USA Today bestselling author. "Move over, chick lit. Make room on bookshelves for ‘matron lit,' the latest literary category to catch publishers' – and readers' – interest." – Christian Science Monitor. Change is in the air for Grace, Amelia, and Hannah. Grace’s dear companion Bob is preparing to move into the cottage next door. But will that be too close for comfort? Amelia's photography has earned her a show in a New York art gallery. And Hannah is thrilled with her marriage to Max, but worries that it could affect her friendship with her fellow "ladies."
Joan Medlicott's seventh novel in her bestselling series set in Covington, North Carolina, celebrating life, love, and the powerful bonds between the Ladies of Covington. For Hannah, marriage has never meant happily ever after. Having fled an abusive husband when her daughters were young, she's never had reason to marry again...until now. Her business partner, Max, has proposed because he doesn't want her to be taxed on his estate. Hannah is initially reluctant to enter such an arrangement but logic dictates that she accept. Then, after the wedding, she finds herself spending more time over at Max's and is shocked to discover that she loves him -- wildly and passionately! A part of her wants the marriage to become real, but she's scared of losing herself again -- and more scared, still, that Max doesn't feel the same. Right when she desperately needs the counsel of her two closest friends, Grace is wrapped up with her partner, Bob, and Amelia is away in New York, being tempted by the glamorous life. Will Hannah find the courage to pursue a real marriage? And what will happen to her relationships with Grace and Amelia if she does?
A companion to the popular website APracticalWedding.com and A Practical Wedding Planner, A Practical Wedding helps you sort through the basics to create the wedding you want -- without going broke or crazy in the process. After all, what really matters on your wedding day is not so much how it looked as how it felt. In this refreshing guide, expert Meg Keene shares her secrets to planning a beautiful celebration that reflects your taste and your relationship. You'll discover: The real purpose of engagement (hint: it's not just about the planning) How to pinpoint what matters most to you and your partner DIY-ing your wedding: brilliant or crazy? How to communicate decisions to your family Why that color-coded spreadsheet is actually worth it Wedding Zen can be yours. Meg walks you through everything from choosing a venue to writing vows, complete with stories and advice from women who have been in the trenches: the Team Practical brides. So here's to the joyful wedding, the sensible wedding, the unbelievably fun wedding! A Practical Wedding is your complete guide to getting married with grace.
A Christy Award-winning novel chronicling the forbidden romance between Martin Luther and his wife, Katharina von Bora, set against the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century. She was a nun of noble birth. He was a heretic, a reformer, and an outlaw of the Holy Roman Empire. In the 16th century, nun Katharina von Bora’s fate fell no further than the Abbey. Until she read the writings of Martin Luther. His sweeping Catholic church reformation—condemning a cloistered life and promoting the goodness of marriage—awakened her desire for everything she’d been forbidden. Including Martin Luther himself. Despite the fact that the attraction and tension between them is undeniable, Luther holds fast to his convictions and remains isolated, refusing to risk anyone’s life but his own. And Katharina longs for love, but is strong-willed. She clings proudly to her class distinction, pining for nobility over the heart of a reformer. They couldn’t be more different. But as the world comes tumbling down around them, and with Luther’s threatened life a constant strain, these unlikely allies forge an unexpected bond of understanding, support and love. Together, they will alter the religious landscape forever. - Christy Award: Historical Romance Fiction Winner
Seven essays celebrating the beauty of the imperfect marriage. We hear plenty about whether or not to get married, but much less about what it takes to stay married. Clichés around marriage—eternal bliss, domestic harmony, soul mates—leave out the real stuff. After marriage you may still want to sleep with other people. Sometimes your partner will bore the hell out of you. And when stuck paying for your spouse’s mistakes, you might miss being single. In Wedding Toasts I’ll Never Give, Ada Calhoun presents an unflinching but also loving portrait of her own marriage, opening a long-overdue conversation about the institution as it truly is: not the happy ending of a love story or a relic doomed by high divorce rates, but the beginning of a challenging new chapter of which “the first twenty years are the hardest.” Calhoun’s funny, poignant personal essays explore the bedrooms of modern coupledom for a nuanced discussion of infidelity, existential anxiety, and the many other obstacles to staying together. Both realistic and openhearted, Wedding Toasts I’ll Never Give offers a refreshing new way to think about marriage as a brave, tough, creative decision to stay with another person for the rest of your life. “What a burden,” Calhoun calls marriage, “and what a gift.”
