Book picks similar to
Hide the Elephant by Jonathan Dunne
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animals
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adventure
Summer at Sea
Beth Labonte - 2015
Have you ever helped your parents pack for a weeklong cruise? No? I didn't think so. So shut it. So begins vacation for Summer Hartwell - twenty-six years old, living with her anxiety-ridden parents, and unwillingly booked by her brother on a weeklong cruise to Bermuda. Despite the nightmare of being trapped aboard a cruise ship with Mom and Dad, Summer sees a rare opportunity to fulfill The Prophecy – her mother’s declaration that she will live at home until she gets married. With two thousand passengers onboard, at least one of them must be husband material, right? The only problem is Graham Blenderman – her brother’s best friend who is joining them for the week, in all of his tall, blonde, extroverted glory. Graham doesn’t believe Summer needs a husband in order to break free from her parents. He thinks she just needs a little bit of nerve. And to Summer’s introverted horror, he’s willing to spend the entire week proving that he’s right.
A Gathering Storm
Sheena Lambert - 2012
So why does she spend every January 20th crying like her heart might break? As everyone around her appears to be moving on with their lives, Christine wears her past like a pair of concrete shoes. Can nothing, or nobody help her shake them? Mark Harrington thought he had all he ever wanted. Head of the bank's Irish operations, he has the career, the house and the relationship any man would wish for. But when his seemingly perfectly planned life suddenly strays totally off course, Mark is confronted with the fact that he isn't actually in control at all... The story of two people, each floundering in their own lives, who might just be able to save one another.
In Between
Jenny B. Jones - 2007
With her mom in prison, and her father AWOL, Katie is sent to live with a squeaky-clean family who could have their own sitcom. She launches a full-scale plan to get sent back to the girls’ home when she finds herself in over her head...and heart. When Katie and her new "wrong crowd" get into significant trouble at school, she finds her punishment is restoring a historic theater with a crazy grandma who goes by the name of Mad Maxine. In the midst of her punishment, Katie uncovers family secrets that run deep, and realizes she's not the only one with a pain-filled past. Katie must decide if she'll continue her own family’s messed up legacy or embrace a new beginning in this place called In Between.
Flirty Thirty
Cassie Mae - 2016
But when a shirtless god jogs down your street, grabs your face, and kisses you… you kiss that man back! Cooper is on a mission to find the love of his life, and he’s gotten desperate. Over thirty years old with more money than he could spend in his lifetime, he’s ready to spoil and love his soul mate. After hiring the beautiful woman he kissed on the street as his realtor, he’s convinced that fate has led him to her. Maya doesn’t buy into fate and definitely doesn’t want something serious. She’s not ready to become one of her baggy-eyed friends who all have two or more kids and one or less husband. But when Cooper challenges her to a week of living the married life, Maya dives in headfirst thinking she’s sure to prove that singlehood is really the way to go, even if she does end up falling head over heels.
You Had Me At Hello
Mhairi McFarlane - 2012
Ben and Rachel. It was them against the world. Until it all fell apart.It’s been a decade since they last spoke, but when Rachel bumps into Ben one rainy day, the years melt away.From the moment they met they’d been a gang of two; partners in crime and the best of friends. But life has moved on. Ben is married. Rachel is definitely not. In fact, the men in her life make her want to take holy orders…Yet in that split second, Rachel feels the old friendship return. And along with it, the broken heart she’s never been able to mend.If you love David Nicholls and Lisa Jewell then this is the book for you. Hilarious, heartbreaking and everything in between, you’ll be hooked from their first ‘hello’.
Come Home to Me
Jessica Scott - 2014
But Captain Samantha Egan has come back from the war a different woman than the one who left - and she doesn't know if she can love him anymore.But neither of them counted on the determination of a little girl they both call daughter and if Natalie has her wish, her parents may have no idea what's coming for them. It's going to take Christmas miracle to bring these two wounded warriors back from the edge of a broken heart.This story has been featured in Home For Christmas: A Holiday Duet with JoAnn Ross.
