Rural Small Town Fiction

In the weeks since he moved to Ghost, Oregon, Maz Amani’s life has gotten so much better. Charming small town? Check. Queen Anne beauty of a house? Check. Project organizing the fascinating papers of Ghost’s founding family? Check. Adorable handyman who might morph into more than a friend? Check. Rafts of friendly townies? Check. And did he mention the house? Sure, there’s the occasional professional annoyance—ghostwriters can’t always be picky about the gigs they take in the name of keeping their cat in kibble. But on the whole, things are awesome.

With my little girl in tow, I pack up my Texas roots, seeking a fresh start in Landmark Mountain. Leaving behind a trail of shattered trust and a cheating ex, the last thing I expect is to collide with a sexy stranger. Our first encounter is a whirlwind of heated words and fiery glares. But fate's twisted sense of humor places him right in my path, not once, but many times over and over again. Why does Dr. Wyatt Landmark have to be related to my best friend's boyfriend?

Gabriella Jacobson has one goal for her freshman year of college: get Matthew Cory to fall in love with her. Luckily for Gabby, her best friend Ben attends the same college on a music scholarship. He is the perfect resource—girls love him, and he's more experienced with relationships than she is, since she's never had a boyfriend. When Gabby panics before her first date with Matt, she begs Ben to show her how to kiss. But Ben has a secret, one he's been keeping from Gabby for years. He's in love with her.

Middlemarch is a novel by the English author Mary Anne Evans, who wrote as George Eliot. It first appeared in eight installments in 1871 and 1872. Set in Middlemarch, a fictional English Midland town, from 1829 to 1832, it follows distinct, intersecting stories with many characters. Issues include the status of women, the nature of marriage, idealism, self-interest, religion, hypocrisy, political reform, and education. Despite comic elements, Middlemarch uses realism to encompass historical events.

Ellie Bowman barely remembers the incident that put her into a coma. When she awoke, filled with unease, all she knew for certain was that her boyfriend, Rick, was missing. She knew she needed to get away from her old life and recover in safety. With the proceeds of a video game she helped develop, Ellie starts over in rural Missouri, working from her cottage and trusting no one except her friend and business partner.

Daisy Murray was our best friend, the girl of our dreams, and the glue that held us all together. But our town hosted an evil presence, and it wanted Daisy all for itself. One night, it took her from us, and she was erased from history. On the tenth anniversary of her disappearance, we are summoned home—back to the tainted town—by the ghost of the girl we all loved. It should be impossible, but there's no chance any of us are willing to miss the opportunity to see her again.

As the Nazis’ relentless bombs fall during the Blitz of Coventry, six-year-old Rose Sherbourne finds herself orphaned and under the guardianship of a Cornish farmer's daughter, Elenor Cardew. Elenor knows that the only way to protect spirited Rose is to leave the city and make a new life for themselves away from harm. But soon Elenor discovers that Hitler’s firestorm is not the only thing she must fear when she learns a devastating secret about Rose....

Bailey Cooper has always given more of himself to the two ranches he works on than his personal life, but one thing he knows for sure: Lettie is the girl he's going to marry. When she leaves without a goodbye the day after her eighteenth birthday, he's convinced he'll never see her again. That is, until she's falling off a ladder and into his arms.

I'm a man who knows what he wants, and I knew within minutes of meeting Darcy that I wanted her. She's the real-life version of my dream girl. So what if she's married to a former friend? He certainly doesn't deserve her. But I do. Nothing can stop me from claiming not only her, but also six-week-old Owen. In exchange for a debt, her husband agrees to skip town and never return, allowing Darcy to start rebuilding the life her husband destroyed… one with me by her side.

When I escaped my abusive ex and stumbled into the mountains... I never expected to find three rugged mountain men ready to claim my heart—and my body. They offer refuge and safety for me and my sweet little girl. But nothing in their world comes without a price. As we bond beneath the stars, my daughter giggles and twirls. Her innocent laughter lights up the night. Our moments ignite like wildfire, consuming my fears and awakening long-buried desires. I'm drawn into a whirlwind of passion that challenges everything I know about love and trust.

Charla Rae Denny was the perfect wife with a perfect life, content to keep the home fires burning while her husband, JB, competed as a champion bull rider. Then their son died in a tragic accident-and everything fell apart. Divorced and saddled with a hill of bills and a failing ranch, Charla must now cowboy up to put her life back together. James "JB" Denny doesn't stay where he isn't welcome. So when Charla shut him out of her grieving heart-and their home-a year ago, he took comfort where he could find it.

