Book picks similar to
Loaded Hearts by Adrienne Sallay
family-saga
don-t
historical-fiction
fiction-contemporary
Count the Ways
Joyce Maynard - 2021
Theirs is a seemingly idyllic life of summer softball games and Labor Day cookouts, snow days and skating on the pond. But when a tragic accident permanently injures the family’s youngest child, Eleanor blames Cam. Her inability to forgive him leads to a devastating betrayal: an affair with the family babysitter that brings about the end of their marriage.Over the decades that follow, the five members of this fractured family—and the many others who make up their world—make surprising discoveries and decisions that occasionally bring them together, and often tear them apart. As we follow the family from the days of illegal abortion and the draft through the early computer age, the Challenger explosion, the AIDS epidemic, the early awakenings of the #MeToo era, and beyond, through the gender transition of one of the children and another’s choice to cease communication with her mother, we witness a family forced to confront essential, painful truths of its past and find redemption in the face of unanticipated disaster.With endearingly flawed characters and a keen eye for detail, Joyce Maynard transforms the territory she knows best—home, family, parenthood, love, and loss—into the stuff of a page-turning thriller. In this achingly beautiful novel, she reminds us how great sorrow and great joy may coexist—and frequently do.
I Pick You
Eryn Scott - 2021
Magnolia Parker loves botany, but became a professor mostly to make her parents happy. When she’s passed up for tenure, Maggie decides it’s time to make a change. Escaping the city, she finds herself in the idyllic town of Plumb Creek staring at a For Sale sign in a flower shop that shares her name. It must be destiny. Maggie goes all in. Being a florist should be easy for a professor of botany. Right? Boy, is she wrong. Before she even opens shop, she’s angered half the town. After her first customer leaves in a huff, she realizes a botany degree isn’t going to cut it. Enter Grant Sommers, hot local entrepreneur who has the town in his back pocket. He’s willing to help turn the shop around, if Maggie will listen. As much as she wants this to work, she fears she’ll never be able to loosen the town’s tight-knit roots enough to be accepted.It’s time for Maggie to pick her own path, even if it means disappointing everyone else.
The Poacher's Daughter
Mary Nichols - 1995
They all knew she was not the poacher’s real child, though few knew the mystery of how she came to be living with him. Kate herself was not sure; Josiah had told her he had found her abandoned as a baby, but was Josiah telling the truth?He loved her and she was devoted to him and she did not question what he said until two mysterious men came to the village on the same day, both handsome, strong, self-possessed men, but so very different in every other way. Something was happening in the village, something important, something that would affect all their lives…
Diary Of A Broken Doll
Tatum James - 2018
Life may not start out all peaches and cream for Courtney...but with a little savvy and a lot of determination she might just turn it all around. Join her on a journey from innocence to independence. Determined not to be consumed by life's struggles, Courtney learns to take advantage of the obstacles she faces. Will she self-destruct or burn bright?
Where's the Groom?
Cathryn Brown - 2020
Now her groom’s missing and a new man’s helping her search for him.Summer realized she’d made a big mistake. Why did she say yes to him? When her groom never arrives at the church, she uses her one clue to find him. She gets a big surprise. And she meets her Watson to help her search.Cameron agrees to help Summer because a family member’s caught in her mystery. She’s glad to have someone working with her, especially when he’s handsome and has a great smile, but a new romance is out of the question. But she sometimes (maybe too often) gets in trouble when she leaps before she looks, so he could come in handy.Cameron and Summer are immediately pulled into a mystery bigger than a missing groom (with no dead bodies!) and fighting their attraction to each other. If they can find the groom—and solve this mystery—they’ll part ways and never need to see each other again.They’re caught in a situation they didn’t create. Can a woman who almost got married find love on the run?
Love is all around
Rae Davies - 2005
That is until Will Barnes rolls back into her life.This bad boy from her past spent fourteen years making up for teenage mistakes. Now he’s ready for a fresh beginning. The harder Patsy tries to escape her Ozark roots, the more Will reminds her of what makes them special. The harder Will tries to start over, the more Patsy and her family get in his way. Can Will convince Patsy they belong together in Daisy Creek or will she follow her dreams and leave him and the Ozarks forever?
