Meet Me at the Starlight

Hauck (The Best Summer of Our Lives) centers this poignant second-chance romance on a 100-year-old skating rink in the quaint town of Sea Blue Beach, Fla. Over the decades, the Starlight has housed needy families during the Great Depression and hosted countless birthday parties and other events. When the mayor threatens to demolish the Starlight and build a shopping center in its place, the townspeople and the rink’s sprightly 87-year-old owner, Tuesday Knight, band together to save it. Leading the charge are Tuesday’s grandson, movie star Matt Knight, and—somewhat improbably—former supermodel Harlow Hayes, who fled to the Sea Beach house she’d owned with her billionaire ex after he dumped her. Sparks fly between Matt and Harlow, who once costarred in a romantic comedy, but as they battle the mayor and his cronies, issues arise—especially after Matt blabs a secret of Harlow’s during a talk show appearance—and they must repair their trust and put their faith in God to build a future for the Starlight and themselves. Interwoven with flashbacks to the 1930s, when Tuesday’s husband purchased the skating rink for her, Matt and Harlow’s slow-burning romance is brought to life through vivid prose and fine-grained characterization. This love story has charm and depth to spare. (July)