Book picks similar to
Disgust by Ottessa Moshfegh


short-stories
shorties
fiction
really-wanna-read

A Tide Worth Turning


Beth Wiseman - 2015
    But following a stroke and a recent fall, Addison is forced to hire a caregiver for her estranged mother, Lee Ann; a job Addison chooses not to take on, despite her financial freedom to do so. She hires an agency to fill the position, and to her surprise, they send a man for the job. Logan has somehow managed to keep his act together despite a past that is slowly catching up with him. If he can make enough money over the next couple of months by tending to Lee Ann Burke, he should be able to flee the country before his world comes crashing down around him. But when Lee Ann’s beautiful daughter, Addison, begins to awaken feelings in him that he thought died long ago, he begins to question whether or not fleeing from the past is worth leaving Addison forever. Will Addison let down her guard for love and renew her relationship with her mother? Can Logan face his past, come out unscathed, and act on his feelings for Addison? And why is Lee Ann selling everything she owns on Ebay and Craig’s List?

Kenneth: A tale of fate, hate, and far too much wine


Keith A. Pearson - 2019
    Who is the mysterious man in the brown suit? What does he want from her? Is there any wine in the fridge?As her life descends into chaos, Kelly’s questions lead her along a twisting path towards the truth — a truth she could never have imagined.

Slanted


H.L. Wegley - 2019
    When she finds an orphaned girl, Sam, hidden in some bushes along the Rogue River, in an instant, a bond is formed. AJ quickly learns that Sam's and her guardian's lives are in danger from a team of hired killers. But AJ commits to helping eight-year-old Sam. A competitive athlete, AJ Scott isn't one to quit, give up, or do anything halfway, not even when she and Sam end up in a road race with killers in pursuit.When Hunter Jones's cousin dies, he becomes eight-year-old Samantha Wilson's guardian and sets aside any pursuit of personal happiness. Sam becomes his lot in life, and he loves her dearly. But Hunter, a big data analyst, will soon release a research report proving that the largest Internet search engine in the world is being used by its owners to influence American political thought with the intent of controlling elections. He hints at his findings in a radio interview and the news goes viral. Within hours, a team of hired killers attacks Hunter and Sam, intending to eliminate them and steal his research findings. Hunter hides Sam and eludes the killers. But when he returns, Sam is gone. Enraged, Hunter Jones will storm the gates of Hades to get her back, and whoever took her will pay a steep price.Set in Southern Oregon, Seattle, Washington DC, and Eastern Oregon, near Paulina Lake, Slanted is a gritty, high-action, romantic suspense adventure about commitment, sacrifice, love and faith.

Quinn, a Vampire Watcher's Story


Elizabeth Loraine - 2011
    Follow Quinn and Katrina as the Chronicles takes you on a fun wild ride along with those who are chosen as Protectors of the peaceful races of the world as they fight the evil that threatens us all.Extended Description Quinn is a Vampire Watcher. Humans who have been chosen to watch the human population around their vampire charges in order to keep them safe. Royal Blood Chronicles is a series that chronicles the life of Katrina, a young royal blooded vampire who has been chosen as leader of the Protectors, those who protect all the peaceful races of the world.Quinn is Katrina's Watcher and her best friend and much more. Find out about Quinn and his brothers and how the Watchers came to be and enjoy a taste of the Chronicles with half of Katrina the Beginning, book one of Royal Blood Chronicles. Tagsvampire, adventure, action, fantasy, young adult, historical, teen

Chain of Mercy


Brenda S. Anderson - 2014
     Richard flees to Minneapolis where he repairs ancient boilers instead of solving corporate problems, and he's determined to live the solitary life he now deserves. But Executive Sheila Peterson has other plans for the handsome custodian. Richard appears to be the perfect match for the no-strings-attached romance she's after, but she soon discovers that he's hiding more than the designer clothes in his closet.

Hot Little Hands


Abigail Ulman - 2015
    This exceptional collection of stories is about young women of different ages, from their early teens to their late twenties, coming to terms with what it means to desire, and be desired, with funny, surprising and sometimes confronting results.Ulman first made her mark with the story Chagall's Wife in Meanjin; this collection shows that she's a young Australian writer to put alongside Ceridwen Dovey, Nam Le and Fiona McFarlane.

