Book picks similar to
So this is the End by Alexandra Franzen


fiction
giveaways
giveaway-wins
novella-short-story

The Nowhere Stone


Steve Kaide - 2018
    Raised in a secluded valley with only his father for company, he was unable to experience the outside world. For 16 years, the jagged peaks of the Rocky Mountains were the only home he’d ever known. Lucas didn’t understand why they were hidden away, but he trusted that his father was keeping them safe. It was a happy, albeit lonely, life.Until everything changed. Lucas was torn from his sheltered life and thrust into a dangerous world, far different from that which he expected. A mysterious artifact known as the Nowhere Stone seems to defy the laws of nature, and a powerful corporation called SentiCorp seeks to unlock its power. Lucas has finally been introduced to humanity, and it’s every bit as terrifying as he thought it would be.

An Assassin Is Born


Simon Harrak - 2018
    AND HE’S ABOUT TO BE UNLEASHED. Frederich Abel knows he’s not normal, but being adopted age seven by an elite soldier isn’t why. It lies deeper inside - a morbid, unhinged savagery. Invisible. Deadly.Luckily, his father helped him control it with a mixture of weapons, combat and survival training. Now, his father is dead, and the shadow has emerged stronger than ever. He flees in panic, ending up in cold, grimy Berlin.He’s on edge, until Ida’s scream through the rain pulls him into action. He’s forced to kill, unaware that the perpetrator had dangerous friends - powerful enough to tame world governments. It's time to decide; flee again, or face the darkness - both inside and out. ‘An Assassin Is Born’ is the intriguing origin story of Frederich Abel and the first book in the ‘Wrath Of Abel’ crime-action book series.

Left to Chance


Amy Sue Nathan - 2017
    Even though it's been six years since Shay's mother, Celia, died, Teddi can hardly bear the thought of her best friend's husband marrying someone else. But Teddi’s bond with Shay is stronger than the hurt.Teddi knows it’s time to face the consequences of her hasty retreat from family, friends, and, her old flame, but when she looks through her viewfinder, nothing in her small town looks the same. That’s when she truly sees the hurt she's caused and—maybe—how to fix it. After the man she once loved accuses Teddi of forgetting Celia, Teddi finally admits why she ran away, and the guilt she’s carried with her. As Teddi relinquishes the distance that kept her safe, she’ll discover surprising truths about the people she left behind, and herself. And she'll finally see what she overlooked all along.

Maybe One Day


Debbie Johnson - 2020
    That belief nearly destroyed her. Seventeen years later, when cleaning out her mother’s house, Jess unpacks a box of cards and letters hidden in the attic and makes a discovery that changes everything about life as she knows it.Shaken but empowered, Jess—and her two stalwart best friends—set out on a remarkable journey to follow a set of faded postmarks around the world. Is Joe still alive? Does he know that Jess never forgot him? Maybe their love story isn’t over.Maybe one day they’ll find each other again…

The Lies That Bind


Emily Giffin - 2020
    . . . It's 2 A.M. on a Saturday night in the spring of 2001, and twenty-eight-year-old Cecily Gardner sits alone in a dive bar in New York's East Village, questioning her life. Feeling lonesome and homesick for the Midwest, she wonders if she'll ever make it as a reporter in the big city--and whether she made a terrible mistake in breaking up with her longtime boyfriend, Matthew.As Cecily reaches for the phone to call him, she hears a guy on the barstool next to her say, "Don't do it--you'll regret it." Something tells her to listen, and over the next several hours--and shots of tequila--the two forge an unlikely connection. That should be it, they both decide the next morning, as Cecily reminds herself of the perils of a rebound relationship. Moreover, their timing couldn't be worse--Grant is preparing to quit his job and move overseas. Yet despite all their obstacles, they can't seem to say goodbye, and for the first time in her carefully constructed life, Cecily follows her heart instead of her head.Then Grant disappears in the chaos of 9/11. Fearing the worst, Cecily spots his face on a missing-person poster, and realizes she is not the only one searching for him. Her investigative reporting instincts kick into action as she vows to discover the truth. But the questions pile up fast: How well did she really know Grant? Did he ever really love her? And is it possible to love a man who wasn't who he seemed to be?The Lies That Bind is a mesmerizing and emotionally resonant exploration of the never-ending search for love and truth--in our relationships, our careers, and deep within our own hearts.

