Book picks similar to
Dreaming of a Stranger by Sheila O'Flanagan
chick-lit
sheila-o-flanagan
fiction
romance
Always and Forever
Cathy Kelly - 2004
There's Mel, a compulsively ambitious mother/publicity manager at a high-powered PR firm living proof that balancing motherhood and a full-time job is no walk in the park. The hot-headed, indomitable Cleo, just out of college with a degree in hotel management, would like nothing better than to modernize and revive her family's dwindling hotel but faces a constant battle with her old-fashioned parents. And finally, there's the stylish, sweet-tempered Daisy, a self-consciously curvy fashion buyer for an upscale clothing boutique, who has been struggling and longing to have a baby with her absolutely perfect boyfriend. Although unconnected, these three women have one thing in common: they all need a break from their stressful lives.
...these tough gals hit the nearest spa!
So each one sets out for a little R & R at the new Clouds Hill spa, built by an American woman with her own secret turmoil. It is there that Mel, Cleo, and Daisy meet their worlds and troubles colliding forming an intimate bond that helps them to realize what matters most in life, always and forever.
If You Could See Me Now
Cecelia Ahern - 2005
I Love You and Love, Rosie, Cecelia Ahern, comes an enchanting novel that leads you to wonder if Not Seeing is believing!Readers and critics alike adore Cecelia Ahern for her lighthearted yet insightful stories about modern women and their often unusual situations. In If You Could See Me Now, she takes that theme a step further, offering us a heroine who is entirely believable, and the new man in her life who is, well, slightly less so.Elizabeth Egan's life runs on order: Both her home and her emotions are arranged just so, with little room for spontaneity. It's how she counteracts the chaos of her family—an alcoholic mother who left when she was young, an emotionally distant father, and a free-spirited sister, who seems to be following in their mother's footsteps, leaving her own six-year-old son, Luke, in Elizabeth's care.When Ivan, Luke's mysterious new grown-up friend, enters the picture, Elizabeth doesnt know quite what to make of him. With his penchant for adventure and colorful take on things large and small, Ivan opens Elizabeth's eyes to a whole new way of living. But is it for real? Is Ivan for real?If You Could See Me Now is a love story with heart—and just a touch of magic.
The Brightest Star in the Sky
Marian Keyes - 2009
. . In the top-floor flat lives music exec Katie. She spends her days fighting off has-been rock stars and wondering how much cheesecake you'd need to eat yourself to death. Below her, a pair of muscular Poles share with a streetwise cabbie named Lydia, who has a sharp tongue, an even sharper brain but some unexpected soft spots. On the first floor is Fionn - a gardener who prefers the company of parsnips to people. But he looks like a fairy-tale prince and when he's offered his own television show, he's suddenly thrust into the limelight. And at the bottom of the house live Matt and Maeve, who are Very Much In Love and who stave off despair by doing random acts of kindness. But a mysterious visitor has just landed at 66 Star Street, bringing love, friendship and heartbreak, and a new-found optimism. Old secrets are working their way to the surface and all their lives are about to change in the most unexpected of ways . . .
Minding Frankie
Maeve Binchy - 2010
But as a single father battling demons of his own, Noel can’t do it alone. Fortunately, he has a competent, caring network of friends, family and neighbors: Lisa, his unlucky-in-love classmate, who moves in with him to help him care for little Frankie around the clock; his American cousin, Emily, always there with a pep talk; the newly retired Dr. Hat, with more time on his hands than he knows what to do with; Dr. Declan and Fiona and their baby son, Frankie’s first friend; and many eager babysitters, including old friends Signora and Aidan and Frankie’s doting grandparents, Josie and Charles. But not everyone is pleased with the unconventional arrangement, especially a nosy social worker, Moira, who is convinced that Frankie would be better off in a foster home. Now it’s up to Noel to persuade her that everyone in town has something special to offer when it comes to minding Frankie.
Expecting Emily
Clare Dowling - 2001
She is 34 weeks pregnant, her ankles are swollen, her hair is falling out and she's worried about the baby. Now she's been passed over for partnership in the firm of solicitors where she puts in more than 48 hours a week. And if that weren't enough it looks as if her husband, the piano-playing Conor, may have been running his fingers over more than the ivories while on tour in Germany.Depressed, demoted and about to deliver, Emily's not going to take this lying down...
