Kaira Rouda books in order

Kelly Mills Johnson becomes restless in her thirty-ninth year. An appetite for more forces her to take stock of her middling middle-American existence and her neighbors’ seemingly perfect lives. Her marriage to a successful attorney has settled into a comfortable routine, and being the mother of two adorable sons has been rewarding. But Kelly’s own passions lie wasted. She eyes with envy the lives of her two best friends, Kathryn and Charlotte, both beautiful, successful businesswomen who seem to have it all. Kelly takes charge of her life, devising a midlife makeover plan.

From page one, Kelly’s witty reflections, self-deprecating humor, and clever tactics in executing that plan—she places Post-it notes all over her house and car—will have readers laughing out loud. The next instant, however, they might rant right along with Kelly as her commitment to a sullen, anorexic teenager left on her doorstep tries her patience or as she deflects the boozy advances of a divorced neighbor. Readers will need to keep the tissue box handy, too, as Kelly repairs the damage she inflicted on a high school friend; realizes how deeply her husband, Patrick, understands and loves her; and ultimately grows into a woman empowered by her own blend of home and career.

Roommates Laura and Angie couldn't be more different. Laura is a local celebrity, the television anchor who is motivated to move out of small-time media markets and on to the big time, no matter the cost. Meanwhile, Angie, a luckless waitress, spends her time waiting for Mr. Right to save her from temporary jobs and a life spent making bad choices.

On the other side of town, Ellen abandons her life as a successful fundraiser for that of an isolated housewife in the country estate she shares with her husband, whose affairs become increasingly hard to ignore. When the city’s gossip columnist, Maddie, and restaurant reviewer, Dixon, become involved in the mystery, the unlikely duo stir up more than they intended. But will anyone be able to stop the next murder?

What choices would you make if you knew you may die soon?

Jennifer Benson is a woman who seems to have it all. Diagnosed with cancer, she enters an experimental treatment facility to tackle her disease the same way she tackled her life - head on. But while she's busy fighting for a cure, running her business, planning a party, staying connected with her kids, and trying to keep her sanity, she ignores her own intuition and warnings from others and reignites an old relationship best left behind.

If you knew you might die, what choices would you make? How would it affect your marriage? How would you live each day? And how would you say no to the one who got away?

Melanie, a perfectionist mom who views the approaching end of parenting as a type of death, can’t believe she has only one more year to live vicariously through her slacker senior son, Dane.

Gorgeous mom Sarah has just begun to realize that her only daughter, Ashley, has been serving as a stand-in for her traveling husband, and the thought of her daughter leaving for college is cracking the carefully cultivated façade of her life.

Will and his wife are fine―as long as he follows the instructions on the family calendar and is sure to keep secret his whole other life with Lauren, the woman he turns to for fun (and who also happens to have a daughter in the senior class).

Told from the points of view of both the parents and the kids, The Goodbye Year explores high school peer pressure, what it’s like for young people to face the unknown of life after high school, and how a transition that should be the beginning of a couple’s second act together—empty nesting—might possibly be the end.

THE PERFECT MARRIAGE IS THE PERFECT ILLUSION.

Paul Strom has the perfect life: a glittering career as an advertising executive, a beautiful wife, two healthy boys and a big house in a wealthy suburb. And he’s the perfect husband: breadwinner, protector, provider. That’s why he’s planned a romantic weekend for his wife, Mia, at their lake house, just the two of them. And he’s promised today will be the best day ever.

But as Paul and Mia drive out of the city and toward the countryside, a spike of tension begins to wedge itself between them and doubts start to arise. How much do they trust each other? And how perfect is their marriage, or any marriage, really?

The perfect home. The perfect family. The perfect lie.

Jane Harris lives in a sparkling home in an oceanfront gated community in Orange County. It’s a place that seems too beautiful to be touched by sadness. But exactly one year ago, Jane’s oldest daughter, Mary, died in a tragic accident and Jane has been grief-stricken ever since. Lost in a haze of anti-depressants, she’s barely even left the house. Now that’s all about to change.

It’s time for Jane to reclaim her life and her family. Jane’s husband, David, has planned a memorial service for Mary and three days later, their youngest daughter, Betsy, graduates high school. Yet as Jane reemerges into the world, it’s clear her family has changed without her. Her husband has been working long days—and nights—at the office. Her daughter seems distant, even secretive. And her beloved Mary was always such a good girl—dutiful and loving. But does someone know more about Mary, and about her last day, than they’ve revealed?

