Showing results for "Ash" in Small Town & Rural

Lainie Eaves has no idea she's descended from shifters. She doesn't even know shifters exist because when she was born human, her grandparents made sure she would never learn the truth about her family. But now they're dead. And she's back in Hideaway Cove to deal with their crumbling old estate—and discover everything that was kept hidden from her. Hideaway Cove is the only safe haven griffin shifter Harrison Galway has ever known—a place where, as a shifter, he can live without hiding what he is. When gorgeous, curvy Lainie arrives in town, he knows at once that she's his fated mate.

Small-town Minnesota teenager Basil “The Brute” Thorson—a shy, reluctant wrestling star and “special” tracked into special education classes—vows to make his family whole again in the wake of multiple tragedies, during a year in which his community is roiled by strange religious and mythological events. Another perceptive and empathetic novel from the author of Indie Next and All Iowa Reads selection Little Wolves, blending myth, history, and religion with a nuanced look at contemporary rural life, perfect for fans of Marilynne Robinson, Richard Russo, and Paul Harding.

I'm an imposter. Proof? No one in the small town of Benton Falls knows me—at least not really. They only see the side that I show them. The polished and professional side. The side that has it all together. And that's how I wanted it to stay…but unfortunately, all it took was one misplaced cigarette, a mishap with a tree, and the off-limits fire chief saving me from said tree to burn the whole facade to the ground.

During a broiling heatwave, the inner circle of a high-profile charity attend a critical meeting at White Ash Ridge, a small hotel nestled in the Australian wilderness. As the temperature rises, a body is found lying in the thick bush, bludgeoned to death. One of the four remaining guests is a murderer - but who, and why, is a mystery. Detective Dana Russo knows the national spotlight will be sharply focused on the case. The charity was formed when the founders' teenage son was killed after intervening in a vicious assault - sparking public outrage and a damning verdict on the investigation.

I laid a plan to trap her for I'm the predator and she's my prey. I'm Anson Larue, and this is my truth. Nova King was once my everything until she stole from me. Back then, I didn't get a chance to make her pay. Seven years later, I'm shocked to see Nova in Savannah, working at my buddy's sister's company. She's hoodwinked all her colleagues, and even her boss refuses to cut ties with her after I reveal her deceit. This time, I'm not letting her get away. I hatch a plan to show the world who she really is.

1944. The Battle of Kohima. James Ash dies leaving behind two families: his ‘wife’ Josmi and two children, Jay and Molly, and his parents and sister in England who know nothing about his Indian family. 2012. Emmie is raising her own daughter, Jasmine, in a world she wants to be very different from the racist England of her childhood. Her father, Jay, doesn’t even have a photograph of the mother he lost and still refuses to discuss his life in India. Emmie finds comfort in the local museum – a treasure trove of another family’s stories and artefacts.

I'm a screw-up. Proof? On my first day back in town, I accidentally assaulted an officer, who also happens to be my brother's best friend… and the only man I've ever loved. The thing is, that's only a blip on my record of mistakes. And believe me, the list is so long it could practically be two—one for all my usual screw-ups and the other for all my mistakes involving Hayes.

Fran hates Ash Mountain, and she thought she’d escaped. But her father is ill and needs care. Her relationship is over and she hates her dead-end job in the city, anyway. She returns to her hometown to nurse her dying father, her distant teenage daughter in tow for the weekends. There, in the sleepy town of Ash Mountain, childhood memories prick at her fragile self-esteem, she falls in love for the first time and her demanding dad tests her patience, all in the unbearable heat of an Australian summer.

I'm Noah Carter, and this is my confession. My story is one of vengeance that twisted into a love I never saw coming. My target? Baron Hunt, the man whose ruthlessness shattered my family. The plan was simple: seduce his daughter Stella to force her father's hand, making him pay for his past transgressions. She became an unwitting pawn in a game of retribution that was supposed to end with my victory. Instead, I realized that the heart doesn't follow the rules of revenge.

