In Mallery's latest, bookshop owner Bree, giftshop owner Mikki, and muffin purveyor Ashley join forces to open The Boardwalk Bookshop on the California coast, relying on one another as they wrestle with the possibilities of love. In Thayer's Summer Love, old secrets will out when four friends hold a 30-year reunion on Nantucket, even as their adult children pursue surprising interests. In Adult Assembly Required, Laura Costello moves to Los Angeles to avoid bad memories and an overprotective family, but her life remains topsy-turvy, and she must rely on friends who include the title character of Waxman's USA TODAY best-selling The Bookish Life of Nina Hill.

Ashley, Bree and Mikki are strangers when they decide to go into business together at the Boardwalk Bookshop, a store that specializes in gifts, cupcakes, and books. The women become friends over time, each dealing with her personal-relationship drama. Ashley's boyfriend loves her but doesn't see marriage in his future, while it's all she can imagine. Mikki's happily divorced and has a good relationship with her ex-husband, but when a new man enters her life, will her ex try to find a way back in? Bree has undergone serious neglect by both her parents and her deceased husband, leaving her feeling broken and unable to experience love. Together the women encourage one other to grow, even through difficult decisions and unusual circumstances. The Boardwalk Bookshop is a classic beach-read romance that will be enjoyed by fans of Robyn Carr and Sheryl Woods. Readers will appreciate that, while Mallery keeps the tone romantic and fun, the protagonists make hard choices and don't default to the easy way out, giving everyone a character to root for.

Three woman who join together to rent a large space along the beach in Los Angeles for their stores--a gift shop, a bakery, and a bookstore--become fast friends as they each experience the highs, and lows, of love. Bree is a friendly but standoffish bookstore owner who keeps everyone she knows at arm's length, from guys she meets in bars to her friends. Mikki is a settled-in-her-routines divorced mother of two, happily a mom, gift-shop owner, and co-parent with her ex-husband, Perry. And Ashley is a young, very-much-in-love bakery owner specializing in muffins who devotes herself to giving back to the community through a nonprofit that helps community members develop skills and find jobs. When the women meet drooling over a boardwalk storefront that none of them can afford on her own, a plan is hatched to divide the space in three, and a friendship--and business partnership--is born. An impromptu celebration on the beach at sunset with champagne becomes a weekly touchpoint to their lives as they learn more about each other and themselves. Their friendship blossoms as they help each other, offering support, hard truths, and loving backup. Author Mallery has created a delightful story of friendship between three women that also offers a variety of love stories as they fall in love, make mistakes, and figure out how to be the best--albeit still flawed--versions of themselves. The men are similarly flawed and human. While the story comes down clearly on the side of all-encompassing love, Mallery has struck a careful balance: There is just enough sex to be spicy, just enough swearing to be naughty, and just enough heartbreak to avoid being cloying. A book begging to be read on the beach, with the sun warming the sand and salt in the air: pure escapism. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.