The Confession Club by Elisabeth Berg

 (Mason #3) 

290 pages / 7 hrs, 56 mins

"When a group of friends in Mason, Missouri, decide to start a monthly supper club, they get more than they bargained for. The plan for congenial evenings—talking, laughing, and sharing recipes, homemade food, and wine—abruptly changes course one night when one of the women reveals something startlingly intimate. The supper club then becomes Confession Club, and the women gather weekly to share not only dinners, but embarrassing misdeeds, deep insecurities, and long-held regrets.

"They invite Iris Winters and Maddy Harris to join, and their timing couldn't be better. Iris is conflicted about her feelings for a charming but troubled man, and Maddy has come back home from New York to escape a problem too big to handle alone. The club offers exactly the kind of support they need to help them make some difficult decisions." --from the publisher

Although this isn't my favorite genre, it is well written and kept me entertained. I give it three out of five stars.

The Story of Arthur Truluv by Elizabeth Berg

The Story of Arthur Truluv by Elizabeth Berg
(Mason #1)
240 pages

"A moving novel about three people who find their way back from loss and loneliness to a different kind of happiness. Arthur, a widow[er], meets Maddy, a troubled teenage girl who is avoiding school by hiding out at the cemetery, where Arthur goes every day for lunch to have imaginary conversations with his late wife, and think about the lives of others. The two strike up a friendship that draws them out of isolation. Maddy gives Arthur the name Truluv, for his loving and positive responses to every outrageous thing she says or does. With Arthur's nosy neighbor Lucille, they create a loving and unconventional family, proving that life's most precious moments are sweeter when shared."  --from the publisher

Great, sweet story. If you need an encouraging read this is worth your time. It's quirky enough to be interesting without being preposterous.  I gave it four out of five stars.