Recommendations based on "Better Than Friends A Novel"

Distant Echoes It feels like paradise, but deadly secrets lie beneath the waves off the coast of Kauai. Sometimes Kaia Oana thinks her dolphins are more humane than humans. As a mammal intelligence researcher, Kaia has learned a thing or two about the goodness and intelligence of dolphins—and as a natural scientist in close proximity to weapons developers, she’s learned a thing or two about humans as well. Without a Trace Bree thinks a plane crash took the lives of her husband and young son, but her son Davy survived the accident. Can she find him before it’s too late? It’s been months since the crash. K-9 search-and-rescue worker Bree Nicholls knows the chances of finding her husband and son in the vast wilderness of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula grow more remote by the day. But her heart and her faithful dog, Samson, demand she keep searching. Lonestar Sanctuary In the quiet safety of the Bluebird Ranch, old promises resurface and unexpected love brings new hope. Though tragedy has wrecked her life, Allie Siders holds on to the hope that her five-year-old daughter, Betsy, will speak again. But with a stalker out for revenge, all Allie can think about now is their safety. She must sever all ties and abandon life as she knows it. She heads to the peaceful Bluebird Ranch, nestled deep in Texas hill country, and to the only person who can help them. The Lightkeeper’s Daughter With the lies of the past behind her, Addie finds love . . . and discovers her true Father. Addie Sullivan leads a quiet life in a northern California lighthouse. She mourns the death of her father and endures her mother's bitterness, until the night a storm brings an injured stranger and a dark secret to her home. The man insists she is not who she thinks she is, but rather "Julia Eaton"—the child long lost and feared dead by her wealthy family. Seizing the chance to be reunited with the Eatons, Addie leaves her lighthouse home but decides to keep her true identity a secret until they can unravel the mystery. Blue Moon Promise Lucy Marsh's worldly resources are running out, but she's fiercely determined to care for her younger brother and sister. When she discovers that their father's recent death was no accident, Lucy is eager to leave town. She accepts a proxy marriage she believes will provide safe refuge. But trouble follows her to Texas where her new husband is surprised to suddenly have a wife and children to care for. Tidewater Inn Welcome to Hope Beach. A place of intoxicating beauty . . . where trouble hits with the force of a hurricane. Inheriting a beautiful old hotel on the Outer Banks could be a dream come true for Libby. The inn cries out for her restorer’s talent and love of history. She’s delighted to learn of the family she never knew she had. And the handsome Coast Guard lieutenant she’s met there on the island could definitely be the man of her dreams. The Inn at Ocean’s Edge Claire’s visit to a luxury hotel in Maine awakens repressed memories, threatening all she holds dear. In 1989, Claire Dellamare disappeared from her own fourth birthday party at the Hotel Tourmaline on the island of Folly Shoals, Maine. She showed up a year later at the same hotel, with a note pinned to her dress but no explanation. Nobody knows where Claire spent that year—and until now, Claire didn’t even know she had ever been missing.

A heart-gripping second chance contemporary romance that'll leave you reeling with emotion overload. I lost her ten years ago…On graduation night, a drunk driver swerved in my lane, and trying not to hit his car, I crashed into a tree. She was taken to the hospital, where they told me she’d died.I found out the next day that it had been a lie. They just didn’t want her with me. Then they moved, and I couldn’t find her. She was the love of my life. She’d always be the one that I’d love forever. I should have searched harder, longer, but medical school and my residency that followed took over a decade of my life. I drowned myself in work, and when that didn’t numb the pain, I sought relief with a tattoo needle. Then, my boss invited me to his house for a party he throws for all the new interns yearly. I’m strumming a song on my guitar when someone starts singing lyrics to a song only she knows. I looked up, and Whitney was standing in the doorway, so goddamn beautiful that I swear my heart broke again. She knew the song, but she didn’t know me. She didn’t remember me. Then, her husband stepped outside. Her being married wasn’t the biggest tragedy of all. That would come an hour later when I see her nine-year-old daughter. My daughter…

