Carleen Brice's debut Orange Mint and Honey is an invigorating and poignant novel. After grad school, Shay Dixon feels like she's had enough for a while. Inspired by her spiritual adviser, a blues player named Nina Simon, Shay calls her estranged mother Nona for the first time in years to ask if it would be alright to stay with her for a while.

"Emma London never thought she had anything in common with her grandmother Genevieve London. The regal old woman came from wealthy and bluest-blood New England stock, but that didn't protect her from life's cruelest blows: the disappearance of Genevieve's young son, followed by the premature death of her husband. But Genevieve rose from those ashes of grief and built a fashion empire that was respected the world over, even when it meant neglecting...

"Julia Martin grew up wealthy, but it wasn't until she met her husband, Jack, that she knew true happiness. He made her feel worthy and loved. Their marriage was also an escape from her sister's bullying, her father's scrutiny, and her chilly and enigmatic mother. But when tragedy strikes on the night she gives birth, Julia's happiness is shattered. She has no choice but to return home to her family's South Carolina mansion, where the grief and guilt...