Books like 'The Occasional Virgin'
Readers who enjoyed The Occasional Virgin by Hanan Al-Shaykh also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary psychological religion literary-fiction islam friendship humor satire female-mc spirituality
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Healed: Stone and Pepper by Tess Thompson
Rated: 4.80 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIt's Cliffside Bay and beyond in this heartwarming enemies-to-lovers romantic adventure from USA Today bestselling author Tess Thompson. Stone Hickman is the last of a dying breed. The former Marine believes in integrity, service to his country, a hard day's work, and taking care of his loved ones... -
![Family Secrets at Hedgehog Hollow by Jessica Redland]()
Family Secrets at Hedgehog Hollow by Jessica Redland
Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsEvery family has its secrets, and at Hedgehog Hollow there is no exception...It was always Samantha's dream to run her beautiful rescue centre, Hedgehog Hollow, full-time. But just as her wish comes true, she becomes a victim of her own kindness when she finds herself with a house full of guests - all with their own problems and secrets - looking to her for support... -
![Collected Stories by Raymond Carver]()
Collected Stories by Raymond Carver
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsRaymond Carver’s spare dramas of loneliness, despair, and troubled relationships breathed new life into the American short story of the 1970s and ’80s. In collections such as Will You Please Be Quiet, Please? and What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, Carver wrote with unflinching exactness about men and women enduring lives on the knife-edge of poverty and other deprivations... -
![Tainted: Lance and Mary by Tess Thompson]()
Tainted: Lance and Mary by Tess Thompson
Rated: 4.70 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsOne career-ending mistake sends Lance Mullen home to Cliffside Bay in search of a fresh start. And in no time at all, home begins to feel like the place he was always meant to be. With his beautiful new beach house, his friends and family close by, and a profitable business to grow, life really is good. That is until his heart tries to wreck everything... again... -
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![Seabreeze Wedding by Jan Moran]()
Seabreeze Wedding by Jan Moran
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe high summer season. A long-awaited wedding. Surprises at a historic beach inn.**From a USA Today bestselling author**At the historic Seabreeze Inn, sisters Ivy and Shelly Bay are busier than ever with wedding plans of their own, although challenges threaten to derail the special events. New guests are also throwing a wedding at the inn, bringing a host of trials and chaos... -
![Dreaming of Tuscany: The unputdownable feel-good read of the year by T.A. Williams]()
Dreaming of Tuscany: The unputdownable feel-good read of the year by T.A. Williams
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe glamour of Hollywood. The magic of the Tuscan countryside. One big decision... Beatrice Kingdom (Bee to her friends) wakes up in hospital in Tuscany. After an accident on a film set leaves her burned and scarred, she feels her whole life has been turned upside down...Categorized as:
humor religion female-mc friendship spirituality contemporary womens-fiction fiction -
![Seabreeze Sunset by Jan Moran]()
Seabreeze Sunset by Jan Moran
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsUntangling secrets at a historic beach inn has unimagined surprises. With the high summer season underway at the Seabreeze Inn, Ivy faces a fresh round of new challenges and reasons to celebrate. She has just one season to make the inn successful enough to pay the tax bill her late husband burdened her with. And her neighbor’s lawsuit could mean an end to the Seabreeze Inn... -
![Margaritas at the Beach House Hotel by Judith Keim]()
Margaritas at the Beach House Hotel by Judith Keim
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsAn upscale hotel like The Beach House Hotel sometimes attracts surprise guests….Ann and Rhonda continue overseeing their Beach House Hotel along the Gulf Coast of Florida and providing guests with a lovely experience of good eating, relaxation, and the privacy many of them require... -
![Blue Twilight by Tess Thompson]()
Blue Twilight by Tess Thompson
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsDeath came between them in high school. Will solving a painful cold case bring them together at last?Carlie Webster remains haunted by the past. After a messy failed marriage sends her packing for her small hometown, she relives the memories of her sister’s thirty-year-old unsolved murder...Categorized as:
