New England Fiction

Bree works in her family's bakery, Bellaluna's, where the secret ingredient is magic. Among all the mouthwatering treats that they regularly dish out rests a special cookie that can nudge would-be couples together. Though Bree has tried to perfect the recipe, her attempts have always come up short...but then Caleb, a visiting restaurateur, steps in and gets a taste of her latest creation.

Meet the Laments—the affably dysfunctional globetrotting family at the center of George Hagen’s exuberant debut novel. Howard is an engineer who dreams of irrigating the Sahara and lives by the motto “Laments move!” His wife Julia is a fiery spirit who must balance her husband’s oddly peripatetic nature with unexpected aspirations of her own. And Will is the “waif with a paper-thin heart” who is given to Howard and Julia in return for their own child who has been lost in a bizarre maternity ward mishap.

Monkeys is the remarkable story of a decade in the life of the Vincents, a colorful Irish Catholic family from the Boston suburbs. On the surface, they seem happy with their vivacious mother Rosie at the helm. But underneath, the Vincents struggle to maintain the appearance of wealth and stability while dealing with the effects of their father’s alcoholism. When a sudden accident strikes, their love for one another is tested like never before.

Getting dumped was not how Lara wanted to start her day. Toss in an increase in her rent and an unsustainable job and things might not be able to get much worse. However, after a trip to Bellaluna's, she scores a new job working for Mayor Jack Hanson - planning the Halloween parade. But as the two work to create the most memorable Halloween celebration Moonbright has ever seen, old feelings are stirred up.