Book picks similar to
The Mini-Break by Maddie Please


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Weekend Arrangement


Sophie Penhaligon - 2021
    When she discovers her live-in boyfriend in a compromising situation, she realizes she will either have to face poverty or buckle down and get a proper job. A call from a prestigious publishing house interested in her travel guides appears to be the golden opportunity she’s been waiting for, along with a proposition she wasn’t expecting.Suave & sophisticated businessman Daniel Lane has been living his life on autopilot. When circumstances force him to take over the family publishing business, he finds himself living a life that lacks the adventure he so desperately craves. That is until Olivia walks into his life and turns it on its head. He finds himself drawn to this rather unconventional girl, but can he have his cake and eat it too, or will he have to sacrifice his well-ordered lifestyle in order to live the life of his dreams?

Don't You Forget About Me


Liz Tipping - 2016
    But stuck in her small hometown, with no prospects of escape, she's struggling to find her thing. Her life is more book club than Breakfast Club and there is no Judd Nelson in sight!So when Cara is invited to a school reunion she knows this is her chance to channel her inner Molly Ringwald and grab her John Hughes moment, once and for all. Because her teenage love, Daniel Rose will be there, the coolest boy at school and the one that got away.But transforming into an 80's icon isn't easy and Cara enlists the help of her oldest friend, Stubbs, to teach her all she needs to know about being cool and quirky – a la Ringwald.Except Stubbs thinks she’s perfect, just as she is and takes it upon himself to show Cara that her life might not be ‘movie perfect’, but there is always another take to get things right. And maybe the hero she's dreamed of has been under her nose the whole time…From the author of the hilarious Five Go Glamping comes your perfect summer read

A Girl Called Hope (Hope Series Book 1)


Kay Seeley - 2019
     In Victorian London’s East End, life for Hope Daniels in the public house run by her parents is not as it seems. Pa drinks and gambles, brother John longs for a place of his own, sister Violet dreams of a life on stage and little Alfie is being bullied at school. Silas Quirk, the charismatic owner of a local gentlemen’s club and disreputable gambling den her father frequents, has his own plans for Hope. When disaster strikes the family lose everything and the future they planned is snatched away from them. Secrets are revealed that make Hope question all she’s ever believed in. Can Hope keep them together when fate is pulling them apart? What will she sacrifice to save her family? A captivating story of tragedy and triumph you won’t want to put down.

The Daughter’s Choice


S.D. Robertson - 2021
    Her mother died soon after she was born, so it’s been just the two of them for as long as she can remember.But a chance encounter days before she's due to get married leaves Rose questioning everything she has ever known.The man she trusts most in the world has been keeping a secret from her.And the truth will leave her with an impossible choice…An emotional family drama about the secrets we keep from those closest to us, perfect for fans of Jodi Picoult and Susan Lewis.

The Antenatal Group


Amy Bratley - 2013
    And so the expectant mother believes that she is about to face parenthood alone. Instead, Mel finds herself introduced to the world of pain relief and labour positions with a group of women who quickly become valuable friends in the terrifying new world of motherhood...Katy, a rich and successful professional woman with the dream husband, has her birth designed to perfection but soon realises that nature doesn't always follow plans.Lexi, loud and confident, is doing pregnancy alone, and coping well. Until the only man she has ever loved makes a reappearance at the most unexpected moment.Rebecca, the youngest of the group, is an independent and strong-minded woman who is determined to hold onto her dreams.Erin already seems to be an expert on babies, but her over-protective attitude towards her bump is hiding a tragic story from the past.Each of these women has a different kind of complicated life, but as mums-to-be the five discover together that preparing for the birth of a baby is one time when every woman needs four new friends.

The Start of Us


Hannah Emery - 2020
    They know that fate has led them to each other.Daniel knows Erica is special, but he doesn’t quite understand how special she is. Because Erica has a unique gift: an ability to slip between worlds and observe a life she’s never lived, made up of all the paths she didn’t take. But just as their lives seem perfect, tragedy strikes. Erica’s gift offers them hope – a chance to re-do their lives. But going back comes with risks.What if Erica can’t find Daniel again? What if their paths were never meant to cross? What if going back means Erica has to give up all the happiness – and pain – of today?What if you got the chance to live another life…would you take it?

Among a Thousand Stars


Jo Bartlett - 2015
    Ten years later, with best friend Stevie at her side, and a successful career as a freelance photographer for monthly magazine Glitz, it looks like she might have finally got the hang of things. Only she seems to have inherited the embarrassment gene from her mother and her every encounter with new boss, Tom Rushworth, looks set to send her career spiralling backwards. Getting past their shaky start, Ashleigh and Tom embark on a relationship that was only ever meant to be a bit of fun. But when life, paparazzi and love-sick Labradors get in the way, they suddenly find themselves caught in a roller coaster ride of emotions.

