Book picks similar to
The 30th Candle by Angela Makholwa


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Secret Diary of an Incurable Romantic (Um...and a closet alcoholic)


Chitrangada Mukherjee - 2018
    Have these knots in my stomach. But drinking isn’t an option. Maa is sleeping with me. Baba in Lalitaji’s room. And she on the sofa. Want to step into the toilet, take one swig, and then go directly to sleep. How the hell will Maa know? I mean she’s sleeping like a log. No, no, shouldn’t. What if she wakes up? She’s a light sleeper, after all.11.30 pm: No wine. Or vodka. Terrible, terrible night. When will they go back to Kolkata and let me be?11.32 pm: Chhi . . .Chhi . . . How selfish am I? My parents, one with a heart condition, spent thousands on flight tickets and landed in Chennai. Why? Because they wanted to spend time with their widowed daughter. And what does the daughter want? To sneak into the toilet and take one good swig of wine. Shame on her! Okay, now I’m being over-dramatic.Meet Madhubala Ray a thirty-year-old brand-spanking-new widow in Chennai.She lives with her seventy-year-old mostly-silent MIL—whose name she can’t remember, teaches Social Science to bratty teenagers, and suddenly has a life filled with unpredictable men, catty colleagues, a bisexual best friend, and . . . heart-wrenching memories of her late husband.How does she deal with all of that?By baring it all, in her diary. Join this oddball-widow who always keeps it real as she gives an honest account of a young North Indian working woman in Chennai, who tries to survive a tragedy through wine and vodka, her quirky sense of humour, and refuses to give up on love. Despite its oddities. The question is: does she survive and find love, again?Secret Diary of an Incurable Romantic is a story that is brutally honest, funny, romantic and liberating. It’s a slice of life, you wouldn’t want to miss.

Putting on the Style


Freda Lightfoot - 2006
    So the vibrant market of Champion Street is a source of many a tempting bargain – as well as all the local gossip.Dena loves her Saturday job at Belle Garside’s market café, and her ready smile makes her a universal favourite. She is soon in thrall to Belle’s two good-looking and dangerous sons. But fate has other plans in store when her younger brother is killed by a gang of thugs.Only when it is far too late does Dena begin to ask herself one terrifying question: has she fallen in love with her brother’s killer? A moving saga of second chances and forbidden love set around a bustling café in 1950s Manchester, perfect for fans of Kitty Neale and Ellie Dean. Praise for Putting on the Style 'You can’t put a price on Freda Lightfoot’s stories from Manchester’s 1950s Champion Street Market. They bubble with enough life and colour to brighten up the dreariest day and they have characters you can easily take to your heart’ Northern Echo‘A rattling good read to touch the heart of anyone who has loved someone they shouldn’t have’ Dorset Evening Echo‘Deftly chronicled’ Telegraph & Argus‘Freda Lightfoot’s talent for creating believable characters makes this a page-turning read’ Newcastle Evening Chronicle

Love Walked In


Marisa de los Santos - 2005
    But little does she know that her newfound love is only the harbinger of greater changes to come. Meanwhile, across town, Clare Hobbs—eleven years old and abandoned by her erratic mother—goes looking for her lost father. She crosses paths with Cornelia while meeting with him at the café, and the two women form an improbable friendship that carries them through the unpredictable currents of love and life.

A Spell in Provence


Marie Laval - 2015
    Though she has big plans for her new home, none of them involves falling in love — least of all with Fabien Coste, the handsome but arrogant owner of the nearby château. As romance blossoms in the beautiful Provençal countryside, disturbing events at the farmhouse hint at a dark mystery — a destructive, centuries-old attachment between the ladies of Bellefontaine and the ducs de Coste. As Amy struggles to unravel the mystery, she begins to wonder if it may not just be her heart at risk, but her life too.

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 Anonymous Man


Vincent L. Scarsella - 2013
    But just when Jerry thinks he has escaped his former life, he is betrayed by his co-conspirators, his wife and best friend, and learns that a tenacious insurance company investigator is hot on his heels.You won't be able to put down this twisting and suspenseful novel, wondering if Jerry will ultimately get to do what he has always wanted, to become anonymous, just like the hero of his comic book creation, The Anonymous Man, and then not only draw his further adventures, but live them.Thank you for your interest,DigitalFictionPub.com

A Confusion of Murders


Marina Johnson - 2017
    A brother obsessed with his looks, a dog that thinks it’s human and a happy though, dull routine. Until that is, her father starts talking nonsense and she makes a shocking discovery about herself. Not to mention the strange events occurring in Frogham – a missing person and a case of dog-napping. And then, on top of everything Louise finds romance in the unlikeliest place....

A Kept Woman


Frankie McGowan - 1998
    At home, thanks to Serena, his adoring wife, mother of his two young children, his life is seemingly content. But when Stephen doesn't come home one night, Serena's perfect world comes crashing down around her. Millions of pounds has been stolen from the bank - and Stephen leaves no word or trace. A husband on the run, her assets seized, and a house repossessed, can this kept woman keep it together for a family that is falling apart at the seams? For Serena, who had it all, there is nothing left to lose...and everything to gain. ‘Forget rags to riches, this is a riches to rag story and all the more fun for it. A really good read.’ Women's Weekly 'Will surely please everyone' Sunday Times 'One of those indispensable sand sagas or towel tales, a good beach book in which to immerse yourself while relaxing' Daily Mail 'Tough, yet tender, A Kept Woman is a feminist romance, how a strong woman can thrive without losing her vulnerability and potential to fall in love. Go for it.' Home and Life Frankie McGowan is a journalist and former magazine editor. Her novels include 'Ellie' and 'A Better Life.' Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent publisher of digital books.

