It’s not easy being the Queen of Broken Hearts. Just ask Clare, who has willingly assumed the mantle while her career as a divorce coach thrives. Now she’s preparing to open a permanent home for the retreats she leads, on a slice of breathtaking property on the Alabama coast owned by her mother-in-law. Make that former mother-in-law, a colorful eccentric who teaches Clare much about love and sacrifice and living freely. When Clare’s marriage ends in tragedy, her work becomes the sole focus of her life. While Clare has no problem helping the hundreds of men and women who seek her advice to mend their broken hearts, healing her own is another matter entirely. Falling in love again is the last thing she wants.

So when Lex -- a charismatic, charming, burly sea captain -- moves to town to run the marina, Clare insists they remain friends and nothing more. But even though she fights it, she begins to fall for him -- and then finds she has a rival, his estranged wife Annalee.

A story infused with all the flavors, textures, and intrigues of a small Southern town, with a rich, resonant center, Queen of Broken Hearts is a bold step forward for Cassandra King.

"I LOVED this book!!!" --Dawn Knab, Borders

". . . a wonderful and uplifting tale. Full of romance and surprises along the way." --Fannie Flagg

"This novel about friendship, heartache, self-discovery and love -- in all its wounding, wacky, and wonderful forms -- had me laughing out loud, and then moved me to tears." --Sandra Brown, author of Ricochet

"Cassandra King has written a wonderful and uplifiting tale, about women helping other women in a small Alabama town. Full of romance and surprises along the way." --Fannie Flagg

“Queen of Broken Hearts is an absolutely fabulous story of healing and hope, filled with irresistible characters that are beautifully drawn and have great insights into life. I laughed and cried, and you will, too . . . I absolutely adored this book! Congratulations, Cassandra King, on a monumental success!” --Dorothea Benton Frank, author of Full of Grace

“These are not ‘The Same Sweet Girls,’ but all those who loved that novel will love this one even more. Cassandra King's characters are fully drawn, richly imagined human beings, whose lives will continue to resonate long after you've turned the last page." --Mark Childress, author of One Mississippi

“The story’s gentle Southern humor and warmth shine. It isn’t all iced tea and tomato pie -- King tackles some troubling issues -- but the characters are true to life, and readers will sympathize with their struggles.” --Publishers Weekly, for The Same Sweet Girls

If anybody has written a better book about the power of women’s friendships, I haven’t read it. Tender, funny, heartbreaking, and astoundingly unsentimental. I really, truly love this book.” --Anne Rivers Siddons for The Same Sweet Girls

An intelligent, witty novel, skillfully written.” --Boston Globe, for The Sunday Wife

As slice-of-life stories go, this is an extraordinarily generous one: rich, dense, and satisfying.” --People, for The Sunday Wife

King, who is married to novelist Pat Conroy (Prince of Tides), has proven herself to be an extraordinary author in her own right.” --Library Journal, for The Sunday Wife