The bonds between mothers and daughters, and husbands and wives should never be broken. But you never know how far someone will go to keep a family together…

There is no limit to the lies, suspicion, and secrets that can poison the perfect marriage.

Kate Nelson had it all. A flourishing company founded with her husband, John; a happy marriage; and a daughter, Ashlyn. The picture-perfect family. Until John left for another woman. Tish is half his age. Ambitious. She’s cultivated a friendship with Ashlyn. Tish believes she’s won.

She’s wrong.

Tish Nelson has it all. Youth, influence, a life of luxury, and a new husband. But the truth is, there’s a lot of baggage. Namely, his first wife―and suspicions of his infidelity. After all, that’s how she got John. Maybe it’s time for a romantic getaway, far from his vindictive ex. If Kate plans on getting John back, Tish is one step ahead of her.

She thinks.

But what happens next is something neither Kate nor Tish saw coming. As best-laid plans come undone, there’s no telling what a woman will do in the name of love―and revenge.

A quiet neighborhood. A lovely home. A promising new beginning. But everything can change in a heartbeat...

Julie Jones has left her suffocating marriage. With her teenage daughter, Jess, she’s starting over. Their new house in Oceanside is the first step toward a new life. Even if it does come with the unexpected. The previous owners, a pastor and his wife, have left something―or rather someone―behind…

Tom Dean has a bitter hatred for the father who considers him a lost cause, and for the woman who’s moved into their family’s house. The only home he’s ever known. He’s never going to leave. She thinks he’ll be gone in three days, but Tom has the perfect plan.

For a newly single mother and her daughter, a fresh start is the beginning of a nightmare. Before the weekend is over, somebody is going to get exactly what they deserve.

A husband with secrets. A wife with no limits.

Jody Asher had a plan. Her charismatic husband, Martin, would be a political icon. She, the charming wife, would fuel his success. For fifteen congressional terms, they were the golden couple on the Hill. Life was good. Until he wasn’t.

Martin’s secret affair with a young staffer doesn’t bother Jody personally. But professionally? It’s a legacy killer. Soon a reporter gets word of this scandal in the making, and Martin’s indiscretions threaten to ruin everything Jody has accomplished.

When Martin suddenly dies, it’s a chance to change the narrative―but the reporter won’t let go of his lead. As the balance of power shifts in the Asher house and on the Hill, it’s time for Jody to take control. And there’s nothing the ruthless widow won’t do to secure the future she’s entitled to. Even if she has a secret of her own.

Holiday in Magnolia Bay by Tracy Solheim

When Navy SEAL Drew Lanham sees Jenna Huntley rising out of Magnolia Bay, she reminds him of the goddess of the sea, but he has to ignore her siren’s call as he’s home on a brief leave trying to recover from a devastating mission where he lost a teammate. Jenna’s more interested in protecting and studying Sea Turtles and building a local hatchery than in men; except when she first locks eyes with Drew, she realizes he just might be the one.

Just in Time for Christmas by Kim Boykin

Miranda Hamilton finally has her shot to chair Magnolia Bay’s biggest Christmas fundraiser, only she’s afraid Logan Mauldin, her childhood nemesis is going to derail the festivities when he signs on as her co-chair. Logan has been in love with Miranda since he first saw her in third grade, and when the Christmas festival plans begin to unravel under Miranda’s watchful eye, he might finally be able to prove to her that he’s the one for her.

A Very Married Christmas by Erika Marks

Seeing her almost ex husband Beck with a beautiful and much younger woman at the Christmas wedding of her best friend leaves budding cookbook author Marley Ferris feeling more Scrooge than Santa. Pro baseball player Beckett (Beck) Chambers thought that divorcing his childhood sweetheart was a good idea until a day sail to a local island leaves Marley and Beck stranded and spending Christmas Eve together where the unexpected reunion makes them both wonder if this second-chance at love might just prove to be the best Christmas present ever?

The Trouble with Christmas by Kaira Rouda

Cole Stanton opened his first restaurant on Indigo Island hoping for a fresh start and finally a place to call home, but as Christmas looms, his business struggles. New pastry chef Lily Edmonds has a plan to rescue Cole’s dream, as well as mend her broken heart, but then an attraction between them sizzles.

