Book picks similar to
Touching Shadows by Gracie O'Neil


romantic-suspense
romping-romances
bild-group
book-loving-kiwis

Outback Fear


Suzanne Brandyn - 2013
    Savannah Harris is determined to raise her three-month-old daughter in the best possible environment, and flees home to Grace Creek, an inheritance from her recently deceased mother.But even this peaceful property cannot cocoon her from her abusive husband or a stranger who intends to rip her life apart.In an atmosphere thick with fear, Savannah realises she cannot keep running, she must fight back or risk losing not only her life, but the only family she has left, her precious daughter.

Close to the Wind


Zana Bell - 2013
    Meanwhile, Captain Harry Trent is setting sail for New Zealand. With a mission to complete and the law on his heels, he's got enough trouble of his own without further complications. Thrown together, unable to trust anyone, Georgiana and Harry are intent on fulfilling their missions despite the distractions of the other. But liberty comes at a price and the closer they get, the more they must question the true cost of being free.Masquerades, deceptions and subterfuge—and that's just on the heroine's part.

Laurel Heights


Denise Moncrief - 2014
     A dark cloud of deceit hovers over her family tree... Left an estate by an aunt she’s never met, Laurel Standridge takes possession of Laurel Heights, hoping it will be the safe haven she needs to recuperate from her ill-fated relationship with Rand Peterson. Secrets long buried rise to the surface when her cousin James is murdered and dumped on the highway just outside the gates of Laurel Heights. Her past trails her to the mountains of Arkansas... Caught in an obligation Chase Peterson feels he cannot ignore, he agrees to help his brother Rand take back the property he believes Laurel stole from him, but Chase remains at Laurel Heights after he discovers Laurel took nothing of Rand’s away with her except nightmares, fading bruises, and a broken rib. Unexplained disturbances shatter her hopes of a normal life... Are the strange bumps, thumps, and bangs reverberating through the night caused by the murderer of Laurel’s cousin James, someone Rand has sent to exact his revenge, or a disturbed soul existing in another dimension, trying to communicate with the living? Drawn together by the intrigue surrounding Laurel Heights, Chase and Laurel become hopelessly entangled in a relationship that goes deeper than mere physical attraction. Can their love survive the haunting of Laurel Heights?

Fate


A.C. Heller - 2013
    There were things about her people just wouldn’t understand. Thing’s even she didn’t understand. She lived a very quite life, going to work, and going home, never intentionally seeking adventure. This is, until she was kidnapped. Chasca cannot comprehend why someone would kidnap her and she only discovers why once she is rescued by two gorgeous militant men. While under their protection she learns that she is not human and that the strange things that have been occurring all her life were all because she is of the Nephilim bloodline.Fate has never been a thing Chasca has concerned herself with but once she learns that she is part of an ancient prophecy she understand that she is truly in danger. Her protectors do everything they can to keep her out of harm’s way but there’s only so much that can be done when your ward is a headstrong mouthy woman. Recommended for those 18 and older."One cannot escape their fate, but their path may be altered, potentially resulting in a different outcome. Some consider it divine intervention, or a miracle. Others consider it to be coincidence or happenstance. In some cases both are true, but there are always exceptions. Mere seconds can prove to be crucial components when the result of one’s fate is hanging in the balance. Often times a minute amount of influence is all it takes. Planting a seed of doubt or inspiring hope when all seems to be lost..."

