a's bookshelf: all en-US Sat, 30 Nov 2024 20:10:26 -0800 60 a's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg <![CDATA[Small Town Big Rumors: The Tequila Rose Duet]]> 59774866
Four years ago, I decided to get over one man, by getting under another. A single night and nothing more.

I found my handsome stranger with a shot glass and charming but devilish smile at the end of the bar. The desire that hit his eyes the second they landed on me ignited a spark inside me, instant and hot. He was perfect and everything I didn’t know I needed. That one night may have ended, but I left with much more than a memory.

Four years later, and with a three-year-old in tow, the man I still dream about is staring at me from across the street in the town I grew up in. I don’t miss the flash of recognition, or the heat in his gaze.

The chemistry is still there, even after all these years.

I just hope the secrets and regrets don’t destroy our second chance before it’s even begun.]]>
377 Willow Winters a 0 to-read 3.67 Small Town Big Rumors: The Tequila Rose Duet
author: Willow Winters
name: a
average rating: 3.67
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date added: 2024/11/30
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Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl 61827506 It’s 1938, and a young woman selling face cream out of a New York City beauty parlor is determined to prove she can have it all. Her name is Estée Lauder, and she’s about to take the world by storm, in this dazzling new novel from the USA Today bestselling author of The Social Graces and Park Avenue Summer.

In New York City, you can disappear into the crowd. At least that’s what Gloria Downing desperately hopes as she tries to reinvent herself after a devastating family scandal. She’s ready for a total life makeover and a friend she can lean on—and into her path walks a young, idealistic woman named Estée. Their chance encounter will change Gloria’s life forever.

Estée dreams of success and becoming a household name like Elizabeth Arden, Helena Rubinstein, and Revlon. Before Gloria knows it, she is swept up in her new friend’s mission and while Estée rolls up her sleeves, Gloria begins to discover her own talents. After landing a job at Saks Fifth Avenue, New York’s finest luxury department store, Gloria finds her voice, which proves instrumental in opening doors for Estée’s insatiable ambitions.

But in a world unaccustomed to women with power, they’ll each have to pay the price that comes with daring to live life on their own terms and refusing to back down.]]>
432 Renée Rosen 059333566X a 0 to-read 3.92 2023 Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl
author: Renée Rosen
name: a
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2023
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Park Avenue Summer 38882569 Mad Men meets The Devil Wears Prada as Renée Rosen draws readers into the glamour of 1965 New York City and Cosmopolitan Magazine, where a brazen new Editor-in-Chief--Helen Gurley Brown--shocks America by daring to talk to women about all things off limits...

New York City is filled with opportunities for single girls like Alice Weiss who leaves her small Midwestern town to chase her big city dreams and unexpectedly lands the job of a lifetime working for Helen Gurley Brown, the first female Editor-in-Chief of a then failing Cosmopolitan Magazine.

Nothing could have prepared Alice for the world she enters as editors and writers resign on the spot, refusing to work for the woman who wrote the scandalous bestseller, Sex and the Single Girl. While confidential memos, article ideas, and cover designs keep finding their way into the wrong hands, someone tries to pull Alice into this scheme to sabotage her boss. But Alice remains loyal and becomes all the more determined to help Helen succeed. As pressure mounts at the magazine and Alice struggles to make her way in New York, she quickly learns that in Helen Gurley Brown's world, a woman can demand to have it all.]]>
343 Renée Rosen 1101991143 a 0 to-read 3.91 2019 Park Avenue Summer
author: Renée Rosen
name: a
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2019
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The Co-op 203578886 By that logic, hate and construction may as well be condemned.

LaRynn Lavigne and Deacon Leeds had one short and contentious summer fling when they were teens.
Certainly nothing to build a foundation on.
But a decade later, when their grandmothers have left them with shared ownership of their dilapidated Santa Cruz building, they're thrust back together and have to figure out how to brace up the pieces.
LaRynn has the money, but to access her trust, she has to be married.
Deacon has the construction expertise, but lacks the funds.
A deal is struck: Marry for however long it takes to fix up the property, collect a profit, and cut ties.
Thrust into a home without walls, they quickly learn that it's easy to hide behind emotional ones, even in a marriage. But, with all the exposure and pitfalls that come with living with the opposite sex (and none of the perks) they'll also have to learn what it means to truly co-operate as a team.

The Co-op is a steamy story about restoration and renovation, and uncovering all the things that build character within ourselves. It's about the never-ending construction project that partnership is, and finding enjoyment at every stage.]]>
352 Tarah DeWitt 1250329388 a 0 to-read 3.59 2022 The Co-op
author: Tarah DeWitt
name: a
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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Happily Never After 181853964 Two love sceptics agree to work together as professional wedding disruptors. But fate has more romantic plans in mind for them . . .

When Sophie finds out right before getting married that she’s been cheated on (again!) it’s time for drastic action. Instead of calling the wedding off, she hires a gorgeous stranger � Max � to interrupt the ceremony and confront her fiancé. It’s hardly the wedding she’d planned. But Sophie enjoys taking revenge. So, when Max asks if she’ll work with him to help others expose their cheating partners, Sophie agrees. When they’re hired by a man who’s marrying the girl that once broke Max’s heart, Sophie expects Max to revel in the job. But instead, he seems to be wrestling with his feelings for his ex. And worse than that, Sophie is jealous . . .Tropes/ Friends to lovers2. Slow burn romance3. Spicy books4. Love triangle]]>
313 Lynn Painter a 0 to-read 3.63 2024 Happily Never After
author: Lynn Painter
name: a
average rating: 3.63
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Wreck My Plans 210051590
Lena’s plans are simple. Surprise her family for Christmas, don’t tell them she lost her job, and most importantly, spend the week relaxing with the people she cares about.

But when she arrives in Juniper, she discovers she’s not the only unexpected guest this year. Her older brother’s best friend, Gavin, is back after disappearing three years ago without a word. He has the kind of charm Lena has always been drawn to, but she knows he’s also the kind of temptation she needs to stay far away from.

Gavin has built his architecture career out of planning strategies for dealing with the unexpected—but he didn’t have a strategy for the possibility of seeing Lena again. Though he’s been dreaming of her since the day he left, he can’t risk giving in to his feelings when they could upend the only family and home he has ever known.

New try to be friends again. Just friends.

But as the pieces fall into place about why Gavin left, staying friends is the last thing on his mind…and on Lena’s. All the plans they’ve made might end up completely wrecked. And for once, maybe they want it that way.]]>
289 Jillian Meadows 0063416123 a 0 to-read 3.61 2023 Wreck My Plans
author: Jillian Meadows
name: a
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2023
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<![CDATA[Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop]]> 133938826 should feel successful—but all she feels is drained. Haunted by an abandoned dream, she takes a leap of faith and leaves her old life behind. Quitting her job and divorcing her husband, Yeongju moves to a quiet residential neighborhood outside the city and opens the Hyunam-dong Bookshop.

The transition isn’t easy. For months, all Yeongju can do is cry. But as the long hours in the shop stretch on, she begins to reflect on what makes a good bookseller and a meaningful store. She throws herself into reading voraciously, hosting author events, and crafting her own philosophy on bookselling. Gradually, Yeongju finds her footing in her new surroundings.

Surrounded by friends, writers, and the books that bind them, Yeongju begins to write a new chapter in her life. The Hyunam-dong Bookshop evolves into a warm, welcoming haven for lost souls—a place to rest, heal, and remember that it’s never too late to scrap the plot and start over.]]>
307 Hwang Bo-Reum a 0 to-read 3.94 2022 Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop
author: Hwang Bo-Reum
name: a
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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A Bánh Mì for Two 200982340 In this sweet sapphic romance about two foodies in love, Vivi meets Lan while studying abroad in Vietnam and they spend the semester unraveling their families' histories—and eating all the street food in Sài Gòn.

In Sài Gòn, Lan is always trying to be the perfect daughter, dependable and willing to care for her widowed mother and their bánh mì stall. Her secret passion, however, is A Bánh Mì for Two, the food blog she started with her father but has stopped updating since his passing.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese American Vivi Huynh, has never been to Việt Nam. Her parents rarely talk about the homeland that clearly haunts them. So Vivi secretly goes to Vietnam for a study abroad program her freshman year of college. She’s determined to figure out why her parents left, and to try everything she’s seen on her favorite food blog, A Bánh Mì for Two.

When Vivi and Lan meet in Sài Gòn, they strike a deal. Lan will show Vivi around the city, helping her piece together her mother’s story through crumbling photographs and old memories. Vivi will help Lan start writing again so she can enter a food blogging contest. And slowly, as they explore the city and their pasts, Vivi and Lan fall in love.]]>
224 Trinity Nguyen 125091082X a 0 to-read 3.88 2024 A Bánh Mì for Two
author: Trinity Nguyen
name: a
average rating: 3.88
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<![CDATA[This Could Be Us (Skyland, #2)]]> 182761439 fixesĚýeverything. She’s a domestic goddess who's never met a party she couldn't host or a charge she couldn't lead. The one with all the answers and the perfect vinaigretteĚýfor that summer salad. But none of her varied talents can save her when catastrophe strikes, and the life she built with the man who was supposed to be her forever, goesĚýpoofĚýin a cloud of betrayal and disillusion.

But there is no time to pout or sulk, or even grieve the life she lost.ĚýShe's tooĚýbusy keeping a roof over her daughters' heads and food on the table.ĚýAnd in the process of saving them all, Soledad rediscovers herself. From the ashes of a life burned to the ground, something bold and new can rise.

But then an unlikely man enters the picture—the forbidden one, the one she shouldn't want but can't seem to resist. She's lost it all before and refuses to repeat herĚýmistakes. Can she trust him? Can she trustĚýherself?

After all she's lost . . .and found . . .can she be brave enough to make room for what could be?]]>
416 Kennedy Ryan 1538767430 a 0 to-read 4.35 2024 This Could Be Us (Skyland, #2)
author: Kennedy Ryan
name: a
average rating: 4.35
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Beautiful Broken Love 210409891 From New York Times bestselling author Shanora Williams comes an emotional page-turner about two people still reeling from tragedy who look to each other for the strength to move forward.

It’s been months since her dreams of forever were brutally shattered. Seven long months since her husband and soulmate, Lew, died in her arms, leaving her to carry on. Alone. And Davina Klein-Roberts still isn’t sure how to move forward.

To escape her anguish, Davina throws everything into work, pushing Golden Oil Co., her self-built skincare line, to become a viral success. Now she’s poised to clinch a major endorsement deal too. But it’s bittersweet without Lew by her side.

A meeting with Deke Bishop, the hot NBA star she’s courting for her brand, leaves Davina flustered. With his dimpled smile and warm handshake, Deke’s a natural pitchman. And he’s clearly interested—not only in her lotions.

Davina soon discovers that Deke’s more than just another player and carries his own pain. But as her feelings for him grow, so does her guilt. Will the pain of a future already lost keep her from embracing hope for a new one?]]>
383 Shanora Williams 1662518870 a 0 to-read 4.29 2024 Beautiful Broken Love
author: Shanora Williams
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average rating: 4.29
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Between Now and Forever 210832028 Neighbors to lovers can be a risky proposition in this funny, sexy, and swoony romantic comedy between a single mother and the grumpy man next door by USA Today bestselling author Adriana Locke.

When Gabrielle Solomon falls, she falls hard. Even if that means literally toppling over a porch railing in nothing but a flimsy towel—right in front of her sexy new neighbor.

Jay Stetson is 100 percent hero material with those arms, that chest, and his deliciously oh-so-sexy smirk. The chiseled hunk in flannel has an irresistible off-limits attitude while plucking Gabrielle out of the bushes and saving her from a snake. Unfortunately, he’s not indulging in what Gabrielle is offering—not with his emotional train wreck of a past.

Just neighbors. Just friends. Or so he says.

Secretly, he’s smitten with the single, fierce mama bear of two who plays Miss Fix-It at the house next door. He doesn’t even really mind the noise or the chaos her young sons cause. What he does mind is how his lonely heart races when looking into her emerald-colored eyes.

Can Jay let his painful memories go, or will he let the woman of his dreams slip between his fingers?]]>
253 Adriana Locke 1662512457 a 0 to-read 4.04 Between Now and Forever
author: Adriana Locke
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average rating: 4.04
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The Perfect Marriage 216543239
Sarah Morgan is one of the best criminal defense attorneys in Washington, DC. With a perfect case record and having made named partner before the age of thirty-five, her life is going exactly as she planned.

However, the same cannot be said for her husband, Adam, a failed author, who’s grown to resent his wife’s meteoric success as he feels it’s come at the expense of their relationship.

For almost two years, Adam has kept his affair with Kelly Summers a secret, but everything changes when her body is discovered at the couple’s lake house and Adam is arrested on suspicion of murder.

Sarah now finds herself facing her most challenging case yet when she vows to defend her husband—a man accused of murdering his mistress.

While Adam is certainly guilty of sleeping with Kelly, the question remains: Is he guilty of killing her too?]]>
352 Jeneva Rose a 0 to-read 4.06 2020 The Perfect Marriage
author: Jeneva Rose
name: a
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2020
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<![CDATA[All Folked Up (Good Folk: Modern Folktales, #3)]]> 221609075
Rumor has it that gruff, brooding, and solitary man-of-mystery Isaac Sylvester is back in town, and the only thing folks in Green Valley know for certain is that this prodigal son’s motives are as elusive as he is. He’s been spotted loitering near the old Townsen farm, hanging around the Hill's homestead, and glaring menacingly from the edges of The Donner Lodge’s parking lot. What this hometown-hero-turned-criminal wants, no one knows. Nor can they stop talking about it.

