Contributor: Allie
I don’t know about you, but for me this winter has been long and cold. We’ve had lots of snow and too many cancelled school days. I’m ready for spring! “No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow.” But the cold weather has meant quality time by the fire, reading. I’m ready for some new books and this month there are several good ones being published.
Two Sisters by Mary Hogan – March 4, 2014. Muriel is the baby of her family, and she’s always felt like an outsider. As a child, she couldn’t compete with her beautiful older sister, the perfect Pia, whom she adored. Sadly, her parents did little to assuage her feelings and Muriel grew up accepting the disappointments in her life. Muriel has spent her adulthood avoiding the family who didn’t love her. Then one day her sister shows up with some shocking news, and everything begins to change. This story is full of family drama and dysfunction.
Safe with Me by Amy Hatvany – March 4th, 2014. This one sounds like quite a tear jerker! After her daughter dies in a tragic accident, Hannah donates the child’s liver to a young girl, Olivia. Hannah becomes close to Olivia’s family, a family that begins to unravel in the wake of the transplant. Only twelve years old, Olivia resents the toll that the transplant has taken on her life, and she’s fearful of her father’s rages – as is her mother. If you’ve read Hatvany before, you already know you’ll need a box of tissues handy – especially given the subject matters of grief, organ donation, single parenthood and abuse.
Power Play by Danielle Steel – March 11, 2014. It’s been decades since I’ve read a Steel novel and this one sounds really intriguing. It deals with the themes of moral integrity, corporate ethics and the sacrifices that women must make if they want to be as successful as men. The story focuses on a pair of corporate CEO’s, Fiona Carson and Marshall Weston, who connect after their children start dating. Soon we realize that they’ve chosen very different paths to the top of the corporate ladder, with one of them making the kind of sacrifices that threaten to destroy both families. All this, and the story is set in my favorite city (and Steel’s hometown) – San Francisco.
The Divorce Papers by Susan Riger – March 18, 2014. This one sounds fun, from a debut author who is a Columbia Law School graduate. The book is an epistolary novel, told through memos, emails and letters (similar to Where’d You Go Bernadette?). Sophie is a criminal defense attorney, who doesn’t particularly like dealing with people (she likes the fact that most of her clients are behind bars). She’s not happy that after an intake interview with a big client’s daughter, she finds herself as the divorce attorney in a high profile case involving a Mayflower descendent and a popular and influential pediatric oncologist. Throw in some of her own personal drama – romantic and professional – and we’ve got ourselves a juicy tale.
Pulled Beneath by Marni Mann – March 18, 2014. Drew Stevens is a young woman who’s mourning the brutal murder of her parents, when she discovers that she’s inherited property in Bar Harbor, ME. These multiple losses propel Drew to Bar Harbor, where she meets Saint, a man whose past is also full of pain. Can these two lost souls help each other heal and move forward, or are they doomed?
Happily Ever After: A Novel by Elizabeth Maxwell – March 18, 2014. Sadie Fuller is a single mom in her forties, struggling to raise her daughter. On the surface, she appears to be like most of the moms in suburbia, but what her neighbors don’t know is that Sadie makes a living writing Erotica – of course she does so using a pseudonym. The irony isn’t lost on Sadie that her own sex life is nothing to write about. Then one day, her fantasy world seems to come alive, in the form of a handsome man shopping at Target. Maybe happily ever after isn’t just an element of fiction.
Tempting Fate by Jane Green – March 25, 2014. This one sounds very interesting. Gabby is a 43 year old woman, who lives in the suburbs with her doctor husband and two daughters. She has a postcard perfect life, yet she feels that all the good stuff is behind her. After a girls’ night out in New York City, she begins a long-distance emotional affair with a younger man, who makes her feel sexy and alive. As Gabby and her paramour get closer, she begins to wonder if she should tempt fate and give in to her desires. If she does, will she ever be able to go back to her happy life in the country? Will she want to? And was she ever really content?
