How do you cope in a world without your mother? When Barbara realizes time is running out, she writes letters to her four daughters, aware that they'll be facing the trials and triumphs of life without her at their side. But how can she leave them when they still have so much growing up to do?...  more

How do you cope in a world without your mother? When Barbara realizes time is running out, she writes letters to her four daughters, aware that they'll be facing the trials and triumphs of life without her at their side. But how can she leave them when they still have so much growing up to do? Take Lisa, in her midthirties but incapable of making a commitment; or Jennifer, trapped in a stale marriage and buttoned up so tight she could burst. Twentysomething Amanda, the traveler, has always distanced herself from the rest of the family; and then there's Hannah, a teenage girl on the verge of womanhood about to be parted from the mother she adores. But by drawing on the wisdom in Barbara's letters, the girls might just find a way to cope with their loss. And in coming to terms with their bereavement, can they also set themselves free to enjoy their lives with all the passion and love each deserves? This heartfelt novel by bestselling author Elizabeth Noble celebrates family, friends . . . and the glorious, endless possibilities of life.

Dreaming of Italy, eager to learn the language, a disparate group of Dubliners comes together for an introductory Italian course held in a drab classroom every Tuesday and Thursday evening. The teacher, Aidan Dunne, has hit an all-time low in both his career and family life, and so his...  more

Dreaming of Italy, eager to learn the language, a disparate group of Dubliners comes together for an introductory Italian course held in a drab classroom every Tuesday and Thursday evening. The teacher, Aidan Dunne, has hit an all-time low in both his career and family life, and so his self-image is hinging on the success of this class.The students are a varied cast of characters: there's Signora, so smitten with love that she followed the man she adored to a distant country, waiting twenty-three years for him; Laddy, the hotel porter; and Hilary, the society hostess, who has an oddly empty calendar.Each student has a private reason for wanting to learn Italian. Bill Burke, a young bank clerk, wants to be considered for an international banking job, but is secretly hoping that now his spendthrift girlfriend Lizzie will have fewer opportunities to waste their money if she's busy attending an evening class. Then there's Suzy Sullivan, who can't figure out why her husband Lou wants to pick up Italian because he hasn't learned anything since he mastered reading and writing; there must be some catch, she figures. Kathy Clarke works much too hard and so she decides to join the class in an attempt to relax, but through the people she meets she learns a secret about her own family that transforms both her future and her past.As the classes progress, we learn about each of the participants, watching their relationships grow throughout the year and culminating in a magical viaggio to Italy. This evocative tale shimmers with the story-telling artistry that makes Maeve Binchy an international bestseller.

It's summer on Nantucket, and as the season begins, three women arrive at the local airport, observed by Josh, a local boy, home from college. Burdened with small children, unwieldy straw hats, and some obvious emotional issues, the women--two sisters and one friend--make their way to the...  more

It's summer on Nantucket, and as the season begins, three women arrive at the local airport, observed by Josh, a local boy, home from college. Burdened with small children, unwieldy straw hats, and some obvious emotional issues, the women--two sisters and one friend--make their way to the sisters' tiny cottage, inherited from an aunt. They're all trying to escape from something: Melanie, after seven failed in-vitro attempts, discovered her husband's infidelity and then her own pregnancy; Brenda embarked on a passionate affair with an older student that got her fired from her prestigious job as a professor in New York; and her sister Vickie, mother to two small boys, has been diagnosed with cancer. Soon Josh is part of the chaotic household, acting as babysitter, confidant, and, eventually, something more, while the women confront their pasts and map out their futures.

On the heels of her national bestsellers Jemima J and Mr. Maybe, British sensation Jane Green delivers a sparkling tale of old friends reunited and old jealousies rekindled. Catherine Warner and Simon Nelson are best friends: total opposites, always together, and both unlucky in love. Cath is...  more

On the heels of her national bestsellers Jemima J and Mr. Maybe, British sensation Jane Green delivers a sparkling tale of old friends reunited and old jealousies rekindled. Catherine Warner and Simon Nelson are best friends: total opposites, always together, and both unlucky in love. Cath is scatterbrained, messy, and?since she had her heart broken a few years back?emotionally closed off. Si is impossibly tidy, bitchy, and desperate for a man of his own. They live in London?s West Hampstead along with their lifelong friends, Josh and Lucy, who are happily married with a devil-spawn child and a terrifying Swedish nanny, Ingrid. All?s well (sort of) until the sudden arrival of a college friend?the stunningly beautiful Portia, who?s known for breaking hearts. Though they?ve grown up and grown apart from Portia, the four friends welcome her back into the fold. But does Portia have a hidden agenda or is she merely looking to reconnect with old friends? Her reappearance soon unleashes a rollicking series of events that tests the foursome?s friendships to the limit and leaves them wondering if a happy ending is in store. Fortunately, Cath has plenty to take her mind off Portia?s schemes?like her gutsy decision to leave her job in advertising to fulfill her dream of opening a bookstore. And then there?s James, the sexy real-estate agent who keeps dropping by even after the bookstore deal is done. With his irresistible smile and boyish charm could he be the one to melt Cath?s heart? Told with Jane Green?s captivating wit and flare, Bookends is above all a story about friendship?its twists, turns and complications?and how it weathers the challenges of love, ambition, marriage, and, most of all, growing up. Warmhearted, sophisticated, and full of delicious surprises, Bookends is Green?s most dazzling novel yet.

Eight Women on a Journey That Will Change Their Lives as Lovers, Wives, Mothers, Daughters, FriendsJust after midnight in a small town in Wisconsin, eight women begin walking together down a rural highway. Career women, housewives, mothers, divorcées, and one ex–prom queen, they are...  more

Eight Women on a Journey That Will Change Their Lives as Lovers, Wives, Mothers, Daughters, FriendsJust after midnight in a small town in Wisconsin, eight women begin walking together down a rural highway. Career women, housewives, mothers, divorcées, and one ex–prom queen, they are close friends who have been meeting every Thursday night for years, sharing food, wine, and their deepest secrets. But on this particular Thursday, Susan, Alice, Chris, Sandy, Gail, Mary, Joanne, and Janice decide to disappear from their own lives.Their spontaneous pilgrimage attracts national attention and inspires other women from all across the country. As the miles fall away and the women forge ahead on their backroads odyssey--leaving small miracles in their wake--each of their histories unfolds, tales of shattered dreams and unexpected renewal, of thwarted love affairs and precious second chances.In luminous, heartwarming prose, Kris Radish deftly interweaves the women’s intimate confessions into the story of their brave, history-making walk. A breathtaking achievement, The Elegant Gathering of White Snows tells an incomparable tale of friendship and love, loss and liberation.

In this flawless novella, Mona Simpson turns her powers of observation toward characters who, unlike Ann and Adele August in her bestselling Anywhere but Here, choose to stay rather than go. As a high school student in Green Bay, Bea Maxwell raised money for good causes; later, she became a...  more

In this flawless novella, Mona Simpson turns her powers of observation toward characters who, unlike Ann and Adele August in her bestselling Anywhere but Here, choose to stay rather than go. As a high school student in Green Bay, Bea Maxwell raised money for good causes; later, she became a successful real estate agent and an accomplished knitter. The one thing missing from her life is a romantic relationship. She soon settles comfortably into the role of stylish spinster and do-gooder. Woven into Bea's story are stories of other lifelong residents of Green Bay and the changes time brings to a town and its residents. This pure and simple work once again proves Mona Simpson one of the defining writers of her generation.

It's a steamy June afternoon in Louisiana, circa 1956, and Sissy LeBlanc is sitting on her front porch, wondering -- half seriously -- if she could kill herself with aspirins and Coca-Cola. She's been living in stifling old Gentry since the day she was born and trapped in a sham of a marriage to...  more

It's a steamy June afternoon in Louisiana, circa 1956, and Sissy LeBlanc is sitting on her front porch, wondering -- half seriously -- if she could kill herself with aspirins and Coca-Cola. She's been living in stifling old Gentry since the day she was born and trapped in a sham of a marriage to PeeWee LeBlanc since she was only seventeen. In short, she's fed up, restless, and ready for an adventure. Sissy just never imagined temptation would come into her life that breathless summer day as she sat smoking on her porch swing. For although she may have been fixated on the taut muscles of the lineman shimmying down the telephone pole across the street, she hadn't allowed herself to imagine that he'd be none other than her high school sweetheart, Parker Davidson, who left town fourteen years before without so much as a wave good-bye. But suddenly, here he is, leaning in for a kiss that will stir up more excitement than Sissy could ever have imagined...

What does it mean to be a good mother? For career-driven assistant district attorney Nina Frost, the question inspires pangs of guilt familiar to all parents torn by the demands of home and office. But whereas most parents lie awake at night vividly conjuring the worst scenarios that could...  more

What does it mean to be a good mother? For career-driven assistant district attorney Nina Frost, the question inspires pangs of guilt familiar to all parents torn by the demands of home and office. But whereas most parents lie awake at night vividly conjuring the worst scenarios that could befall their children in their absence, Nina lives the reality of such crises -- and it's her job to do something about them. Nina Frost prosecutes child molesters -- and in the course of her everyday work, she has endured the frustration of seeing too many criminals slip through the system and walk free. A man as methodical and careful as his wife is instinctive and mercurial, Caleb Frost is a stonemason who glories in his ability to construct with his own hands the physical barriers that will keep out the unwanted -- and protect all that is precious within. But even the strongest walls cannot guard Nina and Caleb from the shattering discovery that their own beloved son has been sexually abused. Five-year-old Nathaniel is the only one who knows the identity of his assailant -- but in the initial fallout of his trauma, he's been left mute, unable to speak a single word. Knowing the futility of trusting the courts to exact justice for Nathaniel, and ripped apart by a maddening sense of helplessness, Nina finds herself in a grip of rage she can't deny -- no matter the consequence, whatever the sacrifice. What does it take to be a good mother? How far can a person go...and still live with herself? What happens if one's absolute truths and convictions are turned upside down? Forging new ground in her unique territory of morally complex suspense fiction, bestselling author Jodi Picoult delivers her most soulful and intimate novel to date -- and portrays what happens to a family when a wheel comes off, when the domestic unit begins to careen and veer, when the vestments of ordinary life are forfeited to unspeakable horrors. From its provocative opening to the astonishing and revelatory finale, Perfect Match enters the raw and private realm of a parent's heart, and ultimately questions our assumptions about family, security, and love.

