Book picks similar to
Garden in the South Battery by Kathryn Wharton
romance
supernatural
cozy-mystery
ebook
A Maryland Witch (Witches of Crabtree Bay Book 1)
Catherine Mesick - 2019
While the town is still reeling from the news, Chloe’s high school rival is attacked and another young girl is placed under the infamous Sleeping Beauty Curse. Suspicious eyes soon turn to Chloe, and the whole town believes she is guilty. As Chloe investigates the attacks, with a little help from the handsome but irritating Professor Mike Fellowes, she discovers that there may be a deeper and deadlier plan afoot—one that’s focused on her. Can Chloe unravel the mystery in time? Or will she fall prey to the malevolent figure lurking in the shadows?
When We Were Sisters
Cynthia Ellingsen - 2021
One summer to bring a family back together.Jayne Winters hasn’t seen her sister Charlotte since that last childhood holiday at their grandmother’s North Carolina beach house. Separated after that summer by their parents in a bitter divorce, Charlotte has never forgiven Jayne for not fighting to stay together.So when Jayne discovers that they have both inherited the beach house, and that their grandmother’s last wish was for them to renovate it together, it feels like a miracle: one last chance to win her sister back.At first Charlotte will barely speak to her. But slowly the memories of swimming races and storytelling in their attic bedroom looking over the sea start to break down the wall between them. With the help of photographs and letters left by their grandmother for them to find, the two women begin to restore not just the creaking mahogany staircase and the faded antique wallpaper, but their own relationship.But then Jayne discovers that Charlotte has kept a heart-stopping secret from their past from her. Can she find it in her heart to forgive her sister and keep their grandmother’s dream of reuniting them alive—or are some wounds too big to heal?An emotional and uplifting read about sisters, secrets and the family bonds that hold us together no matter how complicated they are, from the bestselling author of The Lighthouse Keeper. Fans of Mary Ellen Taylor, Elin Hilderbrand and Mary Alice Monroe will love this.
The Coffin Maker
Christine Sterling - 2018
Living under the overprotective and overbearing nature of her mother, Charlotte Daniels, made it easy to keep her distance from the townsfolk of Silverpines apart from a few close acquaintances. However, when Tess finds a man sleeping in her deceased father’s studio, it sets in motion a series of events that she is not prepared for. The town needs assistance burying the bodies from the aftermath of the double-earthquakes and the new stranger challenges Tess to assist her community. As she steps in to help, she realizes that there are many secrets her mother has been keeping from her, including the mystery of how her father died. Dawson Elliot was in Silverpines for one reason only: to find the man who murdered his wife and unborn child. Helping a small community get back on its feet wasn’t in his plans. But the weather had other ideas, so he decides to put some long-retired carpentry skills to use, building coffins to bury the dead. Working side by side with Tess will he find healing and love again? As Tess uncovers the secrets of her past, what will happen when she finds out the biggest secret of all? What is the secret Dawson is hiding? With every coffin he builds can he heal his heart and possibly open it to love again?
The Union Street Bakery
Mary Ellen Taylor - 2013
It’s a common cliché, and I’d heard it often enough. People die or move away. Investments go south. Affairs end. Loved ones betray us...Stuff happens.Daisy McCrae’s life is in tatters. She’s lost her job, broken up with her boyfriend, and has been reduced to living in the attic above her family’s store, The Union Street Bakery, while learning the business. Unfortunately, the bakery is in serious hardship. Making things worse is the constant feeling of not being a “real” McCrae since she was adopted as a child and has a less-than-perfect relationship with her two sisters. Then a long-standing elderly customer passes away, and for some reason bequeaths Daisy a journal dating back to the 1850s, written by a slave girl named Susie. As she reads, Daisy learns more about her family—and her own heritage—than she ever dreamed. Haunted by dreams of the young Susie, who beckons Daisy to “find her,” she is compelled to look further into the past of the town and her family.What she finds are the answers she has longed for her entire life, and a chance to begin again with the courage and desire she thought she lost for good.
