Glitter and Glue: A Memoir by Kelly Corrigan

Every child is closer to one parent, and Kelly Corrigan is definitely her father's daughter. He's the fun one, while Kelly's mother, Mary, is all rules and no-nonsense. (A few years back our library book group read Corrigan's cancer memoir, The Middle Place, which deals a lot with her relationship with her father, Greenie.) 

When Kelly and a friend decide to wander internationally and seek adventure after college, Mary is unhappy to say the least. Yet mom is the one person who never fails to send Kelly the mail and news from home she craves. And Kelly is amazed to realize it's her mother's wisdom she hears in her head guiding her choices when she takes a nanny job with an Australian family shattered and rebuilding after the mother's death. 

While most of this book happens half a world away from home and separated from her family, it's at its heart a book about Kelly's relationship with her mother and the lessons Kelly absorbed even when she didn't know she was listening. Many women find a new appreciation for their mothers when they become mothers themselves; Kelly is lucky to have begin that shift earlier in life thanks to the Tanners.

It's an excellent book, engaging and incredibly touching as Kelly comes to recognize and appreciate all that her mother is and does. The title comes from her mom's description of her marriage and parenting: "Your father may be the glitter but I'm the glue."

Hip Check

by Deirdre Martin

Martin has returned to her New York Blades team and another romantic entanglement.  This time Esa Saari is the hockey star embroiled in excitement.  He has found himself suddenly the guardian for his young niece.  Both are grieving the loss of Esa's sister, but little Nell seems more capable of continuing to behave responsibly through her sadness.
Esa's solution is to hand her off to a nanny.  Any nanny will do, just so long as his bachelor behavior remains uninterrupted.  Fortunately for Nell, Michelle Beck is used to working for the rich and famous.  Her take charge attitude will assure Nell of a loving, safe home, while forcing Esa to man up. 
What starts out as a bumpy ride, predictably smooths out over the course of the hockey season.  If you have been of fan of Martin's previous books in the Blades series, this is an enjoyable continuation to the series. 

Maybe this time

by Jennifer Crusie

Do you like ghost stories? How about romance? This one has them both. Andie stops by to tell her ex-husband that she's getting remarried. The next thing she knows, she is in charge of two very disturbed children that live in a haunted house. Can she get the kids up to grade level, and moved out before the ghosts kill again? Normally, I am not a fan of ghost stories. However, I was absolutely riveted. Just like Andie, I began to see more to the children and the haunting than previous characters were given credit for seeing. The twist at the end was also a nice touch.