Lauren Baratz-Logsted

A dog tries his best to keep his two co-parenting owners and their happiness afloat in this hilarious and touching sequel to Joint Custody by Lauren Baratz-Logsted and Jackie Logsted. The Man is happy. The Woman is happy. That means Gatz is happy. He'd like to forget about the trouble he made to get them back together--only slightly ashamed at his antics--and focus on the future. The Woman and New Man are about to get married, after all. But when The Woman loses her job because of some bad press about the two of them, her confidence is broken and she can't help but feel resentful towards New Man when his own career stays intact. Gatz has to give it to him; New Man remains as patient as a saint (of course he does). The Man is doing better, too, thanks to the New Woman in his life, who just so happens to be a writer as well. But two authors in the same relationship can sometimes be one too many, and they find themselves getting quite competitive with each other. But Gatz has faith in them--The Man did learn from his mistakes, didn't he? Gatz doesn't know what happened to these two perfectly happy couples, but he knows one thing is for sure: not all families are alike, and happiness can be found in the unlikeliest pockets--just like treats

A mischievous dog takes matters into his own paws when his beloved owners split up in this offbeat romantic comedy. The Man has custody Monday through Friday, The Woman has custody on the weekends. But that's not enough for Gatz, who will do anything to bring them back together--even if it kills him. And it almost did. Of course he knows chocolate is bad for him, especially two whole pounds of it, but it's the risk he's willing to take to get them back together. Gatz knows that The Man and The Woman are perfect for each other--how can they not see it too? She is an editor and he's a writer. She's a social butterfly and he's as introverted as a guy can get. After the misguided death-by-chocolate attempt, Gatz thinks he still has time. But when New Man--so handsome, so nice, so perfect--enters The Woman's life, he realizes he'll need to step up his game. And you know what they say: drastic times call for drastic doggy measures. A laugh-out-loud romance that will touch your heart and make you want a furry friend of your own.

Veteran women's fiction writer Lauren Baratz-Logsted presents the moving story of a family disrupted by fame, perfect for fans of Elin Hilderbrand and Nancy Thayer. Ever wonder what it must be like to be the younger sibling of someone so popular, princes and presidents are excited to meet him? Mona knows. Or thinks she does. Mona is married to Jack, younger brother to Denny Springer, lead singer for The Greatest Rock-and-Roll Band in the World. Jack happens to sing too, of course, not that anyone in the world notices very much. After Denny attends the family Easter dinner in London for the first time in decades, Mona invites Denny to join her and her family for the summer at a rental house in coastal Connecticut. She tells Denny it'll be a chance for him to finally bond with Jack, from whom Denny has been estranged for twenty years. Denny initially laughs at the idea…but then shows up on their doorstep. As the summer progresses, though, questions arise: Did Denny really have a change of heart and a sudden commitment to family? Or is he hiding something? More importantly, why did Mona invite him in the first place? Most importantly of all, how well do we ever really know anybody? "Lauren Baratz-Logsted writes genuine characters, killer comedic timing and romantic blunders that are truly something special." —RT Book Reviews

A funny and heartwarming middle-grade historical fiction novel about a girl who writes letters to her favorite astronaut as America prepares for the moon landing. It's 1969 and the country is gearing up for what looks to be the most exciting moment in U.S. history: men landing on the moon. Ten-year-old Mamie's class is given an assignment to write letters to the astronauts. All the girls write to Neil Armstrong ("So cute ") and all the boys write to Buzz Aldrin ("So cool "). Only Mamie writes to Michael Collins, the astronaut who will come so close but never achieve everyone else's dream of walking on the moon, because he is the one who must stay out in space with the ship. After school ends, Mamie keeps writing to Michael Collins, taking comfort in telling someone about what's going on with her family as, one by one, they leave the house thinking that someone else is taking care of her--until she is all alone except for her cat and her best friend, Buster. And as the date of the launch nears, Mamie can't help but wonder: Does no one stay with the ship anymore? With I Love You, Michael Collins, Lauren Baratz-Logsted has created a heartwarming story about family and being true to yourself. A Margaret Ferguson Book "Baratz-Logsted weaves in just enough history to root Mamie's story in her time, a moment when a nation came together and felt proud of human possibilities. . . . Readers will be charmed by Mamie's story of hope in a difficult moment in American history." --Kirkus Reviews

"Lauren Baratz-Logsted has mastered the real life fairy tale in her explosive and hilarious FALLING FOR PRINCE CHARLES. It's all here, lovelorn Daisy Silverman flush with cash and high hopes, Prince Charles who can't resist her, and London in all its splendor. Curl up and get ready to laugh long into the foggy night." —Adriana Trigiani, New York Times bestselling author of THE SHOEMAKER'S WIFE "Daisy's madcap adventure is more comedy than romance, and her most unusual and unlikely relationship with Prince Charles will appeal to reads looking for lots of giggles." —Publishers Weekly