Hannah's last night as an exotic dancer might just be her most memorable.

Hannah Townsen has often been a subject of local gossip. Folks shook their heads when Hannah's daddy ran out on her momma; folks blessed her heart after Hannah's momma had that tragic accident; and folks really talked up a tizzy when Hannah became an exotic dancer in order to pay off her parents' debt and put food on the table. But now, ten years after being dubbed as a hometown-stripper-with-a-heart-of-gold, Hannah has seemingly—and finally—fallen off the gossip mill's radar.

That is, until the enigmatic Isaac Sylvester shows up at Hannah's retirement party wanting so much more than a private dance. . .

'All Folked Up' is the third book in the Good Folk series and is a full-length, small town, contemporary romantic comedy novel.]]>
332 Penny Reid 196034238X a 0 to-read 4.27 2024 All Folked Up (Good Folk: Modern Folktales, #3)
author: Penny Reid
name: a
average rating: 4.27
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Merry Kissmas 216508021
I thought I was over him. That his good looks and British accent couldn’t affect me anymore. But the minute our eyes lock across the elevator, all those feelings come roaring back to life.

Then I find out we’re competing for the same job.

Next comes the realization that we have to spend a week together on a ski vacation because of some six-degree-of-separation nonsense.

The real kicker is when I find out the two of us have to share a villa. A very small, very cozy villa.

Needless to say, this Christmas getaway is starting off rockier than the mountains we’ll be skiing down.

I’ve stayed away for years, what’s one week? But I forgot how much easier it is to ignore him with an ocean separating us—especially when he’s determined to win me back.]]>
222 Piper Rayne a 0 to-read 3.63 Merry Kissmas
author: Piper Rayne
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average rating: 3.63
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<![CDATA[Cruel Winter with You (Under the Mistletoe Collection, #1)]]> 220389458 New York Times bestselling author Ali Hazelwood.

All newly minted pediatrician Jamie Malek wants is to borrow a roasting pan for Christmas dinner. Unfortunately, that requires her to interact with Marc—her best friend’s troublemaking brother, who’s now a tech billionaire. He’s the one who got away. She’s the one who broke his heart. Outside, a howling blizzard. Inside, a crackling fire. Suddenly, being snowbound with the man she never expected to see again might not be such a bad way to spend a winter’s night.

Ali Hazelwood’s Cruel Winter with You is part of Under the Mistletoe, a stirring collection of December romances that thrill and tingle all the way. They can be read or listened to in one swoony sitting.]]>
73 Ali Hazelwood 1662528396 a 0 to-read 3.68 2024 Cruel Winter with You (Under the Mistletoe Collection, #1)
author: Ali Hazelwood
name: a
average rating: 3.68
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<![CDATA[Picking Daisies on Sundays (Picking Daisies on Sundays, #1)]]> 169690624 Perfect for fans of Lynn Painter and Jenny Han, this romantic comedy follows a hopeless romantic finishing college who agrees to embark on a fake relationship with her childhood best friend, who, unfortunately for her, also happens to be her first love.

Daniella Daisy Maria wanted love. It’s all she hoped for when watching endless rom-coms every Friday night. What she hadn't hoped for was to find it in her childhood best friend Levi. It was the hand-trembling, heart-thumping kind of love that wasn't supposed to happen when you saw your best friend. But it all ended when he didn’t feel the same way and she vowed to never see him again.

Four years later and one night in a crowded bar in the West Village, there he was, just as perfect as ever. Maybe it was the lighting or the way his hair curled above his brow, but she couldn’t say no when he asked her to be his fake girlfriend for his sister’s wedding. Another chance at being his friend and mending her immature mistake? How was she supposed to say no?

The weight of possible rejection from her dream grad school quickly became the least of her problems. With old, resurfacing feelings at every staged, romantic interaction and stolen glance, she struggles to find confidence. She couldn't help but think that maybe she should’ve said no to protect her heart for a second time.]]>
327 Liana Cincotti a 0 to-read 4.03 2023 Picking Daisies on Sundays (Picking Daisies on Sundays, #1)
author: Liana Cincotti
name: a
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2023
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Daydream (Maple Hills, #3) 199798652
When his procrastination lands him in a difficult class with his least favorite professor, Henry Turner knows he’s going to have to work extra hard to survive his junior year of college. And now with his new title of captain for the hockey team—which he didn’t even want—Henry absolutely cannot fail. Enter Halle Jacobs, a fellow junior who finds herself befriended by Henry when he accidentally crashes her book club.

Halle may not have the romantic pursuits of her favorite fictional leads, but she’s an academic superstar, and as soon as she hears about Henry’s problems with his class reading material, she offers to help. Too bad being a private tutor isn’t exactly ideal given her own studies, job, book club, and the novel she’s trying to write. But new experiences are the key to beating her writer’s block, and Henry’s promising to be the one to give them to her.

They just need to stick to their rule book.

Oh, and not fall in love.]]>
433 Hannah Grace 1668026252 a 0 to-read 3.91 2024 Daydream (Maple Hills, #3)
author: Hannah Grace
name: a
average rating: 3.91
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Wildfire (Maple Hills, #2) 101145836
Maple Hills students Russ Callaghan and Aurora Roberts cross paths at a party celebrating the end of the academic year, where a drinking game results in them having a passionate one-night stand. Never one to overstay her welcome (or expect much from a man), Aurora slips away before Russ even has the chance to ask for her full name.

Imagine their surprise when they bump into each other on the first day of the summer camp where they are both counselors, hoping to escape their complicated home lives by spending the summer working. Russ hopes if he gets far enough away from Maple Hills, he can avoid dealing with the repercussions of his father’s gambling addiction, while Aurora is tired of craving attention from everyone around her, and wants to go back to the last place she truly felt at home.

Russ knows breaking the camp’s strict “no staff fraternizing� rule will have him heading back to Maple Hills before the summer is over, but unfortunately for him, Aurora has never been very good at caring about the rules. Will the two learn to peacefully coexist? Or did their one night together start a fire they can’t put out?]]>
387 Hannah Grace 1668026279 a 0 to-read 3.82 2023 Wildfire (Maple Hills, #2)
author: Hannah Grace
name: a
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2023
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<![CDATA[Nothing Like the Movies (Better Than the Movies, #2)]]> 207293948
Flash forward months later, and Wes and Liz find themselves in college, together. In a healthier place now, Wes knows he broke Liz’s heart when he ended things, but he is determined to make her fall back in love with him.

Wes knows Liz better than anyone, and he has a foolproof plan to win her back with rom-com-worthy grand gestures she loves. Only . . . Liz will have none of it! Wes has to scheme like a rom-com hero to figure out how to see her. Even worse, Liz has a new friend . . . a guy friend.

Still, Wes won’t give up, adapting his clever plans and going hard to get Liz’s attention and win back her affection. But after his best efforts get him nowhere, Wes is left wondering if their relationship is really over for good.]]>
442 Lynn Painter 1665947136 a 0 to-read 3.99 2024 Nothing Like the Movies (Better Than the Movies, #2)
author: Lynn Painter
name: a
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2024
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The Boyfriend 208503280 She's looking for the perfect man. He's looking for the perfect victim.

Sydney Shaw, like every single woman in New York, has terrible luck with dating. She’s seen it men who lie in their dating profile, men who stick her with the dinner bill, and worst of all, men who can't shut up about their mothers. But finally, she hits the jackpot.

Her new boyfriend is utterly perfect. He's charming, handsome, and works as a doctor at a local hospital. Sydney is swept off her feet.

Then the brutal murder of a young woman―the latest in a string of deaths across the coast―confounds police. The primary suspect? A mystery man who dates his victims before he kills them.

Sydney should feel safe. After all, she is dating the guy of her dreams. But she can’t shake her own suspicions that the perfect man may not be as perfect as he seems. Because someone is watching her every move, and if she doesn’t get to the truth, she’ll be the killer’s next victim...

A dark story about obsession and the things we’ll do for love, #1 New York Times bestselling author Freida McFadden proves that crimes of passion are often the bloodiest…]]>
368 Freida McFadden 1728296226 a 0 to-read 3.95 2024 The Boyfriend
author: Freida McFadden
name: a
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2024
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Ivy in Stills 220834882
Imagine the perfect afternoon in Savannah, Georgia...

Backyard filled with smiles, an amazing dress tailored to your particular bodaciousness, your dad-in-name-only ready to walk you down the path. Thrilling I dos about to be uttered�

But then� I don’t whimpers out of your beloved.

Meet Ivy Talbot. About now all she wants is to walk into the ocean and disappear. Or at least quench her blistering humiliation. Next best thing (per her mother, Bree): fly back to Monterey, California, with her less than thrilled father, to heal.

Meet said father, Daniel. Senior partner in his wife’s law firm. Thriving professionally, socially, and personally. Devoted family man in a I've-had-a-thing-going-on-in-Georgia-for two-plus-decades kind of way.

Well...Monterey turns out to be a good solution for Ivy, not so much for Daniel. To complicate things Ivy refuses to leave. She makes friends with a fantastic photographer, Mia and her slightly compulsive brother, Bo. She wants to stay for a while. To remedy this Bree, i.e. Daniel’s poison fruit, comes to California to talk sense into her daughter.

As one might imagine it’s a very revelatory weekend. Worlds collide, lies are exposed, and Ivy is left questioning everything. Ultimately, it takes a surprising new man with demons of his own to convince her that: Sometimes the worst day of your life actually saves it...]]>
Ka Hancock a 0 to-read 4.57 2024 Ivy in Stills
author: Ka Hancock
name: a
average rating: 4.57
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Only for the Week 217546088
And now a toast from the maid of honor, Janelle Cross!

Hi everyone, thank you for being here.

Some of you may know me as the sister of the bride.

Some of you may know me as the ex-girlfriend of the groom.

But I'm willing to bet none of you know me as the woman secretly sleeping with the best man.

I am.

I know, I'm just as surprised as you.

It was only supposed to be for the week; but every kiss, adventure, and stolen moment with Rome Martin feels like it could last forever.

Oh well. What happens in Tulum stays in Tulum.

Right?]]>
288 Natasha Bishop 1638932727 a 0 to-read 4.29 2023 Only for the Week
author: Natasha Bishop
name: a
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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Come As You Are 217420830
When rumors and gossip about Evie's housing predicament spread like wildfire, she decides the only way to survive is to lean into her questionable new reputation... but she's definitely going to require help. Her grumpy emo dorm mate Salem Grayson isn't exactly her first choice, but he does need her help to repair his relationship with his parents every bit as much as she needs his to learn how to be cool. And so they make a pact - he'll teach her how to be bad, if she teaches him how to be good.

It's a flawless plan, except while Salem thrives academically, even romantically, and - annoyingly enough - even physically, Evie's quest feels like one dead end after another, and the girl she's becoming certainly doesn't feel remotely cool. But when Evie realizes what she wants more than anything, she'll have to contend with her thrice-broken heart and figure out how to become someone capable of chasing happiness.

Dahlia Adler’s Come As You Are is about refusing to accept less than you deserve, and realizing that the best relationships are with people who know exactly who you are.]]>
320 Dahlia Adler 1250871697 a 0 to-read 3.87 2025 Come As You Are
author: Dahlia Adler
name: a
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2025
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<![CDATA[The Full Moon Coffee Shop (The Full Moon Coffee Shop, #1)]]> 202468425 Translated from the Japanese bestseller, this charming and magical novel, inspired by the myth of cats returning favors to those who care for them, reminds us that it’s never too late to follow our stars.

In Japan cats are a symbol of good luck. As the myth goes, if you are kind to them, they’ll one day return the favor. And if you are kind to the right cat, you might just find yourself invited to a mysterious coffee shop under a glittering Kyoto moon. This particular coffee shop is like no other. It has no fixed location, no fixed hours, and seemingly appears at random to adrift young people at crucial junctions in their lives.

It’s also run by talking cats.

While customers at the Full Moon Coffee Shop partake in cakes, coffees, and teas, the cats also consult them on their star charts, offer cryptic wisdom, and let them know where their lives have veered off course—because every person who visits the shop has been feeling more than a little lost. And for a down-on-her-luck screenwriter, a romantically stuck movie director, a hopeful hairstylist, and a technologically challenged website designer, the feline guides will set them back on their fated paths. After all, there is a reason the shop appeared to each of them…]]>
240 Mai Mochizuki 0593726820 a 0 to-read 3.61 2020 The Full Moon Coffee Shop (The Full Moon Coffee Shop, #1)
author: Mai Mochizuki
name: a
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2020
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/20
shelves: to-read
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Beautiful Ugly 211004123 The million-copy bestselling Queen of Twists Alice Feeney returns with a gripping and deliciously dark thriller about marriage. . .
. . . and revenge.

Author Grady Green is having the worst best day of his life.

Grady calls his wife to share some exciting news as she is driving home. He hears Abby slam on the brakes, get out of the car, then nothing. When he eventually finds her car by the cliff edge the headlights are on, the driver door is open, her phone is still there. . . but his wife has disappeared.

A year later, Grady is still overcome with grief and desperate to know what happened to Abby. He can’t sleep, and he can’t write, so he travels to a tiny Scottish island to try to get his life back on track. Then he sees the impossible � a woman who looks exactly like his missing wife.

