Download or read book The Sweeney Sisters written by Lian Dolan and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2020-04-28 with total page 377 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This is a big-hearted belly-laugh of a book, told with wit and poignancy. Family secrets, laughter and tears, shocking reveals, and an uplifting ending make this a story to savor--and share."--Susan Wiggs, New York Times bestselling author of The Lost and Found Bookshop An accomplished storyteller returns with her biggest, boldest, most entertaining novel yet—a hilarious, heartfelt story about books, love, sisterhood, and the surprises we discover in our DNA. Maggie, Eliza, and Tricia Sweeney grew up as a happy threesome in the idyllic seaside town of Southport, Connecticut. But their mother’s death from cancer fifteen years ago tarnished their golden-hued memories, and the sisters drifted apart. Their one touchstone is their father, Bill Sweeney, an internationally famous literary lion and college professor universally adored by critics, publishers, and book lovers. When Bill dies unexpectedly one cool June night, his shell-shocked daughters return to their childhood home. They aren’t quite sure what the future holds without their larger-than-life father, but they do know how to throw an Irish wake to honor a man of his stature. But as guests pay their respects and reminisce, one stranger, emboldened by whiskey, has crashed the party. It turns out that she too is a Sweeney sister. When Washington, DC based journalist Serena Tucker had her DNA tested on a whim a few weeks earlier, she learned she had a 50% genetic match with a childhood neighbor—Maggie Sweeney of Southport, Connecticut. It seems Serena’s chilly WASP mother, Birdie, had a history with Bill Sweeney—one that has remained totally secret until now. Once the shock wears off, questions abound. What does this mean for William’s literary legacy? Where is the unfinished memoir he’s stashed away, and what will it reveal? And how will a fourth Sweeney sister—a blond among redheads—fit into their story? By turns revealing, insightful, and uproarious, The Sweeney Sisters is equal parts cautionary tale and celebration—a festive and heartfelt look at what truly makes a family. "Dolan uses her experience in podcasting with her own sisters to craft believable women characters who worry about real problems and use wry humor to push through dark moments . . . . A warmhearted portrait of love embracing true hearts."—Kirkus

Download or read book The Sweeney Sisters written by Lian Dolan and published by Harper Large Print. This book was released on 2020-04-28 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An accomplished storyteller returns with her biggest, boldest, most entertaining novel yet--a hilarious, heartfelt story about books, love, sisterhood, and the surprises we discover in our DNA that combines the wit of Jonathan Tropper with the heart of Susan Wiggs. Maggie, Eliza, and Tricia Sweeney grew up as a happy threesome in the idyllic seaside town of Southport, Connecticut. But their mother's death from cancer fifteen years ago tarnished their golden-hued memories, and the sisters drifted apart. Their one touchstone is their father, Bill Sweeney, an internationally famous literary lion and college professor universally adored by critics, publishers, and book lovers. When Bill dies unexpectedly one cool June night, his shell-shocked daughters return to their childhood home. They aren't quite sure what the future holds without their larger-than-life father, but they do know how to throw an Irish wake to honor a man of his stature. But as guests pay their respects and reminisce, one stranger, emboldened by whiskey, has crashed the party. It turns out that she too is a Sweeney sister. When Washington, DC based journalist Serena Tucker had her DNA tested on a whim a few weeks earlier, she learned she had a 50% genetic match with a childhood neighbor--Maggie Sweeney of Southport, Connecticut. It seems Serena's chilly WASP mother, Birdie, had a history with Bill Sweeney--one that has remained totally secret until now. Once the shock wears off, questions abound. What does this mean for William's literary legacy? Where is the unfinished memoir he's stashed away, and what will it reveal? And how will a fourth Sweeney sister--a blond among redheads--fit into their story? By turns revealing, insightful, and uproarious, The Sweeney Sisters is equal parts cautionary tale and celebration--a festive and heartfelt look at what truly makes a family.

Download or read book Helen of Pasadena written by Lian Dolan and published by Prospect Park Books. This book was released on 2010-11-01 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This laugh-out-loud funny novel about a mom reinventing herself was written by Lian Dolan, who is a Satellite Sister, writes the nationally popular blog the Chaos Chronicles, and produces the hot Chaos Chronicles podcast. She's a sharp and funny speaker who is much in demand.