Some families you are born into. Some you choose. And some choose you. Four women have little in common other than where they live and the joyous complications of having sisters. Cindy waits for her own life to begin as she sees her sister going in and out of hospitals. Lise has made the boldest move of her life, even as her sister spends every day putting herself at risk to improve the lives of others. Diana is an ocean apart from her sister, but worries that her marriage is the relationship separated by the most distance. Sylvia has lost her twin sister to breast cancer, a disease that runs in the family, and fears that she will die without having ever really lived. When Diana places an ad in the local newsletter, Cindy, Lise, and Sylvia show up thinking they are joining a book club, but what they discover is something far deeper and more profound than any of them ever imagined. With wit, charm, and pathos, this mesmerizing tale of sisters, both born and built, enthralls on every page.

An RT BOOK REVIEWS Top Pick: "[S]urprisingly refreshing, and will have readers experiencing many belly laughs." What happens after Happily Ever After? That's what Johnny Smith is about to find out. Having wooed—and won!—the girl of his dreams in The Bro-Magnet, he is ready to take on married life. Finally, Johnny will be the groom. But right off the bat, during the honeymoon, things start to go wrong. And it only gets worse when the newlyweds return home to their new house in Connecticut. Different taste in pets, interior design, friends. Too much togetherness. Jealousy. Nothing is easy, given that neither Johnny nor his wife has ever even had a roommate since college. Can this couple, still so in love, share a home without driving each other crazy?

"There are so many memorable moments in this book that I could spend page after page quoting them." —USA TODAY Poor Johnny Smith. At age 33, the house painter has been a best man a whopping eight times, when all he's ever really wanted is to be a groom. But despite being everyone's favorite dude, Johnny has yet to find The One. Or even anyone. So when he meets high-powered District Attorney Helen Troy, and falls for her hard, he follows the advice of family and friends. Since Helen seems to hate sports, Johnny pretends he does too. No more Jets. No more Mets. At least not in public. He redecorates his condo. He gets a cat. He takes up watching soap operas. Anything he thinks will earn him Helen, Johnny is willing to do. There's just one hitch: If he does finally win her heart, who will he be?

"Even better than the first book!" —BOOKLIST In the madcap sequel to the international hit comedy THE THIN PINK LINE, London editor Jane Taylor is at it again, only this time, there's a baby involved. Having—SPOILER ALERT!—found a baby on a church doorstep at the end of the previous book, Jane is forced to come clean with all the people in her world when it turns out that the baby is a different skin color than everyone had expected Jane's baby to be. As Jane fights to keep the baby, battling Social Services and taking on anyone who seeks to get in her path, what kind of mother will Jane prove to be? Only one thing's for certain: no matter how much kinder and gentler she is now, she is still and will always be crazy Jane.

"Hilarious and original." —PUBLISHERS WEEKLY A KIRKUS starred review. Jane Taylor is a slightly sociopathic Londoner who wants marriage and a baby in the worst way, and she's willing to go to over-the-top lengths to achieve her dream. When Jane thinks she's pregnant she tells everyone. When it turns out to be a false alarm, she assumes she'll just get pregnant, no one the wiser. But when that doesn't happen, well, of course she does what no one in her right mind would do: Jane decides to fake an entire pregnancy!

For heaven's sake, how are they supposed to shrink all of them (plus the cats!) down to a size small enough to fit in the globe and then actually get inside it? Of course, through magic or just shear will power - who really knows which - the girls have done quite a few things that, to be honest, they really shouldn't have been able to do. But this seems like asking too much even for these intelligent and talented girls. But the Eights are also a very determined group. Now that they know where Daddy is, they will - and they do - find a way to him. But they never would have guessed what else awaits them inside the snow globe.

A rather large problem has befallen the Huit girls. (Sisters, actually. Octuplets to be exact.) One particular New Year's Eve, the girls wait for their Mummy to bring them hot chocolate and their Daddy to return with more wood for the fire. But they don't. You must see the problem here. Eight little girls on their own, no mummy or daddy to take care of them. This is not a good thing. So now these little girls, must take care of themselves. At the same time, the question remains: What happened to Mummy and Daddy? The Sisters Eight (as they are called, affectionately and otherwise) are determined to find out. Luckily, they do seem to have someone or something helping them. Notes keep appearing behind a loose brick in the fireplace. It's a good old-fashioned mystery with missing (or dead) parents, nosy neighbors, talking refrigerators, and even a little magic. Eight little girls, eight cats, and one big mystery. Rebecca's the tough one, always chastising the other Eights for not bucking up when trouble arises. But how will she fare when it's her turn to face her power?

