The Secret Ingredient for a Happy Marriage

Delving into the agonies and joys of a close-knit family, Jump demonstrates a decided knack for highlighting the best and worst in her characters in this second contemporary romance chronicling the lives of the Boston Catholic O’Bannon family (after The Perfect Recipe for Love and Friendship). Thirty-year-old Nora O’Bannon Daniels has always been the perfect older sister, and is now the perfect wife and mother of two. She works in the family bakery and has a flawless home life—on the outside. Her carefully crafted world comes tumbling down after her husband, Ben, succumbs to a gambling addiction and their house is foreclosed upon. Faced with the specter of her perceived personal failures, her anger with Ben, and fear for her family, Nora must deconstruct the façade she’s kept for so long and rediscover herself before she can move forward. Fraught with delicious tension, Nora’s journey through loss, grief, and hope will resonate with readers. The glimpses into the lives of her sister, Margaret, and mother, Colleen, add texture to the complex examination of personal identity and women’s roles in a Catholic context. Jump includes elements of women’s fiction, inspirational fiction, and contemporary romance without ever landing squarely on any of them, but that nebulous quality only slightly detracts from an otherwise strong story. Agent: Pamela Harty, Knight Agency. (May)