Book picks similar to
Matilda Next Door by Kelly Hunter
romance
contemporary
australia
arc
Southern Ruby
Belinda Alexandra - 2016
Family secrets. A twist of fate. The stunning new generational saga from Belinda Alexandra, bestselling author of TUSCAN ROSE.In New Orleans - the city of genteel old houses and ancient oak trees covered in Spanish moss, of seductive night life, of Creole culture, voodoo and jazz - two women separated by time and tragedy will find each other at last.Amanda, orphaned as a child and suffering the loss of her beloved grandmother, has left Sydney in search of a family she never knew. Ruby, constrained by the expectations of society and class, is carrying a lifetime of secrets. Amanda’s arrival sparks revelations long buried: a double life, a forbidden love, and a loss that cannot be forgotten.Southern Ruby is a sweeping story of love, passion, family and honour. Alternating in time between the 1950s and the eve of Hurricane Katrina, it is also a tribute to a city heady with mystery, music, and superstition, which has borne the tumults of race and class and the fury of nature, but has never given up hope.Praise for Belinda Alexandra’s novels:'Unforgettable … intrigue, passion, betrayal – all the ingredients for a must-read novel. And that is this author’s specialty’ Woman’s Day‘A passionate and powerful family saga’ Australian Women’s Weekly‘Filled with glamour, heartbreak, drama and suspense’ The Age‘Totally enthralling’ Herald Sun
Loss Recovery
Jemma Westbrook - 2019
Knew what it would cost him.It was a price he was willing to pay.But then he met Bess Hines in a bar. One perfect night with her had him second-guessing everything. His choices. His life.Himself.Because no matter how perfect she felt in his arms, Wade had to let her go, taking nothing but the sweet memory of her body under his.It was the only way to keep her safe from the danger following him closer than a shadow.Only Bess wasn’t safe.When Team Rogue is hired to protect Bess from a danger all her own, Wade has a chance to protect the woman he never should have left.
A woman who can give him everything he never knew he wanted.
****
Bess Hines is hiding.
Tucked away in the mountains of Alaska, hoping for a miracle.An answer to her prayers.Wade Denison is neither of those.Two years ago he showed her a tiny taste of heaven then left without so much as a goodbye.Seeing him again is the worst kind of torture. Being put under his protection is worse.Especially since Wade might be just as big of a threat as the one he’s been hired to protect her from.Because he may have walked away from their night together with nothing but a memory, but Bess left with something more.
Something she will guard with her life.
The Rules of Backyard Croquet
Sunni Overend - 2013
But when her sister Poppy needs a wedding dress, old passions are reignited ... along with threats from her past.As Apple finds herself falling for someone she shouldn't, her quest to re-emerge becomes entangled in a time she wants forgotten, and life unravels as quickly as it began to mend.From the cool heart of Melbourne to Paris and New York, in an effervescent world of croquet, Campari and cocoon coats, can Apple prevail over demons past to become the woman she was born to be?
The Way Forward
Eliana West - 2020
He traveled the world, earned a fortune, and made a lifetime of memories, but now he longs to put down roots. Time hasn’t been kind to his hometown, and Dax wants to help—if only he can convince everyone he’s not the same petulant boy he used to be. Especially the one woman who has every reason not to trust him.Librarian Callie Colton cherished summers with her grandparents, in the town her ancestors helped build, in spite of the boy who called her names. Now that Colton is her home, life is quiet until Dax returns…and, along with him, threatening letters on her doorstep. He may still have the power to hurt her, but she’s not the same scared little girl she used to be.But as the danger escalates, Dax will have to face his past to find a way forward for the relationship they were cheated of once before.
Rookie Shift
Mia Taylor - 2018
Unfortunately for me, a past I never knew about is about to slap me in the face, one wrought with supernatural forces. My training officer, August stares at me like he knows something about me but nothing throws a wrench into my destiny like the untimely arrival of a dark shadow from the past. And now August has to train me on much more than just policing. Author's Note: Due to the steamy nature this book is recommended for 18 and over. It is a stand a lone with an HEA.
Montana Christmas Magic
Kaylie Newell - 2020
After spending his childhood traveling the world with his one-hit wonder rocker dad, he loves his quiet and unremarkable life in Marietta. Then the beautiful Raelyssa Woods knocks on his door. Her bold spirit immediately turns his predictable life upside down, and suddenly Griffin wants to ask Santa for so much more.Rae Woods loves running her café in the small Montana town she calls home. She specializes in comfort food because she loves spreading joy to everyone she meets—two-footed or four. But after she impulsively takes in a homeless dog she names Noel, her big heart lands her in bigger trouble when her landlord threatens to toss her out. Grasping at holiday straws, she remembers a cute accountant who owes her a favor—and she happens to know he’s got a fenced yard and hidden soft spot.When Griffin reluctantly agrees to foster Noel, he inadvertently sets in motion several Christmas miracles that neither he nor Rae could have ever seen coming.
Below Deck
Sophie Hardcastle - 2020
Estranged from her parents, and living with her grandfather who is drowning in sadness, Oli faces the reality of life beyond university alone. When she wakes on a boat with no recollection of how she got there, she accepts the help of two strangers who change the course of her future forever. With Mac and Maggie, Oli learns to navigate a life upon open ocean and the world flowers into colours she's never seen before. Four years later, Oli, fluent in the language of the sea, is the only woman among men on a yacht delivery from Noumea to Auckland. In the darkness below deck, she learns that at sea, no one can hear you scream. Moving to London, Oli's life at sea is buried. When she meets Hugo, the wind changes, and her memories are dust blown into shapes. Reminding her of everything. Below Deck is about the moments that haunt us, the moments that fan out like ripples through the deep. So that everything else, becomes everything after.
