Book picks similar to
Unconventional by J.J. Hebert
considering
fiction
favorites
first-reads
Henry and Tom: Book 1: Rescue (Ocean Adventure Series)
Michael Atkins - 2014
Henry and Tom is an extraordinary tale of love and cooperation between a man and whale. It deals with enduring themes including marriage and family, life crises, finding one's self and personal development. It is a deep and very moving story for readers of all ages. Beautifully written and well produced. Henry and Tom won 1st prize in the 2015 Reader's Choice Fiction-Animals Genre and was a Semi-Finalist in the 2015 Kindle Book Awards.
Ciao, Bella
Ryan M. Phillips - 2011
Instead, at 30, she’s chronically single and lives alone in a cramped condo on Chicago’s north side. Sure she’s got her beloved bookstore and her two best friends, Cameron and Oliver, but even they can’t make up for the fact that her life hasn’t turned out anything like she expected. The weighing disappointment has her questioning everything she once felt certain of, including her faith in God. So when Olly and Cam secretly volunteer her for a nationally-televised makeover, Mack decides to use the opportunity to reinvent herself. What follows is an unlikely romance with famous actor Cooper Young, a cross-continental adventure, and the long-awaited chance to make all of her dreams come true. Will Mack be able to keep her faith amidst the glitz and glamour of Cooper’s lifestyle, or will she lose herself and abandon everything and everyone she cares about in the process? Ciao, Bella is the story of one woman’s unexpected revelations about faith, love, and true happiness. It’s a novel for all who have ever been granted the desires of their hearts only to discover that what they thought they wanted could never compare to what they already had.
The Lion Trees
Owen Thomas - 2016
The Johns family is unraveling. Hollis, a retired Ohio banker, isolates himself in esoteric hobbies and a dangerous flirtation with a colleague's daughter. Susan, his wife of forty years, risks everything for a second chance at who she might have been. David, their eldest, thrashes to stay afloat as his teaching career capsizes in a storm of accusations over a missing student and the legacy of Christopher Columbus. While Tilly, the black sheep, trades her literary promise for an improbable career as a starlet, and then struggles to define herself amidst a humiliating scandal and the judgment of an uncompromising writer. By turns comical, suspenseful and poignant, the Johns family is tumbling toward the discovery that sometimes youhave to let go of your identity to find out who you are.
A Lily in the Light
Kristin Fields - 2019
People Esme has known her whole life suddenly become suspects, each new one hitting closer to home than the last.Unable to cope, Esme escapes the nightmare that is her new reality when she receives an invitation to join an elite ballet academy in San Francisco. Desperate to leave behind her chaotic, broken family and the mystery surrounding Lily’s disappearance, Esme accepts.Eight years later, Esme is up for her big break: her first principal role in Paris. But a call from her older sister shatters the protective world she has built for herself, forcing her to revisit the tragedy she’s run from for so long. Will her family finally have the answers they’ve been waiting for? And can Esme confront the pain that shaped her childhood, or will the darkness follow her into the spotlight?
Secrets
Kristen Heitzmann - 2004
What happened all those years ago, and what is it she so desperately needs him to find? The old villa in Sonoma holds the answers, but it is now owned by a young woman who neither knows nor cares about his mission. But Rese Barret is a force to contend with, and her own impending storm could sweep him up as their sparring creates a fierce and uncomfortable attraction. From bestselling author Kristen Heitzmann.
This Sky
Autumn Doughton - 2014
She’s no stranger to disappointment but nothing could have prepared her for the chaos that unfolded when her celebrity boyfriend publicly humiliated her. Now the fairytale is officially over and Gemma is determined to put the past behind her and strike out to find a new dream. Just a few teeny-tiny details to work out: she’s currently broke, homeless and unemployed. Landon Young has his own worries. Surfer by day and bartender by night, he doesn’t have the interest or the time to be anyone’s happily-ever-after. Weighed down by the memory of what happened two years ago, Landon can barely keep his head above water. This Sky is the thoughtful and often funny story about broken trust, an unexpected love and the hopes we keep sewn in the linings of our pockets.
