Book picks similar to
The School Gates by Nicola May
chick-lit
contemporary
ebook
300
The Little Shop of Hopes and Dreams
Fiona Harper - 2014
Too bad its not her own…Nicole, a born organiser and true romantic, has created her dream job when she sets up the Hopes & Dreams proposal agency – staging YouTube worthy proposals…until she’s hired to plan a proposal by gorgeous photographer Alex Black’s girlfriend.Alex is the New Year’s kiss that Nicole hasn’t been able to forget – and now she’s planning his wedding to someone else! But if she lets herself fall for Alex’s charms, her reputation and business will be ruined before it’s even got off the ground! Suddenly the girl whose always prepared is at a loss…and falling head over heels.
True Places
Sonja Yoerg - 2019
As Suzanne rushes her to the hospital, she never imagines how the encounter will change her—a change she both fears and desperately needs.Suzanne has the perfect house, a successful husband, and a thriving family. But beneath the veneer of an ideal life, her daughter is rebelling, her son is withdrawing, her husband is oblivious to it all, and Suzanne is increasingly unsure of her place in the world. After her discovery of the ethereal sixteen-year-old who has never experienced civilization, Suzanne is compelled to invite Iris into her family’s life and all its apparent privileges.But Iris has an independence, a love of solitude, and a discomfort with materialism that contrasts with everything the Blakemores stand for—qualities that awaken in Suzanne first a fascination, then a longing. Now Suzanne can’t help but wonder: Is she destined to save Iris, or is Iris the one who will save her?
The Last Bathing Beauty
Amy Sue Nathan - 2020
Back then Betty Stern was an eighteen-year-old knockout working at her grandparents’ lakeside resort. The “Catskills of the Midwest” was the perfect place for Betty to prepare for bigger things. She’d head to college in New York City. Her career as a fashion editor would flourish. But first, she’d enjoy a wondrous last summer at the beach falling deeply in love with an irresistible college boy and competing in the annual Miss South Haven pageant. On the precipice of a well-planned life, Betty’s future was limitless.Decades later, the choices of that long-ago season still reverberate for Betty, now known as Boop. Especially when her granddaughter comes to her with a dilemma that echoes Boop’s memories of first love, broken hearts, and faraway dreams. It’s time to finally face the past—for the sake of her family and her own happiness. Maybe in reconciling the life she once imagined with the life she’s lived, Boop will discover it’s never too late for a second chance.
The Dress
Sophie Nicholls - 2011
Ella just wants to fit in. But not everyone is on their side.Will Fabbia overcome the prejudices she encounters? What's the dark secret she's hiding? And do the silk linings and concealed seams of her dresses contain real spells or is this all just 'everyday magic'?Among the leopard-print shoes, tea-gowns and costume jewellery in Fabbia's shop are many different stories - and the story of one particular dress.This is a full-length novel for lovers of vintage and readers of contemporary romance/fantasy.
Texas Roads
Cathy Bryant - 2010
With lovable-but-quirky town folks, quaint country charm, and loads of business potential, Miller's Creek seems like the perfect place to start over. But Dani's dreams of finding home are crushed when malicious rumors and a devastating secret propel her down a road she never expected to travel. Though a Texas politician questions the arrival of this city gal in the hometown he's sworn to protect and defend, Steve can't help but admit he's falling for her. But when a mysterious billionaire funds a renovation to downtown Miller's Creek, Dani's suspicious behavior brings his built-in lie detector to alarm-clanging alert. Can Steve and Dani call a truce for a higher calling? Will romance blossom in Miller's Creek? And will Dani ever find true home?
Written with the feel of Mayberry and the Mitford series, readers have fallen in love with Miller's Creek. Will you? If you enjoy Christian contemporary romance and inspirational women's fiction, don't miss this feel-good novel. Get your copy today.