spirituality religion literary-fiction female-mc fiction contemporary small-town psychological -
![Montana Promises by Kim Law]()
Montana Promises by Kim Law
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsHe’s falling for his brother’s ex—as if he needs another reason to go. Nate Wilde is ready to leave Birch Bay. He’s been home too long as it is and extending his visit means risking fantasies of staying for good. Wants and desires never work out for him, though. With good comes bad, and he’s had enough bad to last a lifetime. Unfortunately, his siblings need him... -
![The Desert Flowers - Lily by Judith Keim]()
The Desert Flowers - Lily by Judith Keim
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThree talented women are brought together by a man they all love, becoming his Desert Flowers, who work together to save his hotel from being ruined by the company buying it…When Lily Weaver is asked to help Alec Thurston, the one man she’s ever truly loved, and to come to Palm Desert, California, she doesn’t hesitate...Categorized as:
religion literary-fiction female-mc friendship spirituality fiction womens-fiction psychological -
![I Hid My Voice by Parinoush Saniee]()
I Hid My Voice by Parinoush Saniee
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThis is the story, based on fact, of a boy who couldn’t speak until the age of seven. Now twenty, he describes the events of his life.Four-year-old Shahaab has not started talking. The family doctor believes there is no cause for concern; nevertheless, Shahaab is ridiculed by others who call him "dumb... -
![The Pet Doctor by Tess Thompson]()
The Pet Doctor by Tess Thompson
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsHe’s a small-town veterinarian with a love for animals and naps. Haunted by a childhood trauma, she’s terrified of men. Can the truth about her past bring them closer together or tear them apart forever?Breck Stokes is back where he belongs. After years at university, he’s returned to Emerson Pass and taken over his mother’s veterinarian practice... -
![A Time to Forgive by Kay Correll]()
A Time to Forgive by Kay Correll
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsSometimes is very, very hard to forget or forgive… Bree Stuart wants nothing more than to pack up her parents’ cabin on Lone Elk Lake and get it ready to sell. One less reminder of her past. Jason Cassidy is thrilled to see his friend, Bree, back in Sweet River Falls after twenty years. He offers to help her get the cabin ready to put on the market... -
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![A Road Trip to Remember by Judith Keim]()
A Road Trip to Remember by Judith Keim
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAfter agreeing to enter the New Life Assisted-Living Community outside of Boston, Agatha “Aggie” Robard talks her devoted, serious granddaughter, Blythe, into driving her to Florida, stopping to see old college friends along the way. She particularly needs to speak to Donovan Bailey, the man she’d thought she would marry right after graduating from college...Categorized as:
female-mc literary-fiction religion spirituality adult anthologies audiobook contemporary -
![The Letter by Kay Correll]()
The Letter by Kay Correll
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsSometimes life offers second chances … Madeline Stuart, a St. Louis-based accountant, has sworn off relationships. Reeling from a breakup with her long-term boyfriend and her mother’s recent death, she’s determined to avoid personal entanglements of any kind... -
![Leaving Cub Creek by Grace Greene]()
Leaving Cub Creek by Grace Greene
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIn the heart of Virginia, where the forests hide secrets and the creeks run strong and deep ~ Libbie Havens never fit in. She bought the old Carson place on Cub Creek and moved to the Virginia countryside to prove she could live on her own terms. In the process, she learned some truths about herself and found love ~ but love, acceptance and belonging can be easier to find than to keep... -
![The Desert Flowers - Willow by Judith Keim]()
The Desert Flowers - Willow by Judith Keim
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe power of love and the strength of women working together are proved once again.When Willow Sanchez is asked to help Alec Thurston, the man for whom her parents work and who’s always treated her as the daughter he once lost, she doesn’t hesitate to leave Boston and come back home to Palm Desert, California...Categorized as:
religion literary-fiction female-mc spirituality womens-fiction contemporary small-town slow-burn -
![Life Goes On by Kelly Moore]()
Life Goes On by Kelly Moore
