Svetlana's Reads and Views

Name of Book: The Goodbye Cafe Author: Mariah Stewart ISBN: 978-1-5011-4512-4 Publisher: Gallery Books Part of a Series: The Hudson Sisters Trilogy Type of book: Hidden Falls Pennsylvania, modern times, sisterhood, motherhood, maturity, making decisions, running a restaurant, ex-spouses relationship, new beginnings, uncovering secrets, working Year it was published: 2019 Summary: California girl Allie Hudson Monroe can't wait for the day when the renovations on the Sugarhouse Theater are complete so she can finally collect the inheritance from her father and leave Pennsylvania. After all, her life and her fourteen-year-old daughter are in Los Angeles. But Allie's divorce left her tottering on the edge of bankruptcy, so to keep up on payments for her house and her daughter's private school tuition, Allie packed up and flew out east. But fate has a curve-ball or two to toss in Allie's direction—she just doesn't know it yet. She hadn't an...

Name of Book: Dune Drive Author: Mariah Stewart ISBN: 9781501154416 Publisher: Pocket Books Part of a Series: Chesapeake Diaries Type of book: St. Dennis Maryland, contemporary, sweet slow romance, domestic violence, protection, healing, family, community, secrets, wedding, friendship Year it was published: 2018 Summary: Always believing she was an ugly duckling, Chrissy Jenkins thought she had finally turned into a swan when her real-life Prince Charming swept her off her feet. But as his true character began to crack his perfect facade, Chrissy realized that not only was she better off without him, but that she was the only one who had the power to transform her life. Returning to her ancestral home on Cannonball Island for a family wedding, Chrissy is reintroduced to a legacy she’d all but forgotten. In choosing to stay on the island, she reboots her life, successfully reinventing herself as a sous chef at the Inn at Sinclair’s Point just over the bridge in ...

Name of Book: The Sugarhouse Blues Author: Mariah Stewart ISBN: 978-1-5011-4492-9 Publisher: Gallery Books Part of a Series: Hudson Sisters Series Type of book: Pennsylvania Hidden Falls, renovation, roles, sisterhood, healing, secrets, abuse, appearances, art, plans, relationships between women, slow romance, dogs, mayor, popularity, small town summer celebrations Year it was published: 2018 Summary: Mariah Stewart's second novel in the Hudson Sisters series... Allie, Des, and Cara, each having her own reasons for wanting a share of their father's estate, meet in the grand Victorian home in which he grew up, only to be greeted by another secret he purposely hid from them: his sister Bonnie. The women reluctantly band together to take on Fritz's challenge, working with a local contractor to begin the renovations financed by an account Fritz had set up for the task. While the restoration appears to go smoothly at first, it soon becomes apparent that ...

Name of Book: The Chesapeake Bride Author: Mariah Stewart ISBN: 978-1-5011-5435-5 Publisher: Pocket Books Romance Part of a Series: Chesapeake Diaries Type of book: Maryland, St Dennis residents, Cannonball island, charm, restoration of houses and the way of life, slow sweet romance, summertime, divorce, secrets, being burned, slow seduction, history, architecture, plans Year it was published: 2017 Summary: From New York Times bestselling author Mariah Stewart comes a new chapter in her celebrated Chesapeake Diaries series. Architect Cassidy Logan has sworn off good-looking adventurers. Newly divorced, she’s focused on building ecologically friendly, historically accurate homes on the Chesapeake Bay for her father’s construction company. Traveling to Cannonball Island—where there has been no new construction in nearly one hundred years—Cass is sensitive to the heritage of the island, and has come up with plans so perfect she’s determined to buy a home for herself. ...

