Book picks similar to
The Trouble with Paradise by Annie Seaton


romance
australian-author
aussie-authors
first-in-a-series

Charlie's Will


Susan Mackie - 2020
    Rose Gordon knew the farm would be hers when her grandfather died. Strong and sassy, she was the only heir to five generations of cattle country and the magnificent Barrington Homestead. But Charlie’s will was not as she expected and the appearance of Angus Hamilton on the day of the funeral unsettled her. Handsome and single, she was attracted to him in a way she had never experienced. The ongoing drought and discovering she had friends, if not family, in the small rural community complicate matters. More sinister threats lurk in the shadows. Will Rose give up city life to face the threats head on and fight for her inheritance?

Patrick's Journey


Roy T. Humphreys - 2014
    Like many young men he is patriotic, adventurous and headstrong. He also feels assured of a bright future with his sweetheart Catherine. Patrick’s world comes crashing down around him when he becomes a pawn in the political aspirations of the United Irishmen under Wolfe Tone. He finds himself in prison sentenced to transportation to the penal colony of New South Wales and begins a downward spiral into rage and depression. Patrick’s saviour comes in the form of Father Michael O’Court, the chaplain of the prison ship Boddington. Over time Patrick is guided out of his depression and is able to accept the vastly different directions that his life’s journey has taken. He also finds an unlikely mentor in one Preston Balfour, a British Army officer who was originally his target for assassination, but who ultimately provides him with the means of restoring his life in a new land. Patrick’s life is complete when tragic circumstances eventually lead to him being reunited with Catherine for a new life in a new land. He comes to realise that the most important journey we travel is not measured in miles but by our changes within. Patrick’s Journey is a work of fiction, but is based on the real life history of the author’s great (6 times removed) grandfather.

Midwife On The Orient Express: A Christmas Miracle


Fiona McArthur - 2019
    On departure she can't believe her ill-timing when she sees Dr Lucas Black on that platform in Venice.Lucas hates surprises. Offering his seat to the woman who jilted him fifteen years before was bad, but leaving her with his meddling grandmother was a hundred times worse.Transport yourself into the glamorous night and through the next thirty-six hours as emotion, an unexpected medical drama and grandmotherly interference help this midwife and doctor find their miracle for Christmas.

Kick the Dust


Rhonda Forrest - 2019
    When I open them, I think it might really be there in front of me.’ After three tours of duty in Afghanistan, Liam Andrews is home safe in Queensland. His weekly life drawing class, full of colourful local artists, helps him manage his post-traumatic stress disorder. But he’s struggling to open up about a past that still haunts him. Belourine ‘Billy’ is an Afghan refugee who lost everything before arriving in Australia as a child. She finds joy in her daily swims in the lake. After years of upheaval, she’s still searching for a place to call home. But her past makes it hard to trust people. When Liam and Billy meet, they form an instant connection. But will they ever overcome the past? And will it be together? ‘Rhonda is one talented Aussie author….’ Chapterichi.com ‘When I read Rhonda’s work, I think "authentic". There is no pretence. No fakeness. Just raw, honest and beautifully crafted characters and dialogue.” The MadHatter Book Reviewer

The Crossing


B. Michael Radburn - 2011
    Taylor is the only ranger in this isolated town adjoining a national park... a town dying a slow death as the rising waters of the new dam project slowly flood it.Struggling with the guilt of Claire's disappearance, Taylor is a chronic sleepwalker. When another young girl the same age goes missing, Taylor begins to question himself... uncertain of what happens when he sleepwalks.It's a race against time not just to find the missing girl, but in Taylor's search for redemption and a past better left lying at the bottom of the new lake.

