Book picks similar to
Jungle Rock: A fabulous & funny feel-good read by Caroline James
romance
book-reviews
chick-lit
short-stories-novellas
An Affair to Dismember
Elise Sax - 2013
That’s why Gladie is more than a little skeptical when her Grandma Zelda — who is more than a little psychic — recruits her into the family’s matchmaking business in the quaint small town of Cannes, California. What’s more, Gladie is also highly unqualified, having a terrible track record with romance. Still, Zelda is convinced that her granddaughter has her clairvoyant “gift.” But when the going gets tough, Gladie wonders if this gift has a return policy. When Zelda’s neighbor drops dead in his kitchen, Gladie is swept into his bizarre family’s drama. Despite warnings from the (distractingly gorgeous) chief of police to steer clear of his investigation, Gladie is out to prove that her neighbor’s death was murder. It’s not too long before she’s in way over her head — with the hunky police chief, a dysfunctional family full of possible killers, and yet another mysterious and handsome man, whose attentions she’s unable to ignore. Gladie is clearly being pursued — either by true love or by a murderer. Who will catch her first?
Deadlines
Camilla Chafer - 2016
But on the very first day, it all goes horribly wrong. The apartment is less “young professional” and more “young offender,” as the only furnishing is a handsome squatter with roving eyes. Even worse, Ben Kosina, her predecessor at The Chronicle, has returned to claim his former job, leaving Shayne nothing but the obituary column and a simple choice: take it or leave it. Her first assignment should be easy: eulogizing the accidental death of washed-up former child-star, Chucky Barnard, and filing her column. Yet when Shayne interviews the people closest to Chucky, his sister claims Chucky had everything to live for, suggesting his untimely death could only be murder. Convinced this could be the perfect headline to put her life back on track, Shayne vows to find the truth, persuade a reticent homicide detective to investigate, and bring a killer to justice, all before Ben grabs her story and the killer makes Shayne his or her personal deadline.
Tell me no Secrets
Lynda Stacey - 2017
Not everyone was so lucky … On the surface her fiancé Rob is supportive – but the reality is different. He’s controlling, manipulative and, if the phone call Kate overhears is anything to go by, he has a secret. But just how dangerous is that secret? When Kate begins work at a firm of private investigators, she meets Ben Parker. His strong and silent persona is intriguing but it’s also a cover – because something devastating happened to Ben, something he can’t get over. As Kate and Ben begin their first assignment, they become close. But, what they don’t realise is how close to home the investigation will bring them, or who will be hurt in the process …
The Little Theatre on the Seafront
Katie Ginger - 2018
Faced with a decaying building, a mayor who most definitely isn’t on board with the project and a group of actors who just can’t get along, Lottie has her hands full, but with best friend Sid by her side she knows she can do it somehow.But the arrival of Jeremy, a hotshot London developer who sweeps Lottie off her feet, complicates things. Suddenly Sid gets a new girlfriend, the Greenley Players fall apart, and that crumbling building? Well it crumbles a whole lot more. With no one to turn to, Lottie has to find the courage to save the day.
Will Lottie be able to save the theatre and also follow her heart?
The School of Starting Over
Lisa Swift - 2020
At least, she had until she arrived at her new home of Humblebee Farm, a dilapidated farmhouse on the Yorkshire moors. But so what if the roof’s full of holes, the back door’s hanging off and there’s a sheep in the front room? Because sometimes a new beginning means starting at the bottom… right?Xander Scott is one of the youngest headteachers Leyholme Primary School has ever had. But managing over-zealous parents and their semi-feral kids proves a tricky task for shy Xander – as does keeping his mind on the job when his feelings for the new Reception teacher become more than strictly professional…At 43, Nell’s new friend Stevie Madeleine has given up on love. After losing her wife, Stevie’s decided that her four-year-old daughter Milly and cocker spaniel Red are the only girls she needs in her life. That is, until larger-than-life dog-walker Deb arrives on the scene. But will the secrets of Stevie’s past stop her new romance dead in its tracks?Meeting Xander and Stevie brings joy back into Nell’s life – but when old secrets start to surface, there may be some hard lessons to learn for them all…
City of Second Chances
Jane Lacey-Crane - 2018
Evie Grant is forty-five years old, a widow, and single mum of two children about to leave the nest. Suddenly alone in the family home, Evie realizes she hates her job, hardly goes out and hasn't had a date since who knows when... So it feels like fate when the opportunity arises for a girls trip to New York City. Staying with her sister on the Upper East Side, Evie is enchanted by a snow-covered city consumed by preparing for Christmas. Bobble hat firmly on, Evie is walking through the city one day when she bumps into Daniel Roberts, Hollywood heartthrob and one-time boyfriend of hers. It's now or never for Evie – but she open her heart to the possibility of a new beginnings and true happiness once again...? Funny, real and wonderfully romantic, this is the perfect feel-good read to keep you warm this winter!
