Digging In


Loretta Nyhan - 2018
    Since his death, she’s been sleepwalking through life, barely holding on for the sake of her teenage son. Her house is a wreck, the grass is overrun with weeds, and she’s at risk of losing her job. As Paige stares at her neglected lawn, she knows she’s hit rock bottom. So she does something entirely unexpected: she begins to dig.As the hole gets bigger, Paige decides to turn her entire yard into a vegetable garden. The neighbors in her tidy gated community are more than a little alarmed. Paige knows nothing about gardening, and she’s boldly flouting neighborhood-association bylaws. But with the help of new friends, a charming local cop, and the transformative power of the soil, Paige starts to see potential in the chaos of her life. Something big is beginning to take root—both in her garden and in herself.

Getting Out of Hand


Erin Nicholas - 2014
    But he’s not sure he can get through his high school class reunion. Then he meets the new girl in town. Adrianne Scott loves Sapphire Falls. The sleepy little town has been the perfect place to escape her fast-paced, high stress lifestyle. Her only plans now include opening her candy shop and living a quiet, drama-free life. Until Mason Riley bids four hundred dollars just to dance with her. Mason sure doesn’t look—or kiss—like a genius scientist geek. In fact, he makes Adrianne’s heart pound like nothing she’s ever experienced. Passion like this with a guy who travels the world and parties at the White House should probably be a red flag for a girl who wants a simple boring life. Good thing no one falls in love in a weekend. WARNING: read only if you don't mind some naughty words, sexy times described in great detail, humor, small town quirkiness, meddling best friends, mud in the kitchen, references to bisexuality, oh and talk about candy... and that's not a euphemism for anything... actual candy.

Second Chance Ranch


Liz Isaacson - 2015
     After his deployment, injured and discharged Major Squire Ackerman returns to Three Rivers Ranch, anxious to prove himself capable of running the cattle operation so his parents can retire. Things would be easier if the ranch wasn’t missing 1.6 million dollars, which forces Squire to hire Kelly, the girl who rejected his high school prom invitation, as his accountant. She’s back in town with her four-year-old son, living in her parent’s basement until she can get her life back together. With fresh ink on her divorce papers and open gashes on her heart, she’s not ready for much beyond her new job on the ranch. Squire wants to forgive Kelly for ignoring him a decade ago. He’d like to provide the stable life she needs, but with old wounds opening and a ranch on the brink of financial collapse, it will take patience and faith to make their second chance possible. For fans of inspirational western romance authors Kimberly Krey, Becky Wade, and Denise Hunter. Themes/Topics >Clean romance >Contemporary romance >Western romance >Cowboy romance >Military romance >Second chance romance >Romantic suspense >Texas ranch, divorce, PTSD, some mystery elements, forgiveness, acceptance, love

Bookshop by the Sea


Denise Hunter - 2021
    But nothing could have prepared her to see the best man again.After her mother became bedridden and her father bailed on the family, Sophie found herself serving as a second mother to her twin brother, Seth, and younger sister, Jenna. Sophie supported her siblings through their college years, putting aside her own dream of opening a bookshop in Piper’s Cove—the quaint North Carolina beach town they frequented as children.Now it’s finally time for Sophie to follow her own pursuits. Seth has a new job, and Jenna is set to marry her college beau in Piper’s Cove. But the destination wedding reunites Sophie with best man Aiden Maddox, her high school sweetheart who left her without a backward glance.When an advancing hurricane strands Aiden in Piper’s Cove after the wedding, he finds the hotels booked to capacity and has to ask Sophie to put him up until the storm passes. As the two ride out the weather, old feelings rise to the surface. The delay also leaves Sophie with mere days to get her bookshop up and running. Can she trust Aiden to stick around? And will he find the courage to risk his heart?Includes discussion questions for book clubs

Two by Two


Nicholas Sparks - 2016
    He is living the dream, and his marriage to the bewitching Vivian is the center of that. But underneath the shiny surface of this perfect existence, fault lines are beginning to appear...and no one is more surprised than Russ when he finds every aspect of the life he took for granted turned upside down. In a matter of months, Russ finds himself without a job or wife, caring for his young daughter while struggling to adapt to a new and baffling reality. Throwing himself into the wilderness of single parenting, Russ embarks on a journey at once terrifying and rewarding—one that will test his abilities and his emotional resources beyond anything he ever imagined.

The Sunflower


Richard Paul Evans - 2005
    Christine is a shy, unadventurous woman whose fiancee broke off the engagement only a week before the wedding, and Paul is a former emergency room doctor whose glamorous lifestyle, stellar reputation, and beautiful fiancee are cruelly snatched from him one fateful, snowy Christmas Eve. Deep in the Amazon jungle, against a backdrop of poverty and heartbreak, they must confront their deepest fears and, together, learn to trust and love again.

