Or, perhaps, it's the ability to connect with the story, tap into that magical "relatability" factor that lingers long after the last page has been read. Any one of these elements is vital to a story, but rarely do we find books that have all of these qualities. However, The Only Way to Paradise is such a book.”–Michele Bell, Best-Selling Romance Author. (Five Stars) What causes picture-perfect suburban Oakwood residents, MacKenzie, Roxie, Sara, and Georgia to desert their therapist and fly off to Florence? Answer: A romantic Italian movie that prompts Roxie to ask: “If Italy is so healing and therapeutic what are we doing in Ohio?” Even Sara, the most duty-bound of the group, finally joins the pact they dub “The Crazy Ladies of Oakwood,” and only a week later, they find themselves in Florence. Embraced by the entire province of Tuscany, each woman becomes entangled in experiences she could never have foretold. Not only do they find the fascinating Italian men that Georgia promised, but new sides to themselves and each other. Against the glittering background of Florence, their dramas play out: MacKenzie returns to her student days as an art historian, discarding her identity as the controlling Oakwood charity patron and society hostess. Renewing her acquaintance with the David, she vows to let herself be sculpted rather than trying to sculpt others. MacKenzie finds not only a new talent, but a new man who appreciates it, just as her husband decides to re-enter her life. Roxie, who has always approached life as a circus, is drawn unwillingly into a passionate romance with a gorgeous Italian professor, Stefano. Her physical response to Stefano taps into lost memories, causing her to literally run from him. Roxie, a quirky and colorful Cubana, senses danger in visions and smells that resurface of a rotting summerhouse behind her Florida home. With his nurturing and passionate love, Stefano helps her to face the “broken piece” inside her. Sara unveils part of her that no one but her instructors know. She is an extraordinarily talented concert violinist. Normally trapped in the demanding life of an ob-gyn (scripted for her by her Vietnamese immigrant parents), she is temporarily freed. She performs for others for the first time, and experiences unprecedented joy. However, the coping mechanism she used to handle the pressure of her job threatens to destroy her new life. Georgia, a grieving widow, processes her life without Ben and without her violin career that ended early because of arthritis. Looking for a new passion in life, she finds that satisfaction comes to her in “giving back” to those around her the lessons and knowledge she has learned through her successes and mistakes in La Dolce Vita. Just as her perspective is changing, she reunites with her first love, Arturo, and must make a decision about the direction of her future life. Though ages have passed since the rebirth called the Renaissance, Florence still inspires change by breathing out its creative mix of energy, beauty, and courage. Where Michelangelo “set free” the David by sculpting a block of marble, each “crazy lady” finds her exterior “Oakwood” self burnished away by new experiences, revealing a new self. This burnishing is not a gentle process, but exuberant Italians help them through it with their all-embracing agape, or unconditional love.

    M. Claud's, one of Manhattan's largest department stores. For years they've loathed each other, and the fact that they're vying for the same promotion doesn't help their relationship. But when they accidentally get locked in the store on Christmas Eve, sparks will fly and they'll discover just how perfect they are for each other in this sweet holiday romance.

    But when she drops out of vet school to get her jockey’s license in New York, intent on coming back to Ontario to ride Chique in the Queen’s Plate in three years, he’s the obvious choice to keep an eye on the filly. Nate’s content to watch Liv go, even though he’s got similar aspirations – when he’s not talked out of them by voices from his past. His growing bond with Chique might earn him Liv’s approval and give him the fresh start he’s looking for, but that’s as involved as he’s getting with the boss’s daughter. Not that Liv’s been receptive to anything more. Liv’s determined to keep their relationship professional, no matter how much Chique draws them together. Because racetrack romances are messy…and nothing can interfere with getting Chique to the Plate.Set against the backdrop of North America’s greatest racetracks, Good Things Come is a story about the hearts of Thoroughbreds...thepeople who love them...and the allure of Canada’s most prestigious race.

    Set during one week in springtime Florence, A Party In San Niccolo follows the events leading up to the seventy-fifth birthday party for Frances Richardson, a much-loved English resident. Around her, Frances' friends are gearing up for the party too: Frank, a disenchanted journalist; Jane, who runs an Italian cookery school for rich Home Counties wives; her shady husband Niccolo; and Gina, a beleaguered mother-of-three who has come to Florence for a break. Before the week is out love, death, family secrets and old memories will come to a head at Frances' party, with dramatic results...

