Sweetest Heartbreak


Heather Bentley - 2017
    With a supportive family, a great job out of college, and her best friend, Eli, by her side, she doesn’t take anything this life has to offer for granted. A lesson she learned when she lost her dad to cancer. Another lesson she’s learned? Don’t date your best friend. But she and Eli worked through the awkwardness and are now firmly planted in the friend zone. Until she meets Eli’s other best friend, Heath, and true feelings are exposed.Fresh out of rehab, Heath Braeburn is Leah’s opposite in every way. Spoiled. Reckless. Impetuous. The only thing they have in common is Eli, who has been by Heath’s side through it all, including when his mom up and left years ago. A fact he’s never gotten over. But at twenty-four years old, it’s time to prove that he’s not the man everyone has come to expect him to be. Starting with Leah. She is his clean slate. His game changer. But will he become Leah’s biggest regret?This is a story of what happens when friendships are tested, words go unspoken, and hearts are broken. And how three friends all manage to find their way back to each other.Due to strong sexual content, coarse language and mature subject matter, this book is not suitable for readers under the age of 18.

Riding the Bus with My Sister: A True Life Journey


Rachel Simon - 2002
    Beth spends her days riding the buses in her Pennsylvania city. The drivers, a lively group, are her mentors; her fellow passengers are her community. One day, Beth asked Rachel to accompany her on the buses for an entire year; the book is the chronicle of that remarkable time. Rachel, a writer and college teacher whose hyperbusy life camouflaged her emotional isolation, had much to learn in her sister's extraordinary world. Here are life lessons from which every reader can profit: how to live in the moment, how to pay attention to what really matters, how to change, how to love, —and how to slow down and enjoy the ride. Simon elegantly braids together riveting memories of terrifying maternal abandonment, fierce sisterly loyalty, and astonishing forgiveness. She brings to light the almost invisible world of mental retardation, finds unlikely heroes in everyday life, and portrays her very special sister Beth as the endearing and indomitable person she is. This heartwarming book takes the reader on an inspirational journey, at once unique and universal.

Wrecked


Alla Kar - 2014
    But Jordan’s best-friend BEAU RICHARDS doesn’t make Annabelle feel comfortable—he makes her feel like living. One drunken night things get out of hand leaving Annabelle and Beau with a fire in desperate need of extinguishing. But sometimes the direst of problems need more than a fire extinguisher to stop the burn. The class trip to Spain was supposed to be fun. But fun takes the week off when their plane crashes over the Sierra Nevada Mountains of Spain. Only a few of the passengers survive. With loved ones gone, Beau and Annabelle cling tight to one another to survive the hot days and freezing nights. But the guilt of their feelings keep one another from the path they truly want to take.

Not To Us


Katherine Owen - 2011
    Do you take a different path? "There are all kinds of ways for a relationship to be tested, even broken, irrevocably; it’s the endings that we’re unprepared for. My life has become a roller coaster ride mixed with equal amounts of pure joy and exposed fear; and, sometimes, this unfathomable incredulity. This arrives in spurts, like adrenalin or injected heroin; well, how I imagine injected heroin would feel. That’s when I consider that change—change, its inevitability—is coming. And, I can’t stop it." Ellie ~ Not To Us Ellie's perfect world unravels. A best friend's betrayal ends her marriage. An alarming diagnosis threatens her life. Yet. It all leads to Michael... But, fate soon tests their perfect union. And, begs the question: If you get a second chance, do you take a different path? Not To Us is an insightful look into one woman’s personal journey in discovering the only way to keep her one and only wish is to trust the ones that count, beginning with herself. Author's Note : For some fans, this is their favorite book of mine. For others? No. Just know, this is NOT a nice, light, airy romance. Not To Us deals with some heavy subject matters including: infidelity and loss and starting over. There now. You've been warned. ♥ To learn of Owen's newest novel releases and updates, sign up for her newsletter at her website: www.katherineowen.net or visit www.katherineowenauthor.com