Burning Moon
Jo Watson - 2013
#beenthere Lilly Swanson has been planning her perfect life since she was twelve years old: Meet Mr. Right, have the big white wedding, buy a house in the burbs, and raise 2.5 picture-perfect kids. However, when her fiance bails, leaving Lilly alone at the altar to face five hundred gossipy guests, her dream turns into a nightmare. But then Lilly makes an impulsive decision---she ditches the dress, grabs her passport, and heads off to Thailand to spend her honeymoon alone. Or so she thinks . . . Because Lilly quickly learns that everything in Thailand is very hot: the weather, the merchandise, and especially Damien---the sexy, spontaneous man she meets before her feet even hit the sand. Now with no plan, and nothing holding her back, Lilly lets Damien lead her on a wild, unpredictable ride to the world's most exclusive party, Burning Moon. But after a week of letting go, indulging her every impulse and desire, Lilly must go back to the girl she used to be. Or can Damien convince her that their party doesn't have to end? "Top Pick! Almost a Bride put a smile on my face more than once. The dialogue was witty, the words were well-written and the heroine was one-of-a-kind." -- Harlequin Junkie
The Grave Man
David Archer - 2015
Sam Prichard was a cop, and a good one, until the bullets took out the joint of his right hip. Now he's trying to learn to live without being a cop, and getting to know his neighbors, learning to walk again and even ride a motorcycle. Life is bearable, barely, but then he gets asked to find a missing child, and the lure of getting back into some kind of police work is too much for him to resist. When he teams up with computer whiz Indiana Perkins, he suddenly becomes one of the best investigators he's ever even known. Now, he's found the missing child, but it's thrown him right into the middle of something that may be a drug war--or could be a chance to stop the next 911! There's no way out for Sam, so he's in for the ride of his life, but when the girl he's becoming fond of is suddenly drawn into the line of fire with her own little daughter, Sam is ready to forget all the rules and do whatever is necessary to win the day.
High Tide
Maureen A. Miller - 2010
U.S. Geological Survey expert, Nick McCord, cannot account for the strange phenomenons plaguing the Windward coast of Oahu. Breaking waves on a windless shore. Dead fish washing up on the sand. The only viable culprit for these anomalies is the new housing development, Manale Palms, and its attractive contractor, Briana Holt. Try as he might to find blame with Briana and her site, the truth remains a mystery. Briana Holt portrays herself to the outside world as a woman in charge. In reality she is burdened with insecurities, and one of those insecurities is over six-feet tall. Intent on defending her property from Nick's suspicions, she starts to dig deep into the peculiar episodes along the coast. Nick and Briana's mutual curiosity makes them allies, and their mutual attraction makes them lovers. Now, as they narrow in on the source of the mystery, they find themselves in a struggle to protect the coast...and their lives.
Written for You
Joseph Cognard - 2013
He didn’t just wake up one morning with the idea. Or did he? Well at least working in a publishing company he should have no problem finding people to read it. Or will he? Read along as this dark comedic play moves quickly to an epic conclusion. Will you enjoy reading a play? Of course you will don’t forget it is and will always be Written for You.
The Thought Readers
Dima Zales - 2014
Everyone thinks I’m a genius. Everyone is wrong. Sure, I finished Harvard at eighteen and now make crazy money at a hedge fund. But that’s not because I’m unusually smart or hard-working. It’s because I cheat. You see, I have a unique ability. I can go outside time into my own personal version of reality—the place I call “the Quiet”—where I can explore my surroundings while the rest of the world stands still. I thought I was the only one who could do this—until I met her. My name is Darren, and this is how I became entangled with all the Russians and learned that I’m a Reader.