Wives think their husbands will change but they don’t.
Husbands think their wives won’t change but they do.
]]>
306 Alice Feeney 125033778X a 0 to-read 3.64 2025 Beautiful Ugly
author: Alice Feeney
name: a
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/20
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That's Not My Name 123429195
Shivering and bruised, a teen wakes up on the side of a dirt road with no memory of how she got there―or who she is. A passing officer takes her to the police station, and not long after, a frantic man arrives. He's been searching for her for hours. He has her school ID, her birth certificate, and even family photos. He is her father. Her name is Mary. Or so he says.

When Lola slammed the car door and stormed off into the night, Drew thought they just needed some time to cool off. Except Lola disappeared, and the sheriff, his friends, and the whole town are convinced Drew murdered his girlfriend. Forget proving his innocence, he needs to find her before it's too late. The longer Lola is missing, the fewer leads there are to follow…and the more danger they both are in.]]>
297 Megan Lally 1728270111 a 0 to-read 4.05 2023 That's Not My Name
author: Megan Lally
name: a
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/20
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The Christmas Guest 83814905 An American art student in London is invited to join a classmate for the holidays at Starvewood Hall, her family's Cotswold manor house. But behind the holly and pine boughs, secrets are about to unravel, revealing this seemingly charming English village's grim history.

Ashley Smith, an American art student in London for her junior year, was planning on spending Christmas alone, but a last-minute invitation from fellow student Emma Chapman brings her to Starvewood Hall, country residence of the Chapman family. The Cotswold manor house, festooned in pine boughs and crammed with guests for Christmas week, is a dream come true for Ashley. She is mesmerized by the cozy, firelit house, the large family, and the charming village of Clevemoor, but also by Adam Chapman, Emma's aloof and handsome brother.

But Adam is being investigated by the local police over the recent brutal slaying of a girl from the village, and there is a mysterious stranger who haunts the woodland path between Starvewood Hall and the local pub. Ashley begins to wonder what kind of story she is actually inhabiting. Is she in a grand romance? A gothic tale? Or has she wandered into something far more sinister and terrifying than she'd ever imagined?

Over thirty years later the events of that horrific week are revisited, along with a diary from that time. What began in a small English village in 1989 reaches its ghostly conclusion in modern-day New York, many Christmas seasons later.]]>
96 Peter Swanson 0063297450 a 0 to-read 3.58 2023 The Christmas Guest
author: Peter Swanson
name: a
average rating: 3.58
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/20
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Unsteady (The Undone, #1) 198853583
During last year’s Frozen Four, the Waterfell University hockey captain, and NHL legacy, took a brutal hit that left him with a concussion and a new discomfort on the ice. Plagued by nightmares and panic attacks every time he attempt to skate, Rhys wonders if he’ll ever play again � if he’ll ever want to.

Sadie Brown is staying focused this semester � no matter what.

Currently drowning in debt, custody hearings for her younger brothers and skating practices, she's just trying to make it to the next day. A spitfire figure skater known for her bad attitude and frequent disappearing acts, she has a reputation on campus. And it’s not a pretty one.

When she accidentally witnesses one of the golden boy hockey captain’s panic attacks and attempts to help him, a strange sort of understanding strikes up between them.

No questions asked. Just comfort.

But Rhys finds himself drawn to Sadie. Where he feels empty, a shell of the man and player he was before, Sadie is so full of everything it bursts from her; every emotion she feels seems like it’s blasted at max. Rhys is desperate to feel anything, Sadie wants to stop feeling so much.

But healing doesn’t mix with secrets, and they’re both skating a thin line, unsteady .]]>
384 Peyton Corinne a 0 to-read 3.82 2023 Unsteady (The Undone, #1)
author: Peyton Corinne
name: a
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/20
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<![CDATA[Mr. Fixer Upper (Fixer: King Siblings #1)]]> 218681009
Mr. Sex in a Toolbelt has made it his mission in life to get a rise out of her, but Paige is a master at locking down her temper. They’re on the road together working long hours fixing houses and changing lives. When cracks in her legendary coolness start to show and sparks fly, Gannon is infatuated and the cameras are there to capture it.

But he’s fallen for pretty packages before and Paige won’t be taken seriously if she’s caught sleeping with the star of her show. She also can’t seem to resist those big, rough hands. Those smoldery hazel eyes. The dimples. The toolbelt. That fiercely protective vibe.

Too bad it’s all about to fall apart.
She never should have trusted him.
He never should have let her go.

Author’s Note: A protective grumpy hero, a not easily impressed heroine, the worst human being on TV ever, a grand gesture so big you’ll need a box of tissues, and THAT SHOWER SCENE.]]>
402 Lucy Score 1945631082 a 0 to-read 3.96 Mr. Fixer Upper (Fixer: King Siblings #1)
author: Lucy Score
name: a
average rating: 3.96
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/20
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The Last One at the Wedding 203579177 From the bestselling author of Hidden Pictures comes a breathtaking work of suspense about a father trying to save his daughter from a life-altering decision that will put everything he loves on the line.

Frank Szatowski is shocked when his daughter, Maggie, calls him for the first time in three years. He was convinced that their estrangement would become permanent. He’s even more surprised when she invites him to her upcoming wedding in New Hampshire. Frank is ecstatic, and determined to finally make things right.

He arrives to find that the wedding is at a private estate—very secluded, very luxurious, very much out of his league. It seems that Maggie failed to mention that she’s marrying Aidan Gardner, the son of a famous tech billionaire. Feeling desperately out of place, Frank focuses on reconnecting with Maggie and getting to know her new family. But it’s difficult: Aidan is withdrawn and evasive; Maggie doesn’t seem to have time for him; and he finds that the locals are disturbingly hostile to the Gardners. Frank needs to know more about this family his daughter is marrying into, but if he pushes too hard, he could lose Maggie forever.

An edge-of-your-seat thriller that delves deep into the heart of one family, The Last One at the Wedding is a work of brilliant suspense from a true modern master.]]>
338 Jason Rekulak 1250895782 a 0 to-read 3.62 2024 The Last One at the Wedding
author: Jason Rekulak
name: a
average rating: 3.62
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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One-Star Romance 201245798 A struggling writer is forced to walk down the aisle at her best friend’s wedding with the man who gave her book a very public one-star rating in this fresh romantic comedy from Laura Hankin.

Natalie and Rob couldn’t have less in common. Nat’s a messy artist, and Rob’s a rigid academic. The only thing they share is their devotion to their respective best friends—who just got engaged. Still, unexpected chemistry has Natalie cautiously optimistic about being maid of honor to Rob’s best man.

Until, minutes before the ceremony, Nat learns that Rob wrote a one-star review of her new novel, which has them both reeling: Nat from imposter syndrome, and Rob over the reason he needed to write it.

When the reception ends, these two opposites hope they’ll never meet again. But, as they slip from their twenties into their thirties, they’re forced together whenever their fast-track best friends celebrate another milestone. Through housewarmings and christenings, life-changing triumphs and failures, Natalie and Rob grapple with their own choices—and how your harshest critic can become your perfectly imperfect match.

After all, even the truest love stories sometimes need a bit of rewriting.]]>
400 Laura Hankin 0593438213 a 0 to-read 3.65 2024 One-Star Romance
author: Laura Hankin
name: a
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/20
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Ruby Spencer's Whisky Year 61111297 One of...
Buzzfeed's Romance Books To Look Out For In 2023
Paste Magazine's Most Anticipated Contemporary Romance Books of 2023

When a thirty-something American food writer moves to a Scottish village for one year to fulfill her dream of writing a cookbook she finds more than inspiration--she meets a handsome Scotsman she can't resist.

Ruby Spencer is spending one year living in a small cottage in a tiny town in the Scottish Highlands for three reasons: to write a bestselling cookbook, to drink a barrelful of whisky, and to figure out what comes next. It's hard to know what to expect after an impulse decision based on a map of Scotland in her Manhattan apartment--but she knows it's high time she had an adventure.

The moment she sets foot in Thistlecross, the verdant scenery, cozy cottages, and struggling local pub steal her heart. Between designing pop-up suppers and conversing with the colorful locals, Ruby starts to see a future that stretches beyond her year of adventure. It doesn't hurt that Brochan, the ruggedly handsome local handyman, keeps coming around to repair things at her cottage. Though Ruby swore off men, she can't help fantasizing what a roll in the barley might be like with the bearded Scot.

As Ruby grows closer to Brochan and the tightly held traditions of the charming village, she discovers secret plans to turn her beloved pub into an American chain restaurant. Faced with an impossible choice, Ruby must decide between love, loyalty, and the Highlands way of life.]]>
346 Rochelle Bilow 0593547888 a 0 to-read 3.40 2023 Ruby Spencer's Whisky Year
author: Rochelle Bilow
name: a
average rating: 3.40
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/20
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<![CDATA[Lights Out (Into Darkness, #1)]]> 201017011 “I don’t need another kink.�

That thought pops into my head whenever I pull up my favorite social media app, but alas, every time I scroll, I learn something new about myself, and another one is born. And yes, I know I’m responsible for what the algorithm shows me, but I’m trying to ignore that fact.

Lately, my feed has been dominated by masked men. I’ve favorited videos with them dressed in full cosplay, decked out in futuristic military apparel, and wrapped up like ghouls.

But more than anything else, my FYP is filled with shirtless men wearing ghost masks. Bonus points if they’re heavily tattooed, wielding a knife, or covered in fake blood. At night, I dream about being chased by them, of them catching me and doing deliciously dark things to my more than willing body.

I never could have guessed that by sending one drunken text, those dreams would become my new reality.

Lights Out is a fast-paced dark romance with a morally grey male lead. Some themes and scenes may be disturbing to readers. Please check the TWs at the beginning of the book. ]]>
338 Navessa Allen a 0 to-read 4.17 2024 Lights Out (Into Darkness, #1)
author: Navessa Allen
name: a
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/20
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Check & Mate 60683957 done with chess. Every move counts nowadays. After the sport led to the destruction of her family four years earlier, Mallory's focus is on her mom, her sisters, and the dead-end job that keeps the lights on. That is, until she begrudgingly agrees to play in one last charity tournament and inadvertently wipes the board with notorious "Kingkiller" Nolan Sawyer: current world champion and reigning bad boy of chess.

Nolan's loss to an unknown rook-ie shocks everyone—especially Mallory. What's even more confusing? His desire to cross pawns again. What kind of gambit is Nolan playing? The smart move would be to walk away. Resign. Game over. But Mallory's victory opens the door to sorely needed cash prizes and, despite everything, she can't help feeling drawn to the enigmatic strategist....

As she rockets up the ranks, Mallory struggles to keep her family safely separated from the game that wrecked it in the first place. And as her love for the sport she so desperately wanted to hate begins to rekindle, Mallory quickly realizes that the games aren't only on the board, the spotlight is hotter than she imagined, and the competition can be fierce(-ly attractive. And intelligent...and infuriating...)]]>
347 Ali Hazelwood 0593619919 a 0 to-read 3.93 2023 Check & Mate
author: Ali Hazelwood
name: a
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/20
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A Love Letter to Whiskey 61635096 Celebrate five years of sweet, angsty pain with this special edition of A Love Letter to Whiskey by Kandi Steiner.
THIS EDITION A forward from the author A Love Letter to Whiskey Love, Whiskey (a brand new novella from Jamie's point of view -- 50,000 words of new content, including an extended epilogue) Bonus Content including letters from the author, fun facts and behind the scenes, as well as a note from the audiobook narrator Brand new special edition cover
I saw him first. But it didn't matter. Because he saw her.
He was my best friend, and I was his. We couldn't be together, but we couldn't stand to be apart. And if you're not truly lovers... but you're so much more than friends... what exactly are you?]]>
608 Kandi Steiner a 0 to-read, temporarily-on-hold 3.98 A Love Letter to Whiskey
author: Kandi Steiner
name: a
average rating: 3.98
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/09/03
shelves: to-read, temporarily-on-hold
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<![CDATA[The Catch (The Influencer, #3)]]> 154488304
In a last-ditch effort to rescue her brand from the brink of irrelevance, Boston fashion influencer Melanie Karlsen finds herself in a rural fishing village on the east coast of Canada. The only thing scarier than nature itself? The burly and bearded bed-and-breakfast owner and fisherman, Evan Whaler—who single-handedly disproves the theory that Canadians are “nice.�

After a boating accident lands Evan unconscious in the hospital, Mel is mistaken for his fiancée by his welcoming yet quirky family, who are embroiled in a long-standing feud over the B&B. In a bold attempt to mend family fences, Mel agrees to fake their engagement for one week in exchange for Evan’s help with her social media content.

Amid long hikes and campfire chats, reeling in their budding feelings for each other proves more difficult by the day. But is Mel willing to sacrifice her picture-perfect life in the city for a chance at a true, unfiltered love in the wild?]]>
416 Amy Lea 0593336615 a 0 to-read 3.63 2024 The Catch (The Influencer, #3)
author: Amy Lea
name: a
average rating: 3.63
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/07/30
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<![CDATA[Fragile Sanctuary (Sparrow Falls, #1)]]> 209773181
He’s everything I’m not: grumpy, rude, and more than a little attached to his solitude. It doesn’t matter how many times I try to kill him with kindness; the man simply won’t crack.

Until he sees me shatter.

Because when my world comes crashing down around me, Anson is the one catching me as I fall. And as so-called accidents start plaguing every part of my life, it’s Anson who steps in to keep me safe.

As he does, I can’t help but feel a flicker of heat. And it only takes a single moment for that spark to ignite into flames, engulfing us both.

But Anson’s a man with secrets, and they have a price. When they’re revealed, neither of us will make it out unscathed…]]>
366 Catherine Cowles 1951936574 a 0 to-read 4.10 2024 Fragile Sanctuary (Sparrow Falls, #1)
author: Catherine Cowles
name: a
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/07/30
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You, with a View 59737396 Two weeks on the road... stuck in a car with your high-school enemy.

