New Book Releases: June 2015

Contributor: Allie

Eight Hundred Grapes: A Novel by Laura Dave – June 2, 2015. This is a novel about secrets – those you share and those you hide. Georgia Ford seeks refuge at her family’s winery in Sonoma after she discovers that her fiancé has been keeping a huge secret from her. Once she’s home, Georgia’s disheartened to learn that her own family hasn’t been completely honest with her either. As the Ford family begins to fall apart, Georgia must contemplate her own ambivalence as she tries to figure out how to fix her life. This is a dramatic family tale has already been optioned for a movie, so it promises to be entertaining.

In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume – June 2, 2015. In 1987, Miri Ammerman returns to her hometown, Elizabeth, NJ, to commemorate the thirty-fifth anniversary of the worst year of her life. In 1952, a series of planes literally fell from the sky (this novel is based on real life events), shattering a period that should have been one of the happiest in Miri’s life. She was fifteen, in love for the first time, and excited about the future. Blume takes the reader back in time with nostalgia and details about some of the people who were on the planes. This is the story of a generation coming to terms with unlikely events and social change.

It’s You by Jane Porter – June 2, 2015. Ali McAdams suffers a terrible loss that sends her to Napa Valley, to spend time with her emotionally distant father. Ali’s dad has moved into a retirement home following the death of her mother – and it’s there that she meets the cantankerous Edie. Edie is a ninety-four year old woman who has also loved and lost. The two women bond over their grief. In a quest to bring closure to Edie, Ali travels to Germany to learn about the German resistance during World War II. Will solving the mysteries of the past help Ali heal her broken heart?

Royal Wedding: A Princess Diaries Novel by Meg Cabot – June 2, 2015. Fans of the Princess Diaries rejoice – Mia is back! It’s been five years since our princess graduated from college, and now she’s living and working in New York City. After her longtime boyfriend, Michael, proposes to her, she’s faced with the task of planning a very public wedding. Her grandmother has ideas of her own – and they may cause Michael to change his mind. Adding to the mayhem is the discovery of a planned political coup that could rob her father of the throne. It’s up to Mia to ensure these family secrets have no effect on her wedding – or her royal destiny.

The Status of All Things by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke – June, 2, 2015. This book is for those of us who abhor “FakeBooking.” Kate is a woman who is obsessed with social media, always one to portray her life in the most fabulous light for the entire internet to see. After she’s jilted at her rehearsal dinner, FaceBook is the last place Kate wants to share. Then she wakes up, back in time, with the amazing ability to rewrite her history using – you guessed it, FaceBook. Yet despite her attempts to make things right with her finance and for her friends, Kate learns that she doesn’t have the power to change fate.

Sweet Forgiveness: A Novel by Lori Nelson Speilman – June 2, 2015. Forgiveness is a gift, whether given or received. Television anchor Hannah Farr has no interest in forgiving or forgetting. When Hannah was in middle school, she was the victim of bullying. Her tormenter, Fiona Knowles, is now the celebrated author of a book about forgiveness – and she’s been actively seeking Hannah’s absolution with her brainchild, the Forgiveness Stones. The concept: a person can seek forgiveness by sending a letter, along with two forgiveness stones, to the person they’ve hurt. If that person choses to forgive the sender, they return one of the stones, and then seek their own forgiveness by sending the other stone to someone they’ve wronged. When Hannah inadvertently reveals secrets from her past on the air, she faces the scorn of her viewers, and the possible loss of her boyfriend. Suddenly, the art of forgiveness becomes very important to Hannah.

Those Secrets We Keep by Emily Liebert – June 2, 2015. Sloane, Hillary, and Georgina spend three weeks together in the idyllic setting of Lake George. Over the course of their vacation, their secrets cause tension. Sloane has the stereotypical perfect suburban life as a stay at home mom, yet she feels lost and unfulfilled. Hillary desperately wants a baby, but can’t get pregnant. Georgina is the carefree fun-loving daughter from a wealthy family, with no responsibility – until she makes a life changing discovery. Will their secrets pull these women together, or forever tear them apart?