Name of Book: The Last Chance Matinee Author: Mariah Stewart ISBN: 978-15015991-6 Publisher: Gallery Books Part of a Series: The Hudson Sisters Trilogy Type of book: Yoga, healthy eating, life changes, secrets, sisterhood, relationships, women's fiction, Pennsylvania, contemporary times, renovating, details, slow build, building relationships Year it was published: 2017 Summary: From New York Times bestselling author Mariah Stewart comes the first novel in her all-new series, The Hudson Sisters, following a trio of reluctant sisters as they set out to fulfill their father’s dying wish. In the process, they find not only themselves, but the father they only thought they knew. When celebrated and respected agent Fritz Hudson passes away, he leaves a trail of Hollywood glory in his wake—and two separate families who never knew the other existed. Allie and Des Hudson are products of Fritz’s first marriage to Honora, a beautiful but troubled starlet whose life en...

Name of Book: Driftwood Point Author: Mariah Stewart ISBN: 978-1-4767-9259-0 Publisher: Gallery Books Part of a Series: The Chesapeake Diaries Type of book: St. Dennis, art, lost love, second chances, Maryland, discovering self, cottage, family history, grudges, environmental, the "eye", modern times, residents, wrong side of the war Year it was published: 2016 Summary: The sun sets on the Chesapeake Diaries, New York Times bestselling author Mariah Stewart’s cherished series based on Maryland’s picturesque eastern shore, with this romantic tale of a man who takes a second chance on love with the high school crush who broke his heart. Up-and-coming artist Lisbeth Parker finally has a chance to show the folks back home what it means to leave Cannonball Island and make something of yourself. As a native whose stubborn father forbade her from befriending townies, Lis always felt like an outsider in St. Dennis. So while her work is on display in the local...

Name of Book: If Only in My Dreams Author: Mariah Stewart ISBN:  B00WRBQOIW Publisher: Pocket Star Type of book: Maine, snow, winter, holidays, snowstorm, family legends, supernatural, budding romance, second chances, fatherhood, distracting the youngsters, 2000s Year it was published: 1997 (2015 reprint) Summary: New York Times bestselling author Mariah Stewart’s timeless, charming holiday novella, originally featured in the popular yuletide anthology Upon a Midnight Clear, now available as a standalone at a great price! A lively family reunion on a Montana ranch brings on a flurry of memories for a beautiful young writer—and a winter storm that rekindles an old flame—in this “warmly magical” (Library Journal) feel-good holiday gem! Characters: The main characters include Quinn and Cale. Quinn is a creative writer/illustrator and is good with kids as well as coming up with ideas for kids to do. She is also reluctant in going after what she wants and tend...

Name of Book: That Chesapeake Summer Author: Mariah Stewart ISBN: 9781476792576 Publisher: Simon and Schuster Part of a Series: Chesapeake Diaries Type of book: St. Dennis Maryland, complexity within simplicity, adoption, search for birth parents, 2000s, romance, nostalgia, summertime, psychic, wholesome romance, small town Year it was published: 2015 Summary: Jamie Valentine is the wildly successful author of self-help books advocating transparency in every relationship. But when her widowed mother passes away unexpectedly, Jamie discovers her own life has been based on a lie. Angry and deeply betrayed, she sets out to find the truth—which may be in a small town on the Chesapeake Bay. Cutting her most recent book tour short, Jamie books a room at the Inn at Sinclair’s Point, just outside St. Dennis. The death of Daniel Sinclair’s father forced him to take over the family inn, and his wife’s death left him a single parent of two children, so there’s little room f...

Name of Book: At the River's Edge Author: Mariah Stewart ISBN: 978-0-345-53842-0 Publisher: Ballantine Books Part of a Series: The Chesapeake Diaries Type of book: Wholesome romance, adult, Chesapeake, small town, characters from other novels, 2000s, contemporary, gardening, restoring, community Year it was published: 2014 Summary: After taking stock of her life, Sophie Enright has decided it’s time for a break. Between a law career that’s become criminally dull and a two-timing boyfriend she’s done with once and for all, Sophie desperately needs some time to think and some space to breathe. The perfect place to do both is easygoing St. Dennis, Maryland, where Sophie can visit with her brother while she figures out her options. Once in St. Dennis, she discovers a shuttered restaurant and makes a bold move that is also a leap of faith. Sophie buys the fixer-upper in order to finally pursue her dream career. But Sophie’s labor of love becomes a bone of conte...