    When Brie discovers that an artist and prominent member of the community has gone missing, she feels compelled to investigate. Drawn into the dangerous web of an island cabal and the pages of a secret journal, Brie is soon caught up in an undercurrent of broken dreams and hidden secrets. Using her keen investigative skills, she uncovers a mystery whose roots stretch back three decades, encompassing shadowy connections to the black market art world, an illegal adoption, and a tragic love story. As a nor'easter bears down on the island, the action accelerates to a bone-chilling climax in which Brie will pit herself against the fury of a ruthless killer.

    She will not meet the handsome stable lad, Tom O’Brien, until much later.When Alexandra returns home, her father remarries and she is forced to become a maid-of-all-work. Alexandra makes a success of her new life and meets the lovely Bob Atkins. Meanwhile, Tom O’Brien has become impassioned with the beautiful Lady Florazel Compton who introduces him to the sophistications of 1950’s London. Sadly, Alexandra’s contentment with Bob is short lived and Tom comes back into her life.But the past seems destined to wreck the happiness of the present, as the still beautiful Lady Florazel is determined to re-capture her former love and destroy the magic hour of Tom and Alexandra’s meeting.

    They are all in their 40s and wondering the same thing: “Now what?” Zoe, the mother of 17 year-old twins about to abandon her for college, misses the romance of her twenties, and desperately wants just one last first kiss. Thinking outside the box, she convinces her husband Carlos to embark on an open marriage. Which leads to a new set of problems and questions: How does she pick a “non-skeevy” swinger’s club, do men of a certain age even want sex with no strings attached, and does ordering a glass of Syrah these days really signal to would be suitors that you just want to f*@# them in their car? Most importantly, will getting to be with someone else help or hurt her marriage? And if that someone else is an ex who effortlessly morphs into a fantasy man who after all these years finally says and does all the right things, how does Zoe choose between the life she has and the road not taken? Michelle has made it her routine on her way home to stop one block from her house, park, stare into space, and dread the next few hours of her life. She’s tired of juggling her very full time job as a real estate agent with the full time job of parenting two kids without much help from her husband, Steve. She's also tired of not having sex and the daily silence that has replaced their fighting. Michelle doesn’t have a road not taken, but she’s at a fork in that road. Does she take the easy path, and spend the rest of her life with a man she loves but no longer likes? Or go the hard route: Divorce. Living life with one income, single parenting, lonely Thanksgivings, and kids who may never forgive you. And how does somebody start dating again when all the rules have changed since she took herself off the market years ago? Alexis is the self-made multi-millionaire we all aspire to be. She’s the creator of a slew of hit TV shows and the head of a wildly successful production company. She’s got the dream car, the stunning house on the beach in Malibu, the black AmEx. Everything is going exactly according to plan, and there’s a lot to be happy about. But she also has Connor, her on-again/off-again boyfriend of twelve years. Plus she’s going through early menopause, and now wonders how she forgot to have kids. Her life plan is suddenly thrown into further disarray when Connor shows up with a stray dog, which he leaves with her. Which is just the beginning, as that mangy mutt leads to a teenaged dog walker, a middle-aged widower, and her Sunday morning brunches possibly being replaced by church. So what do you do when nothing in your life is working the way you saw it in your head, and the unplanned life might make you happier? Knowing their girlfriends will always have their backs, Michelle, Zoe and Alexis confront their new realities with honesty and humor, while trying to find happiness amidst hangovers and hot flashes.

    

     From the author of the bestselling WHEN GOD WAS A RABBIT comes this spellbinding new novel. Marvellous Ways is eighty-nine years old and has lived alone in a remote Cornish creek for nearly all her life. Lately she's taken to spending her days sitting by the river with a telescope. She's waiting for something - she's not sure what, but she'll know it when she sees it. Drake is a young soldier left reeling by the Second World War. When his promise to fulfil a dying man's last wish sees him wash up in Marvellous' creek, broken in body and spirit, the old woman comes to his aid. A Year of Marvellous Ways is a glorious, life-affirming story about the magic in everyday life and the pull of the sea, the healing powers of storytelling and sloe gin, love and death and how we carry on when grief comes snapping at our heels.