The Jury / Sweet Revenge / Lethal Justice


Fern Michaels - 2008
    For years, Paula Woodley has suffered the broken bones and shattered self-esteem caused by an abusive marriage. But what can she do? Her high-profile, Washington power-broker husband is not a man to be crossed. Or so he thinks. The Sisterhood may not be an organization found in any of his memos, but he’s about to take a meeting with them—and they’ll be setting the agenda.… Sweet Revenge Isabelle Flanders’ former colleague, the conniving Rosemary, did everything in her power to ruin Isabelle, from framing her for a terrible drunk driving accident to stealing her husband and her architecture firm. Now, Isabelle’s formerly lovely life is in tatters while Rosemary scoops up the spoils. It’s enough to make any friend’s blood boil. Rosemary may think she’s flying high, but she’s about to tangle with the Sisterhood. Lethal Justice Alexis Thorn, once a successful securities broker, spent a hellish year behind bars for a crime she never committed. Now she has her freedom, but she’s left with haunting memories of being hauled from her office in handcuffs…of the cell door clanging shut behind her…of her pleas going unheard. Alexis dreams of getting even. The legal system failed her, but the Sisterhood won’t.

One Summer Between Friends


Trish Morey - 2020
    Coming home was never going to be easy ...With a failed marriage behind her, and her career dreams in tatters, Sarah returns home to Lord Howe Island to run the family store. Paradise to most, Lord Howe is the last place Sarah wants to be, trapped on an island with her two ex-best friends, Floss and Jules.Floss has the life she always wanted: married to her high school sweetheart, Andy, with five gorgeous children. But something is missing from her marriage. And now she has a secret that threatens to tear her happy family apart, and the only person she can talk to is the woman who pushed her away.For Jules, forgetting the past is impossible. Her four-year-old daughter is an everyday reminder of the friendships she has lost. But when a discovery turns her life upside down, she knows this is an opportunity to set things right.This summer, can these women overcome the pain of the past and find their way back to the friendship they once had?

The Queen's Colonial


Peter Watt - 2018
    Humble blacksmith Ian Steele struggles to support his widowed mother. All the while he dreams of a life in uniform, serving in Queen Victoria's army.1845, Puketutu, New Zealand. Second Lieutenant Samuel Forbes, a young poet from an aristocratic English family, wants nothing more than to run from the advancing Maori warriors and discard the officer's uniform he never sought.When the two men cross paths in the colony of New South Wales, they are struck by their brotherly resemblance and quickly hatch a plan for Ian to take Samuel's place in the British army. Ian must travel to England, fool the treacherous Forbes family and accept a commission into their regiment as a company commander. Once in London, he finds love with an enigmatic woman, but must part with her to face battle in the bloody Crimean war. In this first instalment of Peter Watt's new series, Captain Ian Steele stares down the relentless Russian military...but he will soon learn that there are even deadlier enemies close to home.

The Second Sight Bride


Emma Ashwood - 2020
    

A Heart Stuck On Hope


Jennie Jones - 2016
    Over the years more people have moved away than have arrived to stay in this old New South Wales farming town, and now only a handful of young families and elderly residents are left. The locals put a plan into action to entice newcomers: offering the town’s empty houses to newcomers from anywhere in Australia.  Who could resist renting a beautiful homestead for a dollar a week?There’s nothing left for Adele Devereux in Sydney: no job, no relationship, no hope, and no diagnosis for her shy, uncommunicative daughter Ali. So she packs her bags, takes her meagre savings, and moves her small family to the country. She never expects to meet Tom Wade, a man facing his own hopeless situation, but whose kindness reaches her daughter in an unexpected friendship. As the small town of Dulili attempts to regenerate itself, Adele finds herself drawn further in to the community – and into her attraction to Tom. Tom is not back in Dulili to build a relationship. He’s there to heal wounds, help his grandmother, and make new plans. Plans that don’t come with his grandmother’s new tenant, part of the Dulili dollar scheme. But as Adele and Ali effortlessly work their way into his thoughts and his heart, he realises that there are two crucial elements that he left out of his long-term plans – the chance to find love and renewed hope for the future.  .