Discover the next novel that will take your book club's breath away! From unconventional love stories to emotional roller coaster rides, from historical sagas to powerful contemporary voices, Graydon House Books is the new home for all your women's fiction needs.

SOMETHING LIKE HAPPY by Eva Woods

Thirty-something Annie is looking for a fresh start. Her new friend Polly knows every day could be the last. Together they embark on an unforgettable adventure: learning to be happy in just one hundred days. But what happens if time runs out?

BEST DAY EVER by USA TODAY bestselling author Kaira Rouda

The perfect couple is the perfect illusion

Paul Strom is the perfect husband—that's why he's planned a romantic weekend for his wife, Mia, at their lake house. He's promised today will be the best day ever. But as Paul and Mia drive toward the countryside, doubts begin to arise. How perfect is any marriage—and what are Paul's secret plans for their weekend at the lake?

PERFECTLY UNDONE by Jaime Raintree

Sometimes you have to lose your way to find yourself

A romantic proposal from her long-time boyfriend Cooper should be the crown jewel in Dr. Dylan Michaels's perfect life. But now Dylan must face her past and the haunting guilt over her sister's death—and the role she played in it—before she and Cooper stand a chance at a future. Can she find her way back to the man she loves, especially when Cooper makes his own startling confession that changes everything?

HOUSE OF SHADOWS by USA TODAY bestselling author Nicola Cornick

The wooded hills of Oxfordshire conceal the remains of the aptly named Ashdown house—a wasted pile of cinders and regret. Once home to the daughter of a king, Ashdown and its secrets will unite three women across four centuries in a tangle of deceit, romance and destiny.

Wealthy business tycoon Blake Putnam isn’t looking for love, he just needs a date for a family wedding he’s dreading. Alpha male to the core, Blake’s idea of being a man leaves little room for emotional connection. He comes up with the perfect solution to the dreaded wedding: he’ll find a controllable date. He has everything planned to perfection.

Samantha Jones agrees to spend the weekend with the hot boss. She’s attracted to him, but she’s sworn off men after her embarrassing recent break up. She’s determined to ignore the attraction and focus on business when he hands her an opportunity to be part of the biggest business pitch in Blake Genetics’ history. It could change everything. She’s not looking for love, she won’t jump off that cliff again. But she will take the chance to further her career.

What neither of them expected was the weekend to take flight. Is this a risk they’re willing to see through to the end?

Stepping off the ferry onto Indigo Island for her new job at Melrose Inn, Dorsey Pittman, is excited to have a fresh start, far from heartbreak and tragedy. Signing the no romantic relationship with staff clause is easy, as Dorsey’s determined to focus on her career and not romantic entanglements, but every time the resort’s tall, handsome and oh so sexy lifeguard, Jack Means, is close, sparks fly, and Dorsey feels like she’s about to catch fire.

Twenty-seven-year old Jack Means has secrets of his own and is only lifeguarding at Melrose Inn to ensure his advancement at Top Corp, where he’s in line for a management position. But it’s hard to remember why he’s signed the no romantic relationship clause, when twenty-six-year-old Dorsey Pittman arrives on the island. For promises to stick out one more summer of life guarding before attaining his dream of a management position with Melrose Inn and Plantation. She’s beautiful, adventurous, and impossible to ignore—but dating her could get him fired. Can Jack keep it casual and walk away from love when Dorsey might be the one woman who can hold, and heal, his heart?

NB: This book is also known as Lines in the Sand.

At 35-years-old, Cole Stanton is burned out. His high-paced, uber-successful career has left him yearning to start over. He finds Indigo Island, buys a restaurant and settles into an uncomplicated life. But Christmas is a mess. He has over-committed the small restaurant’s resources again, and is over his head. He finds himself longing for everything he has left behind, until a chance encounter with gorgeous Lily offers a spark of salvation to his business and, perhaps his life.

Beautiful pastry chef Lily Edmonds is thirty years old and heartbroken. It’s just before Christmas and she’s just been dumped via telephone by her fiancee. Her best friend Avery Putnam invites her to Indigo Island, hoping to add joy back into Lily’s life. A chance encounter with the sexy owner of a local restaurant makes Lily feel an attraction she thought she’d never feel again, and offers her a business challenge to keep her mind focused on something other than her broken heart.

Cole Stanton and Lily Edmonds are both starting over. Will the joy of the holiday season bring them together or will the troubles with Christmas push them apart?

