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The Korean Word For Butterfly


Jamie Zerndt - 2013
    tank, The Korean Word For Butterfly is told from three alternating points-of-view:Billie, the young wanna-be poet looking for adventure with her boyfriend who soon finds herself questioning her decision to travel so far from the comforts of American life;Moon, the ex K-pop band manager who now works at the English school struggling to maintain his sobriety in hopes of getting his family back;And Yun-ji , a secretary at the school whose new feelings of resentment toward Americans may lead her to do something she never would have imagined possible. The Korean Word For Butterfly is a story about the choices we make and why we make them. It is a story, ultimately, about the power of love and redemption.*The author would like to note that this book deals, in part, with abortion. It tries, as best it can, to explore the issue with compassion rather than judgement.*"5 stars...full of fresh and original writing." -Kindle Book Review

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!

Trains and Lovers


Alexander McCall Smith - 2012
    And sometimes there are conversations to be had, which is what the overarching story in this collection is all about. It is a simple device: people brought together entertain one another with tales of what happened to them on trains. It takes place on a journey I frequently make myself and know well, the journey between Edinburgh and London. It is best read on a train, preferably that one."

Five Minutes Late


Rich Amooi - 2014
    Cedric Johnson is that man. But even though he’s got just about everything he can wish for, Cedric is still missing one thing in his life: someone special. Fate may be on his side, but he encounters a few distractions along the way—like almost being killed by a UPS truck. Oh, and a little case of blackmail.Ellie Fontaine is a walking Wikipedia with clear professional goals, but when it comes to landing Mr. Right, she doesn’t know jack squat. She even gives online dating a shot and ends up with an unappetizing buffet of unibrows and losers. What’s a girl to do?After Ellie saves Cedric’s life, serendipity takes over as they continue to run into each other. Their connection grows stronger with each meeting, even though he embodies her number one pet peeve: he’s always late. But even if they can get past their issues and misunderstandings, Ellie’s ex-boyfriend, an unscrupulous cop, will do anything to keep them apart. Five Minutes Late is a hilarious fast-paced romantic comedy, full of snappy dialogue and fun, quirky characters, guaranteed to warm your heart.

Not Quite a Duchess (The Boston Heiresses #1)


Ava Rose - 2020
    One broken hero. With danger looming, will they uncover more than they bargained for?A determined Duchess...Lady Anna Trevallyn, Duchess Wrexford, does not possess the typical qualities of the Boston elite. Confident and strong, she refuses to accept her place as a second-class citizen in a man's world--especially when her best friend, Libby, unexpectedly disappears without a trace. Unwilling to leave it to the men to uncover, she's determined to get answers.A damaged Prince...His Royal Highness, Prince Penforth Armstrong-Leeds, will do anything to locate his sister, Libby. Sharing resources, knowledge, and time with the beautiful and intelligent Lady Anna is an added advantage. Pen has secretly admired Anna from afar for years, but his war wound forces him to remain at bay.An unlikely pair...As Pen and Anna delve for answers beneath high society's gilded exterior, their feelings for one another intensify. Now, they must navigate their strong feelings while locating Libby before her reputation is permanently destroyed. With time running out, will they uncover the truth before lives are lost and hearts broken?This is the first in a Victorian Romance series featuring strong and feisty heroines at the forefront of the new age in 1890s America.Read each story as a stand-alone, or read the series in order.If you enjoy Gothic Victorian historical romantic suspense stories, such as those made popular by Victoria Holt, Deanna Raybourn, Anna Lee Huber, Christi Caldwell or Dorothy Eden, you'll love this series by historical romance author, Ava Rose.The Boston Heiresses series:1 - Not Quite a Duchess2 - Not Quite a Baroness3 - Not Quite a Lady4 - Not Quite a Princess

The Soldier's Wife


Margaret Leroy - 2011
    Not just for herself, but for her two young daughters and for her mother-in-law, for whom she cares while her husband is away fighting. What she does not expect is that she will fall in love with one of the enigmatic German soldiers who take up residence in the house next door to her home. As their relationship intensifies, so do the pressures on Vivienne. Food and resources grow scant, and the restrictions placed upon the residents of the island grow with each passing week. Though Vivienne knows the perils of her love affair with Gunther, she believes that she can keep their relationship and her family safe. But when she becomes aware of the full brutality of the Occupation, she must decide if she is willing to risk her personal happiness for the life of a stranger.

