Book picks similar to
The Christmas Guest by Mel Dau
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The French Retreat
Suzanne | Sue Fortin - 2015
In a bid to reassess her life, she heads off to the only place she has ever felt content - her brother’s farmhouse retreat in rural France.Marcie isn’t the only one looking to escape. Ex-soldier Will hopes the gentle pace of French life will help to banish the ghosts of his past and offer him the fresh start he desires.However, all is not what it seems at The Retreat. Fuelled by a string of strange happenings and local rumours, Will and Marcie are pushed together as they try to discover who or what is behind it all. In so doing, they are faced with a moral dilemma and question if doing wrong is doing right?The French Retreat is a story of human compassion, hope and love.
Her Brilliant Cowboy Billionaire
Erica Penrod - 2019
Can Gemma Stone transform him into a respectable Seattle billionaire without losing her heart to this Texas cowboy in the process? Welcome to The Cove With heavy iron gates, two security stations, and a groundskeeper's cottage, The Cove has everything a billionaire could ask for in a home. Dubbed Billionaire Bachelor Cove because of the resident's single status and income portfolios, The Cove is the perfect place to hide away from the world. But, as the residents soon find out, they can't hide from love.
Her Brilliant Cowboy Billionaire Her Brilliant Cowboy Billionaire Gemma Stonewall considers her new position as a public relations/personal assistant for Jamon West two rungs down on the career ladder. At the request of her former employer, the prestigious billionaire, Adam Moreau, she accepts her assignment to transform West into a respectable billionaire with apprehension. This rags-to-riches cowboy wears boots to breakfast and anywhere in between and his Texan terminology requires translation. Gemma’s first day on the job leaves her feeling as though she’s brought an itinerary and organizational skills to a gun fight. Jamon West never intended to be a billionaire. When his college chemistry project turned him into an instant millionaire and two years later a billionaire, he wasn’t prepared to leave his ranching way of life behind. Orphaned as a teenager along with his older brother, Jamon’s known hard times, but nothing prepared him for life as a billionaire bachelor. Distant relatives appeared out of nowhere, gold-digging women snuck into his bedroom, his brother wanted his money and he’d never felt more alone. Jamon needed a change and The Cove called like a haven in the storm. Seattle is the perfect place to build his research facility and gain respect among the scientific community. To do that, Jamon has to dress the part—even if the idea of a new wardrobe is as painful as a burr in his boot. In short, he needs Gemma’s professional help and soon finds that he also needs her love. But, Jamon’s already lost many of the people who mattered most to him and if he allows himself to love Gemma only to lose her, he’d never survive. All the money in the world can’t stop a heart from breaking. He’s got a choice to make and he’s about to find out just what being a real cowboy is all about.
Temp Girl
Haley Oliver - 2019
When she answered the intra-office memo on behalf of the snooty blonde down the hall, she only meant to spare her new boss a cruel rejection. He wasn't supposed to reply. And she shouldn’t have replied to his reply… …again…and again…and again. While Amanda has fallen head over heels for her billionaire boss, Owen Ridgemont, to him she's just the girl from the temp agency who sits at the front desk and files paperwork. What will happen when Owen learns that, rather than corresponding with the gorgeous blonde, he's been exchanging memos with his secretary? Amanda has a good idea where her well-meaning charade will leave her…. …unemployed and seriously heartbroken! Temp Girl is a 30K word story, the first in the Billionaire Secretarial Pool series. It is a sweet, clean, contemporary billionaire romance with inspirational and Christian themes of family, faith, and love. As always, it is clean and wholesome with a guaranteed happily ever after ending. This story may appeal to fans of authors such as Bree Livingston, Elana Johnson, Anne-Marie Meyer, Michelle Pennington, and Lorana Hoopes.