Noelle Shepard is grieving the loss of her beloved grandmother when she discovers decades-old photos and letters that hint to a forbidden love in her gram's past. Needing to know the full story, she creates a TikTok video appealing for information - and it goes viral.

Through her video, she manages to track down her grandmother's secret love, Paul, who offers to take her on the honeymoon road-trip he and Gram planned but never got to go on.

Noelle jumps at the chance to make this one last connection with her grandmother. There's just one problem - Paul's grandson is Noelle's frustratingly handsome high-school rival Theo.

And Theo has to come, too.

It's only two weeks. Surely Noelle can survive that long? But with one car between them - and often only one bed - it doesn't take long for things to heat up...
]]>
352 Jessica Joyce 059354840X a 0 to-read 4.05 2023 You, with a View
author: Jessica Joyce
name: a
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/07/30
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<![CDATA[The Bridge Kingdom (The Bridge Kingdom, #1)]]> 211081101
The only route through a storm-ravaged world, the Bridge Kingdom enriches itself and deprives its rivals, including Lara's homeland. So when she’s sent as a bride under the guise of peace, Lara is prepared to do whatever it takes to fracture its impenetrable defenses. And the defenses of its king.

Yet as she infiltrates her new home and gains a deeper understanding of the war to possess the bridge, Lara begins to question whether she’s the hero or the villain. And as her feelings for Aren transform from frosty hostility to fierce passion, Lara must choose which kingdom she’ll save� and which kingdom she’ll destroy.

Passionate and violent, The Bridge Kingdom is a seductive fantasy perfect for fans of From Blood and Ash and A Court of Thorns and Roses.]]>
448 Danielle L. Jensen 0593975189 a 0 to-read 4.01 2018 The Bridge Kingdom (The Bridge Kingdom, #1)
author: Danielle L. Jensen
name: a
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2018
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/07/30
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Margo's Got Money Troubles 199534613
“[An] enormously entertaining and lovable book.� —Nick Hornby, New York Times Book Review

A bold, laugh-out-loud funny, and heartwarming story about one young woman’s attempt to navigate adulthood, new motherhood, and her meager bank account in our increasingly online world—from the PEN/Faulkner finalist and critically acclaimed author of The Knockout Queen.

As the child of a Hooters waitress and an ex-pro wrestler, Margo Millet's always known she’d have to make it on her own. So she enrolls at her local junior college, even though she can’t imagine how she’ll ever make a living. She’s still figuring things out and never planned to have an affair with her English professor—and while the affair is brief, it isn’t brief enough to keep her from getting pregnant. Despite everyone’s advice, she decides to keep the baby, mostly out of naiveté and a yearning for something bigger.

Now, at twenty, Margo is alone with an infant, unemployed, and on the verge of eviction. She needs a cash infusion—fast. When her estranged father, Jinx, shows up on her doorstep and asks to move in with her, she agrees in exchange for help with childcare. Then Margo begins to form a plan: she’ll start an OnlyFans as an experiment, and soon finds herself adapting some of Jinx’s advice from the world of wrestling. Like how to craft a compelling character and make your audience fall in love with you. Before she knows it, she’s turned it into a runaway success. Could this be the answer to all of Margo’s problems, or does internet fame come with too high a price?

Blisteringly funny and filled with sharp insight, Margo’s Got Money Troubles is a tender tale starring an endearing young heroine who’s struggling to wrest money and power from a world that has little interest in giving it to her. It’s a playful and honest examination of the art of storytelling and controlling your own narrative, and an empowering portrait of coming into your own, both online and off.

“A wholly original novel. . . . Thorpe is both poetic and profound in the way she brings her remarkable story to an end.� —The Associated Press]]>
304 Rufi Thorpe 0063356589 a 0 to-read 3.87 2024 Margo's Got Money Troubles
author: Rufi Thorpe
name: a
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/07/30
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Tom Lake 63241104 In this beautiful and moving novel about family, love, and growing up, Ann Patchett once again proves herself one of America’s finest writers.

In the spring of 2020, Lara’s three daughters return to the family's orchard in Northern Michigan. While picking cherries, they beg their mother to tell them the story of Peter Duke, a famous actor with whom she shared both a stage and a romance years before at a theater company called Tom Lake. As Lara recalls the past, her daughters examine their own lives and relationship with their mother, and are forced to reconsider the world and everything they thought they knew.

Tom Lake is a meditation on youthful love, married love, and the lives parents have led before their children were born. Both hopeful and elegiac, it explores what it means to be happy even when the world is falling apart. As in all of her novels, Ann Patchett combines compelling narrative artistry with piercing insights into family dynamics. The result is a rich and luminous story, told with profound intelligence and emotional subtlety, that demonstrates once again why she is one of the most revered and acclaimed literary talents working today.]]>
309 Ann Patchett 006332752X a 0 to-read 3.92 2023 Tom Lake
author: Ann Patchett
name: a
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/07/30
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<![CDATA[Dishonestly Yours (Webs We Weave, #1)]]> 199417231
Phoebe Graves grew up in a family where deception and seduction are as commonplace as breathing. The Graves and her best friend Hailey’s family have been on the run their whole lives, but after a high-stakes con job goes south, Phoebe and Hailey decide to run away and start over. The small Connecticut town they settle in seems too good to be true.

The biggest flaw in their plan is Hailey’s frustratingly handsome brother, Rocky, who insists on coming with them. Living honestly isn’t in his DNA, and his past with Phoebe is downright messy. He’s everything she wants, but nothing she can have.Ěý

Phoebe worries that Rocky will tempt them back into their old ways, where lying is second nature.Ěý She doesn’t want Rocky to mess up the new life she’s begun for herself. The longer she stays in town, the more she realizes what it means to have a reputation—and what a normal life with the man she loves could look like.]]>
464 Krista Ritchie 0593549554 a 0 to-read 3.76 2024 Dishonestly Yours (Webs We Weave, #1)
author: Krista Ritchie
name: a
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/07/25
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<![CDATA[One Dark Window (The Shepherd King, #1)]]> 58340706
Elspeth Spindle needs more than luck to stay safe in the eerie, mist-locked kingdom of Blunder—she needs a monster. She calls him the Nightmare, an ancient, mercurial spirit trapped in her head. He protects her. He keeps her secrets.

But nothing comes for free, especially magic.

When Elspeth meets a mysterious highwayman on the forest road, her life takes a drastic turn. Thrust into a world of shadow and deception, she joins a dangerous quest to cure Blunder from the dark magic infecting it. And the highwayman? He just so happens to be the King’s nephew, Captain of the most dangerous men in Blunder…and guilty of high treason.

Together they must gather twelve Providence Cards—the keys to the cure. But as the stakes heighten and their undeniable attraction intensifies, Elspeth is forced to face her darkest secret yet: the Nightmare is slowly taking over her mind. And she might not be able to stop him.]]>
399 Rachel Gillig 0316312487 a 0 to-read 4.26 2022 One Dark Window (The Shepherd King, #1)
author: Rachel Gillig
name: a
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/07/25
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Seven Summer Weekends 198563727 Ěý
WhenĚýa Zoom disaster upends Addison Irwin’s decade-long career at a posh Manhattan advertising agency, things look bleak for the thirty-something mid-western transplant. But an unexpected inheritance from an aunt she barely remembers—a property on Fire Island, complete with guest house and artist’s studio—changes everything.
Ěý
While debating whether to stay or sell, Addison learns that she’s also inherited her aunt’s list of eclectic guests, tying her to the island for seven summer weekends. Eager to convince Addison to keep the house rather than let a new buyer build a monstrosity in its place, the neighbors welcome her to their laid-back community. Well, all except the moody guy next door, who seems intent on glowering his way through life.
Ěý
Steadfast in her path since college, Addison is determined not to let this detour on Fire Island throw her off track. But soon, between the revolving door of weekend visitors and the up-and-down relationship with her neighbor (and his adorable dog), she finds herself in unfamiliar territory. Should she tryĚýto pick up where she left off—or embrace entirely new possibilities?]]>
320 Jane L. Rosen 0593640918 a 0 to-read 3.62 2024 Seven Summer Weekends
author: Jane L. Rosen
name: a
average rating: 3.62
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/07/18
shelves: to-read
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<![CDATA[Water Under The Bridge (Perks & Benefits #1)]]> 61968777
Avery Soko, a bright-eyed and ambitious do-gooder, is on the cusp of getting her dream fundraising job at the Oceanic Research Organization. Luca Navarro, a former corporate lawyer with an extravagant tie collection and an irritatingly handsome smirk, holds Avery's future in his very large hands. When he calls with the news of her rejection, Luca seems to revel in crushing her dreams.

But Avery will do anything to pursue her passion, even accept a job at a struggling start-up. Her spell of bad luck finally changes when a competition is announced at a grandiose gala that could save her and her new team from going under. Of course, Avery's least favorite person, Luca, also joins the running for the multimillion-dollar prize.

At the height of the competition, Avery and Luca realize they've met their match. Will the tense moments, absurd attempts to out-do each other, and the string of games and bets they've concocted turn into a series of failures, or will it make them into something more than adversaries?]]>
Kels Stone a 0 to-read 3.61 2022 Water Under The Bridge (Perks & Benefits #1)
author: Kels Stone
name: a
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/05/23
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Grimstone (Grimstone, #1) 199137820
Flipping Blackleaf Manor already feels impossible, even before Remi is blackmailed by Dane Covett, the dangerously hot doctor-next-door, and Grimstone’s most eligible bachelor—if you can ignore the fact that everyone in town thinks he murdered his wife.

Remi doesn’t want to believe it, especially after Dane sews up a gash in her thigh and steals a kiss in payment—a kiss that makes it hard to walk for reasons that have nothing to do with an injured leg.

But as the renovation takes a strange and violent turn, Remi must decide if Dane is the one haunting her nights, or if he’s trying to protect her from something much worse�

Lark Notes :
Halloween is my favorite! I get such a thrill out of writing a spooky, dark book at this time of year. Remi and Dane are two deeply damaged people with skeletons in their closets. It’s only when they meet each other that they finally find the connection and acceptance that allows them to move on from their dark pasts. I fell in love with the gothic beach town of Grimstone, and will be writing a dark romance set there each autumn. � Sophie

"Grimstone" is a deeply dark contemporary romance and a complete standalone. Reader it has extremely spicy scenes and triggering content not suitable for all.]]>
362 Sophie Lark a 0 to-read 3.65 2023 Grimstone (Grimstone, #1)
author: Sophie Lark
name: a
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/04/24
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[When Life Gives You Lemons (Sun Tower, #1)]]> 174915816 happily ever after. But when an unexpected seizure sends her first-ever
boyfriend running for the hills, Alina wonders if her epilepsy has destined her for a lifetime of spinsterhood. As a hopeless romantic, though, she agrees to a blind date set up by her parents, only to exchange unpleasantries with an arrogant yet devilishly handsome hotelier who is anything but Flynn Rider-esque.

Azeer Khan has two goals for the future: provide his adopted daughter, Zoha, with a comfortable life and maintain his freedom despite familial pressures. However, fate intervenes in the form of a blind date with none other than Alina Azlan, his childhood tormentor. And things only get worse when Alina tampers with his little sister's wedding cake, and the two end up covered in a Pakistani buffet.

Their punishment? An arranged marriage that, miraculously, offers mutual
benefits. Alina can pursue her dream of opening her daycare in the prestigious Sun Tower Hotel while sharing a bed with someone who sets alarms for her medication. Meanwhile, Azeer can give Zoha the mother she’s been wishing for� not that it would hurt to wake up to Alina’s dimples every morning, either.

With unwanted butterflies fluttering around them, Alina and Azeer are left wondering if their sour beginning could eventually lead to a sweet ending or if it will leave them with a case of lemony heartburn.]]>
448 Noor Sasha 1739007301 a 0 to-read 3.51 2023 When Life Gives You Lemons (Sun Tower, #1)
author: Noor Sasha
name: a
average rating: 3.51
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/04/24
shelves: to-read
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Ready or Not 154462768
Eve Hatch is pretty content with her life. Her apartment in Brooklyn is cozy and close to her childhood best friend Willa, but far from her midwestern, traditional family who never really understood her. While her job is only dream- adjacent , she’s hoping her passion and hard work will soon help her land a more glamorous role. And sure, her most recent romantic history has consisted of not one but two disappointing men named Derek. At least she always knows what to expect…until she finds herself expecting after an uncharacteristic one-night stand.

The unplanned pregnancy cracks open all the relationships in her life. Eve's loyalĚýfriendship with Willa is feeling off , right when she needs her most. And it’s Willa’s steadfast older brother, Shep, who steps up to help. He has always been friendly, but now he’s checking in, ordering her surprise lunches, listening to all her complaints, and isâ€� suddenly kinda hot? Then there’s the baby's father, who is supportive but conflicted. Before long, Eve is rethinking everything she thought she knew about herself and her world.

Over the course of nine months, as Eve struggles to figure out the next right step in her expanding reality, she begins to realize that family and love, in all forms, can sneak up on you when you least expect it.]]>
400 Cara Bastone 0593595718 a 0 to-read 3.96 2024 Ready or Not
author: Cara Bastone
name: a
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/04/21
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Wild Love (Rose Hill, #1) 199368721 She's been driving him wild for years . . . the good kind of wild.

The kind of wild that comes with wanting your best friend's little sister and knowing you can't have her.