WHAT READERS ARE SAYING... "Page Turner! I absolutely loved this book!" " I loved the bantering between Steve and Dani and the romance they shared. They made the perfect couple. Both stubborn and bullheaded and the humor between them was really magical." "I too fell in love with Miller's Creek..." "What an excellent inspirational romance book with some mystery and a topic of finding home." "This book was non-stop 'just a little further' until suddenly I was at the end!" "The author did a remarkable job of developing her characters in the book's story line....I am anxious to read the next Miller's Creek book and highly recommend Texas Roads for Christian fiction readers." "This is a heartfelt and sometimes heart-rending story; well-written, gripping,thoroughly enjoyable, and spellbinding." OTHER CATEGORIES: Christian Western Romance Christian Dramatic Romance Inspirational Women's Fiction Inspirational Politician Romance Christian Renovation Fiction Christian Fiction Women's Religious Fiction
Sorry I Missed You
Suzy Krause - 2020
Mackenzie’s sister, Sunna’s best friend, and Maude’s fiancé—all gone with no explanation.So when a mangled, near-indecipherable letter arrives in their shared mailbox—hinting at long-awaited answers—each tenant assumes it’s for her. The mismatched trio decides to stake out the coffee shop named in the letter—the only clue they have—and in the process, a bizarre kinship forms. But the more they learn about each other, the more questions (and suspicions) they begin to have. All the while, creepy sounds and strange happenings around the property suggest that the ghosts from their pasts might not be all that’s haunting them…Will any of the housemates find the closure they are looking for? Or are some doors meant to remain closed?Quirky, humorous, and utterly original, Sorry I Missed You is the perfect read for anyone who has ever felt haunted by their past (or by anything else).
This Is Not How It Ends
Rochelle B. Weinstein - 2020
Weinstein comes a moving novel of hearts lost and found, and of one woman torn between two love stories.
When Charlotte and Philip meet, the pair form a deep and instant connection. Soon they’re settled in the Florida Keys with plans to marry. But just as they should be getting closer, Charlotte feels Philip slipping away.Second-guessing their love is something Charlotte never imagined, but with Philip’s excessive absences, she finds herself yearning for more. When she meets Ben, she ignores the pull, but the supportive single dad is there for her in ways she never knew she desired. Soon Charlotte finds herself torn between the love she thought she wanted and the one she knows she needs.As a hurricane passes through Islamorada, stunning revelations challenge Charlotte’s loyalties and upend her life. Forced to reexamine the choices she’s made, and has yet to make, Charlotte embarks on an emotional journey of friendship, love, and sacrifice—knowing that forgiveness is a gift, and the best-laid plans can change in a heartbeat.This Is Not How It Ends is a tender, moving story of heartbreak and healing that asks the question: Which takes more courage—holding on or letting go?
Unexpected (Bittersweet Book 2)
Karen Lenfestey - 2017
Sure, she loves fostering shelter dogs, but she never imagined herself as a mother. Anxious to be an aunt, her sister starts pressuring her to be someone she’s not. Her new friend wants her to stay fun and unencumbered. When Hope’s ex says he wants back in her life, she feels like it might be what’s best for her baby. Pulling away from her sister, Hope spends more time with her new friend and risks letting her ex break her heart all over again.
Jennifer's Garden
Dianne Venetta - 2011
In a race against time, cardiologist Jennifer Hamilton is caught between her mother’s dying wish and taking the risk of a lifetime with Jackson Montgomery. He’s the man hired to complete the landscaping for her new home; the venue for her upcoming wedding. Jackson’s everything she never wanted in a man, but as the job progresses, his lure pulls strong. It’s an attraction she cannot deny.And one that puts her career on the line.
Love Hurts
Brenda Grate - 2012
It’s this mystery that’s also at the heart of the broken relationships with her two daughters.Catarina paints breathtaking landscapes, but always with the little child’s face somewhere in the midst of the painting. Instinctively, Anna knows it’s the child, although she doesn’t know who it is, who has stolen their mother’s ability to love her own children.Anna and her sister, Jilly, walked away from their mother and the family fortune over a decade ago in order to not only find themselves, out from under the shadow of their famous mother, but also to get away from the constant pain of being ignored for the sake of their mother’s passion.Anna followed in her mother’s footsteps when she walked away from her childhood sweetheart, Chris Mackenzie, in order to escape the pain of the relationship with her mother. Her mother left Italy, and Anna’s father, many years ago for the same reason. Anna not only has to face her mother if she’s to make peace with her past, but also Chris, and the guilt from breaking his heart. Anna knows that unless she faces what she’s done, she will never have what she wants most.
