Book picks similar to
The bench by Cromer beach by R.J. Gould


fiction
contemporary
coming-of-age
love-story

Friends and Neighbours: A heart-warming journey of self-discovery


Ruth Torjussen - 2021
    But when your best friend has died and your other friends have moved away it can suddenly get a whole lot tougher. Now heartbroken Jenny has a female shaped hole in her life which - despite the presence of many women - won’t go away. Grief has turned her into a first class snob.Husband Lonny preps the house for climate change and is unable to halt Jenny’s unravelling. Then gorgeous Trudi wafts into the creative writing class bringing some much needed hope.Feeling that this is the only way out of her depression, Jenny’s intention to befriend Trudi builds to an obsession while facing all manner of setbacks. A motley crew of unsuitable local women is encroaching while lovely Trudi remains elusive. Why is something that used to be so easy, now so hard?Mixing serious issues with much hilarity ‘Friends and Neighbours’ is a feel-good story for our times.‘This book made me laugh out loud in many places and shed a tear in others’ Siobhan Curham. Author. 'An American in Paris'

Your Move


Silvia Forrester - 2017
    Two dreams. One big lesson in love. With a passion for people and property, nothing gives newbie estate agent Gemma Cole more pleasure than matching buyers with their ideal homes. After a nomadic childhood with her ditzy mum, Gemma longs for nothing more than a place she can call her own. But with one modest income and meagre savings, will she ever be able to make her own home-owning dream come true? When Marcus, the new photographer, arrives at the estate agency, he’s the epitome of laidback, festival chic. Sexy, laidback, festival chic. But Gemma dismisses him as another commitment-phobic, eternal student, just like her ex. However, looks can be deceptive. Marcus is reeling from a shocking family tragedy. Will Gemma revise her opinion of Marcus, and will he trust her enough to reveal his family’s painful past? Pandora works at Perfect 10, a premier beauty and cosmetic clinic. Always effortlessly glamorous – with model-looks, bucketloads of confidence and bulging designer wardrobes – she appears to have it all. But Pan also has a spiralling spending addiction, a string of failed relationships, and still lives at home with her mum. Aged thirty-three. When her numerous credit cards are refused, Pan takes drastic action, and joins dating website MillionaireMen.com. Will a super-wealthy guy be the answer to all Pan’s woes? And can she find one who’s sane, honest and not old enough to be her grandfather? Your Move is a lively romantic comedy, charting the blossoming friendship between modern heroines Gemma and Pandora, as well as the amorous entanglements that crisscross both their lives. Praise for Your Move… ‘A humorous and heart-warming tale’ – Holly Kinsella Silvia Forrester writes novels and short stories, has an MA in creative writing and teaches at the Open University. She lives in Kent with her husband; they have four grown-up daughters and three granddaughters. Silvia enjoys writing contemporary fiction exploring love, friendship and family.

Where's the Groom?


Cathryn Brown - 2020
    Now her groom’s missing and a new man’s helping her search for him.Summer realized she’d made a big mistake. Why did she say yes to him? When her groom never arrives at the church, she uses her one clue to find him. She gets a big surprise. And she meets her Watson to help her search.Cameron agrees to help Summer because a family member’s caught in her mystery. She’s glad to have someone working with her, especially when he’s handsome and has a great smile, but a new romance is out of the question. But she sometimes (maybe too often) gets in trouble when she leaps before she looks, so he could come in handy.Cameron and Summer are immediately pulled into a mystery bigger than a missing groom (with no dead bodies!) and fighting their attraction to each other. If they can find the groom—and solve this mystery—they’ll part ways and never need to see each other again.They’re caught in a situation they didn’t create. Can a woman who almost got married find love on the run?

Captiva Island


Kathy Lee Sumner - 2009
    No journalist, reporter or talk show host had been granted the privilege to interview the 86-year-old recluse throughout her 21-book career. Julia's intrigue as to why she's the chosen one sends her packing and on a plane headed South in a hurry. Nestled among a canopy of banyan trees and palms, beneath the roof of Mrs. Van Buren's gingerbread island cottage, Julia finds one last unpublished manuscript. As the fragile old woman reads aloud to Julia from delicate pages that take us back to 1930s Macon, Georgia, and on up the road to Atlanta during days of the "Gone with the Wind" premier, secrets that have been held captive for over half a century surface that connect these women in more ways than either of them ever imagined.

Healing Hearts (The O'Connors Book 2)


Jax Burrows - 2020
    

Waiting For The Bee Stings


Calvin Wade - 2015
    She arrives at the funeral of an old friend, Chrissie, who has died suddenly. Happily married, with two school age children, Mia is unaware that this will be the day that changes everything and her life will switch on to an entirely new path. 'Waiting For The Bee Stings' is a story about the lives of four friends who met at Newcastle University in the mid-1990s. It is a tale of love, friendship, passion and betrayal. This is the third fictional novel by Calvin Wade, following his debut, 'Forever Is Over' which rose to Amazon's Top20 ebooks in the United Kingdom and the critically acclaimed second novel, 'Kiss My Name'.

Whisling Island Series Books 1-3: Inspiring Women's Fiction


Julia Clemens - 2021
    Sunset on Whisling Island - Meet Bess, Olivia, Deb, and Gen as they endure and overcome loss. A visit to the beautiful island just off of the coast of Washington State will change you. You'll laugh, cry, and rejoice with these wonderful women as they navigate through life.New Beginnings on Whisling Island - After darkness, there will always be light. A new beginning. Join the women of Whisling on this next thrilling and lovely chapter of their lives as they find purpose, love, and discover who they really are.Sisters and Sunrises - The women of Whisling are back! Through the mess and craziness of life's ever-present changes, the women continue to rely on each other. And they're reminded that even after the longest of nights, the sun always rises again.

