In My Mailbox: Week of October 27

Title: The Art of Being Rebekkah
Author: Karoline Barrett
Received: Via CLP Blog Tours
Synopsis: When Rebekkah Gelles suspects her husband, Avram of not only lying to her, but also contriving not to have the children she so desperately wants and embezzling money from his business, she wants out of their marriage. Her life gets complicated when she falls in love with detective Nick Rossi. Convinced Nick’s wrong for her—he’s not Jewish for one thing—she walks away after they share a night of passion. Nick warns her even though he loves her, he won’t beg. Their budding relationship seems to have ended. When Rebekkah finds herself staring at a positive pregnancy test, she wavers between joy and sadness. Motherhood wasn’t supposed to happen this way.

Title: The Sister Season
Author: Jennifer Scott
Received: Penguin Group
Synopsis: Sometimes coming home for the holidays isn’t as easy as it seems….

It’s December 21, and the Yancey sisters have been called home. When the girls were young, holidays at their family farm meant a tinsel-garnished tree, the scent of simmering food, and laughter ringing through the house. But as the years unfolded, family bonds fractured, and the three sisters scattered and settled into separate lives. Until now. The Yancey sisters are coming to spend the holidays with their mother. They’re also coming to bury their father.

Claire, the youngest, a free spirit who journeyed to California, returns first. Then comes Julia, the eldest, a college professor with a teenage son of her own. And finally there’s Maya, the middle child, who works so hard to be the perfect mother and wife.

During the sisters’ week together, old conflicts surface, new secrets emerge, and the limits and definitions of family are tested. And as the longest night of the year slips by and brightening days beckon, the sisters will have to answer one question: When you’re a sister, aren’t you a sister forever?

Title: Where the Pink Houses Are
Author: Rebekah Ruth
Received: Rebekah Ruth
Synopsis: When unthinkable tragedy strikes, will Brenna and her mother-in-law, Anna, find healing half a world away amid the green Irish hills? Brenna begins to think she may be able to build a new life in a new land when Anna’s eccentric family welcomes her with open arms. But it’s in the arms of the town heartbreaker, Luke Dillon, that she begins to wonder if she can truly fall in love again.

Luke is a handsome charmer who’s used to getting what he wants. Just talking to him ties Brenna’s stomach in knots and sets her cheeks ablaze. He’s persistent too. She tells him she’s not interested but he doesn’t listen. Secretly, she loves his attention but something tells her to be careful. Is he good for her or will a relationship with him lead her straight into more heartbreak?

As if one confusing relationship isn’t enough, when Brenna meets Ryan Kelly she’s instantly drawn to him. He’s like no guy she’s ever met. While every guy in town has been asking her out, Ryan doesn’t seem to have any romantic interest in her at all. He’s much older than she is and he’s only interested in friendship–yet she can’t stop thinking about him.

Brenna questions her sanity when she finds herself falling for two very different men at the same time. As always, Anna has comforting and wise advice but Brenna needs to decide for herself as she struggles to understand God’s plan for her life. Should she give in to Luke’s attentions? Will her new friendship with Ryan become something more? Or will events that none of them can foresee take her life down a frightening new path?

Title: Suburban Underbelly
Author: Michele Theron
Received: Michele Theron
Synopsis: For suburban moms Quinn, Jill, and Lucy, freedom from motherhood as a competitive sport starts innocently enough: three hours a week without kids. And what could be the harm in indulging a fantasy or two? Before they know it, things are careening way out of control. Sexy, snarky, smart, and laugh-out-loud funny, SUBURBAN UNDERBELLY takes you on the ride of a lifetime with the best friends we all wish we had.

Title: Because of You
Author: Kathryn Starke
Received: Kathryn Starke
Synopsis: Lilly, the main character, never wanted to settle, not in her education, her career, and especially not in her relationships. She observes the countless number of couples in her circle of family and friends, but is unsure if marriage is actually for her. At thirty-one, she is convinced she has finally found the man of her dreams. It is not until her actual wedding day, when she shares a conversation with a mysterious stranger in a hotel elevator, that she begins to question her “happily ever after.” An instant connection with this new male leads her to doubt what and who she believes in. She recalls flashbacks of her courtship with fiance Patrick Wellington and begins to wonder if she is indeed settiling for the first time in her life, which scares her to no end. Lilly struggles internally with her decision and begins debating between two lifestyles. Will Lilly marry Patrick or will she ultimately start her search for love all over again?