The Escape
Tiye Love - 2019
He just needed her. Skye Baptiste, hurt over the end of her engagement, travels to Los Angeles for a week to heal. While coming to terms with the demise of her relationship, she has a chance encounter with superstar Jordan Mathews at a hotel bistro that turns her whole world upside down. **Can be read as a stand alone or as the first book in a trilogy.**
Christmas Bells are Ringing
Lesley Ann McDaniel - 2015
Having recently relocated to Seattle, Shelby longs for someone special in her life. When a handsome green-eyed stranger walks into the coffee shop where she works, her interest is piqued. Later, she finds a bag containing five beautiful hand-painted Christmas bells on the cream and sugar table. No one comes back to claim it, so she decides to do a little detective work. Does she dare hope that it will lead her to the stranger with the magnetic green eyes? Chris Bertone loves his job at Impact Ministries, but working day and night has prevented him from having much of a social life. On a whim, he stops for a cup of coffee and is instantly smitten with the beautiful barista. Now, even with everything he has to take care of at work, all he wants to do is find time for another coffee break. But things are so hectic this holiday season, how can he manage to get to know her better without being too overbearing, or breaking his budget on coffee? Holiday Hearts…seasons of love.
Scent of Cedar
Shanna Hatfield - 2018
. .
No one said anything about a friendly camel or a hunky mechanic
Cedar Haynes has a choice: change her high-pressure lifestyle, or end up dead by the time she’s thirty. Not one to do things by half measures, she quits her demanding corporate job, swaps her sports car for an SUV, and moves to the peaceful mountain community of Faraday. She envisions a quiet, peaceful Christmas, surrounding by silence and sparkling snow. When a camel takes up residence on her porch, she realizes small-town life may be more quirky and complicated than she imagined. Thankfully, the local mechanic seems to have all the answers - plus good looks, bad-boy charm, and a mysterious aura that leaves her wanting to know more. Rhett Riggs left big city life behind the moment his small-town uncle needed his help. To make ends meet, he takes over Faraday’s one and only garage and gas station. He gets more than he bargained for, though, when Uncle Will passes away, leaving Rhett a run-down farmhouse, a wacky camel named Lolly, and a deep-rooted love for the community he considers his home. With the holidays approaching, he watches with interest as a new neighbor moves in next door. He waits for Lolly to send the woman running, like she has the last handful of residents. Only this time, if his beautiful neighbor leaves, she’ll take his heart with her.Between spilled secrets, mistaken identities, and a camel determined to spread a little love, it will take more than mistletoe and holiday magic to help Rhett and Cedar find their happy ending.Come along on a sweet Christmas romance adventure sure to uplift the spirit, touch the heart, and imbue the warmth of the holiday season. ˃˃˃ Read all four sweet romances in The Friendly Beasts of Faraday series! * Scent of Cedar (Book 1) - A woman in need of a new beginning finds herself tormented by a camel and captivated by the town's bad boy. Can she overcome her fears to embrace a sweet holiday romance?* Tidings of Joy (Book 2)- Only one woman can draw a shy mail carrier out of his shell, but it will take the help of her donkey and puppy to make it happen.* Boughs of Holly (Book 3)- A free-spirited nurse winds up on a ranch with a stubborn cowboy and his matchmaking grandpa. Will love triumph over her need to roam?* Wings of an Angel (Book 4) - Will a fun-loving teacher convince a woman sworn off romance to give love a second chance? He'll need a hand from her son and his furry, feathered friends. ˃˃˃ The inspiration for the stories. . . The Friendly Beasts Christmas carol mentions a camel, a donkey, a cow, a sheep, and a dove. That sweet carol is what sparked the idea for this series, along with a steal-the-show camel at a live nativity performance.
Start reading this heartwarming holiday series today!
Mistletoe Kisses
Macie St. James - 2020
But that's exactly what she finds when she returns from being out of town. Worse, the bear has been deliberately trapped by the shop's owner, Will Parker.Will is starting a new life in the town of Reindeer Ridge. His shop, The Big Bear, sells novelty items while also providing guests the chance to see a live bear kept humanely upstairs. Unfortunately, the shop owner across the way seems to be determined to have his shop closed down.But Annaliese soon begins to realize that Will isn’t the bad guy she wants to make him out to be. As their feelings for each other start to grow, they both begin to realize the importance of compromise.This book was previously included in the December 2020 anthology, Small-Town Christmas. The rest of the series was not part of that anthology.The Reindeer Ridge series is a sweet, clean contemporary Christmas series filled with swoon-worthy heroes and a small-town setting.
If You Love Me (Harmony Heights Book 1)
Danielle Burton - 2019
She would’ve been perfectly content with never seeing him again. Apparently fate had other plans. Malakai’s heart never quite forgot his first love. Even after ten years his pulse gallops at the sight of her. He never thought he’d get another chance, and he still might not with the stone wall she has up due to his past mistakes.
