Book picks similar to
Meeting Melissa by Margaret Ferguson


contemporary
romance
contemporary-romance
love-story

The Pastor's Wife


Jennifer AlLee - 2009
    But when "the other woman" in her marriage turned out to be her husband's congregation, she ran. Six years later, she's back in the small community of Granger, Ohio, for the reading of a will that names both her and Nick as beneficiaries. Now, Maura must face the husband - and the congregation - she left behind.

Feels like Home


Evelyn Adams - 2014
    But when her carefully constructed life crumbles around her, Autumn's forced to return to the small southern town that never let her forget she came from the wrong side of the tracks. Jude Southerland, the town doctor, is used to taking care of people and with a pedigree that has the Ladies Auxiliary reaching for their fans, he’s easily the town’s most eligible bachelor – a status he has no intention of changing. That is until he almost runs down the Maddox girl he never noticed in school and suddenly finds her lush curves, dark curls and blue eyes consuming his thoughts, day and night. Autumn would like nothing more than to live happily ever after with Jude. But with every local matron in the valley trying to marry him off to their own daughters, she knows they won’t let her forget that she's not good enough and never will be. With the chance to finally find happiness, can she overcome her family history and find the confidence she needs to believe in herself or will she let love pass her by?

Forever Mine


Elizabeth Reyes - 2010
    She’s forced to move, leaving behind everything she’s ever known, including her best friend Sydney. Lost and bitter in a new school, her one goal is to save money and move back home. Then she meets Angel Moreno. Enigmatic but gorgeous, Angel is almost too good to be true. Except for one thing, his archaic belief that guys and girls can never be “just friends”. The problem? Sarah’s best friend Sydney is not a girl. With their unexpected romance intensifying to places neither ever experienced, how long can Sarah keep Angel in the dark about the guy waiting for her back home?

Life's a Beach and Then...


Julia Roberts - 2015
    she must keep it secret, and that means telling lies. Holly hates telling lies. Her latest assignment has brought her to the paradise island of Mauritius where she meets a British couple, Robert and Rosemary, who share a tragic secret of their own. The moment they introduce Holly to handsome writer, Philippe, she begins to fall in love, something she hasn't allowed herself to do for twenty years. But Philippe has not been completely honest and when Holly stumbles across the truth, she feels totally betrayed. "A slice of sheer escapism which packs an emotional punch" Jemma Forte This is the first book in the Liberty Sands trilogy. Read on at the end of this book to find out what happens to Holly next in the preview of If He Really Loved Me..., book two in the series.

Across the Creek


Jeremy Asher - 2012
    An unlikely childhood romance between a poor boy and a wealthy girl began the day Jesse decided to do the impossible and cross the creek. A love was born, one that would become their shelter, protecting them from the storms of their lives, until the day Jesse witnessed his mother’s murder, forcing him to leave his childhood home…and first love. Ten years later, life has finally gotten better for Jesse. He has a loving family, a charming pet shop to run, and one semester left before graduating with a degree in architecture. Everything is great, until the day fate intervenes and his long-lost love walks into his shop and back into his life.Sarah, engaged to a budding attorney, is struggling to keep everything together. Her father, diagnosed with terminal cancer, is running out of time. Sarah races to build their dream business while planning her wedding in time for her father to walk her down the aisle.Their brief encounter starts a series of events that neither Jesse nor Sarah expects. After a decade of running, Jesse is now forced to face the demons from his past, while Sarah has to choose between her handsome attorney and her first love. Just when they think love has given them a second chance, Jesse is faced with an impossible decision, one that will change their lives forever.Across the Creek is the first in a 2-book series. Beneath the Willow is the second.

Impossible


Laurel Ulen Curtis - 2013
    Two losses. Three years.Veronica Russo chases storms, but runs from her past by staying firmly in the present. Unwilling to consider the possibility of a future, she’s checked out of life by using solitude and standoffishness as her armor and a sharp tongue and quick wit as her weapons.Coleman Cade is a walking contradiction- just like his mismatched eyes. A rough and manly bull rider with a playful side. A ladies man with thousands of willing victims, but what he really wants is one woman. The right woman.Will Roni be able to let go, move on, and find a way to fulfill her dream of having everything? Or will unsubstantiated choices and unresolved demons stand in the way of their happily ever after?In order to overcome past tragedies and find true happiness- in order to have Everything- Roni needs to do one thing. Find the impossible.*Explicit Language and Sexual ContentCover Design by Hang Le

Cool Beans


Erynn Mangum - 2010
    That is until her best friend starts dating Maya's high school sweetheart. This funny, heartwarming fiction story by best-selling author Erynn Mangum uses the power of story to challenge teens to discover the relevance of faith in their relationships and their lives.

