Book picks similar to
Season of Restorations by Thomas DeConna


2030
300-or-under
coming-of-age
contemporary

The Serenity Falls Complete Series: Sweet Romance at Wyatt Ranch


Sophie Mays - 2021
    From cowboys to unexpected newcomers, from weddings to adventures, you will fall in love with this cozy small town in the Rocky Mountains and become friends with the Wyatt family. Meet Emma, Hannah, Anna-Jane, Carson, and Jake! Five very different personalities, each in search of their own happily ever after...Read all the books in the Serenity Falls series together! This Collection includes:♥ Wishes from the Heart (Hannah & Rafferty's Story)♥ Art of the Heart (Anna-Jane & Cody's Story)♥ Baking from the Heart (Emma & Gavin's Story)♥ Call of the Wild Heart (Carson & Bella's Story)♥ Detours of the Heart (Jake & Mackenzie's Story)If you love uplifting, feel-good romance stories with irresistible characters, prepare to be roped into Sophie Mays' Serenity Falls series!

Friends and Neighbours: A heart-warming journey of self-discovery


Ruth Torjussen - 2021
    But when your best friend has died and your other friends have moved away it can suddenly get a whole lot tougher. Now heartbroken Jenny has a female shaped hole in her life which - despite the presence of many women - won’t go away. Grief has turned her into a first class snob.Husband Lonny preps the house for climate change and is unable to halt Jenny’s unravelling. Then gorgeous Trudi wafts into the creative writing class bringing some much needed hope.Feeling that this is the only way out of her depression, Jenny’s intention to befriend Trudi builds to an obsession while facing all manner of setbacks. A motley crew of unsuitable local women is encroaching while lovely Trudi remains elusive. Why is something that used to be so easy, now so hard?Mixing serious issues with much hilarity ‘Friends and Neighbours’ is a feel-good story for our times.‘This book made me laugh out loud in many places and shed a tear in others’ Siobhan Curham. Author. 'An American in Paris'

The Town with No Roads


Joe Siple - 2019
     Memorable objects from Aspen Collins’ childhood are appearing in the town square, accompanied by notes in her father’s handwriting. The notes relate to things happening in her life now. But that’s impossible —Aspen's father is in a coma. The miracle brings chaos in the form of a ghost hunter, three different factions of people with conflicting beliefs about the miracle, and a television reporter who Aspen finds herself falling for. But when everything comes to a head, an impossible choice must be made. And the consequences of either decision could be too much to bear. An enchanting follow-up to Siple’s award-winning debut, The Five Wishes of Mr. Murray McBride, The Town with No Roads is a story of forgiveness and redemption that explores whether unconditional love should hold us close or set us free.

Marriage Unarranged


Ritu Bhathal - 2020
    ‘Chick Pea Curry’ Lit, Chick Lit with an Indian twist​ It all started ended with that box… Aashi’s life was all set.Or so she thought.Like in the Bollywood films, Ravi would woo her, charm her family and they’d get married and live happily ever after. But then Aashi found the empty condom box... Putting her ex-fiancé and her innocence behind her, Aashi embarks upon an enlightening journey, to another country, where vibrant memories are created, and unforgettable friendships forged.Old images erased, new beginnings to explore. And how can she forget the handsome stranger she meets? A stranger who’s hiding something…

Shut Up and Kiss Me


Carolyn Hughey - 2011
    With the help of the two meddling mamas, she's determined to show him she's "The One"—not that scrawny redhead who's rapidly becoming more than his casual "flavor of the month." Convincing Nick to stop thinking of her like his sister won't be easy, but Ellana's canoodling with the Italian Stallion, chef Giovanni Cavallini, to make Nick jealous. Of course, Giovanni's only too happy to oblige—he's got his own agenda—but now that she has Nick's attention, is it too late?With the matchmaking mamas doing their best to interfere, Ellana's stuck in a quandary: Which one of these tempting chefs will she choose?

