Summer State of Mind

A heartfelt Southern romance, infused with an air of mystery, that begs the questions: “Who are we?” and “Where do we belong?”

Kristy Woodson Harvey returns readers to the coziness of small-town Southern charm in Summer State of Mind, a simmering, heartfelt story that gently explores family dynamics and the challenges of new beginnings.

 

The story starts when Daisy Stevens of Charlotte, North Carolina--a single, deeply dedicated, yet burned out nurse--decides she needs a change. After working for ten years as a Neo-Natal Intensive Unit (NICU) nurse in a Charlotte, North Carolina hospital, she packs up and takes what she believes will be a “simpler” job in Cape Carolina, a “sleepy seaside town” she had idealized since she was a child.

 

On Daisy’s first day on the job, a baby is found--cast off in a garbage dumpster--and is brought to the hospital by Mason Thaysden, the high school baseball coach. Mason was once a Major League prospect whose dreams were sidelined by an injury that forced him to stay put in his own hometown.

 

The abandoned newborn becomes the talk-of-the-town and forges a bond between Daisy and Mason. As the couples’ affection and love deepens, they are both forced to examine their hearts, hopes, and dreams. Along the way, Mason’s quirky Aunt Tilley also plays a part in reconciling her own mysterious past—a past that has the power to send ripples through the community. 

 

Readers have come to relish and take comfort in Woodson Harvey's (Beach House Rules) firm grasp on the perks--and drawbacks--of small-town living, the deep-seated complexities of love, and how “family” can often be defined beyond a mere bloodline.

 

Summer State of Mind by Kristy Woodson Harvey

Gallery Books (Simon and Schuster), Hardcover $29.00, 9781668074886, 384 pages

Publication Date: May 5, 2026

To order this book via Bookshop.org, link HERE

 

Learn more about author Kristy Woodson Harvey HERE

 

Good Hair Days

A dynamic Southern novel that pays homage to the bonds of sisterhood, community, and lasting legacies.  

Two sisters struggle to save a family-owned legacy business in Good Hair Days by Grace Helena Walz, a heartfelt novel woven with lots of down-to-earth Southern drama and charm. 

The story focuses on Georgia and Junie Scott, two sisters born and raised in Whitetail, a small town outside of Atlanta. Junie, the younger of the two sisters, stayed behind to run the beauty shop left to her by their mother, while Georgia, the older sister, went to a prestigious college and now lives a seemingly successful corporate life in the city.

 

In the process of trying to renovate the shop, Junie gets into a mountain of debt and thus, summons Georgia home for help. But when the sisters reunite, old wounds get reopened and both women, harboring life-changing secrets from each other, must come to terms with their own--and their shared--fates.

 

Written via the strong narrative points-of-view of each sister, Grace Helena Walz (Southern by Design) has a firm command on sisterly bonds, small-town living, and the often-unyielding depth of Southern roots. This well-drawn, nostalgic story might pay homage to the sass and sparkle of Dolly Parton, but it also delivers an unexpectedly moving, tear-jerking twist.

 

Good Hair Days by Grace Helena Walz

Harper Muse, $18.99 paperback, 9781400345663, 400 pages

Publishing date: November 11, 2025

To order this book on Indiebound/Bookshop.org, link HERE

 

 

Learn more about Grace Helena Walz link HERE

 

Beach House Rules

Bonds of family, friendship, and community bind an engaging story about how a mother and daughter put their lives back together after a scandal rocks their family.

Beach House Rules by Kristy Woodson Harvey sensitively traces how a mother and daughter scramble to steady and rebuild their lives. 

The story takes place in Juniper Shores, a charming, “beautiful Southern coastal town” where the New York-based Sitterly family--Bill, Charlotte, and teenager, Iris--took refuge during the Covid-19 pandemic. For three years, the Sitterlys called idyllic Juniper Shores home. Bill worked remotely. But when Bill is accused of securities fraud--serving jail time while maintaining his innocence--Charlotte and Iris are left homeless and destitute, unable to even access family finances. This leaves Charlotte to suffer a meltdown at the bank, where she is calmed by a local woman, 45-year-old widow, Alice Bailey, who befriends Charlotte and Iris. 

Alice--whom local gossip sites claim might’ve killed her three previous husbands--invites them to come and live with her, as she shares her big beach house, a former B&B, with other women who face troubles of their own. This includes Julie, Alice’s niece, a journalist and single mom. And Grace, a divorced mom who is also a social media sensation. This small tribe of strangers keep house and support each other. The shared living arrangement--deemed a “mommune,” like a commune, something of a “lost ladies’ hostel"--offers stability for Charlotte and Iris. But complications ensue when the past resurrects and comes calling again. 