Summer Storms


Rebekah Lyn
    She has friends and a job she loves. So why does she feel something is missing? Restoring a broken down house was supposed to be the missing piece, but then she met Jeffrey Robbins a man frozen in grief.Set in downtown Orlando Summer Storms offers an inside look into the workings of the industry.

Learning to Dance Again


Frankie Valente - 2013
    Her friends rally to support her, but with her sons away at Edinburgh University she still feels isolated in her grief. She is unemployed but has no wish to return to her old job as the manager of a care home; but she cannot decide what to do instead. With the approach of her fiftieth birthday that she has no desire to celebrate, together with the gloominess of her mood which will only get worse when winter arrives, Julia knows she needs to take drastic action to heal her broken heart. It was Duncan’s last wish to take her on a second honeymoon to Sicily. So Julia books herself a holiday for the whole of October; much to the surprise of her friends and to the horror of her sons, who are convinced she will be kidnapped by the Mafia. Julia ignores their warnings and rents a villa in the coastal town of Cefalu. The villa is owned by the charming Tony Hugo, a widowed English crime writer; who wastes no time in helping Julia feel at home.Sicily is everything Julia expected it to be – hot, sunny and exotic; but her holiday turns out to be far more of a life changing adventure than she could ever have imagined.

lost in texas


Sandy Appleyard - 2021
    The city girl in a strange predicament. The scoundrel that thinks fiancés come with a price tag.Never, ever date a client. That’s what I keep telling myself. Until Terence Daniels walks into my office. Fine. I caved. Biggest mistake of my life. Next thing I know I’m fleeing Louisiana, hunkering down with my best friend in Dallas. I’m starving, terrified, so confused, and I’m thinking…things just cannot get any worse. Until Kate’s car breaks down outside this bar that looks like their patrons kill women with sticks. We have no choice but to go inside. What I find in there is nothing that I would expect. What unfolds in the coming weeks are more mistakes. Better ones. And then one that I’ll forever call my favorite mistake.***After the day I’ve had, I’d sooner eat my boot than cook something. My brother Zack agrees, so we go to this hillbilly bar, where we keep a tab. One cranky woman and her sidekick show up, looking like lawyers among us cowboys, and we ask if we can help. The cranky one thinks we’re trying to steal her car, but the other one softens. All is fine and dandy until she hits us with something that would shock a groundhog back into his burrow until hell freezes over. The look in her eyes is what gets me. Fear. I can’t stand that in a woman. Especially this one, with the tough exterior, making out like she’s fine when inside she’s a crumbling mess. Never figured she’d turn things around like she does. Never figured I’d be the one to help her put it all back together. Never figured she’d see right through me yet show me the way in a way that nobody else has.…and for the life of me, I never figured that she’d inadvertently bring so much danger to the ranch.HEA (Happily Ever After)Ranch romanceCowboy romanceMedium heatCourse languageCliffhanger ending

In Your Dreams


Amy Martin - 2012
    But when Kieran Lanier moves to town and passes out on her desk on his first day at school, Zip’s life gets complicated in a way she never dreamed. Kieran has narcolepsy, and although he sometimes struggles to stay awake, he has no trouble capturing Zip’s heart and trusting her with his most guarded secret—he sees bits and pieces of the future in his dreams. And while he didn’t know who she was at the time, Kieran had seen Zip in his dreams over five months before he moved to Titusville from North Carolina. But just when Zip thinks that maybe she can handle having a boyfriend who sees things before they happen, her budding relationship with Kieran gets a jolt. She and Kieran learn that his sleeping disorder and the future flashes were likely caused by a drug invented by his birth father, Morgan Levert, a convicted felon who plays a starring role in Kieran’s nightmares. And when Zip begins to have unsettling dreams after chance encounters with Morgan's former partner-in-crime, she must decide if she can live with the possibility of seeing the future when she doesn’t always like what she sees.

