The Banty House

Brown (The Family Journal) throws together a colorful cast of characters to excellent effect and maximum charm in this small-town contemporary romance. The elderly Carson sisters—Kate, Connie, and Betsy—have turned the Rooster, Tex., brothel they were raised in into a safe haven for the lost and down-on-their-luck passing through town. Their home, dubbed the Banty House, proves a godsend for pregnant 19-year-old Ginger Andrews, a former foster child from Kentucky trying to get as far away from her past as possible. Not only do the sisters provide her a bed, they introduce her to the first man she can count on: handyman Sloan Baker, a young army vet who’s fighting demons of his own. Brown’s skillful plotting and deeply felt characterizations enrich the young couple’s road to their inevitable happy ending, exploring along the way Sloan’s crippling survivor’s guilt and orphaned Ginger’s childhood in the foster care system. But there’s plenty of joy and laughter, too, both in the birth of Ginger’s child, and the sisters’ unexpected vices: Connie smokes, Kate makes moonshine, and Betsy grows pot. This first-rate romance will delight readers young and old. Agent: Erin Niumata, Folio Literary. (May)