Halfway to Nowhere


Steena Holmes - 2013
     Nikki Landon walked away from her small town, Halfway, Montana, ten years ago, with no intentions of setting foot there again. But, when her mother dies unexpectedly, Nikki has no choice but to return, and this time with the child she was trying to hide—ten year old, Ryan. Becky Jennings is living her happily-ever-after. She’s married to the man of her dreams and even though that means being the wife of a Christmas tree farmer, she’s happy. There’s only one thing missing from her fairy-tale life: a child to hold in her arms. After countless miscarriages, she’s struggling to accept that might be one dream that will never come true. As teenagers, Nikki would have done anything to protect her best friend, Becky from heartache, which is why she left. But ten years later, there’s nowhere to hide in a small town where everyone can see the truth of the secret she can no longer keep. Could Nikki’s son be the child Becky has always longed for? And if he is, can the already fragile bond between the two friends, withstand the heartache? Visit their websites: www.steenaholmes.com www.elenaaitken.com

No Place I'd Rather Be


Cathy Lamb - 2017
    Back temporarily to protect her almost-adopted daughters from their biological mother, she discovers an old, handwritten cookbook in the attic. Its pages are stained and torn, their edges scorched by flame. Some have been smeared by water . . . or tears. The recipes are written in different hands and in different languages. In between the pages are intriguing mementos, including a feather, a pressed rose, a charm, and unfamiliar photographs.Hoping the recipes will offer a window into her grandmother's closely guarded past, Olivia decides to make each dish, along with their favorite family cake recipes, and records her attempts. The result, like much of her life to date, involves a parade of near-disasters and chaotic appearances by her doctor mother, her blunt grandma, her short-tempered sister, and Olivia's two hilarious daughters. The project is messy, real and an unintended hit with viewers.Even more surprising is the family history Olivia is uncovering, and her own reemerging ties to Montana, and to Jace. Generations of women have shared these recipes, offering strength and nourishment to each other and their loved ones. Now it's Olivia s turn to find healing and determine where her home and her heart truly belong.

The Tall Pine Polka


Lorna Landvik - 1998
    There’s the cafe owner, the robust and beautiful Lee O’Leary, who escaped to the northwoods from an abusive husband; Miss Penk and Frau Katt, the town’s only lesbian couple (“Well, we’re za only ones who admit it.”); Pete, proprietor of the Shoe Shack, who spends nights crafting beautiful shoes to present to Lee, along with his declarations of love; Mary, whose bad poetry can clear out the cafe in seconds flat; and, most important of all, Lee’s best friend, Fenny Ness, a smart and sassy twenty-two-year-old going on eighty.When Hollywood rolls into Tall Pine to shoot a movie, and a handsome musician known as Big Bill appears on the scene, Lee and Fenny find their friendship put to the test, as events push their hearts in unexplored directions—where endings can turn into new beginnings. . . .

An Unexpected Grace


Kristin von Kreisler - 2013
    Lila Elliot knows she's lucky. A shooting rampage at her office left several colleagues dead and others seriously wounded. Lila's injuries will heal in time. Yet though she gratefully retreats to her best friend's house to recuperate, Lila can't quite move past her fear and anger. Being drafted into caring for Grace--a shaggy, formerly abused golden retriever--only adds to her stress. Lila has been terrified of dogs since childhood. But Grace, like Lila, needs time and space to recover.Grace keeps her distance, sensing Lila's wariness, and only perks up for Adam, the neighbor who rescued her. Though struggling to make sense of her recent tragedy, Lila, an accomplished artist, begins to see beauty in Grace's wisps of fur and haunted eyes. As Adam points out, Grace, too, has suffered through no fault of her own. And in helping Grace to trust, Lila is being gently nudged toward the courage she needs to do the same.Rich in warmth and humor, An Unexpected Grace is a story of compassion and connection, and of finding that what truly makes us whole again may be the love we give away.