A charming and moving novel about female friendship and the experiences that knit us together - even when we least expect it. Walker and Daughter is Georgia Walker's little yarn shop, tucked into a quiet storefront on Manhattan's Upper West Side. The Friday Night Knitting Club was...  more

A charming and moving novel about female friendship and the experiences that knit us together - even when we least expect it. Walker and Daughter is Georgia Walker's little yarn shop, tucked into a quiet storefront on Manhattan's Upper West Side. The Friday Night Knitting Club was started by some of Georgia's regulars, who gather once a week to work on their latest projects and to chat - and occasionally clash - over their stories of love, life, and everything in between. Georgia has her hands full, juggling the demands of running the store and raising her spunky teen daughter, Dakota, by herself. Thank goodness for Anita, her mentor and dear friend, and the rest of the members of the knitting club - who are just as varied as the skeins of yarn in the shop's bins. There's Peri, a pre-law student turned handbag designer; Darwin, a somewhat aloof feminist grad student; and Lucie, a petite, quiet woman who's harboring some secrets of her own. However, unexpected changes soon throw these women's lives into disarray, and the shop's comfortable world gets shaken up like a snow globe. James, Georgia's ex, decides that he wants to play a larger role in Dakota's life - and possibly Georgia's as well. Cat, a former friend from high school, returns to New York as a rich Park Avenue wife and uneasily renews her old bond with Georgia. Meanwhile, Anita must confront her growing (and reciprocated) feelings for Marty, the kind neighborhood deli owner. And when the unthinkable happens, they realize what they've created: not just a knitting club, but a sisterhood

The sequel to the number-one New York Times bestseller The Friday Night Knitting Club, Knit Two returns to Walker and Daughter, the Manhattan knitting store founded by Georgia Walker and her young daughter, Dakota. Dakota is now an eighteen-year-old freshman at NYU, running the little yarn shop...  more

The sequel to the number-one New York Times bestseller The Friday Night Knitting Club, Knit Two returns to Walker and Daughter, the Manhattan knitting store founded by Georgia Walker and her young daughter, Dakota. Dakota is now an eighteen-year-old freshman at NYU, running the little yarn shop part-time with help from the members of the Friday Night Knitting Club. Drawn together by the sense of family the club has created, the knitters rely on one another as they struggle with new challenges: for Catherine, finding love after divorce; for Darwin, the hope for a family; for Lucie, being both a single mom and a caregiver for her elderly mother; and for seventy-something Anita, a proposal of marriage from her sweetheart, Marty, that provokes the objections of her grown children. As the club's projects -- an afghan, baby booties, a wedding coat -- are pieced together, so is their understanding of the patterns underlying the stresses and joys of being mother, wife, daughter, and friend. Because it isn't the difficulty of the garment that makes you a great knitter: it'’s the care and attention you bring to the craft -- as well as how you adapt to surprises.

Known in Nantucket as the crazy woman who lives in the rambling house atop the bluff, Nan doesn't care what people think. At sixty-five-years old, her husband died twenty years ago, her beauty has faded, and her family has flown. If her neighbors are away, why shouldn't she skinny dip in their...  more

Known in Nantucket as the crazy woman who lives in the rambling house atop the bluff, Nan doesn't care what people think. At sixty-five-years old, her husband died twenty years ago, her beauty has faded, and her family has flown. If her neighbors are away, why shouldn't she skinny dip in their swimming pools and help herself to their flowers? But when she discovers the money she thought would last forever is dwindling and she could lose her beloved house, Nan knows she has to make drastic changes. So Nan takes out an ad: Rooms to rent for the summer in a beautiful old Nantucket home with water views and direct access to the beach. Slowly, people start moving into the house, filling it with noise, with laughter, and with tears. As the house comes alive again, Nan finds her family expanding. Her son comes home for the summer, and then an unexpected visitor turns all their lives upside-down.

Diary of a Manhattan Call Girl is a wonderfully intelligent, sexually frank, rollicking novel that introduces us to Nancy Chan, a turn-of-the-millennium call girl who lives and works on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Nancy is full of contradictory desires; she frequently has to choose between...  more

Diary of a Manhattan Call Girl is a wonderfully intelligent, sexually frank, rollicking novel that introduces us to Nancy Chan, a turn-of-the-millennium call girl who lives and works on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Nancy is full of contradictory desires; she frequently has to choose between making love and making money. On good days, she gets to do both. Surrounded by devoted, wealthy, and powerful johns, some of whom want more than just sex, and caught between two all-consuming call girl friends who complicate her life, Nancy navigates the tricky currents of the world's oldest profession. With one foot in the bedrooms of her rich and demanding clients and one in the straight world of her unwitting fiance, who has started to apartment-hunt and arrange a wedding, Nancy keeps her two worlds from colliding in her inimitable style.

When Lucy discovered that her charming, cheating husband was dying, she came home, opened up his little black book, and decided she wasn't going through this alone. After all, Artie's sweethearts were there for the good times - is it fair that Lucy should have to manage the hard times herself?...  more

When Lucy discovered that her charming, cheating husband was dying, she came home, opened up his little black book, and decided she wasn't going through this alone. After all, Artie's sweethearts were there for the good times - is it fair that Lucy should have to manage the hard times herself? In this wise, wickedly funny new novel, Lucy dials up the women in Artie's black book and invites them for one last visit. The last thing she expects is that any will actually show up. But one by one, they do show up: The one who hates him. The one who owes her life to him. The one he turned into a lesbian, and the one he taught to dance. And among them is a visitor with the strangest story of all: the young man who may or may not be Artie's long-lost son. For Lucy, the jaw-dropping procession of women is an education in the man she can't forgive and couldn't leave. And as the women find themselves sharing secrets and sharing tears, they start to discover kindred spirits - and even something that's a lot like family. But Lucy knows one thing for certain: the biggest surprises are yet to come! Full of heart, Bridget Asher's unforgettable novel is about mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, and the deep friendships between women. It's about sweet liars and tenderhearted cheaters - about loving those we love for reasons we can't always fully rationalize, and about the sort of forgiveness that can change someone's entire life in the most unexpected and extraordinary ways.

She's been handed her walking papers.Jane McGregor has just been laid off from her job designing pink slips for an office supply company. The irony is not lost on her. She's a twenty-eight-year-old art major whose last major career accomplishment was being propositioned by the company vice...  more

She's been handed her walking papers.Jane McGregor has just been laid off from her job designing pink slips for an office supply company. The irony is not lost on her. She's a twenty-eight-year-old art major whose last major career accomplishment was being propositioned by the company vice president. Desperate to maintain her freedom from her oddball parents, tyrannical older brother, and slacker ex-boyfriend, Jane starts sending out resumes. So what if some of them aren't exactly, well, true.She's taking the future in stride.When Jane's dad, a staunchly conservative believer in the corporate dream, loses his job, and her mom goes to work for a trendy dot com, Jane discovers that the family she's taken for granted is unraveling. After a fellow lay-off victim hatches a plot to seek revenge on the office supply company, Jane must choose between living in the past and seeking out a new future. To her surprise, that future might involve a most unlikely partner in crime -- handsome, funny Kyle Burton -- and maybe, just maybe, a new job, too.

For 6,557 miles, Chuck Klosterman thought about dying. He drove a rental car from New York to Rhode Island to Georgia to Mississippi to Iowa to Minneapolis to Fargo to Seattle, and he chased death and rock 'n' roll all the way. Within the span of twenty-one days, Chuck had three relationships...  more

For 6,557 miles, Chuck Klosterman thought about dying. He drove a rental car from New York to Rhode Island to Georgia to Mississippi to Iowa to Minneapolis to Fargo to Seattle, and he chased death and rock 'n' roll all the way. Within the span of twenty-one days, Chuck had three relationships end -- one by choice, one by chance, and one by exhaustion. He snorted cocaine in a graveyard. He walked a half-mile through a bean field. A man in Dickinson, North Dakota, explained to him why we have fewer windmills than we used to. He listened to the KISS solo albums and the Rod Stewart box set. At one point, poisonous snakes became involved. The road is hard. From the Chelsea Hotel to the swampland where Lynyrd Skynyrd's plane went down to the site where Kurt Cobain blew his head off, Chuck explored every brand of rock star demise. He wanted to know why the greatest career move any musician can make is to stop breathing...and what this means for the rest of us.

What happens when the person who is your family is someone you aren't bound to by blood? What happens when the person you promise to love and to honor for the rest of your life is not your lover, but your best friend? In Truth & Beauty, her frank and startlingly intimate first work of...  more

What happens when the person who is your family is someone you aren't bound to by blood? What happens when the person you promise to love and to honor for the rest of your life is not your lover, but your best friend? In Truth & Beauty, her frank and startlingly intimate first work of nonfiction, Ann Patchett shines a fresh, revealing light on the world of women's friendships and shows us what it means to stand together. Ann Patchett and Lucy Grealy met in college in 1981, and, after enrolling in the Iowa Writers' Workshop, began a friendship that would be as defining to both of their lives as their work was. In her critically acclaimed and hugely successful memoir, Autobiography of a Face, Lucy Grealy wrote about losing part of her jaw to childhood cancer, the years of chemotherapy and radiation, and then the endless reconstructive surgeries. In Truth & Beauty, the story isn't Lucy's life or Ann's life, but the parts of their lives they shared. This is a portrait of unwavering commitment that spans twenty years, from the long, cold winters of the Midwest, to surgical wards, to book parties in New York. Through love, fame, drugs, and despair, this book shows us what it means to be part of two lives that are intertwined. This is a tender, brutal book about loving a person we cannot save. It is about loyalty, and about being lifted up by the sheer effervescence of someone who knew how to live life to the fullest.

Max has just returned from the Peace Corps and is crashing with pediatrician Harrison. Dealing with her return to Western civilization, her long-divorced parents dating again and the feelings she is trying not to develop for the dashing doctor may just drive her crazy. Then again, if he...  more

Max has just returned from the Peace Corps and is crashing with pediatrician Harrison. Dealing with her return to Western civilization, her long-divorced parents dating again and the feelings she is trying not to develop for the dashing doctor may just drive her crazy. Then again, if he reciprocates . . . Robin relishes her job as an executive sous-chef in a trendy restaurant almost as much as she savors her friendship with its owner, Michael. But Robin knows she wants much more. So how do you make someone who knows you so well look at you with fresh eyes? Then, artsy Lilith. When she and her boyfriend realize they've been getting more sleep than sex, they agree to "see other people," which turns into quite a nightmare. Lastly there are sisters Riv and Anne. Between them, they've got enough secrets to keep anyone awake at night. Part Sex and the City, Stacey Ballis's Sleeping Over examines relationships both romantic and platonic (and platonic wanting to be romantic), and looks at the various configurations of what it means to spend the night together. Stacey Ballis is the Director of Education and Community Programs at The Goodman Theater in Chicago. In addition to writing, she throws a heck of a dinner party.

