Tag: Romance

At Morning’s Light by Lauraine Snelling

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Pub Date Dec. 2, 2025-Bethany House Publishing-Christian Historical Fiction, Frontier Romance-320pp

Book Summary

In her new homeland of Iowa, she must risk heartbreak and uncertainty for her dreams to flourish.

Maya Bredesen and her husband plan to journey from Norway to a new life at her cousin’s boardinghouse in America, but on one last fateful fishing trip, a fierce winter storm steals away her husband. With her dreams for the future crushed, Maya is left grieving on the voyage to Iowa, accompanied instead by her brother, who plans to finish his seminary degree.

Arriving at a boardinghouse spilling over with orphans and a newly married couple, Maya struggles to find her place amid the chaos. A new friendship develops between her and Eben Miller, the reserved, kind farmer next door, but just as Maya begins to recover from her wounded heart, more tragedy engulfs her. As she and Eben weather trials together, can they overcome the difficulties this new land holds when it seems so far from becoming home?

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

At Morning Light is a tender look at family life on a farm in Iowa,1890. Book #2 in the Home to Green Creek Series continues the immigration story of Amelia Gunderson and fiancé, Absalom. Readers easily pick up the back story from Book #1, Land of Dreams, with richly developed characters and excellent plot pacing, with each chapter ending in hopeful suspense! The main characters share relatable struggles and hurdles; finding jobs and learning English, while readers bond easily through blossoming relationships in this growing Norwegian community.

Snelling’s detailed descriptions of the endless boarding house chores and cooking along with gardening and the ‘never ending” processing of fruits and vegetables adds a marvelous layer to the richly expressed community pride exhibited in church picnics, hayrides, home building, and neighbors helping neighbors. Snelling’s ability to express the gratitude of family members seeps right into the hearts of readers.  

Amelia leads her family with faith and trust in God to overcome fears and guilt. An uplifting, comforting reminder that God’s love is constant and new each day, At Morning’s Light.

Author Bio: Lauraine Snelling is the award-winning author of more than one hundred books, fiction and nonfiction, for adults and young adults. Her books have sold more than five million copies. She makes her home in Tehachapi, California. Learn more at LauraineSnelling.com..

Christy Award -Historical Fiction 2025: Born of Gilded Mountains by Amanda Dykes

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Publication June 18, 2024-Bethany House-Christian-Historical Fiction-416pp

Book Summary

A lost treasure. A riddled quest. The healing power of friendship.

Legends are tucked into every fold of the Colorado mountains surrounding the quaint town of Mercy Peak, where residents are the stuff of tall tales, the peaks are taller still, and a lost treasure has etched mystery into the very terrain.

In 1948, when outsider Mercy Windsor arrives after a scandal shatters her gilded world as Hollywood’s beloved leading lady, she is determined to forge a new life in obscurity in this time-forgotten Colorado haven. She purchases Wildwood, an abandoned estate with a haunting history, and begins to restore it to its former glory.

But as she does, her every move tugs at the threads of the mountain’s lore, unearthing what became of her long-lost pen pal Rusty Bright, and the whereabouts of the infamous Galloping Goose Railcar No. 8, which vanished years ago–along with the mailbag it carried, whose contents could change the course of countless lives. Not to mention the fabled treasure that–if found–could right so many wrongs.

Among the towering mountains that stand as silent witnesses, the ghosts of the past entangle with the courage of the present to find a place where healing, friendship, and hope can abide amid a world forever changed.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab First Reviewed for Historical Novel Society-August 1, 2024

Mountain lore, a mystery, and mending of hearts are like the veins of gold in Colorado’s San Juan Mountain Range in Amanda Dyke’s dual timeline. A Blood Moon Pact between four ten-year-olds, heartfelt, girlish letters between pen-pals Rusty Bright and Marybeth Spatts in 1928, and the 1948 arrival of a fallen movie star in Mercy Peak, Colorado, sets the narrative in motion.