If Every Day Was Christmas


Donna Ashcroft - 2020
    She runs a year-round Christmas shop in the little Scottish village, and is a fan of all things mulled, sparkly and festive. So when her warring family shows up on her doorstep, ready to spread discord and tension, Meg is determined not to let them ruin her favourite time of the year.Meanwhile, Christmas-hating Tom Riley-Clark has been called to the Highlands to help his old friend at The Apple Cross Inn. He’s ready to work hard and has no time for mince pies, tinsel or hanging a promise on the tree: the thought of every day being Christmas is his worst nightmare, and you wouldn’t catch him dead buying a bauble. So everyone is surprised when Christmas-loving Meg and grinch Tom start to get cozy under the mistletoe.But Tom has a big secret about his past, and in a small town like Lockton it’s hard to keep anything hidden for long. Will everything fall apart when Meg discovers who he really is? The pair are about to learn the hard way that some promises are impossible to keep…It’s time to curl up for an enchanting festive romance about learning to trust yourself, taking chances and not being afraid to fall in love. Perfect for fans of Nicola May, Debbie Macomber and Milly Johnson.

A Year of Chasing Love


Rosie Chambers - 2020
    One moment can change a lifetime…The last thing top divorce lawyer Olivia Hamilton ever expected was to be served her own divorce papers! To escape her marriage troubles, she agrees to go on a year-long trip to find the ultimate guide to love.Travelling the world, surrounded by stories of love and happiness, it’s not long before her thoughts turn to Nathan, her soon-to-be ex-husband, and she starts to take note of her own lessons in love…But with Nathan over a thousand miles away, will it be too late?Perfect for fans of Cathy Bramley, Philippa Ashley and Caroline Roberts.

Summer Island


Natalie Normann - 2020
    He’s an outsider in the community that should have been his family, and now he’s setting foot on the strange land he has inherited for the first time.The welcome is a mix of distrust and strange gifts of food, especially from enigmatic Ninni Toft, his nearest neighbour, who has arrived for the season to get over a broken heart. Her wild spirit and irrepressible enthusiasm for the quirky locals are a heady brew for city-boy Jack, who is discovering the simple pleasures of island life – and what it means to belong. To a place. To a people. To one person in particular…Home is where the heart is, but is Jack’s heart with the career he left behind in London, or on the wind-swept shores of Summer Island, with Ninni?

Escape to the Cotswolds


Natalie Kleinman - 2017
    Instead, she’s focusing on her little gallery and adopting an adorable Border Collie puppy named Tubs. Or so she thought…Because no matter how hard she tries to resist him, local vet Adam Whitney is utterly gorgeous. And in a village as small as this one, Holly can only avoid Adam for so long! Fans of Milly Johnson, Caroline Roberts and Jill Mansell will love this heart-warming read!

Summer at Coastguard Cottages


Jennifer Bohnet - 2017
    But after eight weeks, unexpected events will change their lives forever…

A Stitch in Time


Beryl Kingston - 1995
    But when war breaks out across Europe and her older brother enlists, nothing will ever be the same again.As men leave for the war in droves, the girls must take on whatever work they can find to make ends meet. High-risk work in munitions factories and back-breaking domestic labour seem to be all that’s available to them, but Rose has other ideas…A tale of love and heartbreak, triumph and resilience, this sweeping saga by best-selling author Beryl Kingston takes the reader inside the extraordinary lives of ordinary women in Wartime London.A Stitch in Time was first published in 1995 as Alive and Kicking.

A Summer of New Beginnings


Lisa Hobman - 2019
    Jetting from wooden huts on stilts in turquoise seas to boutique hotels with roaring fires to 7* penthouse suites with panoramic views of the world's most glamorous cities... Zara knows hers is the definition of a dream job! So she is seriously shocked to receive her next assignment; Scotland's Northcoast 500 route. By bicycle. Sleeping in a tent so basic it can't remotely be dressed up glamping! But this could be just the distraction the recently heartbroken, Zara needs. No men, no romance, just the breathtakingly rugged Highland scenery. Until she meets croft owner Lachlan Grant, and his black and white Border Collie Bess, that is...

Lucy's Last Straw


Debbie Viggiano - 2019
    As I rubbed it away AGAIN, I was reminded of everything else I’ve put up with these twenty-five years. My husband’s obsession with his pension, his ability to charm me into every single one of his ideas, never being taken on a romantic date, let alone ravished on the patio (like the woman who lives next door)… small things, but the realisation was huge. Just when Lucy Jones thinks her marriage is about to screech to a halt over toothpaste, her husband, Leo, announces he wants to move to tumbledown (clapped-out) Rose Cottage, and Lucy knows she’ll be the one managing the renovations. Then along comes gorgeous builder Will, ten years younger and the only person actually listening to Lucy. His twinkly eyes and blowtorch smile are causing Lucy to break out in a hot sweat – but is it love, lust or simply dodgy hormones that are causing her heart to flutter? Lucy loves her husband, but everyone knows that little things build up. And then they explode. Can Lucy keep it together, or will there be one last straw she might not be able to get over?