Does fate determine whom we are destined to spend our lives with, or is it simply chance? In “Meant to Be Mine,” Hannah Orenstein’s delightful romance forces main character Edie Meyer to consider that very question. Edie’s grandmother Gloria has correctly predicted the date on which all her family members will meet their bashert, which is Yiddish for the true love that is meant to happen. She predicted her own meeting with Edie’s Grandfather Ray, and the couple was blissful for many decades of marriage.

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A novel with the word “treehouse” in the title doesn’t seem as if it would be about life changes and making important decisions. On the other hand, that word does imply family and fun. Catherine Drake’s debut novel, “The Treehouse on Dog River Road,” brings us an intrepid main character who spent two years in Kenya building houses. Then she got a job in finance. Now she’s wondering what she wants to do in life. And when you are in your late twenties, and you don’t know what you want to do in life, sometimes spending a summer taking care of family is just what is needed to clear your head. At least, that’s what Hannah Spencer is hoping when she agrees to take care of her young niece and nephew for several months when her sister Molly and Molly’s husband, both college professors, have an opportunity to travel to South America to do research. Hannah had managed to get laid off from her very unsatisfying job with enough of a severance package that she can figure out what she wants to do next and where she wants to do it, and she has all summer to figure it all out.

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Reading Sariah Wilson’s last two novels, “The Paid Bridesmaid” and “The Seat Filler” has opened my eyes about employment opportunities I never realized existed: seat fillers and paid bridesmaids. Who knew you could actually hire a maid of honor to help you with all those pesky details like organizing a bachelorette party or giving a heartfelt speech at the wedding reception? In her latest novel, we meet Rachel Vinson, who started her company with the brilliant thought that brides who didn’t have many friends, or friends who couldn’t be bothered to really help with the wedding, or friends who might cause drama, might want a few professional bridesmaids to do the actual bridesmaid work. And really, have you ever thought about the work involved in being a bridesmaid? I had not.

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True to form, Nicholas Sparks’ latest novel, “The Wish,” covers the gamut of emotions from love to loss and will have readers crying gently into a tissue before the end. In this story, we meet Maggie Dawes, a noted photographer who is dying from melanoma. So from the very start, Sparks is upfront that this book is about someone who will probably die by the end of the story. We are forewarned. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have some surprises in store for us.

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