It's Always the Husband/Michele Campbell/311 pgs

This book releases in May. I read an Advanced Reader Copy that was sent to the library district.

Kate, Jenny, and Aubrey are 3 friends who met their freshman year at a pseudo-Ivy League school in New England. The book spends time in the present as well as chronicling their freshman year. Something tragic happened at the end of that year and the three women end up going their separate ways. Twenty-two years later they are all back in the same college town and must deal with repercussions from that tragedy as well as present day decisions. This book has lots of twists and turns but I have to say that I did not find any of the characters likable and even the police chief was creepy. There was no one for me to root for and by the end I was kind of hoping all the characters would implode in a flaming heap. Alas, they did not. I felt sorry for the main characters' children, who are really just shadows in the story, but I pity those children for having the parents they do.

All Summer Long by Dorthea Benton Frank

Olivia is a New York City interior designer with a very high-priced clientele. Her husband, Nick, is a professor who is ready to retire and move back to his beloved Southern roots. The story involves the transition from the big city to the low country and its impact on this loving couple.  We are introduced to the high-brow, jet-setting life of some of Olivia's clients and their quirky relationships and personalities.  I enjoyed listening to the story, but I didn't find the plot or characters as rich and rewarding as I had hoped.

What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarity

Alice Love is twenty-nine, crazy about her husband, and pregnant with her first child.
Imagine Alice’s surprise when she comes to on the floor of a gym and is whisked off to the hospital where she discovers the honeymoon is truly over — she’s getting divorced, she has three kids and she’s actually 39 years old. Alice must reconstruct the events of a lost decade, and find out whether it’s possible to reconstruct her life at the same time. She has to figure out why her sister hardly talks to her, and how is it that she’s become one of those super skinny moms with really expensive clothes. 
Ultimately, Alice must discover whether forgetting is a blessing or a curse, and whether it’s possible to start over.
There are so many times Alice's journey back to remembering her life made me wonder the "what if's" in my own life. How easily we all fall into taking our life and the people we love for granted. I enjoyed this book and think it would be a wonderful book club discussion selection.

Lisey's Story / Stephen King / 513 p.

I wanted to like this book more. I picked it up after reading an interview of the author in which he stated that this is his favorite work. He does a great job of conveying the incredibly strong bond and symbiotic relationship of Lisey and her author husband Scott. That was the part I enjoyed. But the source of Scott's inspiration for his King-like novels left me wanting. It is interesting that King mentions editing in his afterword because that was exactly what I felt was needed. Too much repetition and too much use of family phrases and sayings wore thin. And, of course, King's book generally have really bizarre characters, places, settings...but this was especially strange. I listened to much of it and I think Mare Winningham did a very good job with the audio version.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harld Fry / Rachel Joyce / 320 p.

The description of this book did not hook me in at all, but I grew to love Harold--his pain, his unlikely mission and what he learns along the way.  Set in England, this is a tale of a man who has allowed life to happen around him for many years. A brief note from a dying woman sends him on a sudden quest across the country. The story behind Harold's pain and stagnation is teased out in the pages of this lovely book.

Scarlet Thread / Francine Rivers 462 p.

Sierra Madrid seems to have the happy life-- married, two children, nice home in their hometown. Then her husband, Alex, comes home and says he is taking a new job where he can fully use his talents. Sierra is a homebody. She moves but with loads of resentment. Alex never discussed this move. Alex seems to miss her concerns about money. This new company is young. He's going for all the perks, big house, top interior designer, and private schools for the children. The family starts to fall apart, she and her husband separate, and divorce is eminent. She comes to read her ancestor's diary and study the ancestor's quilt with scarlet thread. Mary Kathryn, too, had to move against her will with her husband. Sierra has several personal revelations that drive her to changes as she moves towards faith and redemption. Rivers works scenes that seem so authentic. A worthwhile Christian fiction read, one that bears re-reading.