Like the “Galloping Geese,” hybrid train/automobiles used to climb the mountains, the pace of the novel transports readers slowly and deliberately to reach the peaks, then builds speed toward the station with a satisfying, uplifting arrival.  Dykes’ narrative, somewhat epistolary through the pen pal letters, is also layered with newspaper articles, movie scripts, and interviews which reveal personal emotions and feelings, lending a realistic, captivating element. A riveting treasure hunt with ingenious clues and patterns along with the search for the Galloping Goose #8 leads readers to a fascinating discovery.  The train’s mysterious disappearance and its missing mail bag adds suspense and personal connections to Mercy Peak’s citizens, some waiting years for life altering news. Throughout the narrative Dykes connects Mercy Peak’s residents of the present to the past through the possibilities of the mail bag’s contents. Also known for her love of symbolism, the mountains are cast as a character, representing life and the treasure they hold.

Themes of friendship, finding purpose, and hope are painted onto the canvas, Born of Gilded Mountains. The landscape, with glorious descriptions of mountain peaks and verdant valleys, is enhanced by the lure of the poignant tales and visions of those residing in the charming village of Mercy Peaks; filled with forgiveness, grace, courage and adventure. A soul-stirring, rewarding journey.  

Read more about Amanda’s books here on her website: https://amandadykes.com/mybooks/

Abigail and Alexa Save the Wedding by Lian Dolan

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Publication May 20, 2025-William Morrow-Romance-Women’s Fiction-352pp

Book Summary

Everyone loves—and hates—a big fancy wedding! From the author of Lost and Found in Paris and The Marriage Sabbatical comes a champagne-sparkling summer read about two very different women planning their children’s wedding in glamorous Montecito, California. You’re invited…to a delightful modern comedy of manners about two moms, the best-laid plans, and one very memorable wedding.

Penelope and Chase make a lovely couple. She’s a bubbly Southern California girl with killer work ethic. Chase is smart and charming and has political aspirations. They’re planning a spectacular California wedding, wrapped in peonies and thousands of little white lights, soaked in custom cocktails and romantic hashtags. Everyone’s excited about Penny and Chase’s wedding­­­­­­—except their mothers.

The Mother of the Bride, suave Greek-born Alexa Diamandis, doesn’t understand why any woman would get married. Ever! Raised in Athens and now perfectly situated in sun-splashed Montecito, California, she raised Penny as single mother by choice, supported by Lord Simon Fox, her old college friend who just happens to be an English aristocrat, and a wealthy circle of lady friends who call themselves the Merry Widows.

The Mother of the Groom, Abigail Blakeman, is a garden club stalwart firmly planted in coastal Connecticut. She thinks the whole enterprise would be so much easier if the wedding was at their golf club. Especially because the Blakeman’s fortunes have taken a turn for the worse—not that you would ever know it by looking at Abigail. Keeping up appearances is exhausting, but it is everything.  

But when a sudden twist of fate calls them into action, these two very different women are forced to take over the wedding planning. Despite their differences, Alexa and Abigail charge in to save the day. How far will two moms go to make their children’s dream wedding a reality?

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

Just in time for wedding season! Jump aboard with the MOB, MOG, and the happy couple to check all the boxes for a perfect “near New Year’s Eve” wedding. The countdown to the blissful wedding day of Chase and Penny is told from the point of view of the two mothers instead of the happy couple.

 Alexa, MOB, is from a Greek family, runs her own business-Odyssey Vacations, and is a single mother by choice. She adds a whole new dynamic to the wedding party planning since there is no official FOB. She is surrounded by her wealthy friends in beautiful Montecito, California, who each lend their own opinions, wisdom and skill sets to the “big day.” These “Merry Widows” add a hilarious but heartfelt layer to the friend circle supporting Penny.

Abigail, MOG, clutching her DAR heritage while “keeping up appearances, lives with her husband George in a quietly crumbling Connecticut home with a three-million-dollar view! Her gardens are filled with hydrangeas, my favorite, and through all her self-talk and self-doubt, I was rooting for a Connecticut venue for the wedding.   Lian Dolan keeps readers on the wedding roller coaster known as Operation Butterfly, with chapter titles that give pace to the wedding timeline. “The Call, The Dress, The Engagement Party, Venue Hunting.”” Readers will sense the wedding frenzy as the participants travel from coast to coast!

