Jen Lancaster is best known for her witty, laugh-out-loud memoirs, in which she pokes fun at herself in a completely relatable way. Because of my love for Lancaster’s non-fiction, I’ve been hesitant to pick up any of her fiction novels. However, her fourth and most recent book, The Best of Enemies (New American Library), was too tempting to pass over. If you’re skeptical about whether Lancaster can succeed in writing about lives other than her own, don’t be – you won’t be disappointed with this story about two frenemies forced to work together to help their mutual BFF.

Any fan of the movie Bridesmaids will appreciate the plight (and Lancaster’s humorous writing) of Jack, a journalist often embedded in some of the world’s most dangerous locations, and Kitty, a Martha Stewart wanna-be and queen of the PTA, who have spent the last decade hating each other (and often getting into physical altercations in each other’s presence). But when their mutual friend Betsy’s husband dies, leaving his widow wrapped in a financial scandal, Jack and Kitty reluctantly join forces to figure out what happened. While the mystery gives these frenemies a common purpose, the story of Jack and Kitty takes center stage. Told through the alternating perspectives of each woman, readers are in for a real treat – and in true Jen Lancaster fashion.

In The Truth According to Us (The Dial Press), Annie Barrows tells a tale of loyalty and love in the small, eccentric town of Macedonia, W. Va. Barrows, who co-authored the acclaimed novel The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and is behind the successful Ivy and Bean series for young readers, hits a homerun in her first solo venture as an adult novelist.

The story takes place in 1938 during the era of the Works Progress Administration. The largest and most ambitious agency of the New Deal, the WPA hired millions of men and women (mostly men) to carry out public works projects.

When Layla Beck, a privileged young woman, refuses her father’s orders to marry a man she despises, she is forced to leave her cushy life in Washington, D.C., and head to the humble town of Macedonia for what she expects will be a summer of misery. Her uncle, who is in charge of the WPA, gives her a job writing the small town’s history in time for its sesquicentennial celebration. While there, Layla boards with the unconventional Romeyn family – one of Macedonia’s well-known, but mysterious, families. The members of Romeyn family are fiercely protective of each other, especially 12-year-old Willa, who would do anything to get closer to her often-absent father, including protecting him from the love-struck Layla.

As Layla peels back the layers of the town’s true history, Willa unknowingly stumbles upon her father’s deepest, darkest secret, which will change history as the Romeyn family knows it. Barrows does a great job of creating smart, deep characters in a world readers will surely appreciate.

By Kimberly Dunbar