Book picks similar to
Out Of Play by Joy Norstrom


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The Starlight Hill Series


Heatherly Bell - 2015
    where love is ... uncorkedAll of MeWhat would you do for a second chance with your first love? Welcome to wine country and the small town of Starlight Hill, California, where the wine flows freely and so does the gossip. The town has never quite forgiven Ivey Lancaster for leaving their favorite son, Dr. Jeff Garner, when she met a man on an online dating site. But while the people of the township took sides, the truth of her absence is something Ivey doesn’t want anyone to know. When a sudden change of plans forces Ivey to work with her hunky ex, she must keep it professional or risk her heart all over again. Somebody Like YouStrike One ... in one night, Brooke Miller loses her boyfriend, her job and possibly her reputation. She vows revenge on her old boss by bringing a defunct vineyard back to its former glory. But ex-baseball star Billy Turlock swoops in and buys her dream vineyard. Strike Two…Billy hopes the new family business will give him direction and purpose, now that he can no longer play baseball. He can’t afford to fail again, and for that he needs Brooke, who has hated him and all athletes since high school … even if he’s never forgotten her. Wild pitch … when it becomes clear the hot hunk is interested in more than a working relationship, Brooke wonders if their wild attraction could ever last … Until There Was YouHow far would you go to get your fantasy man? Would you marry someone who looked just like him? Genevieve Hannigan has loved her big brother’s best friend, Wallace Turlock, for as long as she can remember. But when he never noticed her, she settled for Wallace 2.0. With her disastrous two month marriage behind her, Gen knows that nothing but the original Wallace will do. But when Genevieve’s ex-husband is back in town with hopes to reconcile, things are about to get complicated …

One Night Years Ago


J.R. Pace - 2020
    Now, Fowler’s back in town.When he was twenty, Hunter Fowler made a huge mistake. He’s spent the last twelve years in prison paying for it. When he gets out of prison, the last thing he wants to do is go back to Sharp’s Cove, but he has no choice.Natalie Bowmann isn’t a frightened young woman anymore. She’s the town’s sheriff now and she’s not going to let Fowler’s return destroy the life she’s built for herself. But when another young woman is attacked, Natalie realizes two things: that twelve years earlier an innocent man was sent to prison and, most importantly, that a monster is loose in their peaceful coastal town.Will Hunter and Natalie be able to find him before he strikes again? What will they do with the growing attraction between them?This suspense romance book is intended for adult readers. Each book in the series can be read as a standalone romance.Warning: one of the characters was assaulted years earlier, and remembers the assault at several points during the story.

The Tour


Jean Grainger - 2013
    But this particular tour with its cast of unintentionally hilarous characters leaves seasoned tour guide Conor speechless for the first time in his life. Among this eclectic group are Corlene, a gold digging multiple divorcee on the prowl; Patrick, a love-starved Boston cop; Dylan, a goth uilleann piper; Dorothy, a poisonous college professor who wouldn't spend Christmas; Elliot, a wall street shark who finally shows his true colours, and then there's Ellen, back on Irish soil after so many years to discover a truth no-one could have guessed, least of all herself. And thats just a few of the colourful cast.The locals they meet on their journey, eccentric West Brits, passionate musicians, Ukranian waitresses and Garda high flyers all help to make this a tour that nobody will ever forget. And of course, there's Conor, stuck in the thick of it all, solving problems and mending hearts, but what about his own?

The Bookish Life of Nina Hill


Abbi Waxman - 2019
    If she sometimes suspects there might be more to life than reading, she just shrugs and picks up a new book. When the father Nina never knew existed suddenly dies, leaving behind innumerable sisters, brothers, nieces, and nephews, Nina is horrified. They all live close by! They're all—or mostly all—excited to meet her! She'll have to Speak. To. Strangers. It's a disaster! And as if that wasn't enough, Tom, her trivia nemesis, has turned out to be cute, funny, and deeply interested in getting to know her. Doesn't he realize what a terrible idea that is?Nina considers her options.1. Completely change her name and appearance. (Too drastic, plus she likes her hair.) 2. Flee to a deserted island. (Hard pass, see: coffee). 3. Hide in a corner of her apartment and rock back and forth. (Already doing it.)It's time for Nina to come out of her comfortable shell, but she isn't convinced real life could ever live up to fiction. It's going to take a brand-new family, a persistent suitor, and the combined effects of ice cream and trivia to make her turn her own fresh page.

