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Odd Mum Out (affiliate link)
What if everything you knew about parenting turned out to be wrong? Or just wrong for your child? Maya’s about to find out.
Maya Harris is fine. Just fine. Positively thriving. Sure, she’s wasted all her potential. And yes, her 4-year-old’s epic tantrums consume her family’s every waking moment and are about to get him expelled. But for the first time, there might be something she can do about it.
Flanked by her husband, sceptical best friend and unreasonably perfect sister, Maya explores whether Liam’s on the autism spectrum.
Along the way, she must tackle a virtual Everest of jargon, myths, and misconceptions without losing track of the standard daily chaos. Like remembering her entire other child, Charlie; meeting the unreasonable demands of one cantankerous cat; and clinging onto her job like she’s Jason Bourne hanging on the side of a helicopter.
And if that wasn’t enough, the newest school gate mum is an Insta-perfect influencer hellbent on broadcasting Maya’s every parenting fail.
See? Tow-tally fine. Nothing to see here.
A Cornish Summer at Pear Tree Farm (affiliate link)
What happens when a girl with a big heart but a small purse meets a fallen country music star?
Nessa Vivian inherited Pear Tree Farm from her parents. But the campsite is struggling to make ends meet.
Nessa’s determined to see her parents’ legacy thrive. It’s the perfect summer, and Cornwall should be heaving with campers. So what is she doing wrong?
Perhaps her sister is right. Caravans named after Beatles’ songs and homegrown pears aren’t enough to turn the farm into a tourist-filled haven.
Or maybe it’s something to do with Nessa’s big heart. She does have a habit of taking in troubled runaways instead of paying customers . . .
Then an American — and drop-dead gorgeous — country singer buys Tregereth House next door. Their attraction is immediate.
But their budding romance is soon tainted by secrets and competition.
Could this be the final nail in the coffin for Pear Tree Farm? Or could it be a new lease of life? Not just for the farm, but Nessa, too . . .
A Song for the Asking (A Kane Novel Book 1) (affiliate link)
Dan Kane is the self-proclaimed king of his castle, his beachfront California home, and the iron-fisted loving ruler of his subjects-his wife, Catheryn, and his four children, Tommy, Travis, Allison and Nate. Hardened by his years in law enforcement, he is determined to toughen up his children to prepare them to face a violent world. The story unfolds over the course of a single summer when each member of the family pays a physical or psychic price for Dan’s unwitting cruelty. Catheryn, who loves her rough-hewn husband, must defend her children against him. Tommy, the oldest, who struggles to live within his father’s idealized vision of him as “the chosen one,” favored for his physical strength and football prowess, meets tragedy for defying Dan’s authority. Allison, the only girl and a budding writer, abandons hope of ever gaining her father’s approval and so is deprived of his protection. Nate, the baby, only nine years old, is forced to keep a terrible secret for fear of his father’s wrath. And Travis, the second son who is bullied and scorned by his father for his interest in music and other “weak” traits, must learn, the hard way, to stand up to the father he loves and hates.
Just Add Salt (Hetta Coffey Series, Book 2) (affiliate link)
Hetta Coffey is a sassy Texan with a snazzy yacht, and she’s not afraid to use it!
A globe-trotting engineer with attitude, a penchant for trouble, and a yacht, Hetta is back, and this time she’s steering us into hot Mexican waters.
Miffed that vacation plans with her chronically absent boyfriend, Jenks Jenkins, have gone awry, she accepts a job in Baja.
So what, if she and her friend Jan are spectacularly unqualified to take her yacht on a thousand-mile cruise in the eastern Pacific Ocean during hurricane season?
Hiring a handsome, if somewhat fishy captain for the trip might keep them off the rocks, but probably won’t do the same for her future with Jenks. Meanwhile, a little eye candy on board can’t be all bad.
Hetta’s fierce independence impels her to tackle a very profitable (if environmentally and politically incorrect) project south of the border. True to form, her irreverent nature and disregard for danger soon swamps her in a sea of mayhem, illegal aliens, a pesky whale, and a menacing Mexican machinator.
I Spy (Mark Kane Book 6) (affiliate link)
Wok Recipes: 100 Delicious and Easy Recipes (affiliate link)
Creamy Chipotle Chicken Sandwich
Italian Beef Pot Pie
Chicken Kale Skillet
Lemon Steak with Parmesan Salad
New England Fried Chips and Fried Fish
Bostonian Salad
Arizona Inspired Quesadillas
Corned Beef Medley Mash
Mexican Wok
South American Pasta Salad
Mexican Mac n Cheese
Fesenjun
Vegetarian Tanzanian Skillet
West African Dinner
Ginger Lentil Stew
Alexandria Rice Casserole
Tomato Braised Egg wok
Empanadas in Algeria
Lamb Batna
Couscous Ghardaïa
Much, much more!
