The book jacket summary of Marissa Stapley's debut novel, Mating for Life, held a lot of promise. Family dysfunction, free spirit mother, grown daughters struggling to find their own identity and coming of age for a spattering of characters all combine in this light read. Each story on its own provides a good read. However, while the book reads like a novel, the reader should approach it more as a series of short stories
with characters that are all loosely connected. A number of times throughout this book, I had to stop and try to figure out exactly how it character fit into the web of other characters. This book would not be high on my list for recommendation or book clubs.

Precious Things by Colette McBeth grabs you at the onset and doesn't let you go at the end. McBeth draws you into the story and makes you care about the characters, only to have this empathy flipped over and over as you delve further into the book. Plot lines that you are certain you have solved take credible twists and turns that you cannot see coming. Reminiscent of Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, Precious Things is a very satisfying read that would provide great discussions for book clubs.

Amy Hatvany brings a lot of major issues to her book "Safe With Me" - single parenthood, the death of a child, organ donation viewed from both recipient and donor family, spousal abuse. She manages to weave all these topics together seamlessly into a plausible, well told tale. This quick read would be a perfect choice for a book club. Any one of Hatvany's big ideas would work as a conversation starter; all of them strung together would make for an interesting evening.

A husband who wants nothing more than for his wife to love him and a wife who has too much baggage to fully give herself to her husband outlines the plot for this book. While the characters are left in the dark,the narrator leaves clues for the reader to find. Book clubs will find plenty to discuss with this tome.

Four young men, fathered by the same man with different mothers, discover the existence of the others in Lost Luggage by Jordi Punti . Combined, they serve as the narrator of this book which is confusing enough on its own. To complicate matters for the reader even further, they are all named some variation of the same name and refer to themselves as The Christophers. I found the ending to be convenient considering the hundreds of pages that led up to it. Sorry to say, this is not a book I will be recommending.

Warmth, frustration, love, trust, spirit - gently mix together and let flavors meld over the course of a year. Two women who share the same name each think they have won the HomeSweetHome Network's Free Home Sweepstakes. One is a scrappy fighter, the other an amateur chef. Both have had their share of misfortune and long for a second chance in life and yearn for a family they can call their own. When the real winner is revealed, the second homeowner-hopeful declares squatter's rights in order to continue living in a dream home on the coast of Christmas Cove, Maine. This is the world of The Good Luck Girls of Shipwreck Lane, debut novel of Kelly Harms. It is a delightful read that entertains you from the first page to the last, welcoming you to small town New England, drawing you in to the lives of Janey and Nean Brown, and leaving you longing for more.