Book picks similar to
The bench by Cromer beach by R.J. Gould
fiction
contemporary
family
older-protagonists
The Secret Diary of an Arranged Marriage
Halima Khatun - 2020
A motley crew of men, some hoping it’s them. A mum on a mission to match make. And an age-old tradition with a twist. Welcome to the world of the arranged marriage. “While I’m young, (somewhat) free and single, time is - by Bengali standards - marching on. I’ve got to meet my dream man, or at least someone I can grow to like, and get married. The trouble is, having never fully fit in with my English friends or Asian community, I don’t really know what - or who – I’m looking for. Luckily (or not) for me, arranged marriages are still a thing. So alongside my own dating efforts, it’s everyone’s business - from my adorable yet overbearing mum, to pretend aunties and profiteering opportunists - to find me a match. With all this help, I’m pretty sure I’ll land a husband, but will he be ‘The One’?” The Secret Diary of an Arranged Marriage lifts the lid on the intriguing world of British-Bengali matrimony. The debut novel from former journalist Halima Khatun explores family, identity and belonging with acerbic humour. It’ll change your view of matchmaking for good…
Hot Chocolate This Winter (Sag Harbor Black Romances Book 2)
Lula White - 2021
Princess
Holly J. Martin - 2017
She had a gang of brothers who positively adored her. She led an affluent life at her family’s home in Maine. She even had an ongoing flirtation with the charming Jared Ross.He would prove to be her doom. After her father catches her with Jared, he virtually disowns her. Jack is forced to live in a halfway house for wayward teens run by sadistic guards. There, she experiences an assault that changes her life forever.When Jack escapes, she takes to the streets in search of a place to belong. She finds friendship in Sam, a former special forces POW determined to help anyone in need, and Noah, a young gay model with dreams of stardom. As Jack begins creating a new life with Sam and Noah, she still faces the unbelievable pain of her family’s betrayal. Jack doesn’t know the whole story. As she follows her dream of owning a recording studio, her brothers and Jared are all desperately searching for her. Their reunion will be more difficult than any of them expect. Jack has found a new family. Is there room in her heart for anyone else?
The High Life of Simone St. Lo
F.E. Arliss - 2019
At twenty-five, Simone Martin secretly inherits the title ‘Countess of St. Lo’! Along with this entry into the peerage, kept secret from her deeply troubled family, comes an ancient estate in France, complete with a constantly crumbling castle, a slice of fly-fishing paradise, a few acres of lousy orchards and an array of colorful staff that keep her on her toes. With wild-spirits, high hopes and the aid of her ferocious French paternal-grandmother and down to earth farm-family roots, this young woman takes on kooky French society, murderous neighbors and an odd batch of neurotically inclined villagers. Taking help from what could be dubious sources, Simone’s plan to turn her Euro-sucking legacy into a thoroughly modern, money-making machine will need a marketing-miracle and an assortment of divine interventions.
The Fall River Family Saga
Chloe Emile - 2015
Fall Rivers, Massachusetts.
When Ryan Lochlan was orphaned after losing his parents to Ireland’s potato famine, he sailed on a ship to America for a better life. His dream came true when he met the beautiful Abby McVinny, even after her father threatened him with a shotgun. From the moment their eyes locked, their lives intertwined, and there began a journey of love, adventure, and tragedy. Ryan and his best friend Mick know how to defend the family against thieves and outlaws, but so do their women—the McVinny girls know how to handle a shotgun or two. www.ChloeEmile.com
An Unexpected Find (Silver Falls #1)
Hayleigh Sol - 2020
They might be perfect for each other...but they haven’t actually met.Will they continue to play it safe or will they risk another heartbreak for a chance at love?Best-selling author Jax Rowland is writing the first book of his next spy thriller series and it's not going well. If he can't create a deeper connection between his characters, he faces more negative reviews from readers fed up with his one-dimensional Bond-girls.Dr. Sophie Grimaldi is successful, single and content to remain that way. Disappointed (or worse) by romantic relationships all her life, the only interest she has in men these days are her delicious book boyfriends. When Sophie discovers a set of handwritten notes between the pages of a library book, curiosity quickly turns to exasperation over the author’s cringe-worthy attempt at a steamy sex scene. Automatically, she scribbles her own version, forgetting all about the page when she returns the book. She never imagines the author will find her revision.Embarrassed to view his work through a mystery critic’s eyes, Jax offers Sophie a job writing the love scenes of his next novel. As sexy emails and flirty texts turn into a friendship teeming with chemistry, Sophie and Jax agree to finally meet in person. But, a series of missed connections and unexpected twists make it clear that fate has other plans for them.Will they heed the warning signs or choose to write their own destiny?**Note: An Unexpected Find was originally published with the title Book Review. This revised version (12/2020) can be read as a standalone or the first in the Silver Falls series. Due to mature content, this book is recommended for readers 18+.
