Something New

by Malena Lott

What if you were sure you lived a different life?Three generations of women. Four secrets. One stage.When matriarch Maeve Apple receives a letter in the mail that Princess & the Pauper is being remade, she believes she's 25 again and ready to relive her stardom - and refuses to believe she married Henry, the boring politician, instead of her handsome co-star, Canty.Meanwhile, her daughter, Bess, is dealing with Maeve's dementia, her own divorce and planning her youngest daughter's wedding, on the Luxe Weddings reality show. Bess feels she's never been anything other than her position in the community. Could her long-time friendship with the family gardener blossom into something more?Bess' eldest daughter, Kelly, has a secret of her own that could threaten her chance at love again. When sexy producer Edgar comes to Oklahoma City to revive Princess and the Pauper, she gets a new client, but has she sworn off men just when the right guy finally comes along? Curvy Gwen, the youngest, may be the star of Luxe Weddings about to marry the charming modern prince of Oklahoma City, but she finds her heart belongs on the stage, attracted by the lights and her co-star, Ax as the musical begins playing tricks on her psyche. Is she marrying for true love or just keeping her status in society? The women live together in a downtown loft as they search for Maeve's long-lost pauper and the biggest secret of all. Lott's most romantic tale yet with four love stories intertwined on the theme of love and destiny, readers are sure to fall in love with Something New.

Genres: Romance

324 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 3, 2012

About the author

Malena Lott is an award-winning writer and the author of four women's fiction novels: Dating da Vinci, Fixer Upper, The Stork Reality (re-released in 2012 with an updated storyline) and her fall 2012 release Something New. Her popular beach novellas Life's a Beach and The Last Resort are available as ebook only. She lives in Oklahoma with her husband, three kids, and two shih-tzus. She owns a branding firm, Athena Institute and also writes YA and fantasy/paranormal under the pen name Lena Brown. Her stories were featured in the anthologies, Prom Dates to Die For and Something Wicked.
Connect with her on Pinterest, Twitter and Instagram @malenalott and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/malenalottbooks. Visit her website at www.malenalott.com.

Reviews

[Malena Lott]

Thrilled to add my fourth novel, SOMETHING NEW, to my author shelf. Hope readers love the Apple women and the modern fairytale as much I do.

[Julie Barrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Something New by malena Lott
Love how the chapters are split between the 4 women who live in the same house.
Apple is their family last name as they have worked for the company over the years, each doing different jobs.
Appleisms at the beginning of some chapters have just the right amount of truth while being fun.
Maeve is the eldest-the one who has now lost her memory but remembers the Prince and the Pauper and all the musical scenes and the words to the songs. She loves the acting and often runs to the theater and hopes to reunite with Canty-he's the pauper.
Bess is the daughter of Maeve, mother of the two girls. Just recently divorced after 40 years and is at odds with one of her daughter's wedding plans. Death of her marriage and soon death of her mother, it's too much some days and she wants to start going through Maeve's things now. Maybe spark something that will make her remember who Canty is in the play so they can contact him.
Gwen is one of the girls, the one to be married and she's doing it on reality TV show til the day of the wedding. There's a lot going on here even behind the scenes.
Kelly is the other girl and she works nonstop for the family business. She also has given up on men and has selected her fathers baby and was injected with his sperm in hopes to become pregnant.
They all live in the same house together, sharing duties of taking care of the eldest, Maeve.
Love the travel and the descriptions of the high class items, shoes, bags, etc. and especially the gardens.
What happens next is the key to the rest of the book. It has potential to destroy them all, their relationships, life and work.
Like how when it first starts out it's the present day and as the story goes, it does travel back in time to help you understand what you need to find out.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Synopsis: "In this modern retelling of the Princess and the Pauper, three generations of women live together in a loft in an urban district as they redefine love and happiness and the meaning of "having it all."

Matriarch Maeve, 85, is losing her mind to Alzheimer's and after she receives a note that the musical, The Princess and the Pauper, is being revived, she believes she's 25 again, when she starred in the show. Suddenly, she's a stage diva again and can't stop talking about her co-star, Canty, someone her daughter and grand-daughters had never heard of.

Bess, Maeve's only daughter, is dealing with her divorce at the same time she's planning her 25 year-old daughter's wedding. To make things worse, they are starring in a reality TV show, Luxe Weddings, but no one knows the Apples aren't as wealthy as everyone believes. Her oldest daughter, Kelly, 35, has a secret of her own: she's pregnant by a donor, but is afraid to tell her family due to their position in the community. Just when she's given up men, Kelly meets Edgar, the producer of The Princess and the Pauper, who hires her to plan the launch and wants to include Maeve in the show. Meanwhile, the youngest Apple, curvy shoe-addict, Gwen, struggles with her weight and keeping up with the other brides-to-be on the reality show, when the stage bug - and love bug - hit her at the worst possible time.

With humor and heart, Something New delves deep into our inner lives where secrets, passion and identity yearn for the spotlight"


My Review: I was very happy to revisit my favorite character from Lott's Last Resort. I had wanted to get to know Kelly more and have gotten to know her along with all the Apple women. It was very interesting watching the dynamics of all the women as they rediscover and reinvent their relationships with one another. I have so much sympathy for Bess, I can't imagine watching your mother suffer through alzheimers and not remembering that you even exist at times. On the other hand Maeve's alzheimers brings her back to her happiest times and gives her an opportunity to set things straight or make new choices. Gwen did a lot of growing up and joining the rest of the ladies in her family in making her own decisions and becoming more independent. And Kelly learns she doesn't always have to be so independent, that you can lean on family and friends a little more. Of course Malena Lott has a talent for painting scenes so vividly that you feel like you are there feeling the emotions or at least wishing you could be in a specific place. I really wish I could have a romantic night in a field of lavender while on a weekend getway in Sonoma Valley with my special someone!! *swoon* talk about romantic scene setting!! Oh and you don't have to read Last Resort to enjoy Something New!

[Darla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic story! I so hated to see it end! It makes you smile, tear up and laugh! Definately a feel good book!

[Donna Huber · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved this book. I could identify with Kelly and I want my own Edgar. Read the full review at Girl Who Reads

[Nadine Mu. · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved the story, made my cry towards the end. But at some point the author confuses the name of characters so I had to re-read it to understand.