The Right Choice


Karen Drogin - 2013
    The fact that they have no sexual sparks? No problem. Or so she thinks ... until Mike Novak, her finance's brother, arrives for the wedding.Could the best man be the right choice for her after all?

One in a Million


Lindsey Kelk - 2018
    Infuriated by the advertising agency across the hall making fun of her job, Annie accepts their crazy challenge – to make a random stranger Instagram-famous in just thirty days.And even when they choose Dr Samuel Page PhD, historian and hater of social media, as her target, Annie’s determined to win the bet – whether Sam likes it or not.But getting to know Sam means getting to know more about herself. And before the thirty days are out, Annie has to make a decision about what’s really important…Funny, real and heart-meltingly romantic, Annie and Sam’s story is My Fair Lady for the social media age – and the perfect feel-good read.

All's Fair in Love and Cupcakes


Betsy St. Amant - 2014
    They seemed to blink back at her, as if they knew she was capable of so much more.Kat Varland has had enough of chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry. At twenty-six years old, Kat is still living in the shadows of her family in Bayou Bend, Louisiana. Still working shifts at her Aunt Maggie's bakery. Still wondering what to do with her passion for baking and her business degree. And still single.But when Lucas Brannen, Kat's best friend, signs her up for a reality TV bake-off on Cupcake Combat, everything Kat ever wanted is suddenly dangled in front of her: creative license as a baker, recognition as a visionary . . . and a job at a famous bakery in New York.As the competition heats up, Lucas realizes he might have made a huge mistake. As much as he wants the best for Kat, the only thing he wants for himself, her, is suddenly in danger of slipping away.The bright lights of reality cooking wars and the chance at a successful career dazzle Kat's senses and Lucas is faced with a difficult choice: help his friend achieve her dreams . . . or sabotage her chances to keep her in Louisiana.

Second Chance Kisses


Lucy McConnell - 2017
     A Brand New Second Chance by Lucy McConnell With a broken heart and an unsure future, Abigail Martin moves home to Echo Ridge to capture the parts of her teenage years she missed out on because she’d had a steady boyfriend. Kissing a random guy, flirting with strangers, hanging out at Fay’s after a football game—all of it. Carter Montgomery offers his help, because he’s a helpful kind of guy, and she quickly falls for his quiet humor, kindness, and heated kisses. Fearing that she hasn’t lived enough of life to settle down, Abigail must decide if she’s going to break Carter’s heart or give love a brand new second chance. A Perfect Fit by Janette Rallison Jojo Halifax believes that winning Echo Ridge's float competition is just what her fledgling art career needs. And if that means giving her ex-boyfriend, Anthony, a second chance so she can be a designer on his team, well, she's willing to make the sacrifice. But when a lost bet leads to a blind date with her brother's friend, Wyatt, she begins to have second thoughts about second chances. Wyatt is handsome and charming and just might have been paid to make her forget about Anthony. Is falling for his charm worth the risk or should she take Anthony back again? Almost Home by Heather Tullis Damon lived in ten towns while growing up, but Echo Ridge is one of the few that started to feel like home before his parents relocated their family again. Now a widower, moving back to the small ski resort town is irresistible for him—but somewhat less so for his daughter, Maggie. Learning that Haley, the girl who had gotten away, is back in town is an unexpected bonus. When Haley left a high-powered job in New York City to take care of her grandmother, she never expected to run into the boy she’d been crushing on sixteen years earlier. When they end up working together on the homecoming float, she finds the attraction between them just as compelling as before. But when given a choice, will she give him her heart, or leave love behind to return to her job in the city? Change of Plans by Cami Checketts Kaitlyn Johanson comes home to Echo Ridge planning to bring the sparks back with her high school boyfriend, Mason, work at Kenworth's, and enjoy family and the beautiful valley. She never expected her heartthrob, national-acclaimed lacrosse player, Axel Olsen, would visit her hometown. When Axel steals her attention and possibly her heart from the man she was supposed to marry, she has to choose if she'll take a risk on new love or give old love a second chance. Coming Home to Love by Rachelle J. Christensen When Laney Richins left Echo Ridge, New York eight years ago, she vowed she’d never return, but life had other plans. Those plans included her cute little boy and a divorce, so Laney moved back home and started over. Working in the flower shop seems like the perfect plan until Billy Redford, the man she should have married shows up. Billy Redford’s heart was broken when his high school sweetheart turned her back on him and fled Echo Ridge for the big city lights. Running into Laney in Echo Ridge now brings up past feelings he thought were long gone. She’s prettier than ever, still seems to read his mind, and despite his protests ends up on the building and decorating committee with him for the Homecoming dance.