Modern Love: True Stories of Love, Loss, and Redemption


Daniel Jones - 2019
    A man's promising fourth date ends in the emergency room. A female lawyer with bipolar disorder experiences the highs and lows of dating. A widower hesitates about introducing his children to his new girlfriend. A divorcée in her seventies looks back at the beauty and rubble of past relationships.These are just a few of the people who tell their stories in Modern Love, Revised and Updated, featuring dozens of the most memorable essays to run in The New York Times "Modern Love" column since its debut in 2004.Some of the stories are unconventional, while others hit close to home. Some reveal the way technology has changed dating forever; others explore the timeless struggles experienced by anyone who has ever searched for love. But all of the stories are, above everything else, honest. Together, they tell the larger story of how relationships begin, often fail, and--when we're lucky--endure.Edited by longtime "Modern Love" editor Daniel Jones and featuring a diverse selection of contributors--including Mindy Hung, Trey Ellis, Ann Hood, Deborah Copaken, Terri Cheney, and more--this is the perfect book for anyone who's loved, lost, stalked an ex on social media, or pined for true romance: In other words, anyone interested in the endlessly complicated workings of the human heart.

This Book Will Save Your Life


A.M. Homes - 2006
    M. Homes has been among the boldest and most original voices of her generation, acclaimed for the psychological accuracy and unnerving emotional intensity of her storytelling. Her keen ability to explore how extraordinary the ordinary can be is at the heart of her touching and funny new novel, her first in six years. Richard Novak is a modern-day Everyman, a middle-aged divorcé trading stocks out of his home. He has done such a good job getting his life under control that he needs no one- except his trainer, nutritionist, and housekeeper. He is functionally dead and doesn't even notice until two incidents-an attack of intense pain that lands him in the emergency room, and the discovery of an expanding sinkhole outside his house-conspire to hurl him back into the world. On his way home from the hospital, Richard forms the first of many new relationships: He meets Anhil, the doughnut shop owner, an immigrant who dreams big. He finds a weeping housewife in the produce section of the supermarket, helps save a horse that has fallen into the sinkhole, daringly rescues a woman from the trunk of her kidnapper's car, and, after the sinkhole claims his house and he has to relocate to a Malibu rental, he befriends a reluctant counterculture icon. In the end, Richard is also brought back in closer touch with his family-his aging parents, his brilliant brother, the beloved ex-wife whom he still desires, and finally, before the story's breathtaking finale, with his estranged son Ben. The promised land of Los Angeles-a surreal city of earthquakes, wildfires, mudslides, and feral Chihuahuas-is also very much a character in This Book Will Save Your Life. A vivid, revealing novel about compassion, transformation, and what can happen if you are willing to lose yourself and open up to the world around you, it should significantly broaden Homes's already substantial audience.

Winter Town


Stephen Emond - 2011
    But when Lucy arrives this year, she's changed. The former "girl next door" now has chopped dyed black hair, a nose stud, and a scowl. But Evan knows that somewhere beneath the Goth, "Old Lucy" still exists, and he's determined to find her... even if it means pissing her off. Garden State meets Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist in this funny and poignant illustrated novel about opposites who fall in love.

The Affair


Colette Freedman - 2013
    Then one day, Kathy discovers a suspicious number on her husband’s phone. Six years before, Kathy accused Robert of infidelity—a charge he vehemently denied—and almost destroyed their marriage in the process.Now Kathy must decide whether to follow her suspicions at the risk of losing everything, or trust the man with whom she’s entwined her past, present, and future. As she grapples with that choice, she is confronted with surprising truths not just about her relationship, but about her friends, family, and her own motivations.

Untouched


Amy Marie - 2018
    Strong language and explicit sexual scenes**** For over a decade, Nicole Ridley has only been with Brad, her high school sweetheart and husband. Even though her dreams of being a journalist were put on hold so she could care for her four children while he worked his way through medical school, she knew there was a light at the end of this very long––and lonely––tunnel. They always found time for one another until it started to slowly fade away, and then her world was rocked to the core with four words she never thought she’d hear… “I want a divorce.” Untouched by another and feeling unloved and unattractive, Nicole sets out on a journey to rediscover the strong, desirable woman she once was and knows she can be again. New job. New house. New sexy as sin boss who has his eyes set on her. And a soon to be ex-husband who realizes he’s made a horrible mistake. Will Nicole give in to the temptation of another man, or will history and love win?

