Book picks similar to
A Beautiful Mess by Brenda S. Anderson


fiction
contemporary
women-s-fiction
inspirational

Texas Christmas Revenge: An Uplifting Romantic Suspense


Connie Queen - 2021
    Now Brandi will do anything to protect the boy—even if it means asking her ex-fiancé, Texas Ranger Rhett Kincaid, for help. But can Brandi and Rhett stop this killer before he exacts his terrible Christmas vengeance?From Love Inspired Suspense: Courage. Danger. Faith.

A Virtuous Woman


Kaye Gibbons - 1989
    She was the carefully raised daughter of Carolina gentry and he was a skinny tenant farmer who had never owned anything in his life. She was newly widowed after a disastrous marriage to a brutal drifter. He had never asked a woman to do more than help him hitch a mule. They didn't fall in love so much as they simply found each other and held on for dear life.Kaye Gibbons's first novel, Ellen Foster, won the Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters and the praise of writers from Walker Percy to Eudora Welty. In A Virtuous Woman, Gibbons transcends her early promise, creating a multilayered and indelibly convincing portrait of two seemingly ill-matched people who somehow miraculously make a marriage.

Sarah's Window


Janice Graham - 2001
    There, she forms a deep friendship with brilliant professor John Wilde, which quickly blossoms into something more-threatening John's marriage and Sarah's sense of right and wrong. Theirs is a passion driven by the forces of providence, one that will be played out against the wild beauty of the Flint Hills, as powerful as nature itself...

The Red Door Inn


Liz Johnson - 2016
    Broke and desperate, she's hoping to find safety and sanctuary on Prince Edward Island, where she reluctantly agrees to help decorate a renovated bed-and-breakfast before it opens for prime tourist season.Seth Sloane didn't move three thousand miles to work on his uncle's B&B so he could babysit a woman with a taste for expensive antiques and a bewildering habit of jumping every time he brushes past her. He came to help restore the old Victorian--and to forget about the fiancée who broke his heart.The only thing Marie and Seth agree on is that getting the Red Door Inn ready to open in just three months will take everything they've got. Can these two wounded souls find hope, healing, and perhaps a bit of romance on this beautiful island?Step into the Red Door Inn, a lovely home away from home tucked along the north shore of fabled Prince Edward Island. It's a place where the wounded come to heal, the broken find forgiveness, and the lonely find a family. Won't you stay for the season?

Love and Devotion


Erica James - 2004
    But her well-ordered world is turned upside down when her only sister is killed in a car crash. Harriet has never been the maternal type, but with an orphaned nephew and niece to look after, she has no choice but to leave her old life behind. Divorced Will Hart also thinks he has the perfect life. A firm believer in living for the moment, Will has a terrific relationship with his teenage daughters and has happily swapped a career as a lawyer for that of an antiques dealer. Then a startling revelation causes his life to unravel. Both Harriet and Will have no choice but to piece together a new future for themselves.

What New Beginnings Are Made Of


Debra Clopton - 2020
    She’s lived on the huge South Texas ranch just outside of Corpus Christi since their father carried her over the threshold. She’s raised them on the massive McIntyre Ranch—one of the largest, wealthiest in Texas. It’s been her home and theirs. Will they understand that it’s time for her to leave? Time for her to move on?Jackson McIntyre is shocked by his mother’s announcement. Guilt-ridden in the aftermath of his father’s accident, Jackson is determined to do whatever it takes to help his mother find her way to move forward. But this new idea of hers has him reeling.Nina lives next door to the inn and is living a quiet life, keeping a low profile. She has her reasons. Will the opening of the inn and her new neighbors, especially the oldest son of the new innkeeper, tempt her to step back into the light and out of the shadows of her past?Lisa, Alice’s best friend and recent divorcee, has been traveling the world since the breakup that left her shaken and feeling just as lost as Alice. A brilliant cook with a flair for entertaining, she loves Alice’s idea and joins her to open the inn. But Lisa has her own secrets.Can these two friends, and their new neighbor Nina, find fresh starts as they ready the Star Gazer Inn for its new beginning?Will Nina find the courage to take one more chance on love with her new friend’s son?Three women find friendship and courage on the shores of Corpus Christi Bay. Come visit the Star Gazer Inn, with a side trip to the McIntyre Ranch, as Alice finds her way between two worlds. This new series follows Alice, her sons, and her friends—and new loves—on the South Texas coast with its sparkling topaz water.You’ll want to dip your toes in and stay awhile.Heartfelt women's fiction: faith, family, love.