I Thought You Said This Would Work
Ann Wertz Garvin - 2021
It’s for the best. Samantha prefers to avoid conflict. The blisteringly honest Holly craves it. What they still have in common puts them both back on speed dial: a mutual love for Katie, their best friend of twenty-five years, now hospitalized with cancer and needing one little errand from her old college roomies.It’s simple: travel cross-country together, steal her loathsome ex-husband’s VW camper, find Katie’s diabetic Great Pyrenees at a Utah rescue, and drive him back home to Wisconsin. If it’ll make Katie happy, no favor is too big (one hundred pounds), too daunting (two thousand miles), or too illegal (ish), even when a boho D-list celebrity hitches a ride and drives the road trip in fresh directions.Samantha and Holly are following every new turn—toward second chances, unexpected romance, and self-discovery—and finally blowing the dust off the secret that broke their friendship. On the open road, they’ll try to put it back together—for themselves, and especially for the love of Katie.
A Mother's Choice
Kristin Noel Fischer - 2014
When a letter arrives threatening to reveal the truth that could destroy her tight-knit family, Nadine embarks on a difficult journey to explain her painful decision, especially to her youngest daughter, Autumn.Meanwhile, Autumn Anderson, Speech Pathologist and mother of two, is struggling in her marriage. The discovery of a troubling letter addressed to her mother disrupts her already complicated life, leading Autumn to question what she’s always believed. When the unthinkable happens, Autumn digs deeper into her family’s past and unravels a tangled web of lies and deception surrounding her own birth. Meeting the one person her mother entrusted with her secret brings Autumn face-to-face with an unexpected and shocking revelation.A Mother’s Choice is a fast-paced, uplifting, emotional read, full of family drama, love, hope, and forgiveness.
The Last Protector
Simon Gervais - 2021
These missions may not be quite as exciting as his time in the military, but Clayton’s okay with that. It gives him more time to see his girlfriend, Veronica Hammond—an archaeologist who also happens to be the vice president elect’s daughter.But Clayton’s seemingly manageable new routine takes a startling turn when South African mercenaries target Veronica at an awards gala celebrating her work. After this attempt on Veronica’s life, Clayton enters a complicated web of lies, betrayal, and dangerous government secrets.As Clayton gets closer to the truth, he encounters unexpected foes pitted against questionable allies. With enemies at every turn, the only constant Clayton can rely on is Veronica. But when the threat against her turns on him, too, he faces an impossible choice: love or country.
A Perfect Mess
Zoe Dawson - 2012
He was always the unpredictable one, the one who would be brash enough to make it big self-publishing horror novels on the internet. He promised never to tell, but everyone knows you can never trust an Outlaw.Then a year later, in the middle of the night, she receives a phone call at Tulane. Her aunt, who took her in after her mother’s death, is in a coma under suspicious circumstances. Now she has to face that one person who knows all about what she did that summer—sexy Booker. Returning to Hope Parish to be with her aunt, stirs up all those ugly memories. When Aubree starts getting threats, she can’t help but wonder if what she did last summer was tied to her aunt’s “accident.” Afraid, she turns to the only person who knows the truth and Booker doesn’t hesitate to offer his broad shoulder for her to lean on. But Booker has a secret of his own that could crush their fledgling relationship.As the hot, sultry summer days move on, she finds that even a perfectly smart girl can lose her heart to a perfectly bad boy. What is she going to do when someone starts asking questions Aubree doesn’t want to answer? She’s knee deep into a terribly dangerous, wholly life changing, who-can-she-really-depend-on perfect mess.A Perfect Series: Three perfect girls, three perfect secrets, one unholy trinityA Perfect Mess, Book #1 – the girl most likely to succeed, an unpredictable Outlaw, and a dangerous secret that could be the death of her.A Perfect Mistake, Book #2 – A preacher’s daughter, a reckless Outlaw, and a secret that will change her life forever.A Perfect Dilemma, Book #3 – The town’s poor little rich girl, a sweet-talking Outlaw, and a secret that will ruin all that she holds dear