Book picks similar to
Diary of an Unsmug Married by Polly James
chick-lit
netgalley
romance
gave-up-on
Finding Home
Jackie Weger - 1987
On the road with two siblings, twelve-year-old Maydean and five-year-old Willie-Boy, Phoebe is out of money, out of gas, and out of patience. The only things she owns in abundance are backbone and pride--neither of which she can trade for food or gas.A collision with Gage Morgan puts Phoebe's mission in even worse jeopardy--until Phoebe discovers Gage owns the perfect place for her clan. However, she soon discovers that Gage is the unlikeliest man in the universe to offer a helping hand.Phoebe wields all the country smarts she owns to worm her way into Gage's heart, but nothing works. With time running against her family, she plies one last inducement--her scarce feminine wiles.
Fix Her Up
Tessa Bailey - 2019
Frankly, she’s over it. Georgie loves planning children’s birthday parties and making people laugh, just not at her own expense. She’s determined to fix herself up into a Woman of the World... whatever that means.Phase one: new framework for her business (a website from this decade, perhaps?)Phase two: a gut-reno on her wardrobe (fyi, leggings are pants.)Phase three: updates to her exterior (do people still wax?)Phase four: put herself on the market (and stop crushing on Travis Ford!)Living her best life means facing the truth: Georgie hasn’t been on a date since, well, ever. Nobody’s asking the town clown out for a night of hot sex, that’s for sure. Maybe if people think she’s having a steamy love affair, they’ll acknowledge she’s not just the “little sister” who paints faces for a living. And who better to help demolish that image than the resident sports star and tabloid favorite?Travis Ford was major league baseball’s hottest rookie when an injury ended his career. Now he’s flipping houses to keep busy and trying to forget his glory days. But he can’t even cross the street without someone recapping his greatest hits. Or making a joke about his… bat. And then there's Georgie, his best friend’s sister, who is not a kid anymore. When she proposes a wild scheme—that they pretend to date, to shock her family and help him land a new job—he agrees. What’s the harm? It’s not like it’s real. But the girl Travis used to tease is now a funny, full-of-life woman and there’s nothing fake about how much he wants her...
Just My Type
Hannah Doyle - 2019
- The quirky/cool photographer to a superstar blogger - She's going on a date with a SUPER hot guy on the London Eye tonight - Best friend Mila is her wifey for life - This millennial is #LivingHerBestLife But fast-forward a few hours, and the reality isn't quite so picture perfect. Jasmine hates her stuck-up blogger boss. She can barely afford rent in her stupid London flat. Her best friend seems to have all her sh*t together. Oh, and that date she was so excited about? She got dumped. On the London Eye. In the middle of a thunderstorm. With a bunch of tourists watching... Best friend Mila decides that Jasmine needs a new 'type on paper', because Jasmine's current criteria is so off that her dating history is one long line-up of fools. So Mila challenges Jasmine to look once, if not twice, at the guys who wouldn't normally fit her 'type'. With nothing to lose, Jasmine accepts. Maybe, just maybe, she'll surprise herself.
Well Met
Jen DeLuca - 2019
Yet on the faire grounds he becomes a different person, flirting freely with Emily when she's in her revealing wench's costume. But is this attraction real, or just part of the characters they're portraying?This summer was only ever supposed to be a pit stop on the way to somewhere else for Emily, but soon she can't seem to shake the fantasy of establishing something more with Simon, or a permanent home of her own in Willow Creek.
Second First Impressions
Sally Thorne - 2021
Somewhere along the way, she’s forgotten that she’s young and beautiful, and that there’s a world outside of work—until she meets the son of the property developer who just acquired the retirement center.Teddy Prescott has spent the last few years partying, sleeping in late, tattooing himself when bored, and generally not taking life too seriously—something his father, who dreams of grooming Teddy into his successor, can’t understand. When Teddy needs a place to crash, his father seizes the chance to get him to grow up. He’ll let Teddy stay in one of the on-site cottages at the retirement home, but only if he works to earn his keep. Teddy agrees—he can change a few lightbulbs and clip some hedges, no sweat. But Ruthie has plans for Teddy too.Her two wealthiest and most eccentric residents have just placed an ad (yet another!) seeking a new personal assistant to torment. The women are ninety-year-old, four-foot-tall menaces, and not one of their assistants has lasted a full week. Offering up Teddy seems like a surefire way to get rid of the tall, handsome, unnerving man who won’t stop getting under her skin.Ruthie doesn’t count on the fact that in Teddy Prescott, the Biddies may have finally met their match. He’ll pick up Chanel gowns from the dry cleaner and cut Big Macs into bite-sized bits. He’ll do repairs around the property, make the residents laugh, and charm the entire villa. He might even remind Ruthie what it’s like to be young and fun again. But when she finds out Teddy’s father’s only fixing up the retirement home to sell it, putting everything she cares about in jeopardy, she’s left wondering if Teddy’s magic was all just a façade.From the USA Today bestselling author of The Hating Game and 99 Percent Mine comes the clever, funny, and unforgettable story of a muscular, tattooed man hired as an assistant to two old women—under the watchful eye of a beautiful retirement home manager.