Woodson Harvey (A Happier Life) plots exciting turns via many story threads. Alternate points of view, along with elements of mystery and romance, make for a greatly entertaining story that will appeal to a wide audience.

Beach House Rules by Kristy Woodson Harvey

Gallery Books (Simon and Schuster), $28.99 hardcover, 9781668074800, 368 pages

Publication Date: May 27, 2025

To order this book on Bookshop.org, link HERE

 

Link HERE to learn more about Kristy Woodson Harvey

The December Market

A tender, small-town holiday romance where the unexpected power of love melts the hardened hearts of two, grief-stricken locals.

 

The spirit of Christmas mends broken hearts in The December Market, a tender holiday romance by RaeAnne Thayne.

 

As in book one in the series, Christmas at the Shelter Inn, the story is set in Shelter Springs, Idaho—a small town that nourishes a sense of community, especially at Christmas. But for 31-year-old resident Amanda Taylor, the holidays resurrect sad memories of how her father’s alcoholism destroyed many lives and how her fiancé’s drinking problem ended their relationship.  As owner of an eco-friendly, skin care product shop, wounded Amanda buries herself in work and even oversees the Holiday Giving Market, where local merchants and artisans gather to sell their wares during the month of December.

 

Hard-working Amanda keeps crossing paths with Rafe Arredondo, a handsome paramedic and firefighter who tends to the first-aid booth at the market. Amanda learns that Rafe and his lovable six-year-old son, Isaac, live in her neighborhood—Rafe is widowed; his wife died of a drug overdose. When Amanda pays a visit to her plucky grandmother at the local retirement community, she and Rafe meet again and discover they have even more in common: their grandparents, both residents, are dating. As fate brings together Amanda and Rafe, their past heartaches are confronted by the prospect of a budding romance.

 

Prolific Thayne (15 Summers Later) unravels a heartfelt, hopeful story where grief is transcended by the power of love.

The December Market (Book 2 of 2: Shelter Springs) by RaeAnne Thayne

Canary Street Press (HarperCollins/Harlequin Books), $18.99 paperback, 9781335929358, 304 pages

Publication Date: October 8, 2024

To order this book via INDIEBOUND/Bookshop.org, link HERE

 

NOTE: This review is a reprint and is being posted with the permission of Shelf Awareness. To read this review as originally published on Shelf Awareness (October 11, 2024), link HERE 

The Empress of Cooke County

A sweet and sassy, coming-to-terms mother-daughter saga that sparkles with juicy secrets and scheming, 1960s Southern Gothic flare. 

Scheming Southern flare sparkles in The Empress of Cooke County, a first novel by Elizabeth Bass Parmen.  

Set in 1966 in Spark, Tenn., Cooke County, this split point-of-view narrative centers on a fraught mother-daughter relationship. Posey Jarvis is an outspoken, 38-year-old, wife and mother who idolizes Jackie Kennedy. She and her “sweet,” good-natured husband of twenty years, Vern, appear settled in the folksy small town. However, Posey still carries a secret torch for a man who jilted her years before—swigs of gin from a tucked away flask help her to cope. Posey’s broken heart still colors her life, especially her high-hopes for 18-year-old daughter, Callie Jane. When Callie is blindsided by a public marriage proposal, she suddenly must confront the expectations that have shaped her life. And when her mother inherits a once-glamorous, now delipidated house from a long-lost aunt--and Posey decides to spruce up the house for Callie’s upcoming wedding and Posey’s 20^th high school reunion--the stakes are raised. A lifetime of angst, secrets, and rebellion escalate between overbearing, conniving Posey and Callie Jane, who fights to finally come into her own. 

Escalating drama sharpens brisk plotting that includes story-threads about a renegade, local peeping Tom and changing mores of the social-climbing South. Fans of unfaltering Southern Belles in the vein of authors Fannie Flagg and Kathryn Stockett will bask in the sassy charm of Parmen’s stellar debut.

The Empress of Cooke County by Elizabeth Bass Parmen

Harper Muse, $18.99 paperback, 9781400342594, 304 pages

Publication Date: September 3, 2024

To order this book on INDIEBOUND/Bookshop.Org, link HERE

 

NOTE: This review is a reprint and is being posted with the permission of Shelf Awareness. To read this review as originally published on Shelf Awareness (September 13, 2024), link HERE 

When Sparks Fly

A passionate, feel-good small-town romance about old friends whose sudden attraction challenges what they thought they wanted out of life.

Over four books, romance author Jo McNally has treated readers to tender contemporary love stories set in the small fictional town of Rendezvous Falls in Upstate New York. Challenges of real life--and subsequent consequences--always play a part in her multi-generational stories set in locales such as the local vineyard (Slow Dancing at Sunrise), a B&B (Stealing Kisses in the Snow), the flower shop (Love Blooms) and via an apartment rental (Barefoot on a Starlit Night).

