Books I Have Enjoyed (Fiction)
Discover a curated list of fiction books I've enjoyed, featuring captivating stories, must-read novels, and literary favorites for your next great read.
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The Girl who Married a Lion and Other Tales from Africa
by Alexander McCall Smith
Gathered here is a beguiling selection of folktales from Zimbabwe and Botswana as retold by the best-selling author of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. This treasury contains most of the stories previously collected in Children of Wax and seven new tales from the Setswana-speaking people of Botswana. A girl discovers that her young husband might actually be a lion in disguise, but not before they have two sons who might actually be cubs . . . When a child made of wax follows his curiosity outside into the heat of daylight and melts, his siblings shape him into a bird with feathers made of leaves that enable him to fly into the light . . . Talking hyenas, milk-giving birds, clever cannibals who nonetheless get their comeuppance, and mysterious forces that reside in the landscape—these wonderful fables bring us the wealth, the variety, and the particular magic of traditional African lore.
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Murder in Vegas
by Michael Connelly
A collection of twenty-two original short crime and mystery stories includes the tales of a gambler who must win at the roulette table to stay alive and a courier who accepts a package with unexpected consequences.
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The Hot Flash Club Strikes Again
by Nancy Thayer
The fabulous women fromThe Hot Flash Clubare back in top form, welcoming the stressed-out and pampering-deprived through their discreet spa doors–as Nancy Thayer returns with a witty, sexy, and heartwarming novel.The Hot Flash ClubStrikes Againalso introduces four new women, ready for massages and seaweed wraps, each struggling to reconcile her secret dreams, biggest fears, and deepest feelings as topsy-turvy events shake up her life. After eighteen years of trying to make peace with her husband’s cold-as-ice mother, Polly vows to be the perfect mother-in-law: loving, accepting, and determined to keep her mouth shut. Then her son marries Amy, a Birkenstocked gal whose organic farm and family ooze a rather creepy serenity. Ever the optimist, Polly puts her best foot forward . . . so why does it end up in her mouth? A shy and brilliant professor-to-be, Beth has lived a sheltered life. Then she meets Sonny, a rugged, sexy carpenter who sweeps her off her feet. The problem? Beth may not survive his loud, affectionate, athletic family–especially when the very beautiful and earthy woman everybody wanted Sonny to marry is still hanging around the family dinner table. Heiress to one of New England’s oldest paper companies, Carolyn is the driving force behind the brand. Now, at thirty-seven, the workaholic executive is finally pregnant with her first child, and high blood pressure is forcing her to do something totally alien: relax.But how can she let down her guard when her seventy-something father has gone and eloped with a young bank clerk named Heather, whose rather plain looks and unassuming nature still manage to fill Carolyn with suspicion. A free-spirited photographer, Julia has married a man she loves, but he’s come packed with baggage. Tim is a widower with a young daughter, and Julia has bravely stepped up to the plate, doing her best to provide maternal support. But as if being pinned down by the child’s slightly manipulative ways and (dare Julia say it) spoiled behavior wasn’t enough, there’s Tim’s ex-mother-in-law, whose meddling is getting nastier by the week. For Polly, Beth, Carolyn, and Julia, the time has come to stand up for what matters–for their passions, their hearts, and themselves. As they maneuver through family drama and embrace unexpected change, they come to find that life is much easier (and a lot more fun) when you’ve got friends, wine, and chocolate along for the ride.
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Black Wind
by Clive Cussler
"In the waning days of World War II, unbeknownst to all but a handful of people, the Japanese tried a last, desperate measure. Two submarines were sent to the West Coast of the United States, their cargo a revolutionary new strain of biological virus, their mission to unleash hell." "Neither sub made it to the designated target. But that does not mean they were lost." "Someone knows about the subs and what they carried, knows too where they might be, and has an extraordinary plan in mind for the prize inside - a plan that could reshape America, and the world, as we know it. All that stands in the way are three people: a marine biologist named Summer, a marine engineer named Dirk ... and their father, Dirk Pitt, the new head of NUMA." "Pitt has faced devastating enemies before, has even teamed up with his children to track them down. But never has he encountered such pure evil - until now."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved
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Entombed
by Linda A. Fairstein
Manhattan sex crimes prosecutor Alexandra Cooper works to uncover a link between a serial killer and a body that has been discovered in a nineteenth-century brownstone formerly belonging to Edgar Allan Poe.
