Other People's Houses


Abbi Waxman - 2018
    She knows her cousin is hiding her desire for another baby from her spouse, Bill Horton's wife is mysteriously missing, and now this...After the shock of seeing Anne Porter in all her extramarital glory, Frances vows to stay in her own lane. But that's a notion easier said than done when Anne's husband throws her out a couple of days later. The repercussions of the affair reverberate through the four carpool families--and Frances finds herself navigating a moral minefield that could make or break a marriage.

The Summer That Made Us


Robyn Carr - 2017
    The Summer That Made Us is an unforgettable story about a family learning to accept the past, to forgive and to love each other again.That was then…For the Hempsteads, two sisters who married two brothers and had three daughters each, summers were idyllic. The women would escape the city the moment school was out to gather at the family house on Lake Waseka. The lake was a magical place, a haven where they were happy and carefree. All of their problems drifted away as the days passed in sun-dappled contentment. Until the summer that changed everything.This is now…After an accidental drowning turned the lake house into a site of tragedy and grief, it was closed up. For good. Torn apart, none of the Hempstead women speak of what happened that summer, and relationships between them are uneasy at best to hurtful at worst. But in the face of new challenges, one woman is determined to draw her family together again, and the only way that can happen is to return to the lake and face the truth.

A Year of Chasing Love


Rosie Chambers - 2020
    One moment can change a lifetime…The last thing top divorce lawyer Olivia Hamilton ever expected was to be served her own divorce papers! To escape her marriage troubles, she agrees to go on a year-long trip to find the ultimate guide to love.Travelling the world, surrounded by stories of love and happiness, it’s not long before her thoughts turn to Nathan, her soon-to-be ex-husband, and she starts to take note of her own lessons in love…But with Nathan over a thousand miles away, will it be too late?Perfect for fans of Cathy Bramley, Philippa Ashley and Caroline Roberts.

The Forever Summer


Jamie Brenner - 2017
    But one moment of weakness leaves Marin unemployed and alone, all in a single day. Then a woman claiming to be Marin's half-sister shows up, and it's all Marin can do not to break down completely. Seeking escape, Marin agrees to a road trip to meet the grandmother she never knew she had. As the summer unfolds at her grandmother's quaint beachside B&B, it becomes clear that the truth of her half-sister is just the beginning of revelations that will change Marin's life forever. THE FOREVER SUMMER is a delicious page-turner and a provocative exploration of what happens when our notions of love, truth, and family are put to the ultimate test.

The Child I Never Had


Kate Hewitt - 2022
    She opens the door to see a teenage girl standing in the shadow beyond the porch light—and in an instant she knows who it is. Daisy, the daughter she gave up as a baby. Daisy steps forward, as she says tearfully “I’m sorry I didn’t call first. But something happened. And I really needed… you.”Seventeen years before, knowing she couldn’t possibly give her beautiful little girl Daisy the future she deserved, Mia made the hardest decision of her life—to give her up. And Suzanne seemed the perfect adoptive mother: calm, stable, and full of love for the daughter she’d always dreamed of having. The two mothers promised to keep communication open, so Daisy could have Mia’s love and support along with Suzanne’s. But as the years passed, Mia moved away, and their visits happened less. Now Daisy is almost a stranger to Mia—angry, closed and broken—nothing like the tiny girl she once couldn’t bear to say goodbye to.But now Daisy has arrived on Mia’s doorstep, and she says she has a terrible secret. One she can never tell Suzanne. And she believes the only person who can help her is Mia. Her birth mother.Mia, however, has secrets of her own. Ones she is afraid to let Daisy or anyone else know. And while Suzanne desperately seeks a way to bring her child home, can Mia overcome her past to help the girl they both call their daughter in her darkest hour before it’s too late? Totally gripping emotional women’s fiction from the author guaranteed to make readers cry. Kate Hewitt’s story will grab you by the heartstrings and never let you go. Perfect for fans of Jodi Picoult, Diane Chamberlain and Jojo Moyes.

The Making of Us


Lisa Jewell - 2011
    His friend Maggie sits with him every day; she holds his hand and she listens to the story of his life, to his regrets and to his secrets. And then he tells her about the children he has never met and never will. He talks of them wistfully. His legacy, he calls them. Lydia, Dean and Robyn don't know each other. Yet. And they are all facing difficult changes. Lydia is still wearing the scars from her traumatic childhood and although she is wealthy and successful, her life is lonely and disjointed. Dean is a young man, burdened with unexpected responsibility, whose life is going nowhere. And Robyn wants to be a doctor, just like her father - a man she's never met. But is her whole life built on an illusion? Three people leading three very different lives. All lost. All looking for something. But when they slowly find their way into each other's lives, everything starts to change ...