In the aftermath of devastating bushfires that destroyed the property where she grew up, Eve Nicholls finds herself grappling with the smouldering ruins of her life. It might be possible to rebuild a house, but what about her dream of renewing friendships and becoming part of her home-town community of Yarrabee? Haunted by loss, Eve discovers a glimmer of hope when she learns that new life is growing within her – a fragile and unexpected beacon of renewal, and an added complication in her blossoming relationship with the local vet, Hugh.

The Hollowbeck Midwinter Festival is the event of the season—complete with flying pigs, snow monster fights, and a free bar that no one should trust after the third round. The centerpiece? A lavish masked ball featuring Alaric's famously enchanting (and possibly cursed) masks. Morgan Winters isn't one for fancy dresses or mysterious strangers, but as Hollowbeck's unofficial town witch, she's expected to show up, mask up, and smile. At least the canapés are good—and Alaric's assistant Finn isn't bad either.

Jacqueline thought she already had her happy-ever-after—until her husband left her for a woman who could give him a child (and already had). Now she's divorced and working herself to the bone to pay off the mortgage on a house that will never be full of the children she dreamed of. Jacqueline doesn't know what to expect when she responds to an emergency call-out during a storm, but it's nothing like this: three lost children who can turn into seals, and a ruggedly handsome man who makes her blood run hotter than it ever has before.

Morgan and her ex-husband broke up on bad terms. But when he sends her a cryptic message, Morgan knows that whatever trouble he's in, it's likely her fault. Over Ruiner's protests, she ventures beyond Hollowbeck's borders to find him. But instead of finding him, she finds a dead body. Then she finds the Oubliette, an exclusive gambling club in the town of Darrowdale, which is a mirror image of Hollowbeck—only with a decidedly more dangerous population.

Twelve years ago, I married the man of my dreams. Or so I thought. Now a single mom of twin boys, I'm doing my best to rebuild after everything fell apart. I juggle work and therapy and try not to burden those around me. My life is too complicated for love, right? Colton Hayes and Sammy Harlow don't seem to think so.

Menace awaits. Sleath. Quiet, peaceful. A small village hidden away in the Chiltern Hills, almost forgotten by the modern world. Nothing much seems to happen here; little disturbs the centuries-old tranquillity. Until the ghosts begin to appear and frighteningly bizarre events start to occur. Psychic investigator David Ash, a man burdened by the dark secret of his own past, is sent to Sleath to investigate the phenomena and his discoveries there drive him to the very edge of his own sanity.

Corin Blackburn knew single mother Maya Flores was his fated mate from the first time he saw her. But he always told himself she was safer away from him and his dangerous magic. And there was no place for him in her little family. Now, fate has brought them together again—along with her rambunctious baby dragon shifter, a town full of quirky shifters, and his own interfering relatives. He's only here to find out who stole his treasure. But the moment he sees Maya again, he knows the true treasure is the woman he let go without ever telling her what she meant to him.

I stopped believing in the good a long time ago. My childhood was stripped from me one dark night and I was forever changed. Everywhere I looked I saw evil. Everyone I met, I looked at them as the enemy. It took a long time for me to open up and when I did I found my family. The only people I could count on. I never imagined I'd have a family. Because having a family gave me something to lose and I never wanted to feel that pain again. I never wanted to feel weak.

Trey Johnson's longing for his best friend's younger sister, Sienna, has always been a source of heartache. He let her go to chase her dreams and spent every waking moment regretting his decision. Now that Sienna is back, Trey is ready to make his move. Determined to win Sienna's heart and keep her by his side forever, Trey is prepared to risk it all. He's going to prove that his love is more than just words—it's a promise he intends to keep.

I was in the wrong place at the wrong time—and that moment changed me forever. After walking in on a masked man murdering my neighbor, I went back to the one place I swore I'd never step foot in again. Citrus Cove. The sleepy town hasn't changed much, but the people have. Including my old high school bully, Cameron Harlow. He's the last person I want to see. He should be the last person I want.

I'm scared. When will this nightmare end? Darkness and cold have tortured me. I can't remember anything. He's coming. His footsteps echo like a wrecking ball in my head. He's getting closer. Breathe. He's almost here. I must escape.