The Daughters' Baggage


Diane Winger - 2016
     Aaliyah Johnson just wants to live a normal life – finish school, have a career, a family, a future. But when her father takes his own life after his return from the war in Afghanistan, she and her mother are plunged into poverty and a homeless struggle to survive. The unusual circumstances of her mother’s acquisition of a small, green suitcase seem to mark a turnaround in their luck as they begin to rebuild their lives. Then, in a heartbeat, a devastating blow rocks her world, and young Aaliyah’s baggage may be more than she can bear. Review The author tells a very powerful story filled with themes of racial and ethnic injustice and discrimination, class differences, the importance of relationships, and the impact of trauma on teens and families. I found myself looking forward to reading more from the very start. - OnlineBookClub.org official review

Getting it Wrong


Michelle Mankin - 2022
    She doesn’t have the luxury of dreaming about her future. She must plan for it. Abandoned by her father and living with a drug addicted mother, her number one priority is taking care of her younger sister Rachel. It isn’t easy. Nothing in Southside Seattle is easy. It’s a struggle to survive. Music is Addy’s only escape from her bleak world. When she listens to it, she can pretend she is anywhere and believe anything is possible. Her handsome best friend BARRY EVANS understands her predicament. It’s not much different from his own. He is a great source of comfort and strength for her. Addy has one indulgence. COLLIN MURPHY. Her number one crush is one of the most popular guys at Southside High. Collin can have any girl he wants, and he sets his sights on Addy when her younger sister joins his rock band. The gorgeous guitarist isn’t the only one who notices how pretty Addy is. Martin Skellin, the rich and powerful owner of the club where Collin’s band ABCR performs, becomes obsessed with Addy.One man wants to win her heart.The other wants to rule her.And another could be just who she needs, but she can’t cross that line. She can’t risk losing him. Will the band ABCR become a success? Will Addy and her sister escape Southside? Will her plans secure her future or destroy it? Getting it Wrong is book one in this standalone romantic suspense duet. You will want book two, Getting it Right, as soon as you finish book one. This book contains 56 angsty chapters. It’s a page-turning story that will make you want to throw your e-reader at times. Do not read if you want a boring book. You will cry. It’s one of the most emotional romances the author has written. You will be in a book hangover and desperate for book two at the end.

A Magnolia Wedding (The Red Stiletto Book Club #5)


Anne-Marie Meyer - 2021
    

Seagull


Lawton Paul - 2014
    Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida, is tormented by the thought that maybe his aunt is lying to him about how his mother died. To find the truth he has to overcome his fears: the local bully, the large dark shapes that he imagines in the middle of the dock at night, and the thought that maybe his brother is right, he's just a warped kid who thinks too much. Will he find the courage to stand and fight? Q&A with Lawton Paul Q: What sparked this novel? A: Two things. One: I wanted my kids to know where I came from. The very southern setting—North Florida on the St. Johns river, is where I grew up. And I wanted to give them a feel for that time and place. Watching the sunrise on a stinky crab boat in the St. Johns—what could be better? And the second thing: When I'm not writing, I'm teaching kids. I see a lot of young people who have such promise but for some reason or another, give up right before they're about to make headway. I see my own kids struggling at certain points in their lives. And one thought keeps coming back: don't give up. So I wanted Jesse (main character in Seagull) to really have some heavy issues to navigate through: the death of his mother, Johnny the bully, and of course, the girl, Hailey. You'll have to read the book (savvy marketing ploy alert!) to find out how it all turned out for Jesse. Q: Why should readers give this novel a try? A: If I've done my job well, you'll enjoy the ride and maybe even get that little happy-glow feeling at the end like you just watched Rocky again, or someone said your hair looks nice, or you got an “A” on a pre-calc test. (Another genius bit of marketing there.) Q: What kind of book is Seagull? A: It's a coming of age southern novel with a young main character that should appeal to fiction readers of all ages. Younger readers will sympathize with our teen heroes Jesse and Matty and adult readers will be taken back to earlier days. My style has a literary feel, but the story is plot-driven and suspenseful, especially at the end. And even has a hint of romance. Thanks for giving Seagull a try. Please let me know what you thought of it. —Lawton Paul

The Perfect Age


Heather Skyler - 2004
    She is a lifeguard at the pool at the Dunes hotel in Las Vegas, caught off guard by the new attention from men and boys, not quite sure of her own footing in the world. Her mother, Kathy, suddenly finds herself in a place equally uncertain: her children getting older, her stable marriage perhaps too stable, the slow days of summer leaving her adrift. When Kathy meets Helen’s boss, the manager at the pool, her life is on the brink of a different sort of change.Following Helen and Kathy through three summers, this novel is an intimate picture of two sexual awakenings under one roof and their aftershocks on a family. The Perfect Age is set in workaday Las Vegas, where people are married at drive-through chapels, and escort services are advertised alongside 99-cent shrimp cocktail. The novel takes the reader beyond the glitz of showgirls and Elvis impersonators and reveals the everyday life in homes and schools, and among the lukewarm waters of Lake Mead and the semi-cool of the surrounding mountains. In The Perfect Age, Heather Skyler explores the nature of beauty, sex, and class divisions in a society where things are at once normal and bizarre, showing us that the validity of life’s deepest experiences—love, betrayal, acceptance—is never compromised by age.