Download or read book Elizabeth the First Wife written by Lian Dolan and published by Prospect Park Books. This book was released on 2013-04-26 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Elizabeth Lancaster, an English professor at Pasadena City College, finds her perfectly dull but perfectly orchestrated life upended one summer by three men: her movie-star ex-husband, a charming political operative, and William Shakespeare. Until now, she’d been content living in the shadow of her high-profile and highly accomplished family. Then her college boyfriend and one-time husband of seventeen months, A-list action star FX Fahey, shows up with a job offer that she can’t resist, and Elizabeth’s life suddenly gets a whole lot more interesting. She’s off to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for the summer to make sure FX doesn’t humiliate himself in an avant-garde production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. As she did so skillfully with her first novel, Helen of Pasadena, which spent more than a year on the Los Angeles Times bestseller list, Lian Dolan spins a lively, smart, and very funny tale of a woman reinventing her life in unexpected ways. Lian Dolan is also the co-author of The Satellite Sisters' Uncommon Senses. As part of the Satellite Sisters, Lian and her four sisters found national acclaim first on NPR, then on ABC Radio and XM Satellite Radio. She also creates the popular podcast and blog Chaos Chronicles.

Download or read book Lost and Found in Paris written by Lian Dolan and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2022-04-05 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Fast-paced and colorful, with hints of The Goldfinch and Malibu Rising, and more than one pitch-perfect love story—Lost and Found in Paris sparkles like the City of Light itself and will have you flipping the pages quickly as you’re drawn deeply into its mysterious world of art, intrigue, and redemption.” —Kristin Harmel, New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Lost Names The ultimate escapist adventure in Paris, told with wit, style, and a touch of intrigue, by the popular and dynamic author of The Sweeney Sisters. Joan Blakely had an unconventional childhood: the daughter of a globe-trotting supermodel and a world-famous artist. Her artist father died on 9/11, and Joan—an art historian by training—has spent more than a decade maintaining his legacy. Life in the art world is beginning to wear on her—and then one fateful afternoon her husband drops a bombshell: he’s fathered twins with another woman. Furious but secretly pleased to have a reason to blow up her life, Joan impulsively decides to get out of town, booking a last-minute trip to Paris as an art courier: the person museums hire to fly valuable works of art to potential clients, discreetly stowed in their carry-on luggage. Sipping her champagne in business-class, she chats up her seatmate, Nate, a good-looking tech nerd who invites her to dinner in Paris. He doesn’t know she’s carrying drawings worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. But after a romantic dinner and an even more romantic night together, Joan wakes up next to her new lover to discover the drawings gone. Even more shocking is what’s been left in their place: a sketch from her father’s journals, which she thought had been lost when he died on 9/11, and a poem that reads like a treasure hunt. With Nate as a sidekick, Joan will follow the clues all over Paris—from its grand cathedrals to the romantic bistros to the twisty side streets of Montmartre—hoping to recover the lost art, and her own sense of adventure. What she finds is even better than she’d expected.

Download or read book The Titanic Sisters written by Patricia Falvey and published by Kensington. This book was released on 2021-01-26 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “The enchanting saga of two Irish sisters…This new chapter of Titanic lore is worth plunging into.” —Publishers Weekly From the acclaimed author of The Girls of Ennismore comes a captivating and extraordinary tale of perseverance and bravery. This touching saga of sisterhood—perfect for fans of Fiona Davis and Marie Benedict—follows two young Irish women yearning for independence and adventure, as they set sail on RMS Titanic—the “ship of dreams”—only to be faced with the tragedy of that fabled maiden voyage… Delia Sweeney has always been unlike her older sister--fair and delicate compared to tall, statuesque Nora, whose hair is as dark as Donegal turf. In other ways too, the sisters are leagues apart. Nora is her mother's darling, favored at every turn, and expected to marry into wealth. Delia, constantly slighted, finds a measure of happiness helping her da on the farm. The rest of the time, she reads about far-off places that seem sure to remain a fantasy. Until the day a letter arrives from America . . . A distant relative has provided the means for Delia and Nora to go to New York. Delia will be a lowly maid in a modest household, while Nora will be governess for a well-to-do family. In Queenstown, Cork, they board the Titanic, a majestic new ocean liner making its maiden voyage. Any hope Delia carried that she and her sister might become closer during the trip soon vanishes. For there are far greater perils to contend with as the ship makes its way across the Atlantic . . . In the wake of that fateful journey, Delia makes an impulsive choice--and takes Nora's place as governess. Her decision sparks an adventure that leads her from Fifth Avenue to Dallas, Texas, where oilfields bring unimagined riches to some, despair to others. Delia grows close to her vulnerable young charge, and to the girl's father. But her deception will have repercussions impossible to foresee, even as it brings happiness within reach for the first time . . .

