Book picks similar to
Life or Something Like It by Annie Lyons
chick-lit
netgalley
romance
arc-s
The Witches of Cambridge
Menna van Praag - 2016
"Be careful what you wish for. If you're a witch, you might just get it." Amandine Bisset has always had the power to feel the emotions of those around her. It's a secret she can share only with her friends all professors, all witches when they gather for the Cambridge University Society of Literature and Witchcraft. Amandine treasures these meetings but lately senses the ties among her colleagues beginning to unravel. If only she had her student Noa's power to hear the innermost thoughts of others, she might know how to patch things up. Unfortunately, Noa regards her gift as a curse. So when a seductive artist claims he can cure her, Noa jumps at the chance, no matter the cost. Noa's not the only witch in over her head. Mathematics professor Kat has a serious case of unrequited love but refuses to cast spells to win anyone's heart. Her sister, Cosima, is not above using magic to get what she wants, sprinkling pastries in her bakery with equal parts sugar and enchantment. But when Cosima sets her sights on Kat's crush, she conjures up a dangerous love triangle. As romance and longing swirl through every picturesque side street, The Witches of Cambridge find their lives unexpectedly upended and changed in ways sometimes extraordinary, sometimes heartbreaking, but always enchanting.
The Art of Friendship
Erin Kaye - 2010
But friendship has bound them through time. Until now. Over the years, In the small town of Ballyfergus, these four women have shared tears of joy and sorrow, countless glasses of wine and cups of tea. Men have come and gone, children been born and left home. Life has taken them down paths they never expected, but through it all their relationship has endured. But all that's about to change - this year their friendship will be tested as never before as: / Widowed Kirsty falls in love with someone she shouldn't. / Patsy struggles to cope with her beloved husband's redundancy and a shocking revelation from her daughter. / Janice is forced to address ghosts from her past. / Clare takes control of her life, only to discover that her new-found independence comes at a high price. Can the sisterhood survive the strains placed upon it and come through it unscathed? Find out in this warm, emotive tale from a hot new talent, perfect for fans of Cathy Kelly and Maeve Binchy.
Kitty's Countryside Dream
Christie Barlow - 2016
Up to her elbows in chickens and ponies, Kitty soon realises there’s an awful lot to learn about farming. Still, at least the locals seem friendly, not least her handsome neighbour Tom… But just as Kitty is beginning to find her feet, and the possibility of love, the discovery of a long-hidden diary, by a mysterious character called Violet changes everything. Who is Violet and what is her message for Kitty? As Kitty fills in the lost pieces of her family jigsaw and discovers some shocking revelations, will her countryside dream and blossoming relationship fall to pieces? When it comes to life in the country, nothing is ever quite as it seems …
The Year We Turned Forty
Liz Fenton - 2016
This time around, she’s determined to bury the secret of Lucas’ paternity, and to repair the fissures that sent her wandering the first time. Gabriela regrets that she wasted her most fertile years in hot pursuit of a publishing career. Yes, she’s one of the biggest authors in the world, but maybe what she really wanted to create was a family. With a chance to do it again, she’s focused on convincing her husband, Colin, to give her the baby she desires. Claire is the only one who has made peace with her past: her twenty-two year old daughter, Emily, is finally on track after the turmoil of adolescence, and she's recently gotten engaged, with the two carat diamond on her finger to prove it. But if she’s being honest, Claire still fantasizes about her own missed opportunities: a chance to bond with her mother before it was too late, and the possibility of preventing her daughter from years of anguish. Plus, there’s the man who got away—the man who may have been her one true love. But it doesn’t take long for all three women to learn that re-living a life and making different decisions only leads to new problems and consequences—and that the mistakes they made may, in fact, have been the best choices of all…
In Search of a Love Story
Rachel Schurig - 2012
They’re convinced her bad luck with men is directly related to her life-long lack of interest in all things romantic. When Emily’s latest relationship crashes and burns, she decides to go along with her friends’ plans for a romance research project. Sure, the idea that she’ll have better luck if she learns about the great romances of literature and film seems a little silly, but Emily figures it can’t hurt.In no time at all, Emily finds herself buried under a mountain of romance novels, chick flicks, and sappy love songs, hopeful that her hard work will pay off with true love. When she meets Greg, Ashley and Ryan are convinced she’s found prince charming—after all, he’s rich, handsome, and totally into Emily. What more could she want? And why does it seem that her friend Elliot isn’t exactly happy for her?Faced with misunderstandings, miscommunications, and a seemingly endless string of missteps, she is nevertheless determined to give true love a try. In doing so, Emily will eventually find that true romance, the kind that lasts, has little to do with stereotypes or clichés, and everything to do with finding out what’s in her own heart.