From the critically acclaimed authors of the #1 Los Angeles Times bestseller Literacy and Longing in L.A. comes the ultimate story for late bloomers of every exotic shade. And a quirky young heroine with a knack for reinvention and a flair for the unexpected no reader will ever forget.Thirty,...  more

From the critically acclaimed authors of the #1 Los Angeles Times bestseller Literacy and Longing in L.A. comes the ultimate story for late bloomers of every exotic shade. And a quirky young heroine with a knack for reinvention and a flair for the unexpected no reader will ever forget.Thirty, newly single, and desperately in need of a paycheck, inveterate bird-watcher Cassie Shaw finds herself doing something that goes against all her principles. She lies on a résumé to land a job and finds herself employed at an elite university working for a pair of professors as unique as the rare birds she covets. One of them is the sexy, handsome, cheerfully aristocratic expert in animal behavior Professor William Conner. Under his charismatic tutelage, Cassie begins her personal transformation into the person she was meant to be while meeting the kinds of people she has never met before. But when your entire future and your unlikely new career teeter on an unbearable untruth, the masquerade can?t go on forever. And when Cassie steps out from behind her mask it will transform her life?and the lives of those around her?forever.

Harriet Turner knows all about journeys. She’s arranged hundreds of them for her family’s travel agency. Now Harriet is joining her adopted sister, Lara, to lead a group through the Cornish countryside. But when Lara fails to appear at the airport as planned, Harriet finds herself in...  more

Harriet Turner knows all about journeys. She’s arranged hundreds of them for her family’s travel agency. Now Harriet is joining her adopted sister, Lara, to lead a group through the Cornish countryside. But when Lara fails to appear at the airport as planned, Harriet finds herself in uncharted territory and suddenly alone with a busload of eccentric seniors. As the tour wends its way through the picturesque landscape, Harriet must uncover her sister’s whereabouts and confront long-held family secrets involving Lara’s arrival twenty-five years ago . . . not to mention keeping track of more baggage –real and emotional– than she ever expected.

What if you could live the life you've always dreamed of -- but never pursued? What if your choices -- married or single, career or motherhood, city or country -- could be made all over again? Bestselling author Eileen Goudge ponders "what might have been" in this tender, provocative tale of two...  more

What if you could live the life you've always dreamed of -- but never pursued? What if your choices -- married or single, career or motherhood, city or country -- could be made all over again? Bestselling author Eileen Goudge ponders "what might have been" in this tender, provocative tale of two best friends who exchange lives -- and discover the surprising places where their deepest joys and satisfactions live.Jessie Holland is a journalist on the rise in New York City -- and she wouldn't trade her walk-up apartment or her 2:00 a.m. sushi takeout for anything. Only lately, she's been in search of a hot story, and praying her career isn't cooling off. When her editor at Savvy magazine poses a compelling question -- can you ever really go home again? -- Jessie spins the fantasy into a feature story. Could she return to her western hometown and be truly content? Can a bona fide New Yorker exchange her subway pass for an SUV and find happiness?Erin Delahanty appears to have an enviable life as the owner of a popular bed & breakfast in a picturesque Arizona town. What's less visible are the escalating fights between Erin and her husband, Skip, and the tensions that are affecting their teenage daughter. When Skip unexpectedly leaves her, Erin turns to her best friend Jessie for comfort -- and is handed a stunning proposition: Come live in Manhattan for six months, while Jessie runs the inn and steps into her shoes.Neither woman has anything to lose: Jessie's romance with recently divorced news bureau chief Jonathan Silver is at a crossroads, while Erin needs time to sort out her marriage. But the choices and challenges they face in their new worlds take them both by surprise....What began as a daring magazine article will change both women forever. Can you go home again? Find out in this surprising and emotionally compelling novel from one of the freshest and most original storytellers of our time.

In his eagerly awaited fourth novel, New York Times-bestselling author Nick Hornby mines the hearts and psyches of four lost souls who connect just when they've reached the end of the line. Meet Martin, JJ, Jess, and Maureen. Four people who come together on New Year's Eve: a former TV talk...  more

In his eagerly awaited fourth novel, New York Times-bestselling author Nick Hornby mines the hearts and psyches of four lost souls who connect just when they've reached the end of the line. Meet Martin, JJ, Jess, and Maureen. Four people who come together on New Year's Eve: a former TV talk show host, a musician, a teenage girl, and a mother. Three are British, one is American. They encounter one another on the roof of Topper's House, a London destination famous as the last stop for those ready to end their lives. In four distinct and riveting first-person voices, Nick Hornby tells a story of four individuals confronting the limits of choice, circumstance, and their own mortality. This is a tale of connections made and missed, punishing regrets, and the grace of second chances. Intense, hilarious, provocative, and moving, A Long Way Down is a novel about suicide that is, surprisingly, full of life. What's your jumping-off point? Maureen Why is it the biggest sin of all? All your life you're told that you'll be going to this marvelous place when you pass on. And the one thing you can do to get you there a bit quicker is something that stops you getting there at all. Oh, I can see that it's a kind of queue-jumping. But if someone jumps the queue at the post office, people tut. Or sometimes they say "Excuse me, I was here first." They don't say "You will be consumed by hellfire for all eternity." That would be a bit strong. Martin I'd spent the previous couple of months looking up suicides on the Internet, just out of curiosity. And nearly every single time, the coroner says the same thing: "He took his own life while the balance of his mind was disturbed." And then you read the story about the poor bastard: His wife was sleeping with his best friend, he'd lost his job, his daughter had been killed in a road accident some months before . . . Hello, Mr. Coroner? I'm sorry, but there's no disturbed mental balance here, my friend. I'd say he got it just right. Jess I was at a party downstairs. It was a shit party, full of all these ancient crusties sitting on the floor drinking cider and smoking huge spliffs and listening to weirdo space-out reggae. At midnight, one of them clapped sarcastically, and a couple of others laughed, and that was it-Happy New Year to you, too. You could have turned up to that party as the happiest person in London, and you'd still have wanted to jump off the roof by five past twelve. And I wasn't the happiest person in London anyway. Obviously. JJ New Year's Eve was a night for sentimental losers. It was my own stupid fault. Of course there'd be a low-rent crowd up there. I should have picked a classier date-like March 28, when Virginia Woolf took her walk into the river, or November 25 (Nick Drake). If anybody had been on the roof on either of those nights, the chances are they would have been like-minded souls, rather than hopeless f*ck-ups who had somehow persuaded themselves that the end of a calendar year is in any way significant.

Go back to college with Natalie Krinsky in this frothy, first novel from the sex columnist for the Yale Daily News, now in paperback Chloe Carrington is a typical Yale student, except that along with toiling through the usual grind of coursework, she pens a notorious and much dished-over sex...  more

Go back to college with Natalie Krinsky in this frothy, first novel from the sex columnist for the Yale Daily News, now in paperback Chloe Carrington is a typical Yale student, except that along with toiling through the usual grind of coursework, she pens a notorious and much dished-over sex column for the campus newspaper. This touch of scandal has wrought havoc on her social and love life, turning it into an open book. Chloe doesn’t help matters much; she likes to share, and can’t resist divulging the gory details of her most recent date (or lack thereof) in her column, baring her soul, and sometimes the souls of others, for all to see. And that’s where the trouble begins. As Chloe probes the campus hot spots, we get a peek at what goes on behind the Ivy League’s dormitory doors -- from drinking at Toad’s, to Exotic Erotic, Yale’s answer to a Playboy mansion bash, complete with coeds in skimpy bikinis and a lacrosse team clad only in socks. Of course there’s perhaps the most favorite extracurricular activity -- lots and lots of sex. Teeming with exuberance and late-night shenanigans, Chloe Does Yale is filled with humor and candor about typical college situations, both inside and outside the dorm rooms.

The most romantic city in the world sets the stage for Barbara Taylor Bradford’s dazzling new novel, a spellbinding story of four remarkable women--each at a turning point in her life, each about to be changed forever by.…Three Weeks in ParisIn Paris, four young women once shared the...  more

The most romantic city in the world sets the stage for Barbara Taylor Bradford’s dazzling new novel, a spellbinding story of four remarkable women--each at a turning point in her life, each about to be changed forever by.…Three Weeks in ParisIn Paris, four young women once shared the time of their lives. Now, seven years after they left the prestigious Anya Sedgwick School of Decorative Arts, they are coming back for the eighty-fifth birthday celebration of the school’s founder and grande dame. Designer Kay Lenox returns with her career soaring and her marriage crumbling. American Jessica Pierce is determined to unravel the baffling disappearance of the man she loved in Paris. Italian Maria Franconi must face the women whose friendship she lost--and her deepest doubts about herself. And Alexa Gordon knows that Paris is still about a man she can’t resist, even as she is about to become another man’s wife.In Barbara Taylor Bradford’s enthralling tapestry of relationships, choices, and one haunting mystery, four successful women share three weeks in the city that shaped their lives--and where they will now share a second chance.

Kerry Spence is unfulfilled by her soulless career in advertising, disappointed by her dysfunctional relationship, and horrified by the ever-increasing size of her ass. Ever since her gorgeous, self-absorbed boyfriend Sam demoted her to late night hook-up status, she has fortified herself with...  more

Kerry Spence is unfulfilled by her soulless career in advertising, disappointed by her dysfunctional relationship, and horrified by the ever-increasing size of her ass. Ever since her gorgeous, self-absorbed boyfriend Sam demoted her to late night hook-up status, she has fortified herself with prime-time TV and blissful binges on cream cheese frosting, awaiting an epiphany that will reveal her next move. Of course, everybody in her life is full of advice. Her free-spirited divorcee mother -- when not necking furiously with her much younger boyfriend -- sagely counsels her daughter to do whatever it takes to snag Sam back, since, quite frankly, he is the best she can do. Her friends ply her with fruity cocktails and dispense bits of ‘Cosmo’ wisdom like "Divide your age in half and add seven -- that's the youngest man you are allowed to date" and "Scotch tape can eliminate forehead wrinkles." And then there is Kerry’s shrink, the calm, unflappable therapist who suggests she start "a diary of past encounters with men that may be contributing to her negative and dysfunctional quasi-relationship." Or, as Kerry sees it, a journal of mortifying moments. Beginning with a kissing game gone bad in grade school, the journal jump-starts Kerry’s stroll down memory lane of man troubles. But just as Kerry decides her poorly dressed therapist is as crazy as everybody else in her orbit, she begins to realize the journal may actually make some sense -- as she plumbs the depths of her most embarrassing experiences on a quest for personal awareness that will give her the strength to turn her life around -- and just maybe find love again. The Journal of Mortifying Moments is a hysterically funny glimpse into the quirky, slightly obsessive, and completely lovable mind of Kerry Spence. But somewhere amidst the laugh-out-loud hilarity of Kerry’s exploits emerges the story of a woman who learns to stop trying to be someone she’s not, and start loving the wonderful, quirky person she is, once and for all.

