A woman marries into a ready-made family and learns the true meaning of motherhood

Jill Farrow is a typical suburban mom who has finally gotten her and her daughter's lives back on track after a divorce. She is about to remarry, her job as a pediatrician fulfills her---though it is stressful---and her daughter, Megan, is a happily over-scheduled thirteen-year-old juggling homework and the swim team. But Jill's life is turned upside down when her ex-stepdaughter, Abby, shows up on her doorstep late one night and delivers shocking...

When Maudie Todhunter, the elderly owner of a charming farmhouse in Cornwall, decides to sell the family homestead, a family drama unfolds, with old secrets bubbling to the surface.

Alison's new stepfather, the charismatic plastic surgeon Peter Dunn, is certain he can turn Alison into a vision of loveliness. Reluctantly, Alison agrees to undergo the first procedure, and her transformation begins. But soon Alison discovers a picture of Peter's first wife. To Alison's horror, she notices a resemblance between the image in the photo and the work her stepfather is doing on her.--From publisher description

Karen Donovan no sooner marries bestselling novelist Philip Kaye when he leaves on a book tour, abandoning her at his Provincetown mansion with his sullen teenage daughter. Black-clad Jessie Kaye isn't exactly good company: When she's not skulking around, she's locked in her room writing in her journal, and her strangeness is a topic of local gossip. As autumn sets in, Karen befriends flamboyant local celebrity Bobbie Noble. But their plans to renovate...