The Summer House
Hannah McKinnon - 2017
Clementine, her youngest child and a young mother of two small children, has caused Flossy the most worry after enduring a tragically life-altering year. But Samuel and his partner Evan are not far behind in their ability to alarm: their prospective adoption search has just taken a heart-wrenching turn. Only Paige, the eldest of the headstrong Merrill clan, is her usual self: arriving precisely on time with her well-adapted teens. Little does her family know that she, too, is facing personal struggles of her own.No matter. With her family finally congregated under one seaside roof, Flossy is determined to steer her family back on course even as she prepares to reveal the fate of the summer house that everyone has thus far taken for granted: she’s selling it. The Merrill children are both shocked and outraged and each returns to memories of their childhoods at their once beloved summer house—the house where they have not only grown up, but from which they have grown away. With each lost in their respective heartaches, Clementine, Samuel, and Paige will be forced to reconsider what really matters before they all say goodbye to a house that not only defined their summers, but, ultimately, the ways in which they define themselves. Featuring McKinnon’s “sharp and evocative” (Kirkus Reviews) voice, this warm-hearted novel is perfect for fans of Elin Hilderbrand and Mary Alice Monroe.
The Summer House
Jenny Hale - 2017
Callie Weaver and best friend Olivia Dixon have finally done it: put their life savings into the beach house they admired through childhood summers, on the dazzling white sand of North Carolina’s Outer Banks. They’re going to buff the salt from its windows, paint its sun-bleached sidings, and open it as a bed and breakfast. Callie’s too busy to think about her love life, but when she catches the attention of local heartthrob Luke Sullivan, his blue eyes and easy smile make it hard to say no. He’s heir to his father’s property empire, and the papers say he’s just another playboy, but as they laugh in the ocean waves, Callie realizes there’s more to this man than money and good looks. Just when true happiness seems within reach, Callie and Olivia find a diary full of secrets... secrets that stretch across the island, and have the power to turn lives upside down. As Callie reads, she unravels a mystery that makes her heart drop through the floor. Will Callie and Luke be pulled apart by the storm it unleashes, or can true love save them? The Summer House is an absolutely gorgeous, heart-warming summer romance, about the importance of family, not keeping secrets, and learning how to open your heart.
Last-Minute Love
Romi Moondi - 2012
This is when Romi Narindra comes alive...-----------------------"Last-Minute Love" is book two in the fictional "Year of the Chick" series. It follows closely from book one, but contains enough detail to be read as a stand-alone.LENGTH: 74,000 or approximately 280 pagesDISCLAIMER: this book contains occasional F-bombs and mild sexual references; hide your daughters!
Making Lemonade
Kate Langdon - 2007
Before she can come to terms with being unemployed (yet again), she finds herself up the duff, father unknown. Is it her charming, arrogant and married ex-boss? Or is it the man-child she met one drunken night at the Irish pub. If only she could remember his name… Sally is married to Vincent, a self-absorbed televangelist, obsessed with his TV show and beauty treatments. She spends her days working, ferrying her three children around and listening to her husband preach. How could her hopes and dreams have been so unimportant she waved them goodbye without a second thought? Kat has the perfect life all mapped out: the perfect job, the perfect husband, the perfectly renovated home and the soon-to-come perfect children. But when her suspicions that her husband is having an affair are proved to be correct, she suddenly finds herself single with a handbag full of broken dreams. Can they find their way back to the dreams of their youth – or is it time to accept life’s lemons and start making lemonade?