Resting Witch Face
Hazel Hendrix - 2017
A mysterious murder that threatens to expose their way of life to the world. Flower farmer and average witch Gemma Iren has a big problem: a dead body. At first she thought it was a ghost, of course. Those are commonplace in Dewdrop, her magical hometown. Good luck explaining that to the police when they ask her why she didn’t call to report the suspicious death. The witches of Madison County don’t bat an eye when a dead boy turns up near the town square. Why would they? Not a single male family member has made it out of his twenties in countless generations. Her cousins briefly speculate about evil fairies and werewolves that may have killed him before their attention moves on to an upcoming annual celebration. Gemma doesn’t have that luxury. She’s a murder suspect now, with a mandate from beyond the grave to solve the crime. To make things worse, Dewdrop is overrun by tourists eager to rediscover their magical roots. Gemma already has enough cousins as it is! She’s related to everyone in town. And these witches are in hysterics about the clueless strangers who found their names on some annoying genealogy website listing the descendants of the family matriarch. Her ghost is scheduled to visit and bless the town, but this year Grandma is not very happy. Now it’s up to Gemma to solve a murder, appease an angry spirit, and convince these crazy witches to keep quiet about magic as two hunky police officers investigate their community. All this on top of her hexed, apathetic brother moving back home, a close cousin with a potion addiction and an anxiety disorder, and two bickering great aunts. Oh, and a magical flower business to run. Gemma is usually an optimistic girl, but it’s no wonder she’s got a bad case of Resting Witch Face. A full length paranormal cozy mystery novel, approximately 68,000 words.
Plum Pudding & Poison: A Harriet Honeywood Christmas Novella
Kate Harper - 2017
She wants cheerful fires, snow-filled landscapes and pleasant company, all of which seems entirely possible. But her dreams of a perfect Christmas are thrown into chaos with the arrival of Sylvia Morwell, a girl who is universally disliked by everybody who knows her. Unfortunately, that includes most of Harry's guests and suddenly, the atmosphere could could be cut with a knife! As uncomfortable as this may be, things take a turn for the worst when her unwelcome house guest is murdered, done to death with a poisoned plum pie. Once again Harry, Aubrey, Charlie and Darcy must delve deep to discover the killer that lurks in their midst. And they must move fast before Harry's Christmas is entirely ruined!
East of Orleans
Renee' Irvin-Ellis - 2012
. . Isabella McCoy, from the banks of the Chattahoochee River in Georgia, was as naïve as she was beautiful. Jacqueline Rousseau, the exotic New Orleans prostitute, was known for cruelly breaking men’s hearts while she emptied their pockets. Both with dark secrets of their own, running away from their pasts, to an uncertain future. Fate brought them together, and into the arms of the notorious cotton broker Jules McGinnis, who became both a husband and lover to them. Jealousy. Passion. Love. Murder. Now both women must overcome the truth of their tormented pasts and their unknown futures, as they face one of the most scandalous murder trials Georgia had ever seen.
Stories From Separation, Texas
John J. Asher - 2012
A collection of fifteen blue-collar stories, period and contemporary—1866 through the present.
It's All Greek to Me
Maggie Aldrich - 2018
In a downward spiral of misfortune, she’s lost everything she holds dear—her parents, her job, her home…even her cat. Falling through the porch of the decrepit sorority house at which she now works is only the icing on the cake. And then she meets Michael, with those deep blue eyes...Determined to start over, Emily throws herself into her new life. While learning the finer points of adulting, such as how to live on a budget and how to get a man that’s not gay, Emily begins to unravel the mystery surrounding her parents’ untimely death—the catalyst of her own misfortune. But as she gets closer, Emily must ask herself if she’s willing to risk her own life, and a new chance at love, to learn the truth. Because sometimes, digging up the past can have deadly consequences.
Guardian of Mates
Chloé Vincent - 2019
A total thrill ride! ★Be won over by these fiercely hot shifters, the awesome mates they want to fight for, and one badass angel.Who will be your Favorite?♥ A wealthy Las Vegas hotel entrepreneur Dragon with 2 problems: a kidnapped showgirl & a dragon egg that's about to hatch…♥ A loyal, fearless Mountain Lion protector of Los Angeles who has been silenced by a suspicious coma, & the physical therapist that may be the only one who can help him…♥ A headstrong Silicon Valley alpha Wolf has met his his foxy, alpha female match…♥ A bad boy Bear professor who specializes in Poisons & Potions may be the only one to help an NYC waitress beat an ominous cult…★ PLUS, an Exclusive story (in this box set only) that features everyone's favorite not-so-perfect guardian angel, Delilah, as she and Katz have their own side adventure when the Angelic Dimension is under attack! ******Guardian of Mates Series:Bad-Girl-Given-a-Second-Chance, Delilah, is being offered a shot at Redemption for her shady past. The only thing is, she's messed up every job she's been given so far by the Angelic Dimension’s ‘Counsel of Three’. Getting unlikely soul mates together back on Earth is her last shot...but man, would she happily take murder and mayhem over the complicated business of love! INCLUDES:Book 1: Secrets & Dark MagicBook 2: Starcrossed ShiftersBook 3: Awakened AlphasBook 4: Vegas Baby Dragon*Book 5: Bad Angel: DelilahCan our lovable, cynical Angelic Agent find a way to accomplish her heart-pumping, seemingly impossible missions for the Department of Soul Matery? With her sexy, intriguing, supervisoryly agent Katz along for the ride, maybe she’ll even grab a drink & help humankind out along the way…★★★★★Hot AF alpha shifters. Women who will give them a run for their money. And a guardian agent working her a** off to try and get them together. Needless to say- Hours of steamy, toe-curling, action-packed, take your breath away, Adult-reading pleasure!
