Book picks similar to
Too Much of a Good Thing by J.J. Murray
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The Bridge
Karen Kingsbury - 2012
Molly Allen lives alone in Portland, but she left her heart back in Tennessee with a man she walked away from five years ago. They had a rare sort of love she hasn’t found since.Ryan Kelly lives in Nashville after a broken engagement and several years on the road touring with a country music duo. He can still hear Molly’s voice encouraging him to follow his dreams; Molly, whose memory stays with him. At least he can visit The Bridge—the oldest bookstore in historic downtown Franklin—and remember the hours he and Molly once spent there.For thirty years, Charlie and Donna Barton have run The Bridge, providing the people of middle Tennessee with coffee, conversation, and shelves of good books—even through dismal book sales and the rise of digital books. Then in May, the hundred-year flood swept through Franklin and destroyed nearly every book in the store.Now the bank is pulling the lease on The Bridge. Despondent and without answers, Charlie considers the unthinkable. Then tragedy strikes, and suddenly, everything changes. In the face of desperate brokenness and lost opportunities, could the miracle of a second chance actually unfold?The Bridge is a love story set against the struggle of the American bookstore, a love story you will never forget.
Holiday Affair
Yvette Hines - 2011
The man of her dreams has spent a year teasing her with love notes, trinkets and thoughtful gifts, doing everything but ask her out. Well, she is prepared to grab the reindeer by the antlers this season. A week off from work, a lone man in a cabin is going to give her just the opportunity she needs to set things in a sensual motion. Only one problem, it’s the right cabin, but the wrong man.Aidan Carmichael is expecting a quite week in a friends cabin. The season has never meant much to him over the years and he is ready to relax in his time away from work. What he is not expecting is a caramel skinned goddess to come shimmying down his chimney. Aidan has had his eyes and heart set on Chanel since he first joined the accounting firm. Now, to both of their surprise she comes dancing into his holiday haven. Chanel is trapped for a week with a grey eyed temptation. With freezing temperatures outside and things heating up on the inside, Aidan tries to prove to Chanel that they can be more than just a holiday affair. Ho, ho…oh, what a Christmas.
Bridge to Haven
Francine Rivers - 2014
Few know her real name is Abra. Even fewer know the price she's paid to finally feel like she's somebody.To Pastor Ezekiel Freeman, Abra will always be the little girl who stole his heart the night he found her, a wailing newborn abandoned under a bridge on the outskirts of Haven. Zeke and his son, Joshua--Abra's closest friend--watch her grow into an exotic beauty. But Zeke knows the circumstances surrounding her birth etched scars deep in her heart, scars that leave her vulnerable to a fast-talking bad boy who proclaims his love and lures her to Tinseltown. Hollywood feels like a million miles from Haven, and naive Abra quickly learns what's expected of an ambitious girl with stars in her eyes. But fame comes at an awful price. She has burned every bridge to get exactly what she thought she wanted. Now, all she wants is a way back home.In this riveting and highly anticipated tale of temptation, grace, and unconditional love, "New York Times" best-selling author Francine Rivers delivers big-canvas storytelling at its very best.
Zora and Nicky
Claudia Mair Burney - 2008
Should Anything Else Matter?Zora Nella Hampton Johnson knows exactly where she comes from—and her daddy won't let her forget. Of course for that privilege he keeps her in Prada and Kate Spade, Coach and YSL. He chooses her boyfriend, her car, her address, and ignores her love of painting, art, and the old ways of her grandaddy's soulful AME church—where the hymns pleaded, cajoled, and raised the roof. Her daddy may be a preacher, but some-where among the thousands of church members, the on-site coffee house, and the JumboTron, Zora lost God. And she wants Him back.Nicky Parker, a recent graduate of Berkeley and reformed playboy, also suffers the trials of being a preacher's kid, and he can't remember the last time he saw eye-to-eye with his white, racist, Southern Baptist father. What he does remember—and it will be forever burned in his brain despite myriad prayers to Jesus—is the way Zora looked the first time he saw her. Like Nefertiti. Only better. When they meet at a bible study far from their respective home churches, the first churlish, sarcastic sparks that fly sizzle with defensiveness. But God has a special way of feeding the flames and though of different flocks, these two lost sheep will find Him and much, much more.Click Here to listen to an interview with Claudia Mair Burney.