There should be a four-letter word for beauty. She has more shoes than Sarah Jessica Parker and a skin-care system that could make Madonna swoon, but unlike her celebrity counterparts, Grace Noonan doesn't have it all. Her latest utterly-eligible-yet-maddeningly-unavailable boyfriend has...  more

There should be a four-letter word for beauty. She has more shoes than Sarah Jessica Parker and a skin-care system that could make Madonna swoon, but unlike her celebrity counterparts, Grace Noonan doesn't have it all. Her latest utterly-eligible-yet-maddeningly-unavailable boyfriend has just revealed that having sex with her is one thing and having babies quite another, forcing Grace to move on -- again. And now that her employer -- a top cosmetics company once devoted to "beauty beyond thirty" -- is pursuing a teenaged supermodel as its future face, this thirty-four-year-old marketing exec is starting to wonder if she is going to get it all before the closing credits. Could it be time for Grace to back out of the beauty race and trade the singles scene for the sperm bank? Or is there something even this savvy bombshell has yet to discover about life and love in New York City?

New York at night is an urban playground where glamour and danger are just flip sides of the same thrilling coin. The tough, beautiful player at the heart of Jardine Libaire’s acclaimed first novel is Lee, the consummate party girl, whose life of nonstop exhilaration appears...  more

New York at night is an urban playground where glamour and danger are just flip sides of the same thrilling coin. The tough, beautiful player at the heart of Jardine Libaire’s acclaimed first novel is Lee, the consummate party girl, whose life of nonstop exhilaration appears consequence-free. Lee has the right designer clothes, the right job managing a stylish restaurant, and the right lover, who finances all her bad habits. As the lights go down at closing time, the energy of the city begins to pulse. It is a call Lee cannot resist, even when her Cinderella-like existence begins to unfurl.

Jenny Harris always expected that she’d fall in love, get married, and have a baby–in that order. Now, very pregnant and not quite married, she actually doesn’t mind that she and her live-in fiance, Dean, accidentally started their family a little earlier than planned;...  more

Jenny Harris always expected that she’d fall in love, get married, and have a baby–in that order. Now, very pregnant and not quite married, she actually doesn’t mind that she and her live-in fiance, Dean, accidentally started their family a little earlier than planned; she’s happy to have so much to look forward to. But Dean -- whom Jenny loves enough to overlook his bad facial hair, his smoking habit, and his total commitment to a cheesy cover band -- is acting distant, and not in a pre-wedding-jitters kind of way. The night he runs out for cigarettes and just doesn’t come back, he demotes himself from future husband to sperm donor. And the very next day, Jenny goes into labor. In the months that follow, Jenny plunges into a life she never anticipated: single motherhood. At least with the sleep deprivation, sore boobs, and fits of crying (both hers and the baby’s), there’s not much time to dwell on her broken heart. And things start looking up. She learns how to do everything one-handed, makes friends in a mommy group, and even manages to give dating tips to her sweet, clueless father -- who’s trying to court her sassy mother again, fifteen years after their divorce. She also gets to know a handsome, helpful neighbor -- with a knack for soothing babies -- who invites her out dancing. But Dean is never far from Jenny’s thoughts or, it turns out, her doorstep, and in the end Jenny must choose between the old life she thought she wanted and the new life she’s been lucky to find.  

Emma Taylor wanted an engagement ring and a job promotion for her thirtieth birthday. What she got instead was the boot from her boyfriend, the heave-ho from his Manhattan loft -- and the indignity of having to work for the weenie who stole her position. Her pals only add insult to injury by...  more

Emma Taylor wanted an engagement ring and a job promotion for her thirtieth birthday. What she got instead was the boot from her boyfriend, the heave-ho from his Manhattan loft -- and the indignity of having to work for the weenie who stole her position. Her pals only add insult to injury by giving her the "perfect" birthday gift: a bottle of breast-enhancing pills. It would be enough to defeat even a well-endowed woman, but Emma's not about to let such twists of fate get her down, even as she sets out on the most grueling task known to humankind: apartment hunting in New York City. But sleeping in the backseat of her car provides an unexpected bonus -- she meets Jack, who's kind enough to invite Emma into his home ... in a strictly landlord/tenant-type of arrangement, of course. Perhaps things are looking up -- since honestly they couldn't get much worse. Emma may not be able to fill a bikini, but she's going to do that "life and love" thing right this time. Because no matter what else destiny throws in her face, she's determined to come out where she never has before ... on top!

Also published as: The Rise and Fall of a Yummy Mummy In the tradition of Little Earthquakes, Babyville and I Don't Know How She Does It: the effervescent, canny, and downright delightful debut of Polly Williams, a spirited new voice in women's fiction. Amy Crane's daughter, the...  more

Also published as: The Rise and Fall of a Yummy Mummy In the tradition of Little Earthquakes, Babyville and I Don't Know How She Does It: the effervescent, canny, and downright delightful debut of Polly Williams, a spirited new voice in women's fiction. Amy Crane's daughter, the exquisite and sweet-tempered Evie, is six months old. any Amy -- who's trying to decide whether to resume her high-pressure job in PR -- adores her. But these days, Amy doesn't exactly adore herself. Even worse, the whole time she's feeling invisible and about as attractive as a barnyard animal, Amy suspects that Evie's father, Joe, is having an affair. Then Amy meets Alice, who seems to have this mommy thing down: She's single-girl-slender, for one thing, with groomed eyebrows, a smooth forehead, and killer clothes. Plus she has a sex life. In short, she's a Yummy Mummy, one of a new breed who manage to make motherhood look positively sexy. Under Alice's tutelage, Amy discovers that she's got some yumminess of her own. Joe takes notice, as does her handsome Pilates instructor. But once Amy's libido awakens from its extended slumber, a whole new set of problems develops. Filled with acute perceptions of the challenges faced by new moms, as well as the uniquely terrifying landscape of new motherhood, The Yummy Mummy is as endearing -- and as refreshing -- as a baby who sleeps through the night.

Meghann Dontess is a woman haunted by heartbreak. Twenty-seven years ago she was forced to make a terrible choice, one that cost her everything, including the love of her sister, Claire. Now, Meghann is a hotshot divorce attorney who doesn't believe in intimacy - until she meets the one man who...  more

Meghann Dontess is a woman haunted by heartbreak. Twenty-seven years ago she was forced to make a terrible choice, one that cost her everything, including the love of her sister, Claire. Now, Meghann is a hotshot divorce attorney who doesn't believe in intimacy - until she meets the one man who can change her mind. Claire Cavenaugh has fallen in love for the first time in her life. As her wedding day approaches, she prepares to face her harsh, judgmental older sister. It is the first time they have been together in more than two decades. Over the course of a hot Pacific Northwest summer, these two women who believe they have nothing in common will try to become what they never were: a family.

Nearing 30 and trapped in a dead-end secretarial job, Julie Powell resolved to reclaim her life by cooking, in the span of a single year, every one of the 524 recipes in Julia Child's legendary Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Her unexpected reward: not just a newfound respect for...  more

Nearing 30 and trapped in a dead-end secretarial job, Julie Powell resolved to reclaim her life by cooking, in the span of a single year, every one of the 524 recipes in Julia Child's legendary Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Her unexpected reward: not just a newfound respect for calves' livers and aspic, but a new life--lived with gusto.

With her free-spirited daughter away at college and her "hip" ex-husband living across the country, Charlotte has grown used to being alone. For the most part, she prefers it. She relies on familiar routines: manicures, grocery shopping, game shows. But at night, no matter how hard she tries...  more

With her free-spirited daughter away at college and her "hip" ex-husband living across the country, Charlotte has grown used to being alone. For the most part, she prefers it. She relies on familiar routines: manicures, grocery shopping, game shows. But at night, no matter how hard she tries (and in spite of the Dream Machine her daughter Emily sent her) she can't stop her logical mind from running wild -- imagining burglars, strange noises, and all manner of trouble that might befall her fearless daughter. Having just graduated from Wesleyan with a pierced tongue and an arsenal of opinions, Emily has always been passionate about her beliefs -- from mindfulness to vegetarianism to her new live-in boyfriend. Though Charlotte rarely understands her, she's learned to keep her doubts to herself. But when Emily and the new boyfriend arrive for a weekend visit, secrets are revealed that compel Charlotte to take a stand. Forced to examine her own life choices, she's about to learn she can't control everything. What she can do is open her heart to new possibilities, and to the fact that headstrong Emily might have a thing or two to teach them all.

Query: "Would it be a serious breach of etiquette to run out on my own wedding?" This is the question Becky Steele asks herself as she clings to the window ledge of her parents' bedroom, grimly regarding the ten foot drop into the dustbins below.

Shortly before turning the big 5-0, boisterous party planner and "Cooking with Gusto!" personality Augusta "Gus" Simpson finds herself planning a birthday party she'd rather not -- her own.  She's getting tired of being the hostess, the mother hen, the woman who...  more

Shortly before turning the big 5-0, boisterous party planner and "Cooking with Gusto!" personality Augusta "Gus" Simpson finds herself planning a birthday party she'd rather not -- her own.  She's getting tired of being the hostess, the mother hen, the woman who has to plan her own birthday party.  What she needs is time on her own with enough distance to give her loved ones the ingredients to put together successful lives without her. Assisted by a handsome up-and-coming chef, Oliver, Gus invites a select group to take an on-air cooking class.  But instead of just preaching to the foodie masses, she will teach regular people how to make rich, sensuous meals -- real people making real food.  Gus decides to bring a vibrant cast of friends and family on the program:  Sabrina, her fickle daughter; Troy, Sabrina's ex-husband; Anna, Gus's timid neighbor; and Carmen, Gus's pompous and beautiful competitor at the Cooking Channel.  And when she begins to have more than collegial feelings for her sous-chef, Gus realizes that she might be able to rejuvenate not just her professional life, but her personal life as well....

