Author Event! WORSE THAN STRANGERS with Kyleigh Leddy & Lauren Okie

About the book:

A debut novel for fans of Jane Austen, Elin Hilderbrand, and Gilmore Girls, Worse Than Strangers is a beachy retelling of Austen’s Persuasion set against the backdrop of a cottage on Nantucket about finding romance, second chances, and a new path in life.
Rose and Lily are best friends first, mother-daughter second, which is good because right now, Lily could really use a friend. Recently fired from her NYC magazine job and heartbroken, Lily has fled to the family cottage in Siasconset. She is shocked when she stumbles across her first love at the grocery store holding hands with his new fiancé—a fiancé he never mentioned on their many, many late-night phone calls.
Rose has secrets, too. A therapist about to start her own private practice, Rose’s world is rocked by the handsome renter staying in their guest cottage, Thomas Wentworth: the one person she thought she would never see again and the man who has always (unfortunately) held her heart.
A modern retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion set against a backdrop of blue and purple hydrangeas, swollen brick sidewalks, tall sea grass, and uniform, shingled houses, Lily and Rose Gardner’s summer journey of second chances, healing, and hope begs the question: Can you repeat the past, and is it ever too late to try again?

About the authors:

Kyleigh Leddy’s writing has appeared in the New York Times, New York Magazine, and Parents, among others. In 2023, she was named on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Media list. She holds a BA from Boston College, an MSW from Columbia University, and an MFA in fiction from Bennington Writing Seminars. Kyleigh is the author of The Perfect Other: A Memoir of My Sister, which is based on her award-winning New York Times Modern Love essay. She is a licensed therapist and a co-founder of Boston College’s M.A. in Writing and the Human Condition program. Worse Than Strangers is her debut novel.

Lauren Okie studied English and American Literature at New York University. When she’s not mining old traumas or blocking sex scenes on the backs of grocery lists, Lauren works as a copywriter. Originally from Miami, she lives with her husband and daughter in the Los Angeles area.

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