Archive for June 25th, 2010

After her boss in a high-powered Washington public relations firm is caught in a political scandal, fledgling lobbyist Dempsey Jo Killebrew is left almost broke, unemployed, and homeless. Out of options, she reluctantly accepts her father’s offer to help refurbish Birdsong, the old family place he recently inherited in Guthrie, Georgia. All it will take, he tells her, is a little paint and some TLC to turn the fading Victorian mansion into a real-estate But, oh, is Dempsey in for a surprise when she arrives in Guthrie. “Bird Droppings” would more aptly describe the moldering Pepto Bismol–pink dump with duct-taped windows and a driveway full of junk. There’s also a murderously grumpy old lady, one of Dempsey’s distant relations, who has claimed squatter’s rights and isn’t moving out. Ever.

Furthermore, everyone in Guthrie seems to know Dempsey’s business, from a smooth-
talking real-estate agent to a cute lawyer who owns the local newspaper. It wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t for the pesky FBI agents who show up on Dempsey’s doorstep, hoping to pry information about her ex-boss from her. All Dempsey can do is roll up her sleeves and get to work. And before long, what started as a job of necessity somehow becomes a labor of love and, ultimately, a journey that takes her to a place she never expected—back home again.

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We are well into June now, and hopefully that means that summer is officially here at last! We’ve had a good run of sunny weather, and I hope it’s here to stay because that means lovely lazy days in the sun having a read… what could be better?! So for your reading pleasure, I have once again picked out my top 10 Summer Reads, all either out now or coming out over the summer months.

I hope you like my choices, but if you have another 2010 summer read you’d like to recommend to us, please leave us a comment and let us know!

10. Chrissie Manby - Getting Over Mr Right

9. Veronica Henry - The Beach Hut

8. Amanda Howells - The Summer of Skinny Dipping

7. Alison Bond - A Reluctant Cinderella

6. Liane Moriarty - What Alice Forgot

5. Paige Toon - Pictures of Lily

4. Jo Rees - Forbidden Pleasures

3. Tilly Bagshawe - Scandalous

2. Lindsey Kelk - I Heart Paris

1. Belinda Jones - Living La Vida Loca

I was a huge fan of Julie Highmore’s last release The Message so it’s quite an understatement to say I’m looking forward to her next book! Her next book The Birthday is due out on 9th December 2010 and sounds like another fantastic and emotional read. Here’s the synopsis:

It’s easy to make mistakes. The hard part is keeping them hidden. Emily spends a few precious hours with her lover, then picks up her children and returns to normal married life. Her brother Ben’s career has crashed with the banks, and suddenly he has nowhere to go. But they must both put on a brave face for their mother’s sixtieth birthday. Fran doesn’t feel old. Mostly, she’s worried about her increasingly depressed husband Duncan, and his slightly odd behaviour. Why did he think they’d been to Florence? Who is Alexa? And she doesn’t really want a fuss over her birthday, but her daughter insists they must celebrate. Holding tight to their own secrets, the family gathers around Fran, but as one small revelation follows another, no one can foresee the huge repercussions of this birthday.