Cassie Linden Finds Her Sweet Spot

by Linda Avellar

Cassie Linden worries about every word she can’t remember, terrified of the early-onset Alzheimer’s that stole her mother. Now, recently divorced, she’s back home to care for her aging father, who can no longer manage his beloved bees.

To pay for her dad’s care, she puts her misgivings aside and convinces him to sell to a developer who’s putting up a luxury project next door. She also enlists the help of beekeeper Glenn Marsden, who fiercely opposes development of this last open space in town. Glenn hasn’t had much to say to women ever since his wife left him and their young daughter eight years ago, but something unexpected has sparked with Cassie.

Cassie knows she needs to come clean with Glenn about her plan to sell but fears it will ruin their blossoming relationship. Then there’s the appointment she forgot and those pesky words she can’t recall. Her sister is after her to get tested for the genetic mutation that guarantees early-onset. But does Cassie really want to know? And will the answer sink her newfound chance at happiness?

Genres: Fiction

277 pages, Paperback

Published December 30, 2025

About the author

Linda Avellar is a former Emmy-nominated TV news reporter who’s always loved a good story. After stepping away from the news business, she couldn’t resist taking a job at the public library in Stamford, Connecticut, where she is surrounded by books.

A Southern California native, she has lived in Connecticut most of her adult life with her husband, two kids, and a succession of cranky cats and amiable dogs. When she's not writing or discovering her next great read, you can find her digging in her garden, hiking with her grown kids in the Pacific Northwest or sailing on Long Island Sound.

CASSIE LINDEN FINDS HER SWEET SPOT is her debut novel.

Reviews

[Heather~ Nature.books.and.coffee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent debut. I thought it was beautifully written and with tough topics like Alzheimer's, an aging father, her son's troubles, the author handled it with care. She created characters that you can't help but care about. The story really pulled me in. It was quite emotional and I was so invested. I can't wait to see what this author writes next. I'll definitely be picking it up.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the gifted copy. All opinions are my own.

[Lovemybooks2020 Cindy Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a sweet story of a woman who was facing many changes in her midlife. Her father has dementia, her son who is in college is struggling, and her marriage has fallen apart. I loved the symbolism between her father and her father‘s beehives. I really enjoyed this one.

[Alec Biron · Rating 5 out of 5]

A story about family meets charming romance in this debut novel by Linda Avellar.

Following a divorce and her father’s worsening memory challenges, Cassie Linden leaves Manhattan and returns to her hometown of Laurelton, Connecticut. As Cassie navigates her father’s declining health and supports her troubled, college-aged son, her biggest challenge becomes caring for her father’s bees, all while having no beekeeping experience. Enter Glenn Marsden, a man who strikes up a fast and unexpected romantic bond with Cassie, despite their many differences.

Avellar’s leads are charming and understated, sharing a chemistry that highlights their contrasting personalities. It’s clear Avellar did extensive research into the world of beekeeping for this feel-good novel. Cassie Linden Finds Her Sweet Spot is a love letter to family and community, while also exploring bigger questions—such as whether we would want to know how our lives will end. I’m excited to see future projects from Avellar.

[Vicki French-Sanches · Rating 5 out of 5]

Linda Avellar’s premier storytelling is in abundance in this book! The story opens with intriguing action: Cassie’s son is in big trouble. The author then sprinkles the opening with very interesting breadcrumbs for the reader, of mysteries to be resolved.

The tremendous character definition shows the life-defining internal pulls on the main character, Cassie: She’s being driven by her young son’s needs and from her ailing father’s needs, a juggling act that leaves barely a moment to know what she really wants.

But a delicious romance with a hot local beekeeper is hinted to early—“She had a feeling Glenn Marsden made very good honey.”—Cassie heats up throughout the story like a pot on simmer, waiting to be devoured. Brilliantly done!