Revenge Cake


Skyler Mason - 2020
    I tried to protect myself, using my natural coldness to resist his compelling warmth. But he wore me down with his beautiful face and self-deprecating charm.He made me feel like the center of his universe.Until one day, I wasn’t.The anxiety and the pills turned me into a different person.But did I deserve to be abandoned in the darkest moment of my life?He shattered my heart into a million pieces, and now it’s time to give him a taste of his own medicine.Revenge never tasted so sweet.LoganI was done with love until the night I saw her.She opened that sassy, heart-shaped mouth and called me weak.And just like that, I was a goner.I knew she was the only woman for me.And in a moment of weakness, I may have lost her forever.I was tired of being ignored.I didn’t know what to do with her addiction to anxiety pills.But did I have to let it cost me my soulmate?I won’t let my mistake ruin us.And if she thinks I’ll just stand by while she moves on, she’s got another thing coming.Warning: This book explores the topics of panic disorder, addiction, and cheating.

Sia


Josh Grayson - 2013
    Yet after a week of being homeless, she’s reunited with her family. At school, she’s powerful and popular. At home, she’s wealthy beyond her dreams. But she quickly realizes her perfect life is a lie. Her family is falling apart and her friends are snobby, cruel and plastic. Worse yet, she discovers she was the cruelest one. Mortified by her past, she embarks on a journey of redemption and falls for Kyle, the “geek” she once tormented. Yet all the time she wonders if, when her memories return, she’ll become the bully she was before…and if she’ll lose Kyle.

Tiger, Tiger


Margaux Fragoso - 2011
    She is seven; he is fifty-one. When Peter invites her and her mother to his house, the little girl finds a child's paradise of exotic pets and an elaborate backyard garden. Her mother, beset by mental illness and overwhelmed by caring for Margaux, is grateful for the attention Peter lavishes on her, and he creates an imaginative universe for her, much as Lewis Carroll did for his real-life Alice. In time, he insidiously takes on the role of Margaux's playmate, father, and lover. Charming and manipulative, Peter burrows into every aspect of Margaux's life and transforms her from a child fizzing with imagination and affection into a brainwashed young woman on the verge of suicide. But when she is twenty-two, it is Peter -- ill, and wracked with guilt -- who kills himself, at the age of sixty-six. Told with lyricism, depth, and mesmerizing clarity, Tiger, Tiger vividly illustrates the healing power of memory and disclosure. This extraordinary memoir is an unprecedented glimpse into the psyche of a young girl in free fall and conveys to readers -- including parents and survivors of abuse -- just how completely a pedophile enchants his victim and binds her to him.

Changing Everything


Molly McAdams - 2015
    But after twelve years of only being his best friend and wingman, the heartache that comes from watching him with countless other women becomes too much, and Paisley decides its time to lay all her feelings on the table.Eli Jenkins has a life most guys would kill for: Dream job, countless women, and his best friend, Paisley, to be the girl he can always count on for everything else. But one conversation not only changes everything between them, it threatens to make him lose the only girl who has ever meant anything to him.When tragedy strikes his family and Eli is forced to reevaluate his life, he realizes a life without Paisley isn’t a life at all. Only now, he may be too late.

Exquisitely Broken


M. Jay Granberry - 2019
    What happens in Vegas…?Sinclair James wasn’t from my world.She didn’t have my pedigree or family money.She was everything I never wanted,Everything I now realize I needed.I loved her for six years, her soul, her body, her music.Until I threw it all away.One decision changed everything.One decision destroyed what we had.She slipped from my life as quietly as she had stolen my heartBut now she’s back.Sinclair is still mine, she just doesn’t know it yet.This time I’m not letting her go.So, what happens in Vegas…?A second chance to repair what was broken.

James Black


Skye Turner - 2015
    Blockbuster films, tabloid headlines, and broken hearts surround this golden playboy. Avangeline Price, a strong willed, tough as nails, zero tolerance for games woman who believes love only exists in books and movies. James is accustomed to women falling at his feet. Avangeline has an intense dislike of celebrities and an even bigger dislike of James Black. She's unimpressed. He's intrigued. Both have preconceived notions.But… sometimes the unscripted territory is what matters most. When Hollywood meets Louisiana, can real life rival the movies?***This book contains graphic sex and explicit language. It is NOT intended for those readers under the age of 18 OR who don't read that type of book.