Book picks similar to
The Lonely Desert by Sarah Challis


contemporary
fountain-book-club
mali
tuareg

Perfect Match


Jane Moore - 2008
    The only cure is for them to have a 'designer baby' to provide him with a perfect match bone-marrow transplant. But, in the process, a devastating family secret is revealed that not only jeopardises the one hope of their son having a future but also threatens to destroy their marriage..."Perfect Match" is the compelling story of a seemingly perfect marriage torn apart by betrayal and seemingly impossible choices.

One of Us Buried


Johanna Craven - 2021
    She is put to work at the female factory of Parramatta; a place where the women’s only hope of food and lodgings is to offer their bodies to the settlement’s men. Nell is given shelter by Lieutenant Blackwell, a brooding soldier to whom she is inexplicably drawn. Despite warnings from the other women, Blackwell’s motives seem decent, and beneath the roof of a military officer, Nell sees a chance to become more than just a convict woman sent to the factory to be forgotten. But tensions are high in New South Wales, with the young colony teetering on the edge of a convict rebellion. And as Nell treads a dangerous line between obedience and power, she learns the role of a factory lass is to remain silent – or face a walk to the gallows.

Two by Two


Nicholas Sparks - 2016
    He is living the dream, and his marriage to the bewitching Vivian is the center of that. But underneath the shiny surface of this perfect existence, fault lines are beginning to appear...and no one is more surprised than Russ when he finds every aspect of the life he took for granted turned upside down. In a matter of months, Russ finds himself without a job or wife, caring for his young daughter while struggling to adapt to a new and baffling reality. Throwing himself into the wilderness of single parenting, Russ embarks on a journey at once terrifying and rewarding—one that will test his abilities and his emotional resources beyond anything he ever imagined.

Firefly Season (Melinda Foster, #10)


Melanie Lageschulte - 2021
    Her to-do list gets longer when Horace’s great-niece suddenly needs a wedding venue. Melinda and her friends vow to give Jen a celebration she'll never forget ... but will Jen be the only one to make a commitment?Love may be in bloom, but things in Prosper aren’t so simple and sweet. Auggie’s grand plan to expand the co-op has many residents seeing red, and the stability of Prosper Hardware could hang in the balance. And when a beloved community member is sidelined, an unexpected visitor is determined to pick up the slack.During it all, Melinda has to confront her past and consider her future. Can she make the right choices to secure the life she wants? Don’t miss the final installment in this heartwarming series!

Amsterdam Rampant


Neil Cocker - 2014
    The city had promised an escape from all of his problems back in Scotland. It was the perfect fresh start – well-paid job, luxury apartment in the canal district, sobriety and celibacy.But everything changed when he went on a blind date with an unhinged sexologist, and now the city’s dark side is closing in on him.To make matters more complicated, his old life is hurtling back towards him in the shape of a stag party – four nutters from his hometown in Scotland, including his future brother-in-law and the former school bully – will arrive in the city within hours.Over the course of one chaotic weekend, Fin McPhail will come face-to-face with all of his demons.Vividly cinematic, Amsterdam Rampant draws on a potent blend of modern culture (Pulp Fiction, Breaking Bad, Mad Men, and the work of Donna Tartt and Iain Banks). A riotously entertaining novel exploring the neon shadows of Europe’s sin city, this 21st Century tale of sex, friendship, and coming to terms with the past will leave readers wanting more from Scotland’s newest literary star.

Let Me Touch - Complete Series


Lucia Jordan - 2016
    She assumes that her guy is the one who’s dressed more casually, in jeans and sport coat, but she soon realizes her man is the complete opposite, dressed in a fine-tailored suit, waiting with the air of confidence of the man who owns the place. His name is Stephan Hale, and though he doesn’t own the hotel, Chardonnay quickly learns that he’s just as suave as he is in complete control of everything. Stephan begins to explore the object he’s admiring all night long, and he decides to take her to a botanical garden where he’s sure they’ll have privacy. But will Chardonnay put a stop to the evening before things even really get going? Will she allow herself to submit to Stephan and his dominant touch in the way her body is telling her to? And what will happen when Chardonnay and Stephan realize that the details behind their blind date aren’t exactly what they seemed to be?

Saving Missy: Free sampler


Beth Morrey - 2019
    Stubborn. Terribly lonely.But everyone deserves a second chance… A dazzling debut for 2020 – are you ready to meet Missy Carmichael? Missy Carmichael’s life has become small.Grieving for a family she has lost or lost touch with, she’s haunted by the echoes of her footsteps in her empty home; the sound of the radio in the dark; the tick-tick-tick of the watching clock.Spiky and defensive, Missy knows that her loneliness is all her own fault. She deserves no more than this; not after what she’s done. But a chance encounter in the park with two very different women opens the door to something new.Another life beckons for Missy, if only she can be brave enough to grasp the opportunity. But seventy-nine is too late for a second chance. Isn’t it?

Nobody's Fault


Terry Tyler - 2012
    Adrienne is the love of his life. Nick is the love of her life. Six days after meeting her, Nick leaves home. He has no choice; they can’t live without each other. Nick’s wife Ria and eldest daughter Cat find various ways of working out their anger and resentment, while fifteen year old Tara is caught in the middle. And then there is Nick’s cousin Caroline, with her own axe to grind when it comes to marital affairs… When tragedy strikes, they are all looking for someone to blame. Lonely and trusting Sharon, seeking love and friendship on internet dating and social networking sites, has no suspicion of the part she plays in the drama – or that the people she meets in cyberspace might not be all that they seem…

Summer Visitors


Susan Sallis - 1988
    It was there she and her mother went to recover from a heartrending family tragedy - there she was forced reluctantly into marriage - there she fell into a wild and passionate wartime love. And it was there she saw her children grow and love and cope with the secret legacies the years had left them, until finally they became more than just summer visitors.