Crackenback
Lee Christine - 2021
The terrifying arrival of Jack Walker turns Eva's world upside down as the consequences of Jack's presence become clear.With a killer on the loose, Jack Walker and Ryder are tangled in the same treacherous web - spun across the perilously beautiful Crackenback Range.
Crimson Lake
Candice Fox - 2017
How do you move on when the world won’t let you?12:46: Claire Bingley stands alone at a bus stop12:47: Ted Conkaffey parks his car beside her12:52: The girl is missing . . .Six minutes in the wrong place at the wrong time—that’s all it took to ruin Sydney detective Ted Conkaffey’s life. Accused but not convicted of a brutal abduction,Ted is now a free man—and public enemy number one. Maintaining his innocence, he flees north to keep a low profile amidst the steamy, croc-infested wetlands of Crimson Lake.There, Ted’s lawyer introduces him to eccentric private investigator Amanda Pharrell, herself a convicted murderer. Not entirely convinced Amanda is a cold-blooded killer, Ted agrees to help with her investigation, a case full of deception and obsession, while secretly digging into her troubled past. The residents of Crimson Lake are watching the pair's every move... and the town offers no place to hide.
The Museum of Modern Love
Heather Rose - 2016
Art will break your heart. There will be glorious days. If you want eternity you must be fearless.' From The Museum of Modern LoveShe watched as the final hours of The Artist is Present passed by, sitter after sitter in a gaze with the woman across the table. Jane felt she had witnessed a thing of inexplicable beauty among humans who had been drawn to this art and had found the reflection of a great mystery. What are we? How should we live?If this was a dream, then he wanted to know when it would end. Maybe it would end if he went to see Lydia. But it was the one thing he was not allowed to do.Arky Levin is a film composer in New York separated from his wife, who has asked him to keep one devastating promise. One day he finds his way to The Atrium at MOMA and sees Marina Abramovic in The Artist is Present. The performance continues for seventy-five days and, as it unfolds, so does Arky. As he watches and meets other people drawn to the exhibit, he slowly starts to understand what might be missing in his life and what he must do.This dazzlingly original novel asks beguiling questions about the nature of art, life and love and finds a way to answer them.
Learning to Love
Sheryl Browne - 2013
But when Andrea Kelly’s house burns down, taking all her earthly possessions with it, it’s the distant and aloof Doctor David Adams – the person she would least expect – who opens his door not just to her, but to her three kids and slightly dotty elderly mother as well. Andrea needs all the help she can get, dealing with aftermath of the fire and in the suspicious absence of her husband, Jonathan. But, as she gets to know David and his troubled son, Jake, she begins to realise that maybe they need her help as much as she needs theirs … Previously published by the author. Revised and updated by Choc Lit May 2016.
The Paris Wedding
Charlotte Nash - 2017
Instead she stayed on the family wheat farm, caring for her seriously ill mother and letting go of her dreams. Now, Matthew is marrying someone else. And Rachael is invited to the wedding, a lavish affair in Paris, courtesy of the flamboyant family of Matthew's fiancée - a once-in-a-lifetime celebration at someone else's expense in Europe's most romantic city.She is utterly unprepared for what the week brings. Friendships will be upended, secrets will be revealed - and on the eve of the wedding, Rachael is faced with an impossible dilemma: should she give up on the promise of love, or destroy another woman's life for a chance at happiness?If you enjoy reading Rachael Treasure and Rachael Johns, you'll fall in love with this deliciously poignant story about family and friends, and love lost and found.
Summer Harvest
Georgina Penney - 2016
When her Aussie-soap-obsessed grandma sends her to Australia to recover, it seems a great opportunity for some rest and relaxation while she figures out what's next.But when Beth arrives in Australia things get off to a rocky start. To begin with, she's on the wrong coast and there are deadly creatures everywhere. And if that weren't enough, her neighbours are driving her crazy. She's staying in the beautiful Margaret River wine region, right next door to a family-owned vineyard. It should be perfect, but the boisterous Hardy clan just don't seem able to leave her alone. The usually reserved Beth is soon reluctantly embroiled in their family disputes and romantic entanglements. And eldest son Clayton Hardy is proving surprisingly persistent.The more Beth gets to know Clayton and the Hardys, the more she sees what she wants for her future. But as the end of summer approaches, her past comes back to haunt her and will test her newfound relationships to the limit.From the author of Fly In Fly Out comes this entertaining and touching story about family, friendship and love among the grapevines.
The Golden Child
Wendy James - 2017
Two gorgeous children, a handsome husband, destiny under control. For her real-life alter-ego Beth, things are unravelling. Tensions are simmering with her husband, mother-in-law and even her own mother. Her teenage daughters, once the objects of her existence, have moved beyond her grasp and one of them has shown signs of, well, thoughtlessness ...Then a classmate of one daughter is callously bullied and the finger of blame is pointed at Beth's clever, beautiful child. Shattered, shamed and frightened, two families must negotiate worlds of cruelty they are totally ill-equipped for.This is a novel that grapples with modern-day spectres of selfies, selfishness and cyberbullying. It plays with our fears of parenting, social media and Queen Bees, and it asks the question: just how well do you know your child?
Her Cowboy's Promise
Jennifer Hoopes - 2017
Three years ago, artist Emily White