Book picks similar to
1996 by Kirsty McManus


chick-lit
time-travel
romance
contemporary

From the Wreckage


Michele G. Miller - 2014
    When disaster strikes, their labels become irrelevant.“In a matter of minutes on a Friday night, I lost my school, my identity, the security of my first love, the personality of my sweet fearless brother, my best friend, my town, everything as I knew it. Everything changed.”"Minutes—that’s all it takes to change your entire life. How do you deal with that?”For high school senior Jules Blacklin surviving the storm is only the beginning. Faced with her life's new reality, she must find a way to rise from the wreckage and answer the question—how do you get back to normal when everything normal is gone?The From The Wreckage series is a Young Adult to New Adult series with one trilogy and multiple character spin-offs. Please see the reading order below:Jules and West's trilogy1. From the Wreckage2. Out of Ruins3. All that RemainsSpin-offs best read in order but CAN be read alone4. West: A male POV novel of From The Wreckage5. Into the Fire: Dani's story6. After the Fall: Austin's story7. Until We Crash: Jess and Carter's story

Flirty Thirty


Cassie Mae - 2016
    But when a shirtless god jogs down your street, grabs your face, and kisses you… you kiss that man back! Cooper is on a mission to find the love of his life, and he’s gotten desperate. Over thirty years old with more money than he could spend in his lifetime, he’s ready to spoil and love his soul mate. After hiring the beautiful woman he kissed on the street as his realtor, he’s convinced that fate has led him to her. Maya doesn’t buy into fate and definitely doesn’t want something serious. She’s not ready to become one of her baggy-eyed friends who all have two or more kids and one or less husband. But when Cooper challenges her to a week of living the married life, Maya dives in headfirst thinking she’s sure to prove that singlehood is really the way to go, even if she does end up falling head over heels.

The Misadventures of Catie Bloom


Brooke Stanton - 2016
    He's a player ready to settle down. Can they fake it till they make it into each other's arms? Catie Bloom dreads being found out as a hot mess. So when the high-profile domestic goddess’s supposedly perfect life is scheduled for a TV special, she’s desperate to hide the slovenly reality while she scrambles to learn to cook and find a studly pretend hubby. And with her future on the line, she reluctantly accepts the office playboy’s lifeline to help her cover up the cracks and look the part… Sportswriter Sam Harding buries authenticity behind his breezy charm. And though he knows Catie’s less-than-tidy secret, he’s frustrated when his lady’s man reputation gets in the way of intriguing the one woman who holds his heart. So when he discovers her goose could be cooked, he jumps at the chance to stand in as her handsome prince. As Catie struggles with burned offerings, her growing attraction to Sam is a grease fire waiting to happen. While Sam worries if he keeps his desires hidden for much longer, he’ll lose his opportunity to move from bogus husband to the real deal. Is their passion about to be roasted, or can they whip up a gourmet romance?The Misadventures of Catie Bloom is the hilarious first book in the Bloom Sisters romantic comedy series. It’s a dash of Sophie Kinsella’s Can You Keep a Secret, with a helping of Christmas in Connecticut, and a recipe all its own, mixed into a delicious and romantic romp. Buy The Misadventures of Catie Bloom to set a table for two today!

Fledgling


Natasha S. Brown - 2012
    A life threatening heart condition smothers her future and she yearns to feel normal. Her hopes are pinned on a fresh start in a remote town far from her native Colorado. Among the locker filled hallways in Clark Bend High, Ana keeps to the shadows, not wanting to draw attention to her violet tinged lips and wilted silhouette. And she almost succeeds, until she meets Chance Morgan. Struggling to keep up appearances, she soon suspects Chance is hiding something as well. His animal-like senses, miraculous healing ability and peculiar reaction to her Thunderbird necklace compels Ana to question if there’s more to the stories about his Navajo ancestry. Without any other explanation, she fears he is playing tricks on her. But the truth may prove too much for Ana’s delicate heart…