The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris


Jenny Colgan - 2013
    But when an accident changed everything, Anna was thrown back in touch with her French teacher, Claire, who offered her the chance of a lifetime — to work in Paris with her former sweetheart, Thierry, a master chocolatier.With old wounds about to be uncovered and healed, Anna is set to discover more about real chocolate — and herself — than she ever dreamed.

Thirty-Two Going on Spinster


Becky Monson - 2012
    She has no social life, hates her job, and lives in her parent’s basement with her cat, Charlie.With the arrival of Jared Moody, the new hire at work, Julia’s mundane life is suddenly turned upside down. Her instant (and totally ridiculous) crush on the new guy causes Julia to finally make some long-overdue changes, in hopes to find a life that includes more than baking and hanging out with Charlie.But when the biggest and most unexpected change comes, will the new and improved Julia be able to overcome it? Or will she go back to her spinster ways?

The Last Bathing Beauty


Amy Sue Nathan - 2020
    Back then Betty Stern was an eighteen-year-old knockout working at her grandparents’ lakeside resort. The “Catskills of the Midwest” was the perfect place for Betty to prepare for bigger things. She’d head to college in New York City. Her career as a fashion editor would flourish. But first, she’d enjoy a wondrous last summer at the beach falling deeply in love with an irresistible college boy and competing in the annual Miss South Haven pageant. On the precipice of a well-planned life, Betty’s future was limitless.Decades later, the choices of that long-ago season still reverberate for Betty, now known as Boop. Especially when her granddaughter comes to her with a dilemma that echoes Boop’s memories of first love, broken hearts, and faraway dreams. It’s time to finally face the past—for the sake of her family and her own happiness. Maybe in reconciling the life she once imagined with the life she’s lived, Boop will discover it’s never too late for a second chance.

As Long As There Is Chocolate


Tana Lovett - 2018
     Sick of heartbreak, Kate decides to devote her life to making fine chocolates and forget about relationships altogether. But when she opens a gourmet chocolate shop across the street from a deli—run by a handsome Italian she dubs 'Fabio the Sandwich Boy'—she discovers she's not the only one dishing out temptation. Gio wants to help Kate overcome her fears about love, but his big, boisterous Italian family gets in the way. Even long dead relatives get in on the act—leading them on a treasure-seeking adventure. Can Gio convince Kate to take a chance on him? Or will his family's secrets get in their way?

Charmed by the Bartender


Piper Rayne - 2017
    Probably not in retrospect. In my defense I had just moved back into my grandparent’s house, I’d lost my dream job, and a guy on Tinder had stood me up. It was like life had suddenly stamped ‘LOSER’ on my forehead. So when the guy behind the bar started giving me THE look…you know, the one that promised I’d be screaming his name into the wee hours of the morning? When that guy also has the perfect amount of scruff on his chiseled chin, biceps bulging out of his t-shirt, and a cocky grin you knew he’d earned in the sack…when he gives you that look, you don’t bother to figure out what your six degrees of separation are. You jump on that horse and ride it! Pun fully and completely intended. And accurate by the way. I fully admit to feeling sorry for myself and acting impulsively, but by the time I’d figured out WHO the bartender was, I was already falling for him.

We're All Damaged


Matthew Norman - 2016
    He had a solid job. He ran 5Ks for charity. He was living a nice, safe Midwestern existence. And then his wife left him for a handsome paramedic down the street.We’re All Damaged begins after Andy has lost his job, ruined his best friend’s wedding, and moved to New York City, where he lives in a tiny apartment with an angry cat named Jeter that isn’t technically his. But before long he needs to go back to Omaha to say good-bye to his dying grandfather.Back home, Andy is confronted with his past, which includes his ex, his ex’s new boyfriend, his right-wing talk-radio-host mother, his parents’ crumbling marriage, and his still-angry best friend.As if these old problems weren’t enough, Andy encounters an entirely new complication: Daisy. She has fifteen tattoos, no job, and her own difficult past. But she claims she is the only person who can help Andy be happy again, if only she weren’t hiding a huge secret that will mess things up even more. Andy Carter needs a second chance at life, and Daisy—and the person Daisy pushes Andy to become—may be his last chance to set things right.