The character backstories are highly relatable, and the way the author transitions between perspectives is very gracefully done; easy for the reader to follow. The character arcs are genuine and inspiring, with several healing lines that I’ve committed to my heart. I’d highly recommend this book.

--Vicki French Sanches
Author of The Time it Takes To Drown
(Literary Crime Fiction, to be released in 2026)

[Peg Devlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I truly loved the author’s writing style and her endearing main characters. A little romance is always fun, but some difficult topics are also themes throughout the book. As part of the “sandwich” generation, I could understand the pressures of taking care of your child and your parent, not knowing if you’re making the right decisions and doubting yourself all the time. This book is very relatable. Can’t wait to read more from Linda Avellar.

[Gail L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Linda Avellar has created a story I immediately loved and was in rapture!!!! I could not put the book down! There are a few intertwined scenarios going on and found it fascinating how Cassie, the main character navigated her life challenges… very realistic and heart warming.
I also found it fascinating to learn about bee keeping.
I give this book a 5 star rating and highly recommend it!!
Gail Goldberg-an avid Stamford,Ct.reader

[Jubejube Reads]

Beautifully written and heartfelt. Cassie’s growth and self discovery was engaging and made me feel proud of her. A flawed but relatable and ultimately strong protagonist. I highly recommend this story

[Susan Duarte · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a heartwarming book about marriage, family relationships, and unexpected newfound love. At the same time, it taught me much about beekeeping and dementia. The amount of research that was necessary to write about these topics is evident.

Cassie is a very strong, resilient woman who handled a failed marriage, a troubled son, and an ailing father. Many of us today can appreciate the demands of the “sandwich generation”, and I can identify with many of her emotional struggles. This book brought me to tears several times, and I did not want to put it down.

I highly recommend this book. This is a great read for any book club as there are many interesting topics for discussion. Linda Avellar’s writing was seamless, and the character development superb. I look forward to the next book written by this author!

Susan Duarte
The Bloka Literary Society Book Club

[Sarah W · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a sweet heartwarming read. Cassie did have a lot of ups and downs during it but I loved the connections and change that came with it. As someone who has helped care for a grandparent with Alzheimer’s this really hit home and I connected well with the family. I loved learning about the bee’s, how to take care of them and how they work in their environment. I really liked getting to know Glenn and his daughter even though the story focused a little more on Cassie. There were so many hard decisions both of them had to make that brought some emotional moments with it. I loved the writing, the characters were well developed and the setting came to life, a great debut.

Thank you @lindaavellar @suzyapprovedbooktours for the gifted copy.

[Cam Torrens · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing debut! Linda Avellar's "Cassie Linden Finds Her Sweet Spot" is a touching exploration of midlife upheaval, generational caregiving, and the delicate choreography of starting anew.

When New York lawyer Cassie’s career and family unravel, she returns home to help her ailing father and confront her fear of inheriting the Alzheimer’s gene that claimed her mother. Amid the bees, the land, and the unexpected companionship of local bee expert Glenn, Cassie stumbles toward rediscovering what it means to live fully rather than fearfully. Avellar deftly balances heartbreak and hope, while delivering emotional depth and humor in a story reminiscent of Ann Napolitano’s "Hello Beautiful."

Moving. Graceful. This is upmarket fiction from an author I want to read more of!

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cassie Linden Finds Her Sweet Spot is a charming book. The author is such a gifted writer who describes with empathy, tenderness, and humor the weighty issues her characters face. It kept me entertained and it was a book I was eager to return to. The story resonates on so many levels. I really enjoyed the descriptions about the great care needed to be a beekeeper, not unlike the challenges facing her characters as single parents confronting the demands of caring for aging parents with Alzheimer’s and an uncertain future. Definitely enjoyable on every level. Looking forward to reading more books from this author.

