Book picks similar to
Shattered Reality by Brenda Perlin
romance
i-think-i-ll-pass
i-swap-you-swap-we-swap
relationships
The Conversation
David Brooks - 2012
He is an Australian engineer living in Paris, in Italy for a round of meetings; she is a translator, normally resident in Turin. The food and wine are delicious, the spring evening wonderful, and as perhaps can only happen between perfect strangers aware that they will never meet again, the conversation becomes intimate and intense, full of thoughts and stories, risk, speculation and wonder. She has questions of a kind she can ask of no one else. He finds, as the wine flows, delicious dishes come and go, and the velvet night deepens, that he doesn’t have as many answers as he might have thought he had. As the conversation unfolds, the reader is treated to Brooks’ effortless reflections on culture, philosophy, language, history, art, desire and, most importantly, love. Not to mention his evocative and mouth-watering descriptions of Italian food!Together, Brooks’ whimsy, the romantic exotica of the Italian setting and the protagonists’ intimate stories and confessions make for a wonderfully entertaining read that effortlessly balances substance with style.‘The idea of the novel had me salivating long before I held the pages in my hand … This is a book for lovers of ideas, of good conversation, of impossible loves — and for those intellectuals who enjoy having heated arguments in cafes.’ Bookseller + Publisher
Ice Dreams
Melissa Johns - 2013
She was forced to grow up in his shadow because he was born and raised to be a hockey player and their parents wouldn't allow anyone to stand in his way, including Madison. Because of the family drama, she missed out on all the important stuff that a young teenage girl should experience in her life which included dances, boys, sleepovers and even her first kiss. Once Carter was in the midst of his career, he realized the mistakes from his childhood and worked on improving his relationship with Madison. She couldn't have been happier when he asked her to visit him and his fiancée, Alicia in the States. Once she arrived, she was introduced to Hunter Longo, Carter's best friend and teammate. There was chemistry between them the moment they saw each other but would she be able to get through her insecurities in order to get closer to him?Everyone warned her to take things slow but would she be able to when her heart was calling the shots?
Redemption Mountain
Gerry FitzGerald - 2013
Virginia and meets a small-town woman and her son who open his eyes to a richer life than he could have imagined.On the surface, Charlie Burden and Natty Oaks could not be more different: She, the daughter of many generations of rural farmers; he, an executive at a multi-national engineering firm. But, in each other, they find the new lease on life they both so desperately need.Natty dreams of a life beyond her small town. She is unhappily married to her high school crush (who now spends more time at the bar than at home) and passes the time nursing retired miners, coaching her son, The Pie Man's, soccer team and running the mountain trails she knows by heart, longing to get away from it all. Charlie has everything he ever thought he wanted, but after 25 years of climbing the corporate ladder, he no longer recognizes his own life: his job has become bureaucratic paper-pushing, his wife is obsessed with their country-club status, and his children have grown up and moved on. When he is sent to West Virginia to oversee a mining project, it is a chance to escape his stuffy life; to get involved, instead of watching from the sidelines. Arriving in Red Bone, though, he gets more than he bargained for: his new friends become the family he was missing and Natty, the woman who reminds him what happiness feels like. When his company's plans threaten to destroy Natty's family land, his loyalties are questioned and he is forced to choose between his old life and his new love in a fight for Redemption Mountain.
Corfu Capers
Joy Skye - 2021
What could possibly go wrong?
A holiday in a luxury villa on Corfu sounds like the answer to all their prayers but it will change their lives forever. A week in paradise might not be long enough........
Widow's Tale
Maureen A. Miller - 2008
Every night Serena stood on the deck of O'Flanagans Tavern, searching Maine's rugged coast for a sign of her husband's body. Though he was pronounced lost at sea, Alan Murphy still haunted her as only his malevolent spirit could. In the loft above her tavern, Serena hears footsteps pace across her living room floor, yet when she turns, no one is there. Alan would not let a little thing like death stop him from tormenting her. If she could just find his body, surely this torture would stop. It had been ten years since Brett Murphy saw his sister in-law, although the separation was by design, to avoid temptation. Now Brett was in Victory Cove, not to declare his feelings for Serena, but to discover the truth about his brother's death. In doing so, he must battle Serena's ghosts, both real and contrived.
Vince and Joy
Lisa Jewell - 2005
Now nearly twenty years later they've both begun to ask themselves if that long-ago romance was the enduring love that they've been searching for.
Island of Secrets
Tammie Clarke Gibbs - 2010
Everyone thought the man was crazy.Shane Alexander was determined to prove to the world that his family wasn't crazy... That HE wasn't crazy.It was working...Until he made one mistake...that would change his life forever...and force him to question his own sanity.Something was missing from Lila Fitzpatrick's life...So doing a friend a favor...and pretending to be someone else for a day seemed like a good idea at the time.Then she finds a warning note...from hundreds of years BEFORE she was born.And then if that wasn't bad enough...She met HIM...TWICE!For centuries a force has kept them apart...But, will Love be enough to finally keep them together...Or will history repeat itself? A Time Travel- A Love Story filled with Suspense-A Mystery that will keep you guessing til the end... Former Georgia Author of the Year Nominee, Tammie Clarke Gibbs has crafted a sweeping new time travel with the old-fashioned appeal of your favorite Gothic Novel. It will keep you guessing. This is one roller-coaster ride you won’t want to miss.
