Book picks similar to
Through It All by AlTonya Washington


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A Hard Man is Good to Find


James W. Lewis - 2011
    Despite the exceptional qualities and his obvious interest in her, things are moving too slow between them. Unlike most men who can’t wait to get in her pants, this particular man refuses to take things to the next level.DARYL JACKSON has grown tired of the nightclub scene and wants to settle down, but he has a secret that always seems to interrupt any potential love connection once he reveals it. He believes Michelle is the ideal woman, but can she handle the truth?After six weeks of dating, and still no attempt from him to get her “horizontal,” Michelle grows sex-starved. She is driving herself crazy trying to figure out Daryl’s problem! During a weekend getaway in Palm Springs, Michelle finally puts an end to the what’s-wrong-with-Daryl guessing game and demands to know what’s up. Not only does Daryl answer all her questions, Michelle learns first hand that you really need to be careful with what you wish for!

The Perfect Seduction


Carmen Green - 2009
    But when a fire forces her to move in with her best friend, she doesn't expect to be living under the same roof as sinfully seductive Robinson Hood! And soon the sexy undercover investigator makes her his personal mission.Rob finds Loren as fragile and irresistible as the airy confections she whips up--and he isn't about to let her go back into retreat mode. The widowed P.I. wants her to know only his sensual touch. But first Rob has to earn her trust. Which means taking it slow and hot until he has the wary beauty right where he wants her--in his arms, in his bed... and in his heart.

The Other Side of Heartache


Sarah Jo Smith - 2013
    Summoned to her childhood home to sort through Penny’s belongings, the timing couldn’t be worse. Grieving over her losses and exhausted from a demanding teaching schedule, she worries that her marriage is collapsing under the pressure. While packing her mother’s closet, Grace discovers a box filled with mysterious keepsakes and old diaries written in Penny’s hand and takes them home. After reading pages filled with typical musings of a teenage girl from a generation ago, she stumbles upon a dark secret and is devastated to learn that what she believed her whole life about her family was based on lies.As Grace digs beneath the Rose family tree, she unearths more than one skeleton buried there. All the while, she must endure the wrath of her grandmother, Eleanor, who is determined to block her efforts to find out what happened when Penny was seventeen, as well as the underlying cause of her premature death. Yet Eleanor harbors a well-kept secret of her own, one more deceitful and calculating than Penny’s sin. Grace’s journey through an emotional labyrinth of passion, shame, and manipulation not only leads to more shocking revelations but also changes the course she had mapped for her life.Through a story told in alternating voices between the past and present where old morals and double standards from the historical 1950s and ‘60s clash with modern day values, Grace must decide if it’s worth taking an unforeseen risk to reaffirm her belief in the power of love. BOOK GROUP GUIDE INCLUDED.

Winter Affair


Doreen Owens Malek - 1985
    Kyle Reardon was paying his last respects to a man everyone believed he had wronged.Leda knew Reardon was accused of destroying both her father's business and his life. She knew the townspeople scorned him as an outcast. She knew he was the one man she should avoid at all costs. But one glimpse of the pain and determination in his bleak gray eyes told her he was also the one man she could never turn away from.

Ulterior Motives


Mark O'Neal - 2008
    Louis Wolves. His team got bounced out of the NBA Playoffs, so he decided to come back to Chicago to visit his family Mother's Day weekend. However, someone from his past wanted to make him pay, so his stepfather was kidnapped for a million dollar ransom. He had 48 hours to raise the money or else his stepfather was dead. Will Maurice rescue his stepfather, or will the two of them fall victim to this band of ruthless thugs?This is a reedited and reformatted version of Ulterior Motives; and it contains bonus chapters, a more in-depth background of the main characters, and an alternate ending for your enjoyment. Relive the action and suspense in Volume 1 of this spellbinding series.