Nothing But Trouble


Lisa Mondello - 1999
    So she strikes a deal. She has to spend a full month in the Wyoming wilderness and show her father she can handle being in a remote area while managing her Type 1 diabetes before he'll agree to fund the expedition to Africa and allow her to go. But her daddy isn't the only one convinced she'll fail... But she's not about to let any man underestimate what she can do. Especially not the sexy rodeo cowboy she's hired to help get her through the month in the wilderness.Yes, he knows what he's doing. But so does she! Yes, he's ruggedly handsome...well, he can't help that, can he? But no sexy cowboy is going to keep her down!Stoney Buxton needs to raise cash fast to save the family ranch after a barn fire injured his father and left the family finances in ruin. Re-entering the rodeo circuit seems like the best way to get the money he needs. That is until Melanie Summers shows up at his ranch flashing easy money. To everyone else, Melanie's offer seems like the answer to all his prayers. But one look at her long legs and pouting lips and Stoney knows this high society gal is going to be nothing but trouble...for his cowboy heart.Excerpt:His jaw tightened. Yes, there was something definitely wrong here. And money had nothing to do with it. It had everything to do with this beauty standing in front of him, who was clueless about what she was getting her pretty little hide into. "No," he replied tersely."Mr. Buxton, I need your help.""Tourist season is in full swing. I'm sure you'll have no trouble finding someone else." He turned his back to her and began walking along the fence toward the barn, almost forgetting... Abruptly, he glanced up and saw the charred remains of the barn. The place where all his troubles had started just one year ago. It hadn't taken but a second for him to hear her boots digging into the dusty gravel behind him, jarring him from his thoughts."Then I'll do it myself," she said to his back.His whole body stiffened. He angled back to read her face, to see if she was just being a spoiled rotten rich kid, trying to get her way, or if she was actually serious. Seeing her head held high and her arms crossed in front of her, he realized she was dead serious. And dead she'd be if she stepped one boot into those mountains alone."You'll do no such thing." Frustration flaring, he lifted his dusty hat and forced his fingers through the thick crop of black hair before returning the hat to his head. "You just don't get it, do you? You're not asking me to take you on a theme park ride where you'll get to see the wonders of the world at a nice safe distance. This is God's country. The creatures that live up there don't know civilization, and you are no better than them. You could--probably will--get killed if you go out there alone." His lips twitched, taking a good long appraising look at the woman in front of him. "You might even chip a nail on that pretty hand of yours."

The Coming and Going of Strangers


Simon Van Booy - 2009
    On the verge of giving up—anchored to dreams that never came true and to people who have long since disappeared from their lives—Van Booy's characters walk the streets of these stark and beautiful stories until chance meetings with strangers force them to face responsibility for lives they thought had continued on without them.

Too Darn Hot


Pamela Burford - 2000
    Restaurant reviewer Lina Holland learned that lesson by watching her beloved mentor self-destruct, and she’s not about to make a similar mistake, even if the chef and owner of the restaurant she’s secretly reviewing is the most sexalicious hunk who ever seared a T-bone. It’s not enough to be scrupulously impartial, she must avoid even the merest whiff of favoritism. Date a restaurateur? She can’t allow herself to even think about it. Okay, she thinks about it, but that’s all. Really! Chef Eric Reid is a widower struggling to raise twin boys and keep his fledgling restaurant afloat long enough for word of mouth to lift it out of the red. Little does he suspect that the intriguing new customer groaning in ecstasy over his bourbon pecan tart is none other than the legendary Lina Holland, the reviewer whose thumbs-up could spell the difference between colossal success and the extermination of his lifelong dream. No one in the industry knows what Lina looks like, but he’s convinced she’s a brash, zaftig shrew who applies her makeup with a putty knife. When he finds out how wrong he is, the fun really starts! Throw in a buttinsky roommate, a lecherous ex-husband, bribery by chocolate, and the fishing excursion from hell, and the result is, well, too darn hot! Originally published by Zebra books, a division of Kensington Publishing Corp.