Dr. Meredith Quinn always planned to return to Gossamer Falls to practice dentistry. Now that she's back home, she's made it a point to offer clinics to children and adults in nearby underserved areas. Unfortunately, those same areas are known to harbor drug traffickers, and Police Chief Grayson Ward suspects that local law enforcement is looking the other way.After too many losses, Grayson has closed off his heart. But when Meredith enters his life, his walls crumble, and he's left exposed and vulnerable. To keep her alive, he must keep her close, but that makes it impossible for him to retreat and rebuild. Will she be the one who finally helps him emerge from isolation? Or will this force of nature leave him shattered?

A hitmaking songwriter and a bitter musician share a startling and inexplicable connection that they’ll do anything to shake, in the next sparkling, magical book from Ashley Poston. Joni Lark is living the dream. She’s one of the most coveted songwriters in LA…and she can’t seem to write. There’s an emptiness inside her, and nothing seems to fill it. When she returns to her hometown of Vienna Shores, North Carolina, she hopes that the sand, the surf, and the concerts at The Revelry, her family’s music venue, will spark her inspiration. But when she gets there, nothing is how she left it. Her best friend is avoiding her, her mother’s memories are fading fast, and The Revelry is closing. How can she think about writing her next song when everything is changing without her? Until she hears it. A melody in her head, lyric-less and half-formed, and an alluring and addictive voice to go with it—belonging, apparently, to a wry musician with hangups of his own. Surely, he’s a figment of her overworked imagination. But then the very real man attached to the voice shows up in Vienna Shores. He’s aggravating and gruff on the outside—nothing like the sweet, funny voice in Joni’s head—and he has a plan: They’ll finish the song haunting them both, break their connection, and hope they don’t risk their hearts in the process. Because that song stuck in their heads? Maybe it’s there for a reason.

Here are New York Times bestseller Penelope Douglas’s two bestselling novellas in the Fall Away Series, together in one volume for the first time. AFLAME All through high school, Jared Trent called the shots. He decided if Tatum Brandt would be happy or sad, fearful or free. He owned her heart, and he played with it like one of his cars. Never again.   Two years ago, Jared left town, and Tate’s life is exactly where she wants it to be. Or that’s what she tells herself... Because two years ago, her heart also stopped beating, and no matter the success in school or the support of her friends, there’s only one time every week she can feel that same rush in her blood: Friday nights on the track.     That’s hers, not his, and to hell with anyone that gets in her way again. Especially him. NEXT TO NEVER Under the close watch of the men in her family, Quinn Caruthers has found it nearly impossible to spread her wings—or even date—without her three older brothers, Jared, Madoc, and Jaxon, jumping in to hover. And when a family friend—several years older—from her childhood still holds her heart, she knows they’re going to be a problem. Lucas Morrow is a man, and knowing her brothers, he may as well be forbidden.   But Lucas left town and shows no signs of returning. Quinn knows she shouldn’t wait for him anymore....   Until a package turns up on her doorstep with no return address and its contents reveal family secrets that threaten to turn her world upside down. She’s never asked about the path of her parents’ romantic history, but she soon learns their happy marriage had a very rocky and passionate start.   As she starts to see things around her with new eyes, Quinn will have to make tough choices about whether she’ll keep waiting...or finally go after what she really wants.

The only way to get what she wants is to let go of everything she thinks she knows.I never planned to live my life in a trailer in a tiny mountain town. Funny how divorce changes your plans for you.And I never planned to fall in love again. After Jack, I figured I was better off alone.But Connor Charles, with his dark red hair and glowering good looks, was as compelling as he was frightening, and I knew I should stay away from him. Especially if the rumors were true.The police were interested in Connor ... but the more I got to know him, the more I realized ...So was I.