Handsome tycoon James Putnam is acting CEO of his family’s logging company, Putnam Industries. He needs to land a big deal to prove to the board he’s capable of leading the company. If not, his father’s right-hand-man is more than willing to fill the role. James hurries to Indigo Island alone, certain he has what it takes to win the bid, earn the CEO title and save the island from uncontrolled logging.

Aubrey Templeton is a gorgeous magazine reporter facing a mountain of debt after her parents’ tragic deaths. The only asset she has to leverage is 2,500 acres of old growth forest on Indigo Island. She hires Dirk Cooley, a forester, to create a forest management plan for her family’s land and to solicit multiple logger bids to lease the land. Aubrey insists James Putnam’s company is included since she still hasn’t forgotten the one night of incredible sex they shared over a year ago, and she’s sure he’ll be eager for a repeat performance.

What Aubrey doesn’t know is that James is a changed man, who is determined to prove he didn’t get his job as a birth right. He is determined to never again mix business with pleasure, although keeping Aubrey at arms length during their negotiations tests James’ discipline and will power, especially as he finds himself in the role of tour guide for the sexy landowner and later as her protector when an unscrupulous forester targets them both in a revenge plot hatched to destroy the Putnam family.

You are cordially invited to an overnight voyage on the Splendid Seas.

An invitation to Catalina Island from billionaire CEO Richard Kingsley. For his sons, Ted and John, and their wives, it’s an opportunity to curry favor, gain control of a real estate empire, and secure their family’s futures. For the controlling patriarch, succession is a contest. He and his newest wife won’t make it an easy win.

Then Richard’s estranged live-wire daughter, Sibley, crashes the party. She’s the least of the night’s surprises. As the stakes for the inheritance of the Kingsley legacy are raised, the beautiful waters of the Pacific look more like a menacing illusion.

Let the games begin for a family who has everything money can buy, and has used lies, deception, and more to keep it. This weekend one of them will be crowned heir. One is in line to lose everything. That’s the plan. But in the coming storm, so much can go dangerously wrong.

Madison Alcott was back in her hometown, caring for her sick mom and working long hours at the best resort in Laguna Beach. She never imagined she'd return to the place where she became famous on the hit reality TV show Laguna Nights, and the place where she was humiliated on national television. Fortunately, the past had stayed tucked away until her old high school boyfriend appeared in the lobby. 

Josh Welsh was a superstar by age eighteen, the bad boy break-out star of Laguna Nights. Since then, his star had lost its shine and he barely was holding onto his Hollywood status. When he was asked to host a new reality travel show, he jumped at the chance. The only problem was the first episode was shooting in Laguna Beach. Of all the reasons Josh didn't want to return home, he hadn't even imagined the worst scenario: running into Madison "Holly" Alcott. 

Josh's connection to Madison was still as strong as her anger at his betrayal. When the new reality series forces them together, they must face Laguna Nights past and present, and navigate a journey where nothing is as it seems.

Annie and Hank have created a perfect life in Laguna Beach, but when a dark secret is revealed, will their marriage survive?

In high school, Annie Johns was the calm, supportive sidekick to the rest of the tumultuous female stars of the hit reality TV show, Laguna Nights. Today, she's living the happy life as a mom that she predicted on the show long ago. There's only one problem: the secret from her past that haunts her most nights, a secret that, if revealed, could ruin everything she shares with her husband, Hank, a man who saved her from the heartache.

Laura Kinkaid’s glamorous Hollywood life is falling apart. After years of reality television stardom beginning in high school on Laguna Nights, her career and relationship with her long-term boyfriend Scott are fizzling out. Laura decides to go home to Laguna Beach for the weekend to attend a baby shower for her high school friend. That decision – and a car accident – will lead her to a new future, if she’s ready to take a chance at love. 

Paul Dorn’s former life in New York City is far behind him and he’s working in a popular Laguna Beach surf shop when fate brings the most beautiful woman he’s ever met into his life. The attraction is instant and he has an overwhelming desire to protect her. While Paul’s retail sales career is a short-term job for market research purposes, his focus on Laura is long-term. 

Will Laura allow a handsome stranger to help her create a future unlike her past, or will the bright lights of Hollywood pull her back to LA?

Scott Cassidy has lived a blessed life. Growing up in Laguna Beach with a loving family, he was discovered in high school when he appeared on the popular reality TV show, Laguna Nights. Now cast as a doctor on the number one soap opera, his star keeps rising. Finally free from his long-term girlfriend, Scott isn't looking for love, but when a popular dating app matches him with Jamie Kane, he can't deny the sparks. But is she really everything she seems?

