Book picks similar to
Always Chloe and Other Stories by Catherine Ryan Hyde
short-stories
fiction
contemporary-fiction
e-books
Doing It Over
Catherine Bybee - 2016
The down-on-her-luck single mom wants a complete do-over—is that too much to ask? With her family long gone from River Bend, strong, independent Mel is as surprised as anyone to end up in the quaint small town she once called home. But with her friends, Jo and Zoe, by her side, and a comfortable room at Miss Gina’s quirky bed-and-breakfast, she just might have turned the corner on a new life.Wyatt Gibson never liked the big city. River Bend suits the ruggedly handsome builder just fine. Wyatt knows he’s home, even if that means being charmed by the appearance of Melanie and her spunky, adorable daughter. Is Wyatt’s calm devotion—even amid a coming storm—enough to convince Mel she may have found a home to call her own, a family that never leaves, and a true love to last a lifetime?
One Basket
Edna Ferber - 1947
You passed her on the street with a surreptitious glance, though she was well worth looking at-in her furs and laces and plumes. She had the only full-length mink coat in our town, and Ganz's shoe store sent to Chicago for her shoes. Hers were the miraculously small feet you frequently see in stout women. Usually she walked alone; but on rare occasions, especially round Christmastime, she might have been seen accompanied by some silent, dull-eyed, stupid-looking girl, who would follow her dumbly in and out of stores, stopping now and then to admire a cheap comb or a chain set with flashy imitation stones-or, queerly enough, a doll with yellow hair and blue eyes and very pink cheeks. But, alone or in company, her appearance in the stores of our town was the signal for a sudden jump in the cost of living. The storekeepers mulcted her; and she knew it and paid in silence, for she was of the class that has no redress. She owned the House with the Closed Shutters, near the freight depot-did Blanche Devine.
He Found Me
Whitney Barbetti - 2014
I walked out the door of my apartment with a backpack and never looked back. I left the life of Cora Mitchell behind, seeking freedom from my real-life nightmare. But my freedom came with a cost. I lived a fictitious life for the next six years, never letting anyone close enough to see underneath the facade that was Andra Walker. I was content with my simple little life. Until I met Julian. And the moment I started allowing myself to open up, allowing someone to see through the superficial, was the very same moment the Monster from my past would return to find me.
Drinking Life
Kevin George - 2011
But it's not the other team she has to worry about stopping her - it's the two soldiers in ancient battle armor who attack during the game! Nia has always been a little quicker, a little stronger, a little more agile than everyone else. She quickly learns that hand-to-hand combat is another skill she possesses...The attack makes headlines and causes her parents to uproot the family business and move cross-country during her senior year. It's not an easy adjustment and before long she finds herself in the middle of another physical altercation, this time with the entire boy's lacrosse team. But a mysterious stranger named John Leon shows up to help and starts Nia's life on an uncontrollable spiral she never imagined...On the night of her eighteenth birthday, she begins to dream about being another person in another life. The dreams grow increasingly frequent - and increasingly clear - and she begins to question everything about her life, from who she really is, to who she really was, to whether her parents are who they claim to be...Nia unexpectedly finds herself falling for John but has fierce competition for his affection. Cassie is her neighbor and the daughter of her parents' business partner. She's selfish and ruthless and shallow and John seems like he can't stand her. But he also can't say no to her...John knows something about Nia's past and the dreams she's been having but getting the information from him might turn deadly...CHAPTER ONEI’m the first person to see the attackers though I have plenty of reason to be focused elsewhere. I don’t know how but it’s like I sensed the danger coming and looked up just in time to see a pair of behemoths charging out of the nearby woods. In the split second I first lay eyes on them, my mind registers every minor detail: two men well above six feet tall, biceps rippling like steroid-laced professional wrestlers. One has long