Book picks similar to
The Real Thing by Catherine Alliott


chick-lit
romance
fiction
catherine-alliott

On the Other Side


Carrie Hope Fletcher - 2016
    It's the way most people wish to leave the world but when Evie reaches the door of her own private heaven, she finds that she's become her twenty-seven-year-old self and the door won't open.Evie's soul must be light enough to pass through so she needs to get rid of whatever is making her soul heavy. For Evie, this means unburdening herself of the three secrets that have weighed her down for over fifty years, so she must find a way to reveal them before it's too late. As Evie begins the journey of a lifetime, she learns more about life and love than she ever thought possible, and somehow , some way, she may also find her way back to her long lost love . . .Powerful, magical and utterly romantic, On the Other Side will transport you to a world that is impossible to forget. This is a love story like no other which will have you weeping because of the sheer joy and beauty of it all.

Lightning


Danielle Steel - 1995
    Then lightning strikes - a routine medical check-up turns her world upside down when tests reveal shattering news. Her husband Sam, a Wall Street whiz-kid, is as proud of his long-time marriage to Alex as he is of his successful career - until he is caught off guard by Alex's illness. Terrified of losing his wife and family, Sam fails to provide any kind of emotional support.Almost overnight, Sam takes his distance from Alex, and they become strangers. As lightning strikes them yet again, Sam's promising career suddenly explodes into disaster, and his very life and identity are challenged. With his future hanging in the balance, Alex must decide what she feels for Sam, if life will ever be the same for them again, or if she must move on without him.

Elegance


Kathleen Tessaro - 2003
    wants what Jackie O had ...Unhappy with her looks, her life, and her empty marriage, Louise Canova needs help -- and she finds it in a secondhand bookstore. A forty-year-old encyclopedia of style titled Elegance, this slim volume by formidable French fashion expert Madame Dariaux promises to transform even the plainest of women into creatures of poise and grace. It is a fairy godmother in print, an A-to-Z manual with essential advice that Louise vows to take to heart. But within its pages lie not only clues from her past, but also powerful lessons for the future. And as the old Louise gives way to the stunning new, she's about to find out that there's more to every life than what appears on the surface ... and that everything, even elegance, has its price.

Vivien's Heavenly Ice Cream Shop


Abby Clements - 2013
    The Brighton shop is a seafront institution, but though it's big on retro charm it's critically low on customers. If the sisters don't turn things around quickly, their grandmother's legacy will disappear forever.With summer fast approaching, Imogen and Anna devise a plan. Rather than sell up, they will train up, and make the parlour the newest destination on the South Coast foodie map.While Imogen watches the shop and conjures new marketing ideas, her sister flies to Italy to attend a gourmet ice cream-making course. But can their best-laid plans survive their warring family, tempestuous love lives - and the great British Weather? One thing is for certain - this summer will be like no other . . .

Wilde Like Me


Louise Pentland - 2017
    She has a wonderful best friend and an auntie who is bonkers, yes, but loves her to the moon and back. But Robin has a secret. Behind the mask she carefully applies every day, things just feel ... grey. And lonely. She struggles to fit in with the school mum crew. Online dating is totally despair-inducing, and she worries every day about raising her little girl with self-confidence, courage and joy.What Robin longs for is someone (over the age of six) to share with - someone who's always on her team. After 4 years (2 months, and 15 days!) of single-mum-dom, it's time for Robin Wilde to Change. Her. Life. Exciting new opportunities are about to come Robin's way ... Perhaps a man, perhaps the chance of a lifetime ...What will Robin do with the possibilities she creates for herself? And what potential will she unlock if she takes the leap?

We Are Family


Josie Lloyd - 2004
    Fifty years earlier, in the idyllic coastal village of Stepmouth, a forbidden love affair and a devastating flood drove the Vale family apart, but now her aunt is determined that Laurie should know the truth. Laurie escapes to the balmy warmth of Majorca only to find the hopes and passions buried in the past resurfacing in the present. But the more she seeks to heal old wounds, the more she becomes ensnared in a complex love affair of her own. One that could destroy her family for good.A wonderfully entertaining novel about love, family and the secrets that lie just beneath the surface...

One Perfect Summer


Paige Toon - 2012
    She's eighteen and on the brink of starting university, while Joe's life is seemingly going nowhere. But despite their differences, the pair fall hopelessly and desperately in love. And then summer comes to an end and they are dramatically torn apart.Alice heads off to university in Cambridge where she gets a part-time job punting on the River Cam and slowly picks up the pieces of her broken heart. One day Lukas - a gorgeous golden boy from Cambridge University - spies her and it's not long before Alice falls for his charms. Months turns into years, but then Joe comes back into Alice's life again in a way that she could never have imagined. While Alice lives her ordinary life with Lukas, she has to watch from the sidelines as Joe's life becomes evermore extraordinary. She never stopped loving him, but he's out of her reach now, surely? And what about Lukas?

Mermaid Hair and I Don't Care


C.J. Morrow - 2016
     There are two certainties in Lily Ward’s life: • A job she loves with an imminent promotion • A gorgeous boyfriend who’s about to make a commitment But a last minute holiday and office politics are about to cast doubt on those certainties and turn her world upside down. Can Lily weather the storm, uncover the secrets of success, survive the hand of fate and achieve happiness? The perfect read for beach, train or sofa. For lovers of quirky British romcom.

