Ocean Beach by Wendy Wax Berkley Trade June 2012 Format: Paperback, 448 pages Source: Personal copy Wendy Wax, author of the “warm [and] wry” (St. Petersburg Times) Ten Beach Road, returns with a novel of three women in need of a second chance…or is it a third? Unlikely friends Madeline, Avery and Nicole have hit some speed bumps in their lives, but when they arrive in Miami’s South Beach neighborhood, they…

To Have and To Hold by Jane Green Broadway March 2005 Format: Paperback, 352 pages Source: Personal copy Alice knows she should be happy. A charming twenty-eight-year-old with a successful catering business, she’s always dreamed of a rose-covered cottage in the English countryside, filled with children and animals and home-cooked meals. Her favorite attire is comfy jeans, her best manicure features garden dirt under the nails. But when her teenage…

Killer in Crinolines by Duffy Brown Berkley May 2013 Format: Paperback Source: Publisher via the author It’s August in Savannah, Georgia – hardly the season for a traditional Southern wedding with hoopskirts and crinolines. One could die from the heat – or from a cake knife in the back… Reagan Summerside should be devoting all her energy to her consignment shop the Prissy Fox. But when her dear friend Chantilly…

The 1st Victim by Tami Hoag Dutton May 2013 Format: e-book, 60 pages Source: Publisher via Netgalley Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska return to investigate the death of a Jane Doe in New York Times bestseller Tami Hoag’s short story The 1st Victim. New Year’s Day is a time for new beginnings, but Minneapolis homicide detectives Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska are focused on endings: specifically, the tragic end of…

Barefoot in the Sand by Roxanne St. Claire Forever May 2012 Format: Paperback, 399 pages Source: Personal copy When all you hold dear is taken away . . . When a hurricane roars through Lacey Armstrong’s home on the coast of Barefoot Bay, she decides all that remains in the rubble is opportunity. A new hotel is just what Mimosa Key needs, and Lacey and her teenage daughter are due…

Sweet Tea Revenge by Laura Childs Berkley Prime Crime March 2013 Format:  ARC Paperback, Source: Publisher In the latest novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Agony of the Leaves, Indigo Tea Shop owner Theodosia Browning may always be a bridesmaid, never a bride, but this groom is never going to make it to the altar… Theodosia Browning’s dear friend, Delaine Dish, has asked her to be…

What She Wants by Sheila Roberts Harlequin MIRA March 2013 Format: ARC e-book, 400 pages Source: Requested from Netgalley First line: Working in such close quarters with a woman that you could bump knees (thighs, and maybe even other body parts) was probably every man’s dream job. Summary: “What “do” women want?”Jonathan Templar and his poker buddies can’t figure it out. Take Jonathan, for instance. He’s been in love with…

Iced Chiffon by Duffy Brown Berkley October 2012 Format: Paperback, 304 pages Source: Author First line: I poured out the last of the pinot and lifted my glass as I gazed around the dining-room table. From the back cover: There’s always something to gossip about in Savannah, Georgia, and Reagan Summerside always seems to be in the middle of it. She’s busy enough running her consignment shop, the Prissy Fox,…

Private Berlin by James Patterson Little, Brown and Company January 2013 Format: Hardcover, 448 pages Source: Personal copy First line: At ten o’clock on a moonless September evening, Chris Schneider slipped toward a long-abandoned building on the eastern outskirts of Berlin, his mind whirling with dark images and old vows. From the inside cover: Private Berlin has the extraordinary pace and international sophistication that has powered The Girl with the…

Starting Now by Debbie Macomber Ballantine Books April 2013 Format: Hardcover, 352 pages Source: Library book First line: This was it. From the inside cover: #1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber returns to Seattle’s beloved Blossom Street in this heartfelt tale of friendship, renewal, and discovering what’s truly important in life. For years Libby Morgan dreamed only of making partner in her competitive, high-pressure law firm. She sacrificed…

Henry VIII’s Wives: History in an Hour by Julie Wheeler Harper Press October 2011 Format: Kindle e-book Source: Personal copy First line: The reign of Henry VIII was one of the most revolutionary periods in English history. Summary from Goodreads: Love history? Know your stuff with History in an Hour. In his ambition to provide a male heir to the throne, Henry VIII married six times. Divorce from his first…

The Good Daughter by Jane Porter Berkley Trade February 2013 Format: Paperback, 384 pages Source: Personal copy First line: Make a wish. From the back cover: Love was given to all, except herself . . .   Kit Brennan has always been the most grounded of her sisters. A Catholic school English teacher for seventeen years and a constant giver, her decisions have been sound—just not very satisfying. Her fortieth birthday is right around…

Summer in a Small Town: Welcome to Icicle Falls/Treasure Beach by Sheila Roberts & Emilie Richards MIRA books 2012 Format: Kindle e-book Source: Personal copy First line of Welcome to Icicle Falls: Hello, and welcome to Icicle Falls. First line of Treasure Beach: “There she goes wandering down the road again.” About the book: Two unforgettable towns, two touching stories… Welcome to Icicle Falls by Sheila Roberts It’s the 1960s…