Reading Ahead: September 2017, part 5

Just because September is on the horizon doesn't mean that publishers are slowing down anytime soon. If you love some light reading regardless of the season, read on!

The Summer That Made Us, by Robyn Carr. In this stand-alone novel from Carr (Any Day Now, etc.), a television talk-show host finds herself out of a job after losing ratings. In the aftermath, she retreats to her family's neglected summer home. As her female relatives gather in support, they also share the very different ways they each remember their last summer together at the house. Also available in Large Print.

Second Chance Girl, by Susan Mallery. Second in Mallery's new Happiness Inc. series (after You Say It First, 2017). Mathias Mitchell has been badly wounded in a past relationship, and has moved to Happiness, Inc. California, the wedding destination town. He figures the steady stream of bridesmaids will suit his new "no promises, no pain" lifestyle. And yet his neighbor, gamekeeper Carol Lund, holds a powerful attraction, perhaps because of her shyness. Can each put their past hurts aside long enough to try again? Also available in Large Print.

To Be Where You Are, by Jan Karon. Karon returns to Mitford in her new novel, the 14th in her bestselling series. Here readers find Episcopal priest Tim Kavanagh coming to terms with retirement, while just outside of town, newlyweds Dooley and Lace face a crisis that affects both their bank account and their family vet practice. In fiction, as in real life, there are no guarantees. And yet, Karon weaves together the comic and compelling lives of two Kavanagh families in familiar Mitford in such a way that is sure to delight fans.