Book picks similar to
Last Things by Betta Ferrendelli
ebook
free-reads
fiction
contemporary
Sex, Lies & Sweet Tea
Kris Calvert - 2013
Coming home to bust a white-collar crime ring, Mac intends to execute his usual practice with work and women¬ – get in, get it on and get out. Instead, he finds himself unexpectedly drawn to the legacy of his family, his plantation, and the charms of a Southern girl. Samantha Peterson possesses everything he needs in a woman, including the evidence to wrap his case. As the investigation heats up, so does their passion and a dangerous game ignites. But, then again, everything’s hotter in the South.
A Week at the Shore
Barbara Delinsky - 2020
It's been twenty years since she's been gone—running from the scandal that destroyed her parents' marriage, drove her and her two sisters apart, and crushed her relationship with her first love. But going home is fraught with emotional baggage—memories, mysteries and secrets abound.Mal's thirteen-year-old daughter, Joy, has never been to the place where Mal's life was shaped and is desperate to go. Fatherless, she craves family and especially wants to spend time with the grandfather she barely knows.In just seven watershed days on the Rhode Island coast three women will test the bonds of sisterhood, friendship and family, and discover the role that love and memory plays in defining their lives.
Human Croquet
Kate Atkinson - 1997
But Lythe was once the heart of an Elizabethan feudal estate and home to a young English tutor named William Shakespeare, and as Isobel investigates the strange history of her family, her neighbors, and her village, she occasionally gets caught in Shakespearean time warps. Meanwhile, she gets closer to the shocking truths about her missing mother, her war-hero father, and the hidden lives of her close friends and classmates. A stunning feat of imagination and storytelling, Kate Atkinson's Human Croquet is rich with the disappointments and possibilities every family shares.
Wildest Dreams (Hollywood Nights Book 1)
Savannah Kade - 2017
He's definitely Mr. Right Now. So when Mr. Right comes onto the market, Jenn is ready to jump in. Clark Fuller is perfect-hot, stable, and suddenly he wants Jenn.On the surface, Walker knows he's not what Jenn is looking for. She's worked so hard to shed an unstable past and build her own a safe, steady life. Walker is anything but safe.Choosing Walker could mean having the real love she's found, but it might mean losing everything she's worked so hard for...Wildest Dreams in a steamy, emotional romance. The first in the Love Found Us series, this friends-to-lovers story will sweep you along to a deeply satisfying happily ever after. Grab this swoon-worthy romance now!
On My Knees
C.J. Thomas - 2016
If she would have seen the dangers lurking around the corner just waiting, she never would have spent the hundreds of thousands of dollars. And when her life is threatened, she has to make the decision of a lifetime—die, or repay the rightful owner. If she decides to live, she will need a way to get the money. And Kendra might just have the quick solution she needs. However, becoming a highly paid escort wasn’t exactly how she saw her future. And when her male suiter is none other than billionaire film maker, Nash Brooks, who also happens to be a member of the exclusive L.A. night club, MINT, Alex might have entered a world she can’t escape. Mature audience only. 18+ This box set also includes the full-length novel, Heat, for your continued enjoyment.
Full
Julia Spiro
In reality, she’s living a perfect lie.Wellness influencer Ava Maloney’s enormous success is based on total transparency, extolling the well-documented virtues of her full, balanced life.But the truth is, Ava’s social media platform is built on a lie. And her double life is beginning to take its toll.Escaping Los Angeles for a luxury wellness retreat on Martha’s Vineyard, Ava believes she can get everything back on track. No fans will be the wiser to the real reason for her visit. With the help of the other guests, staff, and a supportive local, Ava begins regaining control of her body, her mind, and her life. Except someone is onto her, threatening to expose the secret she’s hidden for so long. Ava was prepared to face her demons, but not publicly. Not yet.The fallout might also force Ava to finally reconcile who she’s been pretending to be with who she actually is—a woman discovering the real meaning of a full and balanced life.
Aftercare Instructions
Bonnie Pipkin - 2017
She finds refuge and stability in her relationship with her boyfriend, Peter—until he abandons her at a Planned Parenthood clinic during their appointment to terminate an unwanted pregnancy. The betrayal causes Gen to question everything.As Gen pushes herself forward to find her new identity without Peter, she must also confront her most painful memories. Through the lens of an ongoing four act play within the novel, the fantasy of their undying love unravels line by line, scene by scene. Digging deeper into her past while exploring the underground theater world of New York City, she rediscovers a long-forgotten dream. But it’s when Gen lets go of her history, the one she thinks she knows, that she’s finally able to embrace the complicated, chaotic true story of her life, and take center stage.This powerfully immersive and format-crushing debut follows Gen from dorm rooms to diners to house parties to auditions—and ultimately, right into readers’ hearts.
Picture Perfect
Emily C. Reynolds - 2017
But when Lily recovers from being startled by him late at night, she realizes who he is. And wishes she’d hit harder. It’s clear Micah doesn't remember her—or breaking her heart ten years ago. Avoiding him becomes her best option. When they get thrown together for swing dance lessons, romance heats up on—and off—the dance floor. As Lily gets to knw Micah, she believes he’s changed. But forgetting the past isn't easy, especially when she discovers they’ve both set their sights on the same piece of real estate. And a dark secret from Micah’s past is quickly catching up . . . . .
