Flowers on Main

April 15, 2009
Devastated when her last two plays flopped, writer Bree O'Brien leaves Chicago and heads home to Chesapeake Shores, MD, where her amateur floral-arranging skills save a wedding at her sister's inn. When she sees a vacant shop on her way home, she impulsively signs a lease and is on her way to becoming the proprietor of Flowers on Main. Unfortunately, the only floral supplier in town is Jake Collins, the man she left behind and now the man who wants her gone. Sparks fly in a lively tale that is overflowing with family conflict and warmth and the possibility of rekindled love. Second in the "Chesapeake Shores" series.

Stunned and heartbroken when his medic wife dies in Iraq, paramedic Kevin O'Brien closes down his life in Arlington, VA, and brings his young son home to Chesapeake Shores in "Harbor Lights". Family support and plenty of meddling abound, but, strangely, nothing seems right until he meets bookstore owner Shanna Carlyle, a woman whose baggage rivals, or even exceeds, his own. Warm, complex, and satisfying, this latest addition to the series sensitively and realistically deals with serious issues and satisfactorily resolves them. The series launched with "The Inn at Eagle Point" (Apr. ISBN 978-0-7783-2626-7. pap. $7.99), as Wall Street refugee Abby O'Brien comes into conflict with her old beau Trace Riley. Woods divides her time between Colonial Beach, VA, and Key Biscayne, FL.

Copyright 2009 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2009
Bree OBriens self-image is tied up in her work, so when her newest play flops, she is emotionally shattered. Returning to Chesapeake Shores to regroup, she rediscovers her love of flower arranging and impulsively opens a florist shop, only to discover that her first love, Jake, owns the best source of plants. While they struggle with past hurts and continued attraction, Brees divorced parents also embrace a second chance at love. Woods continues to explore the issues dividing the dysfunctional OBriens in the second installment of her heartwarming Chesapeake Shores contemporary romance series (The Inn at Eagle Point, 2009).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)