Download or read book Satellite Sisters Uncommon Senses written by Julie Dolan and published by Riverhead Books (Hardcover). This book was released on 2001 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the Satellite Sisters*, stars of the Public Radio show of the same name, comes an explanation of the uncommon senses--A Sense of Self, A Sense of Connection, A Sense of Humor, A Sense of Adventure, and A Sense of Direction--along with anecdotes, lists, recipes, quiz questions, and more.

Download or read book The Nest written by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2016-03-22 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A warm, funny and acutely perceptive debut novel about four adult siblings and the fate of the shared inheritance that has shaped their choices and their lives. Every family has its problems. But even among the most troubled, the Plumb family stands out as spectacularly dysfunctional. Years of simmering tensions finally reach a breaking point on an unseasonably cold afternoon in New York City as Melody, Beatrice, and Jack Plumb gather to confront their charismatic and reckless older brother, Leo, freshly released from rehab. Months earlier, an inebriated Leo got behind the wheel of a car with a nineteen-year-old waitress as his passenger. The ensuing accident has endangered the Plumbs' joint trust fund, “The Nest,” which they are months away from finally receiving. Meant by their deceased father to be a modest mid-life supplement, the Plumb siblings have watched The Nest’s value soar along with the stock market and have been counting on the money to solve a number of self-inflicted problems. Melody, a wife and mother in an upscale suburb, has an unwieldy mortgage and looming college tuition for her twin teenage daughters. Jack, an antiques dealer, has secretly borrowed against the beach cottage he shares with his husband, Walker, to keep his store open. And Bea, a once-promising short-story writer, just can’t seem to finish her overdue novel. Can Leo rescue his siblings and, by extension, the people they love? Or will everyone need to reimagine the futures they’ve envisioned? Brought together as never before, Leo, Melody, Jack, and Beatrice must grapple with old resentments, present-day truths, and the significant emotional and financial toll of the accident, as well as finally acknowledge the choices they have made in their own lives. This is a story about the power of family, the possibilities of friendship, the ways we depend upon one another and the ways we let one another down. In this tender, entertaining, and deftly written debut, Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney brings a remarkable cast of characters to life to illuminate what money does to relationships, what happens to our ambitions over the course of time, and the fraught yet unbreakable ties we share with those we love.

Download or read book Sweet Tea Tuesdays written by Ashley Farley and published by Leisure Time Books. This book was released on 2017-03-13 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the case of Lula Horne, fifty-five is the new sixty-five, and she’s proud of it. Lula despises modern technology and prefers walking her dog to attending hot yoga. She spends her days tending her perennial garden and cooking for sick friends. She’s stubborn and opinionated and committed to her traditional values, a nonconformist if ever there was one. When her daughter brings her girlfriend home for a visit, Lula goes off like the firework display at her Fourth of July party. For twenty-six years, Midge, Lula, and Georgia have watched the seasons change and their children grow up while sipping tea on Georgia’s front porch. One Tuesday in early June, Georgia shares news that brings their long-standing social hour to an abrupt halt. Over the course of that summer, everything changes for them. A secret drives them apart and an unexpected diagnosis brings them back together again. As these three women share their lives—their past sorrows and fears of an uncertain future—readers will shed more than one tear.

Download or read book Saturdays at Sweeney s written by Ashley Farley and published by Leisure Time Books. This book was released on 2018-01-16 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When a devastating fire engulfs Lovie Sweeney's sixty-year-old seafood business, not only do the flames consume a family legacy, but they also ignite a whirlwind of suspicion. Was it a tragic accident, or is this tight-knit family the target of a malicious attack? As Lovie finds herself scrutinized in an arson investigation, the Sweeney clan faces a medical diagnosis that threatens to redraw the family dynamics. Samantha, caught in the struggle of resurrecting the family market, is also grappling with her son’s future. Poised to graduate college, Jamie is torn between staying in his hometown of Prospect or venturing to Charleston where love beckons. Faith, aged forty-five and still bearing the emotional scars of an abusive marriage, is on a pilgrimage to discover her life's purpose. Meanwhile, Jackie's world is shaken when her son Sean drops out of college, leaving her questioning how she went wrong as a mother.

