All Books Considered

The Lifestyle by Taylor Hahn Blurb from Goodreads : Georgina Wagman has it all—a great marriage, a great job at a prestigious law firm, and great friends. She’s living the life she always wanted, and everything is perfect. Until, that is, she walks in on her husband Nathan in a compromising position with a junior associate. Georgina has a moment of crisis. But divorce is not a part of the five-year plan, so she comes up with an idea to save her marriage and recapture the spark. She and Nathan are going to become swingers. Georgina isn’t going to embark on this adventure alone, though. Her friends Felix and Norah and their respective partners decide to tag along for the ride. They’ve got relationship woes of their own that swinging just might fix. Georgina, convinced Felix and Norah belong together, is thrilled. What better place to reignite romance ...

Half-Blown Rose by Leesa Cross-Smith Blurb from Goodreads : An irresistible story of a woman remaking her life after her husband’s betrayal leads to a year of travel, art, and passion in Paris, from the award-winning author of This Close to Okay. Vincent, having grown up as the privileged daughter of artists, has a lovely life in many ways. At forty-four, she enjoys strolling the streets of Paris and teaching at the modern art museum; she has a vibrant group of friends; and she’s even caught the eye of a young, charismatic man named Loup. But Vincent is also in Paris to escape a painful betrayal: her husband, Cillian, has published a bestselling book divulging secrets about their marriage and his own past, hinting that when he was a teenager, he may have had a child with a young woman back in Dublin—before he moved to California and never returned. Now estranged from her husband, Vincent has agreed to see Cillian a...

The Seamstress of New Orleans by Diane C. McPhail Blurb from Goodreads : Set against the backdrop of the first all-female Mardi Gras krewe at the turn-of-the-century, the acclaimed author’s mesmerizing historical novel tells of two strangers separated by background but bound by an unexpected secret—and of the strength and courage women draw from and inspire in each other. The year 1900 ushers in a new century and the promise of social change, and women rise together toward equality. Yet rules and restrictions remain, especially for women like Alice Butterworth, whose husband has abruptly disappeared. Desperate to make a living for herself and the child she carries, Alice leaves the bitter cold of Chicago far behind, offering sewing lessons at a New Orleans orphanage. Constance Halstead, a young widow reeling with shock under the threat of her late husband’s gambling debts, has throw...

Yerba Buena by Nina LaCour Blurb from Goodreads : Sara is a broken girl from a drug-soaked Northern California town. Fueled by panic, desperation, and impulse, she heads south, hoping to start over in LA. A decade after Sara has come of age in the restaurant industry, we meet Emilie, the granddaughter of Creoles who left New Orleans to escape segregation. Emilie takes a job arranging flowers for an elegant LA restaurant—and things get complicated when she captures the attention of the restaurateur and engages in an affair. When Sara and Emilie meet, their connection is immediate. But before they can find a way forward, both Sara and Emilie must reckon with the places they came from, even if it means revisiting what they'd rather leave behind. My Review: This book started off pretty dark but there is a lot of light, love and growth by the end. I also wasn't put off by the start at all even though it was a bit heart-brea...

Deep Water by Emma Bamford Blurb from Goodreads : The dark side of paradise is exposed when a terrified couple reveals their daunting experience on a remote island to their rescuers—only to realize they’re still in the grips of the island’s secrets—in this intense and startling debut in the tradition of Into the Jungle and The Ruins. When a Navy vessel comes across a yacht in distress in the middle of the vast Indian Ocean, Captain Danial Tengku orders his ship to rush to its aid. On board the yacht is a British couple: a horribly injured man, Jake, and his traumatized wife, Virginie, who breathlessly confesses, “It’s all my fault. I killed them.” Trembling with fear, she reveals their shocking story to Danial. Months earlier, the couple had spent all their savings on a yacht, full of excitement for exploring the high seas and exotic lands together. They start at the busy harbors ...

The Grand Design: A Novel of Dorothy Draper by Joy Callaway Blurb from Goodreads : The Greenbrier Resort, set at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, in both 1908 and 1946, tells the story famed interior designer Dorothy Draper and how the historic retreat and the love she found there as a young woman influenced her bold shift from illustrious New York socialite to world-renowned decorator. 1908: The Greenbrier has been Dorothy Tuckerman’s escape for as long as she can recall—a summer resort nestled in West Virginia where American aristocracy can just be, a retreat surrounded by wilderness, unprotected by gates . . . a place completely unlike her home in Tuxedo Park, New York. This season, however, she’s nineteen, and the summer comes riddled with expectations that threaten to trap her within another set of walls—including an unwelcome marriage proposal from a family friend. But when an Italian rac...

The Stand-In by Lily Chu Blurb from Goodreads : How to upend your life: –Get fired by gross, handsy boss –Fail to do laundry (again) –Be mistaken for famous Chinese actress –Fall head-first into glitzy new world Gracie Reed is doing just fine. Sure, she was fired by her overly “friendly” boss, and yes, she still hasn’t gotten her mother into the nursing home of their dreams, but she’s healthy, she’s (somewhat) happy, and she’s (mostly) holding it all together. But when a mysterious SUV pulls up beside her, revealing Chinese cinema's golden couple Wei Fangli and Sam Yao, Gracie’s world is turned on its head. The famous actress has a proposition: Due to their uncanny resemblance, Fangli wants Gracie to be her stand-in. The catch? Gracie will have to be escorted by Sam, the most attractive—and infuriating—man Gracie’s ever met. If it means getting the...

The Treehouse on Dog River Road by Catherine Drake Blurb from Goodreads : A young, determined woman figures out life and love while staying true to herself in this whip-smart and genuinely witty debut. Twenty-eight-year-old Hannah Spencer wants nothing more than to change everything about her life. After ten years of living in cities, Nathan Wild has just moved back home to Vermont and doesn’t want to change anything about his. Recently laid off from her depressing job in Boston and ready for a challenge, Hannah heads to Vermont for the summer to take care of her sister’s kids and do some serious soul searching. There, against the stunning landscape of the Green Mountains, she embarks on an ambitious project: building a treehouse for her niece and nephew. As she hammers away, she formulates a plan to jump-start her life with a new job out West. But will Nathan-next-door complicate her desire to change course? A wit...