Ruby Hudson thought she knew how to handle grief. Until she lost someone who held a piece of her soul. At fifty, Ruby’s no stranger to life’s heartbreaks. She’s been a mother, a First Lady, and a widow. She’s weathered public scandals, private betrayals, and the messy, beautiful business of starting over. But nothing prepares her for this latest loss—unexpected, intimate, and earth-shifting. As she works through her grief, Ruby finds herself facing an uncomfortable truth: there was so much she didn’t know about the person she loved. Secrets. Stories. Sides of them she somehow ...

Ruby Hudson has avoided reading the words of her late husband, President Jack Hudson--until now... For most of his life, Jack kept meticulous and well-written journals and diaries about his life. After his death, everything was boxed up and put into storage, but now, nearly two years after his passing, Ruby is ready to start unpacking her past and making sense of her husband's choices. With the month of August to herself on Shipwreck Key, Ruby brings out the boxes of journals dating back to the 70s, and she tries to unravel the mystery of her marriage: where did it go wrong? What had she ...

A President dies under mysterious circumstances, leaving a secret mistress and their twelve-year-old son…and also a loyal First Lady who has no idea what went wrong with their marriage. Forty-nine-year old widow Ruby Hudson, the former First Lady of the United States, needs a fresh start. As she mourns the loss of her husband, she turns her love of books into a whole new career, opening a little bookshop on a charming, pirate-themed island called Shipwreck Key just off the coast of the Florida Panhandle. Her two daughters think she’s crazy, but Ruby can finally breathe again knowing ...

When a woman gets to a certain age, everyone forgets that she has a long and vibrant life behind her. Molly is no different; at sixty-five, the residents of Shipwreck Key see her as just the proprietress of The Scuttlebutt, the island's coffee shop. But Molly has lived—really lived—and she has the battle scars to prove it. In 1982, when her beloved husband Rodney died in a boating accident off the coast of Hawaii, Molly was left a widow in her early twenties. But not only was she left to live without her best friend and life partner the day his boat vanished, her hopes and dreams to ...

When a woman is prized first and foremost for her looks, what does she have left to offer when the world decides those looks are fading? Marigold Pim, once the darling of the modeling world, graced the covers of nearly every prestigious fashion magazine on the planet. Her beauty made her the epitome of glamour as a young woman—and also led her straight into the arms of Cobb Hartley, the famous-but-troubled British rockstar. They raised a son together and endured two decades of a complicated marriage, but now they’re happily divorced and living their lives on different continents. For ...

When a woman needs to flee a bad marriage, it doesn’t matter that she’s the wife of the former Vice President, it only matters that she escapes... Sunday Bond longs for a life far from Washington D.C., and far from the husband who has kept her in a gilded cage for too long, locked up there with only his dark secrets to keep her company. When Sunday’s best friend, the former First Lady, moves south to Shipwreck Key, Sunday goes for a visit and decides to stay. The remote island off the coast of Florida is the perfect place to avoid the world’s prying eyes and to forget about her ...

Christmas Key will have to function without its beloved mayor, Holly Baxter, while she embarks on a European adventure with her long-distance love... But when Holly's mother arrives on the island with plans to sell off paradise and build a bloated, gaudy casino on the island's shores, the locals have to pull together to keep her at bay. A shocking loss throws the locals for a loop while they welcome three new islanders to Christmas Key in Holly's absence, but if she learns nothing else from her trip across the pond, Holly comes home knowing in her heart that it's time to say "yes" to new ...

Five years later, the lights still twinkle on Christmas Key—but a lot has changed. The island’s baby boom has officially landed: there’s a brand-new kindergarten class and a whole lot of chaos in the sandboxes. Social media influencers have discovered paradise, and now they’re everywhere—vlogging by the water, podcasting from cafés, and trying to make “#IslandVibes” a thing. But the real story this season isn’t in the hashtags or holiday lights. It’s Ruby Hudson. The beloved former First Lady and part-time Christmas Key resident has returned to the island with her husband...

A hilarious tropical romp: When stagnation threatens the future of her beloved island, mayor Holly goes head-to-head with the community’s elderly retirees. With secrets swirling, family drama brewing, and an ex-boyfriend hanging around, can Holly find a way to save her slice of paradise? With her beloved island's future on the line, Mayor Holly Baxter must choose between progress and the status quo, and she'll go up against a small army of golf cart driving retirees to do it. Throw in some major family drama, long-kept secrets, and the complication of a new romance that sparks under the ...

Mayor Holly Baxter is juggling pirates, potholes, and the possibility of a second chance at love. Just another week on Christmas Key. The island’s newest guests? A rowdy crew of weekend pirates who’ve traded rum for espresso and are leaving a trail of mayhem (and mysterious holes) in their wake. Add to that: Her ex’s new girlfriend who’s suddenly sticking around A fresh-faced family with twin boys who’ve turned the island into their personal playground And River O’Leary—Holly’s not-quite-ex, not-quite-boyfriend—who’s texting just enough to keep her heart off-balance ...