Book picks similar to
The Season for Love by M.W. Arnold


contemporary-romance
family
illness
light-romance

It Felt Like a Kiss


Sarra Manning - 2013
    Great job, really good hair, loyal friends, loving family. It’s only her succession of lame duck boyfriends that ruin the picture.Oh, and the world-famous rock-star father she’s never met, who won’t even acknowledge her existence.Then Ellie’s perfect life is smashed to pieces when her secret is sold to the highest bidder and her name, face (and pictures of her bottom) are splashed across the tabloids. Suddenly everyone thinks she’s a gold-digging, sex-crazy, famewhore.Enter David Gold. Charming and handsome David Gold. On paper he’s even more perfect than Ellie, if only he wasn’t her father’s ruthlessly ambitious lawyer whose job is to manage the crisis – and her. He certainly doesn’t think that Ellie’s the innocent party and she doesn’t trust him at all. So why is it that every time they’re alone together, damage limitation is the last thing on their minds?

Her Secret Billionaire Neighbor


Flora Madison - 2019
    Everyone else took the financial incentive to leave... Everyone except one last, stubborn tenant. My plan? Make them an offer they can't refuse. But then I see her, and there's no way I'm kicking her out. Instead, I want to make her mine forever. But she hates me, the man attempting to take away her home. The only way to convince her to love me? I'm going to have to pretend to be someone I'm not. Make her fall for me. Then, I'll tell her the truth. Toni: I'm not going down without a fight. This is my home. Cash incentives are great, but what about the principal of displacement? Then, he appears. Tall, dark and unbelievably hot. And he's moving in downstairs to assess the future redesign of the building. Maybe he'll see that this place is worth saving, that it's history deserves to be preserved. It doesn't hurt that he's the most gorgeous man I've ever laid eyes on. I need someone else on my side in the fight to save my building. What could possibly go wrong? Her Secret Billionaire Neighbor is sweet and steamy short romance featuring a possessive OTT alpha billionaire who'll do anything to claim his curvy bbw heroine. It's the perfect one hour read when you're on the go or just need a high heat quickie romance to hold you over. If you love a new neighbor romance, this is the amazon kindle short reads (90 minutes) for you. **Sneak Peek Bonus Chapter of Possessive Teacher included!** **HEA guaranteed in this SAFE standalone romance with NO CLIFFHANGER!**

All the Tomorrows


Nillu Nasser - 2017
    Sometimes we are the architects of our own fall.Akash Choudry wants a love for all time, not an arranged marriage. Still, under the weight of parental hopes, he agrees to one. He and Jaya marry in a cloud of colour and spice in Bombay. Their marriage has barely begun when Akash embarks on an affair. Jaya cannot contemplate sharing her husband with another woman, or looking past his indiscretions as her mother suggests. Cornered by sexual politics, she takes her fate into her own hands in the form of a lit match.Nothing endures fire. As shards of their past threaten their future, will Jaya ever bloom into the woman she can be, and will redemption be within Akash’s reach?

Trophy Life


Elli Lewis - 2016
     Meet Amy, the world's most improbable trophy wife. She has a degree, ambitions and something resembling a mind of her own. The trouble is, she just doesn't use it anymore. Married to handsome aristocrat, Harry Green, Amy’s world is a whirlwind of luxury, labels and lunches. But amidst the peerages and polo of the privileged few lie wolves in minks' clothing. Before she knows it, Amy's perfect existence is plunged into chaos by the poshest of plots. Ominous heiresses, simpering starlets and a terrifying mother-in-law abound as Amy faces up to some harsh realities. Can Amy survive life in the upper crust? Or is high society an all new low?

On Turpentine Lane


Elinor Lipman - 2017
    It's a peaceful life, really, and surely with her recent purchase of a sweet bungalow on Turpentine Lane her life is finally on track. Never mind that her fiancé is off on a crowdfunded cross-country walk, too busy to return her texts (but not too busy to post photos of himself with a different woman in every state.) And never mind her witless boss, or a mother who lives too close, or a philandering father who thinks he's Chagall. When she finds some mysterious artifacts in the attic of her new home, she wonders whether anything in her life is as it seems. What good fortune, then, that Faith has found a friend in affable, collegial Nick Franconi, officemate par excellence . . .