Guns of the Waste Land: Departure: Volumes 1-2
Leverett Butts - 2016
Now featuring Volume Two, Diversion
Guns of the Waste Land is an epic retelling of Arthurian Legend in an American Western setting. In late 1800s just outside the Texas town of Bretton, four men wander the American desert. Percy Murratt seeks Sheriff Ardiss Drake to learn the fate of his late father. Meanwhile, Ardiss’ deputies, Gary Wayne Orkney and Boris Bennick, are in the pursuit of the outlaw Lancaster O'Loch flees, who has seduced and stolen Ardiss’ wife, Guernica. Featuring a host of familiar characters reminiscent of Gawain, the Green Knight, Lancelot, Merlin and, of course, King Arthur,
Guns of the Waste Land
is a timeless adventure of chivalry, revenge and honour. Now, in
Book Two: Diversion
, follow Percy and co. on their epic quest as they traverse the frontier of the American Waste Land, in pursuit of their own Holy Grail… Guns of the Waste Land “impressed the hell out of me with its inventiveness and wonderfully colorful dialogue, […] you may have a genuine classic on your hands.” –T.E.D. Klein, author of Dark Gods & The Ceremonies “Leverett Butts is a real talent. His Guns of the Waste Land is an original way to use a genre. I like a guy who has a mad literary streak and walks the wobbly tightrope: so far he's gotten across. This is the first installment in a longer narrative, and I can't wait to read the next if it's as good as the first or even close.”—Richard Monaco, author of the Parsival series “Guns of the Waste Land brings us back to a genre that has mostly been out of fashion for a time, but I believe this work has the power to bring us back to why we loved westerns. The western story is the story of America. In the western, the lines between good and evil are often vague, just as they are in real humanity. The western shows us the difficulty to survive and how it changes people for better or worse. Butts has explored these ideas and many more in a book that is unique and as well written as anything you'll read this year.” –Scott Thompson, author of Young Men Shall See & Eight Days Leverett Butts teaches composition and literature at the Gainesville campus of the University of North Georgia. His poetry and fiction have appeared in Eclectic and The Georgia State University Review. He is the recipient of several fiction prizes offered by the University of West Georgia and TAG Publishing. His first collection of short fiction, Emily's Stitches: The Confessions of Thomas Calloway and Other Stories, has been nominated for the 2013 Georgia Author of the Year Award in Short Fiction. He lives in Temple, Georgia, with his wife, son, their Jack Russell terrier, and a couple of antisocial cats. Venture Press is a science fiction and fantasy imprint of Endeavour Press, the UK’s leading independent digital publisher. We are committed to the discovery and rediscovery of immensely talented authors in the SFF genre, and continue to push boundaries in search of great literature. Join us as we venture across universes and unknown landscapes – past, present and future. Sign up to our newsletter: http://bit.ly/1LUVI4n Follow us on Twitter @venture_press Facebook: http://on.fb.me/1NnFow7
You Only Die Twice
Christopher Smith - 2012
A violent act killed her, but heroics brought her back. Now, if she can't save herself from two serial killers hunting her in the Maine woods, she's about to die again, this time from two men armed with a Bible, guns, a deep belief in God, and their twisted interpretation of his word.Fueled by their righteous fury, they are determined to find Cheryl and murder her for what they perceive as her "life's worth of sins." What they don't know is what Cheryl knows. She's a Maine girl, born and raised--and she knows how to use these woods in ways that might, if she's lucky, turn them against each man.From the #1 international best-selling author of many thrillers, including "Fifth Avenue," "You Only Die Twice" is a blistering page-turner first, and a comment on Biblical interpretation second. It's Christopher Smith's most controversial and gripping novel to date.*Warning: "You Only Die Twice" is not for the faint of heart. This is a story of madness and the fight for survival, and it depicts realistic adult situations without hesitation.
Paper Roses
Amanda Cabot - 2009
Leaving the past behind in Philadelphia, mail-order bride Sarah arrives in San Antonio ready to greet her groom, Austin Canfield, a man she has never met but whose letters have won her heart from afar. But there is one problem--he has died. And Sarah cannot go back East.As Sarah tries to reconcile herself to a future that is drastically changed, Austin's brother, Clay, struggles with his own muddled plans. Though he dislikes working on the family ranch and longs for a different life, Clay is driven to avenge his brother's death. But something between them is growing and neither Clay nor Sarah is ready to admit it. Book 1 of the Texas Dreams series, Paper Roses will sweep readers into the Hill Country with a tale of love and loss, closed doors and beautiful possibilities that will leave them wanting more.
Do or Di
Eileen Cook - 2012
Erin Callighan has given up on the idea of a fairy tale romance. Having dated her own version of the Seven Dwarves (including Grumpy and Sleepy), she's letting go of the idea of Prince Charming and settling for Prince Good Enough. Erin’s focused on reaching her dream of having her own talk radio show, even if it means having to temporarily co-host with the annoying “Voice of Seattle”, Colin Stewart. To score points with her station manager, she agrees to be a part of the Positive Partnerships program that matches her with Diana, a troubled pre-teen who swears she's channeling the spirit of the late Princess Diana. She's supposed to be mentoring Diana, but the channeled princess has a lot to teach Erin about love and happily ever after endings.