The Secrets We Keep
Colette Caddle - 2000
The Gatehouse attracts a strange clutch of guests who, once ensconced, never want to leave. There's Hazel, a shy artist, and her sweet, silent daughter Gracie. Sandra, a brash American, wants to know everything about everyone. Then there's wise old easy-going PJ, who's seemingly part of the furniture. But Erin's fragile happiness is thrown off-balance by the arrival of A-list Hollywood actor Sebastian Grey. Erin finds herself drawn to this handsome enigmatic man, who used to walk with a swagger but now prowls the country lanes with haunted eyes. What trauma could have brought about this devastating change? Sebastian isn't the only one in the Gatehouse with a secret. Why is Hazel cast so adrift? Where does PJ go each week without fail, and what really brought Sandra to Dunbarra? As Erin finds herself embroiled in her guests' secrets she starts to ask herself: will she be ready to reveal her own?
Finishing Touches
Patricia Scanlan - 1992
Cassie put her life on hold to attend to her family's needs while Laura and Aileen soared in their careers. Now they were together again as Cassie dared to start her own business and make her impossible dream come true.
Born In Trilogy Collection
Nora Roberts - 1994
One man has seen the soul in her art, and vows to help this complex woman build a lucrative career. When gallery owner Rogan Sweeney comes to Maggie's isolated studio, her heart is enflamed by their fierce attraction - and her scarred past is slowly healed by a gentle and forgiving love. BORN IN ICE When the harsh storms of winter descend upon western Ireland, the locals stay indoors - and visitors stay away. Brianna Concannon's bed-and-breakfast becomes a cold and empty place. And that's fine with Brianna. She enjoys the peace and quiet, even when icy winds howl at her window. This year, though, she's expecting an unusual guest - mystery writer Grayson Thane - from America. A restless wanderer with a dark past, he plans to spend the cold winter alone. Yet sometimes fate has a plan of its own. Sometimes a fire can be born in ice . . . BORN IN SHAME Shannon Bodine is a talented graphic artist whose life revolves around her job at a prestigious New York advertising agency. Her world is turned upside down when she learns the identity of her real father: Thomas Concannon. Respecting her late mother's wish, Shannon travels, however reluctantly, to County Clare. There, her loneliness and shame melt away in the embrace of the family she never knew existed. And amid the lush Irish landscape, steeped in mysticism and legend, she discovers the possibility of a love that is meant to be.
The Wedding
Danielle Steel - 2000
They have defied the Hollywood cliché and stayed together for decades. Their three children--teenage aspiring model Samantha, pre-med student Scott, and entertainment lawyer Allegra--are successful and happy. Allegra, as an attorney to the stars, has a career that consumes so much of her energy that she has little time for a private life--until a chance encounter with a New York writer turns her life upside down. Suddenly, she finds herself planning a wedding at her parents' Bel Air home.As preparations begin, the chaos of last-minute arrangements, surprise announcements and ever-increasing anxiety brings out both the best and the worst in everyone. But while couples in each generation of the Steinberg family struggle with broken vows and new hopes, the real meaning of Allegra's wedding emerges. It is a bridge between the past and the future, an opportunity for reconciliation, forgiveness and new hope for the future--as weddings often are for us all.
The Horse Dancer
Jojo Moyes - 2009
But then her grandfather falls ill, and Sarah must juggle horsemanship with school and hospital visits.Natasha, a young lawyer, is reeling after her failed marriage: her professional judgment is being questioned, her new boyfriend is a let-down, and she's forced to share her house with her charismatic ex-husband. Yet when the willful fourteen-year-old Sarah lands in her path, Natasha decides to take the girl under her wing.But Sarah is keeping a secret--a secret that will change the lives of everyone involved forever.
Greetings from Somewhere Else
Monica McInerney - 2003
But her life truly threatens to spin out of control when her aunt May, who owns a B&B in Ireland, passes away. In order for the Byrnes to collect their inheritance, someone from the family must take over Aunt May’s business for a year. And apparently that someone is Lainey.Between running a run-down, virtually guest-free B&B (without the slightest ability to cook or clean), worrying about her family from afar, adjusting to country life, and dealing with the complications of long-distance love, Lainey is in way over her head. But when a reunion with a (gorgeous) childhood friend sparks unexpected complications, Lainey realizes that fate may have another path for her–a direction she never imagined.
