the setup… It’s the spring of 2014 in Pondville, Massachusetts and Paul (PJ) Halliday was reading the obituaries and saw that his old friend and rival Gene Bartlett had died. Gene married Michelle Cobb, “the one that got away,” and PJ is inspired to drive across the country to the Tender Hearts Retirement Community in… Continue reading The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett @annie_hartnett @anniehartnett.bsky.social @mbram17 @prhaudio @prhaudio.bsky.social #TheRoadToTenderHearts
the setup… Cora Atkin is on her way to register the name of her newborn son. Her husband Gordon wants him named after him; nine-year old daughter Maia suggests Bear, and Cora likes Julian. Whichever her choice will have a consequence, both for the child and her family. Over the next 35 years, the story… Continue reading The Names by Florence Knapp @florenceknapp_ @florenceknapp.bsky.social #dervlakirwan @prhaudio @prhaudio.bsky.social #TheNames
the setup… Lillian Wright and Ryan Brighton meet in a library and before they know it, are deeply in love and marry. They want to combine their names but it sounds comical so they become the Bright family. They open his art gallery and she leaves her bank job to help manage the marketing. Later… Continue reading The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff @sarahdamoff @ferdellecapistrano @joyosmanski #LeeOsorio @simon.audio @simonaudio.bsky.social @librofm @libro.fm
the setup… David Sheehan pounds on the door of Martine Dumont, a lawyer and former family friend of his wife Angie. He desperately needs her help to deal with the monstrous tragedy that’s just happened in his home. Their fourteen-year old son Nico is dead and their thirteen-year old daughter Nora called 911 and said… Continue reading Penitence by Kristin Koval @kristinkovalwriter @plummertherese @macmillan.audio @macmillanaudio.bsky.social #Penitence
the setup… It’s 1968 and someone was murdered as the story begins but it then gently pivots to the summer of 1955 when Beth Johnson and and Gabriel Wolfe meet. They’re teenagers in North Dorset, both preparing very differently for post graduation but begin a passionate love affair that ends too soon and unfortunately. Beth… Continue reading Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall @clarelesliehall @clarelesliehall.bsky.social #HattieMorahan @simon.audio @simonaudio.bsky.social @librofm @reesesbookclub
the setup… Jane and Abe have been together for over fifty years and Central Park has been a pivotal part of their lives throughout that time. Jane is dying and Abe now spends their remaining time at her bedside, talking about their memories and reliving those moments…the highs, the lows, the joys and the pains...from… Continue reading This is a Love Story by Jessica Soffer @jessicasoffer @duttonbooks @duttonbooks.bsky.social @readwithjenna #ThisIsALoveStory
the setup… Jack Schmidt is the third generation to run his family’s Rehoboth Beach (Delaware) boardwalk restaurant and it’s his life. He has a string of failed relationships to show for it and no significant one currently. He’s in his early 50s and is approached by the DelDine group to buy his property. They’re gradually… Continue reading The Same Bright Stars by Ethan Joella @JoellaWriting @ChrisHCoffey @SimonAudio
the setup… Lewis and Wren Woodard are newly married, both realizing they truly are each other’s soulmates. But shortly after their wedding, Lewis gets a devastating diagnosis…his physical body is transforming into a great white shark. While these kinds of transformations aren’t unheard of, his particular type is rare. He will still have his memories… Continue reading Shark Heart by Emily Habeck @EmilyHabeck @KarissaVacker @ShaunTaylorC @Soneela @SimonAudio
the setup… It’s the spring of 2020 and also the early rages of the Covid-19 pandemic. Lara’s three daughters, Maisie, Emily and Nell, have returned to their family cherry orchard and home in Northern Michigan to shelter in place. While the four of them are picking cherries, the girls beg Lara to tell them about… Continue reading Tom Lake by Ann Patchett #AnnPatchett #MerylStreep @HarperAudio @ReesesBookClub
the setup… It’s the summer of 1981 and a little girl is taken by her father to stay on a farm in rural Wexford (Ireland) with the Kinsellas, her maternal relatives, for “fostering.” The child’s mother is near term with another child, one among many others. Here she finds a stark contrast to her own… Continue reading Foster by Claire Keegan @CKeeganFiction @AoifeActress @HighBridgeAudio
Blue Mood Café 