The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder by Rebecca WellsAbout the book: Known for her beloved Ya-Ya books (Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, Little Altars Everywhere, and Ya-Yas in Bloom), Rebecca Wells has helped women name, claim, and celebrate their shared sisterhood for over a decade. Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood held the top of the New York Times bestseller list for sixty-eight weeks, became a knockout feature film, sold more than 5 million copies, and inspired the creation of Ya-Ya clubs worldwide.
Now Wells debuts an entirely new cast of characters in this shining stand-alone novel about the pull of first love, the power of life, and the human heart's vast capacity for healing.
The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder is the sweet, sexy, funny journey of Calla Lily's life set in Wells's expanding fictional Louisiana landscape. In the small river town of La Luna, Calla bursts into being, a force of nature as luminous as the flower she is named for. Under the loving light of the Moon Lady, the feminine force that will guide and protect her throughout her life, Calla enjoys a blissful childhood—until it is cut short. Her mother, M'Dear, a woman of rapture and love, teaches Calla compassion, and passes on to her the art of healing through the humble womanly art of "fixing hair." At her mother's side, Calla further learns that this same touch of hands on the human body can quiet her own soul. It is also on the banks of the La Luna River that Calla encounters sweet, succulent first love, with a boy named Tuck.
But when Tuck leaves Calla with a broken heart, she transforms hurt into inspiration and heads for the wild and colorful city of New Orleans to study at L'AcadÉmie de BeautÉ de Crescent.In that extravagant big river city, she finds her destiny—and comes to understand fully the power of her "healing hands" to change lives and soothe pain, including her own. When Tuck reappears years later, he presents her with an offer that is colored by the memories of lost love. But who knows how Cally Lily, a "daughter of the Moon Lady," will respond?
A tale of family and friendship, tragedy and triumph, loss and love, The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder features the warmth, humor, soul, and wonder that have made Wells one of today's most cherished writers, and gives us an unforgettable new heroine to treasure. (from Barnes and Noble website)
The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder: A Novel
Publisher/Publication Date: Harper Collins, July 2009
ISBN: 9780061833090
576 pages
A Stranger's Game by Joan Johnston
About the book: From New York Times bestselling author Joan Johnston comes a dazzling new Bitter Creek novel that features all of the passion and intrigue in Texas high society that her readers know and love, mixed with an explosive, spine- tingling tale of murder, wrongful imprisonment, and a woman who counts no cost too high to see a killer brought to justice.
FBI Special Agent Breed Grayhawk has the hottest sex in his life with a stranger who calls herself Grace Smith, only to discover early the next morning that her real name is Merle Raye Finkel -- and she's a convicted double murderer who broke her parole a year ago and disappeared. Now she's his prime suspect in a terrorist threat against the U.S. president.
Grace Caldwell is determined to find the killer who framed her for the murder of her father and stepmother -- and make him pay. She burgles the home of her #1 suspect and nets a surprising haul: a hot-pink, silk-covered diary -- the record of a sex-addicted wife's adventures -- which suggests that Grace's #1 suspect is a serial killer. But her theft has been caught on tape, and the man she's been chasing becomes the hunter...with Grace as his prey.
With just five days until the president arrives in Austin, Texas, the last thing the FBI needs is a serial killer on the prowl...and a terrorist suspect who will stop at nothing to clear her name. The clock is ticking down, and Agent Grayhawk is racing time to discover the truth about his dangerous lover. (from Barnes and Noble website)
Publisher/Publication Date: Simon & Schuster, July 2009
ISBN: 9780743454391
448 pages
The Perfect Couple by Brenda NovakAbout the book: One afternoon in May, Zoe Duncan's thirteen-year-old daughter goes missing from her own backyard. The police think Samantha ran away because she's unhappy about her mother's upcoming marriage—but Zoe doesn't believe it. In fact, she's willing to do anything to bring Sam home, even if it means losing her job, her beautiful home, her fiancé. Even if it means divulging all her secrets to a private investigator.
Jonathan Stivers is a P.I. who donates his time to The Last Stand, a victims' charity in Sacramento. He's good at what he does, the best. But never has he had fewer leads to work with—or been more attracted to a client. Jonathan's sure of only one thing: Sam was taken by someone close to the family. He doesn't know how close until he realizes that the "perfect" couple next door is anything but…. (from Amazon website)
Publisher/Publication Date: Mira, Aug 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0778326670
448 pages
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