Download or read book Magnolia Nights written by Ashley Farley and published by Leisure Time Books. This book was released on 2017-09-08 with total page 277 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Plagued by gaps in her childhood memories, Ellie Pringle has spent years in therapy trying to unlock the secrets of her past. But it's the unexpected death of a grandmother she hasn't seen in over three decades that catapults her into a journey of profound discovery. Inheriting a fortune along with an antebellum mansion in Charleston's historic South Battery, Ellie decides to leave behind her life in San Francisco—and a heart-wrenching breakup—to confront her past head-on. Stepping into the cavernous halls of her ancestral home, Ellie immediately senses she's not alone. The house seems to whisper with ghosts of the past, the most pressing of whom is her own deceased mother. When Ellie stumbles upon her mother's leather-bound journal on a dusty bookshelf, she's plunged into a maze of haunting revelations that demand answers. With the impending threat of Hurricane Lorene swirling toward the South Carolina coast, Ellie meets Julian Hagood—a charismatic architect with the skills to restore her crumbling mansion and perhaps heal her shattered heart. But delving deeper into her mother's diaries, her discoveries send her spiraling down a path of shocking realizations and harrowing truths.

Download or read book You re the Best written by Lian Dolan and published by Prospect Park Books. This book was released on 2015-10-05 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the introduction: I owe you for that night at that dive bar on our road trip. I should not line dance under the influence, and I think we both know that now. I owe you for letting me borrow that really expensive evening clutch with the feathers. I had no idea puppies liked feathers. I owe you for that really poor financial advice I gave to you. It was loud on the subway, but I thought I heard that guy in the suit say, "Buy Enron." I owe you for Brad. Let's not talk about him ever again. You're smart. You're funny. You text just the right amount. You're the one person who tells my about the thing in my teeth without sounding just a little bit superior. You're the best. You're the Best is a thank-you note to female friends, the women we call when the best things in our lives happen—or the worst. Written by two generations of Satellite Sisters, this beautifully packaged hardcover book explores how we rely on our friends to get us up, get us going, get us through, and, most importantly, get us laughing. It makes a superb gift for friends, sisters, mothers, daughters, and granddaughters. The Satellite Sisters—Julie, Liz, Sheila, Monica, and Lian Dolan—are five sisters who believe that a sense of connection is what gives meaning to our lives. The Dolan sisters created Satellite Sisters first as a nationwide radio show and website. Now, the Satellite Sisters connect with a blog, a podcast, books, personal appearances, and social media; joining them regularly are their cadre of twenty-something nieces. After winning twelve Gracie Allen Awards for excellence in women's media, they still have plenty more to say.

Download or read book Tangled in Ivy written by Ashley Farley and published by Leisure Time Books. This book was released on 2020-06-09 with total page 299 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Escape to the South Carolina Lowcountry for a tale of true love and southern family dysfunction. Lillian Alexander has never understood her twin sister’s animosity toward her. Their problems stem from childhood, from the traumatic day their mother died twenty-seven years ago. But Lillian remembers nothing about that day. Until their father dies and she encounters ghosts from her past who stir those long-suppressed memories. Why, if her mother’s death was an accident, does Lillian harbor guilt, as though she were somehow to blame? When the Stoney twins learn the family fortune is gone, Lillian fights to save her ancestral home on Charleston’s prestigious East Battery. Desperate to resolve her money problems and get answers to her questions about the past, she tears her father’s study apart in search of clues. She discovers a thumb drive in a hollowed-out hardback copy of For Whom the Bell Tolls. The thumb drive, marked For Lillian in his handwriting, contains her father’s memoir. Secluded in the family’s cottage on Wadmalaw Island, she immerses herself in her father’s account of his stormy relationship with her mother. What she learns sets her on a journey of self-discovery. “. . . the story is endlessly intriguing, with enough plot turns that readers who predict one or two may still be surprised . . . The ending befits this realistic portrayal of love, family, and all the complications those two often engender . . . An absorbing fusion of a searing family drama with an unusual love story.” --Kirkus Reviews

