Summer People by Ellen Hilderbrand

Two families have had major shifts in their lives.  They were brought together by a tragedy and managed to stay together through it also.  Marcus' mother was a client of Beth's husband.  Marcus' mother ends up in jail and Beth's husband is killed in a plane crash.  Beth and her kids, Garrett and Winnie, and Marcus go to Nantucket for the summer, the annual retreat for Beth's family.  Dealing with loss, fitting in and trying to find your way after such loss was challenging for all of them.  Some mistakes were made, people were hurt, but new bonds were formed and they all came out stronger in spite of it all.  Hillderbrand does a wonderful job with character development and weaving a story.  She makes it all fit and puts situations out there that you may one day be in and tries to show the true colors of the whole thing, not just putting a pretty face on difficult situation.

Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marques

I am doing a World Literature Challenge this year, a new country each month.  This month was South America.  I had heard about this book, but really did not know what it was about.  The short of it is that it is about a man who spends is whole life waiting for a womans husband to die so he could be with her, his first and only love.  That is a very simple synopsis, as there was deep character development, emotions, conflicts and acceptance.  It is a very descriptive novel without much dialogue spanning many years, changes and challenges.  My attention was peaked from the beginning and I only struggled through 100 pages or so.  I did not want to give up because I wanted to know how things resolved themselves.

Dyer Consequences by Maggie Sefton

I am always amazed at authors who are able to keep things fresh in a series.  Again, Kelly gets herself into trouble.  Not only is she having problems with her new canyon property and her little cottage, but someone gets murdered and she has to get to the bottom of the whole thing.  She put herself in some sticky situations and almost does not make it out okay.  Very fun book and I am really loving the series.

I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella

Poppy loses her cell phone.  She is at a total loss.  Amazingly she finds a phone in a trash bin and starts using it.  This leads to a crazy interaction between her and the company that owns the phone.  There is much forwarding and many misunderstandings.  As Poppy does things you can tell it is going to get her in trouble and you are practically begging her to stop.  Kinsella tells a great story, keeps you going and wanting more.  Great book!!

The Beach Club by Elin Hilderbrand

This takes place in Nantucket at a very fancy beach club and motel.  The lives of those who work there cover the arrogant, self assured and floundering; the expectations of parents, the need to grow up.  For the guests, you have many who are escaping to this little piece of paradise to escape their lives, others to just throw around their money.  Relationships bloom and fade and many hard choices are made.  Hilderbrand did a great job putting all of it together and giving each character something to make you think a little deeper.

Love Beyond Time by Bethany Claire

This took place between two time periods.  We were in Scotland in 1645 and in present day.  There was a curse placed in 1645, that if discovered and read aloud, two women would switch places.  It happened.  The story was a little corny, but a fun read.  The differences between the times and figuring the history and planning for the future all worked well together.  There are a few more books in this series and I will probably read them, purely for the entertainment and silliness of it all.

Latte Trouble by Cleo Coyle

Big business in fashion, and during Fashion Week the Village Blend keeps busy.  Unfortunately someone drinks a poisoned latte and dies.  Now Clare, the manager, feels she needs to figure out who is behind it all.  One of her employees ends up in jail, she gets her ex-mother-in-law involved in trying to find answers and she of course gets into some sticky situations herself.  Coyle kept you guessing right up to the end, it was only in the last ten pages or so where you could see where it was going.  Great development and depth, looking forward to see what she comes up with next!