Mafia Summer: A Novel


E. Duke Vincent - 2005
    One is a tough Sicilian Hell's Kitchen gang leader, and the other is a sickly but brilliant Orthodox Jewish boy who lives next door. But after they meet on a fire escape during the blistering New York City summer of 1950, a friendship takes off.When Gee-gee Petrone, a ruthless and brilliant mobster, puts into motion a plan to knock out the other mob bosses and to make himself capo di tutti capos, Vinny finds himself caught in the crossfire. Now Vinny has to put to use everything he's recently learned to survive-and, with the help of his gang of up-and-coming young mobsters, the Icemen, to get his revenge on Petrone.Based on actual events, Mafia Summer brilliantly fictionalizes the pivotal moment in Mafia history when Vito Genovese attempted to undo Frank Costello and become the leader of the Luciano family. At the heart of this classic tale of the Mob, replete with plot twists, violence, and suspense, is the story of an unforgettable friendship and an indelible portrait of an era.

The Not So Bad Boy


Raquel Belle - 2019
    It seems like she’s always been attracted to the kind of man who’s bad for her. In fact, it’s been one textbook bad-boy after the next, and it’d left her feeling so defeated that she decided quit dating altogether…for a whole year!Until she met Eric. Good, stable, boring and dependable Eric. He loves her way more than she loves him and it feels good to be on the other side of the equation for once, even though the sex is not the best…but that’s not all relationships are about are they?She’s finally getting her life together and things are going great…but then the universe decides to throw her a curve ball when her teaching assistant quits and is replaced by James Sumner. He’s tall, dark and handsome…covered in tattoos, listens to punk rock and wears a leather jacket. He’s everything Hayley’s been avoiding…so why can’t she stop thinking about him? She wants to put him out of her mind because she knows that Eric is the right man for her…...or is he?The feeling is definitely mutual because James can’t seem to stop thinking about Hayley either. Their attraction is undeniable. When a friendship starts to blossom between them, Hayley begins to doubt everything she knows. Is James really the kind of bad-boy who’ll break Hayley’s heart? Is she meant to be with Eric? Is she meant to be alone?

Past Forward: Volume II


Chautona Havig - 2012
    Jerked from a life of isolation with her mother, Willow learns what alone really means when she finds her mother still in her bed, never to awaken again in this life.From the moment Willow arrives in the police station with her startling announcement, Chad Tesdall fights the friendship he knows he can't avoid.This collection includes episodes six through nine of Past Forward. Willow, battling grief and anger, drives Chad from the farm, but he finds himself drawn back, despite her determination to keep a wall between them. An accident and the chance of a lifetime threaten everything she thought she held dear. As the walls crumble, Chad and Willow's friendship deepens into something truly special, but to what end? Everyone around him pushes Chad into a relationship he both wants and fights, knowing that Willow simply is not ready. Someone is wreaking havoc around her farm. Afraid for Willow's safety, the police take turns guarding her place when off duty and she finds it hard to endure the disruption of her tranquility. And then, Chad asks her to dance. Can she trust him? Find out in this second volume.Follow as Willow's story unfolds past forward.

I Promise


Adrianne Byrd - 1999
    Instead, this Southern girl only dreams of returning to her family's ranch in Texas. But Malcolm Williams, son of one of Atlanta's most prominent African-American families, has other plans for her. Only hours after their college graduation, he publicly proposes to Christian at the social event of the year.Gorgeous, well-connected and obscenely rich, Malcolm is accustomed to women swooning over him—everyone but Christian, that is. But how can she tactfully turn down a proposal that practically every woman in Atlanta would kill for? By inadvertently falling in love with his twin brother, Jordan. When Malcolm catches Christian in a kiss with his own brother, he's outraged. Yet even with a family feud threatening to explode, neither Christian nor Jordan can deny the sweetness in the kiss they shared—or their desire for more….

Treasury


Maeve Binchy - 2011
    This collection from Australia and around the world gives us stories that are sad and happy, thoughtful and humourous, but always abounding with the author's trade mark generosity of spirit. Families, friends, lovers and the lonely, all are drawn with affection and wisdom.* Elsa makes a Christmas wish at the Statue of Liberty which comes true in a most unexpected way.* Amy opts for the simple life when Dan bites off more than he can chew.* Frankie uses an unexpected trip with Robert to find out what she really wants from their relationship.* Victor, a self-confessed hopeless romantic, accompanies a friend to Australia with no thought of love on his mind.* Nick and Janet meet at the Sydney Fish Markets...everything seems perfect, what could go wrong?* Victoria imagines what it would mean to her widowed father to join her in his beloved Paris for a weekend.* Bran enters a competition to broaden his horizons.

