Book picks similar to
Homely Girl by Brenda Barrett


romance
contemporary
shelfari-favorites
ya

Blur


Kristen Middleton - 2012
    Seventeen year old Nikki and her twin brother, Nathan, move to the small town of Shore Lake to start over after their mother is brutally attacked. When a missing teenager washes up on shore during their first night at the cabin and there are whispers of vampires in Shore Lake, Nikki begins to realize that there are things roaming in the darkness that are far more sinister than what they left behind in the big city. This book contains some graphic language, violence, and mild sexual situations.

Sentence of Marriage


Shayne Parkinson - 2009
    Her life seems mapped out for her by the time she is twelve. Amy dreams of an exciting life in the world beyond her narrow boundaries. But it is the two people who come to the farm from outside the valley who change her life forever, and Amy learns the high cost of making the wrong choice.

Intrusion


Mary McCluskey - 2016
    While Scott throws himself back into his law practice in Los Angeles, Kat is hesitant to rejoin the workplace and instead spends her days shell-shocked and confused, unable to focus.When an unwelcome face from Kat’s past in England emerges—the beautiful and imposing Sarah Cherrington—Kat’s marriage is thrown into a tailspin. Now wealthy beyond anything she could have imagined as a girl, Sarah appears to have everything she could need or want. But Sarah has an agenda and she wants one more thing. Soon Kat and Scott are caught up in her devious games and power plays.Against the backdrops of Southern California and Sussex, in spare and haunting prose, Mary McCluskey propels this domestic drama to its chilling conclusion.

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?

My Savior Forever


Vicki Green - 2013
    At a young age she was placed in Foster care that moved her around from one place to the other. Finally being freed at 18, she was left with no money and nowhere to go until she finds a small town in Kansas where she can start over.Little did she know her life was going to be uprooted again when she is kidnapped and brutally raped.Jesse is considered HOT in most women’s eyes, but has little time for Romance. While searching for his Mother’s killers, he witnesses a young girl being kidnapped. He now faces decisions that he must make quickly.Will Jesse rescue Cassie? Will Cassie ever find the happiness she longs for?*Due to strong language and sexual content, this book is not intended for readers under the age of 18.

In His Eyes


Peggy L. Henderson - 2015
    When a tragic accident claims her father’s life, Katherine is left to deal with an overbearing mother whose agenda does not include a young daughter. Fate deals her another devastating blow, leaving her to face an uncertain future far away from everything and everyone she’s loved. Trace Hawley used to push the limits of the law, and no one was going to plan his future for him. The death of the man who always had his back leaves him to finally face responsibility. The promises he made a decade ago have shaped him into the man he is today, and will bring him face to face with the one girl from his past he always tried to avoid. After a ten year absence, Katherine returns to the ranch she once loved to discover the shocking reason her mother summoned her home. Surprised to find Trace still at the ranch, her childhood infatuation grows into something far stronger as he challenges her to lead the life she once wanted, but seems to have forgotten. When Katherine is forced to make a choice between saving her father’s dreams or following her own, Trace might be the only one who holds the key to both. ***Content Warning: This book contains mild language, mild violence, and adult situations including physical intimacy, and is intended for mature readers.

Her Best Match


Tamie Dearen - 2013
    Billionaire Steven Gherring is one of New York's Most Eligible Bachelors, and he has every intention of staying that way. But Gram has other ideas. She's on a not-so-secret campaign to find a wife for her grandson. As fearless as she is clumsy, Anne tackles every challenge (including her new boss) enthusiastically, with two lone exceptions... public speaking and recognizing her own feelings. Passions rise along with hemlines as Gram joins forces with Anne, a veteran matchmaker, to find the perfect match for Steven.“If you like Hallmark movies, you’ll love The Best Girls!”

Always the Baker, Never the Bride


Sandra D. Bricker - 2010
    But here's the rub about her job as a baker ... Emma is diabetic. When she tastes her creations, it can only be in the most minute portions. Emma is considered an artisan for the stunning crEme brulee wedding cake that won her the Passionate Palette Award last year, but she's never even had one full slice of it.When Jackson Drake hears about this local baker who has won a prestigious award for her wedding cake artistry, he tells his assistant to be sure and include her in the pastry tastings scheduled at his new wedding destination hotel the following week. And for Jackson, that particular day has started out badly with two workmen trapped in a broken elevator and a delivery of several dozen 300-thread-count bed linens in the wrong size abandoned in the lobby. But when the arrogant baker he met a week prior in Roswell stumbles into the dining room with a platter of pastries and a bucketful of orders, he knows for certain: It's going to be a really rotten day.Can these two ill-suited players master the high-wire act and make a go of their new business venture? Or will they take each other crashing downward, without a net? And will the surprise wedding at The Tanglewood be theirs?

