Book picks similar to
Excess Baggage by Judy Astley
ebook
modern
novels
romance
Distant Shores
Kristin Hannah - 2002
From a distance, their lives look picture perfect. But after the girls leave home, Jack and Elizabeth quietly drift apart. When Jack accepts a wonderful new job, Elizabeth puts her own needs aside to follow him across the country. Then tragedy turns Elizabeth’s world upside down. In the aftermath, she questions everything about her life—her choices, her marriage, even her long-forgotten dreams. In a daring move that shocks her husband, friends, and daughters, she lets go of the woman she has become—and reaches out for the woman she wants to be.--back cover
The Shetland Sea Murders
Marsali Taylor - 2021
A fishing vessel has become trapped on the rocks off the coast of one of the islands.In the days that follow, there's both a shocking murder and a baffling death. On the surface there's no link, but when Cass becomes involved it is soon clear that her life is also in danger.Convinced that someone sinister is at work in these Shetland waters, Cass is determined to find and stop them. But uncovering the truth could prove to be deadly . .
The Bad Mother's Wedding
Suzy K. Quinn - 2020
Dreams of rose-covered cottages, rolling pins and two parents living with their own biological child were well and truly shattered.But now Juliette is engaged to her childhood sweetheart, Alex Dalton, and everything is looking up. Juliette can’t wait to marry Alex and live happily ever after at the Dalton Estate.The trouble is, Juliette isn’t the only one getting married this year. Her ex-partner, Nick, is getting married too and is trying his hardest to sabotage Juliette’s wedding day. Plus, there’s the small matter of the global Covid-19 pandemic.Will Juliette get the wedding of her dreams? Or will Nick succeed in ruining yet another wedding day?Wednesday 24th JuneAnother meeting with our wedding planner today – this time about party favours.Cressida showed us cute little hangover kits, personalised wine glasses, mini champagne bottles, chocolate truffle boxes, watches, toiletries, all sorts. There was even a monogrammed rum and Coca Cola can and a little treasure chest of sugared almonds, should we choose a Caribbean destination wedding.When Nick and I got married, all we thought about was drink, food and the church, in that order.Who knew there was so much sparkle and magic in the wedding world?Perfect for Jill Mansell and Unmumsy Mum fans. Can be read as a stand-along novel or as part of the series. Download this Kindle Unlimited comedy as part of your subscription.Editorial Reviews for Suzy K Quinn‘Suzy K Quinn is the literary equivalent of hot chocolate …’ – Liza Foreman, New York Times journalist'Suzy K Quinn is a born storyteller' -- Erin Kelly, bestselling author of He Said, She Said.'I read Suzy’s latest novel in one sitting, with a break for sleep. This does not usually happen. It's a terrific read.' -- Fay Weldon, author of the Lives and Loves of a She Devil.'Unputdownable. I was completely absorbed.' -- Julia Crouch, author of Cuckoo'A seriously skilful page turner ... don't read it on the beach unless you want sunburn.' -- Kate Harrison, author of The Secret Shopper's RevengeThe writing is skilful and vivid and the tension doesn't let up. Suzy K Quinn is one to watch.' -- Julia Gregson, author of East of the Sun“Funny, real, honest, and raw—this is an excellent book about the roller-coaster that is being a mum.” —Charlene Wedgner“Books like this, books that share honest and realistic experiences are a breath of fresh air.” —Diary of a Book Mum“I just love its honesty/real-ness and the way it ends on such a high note helped me to realize what a privilege it is to be a parent.” —Busy Mama Book Club“The reason I loved this book so much was the honesty of it! Unlike other parenting books nothing is sugar coated! This is Motherhood!! You will find yourself relating to almost everything she writes!” —B Club Betty“Would highly recommend this book for anyone looking for a fun and honest read about parenting.” —Em Digs Books“It’s funny, it’s quick, short chapters, all of these things are really important, easy read, when you’re a sleep deprived new mother. I really wish I had it when I was a new mum five years ago.” —The Motherload Book Club“A real breath of fresh air and a massive reality check for when you’re trying to be the perfect mum.” —Mrs Cooke’s Books“Had me in fits of laughter…I really do applaud Suzy for being so honest …She really does tell it like it is, which is that parenthood is a challenge but it’s totally worth it!” —Kirsty’s Book Buying AddictionAbout the AuthorSuzy is a bestselling British fiction author. Her books have sold nearly 1 million copies and been translated into nine different languages.
