Book picks similar to
Life is a Cabernet: A Companion Wine Novella to The Winemakers by Jan Moran
romance
chick-lit
ebook
novella
Lost and Found in Paris
Lian Dolan
Her artist father died on 9/11, and Joan--an art historian by training--has spent more than a decade maintaining his legacy. Life in the art world is beginning to wear on her--and then one fateful afternoon her husband drops a bombshell: he's fathered twins with another woman.Furious but secretly pleased to have a reason to blow up her life, Joan impulsively decides to get out of town, booking a last-minute trip to Paris as an art courier: the person museums hire to fly valuable works of art to potential clients, discreetly stowed in their carry-on luggage. Sipping her champagne in business-class, she chats up her seatmate, Nate, a good-looking tech nerd who invites her to dinner in Paris. He doesn't know she's carrying drawings worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.But after a romantic dinner and an even more romantic night together, Joan wakes up next to her new lover to discover the drawings gone. Even more shocking is what's been left in their place: a sketch from her father's journals, which she thought had been lost when he died on 9/11, and a poem that reads like a treasure hunt.With Nate as a sidekick, Joan will follow the clues all over Paris--from its grand cathedrals to the romantic bistros to the twisty side streets of Monmarte--hoping to recover the lost art, and her own sense of adventure. What she finds is even better than she'd expected.
The Friday Night Date Dress
Talena Winters - 2015
but who will mend her damaged heart?
Tragic loss has made Melinda Myers invisible. She hides as a nondescript waitress at an average diner during the day. But each night, she sews runway masterpieces that she wears only once before putting them into a box forever.Peter Surati, an aspiring photographer, can't help but notice beautiful, sad Melinda. He makes it his mission to help her find her smile again. But his meddling sister seems determined to ruin any chance he has to help Melinda. Can he find a way to mend her damaged heart?A humorous, wonderfully heartwarming and inspiring read.About the AuthorTalena Winters loves tea, travel, music, whole food, sewing, knitting, reading, and chocolate. Besides fiction, she also writes a blog, knitting patterns, freelance articles, and musical theatre (among other genres of music). She currently resides on an acreage in the Peace Country of northern Alberta, Canada, with her husband, three surviving boys, a Golden Retriever named Sunshine, and an assortment of farm cats and chickens. She would love to be a mermaid when she grows up.
Flying by the Seat of My Knickers
Eliza Watson - 2016
NOT a cozy mystery series.Why run from your troubles when you can fly instead?When Caity Shaw is fired from her first job that doesn't require an elf uniform, her older sister, Rachel, an event planner, hires her to work a meeting in Dublin. Caity jumps at the opportunity to travel abroad and escape her pathetic life. However, even four thousand miles from home, there's no avoiding debt collectors, an overbearing mother, and haunting memories of a controlling ex.While in Dublin, Caity suffers a series of humiliating mishaps, causing her to lose even more faith in herself. Caity struggles to earn Rachel's respect--and to keep Declan, her hot Irish coworker, at arm's length. Declan repeatedly saves Caity's butt and helps boost her self-confidence, making it difficult to keep her distance from the charming womanizer. When Declan helps her research her Irish grandmother, Caity discovers the mysterious past of the courageous woman she barely knew might hold the answers to her future.
Secrets
Kristen Heitzmann - 2004
What happened all those years ago, and what is it she so desperately needs him to find? The old villa in Sonoma holds the answers, but it is now owned by a young woman who neither knows nor cares about his mission. But Rese Barret is a force to contend with, and her own impending storm could sweep him up as their sparring creates a fierce and uncomfortable attraction. From bestselling author Kristen Heitzmann.
The Other Side of Gemini
LG McCann - 2014
But things are far from perfect. When the New York Post catches James with an intern, Sylvia’s already precarious life comes crashing down.Lindsay Sekulich is a high school science teacher, wife, and mother of three in the suburbs of Phoenix, Arizona. Her high school reunion is quickly approaching and that means the secrets of her bad-girl past, all of which she’s kept hidden from her husband, could come spilling out, revealing who she once was and the horrible things she’s done.When Sylvia emerges in Scottsdale, seeking refuge in her hometown from the relentless gossip blogs, Lindsay finds herself alternately elated and terrified. The two were inseparable as teens, but a tragedy just before their senior year tore them apart. Sylvia, once a carefree, joyful girl always up for adventure, is a beaten down and broken adult. Now Lindsay must make a choice: rescue the friend who saved her in high school, or keep it all hidden to save her marriage from almost certain destruction.
