Bestseller Frank (By Invitation Only) shows off her formidable storytelling chops and her gift for creating memorable characters in this quirky and delightful Southern tale. Holly McNee Jensen, a teacher and beekeeper also caring for her demanding hypochondriac mother (whom she refers to as the Queen Bee), is marking time on tiny Sullivan's Island, S.C. She falls hard for her widower neighbor, Archie MacLean, and his two sweet young sons, Tyler and Hunter, and all's seemingly going well until Holly's much-cosseted sister, Leslie, comes home, having left her husband over his penchant for crossdressing. Chaos reigns. Leslie and the Queen Bee travel to Las Vegas, and Holly gets a rude awakening when Archie marries someone else. In the end, Holly learns that happily-ever-after can come in the most unexpected of circumstances. A colorful supporting cast rounds out the story. Full of Low Country flavor and brilliantly imagined characters, this laugh-out-loud-hilarious novel with a wistful edge will satisfy anyone who wants to see flawed people getting second chances. Agent: Suzanne Gluck, William Morris Endeavor. (June) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Just as the queen bee is the undisputed ruler of a hive, so, too, is Holly's overbearing mother the dominant female in a house that, until recently, also included Holly's sister, Leslie. When Leslie married Charlie and moved away from their home on Sullivan's Island, Holly's role as the worker bee became more pronounced. As an avid amateur beekeeper, it's a function Holly knows all too well. Luckily, she finds respite in caring for and about the young sons of her alluring widower neighbor. But when Archie marries a woman who is the epitome of the wicked stepmother, Holly struggles to oversee the boys' best interests without jeopardizing her friendship with Archie. When Leslie's marriage hits the skids after Charlie reveals his preference to live as a female impersonator in Las Vegas, Holly gets the emotional reinforcement she needs to deal with the queen bees at home and next door. Franks' fanciful and frothy slice of Lowcountry life is a feel-good, read-in-one-sitting escapeHIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Benton has been delighting readers with tales of her native Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, for 20 years, and her newest will rally fans and all seeking diverting women's fiction.--Carol Haggas Copyright 2019 Booklist