Dreams of Falling
Karen White - 2018
But when she finds out that her mother has disappeared, she knows she has no choice but to return to the place that she both loves and dreads--and to the family and friends who never stopped wishing for her to come home. Ivy, Larkin's mother, is discovered in the burned-out wreckage of her family's ancestral rice plantation, badly injured and unconscious. No one knows why Ivy was there, but as Larkin digs for answers, she uncovers secrets kept for nearly 50 years. Secrets that lead back to the past, to the friendship between three girls on the brink of womanhood who swore that they would be friends forever, but who found that vow tested in heartbreaking ways.
Ladd Springs
Dianne Venetta - 2013
Both are after title to Ladd Springs, a mecca of natural springs, streams and trails in the eastern Tennessee mountains, a tract of land worth millions. But Ernie Ladd, current owner of the property and uncle to Delaney, is adamantly opposed to them both.Felicity Wilkins, Delaney’s daughter, deserves to inherit her family’s legacy, but neighbor Clem Sweeney is working against her, ingratiating himself with Ernie Ladd. Clem is also harboring a secret that will make him a very wealthy man—unless the others stop him before he can bring it to fruition.Complicating matters is Annie Owens. Ex-girlfriend to Jeremiah Ladd, Ernie’s estranged son lining in Atlanta, she declares her daughter Casey is Jeremiah’s, making Casey every bit as entitled to the property as Felicity—only Annie hasn’t proven this claim. Yet.All are fighting to get the property, but only one will walk away with the gold.
Davenport House
Marie Silk - 2016
She lives isolated in the Pennsylvania countryside with her affluent and secretive family. When her father dies suddenly, Mary becomes pained with grief and increasingly suspicious of those around her. A humble servant girl has the chance of a lifetime to become a lady's companion. Costly dresses, exquisite rooms, and fine dinners are pleasant distractions from what is really happening in the house.
Life, Unscheduled
Kristin Rockaway - 2021
As a user experience designer at Virtuality, an artificial intelligence company in Los Angeles, Nicole is at her desk from sunrise to sunset. She doesn’t have time for a social life (or a love life), but that’s perfectly fine with her. Until her best friend, Parisa Shahin, announces her engagement and asks Nicole to be her maid of honor.That’s when Nicole decides to meticulously schedule out the next six months of her life—from her project due dates to her dress-fitting appointments to how many hours she plans to sleep each night. If she can stick to her schedule, she’ll balance everything fine. Of course, that’s a really big if. And after she crosses paths with emerging restaurateur Brandon Phelps, Nicole is feeling feelings she hasn’t felt in…well, ever. But scheduling time to fall in love might push even the most meticulous plans into pure chaos.
The Patron Saint of Liars
Ann Patchett - 1992
Now comes a reissue of the best-selling debut novel that launched her remarkable career. St. Elizabeth's, a home for unwed mothers in Habit, Kentucky, usually harbors its residents for only a little while. Not so Rose Clinton, a beautiful, mysterious woman who comes to the home pregnant but not unwed, and stays. She plans to give up her child, thinking she cannot be the mother it needs. But when Cecilia is born, Rose makes a place for herself and her daughter amid St. Elizabeth's extended family of nuns and an ever-changing collection of pregnant teenage girls. Rose's past won't be kept away, though, even by St. Elizabeth's; she cannot remain untouched by what she has left behind, even as she cannot change who she has become in the leaving.
Blind Tiger
Sandra BrownSandra Brown - 2021
Prohibition is the new law of the land, but murder, mayhem, lust, and greed are already institutions in the Moonshine Capitol of Texas.Thatcher Hutton, a war-weary soldier on the way back to his cowboy life, jumps from a moving freight train to avoid trouble . . . and lands in more than he bargained for. On the day he arrives in Foley, Texas, a local woman goes missing. Thatcher, the only stranger in town, is suspected of her abduction, and worse. Standing between him and exoneration are a corrupt mayor, a crooked sheriff, a notorious cathouse madam, a sly bootlegger, feuding moonshiners . . . and a young widow whose soft features conceal an iron will. What was supposed to be a fresh start for Laurel Plummer turns to tragedy. Left destitute but determined to dictate her own future, Laurel plunges into the lucrative regional industry, much to the dislike of the good ol’ boys, who have ruled supreme. Her success quickly makes her a target for cutthroat competitors, whose only code of law is reprisal. As violence erupts, Laurel and—now deputy—Thatcher find themselves on opposite sides of a moonshine war, where blood flows as freely as whiskey.
The Party
Robyn Harding - 2017
A lifetime of regrets.Sweet sixteen. It’s an exciting coming of age, a milestone, and a rite of passage. Jeff and Kim Sanders plan on throwing a party for their daughter, Hannah—a sweet girl with good grades and nice friends. Rather than an extravagant, indulgent affair, they invite four girls over for pizza, cake, movies, and a sleepover. What could possibly go wrong?But things do go wrong, horrifically so. After a tragic accident occurs, Jeff and Kim’s flawless life in a wealthy San Francisco suburb suddenly begins to come apart. In the ugly aftermath, friends become enemies, dark secrets are revealed in the Sanders’ marriage, and the truth about their perfect daughter, Hannah, is exposed.Harkening to Herman Koch’s The Dinner, Christos Tsiolkas’s The Slap, and Liane Moriarty’s Big Little Lies, The Party takes us behind the façade of the picture-perfect family, exposing the lies, betrayals, and moral lapses that neighbors don’t see—and the secrets that children and parents keep from themselves and each other.