Download or read book The True and Splendid History of the Harristown Sisters written by Michelle Lovric and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2014-08-12 with total page 688 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It's rural Ireland in the second half of the nineteenth century, the age of the Pre-Raphaelites, when Europe burns with a passion for long, flowing locks. So when seven sisters, born into fatherless poverty, grow up with hair cascading down their backs, to their ankles, and beyond, men are not slow to recognize their potential. Soon, they're a singing and dancing septet: Irish jigs kicked out in dusty church halls. But it is not their singing or their dancing that fills the seats: it is the torrents of hair they let loose at the end of each show. In an Ireland still hungry and melancholy with the Great Famine, the Swiney hair is a rich offering. And their hair will take dark-hearted Darcy, bickering twins Berenice and Enda, plain Pertilly, gentle Oona, wild Ida, and fearful, flame-haired Manticory-the writer of their on- and off-stage adventures-out of poverty, through the dance halls of Ireland, to the salons of Dublin and the palazzi of Venice. It will bring them suitors and obsessive admirers, it will bring some of them love and each of them loss. For their past trails behind the sisters like the tresses on their heads and their fame and fortune will come at a terrible price. Rich in period detail, peopled by a bewitching cast of characters, The True and Splendid History of the Harristown Sisters is a tale of exploitation and celebrity, illegitimacy and sibling rivalry, love triangles and financial skullduggery, of death and devilry. And a very great deal of hair.

Download or read book Lowcountry Stranger written by Ashley Farley and published by Leisure Time Books. This book was released on 2016-05-02 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a quaint coastal town where everyone knows everyone, the arrival of a stranger is big news. So when a mysterious young woman crashes the Sweeney family wedding, the tight-knit community is abuzz with curiosity and suspicion. Meet Annie Dawn: an enigmatic waif with doe-eyes and a spunky personality that instantly captivates everyone she encounters. As the night unfolds, Annie wins over both young and old with her street smarts and spirited charm. But who is she, really? And what secrets is she hiding? One thing is for certain: Annie Dawn, whether for better or worse, is here to stay. Returning to the limelight are the beloved Sweeney sisters from Her Sister’s Shoes, faced with a new wave of suspense and family drama that will keep readers on the edge of their seats until the final, heart-stopping conclusion. As Annie grows closer to the Sweeney family, hidden agendas come to light and loyalties are tested. Amidst the chaos, bonds will be strengthened, and relationships redefined. Ultimately, the arrival of Annie Dawn sets in motion a series of events that will forever change the lives of the Sweeney sisters.

Download or read book The Tumbling Turner Sisters written by Juliette Fay and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2016-06-14 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For fans of Orphan Train and Water for Elephants, a compelling historical novel from “one of the best authors of women’s fiction” (Library Journal). Set against the turbulent backdrop of American Vaudeville, four sisters embark on an unexpected adventure—and a last-ditch effort to save their family. It’s 1919, and the Turners are barely scraping by. When their father loses his job, their irrepressible mother decides that vaudeville is their best chance to make the rent—and create a more exciting life for herself in the process. Traveling by train from town to town, teenagers Gert, Winnie, and Kit, and recent widow Nell soon find a new kind of freedom in the company of performers who are as diverse as their acts. There is a seamier side to the business, however, and the young women face dangers and turns of fate they never could have anticipated. Heartwarming and surprising, The Tumbling Turner Sisters is ultimately a story of awakening—to unexpected possibilities, to love and heartbreak, and to the dawn of a new American era.

Download or read book They ll Never Catch Us written by Jessica Goodman and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2022-04-05 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From rising star Jessica Goodman, author of They Wish They Were Us, comes a new fast-paced thriller about two sisters vying for the top spot on their cross-country team—the only way out of their stiflingly small town. But their dreams are suddenly thrown into peril when a new girl threatens to take away everything they've worked for . . . until she disappears. Stella and Ellie Steckler are only a year apart, but their different personalities make their relationship complicated. Stella is single-minded, driven, and she keeps to herself. Cross-country running is her life and she won't let anything get in the way of being the best. Her sister Ellie is a talented runner too, but she also lets herself have fun. She has friends. She goes to parties. She has a life off the course. The sisters do have one thing in common, though: the new girl, Mila Keene. Both Stecklers' lives are upended when Mila comes to town. Mila was the top runner on her team back home, and at first, Ellie and Stella view her as a threat. But soon Ellie can't help but be drawn to her warm, charming personality. After her best friend moved away and her first boyfriend betrayed her, Ellie's been looking for a friend. In a moment of weakness, she even shares her darkest secret with Mila. For her part, Stella finds herself noticing the ways she and Mila are similar. Mila is smart and strong--she's someone Stella can finally connect with. As the two get closer, Stella becomes something she vowed she'd never be: distracted. With regionals approaching and college scouts taking notice, the pressure is on. Each girl has their future on the line and they won't let friendships get in their way. But then, suddenly, Mila goes out on a training run and never returns. No one knows what happened, but all eyes are on the Steckler sisters.