Three River Ranch


Roxanne Snopek - 2012
    She shows up at Three River tired, heartbroken, and with no one but her trusty Labradoodle as a companion. Cowboy Carson Granger has enough trouble in his life without adding a woman and her dog to the mix. There’s the untamed mustang he’s prepping to release into the wild, not to mention his father’s crazy will, which stipulates that if Carson wants to fully inherit Three River, he’ll need to find a bride. Carson wants nothing to do with love and especially not a marriage of convenience. But he soon realizes Rory, and everything she represents, might just be exactly what he needs. Sometimes love arrives on your doorstep when you least expect it…

More than Neighbors


Shannon Stacey - 2020
    Meredith Price has moved next door with her daughter. He’s unattached. She’s a widowed single mom. He’s owned by a cat. She’s definitely team canine. All these neighbors have in common is a property line. One they cross…over and over. And Cam thought he knew what he wanted—until his family’s secret changes everything.New York Times Bestselling Author

The Center of the World


Jacqueline Sheehan - 2015
    How do you keep a secret so huge that it could devastate everyone you care about? For Kate Malloy, the answer is simple: one lie at a time. That’s how she has protected her daughter for more than a dozen years, shielding her from a terrible truth. Sofia, a fifteen-year-old soccer star living in New England, believes she was born in Mexico and legally adopted by Kate. But a posthumous letter from her stepfather tells Sofia a different story—one of civil unrest and bloodshed, death-defying heroism and child-smuggling, harrowing sacrifice and desperate decisions.Sofia’s trust in her mother is shattered. At last Kate must do what she knows is right—accompany Sofia back to Guatemala, the place where Kate found horror and heartache but also the greatest joy of her life. As mother and daughter confront the damage done by years of dangerous yet necessary deceptions, they discover how much love, hope, and happiness may still remain—if they have the courage to face their past.

The Memory House


Linda Goodnight - 2015
    Memories of motherhood and marriage are fresh for Julia Presley--though tragedy took away both years ago. Finding comfort in the routine of running the Peach Orchard Inn, she lets the historic, mysterious place fill the voids of love and family. No more pleasure of a man's gentle kiss. No more joy in hearing a child call her Mommy. Life is calm, unchanging...until a stranger with a young boy and soul-deep secrets shows up in her Tennessee town and disrupts the loneliness of her world. Julia suspects there's more to Eli Donovan's past than his motherless son, Alex. There's a reason he's chasing redemption and bent on earning it with a new beginning in Honey Ridge. Offering the guarded man work renovating the inn, she glimpses someone who--like her--has a heart in need of restoration. But with the chance discovery of a dusty stack of love letters buried within the lining of an old trunk, the long-dead ghosts of a Civil War romance envelop Julia and Eli, connecting them to the inn's violent history and challenging them both to risk facing yesterday's darkness for a future bright with hope and healing.

Best Staged Plans


Claire Cook - 2011
    So getting rid of her own house and downsizing should be a breeze, right?Well, best staged plans and all, Sandy's husband, Greg, is dragging his feet and their son, Luke, has returned home and moved into the "bat cave" in the basement.Sandy reads them both the riot act and takes a job staging a boutique hotel recently acquired by her best friend's boyfriend. The good news is that she can spend time in Atlanta with her recently married daughter, Shannon. The bad news is that Shannon soon receives a promotion and heads back up to Boston for training, leaving Sandy and her Southern son-in-law, Chance, as reluctant roommates. And Sandy finds herself in another delicate situation when she suspects her best friend's boyfriend may be seeing another woman on the side. Fixing up houses may turn out to be easier than fixing up lives.“Midlife craziness…a crowd-pleaser for empty nesters…charmer…Cook knows the territory of secret longing and snappy dialog.” —Publishers Weekly“Sandra is a professional home stager based out of the Boston area. Knowledgeable about home design and full of ideas, she somehow can’t manage to get her own house ready for the market, thanks to her slacking-off husband and son. When she gets an offer to stage a boutique hotel in Atlanta, she leaps at the chance to run away and get some distance and perspective. She soon starts to wonder whether her whole life, not just her home, needs a makeover. Fans of HGTV and of Cook’s previous charming fiction (Seven Year Switch; Must Love Dogs) will adore this light, funny read.”—★ STARRED Library Journal review"Ms. Cook's writing only gets better with each new book."—New York Journal of Books"Addicts to HGTV marathons will drool . . . Cook's likable heroine is charming without being silly, and her story is very well paced all the way to a genuinely delightful conclusion."—Booklist

The Future She Left Behind


Marin Thomas - 2017
    Cast aside by her cheating husband, Katelyn Chandler is ready to pack it all in and drive home to Little Springs, Texas. She wants a chance to regroup, reconnect with her mother, and get back to her art. But Shirley Pratt--master manipulator, elitist snob, and Katelyn's terror of a live-in monster-in-law--has other ideas. Shirley insists on joining Katelyn's trip after her son tries to pack her off to a retirement community. Katelyn has no choice but to play peacekeeper between the ornery old woman and the proud matrons of Little Springs. Yet the small town seems to be changing Shirley. And as Katelyn weighs the wisdom of picking up where she left off with Jackson Mendoza, the town bad boy and her high school sweetheart, she must find a way to believe in the strength of her dreams.

