Claire runs a successful catering business based around edible flowers, and refuses to let anyone into her life. The only person she's close to is an elderly relative named Evanelle, who has the gift of giving people exactly what they need before they need it. It tells the story of lonely Claire Waverley after her long-lost sister Sydney comes back to town after being gone for over ten years.Ĭlaire Waverley lives alone in small Bascom, North Carolina. A fascinating, rewarding story of strong women, little-known history, and human resilience.Garden Spells is a 2007 novel by Sarah Addison Allen. (The real historical events woven into the pages make for heartrending reading.) A second storyline, set in 2008, gives readers hints of what may have caused the rift between the girls, but it’s only in the final pages that all is revealed. The two girls become fast friends as seven-year-olds in 1938, but their respective marriages take them down different paths, and bring unforeseen tensions into their relationship. This tradition has gone on for thousands of years, and we see it lived out in the lives of Young-sook Mi-ja. On Jeju, women are the breadwinners, making their families’ livings by free-diving into the chilly waters of the Pacific Ocean, harvesting seafood to sell, while the husbands stay home with the children. See spins a tale of female friendship spanning eighty years, set against the backdrop of history in an incredible setting-the very real South Korean island of Jeju. My backlist titles are I’d Rather Be Reading and Reading People.) Because backlist books have been out for awhile, they’re often available in paperback and have shorter wait times at the library. “Backlist” simply means “not newly published.” (For example, since Don’t Overthink It is my most recent book, it’s my “frontlist” title. In addition to your enthusiasm for our upcoming guide full of brand new releases, I’ve also heard many requests for backlist books to read this summer. I’ve returned to many of the books on this list for a reread (and not just in the summertime!). Today I’m sharing 20 of those favorites from past Summer Reading Guides-the standout books that have stuck with me years later. But it wasn’t long before I was reading advance review copies to sift through summer’s most anticipated releases so I could recommend my personal favorites. That inaugural guide included timeless classics like Pride and Prejudice and Brideshead Revisited, along with buzzy new releases hitting bookstore shelves. Readers, 2021 marks TEN YEARS of our annual Summer Reading Guide! I’m excited to get the brand new guide in your hands, but as a reflective reader, I’m also enjoying a look back at how this guide has grown and changed since its first iteration in 2012.

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