Female Friendship

September is Women's Friendship Month!  Here are 10 novels from last year that feature female friendship.

As the Tide Comes In by Cindy & Erin Woodsmall - Raised in foster care in Asheville, North Carolina, Tara Abbott has been rearing her two younger half-brothers since she turned eighteen. When both Sean and Nicholas are lost to a devastating tornado and Tara suffers a head injury, she flees to St. Simons Island, looking for a connection to her Nana Phi. But the effects of her head injury blur the lines between imagination and reality, and after her wallet and phone are lost Tara must take refuge wherever she can, stealing food as needed. Julep Burnside, Luella Ward, Sue Beth Manning, and Dell Calhoun have been friends since they attended Bible camp together forty years earlier and call themselves The Glynn Girls. Can the Glynn Girls help Tara find her way back to herself?

Best Beach Ever by Wendy Wax - Hoping for smooth sailing the ladies of Ten Beach Road confront choppy seas... Forced to rent out or lose their beloved Bella Flora after the loss of their renovation-turned-reality-TV show Do Over, Maddie, Nikki, Avery, Kyra, and Bitsy move into cottages at the Sunshine Hotel and Beach Club believing the worst is over. Only to discover just how uncertain their futures really are. Maddie struggles with the challenges of dating a rock star whose career has come roaring back to life while Nikki faces the daunting realities of mothering twins at forty-seven. Avery buries herself in a tiny home build in an attempt to dodge commitment issues, and Kyra battles to protect her son from the Hollywood world she once dreamed of joining. And Bitsy is about to find out whether the rewards of seeking revenge will outweigh the risks. Luckily, when the going gets tough, the ladies of Ten Beach Road know that their friendship--tried and tested--can chase away the darkest clouds and let the sun shine in. Book 6 of 6 in the Ten Beach Road series 

Gilded Summers by Donna Russo Morin - Pearl and Ginevra grow up in the era known as the Gilded Age in Newport, Rhode Island. One lives above the stairs, the other below.
Surrounded by Astors and Vanderbilts, Pearl fills her days with teatime and shallow friendships, yearning for something more. A chance meeting with Mary Cassatt sparks her secret desire to be an artist. Meanwhile Ginevra, fresh off the boat from Italy, finds her own dreams out of reach as she joins the unwelcoming household as a servant and seamstress.
Kindred souls, the girls become fast friends but must keep their friendship hidden from Pearl's controlling mother. Every summer, they meet in a hidden spot beneath the weeping beeches to talk of art and life, and their struggles to break the barriers of their lives.
Soon, the two young women must decide who they want to be in this world, and survive what it takes to get there... no matter what it takes.

I'll Be Your Blue Sky by Marisa de los Santos - On the weekend of her wedding, Clare Hobbes meets an elderly woman named Edith Herron. During the course of a single conversation, Edith gives Clare the courage to do what she should have done months earlier: break off her engagement to her charming, yet overly possessive, fiancé. Three weeks later, Clare learns that Edith has died-- and has given her another gift. Nestled in crepe myrtle and hydrangea and perched at the marshy edge of a bay in a small seaside town in Delaware, Blue Sky House now belongs to Clare. Though the former guest house has been empty for years, Clare feels a deep connection to Edith inside its walls, which are decorated with old photographs taken by Edith and her beloved husband, Joseph. Exploring the house, Clare finds two mysterious ledgers hidden beneath the kitchen sink. Edith, it seems, was no ordinary woman-- and Blue Sky House no ordinary place. Book 3 of 4 in the Love Walked In series 

Just After Midnight by Catherine Ryan Hyde - No longer tolerating her husband's borderline abuse, Faith escapes to her parents' California beach house to plan her next move. She never dreamed her new chapter would involve befriending Sarah, a fourteen-year-old on the run from her father and reeling from her mother's sudden and suspicious death.
While Sarah's grandmother scrambles to get custody, Faith is charged with spiriting the girl away on a journey that will restore her hope: Sarah implores Faith to take her to Falkner's Midnight Sun, the prized black mare that her father sold out from under her. Sarah shares an unbreakable bond with Midnight and can't bear to be apart from her. Throughout the sweltering summer, as they follow Midnight from show to show, Sarah comes to terms with what she witnessed on the terrible night her mother died.
But the journey is far from over. Faith must learn the value of trusting her instincts--and realize that the key to her future, and Sarah's, is in her hands.

