, and yes, it itches). Now she's the self-professed underachiever in the family, determined to find happiness on her own terms. But when her sister's ex-boyfriend -- seemingly perfect, potentially interested -- reenters her life, Anne's got to ask: Could she possibly fall in love with a hand-me-down man?

The Memory of Water


Karen White - 2008
    There is the death of innocence, of love, and of hope. Each sister harbors a secret about that night-secrets that will erode their lives as they grow into adulthood. After ten years of silence between the sisters, Marnie is called back to the South Carolina Lowcountry by Diana's ex-husband, Quinn. His young son has returned from a sailing trip with his emotionally unstable mother, and he is refusing to speak. In order to help the traumatized boy, Marnie must reopen old wounds and bring the darkest memories of their past to the surface. And she must confront Diana, before they all go under.

The Next Big Thing


Johanna Edwards - 2005
    Then she'd finally be able to arrange a face-to-face meeting with Nick, the British hunk she met online, who still thinks she's a size four. She'd finally be confident and graceful and thin-and there's that big cash prize, too, to pay for all those slinky new clothes she'd need. She'd finally have the perfect life.

The Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club


Gil McNeil - 2008
    . . 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.

In My Sister's Shoes


Sinéad Moriarty - 2007
    a life-changing problem.It's a problem that means Kate going back to Dublin. Pronto. There she finds herself stepping into Fiona's shoes - and discovering that she's definitely not cut out to be a domestic goddess. On top of that, the ex she thought she'd got over years ago turns up to haunt her.Will either of the O'Brien sisters survive? And even if they do, can either of them slip back into their old shoes ever again?

All the Summer Girls


Meg Donohue - 2013
    In New York City, beautiful stay-at-home mom Vanessa is obsessively searching the Internet for news of an old flame. And in San Francisco, Dani, the aspiring writer who can't seem to put down a book--or a cocktail--long enough to open her laptop, has just been fired... again.In an effort to regroup, Kate, Vanessa, and Dani retreat to the New Jersey beach town where they once spent their summers. Emboldened by the seductive cadences of the shore, the women being to realize how much their lives, and friendships, have been shaped by the choices they made one fateful night on the beach eight years earlier--and the secrets that only now threaten to surface.

A Catered Affair


Sue Margolis - 2011
     When Tallulah gets jilted at the altar, she gets very drunk and starts making passes at the male wedding guests. She even propositions the caterer. But in the next few weeks, reality comes crashing down around her. Her difficult mother becomes more impossible than ever. Her lesbian sister starts trying to have a baby. Nana Ida gets busy matchmaking. What Tallulah is about to discover is that happiness doesn't always come in the form of the perfect doctor- and that sometimes real love doesn't require a catered affair.

Escape


Barbara Delinsky - 2011
    Emily Aulenbach is thirty-two, a lawyer married to a lawyer, working in Manhattan. An idealist, she had once dreamed of representing victims of corporate abuse, but she spends her days in a cubicle talking on the phone with vic­tims of tainted bottled water—and she is on the bottler’s side. And it isn’t only work. It’s her sister, her friends, even her husband, James, with whom she doesn’t connect the way she used to. She doesn’t connect to much in her life, period, with the exception of three things—her computer, her BlackBerry, and her watch. Acting on impulse, Emily leaves work early one day, goes home, packs her bag, and takes off. Groping toward the future, uncharacteristically following her gut rather than her mind, she heads north toward a New Hampshire town tucked between mountains. She knows this town. During her college years, she spent a watershed summer here. Painful as it is to return, she knows that if she is to right her life, she has to start here.

Why Can't I Be You


Allison Larkin - 2013
    Exploring this universal longing, Allie Larkin follows up the success of her debut novel, Stay, with a moving portrait of friendship and identity. When Jenny Shaw hears someone shout “Jessie!” across a hotel lobby, she impulsively answers. All her life, Jenny has toed the line, but something propels her to seize the opportunity to become Jessie Morgan, a woman to whom she bears an uncanny resemblance. Lonely in her own life, Jenny is embraced by Jessie’s warm circle of friends—and finds unexpected romance. But when she delves into Jessie’s past, Jenny discovers a secret that spurs her to take another leap into the unknown.

Cupcakes at Carrington's


Alex Brown - 2013
    And when hot newcomer Tom arrives, who may or may not be the best thing since sliced bread, Georgie must decide where her loyalties really lie…'A sparkling debut…funny, romantic and utterly charming. Devour in one sitting like a delicious, indulgent cupcake then go back and startagain.' Sasha Wagstaff'From the moment I read the first page of Alexandra's book, I knew I was being allowed to see something special. I believe that Alexandra has created a very real and likeable cast of characters that will appeal to a wide audience. Her writing style is crisp and funny and compels you to keep turning the page.' Chrissie Manby'Cupcakes at Carrington's is deliciously delightful from start to finish, sprinkled with magic and full of heart.' Miranda Dickinson

Confessions of an Ex-Girlfriend


Lynda Curnyn - 2002
    Her boyfriend got a life—in L.A. Her hairdresser found God. And that extra ten pounds of "relationship flab" she acquired while falling in love with a commitment-phobe has just put her out of the running for new romance—or so she thinks. But before Emma can get on with her life, she's got to face a few startling truths about being single in New York City....Confession #5: Marriage suddenly seems like a social disease. Even the latest bride in my family—my mother—has put me to work in the service of her wedding day. What about us non-brides-to-be? Working in the warped little world of wedding planning has only led me to one conclusion; If you don't get married in this world, you get nothing. Once, in an editorial meeting, I jokingly suggested that a woman should get a bridal shower when she turns thirty, wedding or not. Everyone looked at me as if I were some kind of nut. I am 31 years old; am I not entitled to free Calphalon yet?

Always


Sarah Jio - 2015
    As they leave the restaurant, Kailey spies a thin, bearded homeless man on the sidewalk. She approaches him to offer up her bag of leftovers, and is stunned when their eyes meet, then stricken to her very core: The man is the love of her life, Cade McAllister. When Kailey met Cade ten years ago, their attraction was immediate and intense everything connected and felt "right." But it all ended suddenly, leaving Kailey devastated. Now the poor soul on the street is a faded version of her former beloved: His weathered and weary face is as handsome as Kailey remembers, but his mind has suffered in the intervening years. Over the next few weeks, Kailey helps Cade begin to piece his life together, something she initially keeps from Ryan. As she revisits her long-ago relationship, Kailey realizes that she must decide exactly what and whom she wants. Alternating between the past and the present, Always is a beautifully unfolding exploration of a woman faced with an impossible choice, a woman who discovers what she's willing to save and what she will sacrifice for true love.