Book picks similar to
It's a Kind of Magic by Carole Matthews
chick-lit
romance
carole-matthews
fiction
The Personal Shopper
Carmen Reid - 2007
In fact, this super-skilled dresser can be relied on to solve everyone's problems . . . except her own.Although she's a busy single mum to stroppy teen Lana and painfully shy Owen, there's a gap in Annie's wardrobe - sorry, life - for a new man. But finding the perfect partner is turning out to be so much trickier than finding the perfect pair of shoes.Can she source a genuine classic? A life long investment? Will she end up with a mistake from the sale rail, who'll have to be returned? Or maybe, just maybe, there'll be someone new in this season who could be the one . . .
The Greatest Love Story of All Time
Lucy Robinson - 2012
. .She's bluffed her way into a Very Posh Job and her outlandishly handsome and talented boyfriend Michael is escorting her to the Ritz with a bulge the shape of a ring box in his pocket.But something has gone wrong. Very wrong. By the end of the evening Fran is howling in bed with a bottle of cheap brandy and one of Michael's old socks.In her quest to figure out why her life has suddenly gone down the pan, Fran comes up with a failsafe plan: live like a badger, stalk a stranger called Nellie and cancel her beloved Gin Thursdays in favour of drinking gin every night. But then Fran's friends force a very different plan on her and it's nowhere near as fun. How could eight dates possibly make her feel better?But eventually she agrees. And so begins the greatest love story of all time . . .Praise for Lucy Robinson:'The new Marian Keyes . . . romantic and laugh-out-loud hilarious' Cosmopolitan'An absolute must-read' Huffington Post'Prepare for public-transport belly laughs' Glamour'Refreshingly playful' RedLucy Robinson is the author of The Greatest Love Story of All Time, A Passionate Love Affair with a Total Stranger and The Unfinished Symphony of You and Me. Lucy worked in theatre and then television documentaries before starting a blog for Marie Claire about her laughably unsuccessful foray into the world of online dating. She did not meet a man during this time but she did become a novelist: every cloud has a silver lining. She now lives in Bristol with her partner, The Man, whom she met when she took off to Buenos Aires to become a bohemian writer in 2010.Twitter: @Lucy_RobinsonFacebook: www.facebook.com/LucyRobinsonWriterInstagram: RobinsonWriterWebsite: www.lucy-robinson.co.uk
Foul Play
Steffie Hall - 1989
Jake just can't resist a damsel in distress, and Amy certainly doesn't mind Jake's charming sincerity.Then suddenly the job-stealing chicken disappears and Amy is suspected of foul play. Amy and Jake search for clues to prove her innocence. But will Jake be able to prove to Amy that love, too, is a mystery worth solving?
The Bookshop on the Corner
Rebecca Raisin - 2014
The meet-cute, the passion, the drama and the gorgeous men! Now this wouldn’t have been such an issue if she hadn’t been the owner of the only bookshop in Ashford, Connecticut.Ever since her close friend Lil, from The Gingerbread Café, had become engaged she had been yearning for a little love to turn up in her life. Except Sarah knew a good man was hard to find – especially in a tiny town like Ashford. That was until New York journalist, Ridge Warner stepped into her bookshop…Love could be just around the corner for Sarah, but will she be able to truly believe that happy-ever-after can happen in real-life too!
Something Borrowed
Louisa George - 2016
Something new…? When Chloe Cassidy is jilted at the altar it’s all her nightmares rolled into one. Her mother is convinced she’s the victim of the family curse. Her sister believes she just hasn’t found The One yet. But Chloe’s not listening; she’s too busy taking her humiliation out on the infuriating best man, Vaughn Brooks. Three months later, Something Borrowed—her wedding planning business— is failing. In a last ditch attempt to save it, Chloe is forced to swallow her pride, and work with the enemy: too-hot for his own good, award-winning chef Vaughn. She soon realizes the sparks flying between them are nothing to do with their dubious past, but from something else altogether… This fun perfect summer read features one sizzling chef, a meddling family and a wedding planner who's given up on love.
The Desperate Bride's Diet Club
Alison Sherlock - 2012
But at size 18-20, the thought of finding a wedding dress fills her with horror. What she needs is a miracle wedding day diet.So when a leaflet advertising a new diet club - New You! - that drops through her letterbox, it seems like her prayers have been answered. But the club is run by the terrifying Trudie, who secretly despises her fat clients, while pretending to encourage them. Things go from bad to worse; everyone just gets fatter on the horrible New You! drink shakes. At work, Violet's half-Italian boss - a man with a lively sense of humour - looks on in amazement and finally persuades her to take a break from New You! and lunch with him at his family's delicatessen. Inspired, she persuades her fellow dieters to form a new club, with secret weigh-ins at her house - while pretending to Trudie, of whom they are all petrified, that it is the New You! diet which is transforming them. Fabulous Italian recipes gradually begin to work their magic, but can Violet the duckling really become Violet the swan in time for her wedding?