Escape for the Summer
Ruth Saberton - 2014
"Takes Bridget Jones's mantle and runs with it" Heat Magazine "Made me laugh out loud" Richard Madeley Can Andi Evans find the strength to start again? Betrayed and broken-hearted, Andi's redundancy is one shock too many. Suddenly single and in debt, a summer working in the pretty Cornish town of Rock seems the perfect solution.Determined never to trust again, will a chance meeting with a stranger change her mind? Andi's sister, Angel, is determined to find a man who can keep her in style. Heading to Rock, summer playground of the rich and famous, seems an inspired idea until a misunderstanding threatens to end a romance that has started to mean more to her than she ever expected... Actress Gemma is no stranger to diets and disappointments. As the future of her career hangs in the balance, Gemma hopes a summer in Cornwall solves her problems. With a reality TV show being filmed in the seaside town surely she can avoid the pasty shops and win herself a role. Arriving in idyllic Cornwall, all three girls are hoping for a holiday to remember. But will this be for the right reasons? Or, as emotions run higher than the tide, will the summer escape turn their lives upside down?
The Ultimate Guide to Darcy Carter
Teresa Slack - 2006
Regardless, she doubts she can guide herself out of a brown paper bag. When her editor suggests she write The Ultimate Guide to Finding Mr. Right, she wants no part of it. To avoid Mr. Right--since she's pretty sure he doesn't exist--and hopefully figure out where the discontentment with her life is coming from, she heads south to research one last ultimate guidebook. The questions and doubts swirling around in her head follow. If she's no longer America's Ultimate Guide Girl, who is she? Would she recognize Mr. Right if he was standing right in front of her? Where does an Ultimate Guide Girl turn for guidance? Her heavenly father who gives wisdom to all who seek it? Or can she rely on herself, the woman with all the answers? This clean contemporary Christian romance is a feel-good, laugh-out-loud story that reminds us sometimes the things we work so hard for don't bring the fulfillment and happiness we're looking for.
In Woolen Bikinis (Jean & Rosie, #2)
Catherine Dougherty - 2013
. .Jean and Rosie are involved in a new adventure together—one they’re both excited about—and they’ll introduce you to some interesting characters along the way.While Jean is also busy dealing with numerous man issues, her best friend, Rosie, has plenty of issues of her own: she’s facing empty nest syndrome, her husband is recovering from heart surgery, and she’s finally prepared to solve a deep, dark secret from her past. Then, there’s the unexpected news that could shatter her optimism and faith. In Woolen Bikinis is an engaging story about the unexpected twists and turns that can happen in any woman’s life, as well as a strong friendship, one Jean and Rosie are fortunate to have, that can help carry one through.It’s also about Simple Pleasures, plenty of them (like woolen bikinis). Be prepared to be delighted!
The Day We Met
Barbara Bretton - 1999
. . or was it forever?
Another unforgettable love story from USA Today Bestselling Author Barbara Bretton
It's 7:08 on the morning of Maggy O'Brien's thirty-fifth birthday and she's driving carpool in her pajamas and bunny slippers. She can't remember the last time she shaved her legs. She's hasn't slept past dawn since her kids were born and one of them is now a teenager. Can life possibly get any worse? The second she sees her sisters waiting impatiently at the foot of her driveway, she knows the answer to that question. Claire and Ellie are staging a makeover intervention and no amount of protest can save Maggy from being cut and colored and waxed to within an inch of her life. And as if that's not enough, they announce she's being banished to Atlantic City for an all-expenses-paid getaway weekend for one. Maggy isn't a sequins-and-stilettos kind of woman. She's a single mom who is more comfortable pushing a shopping cart through Stop & Shop than sipping champagne in the backseat of a stretch limo headed toward Vegas on the Jersey Shore. Still even Maggy isn't immune to playing Cinderella for a weekend, even if it only means room service lobster and trying her hand at the penny slots. But when she locks eyes a few hours later with ruggedly handsome police detective Conor Riley, she discovers there's more to Cinderella's story than dancing until midnight. They agree it's just a fling. A weekend of magic with no strings attached. They'd say goodbye on Sunday night and return to their everyday lives with sweet memories and no regrets. But Maggy and Conor are about to discover that maybe some flings are meant to last forever . . .