On the Edge


Dani Collins - 2018
    Viking-like Rolf Johansson exudes the same alpha-intimidation that jocks used to torment her through high school. After nursing her mother the last several years, she’s trying to break out of her shell and secretly pursue a writing career, but Rolf insists she go through with the rotten deal her father struck with his brother to renovate an old chalet. Rolf envisions this mountain as a world-class resort for elite athletes and other jet setters. As a downhill champion and owner of a world-renowned sports equipment empire, he knows what it takes to get what he wants. Nothing will stop him, especially not a hotheaded wallflower who turns the ice in his veins to lava. Bonus Story! This book contains Glory’s novella Blessed Winter, a no-room-at-the-inn Christmas romance.

In the Dark


Loreth Anne White - 2019
    The perfect getaway. So remote no one will ever find you.The promise of a luxury vacation at a secluded wilderness spa has brought together eight lucky guests. But nothing is what they were led to believe. As a fierce storm barrels down and all contact with the outside is cut off, the guests fear that it’s not a getaway. It’s a trap.Each one has a secret. Each one has something to hide. And now, as darkness closes in, they all have something to fear—including one another.Alerted to the vanished party of strangers, homicide cop Mason Deniaud and search and rescue expert Callie Sutton must brave the brutal elements of the mountains to find them. But even Mason and Callie have no idea how precious time is. Because the clock is ticking, and one by one, the guests of Forest Shadow Lodge are being hunted. For them, surviving becomes part of a diabolical game.

The Garment Maker's Daughter


Hillary Adrienne Stern - 2016
    It is the story of Lena Rothman, a shirtwaist-maker and active suffragette whose plans get derailed when she falls in love with her best friend’s boyfriend; Jake Brenner, a passionate labor organizer determined to lead the shirtwaist-makers on a high-stakes strike; and Daniel Cowan, a brilliant and ambitious night-school student hobbled by a shameful past. Fate draws them together. Emotions bind them to each other. But secrets will tear them apart. When a devastating blaze engulfs the shirtwaist factory, Lena must fight for her life. And in the chaos of the fire’s aftermath, mistakes will be made with consequences that continue into the next generation. Spanning the first half of the twentieth century, this is a story about unforgettable characters and the threads of friendship, love, betrayal, and redemption that form the fabric of their lives. FAns of Adriana Trigiani, Kristin Hannah, and Christine Baker Kline, will love The Garment Maker’s Daughter. It's that rare novel you’ll be thinking about long after you’ve finished it.

Pretending to Dance


Diane Chamberlain - 2015
    She lives in San Diego with a husband she adores, and they are trying to adopt a baby because they can't have a child on their own. But the process of adoption brings to light many questions about Molly's past and her family—the family she left behind in North Carolina twenty years before. The mother she says is dead but who is very much alive. The father she adored and whose death sent her running from the small community of Morrison's Ridge. Her own birth mother whose mysterious presence in her family raised so many issues that came to a head. The summer of twenty years ago changed everything for Molly and as the past weaves together with the present story, Molly discovers that she learned to lie in the very family that taught her about pretending. If she learns the truth about her beloved father's death, can she find peace in the present to claim the life she really wants?

Baby Stetson


Nikki Lynn Barrett - 2013
    Raised by loving adoptive parents, she's never lacked for love...only the knowledge of her past.By day she works the Inn, but by night...Avery comes alive as lead singer in a band. Life was good...stable, until new guests blew into town. Some strangers come with secrets and liesLucas Bennett is one such stranger. Drifting from one mess to another has left him jaded. Doesn't matter the dramas are never his doing. Giving it one last shot to make a fresh start lands him Harmony's Echo, Texas and smack dab in front of the tantalizing Avery.Despite his best efforts to ignore the burn Avery's ignited within, he's intent to keep his distance. Secrets have followed him. Secrets he doesn't want Avery to know.Each time they're near the other things heat up like a brushfire on a dry Texas prairie.But maybe, after the dust settles and the smoke clears, love can bloom with a fresh start.