The Writing Desk
Rachel Hauck - 2017
Now that her second book is due, she’s locked in fear. Can she repeat her earlier success or is she a fraud who has run out of inspiration?With pressure mounting from her publisher, Tenley is weighted with writer’s block. But when her estranged mother calls asking Tenley to help her through chemotherapy, she packs up for Florida where she meets handsome furniture designer Jonas Sullivan and discovers the story her heart’s been missing.A century earlier, another woman wrote at the same desk with hopes and fears of her own. Born during the Gilded Age, Birdie Shehorn is the daughter of the old money Knickerbockers. Under the strict control of her mother, her every move is decided ahead of time, even whom she’ll marry. But Birdie has dreams she doesn’t know how to realize. She wants to tell stories, write novels, make an impact on the world. When she discovers her mother has taken extreme measures to manipulate her future, she must choose between submission and security or forging a brand new way all on her own.Tenley and Birdie are from two very different worlds, but fate has bound them together in a way time cannot erase.
Unwritten
Charles Martin - 2013
A couple decent boats, and a deep knowledge of fishing and a man can get by without ever having to talk to another soul. It's a nice enough existence, until the one person who ties him to the world of the living, the reason he's still among them even if only on the fringes, asks him for help. Father Steady Capri knows quite a bit about helping others. But he is afraid Katie Quinn's problems may be beyond his abilities. Katie is a world-famous actress with an all too familiar story. Fame seems to have driven her to self-destruct. Steady knows the true cause of her desire to end her life is buried too deeply for him to reach. But there is one person who still may be able to save her from herself. He will show her an alternate escape, a way to write a new life. But Katie still must confront her past before she can find peace. Ultimately, he will need to leave his secluded home and sacrifice the serenity he's found to help her. From the Florida coast, they will travel to the French countryside where they will discover the unwritten story of both their pasts and their future.
The Color of Love
Sandra Kitt - 1995
But they did. Everyone they knew said they should break it off before they went too far. But they didn't. Even though everything about them was different...their pasts... their jobs... their worlds... and the color of their skin...
Fools Rush In
Janice Thompson - 2009
When her Italian-turned-Texan parents hand over the family wedding planning business, Bella is determined not to let them down. She quickly books a "Boot Scoot'n" wedding that would make any Texan proud. There's only one catch--she's a country music numbskull because her family only listens to Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. Where will she find a DJ on such short notice who knows his Alan Jackson from his Keith Urban?When a misunderstanding leads her to the DJ (and man) of her dreams, things start falling into place. But with a family like hers, nothing is guaranteed. Can the perfect Texan wedding survive a pizza-making uncle with mob ties, an aunt who is a lawsuit waiting to happen, and a massive delivery of 80 cowboy boots? And will Bella ever get to plan her own wedding?Book one in the Weddings by Bella series, Fools Rush In is fun, fresh, and full of surprises. Readers will love the flavorful combination of Italian and Tex-Mex, and the hilarity that ensues when cultures clash.
The Doctor's Secret Bride
Ana E. Ross - 2012
Can love and forgiveness reunite them?Michelle Carter has been down on her luck since the day she was born. So it comes as no surprise when through a series of unfortunate events, she finds herself jobless, penniless, and practically homeless. In a desperate attempt to get back on her feet, Michelle accepts a job as a nanny and finds it absolutely impossible to resist her handsome, sexy billionaire boss—but resist she must for as long as she could, especially since she’s keeping secrets from him. Believing that his late wife betrayed him with another man, falling in love again is the last thing Dr. Erik LaCrosse wants to do. But fall, he does, and so hard, he secretly marries the alluring nanny from the wrong side of the tracks. However, when he unearths a disturbing secret from Michelle’s past, Erik must choose between his loyalty to a dead woman and the love burning in his heart for one who is very much alive.
Lulu's Cafe
T.I. Lowe - 2014
By a stroke of fate, Leah is drawn to the Southern hospitality of a small caf�, looking for a warm meal but finding so much more. Lulu, the owner, offers her a job, a place to stay and a new lease on life. Through Lulu's tenacious warmth and generosity, Leah quickly finds herself embraced by the quaint community as she tries to put herself back together. Given she's accustomed to cruelty, the kindness is overwhelming.Soon Leah meets Crowley Mason, the most eligible bachelor in town. A lawyer and friend of Lulu's, Crowley is wary of Leah's sudden, mysterious arrival. Despite his reserve, something sparks between them that can't be denied. But after all she's been through, can Leah allow herself to truly love and be loved, especially when her first urge is to run?Exploring the resiliency of both the heart and the spirit, Lulu's Caf� gorgeously illustrates how old scars can finally heal no matter how deep they seem.
