In My Mailbox: Week of February 13th
Title: Starring in the Movie of My Life
Author: Laurel Osterkamp
Received: From Laurel Osterkamp
Synopsis: STARRING IN THE MOVIE OF MY LIFE, by novelist Laurel Osterkamp, is about
two women who vie for the love of the same man. Thirty-five-year-old
Samantha acts without thinking. Her heart is huge while her sense of purpose is
small; she’s willing to fight for those she loves, but she’s never learned to fight
for herself. Eighteen-year-old Melody is cold and calculating, and she’s driven by
the desire to better herself. As these compelling yet deeply flawed women battle
for the affections of 25-year-old Nathan, he becomes increasingly confused and
torn between them.
Nathan is Melody’s English teacher, and after he saves her from being raped,
she becomes attached to him. Melody longs for the affection she’s never felt, so
she involves her friends and family in her self-invented drama, making sure she
is at once the star and the director. Meanwhile, Samantha is newly married to
Nathan. But Samantha has issues, including hang-ups about motherhood and
lingering feelings for her ex. To make sense of the world, Sam relates her life to
the themes of her favorite movies, while she independently makes a
documentary in order to jump-start her non-existent film career.
Title: The Midwife’s Confession
Author: Diane Chamberlain
Received: From Tricia Carr @ Meryl L. Moss Media Relations, Inc
Synopsis: When Noelle Downie is found dead of an apparent overdose, her best friends Tara and Emerson are left blindsided by her death and struggling with burning questions. Everything they knew about their longtime friend—her natural calling as a midwife, her passion for causes, her love for her friends and family—portrayed a woman who completely embraced life, not someone suicidal.
Clearing out Noelle’s small home, Tara and Emerson encounter old photos, handwritten birth records, and sincere thank you notes from Noelle’s former patients—no hint that Noelle had been unstable during the years leading to her suicide. But among Noelle’s belongings, an unfinished letter is discovered—a clue to a disturbing past and an unbearable secret. With just one piece to the puzzle, Tara and Emerson commit to digging deeper for clues, slowly peeling back years of hidden deception that had been silently tearing apart their best friend.
Title: Love Struck
Author: Chantel Simmons
Received: From Chantel Simmons
Synopsis: In the vein of her popular debut and bestselling novel, Stuck in Downward Dog, Chantel Simmons brings us a funny, heartfelt story about losing the perfect life—and find a real one. When 27-year-old image consultant Poppy Ross discovers her handsome and seemingly devoted husband Parker is having an affair, she is dumbfounded. Before she can confront him, however, he is struck by lightning. When he regains consciousness, he has lost his short-term memory—including that of the affair. Given this unlikely chance to erase history, Poppy decides to remake herself in the mistress’s image, so that her husband might never be tempted to stray again. Her quest to become the perfect woman has disastrous results, however, and may just turn out to be the worst thing possible for her marriage.
Title: Voices on the Waves
Author: Jess Chambers
Received: From Jess Chambers
Synopsis: When Faye Wakefield runs a competition offering nine lucky winners a two-week stay at her beautiful farmhouse retreat in Cornwall, she promises an experience they will never forget. However, even Faye could not have imagined how bringing these people together would change their lives forever.
Just as she hoped, the competition yields a diverse mix of characters. Among them are Leah Shaw, a shy young woman with troubled eyes; the womanizing business tycoon Marcus Armitage; Karenza Jackson ruled by her deep-rooted need for independence; retired nurse Bronwyn Davis, and Patrick O’Leary, an Irishman with an affiliation for the whisky bottle.
So begins a gently unfolding story of love and illicit affairs, heartache and self-discovery. Yet, as sparks fly and the guests share their long-buried secrets, only Faye knows of her ulterior motive for inviting them all under her roof.
February 13, 2011
