Falling for You

May 18, 2015
Several love stories weave through a Cotswolds village in a cozy contemporary that’s entertaining but not especially romantic. When former ugly duckling Maddy Harvey cute-meets a dashing stranger, it’s infatuation at first sight. Then she learns he’s Kerr McKinnon, brother of the boy who killed her little sister in a car accident 11 years ago. Maddy and Kerr’s attempts to negotiate their relationship without devastating Maddy’s family are undercut by the fact that their all-consuming attraction appears to be based on Mansell’s need to disrupt the shifting alliances among Maddy’s cheerfully promiscuous brother; her vengeful childhood enemy, Kate; ditzy barmaid Nuala; and Nuala’s boss and boyfriend, Dexter, whose constant verbal abuse of Nuala is supposed to read as quirky but instead makes him repellent. There’s a constant theme of damage to women’s bodies, including injuries that implicate their partners. Several characters’ parents behave in appalling ways and then falteringly try to make amends. The stars of the story are the refreshingly grubby 7-year-olds Tiff and Sophie, whose friendship seems likely to outlast all the adult relationships put together. Agent: Jennifer Unter, Unter Agency.

July 1, 2015
Perennial best-seller Mansell's (The Unexpected Consequences of Love, 2015) latest romantic comedy is a tale of star-crossed lovers and more. Maddy Harvey has fallen for charming Kerr McKinnon, but there's a major problem. Years before, Kerr's brother killed Maddy's sister with his car, and Maddy's mother, Marcella, has considered their families sworn enemies ever since. Yet Maddy and Kerr's taboo romance isn't the only drama in their small Cotswold town. Maddy's brother, Jake, a single father, and his best friend, Juliet, the mother of his daughter's best friend, are made for each other, but each has reasons for remaining single. Meanwhile, an accident has left Kate Taylor-Trent scarred and depressed, and when she returns to her hometown, she finds more connections than she anticipates. Then a traumatic event reveals some long-held secrets that will change everyone's lives. The interweaving story lines and multitude of characters may feel confusing at first, but trust talented Mansell to bring them all together on the way to a surprising and cheering finish.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)