A groomsman and his last-minute guest are about to discover if a fake date can go the distance in this fun and flirty multicultural romance debut by New York Times bestselling author Jasmine Guillory—author of the Resse Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club Pick The Proposal. THE USA TODAY BESTSELLER #5 LibraryReads Pick “A swoony rom-com brimming with humor and charm.”—Entertainment Weekly (The Must List) “What a charming, warm, sexy gem of a novel....One of the best books I've read in a while.”—Roxane Gay, New York Times bestselling author of Hunger Agreeing to go to a wedding with a guy she gets stuck with in an elevator is something Alexa Monroe wouldn't normally do. But there's something about Drew Nichols that's too hard to resist. On the eve of his ex's wedding festivities, Drew is minus a plus one. Until a power outage strands him with the perfect candidate for a fake girlfriend.... After Alexa and Drew have more fun than they ever thought possible, Drew has to fly back to Los Angeles and his job as a pediatric surgeon, and Alexa heads home to Berkeley, where she's the mayor's chief of staff. Too bad they can't stop thinking about the other.... They're just two high-powered professionals on a collision course toward the long distance dating disaster of the century--or closing the gap between what they think they need and what they truly want.... One of... Entertainment Weekly’s “12 Romances for V-Day” • Cosmopolitan’s “2018 Anticipated Reads” • Elle’s “2018 Must Reads” • Harpers Bazaar’s “New January Must Reads” • The Fug Girls’ “Best Books of the Year” • Elle UK’s “Books to Get You Through 2018” • Nylon’s “January Must Reads” • Hello Giggles’ “New Release Recs” • Electric Lit’s “Books by WoC to Read in 2018” • Bitch Media’s “2018 Must Reads” • BookBub’s “2018 Romance Must Reads” • Bookriot’s “Must Read 2018 January Releases” • RetailMeNot’s “2018 Must Reads”
Ryan and Selena Frederick were newlyweds when they landed in Switzerland to pursue Selena's dream of training horses. Neither of them knew at the time that Ryan was living out a death sentence brought on by a worsening genetic heart defect. Soon it became clear he needed major surgery that could either save his life--or result in his death on the operating table. The young couple prepared for the worst. When Ryan survived, they both realized that they still had a future together. But the near loss changed the way they saw all that would lie ahead. They would live and love fiercely, fighting for each other and for a Christ-centered marriage, every step of the way. Fierce Marriage is their story, but more than that, it is a call for married couples to put God first in their relationship, to measure everything they do and say to each other against what Christ did for them, and to see marriage not just as a relationship they should try to keep healthy but also as one worth fighting for in every situation. With the gospel as their foundation, Ryan and Selena offer hope and practical help for common struggles in marriage, including communication problems, sexual frustration, financial stress, family tension, screen-time disconnection, and unrealistic expectations.
While observing exotic animal trainers for her acclaimed book Kicked, Bitten, and Scratched, journalist Amy Sutherland had an epiphany: What if she used these training techniques with the human animals in her own life–namely her dear husband, Scott? In this lively and perceptive book, Sutherland tells how she took the trainers’ lessons home. The next time her forgetful husband stomped through the house in search of his mislaid car keys, she asked herself, “What would a dolphin trainer do?” The answer was: nothing. Trainers reward the behavior they want and, just as important, ignore the behavior they don’t. Rather than appease her mate’s rising temper by joining in the search, or fuel his temper by nagging him to keep better track of his things in the first place, Sutherland kept her mouth shut and her eyes on the dishes she was washing. In short order, Scott found his keys and regained his cool. “I felt like I should throw him a mackerel,” she writes. In time, as she put more training principles into action, she noticed that she became more optimistic and less judgmental, and their twelve-year marriage was better than ever. What started as a goofy experiment had such good results that Sutherland began using the training techniques with all the people in her life, including her mother, her friends, her students, even the clerk at the post office. In the end, the biggest lesson she learned is that the only animal you can truly change is yourself. Full of fun facts, fascinating insights, hilarious anecdotes, and practical tips, What Shamu Taught Me About Life, Love, and Marriage describes Sutherland’s Alice-in-Wonderland experience of stumbling into a world where cheetahs walk nicely on leashes and elephants paint with watercolors, and of leaving a new, improved Homo sapiens.
Jane Austen's classic novel, "Pride and Prejudice," ends with the marriage of the Bennet sisters to their hard-won fiances, but the story of Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam Darcy's life together is only beginning. "And This Our Life" is an affectionate and historically accurate sequel that chronicles the lives of the Darcys during their first year of marriage. In addition to learning to be the mistress of Pemberley, the Darcy estate, and overcoming the preconceptions of her new relatives, Elizabeth must help her young sister-in-law, Georgiana, find her way to womanhood through the maze of ritual, tradition and marital politics that is Regency-era England. Often snubbed by the first circles of society, Elizabeth strives to gain acceptance with the same grace and wit that attracted Mr. Darcy, while helping Georgiana acquire the confidence she needs to find true love and happiness, no matter what obstacles are placed in their way.
Introducing Book Candy Classics. They're fun They're gorgeous They're new! Sink your teeth into your favorite story and discover new ones to swoon over! "You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you." This is the beginning of one of the most famous literary proposals of all time and the first in this anthology of the most romantic, poignant and colorful love declarations found in classic and modern literature. From spurned lovers to love letters pleading for a long-forgotten romance, this lovely book will remind you of your favorite literary couples and introduce you to new ones. Sometimes a heroic action is in itself a love declaration, or the story ends with the realization that love was there all along -these excerpts from masterpieces of classic and modern literature are as diverse as they are entertaining. Easily read, they will make you laugh, cry and fall in love all over again. All the passionate love scenes we have adored and reread until the pages of our books curled with time are now collected in this beautiful volume to be perused over and over again. Whether you've fallen in love with Mr. Darcy, Heathcliff, Captain Wentworth, Theodore Lawrence, Gilbert Blythe or Newland Archer, this book is for you.