Wish Me Home
Kay Bratt - 2017
Stranded in Georgia with only her backpack and a few dwindling dollars, she already has too much baggage. Like her twin sister, Hana, who has broken Cara’s heart one too many times. After a lifetime of family troubles, and bouncing from one foster home to another, Cara decides to leave it all behind and strike out alone—on foot.Cara sets off to Florida to see the home of her literary hero, Ernest Hemingway, accompanied only by Hemi, the stray dog who proves to be the perfect travel companion. But the harrowing trip takes unexpected turns as strangers become friends who make her question everything, and Cara finds that as the journey unfolds, so does her life—in ways she could never imagine.
Bargaining with the Bride
Allison Gatta - 2015
Not only has her fiancé run off with his in-home care nurse, but her wedding to said low-life is only one month away. Since she’d rather swallow a box full of nails than live up to her family nickname of “Wreck-it Rachael,” she’ll have to find someone to convince her parents she’s no longer the same flakey girl she used to be or run back home with her tail between her legs.…but there’s no denying their chemistry.Garret Adams can’t seem to figure out what’s wrong with his dating algorithm. He’s tried everything to make sure his company, Organic Chemistry, is the leader in match making, but there’s no denying something is missing. So, when his right-hand employee threatens to leave after her botched engagement, he offers to help her out. He’ll go through with her sham marriage if and only if she agrees to be his science project. The only problem?Their attraction is one variable he hadn’t accounted for.
Diary of an Unsmug Married
Polly James - 2014
Perfect for fans of Dawn French, Sue Townsend and Bridget Jones’ Diary.Meet Molly Bennett. Married to Max and mother to two warring teenagers, she’s just ‘celebrated’ a significant birthday. According to Bridget Jones Molly is a “smug married”. So why doesn’t she feel smug?Is it because everyone seems to be having a better time of it than her? Or is it that Max has started taking more of an interest in ‘business trips’ and less of an interest in their sex life? Molly is beginning to despair until an old school friend starts flirting with her through Facebook …
The Speed of Light
Elissa Grossell Dickey - 2021
Diagnosed with MS, she awaits the results of another anxiety-inducing MRI. She’s just walked away from Connor, “a fixer” but possibly the love of her life. And nearing the holidays, the sights and sounds of winter in South Dakota only prick memories of better years gone by. Then, on a December morning at the university where she works, jarring gunshots pierce the halls. In a temporary safe place and terrified, Simone listens and pretends this will all be over soon.As she waits for silence, her mind racing, Simone’s past year comes into focus. Falling in love and missing it. Finding strength in family and enduring friendships. Planning for the future, fearing it, and hoping against hope in dark places. Her life has been changing at the speed of light, and each crossroad brought Simone here, to this day, to endure the things she can’t control and to confront those that she can.
Weight Till Christmas
Ruth Saberton - 2013
At least she will if she can squeeze into her party dress...Without a fairy godmother to wave a magic wand, Ellie Summers needs more than a pumpkin to impress her gorgeous boss. She works hard, not as a scullery maid but as a super sassy saleswoman, but he doesn't notice her. Their company's lavish Christmas party is the opportunity Ellie's been waiting for to make a big impression. And she doesn't intend it to be winning the mince pie eating competition.With the help of fellow dieter Sam, a sleigh load of will power and a sprinkling of Christmas magic, Ellie knows finding her Prince Charming is just a mistletoe kiss away.But is her prince really so charming? Or is Christmas romance closer than she thinks?
Breakfast at the Beach House Hotel
Judith S. Keim - 2015
Ann, quiet and reserved, is no match for brash, bossy Rhonda, who left the family’s New Jersey butcher business after she won the lottery. Amid their struggles to succeed, The Sins of the Children, a soap opera, films a number of episodes at the hotel and things get complicated in unexpected ways when Ann falls for Vaughn Sanders, the star of the show.