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsHappy go lucky Olivia McDill adores her fairy-tale life, married to the man of her dreams. It’s a love that should’ve lasted a lifetime…then in the blink of an eye, everything changed. She learns too quickly that life can be unfair, and she’s left trying to pick up the pieces and make sense of things on her own... -
![What the Heart Remembers by Bette Lee Crosby]()
What the Heart Remembers by Bette Lee Crosby
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsOverview TWO LOVERS. ONE CHANCE AT HAPPINESS....When Max Martinelli returns to Paris in search of her lost love, what she finds will change her life forever. For three years the memory of Julien Marceau has haunted Max. Her life is stuck on hold simply because she can't stop wondering what would have happened if she had gone back...Categorized as:
female-mc friendship literary-fiction spirituality adult book christian contemporary -
![The Desert Flowers - Rose by Judith Keim]()
The Desert Flowers - Rose by Judith Keim
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThree talented women brought together by a man’s love…When Rose Macklin is asked to help Alec Thurston, the one man she’s ever truly loved, by coming to Palm Desert, California, she doesn’t hesitate. He’s dying of cancer and needs her help overseeing the sale of his hotel, the Desert Sage Inn, to another hotel group...Categorized as:
religion literary-fiction female-mc friendship spirituality womens-fiction psychological sad -
![Secret Sundays by Judith Keim]()
Secret Sundays by Judith Keim
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe women in the Fat Fridays group continue to come together for their Friday lunches—no calories counted—and to help each other deal with life’s complications. With her unexpected pregnancy and the support of the women in the group, Carol Ann breaks free from her dismal life with her parents...Categorized as:
female-mc religion spirituality romance contemporary womens-fiction psychological sad -
![A Summer of Secrets by Kay Correll]()
A Summer of Secrets by Kay Correll
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA woman with a secret. A man who will never forgive her. Cece Stuart hadn’t planned on ever finding love and she’s made her peace with that. Really, she has… Zach is over women and their secrets. Really, he is… But fate laughed at them, as it often does, and threw them together finishing up a new wedding venue at Sweet River Lodge... -
![To Live by C.G. Cooper]()
To Live by C.G. Cooper
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsElmore Thadeus Nix, it's retirement time. You're sixty-five and ready. Take that final physical and then it's adios to your old life and hello to the new. Not so fast. Sorry, Elmore. Your plan's about to change. It's Elmore's last day of work. As part of his retirement, he heads to the family doctor for the follow-up to a routine physical. That's when the universe shifts on its axis. Cancer...Categorized as:
female-mc friendship literary-fiction religion spirituality adult book coming-of-age -
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![Dreaming of Verona by T.A. Williams]()
Dreaming of Verona by T.A. Williams
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsVerona is the City of Love. But will Suzie find romance there or, like Romeo and Juliet, will it all end in tears? When Suzie is hired to accompany spoiled, abrasive Lady Alexandra Tedburn on an all-expenses paid holiday to Italy, she fears the trip will be a disaster... -
![Coral Weddings by Jan Moran]()
Coral Weddings by Jan Moran
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWhile Marina and Jack contemplate their future, her sister Kai and her new fiance Axe are planning their wedding. When disagreements threaten to derail the wedding, the sisters' grandmother, the indomitable Ginger Delavie, doles out unusual advice. Soon, an unforgettable event unfolds... -
![A Memory to Cherish by Kay Correll]()
A Memory to Cherish by Kay Correll
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsSometimes just A Memory to Cherish isn't enough… Beth Cassidy is out to prove something. To the town and herself. When she decides to run for mayor, the one thing she doesn’t count on is bad-boy Mac McKenna showing back up in her life... -
![The Key to the Last House Before the Sea by Liz Eeles]()
The Key to the Last House Before the Sea by Liz Eeles
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsTears trickling down her cheeks, she recognises her grandmother’s writing scrawled across the manila envelope. Inside is an engraved key that sits heavy in her hand. Will the tumbledown cottage be the start of a new life – or will it tear her life apart?With her back to the sparkling sea, single mum Nessa stands in the doorway of the stone cottage her grandmother left behind... -