In this sumptuous new novel, Barbara O?Neal offers readers a celebration of food, family, and love as a woman searches for the elusive ingredient we?re all hoping to find?.It?s the opportunity Elena Alvarez has been waiting for?the challenge of running her own kitchen in a world-class...  more

In this sumptuous new novel, Barbara O?Neal offers readers a celebration of food, family, and love as a woman searches for the elusive ingredient we?re all hoping to find?.It?s the opportunity Elena Alvarez has been waiting for?the challenge of running her own kitchen in a world-class restaurant. Haunted by an accident of which she was the lone survivor, Elena knows better than anyone how to survive the odds. With her faithful dog, Alvin, and her grandmother?s recipes, Elena arrives in Colorado to find a restaurant in as desperate need of a fresh start as she is?and a man whose passionate approach to food and life rivals her own. Owner Julian Liswood is a name many people know but a man few do. He?s come to Aspen with a troubled teenage daughter and a dream of the kind of stability and love only a family can provide. But for Elena, old ghosts don?t die quietly, yet a chance to find happiness at last is worth the risk.

"A major decision about me is being made, and no one's bothered to ask the one person who most deserves it to speak her opinion." The only reason Anna was born was to donate her cord blood cells to her older sister. And though Anna is not sick, she might as well be. By age thirteen, she has...  more

"A major decision about me is being made, and no one's bothered to ask the one person who most deserves it to speak her opinion." The only reason Anna was born was to donate her cord blood cells to her older sister. And though Anna is not sick, she might as well be. By age thirteen, she has undergone countless surgeries, transfusions, and shots so that her sister, Kate, can somehow fight the leukemia that has plagued her since she was a child. Anna was born for this purpose, her parents tell her, which is why they love her even more. But now that she has reached an age of physical awareness, she can't help but long for control over her own body and respite from the constant flow of her own blood seeping into her sister's veins. And so she makes a decision that for most would be too difficult to bear, at any time and at any age. She decides to sue her parents for the rights to her own body.

A few Texas society gals are hiding sordid pasts as strippers, pole dancers, call girls, Democrats . . . But socialite Kathleen Connor King's secret is far, far worse. The flamboyant oil heiress, philanthropist, shopaholic, and hostess of the city's most prestigious annual gala, Kathleen King...  more

A few Texas society gals are hiding sordid pasts as strippers, pole dancers, call girls, Democrats . . . But socialite Kathleen Connor King's secret is far, far worse. The flamboyant oil heiress, philanthropist, shopaholic, and hostess of the city's most prestigious annual gala, Kathleen King has a skeleton in her closet that, if revealed, will obliterate her good name and cherished social standing: She's broke! Her longtime beau, Dylan Grant, is similarly busted, ever since his now-deceased father lost the last of the family's oil properties to A-List wannabe Bo Harlan in a poker game. So Kat and Dylan have a plan, and with the help of a small cadre of loyal friends and allies, they're ready to resort to outrageous tactics -—not all of them legal—- to keep up appearances, win back the lost Grant oil money, elude a psycho Vegas mobster...and solidify their lofty positions among the cr?me de la cr?me.

Yesterday? My life was perfect. I was a full-fledged New York gallerista, gossiping all day about my favorite subject-art-while selling hundred-thousand-dollar paintings I would have died to own. The only thing better than my job at the Emerson Bond Gallery? The whopping promotion I was just...  more

Yesterday? My life was perfect. I was a full-fledged New York gallerista, gossiping all day about my favorite subject-art-while selling hundred-thousand-dollar paintings I would have died to own. The only thing better than my job at the Emerson Bond Gallery? The whopping promotion I was just about to get... Today? Emerson Bond just dropped dead. Now we may all be out of a job: my fabulous boss Freddie (love him!). Our absolutely adorable receptionist Kimmy (love her!). And devoted, well-meaning me (love me!). Tomorrow? I can't even think about it... ...because I've definitely gotten off on the wrong foot with the insufferable star artist who's responsible for my professional future. And then there's the new blood at the Bond Gallery: Avery Devon, the man so gorgeous I can't even speak to him. The man now in charge of my whole life. The man who, if I'm really, really lucky, will teach me all about the art of love-and not just in my dreams...

Recalls Chelsea's experiences with red-haired men, to her obsession with midgets, to holidaying with her dad and getting mistaken for his wife.

When the other woman is you... She's not quite sure how it happened, but Lizzie Ford is London's most popular Agony Aunt ... doling out practical, down-to-earth advice to women about everything from g-spots and oral sex to relationships and personal crises. So she finds it somewhat...  more

When the other woman is you... She's not quite sure how it happened, but Lizzie Ford is London's most popular Agony Aunt ... doling out practical, down-to-earth advice to women about everything from g-spots and oral sex to relationships and personal crises. So she finds it somewhat ironic that an honest-to-goodness D-celebrity like herself -she has a radio show and a magazine column- who counsels others on their sex lives has been sitting on the bench for three years waiting to get back in the game. So Lizzie can't believe her good luck when she meets Matt Baker at her office Christmas party. They hit it off immediately, only there's one problem ... Matt's wife may not be happy with this new arrangement. Lizzie is certainly less than enthused when Matt finally informs her of his marital state - "You've got a wife and I've got principles," she tells him. But principles don't take you out to dinner or keep you warm in bed at night, and Lizzie soon takes up with Matt again when he tells her that he's about to leave his wife - who is more concerned with her career than their marriage. The strange thing is that even while she's hoping that Matt will get a divorce, she's actively helping a writer to her column save her crumbling marriage ... a marriage that bears more than a passing resemblance to Matt's. Can you be a home saver and a home wrecker -saint and sinner- at the same time?

The author of Inappropriate Men and Sleeping Over tackles home improvement and reality TV. Give two hopeful singles their own fashion consultants and interior designers, and allow them four days to perk up each other's homes and style, and what do you get? Swap/Meet, the newest reality show...  more

The author of Inappropriate Men and Sleeping Over tackles home improvement and reality TV. Give two hopeful singles their own fashion consultants and interior designers, and allow them four days to perk up each other's homes and style, and what do you get? Swap/Meet, the newest reality show on the network block-and Lily Allen's dream job turned nightmare. At first, Lily thought working on Swap/Meet would make her an interior design star. She just never imagined she'd end up working with a ditzy host, a jealous competitor, and feuding fashion czars. Plus, the cute, curmudgeonly carpenter on her team knows just how to push her buttons. Episode by episode, through do-it-yourself disasters and matchmaking miracles, Lily starts to discover that a little bit of controlled chaos is the spice of life- and love.

What do women talk about when they know they don't have forever? They talk about what they have always talked about, only they go deeper and more honest: with outrageous humor they try to mitigate pain. Intimate and uncensored sharing, the kind of connection women prize, is at the heart of this...  more

What do women talk about when they know they don't have forever? They talk about what they have always talked about, only they go deeper and more honest: with outrageous humor they try to mitigate pain. Intimate and uncensored sharing, the kind of connection women prize, is at the heart of this deeply moving novel about the grit and power of female friends.Ann and Ruth have always talked as only great friends can--honestly, and about everything: husbands and marriages, sex lives and children, their work, their hopes, their disappointments, and their dreams. For Ann, cautious and conventional, her closeness to the outspoken and eccentric Ruth brings about discovery and liberation, a chance to say whatever she wants, and, most important, under the insistent tutelage of Ruth, to become herself. Over the years, the women have shared recipes, quilting patterns, child care, delicate and dangerous secrets. Each rests secure in the knowledge that they will be friends forever. Then something happens that will change their lives forever, and the women begin to share something more profound than either of them might have predicted.Written with an unerring ear for how women talk, laugh, and cry together, and with a gift for capturing the uniqueness of personality, Talk Before Sleep is sure to find a place in readers' hearts.From the Trade Paperback edition.

In London, Kate Miller had an enviable life: an exciting job at a fashion magazine, an engagement and a wedding to plan. Then it all fell apart -- spectacularly, painfully, and forever. That was three years ago...and she fled to New York City to live with her mother and stepfather. Now Kate...  more

In London, Kate Miller had an enviable life: an exciting job at a fashion magazine, an engagement and a wedding to plan. Then it all fell apart -- spectacularly, painfully, and forever. That was three years ago...and she fled to New York City to live with her mother and stepfather. Now Kate is a true New Yorker, in love with the pace and rhythm of Manhattan. But deep down, she knows her life is in a holding pattern, that there is something -- someone -- more to love. But when her father becomes ill, Kate realizes it's time to return and face the friends and the memories she left behind. What really happened before Kate left London? Can she pick up the pieces and allow herself to love life again?

From Booklist Some say the first year of marriage is the hardest. Three recent brides--Casey, Erin, and Stella--are finding that the honeymoon phase passes pretty quickly. Casey thinks she may have married an immature jerk who wasn't ready to commit. Erin realizes that she's married not only...  more

From Booklist Some say the first year of marriage is the hardest. Three recent brides--Casey, Erin, and Stella--are finding that the honeymoon phase passes pretty quickly. Casey thinks she may have married an immature jerk who wasn't ready to commit. Erin realizes that she's married not only to her husband but also to her conniving mother-in-law. And Stella finds out her dreams of having a child are not going to come true when her husband tells her he's had a vasectomy. When the three brides discover that, thanks to a filing glitch, their marriages are not official, they realize it may be a blessing in disguise. This is a funny, sweet book about the power of female support systems and the ups-and-downs of marriage. Kendrick mixes in a few twists and turns to keep readers guessing about which of three marriages will make it. Then, by the last few pages, there are enough happy endings to go around.

"The funny thing about rock bottom is there's stuff underneath it. you think, this is it: I'm at rock bottom now. It's all uphill from here. Then you discover the escalator goes down one more floor to another level of bargain basement junk." In an age in which women...  more

"The funny thing about rock bottom is there's stuff underneath it. you think, this is it: I'm at rock bottom now. It's all uphill from here. Then you discover the escalator goes down one more floor to another level of bargain basement junk." In an age in which women are expected to be high achievers, thirty-six-year-old Sophie Stanton desperately wants to be a good widow -- a graceful, composed, Jackie Kennedy kind of widow. Alas, Sophie is more of a Jack Daniels kind. Self-medicating with cartons of ice cream for breakfast, breaking down in the produce section a the supermarket, showing up to work in her bathrobe and bunny slippers -- soon she's not only lost her husband, but her job, her house, and her waistline. Desperate to reinvent her life, Sophie moves to Ashland, Oregon. But instead of the way women starting over are depicted in the movies -- with heroines instantly being swept off their feet by Sam Shepard kinds of guys -- Sophie finds herself in the middle of Lucy-And-Ethel madcap adventures with a darkly comic edge involving a thirteen-year-old with a fascination with fire and an alarmingly handsome actor who inspires a range of feelings she can't cope with -- yet! Filled with laugh-out-loud humor, struggles, triumphs, and plenty of midnight trips to the fridge, Good Grief is a funny, wise, and heartbreakingly poignant novel from on of fictions freshest and most exciting new voices.