The Pretty Delicious Café


Danielle Hawkins - 2016
    One ex-boyfriend who won't go away. And one handsome stranger who probably will ... For fans of Doc Martin and and Monica McInerney, a warm, witty novel, brimming with the trademark romance, friendship and eccentricity that Danielle Hawkins's readers love.On the outskirts of a small seaside town, Lia and her friend Anna work serious hours running their restored cafe. The summer season is upon them, they have Anna's wedding to plan and Lia's ex-boyfriend seems not to understand it's over.When a gorgeous stranger taps on Lia's window near midnight and turns out not to be a serial killer, she feels it's a promising sign. But no one comes without a past, and his arrives in the form of a four-year-old son. Just as Lia decides to give things a try, problems from her own past rear up.The Pretty Delicious Cafe reminds us of the joy -- and hazards -- to be found in family, friends and good food -- and that being a little bit weird isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Don't Make Me Make You Brownies


Nina Cordoba - 2011
    But the L.A. TV station where she works as a consumer reporter won't let her do the globally important stories she wants to do, and now the guys upstairs are suggesting she mix a little of the nasty into her helping-people segments to raise the--already high--ratings. Afraid the TV biz is going to suck out her soul, Abbie agrees to take all the time-off she's saved and housesit for her sister in the suburbs of Houston where conservatism and good barbequing skills are highly rated. But, it will give her time alone to re-evaluate her life, or, at least, give the guys upstairs time to see how ratings plummet without her.Once in Houston, Abbie causes a raucous with a column she guest-writes for her sister's neighborhood newsletter and butts heads with the president of the homeowner's association from across the street. Rick's a real hunk (yum!) of a lawyer (yuck!) who drives a fancy pickup (wasting natural resources), is an ex-rodeo cowboy (too macho, but kinda hot) and has been known to vote conservatively on occasion (dead faint). Unfortunately, he's also irresistible and available since his wife took off, leaving him with their six-year-old daughter. After some malicious neighborhood mischief followed by a hot encounter in his kitchen, Abbie decides she'd better stay away or this guy could change her life in a way she never thought she wanted. But when her volunteer job, teaching English as a Second Language, gets her arrested on suspicion of smuggling illegal aliens, who is the only emergency contact her sister left? Mr. Hunky-Annoying-Across-the-Street-Lawyer, of course. And as Abbie feels herself getting sucked in by Rick, she realizes life's decisions aren't always as black and white as she'd like them to be.

Secret Shopper


Tanya Taimanglo - 2013
    Forced to find a job, she retreats into the world of SECRET SHOPPING and thrives. As Phoenix discovers her true self without Bradley, she becomes an unwilling goddess with the help of her best friend Rachel. She snags the attention of Thomas-the creative, handsome and persistent target she has been assigned to evaluate. Can she hold off Thomas’s charm until her divorce becomes final? What will she decide when her father falls ill unexpectedly and pulls her back to Guam?

Take Out Chef


Gaby Cabezut - 2017
    Your favorite online stories, now available in your headphones!Jessica Summers works all day to support her family. Her social life consists of having dinner in front of the television watching Chef Tom's magical hands prepare foods. Being a chef is her lifelong dream, but since her mom passed away, being there for her brother and helping ease the burden for her quirky grandmother are her priority.Her life takes an unexpected turn when her brother signs her up in an experimental program to help young delinquents. Chef Tom Simmons and chef Bryan Sullen head the project, and when they meet, Jessie is hoping to get a spot in the school -despite her non-criminal record- not to find a new job. Yet, Tom is in desperate need of a new assistant, and Jessie is the perfect fit. Bryan has a rough façade. He's obnoxious and bossy, but shows moments of kindness too. Their romance blossoms between remaking messy soufflés and baking crispy croissants. When they have plans to start dating, Bryan has an emergency and shuts down on Jessie. When Bryan comes back, Jesse must decide to follow her heart and give the man she loves a chance to open up, or let him go for good.

