Book picks similar to
Poppy does Paris by Nicola Doherty
chick-lit
romance
short-stories
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Thin Girls Don't Eat Cake
Lindy Dale - 2014
Filled with Lindy's trademark wit, humour and the usual zany cast of characters, Thin Girls Don’t Eat Cake is MORE than a girl meets boy story. It’s a tale of love, loss and growth mixed with a dash of laughter and a bowl full of frosting. Enjoy Sophie Kinsella, Trisha Ashley and Jill Mansell? Looking for a fun, beach read? A holiday read? THIN GIRLS DON’T EAT CAKE is all that and more… You'll want to grab a cupcake, make a coffee ant get ready to curl up with this wonderfully humorous romantic read. Everyone wants love and no-one more than Olivia Merrifield. After being dumped because her bottom looks like an unpeeled orange, discovering she’s heavy enough to appear on The Biggest Loser and mistaken for a pregnant woman, Olivia Merrifield is understandably depressed. So depressed, that the only way she can console herself is with a bag of peppermint slices. Since finishing her degree, the road has become rocky for Olivia. Her longing for a baby has led to an unhealthy relationship with cake. Her inability to choose a boyfriend who’s not married, weird or a player has given her self-esteem a swift kick to the kerb. Moving back to her hometown of Merrifield hasn’t helped either. Her friends are playing happy families and her mother is on her case — when she’s not joining a Kama Sutra yoga class or taking a younger lover, that is. Deciding it’s time to make over her life, Olivia embarks on a diet regime. She meets the gorgeous Cole Anderson, a former property renovator who’s recently moved to town and is causing quite a stir every time he bends over. But between grieving the death of his daughter, setting up a business and avoiding the bevy of reporters who want to document his every move, Cole hasn’t had a lot of time to get life back on an even keel. He’s merely existing until Olivia comes along. Cole likes Olivia and Olivia definitely likes Cole. He’s hot, sensible and a natural with babies. If only he didn’t own that cupcake shop across the road….
The One With The Engagement Party
Erin Lawless - 2016
but her four bridesmaids are more full of secrets than champagne.Bea has barely gotten past the fact that her two best friends are seeing each other, and now they’re engaged, and Cleo is rather distracted by the hot new colleague she absolutely, definitely must not sleep with. Daisy is dreading the singles’ table, whilst Sarah’s own marriage hasn’t turned out to be all she hoped it would be...Follow Nora from proposal to altar starting with THE ONE WITH THE ENGAGEMENT PARTY, coming 10 June 2016.
One Summer in Paris
Sarah Morgan - 2019
But she never expected he’d have a surprise of his own: he wants a divorce. Reeling from the shock but refusing to be broken, a devastated Grace makes the bold decision to go to Paris alone.Audrey, a young woman from London, has left behind a heartache of her own when she arrives in Paris. A job in a bookshop is her ticket to freedom, but with no money and no knowledge of the French language, suddenly a summer spent wandering the cobbled streets alone seems much more likely…until she meets Grace, and everything changes.Grace can’t believe how daring Audrey is. Audrey can’t believe how cautious newly single Grace is. Living in neighboring apartments above the bookshop, this unlikely pair offer each other just what they’ve both been missing. They came to Paris to find themselves, but finding this unbreakable friendship might be the best thing that’s ever happened to them…
The Summer That Made Us
Robyn Carr - 2017
The Summer That Made Us is an unforgettable story about a family learning to accept the past, to forgive and to love each other again.That was then…For the Hempsteads, two sisters who married two brothers and had three daughters each, summers were idyllic. The women would escape the city the moment school was out to gather at the family house on Lake Waseka. The lake was a magical place, a haven where they were happy and carefree. All of their problems drifted away as the days passed in sun-dappled contentment. Until the summer that changed everything.This is now…After an accidental drowning turned the lake house into a site of tragedy and grief, it was closed up. For good. Torn apart, none of the Hempstead women speak of what happened that summer, and relationships between them are uneasy at best to hurtful at worst. But in the face of new challenges, one woman is determined to draw her family together again, and the only way that can happen is to return to the lake and face the truth.