The Engagement Party
R.J. Gould - 2012
With eight adults to contend with, making the celebration a pleasant experience for all is going to be tricky. In fact, the obstacles seem insurmountable. Number One: the two families are from vastly different social backgrounds. Number Two: there are severe tensions between the exes. Number Three: some of the new relationships are falling apart.Things go from bad to worse during the week leading up to the engagement party and the stress of it all is threatening Wayne and Clarissa's relationship.This laugh-out-loud dive into family life will help the reader appreciate that however bad things are in their own family, it could be a lot worse!
London, the Doggy and Me
Rosen Trevithick - 2012
The only catch is that she has to look after a pet dog in exchange for board.She soon finds herself trying to juggle auditions, the demise of a long-term relationship and a blossoming fling, all whist hiding a sinister secret concealed within her suitcase.
I'm Fine and Neither Are You
Camille Pagán - 2019
Mother. Breadwinner. Penelope Ruiz-Kar is doing it all—and barely keeping it together. Meanwhile, her best friend, Jenny Sweet, appears to be sailing through life. As close as the two women are, Jenny’s passionate marriage, pristine house, and ultra-polite child stand in stark contrast to Penelope’s underemployed husband, Sanjay, their unruly brood, and the daily grind she calls a career.Then a shocking tragedy reveals that Jenny’s life is far from perfect. Reeling, Penelope vows to stop keeping the peace and finally deal with the issues in her relationship. So she and Sanjay agree to a radical proposal: both will write a list of changes they want each other to make—then commit to complete and total honesty.What seems like a smart idea quickly spirals out of control, revealing new rifts and even deeper secrets. As Penelope stares down the possible implosion of her marriage, she must ask herself: When it comes to love, is honesty really the best policy?
Dreams of a Little Cornish Cottage
Nancy Barone - 2021
But having kicked out her adulterous ex-husband, her house is filled with nothing but echoes and Nat yearns for the coziness and bustle of seaside living. In particular, the rundown Lavender Cottage that has gone up for sale.But when her mother has a fall, Nat's dream of a quiet new life crumbles as she instantly brings her into her home to care for her. With her two energetic nieces then dumped on her doorstep and her recently heartbroken daughter moving back into the nest, Nat can't possibly abandon her family... Lavender cottage will just have to wait.That is until Irishman Connor enters Nat's life and makes her realize that it's okay to put herself first, and she's allowed to wish for more.
Snowday: A festive feel good romantic comedy (The Riverside Series Book 1)
B.R. Maycock - 2018
Eloise is too busy juggling the chaos of three kids, an ever present ex-husband and a demanding boss to even remember the last time dating crossed her mind. But as soft snow falls silently all around, romance twinkles with the flakes. After being single for so long, Eloise suddenly has a lot of choices. Too many choices. Will anyone be worthy of melting the guard around her heart to let love in? A fun-filled, festive read for fans of Christie Barlow, Fiona Gibson and Colleen Coleman
An Off-Piste Christmas
Julie Houston - 2016
The last thing Harriet Westmoreland wants is Christmas away from home, particularly when skiing, snow, heights and freezing her backside off are on the menu. While her own family, together with her best friend Grace's, are soon whizzing down ridiculously scary mountains in the fashionable Italian resort of Cortina d'Ampezzo, Harriet is stuck in the remedial class on the nursery slopes unable, it seems, to remain vertical. Tired of trying to stay upright in the dunces' class, Harriet decides to overcome her fear of heights and take her bruised body off to explore the refugios in the magnificent Dolomites above Cortina. And maybe catch a glance of George Clooney, rumoured to be in town... But what happens next triggers a totally unexpected avalanche of events which proves that, for friends Harriet and Grace and all their families, Christmas really is a time for little miracles...
