Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin

How do you recover your life after a youthful indiscretion makes you a pop culture punchline? Jane Young reinvents herself but finds that avoiding her past may not be the path to happiness.

In a stupid scandal with a much-older married congressman, political intern Aviva destroys her intended future. She successfully completes her college degree but finds no one will hire her, no matter how far away from her Florida past. So she changes her name, cuts ties, and moves to Maine to start a business as a wedding and events planner. Eventually, though, the past is bound to catch up with her.

I enjoyed this book quite a bit, as I expected - I've loved Zevin in the past, and she's again at top form here. This could have been a fluffy light chick lit kind of book, but she gives Aviva/Jane more depth with a heart and a brain. The revelation of her past isn't a real tragedy for Jane, and how she chooses to face it down is a real 21st Century triumph.

Any man of mine

by Rachel Gibson

Forgiveness is often hard to come by. Autumn has had nearly six years to come to terms with the way Sam LeClaire, hockey great, broke her heart and left her alone and pregnant. Since the paternity test, he's been an alright dad, but by no means stellar. One conversation changes his view on his own behavior.

Sam has always known that his behavior was reprehensible. He's never felt bad about most of it either. He also never realized how much of an impact his actions had on his child. Sam sets out to put as much effort into fatherhood as he does with hockey. If he happens to realize that the biggest mistake of his life was not having a wild fling in Vegas, but rather walking out on his bride in a callous, heartless manner, then so be it.

I read this in an evening. Autumn and Sam are not the most well-rounded characters, but Gibson manages to make their story ring out with the force of a plexiglass rattling check into the boards nonetheless.

Veil of night

by Linda Howard

Wedding planner Jaclyn Wilde's life has gone into a tailspin. Uncharacteristically, she had a one-night stand. Less than twenty-four hours later, the same man turns up again - as a police officer investigating her for the murder of one of her clients. Jaclyn did have a dispute with the hateful bride shortly before the murder, and apparently was the last person to see her alive.

Howard keeps the mystery moving throughout. Even when the killer's identity is known, the mystery revolves around how to prove guilt and keep Jaclyn alive. Adding a little humor into the investigation is the detective's penchant for thwarting robberies in unconventional ways. Tag along for the ride as heat rises in this Atlanta murder investigation.