Emily has a tendency to live with one foot out the door. When her mother dramatically announces, "They've found a lump," Emily gladly leaves behind her career, her boyfriend, and those pesky, unanswerable questions about who she is and what she's doing with her life to be by...  more

Emily has a tendency to live with one foot out the door. When her mother dramatically announces, "They've found a lump," Emily gladly leaves behind her career, her boyfriend, and those pesky, unanswerable questions about who she is and what she's doing with her life to be by her mother's side. But back in her childhood bedroom, Emily realizes that she hasn't run fast or far enough -- especially when she opens the door, quite literally, to find her past staring her in the face.

“Yowza!” exclaims Kara Richardson when she sees the handsome proprietor of the new delicatessen in town, Gabe Paolino— -- who soon expresses mutual interest. This would be the start of a perfect love story, except for one thing— -- Kara has vowed to stop dating until she...  more

“Yowza!” exclaims Kara Richardson when she sees the handsome proprietor of the new delicatessen in town, Gabe Paolino— -- who soon expresses mutual interest. This would be the start of a perfect love story, except for one thing— -- Kara has vowed to stop dating until she feels God’'s leading. But when humorous circumstances send Kara and Gabe on a road trip to Florida, hope springs anew. Even with Kara’s flirtatious coworker Tiffany—“a hyena in heels -- ”—along for the ride, the uncouple begins a lively journey that could change their paths forever. This memorable, charming story of love’s persistence captures the honor of waiting on God’'s timing, and the adventure of finding the perfect guy to not date.

On the surface, Henry and Clare Detamble are a normal couple living in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood. Henry works at the Newberry Library and Clare creates abstract paper art, but the cruel reality is that Henry is a prisoner of time. It sweeps him back and forth at its leisure, from...  more

On the surface, Henry and Clare Detamble are a normal couple living in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood. Henry works at the Newberry Library and Clare creates abstract paper art, but the cruel reality is that Henry is a prisoner of time. It sweeps him back and forth at its leisure, from the present to the past, with no regard for where he is or what he is doing. It drops him naked and vulnerable into another decade, wearing an age-appropriate face. In fact, it's not unusual for Henry to run into the other Henry and help him out of a jam. Sound unusual? Imagine Clare Detamble's astonishment at seeing Henry dropped stark naked into her parents' meadow when she was only six. Though, of course, until she came of age, Henry was always the perfect gentleman and gave young Clare nothing but his friendship as he dropped in and out of her life.

Convinced that her larger size relegates her to wallflower status, Freddie Heinz hides behind the wedding cakes she creates as a professional baker. But life is about to change for Miss Invisible. First of all, Freddie's found a new friend who encourages her to come out of her shell. Then...  more

Convinced that her larger size relegates her to wallflower status, Freddie Heinz hides behind the wedding cakes she creates as a professional baker. But life is about to change for Miss Invisible. First of all, Freddie's found a new friend who encourages her to come out of her shell. Then Hal, the cute veterinarian, starts showing interest in the woman behind the delightful cakes. And when Freddie decides to break every rule in the "big girl's" book and find out who she really is, life gets even more exciting-and hilarious. Cinderella, look out! Miss Invisible is becoming the belle of the ball-and having a ball in the process. Because when you finally find God's call for your life, any size is the right size-and love can see what the rest of the world passes by.

Welcome to Kettle, Wisconsin, a town where everyone knows nothing bad ever happens. Enter Lorelei Taylor -- notorious, glamorous, and hot off a not-guilty murder verdict that stunned the nation. To the women of Kettle, bad things seem suddenly inevitable... Sarah Gilchrist -- A perfect house...  more

Welcome to Kettle, Wisconsin, a town where everyone knows nothing bad ever happens. Enter Lorelei Taylor -- notorious, glamorous, and hot off a not-guilty murder verdict that stunned the nation. To the women of Kettle, bad things seem suddenly inevitable... Sarah Gilchrist -- A perfect house and garden can't quite make up for a marriage that's a wreck. Sarah is determined to rise above her opinion of Kettle's dreadful newcomer and give her a perfect welcome. But in the face of Lorelei's outrageous provocations, Sarah's control starts to unravel. Erin Hall -- What her husband does to her behind closed doors stays hidden. But Lorelei's acquittal gives Erin hope for the first time. Convinced Lorelei did kill her abusive lover... and got away with it, Erin thinks she may have some power after all. Lorelei Taylor -- In Lorelei's eyes, peaceful, heavenly Kettle could not look any more like hell. She vows to shake up the town -- smug, priggish Sarah; mousy, downtrodden Erin; and while she's at it, her widowed neighbor, Mike. Except the harder she shakes, the more the shake-up is happening to her. Sometimes the only thing women on the edge need... is a push.

In this raucous collection of true-life stories, actress and comedian Chelsea Handler recounts her time spent in the social trenches with that wild, strange, irresistible, and often gratifying beast: the one-night stand. You've either done it or know someone who has: the one-night stand,...  more

In this raucous collection of true-life stories, actress and comedian Chelsea Handler recounts her time spent in the social trenches with that wild, strange, irresistible, and often gratifying beast: the one-night stand. You've either done it or know someone who has: the one-night stand, the familiar outcome of a night spent at a bar, sometimes the sole payoff for your friend's irritating wedding, or the only relief from a disastrous vacation. Often embarrassing and uncomfortable, occasionally outlandish, but most times just a necessary and irresistible evil, the one-night stand is a social rite as old as sex itself and as common as a bar stool. Enter Chelsea Handler. Gorgeous, sharp, and anything but shy, Chelsea loves men and lots of them. My Horizontal Life chronicles her romp through the different bedrooms of a variety of suitors, a no-holds-barred account of what can happen between a man and a sometimes very intoxicated, outgoing woman during one night of passion. From her short fling with a Vegas stripper to her even shorter dalliance with a well-endowed little person, from her uncomfortable tryst with a cruise ship performer to her misguided rebound with a man who likes to play leather dress-up, Chelsea recalls the highs and lows of her one-night stands with hilarious honesty. Encouraged by her motley collection of friends (aka: her partners in crime) but challenged by her family members (who at times find themselves a surprise part of the encounter), Chelsea hits bottom and bounces back, unafraid to share the gritty details. My Horizontal Life is one guilty pleasure you won't be ashamed to talk about in the morning.

She's late for her life... Becca Davis has always played it safe--denying her passion for fashion design in a dead-end job and letting her pragmatic boyfriend (mastermind of the 'Kevin Bradley Ten-Year Plan") make the tough decisions in life. Stunned into saying yes when Mr. Predictable springs...  more

She's late for her life... Becca Davis has always played it safe--denying her passion for fashion design in a dead-end job and letting her pragmatic boyfriend (mastermind of the 'Kevin Bradley Ten-Year Plan") make the tough decisions in life. Stunned into saying yes when Mr. Predictable springs a surprise proposal on her, Becca realizes that she's running out of time to turn her life around. She's only got one more chance to chase her dreams and no one--not her control freak fiance, not her dramaholic sisters, not her overprotective parents--will talk her out of it. He's right on time. Terrified but determined, Becca breaks off her engagement, moves in with her sister in Los Angeles, and prepares to take the fashion world by storm. The reality of the Hollywood scene is much harsher than she anticipated--lots of slamming doors, snooty clients, and double-crossing celebrity stylists--but she won't give up. And while she's waiting for her big break, she meets Connor, a sexy risk-taker who's the polar opposite of her ex-fiance. Is Becca ready for his all-or-nothing approach to love? With her design business taking off and her family starting to fall apart, she's about to learn the timeliest lesson of all: Love and fashion wait for no woman.

It’s a hot August Saturday on Nantucket Island. Over the course of the next 24 hours, two lives will be transformed forever. Marguerite Beale, former chef of culinary hot spot Les Parapluies, has been out of the public eye for over a decade. This all changes with a phone call from...  more

It’s a hot August Saturday on Nantucket Island. Over the course of the next 24 hours, two lives will be transformed forever. Marguerite Beale, former chef of culinary hot spot Les Parapluies, has been out of the public eye for over a decade. This all changes with a phone call from Marguerite’s goddaughter, Renata Knox. Marguerite has not seen Renata since the death of Renata’s mother, Candace Harris Knox, fourteen years earlier. And now that Renata is on Nantucket visiting the family of her new fiancé, she takes the opportunity, against her father’s wishes, to contact Marguerite in hopes of learning the story of her mother’s life -- and death. But the events of the day spiral hopelessly out of control for both women, and nothing ends up as planned. Welcome to The Love Season -- a riveting story that takes place in one day and spans decades; a story that embraces the charming, pristine island of Nantucket, as well as Manhattan, Paris and Morocco. Elin Hilderbrand’s most ambitious novel to date chronicles the famous couplings of real lives: love and friendship, food and wine, deception and betrayal -- and forgiveness and healing.

Dianne Blacklock unravels the many layers of relationships in a novel of truth-and its consequences. In a beautiful house in an upscale Sydney suburb, Mac sees his picture-perfect marriage cracking under the strain of infertility. In another Sydney suburb, thirty-something Georgie, a bookstore...  more

Dianne Blacklock unravels the many layers of relationships in a novel of truth-and its consequences. In a beautiful house in an upscale Sydney suburb, Mac sees his picture-perfect marriage cracking under the strain of infertility. In another Sydney suburb, thirty-something Georgie, a bookstore owner, is trying to deal with a deadbeat roommate and no romantic prospects in sight. Then Liam walks into the bookstore and Georgie thinks she has found the perfect man-just as Mac and his wife reach the breaking point, putting Mac on a path that will have unforeseen consequences for them all.

Something borrowed. Something blue. Do you really know the man to whom you're saying "I do?" Madison Mandelbaum is on top of the world. She's got a loving -- though totally neurotic -- family, two fabulous girlfriends, and best of all, she's head-over-heels in love...  more

Something borrowed. Something blue. Do you really know the man to whom you're saying "I do?" Madison Mandelbaum is on top of the world. She's got a loving -- though totally neurotic -- family, two fabulous girlfriends, and best of all, she's head-over-heels in love with Colin Darcy, an investigative reporter for NBC, a distant relation to the Queen, and -- most importantly -- Maddie's fiance. Be careful what you wish for her mother's always fond of saying, but with Colin on her arm, Maddie is certain that everything will finally go right. With one week to go before the wedding, Maddie receives an anonymous email that suggests that her fiance may not be the man she thinks he is. Is this someone's idea of a pre-wedding joke? Yet as sinister phone calls, text messages, and disturbing clues turn up, all linking Colin to the murder of a sexy callgirl, Maddie realizes that she must get to the bottom of this. Fast. As the clock counts down towards what was to be the ceremony of her dreams, Maddie's life is turned into a wild race to find the truth. Between frantic dress fittings, entertaining future in-laws, and putting on a brave face, she and her best friends are propelled into an undercover investigation that plunges them into a seedy underworld of anonymous sex and backroom politics. As her search brings her ever closer to the knowledge she desperately seeks, Maddie finds her heart being tested in ways she's never dreamed. Determined to take back her life, she discovers just how far someone in love will go to cover up the truth. And along the way, she stumbles upon a shocking secret she never saw coming.

