Book picks similar to
How We Started by Luanne Rice


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fiction
romance
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Poppyland


Raffaella Barker - 2008
    Both of them are loners, damaged by tragedy in their lives, both sceptical about love. But they have a connection that can't be broken, which takes them from their separate lives to Norfolk, where they both end up at the same time, bound together by a family event that neither of them knew the other was connected with.Romantic, elegiac, absorbing and quixotic, this love story for difficult people is a testament to the power of attraction. It's about the sea and land, about the past and how it shapes our futures, about how we find the right person to be with - a truly universal story.

Torn Between Love and Family


Aurora Hanson - 2018
    An interest in an irrigation project, though, and a harrowing attack by local bandits drives her into town and into the company of two men; one could be the love of her life, while the other is her own long-lost cousin. Has she accidentally stumbled upon happiness? Amelia's hope of a new family is dashed when she discovers the truth.A complicated and tragic series of events have pitted Jonas Mayfield, a former missionary and Clayton Knight, a beloved and fair Sheriff, against each other. Both men have suffered many hardships in order to forget, before finding themselves in frontal attack, again. What could possibly cause such hatred between the two men?Amelia has to unite the two sworn enemies and bring all their resources to bear against the forces of nature and of man's most basic instincts. Love, life, everything is on the line for Amelia and her family. Will she be able to save her future, by solving the riddle of the mysterious past? Will she go as far as to put her own life at risk to save the family she's always dreamt of?"Torn Between Love and Family" is a historical western romance novel of approximately 90,000 words. No cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed happily ever after.

Measure of Love


Melissa Ford - 2013
    Plus she’s in a tug of war with the editor of her upcoming book on divorce who is begging her to keep her happy new relationship with her ex, Adam, on the down low. How can Rachel do that when her society-obsessed mother-in-law is eager to get a featured story in the wedding section of The New York Times? Throw in a sister-in-law-to-be who’s navigating her own upcoming nuptials as well as a friend who not only doesn’t want to get married, but is possibly having an affair. Rachel finds herself with too many pots simmering on a very familiar stove.

Wind Chime Café


Sophie Moss - 2014
    Hearing rumors that a developer is about to build a five-star resort on the sleepy Chesapeake Bay island, she plans to transform the café into a premier upscale bistro. But Annie’s life is about to get a lot more complicated.Back on Heron Island for the first time in ten years, Navy SEAL Will Dozier has no intention of selling his grandparents’ property to a developer. As he works on renovating the house and trying to find another buyer, he’s forced to face a painful reality—that he’s secretly struggling with PTSD. Determined to hide his troubles from the rest of the islanders, Will decides that a fling with the new girl is the perfect way to help him “get his head straight.” The last thing Will expects is to fall in love…with his hometown and with Annie. But Will’s life and career are in San Diego with the SEALs. Can Annie’s love and the healing magic of the island be enough to convince him to stay?

A Greek Affair


Linn B. Halton - 2018
    Halton also writes as Lucy Coleman, the top ten bestselling author of Snowflakes Over Holly Cove! More than just a holiday romance? Her daughter, her job and divorcing her untrustworthy ex are Leah’s main priorities. She isn’t really bothered that her life might be missing a few things. But after winning a prestigious travel blogger award, she’s inundated with offers to review glamorous holiday destinations.Lying around drinking exotic cocktails and being paid for it … what could be better? Perhaps a romantic trip to idyllic Greece to find the one man who might make Leah risk her heart again… Readers love Linn B. Halton! ‘Perfect escapism … A superb book’ Karen, Netgalley‘Not quite what I expected, but better. Five stars’ Barbara, Netgalley

The Dating Game


Susan Buchanan - 2012
    That’s all Glaswegian recruitment consultant Gill does. Her friends fix her up with numerous blind dates, none suitable, until one day Gill decides enough is enough.Seeing an ad on a bus billboard for Happy Ever After dating agency ‘for the busy professional’, on impulse she signs up. Soon she has problems juggling her social life as well as her work diary.Before long she’s experiencing laughs, lust and … could it be love? But just when things are looking up for Gill, an unexpected reunion forces her to make an impossible choice.Will she get her happy ever after, or is she destined to be married to her job forever?

When You Became My Life


Anshul Sharma - 2013
    Living with an old friend in a new house, busy with a new job in a new environment revives him, somewhat. And then, life happens. As he bumps into love and tries to keep running away from it, love follows him as Aashi a small-town girl with larger than life aspirations and a novel dream. Neev sets out to fulfil her dream but he has to pay a coast for it. Either love or life. What will he choose to let go? When You Became My Life is a story spun by destiny. It is a story of a young boy who takes it upon himself to defeat all odds and be one with love.

It Started in June


Susan Kietzman - 2018
    After a few weeks of exhilarating secret dates, Grace--forty-two and divorced--realizes she's pregnant.For Grace, whose estranged mother refers to her own teenage pregnancy as her biggest mistake, the prospect of parenthood is daunting. She's just been made vice president of a media relations company and is childfree by choice. Still, something deeper than her fear makes her want to keep the baby. She knows she can be a better, more capable parent than her mother was to her.As months pass and seasons change, Grace questions her decision to include Bradley in her plans. But they continue to navigate their complicated relationship, each struggling with what it means to make a commitment to someone. Most importantly, Grace begins trusting her instincts--maternal and otherwise--finding courage that will guide her through an uncertain future ripe with new possibilities . . .Praise for the novels of Susan Kietzman "Beautifully written and closely observed . . . captures the deep and complicated love of family. Reading this lovely novel, I felt the embrace of summer on the shoreline."--New York Times bestselling author Luanne Rice on The Summer Cottage "Readers will find themselves drawn into the tragedies and triumphs of this fictional family--distinct and yet utterly relatable." --Hartford Books Examiner on The Good Life

On The Edge


Parker Hudson - 1994
    If only they would listen a little harder to the other voice trying to get through to them-the voice of hope, forgiveness and love-before it's too late.