[Linda Zagon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Linda Avellar, the Author of “When Cassie Linden Finds Her Sweet Spot” has written a captivating, intriguing and heart-felt novel. In this well written novel, Linda Avellar vividly describes the scenery, the plot, and best of all, the colorful and dramatic characters. The characters are complex, complicated, flawed, likable, and relatable. Cassie Linden worries about the words she forgets, the names she forgets, and the actions she might forget to do. Cassie’s mother passed away from early onset Alzheimers disease and Cassie debates whether she should take a genetic test to see if she will get Alzheimers. Cassie is divorced with a son in college, and decides it is time to check on her Dad. Her Dad’s favorite hobby and obsession is his bees. Her father lives in a big estate, and is having trouble taking care of his bees. Cassie looks for someone that specializes in bees, and find the “perfect” bee keeper, Glenn. The Bee-Keeper is concerned when a big Realtor company is buying up the estates in the community.

Cassie realizes that her father now is exhibiting signs of dementia, and is trying to make arrangements for him. Cassie and Glenn work closely together to take care of the bees, and they become closer. I enjoyed this book and couldn’t put it down. I appreciate how the author discusses important topics such as Alzheimer’s and dementia, the importance of family, communication, having courage to face our fears, love, and hope. I highly recommend this thought-provoking and emotional novel.

[Kate Underwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a lovely debut in the women's fiction space! I enjoyed this story of Cassie and Glenn. Cassie is dealing with her father's Alzheimer's and his ongoing care while worrying about her son and her own potential to have the gene for early-onset Alzheimer's as well. She returns to her childhood home and soon enlists the help of Glenn, a beekeeper who can help keep her father's beloved bees alive while he's laid up with an injury and an unpredictable memory. Glenn is also working through the idea that his ex may actually want to spend time with the daughter she's barely seen in years. Glenn and Cassie soon grow close and must decide whether their relationship is worth pursuing.

A beautiful novel of family and relationships and what it means to truly live.

[Matthew Luongo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading "Cassie Linden Finds Her Sweet Spot" was like taking a warm dive into the topics of family, forgiveness and how to find your footing when life doesn’t go exactly as planned. Linda Avellar writes with an ease that makes themes like aging parents, grown children and second chances feel relatable to anyone - even those who might currently be at a different stage of life! The mix of humor, heart and messiness feels just right as the story unfolds. Metaphors span from bees to land and quickly become integral to how Linda moves us through the novel. This is a thoughtful and tender debut that sneaks up on you and stays!

[Booksandcoffeemx · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those books that leaves you with a true feel-good feeling, and I loved that it’s a debut.
From the very first pages, I knew I was reading something special, and I wasn’t wrong.
I loved the writing and the characters. It was relatable, emotional, and beautifully written. Such a great debut, can’t wait to read more from this author.

[Christy Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved so much about this book, starting with the cover. Then I fell head over heels for Cassie right off the bat. She had so much on her plate, including some heavy things. My heart ached for her as she evaluated genetic testing, and I was cheering her on big time as she figured out her new path. I’ve always been scared of bees, but learning more about them was really interesting. This book was an absolute delight!

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a delightful, fun debut book by Linda Avellar. I was engaged from the beginning of the book which navigates through so many topics that we all can relate to, and have most likely experienced ourselves on one level or another. Topics such as dealing with aging parents, inherited health concerns, challenging college aged children, divorce and tough lifetime decisions all intertwine throughout the story, and then of course there is the hot beekeeper! Love this one.

[Elodie Paquette · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a total delight! The story follows a recently divorced woman entering a new season of her life. There is a delicious love interest: the small town hunk who doesn’t know how handsome he is. But more importantly, the exploration of complex family dynamics is rich and relatable. It covers themes of caring for an aging parent, parenting teenagers, and grief. It also questions the impact of changing life stages on one’s identity. As a bonus, you will learn something about beekeeping. Overall, this is a wonderful first offering from Linda Avellar and I look forward to her future works!

[Mlards19 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this debut novel! The story of Cassie dealing with both her son’s and father’s issues brings to life the struggle of the “sandwich generation” and reminds us the importance of making time for our own health and life as well! I also enjoyed learning more about the world of beekeeping!