greasy blond hair and wields a sword almost as long as his body; the other has brown hair just as long and greasy and wields a massive axe. Their teeth are equally brown and rotted, evil sneers of blood lust plastered across their lips. There’s no doubt in my mind that they’re both ugly but I can’t see their faces behind metal helmets that cover their heads and most of their faces. Only a single slit in the helmets allows them to see, their eyes focused in my direction.Had I not spotted the attackers right away, I surely would have heard them soon after appearing from the trees. They wear matching suits of armor that cover their chest and legs, clattering and clanging with every step they run. I can’t imagine how a normal human could walk in such bulky suits let alone run but they don’t seem slowed by them at all. For the second time in a matter of seconds, my mind surprises me with something else I can’t quite explain: somehow I know that these soldiers are from the Spanish Armada. Logically, I think this should be some sort of ill-advised joke. This type of soldier hasn’t been seen in centuries. Others around me must have the same thought because it takes several seconds for the first scream to cry out from the large crowd. I stop staring at the soldiers once I feel a heavy smash against the back of my leg; I’d almost forgotten that I was in the middle of the most important game of my life.Did I forget to mention that I’m in the middle of a field hockey game?CHECK OUT THE AUTHOR'S OTHER NOVELSKEEPER OF THE WATER TRILOGYBOOK ONE - Drinking LifeBOOK TWO - Recruits BOOK THREE - The Water Queens
Broken Skies
Theresa Kay - 2014
A disillusioned alien boy. They were never meant to meet…When Jax Mitchell’s twin is kidnapped by Earth's alien settlers, the E'rikon, she'll do anything to get him back—even form an alliance with a teenage E'rikon left behind by the same ship that took her brother.Jax agrees to act as a guide, and in return, the alien agrees to sneak her past the human-proof barrier surrounding the E'rikon city. Too bad it's not that simple. Jax soon finds that she's drawn to the alien boy with bright green hair and jewel-like scales on his back—and he's equally affected by her, the courageous redhead with haunted eyes. But she doesn't know the alien's true motives, and he has no idea that she is much more than she seems.With the aliens and the humans at odds, the connection forming between the two teens has consequences. What started off as a rescue mission sets in motion a chain of events that threatens not only the remaining humans and the growing alien society, but Earth itself.
Close to the Bone
Kendra Elliot - 2018
The complications pile up as Cate is distracted by the coroner on the case—and by nagging memories that draw her twenty years into the past. The remains suggest eerie similarities between this victim, and Cate and Tessa’s friend Samantha, who disappeared when she was fourteen.Cate finds herself up against closemouthed locals, buried town secrets, and even her own heart. As the case unravels, will she be able to cut through the fog and find justice for the missing and the dead
The Glass Case
Kristin Hannah - 2011
Although she loves her children and husband, April is plagued by the growing doubt that she has not lived up to her mother's expectations for her--until one day when something terrible and unexpected happens, and April must face the truth about her own life and discover what really matters.
Daddy
Emma Cline - 2020
A man travels to his son’s school to deal with the fallout of a violent attack and to make sure his son will not lose his college place. But what exactly has his son done? And who is to blame? A young woman trying to make it in LA, working in a clothes shop while taking acting classes, turns to a riskier way of making money but will be forced to confront the danger of the game she’s playing. And a family coming together for Christmas struggle to skate over the lingering darkness caused by the very ordinary brutality of a troubled husband and father.These outstanding stories examine masculinity, male power and broken relationships, while revealing – with astonishing insight and clarity – those moments of misunderstanding that can have life-changing consequences. And there is an unexpected violence, ever-present but unseen, in the depiction of the complicated interactions between men and women, and families. Subtle, sophisticated and displaying an extraordinary understanding of human behaviour, these stories are unforgettable.