Just in Time by Marie Bostwick - Fifteen years ago, Grace Saunders vowed to take her beloved husband for better or worse. Now she's coming to terms with difficult choices as she crafts a memory quilt from scraps of their life together--a life torn to shreds by an accident that has left him in a coma. Enduring months of limbo, Grace is at least not alone.
 Nan has been widowed for twenty years, but now, with her children grown, her home feels painfully empty. Even the company of her golden retriever, Blixen, and a series of other rescue dogs, can't fill the void. Then there's Monica, a feisty woman with a biting wit who's reeling following her husband's death--and the revelation of his infidelity.
 As for Grace, a chance evening with a man she barely knows brings a glimmer of joy she hasn't felt since the tragedy--along with feelings of turmoil and guilt. But her struggle to cope will force all three women to face their fears, share their deepest secrets--and lean on one another as they move from grief and isolation to hope, and a second chance at happiness . . .

The Secret to Southern Charm by Kristy Woodson Harvey - After finding out her military husband is missing in action, middle sister Sloane's world crumbles as her worst nightmare comes true. She can barely climb out of bed, much less summon the strength to be the parent her children deserve. Her mother, Ansley, provides a much-needed respite as she puts her personal life on hold to help Sloane and her grandchildren wade through their new grief-stricken lives. But between caring for her own aging mother, her daughters, and her grandchildren, Ansley's private worry is that secrets from her past will come to light. But when Sloane's sisters, Caroline and Emerson, remind Sloane that no matter what, she promised her husband she would carry on for their young sons, Sloane finds the support and courage she needs to chase her biggest dreams--and face her deepest fears. Taking a cue from her middle daughter, Ansley takes her own leap of faith and realizes that, after all this time, she might finally be able to have it all. Book 2 of 3 in the Peachtree Bluff series

The Secrets Between Us by Thrity Umrigar - Poor and illiterate, Bhima had faithfully worked for the Dubash family, an upper-middle-class Parsi household, for more than twenty years. Yet after courageously speaking the truth about a heinous crime perpetrated against her own family, the devoted servant was cruelly fired. The sting of that dismissal was made more painful coming from Sera Dubash, the temperamental employer who had long been Bhima's only confidante. A woman who has endured despair and loss with stoicism, Bhima must now find some other way to support herself and her granddaughter, Maya. Bhima's fortunes take an unexpected turn when her path intersects with Parvati, a bitter, taciturn older woman. The two acquaintances soon form a tentative business partnership, selling fruits and vegetables at the local market. As they work together, these two women seemingly bound by fate grow closer, each confessing the truth about their lives and the wounds that haunt them. Discovering her first true friend, Bhima pieces together a new life, and together, the two women learn to stand on their own. Book 2 of 2 in the Bhima series

The Solace of Water by Elizabeth Byler Younts - After the loss of her young son, Carver, an African-American preacher's wife named Delilah Evans moves with her family from Montgomery, Alabama, to Sinking Creek, Pennsylvania, for a fresh start. The last thing she could have imagined was becoming friends with Emma Mullet, a reclusive Amish woman. Emma is fighting personal battles of her own and feels estranged from her small Amish community. The secrets that have kept her isolated from her own community serve to unite her in an unlikely friendship with Delilah. Sparrow, Delilah's eldest daughter, knows she is responsible for the death of her little brother. When tensions at home become unbearable, she seeks solace at Emma's house, becoming the surrogate daughter Emma has always wanted. Sparrow, however, is hiding secrets of her own, secrets that could sever all ties to her safe refuge. Life for these three gets harder when church and social issues confront them, causing rifts within Sinking Creek's three distinct communities: whites, blacks, and Amish. When their carefully protected secrets come to light, there seems to be little hope for friendship, restoration, or even forgiveness. But when the unthinkable happens, Delilah and Emma find themselves looking into the mirror of their own self-deceptions and are forced to make a choice that will set the way of their future. 

The Whispered Word by Ellery Adams - Nora Pennington, owner of Miracle Books, believes that a well-chosen novel can bring healing and hope. But she and the other members of the Secret, Book, and Scone Society know that sometimes, practical help is needed too. Such is the case with the reed-thin girl hiding in the fiction section of Nora's store, wearing a hospital ID and a patchwork of faded bruises. She calls herself Abilene, and though Nora and her friends offer work, shelter, and a supportive ear, their guest isn't ready to divulge her secrets. But when a customer is found dead in an assumed suicide, Nora uncovers a connection that points to Abilene as either a
suspect-or another target.
Summer's end has brought other new arrivals to Miracle Springs too. Entrepreneur Griffin Kingsley opens Virtual Genie, a cyber business that unloads people's unwanted goods for cash. With the town in an economic slump and folks hurting for money, Virtual Genie and its owner are both instantly popular. A patient listener, Griffin dispenses candy to children and strong coffee to adults, and seems like a bona fide gentleman. But Nora's not inclined to judge a book by its cover. And when a second death hits town, Nora and her intrepid friends must help the new, greenhorn sheriff discern fact from fiction-and stop a killer intent on bringing another victim's story to a close . . . Book 2 of 3 in the Secret, Book & Scone Society series