Description:

## Library Journal named Best Staged Plans one of the best Women’s Fiction Books of the year! **"Addicts of HGTV will drool."**—*Booklist* Sandy Sullivan is a professional home stager who lives and works in the Boston suburbs. So getting rid of her own house and downsizing should be a breeze, right? Well, best staged plans and all, Sandy's husband, Greg, is dragging his feet and their son, Luke, has returned home and moved into the "bat cave" in the basement. Sandy reads them both the riot act and takes a job staging a boutique hotel recently acquired by her best friend's boyfriend. The good news is that she can spend time in Atlanta with her recently married daughter, Shannon. The bad news is that Shannon soon receives a promotion and heads back up to Boston for training, leaving Sandy and her Southern son-in-law, Chance, as reluctant roommates. And Sandy finds herself in another delicate situation when she suspects her best friend's boyfriend may be seeing another woman on the side. Fixing up houses may turn out to be easier than fixing up lives. "Ms. Cook's writing only gets better with each new book."—*New York Journal of Books* “Midlife craziness...crowd-pleaser for empty nesters...charmer...Cook knows the territory of secret longing and snappy dialog.” —*Publishers Weekly* “Sandra is a professional home stager based out of the Boston area. Knowledgeable about home design and full of ideas, she somehow can’t manage to get her own house ready for the market, thanks to her slacking-off husband and son. When she gets an offer to stage a boutique hotel in Atlanta, she leaps at the chance to run away and get some distance and perspective. She soon starts to wonder whether her whole life, not just her home, needs a makeover. Fans of HGTV and of Cook’s previous charming fiction (*Seven Year Switch; Must Love Dogs*) will adore this light, funny read.”—★ STARRED *Library Journal *review!! "Conflict between happy family memories and the need to move forward is tempered by a great running gag about reading glasses, realistic relationships with friends and children, and much needed perspective from a stranger in need... Addicts to HGTV marathons will drool over Sandra’s tips for paint samples and thrift-store bargains. Cook’s likable heroine is charming without being silly, and her story is very well paced all the way to a genuinely delightful conclusion.”—*Booklist* ** ### Review "[A] crowd-pleaser for empty nesters."—****Publishers Weekly**** "Fans of HGTV and of Cook's previous charming fiction (*Seven Year Switch*; *Must Love Dogs*) will adore this light, funny read."—****Library Journal* (Starred Review)*** "Ms. Cook's writing only gets better with each new book."—****New York Journal of Books**** "Addicts to HGTV marathons will drool . . . well paced all the way to a genuinely delightful conclusion."—****Booklist**** "Cook knows the territory of secret longing and snappy dialog."—****Publishers Weekly**** "Claire Cook's characters aren't rich or glamorous--they're physically imperfect, emotionally insecure, and deeply familiar."—***Tom Perrotta, author of *Little Children**** "Reading Claire Cook might be the most fun you have all summer."—***Elin Hilderbrand, author of *The Castaways**** "Claire Cook has an original voice, sparkling style, and a window into family life that will make you laugh and cry."—***Adriana Trigiani, author of *Big Stone Gap**** "Charming, engagingly quirky, and full of fun, Claire Cook just gets it."—***Meg Cabot, author of *The Princess Diaries**** "Claire Cook has knocked it out of the park with BEST STAGED PLANS! Everything she has written previously has been entertaining, fun, and funny, but this novel made me cry as well, then laugh again. Every page of this story of an almost-empty nester "Home Stager" trying to sell her own home is filled with humor, warmth, insight and humanity. Plus great tips and tricks! ... And a homeless woman named Naomi will steal your heart. I loved it!"—***Joan Lang, Front Street Book Shop, Scituate MA*** "Claire Cook is back with another gift for beach readers and book clubs everywhere--BEST STAGED PLANS....you'll find fun, heart and hilarity from cover to cover. This is yet another winner for Cook, most certainly." —***Jackie Blem, Tattered Cover, Denver, CO*** "BEST STAGED PLANS is jam-packed with trademark Claire Cook wit and wry observations on those everyday situations that would be really comical if you could just slow down and view them from afar - or if they were happening to, well, someone else! You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll tell all your girlfriends that BEST STAGED PLANS is THE beach read of the summer. I know we are!"—***Jill Miner, Saturn Booksellers, Gaylord, MI*** "Another wise and witty novel from Claire Cook. There are some real nuggets of knowledge here on home staging, clearing your life of clutter and 'recipes' for creations made from prepared foods from Trader Joe's. I know this will make for some lively book club discussions for ladies of a particular 'stage' of life!"—***Karen Vail, Titcomb's Bookshop, Sandwich, MA*** "In true 'Claire Cook form' BEST STAGED PLANS is thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish...fun, light-hearted but moving at the same time. An uplifting and fun read."—***Lisa Kennally, R. J. Julia, Madison, CT*** "At the beginning of bestselling author Claire Cook's newest novel, professional homestager Sandy Sullivan has reached a mid-life crossroads, realizing that while she spends her time making other people's homes look picture-perfect, her own life could use some rearranging. Desperate for a change but with her husband dragging his feet, she takes on a job out of town staging a new hotel acquired by her best friend's boyfriend. But even the best staged plans are never perfect, leaving Sandy living with her son-in-law (minus her daughter) and wondering if her best friend's man is straying. Claire Cook has done it again with another fantastic, breezy summer read!"—***Whitney Spotts, Schuler Books and Music, MI*** "I'm really looking forward to recommending "Best Staged Plans" as well as your other titles, especially to our summer tourist crowd. Though I'm not a "reader in readers" quite yet, the novel spoke to me in ways I didn't expect when I read the first chapter. You provided a richness and a message within a story, subtle and powerful, without beating people over the head with a moral. Nice job!"—***Kasey Cox, From My Shelf Books, Wellsboro, PA * * * ### About the Author **CLAIRE COOK** wrote her first novel in her minivan at 45. At 50, she walked the red carpet at the Hollywood premiere of the movie adaptation of her second novel, ***Must Love Dogs***, starring Diane Lane and John Cusack. She is now the *New York Times*, *USA Today*, and #1 Amazon bestselling author of 14 books and a sought after reinvention speaker. If you have a buried dream, take it from Claire, it is NEVER too late! Claire has reinvented herself once again by turning ***Must Love Dogs*** into a series, as well as writing her first nonfiction book, ***Never Too Late: Your Roadmap to Reinvention (without getting lost along the way)***, in which she shares everything she's learned on her own journey that might help you in yours. Be the first to hear about new releases, giveaways, and insider extras by signing up for Claire's newsletter at ClaireCook.com/newsletter. Hang out with her at Facebook.com/ClaireCookauthorpage and Twitter.com/ClaireCookwrite.