Spring Shoots on Sunflower Street


Rachel Griffiths - 2020
    Jilted on her wedding day by her fiancé, she has little interest in looking for love again. She spends most of her time hiding away in her cosy cottage, snuggling on the sofa with her two cats and trying to find the energy to invest in her online craft business. Widower Ethan Morris has been drifting from job to job since he lost his wife, unable to commit to anything for long. He’s returned to Sunflower Street to stay with his ailing mother and is secretly glad to have an excuse to go home. His mother suggests that he puts his manual skills to good use by starting his own painting and decorating business.The glorious spring sunshine reveals all the areas of Lila’s cottage that are in need of maintenance, as well as a good spring clean, and her friends suggest that she hires someone to do the work. At first, Lila is reluctant, having kept things the same since her fiancé left, but she has to admit that a fresh lick of paint on the walls and some more shelves for her books would be nice. When a flier advertising a new local painter and decorator lands on Lila’s doormat, it seems like fate has made the decision for her. As Ethan works his magic on Lila’s cottage, and spring brings hope and renewal to Sunflower Street, is it possible that there could be a new beginning in store for Lila and Ethan too?

A Week at the Shore


Barbara Delinsky - 2020
    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.

A Single Breath


Lucy Clarke - 2014
    What stopped me was always the same thing...When Eva’s husband Jackson tragically drowns, she longs to meet his estranged family. The journey takes her to Jackson’s brother’s doorstep on a remote Tasmanian island. In a single breath everything changes. The memories of the man she married start slipping through her fingers like sand as everything she ever knew and loved about him is thrown into question. Now she’s no longer sure whether it was Jackson she fell in love with – or someone else entirely…The truth is, it was all a lie...

Flying by the Seat of My Knickers


Eliza Watson - 2016
    NOT a cozy mystery series.Why run from your troubles when you can fly instead?When Caity Shaw is fired from her first job that doesn't require an elf uniform, her older sister, Rachel, an event planner, hires her to work a meeting in Dublin. Caity jumps at the opportunity to travel abroad and escape her pathetic life. However, even four thousand miles from home, there's no avoiding debt collectors, an overbearing mother, and haunting memories of a controlling ex.While in Dublin, Caity suffers a series of humiliating mishaps, causing her to lose even more faith in herself. Caity struggles to earn Rachel's respect--and to keep Declan, her hot Irish coworker, at arm's length. Declan repeatedly saves Caity's butt and helps boost her self-confidence, making it difficult to keep her distance from the charming womanizer. When Declan helps her research her Irish grandmother, Caity discovers the mysterious past of the courageous woman she barely knew might hold the answers to her future.

If You Love Me, I'm Yours


Lizzie Chantree - 2018
    She had a sensible job, clothes, and love life… if you counted an overbearing ex who had thanked her, rolled over and was snoring before she even realised he’d begun! She could tolerate not fulfilling her dreams, if her parents would pay her one compliment about the only thing she was passionate about in life: her art. Dot should have fit in with her flamboyant and slightly eccentric family of talented artists, but somehow, she was an anomaly who couldn’t paint. She tried hard to be part of their world by becoming an art agent extraordinaire, but she dreamed of finding her own voice. Dot’s brother Nate, a smoulderingly sexy and famous artist, was adored by everyone. His creative talent left them in awe of his ability to capture such passion on canvas. Women worshipped him, and even Dot’s friend Maud flushed and bumped into things when he walked into a room, but a tragic event in his past had left him emotionally and physically scarred, and reluctant to face the world again. Someone was leaving exquisite little paintings on park benches, with a tag saying, ‘If you love me, I’m yours’. The art was so fresh and cutting-edge, that it generated a media frenzy and a scramble to discover where the mystery artist could be hiding. The revelation of who the prodigious artist was interlinked Maud, Dot and Nate’s lives forever, but their worlds came crashing down. Were bonds of friendship, love and loyalty strong enough to withstand fame, success and scandal?