Perfect Chemistry


Simone Elkeles - 2008
    She's forced to be lab partners with Alex Fuentes, a gang member from the other side of town, and he is about to threaten everything she's worked so hard for: her flawless reputation, her relationship with her boyfriend, and the secret that her home life is anything but perfect. Alex is a bad boy and he knows it. So when he makes a bet with his friends to lure Brittany into his life, he thinks nothing of it. But soon Alex realizes Brittany is a real person with real problems, and suddenly the bet he made in arrogance turns into something much more.In a passionate story about looking beneath the surface, Simone Elkeles breaks through the stereotypes and barriers that threaten to keep Brittany and Alex apart.

Wedding Tiers / Sowing Secrets / Chocolate Wishes


Trisha Ashley - 2013
    It seems like it’s going to be always the cakemaker, never the bride until charming photographer Noah arrives on the scene…Sowing Secrets tells the story of Fran, who seems to have it all with her lovely husband and cottage in the country. That is until ex-boyfriend Tom turns up and Fran’s perfect world is turned upside down.Life is sweet for chocolate maker Chloe in Chocolate Wishes. That is until the new vicar Raffy arrives in the village; Chloe’s first love and the man who broke her heart…

Something to Die For (Ryan Drake Book 9)


Will Jordan - 2020
    Most of his friends are dead or disappeared. Corrupt CIA Director Marcus Cain is poised to ascend to the highest levels of power, and the shadowy group known as the Circle is causing chaos across the globe.

Summer in Greece


Patricia Wilson - 2021
    Every year she escapes for a few weeks to beautiful Greek islands, losing herself in photography and wreck diving.When the junk room of her clifftop cottage is cleared to accommodate a carer for her father, Summer stumbles across the belongings of her great-grandmother, Gertie Smith. She finds a WWI nurse's uniform, a soldier's blanket, and a recording of Gertie's memoirs. As Summer listens to it, she learns about her great-grandmother's secret life, and might just find the strength to let go of her own tragic past.1916When eighteen-year-old nurse Gertie Smith signs up for the war effort, she is thrilled to learn that her destination will be Greece. With a head full of blue skies and handsome men, she boards the Titanic's sister ship, the hospital ship Britannic. Unprepared for the horrors of war, she heads for the Greek island of Lemnos on a mission to rescue three thousand wounded British soldiers.The Britannic never reaches its destination. Gertie, who disobeyed her orders, blames herself.She is sent to the Greek island of Kea, where she meets and falls in love with a Greek fisherman, Manno - but she finds herself torn between him and her duty to an English soldier, and all too soon her past catches up with her.

The Ghost Host: Episode 1


DelSheree Gladden - 2015
    It's the only way to control the ghosts haunting her...at least until the FBI shows up asking questions. The first eighteen years of Echo Simmons' life have been less than ideal. On more than one occasion her parents have considered committing her. They don't believe she sees ghosts or that they harass her on a daily basis. So when a rogue ghost begins tormenting her, they're the last people she's going to tell. Her best friends Holden and Zara are doing their best to help, but ghost attacks are only the beginning of Echo's problems. Handling the ghosts by giving them a voice on YouTube through her webshow has been her saving grace-even if her parents think it's all a hoax-but that gets a little complicated when the ghost of Madeline Crew reveals a little too much about her previous life and the FBI shows up at her door wanting to know how she gained access to long-buried government secrets. It just keeps getting worse from there. Madeline's message to her great grandson sparks a strange connection between Echo and Malachi, which leads to Georgia, secrets, mistakes, love, lies, and life changing revelations.

A Redeeming Love in the West


Ava Winters - 2020
    Can she trust him now that their past keeps coming after them?Exciting - Romantic - Dauntless!Having inherited her uncle’s ranch in Nevada, Nelly agrees to the biggest challenge of her life, leaving behind London’s high society. She faces difficulties in adjusting to a totally different life, in a ranch. While fighting for her newly found freedom, she experiences the liberating feeling of independency, but an unexpected romance is emerging. Will she learn to trust him and embrace her new life in the ranch?Having a deep secret, Louis keeps to himself. This way, no one will ever get hurt again. But now that a new boss has arrived, Louis realizes that this is not an easy task. As they spend time together, he is faced with his greatest fear. How can he trust again while his past is still haunting him?When a dispute about Nelly’s land blows out of proportion, Nelly and Louis will have to fight. Even if that means sacrificing what is most valuable to them. How can they save the land that they now call home and protect their love at the same time?"A Redeeming Love in the West" is a stand-alone Western Historical Romance Novel with no cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed happily ever after.

Fish and Chips


Erynn Mangum - 2011
    When her goldfish dies after only living a couple of days, she returns it to the pet store only to meet the equally witty and sarcastic Chip, the son of the store owner. Sparks fly and fish accidentally die in this novella about life, God's love and the pursuit of the perfect mate.