There are plenty of wedding party guests to raise eyebrows. The mayor of New York City, a Lord with a seat in Parliament, and the groom’s best friend and scientist, Lloyd, each have a surprising part in the wedding story. Then there’s Sarah, the groom’s sister who plays college field hockey and is a perfect contrast in age & personality to the Merry Widows. A wedding gift to readers is Aunt B, Abigail’s friend and social columnist. Her letters, signed Big Kiss & Wedding Bliss, are filled with relationship advice and sprinkled throughout the narrative like bridal confetti.  Who doesn’t like advice and letters???

Lian Dolan’s Abigail and Alexa Save the Wedding is the perfect way to experience a wedding while sitting on your own patio with your own cocktail! The Merry Widows would be pleased. Dress for a cool, beach vibe, preferably in blue.

Lian Dolan is a writer and talker. She’s the USA Today Bestselling author of The Marriage Sabbatical, a People Magazine Best Book of the Week, published by  William Morrow in April 2024.  Her other books are Lost and Found in Paris, The Sweeney Sisters, Helen of Pasadena and Elizabeth the First Wife- all LA Times bestsellers. https://www.liandolan.com/about/

Murder In Season-A Lady of Letters Mystery-Book #3 by Mary Winters

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Publication December 3, 2024-Severn House Publishing-Historical Fiction, Mystery-240pp

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Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

Murder in Season is book #3 in The Lady of Letters Mystery Series by Mary Winters. This blend of cozy mystery and romance is set in London, 1860. Lady Amelia Amesbury, countess and advice columnist, is still in mourning when her sister Margaret arriving under duress, asks to remain for the Season. As fans of Bridgerton and the ton know, the Season, a time for young people to find a spouse, is from May to August.  Lady Amesbury hosts a ball to introduce Margaret, but the plan backfires when a guest is poisoned. Margaret becomes the main suspect, and Lady Amesbury feels called to prove Margaret’s innocence.  Winters whisks readers from balls and concerts in manor houses in Mayfair across to markets in the East End’s Petticoat Lane, and to the exhibition by the Royal Botanic Society at Regent’s Park.

Margaret, or Madge, is known to be bullheaded, brave, and smart. Winters uses an impromptu performance at a concert to develop the sisters’ character by revealing their competitive spirits and musical talents, adding another intriguing layer to their personalities.  Their adventurous spirit surfaces as the sisters travel in disguise to Petticoat Lane to track a jewel thief! The action, dialogue and sensory descriptions of the market wares and stalls sink the reader into London’s East End.

Each chapter opens with a letter from a devoted reader to Lady Agony. The writer’s situation often hints at the impending conflict in the plot. Amelia’s slow burn romance with Simon, jewelry thefts, and a poisoning death keep readers following rumors and clues to the mystery.  Lady Agony’s readers will discover a surprising, satisfying close to the Lady of Letters Mystery Series. “Yours in Secret.” The Grateful Reader.     

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Mary Winters is the author of the Lady Agony mystery series. A longtime reader of historical fiction and an author of two other mystery series, Mary set her latest work in Victorian England after being inspired by a trip to London. Since then, she’s been busily planning her next mystery—and another trip!

Christmas in Chestnut Ridge by Nancy Naigle

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Publication Oct. 8, 2024-St. Martin’s Griffin-General Fiction, Romance-352pp.

Book Summary

In the enchanting mountain town of Chestnut Ridge, where tree farms blanket the hillsides and the promise of a white Christmas is ever-present, a heartwarming holiday romance is about to blossom. When Sheila’s best friend convinces her to help decorate a tree in the annual Christmas Tree Stroll fundraiser, she embarks on an unexpected journey of self-discovery, all wrapped in the cozy embrace of a tight-knit community. As she immerses herself in the joy of twinkling lights, hot cocoa, and the camaraderie of the townsfolk, Sheila’s world begins to transform, and she finds the sense of belonging she never knew she needed.

