Things To Do When It's Raining
Coming February 6, 2018
When secrets tear love apart, can the truth mend it?
Mae Summers and Gabriel Broadbent grew up together in the idyllic Summers’ Inn, perched at the edge the St. Lawrence river. Mae was orphaned at the age of six and Noah needed protection from his alcoholic father, so both were raised under one roof by Mae’s grandparents, Lilly and George. A childhood friendship quickly developed into a first love—a love that was suddenly broken by Gabe’s unexpected departure. Mae grew up, got over her heartbreak, and started a life for herself in New York City.
After more than a decade, Mae and Gabe find themselves pulled back to Alexandria Bay. Hoping to find solace within the Summers’ Inn, Mae instead finds her grandparents in the midst of decline and their past unravelling around her. A lifetime of secrets stand in the way of this unconventional family’s happiness. Will they be able to reclaim the past and come together, or will they remain separate islands?
From the bestselling author of Mating for Life comes a powerful story about guilt, forgiveness and the truth about families: that we can choose them, just as we choose to love.
Coming February 6, 2018 in in North America and November 17, 2017 in Germany. Meanwhile, the advance praise is in!
“Things to Do When It’s Raining has heart and soul and guts, and it has achingly beautiful prose and characters so dear and real I couldn’t bear to say goodbye when I reached its final page. It’s a book about friendship and secrets, grief and regret, the peculiar shape of families and the redemptive nature of love. And it is, quite frankly, one of the best books I have read in a very long time.” (Jennifer Robson, bestselling author of Moonlight over Paris)
“Fans of Nicholas Sparks will adore Things to Do When It’s Raining, an irresistible tribute to first love, second chances and the powerful legacy of the past. Elegant and heartfelt, Marissa Stapley’s writing is a gift.” (Pam Jenoff, New York Times bestselling author of The Orphan's Tale)
“Evocative, wise and infused with heart. A deeply moving story about family, love and loss, the novel shows how secrets can either haunt us or set us free, depending on who we trust them with. One of my favorite books this year!” (Karma Brown, bestselling author of Come Away with Me)
“A generous book about imperfect people, a novel about the family we choose, the mistakes we make, and how love, flawed and searching and messy, is the only path to forgiveness. It’s also a gorgeously written page-turner, and when I finished it, I flipped right back to page one to savor it just a little bit more.” (Lauren Fox, author of Days of Awe)
“A tightly woven story that beautifully illustrates how tragedy and human weakness can cause heartbreaking ripples for years and generations to come.” (K.A. Tucker, bestselling author of He Will Be My Ruin)
“There is something so intimate and true in the sentence, 'Every marriage harbors secrets, secrets about why it works or why it doesn't work, secrets between two people that the rest of the world can never be privy to.' Profound and intimate, raw and real--Things to Do When It's Raining is hard to put down. Loved the ending but hated to have it end!” (Nan Rossiter, New York Times bestselling author of Firefly Summer)
“The complex and moving saga of a non-traditional family with deep bonds and even deeper secrets. Set against the idyllic background of a far-flung seaside town, the finely drawn characters of this novel test the limits of friendship, love, and forgiveness. A story that lingers long after the final page is turned.” (Andrea Dunlop, author of Losing the Light)
“Spellbinding. . . . I fell in love with Mae Summers from the first page, and I followed her, heart between my teeth, as she uncovered family secrets and reconsidered her place in the world. Full of engaging characters, sensitivity and insight, Marissa Stapley’s newest novel is a beautiful, emotionally acute saga that makes us all reconsider the meaning of love and family.” (Danila Botha, author of Too Much on the Inside)
“A haunting, gripping novel about family secrets and love lost and found. It's a story that will resonate with anyone who has returned home to find that places have as much power as people to wound, and heal.”
(Elizabeth Renzetti , author of Based on a True Story)
“Written with compassion and insight, Things to Do When It's Raining is a truly captivating novel with exquisite prose and moments of bittersweet tenderness.” (Nicola Moriarty, author of The Fifth Letter)