To Have and to Hold
Jane Green - 2002
A charming twenty-eight-year-old with a successful catering business, she’s always dreamed of a rose-covered cottage in the English countryside, filled with children and animals and home-cooked meals. Her favorite attire is comfy jeans, her best manicure features garden dirt under the nails. But when her teenage crush—the wealthy, dashing man-about-town Joe Chambers—wants to make her his bride, Alice is more than willing to play Cinderella to Joe’s prince. Never mind that he wants her to change—a diet, ice-blond highlights, stilettos, snooty gallery openings—and that he’s allergic to nature and kids. She tells herself she’s happy to sacrifice for love, and besides, with Joe’s stunning good looks and high-profile career at a top financial firm, every woman in London wants to be in her shoes. But that’s just the problem. Despite Alice’s efforts to be the perfect wife, Joe soon reveals a penchant for being hopelessly unfaithful. When a notorious indiscretion with a female colleague forces Joe to transfer to New York, Alice’s life turns upside down. As Joe continues to sneak around, and her best friend’s beau offers a tempting glimpse of what real love could be like, Alice must decide how much Cinderella she can take before her deepest desires win out—and if she can summon up the courage to find real happiness on her own. Delicious, witty, and packed with sparkling sex appeal, To Have and To Hold is an unputdownable read that will have you rooting out loud for its endearing heroine. A #1 bestseller in Britain, this latest tale from the beloved, utterly winning Jane Green proves that the search for true love doesn’t always end when someone dons a veil, and offers a lively, refreshing take on modern marriage.
The Last Time They Met
Anita Shreve - 2001
Seen through the eyes of young Linda Fallon and the young man who loves her.Anita Shreve, the bestselling author of The Pilot's Wife, returns with a dazzling new novel about love, forgiveness, and paths not followed. Linda Fallon encounters her former lover, Thomas Janes, at a literary festival where both have been invited to give readings from their work. It has been years since their paths crossed, and in that time Thomas has become a kind of literary legend. His renown is enhanced by his elusiveness; for most of the past decade, he has remained in seclusion following a devastating loss. This is no chance meeting. Thomas learned that Linda was reading at the festival and chose this moment to reestablish contact with a woman he passionately pursued years earlier. Their affair was disastrous, and a turning point in both their lives. Neither the intensity of their relationship nor the damage it did has ever been far from his memory. From the moment they speak, The Last Time They Met unfolds the story of Linda and Thomas in an extraordinary way: it travels back into their past, bypassing layers of memory and interpretation to present their earlier encounters with unshakable immediacy. In Africa, when Linda and Thomas were twenty-seven, and in Massachusetts, when they were in high school, the novel re-creates love at its exhilarating pinnacle - the kind of intense connection that becomes the true north against which all relationships are measured. Moving backward through time, The Last Time They Met traces the extraordinary resonance a single choice, even a single word, can have over the course of a lifetime. At the same time, the novel creates an almost unbearable mystery, a mystery that can only be understood fully in the novel's final pages, in the eyes of young Linda Fallon and the young man who loves her. With a master's control of phrase, observation, emotion, and character, Anita Shreve has written a beautiful and unforgettable exploration of intimacy, loss, and lifelong desire.
Hope in a Jar
Beth Harbison - 2009
Throughout high school, they were inseparable…until a vicious rumor about Olivia— a rumor too close to the truth—ended their friendship. Now, on the eve of their twentieth high school reunion, Allie, a temp worker, finds herself suddenly single, a little chubby, and feeling old. Olivia, a cool and successful magazine beauty editor in New York, realizes she’s lonely, and is finally ready to face her demons. Sometimes hope lives in the future; sometimes it comes from the past; and sometimes, when every stupid thing goes wrong, it comes from a prettily packaged jar filled with scented cream and promises. Beth Harbison has done it again. A hilarious and touching novel about friendship, Love’s Baby Soft perfume, Watermelon Lip Smackers, bad run-ins with Sun-In, and the healing power of “Gee Your Hair Smells Terrific.” Hope in a Jar: we all need it.