Meanwhile, Tucker, the town’s reliable fire captain, is gathering volunteers to help a family with four young children who have just lost their home to a devastating fire weeks before Christmas. Sheila offers her helping hand, and as the town rallies to support the family in their time of need, sparks of love begin to flicker between her and Tucker.

In this charming town where dreams come true, and Christmas magic is everywhere, come along for a tale of love, community, and the true spirit of the season.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

A small town in the Blue Ridge Mountains is the setting for this heartwarming tale of second chances, discovering new purpose, and experiencing how a community pulls together. Shiela’s realizations about life in a rural area in contrast to city life add complexity to her preconceived notions about her best friend moving away. It’s never easy being the one left behind, but Nancy Naigle’s thoughtful dialogue and Shiela’s analysis of her own selfish feelings, along with being drawn into experiencing how Chestnut Ridge rallies around a needy family, give her a lot to think about. The excitement and busyness of a tree decorating festival and a blossoming friendship with confident but humble Fire Chief Tucker, are the ingredients in this perfect recipe for holiday reading. Mix chasing career goals with life’s puzzle pieces and fold in the Christmas spirit; add a side of hot chocolate and you have the perfect “good-night wink.”

USA Today bestselling author Nancy Naigle whips up small-town love stories with a whole lot of heart. She began writing while juggling a successful career in finance and life on a seventy-six-acre farm. Now happily retired from a career in the financial industry, this Virginia girl devotes her time to writing, antiquing, and spa days with friends.

Several of Nancy’s novels have been adapted for television. You can find the complete list of movies and a free downloadable checklist of all of Nancy’s books in series order on her website.

The Winged Tiara by J’Nell Ciesielski

Publication August 13, 2024-Thomas Nelson-Romance-352pp

Book Summary

Diamonds and danger dazzle in Ciesielski’s latest enchanting romp through post-war Europe as estranged spouses and jewel thieves hunt an elusive Valkyrie tiara.

November 12, 1918. It was a match made in champagne-soaked heaven, but all too soon the bubbles dried up, and Esme Fox awakens the morning after celebrating the end of the Great War to find herself shockingly and accidentally married. She gathers her belongings and slips out before her new husband can stop her. After all, she knows it’s best to leave before he does.

Four years later, Jasper Truitt, after having made a name for himself in the underground world of jewel thieves, is on the hunt for a valuable heirloom: a one-of-a-kind winged tiara–the last Valkyrie tiara ever created. So it’s with great surprise that he discovers it at a charity event atop the head of a woman he’s never forgotten. His long-lost wife . . . who happens to be pursuing the tiara for a vengeful opera diva desperate to obtain the jewel for herself.

The reunion is cut short when Esme vanishes–again–but their separation is temporary. With a hitman on their heels and a deadline looming, the pair find themselves in an epic game of cat and mouse across Europe following leads from the French Riviera to a shop of wonders in Venice, a fairy-tale castle in Bavaria, and a veritable circus thrown by a champagne heiress, all before a dramatic horseback flight through the French countryside.

In the end only one can win, and with both of their hearts on the line, the winner may well turn out to be the loser.

In her latest glamorous historical romance, J’nell Ciesielski spins a sparkling story filled with her signature snappy dialogue and vivid atmosphere that will keep you reading late into the night to see what happens next.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

“May the best thief win!” – The battle-cry as the hunt for the prized Valkyrie Tiara stretches across Europe. J’Nell Ciesielski’s characters, Esme Fox and Jared Truitt, are endearing and maddening at the same time.  Four years after their marriage and separation, the famed tiara draws the two jewel thieves into competition. Esme, from the East End theater world of London, is quite a match for Jared, a war veteran with an aristocratic family tree. Their spirited banter keeps the reader alert and the wealthy aristocrats unaware.  J’Nell Ciesielski’s The Winged Tiara, a magical, entertaining mystery showcases the wit, skill, and heart of two jewel thieves as they navigate the personalities, parties, and unusual pets of the aristocrats of Europe’s grand estates! A rollicking read!