A Reluctant Melody


Sandra Ardoin - 2016
    Now sober, he wants to make amends by opening a mission for drunkards. The most suitable location belongs to Joanna Cranston Stewart, a love from his sordid past and the one person he hurt the most.A pariah among her peers, Joanna is all too eager to sell her property and flee the rumors that she sent her late husband to an early grave. But she will let the gossips talk and the walls of her rundown property crumble around her before she’ll allow Kit back into her life.When a blackmailer threatens to reveal her long-held secret, she must choose between trusting Kit or seeing her best friend trapped in an abusive marriage.Will Joanna risk another betrayal? Or will she find a way through the pain of the past to love and trust again?

Mark of the Mage


R.K. Ryals - 2013
    Medeisia is a country in turmoil ruled by a blood thirsty king who has outlawed the use of magic and anything pertaining to knowledge. Magery and scribery are forbidden. All who practice are marked with a tattoo branded onto their wrists, their futures precarious. Sixteen year-old Drastona Consta-Mayria lives secluded, spending her spare time in the Archives of her father's manor surrounded by scribes. She wants nothing more than to become one of them, but when the scribes are royally disbanded, she is thrust into a harsh world where the marked must survive or die.

Superior Women


Alice Adams - 1984
    What Megan finds are four other girls — Janet, Lavinia, Peg, and Cathy — who seem to have little in common save for their freshman status. Neither they nor Megan could know that their destinies are about to inextricably intertwine.The year is 1943, and these superior women, as often enemies as friends, will share a place in each other's lives that no one else can — not husbands, not lovers. Across four decades, as time and events sweep away their expectations, five women discover their sexuality, reveal their secrets, struggle with independence — sometimes surrendering, sometimes making stunning choices — in Alice Adams' richly drawn, uncompromising novel about women's intimate,interior, and often unsuspected lives.

Everyone Dies Famous in a Small Town


Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock - 2021
    Each story is unique, yet universal.In this book, the impact of wildfire, a wayward priest, or a mysterious disappearance ricochet across communities, threading through stories. Here, ordinary actions such as ice skating or going to church reveal hidden truths. One choice threatens a lifelong friendship. Siblings save each other. Rescue and second chances are possible, and so is revenge.On the surface, it seems that nothing ever happens in these towns. But Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock shows that underneath that surface, teenagers' lives blaze with fury, with secrets, and with love so strong it burns a path to the future.

A Harvest Bond


Lee Tobin McClain - 2017
    Healthy living, working his Pennsylvania farm, and mentoring troubled boys have brought him back from grief and illness into a whole new life. Emily Stern has recovered from losing her husband too young, and she can’t wait to get started on her dream: creating a rural retreat for struggling midlife women. The farm she’s inherited is the perfect place, so much so that she’s willing to move across the country to make it happen. But when Emily arrives at the Covenant Farm, she’s shocked to find her long-ago love, John Moretti, living there… and contemplating very different plans for the place. Forced to compromise by staying at the farm together, they quickly realize there’s still a spark between them. But only John knows what else stands between them: a secret that could break Emily’s heart. Jump into the final novella of the Sacred Bond series… a touching love story about sowing, reaping, and gathering in the harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. John 4:36

Granta 144: Generic Love Story


Sigrid Rausing - 2018
    An issue on gender and powerDevorah Baum reads Grace Paley to find out what women wantStella Duffy looks for LGBT voices in the #MeToo debateFernanda Eberstadt remembers the 70s drag scene in New YorkDebra Gwartney breaks her silenceOttessa Moshfegh gets what she wantsTaraShea Nesbit revisits her lost childhoodBrittany Newell deconstructs Paris Hilton's sex tapeLisa Wells on the process of revisiting traumaAlso: new fiction from: Tara Isabella Burton, Paul Dalla Rosa, Tommi Parrish, Sally Rooney, Miriam Toews, Zoe Whittall and Leni ZumasPlus: poetry by Momtaza Mehri and Fiona BensonAnd photoessays by Sébastien Lifshitz and Tomoko Sawada, introduced by Andrew McMillan and Sayaka Murata