Something Borrowed


Martina Reilly - 2004
    If that doesn't cause friction enough, there's a new face to contend with at work: Ed O'Neill, whom Vicky is convinced is being groomed for her job as manager of Dublin toyshop Toys Galore. Sal, Vicky's go- getting best friend, thinks Ed is gorgeous, and that if Vicky doesn't bag him, she will. But Vicky is going out with Marti, manager of an up- and-coming boy band, with a six-year-old son and complications of his own ...Something Borrowed is the brilliant fourth novel from Tina Reilly: a fresh, frank, funny tale of loves lost and found.

Matchmaking for Beginners


Maddie Dawson - 2018
    Now that she’s marrying the man of her dreams, she’s sure this is the life she’ll get. Then Marnie meets Blix Holliday, her fiancé’s irascible matchmaking great-aunt who’s dying, and everything changes—just as Blix told her it would.When her marriage ends after two miserable weeks, Marnie is understandably shocked. She’s even more astonished to find that she’s inherited Blix’s Brooklyn brownstone along with all of Blix’s unfinished “projects”: the heartbroken, oddball friends and neighbors running from happiness. Marnie doesn’t believe she’s anything special, but Blix somehow knew she was the perfect person to follow in her matchmaker footsteps.And Blix was also right about some things Marnie must learn the hard way: love is hard to recognize, and the ones who push love away often are the ones who need it most.

A Village Affair


Julie Houston - 2018
    So, the last thing she needs is her husband of twenty years being 'outed' at a village charity auction - he has been having an affair with one of her closest friends. As if that weren't enough to cope with, Cassie suddenly finds herself catapulted into the head teacher position, and at the forefront of a fight to ward off developers determined to concrete over the beautiful landscape. But through it all, the irresistible joy of her pupils, the reality of keeping her teenage children on the straight and narrow, her irrepressible family and friends, and the possibility of new love, mean what could have been the worst year ever, actually might be the best yet... Julie Houston's novels are funny, wonderfully warm and completely addictive. Perfect for all fans of Gervaise Phinn, Katie Fforde and Jill Mansell.

Wedding Night


Sophie Kinsella - 2013
    Completely crushed, Lottie reconnects with an old flame, and they decide to take drastic action. No dates, no moving in together, they’ll just get married . . . right now. Her sister, Fliss, thinks Lottie is making a terrible mistake, and will do anything to stop her. But Lottie is determined to say “I do,” for better, or for worse.

Larger Than Life


Adele Parks - 2002
    Now, at thirty-two, she's got the perfect career (in advertising), the perfect body (just say no to doughnuts), and at last, the perfect man (who finally left his overbearing wife). Life with sexy, career-driven Hugh is like a page from a magazine -- what more could a woman want? She never planned on getting pregnant. Now she's the kind of woman who scavenges the office trash bin for that last doughnut...who bursts into tears reading baby books...and whose life is about how it feels on the inside, and not how it looks on the outside. But as George grows bigger, Hugh grows more distant. The tiny being who hasn't even entered the world is already testing theirs. And by the end of nine months, George will know what it truly means to love someone unconditionally -- including herself.

Don't Tell the Groom


Anna Bell - 2012
    So that she doesn’t have to reveal her gambling secret, she convinces her fiancé Mark that they should have a Don’t Tell the Groom themed wedding. Penny then has to plan a wedding fit for a princess on a shoestring budget. But, by the time she discovers that the true meaning of marriage isn’t a Vera Wang wedding dress or Jimmy Choos, will she still have a groom to marry?

The Baby Trail


Sinéad Moriarty - 2004
    She has it all mapped out: Go off the pill in December, have sex, get pregnant by January, have the baby in September. With the help of a personal trainer, she figures she'll be back to her fighting weight in time for Christmas. But when three months of candle-scented sex fails to produce the desired result, Emma decides that maybe Mother Nature needs a helping hand.Soon her life is a roller coaster of post-coital handstands (you can't argue with gravity), hormone-inducing (sanity-reducing!) drugs, and a veritable army of probing specialists (torturers, more like). It's out with alcohol and spontaneous sex, in with green tea and ovulation kits. Emma and James try everything from fertility drugs to in vitro, but all their carefully laid plans seem to go south -- along with Emma's rapidly plummeting self-esteem. The members of her support team are unquestionably loyal, but distracted by their own personal dramas. There's Babs, her younger sister, who prescribes Emma half an Ecstasy pill to treat her depression. Her friend Jess is pregnant with her second child and gives Emma an earful about the downside of motherhood. The glamorous Lucy, Emma's closest pal, fears she might be stuck in her "single rut" forever -- that is, until she meets Donal, a rough-around-the-edges rugby player who passes out on their first date but quickly proves that he is worth a second chance. And last, but certainly not least, is James, Emma's rugby coach husband, who quite unhelpfully manages to give himself a groin injury just when she is ovulating.But just when Emma feels as if her obsession may have alienated all of her loved ones, including James, events take a ninety-degree turn that will have unforeseen consequences for everyone.Sinead Moriarty brings a wicked sense of humor to a subject of feverish concern for women worried by the loud ticking of their biological clocks in this sizzlingly funny, yet deeply moving novel.