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
Possessive Mountain Man: A High Heat Sweet Older Man Younger Woman BBW Romance
Flora Madison - 2019
Rugged mountain man. He saved my life. All of my friends went away for spring break, but mom is sick and I couldn't go far. A trip to the mountains started as a way to catch up on schoolwork, but ended in the secluded cabin of an older man. A man who makes me feel beautiful. Who looks at me like no one ever has... Drake: Emily. My fallen angel. Pure, sweet perfection. It may be a storm that brings us together, but it feels like a fated romance. After my mother died, I could barely leave the woods. Like a part of myself died with her. Now that I've found Emily, I feel alive again. I have to claim her, to make her mine. She's captured my heart. I can't let her go... Possessive Mountain Man is a short, sweet, steamy read featuring an older instalove alpha who'll do anything for his curvy bbw princess! Leave your panties in the drawer, grab a glass of bubbly, and buckle up for this high heat quickie romance.
Claimed By Her Enemy
Flora Ferrari - 2020
My dad's so-called best friend thinks he's taking over my company with his billions? No way. But when he walks into our first board meeting I can't help but notice how hot he is...I want him. But can I trust him? When he asks me to go away with him on his private jet, I know I have to find out once and for all.AlistairI didn't make my billions by not being ruthless, but something about this woman makes me want to leave the rat-race behind. She's completely inappropriate for me my best friend's daughter in fact yet I have never craved a woman so much. If ever. I always go for what I want, and I want her. More than that, I want to protect her...because something is telling me that she could be in danger, and not just from me...*Claimed By Her Enemy is an insta-everything standalone instalove romance with a HEA, no cheating, and no cliffhanger.
Christmas Presence
Lisa Hobman - 2014
Can anything...or anyone make her realise she needs to let go of the past and live for today?
Married for Convenience Only (Mail Order Brides of Arkansas)
Susannah Calloway - 2020
He walls off his heart, placing his attention solely on his cotton crops and raising his two young children. He counts heavily on his sister’s help, not only with running the home, but in caring for his traumatized children—particularly his son who hasn’t spoken since his mother’s death. When Quincy’s sister announces her betrothal and imminent move across the country, Quincy is frantic. How can he survive without Helena’s help? But Helena has an idea. She sends for a Mail Order Bride for him. At first angry, Quincy finally agrees to a marriage of convenience. But Alma Fairman has different ideas. She wants romance, a beau who loves her, and a real marriage. So when she gets to Arkansas, she is devastated. Quincy’s two beautiful children are her only consolation. When she succeeds in getting Quincy’s son to talk, she prays that this might become the catalyst that sparks affection between herself and Quincy. But she is completely unprepared for his reaction. And then tragedy strikes. It seems like Alma will never find the love she desires. Nor will Quincy—unless he’s courageous enough to open up his heart one last time.
Loren's Hope
Jean L. Kuhnke - 2015
Loren is perceived as a child as thin as a rail with mud caked hair when Old Tom and his boys come across Thad Walters on their way to town. Rather than take the chance that Miss Pearl won't offer him enough money for a visit at Pearl's brothel, Old Tom decides to convince Thad to buy her. Thad knew that he would do everything in his power to get the child away from the men that had her tied behind their horse half dragging her to town. When he finally payed them enough to get four steak dinners and one roll in the hay for Old Tom, he took her to his ranch planning to take the child to the next town where she could be taken in by a good family. To his surprise, when she got all the mud off, he found her to be a beautiful woman, not a child at all.
Battle of the Bulbs
Shannyn Leah - 2016
Again. She runs to the sanctuary of her grandmother’s home in Willow Valley in the hopes of spending the Christmas holiday in a quiet, safe place. What she doesn’t expect is for her ex, Booker Banks, to also be in town. Right next door, in fact, visiting his grandfather.Instead of the quiet, peaceful holiday Cheyenne envisioned, she must deal with cranky, bickering neighbors, an instigating niece, the emotions she feels for Booker and her past. As her and Booker began to repair their relationship, she fears he will run again, too.Will she be able to make him stay this time despite the secrets she is hiding in her past? And when her abusive mother shows up on the scene, will Cheyenne finally take a stand or will she be the one to run?