Jamie Kane isn't lucky in love or life. Her childhood was tumultuous with a single mom who moved to Hollywood for fame but ended up waiting tables in Malibu. Certainly not one of the spoiled kids she went to high school and college with, Jamie has worked hard to achieve her dreams of being an actress, even as she begins to realize it's not her calling. Jamie believes Scott may be the answer to everything unless a past mistake makes him doubt their future together.

Is the price of fame the chance at true love?

Phillip Kensington has been a lucky man. His wine business is booming, he's engaged and about to marry a woman he thought he loved. But she has changed since he slipped the ring on her finger. When Amanda, a beautiful stranger, needs his help, he jumps into action. In the process, she helps him realize his future must change.

Amanda Crown is suffocating under the bright spotlight of her mother's dreams for her future. Running off the studio lot in Hollywood after a particularly embarrassing scene, Amanda meets the man of her dreams. And then his fiancée. Amanda decides it's time to follow her dreams and make a big move. What she didn't realize was her step toward her future would bring her back into Phillip's world.

Will he be able to take the steps to make their dreams come true?

Mary's son is an autistic teen. Julie's son is a precocious 10-year-old. Lynne's son is six-months old. None of the moms realize it, but on this one day, one tragic act will connect them, reawakening each woman to her own special gifts, while strengthening her love for her own son. Three mothers. Three sons. Six lives that will be positively changed forever.

Four unforgettable psychological thrillers.

DON’T YOU CRY

In downtown Chicago, Esther Vaughan disappears from her apartment without a trace. A haunting letter addressed to My Dearest is found among her possessions, leaving her roommate Quinn to question how well she really knew her friend. 

Meanwhile, in a small town an hour outside Chicago, a mysterious woman appears in the quiet coffee shop where eighteen-year-old Alex works as a dishwasher. He is immediately drawn to her, but what starts as an innocent crush quickly spirals into something far more sinister.

THE WEIGHT OF SILENCE

It happens quietly one hot August morning in Iowa: two families awaken to find their little girls have gone missing in the night.

Seven-year-old Calli Clark suffers from selective mutism brought on by a tragedy when she was a toddler. Petra Gregory is Calli’s best friend—and her voice. But neither girl has been heard from since they vanished.

NORMAL

He lives on your street, in a nice house with a tidy garden.

He shops at your local supermarket. He drives beside you on the highway, waving to let you into the lane ahead of him.

He also has an elaborate cage in a secret basement under his garage.

The food he’s carefully shopping for is to feed a young woman he’s holding there against her will—one in a string of many, unaware of the fate that awaits her.

It’s perfectly normal…

But this time it’s different…

BEST DAY EVER

Paul Strom is the perfect husband: breadwinner, protector, provider. That’s why he’s planned a romantic weekend for his wife, Mia, at their lake house, just the two of them. And he’s promised today will be the best day ever.

But as Paul and Mia drive out of the city and toward the countryside, a spike of tension begins to wedge itself between them and doubts start to arise. How much do they trust each other? And how perfect is their marriage, or any marriage, really?

Two great books in one great collection! Things aren’t always what they seem in these twisted tales of danger and deception.

Best Day Ever by Kaira Rouda

Paul Strom has the perfect life: a glittering career as an advertising executive, a beautiful wife, two healthy boys, and a big house in a wealthy suburb. And he’s the perfect husband: breadwinner, protector, provider. That’s why he’s planned a romantic weekend for his wife, Mia, at their lake house. He’s promised her that today will be the best day ever.

But as Paul and Mia drive off toward the countryside, a spike of tension begins to wedge itself between them. How much do they trust each other? And how perfect is their marriage, or any marriage, really?

The Black Painting by Neil Olson

The four Morse cousins have been estranged for years when their grandfather summons them to his mansion at Owl’s Point. None of them have visited the estate since they were children, when a priceless Goya painting was stolen and the family parted ways in a cloud of accusations and suspicion.

But when Teresa arrives, she finds the old man dead, his gaze fixed on the wall where the painting once hung. As her family gathers to mourn, Teresa seeks an explanation for his mysterious death and the painting’s long-ago disappearance. But to do so she must uncover some ugly family secrets — and face those who would keep them hidden.