“Ask anyone non-Northern, they’ll only know Donny as punchline of a joke or place they changed trains once ont way to London.” But Doncaster’s also the home of Rach, Shaz, and Kel, bezzies since childhood and Donny lasses through and through. Never mind that Rach is skeptical of Shaz’s bolder plots; or that Shaz, who comes from a rougher end of town, feels left behind when the others begin plotting a course to uni; or that Kel sometimes feels split in two trying to keep the peace―the girls are inseparable, their friendship as indestructible as they are.

Sully Raines sets out to find his birth mother, and ends up in Blessings, Georgia. A new surprise awaits him here, but of the best kind - his childhood sweetheart, whom he hasn't seen since she moved away when they were teens, is living in Blessings now. He's not sure she's as happy to see him as he is to see her, but it's been a lot of years, and a lot of water under the bridge... Sully's heartfelt search for answers about his past might just turn out to be the key to his future.

Take a trip to Blessings, Georgia, where bestselling author Sharon Sala welcomes you with a touching small-town romance. Ruby Butterman and her husband, Peanut, cannot have children, but they're given a second chance at a family when eight-year-old orphan Carlie is left in their care. It's a challenge for Carlie to adapt to a new town, a new school, and a new family, and when she gets bullied at school, Ruby and Peanut discover how to step up as parents, and how to make a forever family for their beloved little girl.

In a small Arizona town, a man counts his blessings: a loving wife, two teenage daughters, and a job that allows him to work at home. Then "The Store" announces plans to open a local outlet, which will surely finish off the small downtown shops. His concerns grow when "The Store's" builders ignore all the town's zoning laws during its construction. Then dead animals are found on "The Store's" grounds. Inside, customers are hounded by obnoxious sales people, and strange products appear on the shelves.

The first time I saw Grayson Phillips, I fell. Tripped, to be specific. His seven-year-old self saved me from scraped knees and sentenced me to a fate of pining after my brother’s best friend for years. People change. Childish crushes fade. I’m an adult now, a doctor with more important things to worry about. I gave up on the boy next door ever loving me a long time ago. Or so I thought…until he returns to our hometown on leave from the Air Force. For the first time, not everything between us feels one-sided. That doesn’t make it matter. He’ll take off soon—literally.

Welcome to Too Much - where the women are strong-willed and the men are handsome yet shiftless. Ever since Mary Dell Templeton and her twin sister, Lydia Dale, were children, their Aunt Velvet has warned them away from local boys. But it’s well known that the females in Mary Dell’s family have two traits in common - superior sewing skills and a fatal weakness for men. While Lydia Dale grows up petite and pretty, Mary Dell just keeps growing. Tall, smart, and sassy, she is determined to one day turn her love of sewing into a business.

Stepping off the Greyhound bus, I look at the town glinting in the distance beyond a crystal-clear mountain lake. The lines I’ve memorized from the ad are on repeat in my mind: accommodation and employment provided to women willing to relocate to a historic town with a shortage of women. When Virginia first sees the ad, her breath catches. Female? Check. Small-town seclusion needed? Check. Currently without a home or a job? Check and check. She dabs an extra layer of concealer over the bruise on her cheek, bundles up her belongings, and her secrets, and escapes her life in Savannah.

Tess and Simon Sparrow may have a few more grey hairs than they used to, but that doesn’t stop them from being swept up in a whirlwind romance and starting over. Swapping their city lives for an escape to the Cornish countryside, they fall in love with a crumbling hotel and impulsively buy it to renovate as their forever home. But soon the newlyweds have had their first fight (and their second and third...) and building costs are spiralling out of control. Their families think they’re mad and Tess is starting to agree – she just wants to escape back to civilisation.

With Holding Lies, John Larison takes us deep into a thriving subculture of the Northwest, one born of the ferns and firs, rain and hot-springs, firebombs and whitewater. He takes us even deeper into the troubles of Hank Hazelton, a 59-year-old river guide, as he struggles to reconnect with his only daughter after a 14-year estrangement. His failure as a father haunts him, along with other deep regrets, tragedies, and longings. In the days before his daughter's arrival, Hank discovers a drift boat stranded below a rapid, empty except for a long smear of blood on its seat.