Almost Perfect
Julie Ortolon - 2005
And the worst part is, it's sort of true. Together they make a pact: they'll face down their fears—and maybe show Miss Perfect a thing or two!A Free SpiritMaddy was always the artistic one of the group, alive with color and mischief from her saucy red curls to her vintage hippie skirts. Her challenge, the friends decide, is to get her artwork accepted at a gallery. A job as arts director at a summer camp near Santa Fe—with its multitude of galleries—seems like a start in the right direction.A Reformed Bad BoyThere’s just one catch: The camp is run by Maddy’s high school flame, Joe, whose heart she broke—okay, smashed—and his anger towards Maddy hasn’t cooled one bit. But neither has their attraction.A Perfect Match?Old desires burn hotter than ever as Joe makes it clear there’s only one way back to his heart: She has to get serious about her art. But will falling in love help or hinder Maddy as she struggles to meet her challenge?
Champagne and Lemon Drops
Jean Oram - 2013
Two men. One meddling small town.Raised by her older sister in the small town of Blueberry Springs, all Beth Wilkinson wants is to create a family so big she’ll never be alone. Things are going great until her fiancé, Oz, rethinks everything from his own career to their nuptial plans—forcing Beth to do the same.As Beth works to rediscover herself in hopes of reattracting Oz, she catches the eye of the charming new city doctor, Nash. Not only does he see her as she’d like to be seen, but he knows exactly what he wants from life—and that includes Beth.Torn between the two men, as well as two versions of herself, Beth discovers that love and dreams are much more complicated than they seem.
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.
You Lucky Dog
Julia London - 2020
She is drowning in work, her divorced parents are going through their midlife crises, and somehow Carly's sister convinces her to foster Baxter--a basset hound rescue with a bad case of the blues. When Carly comes home late from work one day to discover that the dog walker has accidentally switched out Baxter for another perkier, friendlier basset hound, she has reached the end of her leash.When Max Sheffington finds a depressed male basset hound in place of his cheerful Hazel, he is bewildered. But when cute, fiery Carly arrives on his doorstep, he is intrigued. He was expecting the dog walker, not a pretty woman with firm ideas about dog discipline. And Carly was not expecting a handsome, bespectacled man to be feeding her dog mac and cheese. Baxter is besotted with Hazel, and Carly realizes she may have found the key to her puppy’s happiness. For his sake, she starts to spend more time with Hazel and Max, until she begins to understand the appeal of falling for your polar opposite.
Names My Sisters Call Me
Megan Crane - 2008
Norah, the oldest, is a type A obsessive who hasn't forgiven Raine, the middle sister, for ruining her wedding day six years ago. Raine is Norah's opposite, a wild child/performance artist/follow-your-bliss hippie chick who ran off to California. The only thing the two have in common is their ability to drive Courtney, their youngest sister, crazy.When her longtime boyfriend proposes, Courtney decides it's finally time to call a truce and bring the three sisters together. After all, they're grown-ups now, right? But it turns out that family ghosts aren't easily defeated—and neither are first loves. Soon Courtney finds herself reexamining every choice she has made in the past six years—including the man she's about to marry—and the value of reconnecting with the sisters she knows she needs, in spite of everything.
Vivien's Heavenly Ice Cream Shop
Abby Clements - 2013
The Brighton shop is a seafront institution, but though it's big on retro charm it's critically low on customers. If the sisters don't turn things around quickly, their grandmother's legacy will disappear forever.With summer fast approaching, Imogen and Anna devise a plan. Rather than sell up, they will train up, and make the parlour the newest destination on the South Coast foodie map.While Imogen watches the shop and conjures new marketing ideas, her sister flies to Italy to attend a gourmet ice cream-making course. But can their best-laid plans survive their warring family, tempestuous love lives - and the great British Weather? One thing is for certain - this summer will be like no other . . .
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
Aussie Rules
Jill Shalvis - 2006
Dashing, mysterious & enticing, Bo instantly captivates her. Luckily she resists her urges long enough to realize that Bo is really there to take back ownership of the airport Mel has worked so hard to maintain.
Never The Bride
Charlotte Fallowfield - 2017
Perfect light hearted escapism!" Kitty French, USA Today bestselling author.Always the bridesmaid, never the bride.Walking down the aisle, yet again, Abbie Carter feels the doom of the curse. With eight hideous dresses filling her attic, Abbie has more bridesmaid dresses than dates. Unlucky in love is an understatement. However, when she locks eyes with a sexy groomsman, everything changes. Suddenly, Miller Davis only has eyes for her. But proximity is an evil villain. With an ocean separating them, a relationship is out of the question. Abbie can't even bond well with her elderly, fat pooch Mr. Sumo. She can't possibly make it work with a New Yorker so far away … could she? And Miller persistence makes her want so much more. Will she find a way to make one last trip down the aisle?A laugh-out-loud novel from Charlotte Fallowfield, Amazon U.K. #1 bestselling contemporary romance author of Until We Collide.While Never The Bride is a standalone story, it's the first in the Dilbury Village series of romantic comedy novels. All of them will be set in the quaint fictitious English hamlet in the Shropshire countryside, but feature a different village couples' story.Warning, if you are of a sensitive disposition when it comes to toilet humour, then the Dilbury Village series may not be for you!