Forbes may have labeled Ford Grant the World's Hottest Billionaire, but all he cares about is escaping the press and opening a recording studio in gorgeous small town Rose Hill. Something that comes to a screeching halt when he ends up face-to-face with a young girl who claims he's her biological father. Now, he spends his days balancing business with parenting a sullen twelve-year-old, all while trying desperately to keep his hands the hell off his best friend's sister, Rosie Belmont.

After living in the city, Rosie came blasting back into town like a storm. Beautiful, messy, and chaotic. And one wide-eyed, desperate plea for a job is all it takes for Ford to hire her. He vows to keep her at arm's length. Tries to stick to scowls and grumpy one-liners. But with her, verbal sparring is a type of foreplay―friction that soon turns to blistering heat.

Ford knows damn well he shouldn't cross this line. But shouldn't and can't are two very different things.

And the only thing he truly can't do is resist her.]]>
402 Elsie Silver 0349441626 a 0 to-read 3.98 2024 Wild Love (Rose Hill, #1)
author: Elsie Silver
name: a
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/04/21
shelves: to-read
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Just the Nicest Couple 60666845 Two couples, two close friends, one missing husband�

Jake Hayes is missing. This much is certain. At first, his wife, Nina, thinks he is blowing off steam at a friend’s house after their heated fight the night before. But then a day goes by. Two days. Five. And Jake is still nowhere to be found.

Lily Scott, Nina’s friend and coworker, thinks she may have been the last to see Jake before he went missing. After Lily confesses everything to her husband, Christian, the two decide that nobody can find out what happened leading up to Jake’s disappearance, especially not Nina. But Nina is out there looking for her husband, and she won’t stop until the truth is discovered.]]>
320 Mary Kubica 0778333116 a 0 to-read 3.51 2023 Just the Nicest Couple
author: Mary Kubica
name: a
average rating: 3.51
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/04/19
shelves: to-read
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<![CDATA[Just for the Summer (Part of Your World, #3)]]> 195820807
Emma hadn't planned that her next assignment as a traveling nurse would be in Minnesota, but she and her best friend agree that dating Justin is too good of an opportunity to pass up, especially when they get to rent an adorable cottage on a private island on Lake Minnetonka.

It's supposed to be a quick fling, just for the summer. But when Emma's toxic mother shows up and Justin has to assume guardianship of his three siblings, they're suddenly navigating a lot more than they expected--including catching real feelings for each other. What if this time Fate has actually brought the perfect pair together?]]>
432 Abby Jimenez 1538704439 a 0 to-read 4.35 2024 Just for the Summer (Part of Your World, #3)
author: Abby Jimenez
name: a
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/04/18
shelves: to-read
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The Paradise Problem 199797582
Three years later, Anna is a starving artist living paycheck to paycheck while West is a Stanford professor. He may be one of four heirs to the Weston Foods conglomerate, but he has little interest in working for the heartless corporation his family built from the ground up. He is interested, however, in his one-hundred-million-dollar inheritance. There’s just one catch.

Due to an antiquated clause in his grandfather’s will, Liam won’t see a penny until he’s been happily married for five years. Just when Liam thinks he’s in the home stretch, pressure mounts from his family to see this mysterious spouse, and he has no choice but to turn to the one person he’s afraid to introduce to his one-percenter parents � his unpolished, not-so-ex-wife.

But in the presence of his family, Liam’s fears quickly shift from whether the feisty, foul-mouthed, paint-splattered Anna can play the part to whether the toxic world of wealth will corrupt someone as pure of heart as his surprisingly grounded and loyal wife. Liam will have to ask himself if the price tag on his flimsy cover story is worth losing true love that sprouted from a lie.]]>
352 Christina Lauren 1668017725 a 0 to-read 4.07 2024 The Paradise Problem
author: Christina Lauren
name: a
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/04/17
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Funny Story 194802722 A shimmering, joyful new novel about a pair of opposites with the wrong thing in common, from #1 New York Times bestselling author Emily Henry.

Daphne always loved the way her fiancé, Peter, told their story. How they met (on a blustery day), fell in love (over an errant hat), and moved back to his lakeside hometown to begin their life together. He really was good at telling it... right up until the moment he realized he was actually in love with his childhood best friend Petra.

Which is how Daphne begins her new story: stranded in beautiful Waning Bay, Michigan, without friends or family but with a dream job as a children’s librarian (that barely pays the bills), and proposing to be roommates with the only person who could possibly understand her predicament: Petra’s ex, Miles Nowak.

Scruffy and chaotic—with a penchant for taking solace in the sounds of heart break love ballads—Miles is exactly the opposite of practical, buttoned-up Daphne, whose coworkers know so little about her they have a running bet that she’s either FBI or in witness protection. The roommates mainly avoid one another, until one day, while drowning their sorrows, they form a tenuous friendship and a plan. If said plan also involves posting deliberately misleading photos of their summer adventures together, well, who could blame them?

But it’s all just for show, of course, because there’s no way Daphne would actually start her new chapter by falling in love with her ex-fiancé’s new fiancée’s ex... right?]]>
400 Emily Henry a 0 to-read 4.21 2024 Funny Story
author: Emily Henry
name: a
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/04/16
shelves: to-read
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<![CDATA[Make Me (Broke and Beautiful, #3)]]> 63876709 USA TODAY BESTSELLER

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of It Happened One Summer and Hook, Line, and Sinker comes the last sexy and hilarious novel about three broke and beautiful best friends...

Construction worker Russell Hart has been head-over-work boots for Abby Sullivan since the moment he laid eyes on her. But he knows a classy, uptown virgin like her could never be truly happy with a rough, blue-collar guy like him. If only she'd stop treating him like her personal hero--a role he craves more than oxygen--maybe he could accept it.

With the future of her family's company on her shoulders, Abby barely has time to sleep, let alone find love. And her best friend Russell acting like a sexy, overprotective hulk any time their Super Group goes out in public definitely isn't helping her single status. But after a near-tragedy lands Russell in her bed for the night, Abby's suddenly fantasizing about what he looks like shirtless. Chest hair and tattoos--who knew?

As Russell struggles to keep Abby at a safe distance, she begins to see through his tough-talking exterior--and acknowledge her own feelings. Now she's ready to turn the friend-zone into foreplay...and make him lose control.

"The women share fun banter, but the repartee between Russell and Abby is especially enjoyable... depth, heart, and a lot of playfulness." - Library Journal (starred review)]]>
248 Tessa Bailey 0063329417 a 0 to-read 3.41 2015 Make Me (Broke and Beautiful, #3)
author: Tessa Bailey
name: a
average rating: 3.41
book published: 2015
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/04/05
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[Need Me (Broke and Beautiful, #2)]]> 63876708 From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of It Happened One Summer and Hook, Line, and Sinker comes a sexy and hilarious rom-com trilogy about three broke and beautiful roommates...

When Honey Perribow traded in her cowboy boots for stilettos and left her small Kentucky town to attend Columbia University, she never expected to find a dirt-cheap apartment or two new best friends. No stranger to hard work, Honey's sole focus is a medical degree... until she sees newly-minted Professor, Ben Dawson, and her concentration is hijacked. Honey is fascinated by her gorgeous, young English professor and vows to find a crack his tweed-wearing, glasses-clad exterior.

While at an off campus party, an accident lands Ben in a dark, locked closet with a sexy-sounding southern belle...and their chemistry is explosive. But when he discovers that the girl in his arms is the same beautiful college student he can't stop thinking about, he is stunned. Yet no matter how hard he tries, Ben can't stay away from Honey.

And when his attempts to fight their attraction nearly ruin the best thing that ever happened to him, Ben will do anything to prove how much he needs her.

"Bailey puts a fun, super-sexy spin on the classic "hot for teacher" trope... The love scenes in Need Me are practically incendiary..." - Booklist]]>
237 Tessa Bailey 0063329379 a 0 to-read 3.38 2015 Need Me (Broke and Beautiful, #2)
author: Tessa Bailey
name: a
average rating: 3.38
book published: 2015
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/04/05
shelves: to-read
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Fangirl Down (Big Shots, #1) 150343880 #1 New York Times bestselling author Tessa Bailey launches a super sexy sports romance series with a rom-com about a bad boy professional athlete who falls for his biggest fan...

Wells Whitaker was once golf’s hottest rising star, but lately, all he has to show for his “promising� career is a killer hangover, a collection of broken clubs, and one remaining supporter. No matter how bad he plays, the beautiful, sunny redhead is always on the sidelines. He curses, she cheers. He scowls, she smiles. But when Wells quits in a blaze of glory and his fangirl finally goes home, he knows he made the greatest mistake of his life.

Josephine Doyle believed in the gorgeous, grumpy golfer, even when he didn’t believe in himself. Yet after he throws in the towel, she begins to wonder if her faith was misplaced. Then a determined Wells shows up at her door with a wild proposal: be his new caddy, help him turn his game around, and split the prize money. And considering Josephine’s professional and personal life is in shambles, she could really use the cash�

As they travel together, spending days on the green and nights in neighboring hotel rooms, sparks fly. Before long, they’re inseparable, Wells starts winning again, and Josephine is surprised to find a sweet, thoughtful guy underneath his gruff, growly exterior. This hot man wants to brush her hair, feed her snacks, and take bubble baths together? Is this real life? But Wells is technically her boss and an athlete falling for his fangirl would be ridiculous� right?]]>
380 Tessa Bailey a 0 to-read 3.82 2024 Fangirl Down (Big Shots, #1)
author: Tessa Bailey
name: a
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/04/05
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A Season for Second Chances 57345678 A charmingly quirky seaside town offers a recently separated restauranteur a fresh start and possibly a new lease on love in A Season for Second Chances, by the author of The Twelve Dates of Christmas.

Annie Sharpe's spark for life has fizzled out. Her kids are grown up, her restaurant is doing just fine on its own, and her twenty-six-year marriage has come to an unceremonious end. Untethered for the first time in her adult life, she finds a winter guardian position in a historic seaside home and decides to leave her city life behind for a brand-new beginning.

When she arrives in Willow Bay, Annie is enamored by the charming house, the invigorating sea breeze, and the town's rich seasonal traditions. Not to mention, her neighbors receive her with open arms--that is, all except the surly nephew of the homeowner, whose grand plans for the property are at odds with her residency. As Christmas approaches, tensions and tides rise in Willow Bay, and Annie's future seems less and less certain. But with a little can-do spirit and holiday magic, the most difficult time of her life will become...a season for second chances.]]>
448 Jenny Bayliss 0593085418 a 0 to-read, winter-reads 3.76 A Season for Second Chances
author: Jenny Bayliss
name: a
average rating: 3.76
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/11/25
shelves: to-read, winter-reads
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Tied (All Torn Up, #2) 42832364 A myth. An outcast. A hero.
My prince.


My childhood and innocence were stolen when I was kidnapped at five years old. For eleven years I clung to my childhood fairytale books, waiting for the prince I hoped would someday save me and carry me off to a happily ever after.

I had no idea my savior would come in the form of a scarred recluse, covered in tattoos, who can't--or won't--speak a word.

But the moment our eyes met I knew he was the one. My prince.

Tyler Grace is haunted by his tragic past and he's sentenced himself to a lifetime of solitude in the woods. He's as lost in society as I am; scarred just as much on the inside as the outside. Just like me.

He saved my life that day he found me and killed my captor with his bare hands. I was warned to stay away from him. But I can't stop thinking about him. I ache to hear his voice and see him smile. And I want nothing more than to be the one to break through his walls.

I think he's the only one who can break through mine, too.

Together we can have love, happiness, and a closeness that once felt impossible to have. But can we overcome the horrible twisted past that ties us together?


** Tied can be read as a single book, and has a happy ending]]>
331 Carian Cole a 0 to-read 4.26 2017 Tied (All Torn Up, #2)
author: Carian Cole
name: a
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2017
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/10/17
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[Behind the Net (Vancouver Storm, #1)]]> 174713026 He's the hot, grumpy goalie I had a crush on in high school... and now I'm his live-in assistant.

After my ex crushed my dreams in the music industry, I’m done with getting my heart broken. Working as an assistant for an NHL player was supposed to be a breeze, but nothing about Jamie Streicher is easy. He’s an intimidatingly hot, grouchy jerk who can't stand me. The guy has a massive ego. Keeping things professional will be no problem, even when he demands I move in with him.


Beneath his surliness, though, Jamie’s surprisingly sweet and protective.

When Jamie learns how bad my ex was in bed, his competitive nature flares, and he encourages and spoils me in every way. The creative spark I used to feel about songwriting? It’s back, and I’m writing music again. Between wearing his jersey at games, rowdy parties with the team, and being brave on stage again, I’m falling for him.

He could break my heart, but it might be worth it.

Behind the Net is a grumpy-sunshine pro hockey romance with lots of spice and an HEA. It’s the first book in the Vancouver Storm series, and can be read as a standalone.

Tropes:

grumpy sunshine
slow burn
boy obsessed
pro hockey
forced proximity (boss vs assistant + roommates)
spice coaching]]>
424 Stephanie Archer a 0 to-read 3.71 2023 Behind the Net (Vancouver Storm, #1)
author: Stephanie Archer
name: a
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/10/17
shelves: to-read
review:

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Through the Snow Globe 125077933 It’s a Wonderful Life meets Groundhog Day, as a woman dangerously close to losing it all receives an unexpected Christmas gift that prompts a surprising journey of self-discovery... and another chance at happiness.

What if you could have one more day with someone you lost?