 

In the fifth book, When Sparks Fly, McNally focuses on Zoe Hartford, a 40-year-old, self-employed, ‘fix-it’ appliance and auto repairwoman whose confidence is down since a traumatic divorce. The hard-working single mother is determined to restore stability and normalcy to the life of her rebellious, 13-year-old daughter, Hazel. When Zoe starts to have romantic feelings for Mike--a lawyer, now a widower who’s been one of Zoe’s best friends since high school--complications ensue. Will their dear and cherished friendship be put at risk by sparking up a romance after all these years? And might the couple’s relationship drive a wedge in the mother-daughter bond?

 

The joys and tribulations of small-town life--and other love stories therein--offer a colorful backdrop to this passionate, down-to-earth romance where members of a meddling match-making book club offer wit and levity. A subplot involving Zoe’s house and place of business nicely binds up several plot threads. Readers who enjoy stories about the toil of true love will feel right at home in the comforts of this continuing series.

 

When Sparks Fly (A Rendezvous Falls Novel: Book Five) by Jo McNally 

HQN Books – Original Edition, $9.99 Mass Market Paperback, 416 pages, 9781335916389

Publication Date: August 9, 2022

To order this book on INDIEBOUND link HERE

 

NOTE: This review is a reprint and is being posted with the permission of Shelf Awareness. To read this review on Shelf Awareness: Reader's Edition (August 12, 2022), link HERE

The Best Is Yet to Come

An emotionally immersive romance about two grief-stricken people struggling to open up their lives to love again.

The aftereffects of war on two people trying to rebuild their lives anchor The Best Is Yet to Come, a deeply moving, compassionately drawn contemporary romance by Debbie Macomber (It’s Better This Way, A Walk Along the Beach).

Los Angeles native Hope Godwin relocates to Oceanside, Wash., after her twin brother, a soldier, is tragically killed in action. Longing to reconcile her grief and live simply--teaching at the local high school--Hope’s plans are complicated when her pushy landlord ropes her into volunteering at the local animal shelter. There, she meets injured ex-Marine, John Cade Lincoln Jr. “Cade” may have been awarded a Purple Heart, but a sordid past keeps him standoffish. Having witnessed his army buddies “blown to bits,” he is a recovering alcoholic and loner dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and serious anger-management issues that sent him to jail for a year. Cade is performing community service at the local animal shelter when Hope crosses his path. He becomes intrigued when “Shadow,” an abused, human-averse canine takes eagerly to Hope. As the fearful dog warms up to Hope, so, too, does Cade. The couple slowly--and awkwardly--get to know each other until the past suddenly resurfaces, testing what’s in their hearts and challenging their romance.

Memorable, fully fleshed-out characters--including a suspenseful, very well-drawn subplot involving students at the school--round out an emotionally immersive story. Debbie Macomber is a master of depicting the nuances of smalltown life and how romance can rally and recharge the human spirit with hope.

The Best is Yet to Come: A Novel by Debbie Macomber

Ballantine Books/Random House Books, $28.00 hardcover, 9781984818843, 304 pages

Publication Date: July 12, 2022

To order this book on INDIEBOUND, link HERE

 NOTE: This review is a reprint and is being posted with the permission of Shelf Awareness. To read this review on Shelf Awareness: Reader's Edition (July 15, 2022), link HERE

The Little French Bridal Shop

A heartfelt story about a down-on-her-luck single woman who has an awakening after committing a sin of omission.

Tender moments add levity to Jennifer Dupee’s greatly appealing first novel. The story focuses on Larisa Pearl--pushing 40-years-old--who losses her job in Boston, breaks up with her boyfriend and learns that her 96-year-old aunt--her father’s sister; a spinster--has died and left her house, “Elmhurst,” to Larisa and her father. Larisa’s parents live in a New Hampshire retirement community, where her mother is battling dementia and her devoted father is lovingly committed to her daily care. This leaves Larisa to set off on her own to Elmhurst, located in the small seaside town of Kent Crossing, Mass. Elmhurst is in need of repair. Thus, she enlists the help of Jack Merrill--a disillusioned, married father of triplets, in his late 30s--the part-time caretaker of the estate. Larisa and Jack were friends who grew up together, spending memorable summers at Elmhurst.

While grappling with her mother’s deteriorating health and re-acquainting herself with the allure of small-town life, Larisa decides--on a lark--to try on a beautiful wedding gown displayed in the window of the local bridal shop. Unbeknownst to Larisa, the shop owner is one of her former teachers, now retired, who happily presumes Larisa is finally getting married. Not wanting to disappoint, Larisa gets roped into the assumption. This choice escalates in hard-won ways that challenge Larisa’s perceptions of happiness and love.