A laugh-out-loud novella from the Kindle top 5 bestselling author of A Village Affair.
Praise for Julie Houston: 'A real page-turner. You'll laugh and cry, but not be able to put it down as Julie's trademark humour shines through from beginning to end' Cassam Book Blog. 'This is one of those novels that makes you want to read "just one more chapter" before you turn out the light, and that chapter turns into several more' Big Bertha, Amazon Top 500 Reviewer. 'I became so engrossed in this story I couldn't stop – kept going for just another chapter, and another, until I'd read straight through to the end. I loved it – the magic five for me, a wonderful read and one to keep for rereading' Jeannie Zelos Book Reviews. 'An absolutely briliant read. This will definitely be a book to look out for in 2016 and I, for one, will be recommending it at every opportunity' I Love Smart Books. 'A wonderful read ... The prose flows effortlessly and takes the reader on a roller-coaster ride ... Julie Houston is definitely an author to watch out for' Kathryn Hughes, Kindle #1 bestselling author of The Letter and The Secret. 'Stick this right at the top of your To Read List' BestChickLit.Com.
Sparks Will Fly
Daniel Banner - 2017
But when a black-haired beauty crosses his path during a competition adventure race, he wonders if his bachelor days are numbered. Lucy Avila, recent college grad and former university mascot, isn’t looking for love when she travels to Utah with her friends to compete in Questival. She just wants the grand prize of a trip to Cusco, Peru to meet the grandmother she’s never seen, before her little Abuelita’s time is up. But standing between her and the grand prize is a Spartan-like leader of a team of firemen. Lucy likes the guy, but isn’t crazy about her chances against his team. No sooner do Lucy and Blue hit it off than they realize he was the star quarterback for her university’s biggest rival. To make matters worse, their families have long histories and prominent positions with their respective universities. From a Skylodge on the side of a Peruvian mountain to the Skybox of a football stadium, their love blossoms as they put aside rivalries. But one bad decision by Lucy pulls in hundreds of frenzied fans and causes damage to Blue’s family that may be irreparable. The only thing that is for sure … Sparks Will Fly. More books in the Park City Firefighter Romance: Station 2 Series will be available early 2018: Stone Cold Sparks by Cami Checkouts Untitled Sparks by Sarah Gay (These books are loosely related and can be read in any order.)
Feels Like Maybe
Claire Allan - 2008
When she finds out she is pregnant, he decides the relationship is most definitely off and leaves her before she has time to say 'Mothercare'.Desperate to get him back – and convinced she can – Aoife doesn’t tell her family back home in Derry about her impending arrival until she is cradling newborn Maggie in her arms. She then has to return home to face the music – baby in tow and sanity absent without leave.Meanwhile her best friend has been keeping a secret of her own. Beth and her husband Dan have been trying to get pregnant for the past two years. According to the doctors there is no medical reason for their failure to conceive. And if there is no reason, there can’t be a problem, can there? Add a gorgeous gardener, an overbearing mother, a perfectly annoying sister-in-law and a well meaning aunt – all with secrets of their own – into the mix and you have 'Feels Like Maybe'.
The Only Way Home
Jeanette Minniti - 2021
Danger on the rails. A journey to save a family.It is 1933 inside a sweltering courtroom in Macon, Georgia. Fifteen-year-old Robert sits on a bench awaiting sentencing after being picked up for vagrancy and spending a night in jail. He left his home in Illinois with a neighborhood friend to ride the rails and find work to help their families. The friend turned back, too afraid to face the perils ahead. But going back empty-handed isn’t an option for Robert.THE ONLY WAY HOME is the story of one boy’s determination to survive loss and hardship to help his family — and how fate and a violin touch the course of his life.Fans of Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens and Sold On a Monday by Kristina Morris will love this story set during the Great Depression of a fatherless boy fighting to keep his family together.