Atonement for Emily Adams
Susan R. Lawrence - 2014
Knowing she cannot undo this tragedy, Emily hopes to atone for Isaiah's death by good deeds and community service. However, the more she does, the more her life falls apart. With her job on the line, her volunteer efforts fruitless, and her marriage in jeopardy, the final blow comes when Isaiah's grieving parents file a wrongful death suit. For them, this will be justice and closure, but for Emily this is final proof she will never be forgiven. Not by Isaiah's parents --- not by God. Where do you turn when I'm sorry isn't enough?
Healing Hearts
Mary Jane Morgan - 2018
After a disastrous marriage, Angie Jamison has no interest in giving her heart to another man. Angie now devotes her life to training and placing therapy dogs. When her German shepherd pup bonds instantly with a friend’s brother, Angie offers to loan him the shepherd on one condition: he socialize the pup and teach her basic obedience under Angie’s instruction. Ryan figures he has nothing to lose by giving the pup a temporary home. The dog’s companionship might even help him cope with the all-consuming guilt that has plagued him since the night his best friend died in his arms. Can the love of a therapy dog help heal Ryan and Angie’s damaged hearts and give them the courage to trust in love?
Seven Days of Friday
Alex A. King - 2014
They’re picking apart her sanity, one stitch at a time. She’s crawling along rock bottom when the arrival of a mysterious package opens a new door to a new country. A desperate Vivi dives headfirst into the quicksand that is Greece—her parents’ birthplace.But it’s a paradise far from perfect, and instead of the new beginning she covets, Vivi discovers trouble is determined to keep her in its pocket. Soon she’s fighting for her daughter’s life in a Greek hospital, clashing with her Greek relatives, and cobbling together an inadequate cage around her heart, lest she fall for an unavailable man.Before this story ends, somebody will be dead. And if some people are to be believed, this particular death is a good thing. A blessing, of sorts . . . .
Death Comes to Cornwall
Kate Johnson - 2020
The perfect place for murder...
Molly Higgins never expected to be caught up in a murder investigation. All she'd hoped for this year was to work hard, save enough money to open her very own café on the Cornish coast and avoid her ex, Conor Blackstone, who has just arrived back in the village. But when she and Conor discover a body on the cliffside in Port Trevan they are thrown once more together. Molly is keen to leave the mystery to the police, but when she finds herself their top suspect, Molly has no choice but to catch the killer herself - before it is too late.
Unforgettable
Linda Barrett - 2021
A rocking career in finance, a great group of friends and singing with the community chorus fill her calendar and provide her with total satisfaction. Until the phone rings. Until an upbeat familiar voice from the past reawakens her heart and reminds her of what she’s been missing.Playwright Doug Collins has never forgotten the girl he left behind. Even though it was Jennifer who’d made that final decision. “Go to New York and have a wonderful life,” she’d said before running back to her family, a family that still needed her. But that was five years ago. Five years of Jen in the back of his mind, nestled in his heart. Now memories are not enough! Doug packs up his car and heads to Boston in search of that “wonderful life.”Most reunions have bumpy beginnings and not all end well. Jennifer and Doug have a lot to figure out. But they’re smart, honest, and were once madly in love. Do they have a chance at finding the ending they so richly deserve?
My Sister's Detective
T.J. Jones - 2018
Now it's twenty years later, he's back from the Navy and investigating the death of their childhood friend. Turns out, he needs her help. What Private Investigator doesn't want a beautiful, sarcastic redhead for a partner? Together they have to unravel the secrets of the wealthy inhabitants of Point Road and their feelings for each other. As they grow closer, Maggie and Slater follow a trail of deception and murder, hoping to prove their dead friend innocent of what they fear most. No one is safe and the people involved will stop at nothing to cover their trail, a trail that leads the pair into the twisted world of child prostitution and exposes the darkest secrets of Point Road. A wry, romantic dramedy with a mind-blowing conclusion!
Enticed
Ginger Voight - 2014
If she could just start over somewhere else, she could forget about all the ghosts that chased her. When an email landed in her inbox, to tutor a difficult student whose father just happened to be a prominent businessman, the apple was a bit too enticing for Rachel to refuse. She moves to Beverly Hills, where she is tasked with turning around young Jonathan Fullerton’s bad attitude, one that stems directly from his parents’ ugly divorce and even uglier custody battle. That Drew Fullerton is one of the handsomest and most eligible bachelors in the world means nothing to Rachel. Drew’s brother, Alex, however, assumes otherwise. This sets the two immediately at odds, though they both have young Jonathan’s best interest at heart. Unfortunately the more he tries to warn her away from Drew, the closer he ultimately propels her toward her charming boss. Rachel stays solely to protect young Jonathan, trapping her into this sticky web despite her own history of loss and betrayal. How long will she last? More importantly, what will she be required to give to save these Fullerton men who continually tug her in three different directions?