The Cracks Between Us


Caitlin Moss - 2021
    Thrilling. It was so unlike her. Aila was always a good wife. Never reckless. Always faithful. Until she wasn’t.Aila Sorenson doesn’t know what happened to her marriage. She actively participated in building the life she and her husband, Ben, created but she no longer recognizes herself when she remembers the role she dreamt up fifteen years ago.While Ben has been building a successful career as an attorney in Seattle, Aila has remained in the shadows taking care of their home and tending to their children while struggling to find a balance between the monotony and the chaos. They appear to be shining pillars of marital perfection—attending church on Sundays, volunteering, and surpassing every expectation society has of them—but deep down, Aila knows their marriage is crumbling. She often wonders if Ben even realizes it.When Aila unexpectedly runs into someone from her past, the illusion she and Ben created begins to shatter. While many merely wonder about the road not taken, Aila runs down it full-speed. After months of authentic and insatiable passion, Aila rivals her devotion against her desires and must decide which one is worth fighting for.

The Return


Victoria Hislop - 2008
    Sonia Cameron knows nothing of the city's shocking past; she is here to dance. But in a quiet café, a chance conversation and an intriguing collection of old photographs draw her into the extraordinary tale of Spain's devastating civil war.Seventy years earlier, the café is home to the close-knit Ramírez family. In 1936, an army coup led by Franco shatters the country's fragile peace, and in the heart of Granada the family witnesses the worst atrocities of conflict. Divided by politics and tragedy, everyone must take a side, fighting a personal battle as Spain rips itself apart.Captivating and deeply moving, Victoria Hislop's second novel is as inspiring as her international bestselling debut, The Island.

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

The Thorn Birds


Colleen McCullough - 1977
    It begins in the early part of the 20th century, when Paddy Cleary moves his wife, Fiona, and their seven children to Drogheda, the vast Australian sheep station owned by his autocratic and childless older sister; and it ends more than half a century later, when the only survivor of the third generation, the brilliant actress Justine O'Neill, sets a course of life and love halfway around the world from her roots.The central figures in this enthralling story are the indomitable Meggie, the only Cleary daughter, and the one man she truly loves, the stunningly handsome and ambitious priest Ralph de Bricassart. Ralph's course moves him a long way indeed, from a remote Outback parish to the halls of the Vatican; and Meggie's except for a brief and miserable marriage elsewhere, is fixed to the Drogheda that is part of her bones - but distance does not dim their feelings though it shapes their lives.Wonderful characters people this book; strong and gentle, Paddy, hiding a private memory; dutiful Fiona, holding back love because it once betrayed her, violent, tormented Frank, and the other hardworking Cleary sons who give the boundless lands of Drogheda the energy and devotion most men save for women; Meggie; Ralph; and Meggie's children, Justine and Dane. And the land itself; stark, relentless in its demands, brilliant in its flowering, prey to gigantic cycles of drought and flood, rich when nature is bountiful, surreal like no other place on earth.Alternate Cover Edition ISBN 0380018179 (ISBN13: 9780380018178)

Imagine Love


Katherine Stone - 1996
    And London and Paris. And the intoxicating magic of a Louisiana bayou. Then journey with master storyteller Katherine Stone on this breathtaking voyage of danger, courage, and love.They met beside the brilliant blue bayou. She was an innocent girl, and he was a reckless and angry boy. Claire Chamberlain believed in dreams, and Cole Taylor believed in nothing at all. Cole had no reason to believe--until her. They pledged their love beneath the silver winter moon. But the hopes of Cole and Claire were destined to be drowned in blood.Now, twelve years later, Cole has returned to Harlanville. He has found fame as a singer of love songs. And Claire? Her life has changed, irrevocably, yet she has found a private peace--such a fragile one that Cole's very presence shatters her precarious serenity. And now Cole is asking her to do the impossible, to come away with him, to London. Claire knows he will break her heart again. But she will be with him, she has to be, for as long as she can bear the pain.Claire's is not the only endangered heart in London. A murderer has sent Lady Sarah Pembroke an engraved Valentine invitation--to her own death. And is Claire's girlhood friend afraid of the knife-wielding monster? Hardly. The Global News's star correspondent, the woman who feels oddly sane amid the madness of war, has her own private demons, memories far more fearsome than a murderer who chooses the most romantic day of the year to inflict his lethal terror.But neither Sarah's past nor the killer stalking her are as terrifying as Jack Dalton, the FBI consultant determined to save Sarah's life. Jack needs Sarah's help in his exhaustive, careful search for clues. But remarkably, and infuriatingly, Sarah resists. Sarah will not tell Jack the intimate information he needs to know. She cannot. And yet it is as if he already knows her anguished secrets, cares for her more than he should, and wants more from Lady Sarah Pembroke than she can ever give.Imagine Love is an enthralling read, a beautifully crafted tapestry of suspense and love, of surprises you won't imagine, and of men and women you will never forget.From the Hardcover edition.

