Francesca Serritella

The power to be seen. The power to be heard. The power to be adored. . . A woman's life is forever changed by a mysterious perfume in this stunning novel about ambition and untapped desire from the New York Times bestselling author of Ghosts of Harvard. Reeling from a breakup and overlooked at her job as a lighting designer, Iris Sunnegren finds herself stuck, disconnected, and lonely in crowded New York City. Her wealthy friends are married and having babies, while she's trying to pay for freezing her eggs. And the future she longs for feels out of reach. Then, a mysterious neighbor, an older Frenchwoman, makes her a gift: a bespoke perfume. One spritz, a dab behind the ears, and Iris feels like a different woman. Suddenly, she is the object of every man's desire, and she can satisfy her own hungers for sex, love, and ambition. She can cast off her inhibitions and use her newfound allure to dazzle the high-profile client, attract a man who excites her like no other, and access all the rarified spaces that once excluded her. Invigorated by the perfume, Iris embodies her maximum power--a flower fully bloomed. But there is danger in connecting to our primal emotions. Scent awakens buried memories, and nightmares of the childhood house fire she barely survived return to haunt her. As Iris ventures deeper into the glamorous and male-dominated worlds of New York real estate, dimly-lit steakhouses, and beachfront mansions in the Hamptons, she finds herself getting closer to unspeakable truths--about the people she trusted, about the people she loved, and about the new circle of power-players that invited her in. A sensual and seductive novel set among the upper echelons of New York City, Full Bloom is at once a poignant story of becoming and a riveting mystery that asks: Who are you without your inhibitions? Does being wanted get what you want, or will you be devoured by desire?

TEEN VOGUE BOOK CLUB PICK - A Harvard freshman becomes obsessed with her schizophrenic brother's suicide. Then she starts hearing voices. "A rich, intricately plotted thriller . . . Serritella, who is a Harvard grad herself, writes about the campus with an insider's savvy."--Maureen Corrigan, The Washington Post "Every time I thought I knew where Ghosts of Harvard was heading, I turned out to be wrong. Part mystery, part ghost story, part psychological thriller, this novel is all entertainment."--#1 New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult Cadence Archer arrives on Harvard's campus desperate to understand why her brother, Eric, a genius who developed paranoid schizophrenia took his own life there the year before. Losing Eric has left a black hole in Cady's life, and while her decision to follow in her brother's footsteps threatens to break her family apart, she is haunted by questions of what she might have missed. And there's only one place to find answers. As Cady struggles under the enormous pressure at Harvard, she investigates her brother's final year, armed only with a blue notebook of Eric's cryptic scribblings. She knew he had been struggling with paranoia, delusions, and illusory enemies--but what tipped him over the edge? Voices fill her head, seemingly belonging to three ghosts who passed through the university in life, or death, and whose voices, dreams, and terrors still echo the halls. Among them is a person whose name has been buried for centuries, and another whose name mankind will never forget. Does she share Eric's illness, or is she tapping into something else? Cady doesn't know how or why these ghosts are contacting her, but as she is drawn deeper into their worlds, she believes they're moving her closer to the truth about Eric, even as keeping them secret isolates her further. Will listening to these voices lead her to the one voice she craves--her brother's--or will she follow them down a path to her own destruction?

"Lisa and Francesca, mother and daughter, bring you the laughter of their lives." --Delia Ephron, bestselling author The bestselling and "perennially hilarious" mother-daughter team is back with a new collection of stories from their real lives, guaranteed to make you laugh out loud. Join Lisa Scottoline and Francesca Serritella as they regret drunk-shopping online, try smell-dating, and explore the freedom of a hiatus from men - a Guyatus. They offer a fresh and funny take on the triumphs and facepalm moments of modern life, showing that when it comes to navigating the crazy world we live in, you're always your own best lifeguard. Praise for the Series: "True tales of how we live now from a mother and daughter who are best pals--and a very funny writing team." --People (Best Beach Book) "The mother-daughter duo returns with a collection of breezy summer essays, perfect for the beach, the pool or even the couch. This witty, insightful assortment of stories is a wonderfully entertaining look into the lives of two modern women." --Parade Magazine "We get to be flies on the wall as the mother-daughter team fights, makes up, and hurls barbs just like you and your mom." --O, The Oprah Magazine (Perfect Summer Must Read) "Guaranteed laughs: short, sharp musings on life from this] perennially hilarious mom-daughter duo." --Good Housekeeping