Keeper of Secrets
Anjuelle Floyd - 2007
One truth begets another as a passionate tale of confrontation in a San Francisco restaurant travels from eyewitnesses to others. Each protagonist views the attack through an emotion-stained lens, the story taking on a life of its own as filtered through different individuals' pasts, present and futures. Each character unweaves and re-braids their hidden truths, and exposes a chain of inner mysteries that binds them."Karmic truth, the effect of our decisions with our secrets and our deepest loves, comes back and squeezes the hearts of these characters. The elegant, super-rich, super-accomplished African-Americans in Keeper of Secrets are as susceptible as anyone to conflicting passions, ones that may not be reconcilable in this world... Floyd pulls the reader into their lives without mercy." --Clive Matson, author of Let the Crazy Child Write! and First Ten SongsA linked novel centered around the inhabitants of a wealthy enclave of African Americans in the Bay Area. An attempted murder transforms each character. Told from eight different perspectives.
Some Kind of Wonderful
Giovanna Fletcher - 2017
Now, after celebrating a decade together, everyone thinks they're about to get engaged. A romantic escape to Dubai is the perfect moment, but instead of the proposal Lizzy hopes for, Ian reveals he's not sure he even wants her anymore.Lizzy is heartbroken. But through the tears, she realises this is her chance to seize the opportunities she missed as Ian's other half. But what does she want? How much of her is really Lizzy, and how much was Ian's influence? Determined to discover who she is at heart, Lizzy sets out to rediscover the girl she was before - and in the meantime, have a little fun . . .
My Despicable Ex
Sierra Rose - 2013
He wants her back…with a vengeance.Ashly Roberts and Jake Connors are barely twenty when they decide to take the proverbial plunge and walk down the aisle to exchange vows in front of the dearly beloved. Basking in bridal bliss, Ashly feels she is living the perfect fairytale, until she’s faced with a runaway groom, dumped at the altar by bad-boy fiancé, Jake Connors.Five years later, Jake steps back into her life, realizing that being a no-show for their nuptials was the worst mistake of his life. A little older and slightly more mature, he is ready to fight for Ashly’s love once again. When Ashly sees him, she can’t deny the attraction she feels, but her hormones are overruled by the horror of what he did to her in the past. Nevertheless, Jake’s most potent weapon, those dazzling baby blues, ignites a spark in Ashly, no matter how angry she wants to be. She cannot deny the spark, and she only hopes the inferno it ignites will not consume her heart again.*This is NOT erotica* This is a love story and a romance. Ashly is a photographer and took this hot, shirtless picture of Jake before they broke up. He hopes they can rekindle the magic and re-take this picture.*This is a two book series* (All of your answers won't be answered in book 1)
A Beginner's Guide to Free Fall
Andy Abramowitz - 2020
Brothers and sisters. Mothers and daughters. Okay, everybody. Hold on tight.
Davis Winger has it all. A respected engineer who designs roller coasters in theme parks across the country, he is deeply in love with his wife and has a beautiful young daughter and a happy home. Until an accident strikes on one of his rides. Nothing fatal—except to his career. And to his marriage, when a betrayal from his past inadvertently comes to light. In one cosmically bad day, Davis loses it all.His sister, Molly, is at a crossroads herself. She’s coasting through a dire relationship with an incompatible man-child. And she’s a journalist whose deeply personal columns about mothers and daughters are forcing her to confront the truth about her own mother, who abandoned Molly and Davis years ago and disappeared.For these two siblings, it’s just a matter of bracing themselves for one turbulent summer in this redemptive and painfully funny family drama about making the best of the sharp turns in life—those we choose to take and those beyond our control.
The Gift
Lorhainne Eckhart - 2012
After a devastating plane crash, a father's only hope comes from dreams connecting him with his son.
The Tidewater Sisters
Lisa Wingate - 2014
Amid the rubble of a difficult childhood lie memories of huddling beneath beds and behind sofas while parental wars raged. Sisterhood was safety . . . once. But now? Faced with legal papers for a fraud she didn't commit, Tandi suspects that her sister has done something unthinkable. With Tandi's wedding just around the corner, a trip to the North Carolina Tidewater for a reckoning with Gina was not part of the plan. But unraveling lies from truth will require confronting strained sibling bonds and uncovering a dark family secret that could free Tandi from her past or stain her future forever. (Novella)