Lords of London: Books 1-3


Tamara Gill - 2019
    A Lady of independence. Since her cheating husband created a scandal by dying beneath his whore, Darcy de Merle is determined to enjoy widowhood, and refuses to mourn a man she grew to loathe. Setting the ton ablaze, Darcy holds a ball to re-launch herself into Society on the anniversary of his death.Cameron, the Duke of Athelby plays by the rules. Always. He's lived through the terrible consequences of what revelry, carelessness, and lack of respect for one's social position can have on a family. So, when he sees Darcy de Merle skirting the boundaries of respectability, it is only right that he should remind her of the proper etiquette that she should adhere to.Darcy refuses to allow another man to tell her what to do. When the Duke of Athelby chastises her at every turn, reminding her of her social failures, well, there is only one thing to be done about it...seduce the duke and show him there is more to life than the proper conventions set by the ton.A battle of wills ensues where all bets are off, numerous rules are broken and love becomes the ultimate reward.To Madden a Marquess She saved his life, but can she save him from himself? Hunter, Marquess of Aaron, has the ton fooled. Outwardly he's a gentleman of position, with good contacts, wealth and charm. Inwardly, he's a mess. His vice--drinking himself into a stupor most days--almost kills him when he steps in front of a hackney cab. His saviour, a most unlikely person, is an angel to gaze at, but with a tongue sharper than his sword cane.Cecilia Smith dislikes idleness and waste. Had she been born male, she would already be working for her father's law firm. So, on a day when she was late for an important meeting at one of her many charities, she was not impressed by having to step in and save a foxed gentleman rogue from being run over.When their social spheres collide, Hunter is both surprised and awed by the capable, beautiful Miss Smith. Cecilia, on the other hand, is left confused and not a little worried by her assumptions about the Marquess and his demons. It is anyone's guess whether these two people from different worlds can form one of their own.To Tempt an Earl Hamish Doherty, Earl Leighton is having a terrible Season. A portion of his home burned to the ground, he was attacked outside a gaming hell, and a debutante he cannot stomach is determined they'll wed. It's enough to make any lord head for the hills, but his luck turns worse in the country. A large unpaid bill at an inn and a missing purse later, he's ready to concede defeat to the fickle Fates - until rescue unexpectedly comes from an intoxicatingly beautiful stranger.As the daughter of a successful tradesman, Miss Katherine Martin has no time for peers and their problems. However there is something about this handsome and yet unlucky earl, and when their paths cross again, Lord Leighton offers to repay his debt to her in any way she pleases. Katherine decides one night in his arms will be just right, and yet as two kindred souls find passion together, it seems one night won't be enough. But can a woman of no rank and trade in her blood be enough to Tempt an Earl?

The Engagements


J. Courtney Sullivan - 2013
       Evelyn has been married to her husband for forty years, but their son’s messy divorce has put them at rare odds; James, a beleaguered paramedic, has spent most of his marriage haunted by his wife’s family’s expectations; Delphine has thrown caution to the wind and left a peaceful French life for an exciting but rocky romance in America; and Kate, partnered with Dan for a decade, has seen every kind of wedding and has vowed never, ever, to have one of her own. As the stories connect to each other and to Frances’s legacy in surprising ways, The Engagements explores the complicated ins and outs of relationships, then, now, and forever.

The Reckless Doctor's Bride


Amelia Rose - 2019
    Will love bring them closer together as they fight to protect what they’ve worked so hard to make? Montana Westward Brides reading order: #0 The Rancher's Fiery Bride #1 The Reckless Doctor's Bride #2 The Rancher's Unexpected Pregnant Bride

The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells


Andrew Sean Greer - 2013
    After the death of her beloved twin brother, Felix, and the break up with her long-time lover, Nathan, Greta Wells embarks on a radical psychiatric treatment to alleviate her suffocating depression. But the treatment has unexpected effects, and Greta finds herself transported to the lives she might have had if she'd been born in a different era.During the course of her treatment, Greta cycles between her own time and her alternate lives in 1918, as a bohemian adulteress, and 1941, as a devoted mother and wife. Separated by time and social mores, Greta's three lives are achingly similar, fraught with familiar tensions and difficult choices. Each reality has its own losses, its own rewards, and each extracts a different price. And the modern Greta learns that her alternate selves are unpredictable, driven by their own desires and needs.As her final treatment looms, questions arise. What will happen once each Greta learns how to stay in one of the other worlds? Who will choose to remain in which life?Magically atmospheric, achingly romantic, The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells beautifully imagines "what if" and wondrously wrestles with the impossibility of what could be.