Book picks similar to
Just One Kiss by Susanne Bellamy


contemporary-romance
rural-romance
chick-lit
act

The House on the Hill (Susan Duncan's Memoirs)


Susan Duncan - 2016
    In The House on the Hill, Susan Duncan reaches an age where there's no point in sweating long-term ramifications. There aren't any. This new understanding delivers an unexpected bonus - the emotional freedom and moral clarity to admit to hidden and often fiendish facts of ageing and, ultimately, the find ways to embrace them. This, in turn, unleashes an overwhelming desire to confront her intractable 95-year-old mother with the dreadful secrets of the past before it is too late, no matter the consequences. It is the not-knowing, she says, that does untold damage. Interwoven with stories from the land - building a sustainable eco-house on the mid-coast of New South Wales with her engineer husband, Bob, and grappling with white-eyed roans, dogs, bawling cattle markets, droughts and flooding rains, not to mention blunt-speaking locals - this is a book about a mother and daughter coming to terms, however uneasy, with the awful forces that shaped their relationship.As the inconstancies of age slow her down, Susan Duncan writes with honesty about discovery and forgiveness, and what it takes to rework shrinking boundaries into a new and rich life.

The Girl in the Yellow Vest


Loretta Hill - 2014
    It could be our best friend or … our worst enemy.’Emily Woods counts cracks for a living. Concrete cracks. So when her long-term boyfriend dumps her, she decides it’s time for a change of scenery. Her best friend, Will, suggests joining his construction team in Queensland. Working next door to the Great Barrier Reef seems like just the sort of adventure she needs to reboot her life…until she realises that Will is not the person she thought he was.Charlotte Templeton is frustrated with the lack of respect FIFO workers have for her seaside resort. But picking a fight with their tyrannical project manager, Mark Crawford, seems to lead to more complications than resolutions. The man is too pompous, too rude, and too damned good looking.As both women strive to protect their dreams and achieve their goals, they discover that secrets will come out, loyalty often hurts, and sometimes the perfect man is the wrong one.

Snowy River Man


Lizzy Chandler - 2015
    Is the romance of the majestic Snowy Mountains enough to heal the wounds of the past so that they get a second chance at a future? The last time Katrina Delaney saw Jack Fairley was the morning after a one-night stand, when she discovered he was engaged to be married. Seven years later, she dreams of a missing boy – Jack’s son. Katrina has worked with police to find missing children before, and she knows she must help. But seeing Jack again comes with its own set of dangers, and Katrina fears the risks she is taking with her heart. Jack Fairley’s standing in the community can’t keep his son from wandering off during a country rodeo. Frantic with worry, Jack is willing to do anything to find him, even put aside his scepticism and accept the help of a woman who sees his son in a dream. But when that woman turns out to be Katrina Delaney, he’s immediately suspicious. Neither Katrina nor Jack have any reason to trust each other, or the attraction that flares between them again. But trust they will have to, if they want any chance at love.

Make-Believe Marriage


Marilyn Shank - 2000
    Otherwise, she'll lose her inheritance. Trevor Mathison, Headmaster of Brookshire School, needs both a sixth-grade teacher and a wife.When a comedy of errors leads Claire's grandfather, the Chairman of the Board, to believe Claire and Trevor are married, they play along - both too afraid to tell the older man the truth.A powerful magnetism sparks between the couple but her free-spirited lifestyle clashes with his highly structured one. The conflicts they face both at school and at home turn Trevor's organized life into instant chaos.Can Claire and Trevor make their love last? Will they turn this pretend marriage into happily ever after?

No Job for a Girl


Meredith Appleyard - 2017
    Everyone has told her that it's no job for a girl, but this isn't the first time she's had to prove her mettle. Project adviser Alex McKinley is happy to be as far away from the city as he can get. Recently divorced, he's reassessing where he went wrong. Alex has nothing against women specifically. He'd just rather they weren't working on his construction site, sharing his office, invading his space.In the close confines of the desert camp, anything can happen, and Leah soon finds herself the centre of attention - from bothersome bureaucrats to injured workers and hordes of isolated men. But it is one man in particular who pushes her to her limits . in more ways than one.

Call Waiting


Dianne Blacklock - 2003
    Her dreams of a fulfilling life after art college didn't include cleaning up after bored school children and being a doormat for her yuppie boyfriend. What she really wants is to be more like her friend Meg - at least she has turned her art training into a lucrative job in computer design, not to mention having a doting husband and a gorgeous baby son to complete the package.But when Ally's grandfather and sole relative dies, she returns to the Southern Highland home of her childhood where she must confront painful issues from her past that her safe life in the city has allowed her to ignore. Meanwhile, Meg is not as happy as Ally imagines. Dissatisfied with her picture-perfect life, a restless Meg longs to inject more passion and spontaneity into her days - but at what cost to her family's happiness?

Whispers At Wongan Creek


Juanita Kees - 2016
    His family has farmed canola for generations, and he sometimes feels like he holds the community together with his bare, dirt-stained hands. Between caring for the farm, his orphaned niece and his elderly, ailing neighbour, he doesn't have time for himself. He doesn’t have time to fall in love. Social worker Heather Penney is living on borrowed time. When her mother died of Motor Neurone Disease, she took the initial blood tests and now nothing is guaranteed, let alone a future with a family and a home and a child. Wongan Creek, and its resident protector, might be getting under her skin, but she can't afford to get attached. But even as a new mine revitalises the small town, old secrets threaten resurface, and Travis and Heather find themselves fighting to save the farms and the futures of Wongan Creek's long-time residents — and possibly their own lives.