Dupee successfully combines the pull-and-tug of romance with family drama to deliver a more serious message about facing up to the often-harsh realities of life.

 

The Little French Bridal Shop: A Novel by Jennifer Dupee

St. Martin’s Press, $26.99 Hardcover, 9781250271525, 304 pages

Publication Date: March 9, 2021

To order this book on INDIEBOUND, link HERE

NOTE: This review is a reprint and is being posted with the permission of Shelf Awareness. To read this review on Shelf Awareness: Reader's Edition (March 9, 2021), link HERE

Of Literature and Lattes

How do you pick up the pieces and start again in life? In this gentle romance, a newcomer and a woman, a former local, returning to a Midwestern hometown spark a romance that helps reinvent their lives.

Readers will be eager and charmed to return to Winsome, Ill., where several characters from The Printed Letter Bookshop and a host of new ones richly populate the literary landscape that Katherine Reay (The Austen Escape) presents in Of Literature and Lattes.

 

Thirty-one-year-old Alyssa Harrison left Winsome on bad terms with her overbearing mother, Janet, a bookstore employee who cheated on Alyssa's dad. For several years, Alyssa worked in Silicon Valley in California at a health-centric start-up that was ultimately deemed fraudulent by the FBI. With her career in shambles and money tight, Alyssa is forced to swallow her pride and return to her childhood home in Winsome to regroup and put the pieces of her life back together. What will it take for Alyssa and her mother, living back under the same roof, to make amends and finally bury the hatchet?

 

As Alyssa reacclimates to the quaint small town, she frequents the coffee shop and befriends the owner, Jeremy Mitchell, a Seattle transplant who overhauls the shop into a more upscale meeting place the locals resist. Jeremy enlists Alyssa's help to drum up more business and balance the books. Along the way, he battles with his ex-wife, who tries to keep him from his seven-year-old daughter.

 

A budding relationship between Alyssa and Jeremy--and their quests to overcome their respective challenges--anchors the feel-good, wholesome poignancy of the narrative. Equally appealing secondary characters and storylines bind this redemptive novel's overarching themes: the power of forgiveness, friendship and love.

 

Of Literature and Lattes: A Novel by Katherine Reay

Thomas Nelson, $16.99 Paperback, 9780785222040, 336 pages

Publication Date: March 10, 2020

To order this book on INDIEBOUND, link HERE

NOTE: This review is a reprint and is being posted with the permission of Shelf Awareness. To read this review on Shelf Awareness: Reader's Edition (May 26, 2020), link HERE

Can't Hurry Love

Meddling small towns make for a great, escapist read!

 A charming, cheerful romance about a young widow who discovers secrets about her late husband as she carves out a new life.

Prolific romance writer Melinda Curtis (the Mountain Monroes and the Kissing Test series) begins a lively rom-com series filled with a large cast of eccentric characters, zany humor and a slew of clever plot twists.

In Can't Hurry Love, Lola Williams is a 29-year-old who gave up a career in New York City doing hair and make-up for high-powered Broadway celebrities in order to marry Randy and relocate to his small hometown of Sunshine, Colo. After only a year of marriage, Randy is killed in a car accident. Lola struggles as a young widow in a town where everyone knows everyone else's business--except for Lola, who, when she goes through her husband's belongings, discovers Randy was keeping secrets. Was he cheating on her?

Upset and angered by a string of unsettling revelations, she sets some of Randy's things aflame in a bonfire that draws the Sunshine Valley Widows Club and also Sheriff Drew Taylor, a divorcé and devoted father who's sworn off women. Sheriff Taylor and the group of local widows come to the emotionally wounded Lola's rescue: women of all ages, personalities and quirks; do-good fundraisers, gossips and self-professed matchmakers with tales to tell. Lola then becomes determined to solve the mystery of Randy. While on her quest, she starts to build a new life, suddenly finding herself enmeshed in the fabric of busybody small-town living, while also opening her heart again to love, however reluctantly.

Curtis weaves laugh-out-loud comic scenes with heartfelt emotions, delivering an endearing, wholesome romance.

Can’t Hurry Love (Sunshine Valley Book One) by Melinda Curtis

Forever, $7.99 Mass Market Paperback, 9781538733417, 512 pages

Publication Date: March 31, 2020

To order this book on INDIEBOUND, link HERE

NOTE: This review is a reprint and is being posted with the permission of Shelf Awareness. To read this review on Shelf Awareness: Reader's Edition (April 17, 2020), link HERE