Check out Bookends by Jane Green.



Are you more likely to rekindle old friendships or old jealousies when someone from your past resurfaces? Ten years after college, Cath Warner is still hanging out with the same group of friends in a suburb of London. The dramatic Simon is still searching for Mr. Right. Josh and Lucy are happily married with a mischievous toddler. Cath is alone, having thrown herself into work after a failed relationship. Suddenly, the beautiful Portia returns to their lives, bringing doubt, angst, jealousy, rivalry and suspicion along with many memories of the past. Although her arrival throws the fierce friendships of this tight-knit foursome into jeopardy, Portia is the least of Cath’s worries. She has just abandoned her advertising career to open a bookstore/bakery with Lucy. She rarely sees Simon now that he is involved with Mr. Wrong. On top of everything, James, her real-estate agent, has not only taken a special interest in her store, but he is also attempting to break down the barriers that Cath has hidden behind since her last relationship. More than just a romantic comedy, Bookends is peopled with friends I wish that I knew, a bookstore where I would love to shop (and snack!) and the real anxieties that you experience when your close friendships are in trouble. If you like novels set in London, the kind of characters who have always wanted to open a bookstore, and stories that focus on the complexities of relationships, with a pinch of adventure, suspicion and excitement, then I am sure you’ll love Bookends. Read it, and then recommend it to a friend!

Reviewed by Lissa Staley