Second Chances


Alison Stanley - 2012
    With two different guys after her attention, Rachel must make a choice – will she choose rebellious single dad Nate or sensible youth leader Steven?Meanwhile, Hannah is on top of the world, engaged to be married to the love of her life, until a chance encounter with someone from her past threatens to take away her happiness. Will her relationship survive when the secret she has been keeping for so many years is uncovered?As these best friends lean on God and each other through different trials, they both experience God’s forgiveness and his provision of ‘second chances’.

Unexpected Gifts


Elena Aitken - 2011
    But he’s determined to show her everything the season has to offer…including love. For Andi Williams, Christmas represents everything she’s supposed to have—and doesn’t. Running away to a remote mountain lodge seems like the perfect way to escape the season. And it would have been if it weren’t for the snow storm and a booking mix-up that finds her stranded. That is, until a rough around the edges, green eyed stranger offers a solution.  There was no way in good conscious that Colin Hartford could leave the woman with nowhere to stay. Especially on Christmas. He knows all too well what it’s like to be alone for the holidays. It isn’t long before Colin’s determination to enjoy the festivities he’s missed for so long sweeps Andi into the season of joy that she’s not so sure she’s ready for.  If Andi can allow herself to open up—just a little—she might finally have the chance to experience everything the holidays can really offer…including love.

Mad About Matt


Theresa Paolo - 2017
    Life is good until someone breaks into her shop,making her question if the life she left behind in New York followed her.As the local sheriff, Matt is keeping a close eye on the place and an even closer eye on the beautiful owner who refuses to take the break in seriously. Two conflicting personalities that burn bright on their own become down right explosive when thrown together. But in order to move toward a future together, they will have to let go of their past and accept the mistakes they made.***Welcome to Red Maple Falls, a small town filled with big personalities. Nestled in the White Mountains of New Hampshire it is home to the Hayes siblings, three brothers and three sisters, all awaiting their happily ever after.Book 1: Mad About Matt (Matt and Shay) Book 2: Crushing on Kate (Kate and Caleb) Book 3: Moments with Mason (Mason and Cassie)Book 4: Catching Cooper (Cooper and Sarah) Book 5: Hung Up on Hadley (Hadley and Sam)Book 5.5 A Bride for Sam (Hadley and Sam) Book 6: Dreaming of Daisy (Daisy and Nick) (Coming 2/19/18)

Touching the Clouds


Bonnie Leon - 2010
    She pilots a mail-delivery plane in the forbidding Alaskan wilderness, the lone woman in a male profession. But even that seems easy compared to finding true love. She likes a fellow pilot and would even consider marrying him--if it weren't for Paul, a mysterious man on her mail route with a gentle spirit and a past to hide. Can Kate break through the walls Paul has put up around his heart? And will her quest for adventure be her demise?

The Gift


Margaret McHeyzer - 2017
    I have something they cannot take or steal. I have something they'd kill for.The something I have, isn't a possession, it's more.Much, much more.It's a gift.It's part of me.Watch the trailer: https://youtu.be/mMWAP6cYWUQ

Clockwise


Elle Strauss - 2011
    Protocol pressures her to tell their 1860 hosts that he is her brother, and when Casey finds she has a handsome, wealthy (and unwanted) suitor, something changes in Nate. Are those romantic sparks or is it just "brotherly" protectiveness?When they return to the present, things go back to the way they were before: Casey parked on the bottom of the rung of the social ladder and Nate perched high on the very top. Except this time her heart is broken. Plus, her best friend is mad, her parents are split up, and her younger brother gets escorted home by the police. The only thing that could make life worse is if, by some strange twist of fate, she took Nate back to the past again.Which of course, she does.

The Seven Steps to Closure


Donna Joy Usher - 2012
    Things go from bad to worse when she discovers that, not only is her ex-husband engaged to her cousin - Tash, the woman he left her for - but that Jake is also running for Lord Mayor of Sydney.Desperate to leave the destructive relationship behind and with nothing to lose, she decides- with encouragement from her three best friends - to follow the dubious advice from a magazine article, Closure in Seven Easy Steps.The Seven Steps to Closure follows Tara on her sometimes disastrous- always hilarious - path to achieve the seemingly impossible.