The Harmony novels are “Jodi Thomas all the way—super characters [and] lots of riveting subplots” (Romance Reviews Today). Now the New York Times bestselling author takes us back to Harmony, Texas, where big dreams are brewing—and anything and everything is possible… Emily, the local librarian, has started a writing group, but as the group stumbles through both the fiction and reality of their lives, they’re learning much more than how to write. But Emily suddenly has other things on her mind when a friend from her past shows up in Harmony's library. Now she must deal with a secret she’s kept for fifteen years—a secret that changed her life and threatens to shatter her future. Meanwhile, new lawyer Rick Matheson thinks he’s in charge of his world until accidents start happening all around him. Just when he realizes someone is trying to kill him, he meets a beautiful U.S. Marshal named Trace Adam. Now that the marshal has given him an even stronger reason to go on living, he must learn to take a chance on life to dream bigger—and love better—than he ever has before...  

Bear McKinley's past refuses to let go. Ten years ago, Bear gave up everything-his freedom and his reputation-for his mess of a family. But after years of distance and too many attempts at starting over, he finally has a new life doing noble work in Brazil . . . until his past catches up to him once again. Suddenly he finds himself back in Maple Valley, charged with the care of his missing brother's children, convinced he's out of second chances to make his life count. And yet, with every day that passes, these kids, this quirky town and the woman he never stopped missing help patch the holes in his heart. Maybe this is the fresh start he's been longing for all along. But as his newfound hope grows, so does the mystery surrounding his brother's activities-and when the threat reaches into the lives of those he loves, it's clear he can't run away this time. Fear holds Raegan's future captive. Raegan Walker is fine. She's happy working a slew of part-time jobs, still living in her childhood bedroom and rarely venturing from her hometown. At least, that's what she tells everyone . . . and herself. But she can't help wondering what might've happened if she hadn't abandoned her art so many years ago-and if Bear McKinley had never left. When Bear returns and she's commissioned for a painting that just might revive her artistic ambition all in one week, it's time to finally reach for more than fine. But doing so means facing the fears that have held her back all this time, including admitting the secret she's kept from Bear and her family. With her dream and her heart on the line, how much will Raegan have to risk to finally chase her happy ending?

“America's favorite writer” (The New Yorker) begins a trilogy inspired by the inn she owns and the town she loves.The historic hotel in BoonsBoro, Maryland, has endured war and peace, changing hands, even rumored hauntings. Now it's getting a major facelift from the Montgomery brothers and their eccentric mother. As the architect of the family, Beckett has little time for a social life. But there’s another project he’s got his eye on: the girl he’s been waiting to kiss since he was sixteen.After losing her husband and returning to her hometown, Clare Brewster soon settles into her life as the mother of three young sons while running the town’s bookstore. Though busy, Clare is drawn across the street by Beckett’s transformation of the old inn, wanting to take a closer look…at both the building and the man behind it...Don't miss the other books in the Inn BoonsBoro TrilogyThe Last BoyfriendThe Perfect Hope

"A warm and witty tale that will grab you by the heart!"--DENISE HUNTER, bestselling author of the Riverbend Romance seriesSamuel was back. It seemed unfair to be blindsided. And in church no less. Shouldn't there be a commandment about that? Thou shalt not step foot inside thy ex's place of worship.Julia Monroe has just turned forty and has high hopes for a fresh start after the last decade of her life abruptly left her a young widow and a single mom. With both her boys off to college, she can finally focus on expanding her New Orleans-based cleaning business. Julia is ready for new beginnings--but God has other plans. Samuel Reed, the ruggedly handsome Green Beret who shattered her heart over twenty years ago, has returned to town and is the kind of distraction she never saw coming.After their first interaction in years leaves her mind spinning and her emotions out of control, Julia knows she needs to avoid him if she wants any chance of preventing history from repeating itself, but her meddling best friend keeps throwing them together. And now it seems inevitable that the man who was hard to forget might just be impossible to resist. "Millet has written an achingly sweet story of second chances and the beauty of how forgiveness creates freedom and joy."--PEPPER BASHAM, award-winning author of Authentically, Izzy"I loved Rebekah's kind and funny voice and taking an imaginary getaway to New Orleans."--BECKY WADE, Christy Hall of Fame author