The Cottage at Clamshell Bay Sara — Jane Bailey

A feel-good beach read about second chances, love and friendship in a seaside town in the Pacific Northwest.Her life seems perfect.Libby Brown lives in her dream home, raising two beautiful children, supported by her loving husband. Sure, he's away a lot with his job, but that's how they pay for their life, so she accepts Victor's frequent absences.And then one day, he stops coming home, contacting her or paying the bills. When she discovers he's not hurt, ill or dead, but living with another woman in a different country, worry turns to anger.And then she receives a letter from the bank. Victor hasn't been paying the mortgage. If she can't come up with a lot of money, fast, she's going to lose her home.Panicked and unable to track down her husband, Libby decides to fight the only enemy she can find. The bank manager.Hayden Baldassare is doing the best he can since his wife died leaving him with two rambunctious kids and a broken heart, but the truth is he's barely managing. He can't even handle his own problems, never mind the burden of another woman's bad decisions. Libby comes across as sweet and gentle but to save her children's home, she'll stop at nothing.However, she's great with kids, even his out-of-control terrors. They work out a compromise where she'll babysit his children and what he pays her will keep her head above water. It's the best he can do.Meanwhile, Cleo Duvall and Ethan Crisp are back from their journey aboard his boat, Vagabond. She's as rooted in Clamshell Bay as he is addicted to adventuring. Do they accept they've enjoyed each other and move on with no hard feelings? Or try to find a way to stay together?Brooke Mattson's marriage is strained to the breaking point over the couple's inability to conceive a child, while Megan breaks up with yet another perfectly nice man the minute he tries to get serious. These women who bonded over a baking class instinctively turn to each other as their lives hit rough patches.For Libby, it means finding the strength to remake her life and help Hayden remake his.Can two broken hearts heal each other in Clamshell Bay?Comfy and cozy as freshly-baked bread, Sara Jane Bailey's writing is scrumptious. NYT Bestselling author Lori Wilde