The Greater Good


Tim Ayliffe - 2018
    Like Michael Connelly’s Bosch, John Bailey will risk everything to get to the truth – and expose a deadly enemy. There’s nothing more dangerous than a man who can fall no further  … ‘Ayliffe delivers a taut, nail-biting page-turner, stamping his mark on the modern day Australian thriller.’ Better ReadingHe had never killed anyone who hadn’t deserved it. The means always justified the end. He didn’t need forgiveness. He needed justification. The greater good. Battered war correspondent John Bailey is a man living on the edge. He’s haunted by nightmares of being kidnapped and tortured in Iraq and he’s drinking too much to drown the memories. As he battles to get his life back together, a story breaks that will force him back into the spotlight – and into the crosshairs of a deadly international player. When a beautiful prostitute is found murdered in her luxury apartment, Bailey is ordered to cover the story by The Journal’s editor and his old friend, Gerald Summers, because he can’t trust anyone else. One of the victim’s clients, a key advisor to the Defence Minister, is chief suspect in her murder and he’s on the run. When he contacts Bailey, claiming to have information that will bring down the government, the stakes become deadly. To complicate matters, the investigating police detective is the woman Bailey walked out on a decade ago. When a ruthless CIA fixer turns up, followed by a murderous Chinese agent hot on his trail, Bailey realises he has stumbled onto the story of a lifetime – one that he may not live to tell. The brilliant first book in Tim Ayliffe's bestselling John Bailey series. Bailey's adventures in The Greater Good, State of Fear and The Enemy Within will be adapted for the screen by CJZ Productions, Australia's largest independently owned production company.Praise for The Greater Good ‘A brilliantly written character starring in cracking crime thriller’ Herald Sun ‘A fun and exhilarating political crime thriller that is guaranteed to electrify and entertain in good measure.’? The Unseen Library    ‘Readers will not fail to enjoy the ride from start to finish.’ Good Reading   ‘A crime thriller with the lot: murder, deceit, corruption and a hint of romance … Ayliffe takes you deep inside the worlds of politics and the media, with a heavy dose of international intrigue thrown in.’ Michael Rowland   Ayliffe delivers a taut, nail-biting page-turner, stamping his mark on the modern day Australian thriller.’ Better Reading ‘If Rake were a journalist, with a talent that equals his capacity to survive being beaten up, Bailey would be him.’ Julia Baird ‘An absolute cracker of a thriller.’ Chris UhlmannPraise for State of Fear ‘Another brilliantly crafted thriller from Ayliffe that fits perfectly in today’s worrying world … Verdict: Get this guy on TV’  Herald Sun Praise for Enemy Within  ‘A breathlessly written book, ripped from today’s headlines, this is a cracking read that blurs the line between fact and fiction. More please.’ Michael Robotham 'A cracking yarn told at breakneck speed. I couldn't put it down.' Chris Hammer ‘Sharp, gritty, sophisticated. Ayliffe’s criminal world is terrifyingly real.’ Candice Fox

Romancing the Holidays 2019: Heartwarming Christmas-Themed Romances


Annie SeatonSusan Downham - 2019
    Warm and witty, diverse and dramatic, outrageously romantic, and totally festive. Curl up with a glass of wine and your favorite Christmas treats to enjoy these eleven great reads for a bargain price! From Annie Seaton – From city boss to sexy surfer. From Susanne Bellamy – Secrets, scoops, and a chance at romance. From Monique McDonell – A single dad’s second chance. From Ebony McKenna – Teens on the nightshift before Christmas. From Kris Pearson – Handsome double trouble, past and present. From Ashley Logan – Resuscitating the doctor’s Christmas spirit. From Shirley Wine – A Pastor, very much a man. From Anne Kemp – ’Tis the season... to win him back. From Susan Downham – True love healed her broken heart. From Sofia Grey – An unexpected rescue and a surprise romance. From Gudrun Frerichs – The start of four life-long friendships.

The North Wind


Bronwyn Parry - 2016
    Her life is elsewhere, and the ties that have for decades bound her family to the struggling town and its old hotel may soon be broken.But the arrival of two strangers in town – Owen Caldwell and his grandfather – along with the hot, dry north wind herald a time of challenge and unexpected change.Owen has no idea why his grandfather has quietly insisted on this Christmas visit to Dungirri, a town he's never been to. But the old doctor has a final quest, and as long-held secrets come to light and Owen and Angie use their skills to assist those in need, they both must decide where they belong, and where their future is.

Act One


D. Camille - 2017
    As a Hollywood director, she’s looking to direct her career-making film, and now that she has the story, she needs a studio. Her journey leads to love, danger, and making fairytales come true… Love comes from a place that she never expects, in the form of a sworn enemy, who becomes everything she ever needed.

The Sheriff's Miracle Bride


Rowan Gracemill - 2021