![The Magnolia Cafe by Kay Correll]()
The Magnolia Cafe by Kay Correll
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsSometimes, the past isn’t quite what it seems…Reluctant restauranteur, Keely Granger, wants nothing more than to escape the small town she’s lived in her whole life, but her guilt and family responsibilities keep her firmly entrenched in Comfort Crossing, Mississippi... -
![No Wedding Like Nantucket by Grace Palmer]()
No Wedding Like Nantucket by Grace Palmer
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe wedding of the year versus the storm of the century. Who will win?Things are finally looking up for the Benson family. After a year of tough choices and big leaps of faith, it seems like love, success, and happiness are right in their grasp. But with a wedding on the horizon and a successful new restaurant growing faster than anyone ever expected, everyone certainly has their hands full... -
![No Beach Like Nantucket by Grace Palmer]()
No Beach Like Nantucket by Grace Palmer
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe Benson family needs a fresh start. Can they find peace and happiness on the beaches of Nantucket?Last summer, a storm blew the Benson family’s lives to bits.It’s been almost a year since that fateful day.Since they learned that life at the beach isn’t all sunshine and rainbows.They’re doing their best to pick up the pieces.Mae is running the Sweet Island Inn...Categorized as:
female-mc friendship literary-fiction adult book breakup contemporary domestic-drama -
![Claron by Katharine E. Hamilton]()
Claron by Katharine E. Hamilton
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsTossing her belongings into a suitcase and escaping heartbreak seemed like the best idea for Rhea Conners. She’d simply travel across the ocean to visit her grandfather in Ireland and heal. Then she’d come back. Simple. But what she doesn’t expect is to find solace and healing in the form of the O’Rifcan family. One member in Claron... -
![Lunch at The Beach House Hotel by Judith Keim]()
Lunch at The Beach House Hotel by Judith Keim
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsAnn Rutherford’s and Rhonda DelMonte Grayson’s lives continue to be full of surprises as they run The Beach House Hotel, their small upscale hotel on the Gulf Coast in Southwest Florida. Things heat up when Tina Marks (Valentina Marquis, a famous young movie star) is sent to the hotel in secret to lose twenty-five pounds in eight weeks for her next starring role... -
![Where Women Are Kings by Christie Watson]()
Where Women Are Kings by Christie Watson
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsElijah, seven years old, has a history of disruptive behaviour. His adoptive mother Nikki believes that she and her husband Obi are strong enough to accept his difficulties – and that her being white will not affect her ability to raise a black son... -
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![The Aftermath by Gail Schimmel]()
The Aftermath by Gail Schimmel
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThree women: a mother, a daughter, a friend. Can they save each other from the past?It’s been twenty-six years since the accident, but Helen still lives on autopilot, going through the motions of work and motherhood. Her one wish is for her daughter Julia to settle down with her own family—so Helen can let go... -
![High Tea at The Beach House Hotel by Judith Keim]()
High Tea at The Beach House Hotel by Judith Keim
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsGuests can be surprising…Ann and Rhonda continue their work at The Beach House Hotel, always striving to make their upscale property the best on the Gulf Coast of Florida. As they’ve learned, not all guests are easy...Categorized as:
female-mc humor literary-fiction religion spirituality womens-fiction psychological cozy -
![Sunrise over Strawberry Hill Farm by Alison Sherlock]()
Sunrise over Strawberry Hill Farm by Alison Sherlock
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsPre-order the BRAND NEW romance from Alison Sherlock She drives a tractor. He arrives in a red Ferrari. What could possibly go wrong? Flora Barton is desperate to save her family home Strawberry Hill Farm. She only needs one thing - a great business idea to keep the farm afloat!So, when Nico Rossi arrives from Italy with a crazy plan to save the farm, Flora should be overjoyed...Categorized as:
humor religion friendship female-mc spirituality romance contemporary womens-fiction -
![Knit Along with Debbie Macomber: Twenty Wishes by Debbie Macomber, Leisure Arts Inc.]()
Knit Along with Debbie Macomber: Twenty Wishes by Debbie Macomber, Leisure Arts Inc.