Diana Merriman, a physical therapist, is probably the only person in the small town of Snow Haven, North Carolina, who isn’t looking forward to Christmas. It’s been three weeks since her fiancé Linus was critically injured when a car hit him as he biked home from the toy store he owns and manages. Watching him open his eyes is the only gift she wants, but she can’t help losing a little more hope every day.

But an unexpected visit from a friendly neighbor and finding a snow globe of Snow Haven—a gift Linus had hidden in the closet—the night before Christmas Eve changes things in ways Diana never would have imagined. Because on Christmas Eve Diana wakes up to find that it’s not—Christmas Eve, that is. Instead, it’s somehow December 4 all over again, the day Linus got hurt, and as mystified as Diana is, she immediately starts a plan to save her partner from his fate.

Nothing is that simple, of course. Instead of a single repeat of that day, Diana finds herself in an endless loop of December 4, experiencing every possible variation of events. Along the way, she uncovers startling truths about herself, her relationship, and even her career that illustrate the ways she’s retreated from her life—and in the face of life’s slights and outright blows, from her deepest feelings. Suddenly hope is second only to joy as Diana opens her heart to the people she loves in every way she can.]]>
352 Annie Rains 149674084X a 0 to-read 3.78 2023 Through the Snow Globe
author: Annie Rains
name: a
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/07/30
shelves: to-read
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<![CDATA[Per My Last Email (Wells Family, #1)]]> 150119445
Luke Wells knows the words “friend zone� all too well. Staying in a dead-end position at a company he doesn’t care for only has one Layla Wright. He may hate his job just as much as she does, but she’s the one thing he’s not willing to lose. When Luke finds out he’s up for a promotion, he has to decide how far he’s willing to go to stay close to Layla. With his own dreams of running a bar on the line, is Layla really worth sticking around for—especially when she’s never indicated there will be anything more between them than friendship?

A seaside work conference is just what they need to shake things up and break them out of this tight bubble they’ve been living in for so long. Will they finally be brave enough to go for what they want or will they return home with everything between them unchanged? Boundaries get crossed, lines get blurred, and donuts get eaten.]]>
304 Juliana Smith a 0 to-read 3.62 2023 Per My Last Email (Wells Family, #1)
author: Juliana Smith
name: a
average rating: 3.62
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/07/10
shelves: to-read
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Minx 178794987

Lark Notes :
I often write about super-achievers because I’m fascinated by extreme personality types. What drives someone to become a billionaire? The back-and-forth between Blake and Ramses is my favorite. It’s like a fencing match where they can’t stop taking slashes at each other just to see how well the other person parries the strike. They’re on fire because they finally found someone worth fighting but they don’t understand partnership, they only know how to win. � Sophie

"Minx" is a dark contemporary romance and a complete standalone. It is intended for mature readers and contains spicy scenes not suitable for all.]]>
333 Sophie Lark a 0 to-read 3.69 2023 Minx
author: Sophie Lark
name: a
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/07/07
shelves: to-read
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The Weekenders 26114516
So she turns to her island friends for help and support, but it turns out that each of them has their own secrets, and the clock is ticking as the mystery deepens...in a murderous way. Cocktail parties aside, Riley must find a way to investigate the secrets of Belle Island, the husband she might not really know, and the summer that could change everything.]]>
464 Mary Kay Andrews 1250065941 a 0 to-read 3.69 2016 The Weekenders
author: Mary Kay Andrews
name: a
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2016
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/07/05
shelves: to-read
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Love, Theoretically 61326735
Honestly, it’s a pretty sweet gig—until her carefully constructed Elsie-verse comes crashing down. Because Jack Smith, the annoyingly attractive and broody older brother of her favorite client, turns out to be the cold-hearted experimental physicist who ruined her mentor’s career and undermined the reputation of theorists everywhere. And that same Jack who now sits on the hiring committee at MIT, right between Elsie and her dream job.

Elsie is prepared for an all-out war of scholarly sabotage but…those long, penetrating looks? Not having to be anything other than her true self when she’s with him? Will falling into an experimentalist’s orbit finally tempt her to put her most guarded theories on love into practice?]]>
389 Ali Hazelwood 1408725797 a 0 to-read 4.07 2023 Love, Theoretically
author: Ali Hazelwood
name: a
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/07/03
shelves: to-read
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The Passengers 40718386
When someone hacks into the systems of eight self-drive cars, their passengers are set on a fatal collision course.

The passengers are: a TV star, a pregnant young woman, a disabled war hero, an abused wife fleeing her husband, an illegal immigrant, a husband and wife - and parents of two - who are travelling in separate vehicles and a suicidal man. Now the public have to judge who should survive but are the passengers all that they first seem?]]>
400 John Marrs 1473558522 a 0 to-read 4.04 2019 The Passengers
author: John Marrs
name: a
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2019
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/07/02
shelves: to-read
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The Comeback 63046279 Who is Ariadne Hui?

� Laser-focused lawyer diligently climbing the corporate ladder
� The “perfect� daughter living out her father’s dream
� Shocking love interest of South Korea’s hottest star

Ariadne Hui thrives on routine. So what if everything in her life is planned down to the minute: That’s the way she likes it. If she’s going to make partner in Toronto’s most prestigious law firm, she needs to stay focused at all times.

But when she comes home after yet another soul-sucking day to find an unfamiliar, gorgeous man camped out in her living room, focus is the last thing on her mind. Especially when her roommate explains this is Choi Jihoon, her cousin freshly arrived from Seoul to mend a broken heart. He just needs a few weeks to rest and heal; Ari will barely even know he’s there. (Yeah, right.)

Jihoon is kindness and chaos personified, and it isn’t long before she’s falling, hard. But when one wrong step leads to a world-shaking truth, Ari finds herself thrust onto the world stage: not as the competent, steely lawyer she’s fought so hard to become, but as the mystery woman on the arm of a man the entire world claims to know. Now with her heart, her future, and her sense of self on the line, Ari will have to cut through all the pretty lies to find the truth of her relationship...and discover the Ariadne Hui she’s finally ready to be.]]>
391 Lily Chu 1728242657 a 0 to-read 3.65 2022 The Comeback
author: Lily Chu
name: a
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/07/01
shelves: to-read
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Dear Dolly 61343296 'What I learnt from sharing my most private pain with a semi-professional problem-solver was that the mere act of asking for help was, in itself, healing. It was as if I had crept down to the docks under cover of darkness and floated a message out in a bottle, imagining how it might be received. By writing it, I was acknowledging that someone might care about me; that they'd be able to say the right thing without knowing me. Because I was feeling something that other people had felt and therefore I wasn't, as I suspected, the loneliest and strangest woman in the world.'

Since early 2020, Dolly Alderton has been sharing her wisdom, warmth and wit with the countless people who have written in to her Dear Dolly agony aunt column in The Sunday Times Style. Their questions range from the painfully - and sometimes hilariously - relatable to the occasionally bizarre. They include breakups and body issues, families, friendships, dating, divorce, the pleasures and pitfalls of social media, sex, loneliness, longing, love and everything in between.

Without judgement, and with deep empathy informed by her own, much-chronicled adventures in love, friendship and dating, Dolly leads us by the hand through the various labyrinths of life, proving that a problem shared is truly a problem halved.]]>
224 Dolly Alderton 0241623642 a 0 to-read 3.80 2022 Dear Dolly
author: Dolly Alderton
name: a
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/06/30
shelves: to-read
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A Winter in New York 101673373
When Iris decides to move to New York to restart her life, she realizes she underestimated how big the Big Apple really is—all the nostalgic movies set in New York she’d watched with her mom while eating their special secret-recipe gelato didn’t quite do it justice.Ěý

But Bobby, Iris’s best friend, isn’t about to let her hide away. He drags her to a famous autumn street fair in Little Italy, and as they walk through the food stalls, a little family-run gelateria catches her eye—could it be the same shop that’s in an old photo of her mother’s?

Curious, Iris returns the next day and meets the handsome Gio, who tells her that the shop is in danger of closing. His uncle, sole keeper of their family’s gelato recipe, is in a coma, so theyĚýcan’t make more. When Iris samples the last remaining batch, she realizes that their gelato and her gelato are one and the same. ButĚýhow can she tell them she knows their secret recipe when she’s not sure why Gio’s uncle gave it to her mother in the first place?

Iris offers her services as a chef to help them re-create the flavor and finds herself falling for Gio and his family. But when Gio’s uncle finally wakes up, all of the secrets Iris has been keeping threaten to ruin the new life—and new love—she’s been building all winter long.]]>
384 Josie Silver 0593724933 a 0 to-read 3.64 2023 A Winter in New York
author: Josie Silver
name: a
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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Time to Shine 78641186 A merry and bright hockey romance about finding your place, finding your people and finding your way back to the one you love the most.Ěý

For Landon Stackhouse, being called up from the Calgary farm team is exciting and terrifying, even if, as the backup goalie, he rarely leaves the bench. A quiet loner by nature, Landon knows he gives off strong “don’t talk to me� vibes. The only player who doesn’t seem to notice is Calgary’s superstar young winger, Casey Hicks.

Casey treats Landon like an old friend, even though they’ve only interacted briefly in the past. He’s endlessly charming and completely laid-back in a way that Landon absolutely can’t relate to. They couldn’t have less in common, but Landon needs a place to live that’s not a hotel room and Casey has just bought a massive house—and hates being alone.

As roommates, Casey refuses to be defeated by Landon’s one-word answers. As friends, Landon comes to notice a few things about Casey, like his wide, easy smile and sparkling green-blue eyes. Spending the holidays together only intensifies their bromance-turned-romance. But as the new year approaches, the countdown to the end of Landon’s time in Calgary is on.]]>
352 Rachel Reid 1335458530 a 0 to-read 3.97 2023 Time to Shine
author: Rachel Reid
name: a
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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<![CDATA[Start Us Up (Park Avenue Promise, #1)]]> 123275287 From New York Times bestselling author Lexi Blake, discover The Park Avenue Promise Series...

Three young women make a pact in high school�
to always be friends and to one day make it big in Manhattan.


She’s a high-tech boss who lost it all�

Ivy Jensen was the darling of the tech world, right up until her company fell apart completely after she trusted the wrong person. Her reputation in tatters, she finds herself back in the tiny apartment she grew up in, living with her mom. When a group of angel investors offer her a meeting, she knows she has to come up with the new big idea or her career is over.

He’s an up and coming coder�

Heath Marino has always been fascinated with writing code. He’s worked on a dozen games and apps and is considered one of the industry’s more eccentric talents. But now he’s back in New York to spend time with his grandmother. She was known as one of the city’s greatest matchmakers, and he wants to know why. Surely there’s some kind of code in his grandmother’s methods, and he’s going to find them.

When Ivy meets Heath it’s instant attraction, but she’s got a career to get back to and he just might be her on-ramp. It could be a perfect partnership or absolute heartbreak.

]]>
252 Lexi Blake 1957568658 a 0 to-read 4.01 Start Us Up (Park Avenue Promise, #1)
author: Lexi Blake
name: a
average rating: 4.01
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<![CDATA[Miss Pearly's Girls: A Captivating Tale of Family Healing]]> 58230489
Raising four very different daughters on her own in rural Arkansas wasn't easy for Miss Pearly Bell. And she's always regretted that the sisters went their separate ways for good—and never wanted to see each other again. But when Pearly is stricken with a terminal illness, she summons them all home—determined to somehow help them get right with each other and forgive...But that means dealing with past secrets and lies first.

As the oldest sister, pastor's wife Maxine took her responsibility way too seriously—and never fails to judge everyone else. But a secret she can no longer keep will explode everything she stands for. Youngest sister Leslie is all about making a very different life with her new love—but she didn't expect a shattering past truth to be suddenly revealed and uproot everything she ever thought she knew. Elegant PR professional Stella and her earthy twin, Star, don’t see eye-to-eye on anything—and now a long-ago deception could wipe out their last chance at a relationship.

Soon each sister must confront the illusions they've taken refuge in for so long and deal with each other woman-to-woman. But can building an all-too-fragile trust repair the damage done—and help them come together when they are needed most?]]>
272 ReShonda Tate Billingsley 1496735390 a 0 to-read 4.24 Miss Pearly's Girls: A Captivating Tale of Family Healing
author: ReShonda Tate Billingsley
name: a
average rating: 4.24
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rating: 0
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<![CDATA[The St. Ambrose School for Girls]]> 62919888
When Sarah Taylor arrives at the exclusive St. Ambrose School, she’s carrying more baggage than just what fits in her suitcase. She knows she’s not like the other girls—if the shabby, all-black, non-designer clothes don’t give that away, the bottle of lithium hidden in her desk drawer sure does.

St. Ambrose’s queen bee, Greta Stanhope, picks Sarah as a target from day one and the most popular, powerful, horrible girl at school is relentless in making sure Sarah knows what the pecking order is. Thankfully, Sarah makes an ally out of her roommate Ellen “Strots� Strotsberry, a cigarette-huffing, devil-may-care athlete who takes no bullshit. Also down the hall is Nick Hollis, the devastatingly handsome RA, and the object of more than one St. Ambrose student’s fantasies. Between Strots and Nick, Sarah hopes she can make it through the semester, dealing with not only her schoolwork and a recent bipolar diagnosis, but Greta’s increasingly malicious pranks.