Powers


Elaine Waldron - 2010
    She soon meets Paul Stevenson, the handsome proprietor of the local gas and grocery and his younger sister, Judy. The very first night Amber is in her new home she hears screams off in the woods that frighten her so terribly that she doesn’t sleep until sunrise. Soon after she falls asleep, there is a knock on her front door. Law Enforcement Ranger Grady Brown has come to pay her a visit. He wants to know if she has heard anything unusual during the night. Amber and Paul quickly develop a friendship that shows promise of becoming something more. However, Amber soon learns that she’s not the only new resident in the area, for just a quarter of a mile in the woods behind her cabin lives the handsome and mysterious Dorian Lodovico, who completely unnerves her with a mere look when he comes in the store when she’s there. At first, she’s intimidated by his powerful presence, but one day she decides to take a walk towards his cabin, and just as she decides she must have taken the wrong path and turns to go back, she suddenly hears the yowl of an animal and turns to find herself face to face with a cougar. Knowing she is facing imminent death, she screams, but before the big cat reaches her, something slams into it in mid-air, knocking it to the ground and snaps the big cat’s neck, killing it instantly. When she regains her senses, she realizes that that something is Dorian Lodovico. He has saved her life!Though Paul is trying hard to gain Amber’s affection, as he is falling in love with her, she realizes that she has feelings for both men, and Dorian isn’t going to make it easy. Paul courts her, brings her flowers, and takes her to dinner and dancing, while Dorian just shows up on her doorstep to borrow coffee or during a storm when the power goes off and helps her find candles, anything but a traditional relationship, but he sweeps her off her feet, literally, when he kisses her so passionately that it leaves her weak and trembling. What Ambers doesn’t know, is Dorian is a vampire and wants to turn her. He caused the storm to keep Paul away.

Isle of Tears


Deborah Challinor - 2009
    When armed conflict drives a wedge between Maori and Pakeha, not everyone can choose sides easily. For Isla McKinnon, the choices are bitter. Taken in by local Maori when her parents are brutally murdered, she has grown to womanhood and taken a Maori husband. In a thrilling tale of love and loss from the land wars - when simmering tensions between Maori and the encroaching Pakeha settlements exploded into bloody warfare - love and trust are put cruelly to the test. Separated from her husband and her family and restored to Auckland society, Isla must learn to survive in both worlds. Inevitably, she must decide between them, and lose part of her heart forever.

The Discovery


J.T. Cross - 2012
    Search and rescue specialist Luc Moon is tasked with the impossible: finding the boys on his own.During the search, Luc discovers clues to a remarkable lost world, a world hidden deep within a forgotten valley. Now in a life-and-death struggle, Luc―and those closest to him―must survive against legendary creatures and a ruthless billionaire determined to keep the discovery to himself.

Faith, Hope, and Murder


Elise M. Stone - 2013
    She’s devoted herself to her work as a web designer—and a series of meaningless relationships in place of the love she desires. She’s happier that way; at least, that’s what she tells herself. When her best friend asks her to help a stranger, she has no idea the problem is murder. The victim, a smuggler who brought drugs and human beings over the Mexican border, had plenty of enemies. And even more dangerous friends. Pastor John Menard has problems of his own. When the pretty skeptic appears in his office to discuss a new web site for the church, John is intrigued, but cautious. With a recent divorce and an accusation of misconduct, he must win back the trust of his congregation—or risk losing his church. While he struggles to prove his innocence, there’s no space in his life for a relationship. As Faith investigates the murder, she finds herself with more questions than answers. Who killed the coyote? Is the stranger really who she seems? When John discovers Faith is poking into a homicide, he fears for her safety. Spiced with danger and opposing beliefs, their mutual attraction grows. But have they gotten themselves into more trouble than either of them could have imagined?Alternate edition for Kindle ASIN B00B2ROIWQ

Lethal Legacy


Amanda McKinney - 2017
    Over three decades later, a house fire destroys her Texas mansion and takes the life of her cheating husband, unleashing a series of events that open up the dark past she’s tried so desperately to forget.Former Navy SEAL, Police Lieutenant Danny Dabrowski, suspects arson and while questioning the sexy, alluring wife of the late William King, he becomes suspicious when Victoria shows no signs of emotion other than a fiery attitude toward him.As Danny’s perception of Victoria becomes clouded by desire, all bets are off when he finds out that the past and present are linked to a dangerous cartel that only wants one thing from Victoria. The one thing she doesn’t even know exists.And they’re willing to kill for it.