Country by Danielle Steel – June 16, 2015. Stephanie Adams is shocked and filled with grief and guilt after the sudden passing of her husband. Unable to face her new independent life, she takes an impromptu road trip that leads her to Las Vegas and a chance encounter with country music star, Chase Taylor. Suddenly Stephanie finds herself with an exciting new life in Nashville, yet her children aren’t happy. Is Stephanie’s need to seize the day valid, or an impulsive reaction to a sudden loss?

The Rumor by Elin Hilderbrand – June 16, 2015. Madeline King is a novelist who lives on Nantucket with her family. A case of writer’s block leads her to rent some office space so she can write away from home. After she’s seen with the handsome landscape artist, Benton Coe, people start to whisper. Her son is dating one of the twin daughters of her best friend Grace, but he’s also quite friendly with the other twin. Grace, who’s working with Benton to transform her garden, finds herself falling in love. The complications of Grace’s messy life cure Madeline’s writer’s block. Add all these elements together in a small town like Nantucket, and rumors start to fly.

A Week at the Lake by Wendy Wax – June 23, 2015. Emma, Mackenzie, and Serena were friends for twenty years, taking an annual vacation together – until life’s ups and downs and petty jealousies broke them apart. Emma stayed away because she had something to hide, but after five years of estrangement, she decides to finally confess to her friends. Unfortunately, an accident prevents that from ever happening. Serena and Mackenzie stumble upon Emma’s secrets and no one’s life will ever be the same.

The Idea of Love: A Novel by Patti Callahan Henry – June 23, 2015. Hunter is a screenwriter who’s having trouble coming up with a new idea – and he desperately needs a hit. Ella is a widow who tragically lost her husband in a sailing accident – he died saving her life. Hunter is intrigued by Ella’s story and the more she shares, the more he uses for his screenplay. Ella feels relief in telling her story, even if some of it’s embellished, even if she’s “rewritten” some of her history. And if it helps Hunter, what’s the harm? Little does she know that Hunter’s also not being completely honest. Hunter and Ella have woven such a web of lies that they can no longer see reality. As they say in the south, “Don’t let the truth get in the way of a good story.”

Killing Monica by Candice Bushnell – June 23, 2015. PJ Wallis is a very successful author who’s made a career out of writing books about the fictional Monica – “a Carrie Bradshaw on steroids.” But after a number of books and movies about “Monica,” PJ’s ready to do something different. To the horror of her editor, she wants to write historical fiction. Her philandering, money-loving husband also isn’t thrilled with her plan. PJ reaches out to her former best friend, SondraBeth – the actress who plays Monica on the big screen, to help in her scheme to “kill” Monica. Only thing is, despite claims to the contrary, SondraBeth is not too pleased about the plan to off her alter-ego.

Summer Secrets by Jane Green – June 23, 2015. This novel is a riveting tale of addiction and the quest for redemption. Cat Combes was London’s “it” party girl, with an exciting job and a social life that made the gossip pages. Her wild ways catch up with her when she wakes up in bed with a stranger. Only the stranger turns out to be the famous movie actor, Jason Halliwell. Jason is a recovering alcoholic with three years of sobriety under her belt. He inspires Cat to change her ways, but it’s a rough road, littered with many relapses. After her drinking causes Cat to do the unforgivable while visiting her family in America, she finally commits to her sobriety. As she attempts to repair all the damage to her husband, daughter, and family in America, Cat realizes some people may never forgive her.

Tiny Little Thing by Beatriz Williams – June 23, 2015. I thoroughly enjoyed last summer’s The Secret Life of Violet Grant, which was also written by Williams. In Tiny Little Things, she focuses on the oldest Schulyler sister, Christina. Christina is married to the dashing and wealthy Frank Hardcastle, who has his sights set on the U.S. Senate. The Hardcastle family has an estate on Cape Cod, so it’s not too hard to guess who he’s modeled after – especially after Christina’s wild and unpredictable sister Pepper shows up to wreak havoc. But Christina has a secret of her own and in alternating chapters, narrated by Caspien, a Vietnam War hero, we learn there’s more under the glossy façade that Christina presents to the world.  All these tiny little things threaten to destroy the couples promising future.