Marriage Matters

February 11, 2013
Ellingsen (The Whole Package) offers a delightful, romantic tale of three generations of women all seeking love and affirmation, following a joint bouquet-catch at a family wedding. Psychology grad student Chloe’s hectic schedule of classes, internship, and work doesn’t allow her time to date or even to hang out much with her best friend, Ben. When a high-profile psychologist she admires asks her on a date, she is suddenly out of her comfort zone. Meanwhile, her mother, Kristine, feels disconnected from Chloe’s father, whose work travel takes him away from home more and more frequently. Kristine’s mother, June, feels the need to butt into Chloe and Kristine’s love lives, but she could use some wisdom herself regarding her next-door neighbor and gardening nemesis, handsome widower Charley. After a flurry of proposals, three simultaneous weddings are planned, but who will walk down the aisle? Actually, the outcomes are never in doubt, but readers will enjoy the comical wedding-planning journey and relate to characters who talk like actual people and deal with realistic relationship ups and downs. Agent: Daniel Lazar, Writers House.

March 15, 2013
Love happens when you least expect it, and that's exactly the case for these three different women, all in the same family, and all around the same time. This sounds romantic, sure, but nothing is ever as it seems, especially when daughter, mother, and grandmother all decide to get married on the same day. Chloe, the youngest, gets her heartthrob crush to propose, while her mother, Kristine, flirts with a photographer, only to inspire her husband's desire to rekindle their relationship by renewing their vows. And Grandma June's dwindling quest for love suddenly gains new impetus when she meets a charming widower who shows her what love is really all about. With three women and three completely different visions of their wedding day, the road ahead is plenty rough as the big day creeps closer, making them question how strong family ties really are. Ellingsen creates dynamic characters who are lovable, resilient, compassionate, and embroiled in a whole lot of family drama that readers will find themselves completely wrapped up in.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)