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The lost book of first loves
by RaeAnne Thayne
Raised by her literary icon father Carson Wells, Alison Wells always felt loved, even though her mother died when she was a teen. But when she takes a DNA test on a whim and discovers she has a sister she never knew about, it’s clear there are things her father didn't tell her before he died. Determined to meet Juniper, her half sister, and unravel the truth of what happened all those years ago, Ali finds herself taking a job as Juniper’s intern. She’ll eventually figure out a way to tell Juniper the truth of their relationship. But she never could have imagined what would happen next. Juniper Connolly has always been incredibly healthy, until she wakes up in the hospital after experiencing cardiac arrest, with her new, and recently fired intern to thank for saving her life. It’s clear June needs to de-stress her life a little, so when Ali offers her the use of her family’s cabin in a small Wyoming town, June has no reason not to go. But when she arrives, her life will never be the same. Under the wide-open spaces of the Wyoming summer sun, Ali and June will untangle the secrets and lies their lives were built on to discover who they really are and what family really means. But even more than that, they'll build a real relationship with one another and finally become sisters.
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Slow burn summer : a novel
by Josie Silver
She’s playing the part of romance author, but has she found her own real life love story? Talent agent Charlie Francisco has three problems: a divorce that ended his screenwriting career, a business he never planned to inherit, and a take-your-breath-away romance novel whose author wants nothing to do with its publication. The book is a surefire hit, if only his agency can find someone to ‘play’ author on its summer book tour. Enter Kate Elliott, a former soap actress who’s miraculously right for the part at the very moment her life seems to be going all wrong. Kate is still recovering from her own divorce and Charlie’s job offer is a lifeline. She agrees to the pretense for all interviews, signings, and appearances surrounding the novel’s publication. But she can’t know who really wrote the remarkable story, the one so beautiful it’s made her believe in love again. When Kate and Charlie meet they’re all friction and sparks, the one thing they have in common is they’re determined to play their respective parts. But as the summer heat ups and the lies get bigger and bigger, can they stick to their lines, or will they go off-script?
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| Left of Forever by Tarah DeWittWren and Ellis Byrd fell in love as kids, had their son Sam when they were only teenagers, and built a life together in the coastal town of Spunes, Oregon. They were made for one another, until they fell apart. Now divorced and in their 30s, Wren runs the bakery in town, while Ellis works as a firefighter. They live separate lives, though they are hardly off each other's minds. When Sam gets accepted into college and the pair agree to help him move in together, Ellis convinces Wren to take an extended road trip back to Spunes with him to see if they can give their relationship one last chance. Amid the gorgeous scenery of the California coastline, dreamy destinations, and a great deal of long-yearned-for proximity, Wren starts to think it just might be possible. But the two still have to contend with their tumultuous past in order to move forward. And when spoken words fail, sometimes the written word must bridge the gap. Will they make the most of what's left of forever? Or will they let each other go for good? |
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Finders keepers
by Sarah Adler
Last week, Nina Hunnicutt was a professor about to move into a gorgeous new apartment with her long-term boyfriend. Now, she’s single, unemployed, and living with her parents. Even more surprising is the fact that Quentin Bell, her childhood neighbor (and okay, fine, crush), is also back in town, and wants to resume the treasure hunt that ended their friendship almost two decades ago. Hoping the reward promised to whoever finds the rumored riches left behind by the town’s eccentric turn-of-the-century seltzer magnate will help her get her life back on track, Nina agrees. Granted, last time the search resulted in a broken heart and seventeen years of silence. But Nina’s older and wiser now. Surely things will be different? Except, Quentin is also older and wiser…not to mention distractingly handsome. As they resume their hunt, Nina and Quentin begin to rediscover all the things they once loved best about each other. But unlike the treasure, the secrets that left them empty-handed the first time refuse to stay buried. If there’s any hope of finding what they’re looking for, and for a future together, Nina and Quentin will have to be brave enough to excavate their past as well.
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The love haters
by Katherine Center
Katie Vaughn has been burned by love in the past―now she may be lighting her career on fire. She has two choices: wait to get laid off from her job as a video producer or, at her coworker Cole's request, take a career-making gig profiling Tom "Hutch" Hutcheson, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer in Key West. The catch? Katie's not exactly qualified. She can't swim, but fakes it that she can. Plus: Cole is Hutch's brother. And they don't get along. Next stop paradise! But paradise is messier than it seems. As Katie gets entangled with Hutch (the most scientifically good looking man she has ever seen . . . but also a bit of a love hater), along with his colorful Aunt Rue and his rescue Great Dane, she gets trapped in a lie. Or two. Swim lessons, helicopter flights, conga lines, drinking contests, hurricanes, and stolen kisses ensue, along with chances to tell the truth, to face old fears, and to be truly brave at last.
