Sultry with a Twist

July 30, 2012
Beckett’s delightful debut is a sweet mix of lighthearted romance and down-home charm. She draws spunky Mae-June July Augustine (who sensibly goes by June) and heart-of-gold Luke Gallagher with a guileless energy that turns sappy stereotypes into genuinely endearing people. Ambitious June is heck-bent on making her own way in the world; the last thing she wants is to reconnect with her childhood sweetheart, Luke, and her estranged tough-love grandmother, Prudence Foster. June is all set for the opening night of her tony Austin, Tex., cocktail lounge when she learns her liquor license is held up pending clearance of a bench warrant issued by a conniving judge from her hometown, Sultry Springs. Eight years’ scrimping and planning teeters on a brink she can only overcome by serving a monthlong community service sentence alongside Luke, while living with her grandmother. The result is a likely hit with aw-shucks romance fans. Agent: Nicole Resciniti, the Seymour Agency.

September 15, 2012
June Augustine sells her condo and almost all of her worldly goods in order to become co-owner of Luquos, a martini bar in Austin, Texas. Everything is set for a splendid grand opening when June gets word that there's an outstanding warrant for her arrest. She and Luke Gallagher, teens in love, were caught skinny-dipping by one of Sultry Springs, Texas' finest. Now old charges of lewd conduct and indecent exposure hang over June's head, and Sultry Springs' wily judge has ordered her to stay and do community service before she can get back to the business of opening her bar. Since she's already failed at mowing the lawn for the Holy Baptism by Hellfire Church, she's left with her only other option: helping Luke fix houses. There's lots of unabashed matchmaking going on in Sultry Springs, and there's no way June and Luke can escape it. Beckett's clever book is full of both humor and pathos and will appeal to readers of either bent.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)