One Last Mistake: A Billionaire Romance (The Ironwood Billionaire Series Book 3)
Ellie Danes - 2018
New Life. It was time to leave it all, and the mistakes I’d made, behind. At least that was plan, until I spent the night with him He was supposed to be a one and done. Someone I’d forget and never think about again. Twenty-four hours later, my life is center stage. Standing in front of a thousand strangers and right next to the one-night stand I promised to forget. The man I had spilled all of my drunken secrets to. To make matters worse…he’s my boss’s son and he’s about to spill a secret of his own. One Last Mistake is a standalone billionaire romance and is Book 3 of The Ironwood Billionaire Series.
Run to the Sea
K.G. Fletcher - 2019
The very last thing he expects is the inheritance of his famous grandfather’s beach cottage on the sandy shores of Florida where he spent his childhood summers. Emeline Fischer is an aspiring artist trying to make ends meet, working an assortment of odd jobs while painting her dreams on canvas in hopes of landing her own gallery show someday. When she is Thomas’s waitress during her shift at the local beach diner, she immediately recognizes her sensitive childhood friend who promised long ago to protect her from her unstable home life when they were teens. The two friends take a journey into their past through a box of photos left behind at Cap Cottage and rediscover their mutual passion for art - and each other. Thomas doesn’t plan to fall in love with Emmy - but maybe he’s always been in love with her. Can he forgive himself for his past mistakes and start over in the only place that ever felt like home? Or will his guilt and the demands of his cutthroat, big-city career prevent him from following his heart and reuniting with the only woman he ever truly loved?
Naked
Melissa Tereze - 2018
On the back of a one-sided breakup, Laken must decide if she can ever trust again. Will the emotional hurt of her ex-fiancé always play a part in her future endeavors concerning love, or can she find herself that someone who loves her for who she is? Will past experience keep her guard firmly up or will she see what is right in front of her? Love. Commitment. The beauty of who she is deep down. Just when Laken is about to go it alone and visualize a future by herself…in walks Ava Brookes.
The Summer of Love and Secrets: A heartwarming story of love, loss, family and friendship
Helena Fairfax - 2014
Since the death of her photographer husband, Stuart, the only people Kate allows near are her best friend, Orla, and her son, George. She loves them both more than anything in the world. Everyone else she keeps at a distance...including Paul Farrell. Paul was Stuart’s closest friend. An ex-war journalist, he and Kate have one thing in common. They both seem equally distant. Then Paul publishes an article, revealing an astonishing secret. On a trip to the Yorkshire moors with a group of teenage girls, Kate's scarred heart begins to open up But can she risk her son’s happiness, as well as her own? Praise for The Summer of Love and Secrets 'A beautiful, heart-wrenching story about love, loss and friendship. Fairfax creates characters that come to life and Kate is one of the best!' N.N. Light's Book Heaven 'A touching and engrossing love story...Several scenes will stay with me for a long time.' Marie Laval, bestselling author 'A romance that draws you in and won't let you go...Once I started this book, I really couldn't put it down' Helen Pollard, bestselling author 'I absolutely loved this book from beginning to end...A positive and life-affirming read from the start.' Amazon five star review 'A lovely, emotive and heart-warming contemporary romance story that draws in the audience and takes hold from the very beginning.' Caroline Barker, A Reader's Review book blog
claire-obscure
Billie Hinton - 2010
When Claire's friend Lucy is found dead and Finn is implicated in the murder, Raoul Duras, a Delta Force operator with a penchant for rescuing prostitutes, offers a way out of the madness. In a raw, edgy journey from trauma to restoration, Claire examines her deepest fears: grief for her distant mother and gay father, the awakening of her conflicted sexuality, and the darkness that pulls her to the intrigue and danger of two very different – and dangerous - men.
When You Open Your Eyes
Celeste Conway - 2012
Sexy, artistic, and daring, he brings out a completely new side of her. With him, Tessa feels beautiful and exotic. So when Tessa’s strict father forbids her to see Lucien, she’s determined to keep their relationship a secret.But as Tessa gets caught up in Lucien, he becomes increasingly volatile. What she once found alluring about him now feels alarming. Tessa must figure out how far she’ll go for Lucien before she risks losing not just him, but everything she loves.
Wicked Hot Medicine: Boston's Elite
Tess Summers - 2021
Evan Lacroix couldn't refuse.Except, it turned out she wasn’t his wife—she was his sister.Oh, the irony. It made it that much sweeter.Unfortunately, when Hope realized his intentions, she didn’t appreciate being a pawn in his game, and the sassy spitfire turned the tables on him.Evan never saw it coming.And now he needs to decide which is more important—love or revenge.This isn’t a book about enemies to lovers. It’s about enemies with benefits—until the line between enemy and lover gets blurred.
His Paradise Wife (The Champion Brothers Book 1)
Tina Martin - 2014
Too bad Emily's heart is not available for love. Two years after her husband Melvin passed, Emily is still grieving his death. She's buried herself in her work, in making her high-end boutique a success. She has no interest in dating again and she's definitely not about to be swept off her feet by one of those Champion brothers. ***The Champion Brothers series books are all standalone books.*** Book 1, His Paradise Wife is Dante Champion's story. Book 2, When A Champion Wants You is Dimitrius Champion's story. Book 3, The Best Thing He Never Knew He Needed is Desmond Champion's story. Book 4, Wives And Champions is a family novel. Book 5, The Way Champions Love is Harding Champion's story.