Concrete Fever


Nathaniel Kressen - 2010
    Dark. Gorgeous.” – The Rumpus“Completely screwed-up and fantastic.” – Continual ProgressBestselling Independent Novel – Strand Book StoreOn the night he decides to jump off his Upper West Side rooftop, a prep school teen encounters a lost girl dancing on the ledge. They split cigarettes, spill secrets, and hatch an unexpected plan: to play out a romantic relationship over the course of one night, and discover whether magic can truly exist. As the game propels them through scattered haunts of the city, the line that separates fantasy from reality blurs, leading each to reconsider what is real, what is illusion, and whether the dawn will bring with it a new beginning or a violent end.In his triumphant debut novel, newcomer Nathaniel Kressen weaves a real-time psychological love story, introducing two unforgettable characters searching for meaning in post-9/11 New York City.

Tiger Drive


Teri Case - 2018
    Too many secrets. Four people who want to matter. In Nevada, Sloan family matriarch, Janice, is tired of her white trash life--dealing with debt, kids, her son's motorcycle gang, and Harry, her drunk of a husband. She can't shake her lifelong dream of singing at the Grand Ole Opry.As Janice's teen daughter, Carrie, plans her escape to college, Janice confronts the fact that she's forty-eight and running out of time. She decides to leave her two young sons with Harry and move to Nashville for one year to pursue her dream. But before Janice can leave, Harry's worst betrayal yet destroys everyone's plans, and detectives start digging up the family dirt.Times are desperate for the Sloan Family. They might survive if they can become each other's unlikely heroes. Do they have what it takes to confront the truth about their lives and each other and break free from their way of life on Tiger Drive?Debut novelist, Teri Case puts us inside the minds of mother, father, daughter, and son to portray how addiction, poverty, and secrets can derail the best of intentions. But with a little hope and a dose of trust, the human spirit can prevail."Tiger Drive is an outstanding [novel], with . . . layered characters, relationships that make me ache for the characters and yearn for a positive resolution, and character journeys that intertwine in heartbreaking, soul-soaring ways." --Deborah Halverson, DearEditor.com"I LOVED Tiger Drive so much . . . I know I'll be thinking about these characters for a long time." --Lizette Clarke, Author Accelerator

Father of the Rain


Lily King - 2010
    Nixon is about to be impeached, his wife is leaving him, and his worldview is rapidly becoming outdated. His daughter, Daley, has spent the first eleven years of her life carefully negotiating her parents’ conflicting worlds: the liberal, socially committed realm of her mother, and the conservative, liquor-soaked life of her father. But when they divorce, and Gardiner’s basest impulses are unleashed, the chasm quickly widens and Daley feels herself stretched thinly across it.As she grows into adulthood, Daley rejects the narrow world that nourished her father’s fears and prejudices, and embarks on her own separate life—until he hits rock bottom. Lured back home by the dream of getting her father sober and rebuilding a trust that was broken years ago, Daley risks losing everything she has found beyond him, including her new love, Jonathan, who represents so much of what Daley’s father claims to hate, and who has given her so much of what he could never provide.Intimate in its detail yet epic in range, Father of the Rain is a raw, compelling journey into the emotional complexities, mercurial contours, and magnetic pull of family. It is also the stunning portrait of a deeply complex man and his daughter’s fierce, primal attachment to him.

All the Broken People


Amy Rivers - 2019
    After burying her abusive childhood and reinventing herself, Alice is living a life she never imagined could be hers. She's married to a perfect Southern gentleman. She has a challenging job she loves--writing for a woman's magazine. But when her past comes back with a vengeance, Alice finds herself on the outs with her husband, her perfect life crumbling around her feet.Desperate to get things back to where they were, Alice travels to the mountains of North Georgia to care for her mother-in-law who was injured in a bad fall. Her motives aren't purely altruistic; she's hoping to get back into her husband's good graces. When she arrives, Alice discovers that the fall was no accident. Alice must battle her own inner demons as she uncovers the not-so-perfect truth of her husband's past. Ugly family secrets and devious attacks from an unknown assailant threaten to kill more than just Alice's dreams.A dark journey into the Georgia mountains where kudzu covers the landscape and a grudge can last generations. All the Broken Peoplewill leave you questioning who the good guys really are or whether they exist at all.

ORION: a BBW, mountain man instalove short romance (Camp Mountain Man Book 11)


Kate Tilney - 2021