June Parker's life is meandering along until a freak car accident leaves Marissa, her 24-year-old passenger, dead and June wracked with guilt. June discovers a list Marissa had been keeping of 25 things she wanted to do by the time she turned 25. After a run-in with Marissa's brother, June...  more

June Parker's life is meandering along until a freak car accident leaves Marissa, her 24-year-old passenger, dead and June wracked with guilt. June discovers a list Marissa had been keeping of 25 things she wanted to do by the time she turned 25. After a run-in with Marissa's brother, June resolves to complete the list. Kissing a total stranger and throwing away her scale prove far easier than pitching an idea at work or changing someone's life. But June approaches the list with aplomb, daring to speak up about being passed over for a manager position, and becoming a Big Sister to a quiet, studious Latina teen named DeeDee. But when June uncovers a secret of DeeDee's, she realizes changing someone else's life might involve changing her own as well.

Claire and her mother are running out of time, but they don't know it. Not yet. Claire is wrapped up with the difficulties of her bourgeoning adulthood -- boys, school, friends, identity; Claire's mother, a single mom, is rushed off her feet both at work and at home. They rarely find themselves...  more

Claire and her mother are running out of time, but they don't know it. Not yet. Claire is wrapped up with the difficulties of her bourgeoning adulthood -- boys, school, friends, identity; Claire's mother, a single mom, is rushed off her feet both at work and at home. They rarely find themselves in the same room at the same time, and it often seems that the only thing they can count on are notes to each other on the refrigerator door. When home is threatened by a crisis, their relationship experiences a momentous change. Forced to reevaluate the delicate balance between their personal lives and their bond as mother and daughter, Claire and her mother find new love and devotion for one another deeper than anything they had ever imagined. Heartfelt, touching, and unforgettable, Life on the Refrigerator Door is a glimpse into the lives of mothers and daughters everywhere. In this deeply touching novel told through a series of notes written from a loving mother and her devoted fifteen-year-old daughter, debut author Alice Kuipers deftly captures the impenetrable fabric that connects mothers and daughters throughout the world. Moving and rich with emotion, Life on the Refrigerator Door delivers universal lessons about love in a wonderfully simple and poignant narrative.

26-year-old Claire Reilly is on top of her game as one of the youngest celebrity reporters and editors in the business. At Mod magazine, she is a consummate professional, interviewing dreamy Hollywood hunks and staying on top of every story. Unfortunately, her live-in boyfriend seems intent on...  more

26-year-old Claire Reilly is on top of her game as one of the youngest celebrity reporters and editors in the business. At Mod magazine, she is a consummate professional, interviewing dreamy Hollywood hunks and staying on top of every story. Unfortunately, her live-in boyfriend seems intent on setting the world's record for celibacy, yet she finds herself penning articles like--Ten Reasons You Should Have a One-Night Stand. When Claire lands the plum assignment of interviewing Cole Brannon, Hollywood's #1 hottie, she knows better than to mix business with pleasure, but the next morning, she finds herself in Cole's bed...without her clothes. After the tabloids pick up the story, Claire's life is turned upside down. In struggling to regain her reputation, she'll learn a great deal about herself...and that you shouldn't always believe everything you read.

Bestselling author Sarah Strohmeyer offers up a timely (and recession-proof) treat about the things money can -- and can't -- buy. Living in New Jersey -- the state that boasts the most malls per capita -- Kat's favorite recreational activity is a no-brainer: shopping. But when she...  more

Bestselling author Sarah Strohmeyer offers up a timely (and recession-proof) treat about the things money can -- and can't -- buy. Living in New Jersey -- the state that boasts the most malls per capita -- Kat's favorite recreational activity is a no-brainer: shopping. But when she discovers that her husband, Griff, has been hiding a secret bank account, her joyful consumerism suddenly loses its appeal. Are their fights about money more serious than she understood? Is he, as her friends suggest, preparing for a divorce? Just in case, Kat decides it's time to start saving. Drastic times call for drastic measures: Kat starts by canceling cable and kicking her $240-a-month Starbucks habit. But what starts out as a simple effort to cut costs becomes an over-the-top obsession when Kat joins an eclectic but lovable group of savers called the Penny Pinchers Club. Soon she is pumping her gas at dawn (when it is thicker) and serving dinner made from food she retrieved at the grocery store dumpster. Kat is saving money, to be sure, but what she's really saving is time -- time she spends with Griff, their two kids . . . and an old flame who resurfaces at precisely the wrong moment, offering Kat a life where money is no object. An irresistible and wonderfully warm-hearted novel about the unexpected ways hardship can lead to happiness, The Penny Pinchers Club is the perfect pick-me-up for these troubled times.

A child of theatrical royalty, Carrie Manning is having a hard time getting her own act together. Thirty-seven, aimless, and having just buried a famous mother she never understood, she is desperate to uncover her family's mysterious past in the hopes that it will help her understand...  more

A child of theatrical royalty, Carrie Manning is having a hard time getting her own act together. Thirty-seven, aimless, and having just buried a famous mother she never understood, she is desperate to uncover her family's mysterious past in the hopes that it will help her understand herself. Carrie's search reveals the fascinating life stories of her estranged grandmother Lu, a glamorous Broadway star whose dreams came with a price; her great grandmother Mifalda, who gave up everything to come to America as a sixteen-year-old Italian bride; and her father, Bobby, the charismatic Broadway genius who wrote some of Lu's greatest musicals and died tragically young. At the heart of Carrie's discoveries lies the reason for her mother's complicated life, and a dark secret that has been buried for thirty years.

Greg and Tess MacAvoy are one of four prominent Nantucket couples who count each other as best friends. As pillars of their close-knit community, the MacAvoys, Kapenashes, Drakes, and Wheelers are important to their friends and neighbors, and especially to each other. But just before the...  more

Greg and Tess MacAvoy are one of four prominent Nantucket couples who count each other as best friends. As pillars of their close-knit community, the MacAvoys, Kapenashes, Drakes, and Wheelers are important to their friends and neighbors, and especially to each other. But just before the beginning of another idyllic summer, Greg and Tess are killed when their boat capsizes during an anniversary sail. As the warm weather approaches and the island mourns their loss, nothing can prepare the MacAvoy's closest friends for what will be revealed.

Every Dress has a history, and so does Phoebe... Phoebe Swift always dreamt of opening her own vintage dress shop. She imagined every detail, from the Vivienne Westwood skirts hanging next to satin gowns, to sequinned prom dresses adorning the walls. At the launch of Village Vintage,...  more

Every Dress has a history, and so does Phoebe... Phoebe Swift always dreamt of opening her own vintage dress shop. She imagined every detail, from the Vivienne Westwood skirts hanging next to satin gowns, to sequinned prom dresses adorning the walls. At the launch of Village Vintage, Phoebe feels the tingle of excitement as customers snap up the fairytale dresses. Her dream has come true, but a secret from the past is casting a shadow over her new venture. Then one day she meets Therese, an elderly Frenchwoman with a collection to sell, apart from one piece that she won't part with... As Therese tells the story of the little blue coat, Phoebe becomes aware of a profound connection with her own life, one that will help her heal the pain of her past and allow her to love again.

Sarah Claire Winowski knows there's more to her than being the town barfly's daughter, but discovering who she is and living out her dreams will mean getting out of Sable, Wyoming, ASAP! In a fit of short-lived courage she packs up and moves to Beverly Hills, where she earns the prestige...  more

Sarah Claire Winowski knows there's more to her than being the town barfly's daughter, but discovering who she is and living out her dreams will mean getting out of Sable, Wyoming, ASAP! In a fit of short-lived courage she packs up and moves to Beverly Hills, where she earns the prestige of being a "Hairstylist to the Stars." But when Hollywood success doesn't yield the results she expected, Sarah Claire is left to wonder about the girl she left behind - and whether God will ever give her the validation she craves. With two gorgeous men in hot pursuit, a stylist-cousin who lacks some serious scruples and a boss having a love affair with his mirror, learning who she is underneath it all won't be easy. But sometimes the best a girl can ask for is to find truth and authenticity amid the chaos of this thing called "life." And if anyone can do it, Sarah Claire Winowski can!

Joy Candellaro once loved Christmas more than any other time of the year. Now, as the holiday approaches, she is at a crossroads in her life; recently divorced and alone, she can’t summon the old enthusiasm for celebrating. So without telling anyone, she buys a ticket and boards a plane...  more

Joy Candellaro once loved Christmas more than any other time of the year. Now, as the holiday approaches, she is at a crossroads in her life; recently divorced and alone, she can’t summon the old enthusiasm for celebrating. So without telling anyone, she buys a ticket and boards a plane bound for the beautiful Pacific Northwest. When an unexpected detour takes her deep into the woods of the Olympic rainforest, Joy makes a bold decision to leave her ordinary life behind -- to just walk away -- and thus begins an adventure unlike any she could have imagined. In the small town of Rain Valley, six-year-old Bobby O’Shea is facing his first Christmas without a mother. Unable to handle the loss, Bobby has closed himself off from the world, talking only to his invisible best friend. His father Daniel is beside himself, desperate to help his son cope. Yet when the little boy meets Joy, these two unlikely souls form a deep and powerful bond. In helping Bobby and Daniel heal, Joy finds herself again. But not everything is as it seems in quiet Rain Valley, and in an instant, Joy’s world is ripped apart, and her heart is broken. On a magical Christmas Eve, a night of impossible dreams and unexpected chances, Joy must find the courage to believe in a love -- and a family -- that can’t possibly exist, and go in search of what she wants . . . and the new life only she can find.