The One Night
Meghan Quinn - 2021
At first, he’s skeptical. How could a gritty dive bar possibly solve his problems? But then he runs into Nora McHale.Nora isn’t at the bar looking for love. She’s there to unwind after yet another exhausting day at her bakery. And even if she were hoping to meet someone, it sure wouldn’t be Cooper—her best friend’s ex-husband.According to the unwritten rules of romance, Cooper and Nora are completely off limits to each other. But after a fun, flirty night at the bar, they can’t ignore the wild attraction between them.Is this the beginning of something real, or will their passionate night together be their one and only?
Love and Other Train Wrecks
Leah Konen - 2018
Two strangers.Noah is a hopeless romantic. He’s heading back home for one last chance with his first love, whom he broke up with when he went off to college.Ammy doesn’t believe in true love—her parents being prime examples. She’s escaping from a mom who can’t take care of her to a dad who may not even want her. That is, until one winter night when Noah and Ammy find themselves in the same Amtrak car heading to Upstate New York.After a train-wreck first encounter between the two of them, the Amtrak train suddenly breaks down due to a snowstorm. Desperate to make it to their destinations, Noah and Ammy have no other option but to travel together. What starts off as a minor detour turns into the whirlwind journey of a lifetime, and over the course of the night they fall in love. But come morning their adventure takes an unexpected turn for the worst. Can one night can really change how they feel about love...and the course of their lives forever?
Written in the Stars
Ali Harris - 2014
Forget big life ones, even everyday choices seem to paralyse her. She's learned to live with this because experience has taught her that it doesn't matter what you do, no one has the power to control destiny. Anyone who believes they can is a fool. But as her wedding day approaches, her years of indecision are weighing heavily on her, and she can't help but wonder, 'What if, what if, what if….' What if she hadn't upped sticks and moved to London? What if she hadn't grabbed the first job that came along and settled down with the first guy who showed an interest? But all of her questions are silenced when she slips while walking down the aisle and is knocked unconscious. In this split second her life splits into two: in one existence, Bea flees back down the aisle and out of the church. In the other she glides blissfully towards her intended. But which story will lead to her happily ever after?
738 Days
Stacey Kade - 2016
738 days later, she escaped. Her 20/20 interview is what everyone remembers—Amanda describing the room where she was kept, the torn poster of TV heartthrob Chase Henry on the wall. It reminded her of home and gave her the strength to keep fighting.Now, years later, Amanda is struggling to live normally. Her friends have gone on to college, while she battles PTSD. She’s not getting any better, and she fears that if something doesn’t change soon she never will.Six years ago, Chase Henry defied astronomical odds, won a coveted role on a new TV show, and was elevated to super-stardom. With it, came drugs, alcohol, arrests, and crazy spending sprees. Now he's sober and a Hollywood pariah, washed up at twenty-four.To revamp his image, Chase’s publicist comes up with a plan: surprise Amanda Grace with the chance to meet her hero, followed by a visit to the set of Chase’s new movie. The meeting is a disaster, but out of mutual desperation, Amanda and Chase strike a deal. What starts as a simple arrangement, though, rapidly becomes more complicated when they realize they need each other in more ways than one. But when the past resurfaces in a new threat, will they stand together or fall apart?
Sunshine After the Rain
Daisy James - 2017
Perfect for fans of Mandy Baggot, Christie Barlow and Zara Stoneley.A summer that changes everything…Frazzled workaholic Evie Johnson has finally had enough! When she’s blamed for a publicity disaster at the art gallery she loves, she decides to flee the bright lights of London for the sun-drenched shores of Corfu and turn her life upside-down.Under the shade of the olive trees, she picks up her dusty paintbrushes and begins to chase the dreams she had put aside for so long. But she never expected to bump into drop-dead-gorgeous Sam Bradbury – and certainly not whilst wrapped only in a towel!A summer fling is the last thing Evie wanted but a few stolen kisses under the stars might just begin to change her mind…
All Fall Down
Jennifer Weiner - 2014
But while waiting in the pediatrician’s office, she opens a magazine to a quiz about addiction and starts to wonder…Is a Percocet at the end of the day really different from a glass of wine? Is it such a bad thing to pop a Vicodin after a brutal Jump & Pump class…or if your husband ignores you?The pills help her manage the realities of her good-looking life: that her husband is distant, that her daughter is acting out, that her father’s Alzheimer’s is worsening and her mother is barely managing to cope. She tells herself that they let her make it through her days…but what if her increasing drug use, a habit that’s becoming expensive and hard to hide, is turning into her biggest problem of all?With a sparkling comedic touch and a cast of unforgettable characters, this remarkable story of a woman’s slide into addiction and struggle to find her way back up again is Jennifer Weiner’s most masterful work yet.