The Lying Game
Maxine Barry - 2006
She has one goal: to find the real killer of Rollo Seton.While inside, a mysterious benefactor has put £2 million in trust for her. She uses the money to buy the Manor House in Nether Dene, the tiny village she grew up in.THE VILLAGE DOESN’T WANT HER BACKShe hires Connor O'Dell, a good-looking bodyguard. He’s there in case things get rough. But it's Lowell Seton, the younger brother of Rollo and the love of Oriana's life, who quickly becomes the greatest danger . . . to her heart.And when Connor falls for Mercedes Seton, Oriana's former best friend, things threaten to totally fall apart.THE REAL KILLER WILL STRIKE AGAIN TO PROTECT THEIR SECRETS
What Happens in New York
Kristina Adams - 2016
She’s broke, she’s back living with her family, and her career prospects are zero. So when the chance arises for her and her best friend to escape to New York, well, she can hardly say no, can she?Little does she realise the charming stunt performer she just met is about to introduce her to Hollywood royalty. But are the Hollywood elite really who they claim to be, or is there more to their stories than they let on?Find out what happens next in the sassy, seductive debut perfect for fans of Paige Toon, Sophie Kinsella, and Marian Keyes.
A Wedding She'll Remember
Patricia Rosemoor - 2018
EIGHT New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors bring you eight stories of memorable weddings, spilling over with nervous tingles and overwhelming moments. Experience the euphoria of wedding day bliss, cry a river of happiness and celebrate the joy over and over again with these happy ever after tales. Patricia Rosemoor – A Rancher’s Vow – Reed Quarrels asks Alcina Dale to marry him so he can save the Curly! Ranch, not knowing Alcina has been in love with him forever. Taylor Lee – Undercover Wedding – They called her the Ice Princess. That was before the sexy police commander turned up the heat and proved that fire does melt ice. It couldn’t have been a more perfect wedding until a group of would-be assassins crash the party. Natalie Ann – True Love – Shattered dreams vs. a new beginning. Can a young widow with a two-year-old heal this wounded warrior? Tamara Ferguson – Two Hearts in Accord- When active duty wounded warriors lieutenants Anna Drummond and Neil Harrison insist that the last thing they want is a long term relationship, will TWO HEARTS IN ACCORD finally admit that it’s love? Stephanie Queen – Margo and George Forever? – Will Margo make it to the alter in spite of George’s family and the circus of a wedding they planned? Suzanne Jenkins – A Greektown Wedding - Relationships are blooming as Spring approaches, but will the Detroit Police Department be enough to keep the out of control lovers in check? Alicia Street – Maybe Lovers – Can a hot doc with his own troubles convince a cynical bartender that it's okay to dream of love? Mimi Barbour – My Cheeky Angel - Can a tomboy change to attract a man?
The Cake List (The List Books Book 1)
Dianne J. Wilson - 2020
Do Something Selfless. Do Something Kind. Break a Never. Stop an Always. Figure out God. “Some people write a bucket list, you know… things they want to do and tick off before they die. Honestly? Dying doesn’t seem half as scary as the big-O birthday that’s hunting me down. So I’ve made my own list. Things I want to do and tick off before I eat that birthday cake. So far, it’s not going too well.” ~*~ Fresh from a spectacular break-up and faced with a looming big-O birthday, Meg throws her cautious nature aside and signs up for dance classes. Little does she know that Ballroom will stretch more than just her muscles. Between the charming dance instructor and his secrets, her grumpy neighbour and a fish that can’t swim straight, Meg’s list seems doomed from the start. ~*~ Heart-felt and funny, Meg’s list-crossing quest takes her so far out of her comfort zone, she may never find her way back.