Lovely You


Jamie Bennett - 2019
     Gorgeous, beautifully dressed, a cool job in fashion PR—what doesn’t she have going for her? She meets a guy on a Hawaiian vacation, and his interesting scars and tough exterior get her heart pumping. She could wrap him around her little finger if she wanted to, and why not? It could be fun to have a little fling with Nate, then go back to San Francisco. Back to cocktail parties and clubs and excitement, back to her adoring family, her sweet job, and her busy, full life. That's Scarlett on the outside—and maybe that’s who she used to be. But now, on the inside, Scarlett Wolfe is coming apart, splintering bit by bit, and she’s scrambling to hold everything together. Things are not as they seem, with her job, with her family, with her friends, and certainly not with Nate Lange, the former soldier she met in Hawaii. Home in California, her life is suddenly entwined with Nate’s and Scarlett finds her-self losing her heart to him. She needs to bring herself back the brink of chaos, and hopefully, Nate will be with her when she comes through to the other side…

Over Easy


Pamela Ford - 2016
    What could possibly go wrong?Allie Parker loves being a dog groomer, but her overachieving family wants her to go to vet school. She’s convinced the only way to get them off her back is to marry a successful man – if only she could find one.So when she learns that hotel continental breakfast is filled with eligible bachelors, she squeezes into her sister’s upscale clothes and pretends to be on a business trip. Before she’s taken her last bite of syrup-laden waffle, she’s met the perfect guy. Everything is fabulous.That’s when everything starts to fall apart. The new man disappears, leaving Allie with a briefcase full of diamonds. A menacing stranger comes to claim it. And Allie is forced to go on the run with a row of dogs in tow.But as she scrambles to uncover the truth so she can return to her regular life, can fate be about to deliver the happily ever after she’s been looking for?OVER EASY is the first book in THE CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST CLUB series – feel-good, laugh out loud romantic comedies about friendship and love.

The Major's Daughter


J.P. Francis - 2014
      Camp Stark is under the command of Major John Brennan, whose beautiful daughter, Collie, will serve as translator. Educated at Smith and devoted to her widowed father, Collie is immediately drawn to Private August Wahrlich, a peaceful poet jaded by war. As international conflict looms on the home front, their passion blinds them to the inevitable dangers ahead.   Inspired by the little-known existence of a real World War II POW camp, The Major’s Daughter is a fresh take on the timeless theme of forbidden love.

Fool for Love


Beth Ciotta - 2012
    So when her boyfriend dumps her for some French tart, she decides to start over from scratch—with a new life and job in Sugar Creek, Vermont. What could be sweeter than cooking for an eccentric lady who’s crazy for desserts? What could be more tempting than joining a club called the Cupcake Lovers? Just one thing: local business-hunk Devlin Monroe…AND HE’S THE ICING ON THE CUPCAKEAlthough he’s  the grandson of Chloe’s fun-loving boss, Devlin Monroe is all work and no play. Micro-managing the family business, he doesn’t have time to indulge in life’s  sweetest pleasures—until he meets Chloe. How can he resist such a vibrant, beautiful woman who brings so much passion to the table? But when old grudges and secrets threaten to destroy the Cupcake Lovers, Devlin must decide if his feelings for Chloe are a recipe for disaster—or a sinfully delicious ever-after…

The Apology Project


Jeanette Escudero - 2021
    She’s been fired for not compromising her principles in a high-profile case and then punching her partner in the nose for the misogynistic comment he made in retort (not her finest moment). Leaving a career that gave her purpose, Amelia can only ask, What next?Let it be better than her epic failure of a fortieth birthday party: an open bar full of no-shows except for John Ellis, a total stranger and the new associate at her ex-firm. As it turns out, though, he’s very good company—and a wake-up call. With the help of John and a lot of champagne, Amelia considers the people she’s wronged, from old besties to former boyfriends to coworkers. Amelia resolves to make amends—to those who really deserve it.One apology at a time, Amelia’s looking at the choices she’s made in the past, the new ones she’s making with John, and those she’s making for herself. What next? Maybe a second chance she never expected.