The Infinite Pieces of Us


Rebekah Crane - 2018
    It’s just a two-hour drive…Pondering math problems is Esther Ainsworth’s obsession. If only life’s puzzles required logic. Her stepfather’s solution? Avoidance. He’s exiled the family to Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, to erase a big secret from Esther’s past. So much for the truth. Now for the consequences: an empty swimming pool, a water-sucking cactus outside her window, a goldfish rescued from a church festival, and Esther’s thirst for something real.Step one: forget about her first love. Step two: make allies. Esther finds them in Jesús from the local coffee bar; a girl named Color who finds beauty in an abandoned video store; Beth, the church choir outcast; and Moss, a boy with alluring possibilities. Step three: confess her secret to those she hopes she can trust. Esther’s new friends do more than just listen. They’re taking Esther one step further.Together, they hit the road to face Esther’s past head-on. It’s a journey that will lead her to embrace her own truth—in all its glory, pain, and awesomeness.

Atonement for Emily Adams


Susan R. Lawrence - 2014
    Knowing she cannot undo this tragedy, Emily hopes to atone for Isaiah's death by good deeds and community service. However, the more she does, the more her life falls apart. With her job on the line, her volunteer efforts fruitless, and her marriage in jeopardy, the final blow comes when Isaiah's grieving parents file a wrongful death suit. For them, this will be justice and closure, but for Emily this is final proof she will never be forgiven. Not by Isaiah's parents --- not by God. Where do you turn when I'm sorry isn't enough?

The Last Day For Rob Rhino (Twisted Crime #2)


Kathleen O'Donnell - 2013
    I became more immersed with every page, as the plot twisted and turned its way to the end. Kathleen O'Donnell has done an outstanding job with her first book. Can't wait to hear more from her. Hurry! – Ryker, five star review on Amazon. Claire’s a rich widow on a mission, who partakes with abandon from the pharmacy stored in her Prada purse. Rob’s an aging reality show celebrity. Stuck on the same flight, bound for the same eccentric town, she hates him on sight. She thinks she knows all there is to know about him but is dying to find out more. He’s disinterested but somehow still sees right through her. But they’ve both got big problems. Hers is in the Louis Vuitton carryon in the overhead. His is in his pants. To Claire’s dismay, Rob turns up everywhere she goes, yet they form the unlikeliest of friendships. He cares for her in ways she’s never known before. He could be the best thing in her life—or the worst. In a place full of secrets, including their own, they help each other find answers they didn’t even know they were looking for, yet some questions linger. What happened to Rob’s first wife? What happened to Claire’s husband? Will they live through the answers? The Last Day for Rob Rhino is a dark, tragic, and funny novel about the bonds of family and friendship. If you’d love a Gillian Flynn, Paula Hawkins, or Stieg Larsson novel with a humorous twist, this would be it.

Lighting Candles in the Snow


Karen Jones Gowen - 2012
    But what does Suzie, married to the ideal husband, know about the shattering effect of living with someone tormented by addictions? When Karoline meets a handsome new man, things just might be looking up. Until the day she learns about a tragic event in ex-husband Jeremy's childhood. Faced with the horrifying experience that shaped the man she used to love, Karoline reconsiders what she thought was real. In the process, she comes to know the true meaning of love and forgiveness.

The Headmaster's Darlings


Katherine Clark - 2015
    A natural wonder from blue-collar Alabama, Laney has barged into the exclusive world of Mountain Brook on the strength of his sensational figure and its several-hundred-pound commitment to art and culture. His mission is to defeat "the barbarians," introduce true civilization in place of its thin veneer, and change his Southern world for the better. Although Laney is adored by his students (his "darlings") and by the society ladies (also his "darlings") who rely on him to be the life of their parties and the leader of their book clubs, there are others who think he is a larger-than-life menace to the comfortable status quo of Mountain Brook society and must be banished.When Laney is summoned to the principal's office one day in November 1984, he expects to be congratulated for a recent public-relations triumph he engineered on behalf of the school. Instead his letter of resignation is demanded with no explanation given. Faced with an ultimatum and his imminent dismissal, Laney must outflank the principal at his own underhanded game, find out who said what about him and why, and launch his current crop of Alabama students into the wider world—or at least into Ivy League colleges.In her debut novel, Katherine Clark casts a comical eye on Southern society and celebrates the power of great teachers and schools to transform the lives of young people and lift up their communities. Surrounded by a colorful cast of his colleagues, his young protégés and Mountain Brook's upper echelon, Laney emerges as a heroically idiosyncratic character with Falstaffian appetites, an inimitable wit and intellect, and a boundless generosity toward his students that reshapes their lives in profound, unexpected ways.New York Times best-selling writer and Story River Books editor at large Pat Conroy provides a foreword to the novel.

The Things We Don't Say


Ella Carey - 2018
    Years after Patrick’s death, ninety-year-old Emma still has the painting hanging over her bed at their country home as a testament to their love.To Emma’s granddaughter, Laura, the portrait is also a symbol of so much to come. The masterpiece is serving as collateral to pay Laura’s tuition at a prestigious music school. Then the impossible happens when an appraiser claims the painting is a fraud. For Laura, the accusation jeopardizes her future. For Emma, it casts doubt on everything she believed about her relationship with Patrick. Laura is determined to prove that Patrick did indeed paint the portrait. Both her grandmother’s and Patrick’s legacies are worth fighting for.As the stories of two women entwine, it’s time for Emma to summon up the past—even at the risk of revealing its unspoken secrets.