Sarah is determined not to give Greta the satisfaction of breaking her. But when scandal unfolds, and someone ends up dead, her world threatens to unravel in ways she could never have imagined. The St. Ambrose School for Girls is a dangerous, delicious, twisty coming-of-age tale that will stay with you long after you turn the last page.]]>
358 Jessica Ward 1982194863 a 0 to-read 3.21 2023 The St. Ambrose School for Girls
author: Jessica Ward
name: a
average rating: 3.21
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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<![CDATA[Arya Khanna's Bollywood Moment]]> 154985708
Meanwhile at school, Arya’s senior year dreams are unraveling. In between class and her part-time gig as a bookshop assistant, Arya struggles to navigate the aftermath of a bad breakup between her two best friends and a tense student council partnership with her rival, the frustratingly attractive Dean Merriweather.

Arya is determined to keep the peace at home and at school, but this shaadi season teaches Arya new realities. Alina won’t always be in the bedroom down the hall, Mamma’s sadness isn’t mendable, friendships must evolve, and life doesn’t always work out like her beloved Bollywood movies. But sometimes, the person you least expect will give you a glimpse of your dream sequence just when you need it most.

Structured like a Bollywood film (entertaining intermission included!) Arya Khanna’s Bollywood Moment will make you swoon, laugh, cry, think, nod your head in agreement, and quite possibly make you get up and dance.]]>
320 Arushi Avachat 1250895138 a 0 to-read 3.98 2024 Arya Khanna's Bollywood Moment
author: Arushi Avachat
name: a
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/06/30
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<![CDATA[The Mystery Guest (Molly the Maid, #2)]]> 157062582
When Detective Stark, Molly’s old foe, investigates the author’s unexpected demise, it becomes clear that this death was murder most foul. Suspects abound, and everyone wants to know: Who killed J. D. Grimthorpe? Was it Lily, the new Maid-in-Training? Or was it Serena, the author’s secretary? Could Mr. Preston, the hotel’s beloved doorman, be hiding something? And is Molly really as innocent as she seems?

As the high-profile death threatens the hotel’s pristine reputation, Molly knows she alone holds the key to unlocking the killer’s identity. But that key is buried deep in her past, as long ago, she knew J. D. Grimthorpe. Molly begins to comb her memory for clues, revisiting her childhood and the mysterious Grimthorpe mansion where she and her dearly departed Gran once worked side by side. With the entire hotel under investigation, Molly must solve the mystery posthaste. Because if there’s one thing she knows for sure, it’s that secrets don’t stay buried forever.]]>
293 Nita Prose 0593356187 a 0 to-read 3.76 2023 The Mystery Guest (Molly the Maid, #2)
author: Nita Prose
name: a
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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<![CDATA[Death on the Beach (Retired Detectives Club #3)]]> 62925967 313 Steph Broadribb 1542027543 a 0 to-read 4.30 2023 Death on the Beach (Retired Detectives Club #3)
author: Steph Broadribb
name: a
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/06/30
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Summer at the Ice Cream Café 58363053 400 Jo Thomas 0552178683 a 0 to-read 4.29 2023 Summer at the Ice Cream Café
author: Jo Thomas
name: a
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/06/30
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Seven Exes 62792277 432 Lucy Vine 0063299844 a 0 to-read 3.27 2023 Seven Exes
author: Lucy Vine
name: a
average rating: 3.27
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/06/30
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Between Us 62397519 International bestseller Mhairi McFarlane delivers a witty, clever, emotional new novel about a woman whose life unravels spectacularly after her screenwriter boyfriend uses their relationship as inspiration for his new television show.

When Roisin and Joe join their friends for a weekend at a country house, it's a triple celebration--a birthday, an engagement, and the launch of Joe's shiny new TV show. But as the weekend unfolds, tensions come to light in the group and Roisin begins to question her own relationship. And as they watch the first episode of Joe's drama, she realizes that the private things she told him--which should have stayed between them--are right there on the screen.

With her friend group in chaos and her messy love life on display for the whole world to see, Roisin returns home to avoid the unwanted attention and help run her family's pub. But drama still follows, in the form of her dysfunctional family and the looming question: what other parts of her now-ex's show are inspired by real events? Lies? Infidelity? Every week, as a new episode airs, she wonders what other secrets will be revealed.

Yet the most unexpected twist of all is an old friend, who is suddenly there for Roisin in ways she never knew she needed...]]>
448 Mhairi McFarlane 0008412499 a 0 to-read 3.73 2023 Between Us
author: Mhairi McFarlane
name: a
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/06/30
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Between Us 63310900 International bestseller Mhairi McFarlane delivers a witty, clever, emotional new novel about a woman whose life unravels spectacularly after her screenwriter boyfriend uses their relationship as inspiration for his new television show.

When Roisin and Joe join their friends for a weekend at a country house, it's a triple celebration--a birthday, an engagement, and the launch of Joe's shiny new TV show. But as the weekend unfolds, tensions come to light in the group and Roisin begins to question her own relationship. And as they watch the first episode of Joe's drama, she realizes that the private things she told him--which should have stayed between them--are right there on the screen.

With her friend group in chaos and her messy love life on display for the whole world to see, Roisin returns home to avoid the unwanted attention and help run her family's pub. But drama still follows, in the form of her dysfunctional family and the looming question: what other parts of her now-ex's show are inspired by real events? Lies? Infidelity? Every week, as a new episode airs, she wonders what other secrets will be revealed.

Yet the most unexpected twist of all is an old friend, who is suddenly there for Roisin in ways she never knew she needed...]]>
384 Mhairi McFarlane 0063117991 a 0 to-read 3.59 2023 Between Us
author: Mhairi McFarlane
name: a
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/06/30
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Only Love Can Hurt Like This 62296521 In the spirit of Colleen Hoover and Jojo Moyes's Me Before You, an unforgettable and heartbreaking love story with an earth-shattering secret at its core that asks the question: is love worth risking everything for?

An earth-shattering secret. A life-changing love story.

When Wren realizes her fiancé is in love with someone else, she thinks her heart will never recover.

On the other side of the world, Anders lost his wife four years ago and is still struggling to move on.

Wren hopes that spending the summer with her dad and step-family on their farm in Indiana will help her to heal. There, amid the cornfields and fireflies, she and Anders cross paths and their worlds are turned upside-down again.

But Wren doesn't know that Anders is harboring a secret, and if he acts on any feelings he has for Wren it will have serious fall-out for everyone. Walking away would hurt Wren more than she can imagine. But, knowing the truth, how can she possibly stay?]]>
400 Paige Toon 0593544331 a 0 to-read 3.93 2023 Only Love Can Hurt Like This
author: Paige Toon
name: a
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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The One Night 59492019 From USA Today bestselling author Meghan Quinn comes a romantic comedy novella about the magic and misadventures of a one-night stand.

Recently divorced Cooper Chance knows he’s officially in a rut when his parents take him barhopping in the hope of resuscitating his love life. At first, he’s skeptical. How could a gritty dive bar possibly solve his problems? But then he runs into Nora McHale.

Nora isn’t at the bar looking for love. She’s there to unwind after yet another exhausting day at her bakery. And even if she were hoping to meet someone, it sure wouldn’t be Cooper—her best friend’s ex-husband.

According to the unwritten rules of romance, Cooper and Nora are completely off limits to each other. But after a fun, flirty night at the bar, they can’t ignore the wild attraction between them.

Is this the beginning of something real, or will their passionate night together be their one and only?]]>
200 Meghan Quinn 1542038219 a 0 to-read 3.67 2021 The One Night
author: Meghan Quinn
name: a
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2021
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/06/25
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The Leaving 26073074 Six were taken. Eleven years later, five come back--with no idea of where they've been.

Eleven years ago, six kindergarteners went missing without a trace. After all that time, the people left behind moved on, or tried to.

Until today. Today five of those kids return. They're sixteen, and they are . . . fine. Scarlett comes home and finds a mom she barely recognizes, and doesn't really recognize the person she's supposed to be, either. But she thinks she remembers Lucas. Lucas remembers Scarlett, too, except they're entirely unable to recall where they've been or what happened to them. Neither of them remember the sixth victim, Max. He doesn't come back. Everyone wants answers. Most of all Max's sister Avery, who needs to find her brother--dead or alive--and isn't buying this whole memory-loss story.]]>
421 Tara Altebrando 1619638037 a 0 to-read 3.36 2016 The Leaving
author: Tara Altebrando
name: a
average rating: 3.36
book published: 2016
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/06/25
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Don't Let Her Stay 80830635
Joanne knows how lucky she is. Richard is a wonderful husband, Evie is the most gorgeous baby girl, they live in a beautiful house� Life couldn’t be better.

Until Richard’s twenty-year-old daughter Chloe turns up. Chloe hasn’t spoken to her father since the day he married Joanne two years ago. But Chloe wants to make peace. She’ll even move in for a few weeks to help Joanne with the new baby.

It sounds perfect, but when things happen that make Joanne feel like she’s losing her mind, she begins to wonder: Is Chloe really here to help? Or has Joanne made a terrible mistake by letting her move in?

And is it too late to ask her to leave?

Perfect for fans of Frieda McFadden, Sue Watson and Shalini Boland, Don’t Let Her Stay is a totally addictive psychological thriller with a twist that will shock you!]]>
288 Nicola Sanders a 0 to-read 3.95 2023 Don't Let Her Stay
author: Nicola Sanders
name: a
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/06/24
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<![CDATA[Love Redesigned (Lakefront Billionaires, #1)]]> 90382259 Julian
If I ever caught on fire, Dahlia Muñoz would fan the flames with a smile.
So, when she returns to Lake Wisteria, I fully intend to avoid the interior designer.
At least until my meddling mother exploits my savior complex.
The faster I help Dahlia find her creative spark, the sooner she will leave town.
But while I was busy getting rid of Dahlia, I overlooked one potential issue.
What happens if I want her to stay?

Dahlia
People say the devil has many faces, but I know only one.
Julian Lopez—my childhood rival and family frenemy.
I vow to steer clear of him while recovering from my broken engagement, but then the billionaire makes an irresistible offer.
Renovate a historic house together and triple our profits.
Our temporary truce becomes compromised as we face years� worth of denied attraction and mixed emotions.
Giving into our desire is inevitable…but falling in love?
That isn’t part of the plan.

Love Redesigned is a steamy, small town romance about two family friends-turned-childhood rivals. It is the first book in the standalone Lakefront Billionaires series and has a happy ending.]]>
528 Lauren Asher 1728292131 a 0 to-read 4.15 2023 Love Redesigned (Lakefront Billionaires, #1)
author: Lauren Asher
name: a
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/06/18
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<![CDATA[The Naturals (The Naturals, #1)]]> 62949648
Seventeen-year-old Cassie is a natural at reading people. Piecing together the tiniest details, she can tell you who you are and what you want. But, it's not a skill that she's ever taken seriously. That is, until the FBI come they've begun a classified program that uses exceptional teenagers to crack infamous cold cases, and they need Cassie.

What Cassie doesn't realize is that there's more at risk than a few unsolved homicides—especially when she's sent to live with a group of teens whose gifts are as unusual as her own. Soon, it becomes clear that no one in the Naturals program is what they seem. And when a new killer strikes, danger looms close. Caught in a lethal game of cat and mouse with a killer, the Naturals are going to have to use all of their gifts just to survive.

Jennifer Lynn Barnes's The Naturals is a gripping novel with killer appeal and a to-die-for romance. Don't miss the other books in the Naturals Ěý Killer Instinct ,Ěý All In , andĚý Bad Blood .ĚýĚý
Ěý]]>
311 Jennifer Lynn Barnes 0316540625 a 0 to-read 4.19 2013 The Naturals (The Naturals, #1)
author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
name: a
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2013
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/06/14
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The Silent Bride 62921149
Alice and Seth are a perfect love story: the handsome doctor and his beautiful fiancée. They’re wealthy, well liked and made for each other—the envy of all their friends. Alice can’t wait for the day of their dream wedding. But when she arrives at the altar, she doesn’t recognise the man waiting to marry her.

When this stranger insists he’s Seth, her husband-to-be, the entire congregation seems to agree. Even her parents try to persuade Alice to go through with the wedding.

As panic sets in, Alice’s world comes apart. Where is the real Seth, and why have all traces of him disappeared from her life? Fearing she’s losing her mind, she sets out to uncover the truth and escape the nightmare she’s living in. But with everyone around her convinced by the fake Seth, how can she ever hope to find the man she loves?]]>
267 Shalini Boland 1662507070 a 0 to-read 3.80 2023 The Silent Bride
author: Shalini Boland
name: a
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/06/13
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<![CDATA[The Plus One (A Brush with Love, #3)]]> 60784545
On paper, Indira has everything together. An amazing job, a boyfriend, and a car. What more could a late twenty-something ask for? But when she walks in on her boyfriend in an amorous embrace with a stranger, that perfect on paper image goes up in flames.

Jude has nothing together. A doctor that’s spent the last three years traveling the world to treat emergencies and humanitarian crises, a quick trip home for his best friend’s wedding has him struggling to readjust.

Thrust into an elaborate (and ridiculously drawn out) wedding event that’s stressing Jude beyond belief and has Indira seeing her ex and his new girlfriend far more frequently than any human should endure, the duo strike a bargain to be each other’s fake dates to this wedding from hell. The only problem is, their forced proximity and fake displays of affection are starting to feel a bit� real, and both are left grappling with the idea that a situation that couldn’t be worse, is made a little better with the other around.

What starts out as a fake wedding date turns into something these childhood enemies never expected in the next sparkling romantic comedy by Mazey Eddings.]]>
307 Mazey Eddings 1250847044 a 0 to-read 3.66 2023 The Plus One (A Brush with Love, #3)
author: Mazey Eddings
name: a
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/06/13
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A Picture Perfect Summer 162497058
Jacob Edwards has lived the same life for nearly a decade. As a journalist for his small town newspaper, not even his story assignments have much variety. But Jacob keeps up the daily grind to care for his aging father. To the dismay of the town's single women, flirty, handsome Jacob has never settled down with any of them. How can he when his heart belongs to the one person he can never have: his best friend's little sister, Katie?