The Baby Doctor


Fiona McArthur - 2017
    The last thing she wants is a posting to a remote outback town to investigate a medical mystery.But on arrival in Spinifex, Sienna is brought to life in new and exciting ways. In a community riddled with secrets, she meets troubled young barmaid Maddy, and tough publican Alma, both with their troubles to hide.As they draw strength from each other, new friendships, new loves and new babies are born, proving that when strong women join forces, they can overcome even the greatest odds.Praise for Fiona McArthur:'I never miss one of Fiona McArthur's books.' Sam Still Reading'An uplifting story of friendship and romance.' Book'd Out'Whenever I feel like journeying to the ochre and brown glory of the outback with its special brand of people, I know Fiona McArthur will take me there ...' Book Muster Down Under

A Bush Christmas


Margareta Osborn - 2012
    Especially when she needs rescuing from stampeding cattle, falling Christmas trees and town ladies wielding catering lists and tablecloths.And two, in Burdekin's Gap there's no chance of escaping the festive season. For the town has its own unique way of celebrating Christmas – big time, BUSH style!Includes an extract from Margareta's upcoming novel, Hope's Road.

Lakeshore Chronicles Series Books 7-9: The Summer Hideaway \ Marrying Daisy Bellamy \ Return to Willow Lake


Susan Wiggs - 2016
     THE SUMMER HIDEAWAY Private nurse and protected witness Claire Turner never gets attached, but her heart starts to soften when she begins caring for the elderly George Bellamy—and meets his grandson, Ross. In the face of wrenching loss, amid the enchantment of Willow Lake, Ross and Claire dare to risk everything for love. MARRYING DAISY BELLAMY Daisy Bellamy struggled for years to choose between two men—one honorable and steady, one wild and untethered. And then, one fateful day, the decision is made for her…until the man once lost to her reappears. Now the choice Daisy thought was behind her is the hardest one she'll ever face… The pressure is on for Sam to find Sinclair's killer, but a new lead in her father's unsolved shooting puts her in unexpected danger. When long-buried secrets threaten to derail her relationship with Nick, Sam realizes that while justice is blind, mixing romance with politics has the potential to be fatal… RETURN TO WILLOW LAKE Lieutenant Sam Holland is back on the job. A woman has been found brutally murdered and evidence points to Henry Lightfeather, a senator and close friend of Nick's. While Sam investigates, Nick stands by his friend—complicating his own bid for reelection, and causing tension between the couple. As Sam's investigation reveals a scandal that rocks the capital, Nick and Sam discover that the biggest threat to their future might be someone from her past…

The Goodbye Ride


Lily Malone - 2013
    The Ducati motorbike that once belonged to her brother has come up for re-sale. Liv wants to buy the precious bike, and she wants the ink dry on the paperwork before the approaching holiday weekend, when visitors with fat wallets will descend on her tourist-mecca hometown. Only one person stands in her way. Owen Carson likes rare and beautiful things and he has the Ducati in his sights. Then he meets Liv, and finds his heart captured by beauty of a far different kind.How far will Liv go to make the motorbike hers, and is the Queen's Birthday Long Weekend, long enough for Owen to convince Liv he's interested in more than just a holiday fling?

Nowhere Else


Fiona McCallum - 2011
    So when her boss offers to send her on an extended research trip to investigate the effects of the drought, she jumps at the chance to indulge in some country-style relaxation.When Nicola arrives in the little town of Nowhere Else, nothing is as she expected: there's no spa in town, the locals are tight-lipped, and she senses it's not just the drought that is making the town nervous. So why has her boss sent her out here?The deeper Nicola digs into the town's history, the more she realises coming to Nowhere Else wasn't a mistake after all. In fact, it may just unlock the mystery of her own past. And hold the key to her future happiness...

Up Close and Personal


Leonie Fox - 2010
    Best Friends Forever. Stunning, sexy and anything but sensible.Yasmin is a straight-talking game player who's got no-strings sex down to a T. So why is she suddenly craving commitment from the one man she can't have?Nicole is trapped in a passionless marriage but tangled up in a passionate affair. Should she risk the safety of her happy-ever-after for something that's oh so sexy but oh so risky?They both envy Juliet who seems to have it all. She's bagged a gorgeous toyboy of a husband but is she still entertaining naughty thoughts about a dangerous old flame?These girls will go to the ends of the earth for one another . . . and any lengths to get their men. But when everything starts to unravel, will they chose close friendship - or sex?

Nobody's Darling


Gina Ardito - 2011
    Now a successful businesswoman, she accepts a challenge from a daytime talk show to compete in a thirty-day battle of the sexes. April is up against a television psychologist who claims her organization hurts the very people she alleges to help. Dr. Jefferson Prentiss, television's Dr. Jeff, is haunted by the loss of his wife and newborn son, and by his role in their deaths. To atone, he's dedicated his professional life to the ideals of family. The talk show challenge presents him with the opportunity to prove not only the sagacity of his self-help book, but the inherent danger of paying strangers to perform those family tasks that should be done out of love and nurture. Once inside an isolated cabin filled with videotaping equipment, April and Jeff learn from each other, tackle their demons, and discover a new awareness between them: love.

Me or Her?


Carrie Stone - 2016
     When Ruby secures her dream job at JMT advertising agency, she is delighted to get the charming Giovanni as her boss. With her sensual looks and commanding nature she’s in no doubt she’ll manage to reel him in. Bohemian and free-spirited Paige is struggling with both the prospect of dating and growing her interior design business, so when she finds herself at the centre of Giovanni’s attention and becomes an unexpected modeling sensation, it leaves a seething Ruby trailing in her shadow.... As Paige leaves London and her unpretentious ways behind her to flit amongst the Miami jet set, Ruby begins a new journey of her own, unraveling her career and navigating the rocky path of romance.