Neanderthal Seeks Human
Penny Reid - 2013
To her utter mortification, Quinn Sullivan—aka Sir McHotpants—witnesses it all then keeps turning up like a pair of shoes you lust after but can't afford. The last thing she expects is for Quinn to make her an offer she can't refuse.Neanderthal Seeks Human is book #1 in the Knitting in the City series. Each book is a standalone, full length, contemporary romantic comedy novel, and follows the misadventures and exploits of seven friends in Chicago, all members of the same knitting group.
Carrots
Colleen Helme - 2011
Her life is organized and predictable, revolving around her husband and two children. All that changes the day she stops at the grocery store for some carrots. As the cashier rings up her purchases, a gunman is busy robbing the bank inside the store. When a customer grabs the robber's mask, he is shot and everyone runs for cover. Everyone except Shelby, who finds herself face to face with the killer. The next thing she knows, she's lying on the floor with a bullet wound to her head. Luckily, the bullet only grazes her scalp, and she doesn't suspect any lasting affects until later, when she suddenly 'hears' what people are thinking. With this uncanny ability, her life takes on a whole new dimension. Her kids think she's bossy and too old to understand them, but that's nothing compared to her husband. He says he loves her, but what is it about the redhead at work that he doesn't want her to know? As if that isn't enough, the gunman knows she can identify him, and he's out to silence her forever. In her fight to stay alive, she is saved from certain death by a handsome hit-man with ties to organized crime. This pulls Shelby even deeper into danger, where knowing someone's thoughts can not only hurt her feelings, but get her killed.
Adapted for Film
Stacey Rourke - 2015
She would be celebrating this momentous event, if she wasn’t busy fighting over every tiny production detail with the maddeningly cavalier director, Kole Camden. When news of their heated rivalry hits the gossip columns, drastic measures must be taken to save their sinking project. In an elaborate PR hoax, she is publicly linked to Greyson Meyers, the swoon-worthy star of her movie. A whirl-wind love affair is staged for the couple to mirror the steamy chapters of her own books. Can the introverted author resist the charms of Hollywood’s sexiest leading man? Or will love find her in the City of Angels?
Autumn Leaves: Chick-lit Anthology
Samantha Bond - 2015
Now an act of God will force them together - but can it reconcile their hearts? Leaving Princess Kate by Samantha BondMark and Kate were the perfect couple, living the perfect life in their fairytale cottage, until it all went terribly wrong. Now Mark is certain Kate is going to leave him - but not if he leaves her first...Stolen Kisses by Carla CarusoShy journalist Misty wasn't happy about leaving the bright lights of the city to follow an ageing rock band on tour. Then she met handsome photographer Jesse, and now leaving him is the last thing on her mind...Run to You by Laura GreavesMelissa signed up for the New York City Marathon in an effort to run away from her troubled past. Can she leave her broken heart behind when new romance beckons?Rebound by Georgina PenneySamantha left Peaceful Bay without a backwards glance - but now she's back in town, broke, unemployed and living with her OCD mother. Even worse, her childhood nemesis, Craig, is enjoying every minute of her downfall...Just Friends by Katie SpainNathan is the man of her dreams, but even on their wedding night she knows she should leave him. Is their love enough to make it work?
The Instant When Everything is Perfect
Jessica Barksdale Inclán - 2006
But illness shakes her out of her comfort zone when her mother is diagnosed with breast cancer. At her mother's bedside, she meets someone whose presence seems to fill a void in her, a void she wasn't even aware existed. Robert is happily convinced he's going to spend his life alone until he meets Mia, who makes him question everything. As a surgeon, he's helped many women put their lives back together. And despite his compelling feelings about Mia, he doesn't want to make hers fall apart.