Book picks similar to
A Ruling Passion by Judith Michael


romance
fiction
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Fortune is a Woman


Elizabeth Adler - 1992
    Against all odds they made their dreams come true, building one of the world's largest trading companies and most luxurious hotels... They had only each other--and bloody secrets to bury even as they rose to dizzying heights, wary of love yet vulnerable to passion in its most dangerous forms... The Mandarin would pass his multi-billion-dollar empire only to the women in the Lai Tsin dynasty--along with one last devastating truth....Sweeping from the turn of the century through the 1960's, from the Orient to San Francisco and New York, Elizabeth Adler has written a magnificent novel of new wealth and old privilege, family passions and secret shame, of women surviving, triumphant, in the riveting saga of romantic intrigue.

Only Forever


Linda Lael Miller - 1989
    Only Forever by Linda Lael Miller released on Oct 25, 1995 is available now for purchase.

A Secret Splendor


Erin St. Claire - 1983
    When Arden Gentry travels to Maui to search for the son she gave up long ago, she starts to doubt her decision because she knows she may resurrect secrets that surrounded his birth.

Strange Fits of Passion


Anita Shreve - 1991
    It's the early '70s and no one discusses or even suspects domestic abuse. But after Maureen suffers another brutal beating, she flees with her infant daughter to a coastal town in Maine. The weeks pass slowly, and just as Maureen begins to settle into her new life and new identity, Harrold reappears, bringing the story to a violent, unforgettable climax.

Running Scared


Lisa Jackson - 1995
    . .The newborn baby boy is beautiful, perfect, and hers for the asking. All Kate Summers has to do is agree to one condition--she must disappear from Boston and never breathe a word about the adoption to anyone.Or How Far You Go. . .Fifteen years later, Kate has built a good life for herself and her son, Jon, in Hopewell, Oregon. Still, she is haunted by the fear that he will somehow be taken away. Then Daegan O'Rourke arrives in town and strikes up a friendship with her and Jon. But Daegan has his own past to hide--one with shocking ties to hers.A Killer Will Always Find You. . .Someone is watching Kate, watching her son, and is willing to go to any lengths to claim him. And the one man Kate is tempted to trust has dangerous secrets that could change her world forever. Soon the past Kate thought she could outrun will explode, unearthing a legacy of lies and treachery, and a fury powerful enough to kill. . .

A Love for All Time


Dorothy Garlock - 1992
    . . When she's first awakened in the hospital, frightened and in pain, only the gentle, masculine voice of a stranger had the power to soothe Casey Farrow. Dan Murdock had dragged her from the wreckage of her car and saved her life. He'd held her hand and lent her his strength. But now, as she contemplated a future forever altered by the scars that marred her body and ended her career, Casey wondered why Dan was still there. . . .Until he showed her that it had just begun She didn't want his pity. She didn't need his help. And when he told her that he loved her, Casey thought he'd lost his mind. One look in the mirror was enough to convince her that no man as attractive as Dan Murdock could possibly want her . . . until the night he showed her how wrong she could be. But wanting and loving are two very different things, and now Casey wonders if theirs is truly a love that can last for all time. . . .

Circle of Three


Patricia Gaffney - 2000
    After the sudden death of her husband, Carrie must come to terms not only with her grief, but with the guilt that their love had already died. Struggling to go on, to support her loving and vivacious daughter, Ruth, she slowly shakes off the sorrow that surrounds her and begins a new life. Complicating matters is Carrie's mother, Dana, who believes she has always acted in her daughter's best interests. Having driven Carrie away from her first love, the soulful, unconventional Jess, Dana has no idea how to behave now that he has re-entered her daughter's life. Skilfully weaving together the voices of Ruth, Dana and Carrie, Patricia Gaffney explores the dichotomies inherent in all female relationships in a spirited and wholly unsentimental way. CIRCLE OF THREE is about believing in impossible things, like second chances - and maybe even happy endings.

Everything to Gain


Barbara Taylor Bradford - 1994
    She has a wonderful, fulfilling marriage to a man who loves, supports, and nurtures her. She has a lovely home and beautiful twins who bring joy to her days, to all of which she devotes herself wholeheartedly. Mallory feels she has finally found the elusive sense of family that never quite rang true in her own childhood—until an exceptionally cruel act of violence tears apart the fabric of her happiness. Devastated, distraught, and wondering how she will ever go on, suddenly Mallory's spirit is being tested as never before, forcing her to discover new reserves of courage and strength to confront the darkness that has left her with nothing more to lose and . . .

Fine Things


Danielle Steel - 1987
    A senior VP moving up, he arrives in San  Fransisco to open a West Coast store. His career is  skyrocketing, but his life is lacking a center.  When he looks into the wide, innocent eyes of  five-year-old Jane O'Reilly, and then into the equally  enchanting eyes of her mother, Liz, Bernie knows  he has found what he has been looking for. Bernie  thought he had found love to last a lifetime, but  when Liz is stricken with cancer shortly after the birth of  their first child, time becomes  painfully short. Alone with two children, Bernie  must face the loss and learn how to move on. New  people, new experiences, a new life alone with two  kids. He meets it with courage and humor, and  learns some of life's hard but precious lessons as he  does.From the Hardcover edition.