     When circumstances force her to reevaluate her personal life, her younger sister, Dada, suggests that she goes to Boston to have a weekend to herself. It’s Christela’s first chance to be selfish and put herself first. What she was not expecting was to meet Mac. Mac Pierre vows to love her for a weekend. To be selfless so that for once in her life she can be selfish. As a result, they form a bond that seems unbreakable. After a weekend full of lust and love will the two stay together or leave the other feigning for what they shared?

    It begins with the story of Brenda Wagner’s tragic accident at a skating competition that nearly destroys her lifelong love of skating. Left with crushed hopes and a permanent disability, this story highlights Brenda’s journey of courage to find a new purpose in life, her hopes of returning to the ice, her struggles, and her achievements as she trusts God to help her grow. *This is a FREE Preview and not a stand-alone novel* In this first book, Brenda Wagner suffers a devastating accident during an ice skating competition. Her dreams of qualifying for the Olympic skating team are shattered when her doctor tells her she will never skate again, let alone walk like a normal person. Brenda refuses to accept her doctor’s diagnosis and struggles through physical therapy to regain the use of her legs. But progress is slow and Brenda fears she may never walk the same again. Almost a year later, to everyone’s surprise, Brenda has learned to walk by herself. Brenda has high hopes of returning to the ice. But Pamela, her skating coach, is skeptical and tells Brenda that she will coach Brenda only on one condition. That she skate with a partner who can work with her new disabilities. Brenda reluctantly agrees, knowing she has no other choice. But her new career in pairs skating takes on a new twist when she finds out Pamela has chosen her ex-fiancé Scott Nichols as her new partner. Scott Nichols is a skating instructor at the local ice rink. He loves Brenda with all his heart and even proposed to her years ago. But when he left her standing at the altar because of a personal emergency, Brenda never forgave him and broke off their relationship. While Scott still suffers the sting of being scorned by his ex-fiancé, he refuses to give up on love and hopes that Brenda will change her mind someday. To his surprise, Coach Pamela asks him to be Brenda’s new skating partner. Scott rejoices at the opportunity to win back Brenda’s trust and her love. But can he soften Brenda’s hardened heart, or will they only maintain a professional relationship? Other titles in The Colorado Spring Series by Kelsey MacBride -Heart of a Champion : Book 2 of The Colorado Springs Series

    

    Her mother died, and her father fell off the wagon. Her well-meaning friends helped her get help from a shelter, but then she got caught up in the system and no one knew what had happened to her. Jenna spent six years, trying to get over being abandoned by everyone she knew and cared for. Making mistake after mistake, she finally found a counselor who helped her see her self-destructive behavior for what it was. Now, her father has passed away, and she is required to return to her hometown to take care of his final estate. Back to the place where those she had once called friends had so callously ignored her once she was no longer amongst them on a day-to-day basis. When Trey Cottrell sees Jenna standing in his office, he’s instantly attracted to her, yet he can’t escape the guilt he feels when he finds out how horrible the last few years have been for her. Without him, she would have never been able to leave Cathedral Hills. As Jenna navigates the emotional rollercoaster of discovering she hasn’t been forgotten, and her father had indeed loved her immensely, will she be able to let go of the past, and trust God to help her find her path forward? Or will she hang onto her anger and hatred and allow it to ruin what should be a homecoming to beat all? Join Jenna and Trey as they begin their journey of having to deal with the past, as well as figure out how to proceed into the future. Will they be together? Or will they let past hurts keep them from finding a lasting love? Will Jenna turn the tragedies of her past into victories to help her friends, trusting God to show her the way? Take the journey towards recovery and reconciliation with Jenna, Trey, and the entire community of Cathedral Hills, Colorado.

    She is single again, and romantic attention is as foreign to her as ancient Carthaginian cuisine. When she meets her new client, sports management agent Mac Sinclair, who is eleven years younger, Jan’s life takes a complete turnaround. She’s thrilled, but everyone in her life isn’t as pleased.

    This story was once part of the All I Want holiday romance anthology**When Natalie goes home with her best friend for Christmas, she expects plenty of quiet time to work on a winning ad so she can turn her dream internship into her dream job. Instead, she gets time-consuming Christmas festivities, a house full of children, and Jimmy, her best friend's brother - someone who makes her question everything she's always thought she wanted.