A Secret Wish
Barbara Freethy - 2011
Liz is turning thirty. A successful nurse, she has a good career, but no man to share her life. All her friends are married, and she’s alone, still trying to outrun a tragedy from her past. Then she meets a handsome stranger.Angela, a member of a large, loving Italian family, is facing thirty-five with no baby in the nursery. Eight years of infertility treatments have put a strain on her marriage. Will she have to choose between her husband and having a child? When she is mugged by an unexpected assailant, her life takes a new turn.Carole, a corporate wife, is staring down forty candles. Having grown up poor, she worked hard to get ahead, but when her kids bail on her birthday, and she discovers her husband with another woman, she realizes that she may have nothing at all. She goes back to where it all began, the mother she left behind, and the man whose heart she once broke.
Stable Mates
Zara Stoneley - 2014
Home to lords and ladies, horsemen and farmers, and plenty of secrets and scandals…Leaving a scumbag ex behind her, Lottie Brinkley has hotfooted it out of Spain and back home to the country in serious need of some flirtatious fun to soothe her aching heart.Luckily for her she’s spoilt for choice with not one but three eligible bachelors offering a steamy romp in the hay! But faced with the attentions of roguish eventer Rory Steel, the smiling Irish eyes of hunky farrier Mick O’Neal, and mysterious newcomer Tom Strachan, how can she possibly choose?When billionaire landowner Marcus James drops dead unexpectedly, his WAGish wife Amanda threatens to sell the heart of the village and sets her sights on Tom! It seems things are heating up for little Tippermere… both in and out of the saddle.A hilarious, sexy rom com perfect for fans of Jilly Cooper!
Summer at the Comfort Food Café
Debbie Johnson - 2016
For tourists and locals alike, the ramshackle cafe overlooking the beach is a beacon of laughter, companionship, and security – a place like no other; a place that offers friendship as a daily special, and where a hearty welcome is always on the menu.For widowed mum-of-two Laura Walker, the decision to uproot her teenaged children and make the trek from Manchester to Dorset for the summer isn’t one she takes lightly, and it’s certainly not winning her any awards from her kids, Nate and Lizzie. Even her own parents think she’s gone mad.But following the death of her beloved husband David two years earlier, Laura knows that it’s time to move on. To find a way to live without him, instead of just surviving. To find her new place in the world, and to fill the gap that he’s left in all their lives.Her new job at the cafe, and the hilarious people she meets there, give Laura the chance she needs to make new friends; to learn to be herself again, and – just possibly – to learn to love again as well.For her, the Comfort Food Cafe doesn’t just serve food – it serves a second chance to live her life to the full…
A Year of Chasing Love
Rosie Chambers - 2020
One moment can change a lifetime…The last thing top divorce lawyer Olivia Hamilton ever expected was to be served her own divorce papers! To escape her marriage troubles, she agrees to go on a year-long trip to find the ultimate guide to love.Travelling the world, surrounded by stories of love and happiness, it’s not long before her thoughts turn to Nathan, her soon-to-be ex-husband, and she starts to take note of her own lessons in love…But with Nathan over a thousand miles away, will it be too late?Perfect for fans of Cathy Bramley, Philippa Ashley and Caroline Roberts.
Suddenly Love
Carly Phillips - 2011
Ten years have passed but neither has really moved on from their passionate teenage affair or the heartbreak that followed. What starts out as business quickly moves into the bedroom and they discover the sparks between them burn brighter than ever. This reunion can be their second chance, if Trevor can accept everything about Lissa, including her daughter. *This title has been previously published as Kismet**]Dear Readers:Welcome to Carly Classics, books I wrote earlier in my career that have been modernized for your reading enjoyment. These stories hold a very special place in my heart and I'm thrilled to be able to share them with you now.All the best,Carly
Tuesdays at the Teacup Club
Vanessa Greene - 2013
. .The children's books Jenny writes and illustrates from her countryside studio are doing well, and after a lifetime of looking after everyone else, she's finally putting herself first. Meanwhile, Maggie's ordered world is thrown into chaos when her baby son Leo arrives. Candlelit baths have made way for endless night feeds, and she and partner Owen are struggling to find any time for themselves. It's been a long year of financial sacrifice, but working-mum Alison has fulfilled her dream at last - she is now the proud co-owner of a cafe and art gallery.But when Alison's happiness is threatened and news from home shocks Jenny back to reality, the women must band together. Suddenly their friendship is more important than ever.In this digital-exclusive short story, Vanessa Greene revisits the characters we first fell in love with in" The Vintage Teacup Club." Appealing to both new and old fans, this is a real treat for anyone who enjoys warm-hearted and sincere storytelling - and it's best enjoyed with a nice cup of tea."