Stone Lake
Phil M. Williams - 2015
He toils to keep their construction company afloat while the exes in his life enjoy their honeymoon. Jon meets Morgan when a flock of turkeys and a curvy mountain road aligns with one-in-a-million timing. Despite their attraction, her engagement, and the ire of her family, the pair embarks on a platonic friendship. As their relationship strengthens, they share secrets, but Morgan holds her most important secret tight to her chest, where it beats like a ticking time bomb. It’s not a matter of if, but when. Adult language and content. Beware of spoilers in the reviews.
A Christmas in Montana
Elysia Lumen Strife - 2018
Years in service and living alone have made Matt Jefferson one callous man. Will the spirit of the season bring them together? Or will the secrets they hold inside keep them apart? Christmas is quickly approaching. Orion’s sleepy Montana town is bustling with returning family, vacationing students, and several unexpected visitors: a friend on the rebound, Orion’s volatile ex, and a handsome silver-eyed stranger. When a surprise letter arrives from Matt's mother, it leads him deep into a snowy world of holiday magic and Irish fire that threaten to crack his shell. Filled with holiday humor, tempers, sweet romance, and lots of food, Orion and Matt rediscover what it means to have hope, faith, love, joy, and a belief in something greater than themselves.
Tangled Web
Wendy Saunders - 2017
There's only one thing missing... her sister.Cassandra hasn't seen her sister since the night their wealthy, prominent father died from a massive heart attack. She had only been five years old at the time and can barely recall the events of that night. All she can remember was that men came to the house and that it was the last time she saw her sister. Her alcoholic, emotionally unstable mother refuses to discuss her and will only say that she had been sent away to an exclusive boarding school in Europe. But, as the years pass by with no word from her, Cassandra begins to suspect there is more to her father's death and her sister's disappearance than she first thought.Desperate to find answers she hires a private investigator, but when he turns up dead it becomes clear someone doesn't want her looking into her family's past. When wealthy businessman Jackson Evans stumbles into her life, with problems of his own, they realize his family and hers are inexplicably entwined in a web of deceit and murder, which spans two decades.One by one, everyone who was in her home the night of her Father's death, begin to die under suspicious circumstances and it becomes a race against time to uncover the truth, before she becomes the next victim.
The Cracks Between Us
Caitlin Moss - 2021
Thrilling. It was so unlike her. Aila was always a good wife. Never reckless. Always faithful. Until she wasn’t.Aila Sorenson doesn’t know what happened to her marriage. She actively participated in building the life she and her husband, Ben, created but she no longer recognizes herself when she remembers the role she dreamt up fifteen years ago.While Ben has been building a successful career as an attorney in Seattle, Aila has remained in the shadows taking care of their home and tending to their children while struggling to find a balance between the monotony and the chaos. They appear to be shining pillars of marital perfection—attending church on Sundays, volunteering, and surpassing every expectation society has of them—but deep down, Aila knows their marriage is crumbling. She often wonders if Ben even realizes it.When Aila unexpectedly runs into someone from her past, the illusion she and Ben created begins to shatter. While many merely wonder about the road not taken, Aila runs down it full-speed. After months of authentic and insatiable passion, Aila rivals her devotion against her desires and must decide which one is worth fighting for.
Summer of Change (The Springs Book 1)
Elena Aitken - 2014
And he wants her.Successful, handsome and too damn charming for his own good—he's perfect.The only problem? Letting him in could destroy everything she knows and loves.Samantha Burke loves her quiet close-knit community of Cedar Springs, just the way it is thank you very much.The addition of an upscale new resort as well as its arrogant owner, Trent Harrison, and the change they're both sure to bring to town, is certainly not welcome. As far as Sam's concerned, Trent can turn right around and go back to where he came from.That is, until one very hot—and completely unexpected—kiss changes everything.Now Trent is pushing his way into her town, and her life and it's getting harder and harder for Sam to deny the heat between them.Change is inevitable, but can either of them drop their guard long enough to accept it when there's so much on the line? Including the chance for love?