Lethal Distraction


Terri Reid - 2018
    Little did she realize that following up on one particular discard would not only drop her in the middle of a murder investigation, but also put her smack dab in the crosshairs of an assassin’s gun. Will her burgeoning relationship with Sergeant Tom O’Reilly, her assigned protector, guide her to success as a reporter? Or will their attraction prove to be a lethal distraction?

Point of Impact


Lisa Phillips - 2022
    When she returns home, she has to face down every nightmare she's ever had. Is the resurgence of a series of all too familiar deadly crimes the work of a former ally, or a mastermind who has been pulling her strings all along?Recluse and artist Jacob likes his life. It's how he's managed to cope with who he became all those years ago. But he can't avoid the past any longer. Not when Addie walks back into town, and right back into his life.The past returns in a wave of unexplained crimes. Addie and Jacob find themselves at the heart of it all, at the place where their lives were torn apart.This stand-alone story is the start of the accountant’s office series – a spinoff from Last Chance County.A Christian romantic suspense novel.

Love’s Battle Won (The Rileys of Misty Creek Series) (A Western Romance Story)


Elliee Atkinson - 2017
     Will Love To Be The Price To Pay? An Angel’s smile…A Devil’s eyes…Are dreams made to be broken? Cheated out of her own ranch and left alone with a son to raise, Serena Snowdon can’t seem to keep ahead of the trouble that haunts her. With her only chance at a normal life hanging on the return of her husband, Serena knows she will just have to hold on until he comes back. But when she finds employment as a cook in the Riley household, she discovers that some things are worse than being out in the cold - like a dark-haired cowboy with the temptation of the devil himself. Known to be a man who loves hard and fights harder, Jasper Riley has a knack for knowing when danger is nipping at his heels. Yet he seems blind to the perils of the irresistible attraction he feels for their new cook, even as he is coerced into a marriage with a woman he has no feelings for. But when all Serena has left is being threatened, she and Jasper realize that if they don’t make a stand, then the worst that can happen is far more than either of them is willing to risk. With their backs against the wall and Serena determined to reclaim what is rightfully hers, Jasper has no choice but to set his sights on the one thing he knows best - protecting what is his.

Killing Secrets


K.L. Docter - 2014
    Rachel James' ex-husband is released from prison determined to reclaim her and her little girl - the child is his key to controlling the James fortune. Frightened, Rachel flees to Denver with the child who hasn't uttered a word since her daddy went to prison. Contractor Patrick Thorne wants nothing to do with another of his parents' charity cases. He failed his own wife so abysmally she took her own life as well as his unborn son's. After two years, it's time to concentrate on the bid he's won and the saboteur trying to destroy his construction firm. There is no room for trust in either of their hearts. But trust is all that will untangle the secrets that dominate their lives, free a little girl of her silent prison, and save them all from a serial killer who stands too close.

Fallen Angel (Angels and Demons, #1)


Skylar West - 2020
    Isabelle has dreamed of becoming a famous musician. At twenty years old, that is all she cares about. Then a tall, gorgeous stranger enters her life, and when they touch, sparks fly.Isabelle tries to control the bolt of electricity she feels every time the sexy demigod, Iver Eriskay is within range. But how long can she resist his pull? Will Isabelle accept Iver’s dominance and protection?If you love dominant men and strong female characters, then you'll love this first installment of Skylar West’s Angels and Demons series.Publisher's Note: This sci-fi romance is the first of a new series. It contains a theme of power exchange.

A Winter's Day in 1939


Melinda Szymanik - 2013
    It is 1939 and the war has just broken out. Russians invade Poland and confiscate Adam’s family’s house and farm. They are sent to live with another family nearby, but are then moved on and put on a train for a Russian labour camp as refugees, prisoners of Russia.