Book picks similar to
The Will by Benjamin Laskin


fiction
romance
free-reads
coming-of-age

Sweetwater American


Eileen Cruz Coleman - 2010
    We called it El Barco because it was shaped like a ship and took up a whole block of sidewalk.And so begins the story of Sandy Rodriguez, an American orphan and would-be filmmaker who is sent to live in a cursed town in El Salvador with her godmother, a woman whom she has never met and who may hold the secret to breaking the town's curse. One day, on her way home from school in El Salvador, Sandy meets two Spanish actresses who are in town filming a movie. Sandy has never met anyone like them, and the brief encounter inspires her to become a filmmaker. Her life in El Salvador is not easy, and Sandy experiences a series of traumatic losses, but through it all, she remains strong, holding on to what she believes: that hardship and darkness can be overcome if one finds a reason to live. Years later, when she returns to the States, she attends George Washington University where she meets Elena Martinez, a woman in her sixties who serves food in the dining hall.A friendship soon develops, and Sandy enlists Elena to become the subject of her first film project, a project that will reveal shocking truths about Sandy's past and the people in her life who test their faith everyday trying to reach American soil. Because Sandy isn't the only Sweetwater American.

Stone Lake


Phil M. Williams - 2015
    He toils to keep their construction company afloat while the exes in his life enjoy their honeymoon. Jon meets Morgan when a flock of turkeys and a curvy mountain road aligns with one-in-a-million timing. Despite their attraction, her engagement, and the ire of her family, the pair embarks on a platonic friendship. As their relationship strengthens, they share secrets, but Morgan holds her most important secret tight to her chest, where it beats like a ticking time bomb. It’s not a matter of if, but when. Adult language and content. Beware of spoilers in the reviews.

Coming Home


Holly Kerr - 2014
    Liking them is the hard part. After her cheating husband destroys her career, Brenna has nowhere to go but home. Home means her four sisters in the tiny Northern Ontario town with no Starbucks and well-meaning townsfolk who know her every move. Every mistake.And Brenna is making more than a few mistakes. From falling asleep at the local bar to hooking up with her niece’s boyfriend, Brenna’s life is giving the town a lot to talk about.Her sister Cat wants nothing to do with her. Content living in the family home with the ghost of their mother, Cat’s left a trail of broken hearts and failed marriages on the road to Brenna’s ex, Seamus Todd. Brenna’s return brings back old insecurities and unanswered questions for Cat. Sibling rivalries, old grudges and a least one knock-out, drag-down kitchen fight ensue as Brenna and Cat are forced to live under the same roof.And to make it worse, Brenna’s not the only one coming home.

Love in a Pawn Shop


Bonnie Edwards - 2013
    . .Dix is good with two out of three. She’s had it with dusty shelves, desperate people and her teenage brother. With Riley about to graduate, Dix is ready to buy her one-way ticket to Paris.Then sexy cop Dane Caldwell walks into her store on the hunt for stolen goods, and threatens her brother and her business.The worst threat is to Dix’s heart…if she loses that, she loses her dream.Dane soon realizes he’s found love in a pawn shop. Even the pit bull thinks he’s okay. Now all he has to do is convince Dix that love is more than just another complication.

Lucky Bet


Anna Reader - 2015
    Escaping to London disguised as a young man, Elizabeth discovers a new world of gambling, duels, cruelty and love. Railing against the limitations of her gender and with her best friend, William, by her side, Elizabeth sets out to win her freedom.

Sunflowers


Melodie Starkey - 2010
    to change your life forever. Gus Moore discovers how true this is when his ex-girlfriend blows in on an icy January night just long enough to dump "his problem" on the couch. From languid single slob to competent single parent, Gus's metamorphosis over the next six years is remarkable. All is going swimmingly for Gus and his son, Sam, until two women complicate their lives: Sarah, with whom Gus has an unsatisfactory friends-with-benefits relationship, and Maureen, his son's bipolar mother, who has decided she wants back into her child's life.

The Shining City


Joan Fallon - 2014
    The year is 947 AD, a time when southern Spain is under the rule of the Moors. The ruler, Caliph al Rahman III is rich, powerful and cultured. His lands are, at long last, at peace and the capital, Córdoba, is considered to be not only the most beautiful city in the civilised world but also the seat of learning and culture. Against this background we meet the artisan Qasim - he and his family have moved to Madinat al Zahra to make their fortune as potters. Qasim is a good husband and father. He works hard, says his prayers and keeps out of trouble. But Qasim has a secret; his past is not what it seems. When a stranger arrives asking questions about him, he is worried that his secret will be discovered and everything he has worked for will be destroyed. He has to take action.

Written: A Story of Love, Secrets, Betrayal and Honour


D.A. Lee - 2019
     Four-year-old Eleanor is forced to accept her mother’s religious beliefs, that her whole life has already been written, and that she has no choice but to honour and accept her parents’ plans for her. Subject to abuse by an Islamic teacher, and witness to scenes of violence inflicted by her father, Eleanor finds her only refuge at school, where she dreams of a life beyond the hills of her hometown of Ashcroft, England. A mysterious woman befriends Eleanor – showing her a world of choice and freedom. Caught between her parents’ cultural values and her own desires, Eleanor must decide whether to honour her parents’ wishes – a life locked in marriage to the hands of an abuser – or rewrite her own story. Written is the heart-wrenching story of a young girl’s struggle for freedom, and the uncovering of an intricate plan laced around forty years of secrets, betrayal and lies, in a family desperate to preserve their culture and honour.

