The Winter Palace by Eva Stachniak Bantam Books October 2012 Format: Paperback,  First line: The spies you learn about are either those who get exposed or those who reveal themselves. From the back cover: Her name is Barbara—in Russian, Varvara. Nimble-witted and attentive, she’s allowed into the employ of the Empress Elizabeth, amid the glitter and cruelty of the world’s most eminent court. Under the tutelage of Count Bestuzhev, Chancellor…

Getting the Pretty Back by Molly Ringwald It Books April 2011 Format: Paperback, 240 pages First line: It happens to all of us. From the back cover: To her millions of fans, Molly Ringwald will forever be sixteen–having defined teenage angst, love, and heartbreak as the endearing star of the John Hughes classics Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, and Pretty in Pink. Facing a completely new, angst-inducing time in her…

The Diary by Eileen Goudge Vanguard Press April 2009 Format: Paperback, 224 pages First line: The diary was bound in maroon leather dulled with age, its gilt tooling worn away in spots. From the back cover: From New York Times bestselling author Eileen Goudge comes an unforgettable tale that you’ll want to pass on to someone you love. When two grown daughters discover their mother’s diary in her attic, they…

My Kind of Christmas by Robyn Carr Mira October 2012 Format: Paperback, 320 pages First line: “I think a little vacation in Virgin River is exactly what Angie needs,” Sam Sheridan announced as he looked around the table at his family, all gathered at his home for Thanksgiving dinner. From the back cover: Patrick Riordan always thought that nothing could match the adrenaline rush he gets from his job. But…

Sunrise Point by Robyn Carr Mira April 2012 Format: Paperback, 378 pages First line: There was a small note on the bulletin board at the Virgin River Presbyterian Church. From the back cover: Tom Cavanaugh may think he wants a traditional woman, but in Virgin River, the greatest tradition is falling in love unexpectedly.  Former marine Tom Cavanaugh has come home to Virgin River, ready to take over his family’s…

Redwood Bend by Robyn Carr Mira February 2012 Format: Paperback, 377 pages First line: Katie Malone quit her job and packed up her little Vermont house. From the back cover: In Virgin River, you never know what you might find around the bend in the road… Former actor Dylan Childress left the L.A. scene behind years ago for a quiet life running an aviation company in Montana. But with business…

Dreams of Joy by Lisa See Random House May 2011 Format: Hardcover, 354 pages First line: The wail of a police siren in the distance tears through my body. From the inside cover: In her beloved New York Times bestsellers Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Peony in Love, and, most recently, Shanghai Girls, Lisa See has brilliantly illuminated the potent bonds of mother love, romantic love, and love of…

Buzz Off by Hannah Reed Berkley September 2010 Format: Paperback, 336 pages First line: If I hadn’t been drinking champagne at noon on Friday, I would have been over at the honey house with Manny Chapman, my beekeeping mentor and owner of Queen Bee Honey, and possibly, just possibly, I might have saved him from what must have been a very painful death. From the back cover: When beekeeper Story…

Hidden Summit by Robyn Carr Mira December 2011 Format: Paperback, 347 pages First line: Brie Valenzuela finished her large latte and looked into the empty cup. From the back cover: Sometimes romance is hiding in plain sight… When Connor Danson becomes an unwitting witness to a violent crime, he is forced to leave Sacramento and keep a low profile until the trial is over. He arrives in the tiny mountain…

Rococo by Adriana Trigiani Ballantine Books April 2006 Format: Paperback, 320 pages First line: I want you to imagine my house. From the back cover: Bartolomeo di Crespi is the acclaimed interior decorator – not to mention the most eligible bachelor – in Our Lady of Fatima (OLOF), New Jersey. From the dazzling shores of the Garden State to the legendary fabric houses of New York City, from the prickly…

Baltimore Blues by Laura Lippman Harper Collins Publisher October 2009 Format: e-book, 384 pages First line: On the last night of August, Tess Monaghan went to the drugstore and bought a composition book-one with a black and-white marble cover. Synopsis from B&N:  In a city where someone is murdered almost every day, attorney Michael Abramowitz’s death should be just another statistic. But the slain lawyer’s notoriety—and his taste for illicit…

Vets in Love by Cathy Woodman Arrow December 2012 Format: Paperback, 400 pages First line: It’s just before nine on Monday morning, and the rush has already begun. From the back cover: Love is in the air in Talyton St. George, Devon’s most romantic town. Glamorous GP Nicci (aka the galloping doctor) and Matt, the very handsome equine vet, have caught each other’s eye. On paper it looks like a…