Table for Seven (2013)

Table for Seven follows a group of friends who begin a monthly "dinner club" after they attend a smashing New Year's Eve dinner party thrown by Fran and Will. Each month a different guest hosts and you get to follow their monthly menus and conversations. The dinner guests are all in different places in their lives which keeps the book interesting. There's the ideal couple Fran and Will, who are dealing with their "perfect" marriage turning out to be less than great. Audrey is a young widow who is lonely but scared to re-enter the dating pool. Mark and Jamie are in the throes of dealing with making a blended family work between their two children and Mark's daughter from his first marriage. Leland, a wise 75-year-old widower, imparts great wisdom to the table, while Cooper is a sexy bachelor who is considering settling down for the first time. I think some characters got too much focus, and others weren't nearly as fleshed out. But overall, this was a very interesting read - I found myself laughing, crying, and always hungry! (AV)

True Love (and Other Lies) - Whitney Gaskell (2004)

Travel writer Claire meets lawyer Jack on a flight from New York to London. He's heading to break up with his girlfriend; she's in town to write a travel story and catch up with her best friend Maddy. After spending time together in London, it turns out Jack isn't exactly the best guy for Claire to fall for (should be obvious to most of you why not right from the start but I won't reveal the twist just in case). Read it for loveable character Claire, the frustrated Gen-Xer who has to work for a seniors interest magazine and has always felt second-best to her glamorous best friend.

Pushing 30 (2003)

As Ellie approaches 30, she breaks up with yet another boyfriend, despises her job as a litigation attorney, and is the last of her high school friends to still be on the shelf. Then Ellie meets Ted Langston, a cable news anchorman nearly twice her age, and sparks fly, even though he commits the ultimate sin - thinking she looks older than she is. Is this the new start Ellie has been dreaming of? And why does no one want them to get together?

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