Don't You Forget About Me
Mhairi McFarlane - 2019
And whereas Georgina (voted Most Likely to Succeed in her school yearbook) has done nothing but dead-end jobs in the last twelve years, Lucas has not only grown into a broodingly handsome man, but also has turned into an actual grown-up along the way, with a business and a dog.Meeting Lucas again not only throws Georgina’s rackety present into sharp relief, but also brings a dark secret from her past bubbling to the surface. Only she knows the truth about what happened on the last day of school, and why she’s allowed it to chase her all these years…
The Not So Secret Emails Of Coco Pinchard
Robert Bryndza - 2012
1 bestselling author Robert Bryndza.Coco Pinchard has just turned forty, and is feeling fabulous. Her long-held dream to be a writer has been realised, with the publication of her debut novel, her son, Rosencrantz, is attending a prestigious London drama school, and her musician husband, Daniel, seems more in love with her than ever. Coco feels poised to enter an exciting new chapter in life.When the New Year dawns after a hideous Christmas spent with her awful in-laws, Coco catches Daniel in bed with a younger woman, her novel flops, and Rosencrantz goes spectacularly off the rails.As her once-happy life unravels, and any chance of an exciting new chapter recedes into the distance, Coco's new iPhone becomes her confessional.Through emails to loyal friends Christopher, a neurotic middle-aged socialite, and Marika, a slightly alcoholic schoolteacher, Coco begins to document her seemingly endless (and often hilarious) run of bad luck.When Coco reaches the top of the local allotment list (after putting her name down nineteen years previously) she meets the drop-dead gorgeous Adam, and she's back in the world of dating as a single forty-something. Read the emails that tell the hilarious, feel-good tale of Coco picking up the pieces!Fans of rom coms by Sophie Kinsella will be glued to the pages of this totally addictive page-turner.
Good Men
Jennifer Weiner - 2013
A tender, riotously funny short story, "Good Men" is about five men and their unlikely friendships and also about love, marriage, and what gives two people the courage to link hands and jump off the cliff.
The Girl's Guide to Getting Hitched
Sophie Hart - 2015
What could possibly go wrong? … Forget bridezilla, Aimee’s future mother-in-law is the stuff of nightmares – hell bent on taking over the wedding entirely. Worse still, her fiancé, Jon, seems oblivious. Aimee’s starting to wonder if she and her groom-to-be are right for each other after all… Body shy Debbie is on a mission. She’s determined to shed a lot of pounds before the big day. As the wedding inches closer, will the new Debbie lose sight of what’s really important? Gill loves Mike and their blended family of five kids to bits, but with a house full of teenage hormones and her eldest, Kelly, struggling with so much change, Gill is feeling the pressure... As the women bond over cake and a cuppa, can they each resolve their wedding woes before the big day? An uplifting, warm-hearted read packed with love, laughter and friendship. If you’re a fan of Jill Mansell, Milly Johnson or Lucy Diamond you’re in for a real treat.
Shopaholic on Honeymoon
Sophie Kinsella - 2014
So as a free update for Shopaholic fans, I have decided to share with you one of the adventures of the newly-wed Becky and Luke. I hope you enjoy it! Love Sophie xThe new Mr and Mrs Brandon are on honeymoon, and Becky has big plans! They’ve got a whole year to explore Venice, learn yoga in India, sleep in little wooden huts in South America… maybe even see penguins in the Antarctic. And of course they’ll need to buy just a few essential souvenirs along the way (everyone needs a set of Murano glass goblets, after all).They’re not just tourists, they’re travellers. Becky is sure it is just the thing that Luke needs – time to unwind. He’ll come back a changed man… with all the good bits still intact of course.But it soon becomes clear that Luke has different plans entirely. Can Becky help him let go, or will this little disagreement threaten their whole honeymoon?