Barbara O'Neal fell in love with restaurants and the secret language of spoons when she was sixteen. She spent more than a decade in various restaurants, dives to cafes to high cuisine, before selling her first novel. O'Neal teaches workshops nationally and internationally, and lives with her partner, a British endurance athlete, in Colorado Springs.
The Essential Elizabeth Stone (2024) Jennifer Banash "This is exactly the book I needed to read, full of excellent food and beautiful settings, place settings and house settings and landscape settings and the kind of mystery I most love - an origin story and a heartfelt love story. Evocative, beautifully written, and completely engrossing, The Essential Elizabeth Stone is a must read."
Let's Pretend This Will Work (2024) Maddie Dawson "I can count on Maddie Dawson to deliver a wonderful, whimsical, full-hearted story every single time, and Let's Pretend This Will Work is my favorite so far - full of light and hope and the possibility of magic if we just believe a little bit."
Girls Aloud (2023) Judith Arnold "Wise and funny and smart, Girls Aloud is a bright feminist tale of a woman coming into her own power to find her voice. Populated with lively, real-life characters and the daily problems of modern life, it's a book that's guaranteed to make you cheer."
Dreaming of Water (2023) A J Banner "It's a rare and delicious treat to pick up a book and know from the very start that you're in the hands of a master. Dreaming of Water is a fast-paced tale, moody and rife with secrets, layered with family and betrayals, loss and love, all wrapped in Banner's clean, polished prose. Book club fiction at its best."
The Stars Don't Lie (2023) Boo Walker "Boo Walker has written a book with a tender heart... A great story of redemption that carted me away."
The Beauty of Rain (2023) Jamie Beck "Heartbreaking, uplifting, and wise beyond measure, The Beauty of the Rain is a masterful tale rendered perfectly by an author truly hitting her stride. I was completely captured by the story of two sisters who each have to learn to really live - before they run out of chances. So powerful!"
The Direction of the Wind (2023) Mansi Shah "The Direction of the Wind is an unexpected and compelling exploration of the way culture shapes us. This is a gritty, lyrical, heartbreaking, and deeply moving novel. I found myself reading far into the night, unable to leave behind the quest of these two women, a generation apart. Mansi Shah writes with a fresh voice and clear eyes."
A Dangerous Education (2023) Megan Chance "In A Dangerous Education, Megan Chance shifts her incisive, brilliant eye for lives of women to the mid-twentieth century and pens a powerful tale of mothers and daughters, painful choices, and the fury of bright women forced into lives that don't fit. I have loved Megan Chance for a long time, and this is another dazzling gem from her oeuvre."
The Vibrant Years (2022) Sonali Dev "A vivid and touching story of the relationships between three women who love each other and their quest to find each other's soul mates. Funny, fast paced, and insightful, The Vibrant Years gracefully explores questions of meaning and hope and regret and most of all the love between women. A beautiful book!"
Other Birds (2022) Sarah Addison Allen "Oh, joy of joys! A new book by Sarah Addison Allen, and Other Birds is her best yet! Dark and sweet, brutal and wise, full of delectable food and plenty of meddling ghosts, and soaked with an abiding tenderness and hope. One of my favorite books this year."
Paradise Girls (2022) Sandy Gingras "How I loved this book! Both breezy and deep, it swept me away to a land of beaches and mangrove islands, broken-hearted tour leaders and eccentrics, and a woman trying desperately to find her new life. I wish I could run away to the Low Key Motel right now. You will, too."
West Side Love Story (2022) Priscilla Oliveras "Nothing is more romantic than forbidden love and this book pulls it off gorgeously. Priscilla Oliveras writes in musical prose about longing and passion and our duties and love for our families with great understanding. Bravo!"
Darling Girl (2022) Liz Michalski "A dark and elegant look at a story we all know well. Liz Michalski takes Peter Pan where all the old stories go, where magic is never without a cost, and pixie dust might be more powerful than you imagine. Fantastic!"