[Susan Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thought provoking
Well-written with an entertaining plot, this book taught me a lot about bees, while exploring numerous heavier topics. The main character wrestles with several dilemmas that have no clearcut answers, and had me wondering what I would do if in her place.

[Gary Zohman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story pulled me in and I finished it in one sitting. Emotionally, it hits very close to home. It is a touching story, and expertly told. I look forward to Avellar’s next book, and a taste of honey.

[Rille A. Pinault · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed the book. The characters were believable and relatable. I liked learning a bit more about bees. The tension created by modern science vs. living out your life to the best of your abilities created a good internal dialogue and of course a good love story is always appreciated.

[Debbie Rozier · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book does a brilliant job of portraying in the main character Cassie Linden that in between time. It’s the precarious balance of caring for a parent while at the same time still mentoring adult children all while trying to maintain a personal life, career, and deal with your own health concerns.

The book also gives some interesting insider information on beekeeping which I knew nothing about.

Relationships, romance, and a realistic view of life made this one a page turner for me.

[J W · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of those books you don't want to put down! As the story unfolded, I wanted to keep reading page after page to see what happened next in this wonderful story about family & new beginnings. Recommending this to all my friends!

[Janis Daly · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Cassie Linden Finds Her Sweet Spot, Linda Avellar delivers a heartfelt, wise, and deeply relatable story that will resonate with readers of upmarket women’s literary fiction. In particular, I found Avellar’s portrayal of the difficult squeeze of the sandwich generation to be spot on, having navigated through those demands myself. Cassie Linden, recently divorced and juggling a college-age son, returns home to care for her father, whose decline into dementia mirrors a fear that shadows her own life. The creative use of bees as a metaphor for Cassie’s emotional and practical challenges strengthens the storyline. Once tenderly cared for by her father, the beehive in the family home’s backyard becomes a living symbol of the pressures Cassie faces. The hive’s enemies mirror her own: mites representing her looming medical worries, wasps swooping in like the relentless real estate developer threatening to overrun the family’s last piece of open land. The health of the hive, shaken by outside forces, ultimately survives when tended to by a caring beekeeper, even when it’s relocated to a new home. As does Cassie, who faces nagging fears: fear of disappointing others, fear of losing love, fear of what the future may hold.

Honesty and compassion grab the reader with every page turned. The high stakes of what comes next feel both intimate and universal, touching on the dread so many readers face when confronting their own family histories. With rich symbolism, emotional depth, and characters who feel like people you might meet at the local farm stand, Cassie Linden Finds Her Sweet Spot is a moving meditation on resilience, second chances, and the possibility of flourishing even after life stings us again and again. Like a carefully tended hive, Cassie discovers that sweetness can still be found, even in uncertain seasons.

[Connie Ziesemer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author Linda Avellar’s Cassie Finds Her Sweet Spot is a moving and realistic portrayal of a woman, Cassie, navigating a complex period in her life. Avellar gives us a sensitive and insightful telling of a multitude of sensitive topics. Cassie leaves New York to check on her elderly father, still living in their rural family home where she grew up. Going back is fraught with memories of watching her mother’s quick decline from an aggressive genetic form of Alzheimer’s and the guilt she feels for avoiding visiting her father after her mother’s death. Her father is now showing signs of dementia and needs extra care. Cassie’s life was stressful before this. Her ex-husband is getting married, and her son called to tell her he’s suspended from college while they investigate what led up to his friend’s accident, resulting in a traumatic brain injury. So, when her own memory shows signs of failing, Cassie compounds her stress with the chronic fear that she, too, has the gene that will cut her life short. Her cantankerous father isn’t easy to deal with, nor is his primary concern with his beehives. They hire a beekeeper, who Cassie finds herself immediately attracted to. But even with this budding relationship, which brings her what her heart desires, life keeps giving Cassie the lesson that most of what she wants is outside her control. Once she accepts this, she implements changes that focus on the new life perspectives she’s gained. I would highly recommend this book.
~ Connie Morgan, author of More Than Luck Required

[Samantha Rushovich · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so easy to pick up at any time of day, no matter my mood—and just as hard to put down. The writing flows effortlessly, making it dangerously easy to sit down for a few minutes and realize hours have passed.