The Summer List


Amy Mason Doan - 2018
    Until one summer night, when a shocking betrayal sent Laura running through the pines, down the dock, and into a new life, leaving Casey and a first love in her wake.But the past is impossible to escape, and now, after seventeen years away, Laura is pulled home and into a reunion with Casey she can’t resist—one last scavenger hunt. With a twist: this time, the list of clues leads to the settings of their most cherished summer memories. From glistening Jade Cove to the vintage skating rink, each step they take becomes a bittersweet reminder of the friendship they once shared. But just as the game brings Laura and Casey back together, the clues unravel a stunning secret that threatens to tear them apart…“This is a lovely debut by Doan, exploring themes of motherhood, daughterhood, and first love with tenderness and humor. The writing is fresh and charming, a perfect read for anyone who spent her teenage years reading the racy bits of cheap paperbacks out loud to their best friends.”-Booklist, STARRED* review“Doan’s characters leap off the page…[An] accomplished debut novel…Will please readers who grew up with the novels of Judy Blume.”-Publishers Weekly“With a vivid sense of place and characters as real as your high school besties, this debut novel is sure to please fans of Kristin Hannah and Elin Hilderbrand.”-Library Journal“A poignant tale of mothers and daughters finding their ways home to each other.”-Kirkus Reviews“Summer Reads: Coolest Books of the Season”-Globe and Mail“Best New Books to Put in Your Beach Bag”-PopSugar “Best Books of Summer 2018”-Family Circle“Best New Books for Summer 2018”-Coastal Living“A trip down memory lane becomes a hunt for long-buried secrets in Amy Mason Doan’s gripping and poignant debut. An evocative tale of family, first love, and the unique and lasting gift of a friendship formed in girlhood.”-Meg Donohue, USA Today bestselling author“There is not a word or a plot line out of place in The Summer List, Amy Mason Doan’s fabulous debut. These characters and their stories are going to stick with you for a long, long time.”-Meg Mitchell Moore, author of The Admissions and The Captain’s Daughter“An ideal summer read…a compelling blend of love, betrayal, secrets and reconciliation…”-The Oregonian“An amazing debut.”-Authorlink“Read this one on the beach with your BFF.”-HelloGiggles"The perfect summer read. Beautifully drawn characters creating a page-turning mystery. I stayed up way too late to find out what happened! Impossible to put down!”-Bestselling author M. O’Keefe“In her mesmerizing debut, Amy Mason Doan challenges everything we think we know about family and forgiveness. Readers will be swept up in this haunting story of buried secrets and lost love.”-Lynda Cohen Loigman, author of The Two-Family House“With its exquisite detail, The Summer List wouldn’t let me go, and the unexpected ending gave me chills…Irresistible.”-Jennifer S. Brown, author of Modern Girls“A tender novel about friendship lost and rekindled, and uncovering the truth of the past.”-Polly Dugan, author of So Much a Part of You and The Sweetheart Deal“Moving…compelling…beautifully written characters.”-The Girly Book Club

The Family You Make


Jill Shalvis - 2022
    After strong winds hurl the gondola in front of them into the ground, Levi calls his parents to prepare them for the worst...but can't bring himself to say goodbye. Instead, wanting to fulfill his mother's lifelong wish, he impulsively tells her he's happily settled and Jane is his girlfriend--right before his phone dies.But Levi and Jane do not.Now Levi's family is desperate to meet "The One." Though Jane agrees to be his pretend girlfriend for just one dinner, she's nervous. After a traumatic childhood, Jane isn't sure she knows how to be around a tight-knit family that cherishes one another. She's terrified, and a little jealous. But an unexpected series of events and a host of new friends soon show Jane that perhaps this is the life she was always meant to have.As Jane and Levi spend more time together, pretend feelings quickly turn into real ones. Now all Jane has to do is admit to herself she can't live without the man she's fallen in love with and the family she has always dreamed of.

Just My Luck


Adele Parks - 2020
    Over dinner parties, fish & chip suppers and summer barbecues, they’ve discussed the important stuff – the kids, marriages, jobs and houses – and they’ve laughed off their disappointment when they failed to win anything more than a tenner.But then, one Saturday night, the unthinkable happens. There’s a rift in the group. Someone doesn’t tell the truth. And soon after, six numbers come up which change everything forever.Lexi and Jake have a ticket worth £18 million. And their friends are determined to claim a share of it. Adele Parks returns with a riveting look at the dark side of wealth in this gripping take on friendship, money and betrayal, and good luck gone bad…

A Summer of New Beginnings


Lisa Hobman - 2019
    Jetting from wooden huts on stilts in turquoise seas to boutique hotels with roaring fires to 7* penthouse suites with panoramic views of the world's most glamorous cities... Zara knows hers is the definition of a dream job! So she is seriously shocked to receive her next assignment; Scotland's Northcoast 500 route. By bicycle. Sleeping in a tent so basic it can't remotely be dressed up glamping! But this could be just the distraction the recently heartbroken, Zara needs. No men, no romance, just the breathtakingly rugged Highland scenery. Until she meets croft owner Lachlan Grant, and his black and white Border Collie Bess, that is...