Everything Must Go (2022) Camille Pagán "Everything Must Go is a clear-sighted, generous look at a woman grappling with her awakening voice. I love everything Pagan writes, and this one is a moving and thoughtful addition to her growing list of wonderful books."
A Day Like This (2021) Kelley McNeil "Kelley McNeil has woven a fascinating tale that kept me guessing all the way through, surprising me at every turn. A wonderful, fast-paced read."
Paper Doll Lina (2021) Robyn Lucas "Robyn Lucas has written a compelling exploration of a woman trying to shake off the prison of her disintegrating marriage and return to herself. It is also a wildly romantic tale of soul mates and the promise of a new day. Engrossing and satisfying."
The Venice Sketchbook (2021) Rhys Bowen "The Venice Sketchbook is that rare book, both epic and personal, and utterly compelling. Two women, decades apart, escape to Venice, each forced to grapple with the influence of world events on her own life. This is a tale brimming with secrets, romance, and possibilities, cast against the colorful setting of irresistible Venice. I was utterly captured."
Summertime Guests (2021) Wendy Francis "At first glance, Summertime Guests is a riveting mystery set in a newly restored Boston hotel where a guest falls to a gruesome death. But in the chorus of voices exploring who died and what lead to the plunge, Francis explores the myriad facets of marriage--the little joys and banal failures, the kindnesses and physical attraction, the ways we neglect and support each other. A smart read with plenty of meat for book clubs."
The Light Through the Leaves (2021) Glendy Vanderah "A unique page-turner of remarkable richness, a tale of unthinkable trauma and the powerful, steady healing to be found in the natural world. I love the women in Vanderah’s novels, women who are allowed to be as flawed and raw and brave and fierce as men. And I loved the unfolding layers in this book, layers of love and disaster, secrets and longings, mothers and children, and always, nature as the steady backdrop to all life, offering the hope of renewal at all turns. Exquisite."
The Shadow Box (2021) Luanne Rice "A clever protagonist in extreme danger pitted against a cruel and powerful circle made the stakes in The Shadow Box so high I could barely stop reading for a drink of water. Luanne Rice creates a thrillingly compelling tale of common cruelty, high ambition, and the courage it takes to oppose them. Well done!"
Hadley and Grace (2021) Suzanne Redfearn "What a ride! Better get comfortable, because you will not be able to put this book down once you pick it up. The action hurtles forward at the speed of a bullet train, capturing the reader with not only plot but also characters who take us captive as we follow along on their wild journey. I adored both Hadley and Grace and the crazy crew of children, and I was rooting for them every second. One of the best books I’ve read in ages!"
What's Worth Keeping (2021) Kaya McLaren "A book as wise and unflinching as an old growth forest, filled with the capricious beauty and brutality of life. Kaya Maclaren gives us a powerful, deeply moving story of a family in desperate need of healing and the paths each of them must walk to find it, and shows us how we might all find hope if we can pause long enough to listen to the whispers of nature."
A Borrowed LIfe (2020) Kerry Anne King "In this vivid and triumphant tale, a woman loses her controlling husband and discovers she’s been tightly contained in a cocoon for decades. Learning who she is, one step at a time like an unsteady toddler, means challenging everything and every relationship in her life—and grappling with surprises that will turn her world upside down. Is she Elizabeth, the tight-laced pastor’s wife, or Liz, the thespian who has a point of view all her own? Earthy, unpredictable, and wildly enjoyable."
Side Trip (2020) Kerry Lonsdale "A highly romantic and heart-wrenching story by a writer who rarely takes the expected route."
Room to Breathe (2019) Liz Talley "Liz Talley has written a love story between a mother and daughter that captured me completely. By turns tender and astringent, sexy and funny, heart-wrenching and uplifting, Room to Breathe is an escapist and winning story that will carry you away with an imperfect pair of protagonists who just might remind you of someone you know. A delight."
If I Didn't Know Better (2015) (Callaway Cousins, book 1) Barbara Freethy "I adore the Callaways, a family we'd all love to have. Each new book is a deft combination of emotion, suspense and family dynamics. A remarkable, compelling series!"
