Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

Auden is seeking some excitement for the summer between her senior year of high school and first year of college. So when her father invites her to stay with his new wife, and baby at their house on the beach she goes. But she gets more than she bargained for when she learns to deal with past hurts and gets to do-over some rites of passage she missed out on by going to an extremely academic high school. And along the way she learns it doesn’t matter how many times you fall off the bike, as long as you get up and get back on.

Another solid entry from Sarah Dessen. Not as predictable as her last novel, and I thought the characters were more well-rounded too.

The Wedding Girl by Madeleine Wickham

From the jacket: At the age of 18, Millie was up for anything. Now, ten years later, she is a very different person about to be married to a wealthy serious man, who believes her to be perfect. Now she is facing the biggest and most elaborate wedding imaginable. But one small episode form the past has the power to completely derail her carefully planned nuptials.

This was a quick read for a rainy day. I thought the premise was a bit thin, especially for a 300+ page novel. And I was right. It was ok, but there wasn’t much substance. I liked Millie, and there were a few twists I didn’t see coming but the villain’s motivation was poorly explained, so that sorta ruined the ending for me.

The Castaways by Elin Hilderbrand

From the book jacket: Greg and Tess MacAvoy are one of four prominent Nantucket couples who count each other as best friends. As pillars of their close-knit community, the MacAvoys, Kapenashes, Drakes, and Wheelers are important to their friends and neighbors, and especially to each other. But just before the beginning of another idyllic summer, Greg and Tess are killed when their boat capsizes during an anniversary sail. As the warm weather approaches and the island mourns their loss, nothing can prepare the MacAvoy’s closest friends for what will be revealed.

Another enjoyable summer read. This had more of a mystery at the heart of it, as a group of friends reveal secrets and come to terms with the death of a couple in their group. Elin Hilderbrand is always a good choice for a summer beach read. I like how her characters are multi-layered and not just sterotypes.

Hope in a Jar by Beth Harbison

This was book was chick-lit as it was meant to be written. Good characters, a classic mean girl, a little romance and a happy ending.

I enjoyed the flashback chapters to Allie & Olivia’s friendship in middle and high school, it added depth to the novel.

A perfect summer beach read.

From the book jacket:

When Allie Denty—tall, blonde and, these days, just a bit heavy—discovers her boyfriend in the sack with another woman, her primary coping mechanism involves a credit card and the Sephora counter. Allie figures that some Dior lashes will help her feel more confident at her reunion—an event that the lovely, formerly mousy Olivia Pelham has no intention of attending until her mother shows up on her doorstep, licking her wounds from a breakup with husband number five. At the reunion, Allie and Olivia have an awkward meeting and go their separate ways until Allie learns that a mutual friend plans to marry a cosmetically enhanced Mean Girl from their class. It’s life makeover time for both women, as they get in touch with their true feelings about beauty, careers and, most importantly, love. Like the face cream from which it takes its title, this is slick, light and indulgent.

Too Close To Home by Linwood Barclay

This was another solid thriller. Kept me engrossed on the plane ride home.

From the jacket:

In a quiet suburban neighborhood, in a house only one door away, a family is brutally murdered for no apparent reason. And you think to yourself: It could have been us. And you start to wonder: What if we’re next?

Promise Falls isn’t the kind of community where a family is shot to death in their own home. But that is exactly what happened to the Langleys one sweltering summer night, and no one in this small upstate New York town is more shocked than their next-door neighbors, Jim and Ellen Cutter. They visited for the occasional barbecue and their son, Derek, was friends with the Langleys’ boy, Adam; but how well did they really know their neighbors?

The Penny Pinchers Club by Sarah Strohmeyer

From the book jacket:

Living in New Jersey–the state that boasts the most malls per capita–Kat’s favorite recreational activity is a no-brainer: shopping. But when she discovers that her husband, Griff, has been hiding a secret bank account, her joyful consumerism suddenly loses its appeal. Are their fights about money more serious than she understood? Is he, as her friends suggest, preparing for a divorce? Just in case, Kat decides it’s time to start saving.

Drastic times call for drastic measures: Kat starts by canceling cable and kicking her $240-a-month Starbucks habit. But what starts out as a simple effort to cut costs becomes an over-the-top obsession when Kat joins an eclectic but lovable group of savers called the Penny Pinchers Club. Soon she is pumping her gas at dawn (when it is thicker) and serving dinner made from food she retrieved at the grocery store dumpster. Kat is saving money, to be sure, but what she’s really saving is time–time she spends with Griff, their two kids…and an old flame who resurfaces at precisely the wrong moment, offering Kat a life where money is no object.

I love this author, and this latest, perfectly timed for the economic time we live in, didn’t disappoint. In fact, there’s a morsel or two of good financial advice amid the usual chick lit drama.

Plus I liked how the Penny Pinchers Club met at the local library!

The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards

In 1964, Dr. David Henry is forced to deliver his twins during a blizzard. His son, born first, is perfectly healthy, but he recognizes immediatly his daughter has Down Syndrome, and he hands to his nurse to take to an institution. This secret haunts David, and his wife Norah, as well as nurse Caroline, as she doesn’t leave the baby at the institution but instead takes it to another city to raise.

This was a moving story about a split second decision which changes lives, and the secrets we keep. It was fast moving, and I liked how the story jumped ahead years, and decades. The resolution was unexpected. The characters were real and moving to me.

I especially liked Caroline and her determination (and days spent researching in the library) to give Phoebe every advantage.

The Finishing Touches by Hester Browne

Another delightful Hester Browne novel, reminded me a bit of the first Little Lady Agency, but had a more 21st century feel.
Besty was left on the Phillimore Academy doorsteps, 27 years ago, and the charming Lady Frances and her husband took her in and raised her. Upon Frances death, Lord Phillimore asks Betsy (a shoe store clerk who through misunderstandings they think is a posh mangement consultant) to see if she take the school, now in disrepair with dwindling enrollment, and polish it up with lessons for modern girls.
I loved Betsy and I adored the way everything wrapped up in the end… just a delightful tale about coming of age, and making peace with your past. And being a capable successful woman.

Willow by Julia Hoban

Willow has a whole lot of pain, and to keep her emotions in check she cuts. This has been going on for about 7 months, ever since her parents died in a car crash. Willow was driving. When Willow meets Guy, something about him causes her to finally open up emotionally. I felt the relationship between Guy and Willow rang true. The ending came a bit too fast, and things were resolved a little too easily, but this was a poignant novel about grief, first love and cutting.

Wildwater Walking Club by Claire Cook

This was a cute tale, but I feel like each book Claire Cook writes get shorter.

Basically, Noreen is laid off and starts walking to have something to do each day. Her two neighbors join her and they become friends. Along the way Noreen discovers a new passion for life and a new job.

My favorite part was the Lavender Festival in Sequim, Washington, where we have a distant relative, so I had actually heard of it before (and knew how to pronounce it).