Bestselling author J’nell Ciesielski has a passion for heart-stopping adventure and sweeping love stories while weaving fresh takes into romances of times gone by. When not creating dashing heroes and daring heroines, she can be found dreaming of Scotland, indulging in chocolate of any kind, or watching old black and white movies. She is a member of the Tall Poppy Writers and lives in Virginia with her husband, daughter, and lazy beagle.

Meeting Her Match by Jen Turano

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Publication July 16, 2024-Bethany House-Christian-Historical Fiction-Romance-384pp

Book Summary

Miss Camilla Pierpont, a renowned matchmaker and influential member of the New York Four Hundred, has vowed never to marry after suffering a devastating heartbreak during her debut years ago. However, when she is nearly abducted along the Hudson River, she finds herself rescued by an annoyingly outspoken, albeit fascinating, gentleman who challenges her in a manner she wasn’t expecting.

After learning that Camilla Pierpont has enjoyed success with taking wayward young ladies in hand, Mr. Owen Chesterfield travels to the Hudson River Valley determined to convince Camilla to sponsor his sister, who is in desperate need of social rehabilitation.

Knowing her life is in danger, Camilla agrees to Owen’s proposition and travels with him to West Virginia, finding herself charmed by the less-than-formal attitude of his small hometown, as well as by Owen himself. But danger waits in the shadows, disrupting what she knows would be the most spectacular match she’s ever made–her own.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

This rollicking, Gilded Age romance whisks readers from New York City to Wheeling, West Virginia, at the foot of the Appalachian Mountains.  Jen Turano, known for her quirky, historical romances fills Meeting Her Match with hilarious verbal skirmishes between Camilla, a spinster and matchmaker of New York society and Owen Chesterfield, a wealthy Wheeling businessman, creating tension and turmoil.  Camilla agrees to sponsor Owen’s unconventional sister Luella, who loves to fish, has a philanthropical bent, abhors frocks with bows, and has been shunned by the local society. 

Camilla and her entourage arrive in Wheeling: Bernadette, her lady’s maid, Lottie, her paid companion, and Mr. Timkin, the butler. Fans of Downton Abbey’s Mr. Carson will appreciate the “butler brotherhood rule of proper behavior,” that Mr. Timkin often invokes. Camilla’s matchmaking days are revived as she becomes enamored with Owen’s family and their busy-body ways. West Virginia traditions and suspicions, not to be dismissed, play a real, but comical role in Owen’s Grandma Beulah’s plans. Hoping to prove worthy, Camilla’s competitive spirit shines as Beulah assigns daily challenges; chores like whitewashing fences and chicken coop shenanigans, all to sneak an apple pie recipe into Camilla’s possession. It’s apparently quite a powerful recipe!  Local fare, river trout, potato pancakes and rhubarb pie are woven into the locals’ jargon as they relate sentiments and entertaining stories. Terms like “prickly, beyond the pale, and fit as a fiddle” lace this charming tale of Camilla, the spinster. While in the heavenly countryside of West Virginia refining Luella, learning parlor games such as Key of the King’s Garden and teaching the Star Quadrille, Camila’s “ennui” is kept at bay. Discover the charms of Owen, Camilla, and West Virginia in Jen Turano’s Meeting Her Match; brimming with themes of family, kinship, and camaraderie.

Named one of the funniest voices in inspirational romance by Booklist, Jen Turano is a USA Today bestselling author known for penning quirky historical romances set in the Gilded Age. Her books have earned Publishers Weekly and Booklist starred reviews, top picks from RT Book Reviews, and praise from Library Journal. She’s been a finalist twice for the RT Reviewers’ Choice Awards and had two of her books listed in the top 100 romances of the past decade from Booklist. She and her family live outside of Denver, Colorado. Readers can find her on Facebook, Instagram, and X, and at JenTurano.com.

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The ROM-COMMERS by Katherine Center

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Publication June 11, 2024-St. Martin’s Press-Women’s Fiction-336pp

Book Summary

She’s rewriting his love story. But can she rewrite her own?