Prudence


Jilly Cooper - 1978
    She'd been overjoyed when Pendle, her super-cool barrister boyfriend, invited her home for the weekend to meet his family. But home turned out to be a decaying mansion in the Lake District, and family were his glamorous, scatty mother who forgot the mounting bills by throwing wild parties, and brothers, Ace, dark and forbidding, and Jack, handsome, married and only too ready to take over with Pru if Pendle didn't get a move on. It was only when she noticed the way Pendle looked at Jack's wife Maggie that it began to dawn on Pru that there was more to this weekend than met the eye. It looked like a non-stop game of changing partners . . . Readers love Jilly Cooper: 'Unputdownable' Marian Keyes'Joyful and mischievous' Jojo Moyes'The funniest and sharpest writer there is' Jenny Colgan'Flawlessly entertaining' Helen Fielding

Imagine Love


Katherine Stone - 1996
    And London and Paris. And the intoxicating magic of a Louisiana bayou. Then journey with master storyteller Katherine Stone on this breathtaking voyage of danger, courage, and love.They met beside the brilliant blue bayou. She was an innocent girl, and he was a reckless and angry boy. Claire Chamberlain believed in dreams, and Cole Taylor believed in nothing at all. Cole had no reason to believe--until her. They pledged their love beneath the silver winter moon. But the hopes of Cole and Claire were destined to be drowned in blood.Now, twelve years later, Cole has returned to Harlanville. He has found fame as a singer of love songs. And Claire? Her life has changed, irrevocably, yet she has found a private peace--such a fragile one that Cole's very presence shatters her precarious serenity. And now Cole is asking her to do the impossible, to come away with him, to London. Claire knows he will break her heart again. But she will be with him, she has to be, for as long as she can bear the pain.Claire's is not the only endangered heart in London. A murderer has sent Lady Sarah Pembroke an engraved Valentine invitation--to her own death. And is Claire's girlhood friend afraid of the knife-wielding monster? Hardly. The Global News's star correspondent, the woman who feels oddly sane amid the madness of war, has her own private demons, memories far more fearsome than a murderer who chooses the most romantic day of the year to inflict his lethal terror.But neither Sarah's past nor the killer stalking her are as terrifying as Jack Dalton, the FBI consultant determined to save Sarah's life. Jack needs Sarah's help in his exhaustive, careful search for clues. But remarkably, and infuriatingly, Sarah resists. Sarah will not tell Jack the intimate information he needs to know. She cannot. And yet it is as if he already knows her anguished secrets, cares for her more than he should, and wants more from Lady Sarah Pembroke than she can ever give.Imagine Love is an enthralling read, a beautifully crafted tapestry of suspense and love, of surprises you won't imagine, and of men and women you will never forget.From the Hardcover edition.

A Man Called Blue


Carole Dean - 1997
    Today. A contemporary romance.Simone Doucet, a woman caught between her own ambition and loyalty to her boss, her ruthless mother, is determined to prove herself during a critical business trip to London. That means staying focused, efficient, and predatory.But when a last minute staff change places a man called Blue at the hatch of her private jet moments before she's scheduled for takeoff, Simone's focus starts to blur.Thomas Bludell opted out of the corporate game years ago. He knows how it plays, knows the rules—or lack of them—and doesn't want any part of it. This trip to London and taking orders from a female corporate shark, is a favor to a friend nothing more. Trouble is Blue isn't good at taking orders. What Blue is good at is seduction.

The Love Killers


Jackie Collins - 1974
    Beth, Lara and Rio -- three exotic women with a common cause and vengeance in their hearts.They're out to avenge a murder and they'll go to any lengths. Their targets: the heirs of the Bassalino crime family. Their weapon: sex. The result: a bloodbath of sexual mayhem through the lethal corridors of organized crime.Three beautiful women set out to prove that when it comes to revenge, the female is far deadlier than the male -- especially when they're "THE LOVE KILLERS. . .

The Switch


Sandra Brown - 2000
    Yet it's the first time as adults that they've even considered the childhood prank. Melina, the more impetuous twin, proposes that her circumspect sister take her place as a media escort to NASA astronaut and national hero Colonel Christopher "Chief" Hart.Although it's an enticing offer, Gillian declines for a very personal reason --- she's preoccupied with whether or not the artificial insemination she underwent that day will be successful. Besides, she warns Melina, such a switch could have unexpected consequences.Media-savvy Chief turns out to be an easy assignment for Melina --- in fact the evening with him is as much pleasure as business. But the following morning police arrive at Melina's door with the worst possible news: her beloved twin has been brutally murdered in her own bed. And on the walls, scrawled in blood, are obscenities directed at Gillian, along with insults toward Native Americans that indisputably link Chief to the crime.Dissatisfied with the official police investigation, Chief and Melina form a grudging alliance, strike out on their own ... and find themselves uncovering more questions than answers. Mistrusting even the authorities claiming to protect them, on the run with their lives in danger, the two are soon following a crooked and bloody trail that inexplicably leads to Gillian's attempt to conceive a child ... and to the threshold of an inner sanctum, where a megalomaniac hatches horrific schemes and lies in wait for Gillian's replacement, her identical twin --- Melina.

Up Close and Personal


Fern Michaels - 2007
    Now, on the anniversary of her daughter Emily's death, Sarabess Windsor believes she may be the last to carry the family name, unless she finds her other daughter, who disappeared 15 years ago.