About the Book, The Summer Getaway 
- Publisher: HQN; Original edition (March 15, 2022)
- Hardcover: 416 pages
One woman discovers the beauty in chaos in this poignant and heartwarming story about the threads that hold family together from #1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery.
One woman discovers the beauty in chaos in this poignant and heartwarming story about the threads that hold family together from #1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery.
With her divorce settlement about to run out and a mortgage she can’t afford, Robyn Caldwell needs a plan for her future. She nurtured her family and neglected herself. But how’s she supposed to think when her daughter has become the most demanding bride ever, her son won’t even consider college, her best friend is on the brink of marital disaster and her ex is making a monumentally bad decision that could bring everything crashing down on Robyn’s head? So when her great-aunt Lillian invites her to Santa Barbara for the summer, Robyn hops on the first plane.
But it’s hard to run away when you’re the heart of the family. One by one, everyone she left behind follows her across the country. Somehow, their baggage doesn’t feel as heavy in the sun-drenched, mishmash mansion. The more time Robyn spends with free-spirited Lillian, the more she sees the appeal in taking chances—on dreams, on love, on family. Life is meant to be lived on purpose. All she has to do is muster the courage to take a chance on herself.
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About the Author, Susan Mallery
One woman discovers the beauty in chaos in this poignant and heartwarming story about the threads that hold family together from #1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery.
With her divorce settlement about to run out and a mortgage she can’t afford, Robyn Caldwell needs a plan for her future. She nurtured her family and neglected herself. But how’s she supposed to think when her daughter has become the most demanding bride ever, her son won’t even consider college, her best friend is on the brink of marital disaster and her ex is making a monumentally bad decision that could bring everything crashing down on Robyn’s head? So when her great-aunt Lillian invites her to Santa Barbara for the summer, Robyn hops on the first plane.
But it’s hard to run away when you’re the heart of the family. One by one, everyone she left behind follows her across the country. Somehow, their baggage doesn’t feel as heavy in the sun-drenched, mishmash mansion. The more time Robyn spends with free-spirited Lillian, the more she sees the appeal in taking chances—on dreams, on love, on family. Life is meant to be lived on purpose. All she has to do is muster the courage to take a chance on herself.
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Read an Excerpt
Since her parents’ divorce four years ago, Cord Caldwell had been enjoying the single life. He was a serial dater who always had a girlfriend. The longest she’d known him to be without someone in his life was maybe three days. Her mother, on the other hand, had waited a year to start dating. She told Harlow that she hadn’t met anyone interesting enough to see more than a couple of times. That had changed about a year ago, when her mom had gotten involved with Jase, a local cardiologist. They’d become a thing, dating exclusively. Her mother rarely shared details, unlike her dad, who sometimes told her too much.
She waited a couple of minutes, but her father showed no signs of ending the call. Finally she caught his eye and tapped on her watch.
“Hey, let me call you back,” he said, his tone low and sexy. “Uh-huh. Me, too.”
Harlow did her best not to gag. Yes, she and her father were both adults, but she didn’t like seeing this side of him. He was her parent, not a friend. But Cord had never been big on boundaries.
“What’s up?” he asked when he’d ended the call.
“We’re back from the charter.” She tossed him the keys. “She’s clean and ready for tomorrow. Austin’s off, and I’m taking out the fishermen. I’ll be back at five thirty.” In the morning. Not her favorite, but part of the job. “You’ll look over the paperwork from the lawyer?”
Her father hesitated just long enough for her to guess the truth. “Dad, why won’t you read through the offer? You have to agree to the terms before we can move forward on buying the business.”
“I’ll get to it.”
“It’s been nearly a week. Can you read it tonight?”
“Sure. Tonight.”
She ignored her surge of frustration. “We talked about this all last summer. You said it was a great idea for us to expand into the easy money of kayak and paddleboard rentals. I did everything you said. I found a good business to buy, I came up with a business plan, I talked to a lawyer, and now we’re ready to present an offer as soon as you say go. Have you changed your mind?”
“I’ve been busy, Harlow. I’ll get to it.”
When? But she knew there was no point in pushing. Her father moved at his own pace.
“Then I guess I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said before walking out of his office.
She collected her handbag, then joined Enid out front.
“What?” her friend asked. “You upset?”
“It’s just my dad. He’s dragging his feet on the purchase.”
“Of the business you want him to buy?”
“Yeah. But I’ll let it go. Come on, you. We’ll have the best girls’ night out ever.”
Enid laughed. “That’s a very high bar.”
Check Out the Other Great Blogs on this Tour
Monday, February 21st: Books Cooks Looks
Tuesday, February 22nd: Reading Reality
Wednesday, February 23rd:SusanLovesBooks
Thursday, February 24th: Kahakai Kitchen
Friday, February 25th: From the TBR Pile
Friday, February 25th: View from the Birdhouse
Sunday, February 27th: Subakka.bookstuff
Monday, February 28th: Laura’s Reviews
Tuesday, March 1st: Bookchickdi
Wednesday, March 2nd: The Bookish Dilettante
Thursday, March 3rd: What is That Book About
Friday, March 4th: The Romance Dish
Sunday, March 6th: The Cozy Book Blog
Monday, March 7th: Girl Who Reads
Tuesday, March 8th: Bibliotica
Wednesday, March 9th: Helen’s Book Blog
Thursday, March 10th: Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers
Friday, March 11th: Book Reviews and More by Kathy
Sunday, March 13th: Novel Gossip
Monday, March 14th: Books and Bindings
This Excerpt Tour is hosted by TLC Book Tours.
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Monday, June 21st: 
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This non-fiction story is the true story of the author’s relocation to Paris in an attempt to reignite his career. At times funny, honest, political, and loaded with hindsight, it’s the perfect book for anyone who has fantasized about reinventing themselves, opening a business, or moving to a different country. While only the latter applies to me (and not until retirement), I still found Le Deal to be a valuable read.
Tour participants include “bookstagrammers” and bloggers.
The seemingly never-ending Cabinda War (1975—) has left multitudes dead in its wake and thousands of children homeless and orphaned.
BJ Mayo was born in an oil field town in Texas. He spent the first few years of his life living in a company field camp twenty-five miles from the closest town. His career in the energy industry took him to various points in Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Louisiana, Bangladesh, Australia, and Angola West Africa. He and his wife were high school sweethearts and have been married for forty-six years with two grown children. They live on a working farm near San Angelo, Texas.
Alfie Carter is one of those novels that should be on everyone’s reading list, because it’s such a well-crafted, compelling story. Actually, it’s two stories that become entangled at the end of the book, but even though Jackaleena’s story begins in Africa and involves some horrific scenes of the type typically only seen in 30-second clips on CNN, and Alfie’s begins with him climbing a mountain to spend some time camping in order to get out of his own head, the themes are the same: identity, purpose, and faith.
Jodie ‘Nosey’ Parker is back!
Fiona Leitch is a writer with a checkered past. She’s written for football and motoring magazines, DJ’ed at illegal raves and is a stalwart of the low budget TV commercial, even appearing as the Australasian face of a cleaning product called ‘Sod Off’. Her debut novel ‘Dead in Venice’ was published by Audible in 2018 as one of their Crime Grant finalists. After living in London, Hastings and Cornwall she’s finally settled in sunny New Zealand, where she enjoys scaring her cats by trying out dialogue on them. She spends her days dreaming of retiring to a crumbling Venetian palazzo, walking on the windswept beaches of West Auckland, and writing funny, flawed but awesome female characters.