Carrie Adams Libri

Bea Frazier hoped she'd rediscover her incredible self after divorcing Jimmy. But being home alone with three daughters brings her demons back with a vengeance. The only solution is to reunite her family. The trouble is, her ex is about to marry someone else. Tessa King has finally found true love, but her knight in shining armor comes with three sullen daughters and an ex who doesn't seem nearly "ex" enough. After years of singledom, what does Tessa have to do to finally live happily ever after? As the two women negotiate carpools, puberty, and family loyalties, each finds it almost impossible not to fall into the old cliché of the bitter first wife and the wicked stepmother. But if Bea and Tessa are brave enough, they just may find a friend where they once saw an enemy. . . . Absorbing and touching, humorous and honest, The Stepmother reminds us that there is always another side to the story.

Tessa King is successful and unattached. She's got a lovely apartment and nice clothes, and nothing ties her down - that's the way she likes it.Tessa also has four godchildren. A fifteen-year-old pot-smoking rebel who hates his parents. A seven-year-old whose father walked out on her mother when she was still in hospital. And two screaming baby twins who are unattractive, double the trouble, and ruining their parents' relationship. That's why Tessa's not particularly maternal.Sometimes it's great to have nothing tying you down. And then sometimes, you start to realise something's missing ...