The Almost Wives Club


Nancy Warren - 2015
    Edward Carnarvon III is rich, handsome and hers. But at the final fitting of her wedding gown, one of the seamstresses pricks her and a tiny blood spot appears on the outrageously expensive gown. Its famous designer fires the clumsy seamstress on the spot, whereupon the girl puts a curse on the dress and storms out. Kate doesn't believe in curses. She’s modern, American and in love with the perfect guy. What could go wrong? But that very evening she meets a man who makes her question her future. And then she discovers that Edward has been hiding a secret or two… and before you can say, “This dress is so cursed,” she’s on the run from Edward, his family, her mother, the paparazzi and the person she thought she was. When the man who discovers her hiding place turns out to be the last man she should trust, it’s time to throw her cautious good sense out with the satin shoes she won’t be wearing. Playing it safe hasn’t done her much good. Maybe it’s time to play by a new set of rules. Her rules. Sometimes Prince Charming is the one who turns out to be the frog, and true love appears in the most unexpected places. Follow the cursed dress through five sets of bridal hands as four more women join The Almost Wives Club. These are complete novels. Watch for: Secondhand Bride coming in April, 2015 Bridesmaid for Hire coming in May, 2015 The Wedding Flight in June, 2015 If the Dress Fits in July 2015

Marked


Kim Richardson - 2011
    Kara is pulled into the supernatural, where monkeys drive the elevators, oracles scurry above giant crystal balls, and where demons feed on the souls of mortals. With the help of her Petty Officer and friend, David, Kara hurtles towards an adventure that will change her life forever…

Parallel


Claudia Lefeve - 2011
    Saddled with powers she doesn't understand, Etta Fleming's world is turned upside-down the day she meets Cooper Everett, the man who transports her to an alternate reality. A reality she was meant to be a part of. One minute, she's an orphan living at Dominion House for Girls, an institution for delinquent foster kids, then finds herself attending the exclusive Dominion Hall Academy. Plucked from the only world she's ever known, Etta now has to deal with an aunt she never knew, a boyfriend she doesn't know, and a best friend who can't know. PARALLEL is the first book in the Travelers Series.

The Problem with Crazy


Lauren K. McKellar - 2014
    It can be good crazy, bad crazy ... or "crazy" crazy--like it was when my ex-boyfriend sung about me on the radio." Eighteen-year-old Kate couldn't be more excited about finishing high school and spending the summer on tour with her boyfriend's band. Her dad showing up drunk at graduation, however, is not exactly kicking things off on the right foot--and that's before she finds out about his mystery illness, certain to end in death. A mystery illness that she could inherit. Kate has to convince everyone around her that her father is sick, not crazy. But who will be harder to convince? Her friends? Or herself? The Problem With Crazy "is a story about love and life; about overcoming obstacles, choosing to trust, and learning how to make the choices that will change your life forever.

Summer at Sea


Beth Labonte - 2015
     Have you ever helped your parents pack for a weeklong cruise? No? I didn't think so. So shut it. So begins vacation for Summer Hartwell - twenty-six years old, living with her anxiety-ridden parents, and unwillingly booked by her brother on a weeklong cruise to Bermuda. Despite the nightmare of being trapped aboard a cruise ship with Mom and Dad, Summer sees a rare opportunity to fulfill The Prophecy – her mother’s declaration that she will live at home until she gets married. With two thousand passengers onboard, at least one of them must be husband material, right? The only problem is Graham Blenderman – her brother’s best friend who is joining them for the week, in all of his tall, blonde, extroverted glory. Graham doesn’t believe Summer needs a husband in order to break free from her parents. He thinks she just needs a little bit of nerve. And to Summer’s introverted horror, he’s willing to spend the entire week proving that he’s right.