When Will and Bet were four, tragic circumstances brought them to the same house, to be raised by a wealthy gentleman as brother and sister. Now sixteen, they've both enjoyed a privileged upbringing thus far. But not all is well in their household. Because she's a girl, Bet's world is contained within the walls of their grand home, her education limited to the rudiments of reading, writing, arithmetic, and sewing. Will's world is much larger. He is allowed--forced, in his case--to go to school. Neither is happy. So Bet comes up with a plan and persuades Will to give it a try: They'll switch places. She'll go to school as Will. Will can live as he chooses. But once Bet gets to school, she soon realizes living as a boy is going to be much more difficult than she imagined.

In an explosion of his own making, Lucius blew his arms off. Now he has hooks. He chose hooks because they were cheaper. He chose hooks because he wouldn't outgrow them so quickly. He chose hooks so that everyone would know he was different, so he would scare even himself. Then he meets Aurora. The hooks don't scare her. They don't keep her away. In fact, they don't make any difference at all to her. But to Lucius, they mean everything. They remind him of the beast he is inside. Perhaps Aurora is his Beauty, destined to set his soul free from its suffering. Or maybe she's just a girl who needs love just like he does.

Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh, no! May is almost over and that means only one thing: Petal's month is about to begin. For most people, this would be a good thing. They would look forward to discovering their gift and their power. But not our dear Petal. As far as Petal is concerned, it could stay May forever. At least the sisters have some excitement in their future: The wedding of Aunt Martha and Uncle George will bring them, the Petes, and the cats to Paris, where fun - and a little bit of danger - will come as surely as the changing of the month.

Questions! Questions! Questions! The Sisters Eight have so many questions and so few answers! Luckily, one more month means they'll get a few answers. Marcia's month is about to begin. You remember Marcia, right? The sensible one? The one who would never do anything ...crazy?

In the first two instalments of the Sisters Eight, we met the sisters (octuplets) and their eight cats. We discovered Mummy and Daddy disappeared (or died) and that to find out what happened to them, each girl must discover her power and gift. Annie and Durinda both found theirs. We also learned that the girls' nosy neighbour The Wicket is very interested in what Mummy was working on before she disappeared (or died). In this, the third book, the plot thickens: Mrs. McGullicudy, the girls' teacher, is AWOL, and the substitute teacher is too beautiful to be believed (in your narrator's humble opinion). Does her beautiful facade hide an evil soul? (These are books. Of course, it does). And Georgia makes a blunder that could keep the girls' from ever finding their parents. Are the Sisters Eight doomed to live alone forever?

A rather large problem has befallen the Huit girls. (Sisters, actually. Octuplets to be exact.) One particular New Year's Eve, the girls wait for their Mummy to bring them hot chocolate and their daddy to return with more wood for the fire. But they don't. Mummy and Daddy, that is. They're gone. Poof! Maybe dead - no one knows for sure. You must see the problem here. Eight little girls on their own, no mommy or daddy to take care of them. This is not a good thing. So now these little girls, must take care of themselves. Get to school, cook the meals, feed the cats (eight of them, too), and pay the bills. They can't ask for help, oh no. Any self-respecting adult would surely call in social services, and those well-meaning people would have to split them up. After losing their parents, being split up would be completely unbearable. At the same time, the question remains: What happened to Mummy and Daddy? The Sisters Eight (as they are called, affectionately and otherwise) are determined to find out. Luckily, they do seem to have someone or something helping them. Notes keep appearing behind a loose brick in the fireplace. It's a good old-fashioned mystery with missing (or dead) parents, nosy neighbours, talking refrigerators, foul-smelling fruitcake (is there any other kind?), and even a little magic. Eight little girls, eight cats, and one big mystery - let the fun begin.

A rather large problem has befallen the Huit girls (Sisters, actually. Octuplets to be exact). One particular New Year's Eve, the girls wait for their Mummy to bring them hot chocolate and their daddy to return with more wood for the fire. But they don't. Mummy and Daddy, that is. They're gone. Poof! Maybe dead - no one knows for sure. You must see the problem here. Eight little girls on their own, no Mummy or Daddy to take care of them. This is not a good thing. So now these little girls, must take care of themselves. Get to school, cook the meals, feed the cats (eight of them, too), and pay the bills. They can't ask for help, oh no. Any self-respecting adult would surely call in social services, and those well-meaning people would have to split them up. After losing their parents, being split up would be completely unbearable. At the same time, the question remains: What happened to Mummy and Daddy? The Sisters Eight (as they are called, affectionately and otherwise) are determined to find out. Luckily, they do seem to have someone or something helping them. Notes keep appearing behind a loose brick in the fireplace. It's a good old-fashioned mystery with missing (or dead) parents, nosy neighbours, talking refrigerators, foul-smelling fruitcake (is there any other kind?), and even a little magic. Eight little girls, eight cats, and one big mystery - let the fun begin.