Her Billionaire's Bargain
Yvette Hines - 2016
Whether in business or his personal life. Not many people tell him, “No.” Until Kourtney Deen, a striking beauty, refused to sell her business to him so that he could put up a luxury spa and golf course. Business is business that’s what Zac has always believed. He refuses to get caught in the marriage trap like his cousins. However, the day he meets the feisty shop owner face to face, he can’t resist the attraction he has for her. Kourtney refuses to allow herself to get distracted. No matter how tall, grey-eyed and handsome he maybe. That road has already been traveled. Years ago, she made some mistakes and had to make some tough choices. Now, the only two things she cares about are her daughter and the success of her shop. In Zac’s structured life, things have always gone how he planned it, but one unexpected event leads to another. When he discovers that nothing is what it seems and there are secrets, yet revealed, he learns quickly that it is not his wallet he has to lean on, but his heart.
Hangovers & Hot Flashes
Kim Gruenenfelder - 2018
They are all in their 40s and wondering the same thing: “Now what?” Zoe, the mother of 17 year-old twins about to abandon her for college, misses the romance of her twenties, and desperately wants just one last first kiss. Thinking outside the box, she convinces her husband Carlos to embark on an open marriage. Which leads to a new set of problems and questions: How does she pick a “non-skeevy” swinger’s club, do men of a certain age even want sex with no strings attached, and does ordering a glass of Syrah these days really signal to would be suitors that you just want to f*@# them in their car? Most importantly, will getting to be with someone else help or hurt her marriage? And if that someone else is an ex who effortlessly morphs into a fantasy man who after all these years finally says and does all the right things, how does Zoe choose between the life she has and the road not taken? Michelle has made it her routine on her way home to stop one block from her house, park, stare into space, and dread the next few hours of her life. She’s tired of juggling her very full time job as a real estate agent with the full time job of parenting two kids without much help from her husband, Steve. She's also tired of not having sex and the daily silence that has replaced their fighting. Michelle doesn’t have a road not taken, but she’s at a fork in that road. Does she take the easy path, and spend the rest of her life with a man she loves but no longer likes? Or go the hard route: Divorce. Living life with one income, single parenting, lonely Thanksgivings, and kids who may never forgive you. And how does somebody start dating again when all the rules have changed since she took herself off the market years ago? Alexis is the self-made multi-millionaire we all aspire to be. She’s the creator of a slew of hit TV shows and the head of a wildly successful production company. She’s got the dream car, the stunning house on the beach in Malibu, the black AmEx. Everything is going exactly according to plan, and there’s a lot to be happy about. But she also has Connor, her on-again/off-again boyfriend of twelve years. Plus she’s going through early menopause, and now wonders how she forgot to have kids. Her life plan is suddenly thrown into further disarray when Connor shows up with a stray dog, which he leaves with her. Which is just the beginning, as that mangy mutt leads to a teenaged dog walker, a middle-aged widower, and her Sunday morning brunches possibly being replaced by church. So what do you do when nothing in your life is working the way you saw it in your head, and the unplanned life might make you happier? Knowing their girlfriends will always have their backs, Michelle, Zoe and Alexis confront their new realities with honesty and humor, while trying to find happiness amidst hangovers and hot flashes.
Queen of Hearts
P.G. Van - 2019
She becomes vital for him to close a deal, and he needs to make her believe she is his wife until the contract is finalized on his dream project. What happens when the temporary set-up starts to seem real for him? When she realizes what he had done, will he still be able to hold on to her?
Queen of Hearts
is a standalone, contemporary romance novel.