The House Called Mbabati: A Novel Out of Africa


Samantha Ford - 2016
     The Mother Superior crossed herself quickly. “May God forgive them both,” she murmured as she locked the diary and faded letters in the drawer. Deep in the heart of the East African bush stands a deserted mansion. Boarded up, on the top floor, is a magnificent Steinway Concert Grand, shrouded in decades of dust. In an antique shop in London, an elderly nun recognises an old photograph of the mansion; she knows it well – it is called Mbabati. Seven thousand miles away in Cape Town a woman lies dying, she whispers one final word to journalist Alex Patterson – Mbabati. Sensing a good story, and intrigued with what he has discovered about the dead woman’s past, Alex heads for East Africa in search of the old abandoned house. He is totally unprepared for what he discovers there; the hidden home of a once famous classical pianist whose career came to a shattering end; a grave with a blank headstone and an old retainer called Luke, who is the only person left alive who knows the truth about two sisters who disappeared without trace more than twenty years earlier. Alex unravels a story which has fascinated the media and the police for decades. A twisting tale of love, passion, betrayal and murder; and the unbreakable bond between two extraordinary sisters who were prepared to sacrifice everything to hide the truth. Mbabati is set against the magnificent and enduring landscape of the African bush – where nothing is ever quite as it seems. Samantha's first novel The Zanzibar Affair was a very well received and highly acclaimed debut novel which used Africa as a backdrop to her story telling. Once again she has drawn on her knowledge and experiences of Africa, its culture and the lives of the rich and privileged to weave an even more tangled web of mystery, intrigue and suspense in this; her second superb novel. “The House Called Mbabati is skilfully written and layered with mystery and intrigue. Set against the romantic backdrop of Kenya and South Africa, the author manages to sweep the reader away into another world where the scenes are so well depicted one can almost smell the hot dry earth and the dusty pelts of the animals. An unforgettable cast of characters within a story which twists and turns at a ferocious pace. A real page turner with a breath-taking and richly rewarding ending. A cracking good story ." John Gordon-Davis (author)

When life tricked me


Vikrant Khanna - 2011
    Life here is anything but a plan. Here ideas for life are scoffed at, dreams never appear in their long slumber, and having fun and being laidback is considered to be an ‘in’ thing.Welcome to this world where everything else is made to wait.But will time wait for them? Or will they succeed in their far fetched dreams for which they have’nt even started working? Oops... even thinking??What role does Raghav, their best friend have in their life? Will he himself succeed in his unusual and rather unconventional idea of opening a dating club in the crowd bustling Priya complex of Delhi?Will time teach them a lesson? Or will they manage to cheat their calendar??

A Perfect Husband


Hilary Boyd - 2017
    Freddy taught her to love again after the death of her father. But then Freddy becomes tense, snappy and distracted. Is he having an affair? The truth turns out to be much worse...Freddy is addicted to gambling. He owes hundreds of thousands of pounds to loan companies; he's been helping himself to money from his own company, which has now gone bust; and worst of all, his wife's money - given to him to invest - is gone. Devastated, Lily leaves him, and moves to stay with her sister in Oxford. There, among the dreaming spires, she will clear her head of Freddy and try to figure out how to move on.But being away from Freddy is far harder than she'd thought. He promises to get help, but can he really ever be cured of his addiction? How can Lily trust him again - surely, after the heartache he's caused her, she would be far better off walking away and starting again? The truth is, she is as addicted to Freddy as he is to gambling - and she's not sure she even wants to be free.

How to Not Fall in Love: A Sweet Romantic Comedy Complete Series


Meg Easton - 2021
    Often hilariously so. Hang out with these roommates-turned-best-friends—women that you’ll wish were your own roomies—as they each find love and their own happily ever afters in this sweet and humorous series.How to Not Fall for the Guy Next DoorHow to Not Fall for the Wrong GuyHow to Not Fall for Your Best FriendHow to Not Fall for Your Ex

Steeped in Love (Make Me a Match, #1)


Julie Evelyn Joyce - 2018
    Frustrated with her lack of success in romance, Addie turns to another gift her great-aunt passed on to her—the art of reading tea leaves—to aid her in her search for the ideal mate. Novelist Ethan Holtz is having a hard time sinking his teeth into his next project, but he finds Addie fascinating. Mainly for her ability to make her dates disappear in fifteen minutes or less. He can’t help but eavesdrop on her dates in the local coffee shop, his writing haven, and soon finds himself taking pointers on what not to do from her failed suitors. Though her methods seem nothing short of mad, he falls fast and hard for the pixie-haired pie-pusher. She thinks they’re all wrong for each other, but Ethan teams up with the tea leaves to prove they’re so right.

Paris for One and Other Stories


Jojo Moyes - 2016
    She's never even been on a romantic weekend away--to anywhere--before. Traveling abroad isn't really her thing. But when Nell's boyfriend fails to show up for their mini-vacation, she has the opportunity to prove everyone--including herself--wrong. Alone in Paris, Nell finds a version of herself she never knew existed: independent and intrepid. Could this turn out to be the most adventurous weekend of her life? Funny, charming, and irresistible, Paris for One is quintessential Jojo Moyes--as are the other stories that round out the collection.