Showing results by author "Vanessa Gray Bartal" in All Categories

Vaughn Drake hated high school, but not nearly as much as she hated Grant Honeywell. Not content to torment her in private, he made his ridicule public, humiliating Vaughn so deeply she never forgot--or forgave.Vaughn spent years tailoring her revenge, and now it's almost complete. But when she returns to Kentucky to deliver vengeance in person, she's unprepared for her attraction to Grant who hasn't changed a bit since they were seventeen. Too late, though, because the plan is quickly spiraling out of Vaughn's control. Now she and Grant are on a mad cross-country dash as Grant tries to ...

After a disastrous few years trying to make it on her own, Lacy Steele returns to her tiny hometown. Feeling like a failure, she moves in with the one person guaranteed to make her fat, her beloved grandmother - a woman who uses food as love. As if to make her already depressing life more confusing, she reconnects with Jason, the former Adonis of their high school. Now a cop, Jason seemingly doesn't remember the frizzy-haired band geek Lacy was. Instead, he sees her as a potential problem, especially when someone she loves is arrested for murder.

Benedict Samperi is perfect. Everyone agrees, from his parents who call him "the good one," to his four siblings, who refer to him as "St. Benny." Only one person in the world doesn't believe Benny is as wonderful as he seems. For Hattie "Lou" Lawton, Benny's former best friend, he stands as a reminder of one of the most painful episodes of her life. Now, fifteen years after the event that broke her heart, she is determined everyone will finally see Benny for the rat he is. When a cataclysmic event forces them together and Benny uses it to blackmail Lou into helping him with a charity event...

In a world of conflicting voices, sometimes the hardest one to hear is your own... For Piper, AJ, Daphne, and Brooke, nothing could be worse than the suicide of their idol. If she couldn't make it, who could? But when Piper's boss points out that the woman's life was meaningless, the four friends are thrown into a tailspin of self-doubt. What does it mean to be a woman? Who are they supposed to be? What are they supposed to want? And, once they figure it out, how are they supposed to get it? With no role models to lead the way, the four must navigate the tricky road to womanhood with only ...

The Honeywells have been breeding horses for as long as America has been a country, but their venerable family has never seen anything like the latest generation--five brothers whose reputations are as notorious as their dark good looks. Their little sister, Ivy, their tiny hometown of Silver Springs, and even strangers are terrified of them. Everyone agrees they'll never get married because who in her right mind would try to tame them?Haley Griffin doesn't agree with popular opinion, but then she has a good reason. As a child, her life intersected heartbreakingly with Brent, the oldest ...

Travis Vega has been a screw-up his whole life. Standing in the shadow of his perfect brother, he couldn't seem to please their father, a four-star admiral in the navy. Soon he stopped trying. Instead of becoming an officer in the navy like his father dreamed, Travis enlisted in the marines. But being the point man for a scout sniper team isn't all it's cracked up to be. Now he finds himself in a familiar place--standing in someone else's shadow. He'll never be like Lolly, the man he replaced, never fit in, never be good enough. When he thinks he can't mess up his life any more, he gets his...

Layla Smith has nothing. A former foster child with no job, no family, no home, and no prospects, her future couldn’t be bleaker. And then she witnesses a murder. Now hunted by an assassin, she must enter witness protection, leave Chicago, and head to a location so remote it's not even on the map.Cade King has everything. Living on his family’s Montana ranch with three brothers, life seems perfect until an accident shatters his spine. Now, trapped in anger and helplessness, he resents his new situation almost as much as he resents the newcomer who can't seem to let him wallow in his ...

Mossimo Samperi is spoiled. Everyone agrees, especially Moss. His mother does everything for him, from laundry to taxes, and he wouldn't have it any other way. Molly O'Ryan has never had anyone else to depend on. Hard work and discipline are all that keep her from the insecurity and poverty of her youth. She only has one weakness: Moss. For three years, she's loved him with only a glimmer of hope that he'd ever love her in return. Moss flirts with her shamelessly, but only when his family isn't watching. Just when Molly decides to let him go, he asks her for an actual date. After the date ...

3 uplifting books with heroines who are as offbeat as they are lovable. In With a Friend Like You, Bronwyn's life is a study in failure until she befriends her next door neighbor, the son of her mother's political rival. From enemies to best friends, will they ever be something more? For The Girls is an ensemble cast of four best friends trying to navigate life and love with only each other to lean on. In A Christian Cougar, Mare is a young widow dating an even younger man, a secret she tries and fails to keep from everyone, especially her imaginary husband. From laughter to tears to ...

The Screaming Samperis. That was what people started to call them when their reality renovation show became a hit. They were everywhere, on every billboard, TV show, and magazine cover, Jessamine Samperi most of all. Her star had never been brighter. Life seemed perfect until the threats began. Milo Eliopoulos's life was in shambles. Unemployed and drowning in debt, it was the worst possible time to meet the woman of his dreams, especially when she's rich and famous. But from the first moment he laid eyes on Jessamine Samperi, he knew she was the only one for him. Except it's not the first ...