Simply Amazing


Candace Shaw - 2012
    For Cannon, meeting her was a breath of fresh air. Something about the bubbly, sexy teacher makes him realize he needs to stop and smell the roses.Yasmine has had a crush on Cannon since high school, but he’d never noticed the nerdy freshman. Now she’s blossomed into a woman who’s full of life. She knows Cannon’s drive for success is important to him, but she fears he’ll become even more of a workaholic than her father, who died when she was a child.Will Cannon settle down and learn how to balance his career and love life, or will he lose the simply amazing woman who has stolen his heart?Simply Amazing is a short prequel (13,500 words) to the third book in the Arrington Family series, Only One for Me.

Baby Huey


James Henderson - 2010
    A brilliant urban comic/tragedy that weaves satire, sarcasm and social commentary into a tightly wound anti-drug novel with an unforgettable climax.

Her Billionaire's Bargain


Yvette Hines - 2016
    Whether in business or his personal life. Not many people tell him, “No.” Until Kourtney Deen, a striking beauty, refused to sell her business to him so that he could put up a luxury spa and golf course. Business is business that’s what Zac has always believed. He refuses to get caught in the marriage trap like his cousins. However, the day he meets the feisty shop owner face to face, he can’t resist the attraction he has for her. Kourtney refuses to allow herself to get distracted. No matter how tall, grey-eyed and handsome he maybe. That road has already been traveled. Years ago, she made some mistakes and had to make some tough choices. Now, the only two things she cares about are her daughter and the success of her shop. In Zac’s structured life, things have always gone how he planned it, but one unexpected event leads to another. When he discovers that nothing is what it seems and there are secrets, yet revealed, he learns quickly that it is not his wallet he has to lean on, but his heart.

Everybody's Best Friend: The True Story of a Marriage That Ended In Murder (St. Martin's True Crime Library)


Ken Englade - 1999
    With no sign of a break-in, no history of marital problems, and the naïve belief that these things sometimes just happen, Stefanie Rabinowitz's family prepared to bury the 29-year-old wife and mother. But at the eleventh hour, because Stefanie was so young, and because there were no witnesses to her death, an autopsy was ordered. And what it revealed was unthinkable: Stefanie had been murdered-strangled in her home, then dragged into the tub to stage a fake drowning. Even more shocking was the suspected killer-Stefanie's 34-year-old husband, Craig: devoted family man, loyal husband, and "everybody's best friend."When the astounding truth began to emerge, so did the tawdry double life of Craig Rabinowitz, a man so obsessed with a two-thousand-dollar-a-week exotic dancer, that his habit caused him to look to the insurance money he would get from murdering his wife. Now, with exclusive interviews and startling inside details, bestselling author Ken Englade blows wide open the shocking true account of a storybook marriage that ended in bone-chilling murder.

A World I Never Made


James LePore - 2009
    The body, however, is not Megan's and it becomes instantly clear to Pat that Megan staged this, that she is in serious trouble, and that she is calling to him for help. This sends Pat on an odyssey that stretches across France and into the Czech Republic and that makes him the target of both the French police and a band of international terrorists. Joining Pat on his search is Catherine Laurence, a beautiful but tormented Paris detective who sees in Pat something she never thought she'd find-genuine passion and desperate need. As they look for Megan, they come closer to each other's souls and discover love when both had long given up on it. Juxtaposed against this story is Megan's story. A freelance journalist, Megan is in Morocco to do research when she meets Abdel Lahani, a Saudi businessman. They begin a torrid affair, a game Megan has played often and well in her adult life. But what she discovers about Lahani puts her in the center of a different kind of game, one with rules she can barely comprehend. Because of her relationship with Lahani, Megan has made some considerable enemies. And she has put the lives of many-maybe even millions-at risk.A World I Never Made is an atmospheric novel of suspense with brilliantly drawn characters and back-stories as compelling as the plot itself. It is the kind of novel that resonates deeply and leaves its traces long after you turn the final page.