Goats in the Time of Love, a Martha's Vineyard love story with goats, a dog and some recipes


T. Elizabeth Bell - 2019
    Escaping her city life, Sky seeks refuge on Martha’s Vineyard. She hires Nate Batchelor, local Island goatscaper and scion of one of the Island’s oldest families, to clear a view of Tisbury Great Pond with his herd of unruly goats.Nate knows better than to get involved with a summer person—and a rich one at that—but the attraction for both is instant and undeniable. Sky’s new life quickly collides with her old, and she must make some tough decisions.Runaway goats, quirky characters, and a comedy of errors set the stage in this sea-breezy novel that proves that love will find you—whether you want it to or not.“Goats gambol by the seashore in this very funny and sly 21st-century twist on the classic marriage plot.”-- HOLLY HODDER EGER, award-winning author of Split Rock: A Martha's Vineyard Novel“Goats in the Time of Love is a delightful romp of a novel that will transport you to summertime island life, complete with sandy beaches, sun-warmed skin, briny oysters and tangy wild blueberries, ocean sunsets, and, of course, romance. And the romance is the best kind, the this-may-not-be-right-for-me-but-it-feels-so-good-I-can't-think-about-anything-else kind of romance with all its thrills and pitfalls.”-- KATHLEEN McCLEARY, author of Leaving Haven, A Simple Thing, and House & Home

If You Must Know


Jamie Beck - 2020
    Amanda follows the rules—at the school where she works; in her community; and as a picture-perfect daughter, wife, and mother-to-be. Erin follows her heart—in love and otherwise—living a bohemian lifestyle on a shoestring budget and honoring her late father’s memory with a passion for music and her fledgling bath-products business.The sisters are content leading separate but happy lives in their hometown of Potomac Point until everything is upended by lies that force them to confront unsettling truths about their family, themselves, and each other. For sisters as different as these two, building trust doesn’t come easily—especially with one secret still between them—but it may be the only way to save their family.

I'm Not Her


Janet Gurtler - 2011
    And that’s okay. Kristina is the sporty one, Tess is the smart one, and they each have their place. Until Kristina is diagnosed with cancer. Suddenly Tess is the center of the popular crowd, everyone eager for updates. There are senior boys flirting with her. Yet the smiles of her picture-perfect family are cracking and her sister could be dying. Now Tess has to fill a new role: the strong one. Because if she doesn’t hold it together, who will?

Holding on to Hurt


Charlotte Roth - 2017
    the day she gets the call every mother dreads: Your son has been shot and is in a coma.In the blink of an eye, Irene’s life is shattered into a million pieces.What follows is a story about a mother and her struggle to keep, not only her son but eventually also her marriage and herself alive. On Irene's journey through grief, denial, and anger, she discovers more about the events of that tragic day, the boy who shot her son and then took his own life, and the husband she thought she knew and could trust. An emotional and heart-gripping story, Holding on to Hurt, is a novel about family, trust, grief, and a mother’s unconditional love. “If you love emotional reads and if you dare to open up your heart, you’ve come to the right place.

unWanted: Husband


Sandra D. Bricker - 2000
    Charlotte has unlimited travel benefits to offer in return for the extra income she needs to pay for her elderly father's care...and Seth has a thriving business which costs nearly as much in travel expenses as he earns. That's how two people who vow to never tie the knot find themselves in the back seat of a pink convertible at a drive-thru wedding chapel saying, "I do!" But when they actually start falling head over heels in love—neither one knows what to do. Can they make this love work?

Our Bridal Shop


Danielle Blair - 2020
    For the March sisters, Match Made in Devon, the bridal shop opened and run by their parents, was a real-world representation of what true love was all about. But for eldest sister Alexandra that kind of perfection has always seemed unreachable. 
Alex has spent over fifteen years in Boston, building up an impenetrable shell of confidence and taking control over her own destiny. If there’s anything missing from her life, it isn’t important anyway. But with her mother’s unexpected death Alex is forced to leave her life in the big city behind and return to her hometown of Devon…and a past she’s been running from for years. 
As the March sisters try to salvage the bridal shop their parents loved, Alex is forced to confront her painful past and the real reason she left Devon so many years ago…including childhood sweetheart Jonah Dufort. 
Jonah represents everything Alex has tried to forget and conceal. But sometimes secrets demand to be revealed, and when the past returns again in the form of a long-lost sister, it’s a shocking reminder to Alex that even a perfect marriage can have something to hide. 
With her world falling apart around her, Alex loses control of the perfect life she has built for herself. Now, the only thing that Alex can be certain of is that things will never be the same. 
Bound by fate, three sisters will have to redefine the meaning of family and discover the raw power of forgiveness and love.