Pool Girl (Long Hot Summer) (affiliate link)
Every night, I float on the pool.
And every night, he watches me.
The caretaker is scarred. Surly. He walks with a limp and barely speaks. Most residents in our building are afraid of him, but not me.
I want him closer.
Feeling his eyes on me every night at the pool–it brings my body surging to life. He may be older; may be brutish. May pretend he’s not looking at me at all.
But I know better.
The caretaker wants me.
And I’m tired of looking. I want his touch.
The Blood Covenant (The Medici Warrior Series Book 1) (affiliate link)
When he met her, he knew how it would end.
Shade Medici, a warrior king and sole male heir to the dynasty, is expected to mate and produce an heir to secure the continuation of the Medici coven. He’s waited over five hundred years for the right mate, and when he meets Kate Reese, his attraction is more than primal – it’s merciless.
She’s also mortal.
Kate is fresh off a broken engagement and reluctant to open her heart, but her hesitations are no match for the unrelenting pursuits of the vampire king. Their passion for each other is searing…and not everyone is happy about it. Namely the ruling Council.
As they fight against deceit, treachery, and those who aim to see their love fail, Shade also struggles to control his impulses as Kate is immersed into his dark and dangerous world, but it’s imperative he prepare her for the changes that will be demanded of her should she choose to bind herself to him through the blood covenant. All that scorches and glitters isn’t gold, and she quickly learns that falling in love with a vampire comes at a hefty price:
It may just cost her everything.
The Norse Queen (The Norsewomen Book 1) (affiliate link)
Hearts of Resistance (affiliate link)
At the height of World War II, three women must come together to fight for freedom, for the men they love—and for each other.
When Hazel is given the chance to parachute into Nazi-occupied France, she seizes the opportunity to do more for the British war effort than file paperwork. Alongside her childhood friend, French-born Rose, she quickly rises up the ranks of the freedom fighters. For Rose, the Resistance is a link to her late husband, and a way to move forward without him. What starts out as helping downed airmen becomes a bigger cause when they meet Sophia, a German escapee and fierce critic of Hitler who is wanted by the Gestapo. Together the three women form a bond that will last a lifetime.
But amid the turmoil and tragedy of warfare, all three risk losing everything—and everyone—they hold dear. Will their united front be strong enough to see them through?
Girl Meets Class (affiliate link)
Who ever said teaching was easy? A spoiled heiress gets schooled in this hilarious Southern romantic comedy.
Spoiled Georgia peach Toni Lee Wells is acting the fool after an injury sidelines her tennis career. Her wealthy family finally gets fed up with her shenanigans. They cut off her monthly allowance but also make her a sweetheart deal: Get a job, keep it for a year, and you’ll receive an early inheritance. Get fired, and you’ll lose it for good.
Toni Lee gets a job teaching but finds it a lot more challenging than expected. What’s a spoiled Southern gal to do when confronted with a bunch of street smart students who are determined to make her life as difficult as possible?
Luckily, Carl, a handsome colleague, is willing to help her negotiate the rough teaching waters, But when Toni Lee gets involved with some dark dealings in the school system, she fears she might lose her new beau as well as her inheritance.
Lemon Yellow Lies (Hadley Home Design Book 1) (affiliate link)
Interior designer Hadley Sutton has an eye for style, an ear for gossip, and a nose for trouble.
Darlington Hills, Virginia is a little slice of southern heaven, and there’s no place Hadley would rather be after a painful breakup with her locally famous boyfriend, whose face is plastered on every street corner in New Orleans. Fleeing the big city, she travels to Darlington Hills for a job interview, family time with her favorite aunt, and a break from the sad reality of her now-single, party-of-one status.
But when Hadley serendipitously snags a last-minute interior design gig and her client’s fiancée goes missing, she feels more than a little responsible for the woman’s disappearance. Driven by a guilty conscience, Hadley searches for answers while trying to stay focused on her ultimate goal of acing the interview and landing her dream job. Turns out that isn’t so easy, with distractions like the dimpled Officer Appley and the mounting danger that has befallen the idyllic small town.
… See the rest of today ‘s Book Picks here on page 2Page 2