Waterford Novel

Not all broken things are ruined. Then: Ellison Brooks - PTA President, real estate agent extraordinaire, and head bitch in charge with endless friends and parties to attend. Now: Ellison Brooks - divorced, single mother of two, financially reliant on her awful ex-husband, and utterly lacking self-confidence. One month after her divorce is final, Ellison's ex-husband marries the woman he left her for, sending Ellison spiraling into despair. Her friends have abandoned her, her job is in the tank, and she's lonely for human connection. The woman who once had everything now does little more than drink wine and focus on the time she has with her kids. She's a mess and has no idea how to fix herself. But then Ellison meets Luke, an intriguing stranger who is only in town for the weekend. Determined to break out of her rut, Ellison jumps at the chance for a hot, one-night stand. When it's over, she walks away from Mr. One Night Only with no idea how to ever reach him again. Until the first day of school when Luke turns out to be her son's new teacher. Despite their electric connection, Luke is off-limits according to school board rules and everyone around Ellison. But she just can't stay away. As the town of Waterford buzzes about her possible romance, Ellison tries to figure out how to navigate the bitchy world of frenemies, town gossips, and a petty ex-husband while piecing herself back together.

If you can't be you, who can you be? That's the question Veronica White asks herself in the wake of her husband's very public affair. For years, she's been known as the prettiest member of the Bitch Brigade and Pete's wife, and she has used social media to present her messy life as picture perfect. But those days are over. Leaving her Waterford life behind, Veronica lands in Marrakech, Morocco. There, she plans to regroup and convince everyone she's having the time of her life without Pete. First step: post endless fun pictures on Instagram. She believes that if she can convince others she's okay, then maybe the pain will cease. Enter Oz, an engaging young man who is traveling the world and chasing the endless summer. He regals Veronica with stories of his adventures, and intrigued, she throws caution to the wind and joins him on a trip to the Sahara Desert. Soon, Veronica finds herself following Oz to Croatia and France, where, with Oz's prompting and guidance, she tries reinventing herself. As she grows closer to Oz, Veronica realizes she may not be the only one who's playing a manipulation game, and that sometimes what we want to see gets in the way of reality.