To Love Again


Lillianna Blake - 2015
    Her children recognize the defeat and sadness in her eyes and she knows that her kids deserve to see their mother happy. When Nicole follows the suggestion of a friend to go on a spa getaway during a time that her children are away with their father, she does so believing that it might lead to the self-discovery she is seeking. What she ends up finding at the Cielo Spa & Resort is much more than what she bargains for. What she ends up finding at the Cielo Spa & Resort is Gavin Bell. Gavin Bell is a successful businessman who only cares about his clients and getting the job done—it’s how he’s always defined his life and it’s also the thing that led to the downfall of his marriage. But he hasn’t found a good reason to change his ways—it helps him to ignore any hints of loneliness or regret about his past mistakes. When Gavin’s boss and best friend sends him away to a spa in the mountains for a break from work, Gavin is anything but pleased about it. He decides that he’ll spend the time in his room on his computer working, but while checking in, he meets a woman that he can’t get out of his mind. Both deceived about the Cielo Spa & Resort by well-meaning friends, Nicole and Gavin find themselves amongst individuals looking for love—a fact that neither of them is pleased about. They’ll make the best of a night—or two, if a shared meal convinces them that an initial spark just might be turning into something more. *** The Forty and Free series features women finding themselves and love again. Many of these women will overcome the obstacles, fears and pain brought on by past heartbreak. Others will undergo a shift within themselves as they make room for unexpected love in their lives. Forty and Free series: Book 1: To Love Again Book 2: To Trust Again Book 3: To Hope Again Book 4: To Try Again Book 5: To Thrill Again Book 6: To Dream Again Book 7: To Feel Again Book 8: To Live Again

Warranted Pleasures


Shannon Nemechek - 2017
    But whenever I look into his eyes, I lose my ability to think straight. He’s a Chief Warrant Officer, and I’m a mere Non-Commissioned Officer. But that doesn’t stop me from thinking about him every night, dreaming about how my body would react to his touch. But I won’t allow myself to be another notch on his bedpost. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep our relationship professional—especially since we are teamed up to investigate a terrorist organization. There’s no margin for error. I can’t allow my midnight fantasies to jeopardize my day job, to discredit my reputation. But there’s one major problem. Raleigh Fitzgerald is known to get what he wants, and right now…that’s me.

Memories of the Heart


Felice Stevens - 2015
    All words used to describe Dr. Micah Steinberg by the hospital staff for their next head of surgery. When a letter arrives from his grandmother’s friend at the assisted living facility, his orderly world tilts dangerously out of control. Josh Rosen had everything until it was revealed much of his world was a lie. Forced to re-evaluate his life, Josh gives up his career and returns home to New York City to care for his beloved grandmother. What Josh didn’t figure on was an attraction to a man who on the surface, appears to be exactly like the life Josh chose to leave behind.As Micah struggles with the reality of his grandmother’s illness, the bond these two share deepens, as Josh helps Micah heal, then open his heart. Micah discovers there is more to life than work, control and success. Josh is in deep but has yet to tell Micah who he really is.When the fight for the hospital’s head of surgery turns ugly, Josh’s past and present collide. Micah must let go of the past and accept who he is, if his life is going to move forward.Life is full of surprises, and as both Micah and Josh learn, love can happen whether you plan for it or not.

Read, Write, Love at Seaside


Addison Cole - 2014
    He spends twelve hours a day in front of his computer, rarely leaving the seclusion of his beach-front property, where he’s come to finish his latest thriller — that is, until free-spirited Leanna Bray nearly drowns in the ocean trying to save her dog. Kurt’s best-laid plans are shot when he comes to their rescue. Kurt’s as irritated as he is intrigued by the sexy, hot mess of a woman who lives life on a whim, forgets everything, and doesn’t even know the definition of the word organized.Leanna’s come to the Cape hoping to find a fulfilling career in the jam-making business, and until she figures out her own life, a man is not on the menu. But Leanna can’t get the six-two, deliciously muscled and tragically neat Kurt out of her mind. She tells herself she’s just stopping by to say thank you, but the heart-warming afternoon sparks an emotional and unexpectedly sweet ride as Kurt and Leanna test the powers of Chemistry 101: Opposites Attract.Read, Write, Love at Seaside is a Sweet with Heat novel and conveys all of the passion you'd expect to find between two people in love without any graphic scenes or harsh language. If you're looking for a spicier romance, pick up the steamy edition, Read, Write, Love, written by New York Times bestselling author Melissa Foster. Addison Cole is Melissa's sweet-romance pen name.