California Man


Carole Dean - 1992
    His schedule has been insane for years, an endless series of trains, planes and automobiles. Even so he’s not so sure he wants to give it up. For what, he keeps asking himself. Where would he go from here? What would be his next step?With those questions in mind, he heads to a friend’s house on Salt Spring, a small island in the Pacific Northwest that promises solitude and uninterrupted time to think and plan.Not in his plan is meeting Emily Welland, the shy owner of the local bookstore. She intrigues him as no woman has in years—more so when he sees how determined she is to avoid him.Emily is timid, insecure, and introspective—and she has her reasons. She’s read about Quinn Ramsay, the brilliant and handsome celebrity entrepreneur with the Midas touch, and she’s seen pictures of him in the tabloids, always with a beautiful model or actress on his arm. She knows he walks red carpets with the same ease that he hosts charity sporting events and fund raisers. His glittering California life is the polar opposite to her quiet, safe, and reclusive life on Salt Spring Island. And when he starts to show an interest in her, her initial reactions are disbelief, fear—and panic attacks. None of which she can control.All of which makes Quinn more interested than ever.

More From Life


S.J. Crabb - 2018
    Me - I live in denial.Somehow, I've got to the stage in life where my teenagers obviously hate me, my mother abandons me for exciting adventures and my ex-husband is getting re-married.I am left gazing lustfully at just about any fit guy in an HRT induced belief that they would be attracted to me.Is this really what I've become?Have I reached the point in life where I should give up and accept my fate?The trouble is, I always wanted more from life and now it appears to be on fast-forward.So, it's decision time. Do I just accept my lot with resignation and gratitude? Or do I take control and embrace the unknown?What would you do?Life begins at the end of your comfort zone. Follow Amanda's path to re-discover the girl she once was before the woman she became took over.

Never Never: The Complete Series


Colleen Hoover - 2016
    Together, they have created a gripping, romantic tale unlike any other. "How odd to be made of flesh, balanced on bone, and filled with a soul you've never met." Charlize Wynwood and Silas Nash have been best friends since they could walk. They've been in love since the age of fourteen. But as of this morning...they are complete strangers. Their first kiss, their first fight, the moment they fell in love...every memory has vanished. "I don't care what our real first kiss was," he says. "That's the one I want to remember." Charlize and Silas must work together to uncover the truth about what happened to them and why. But the more they learn about the couple they used to be...the more they question why they were ever together to begin with. "I want to remember what it feels like to love someone like that. And not just anyone. I want to know what it feels like to love Charlie."

Shattered Rose


T.L. Gray - 2013
    GrayAvery Nichols knows how to wear the mask. Perfect student, perfect daughter and perfect friend. Nobody would ever guess that inside, Avery is a prisoner to her own self loathing. Then she meets him…and everything changes. Handsome, charming and self assured, Jake Matthew sweeps Avery off her feet in an effortless fashion. Avery knows that Jake is everything she needs and all she has ever wanted. She would destroy herself to be loved by him…until he walks away.Broken and lost, Avery meets Parker. His genuine, caring nature reaches past the mask and the shattered pieces her heart begin to slowly heal. But just when Avery starts to feel whole again, she realizes the impossible.Jake never really left.

Champagne and Lemon Drops


Jean Oram - 2013
    Two men. One meddling small town.Raised by her older sister in the small town of Blueberry Springs, all Beth Wilkinson wants is to create a family so big she’ll never be alone. Things are going great until her fiancé, Oz, rethinks everything from his own career to their nuptial plans—forcing Beth to do the same.As Beth works to rediscover herself in hopes of reattracting Oz, she catches the eye of the charming new city doctor, Nash. Not only does he see her as she’d like to be seen, but he knows exactly what he wants from life—and that includes Beth.Torn between the two men, as well as two versions of herself, Beth discovers that love and dreams are much more complicated than they seem.

Crystal Magic


Madeline Freeman - 2014
    Windows break. Books rocket across the room. Lights flicker. Strange occurrences follow the sixteen-year-old everywhere. When tragedy forces her to move to the small town of Clearwater, Michigan, with her estranged aunt Jodi, Kristyl tries to leave her past behind. But Clearwater has secrets of its own—a mystical history that intersects with Kristyl’s life and might shed light on the inexplicable events that plague her. When a mysterious illness threatens her aunt’s life, Kristyl will do anything to cure her. Enlisting the help of witches could save Jodi, but is dealing in magic worth the consequences?