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.

Ladd Springs


Dianne Venetta - 2013
    Both are after title to Ladd Springs, a mecca of natural springs, streams and trails in the eastern Tennessee mountains, a tract of land worth millions. But Ernie Ladd, current owner of the property and uncle to Delaney, is adamantly opposed to them both.Felicity Wilkins, Delaney’s daughter, deserves to inherit her family’s legacy, but neighbor Clem Sweeney is working against her, ingratiating himself with Ernie Ladd. Clem is also harboring a secret that will make him a very wealthy man—unless the others stop him before he can bring it to fruition.Complicating matters is Annie Owens. Ex-girlfriend to Jeremiah Ladd, Ernie’s estranged son lining in Atlanta, she declares her daughter Casey is Jeremiah’s, making Casey every bit as entitled to the property as Felicity—only Annie hasn’t proven this claim. Yet.All are fighting to get the property, but only one will walk away with the gold.

Chasing Bullets


Suzanne Cass - 2022
    Then she ran away from him in the ultimate act of betrayal. Two years later, Tara Hunter’s easy life in Byron Bay is turned upside down when David Cooper, her ex-police partner, appears and their chequered past comes back to haunt her. Coop is in town on an undercover mission to prevent a possible terrorist plot. While he’s recovered physically from the bullet wound, mentally he’s still scarred by her act of deceit. Reluctantly, Tara is drawn into Coop’s operation to track down a group of extremists hiding in the jungle wilderness, where she soon finds the illicit desire they shared two years ago is back, stronger than ever. But will she be able to find the courage to tell him she loves him and save him from the brutal terrorist gang? Suzanne Cass writes a thrilling romantic suspense in this game of hide and seek, full of passionate romance and heart stopping choices. Pick up a copy of Chasing Bullets today and get lost in this world of romance and deception.

Beautiful Fury


Katharine E. Hamilton - 2018
    proves to be her most difficult undertaking. Renown for his privacy, Caroline discovers F.W.’s true identity only to find the man behind the art lives a reclusive lifestyle with no wish to display his art in a gallery. Finnegan Walsh dislikes distractions. And he extremely dislikes having people in his workshop. He loves working with glass and creating pieces of art. Simple. However, since meeting Caroline Pritchard, his space is threatened, and the quiet life he strives so hard to maintain is immediately disrupted. Can Caroline convince Finn to take a chance on her with his art and his heart?

Looking for Clara


Simona Grossi - 2017
    Will an Italian escape strike a joyful chord in her soul?Clara Smith seems out of tune, drifting through one empty day after another. Alone in LA for Christmas and uncertain about her new boyfriend, the pianist-turned-lawyer feels as fake as the artificial snow she sees on the lawns in her neighborhood. But when her firm dispatches her to Siena, Italy to lead a major project, the rhythm of the daily grind gloriously changes tempo.Bonding with her charismatic eighty-year-old neighbor over his large collection of photographs, she uncovers a picture of a mysterious woman. And a breathtaking cross-country adventure, in search of the framed beauty who shares her name gives voice to Clara’s long-silenced passions.Can a melodious tour through sun-drenched landscapes restore her sense of harmony?Looking for Clara is a heartfelt journey into women’s fiction. If you like deeply drawn characters, vivid settings, and romantic secrets, then you’ll love Simona Grossi’s life-affirming novel.Buy Looking for Clara to listen to your heart today!

Colorado Dreams


Zoe Matthews - 2015
    They each choose a job that they are interested in, and along the way, they each find love and romance. Sierra has been a widow for two years. She has been busy raising her twin daughters on the family ranch when her father is killed. As their family attorney reads her father’s will, she learns that each member will receive a large inheritance, but there is a catch. All six of them must reside on the ranch for a period of six months, together, in order to receive it. Logan, also a widower, has been hired to help with the horses and he brings along his own little family. Can Sierra and Logan learn to create a new family of their own and find love for each other along the way?

Chasing Charlie


C.M. Newman - 2013
    Vince Glasser, an overworked federal agent and single father with a troubled past, already has enough on his plate when he is diagnosed with terminal cancer. He deals with it the only way he knows how--by fighting the illness with everything he has in him. Along his path toward a certain end, he mends relations with his estranged brother, reexamines his faith, prepares his son to live life without his parents, and finds room for romance with his longtime partner, Angela Hawkins.Angela finds herself falling in love not only with Vince, but also with his young son, Charlie. In caring for both of them, she sees that despite decades-old mistakes that have left her in a pattern of empty relationships, she can still find redemption and have the family she's always wanted. But a nagging feeling tells her that death isn't the only thing that threatens to tear her new family from her grasp.Amidst the struggles of a family with an expiration date, between the medicine and the meltdowns, Angela and Vince learn the true meaning of grace. See what other readers are talking about as two lost people find each other and God - just in time.