Charlie Yates is a great writer. He wrote the epic screenplay that made Jack Stapleton a household name—and became a household name himself. But now he’s written a romantic comedy . . . and it’s terrible.

Emma Wheeler could have been a great writer—but her life didn’t quite go like she planned. Now, when she gets the chance to rewrite Charlie’s apocalyptically bad screenplay—uncredited, of course—she jumps.

But Charlie doesn’t want anyone to rewrite his work—least of all a “failed nobody screenwriter”—and Emma can’t support a guy who doesn’t like rom-coms adding another terrible rom-com to the world.

So what choice do they have, really . . . but to fall stupidly, crazily, heart-poundingly in love?

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

The Rom-Commers, an emotional tug-of-war, pairs perfectly with the classic 1934 romantic-comedy, “It Happened One Night.” The movie, known for humor, sexiness, and wisdom, is a mirror for Charlie’s screenplay.  Emma deems the screenplay’s script terrible and explains, “The job of a rom-com is to give you a simulated feeling of falling in love, and that stories exist for the emotions they create.”  Charlie’s script did neither, so Emma is hired to fix the screenplay.

Katherine Center believes we, like her characters, gain wisdom through struggles. Through thought provoking dialogue with Charlie, Emma reveals her struggles and true feelings realizing she is the supporting character in her own story. Themes of unfulfilled dreams, sacrifice and guilt immerge in the kitchen, poolside, and at the worktable as Emma and Charlie spend time together. The emotional tug-of-war is filled with rom-com snooty disrespect, admiration mixed with some flirty banter, and even a distrusting, quitter attitude! How will this end? That’s what Katherine Center’s readers look forward to!

Wise beyond her years, Emma describes love as “feeling hopeful, and kind, sunshiny and soothing…like your heart is glowing.”

To experience humor, sexiness, and wisdom like Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert’s “It Happened One Night,” read The Rom-Commers. Your heart will glow.

BookPage calls Katherine Center “the reigning queen of comfort reads.” She’s the New York Times bestselling author of ten novels, including How to Walk Away, Things You Save in a Fire, and her newest, Hello Stranger. Her summer 2024 book is The Rom-Commers—a connected story to her blockbuster hit, The Bodyguard. Katherine writes laugh-and-cry books: deep romantic comedies about how life knocks us down—and how we get back up. She’s been compared to both Jane Austen and Nora Ephron, and the Dallas Morning News calls her stories, “satisfying in the most soul-nourishing way.” The Netflix movie adaptation of her novel Happiness for Beginners—starring Ellie Kemper and Luke Grimes—just hit the Global Top Ten in 81 countries, and the movie of her novel The Lost Husband was a surprise Netflix sensation in 2020, hitting number one and landing in their top 25 movies for the year. Her books have made countless Best-Of lists—at Audible, BookBub, and Book of the Month, as well as Goodreads’ Best Books of the Year, and Amazon’s yearly Top 100 books. Emily Henry calls The Bodyguard “my perfect 10 of a book,” and Jodi Picoult says of Things You Save in a Fire, “Just read it, and thank me later.” Katherine lives in her hometown of Houston, Texas, with her husband, two almost-grown teenagers, and their fluffy-but-fierce dog.

Summers at THE SAINT by Mary Kay Andrews

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Publication May 7, 2024- St. Martin’s Press-448pp-Women’s Fiction, Romance

Book Summary

Welcome to the St. Cecelia, a landmark hotel on the coast of Georgia, where traditions run deep and scandals run even deeper. . . .

Everyone refers to the St. Cecelia as “the Saint.” If you grew up coming here, you were “a Saint.” If you came from the wrong side of the river, you were “an Ain’t.” Traci Eddings was one of those outsiders whose family wasn’t rich enough or connected enough to vacation here. But she could work here. One fateful summer she did, and married the boss’s son. Now, she’s the widowed owner of the hotel, determined to see it return to its glory days, even as staff shortages and financial troubles threaten to ruin it. Plus, her greedy and unscrupulous brother-in-law wants to make sure she fails. Enlisting a motley crew of recently hired summer help—including the daughter of her estranged best friend—Traci has one summer season to turn it around. But new information about a long-ago drowning at the hotel threatens to come to light, and the tragic death of one of their own brings Traci to the brink of despair.