The Secret Daughter
Kelly Rimmer - 2015
As she was taken from me I knew I might never see my daughter again. 38 years later… ‘You were adopted’. Three short words and Sabina’s life fractures. There would forever be a Before those words, and an After. Pregnant with her own child, Sabina can’t understand how a mother could abandon her daughter, or why her parents have kept the past a secret. Determined to find the woman who gave her away, what she discovers will change everything, not just for Sabina, but for the women who have loved her all these years. From the bestselling author of Me Without You comes another touching, beautifully told story about the pain of separation and the enduring strength of love.
When Comes The Joy
Charlene Carr - 2014
Not even close. But she may just capture your heart.
At 27, Jennifer’s out of work, her mom just died, and despite stellar qualifications, every job interview ends in rejection.Haunted by the teasing, taunts, and fat jokes that defined her childhood, Jennifer blames her unhappiness on her ever-growing waist-band.And she’s ready for change.Messy and real.Beautiful and harsh.When Comes The Joy (previously titled Skinny Me) explores one woman’s journey along the road of forgiveness, healing, and strength.
The Seven Steps to Closure
Donna Joy Usher - 2012
Things go from bad to worse when she discovers that, not only is her ex-husband engaged to her cousin - Tash, the woman he left her for - but that Jake is also running for Lord Mayor of Sydney.Desperate to leave the destructive relationship behind and with nothing to lose, she decides- with encouragement from her three best friends - to follow the dubious advice from a magazine article, Closure in Seven Easy Steps.The Seven Steps to Closure follows Tara on her sometimes disastrous- always hilarious - path to achieve the seemingly impossible.
Waking Up Married
Mira Lyn Kelly - 2012
Even worse, she's in a stranger's penthouse having woken up with something else as well - a funny, arrogant, sexy...husband!Up until now, finding even a boyfriend had seemed impossible - been there, got the broken heart, sworn off men for good. Then a few martinis with Carter...no, Connor Reed and she's gone from first meet to marriage in one night!Megan wants a lawyer. But Connor's shocking bombshell?
"I don't want a divorce."
Happy Hour
Michele Scott - 2009
The ones who laugh with you and cry with you. The ones that will always be there. These are the women of Napa Valley.Jamie is the editor-in-chief of Wine Lover's Magazine, a single mother and caretaker to her senile mother-in-law ~ a woman who thinks her daily caregiver is Dean Martin. Jamie is still recovering, financially and emotionally from the death of her husband several years earlier. And when she finds what could be the key to happiness, can she open the door and let it in? Or will her feelings of guilt and betrayal hold her back?Danielle is a vintner and the divorced mom of two. She's basking in what she knows is going to be a successful launch of her new wines. Wines she created on her own after her divorce. But what she doesn't expect is for her daughter to come home with news that will shock her to her core. Will an old flame help her accept the changes that are coming and find the love she's been missing in her life for so long? Or will a tragedy that no one sees coming change their lives forever?Kat is a sommelier, co-owner of a magnificent restaurant with her chef husband, and mother of a blended family. But is being deeply in love with your husband enough to get them through the teenage years, step-children and exes? And what happens when old faces return and she's faced with the knowledge that not everything is what you thought it was. What happens when she finds she was mad at the wrong person and finds out the "right one" was in the wrong? Can she forgive and move on? Can love overcome everything and truly bring a family together?Alyssa is an artist and gallery owner with a secret of her own. One she was hoping would stay buried deep in her closet. But the time has come for her to put someone else first, to face the past and to deal with her demons. What she never expected to find was love and her "home."No matter what is going on in their own lives, no matter the heartache or joy they're experiencing these four women are always there to love, support and encourage each other.