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By Order of the President
by W. E. B. Griffin
When a leased Boeing 727 mysteriously vanishes after two passengers murder the pilot, Army intelligence officer Major Carlos Guillermo Castillo, a veteran of the Special Forces, is called in by the president of the United States to uncover the truth and embarks on an undercover investigation into a case with frightening implications.
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Hot Target
by Suzanne Brockmann
A Navy SEAL on leave takes on a moonlighting job which involves protecting a movie producer from death threats.
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The Broker
by John Grisham
With 14 years left on a 20-year sentence, notorious Washington power broker Joel Backman receives a surprise pardon. But Backman has serious enemies from his past. As the CIA watches him closely, the question is not whether he will be killed, but rather who will kill him first.
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Demon Rumm
by Sandra Brown
It was the publicity stunt from hell as far as Kirsten Rumm was concerned. She may have been writing the book about her late husband, aeronautical daredevil Demon Rumm, but she didn’t see the need to play host to the arrogant bad-boy actor starring in the film version’s title role. Still, for the good of the project, Kirsten agreed to share her beachfront home with the impossibly sexy screen idol. Any other woman would do anything to be in her sandals, but Kirsten wasn’t falling for Rylan North, even if he did play his role of male lead to perfection. His down-home charm, his gentleness and virile charisma, might be seducing her in every sense of the word, but he was an actor, after all. Seducing an audience was his job. Rylan could have any woman he wanted. So why was he so desperately pretending to want her? From the moment he saw her, Rylan North knew that Kirsten Rumm was the woman he’d been waiting all his life to cast as the star in his real-life love story. What did it matter if he was every woman’s fantasy if he couldn’t get Kirsten to so much as glance his way? He’d caught the look of past hurt behind her sky-blue eyes–a dark secret that shadowed the sparkle. Rylan was determined to find out what tragedy held this passionate woman back from a second chance at love even if it cost him his reputation, his career, and his life. But first he’d have to get Kirsten to act on her instincts . . . and to trust the flesh-and-blood man behind the fantasy.
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To Die For
by Linda Howard
She was a dead ringer. Now she’s just dead. . . . Blair Mallory lives the good life. She’s pretty, confident, and the owner of a thriving up-scale fitness center. But in the shadow of success, a troubled member of the club develops a strange fixation on Blair, imitating her style and dress. Matters take a darker turn when the look-alike is shot dead—and Blair witnesses the horror. As the media speculates on the tawdry details of the homicide and pushes Blair into the harsh spotlight, she locks horns with police lieutenant Wyatt Bloodsworth. He wants to lead an investigation without interference, while Blair is determined to probe the dead woman’s life on her own. But when someone begins to menace Blair with mounting threats, Wyatt takes notice: Was this murder indeed a lethal case of mistaken identity–and was Blair the intended victim?
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Falling Awake
by Jayne Ann Krentz
A New York Times BestsellerWhen a researcher in lucid dreaming meets one of her anonymous subjects, the dream becomes real enough to touch in this riveting tale of intrigue and intimacy that asks if dreams can be trusted.
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Lord of Seduction
by Nicole Jordan
From the glitter of Regency London to a sun-kissed Mediterranean paradise, Nicole Jordan captivates with her breathtaking sensuality and unforgettable romance. No woman could tame him . . . until he met his match. With his reckless charm and lust for danger, Viscount Thorne is one of England’s most elusive bachelors–and member of a secret league of protectors known as the Guardians. To thwart his father’s matchmaking schemes, Thorne asks an alluring artist to pose as his betrothed. Burned once by desire, Diana Sheridan swears off love. But to secure her cousin’s place in society, she agrees to Thorne’s charade. Then scandal brews, and Thorne insists on going through with the marriage. When Diana refuses, wary of his smoldering passion, the rakish lord wages a dazzling campaign of seduction. Meanwhile, danger threatens their very lives. Yet Thorne realizes the greater danger is to his heart. For he never expected to get caught in a matrimonial snare of his own making–or imagined their pretense of a love match would become so tantalizingly real.
