Stealing Home by Sherryl Woods

Stealing Home by Sherryl Woods
(Sweet Magnolias #1)
384 pages / 11 hrs, 33 mins

"Maddie Townsend might live in a town called Serenity and have the best friends a woman could ask for, but her life is overturned when her husband leaves her for a younger woman. With her three children heartbroken from the change, Maddie has a lot to contend with. On top of it all, after years outside the workforce, she must dust off her business skills to take charge of her best friends' newest project--planning the town's only fitness spa for women.

"When her son's developing anger issues begin to affect his passion for baseball, Maddie knows she must step in to help. She didn't expect to develop feelings for her son's coach, the handsome Cal Maddox, and to learn he has feelings for her, too. But gossip travels quickly in a small town, and Maddie and Cal's relationship may threaten both their reputations and careers." --from the publisher.

I'm not really sure how I ended up reading this book, since romance isn't really my genre, but I enjoyed it. I give it three out of five stars.

One Summer by David Baldacci

One Summer by David Baldacci
351 pages

"It's almost Christmas, but there is no joy in the house of terminally ill Jack and his family. With only a short time left to live, he spends his last days preparing to say goodbye to his devoted wife, Lizzie, and their three children. Then, unthinkably, tragedy strikes again: Lizzie is killed in a car accident. With no one able to care of them, the children are separated from each other and sent to live with family members around the country.

"Just when all seems lost, Jack begins to recover in a miraculous turn of events. He rises from what should have been his deathbed, determined to bring his fractured family back together. Struggling to rebuild their lives after Lizzie's death, he reunites everyone at Lizzie's childhood home on the oceanfront in South Carolina. And there, over one unforgettable summer, Jack will begin to learn to love again, and he and his children will learn how to become a family once more."   --from the publisher

I received this book as a Summer Reading reward from my home library.  I thought it was a good read even though this isn't my favorite genre.  Baldacci does an excellent job illustrating how grief, sadness, and survivor's guilt impact people and their relationships.  I gave it 3 out of 5 stars.

The Girls of August by Anne Rivers Siddons

The Girls of August by Anne Rivers Siddons, 223 pages

I was looking for an interesting Playaway to listen to and this struck my fancy.  I enjoyed listening to this story about four women who get together every August in South Carolina. The ladies have taken a break from their yearly vacation when one of the four, Melinda, dies in a tragic car crash.  But when Melinda's husband, Ted, remarries a very young lady named Baby, the three find themselves gathering once again with the new addition of Baby.  What follows is a touching and heartfelt story about the relationship between these women and how each one is affected by the other's life.