Downsized from her boutique firm, Erin panics as she watches her career ambitions plunge into free fall. Why else would the savvy twenty-eight-year-old take a job as a waitress? A favorable word from a family friend gets Erin in the door at Roulette, Madison Avenue's newest exclusive haunt and...  more

Downsized from her boutique firm, Erin panics as she watches her career ambitions plunge into free fall. Why else would the savvy twenty-eight-year-old take a job as a waitress? A favorable word from a family friend gets Erin in the door at Roulette, Madison Avenue's newest exclusive haunt and home to a celebrity chef with a talent for cutting-edge cuisine and spotting the weakest link. Life behind the apron is even worse than she imagined - from mangling orders to overimbibing at a wine seminar, Erin finds herself in hot water with the egomaniacal chef and the owner's outrageous wife. And then there's the dismissive, surly clientele, all but Daniel Fratelli, a flirtatious TV news producer. Is Daniel really as down-to-earth as he seems? Or will he eventually succumb to one of the many glamorous uptown girls in his own social circle? Determined to prove that she won't crack under pressure, Erin begins to master the art of waitressing -- becoming part shrink, part slave, and part foie gras hustler. But her continuing series of disastrous missteps quickly sends her right back to the bottom of the food chain. Forced to prove her commitment by organizing the storage area and alphabetizing produce after hours, Erin wonders if she'll ever make it back to the real world. But with a little help from her quirky best friend, she comes up with an idea that might take her life in a whole new direction - and that's just the first course.

Jillian Westfield has the perfect suburban life straight out of the upscale women's magazines that she obsessively reads. She’s got the modern-print rugs of Metropolitan Home, the elegant meals from Gourmet, the clutter-free closets out of Real Simple, and the elaborate Easter egg hunts...  more

Jillian Westfield has the perfect suburban life straight out of the upscale women's magazines that she obsessively reads. She’s got the modern-print rugs of Metropolitan Home, the elegant meals from Gourmet, the clutter-free closets out of Real Simple, and the elaborate Easter egg hunts seen in Parents. With her successful investment banker husband behind the wheel and her cherubic eighteen-month-old in the backseat, hers could be the family in the magazines’ glossy Range Rover ads. Yet somehow all of the how-to magazine stories in the world can’t seem to fix her faltering marriage, banish the tedium of days spent changing diapers, or stop her from asking, “What if?” Then one morning Jillian wakes up seven years in the past. Before her daughter was born. Before she married Henry. Suddenly she’s back in her post–grad school Ikea-furnished Manhattan apartment. She’s back in her fast-paced job with the advertising agency. And she’s still with Jackson, the ex-boyfriend and star of her what-if fantasies. Armed with twenty-twenty hindsight, she’s free to choose all over again. She can use the zippy ad campaigns from her future to wow the clients and bosses in her present. She can reconnect with the mother who abandoned her so many years before. She can fix the fights at every juncture that doomed her relationship with Jackson. Or can she? With each new choice setting off a trajectory of unforeseen consequences, Jillian soon realizes that getting to happily ever after is more complicated than changing the lines in her part of the script. Happiness, it turns out, isn’tan either-or proposition. As she closes in on all the things she thought she wanted, Jillian must confront the greatest what-if of all: What if the problem was never Henry or Jackson, but her? Sharp, funny, and heartwarming, Time of My Life will appeal to anyone who has ever wanted to redo the past and will leave readers pondering, “Do we get the reality we deserve?”

When the two grown daughters of Elizabeth Marshall discover an old diary of their mother’s in her attic, it comes as a shock to learn that the true love of Elizabeth’'s life was not their father. This is the mystery the two daughters must unravel as they stay up late reading the words...  more

When the two grown daughters of Elizabeth Marshall discover an old diary of their mother’s in her attic, it comes as a shock to learn that the true love of Elizabeth’'s life was not their father. This is the mystery the two daughters must unravel as they stay up late reading the words penned by Elizabeth so long ago. Their mother can’t give them the answers: After a massive stroke, she lies mute and near death in a nursing home. Only the pages of her diary can provide clues to what really happened. In a richly detailed journey into the past, we see Elizabeth lose her heart to one man while remaining devoted to another. Finally, she must choose between the stable, loyal Bob... and the electrifying and unpredictable A.J., who spent time in juvenile detention as a teen. When a suspicious fire in the neighborhood is linked to A.J., Elizabeth is faced with another dilemma: She’s the only one who can clear A.J.’'s name, but to do so would ruin her reputation. Surprisingly, it'’s Bob who comes to the rescue, forcing Elizabeth to make perhaps the most painful decision of her life.... The Diary is a love story. It’s also the story of the unshakable bond between a mother and her daughters.

Six years after the phenomenal success of The Time Traveler's Wife, Audrey Niffenegger has returned with a spectacularly compelling and haunting second novel set in and around Highgate Cemetery in London. When Elspeth Noblin dies of cancer, she leaves her London apartment to her twin...  more

Six years after the phenomenal success of The Time Traveler's Wife, Audrey Niffenegger has returned with a spectacularly compelling and haunting second novel set in and around Highgate Cemetery in London. When Elspeth Noblin dies of cancer, she leaves her London apartment to her twin nieces, Julia and Valentina. These two American girls never met their English aunt, only knew that their mother, too, was a twin, and Elspeth her sister. Julia and Valentina are semi-normal American teenagers -- with seemingly little interest in college, finding jobs, or anything outside their cozy home in the suburbs of Chicago, and with an abnormally intense attachment to one another. The girls move to Elspeth's flat, which borders Highgate Cemetery in London. They come to know the building's other residents. There is Martin, a brilliant and charming crossword puzzle setter suffering from crippling Obsessive Compulsive Disorder; Marjike, Martin's devoted but trapped wife; and Robert, Elspeth's elusive lover, a scholar of the cemetery. As the girls become embroiled in the fraying lives of their aunt's neighbors, they also discover that much is still alive in Highgate, including -- perhaps -- their aunt, who can't seem to leave her old apartment and life behind. Niffenegger weaves a captivating story in Her Fearful Symmetry about love and identity, about secrets and sisterhood, and about the tenacity of life -- even after death.

With extraordinary emotional power, Linda Olsson's stunningly well-crafted debut novel recounts the unusual and unexpected friendship that develops between two women. Veronika, a young writer from New Zealand, rents a house in a small Swedish village as she tries to come to terms with a...  more

With extraordinary emotional power, Linda Olsson's stunningly well-crafted debut novel recounts the unusual and unexpected friendship that develops between two women. Veronika, a young writer from New Zealand, rents a house in a small Swedish village as she tries to come to terms with a recent tragedy while also finishing a novel. Her arrival is silently observed by Astrid, an older, reclusive neighbor who slowly becomes a presence in Veronika's life, offering comfort in the form of companionship and lovingly prepared home-cooked meals. Set against a haunting Swedish landscape, Astrid & Veronika is a lyrical and meditative novel of love and loss, and a story that will remain with readers long after the characters' secrets are revealed.

All they want for Christmas is everything...     THEY'VE MADE THEIR LISTS... As the celeb obituary writer for the NEW YORK HERALD, Jane Conner can sum up a person's life in three hundred words.  She could sum up her love life in even less:  Great sex =...  more

All they want for Christmas is everything...     THEY'VE MADE THEIR LISTS... As the celeb obituary writer for the NEW YORK HERALD, Jane Conner can sum up a person's life in three hundred words.  She could sum up her love life in even less:  Great sex = great time.  Commitment = annoyance overload.  Maybe it has something to do with being "overly critical," as her boss, the short-sighted idiot, put it.  Being "discerning" has at least kept Jane from making the same relationship mistakes as her sister Ricki and best friend Emma.  Hasn't it?  Now, with the holidays bearing down like a freight train from You Screwed Up-ville, Jane's about to get a second chance she never expected.... ...CHECKED 'EM TWICE... Ricki Conner has run her life on signs from the universe, and right now, she's looking for guidance about her boyfriend, Nate, a.k.a. Mr. Mixed Signals.  He keeps reassuring her that his divorce will be final by Christmas.  So why is there still no ring on Ricki's finger?   ...BUT WHO SAYS "NAUGHTY" CAN'T BE NICE? When the pregnancy test turns pink, it's a good sign... unless you've had wild ex-sex with your former boyfriend while the current one was out of town.  This is not exactly the holiday gift Emma Dee had hoped for.  It's bad enough that her career track at the bank has been derailed.  Now, she gets to spend the season ladling eggnog to her friends and saying, oh by the way, I'm pregnant with another man's baby -- drink up, everybody!  Oh well, at least things can't get any worse... right?   Christmas.  It's a time for going into debt, neuroses-gone-wild, dates from hell, seriously spiked eggnog, and maybe even a miracle or two.  And for three women on the verge of what seems like certain holiday disaster, it just may be the season to toast the best times of their lives....

The instant New York Times bestseller, now in paperback: a moving tribute to female friendships, with the inspiring story of eleven girls and the ten women they became, from the coauthor of the million-copy bestseller The Last Lecture  As children, they formed a special...  more

The instant New York Times bestseller, now in paperback: a moving tribute to female friendships, with the inspiring story of eleven girls and the ten women they became, from the coauthor of the million-copy bestseller The Last Lecture  As children, they formed a special bond, growing up in the small town of Ames, Iowa. As young women, they moved to eight different states, yet they managed to maintain an extraordinary friendship that would carry them through college and careers, marriage and motherhood, dating and divorce, the death of a child, and the mysterious death of the eleventh member of their group. Capturing their remarkable story, The Girls from Ames is a testament to the enduring, deep bonds of women as they experience life's challenges, and the power of friendship to overcome even the most daunting odds.  The girls, now in their forties, have a lifetime of memories in common, some evocative of their generation and some that will resonate with any woman who has ever had a friend. The Girls from Ames demonstrates how close female relationships can shape every aspect of women's lives-their sense of themselves, their choice of men, their need for validation, their relationships with their mothers, their dreams for their daughters-and reveals how such friendships thrive, rewarding those who have committed to them. With both universal events and deeply personal moments, it's a book that every woman will relate to and be inspired by.

Molly Jenkins has one naughty little secret: her job as a bestselling erotic fiction author. Until her inspiration runs dry—thanks to a creepy ex—and it's time to skip town and move back to tiny Tumble Creek, Colorado. One look at former high school hunk chief of police Ben...  more

Molly Jenkins has one naughty little secret: her job as a bestselling erotic fiction author. Until her inspiration runs dry—thanks to a creepy ex—and it's time to skip town and move back to tiny Tumble Creek, Colorado. One look at former high school hunk chief of police Ben Lawson and Molly is back in business. The town gossip is buzzing at her door and, worse still, a stalker seems to be watching her every move. Thankfully, her very own lawman has taken to coming over, often. The only problem now is that Molly may have to let the cat out of the bag about her chosen profession, and straitlaced Ben will definitely not approve...