I Still Dream About You / Fannie Flagg 590 p.

An aging former Miss Alabama looks to have everything-- she can still turn heads, owns a lovely condo, has a successful career, and depression.  Her real estate office is in the dumps with the housing depression.  She has lost her best friend and optimistic boss.  She even makes a list of reasons why to jump in the river.  She plans a graceful exit that keeps getting postponed; first by her best friend Brenda wanting to see the Whirly Dervishes, then has to save the crown jewel house in Birmingham from the wrecking ball, and, and, and.  The scene with the goat is not to be missed.

I Still Dream About You / Fannie Flagg 590 p.

Dark Horse / Rumer Godden 115 p.

Dark Invader was a washout on the racecourse so his owner sold him to a businessman in India.  In Calcutta, he thrived.  He was set to win a big race when a brutal jockey causes him to bolt.  To the nuns, where he takes shelter, he is a gift from God which the wiley mother superior uses to support her work among the very poor.

Garden Spells / Sarah Addison Allen 290 p.

The Waverley’s of Bascom, N. C possess special talents. Claire uses hers in her catering business by creating foods that “affect the eater in special ways”. Some try to escape as her mother did; abandoning Claire and her sister when they were young. Claire has remained close at home, unwilling to open up to people; while her sister Sydney follows in her mother’s footsteps in taking off for New York and living with a string of abusive boyfriends. When the two sisters reconcile, each helps the other. Sydney discovers her power lies in hair dressing; Bay, her daughter, in knowing where things belong. Their elder cousin has the ability to anticipate what items someone will need, whose value is later revealed. And the apple tree on the Waverley’s property plays a part…too much more may be a scene spoiler. Lovely, magical, enchanting all describe this work as well as romantic.

Thursdays at Eight / Debbie Macomber 298 p.

Four friends, each in a different phase of her life, meet every Thurs at 8:00 a.m. for breakfast. Clare has been through a devastating divorce, Elizabeth is a widow in her late fifties, Karen is in her twenties looking to grow a career in acting, and Julia is turning forty. Friends share their ups and downs, from love to death to unexpected pregnancy and everything in between like sisters, family, mothers, and relationships. Debbie Macomber has morphed her genre from romance to women’s lives and relationships.