Love, Lies & Consequences
Natasha D. Frazier - 2015
He tells her everything that he thinks she wants and needs to hear—including his desire to marry her! Rico’s smooth manner challenges Raegan’s character and puts to the test what she says she believes. Just when she thinks that Rico could be the one, Caleb, her old college love, returns to her life. And now that he’s back, he has no intent on being without her. Raegan gets caught up in a whirlwind romance, filled with Love, Lies & Consequences that will turn her world upside down.∞Meanwhile, Raegan’s good friend Tammy has choices of her own to make. Tammy filed for legal separation from Joshua, NBA rookie, who was sure to have a promising career, only one year after they got married. Joshua loved basketball and Tammy felt like there was no room in his life for both her and his career. Life has now given them a second chance to reunite. Has she matured beyond her selfish ways? Is Joshua ready to pursue both basketball and his wife? It just may take a brush with death to remind them that it is high time to become the husband and wife they vowed to be.
Always With You
Andrea Hurst - 2014
Since the devastating failure of her short-lived marriage, Cathy has buried herself in her work and kept men at an arm’s length. But after Pam and Jamie arrive at Cathy’s door for a short stay, Cathy’s stone walls begin to crumble when she meets Jamie. Jamie, whose compassion and warmth slowly break down her defenses. Jamie, whose devotion to his four-year-old daughter melts Cathy's heart and makes her desperate for a family of her own. Jamie… who is married to Cathy's high school friend.A profound love that transcends time and place is impossible to resist. But is love more important than friendship? Are loyalty and fidelity the foundation or the anchor? In the end, it’s all about choices – tough ones that can break hearts. And now Cathy must make the most difficult choice of her life.
Vada Faith
Barbara A. Whittington - 2012
She's always wanted to be known as "somebody.” Somebody besides a high school beauty queen in the small town of Shady Creek, West Virginia. Somebody besides the wife of football hero, John "Wasper" Waddell. More than the mother of twins. More than the town’s most sought after beautician, in the shop she owns with her twin sister, Joy Ruth. She's tired of living in the run down Victorian home her husband inherited from his Grandma Belle, even if Eleanor Roosevelt might have once sat in the wicker chair still on their front porch. Vada Faith longs for a new home in the fancy subdivision of Crystal Springs. Then, Roy and Dottie Kilgore swoop into town, wanting a child of their own, and bringing money to burn.In going after her own dreams, Vada Faith nearly destroys the lives of those she loves.
The Port Elspeth Jewelry Making Club
Holly Tierney-Bedord - 2018
It's been five years since the idyllic oceanside town of Port Elspeth was rocked by tragedy. Shortly after their high school graduation, Evangeline Maddingly, daughter of one of the town's wealthiest old-money families, and Oliver Prescott, son of one of the town's wealthiest new-money families, were found dead in an isolated cabin in the woods outside of town. The circumstances surrounding their untimely deaths are murky at best, thanks in large part to a coroner with connections to the town's founding families and a sweeping effort from those in power to shut down any negative publicity that could harm the reputation of their pristine community.Five years later, a small group of strangers gather to create jewelry for one of Port Elspeth's many fundraisers. Before long, friendships are forming and old secrets are being revealed. Along with solving the mystery of how to make a perfect pair of chandelier earrings or cabochon necklace, these unlikely friends find themselves at the heart of solving the murders that took place half a decade earlier.
Emma
Ashley Merrick - 2014
She and her group of girlfriends, who all met in the orphanage, are barely getting by, working as nannies, cooks, and live-in maids for rich families. When Emma's employer, Gerald, threatens her with losing her job if she doesn't submit to his very unwanted advances, she stumbles onto an opportunity to be a mail-order bride and decides that couldn't possibly be worse. Except that the groom in question had no idea that his brother sent for a wife. When Emma shows up, at the train station in Bozeman, MT, it's her groom's brother, Joshua that is there to greet her. As it turns out, Ethan is furious that his brother went behind his back and sent for a wife. He's still grieving from the unexpected death of his wife Allison only a year earlier, and spends all his time when he's not working, being a good dad to his only child, Emily, who is three. Montana is hugely different from Boston, and Emma is surprised that she immediately falls in love with the area. Though taken aback at first to discover that Ethan wasn't aware that she was coming, she's secretly relieved to have a little time to get to know him and her new home. She is also quite fascinated by his family. Ethan is the oldest of ten, and eight of them are brothers, and except for Joshua, all are single. Emma has an urge to play matchmaker, and in book two, her best friend, Julia comes West to meet the brothers.