Welcome to Last Chance
Cathleen Armstrong - 2013
But as she encounters the people who make Last Chance their home, it’s her heart that is flashing bright red warning lights. These people are entirely too nice, too accommodating, and too interested in her personal life for Lainie’s comfort-especially since she’s on the run and hoping to slip away unnoticed.Yet in spite of herself, Lainie finds that she is increasingly drawn in to the dramas of small town life. An old church lady who always has room for a stranger. A handsome bartender with a secret life. A single mom running her diner and worrying over her teenage son. Could Lainie actually make a life in this little hick town? Or will the past catch up to her even here in the middle of nowhere?Cathleen Armstrong pens a debut novel filled with complex, lovable characters making their way through life and relationships the best they can. Her evocative descriptions, observational humor, and talent at rendering romantic scenes will earn her many fans.
The Vow
Kim Carpenter - 2000
When she finally emerged from the coma, she recognized everyone in her life except her husband, Kim. Starting all over, they built a new love and dedicated their lives to each other all over again.
Catching Christmas
Terri Blackstock - 2018
So when her grandmother gets inexplicably ill while she’s in court, Sydney arranges for a cab to get her to the clinic.The last thing cab driver Finn Parrish wants is to be saddled with a wheelchair-bound old lady with dementia. But because Miss Callie reminds him of his own mother, whom he failed miserably in her last days, he can’t say no when she keeps calling him for rides. Once a successful gourmet chef, Finn’s biggest concern now is making his rent, but half the time Callie doesn’t remember to pay him. And as she starts to feel better, she leads him on wild goose chases to find a Christmas date for her granddaughter.When Finn meets Sydney, he’s quite sure that she’s never needed help finding a date. Does Miss Callie have an ulterior motive, or is this just a mission driven by delusions? He’s willing to do whatever he can to help fulfill Callie’s Christmas wish. He just never expected to be a vital part of it.
Love Intertwined Vol.1
Pepper Pace - 2011
Someone to Love"God, I'm happy she's gone," one of Jill's friends said. "Yeah, looking at her face makes me sick to my stomach." Words like those have followed Raina every since she was a child and half of her face was destroyed by a tragic fire. Once upon a time, she was one of the ‘beautiful ones’ with her hazel eyes, light brown skin and long flowing hair. But now, Raina only watches the world around her. Too ashamed of her looks to actually interact, she finds joy in following Bill with her eyes. With her head down and her hair obscuring her scars she manages to get by.Bill doesn’t like anyone and has little patience for Jill’s flirtations. He has been described as looking like Brad Pitt on crack—and it’s not very far from the truth. The only thing that matters is getting through the work day so that he can get high. But one day he literally crashes into Raina and for the first time in either of their lives they allow themselves to actually be ‘seen’.The Way HomeJamie thinks too hard, reads too much and doesn’t much care for her looks. At fourteen, she knows that she’s never had a real childhood. When her mother died she was the one that had to step up to the plate and run the household—and for the most part she doesn’t mind at all. And then one day she sees a white boy coming from the woods who was dirty, hungry and obviously uncared for but with eyes so lost that despite her normal shyness she offers to help him. As they come to terms with the fact that their lives transcends the ‘norm’, Kenny and Jamie’s relationship reaches heights that they could have never imagined, and lows that their love may not survive.Baby Girl and the Mean BossNicole wasn’t sure why she had gotten the nick name Baby Girl when she was not-by far-the youngest employee of The Down Home Calabash. Her much younger co-worker complained, gossiped or talked about how attractive their boss was. But Nicole didn’t have the luxury of a fantasy existence. She was on a mission to make money and to get her degree and her plans most definitely did not include Marty. Besides he was mean and he yelled at her!But once she experiences a tragic accident, Nicole sees a different side of her sexy, boss. But each has their own secrets and if they can’t express their heartfelt emotions their relationship might be doomed even before it begins.