Avellar does a beautiful job creating characters with real depth without weighing the story down with pages of backstory. Even the more “unlikable” characters are hard not to like, simply because they’re written with so much care and understanding. I found myself empathizing with nearly everyone, seeing not just who they are, but why they are that way. There’s something in these characters that everyone can relate to.

While the book explores deeply emotional themes like loss, aging, and Alzheimer’s, it never feels heavy or overwhelming. There’s an airiness to the storytelling - a quiet warmth - that makes it incredibly approachable and human. The pacing is excellent, moving the story along in a way that feels intentional and absorbing without ever rushing.

This is the kind of book I’d recommend without hesitation, and one I can easily see myself returning to. It’s tender, thoughtful, and deeply engaging—and it stays with you long after you turn the final page.

[Michelle Beckwith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cassie Linden’s world seems to be unraveling. This debut opens with the main character’s college age son in serious trouble and her ex husband is complicating matters. Cassie heads to Connecticut from her NY apartment to see her elderly father who is having difficulties managing a dementia diagnosis and she is wondering if, like her mother, early onset Alzheimer’s is in her future. She hires a local bee expert to help with her father’s beehives and finds that they have more than a few things in common.

The balance of the narrative between the wonderment of beekeeping and the health concerns of aging parents carefully kept the pace moving forward. But the heart of this novel lies in some heartwarming themes; devotion to family, curiosity for the natural world and courage to take a different path.
I also lived in a “small house just off Hope Street” in Stamford, and it was a treat to revisit my 20+ years spent living in suburban Connecticut. Many thanks to the author for providing me an early copy. I truly enjoyed time spent in this very familiar corner of New England and you might too!

Many thanks to the author for providing me a digital copy in exchange for my review.

[Susan Ballard (subakkabookstuff) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A touching and relatable story about caregiving and family that will evoke empathy and warmth in many of us in the “sandwich” generation.

Caught between caring for a father with dementia and being concerned for the trouble her college-aged son has gotten into, Cassie Linden doesn’t have time to worry if she carries the gene for early-onset Alzheimer’s, which took her mother from her.

The author does a lovely job of weaving bees and beekeeping throughout the story as Cassie’s father keeps bees, but it is becoming too difficult for him to care for the hives. Cassie calls in an expert beekeeper, opening the door to a potential new beginning for her and allowing her to learn the ways of the bees.

The story tackles the tough questions of whether you’d want to know if you carried the gene for Alzheimer’s, as well as the pros and cons of knowing. It is also a heartfelt story of family, a reminder to treasure the moments we have together, and a stirring of hope and reflection.

A charming, sweet, and observant debut novel; I’ll be watching for what Linda Avellar writes next!


Thank you @suzyapprovedbooktours and @lindazohmanavellar for this gifted book.

[Lori Singaraju · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a delight, start to finish! Cassie is already adjusting to life after divorce, fretting over her potential to inherit her mother's early-onset Alzheimers, and trying to help her college student son through a challenge of his own making when she discovers her aging father needs far more help than he's let on. Help that includes his beloved bees, of which Cassie is afraid (me too, Cassie, me too.) And then there's the handsome beekeeper.

It's a fun read, but one that will also make you think. Book clubs would find plenty to discuss here. The characters are so well-drawn, we see them grapple with tough decisions and are rooting for them to get it right. I also learned a lot about bees! I can't wait for this book to come out so I can recommend it to so many of my friends.

*I received an ARC. This review is my honest opinion.