Title: Sea Change
Author: Karen White
Received: From Jessica @ Penguin Group
Synopsis: For as long as she can remember, Ava Whalen has struggled with a sense of not belonging, and now, at thirty-five, she still feels stymied by her family. Then she meets child psychologist Matthew Frazier and thinks her days of loneliness are behind her. After a whirlwind romance, they impulsively elope, and Ava moves to Matthew’s ancestral home on St. Simons Island, off the coast of Georgia.
But after the initial excitement, Ava is surprised to discover that true happiness continues to elude her. There is much she doesn’t know about Matthew, including the mysterious circumstances surrounding his first wife’s death. And her new home seems to hold as many mysteries and secrets as her new husband. Feeling adrift, Ava throws herself into uncovering Matthew’s family history and that of the island, not realizing that she has a connection of her own to this place–or that her obsession with the past could very well destroy her future.
Title: Finding Lucas
Author: Samantha Stroh Bailey
Received: From Samantha Stroh Bailey
Synopsis: Can you ever really go back to the past?
On her fifth anniversary with boyfriend Derek, Jamie Ross finds herself in a Montreal hotel room wondering how the carefree guy she met in a Chicago bar has turned into “the quintessential metrosexual.” Weighed down by Derek’s disdain for her second hand wardrobe, her unusual family and her low-paying job as an associate producer of a daytime talk show, Jamie reaches a breaking point. And when her new boss plans to reunite lost loves on the show, she remembers Lucas— the boy she’d loved and lost ten years earlier. What follows is a quest that is at times hilarious and at others disastrous as Jamie’s life transforms from run of the mill to absolutely crazy. But will finding Lucas give Jamie everything she’s looking for?:
Title: Showbiz
Author: Ruby Preston
Received: Via CLP Blog Tours
Synopsis: “Set amid the twinkling marquees of modern day Times Square, Showbiz, is a juicy behind the scenes glimpse into the delicious and malicious world of Broadway.”
After four years in Manhattan, slaving away as the under-appreciated apprentice to the brilliant but ruthless “King of Broadway,” Scarlett Savoy is finally on her way to becoming a Broadway producer in her own right. But then, a shocking suicide turns Broadway on its head. Scarlett finds herself at the center of the storm as everything she thought she knew about the business of Broadway begins to unravel. A chance meeting with an influential gossip columnist sparks romance – but can he be trusted? Scarlett is forced to decide to what lengths she’ll go, who she’s willing to become, and what she’ll sacrifice, to achieve her Broadway dreams.
[happy place] Title: Finding My Happy Place
Author: Heather Wardell
Received: From Heather Wardell
Synopsis: If thirty-year-old Megan were any more of a doormat, she’d have footprints on her back. She takes up running to strengthen her body, but marathon training with cute but heartbroken coach Andrew strengthens her assertiveness too. When her best friend’s demands threaten her race Megan must decide: cave in as she always has before or stick to her new-found ‘happy pace’ in running and life.
In Sara’s Mailbox:
Title: The Silent Touch of Shadows
Author: Christina Courtenay
Received: Jane @choc lit team
Synopsis: What will it take to put the past to rest? Professional genealogist Melissa Grantham receives an invitation to visit her family’s ancestral home, Ashleigh Manor. From the moment she arrives, life-like dreams and visions haunt her. The spiritual connection to a medieval young woman and her forbidden lover have her questioning her sanity, but Melissa is determined to solve the mystery. Jake Precy, owner of a nearby cottage, has disturbing dreams too, but it’s not until he meets Melissa that they begin to make sense. He hires her to research his family’s history, unaware their lives are already entwined. Is the mutual attraction real or the result of ghostly interference? A haunting love story set partly in the present and partly in fifteenth century Kent. Christina Courtenay won the 2012 Best Historical Romantic novel of the year award (RoNA) for her novel Highland Storms.
May 27, 2012