Last Summer


Kerry Lonsdale - 2019
    The chance meeting with her husband, Damien; their rapid free fall into love; and their low-key, intimate wedding are all locked in her memory. But what she can’t remember is the tragic car accident that ripped her unborn child from her. Ella can’t even recall being pregnant.Hoping to find the memories of a lost pregnancy that’s left her husband devastated and their home empty, Ella begins delving into her past when she’s assigned an exclusive story about Nathan Donovan, a retired celebrity adventurer who seems to know more about her than she does him. To unravel the mystery of her selective memory loss, Ella follows Nathan from the snowcapped Sierra Nevada to the frozen slopes of southeast Alaska. There she discovers the people she trusts most aren’t the only ones keeping secrets from her—she’s hiding them from herself. Ella quickly learns that some truths are best left forgotten.

Separate Beds


LaVyrle Spencer - 1985
    It seemed like a page out of a fairy tale. But everything about it–from the formal vows to the magnificent reception–was a lie, Catherine had reluctantly agreed to Clay's "marriage of convenience"...and the only thing that could threaten their arrangement was the unexpected arrival of love.

Catching Waves


Kimberly Krey - 2019
    But will the painful parts of her past threaten to tear it away? Gage Craven has finally gained his famous father’s approval by agreeing to star in a Hollywood film. And while he’s basking in the feels of being his old man’s pride and joy, Gage can’t help but worry over the many ways he could lose it. Topping Dad’s must-do list are two very simple words: Stay Single. After all, what other father and son team could claim to have taken the title of Hollywood’s Most Eligible Bachelor? But when Carly Bridger surfs in and takes Gage’s life by storm, he stands to lose the relationship he worked so hard to earn. No doubt Carly’s worth the risk, but will Gage’s Hollywood ties scare her away? Second-grade teacher Carly Bridger is on the verge of breaking free from her past—namely, a cowboy poet named Jimmy who loves his broken heart more than her. Carly can only hope her summer job teaching surf at the Royal Palm will move her one step closer to the life she longs for. That hope comes to life when Hollywood hunk, Gage Craven, shows Carly she is able to feel something for another man after all. Yet just as hope for a future with Gage begins to flourish, the past she’s trying to forget comes back to haunt her. Will these crashing tides destroy their budding relationship, or will their new love be strong enough to survive the storm?

Daffodil Season (Melinda Foster #9)


Melanie Lageschulte - 2021
    Between debate about the fate of a vacant property, and the rush to open the community center, new ideas are taking root all around town.But it’s a season of secrets, too. Someone seeks a chance to start over, while others are too proud to ask for a helping hand. And as Melinda searches for answers to a long-held rumor, she discovers that the past is never far away from the present.No matter how she tries, there’s never enough time to do it all. And when Uncle Frank and Aunt Miriam take off on a much-needed vacation, Melinda suddenly finds herself at the helm of her family’s business. As the weather slowly warms and the challenges pile up, can she find a way to stay afloat?

The Arrivals


Meg Mitchell Moore - 2011
     It's early summer when Ginny and William's peaceful life in Vermont comes to an abrupt halt. First, their daughter Lillian arrives, with her two children in tow, to escape her crumbling marriage. Next, their son Stephen and his pregnant wife Jane show up for a weekend visit, which extends indefinitely when Jane ends up on bed rest. When their youngest daughter Rachel appears, fleeing her difficult life in New York, Ginny and William find themselves consumed again by the chaos of parenthood -- only this time around, their children are facing adult problems. By summer's end, the family gains new ideas of loyalty and responsibility, exposing the challenges of surviving the modern family -- and the old adage, once a parent, always a parent, has never rung so true.