Harvesting the Heart
Jodi Picoult - 1993
Now, having left her father behind in Chicago for dreams of art school and marriage to an ambitious young doctor, she finds herself with a child of her own. But her mother's absence and shameful memories of her past force her to doubt whether she could ever be capable of bringing joy and meaning into the life of her child, gifts her own mother never gave.Harvesting the Heart is written with astonishing clarity and evocative detail, convincing in its depiction of emotional pain, love, and vulnerability, and recalls the writing of Alice Hoffman and Kristin Hannah. Out of Paige's struggle to find wholeness, Jodi Picoult crafts an absorbing novel peopled by richly drawn characters, and explores motherhood with a power and depth only she is capable of.“A brilliant, moving examination of motherhood, brimming with detail and emotion.” —Richmond Times-Dispatch“Jodi Picoult explores the fragile ground of ambivalent motherhood in her lush second novel. This story belongs to… the lucky reader.” —The New York Times Book Review
Christmas Camp
Karen Schaler - 2018
Over the years, she’s sacrificed her personal life to climb the corporate ladder at a prestigious Boston advertising agency. Now she just needs to land a coveted Christmas toy company account to make partner. But first, her boss, Larry, thinks she needs a holiday attitude adjustment, so he ships her off to a Christmas Camp at Holly Peak Inn to help her find her Christmas spirit.Arriving at the charming mountainside inn, Haley meets the owner’s handsome son, Jeff, and feels an instant spark, but resists the attraction, refusing to be distracted from her goal of doing all the required Christmas tasks as fast as possible so she can get back to work.At first Haley struggles with all the traditional Christmas Camp activities. It’s not until she finally allows herself to slow down, live in the moment, and let Christmas back into her heart, that she begins to grow closer to Jeff. But when he finds out Haley’s come up with a plan to help his dad save the struggling inn while he’s been trying to convince his dad to sell it, their relationship takes a serious holiday hit. Now it will take the magic of the season to bring these two hearts together.
As Greek as It Gets
Sue Roberts - 2020
From her dead-end job to her straight-up-dead houseplants, her life hasn’t exactly turned out how she imagined, so she can’t wait to start some wedding planning. But the intimate affair she imagined soon grows wildly out of control, along with Alice’s doubts. Just as things reach breaking point between the couple, Alice’s best friend whisks her away for an escape to a sun-kissed Greek island. Sandy beaches, crystal clear waters and a cocktail – or three – and Alice soon finds herself letting loose and relaxing into the Greek way of life. When she visits a gorgeous village nestled in the hilltops overlooking the sea, and meets a friendly local woman with a very special business – and a very handsome son – Alice is surprised by how drawn she feels to these people and this life. As the sun sets on her Greek holiday, Alice knows she has some big decisions to make. Will finding herself mean losing the life she had planned? Or could it be the start of something else entirely? A feel-good read perfect for fans of Carole Matthews, Jenny Colgan and Sophie Kinsella. Readers adore Sue Roberts’ escapist reads: ‘I absolutely LOVED, no make that ADORED reading it… I was hooked… I stayed up reading the book until the early hours of the morning.’ Ginger Book Geek, 5 stars ‘Oh my God!!!!… I really loved this book… so good and sweet that it is very hard to leave behind.’ The Nerdy Bookarazzi ‘Makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside… Had all of Sue Roberts’ usual banter and warmth… A perfect summer read.’ The Cosiest Corner ‘Fantastic! Stayed up late to finish it. Great summer read.’ Netgalley Reviewer, 5 stars ‘So delightfully funny that I found myself laughing out loud… A lovely heart-warming romantic comedy… Would definitely recommend.’ Stardust Book Reviews ‘A laugh-out-loud, feel-good, amazing book… One of my top reads of the year.’ Odyssey Across the Shelves ‘This book was bursting with everything I love… so many laugh-out-loud moments! So let’s recap: gorgeous setting✔️ delightful characters✔️ strong friendships✔️ sweet romance✔️ tremendous laughs✔️ glorious food✔️’ Audio Killed the Bookmark ‘Fun, friendship and a Mediterranean setting… I read this in a couple of days as I found I couldn’t put it down.’ Goodreads Reviewer ‘I was enraptured every step of the way… The perfect pick-me-up to bring on those summer vibes.’ Stacy Is Reading ‘Will warm your heart… Perfect for getting you in a summery mood.