Lilac Lane

Woods’s 14th addition to her beloved Chesapeake Shores contemporary family saga (after Willow Brook Road) brings past protagonist Moira’s mum, Kiera Malone, to visit from Ireland. The brusque single mother, now middle-aged, is grieving the sudden, unexpected death of her fiancé and showing signs of retreating permanently behind emotional walls. Moira convinces her to visit and then to work at her husband’s Irish pub as an Irish culture consultant. Kiera starts butting heads with the pub’s possessive “the kitchen is my domain” chef, Bryan Laramie, who has a few secrets from his own past still haunting him. Nosy family members see more sparks than sparring between the two, and when Kiera’s cottage rental turns out to sit next to Bryan’s house, the new neighbors find an opportunity to explore the romantic possibilities. Their sweet and careful journey toward love is the heart and strength of the story. Readers will enjoy reuniting with the O’Malley and O’Brien clans, but the cook-off they instigate between Bryan and Kiera seems a bit contrived. Woods shines, though, in portraying the realities of more mature people finding second and third chances at love. Agent: Denise Marcil, Denise Marcil Literary. (Oct.)