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsDebbie Macomber 20 Wishes is a story about Anne Marie Roche who wants to find happiness again. At thirty-eight her life's not what she'd expected-she's childless a recent widow alone. She owns a successful bookstore on Seattle's Blossom Street but despite her accomplishments there's a feeling of emptiness... -
![True to You in Good Hope by Cindy Kirk]()
True to You in Good Hope by Cindy Kirk
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsShe can handle anything…except her sister marrying her exIn Good Hope, Piper sees herself as a woman totally in control. That control frays when her sister becomes engaged to her ex. Not only is she asked to be the maid of honor, her sister wants Piper to make her wedding dress!Piper thought she was doing the right thing, keeping the real reason for that long-ago split a secret from her family... -
![His Redemption by Anne-Marie Meyer, Lucy McConnell]()
His Redemption by Anne-Marie Meyer, Lucy McConnell
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsSurvival is key.I returned to civilian life, thinking that I would be fine.But the truth is…I’m not.Not when I see Sadie, my best friend’s widow, struggling.Not when my last promise to Adam was to take care of her—no matter the cost.When she unknowingly moves into my garage apartment—she enters my world.I didn’t understand how hard it would be to be near her... -
![The Christmas Cottage: Comfort Crossing Christmas Novella by Kay Correll]()
The Christmas Cottage: Comfort Crossing Christmas Novella by Kay Correll
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsVeterinarian Holly Thompson accepts a temporary position in Comfort Crossing in an effort to escape all things Christmas. What she finds is a small town that embraces all things Christmas and a handsome neighbor with a small son who both capture her heart. Add to that their adorable pup, and she knows the holidays are not going to be what she planned. At all... -
![Tilly's Tuscan Teashop: A gorgeously uplifting summer read by Daisy James]()
Tilly's Tuscan Teashop: A gorgeously uplifting summer read by Daisy James
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWelcome to Tilly's Tuscan Teashop, the first book in a brand new series from the author of the Hummingbird Hotel and the Cornish Confetti Agency series.When photographer Natalie Nicholson’s beach hut studio – and everything she’s spent the last two years working on – is destroyed in a fire, she doesn’t think things can get any worse... -
![What's Bred in the Bone by Robertson Davies]()
What's Bred in the Bone by Robertson Davies
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsFrancis Cornish was always good at keeping secrets. From the well-hidden family secret of his childhood to his mysterious encounters with a small-town embalmer, an expert art restorer, a Bavarian countess, and various masters of espionage, the events in Francis's life were not always what they seemed... -
![Deception in Paradise by Deborah Brown]()
Deception in Paradise by Deborah Brown
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsMadison Westin is back with her never-say-no style; smarter and packing an attitude not to mention her Glock. This time, trouble rolls into Tarpon Cove in the form of Madison's ex-husband, Jackson Devereaux, whom she hoped to never see again. His arrival brings unparalleled chaos and an uninvited corpse... -
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![A Place to Call Home by Carole Matthews]()
A Place to Call Home by Carole Matthews
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsAyesha knows that she must escape from her marriage for the sake of her daughter, Sabina. Slipping away in the dead of the night, they head for London to start a new life. Hayden, a reclusive pop star, hides himself away in the mansion which he shares with two more damaged souls - Crystal, a professional dancer with a kind heart and Joy, an ill-tempered retiree... -
![Winter Magic on Railway Lane by Alison Sherlock]()
Winter Magic on Railway Lane by Alison Sherlock
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsJoin the residents of Railway Lane for one last magical adventure… Globetrotting Libby Jacobs has lost her job but is looking forward to spending more time in her home village of Cranfield.She dreams of turning her chocolate making hobby into something more permanent. There’s only one problem - Ethan Connolly... -
![Where The Story Starts by Imogen Clark]()
Where The Story Starts by Imogen Clark
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA strange encounter. An unlikely friendship. But will it survive when they both know the truth?As single mother Leah struggles to get her children ready one morning, the doorbell rings. Standing on the doorstep of their terraced house in Whitley Bay is a well-dressed stranger, Clio, who feels an emotional tie to the house that she can’t explain... -
![Christmas at the Cornish Confetti Agency by Daisy James]()
Christmas at the Cornish Confetti Agency by Daisy James
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIt's Christmas at The Cornish Confetti Agency!When Lexie Harrington is asked to choreograph Phoebe and Sam’s Christmas-themed wedding, she can’t wait to create the perfect winter wonderland - elegantly dressed fir trees, glossy garlands of holly and mistletoe, baskets of yule logs and pine cones, and the mouth-watering fragrance of gingerbread, cinnamon sticks and warm mulled wine floating... -
![Change of Heart by Judith Keim]()
Change of Heart by Judith Keim
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsEmerson “Em” Jordan always wanted a Valentine’s Day wedding. But after being dumped by her boyfriend, she spends the holiday at Seashell Cottage on the Gulf Coast of Florida with Devin Gerard, a family friend who has no interest in her or any other woman and is instead concentrating on his pediatric medical practice and continuing medical missions in Costa Rica... -
![The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer]()
The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsMikki Brammer's The Collected Regrets of Clover is a big-hearted and life-affirming debut about a death doula who, in caring for others at the end of their life, has forgotten how to live her own, for readers of The Midnight Library...
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