"The mother-daughter duo returns with a collection of breezy summer essays, perfect for the beach, the pool or even the couch. This witty, insightful assortment of stories is a wonderfully entertaining look into the lives of two modern women." -Parade Magazine The New York Times bestselling mother-daughter team returns with a new collection in the series that Oprah Magazine calls the "Perfect Summer Must-Read," of funny and relatable true stories in the everyday lives of modern women. Lisa and Francesca give their multigenerational take on a variety of topics, from the terrors of Tinder to the indignities of the gym, and from fleece as formalwear to playing the lotto as financial planning, sounding like two girlfriends you've known your whole life. As with all mothers and daughters, Lisa and Francesca sometimes joke, sometimes fight, but always love their way through life's best and worst moments. You'll laugh along with them, and when you finish, you will want to share the fun with your mother, daughter, or best friend. So join Lisa Scottoline and Francesca Serritella as they travel from the beach to the city to the suburbs and all the places in between, exasperating, supporting, and enjoying each other along the way. "Lisa and Francesca, mother and daughter, bring you the laughter of their lives." --Delia Ephron, bestselling author "True tales of how we live now from a mother and daughter who are best pals--and a very funny writing team." -People (Best Beach Book)

Everyone's favorite mother-daughter writing duo is back with a new collection of warm and witty stories, Lisa Scottoline and Francesca Serritella's Have a Nice Guilt Trip With twenty-something Francesca navigating New York City, Lisa holding down the fort in the suburbs, and Mother Mary making frequent and always entertaining appearances, there are plenty of opportunities for family-induced guilt, fighting, laughter, and love. As Lisa says, Bottom line, if you're a mom, you'll feel guilty all the time, and this is true because you're a daughter as well, and God only knows how many times you failed your poor mother. So come along for the ride as Lisa Scottoline and Francesca Serritella continue on the road of life acquiring men and puppies... Ok, to be honest, Lisa is acquiring the puppies, while Francesca is lucky enough to have dates with actual men. They'll leave it to readers to decide which is more desirable and/or or easier to train.

"A warm, lively collection of narrative vignettes chronicling the day-to-day relationship of two women who also happen to be part of a successful mother-daughter writing team." --Kirkus Reviews Love and guilt are thick in the Scottoline/Serritella household, and Lisa and Francesca's mother-daughter-turned-best-friends bond will strike a familiar note to many. But now that Lisa is a suburban empty-nester and Francesca is an independent twenty-something in the big city, they have to learn how to stay close while living apart. How does a mother's love translate across state lines and over any semblance of personal boundaries? You'll laugh out loud as they face-off over the proper technique for packing dishes, the importance of bringing a coat in the summertime, and the dos and don'ts of dating at any age. Add feisty octogenarian Mother Mary to the mix, and you have a Molotov cocktail of estrogen, opinions, and fun. The stories in Meet Me at Emotional Baggage Claim will make you laugh, cry, and call your mother, daughter, and all your girlfriends.

In Best Friends, Occasional Enemies, New York Times bestselling author Lisa Scottoline and her daughter, Francesca Serritella, are the best of friends--99.9% of the time They're number one on each other's speed dial and they tell each other everything--well, almost everything. They share shoes and clothes--except one very special green jacket, which almost caused a catfight. In other words, they're just like every mother and daughter in the world. Best friends and occasional enemies. Now they're dishing about it all: their lives, their relationship, and their carb count. Lisa on Being a Mom: Motherhood has no expiration date. Francesca lives in the city, and I worry about her all the time. My daughter moved out, so why am I still lactating? Francesca on Being a Daughter: My mother is always right. Just ask her.

The incomparable Lisa Scottoline, along with daughter Francesca, is back with more wild and wonderful wit and wisdom: My Nest Isn't Empty, It Just Has More Closet Space. New York Times bestselling author Lisa Scottoline struck a chord with readers, book clubs, and critics with her smash-hit essay collection, Why My Third Husband Will Be a Dog. This time, Lisa teams up with Daughter Francesca to give their mother-daughter perspective on everything from blind dates to empty calories, as well as life with the feistiest octogenarian on the planet, Mother Mary, who won't part with her thirty-year-old bra. Three generations of women, triple the laughs---and the love. Inspired by their weekly "Chick Wit" column for The Philadelphia Inquirer, Lisa and Francesca spill all their family secrets---which will sound a lot like yours. And you'll have to put this book down, just to stop laughing. LISA ON DIETING: I'm backsliding with carbohydrates, which is the food version of ex-sex. FRANCESCA ON CUTTING THE CORD: I thought I said, "I am going to see my cousin's new apartment," but in Mom-speak that translates to: "I am going to meet certain death in the New York City subway tunnels that are soon to be my tomb." LISA ON MOTHER MARY: Most people have a list of Things To Do, but Mother Mary has a list of Things Not To Do. At the top is Don't Go to the Movies. Other entries include Don't Eat Outside With The Bugs and Don't Walk All Over This Cockamamie Mall. FRANCESCA ON BEING SINGLE: I'm addicted to the wedding announcements. Worse, I find myself subtracting my age from the bride's. I thought I was a modern woman, turns out I'm a Cathy cartoon. LISA ON AGING GRACEFULLY: Today I noticed my first gray hair. On my chin. And so much more