I've been enjoying a summer beach read all week as our (hopefully LAST) winter snow melts and imagining warmer locales.

Claire Cook, author of the popular Must Love Dogs, is back to doing what she does best -- writing about 40-something women's lives, romances, friendships and families.

In Life's a Beach,Ginger Walsh is 41 years old and she still hasn't figured out what to do with her life. She makes jewelry and lives above her parent's garage. When a horror movie comes to town to film a shark attack on the beach, Ginger ends up babysitting her nephew on the set after he is cast in a small role as a shark victim. Although Ginger might be a little old for a coming-of-age story, that is exactly what she needs and what she gets in this delightful story.

BAKING CAKES IN KIGALI presents a delightful glimpse into one woman’s determination to make “sweet lemonade” when life dealt her a handful of “rotten lemons”! Like her counterpart in Alexander McCall Smith’s THE NO. 1 LADIES DETECTIVE AGENCY, Angel Tungaranza also professionally sets up her own business—a cake baking enterprise in Rwanda.

Angel’s baking skills enable her to visit with her clients so that the promised cake will skillfully follow whatever theme is requested. (The reader can also learn from these cooking sessions!)

In a near future where bees are supposedly extinct, five unconnected young people are each stung. What was each doing to attract such a miraculous occurence?

In the United States, Zack was creating perverse crop art in an combine in an Iowa cornfield.
In Canada, Diana, a dental hygienist with Tourette's, was being excommunicated from her conservative church.
In France, Julien was skipping school at the Sorbonne to play World of Warcraft continuously.
In New Zealand, Samantha was thinking about her parents and taking a photo of sandwich bread.
In Sri Lanka, Harj, a tsunami orphan, was talking to a reporter while working at an Abercrombie and Fitch call center.

Hyatt Bass's first novel is a gripping story of a family suffering a serious aftershock after a tragic death. Father Joe Ascher is a playwright,, mother Laura is a frustrated actress, son Thomas is a steadying force in the family, and daughter Emily is a troubled child. When Thomas dies in a fire in their cabin in the Berkshires, the family falls apart.

This exceptionally well-written novel has evocative descriptions of places and persons. The characterization is realistic and explores the physical and psychological dimensions of the family members. I highly recommend The Embers.

Reviewed by Susie Nightingale

When I picked up The Christmas Clock by Kat Martin, I thought it was going to be a very cheery book, but I was surprised. This novella set in Dreyerville, Michigan focuses on six main characters and touches on some very serious topics like Alzheimer’s, broken relationships and the struggles people have when dealing with both.