Reading Ahead: June 2016, part 4

Beach reads come in many flavors, like funny, romantic, or magical (just to name a few). Intrigued? Read on!

By The Numbers, by Jen Lancaster. I've made no secret of my love for Lancaster's work, both memoir and fiction, so it should be no surprise that this new novel has a spot on my list for summer reads this year. Actuary Penny Sinclair has a head for business, and she always makes rational decisions. Knowing that 60% of spouses cheat and 50% of marriages end in divorce, she wasn’t too surprised when her husband had an affair. She just made sure she got everything in the divorce, including their lovely old Victorian house. And as soon as her younger daughter has her hipster-fabulous wedding in the backyard, she’s trading it in for a condo in downtown Chicago...  Well within the average market time in her area, Penny gets an offer on the house. But then life happens. Her children, her parents and her ex come flying back to the nest, all in need of Penny’s emotional—and financial—support. Spread thin, Penny becomes the poster child for the “sandwich generation,” when all she really wanted to do was make managing director, buy a white couch, and maybe go on a Match.com date... Guaranteed to be funny and touching.

First Comes Love, by Emily Giffin. Growing up, Josie and Meredith Garland shared a loving, if sometimes contentious, relationship. Josie was impulsive, spirited, and outgoing, Meredith hardworking, thoughtful, and reserved. When tragedy strikes, their delicate bond splinters. Fifteen years later, with the anniversary of their tragedy looming, each sister finds herself dissatisfied with her life, longing for something more. Painful secrets from their shared past resurface, Josie and Meredith must not only confront the issues that divide them but also come to terms with their own choices. In their journey toward understanding and forgiveness, both sisters discover that they need each other more than they knew—and that in the search for true happiness, love always comes first.

Bay of Sighs, by Nora Roberts. Second in Roberts's fanciful Guardians trilogy (after Stars of Fortune, 2015), Bay of Sighs follows the story of the three stars, of fire, ice and water, created by the moon goddesses to celebrate the rise of a new queen. When the stars fell, however, the fate of all worlds was put in danger, and the chosen six must put the pieces back together. Here, after the six guardians have retrieved the fire star, they are brought to Capri to seek the water star. Mermaid Annika is from the sea, and even as she leads the search to reclaim the star before their enemy can, she also may find love with fellow guardian Sawyer King.