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Seize the Night
by Sherrilyn Kenyon
An immortal renegade Dark-Hunter, Valerius Magnus struggles with his attraction to Tabitha Deveraux, the sister-in-law of the Dark-Hunter's mortal enemy and a young woman stalked by a dark power.
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Sin and Sensibility
by Suzanne Enoch
USA Today bestselling author Suzanne Enoch delights fans once again with this enchanting tale of a young lady determined to have an adventure and the white knight who charges to her rescue. After yet another beau was chased away by her three over-protective brothers, Lady Eleanor Griffin decides she's had enough. If she is to become a boring society wife, then she's going to have some fun first. But when her adventure turns into more than what she bargained for, she is grateful for her knight in shining armour who rescued her from what was sure to become a scandalous situation.
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True Colors
by Diana Palmer
In this classic romance by the "New York Times" bestselling author, Cy Harden broke Meredith Ashe's heart when his family left her penniless and pregnant. Now Meredith is back, stronger, wiser--and out to take his company. But will she lose her heart instead? Reissue.
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Reunion
by Nora Roberts
Features "Once More with Feeling," in which Raven Williams agrees to work with the man who had once stolen her heart, and "Treasures Lost, Treasures Found," in which Kate Hardesty reunites with a man she once left.
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Secondhand Bride
by Linda Lael Miller
Learning to trust will be the hardest part of this mixed-up marriage.
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Le Fin
by Victoria Taylor Murray
The Lambert Series (Thief Of Hearts, Forbidden and Friendly Enemies), is centered around one earth-shattering week in the life of Nouri St. Charles Sommers, a beautiful young woman that rushed into marriage with a mysterious billionaire...a man she knew nothing about. Two short years later, Nourias fairytale marriage suddenly turns into a nightmare changing her life forever a].Falling in love a] out of love a] in love againa]a fairytale marriage turned nightmarea]implicated and then cleared in two gruesome murdersa]surviving a death threat after being forced into hiding from a stalkera]Nourias one week from hell continues. Now six weeks later, Nourias life continues to spin out of control, drawing the reader deeper and deeper into the turmoil of The Lambert Series with the final book to the series, Le Fin. Nourias billionaire husband, Ethan Sommers, has been shot and killed. Her former lover, high-powered attorney Clint Chamberlain, is feared dead after his car plummets off a bridge in Paris during a rain storm, and if those things arenat bad enough for her to deal with, Nouri suddenly discovers that the man she has finally chosen over both Clint Chamberlain and Charles Mason, homicide detective Gabe Baldwin, has returned to Boston to wed his former fiancA(c)e after an argument Nouri and Gabe had while they were still in France.
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A Perfect Groom
by Samantha James
Perfection is in the eye of the beholder . . . Proud of his reputation as a rogue, Justin Sterling intends tobe the first to bed "The Unattainable"—the Season's most luscious debutante—and win the wager that's the talk of the ton. However, he never expected the enchantress in question to be Arabella Templeton, who once stole his heart and owns it still. Now the notorious scoundrel will have to prove to her that his intentions are honorable . . . while protecting her virtue from every other rascal in London. Arabella will marry only for love—and she does not need her childhood nemesis to act as her self-appointed guardian! Though the arrogant cad seems sincere, she is well aware of his rakehell history and won't be swayed by his considerable charm and disarming good looks. For it would be pure madness for Arabella to ignore the voice of reason that whispers "beware!" and heed instead a traitorous heart that insists Justin Sterling would make . . .
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Men at Work
by Janelle Denison
Three fabulous authors dish out the hottest stories of blue collared hunks who have a serious work ethic--in the bedroom. These guys know how to get the job done and are not just into quick fixes.
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Death Is Forever
by Elizabeth Lowell
Dear Reader, Sometimes, if you're very lucky, you can go home again. An earlier version of this book was titled The Diamond Tiger and came out in 1993 under the name Ann Maxwell. When my present publisher offered me the opportunity of going back to the novel under the name Elizabeth Lowell, I admit that I hesitated. In the years since first publication, the diamond trade has changed so greatly that it would be impossible to update the facts in the book without destroying the very story that had compelled me to write in the first place. But like the diamond trade, my style of telling a story has also changed over the years. I decided to revisit the novel because I loved it and hoped my new readers would as well. Death Is Forever is my favorite kind of story, combining elements of danger, greed, trust, secrets, passions, and death. Enjoy!