Kirjahaku

The Magic Jukebox sits in the Faulk Street Tavern in the quiet seaside town of Brogan's Point, Massachusetts. No one knows what classic rock songs will come out of the jukebox when a coin is inserted, but every now and then, the jukebox will play a song that casts a spell on two bar patrons-a song that will change their lives and open their hearts to love.Antiques dealer Diana Simms is engaged to her longtime boyfriend when she finds herself inside the Faulk Street Tavern. The song "Changes" emerges from the jukebox and enchants her. It also captivates Nick Fiore, a local guy who's arrived at adulthood the hard way, after a tour through the juvenile justice system. Now he's dedicated his life to helping other troubled kids. He has no business even looking at a beautiful, well-bred woman wearing a diamond engagement ring. But once they're bewitched by the jukebox, he and Diana must change their lives, their goals, their dreams...and their hearts.

Caleb Solomon's office air conditioner is on the fritz. Although not his choice, he winds up meeting with a difficult but profitable client in the pleasant chill of the air-conditioned Faulk Street Tavern. It's there that high school teacher Meredith Benoit finds him. Due to a silly prank, her job and her reputation are in jeopardy. She needs a lawyer, fast. But the Magic Jukebox starts playing "Heat Wave," and a hot wave of passion crashes over Caleb and Meredith, catching them in its undertow and carrying them off.

Recent retiree Ruth Singer is reflecting on her life and wondering what direction it might have taken if she'd made different choices. What if she'd learned to ski? What if she'd had her tubes tied before her difficult youngest child was born? What if she hadn't quit her rock band to attend college? What if she'd run off with Danny Fortuna when she'd had the chance? Not only does Ruth ponder these questions, she lives those what-if lives in her imagination. As the chaos of her real life swirls around her, she contemplates the roads she never took, the choices she never made, and comes to understand how she became the woman she is - and why. A novel that will resonate with every reader, If Only is at once a poignant excursion into one woman's life and a guided tour through every internal conversation we've ever had.

Once Ellie Gillman waves her husband off on his grand adventure--a cross-country bicycle trip to publicize the perils of climate change--she realizes she's got her own environment to take care of: the environment of her home, her daughters, and her cozy New England town. While Scott Gillman pedals his way to fame and glory, Ellie mops up the messes of day-to-day living. The house has a roof problem. The town has a litter problem. Ellie's boss is a walking, talking problem. Ellie's best friend has marital problems. Teenager daughter Abbie is turning rebellious, and younger daughter Misha is devastated when a good friend forms a club with a bunch of his buddies to celebrate her father's bike ride and forbids her from joining. Why? Because, he messages her, "No Girls Aloud." Forget about that. Ellie and her daughters are going to be "aloud." They're going to make noise. As Ellie learns, if a girl wants to be heard, she has to speak up, speak out, and bang some pots and pans.

Once Ellie Gillman waves her husband off on his grand adventure―a cross-country bicycle trip to publicize the perils of climate change―she realizes she's got her own environment to take care of--the environment of her home, her daughters, and her cozy New England town. While Scott Gillman pedals his way to fame and glory, Ellie mops up the messes of day-to-day living. The house has a roof problem. The town has a litter problem. Ellie's boss is a walking, talking problem. Teenaged daughter Abbie is turning rebellious, and younger daughter Misha is devastated when a good friend forms a club with a bunch of his buddies to celebrate her father's bike ride and forbids her from joining. Why? Because, he messages her, "No Girls Aloud." Forget about that. Ellie and her daughters are going to be "aloud." They're going to make noise. As Ellie learns, if a girl wants to be heard, she has to speak up, speak out, and bang some pots and pans.

Bloom's. It's not just a delicatessen--it's a destination. An institution. A world-renowned food emporium that draws millions of customers craving home-style stuffed cabbage, gourmet olive oil, and the best bagels on the planet to its block-long building on Manhattan's Upper West Side.It's also a family. Julia Bloom, the third-generation president of Bloom's, struggles to keep not just the business but all the Blooms productive and flourishing. She needs to balance the store's Old-World roots with its twenty-first-century needs, and she needs to balance the demands and whims of cranky Grandma Ida, resentful widowed mother Sondra, ambitious but lazy Uncle Jay, rebellious sister Susie, and slacker-genius brother Adam.It's a teetering tower. One misstep or misunderstanding might bring everything crashing down. And what business, what family, doesn't have its share of missteps and misunderstandings? Julia is still learning how to run Bloom's herself, relying on her tumultuous family to help her when they all have their own agendas and desires. If she fails, it could mean the end of Bloom's--and the Blooms.An irrepressible combination of wit and wisdom, Full Bloom is the compelling story of a family you'll take to your heart and might very well recognize.PRAISE FOR JUDITH ARNOLD: "Arnold's storytelling gift is sterling." - Romantic Times BOOKclub "Judith Arnold writes beautifully and poignantly " - Romance Readers Anonymous

Bloom's is a world-famous gourmet food emporium on Manhattan's Upper West Side. It's also the Bloom family business. Founded by Grandma Ida Bloom and her late husband Isaac, the store was until recently run by their older son, Ben. His untimely death compelled Grandma Ida to name a new president to run the business: Ben's daughter Julia. Julia Bloom has no interest in running a deli. She's a lawyer. Her widowed mother, who worked at the store throughout her marriage, would be a superior choice. Even her uncle, Ben's younger brother Jay, would do a better job than Julia. But when Grandma Ida issues an edict, the family must obey--or at least pretend to obey. Julia's pretense goes a little haywire. How can she run the place when the books are a mess, her law-firm boyfriend is trying to get her into bed, her sister Susie is swooning over the store's bagel designer, her mother and uncle are gunning for her job, something mysterious is locked inside her grandfather's old desk, and hundreds of dollars of merchandise goes missing every week? Ron Joffe, the business reporter from Gotham Magazine, intends to write an expos on the floundering new president of this New York City landmark. Can Julie possibly convince him she knows what she's doing, when she can't even convince herself?

Bloom's, the world-famous gourmet delicatessen on Manhattan's Upper West Side, has found its groove under the management of its new president, Julia Bloom, granddaughter of the business's founders, Ida and the late Isaac Bloom. With guidance from her fianc , business reporter Ron Joffe, and the assistance of her flaky sister Susie, Julia has updated the place, improved marketing, and gained control of the company's erratic finances. To her surprise, she's discovered that she actually likes running a demanding enterprise like Bloom's. Susie doesn't like working for Bloom's at all. She wants to help her sister, but she's a poet and a free spirit. Bad enough that Susie now has her own desk in the Bloom's business offices. Worse that she's writing the company's advertising circulars instead of her own poetry. When Casey Gordon, the store's creative bagel maestro, asks her to move in with him, she realizes her life has become unbearably conventional. She flees the city with her cousin Rick, a film school graduate, to make a movie about the significance of food to the Bloom family. Julia believes Rick is creating an infomercial for the store. Rick believes he's creating a masterpiece worthy of an Oscar. And Casey believes that, without Susie in his life, he doesn't belong at Bloom's anymore. But the store might not continue to flourish without his daringly designed bagels. And Susie might not regain her joyful spirit without his love.