The ladies are at it again in this sequel to Medlicott's successful debut, The Ladies of Covington Send Their Love. Amelia, Grace and Hannah are now happily ensconced in their beautiful old farmhouse in the foothills of North Carolina, but when developers threaten to turn their Eden into a condo haven, Hannah at least is up in arms. Grace and her lover, Bob, are busy preparing to open a tearoom and Amelia's photography talent continues to bloom. She falls for a man she meets in a fender-bender, but the new romance isn't all sweetness and light; she hides her suspicions about the gent, whom both her roommates dislike. Grace loves the tearoom and her relationship with Bob, but worries about what to tell him regarding his request to build a cabin on the women's property, even as she tries to keep the nuptials of Bob's widowed son, Russell, on track. Hannah encounters resistance as well as support in her crusade against the developers; she is reminded that she is a newcomer and a Yankee, and that some interpret her assistance as interloping. The woomen befriend their charming but frail neighbor, Ms. Maxwell, only shortly before her death—but she is to play an important role in the drama. Though the theme of friendship among older women is appealing, the prose is occasionally flat, and the characters seem present merely to tout the author's causes (feminism, diversity, environmentalism), with very little life of their own. Despite these drawbacks, Medlicott still knows how to charm her target audience. Agent, Nancy Coffey.(May)
Forecast:Medlicott's many fans undoubtedly will lap this book up, and a regional author tour will help. Newcomers might be better off with the paperback of its predecessor.