Katy Carter Wants a Hero


Ruth Saberton - 2010
    A ghost writer by trade, Katy knows she’s no Booker Prize winner but has fun penning sizzling scenes and hot heroes for celebrity novels. Writing aside, Katy no longer fantasises about a hero of her own - she’s found him in teacher boyfriend, Ollie. After five years together their own happy ever after is just around the corner - if she can only rescue the couple’s ailing finances. But with Ollie becoming increasingly career minded and teaching at a very strict school, Katy’s racy writing soon causes difficulties. When she secretly signs a contract with steamy publisher Throb, tensions mount. A surprise trip across the pond brings things to a head, sparking a chain of events which set Katy on a collision course with family, friends and, most of all, her one true hero… “Takes Bridget Jones’s mantle and runs with it” Heat Magazine “Made me laugh out loud” Richard Madeley

Our Demons, Best Friends


Diana T. Scott - 2015
    But in this world, they are both closely watched by their demons. Their baggage is not light: Ava has hers carefully folded in vacuum bags to occupy as little room as possible; Sebastian wears his like a lead armor that makes him slouch sometimes. They like each other, but how are their demons going to get along? Ava spent half her life being a twin. Ever since her sister died, she has tried to live for the both of them and rarely allows herself to feel the pain that is still very much present. Although Sebastian is a few years older, his medical residency got postponed because of his own tragedy. Now all he does is take life one day at a time, never wondering if there might be something more for him out there. Until Ava comes along and shows him how, against all logic, the pain can make them whole again.

After Happily Ever After


Leslie A. Rasmussen - 2021
    Once a high-level executive, she’s chosen to be a stay-at-home mom for the last seventeen years. But now with her daughter, Gia, soon leaving for college, and her husband, disconnected and with secrets he hasn’t shared, Maggie decides it’s time to figure out what she wants for the rest of her life. As she begins her journey, she has to deal with a narcissistic mother, a brother who doesn’t like her and most damaging of all, the news that her father, her rock, has medical issues that may take him from her. Overwhelmed by all these issues, she’s led in a direction that could destroy what she’s built and make her question the choices she’s made. She’s torn between the life she’s always known and something more exciting that she never expected.

I Thought You Said This Would Work


Ann Wertz Garvin - 2021
    It’s for the best. Samantha prefers to avoid conflict. The blisteringly honest Holly craves it. What they still have in common puts them both back on speed dial: a mutual love for Katie, their best friend of twenty-five years, now hospitalized with cancer and needing one little errand from her old college roomies.It’s simple: travel cross-country together, steal her loathsome ex-husband’s VW camper, find Katie’s diabetic Great Pyrenees at a Utah rescue, and drive him back home to Wisconsin. If it’ll make Katie happy, no favor is too big (one hundred pounds), too daunting (two thousand miles), or too illegal (ish), even when a boho D-list celebrity hitches a ride and drives the road trip in fresh directions.Samantha and Holly are following every new turn—toward second chances, unexpected romance, and self-discovery—and finally blowing the dust off the secret that broke their friendship. On the open road, they’ll try to put it back together—for themselves, and especially for the love of Katie.

Valencia and Valentine


Suzy Krause - 2019
    To confront those fears, Valencia’s therapist suggests that she fly somewhere—anywhere—before her upcoming birthday. And as Valencia begins a telephone romance with a man from New York, she suddenly has a destination in mind. There’s only one problem—he might not actually exist.Mrs. Valentine is an eccentric old woman desperate for company, be it from neighbors, telemarketers, or even the funeral director (when you’re her age, you go to a lot of funerals). So she’s thrilled when the new cleaning girl provides a listening ear for her life’s story—a tale of storybook love and incredible adventures around the world with her husband before his mysterious and sudden disappearance.The stories of Valencia and Mrs. Valentine may at first appear to have nothing in common…but then again, nothing in life is as straightforward as it seems.