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Silverleaf rapids
by Jodi Thomas
Deep in the heart of Texas, five generations of Kirklands built the sprawling Double K Ranch, battling fire and frost, outlaws and disease. It’s said the dirt flows through their veins as sure as Silverleaf Rapids flows through Ransom Canyon. But the canyon also had a way of becoming part of just about anyone who landed there. 19-year-old Staten Kirkland was studying at Texas Tech when he got the news that the grandfather who raised him, J.R. Kirkland, was fighting for his life. Now Staten would have to leave college behind, not to mention the girl he loved. And he’d have to grow up overnight. More than that, he’d have to become a boss, the boss, running thousands of acres of ranch. He'd always hated change. But change was barreling toward him. Rootless and stuck in the dull routine that was her life, college professor Charlotte Lane escaped into fiction. But now she was restless for a change, in the form of being the new high school teacher at the small town bordering Ransom Canyon. Still, at this point in her life, what if she couldn’t change, or even remember how? Maybe she’d find others to show her the way. The youngest of six, Peggy Warner came last in every way, not even worth sending to college. Now 27, she’s never left home and lives in service to her aging parents and her married siblings’ growing families. But she still has dreams, and under the big sky overlooking Ransom Canyon they may come true.
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Any trope but you : a novel
by Victoria Lavine
Beloved romance author Margot Bradley has a dark secret: she doesn’t believe in Happily Ever Afters. Not for herself, not for her readers, and not even for her characters, for whom she secretly writes alternate endings that swap weddings and babies for divorce papers and the occasional slashed tire. When her Happily Never After document is hacked and released to the public, she finds herself canceled by her readers and dropped by her publisher. Desperate to find a way to continue supporting her chronically ill sister, Savannah, Margot decides to trade meet-cutes for murder. The fictional kind. Probably. But when Savannah books Margot a six-week stay in a remote Alaskan resort to pen her first murder mystery, Margot finds herself running from a moose and leaping into the arms of the handsome proprietor, making her fear she’s just landed in a romance novel instead. The last thing Dr. Forrest Wakefield ever expected was to leave his dream job as a cancer researcher to become a glorified bellhop. What he’s really doing at his family’s resort is caring for his stubborn, ailing father, and his puzzle-loving mind is slowly freezing over, until Margot shows up. But Forrest doesn’t have any room in his life for another person he could lose, especially one with a checkout date. As long snowy nights and one unlikely trope after another draw Margot and Forrest together, they’ll each have to learn to overcome their fears and set their aside assumptions before Margot leaves, or risk becoming a Happily Never After story themselves.
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Code word romance
by Carlie Walker
Max is just your average girl. She works odd jobs, has a soul-crushing amount of debt, and happens to bear an uncanny resemblance to Europe’s youngest female prime minister, Sofia Christensen. Sofia is powerful, beautiful, and unfortunately, someone is trying quite hard to assassinate her. When the CIA approaches Max with a deal, a life-changing amount of money if she pretends to be Sofia on the prime minister’s annual Italian vacation, Max packs her bags for the Amalfi Coast. The delicious food, the breathtaking views, this trip would be a dream if it weren’t for those pesky assassins and Flynn, the handler assigned to Max’s case. Flynn, who has an unexpected history with Max, from another sun-drenched summer years and years ago. Now he’s instructed to stay in Max’s suite to protect her, as old passions and assassins collide. Losing herself in the role of a prime minister is one thing. But losing her heart to Flynn again? Now that’s a risk she isn’t willing to take.
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| Worth Fighting For by Jesse Q. SutantoMulan is reimagined as a contemporary romance about family expectations, mistaken identity, and high stakes mergers—of both business and the heart. Following one’s heart isn’t easy when family honor is at stake. As the right hand of her father’s hedge fund company, Fa Mulan knows what it takes to succeed as a woman in a man’s world: work twice as hard, be twice as smart, and burp twice as loud as any of the other finance bros she works with. So when her father unexpectedly falls ill in the middle of a critical acquisition, she is determined to see it through. There’s just one hitch: the family company in question is known for its ultra masculine whiskey brand, and the brood of old-fashioned aunts, uncles, and cousins who run it, lead by the dedicated but overworked Shang, will only trust Mulan’s father, Fa Zhou, with the future of their business. Rather than fail the deal and her father, Mulan pretends she’s Fa Zhou. Since they’ve only corresponded over email, how hard could it be to keep things moving in his absence? But the email leads to a face-to-face meeting, which leads to an invitation to a week long retreat at Shang’s family ranch. One meeting she can handle, but a whole week of cattle wrangling, axe-throwing, and learning proper butchering techniques, all while trying to convince Shang’s dubious family that this young woman is the powerful hedge fund CEO they’ve been negotiating with? Not so much, especially as she finds it harder and harder to ignore the undeniable spark between her and Shang. Can she keep her head in the game and make her father proud, all while trying not to fall into a trough, or in love with Shang? |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Albert Lea Public Library
211 E Clark St.
Albert Lea, Minnesota 56007
(507) 377-4350alplonline.org |
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