Brighter Flame

She’s always wanted a sense of belonging. The last place she expects to find it is home.Vale Lightner’s dreams turn to ash when the Pittsburgh bar she owns goes up in flames. Just like the past she escaped, very little seems salvageable. Facing unavoidable change, Vale returns to her hometown of Philadelphia to stay with her grandmother.She knows that returning also means facing everything she left behind: a mother and stepfather who shunted her into the background from the day they married, and her charmed and favored half sister, Blythe, who has abandoned a perfect marriage and is now at a crossroads of her own. Everyone has their secrets, and this reunited family racked by them is about to reach a crisis point.For a mother and her two daughters, this reunion is a chance for closure, newfound love, and forgiveness. As each of them reassesses her own memories of the past, only the truth can bring them together—in ways that could last forever. From the bestselling author of The Passing Storm comes a poignant novel about family secrets, healing, and the hope of second chances.

“I devoured this book in one sitting. An uplifting novel which explores how misconceptions and half-truths can taint even that closest of relationships—the one with our own family. Nolfi draws us into this complicated family drama and doesn't let us go until the story reaches its intense and captivating climax.” —Imogen Clark, million copy selling author of Impossible to Forget “A Brighter Flame is a deeply touching and uplifting novel that explores the troubled history and buried secrets of a family torn apart long ago. The book captured my heart and drew tears as I was reminded that it’s never too late to heal.” —Boo Walker, bestselling author of A Spanish Sunrise “In this layered family drama, Nolfi explores the unreliability of memories and how inaccurate perceptions of past events impact the present. As estranged sisters Vale and Blythe uncover a clearer picture of their childhood and the circumstances that shaped their contentious relationship, understanding and forgiveness blossom, bearing the fruit of previously unimagined acts of generosity and love. A story that is sure to keep book clubs talking late into the night.” —Kerry Anne King, bestselling author of Improbably Yours “Memories blurred by years of estrangement pit sister against sister in Christine Nolfi’s emotionally complex new novel about a family torn apart by secrets. Authentic, poignant, and enormously uplifting, A Brighter Flame is certain to touch the heart of anyone who’s ever struggled to heal old family wounds—and remind us all that with love, second chances are always possible.” —Barbara Davis, bestselling author of The Keeper of Happy Endings

Christine Nolfi is the author of The Passing Storm, which Publishers Weekly called “tautly plotted, expertly characterized, and genuinely riveting”; The Road She Left Behind, a top book club pick by Working Mother and Parade magazines; the award-winning Sweet Lake Series: Sweet Lake, The Comfort of Secrets, and The Season of Silver Linings; and other titles. A native of Ohio, Christine now resides in South Carolina with her husband and their crazy wheaten terrier, Lucy. For more information, visit www.christinenolfi.com.