Ashes of Roses / Mary Jane Auch
Sixteen-year-old Margaret Rose Nolan, newly arrived from Ireland, finds work at New York City's Triangle Shirtwaist Factory shortly before the 1911 fire in which 146 employees died.

The Year of Pleasures / Elizabeth Berg
Following the death of her husband, Betta Nolan fulfills her promise to him to move to a small town and build a new life for herself, coping with her grief and finding pleasure in everyday life.

Quentins / Maeve Binchy
While filming a documentary about Quentins, a famed Dublin restaurant, Ella Brady explores the changing face of the city from the 1970s to the present and captures the stories of the people who have made Quentins a center of their lives.

Revenge of the Middle-aged Woman / Elizabeth Buchan
Her happy marriage and successful career falling apart after 25 years, Rose Lloyd struggles with the prospect of starting over until the reappearance of an old flame.

Charms for the Easy Life / Kaye Gibbons
Margaret struggles toward adulthood in a world torn apart by the Second World War and in a story about three generations of passionate, willful Southern women.

Bet Your Bottom Dollar / Karen Gillespie
When her beloved business, the Bottom Dollar Emporium of Cayboo Creek, South Carolina, is threatened by the opening of a big chain store across the street, Elizabeth Polk enlists her two fellow shopkeepers to save it from its unwanted competition.

Home to Harmony / Philip Gulley
The inaugural volume of the "Harmony series" introduces readers to a new pastor in a small Indiana town as he acclimates to his new congregation and lifestyle.

Friendship Cake / J. Lynne Hinton
Five very different churchgoing women of Hope Springs, North Carolina decide to create a church cookbook. Along the way they become a source of solace, support and strength for each other.

At Home in Mitford / Jan Karon
Follow the sweet romance between an Anglican priest, Father Tim, the bachelor rector, and a children's book writer who moves into his neighborhood in Mitford, North Carolina.

Wobegon Boy / Garrison Keiller
In this low-key, humorous story, John Tollefson leaves Lake Wobegon and moves to upstate New York but keeps his hometown sensibilities.

The Secret Life of Bees / Sue Monk Kidd
After her "stand-in mother," a bold black woman named Rosaleen, insults the three biggest racists in town, Lily Owens joins Rosaleen on a journey to South Carolina, where they are taken in by three bee-keeping sisters.

My Latest Grievance / Elinor Lipman
Chafing under the care of her annoyingly evenhanded parents, Frederica is starting to feel that her life is stiflingly snug. Into this cozy but claustrophobic world, comes Laura Lee French, a wannabe former Rockette and the new dorm mother.

The Sunday Philosophy Club / Alexander McCall Smith
In Isabel Dalhousie's elegant home in Edinburgh, she lives a quiet and literate life, but finds an intellectual need to solve mysteries. While investigating and gathering clues, every step leads to musings about human behavior.

The Ladies of Covington Send Their Love / Joan A. Medlicott
Grace, Amelia, and Hannah decide that the last thing they want to do is live out their lives in a group home and so they pool their resources and move to North Carolina and new lives.

A Risk Worth Taking / Robin Pilcher
Laid off in the wake of the dot-com industry collapse, Dan Porter finds himself increasingly estranged from his wife and three children and considers implementing drastic changes in his life.

The New Yorkers / Cathleen Schine
This brilliantly funny novel revolves around one city block in Manhattan. In her book, canine companions compel their masters to take part in the community they live in, and, sometimes, to fall in love.

These is My Words / Nancy E. Turner
As Sarah crosses the plains with her family on the way west, she learns to read with help from the other travelers whilst experiencing Indian raids, tragedy and romance.