New Book Releases: August 2014

Contributor: Allie

New Releases August 2014

A Pinch of Ooh La La by Renee Swindle – August 5, 2014.  I love the title of this book.  Abbey Ross is a bakery owner who is renowned in the Oakland, CA area for her extraordinary cakes.  Too bad she can’t work her professional sweet magic in her personal life.  After her relationship with a two-timing artist falls apart, Abbey decides that it’s time to really put herself out there.  Her best friend sets her up with a “dream guy.” Before long Abbey realizes that Samuel Howard has decorated himself as a good catch, but the layers beneath his pretty exterior are quite complicated.

Cancel the Wedding by Carolyn Dingman – August 5, 2014.  Olivia is having a tough time.  Her mother just died of cancer, she hates her dream job and she’s having cold feet about her upcoming nuptials.  Then Olivia learns that her mother’s last wish was to have her ashes spread in her hometown – which is in rural Georgia.  Things are so bad in Olivia’s world that a summer road trip to Georgia offers her a great escape.  She takes her fourteen year-old niece along for the ride.  On the journey, Olivia discovers the tragedy of her mother’s past and must confront her own fears about the future.

Driving with the Top Down by Beth Harbison – August 5, 2014.   Beth Harbison is one of my favorite authors.  Her latest book involves a road trip (must be a summer theme) with three unlikely allies.  Colleen Brady has doubts about her marriage and hits the road to find peace of mind.  Tamara is her sixteen year old niece, who has made some wrong turns in her young life, and Bitty is an old high school friend of Colleen’s – a friend with secrets.  Their adventure is complicated by these secrets and the women learn that sometimes all you need is a road map and good friends to solve your problems.

Heroes Are My Weakness by Susan Elizabeth Phillips – August 26, 2014.  Phillips is the Grand Dame of romantic comedy, yet her latest novel appears to have a dark twist .  Annie Hewit is an actress who never quite got her big break and has had to resort to performing at kids parties with puppets, to make a living.  When she returns to the place where she grew up, a remote island off the coast of Maine, she encounters a man from her past.  He’s a reclusive writer of horror stories who betrayed her when she was a teenager.  Is he someone she should still fear, or should she listen to her heart and forgive him?