Homecoming
Janet Wellington - 2012
First order of business, keep her promise to a dear friend and finish the renovation on the Victorian for dearly departed Tillie and find homes for her nine cats. How tough could that be? But when Tillie’s great-nephew shows up to help, it’s all she can do not to fall right back into his arms. She's been down that heartbreak road with him before, and coming off her recent divorce she's determined to guard her heart, no matter how sexy he looks with a hammer in his hand and his shirt off.Jake is caught between a rock and a hard place. Well, between his party-hearty, successful big city life in Chicago and the sleepy hometown he was glad to see in his rear-view mirror at the tender age of 18. He plans to fulfill his promise to Tillie and help restore her house to get it ready to sell, then return to his comfortable life in Chicago. But how is he supposed to get any work done with pretty little Cory around doing her best to drive him crazy? Being in Faythe rekindles all those long forgotten memories, some bad and some good--including his desire for Cory, the one girl he couldn’t have. As the sexual tension between Cory and Jake heightens and their emotional connection strengthens, will they let down their barriers long enough to find true love, or will the pain of the past keep them apart forever?
Whisper Me This
Kerry Anne King - 2018
The only thing Maisey’s sure she’s gotten right is her relationship with her twelve-year-old daughter, Elle…until a phone call blows apart the precarious balance of their lives. Maisey’s mother is in a coma, and her aging father faces charges of abuse and neglect.Back at her childhood home, Maisey must make a heartrending life-or-death decision. Her confused father has destroyed family records, including her mother’s final wishes. Searching for answers, Maisey uncovers one unspeakable secret after another when she stumbles upon a shattering truth: a twin sister named Marley.Maisey’s obsession with solving the mystery of her sister forces her to examine her darkest memories and triggers a custody battle with Elle’s father. Will Maisey’s love for her daughter be strong enough to break a cycle of abuse and create a new beginning for them all?
A Place in His Heart
Rebecca DeMarino - 2014
Puritan Barnabas Horton is still in love with his deceased wife and needs only a mother for his two young sons. And yet these two very different people with very different expectations will take a leap of faith, wed, and then embark on a life-changing journey across the ocean to the Colonies. Along the way, each must learn to live in harmony, to wait on God, and to recognize true love where they least expect to find it.This heartfelt tale of love and devotion is based on debut author Rebecca DeMarino’s own ancestors, who came to Long Island in the mid-1600s to establish a life–and a legacy–in the New World.
Memory's Wake
Selina A. Fenech - 2011
All versions of the book (ebook, paperback, hardcover) include 44 interior black and white illustrations by the author and artist.In a culture of cravats and corsets, a troubled sixteen-year-old stands out in her t-shirt and torn jeans. She takes the name “Memory” because hers are stolen, and she’ll do anything to get them back. Lost in a world not her own, where magic and monstrous fairies are real, Memory has enough to handle just trying to stay alive.Chased by wizard hunters, hunted by a dragon, stalked by a strange, handsome savage, despised by the fae and wanted by the king himself – everyone is after Memory, and she suspects it’s not just for her eye-catching outfit. Her forgotten past holds dangerous secrets that will change everything.Memory will fight to get back to a family and home she can’t remember but desperately desires, even at the cost of new friendships and romances. On the run with no name and no memories, she thinks she has nothing left to lose. She couldn’t be more mistaken.
Summer at Sea
Beth Labonte - 2015
Have you ever helped your parents pack for a weeklong cruise? No? I didn't think so. So shut it. So begins vacation for Summer Hartwell - twenty-six years old, living with her anxiety-ridden parents, and unwillingly booked by her brother on a weeklong cruise to Bermuda. Despite the nightmare of being trapped aboard a cruise ship with Mom and Dad, Summer sees a rare opportunity to fulfill The Prophecy – her mother’s declaration that she will live at home until she gets married. With two thousand passengers onboard, at least one of them must be husband material, right? The only problem is Graham Blenderman – her brother’s best friend who is joining them for the week, in all of his tall, blonde, extroverted glory. Graham doesn’t believe Summer needs a husband in order to break free from her parents. He thinks she just needs a little bit of nerve. And to Summer’s introverted horror, he’s willing to spend the entire week proving that he’s right.