What She Wants
By Cathy Kelly 

     What She Wants is the ultimate story about how friendship can rejuvenate a person.

     Hope Parker is married to a devilishly handsome man and has two adorable kids. While this sounds ideal, the truth is that Hope's husband, Matt, has decided to write the great American novel. He plans to leave his high-paying job and move his family to Redlion, Ireland, where they don't know a soul. Hope is so afraid of losing Matt that she agrees, even though she is dreading it. This move sends Hope's world into a tailspin, when many things begin to change both for the good and bad, and sometimes it is hard to tell the difference.

     Hope's sister, Sam Smith, is going through her own crisis. She has recently taken over a job at Titus Records where she is managing director of a label. To be taken seriously, Sam adopts the persona of a bitch on wheels and soon realizes how much she is missing by working all the time. An illness and the sexy man next door just might spiral Sam into some realizations that she has been hiding within herself.

     One of the talents that Sam signs up for her label is Nicole Turner, a young woman who isn't quite sure what to do with herself. She lives at home with her lovable but dizzy mother and her five year old half-sister and from the time she was little, has been responsible for taking care of the household. Although, she loves her new career as an up-and-coming singer, can she allow herself this time away from being the one in control?

     The last of the women is Virginia Connell, a widow, who has been besides herself with grief ever since her husband’s death. Virginia moves to Redlion, hoping to get away from all the memories and finds herself beginning to heal with the help of an attractive man and some brand-new friends.

     These four woman are so different, but it is these differences that hold the reader captivated. The writing is strong enough to elicit many reactions. One minute I was crying, the next, laughing. What She Wants is an absolute delight to read. I look forward to searching out the rest of Cathy Kelly's books.