The Futures


Anna Pitoniak - 2017
    For Evan, who grew up in a small town in Canada, Yale is a whole new world, and Julia--blond, beautiful and rich--is part of his vision for a successful future. After they graduate in 2008, they move together to New York city, where Evan takes a job at a hedge fund--another step forward in the life he imagines for himself.Julia, who has only known a life of privilege, graduates with an art history degree and no plan for her own future. She lands a low paying assistant job at a nonprofit, unsure about what she really wants, and wondering when everyone else figured that out for themselves. With the market crashing and banks failing around him, Evan becomes involved in an increasingly high-stakes deal at work, and begins to realize that the price of privilege may come with dangerous strings attached. Meanwhile, Julia reconnects with someone from her past--someone who offers her a vision of a different kind of life.Told in alternating perspectives, The Futures is a vivid story about love--falling in and out of it--betrayal, and the burning desire to be valued.

First Crush, Last Love


Elizabeth McKenna - 2020
    But the popular athlete never wanted to be more than just friends. Ten years later, after a failed marriage and with her journalism career on shaky ground, Jessie’s come home for her high school reunion—and Lee still has the power to make her knees weak and her pulse pound.Lee's teenage years were filled with more trauma and drama than anyone guessed. Though his damaged past has helped make him a successful police detective, it's hurt every relationship he's tried. But seeing the grown-up, stunning Jessie might just change his commitment-phobic mind.Jessie’s psycho ex-husband had her convinced no one would ever love her, but Lee is ready to step out of the friend zone and into her heart. Can she learn to trust again before she loses her chance to turn her first crush into her last love?Elizabeth McKenna’s novel will have you remembering the angst of high school, the grief of a failed relationship, and the joy of finding true love at last.

Full Flight


Ashley Schumacher - 2022
    And for new saxophonist Anna James, it’s her first chance to prove herself as the great musician she’s trying hard to be.When she’s assigned a duet with mellophone player Weston Ryan, the boy her small-minded town thinks of as nothing but trouble, she’s equal parts thrilled and intimidated. But as he helps her with the duet, and she sees the smile he seems to save just for her, she can’t help but feel like she’s helping him with something too.After her strict parents find out she’s been secretly seeing him and keep them apart, together they learn what it truly means to fight for something they love. With the marching contest nearing, and the two falling hard for one another, the unthinkable happens, and Anna is left grappling for a way forward without Weston.A heartbreaking novel about finding your first love and what happens when it's over too soon. Ashley Schumacher’s Full Flight is about how first love shapes us—even after it’s gone.

Reincarnation Blues


Michael Poore - 2017
    Neil Gaiman meets Kurt Vonnegut in this darkly whimsical, hilariously profound, and wildly imaginative comedy of the secrets of life and love. Transporting us from ancient India to outer space to Renaissance Italy to the present day, is a journey through time, space, and the human heart.

Her Last Memory


C.A. Wittman - 2020
    Her last memory is leaving her house in 1996 as a suspect in a murder investigation.Diagnosed with a dissociative fugue state, Serene learns that she is now Dora Jones. Dora has a loving wife, three children, and a thriving business. But, the part of herself who became Dora has now vanished, leaving Serene to manage the life, challenges, and relationships Dora has forged along the way.As Serene struggles to put together the pieces of her troubled past, one night repeatedly comes into question—the night of the dinner party. The night Taylor Davis was murdered. Anyone of Serene's friends had reason to hate Taylor. Anyone of them had reason to hurt her.Maybe Dora knows the truth. Dora, who is diametrically different in every way from Serene, or is she?"Her Last Memory is a haunting tale of identity loss, loyalty, fierce love, and regret. If you like Lisa Jewell, Liane Moriarty, and Ruth Ware, then you'll love this gripping psychological thriller."