Hannah Tate, Beyond Repair

Lee makes a splash with her humorous and quirky rom-com debut. New mother Hannah Tate readily admits that she’s “never been, shall we say, competent at adulting, but motherhood has taken [her] to a whole new level of chaos.” Still, she vows to give her son, Bowie, a more stable childhood than the financially precarious one she had. When, within the span of 24 hours, she loses her publicist job for refusing to work during maternity leave and her baby’s father breaks up with her, she has no choice but to move back in with her mother and stepfather in scenic Blue Ridge, Ga. Lee mines the folksy and complex family dynamic for both tension and humor as Hannah sets out to renovate her parents’ cabin into a five-star Airbnb. The building was once used as a nightmarish taxidermy shop, so she has her work cut out for her. Enter River, her hunky and bohemian new neighbor who lends his carpentry skills to the project. Sparks soon fly, but Hannah worries River might not be reliable enough to provide for her and Bowie. When her ex changes his mind and begs her to come home, which man will she choose? Hannah is an endearingly messy character with a heart of gold. Readers will find it easy to cheer her on from heartache to happiness. (Feb.)