Traci Eddings has her back against the pink-painted wall of this beloved institution. And it will take all the wits and guts she has to see wrongs put to right, to see guilty parties put in their place, and maybe even to find a new romance along the way. Told with Mary Kay Andrew’s warmth, humor, knack for twists, and eye for delicious detail about human nature, Summers at the Saint is a beach read with depth and heart.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

Reward yourself with Mary Kay Andrew’s novel-a satisfying, uplifting summer treat. This double mystery set at “The Saint,” the stunning St. Cecelia Resort off the coast of Georgia, is perfect for your summer tote. This is a restorative tale packed with spoiled relationships between friends and family spanning decades.  MKA has staffed The Saint with suspicious summer help, ungrateful, outrageous guests, and plenty of “over-the-top” events-from entertaining beach bashes to calamitous explosions-real and between friends! The unspooling mysteries will prolong and illuminate your summer reading days well into the night. Perfect with a glass of wine at sunset.

A native of St. Petersburg, Florida, she earned a B.A. in journalism from The University of Georgia. After a 14-year career working as a reporter at newspapers including The Savannah Morning News, The Marietta Journal, and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, where she spent the final ten years of her career, she left journalism in 1991 to write fiction.

She and her family divide their time between Atlanta and Tybee Island, GA, where they cook up new recipes in three restored beach homes, The Breeze Inn, Ebbtide, and Coquina Cottage—all named after fictional places in Mary Kay’s novels, and all available to rent through Tybee Vacation Rentals. In between cooking, spoiling her grandkids, and plotting her next novel, Mary Kay is an intrepid treasure hunter whose favorite pastime is junking and fixing up old houses.

Hello Stranger by Katherine Center

Publishes July 11, 2023-St. Martin’s Press-Romance-336pp

https://katherinecenter.com/hello-stranger/

Book Summary

Love isn’t blind, it’s just a little blurry.

Sadie Montgomery never saw what was coming . . . Literally! One minute she’s celebrating the biggest achievement of her life―placing as a finalist in the North American Portrait Society competition―the next, she’s lying in a hospital bed diagnosed with a “probably temporary” condition known as face blindness. She can see, but every face she looks at is now a jumbled puzzle of disconnected features. Imagine trying to read a book upside down and in another language. This is Sadie’s new reality with every face she sees.

But, as she struggles to cope, hang on to her artistic dream, work through major family issues, and take care of her beloved dog, Peanut, she falls into―love? Lust? A temporary obsession to distract from the real problems in her life?―with not one man but two very different ones. The timing couldn’t be worse.

If only her life were a little more in focus, Sadie might be able to find her way. But perceiving anything clearly right now seems impossible. Even though there are things we can only find when we aren’t looking. And there are people who show up when we least expect them. And there are always, always other ways of seeing.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

A humorous yet poignant view of a struggling portraitist and her startling diagnosis after brain surgery. Readers will “see” Katherine Center’s Sadie though the foggy lens of face blindness. Through therapy with Dr. Nicole, Sadie and readers learn about confirmation bias, how to let friends help, and how to face tough truths about life, ourselves and healing family hurts.

Another recognizably memorable reminder of Katherine Center’s ability to help us see ourselves in the reflections of others. Find truth and hope in Hello Stranger.

Katherine Center is the author of How to Walk Away and Things You Save in a Fire—both instant New York Times bestsellers—as well as The Lost Husband (now a movie starring Josh Duhamel), and five other bittersweet comic novels. She writes laugh-and-cry books about how life knocks us down—and how we get back up. Katherine has been compared to both Nora Ephron and Jane Austen, and the Dallas Morning News calls her stories, “satisfying in the most soul-nourishing way.” Katherine lives in her hometown of Houston, Texas, with her husband, two kids, and their fluffy-but-fierce dog.