The Secret of Willow Inn
Pat Nichols - 2018
A tragic event threatens her parents’ plans to refurbish an abandoned hotel and transform the obscure Georgia setting into a tourist destination.Sadie Lyles left Willow Falls a murderer who’d killed the town hero. She returns as a despised felon and seeks solace in the town’s café. Emily struggles to unite the close-knit community and becomes Sadie’s biggest advocate. She strives to uncover the truth about the crime and save her town from dying. To appease her father, Rachel, a VP in his Atlanta real-estate-development firm, relegates her acting dream to secret performances for imaginary audiences. After meeting charming, flirtatious Charlie Bricker, manager for Willow Falls’ future vineyard, she vows to break free from her father’s control.The tragedy and Willow Inn’s secret past launch Emily and Rachel on a collision course with destiny and truth.
Madeleine: A Regency Romance Novella
Mary Lancaster - 2019
A soldier wounded in mind and body, he has the soul of an artist and the hands of a musician.She falls in love and marries in haste...but will she live to repent? For the castle seems to have a personality of its own, and Roderick, haunted by his past, lives on the edge of insanity.Inspired by Edgar Alan Poe's Fall of the House of Usher, Madeleine is a gothic tale of mystery, danger, passion, and love overcoming all.(Note: This story was first published as part of the USA Today Bestselling Boxed set, The Midnight Hour: All Hallows' Brides, October 2019)
Daughters of Saraqael Trilogy
Raine Thomas - 2012
Follow three half-human sisters through fantastic adventures, enchanting romances and an epic battle to save their race...not the human one.BECOMINGAncient gods, avenging angels and other beings of myth and legend all have one thing in common: they exist. They’re called Estilorians. Amber Hopkins is one of them…well, half of one, anyway. If only she knew it.CENTRALLife on the Estilorian plane proves stimulating to scholar Olivia Murdoch. But then, she isn’t aware of the dark plans brewing with her at their center…FORETOLDCenturies after The Great Foretelling, Skye Tomaganuk dreams of a fairytale romance. But the evil Mercesti have their own plans, and the foretold battle to come stands in the way of her happily ever after.
Seventh Heaven
Alice Hoffman - 1990
She's divorced. She wears a charm bracelet and high heels and red toreador pants. And the way she raises her kids is a scandal. But as time passes, the neighbors start having second thoughts about Nora. The women’s apprehension evolves into admiration. The men’s lust evolves into awe. The children are drawn to her in ways they can't explain. And everyone on this little street in 1959 Long Island seems to sense the possibilities and perils of a different kind of future when they look at Nora Silk...This extraordinary novel by the author of The River King and Local Girls takes us back to a time when the exotic both terrified and intrigued us, and despite our most desperate attempts, our passions and secrets remained as stubbornly alive as the weeds in our well-trimmed lawns.
A Red, Red Rose
Susan Coryell - 2012
Their lives, loves and secrets. Especially their secrets. 20-year-old Ashby Overton is invited by her aunt and uncle to spend the summer at historic Overhome Estate as a companion to her young cousin. Ashby has ulterior motives: She hopes to unearth her ancestral roots and the cause of a mysterious family rift surrounding the horseback riding death of her Grandmother Lenore many years ago. Situated high above Moore Mountain Lake, Virginia, the imposing mansion is an idyllic setting for Ashby, the aspiring romance writer. From the moment she enters her room in the oldest wing, Ashby feels an invisible, enfolding presence. This was Rosabelle's room, the housekeeper tells Ashby. But no one is willing to talk about Rosabelle. As summer unfolds, so does the shroud of silence surrounding Overhome. Ever present is a force Ashby never sees, only feels. Candles light themselves, notes from an old lullaby fall from the ceiling, the radio tunes itself each day. And roses, always meant for Ashby, appear in the unlikeliest places. Are the roses a symbol of love, or do they represent something dark, something deep and evil? Full of heartbreak and adventure, fear and passion, the summer leads Ashby on a suspenseful, sometimes terrifying journey as she navigates centuries of family strife alongside the puzzling parameters of the spirit world. Ultimately she discovers that some secrets, even the most fiercely guarded, are destined to be revealed.