The Porters and the Baxters have been feuding for decades. Political rivals and next door neighbors, the matriarchs of each family have fought over the same revolving Congressional seat for as long as either family can remember. They are enemies, indisputably, but two of them hold a secret no one else knows. Eleven years ago, when Julian Baxter was nineteen and Bronwyn Porter was sixteen, they shared a kiss. Now Bronwyn's life is falling apart, and Julian seems to be the only one who can save it. As their unlikely friendship hovers on the edge of romance, they must find a way to navigate ...

Sterling Thompson is perfect, everyone agrees. The perfect son, brother, friend, and boyfriend, he tries hard to be there for all the people in his life, fully believing it's his job to save everybody. But no one realizes how hard he's struggling to keep it all together. Alby Mowry was easily forgotten by everyone. Small, mousy, and unassuming, she was always the tagalong in high school, included only because she had a party house. To her, Sterling Thompson was the epitome of everything she aspired to be. When Sterling needs a hand up, it's Alby to the rescue, entwining their lives in the ...

Five siblings, one family business, endless possibilities. The Samperi family moved from Brooklyn to Kentucky with a hammer and a dream—to trade the city life for a quiet country upbringing for their five children. A few years later their family business grew into a renovation empire with the siblings working together, each one assuming a different role. Giovanni, the buttoned down electrician, would rather read than build. He likes his tidy life with no surprises. When a case of mistaken identity leads to a blind date that leads to a wild night with a stranger, he’s desperate to undo ...

Darcy Honeywell is searching for perfection. To him, the perfect woman knows a lot about horses, and she's tall. Just when he finally meets his dream woman, he's dispatched to care for his sick Aunt Jo, a taciturn old maid who used to terrify young Darcy. Jo requested Darcy by name to care for her beloved animals, something else he's not happy about. His temper is already frayed when he meets Genevieve, a tiny and maddening woman who has somehow wormed her way into his wealthy aunt's good graces. Darcy is sure Genevieve is up to no good, and he's determined to prove it. What he proves, ...

Dexter Nieman was not the type of person to marry a stranger on a whim. Steady, predictable, and maybe even boring, he liked his settled life, loved being in his rut. And he certainly didn't intend to marry his neighbor, an eccentric recluse who worked odd hours and inexplicably owned a cauldron. But his job involved putting out fires for four insane brothers. And when one of those fires spiraled out of control, involving Dexter and his quirky neighbor, a pretend marriage seemed the only solution. Lainey Andrews quit her job to follow her dream of making candy, straight into total ruin. She...

The shooter. The spotter. The gunner. The point man. A four-man Marine scout sniper unit, living and working together like brothers. They know how to get the job done, but when it comes to their personal lives, it all falls to pieces.Kelsey Adams never thought he would lose his mind. Funny and laid back, he took life casually, at least until one of his best friends died in his arms. Now struggling with the aftermath of tragedy, he can't come to terms with the fact that he's not doing okay, and he's cut himself off from the person he needs the most.Melly Garcia is dealing with her own grief....

The shooter. The spotter. The gunner. The point man. A four-man Marine scout sniper unit, living and working together like brothers. They know how to get the job done, but when it comes to their personal lives it all falls to pieces. Corporal Nick Lassiter has been in the corps for almost a decade. A scout sniper, he heads his team. But with his shady past, he's nobody's idea of a true leader. Enter Ashleigh Desmond. A take-no-prisoners carpenter who couldn't be more opposite of Nick if she tried, they meet when she accidentally shoots him in the behind. They shouldn't be attracted to each ...

Josh King is perfect, or at least he tries to be. Loyal, hardworking, and honest, he can't stand to be lied to or laughed at. Nicknamed "Saint Josh" by his three older brothers, his hidden soft side is reserved for his beloved cattle dogs and his best friend, a wiry little cowboy named Sam. But when Sam betrays him, Josh decides never to trust again. He wears his anger like a shield, keeping the world at bay until his meddling sisters-in-law decide to intervene. They're convinced Josh needs to change, and they think they have the perfect plan. Josh is predictably angry about the girl they ...

When Corliss Honeywell met Allie Miller, she was sixteen to his twenty and the housekeeper's daughter, but none of that mattered. They fell hard, and their romance was epic. But something happened, something that tore their unshakeable relationship irreparably apart.Now, five years later, Allie is in trouble, and Corliss will do whatever it takes to keep her safe, even if it means being near the one person who causes him the most pain. Allie doesn't care about the danger; she simply wants Corliss to go away so she can try to once again forget their past. But their past refuses to remain ...

The Porters are considered trash in their small town. Dirty, uneducated criminals, they're opposite from the Honeywells in every way but one--they both have a lot of children. The last thing anyone expects is for a Honeywell to fall for one of the lowly Porters, but Larissa Porter isn't like the others. Rescued by Everett Honeywell at a young age, she chooses to live her life apart from her family, enforcing the law while everyone else is intent on breaking it. The tallest in a family of tall brothers, the introvert in a family of extroverts, Everett Honeywell doesn't quite fit in. He and ...