When Jacob, a reporter, and Katie, a freelance photographer, are assigned to travel and cover a series of niche North Louisiana festivals together, their forced proximity makes it nearly impossible to hide their mutual attraction. That task only grows more difficult as they are faced with a series of unfortunate events-from falling face first into crawfish, to exploding stage speakers and flat tires. And then there's an alluring photography job in Dallas that Katie has been quietly considering.

A Picture Perfect Summer is a small town, contemporary romance full of electric chemistry, sizzling spice, and fun romance tropes, including: brother's best friend, forced proximity, small town, friends to lovers, and "only one bed."]]>
322 Jessica Booth a 0 to-read 4.28 A Picture Perfect Summer
author: Jessica Booth
name: a
average rating: 4.28
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date added: 2023/06/12
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Fake Dates and Mooncakes 62794544 Heartstopper meets Crazy Rich Asians in this heartfelt, joyful paperback original rom-com that follows an aspiring chef who discovers the recipe for love is more complicated than it seems when he starts fake-dating a handsome new customer.

Dylan Tang wants to win a Mid-Autumn Festival mooncake-making competition for teen chefs—in memory of his mom, and to bring much-needed publicity to his aunt’s struggling Chinese takeout in Brooklyn.

Enter Theo Somers: charming, wealthy, with a smile that makes Dylan’s stomach do backflips. AKA a distraction. Their worlds are sun-and-moon apart, but Theo keeps showing up. He even convinces Dylan to be his fake date at a family wedding in the Hamptons.

In Theo’s glittering world of pomp, privilege, and crazy rich drama, their romance is supposed to be just pretend . . . but Dylan finds himself falling for Theo. For real. Then Theo’s relatives reveal their true colors—but with the mooncake contest looming, Dylan can’t risk being sidetracked by rich-people problems.

Can Dylan save his family’s business and follow his heart—or will he fail to do both?]]>
272 Sher Lee 0593569954 a 0 to-read 3.82 2023 Fake Dates and Mooncakes
author: Sher Lee
name: a
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/06/12
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<![CDATA[The Five-Star Weekend (Sommer in Nantucket, #1)]]> 62873996
Hollis Shaw’s life seems picture-perfect. She’s the creator of the popular food blog Hungry with Hollis and is married to Matthew, a dreamy heart surgeon. But after she and Matthew get into a heated argument one snowy morning, he leaves for the airport and is killed in a car accident. The cracks in Hollis’s perfect life—her strained marriage and her complicated relationship with her daughter, Caroline—grow deeper.

So when Hollis hears about something called a “Five-Star Weekend”—one woman organizes a trip for her best friend from each phase of her life: her teenage years, her twenties, her thirties, and midlife—she decides to host her own Five-Star Weekend on Nantucket. But the weekend doesn’t turn out to be a joyful Hallmark movie.

The husband of Hollis’s childhood friend Tatum arranges for Hollis’s first love, Jack Finigan, to spend time with them, stirring up old feelings. Meanwhile, Tatum is forced to play nice with abrasive and elitist Dru-Ann, Hollis’s best friend from UNC Chapel Hill. Dru-Ann’s career as a prominent Chicago sports agent is on the line after her comments about a client’s mental health issues are misconstrued online. Brooke, Hollis’s friend from their thirties, has just discovered that her husband is having an inappropriate relationship with a woman at work. Again! And then there’s Gigi, a stranger to everyone (including Hollis) who reached out to Hollis through her blog. Gigi embodies an unusual grace and, as it hap- pens, has many secrets.

The Five-Star Weekend is a surprising and captivating story about friendship, love, and self-discovery set on Nantucket. It will be a weekend like no other.]]>
384 Elin Hilderbrand 0316258776 a 0 to-read 3.95 The Five-Star Weekend (Sommer in Nantucket, #1)
author: Elin Hilderbrand
name: a
average rating: 3.95
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date added: 2023/06/11
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Summer Reading 62339069 When a woman who'd rather do anything than read meets a swoon-worthy bookworm, sparks fly, making for one hot-summer fling in New York Times bestselling author Jenn McKinlay's new rom-com.

For Samantha Gale, a summer on Martha's Vineyard at her family's tiny cottage was supposed to be about resurrecting her career as a chef, until she's tasked with chaperoning her half-brother, Tyler. The teenage brainiac is spending his summer at the local library in a robotics competition, and there's no place Sam, who's dyslexic, likes less than the library. And because the universe hates her, the library's interim director turns out to be the hot-reader guy whose book she accidentally destroyed on the ferry ride to the island.

Bennett Reynolds is on a quest to find his father, whose identity he's never known. He's taken the temporary job on the island to research the summer his mother spent there when she got pregnant with him. Ben tells himself he isn't interested in a relationship right now. Yet as soon as Sam knocks his book into the ocean, he can't stop thinking about her.

An irresistible attraction blossoms when Ben inspires Sam to create the cookbook she's always dreamed about and she jumps all in on helping him find his father, and soon they realize their summer fling may heat up into a happily ever after.]]>
435 Jenn McKinlay 0593545729 a 0 to-read 3.47 2023 Summer Reading
author: Jenn McKinlay
name: a
average rating: 3.47
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/06/11
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Crank (Crank, #1) 270730 Crank, Ellen Hopkins chronicles the turbulent and often disturbing relationship between Kristina, a character based on her own daughter, and the "monster," the highly addictive drug crystal meth, or "crank." Kristina is introduced to the drug while visiting her largely absent and ne'er-do-well father. While under the influence of the monster, Kristina discovers her sexy alter-ego, Bree: "there is no perfect daughter, / no gifted high school junior, / no Kristina Georgia Snow. / There is only Bree." Bree will do all the things good girl Kristina won't, including attracting the attention of dangerous boys who can provide her with a steady flow of crank.]]> 537 Ellen Hopkins 0689865198 a 0 to-read 4.17 2004 Crank (Crank, #1)
author: Ellen Hopkins
name: a
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2004
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/06/11
shelves: to-read
review:

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Macbeth 8852
This shocking tragedy - a violent caution to those seeking power for its own sake - is, to this day, one of Shakespeare’s most popular and influential masterpieces.]]>
249 William Shakespeare 0743477103 a 4 3.90 1623 Macbeth
author: William Shakespeare
name: a
average rating: 3.90
book published: 1623
rating: 4
read at: 2023/06/01
date added: 2023/06/02
shelves:
review:
loved every second, this is not an easy read by any means. you really need to unpack the story to understand fully but once you achieve that it’s so interesting
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Throttled (Dirty Air, #1) 58172251 Maya
Noah Slade is a Formula 1 legend in the making.
Focused. Unapproachable. Ruthless on and off the track.
A man with walls higher than the Grand Canyon.
And my brother's new teammate.
I want more of the prince who disguises himself as the villain.
My only issue? He's considered off-limits.

Noah
Maya Alatorre is a forbidden temptation.
An ambitious post-grad I should stay far away from.
And chaos wrapped with a bow.
We're a ticking time bomb about one wrong move away from exploding.
I want to trip the wire, detonating together in passion and pain.
Because in the end, all's fair in lust and war.

Throttled is a steamy standalone romance in the Dirty Air world. Recommended for mature audiences.]]>
369 Lauren Asher 1734258764 a 0 to-read 3.77 2020 Throttled (Dirty Air, #1)
author: Lauren Asher
name: a
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/06/01
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[Her Greatest Mistake (Greatest Love #1)]]> 86545882
No. Not this time. One bad call and I’m the poster boy for bad decisions.

I haven’t seen my childhood best friend since the day her father betrayed me and she broke my heart. Now, eight years later, she’s back. And she’s my new fake girlfriend for the next three months.

Some wounds never heal, and the moment I see Braxton Heights, I know mine have not. But she’s the only shot I have at saving my reputation and securing my new deal, and while I might have lost her all those years ago, I refuse to lose hockey.

I just hope I’m strong enough not to fall for her all over again in the process.]]>
382 Hannah Cowan 199080411X a 0 to-read 3.55 2023 Her Greatest Mistake (Greatest Love #1)
author: Hannah Cowan
name: a
average rating: 3.55
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/05/31
shelves: to-read
review:

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Meet Me at the Lake 61797464
At thirty-two, Fern's life doesn't look at all how she once imagined it would. Instead of living in the city, Fern's back home, running her mother's Muskoka lakeside resort—something she vowed never to do. The place is in disarray, her ex-boyfriend's the manager, and Fern doesn't know where to begin.

She needs a plan—a lifeline. To her surprise, it comes in the form of Will, who arrives nine years too late, with a suitcase in tow and an offer to help on his lips. Will may be the only person who understands what Fern's going through. But how could she possibly trust this expensive-suit wearing mirage who seems nothing like the young man she met all those years ago. Will is hiding something, and Fern's not sure she wants to know what it is.

But ten years ago, Will Baxter rescued Fern. Can she do the same for him?]]>
336 Carley Fortune 0735243786 a 0 to-read, summer-reads 3.66 2023 Meet Me at the Lake
author: Carley Fortune
name: a
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/05/31
shelves: to-read, summer-reads
review:

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A Perfect Vintage 123255927
Lea Mortimer has everything under control. As a highly sought-after consultant specializing in transforming dilapidated French country estates into boutique hotels, she relishes her freedom as a single, childfree woman. And her life is full, occupied as much by her impeccable historic renovations as by the aristocratic -- and often exhausting -- French families she works for.

But after the heated divorce of her closest friend and cousin Stephanie Bryce, Lea finds herself taking Stephanie and her college-aged daughter to the Loire Valley in France for the summer. As they tag along for Lea's latest work assignment, despite their best intentions, they threaten to complicate the tightrope act of launching the hotel on time. And when Lea unexpectedly falls for the much-younger son of her boss, she quickly learns the beauty and danger of losing control.

As affairs bloom in the idyllic chateau, wars of inheritance play out between the family, and betrayals threaten even the most solid relationships. Lea realizes that it's not just a broken heart she's risking, but her entire, meticulously-constructed life blowing up in her face.]]>
382 Chelsea Fagan 1662938624 a 0 to-read, summer-reads 3.44 2023 A Perfect Vintage
author: Chelsea Fagan
name: a
average rating: 3.44
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/05/31
shelves: to-read, summer-reads
review:

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<![CDATA[The Spanish Love Deception (Love Deception, #1)]]> 54189398
She only has four weeks to find someone willing to cross the Atlantic and aid in her deception. New York to Spain is no short flight and her raucous family won’t be easy to fool.

Enter Aaron Blackford—her tall, handsome, condescending colleague—who surprisingly offers to step in. She’d rather refuse; never has there been a more aggravating, blood-boiling, and insufferable man.

But Catalina is desperate, and as the wedding draws nearer, Aaron looks like her best option. And she begins to realize he might not be as terrible in the real world as he is at the office.]]>
487 Elena Armas 1668002531 a 0 to-read, dnf 3.80 2021 The Spanish Love Deception (Love Deception, #1)
author: Elena Armas
name: a
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/05/31
shelves: to-read, dnf
review:

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Vacation Wars 61942149
But Tessa’s idea of a girls� trip comes to a screaming halt when her sister thinks it’s high time Tessa finds some love herself. Unfortunately, Tessa forgot about the deal she made back in high school: she has to find her soulmate before her sister’s wedding. Or else.

As she dodges suitors and her sister’s pranks, Tessa finds an ally in the oh-so-dreamy Myles, her childhood crush who just so happens to work at the resort. But Myles is dealing with some family conflict of his own. He’s elated at being reunited with Tessa, but his father’s refusal to acknowledge his interest in the family business and relegating him to only grunt work casts a dark cloud.

As Tessa and Myles help navigate their way through their families� antics, they begin to realize that their past feelings may have a future—if only they can turn their island fantasies into something real.]]>
427 Meghan Quinn 1662506341 a 0 to-read, summer-reads 3.78 2023 Vacation Wars
author: Meghan Quinn
name: a
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/05/31
shelves: to-read, summer-reads
review:

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Woman on the Edge 43900106 A moment on the subway platform changes two women’s lives forever—a debut thriller that will take your breath away.

A total stranger on the subway platform whispers, “Take my baby.�

She places her child in your arms. She says your name.

Then she jumps...

In a split second, Morgan Kincaid’s life changes forever. She’s on her way home from work when a mother begs her to take her baby, then places the infant in her arms. Before Morgan can stop her, the distraught mother jumps in front of an oncoming train.

Morgan has never seen this woman before, and she can’t understand what would cause a person to give away her child and take her own life. She also can’t understand how this woman knew her name.

The police take Morgan in for questioning. She soon learns that the woman who jumped was Nicole Markham, prominent CEO of the athletic brand Breathe. She also learns that no witness can corroborate her version of events, which means she’s just become a murder suspect.

To prove her innocence, Morgan frantically retraces the last days of Nicole’s life. Was Nicole a new mother struggling with paranoia or was she in danger? When strange things start happening to Morgan, she suddenly realizes she might be in danger, too.

Woman on the Edge is a pulse-pounding, propulsive thriller about the lengths to which a woman will go to protect her baby—even if that means sacrificing her own life.]]>
271 Samantha M. Bailey 1472264630 a 0 to-read 3.76 2019 Woman on the Edge
author: Samantha M. Bailey
name: a
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/05/18
shelves: to-read
review:

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