The Last Resort (Mapton-on-Sea Book 1)


Sam Maxfield - 2017
    Then meet the grandmother who raised her. Foul-mouthed, outrageous, orange-haired Gina Pontin. Two women who couldn’t be more different. When Gina has an accident the two of them are forced together in the last place Stella wants to return to. But as the June temperature soars in more ways than one, they, and the residents of Mapton-on-Sea, are in for an explosive summer no one will ever forget. 'The Last Resort has laugh out loud moments, tenderness and real heartbreak. This is a story of family and friendships which, ultimately, is as warm as the golden sand we feel between our toes. Great stuff. ' LeftLion Magazine

The Scarlet Promise


Sangeeta Kathuria - 2018
    This invisible red thread will never break and you will either find your way back to me somehow, or me to you.” This is the promise that Jack makes to Esha at the end of their precious week together in London. Esha has to return to India for her wedding to Dev, which has been arranged by her wealthy parents. Aware of her cultural commitments and knowing in her heart that they cannot have a future together, their separation is marked with a single promise. The turbulent years that follow are recorded in Esha’s journal, in the form of letters to Jack, which eventually find their way into his hands and which rock his world to the core. The rigid traditions and formalities of the social world of Amritsar, in which Esha is trapped, and to which Jack has no access, may well stretch their scarlet thread to breaking point. Can a single promise made seven years ago bring together two star crossed lovers in this gripping tale, spanning two cities?

His Paradise Wife (The Champion Brothers Book 1)


Tina Martin - 2014
     Too bad Emily's heart is not available for love. Two years after her husband Melvin passed, Emily is still grieving his death. She's buried herself in her work, in making her high-end boutique a success. She has no interest in dating again and she's definitely not about to be swept off her feet by one of those Champion brothers. ***The Champion Brothers series books are all standalone books.*** Book 1, His Paradise Wife is Dante Champion's story. Book 2, When A Champion Wants You is Dimitrius Champion's story. Book 3, The Best Thing He Never Knew He Needed is Desmond Champion's story. Book 4, Wives And Champions is a family novel. Book 5, The Way Champions Love is Harding Champion's story.

Corfu Capers


Joy Skye - 2021
    What could possibly go wrong?  A holiday in a luxury villa on Corfu sounds like the answer to all their prayers but it will change their lives forever. A week in paradise might not be long enough........

Love at Wild Harbor (Wild Harbor Beach Book 1)


Grace Worthington - 2021
    Two fixer uppers. Three feisty sisters. One sweet love story to bring it all together.Lily Woods never expected to start life over again at thirty. But when she opens a chocolate shop and buys a dilapidated beach cottage in Wild Harbor, she’s ready to begin a new chapter, spending her days and nights creating fabulous chocolate treats.TV star Alex Briggs isn’t about to put his heart on the line. He’s finally landed his dream job as the host of a wildly popular home renovation show. Now he’s returning to Wild Harbor to flip a beach cottage, but he never imagined the project would land him next to the captivating girl who rejected him in high school.Alex never recovered the piece of his heart he gave to Lily all those years ago. How will he keep his distance now that he can’t escape the girl next door?Lily’s determined to fix up her beach bungalow on her terms, but Alex isn’t about to let her do it alone. Before Lily can stop him, Alex is on a mission to renovate her home and prove he’s the kind of man she can trust. But secrets from their past threaten to destroy their relationship before it begins.Can this small town girl and big city star overcome their differences and find love again?Love at Wild Harbor is the first novel in the Wild Harbor Beach series. These clean romances are set in Wild Harbor, a quaint small town full of happily ever afters.

Running Behind Time


Jan Turk Petrie - 2021
    It may only be in a fringe theatre in Shepherd’s Bush, but it’s the start she’s always dreamed of. It’s the Summer of 2020, amid the global pandemic, and Tom Brookes is furloughed. Unable to face lockdown in a tiny city flat, he moves back to his mother’s cottage in the sleepy Cotswold village of Stoatsfield-under-Ridge.Neither of them expects an everyday train journey to throw their normal lives so spectacularly off-course. This is the story of an extraordinary encounter between two people who should never have met. A must for fans of Kate Atkinson, Audrey Niffenegger & Diana Gabaldon

Hotel Las Flores


Kate McCabe - 2005
    But underneath the surface, all is not what it seems.There's Trish who has arrived with a pressing problem, and her oblivious writing-obsessed husband Adrian in tow. Mollie McGinty and her family are celebrating a win with a trip to Tenerife, even though she cannot stand the heat and her husband will not eat the food. Charlie Dobbins has made the trip to try to overcome his shyness with women. Bobby Bannon is escaping a public humiliation, and society hostess Monica Woodworth is determined to crawl her way back up to the top after a fall.What will happen when this quirky cast of characters all find themselves staying in the Hotel las Flores?Will they return home with a new outlook on life or even with someone new? One thing's for sure - nothing in their lives will ever be the same again.

Ace (The Jacksons Book 1)


Brenda Barrett - 2020
    Ace Jackson Jr. resembled the Wileys and not his father, Ace Jackson Sr. His mother, Celia Jackson, told him to ignore the whispers and the innuendos, he was Ace Sr.’s son and not the son of their former gardener, Micky Wiley. For thirty-six years Ace Jr. managed to do just that. He ignored the speculation because he didn’t want to upset the status quo. However, a part of him was curious as to what was the truth of the situation, but he would honor his mother’s wishes. And then he met and developed feelings for Kiya Brady, the rumored love child of Micky Wiley, and then he realized that maybe he shouldn’t be honoring his mother’s wishes after all…