Mary Ellen Taylor – författare

From the bestselling author of Honeysuckle Season comes an evocative dual-timeline novel detailing one woman’s journey to discover the hidden stories of her family’s seaside resort.

When a shipwreck surfaces, old secrets are sure to follow.

Or so goes the lore in Ivy Neale’s hometown of Nags Head, North Carolina. When Ivy inherits her family’s beachfront cottage upon her grandmother’s death, she knows returning to Nags Head means facing the best friend and the boyfriend who betrayed her years ago.

But then a winter gale uncovers the shipwreck of local legend—and Ivy soon begins to stumble across more skeletons in the closet than just her own. Amid the cottage’s clutter are clues from her grandmother’s past at the enchanting seaside resort her family once owned. One fateful summer in 1950, the arrival of a dazzling singer shook the staff and guests alike—and not everyone made it to fall.

As Ivy contends with broken relationships and a burgeoning romance in the present, the past threatens to sweep her away. But as she uncovers the strength of her grandmother and the women who came before her, she realizes she is like the legendary shipwreck: the sands may shift around her, but she has found her home here by the sea.

From the author of The Brighter the Light comes a haunting tale of hope that spans generations, intertwining the lives of three women who fight for survival in 1940s France and present-day Virginia.

At twenty-five, Ruby Nevins has already endured more than most. But after two years of battling cancer, she’s warily determined to move forward. Researching a new project about a French actress, she soon uncovers an old diary that will change her life forever…

Cécile, the “it girl” of early 1940s French cinema, vanished from Nazi-occupied Paris in 1942. Sylvia Rousseau, Cécile’s dressmaker and confidante, left that same year. Working to piece together the truth behind Cécile’s disappearance and Sylvia’s extraordinary life, Ruby recognizes the women as kindred spirits. They risked their hearts and lives to aid the Resistance, and each day was a struggle to survive.

Ruby knows her cancer could come back, but she’s learning to embrace the future rather than fear it. If Cécile and Sylvia could live their lives in the shadow of death, so can Ruby. Because she knows there’s so much life—and love—to fight for.

From the author of The Brighter the Light comes the moving story about one woman’s reason for leaving home and the love that brings her back.

When Olympia leaves her small Virginia town, she doesn’t expect to look back, much less ever come home. But after a year on the road, her sister’s engagement pulls Olympia into everything she left behind: her family, her husband, and the grief she’s been trying to forget.

She’s determined to stay a few days, maybe a week—just enough time to visit gravestones and sign off on the divorce her husband, Spencer, asked for. But he’s reeling from their shared loss, as well as complications with his aging parents, leaving his heart just as fragile as Olympia’s. The more time they spend in each other’s orbit, the less sure they are they’ll be able to walk away for good.

As family secrets come to light and family bonds stretch to the breaking point, Olympia must decide where she’s going next and where she belongs. She’s used to coping with life’s complications alone, but maybe the best way to heal is together.

Tulburată în urma morții tatălui ei, a unei căsnicii eșuate și a câtorva pierderi de sarcină, Libby McKenzie se simte cu desăvârșire însingurată. Deși noua ei ocupație, aceea de fotograf de nunți, îi oferă doar un simulacru de țel în viață, aceasta înseamnă, totuși, o distragere de la profunda ei durere.

Atunci când e solicitată să fotografieze o nuntă care are loc la Woodmont, o moșie cu valoare istorică, Libby face cunoștință cu proprietara acesteia, Elaine Grant. În dorința de a deschide Woodmont pentru public, Elaine l-a angajat pe tânărul Colton Reese, rămas văduv de curând, ca să ajute la munca de restaurare necesară. Tot Elaine este cea care o roagă pe Libby să fotografieze întregul proces.

Libby e atrasă îndată de vechea seră înconjurată de vrejuri de caprifoi. În timp ce stabilește noi relații și explorează sera năpădită de vegetație de la Woodmont, Libby găsește înlăuntrul ei tăria de a cerceta actele rămase în biroul răposatului ei tată. Astfel, ea descoperă o scrisoare ce schimbă tot ceea ce a știut până acum despre părinții ei, despre ea însăși și despre Woodmont.

Ascunse sub vrejurile care au năpădit vechea seră, secretele mai multor generații o așteaptă pe Libby să culeagă fructele răsărite din semințele plantate cu multă vreme în urmă.

„Parfumul dulce al verii este una dintre acele cărți care te absorb cu desăvârșire. Odată ce am început să citesc, m-am simțit îndemnată să continui până când am întors ultima pagină și am aflat ultimul secret.“ The Romance Dish