Angel Lane

by Sheila Roberts

Overview

With irresistible humor, warmth, and affection, author Sheila Roberts serves up a generous, open-hearted story about the friendships we make, the chances we take, and the lives we touch every day.

Keep the heart in Heart Lake. That's exactly what three small-town shop owners hope to do when they launch their "Have a Heart" campaign-asking neighbors to commit one random act of kindness every day. Emma, Sarah, and Jamie love their lakeside community, but the little town is growing too big too fast, and doing a good deed never hurt anyone. Or so they thought...

"Readers will laugh and cry with the women lovingly portrayed in this heartwarming story."-RT Book Reviews
When Emma slashes prices at her quilt shop, she almost stitches her way into bankruptcy. Sarah's free cooking class boils down to a hotbed of crime when some punk kid swipes her favorite heirloom. And at Jamie's chocolate shop, things take a bittersweet turn when a local policeman starts giving her grief, stirring up feelings she's tried to forget-and slowly melts away her defenses...
"Will doubtless warm more than a few hearts."-Publishers Weekly

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780312384821
Publisher:	St. Martin's Press
Publication date:	09/29/2009
Edition description:	Original
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	216,125
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Sheila Roberts is the author of On Strike for Christmas, Small Change, The Snow Globe, Bikini Season, and other bestselling books. Before settling into her writing life, Roberts did lots of other things, including owning a singing telegram company and playing in a band. Now, when she's not speaking to women's groups or at conferences, she can be found writing about the things near and dear to women's hearts: family, friends, and chocolate. She lives on a lake in Washington.

Reading Group Guide

Have you ever wanted to change the world for the better?

In this heartwarming novel, three small-town shop owners and best friends set their sites on doing just that. But their aspiration to "keep the heart in Heart Lake" by asking their neighbors to commit one random act of kindness every day leads them to some pretty wild situations, and shows one woman that love can grow from the most unexpected places.

Rip with irresistible humor, friendship, and delicious recipes inspired by the story, Angel Lane teaches the important of kindness, friendship, and taking a chance on love.

1. At the beginning of the book, Jamie likens Heart Lake to Mayberry, the fictional North Carolina town made popular by the Andy Griffith TV show in the sixties. What do you think is the upside to small town life? Is there a down side?

2. Emma is an old movie buff and an idealist. Do you think what we read and watch on TV and the big screen affects our attitudes and outlook on life or do we choose to watch what confirms what we already believe?

3. Sarah Goodwin was able to get past her empty nest syndrome by opening her home and heart to new people. Have you experienced empty nest syndrome? If so, how did you cope?

4. Emma's small quilt shop struggles to compete against a larger chain store. How do you feel about shopping with local merchants versus shopping at a larger store to save money? Does the state of the economy affect where you shop?

5. Have you ever owned a shop or toyed with the idea of opening one? If so, what kind of shop was it?

6. If you owned a bakery or a chocolate shop, would you eat all of your inventory?

7. Could you identify with Jamie's fear of falling for Josh the cop and repeating history? If so, how?

8. The importance of keeping a sense of community is a favorite theme in this book. How do you think that feeling connected benefits members of a community?

9. Do you feel a connection with your neighbors? If not, do you think you need one? Can you think of any way you could build one?

10. What is the most memorable good deed you ever did?

Editorial Reviews

Roberts returns to Heart Lake, Wash., for a second beguiling visit (after Spring in Bloom). Chocolatier Jamie Moore, her bakery-owner aunt Sarah and quilt store owner Emma Swanson take on a community project, “Have a Heart,” to encourage good deeds in Heart Lake, but the friends find paying-it-forward isn’t as easy as it would seem. Cop Josh Armstrong, a handsome widower with two cute daughters, keeps rescuing Jamie, who fights her attraction to him because of her first marriage to an abusive cop. Emma, who’s struggling to keep her store open and is also hungry for love, adopts a stray cat. Married Sarah fights off a lecherous neighbor and gives free (but messy) baking lessons to girls. Roberts’s world of good deeds can verge on Thomas Kinkade overkill, though her relentless cheer will doubtless warm more than a few hearts. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

“Roberts' book of small-town life is as sweet as ginger cookies and as homey as raisin pie (recipes included). Readers will laugh and cry with the women lovingly portrayed in this heartwarming story that explores the joys of friendship and the power of good deeds.” —RTBook Reviews

“... will doubtless warm more than a few hearts.” —Publishers Weekly

“Angel Lane is a feel-good book that shouldn't be missed and is a perfect read for the upcoming Christmas holiday season.” —Romancing the Book

From the Publisher