Penelope Anderson has spent the past ten summers tucked into her favorite little room at Hazel Poleman's lovely old guesthouse. Penny has made some wonderful friends in the lakeside town, and in many ways, this place feels more like home... well, than home does. This year, however, might just be the last time she is able to get away - there are pressing needs back in the city that she cannot escape from forever.

Ward St. James has come back to the lake ? temporarily - to help rescue his father's floundering boat repair business. There's no shortage of work to be had, however, and Ward realizes there's more going on at home than he'd originally thought. Now his plans to keep his stay in Autumn Lake short and sweet have been blown out of the water, and he's floundering under the burden of responsibility that's been inadvertently thrust on him.

Hazel Poleman is getting glimpses of the light at the end of the tunnel, and it's not the light most people like talking about. She, too, knows each summer at the lake might be her last, but she's got a few really good reasons to stick around as long as she possibly can. One of those reasons is the guesthouse that's been in her family for more than a hundred years, and she's come up with a plan to make sure her home doesn't fall into the wrong hands when she's no longer able to hold onto it herself.

But getting the pieces ? and people ? of her plan to work together is a whole lot harder than she'd imagined.

The Guesthouse at Autumn Lake is the first book in a new small town romance series by Becky Doughty. Come spend the summer at Autumn Lake and get to know the folks who call this lakeside town home. If you like sweet contemporary romance with close-knit friendships and quirky small-town camaraderie - imagine Stars Hollow, but on a lake - then you'll love the Autumn Lake Romance Series.