Adult content intended for readers 18+.
Love at Wild Harbor (Wild Harbor Beach Book 1)
Grace Worthington - 2021
Two fixer uppers. Three feisty sisters. One sweet love story to bring it all together.Lily Woods never expected to start life over again at thirty. But when she opens a chocolate shop and buys a dilapidated beach cottage in Wild Harbor, she’s ready to begin a new chapter, spending her days and nights creating fabulous chocolate treats.TV star Alex Briggs isn’t about to put his heart on the line. He’s finally landed his dream job as the host of a wildly popular home renovation show. Now he’s returning to Wild Harbor to flip a beach cottage, but he never imagined the project would land him next to the captivating girl who rejected him in high school.Alex never recovered the piece of his heart he gave to Lily all those years ago. How will he keep his distance now that he can’t escape the girl next door?Lily’s determined to fix up her beach bungalow on her terms, but Alex isn’t about to let her do it alone. Before Lily can stop him, Alex is on a mission to renovate her home and prove he’s the kind of man she can trust. But secrets from their past threaten to destroy their relationship before it begins.Can this small town girl and big city star overcome their differences and find love again?Love at Wild Harbor is the first novel in the Wild Harbor Beach series. These clean romances are set in Wild Harbor, a quaint small town full of happily ever afters.
The Barrington Billionaires Collection: Books 1-5
Jeannette Winters - 2020
His company was closing a deal that would cement his spot at the top. The last thing he needed was a distraction from the past.Lena Razzi had spent years trying to forget Brice Henderson. When offered the opportunity of a lifetime, would she take the risk even if the price would be another broken heart?Book 2: Table for TwoDean Henderson never backs down from a challenge. No matter the cost or the opponent, when it comes to business, if he wants it he gets it. No exceptions.Tessa Brooks left her small town to get out of the spotlight of being the preacher’s daughter. Boston is the perfect place to blend in and finally be herself. A low profile job in the HR office of Poly-Shyn fits perfectly into the life she is creating for herself.When Dean takes over as the new CEO, sparks fly. Tessa grew up hearing about the difference between right and wrong, but no one ever told her that wrong could feel so good.They belong together, but they might realize it too late.There are consequences to loving a powerful man--and sometimes they’re deadly.Book 3: You & Me Make ThreeShaun Henderson learned young that the best defense is to strike first. It’s perfect in business but not in matters of the heart.Morgan Pereira had walked away from a high profile position to protect her son. Years later she is given another opportunity to climb the corporate ladder.Taking the job opens wounds Morgan thought had healed.If Shaun really does want her, he’ll have to learn that some things can’t be forced. Love plays by its own rules.Book 4: Virgin for the Fourth TimeBennett Stone has dedicated his life to protecting and saving lives when others failed. The word impossible is not part of his vocabulary.Zoey Henderson has spent most of her life defending herself against her tarnished reputation, as a consequence of her father’s actions. Her five over-protective brothers believe no man will ever be good enough for her.When Zoey experiences some medical issues, the urgency of finding her biological mother becomes paramount. Although her brothers tried and failed earlier, her quest is not one of curiosity. She needs answers, and there’s only one man who will go to any lengths to find them.Bennett has been warned that Zoey is off limits. But no one controls his business decisions and when she calls, he takes her on as a client.When Bennett discovers the information Zoey’s been searching for, he knows he can’t have it all. How can he decide between his pride and their passion?Book 5: His for Five NightsAlex Henderson needs to know the truth about his mother, even if it means exposing the family’s darkest secret to the world.Ziva Grzyb will do anything to stop the human trafficking ring that is terrorizing her country. She wasn’t able to save her older sister, but she is determined to save other young women from the same fate.Alex finds it will take more than money to gain answers. Willing to risk it all, including his reputation, he pretends to follow in his father’s footsteps.When Ziva hears yet another Henderson is on the prowl in her country, she sets out to take him down.Alex doesn’t expect an adversary to be his only hope. Ziva doesn’t think she can defend, never mind love, a Henderson. Will the key to their hearts also be the key to their freedom or will they pay the price for a crime neither committed?