Mark of the Loon
Molly Greene - 2012
She struggles with the inability to put down roots years after the sudden death of her beloved parents. Madison and her three wise, hilarious friends all wonder if she uses her busy, work-centric lifestyle as an excuse to avoid connection with anyone but them.When Madison checks out a probate sale outside Healdsburg, California, she falls in love with the European-style house on a private tract of land overlooking Lake Sonoma. In fact, she likes the place so much she climbs in the window for a private tour. With help from lawyer and friend Genevieve Delacourt, Madison soon learns that the estate’s corrupt attorney has manipulated the sale and is attempting to steer the purchase to an anonymous client in a deceitful plan for personal gain.Good fortune enables her to purchase the Blackburne’s property, but far more than a new home and lush gardens await discovery during this renovation. As Madison works on the remodel, she’s drawn into an old love story with dangerous consequences. In the process, she discovers herself as she unearths buried secrets. The series of events both endanger Madison and lead her to love – and a permanent home. Mark of the Loon is the skillful combination of history, mystery, and romance in a novel that explores deep friendship, choices, and how individuals cope with loss.
Drawing Lessons
Julia Gabriel - 2015
One that isn't an insta-love relationship, it builds with each lesson, making it much more romantic ... There are twists and turns in this story that one will not expect, which is a delightful surprise. Ms. Gabriel does an amazing job of making the reader want to turn every page and savor it." -- InD'Tale Magazine"Gabriel paints white-hot sex scenes."-- Kirkus ReviewsWhen you're enrolled in the school of hard knocks ...Marie Witherspoon can't catch a break. She's been dumped by her husband—a rising political star in Washington, DC—and humiliated by his gossip blogger mistress. Just when she's picked herself up and dusted herself off, her ex changes his mind and calls off the divorce.Falling in love with your teacher can't possibly make things any worse.There's just one hitch. Marie has rekindled an old hobby and her relationship with her new drawing teacher, French artist Luc Marchand, is way past the point of no return. With her heart on the line, she's prepared to do anything to keep from returning to her old life.Or can it?It's been twelve long years since Luc Marchand's life was shattered by a former student. Forced out of academia, he's walled off his heart and his career. Now he has a chance to revive both—if his past doesn't destroy everything for Luc and Marie.
Surfside Sisters
Nancy Thayer - 2019
Keely Green always dreamed of leaving the beautiful shores of Nantucket to become a writer. Now she’s a bestselling novelist living in New York City, attending glamorous cocktail parties and mingling with the literary elite. Keely is also dating a charming, perfectly fine pediatric surgeon who looks good on paper but isn’t “the one.” She just can’t bear to break it off—until he declares his desire to settle down. Then Keely’s editor rejects her latest novel. With her personal and professional lives suddenly in shambles, Keely longs for the soothing island way of life.Growing up, Keely and her best friend, Isabelle, were inseparable. Nothing could come between them—except, as it turned out, Keely’s high school boyfriend, Tommy. Returning home would mean facing Isabelle’s bitter betrayal and seeing for herself the family Tommy and Isabelle have created, the life that might have been Keely’s.But when Keely’s mother falls into a deep depression, Keely knows what she must do, even though she is reluctant to face her estranged friend. And encountering Isabelle’s older brother, Sebastian—Keely’s longtime crush—only complicates things.In one incredible summer, Keely must confront the mistakes of the past if she has any chance of finding true happiness in the place she will always call home. Nancy Thayer shines yet again in this uplifting tale of forgiveness and self-discovery.
Heiress
Susan May Warren - 2011
But what if they want only to be loved--without an enormous price tag attached? When one daughter pursues a desirable marriage, she secures for herself a comfortable and glamorous life. But among the duties of privilege, will she also find the happily-ever-after she seeks? Her sister rejects the trappings of wealth, choosing instead to build a new life on the still-untamed frontier. Will she find happiness in independence or discover that she's left her heart behind in New York's glittering society? Set in the opulent world of the Gilded Age, each woman discovers that being an heiress just might cost her everything--including the chance for true love.
Monday: Sweet Romance (Sweet and Timeless Book 1)
Lily Rose - 2017
L. Todd's steamy contemporary romance novel Monday. This story is the same as the contemporary romance and conveys all the passion of the original book without any explicit scenes or harsh language. I don’t believe in destiny. In fate. Or in soul mates. But I believe in Hawke. My life has never been whole since my parents left forever. I have my brother, someone I can barely tolerate most of the time, and I have my best friend, Marie. And I have myself. But when Hawke walks into my life, there’s an immediate connection. Our eyes lock and an unspoken conversation is exchanged. For the first time in my life, I actually feel something. But he doesn’t. He keeps me at arm’s length and pretends there’s nothing between us when there clearly is. I’m not the kind of girl to wait around for any guy, so I don’t. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t in the back of my mind. Our paths cross again in a way neither one of us expect and it changes everything. Was it destiny that made it happen? Was it fate? Or was it something else?