The Most Wanted


Jacquelyn Mitchard - 1998
    Public-aid lawyer Annie Singer, whose own careful, well-ordered life is catapulted into change from the moment she meets Arley, will become first the girl's advocate and defender, then the closest thing to a loving mother Arley will ever have. What happens to Arley and her husband, Dillon LeGrande, is the stuff of legend. He will break out of prison on a terrifying errand, but is it to claim his wife and their baby daughter or to destroy them? His love will put them into nearly unthinkable danger -- danger Arley and even Annie will find too compelling to ignore, too seductive to flee.No other writer has Mitchard's fierce, brave, and tender insights into the bonds of mothers and daughters. Larger than life, yet the very stuff of life itself, The Most Wanted is the tour de force that the millions who treasure The Deep End of the Ocean have been waiting for.The new novel by the author of The Deep End of the Ocean -- a story of doomed compassion and reckless love that breaks all the rules

The Printed Letter Bookshop


Katherine Reay - 2019
    But by the time Madeline inherits the shop nearly twenty years later, family troubles and her own bitter losses have hardened Madeline’s heart toward her once-treasured aunt—and the now struggling bookshop left in her care.While Madeline intends to sell the shop as quickly as possible, the Printed Letter’s two employees have other ideas. Reeling from a recent divorce, Janet finds sanctuary within the books and within the decadent window displays she creates. Claire, though quieter than the acerbic Janet, feels equally drawn to the daily rhythms of the shop and its loyal clientele, finding a renewed purpose within its walls. When Madeline’s professional life takes an unexpected turn, and when a handsome gardener upends all her preconceived notions, she questions her plans and her heart. She begins to envision a new path for herself and for her aunt’s beloved shop—provided the women’s best combined efforts are not too little, too late.The Printed Letter Bookshop is a captivating story of good books, a testament to the beauty of new beginnings, and a sweet reminder of the power of friendship.

The Theory of Opposites


Allison Winn Scotch - 2013
    Millions of devoted fans now find solace in his notion that everything happens for a reason. Though Willa isn’t entirely convinced of her father’s theories, she readily admits that the universe has delivered her a solid life: a reliable husband, a fast-paced career. Sure there are hiccups – negative pregnancy tests, embattled siblings - but this is what the universe has brought, and life, if she doesn’t think about it too much, is wonderful. Then her (evidently not-so-reliable) husband proposes this: A two-month break. Two months to see if they can't live their lives without each other. And before Willa can sort out destiny and fate and what it all means, she’s axed from her job, her 12 year-old nephew Nicky moves in, her ex-boyfriend finds her on Facebook, and her best friend Vanessa lands a gig writing for Dare You!, the hottest new reality TV show. And then Vanessa lures Willa into dares of her own - dares that run counter to her father’s theories of fate, dares that might change everything…but only if Willa is brave enough to stop listening to the universe and instead aim for the stars.

It Happens All the Time


Amy Hatvany - 2017
    I want to erase everything that went wrong.Amber Bryant and Tyler Hicks have been best friends since they were teenagers—trusting and depending on each other through some of the darkest periods of their young lives. And while Amber has always felt that their relationship is strictly platonic, Tyler has long harbored the secret desire that they might one day become more than friends.Returning home for the summer after her college graduation, Amber begins spending more time with Tyler than she has in years. Despite the fact that Amber is engaged to her college sweetheart, a flirtation begins to grow between them. One night, fueled by alcohol and concerns about whether she’s getting married too young, Amber kisses Tyler.What happens next will change them forever.In alternating points of view, It Happens All the Time examines the complexity of sexual dynamics between men and women and offers an incisive exploration of gender roles, expectations, and the ever-timely issue of consent.