A taste — before you commit.
All that was missing.
The beautiful park offered a multitude of possibilities within a minuscule footprint: grassy green areas shaded by historic trees, tennis courts, a baseball diamond, a children's playground, and a swimming pool. Lucky, lucky kids attended the elementary school that faced one side of the park. Lucky, lucky people lived in the beautiful old Victorians that lined the other three sides.
Despite the early hour and the thick tule fog—more typical of the Central Valley than of Alameda, a long, leafy island stretched out in the San Francisco Bay—one of those lucky people was already out pounding tennis balls on a cool Wednesday in spring. The fog was so dense that Shari had to listen for the sound of each ball's bounce to assess her success. A hard thud said, "Good job, Shari." A sluggish clunk implied she had not achieved her full potential. A round, full clap confirmed a perfect, gold-medal spin off her racket.
Today, one satisfying clap after another lifted her spirits. Stopping to shake her serving arm, she took a moment to congratulate herself. Not just for her excellent serves. For everything! Her pretty Queen Anne house was just across from the courts where she played and taught tennis. Her two lovely daughters. Her hard-working, still youngish-looking, though middle-aged, husband. Of course she was happy! Who wouldn't be?
Keep reading Chapter 1 →What readers actually said.
Riveting. Funny. Clever.
I loved reading this book. It was riveting — very entertaining and laugh out loud funny. It's witty and insightful and very clever.
Alameda is a character.
I loved that Alameda plays such a big role. It's like a major character in the book. A romance novel!
So much more fun than my book club book.
I was supposed to read my book club book. I read this book instead. It was just so much more fun!