Why am I passionate about this?

I love women’s fiction, romantic comedies, and chick-lit because they are a fun slice of escapism, a guilty pleasure that pushes our problems on the back burner for a bit. A good women’s fiction novel has everything, from romance, to drama, to self-discovery, to a happy ever after. If it’s delivered with a large dose of humor, it’s the recipe for success. That’s what I try to do in my novels, to offer a unique experience and help readers relax, laugh, dream, hope, and most of all, escape reality when they need it. In my opinion, that’s the purpose of a good book, no matter the genre.


I wrote

Celebrity

By Melinda De Ross,

Book cover of Celebrity

What is my book about?

Land a million-dollar deal for my book adaptation. Catch cheating boyfriend in bed with another woman. Hop a…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of The Undomestic Goddess

Melinda De Ross Why did I love this book?

The story follows corporate lawyer Samantha Sweeting, who has no personal life outside her career. One day, an epic mistake turns her life upside down, and due to various mix-ups she ends up masquerading as a housekeeper to a wealthy family in a British village. There is just one problem: she can’t cook, or clean, or iron, or do anything that is expected of a housekeeper.

I love this book because it has a bit of everything: romance, plenty of humor, drama, even a bit of mystery, all wrapped up in a playful yet insightful journey on life and self-discovery. I couldn’t help but admire Samantha’s skill to get herself out of uncomfortable situations, and find reserves of resilience she didn’t know she had. 

By Sophie Kinsella,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The Undomestic Goddess as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'Funny, fast and farcical. I loved it' JOJO MOYES

The hilarious romantic comedy from NUMBER ONE BESTSELLING AUTHOR Sophie Kinsella

Samantha thrives under pressure. A high-powered London lawyer, all she can concentrate on is taking the next step in her career; eating, sleeping, seeing friends - even taking a breath - will have to wait.

But just when she's about to get everything she has ever wanted, Samantha makes a mistake. A fifty-million-pound, career-destroying mistake. Unable to face the consequences, she does the unimaginable and runs away...

Catching the first train she can, she finds herself in the countryside, outside…


Book cover of Octavia

Melinda De Ross Why did I love this book?

Octavia is a self-centered, narcissistic young heiress who thinks she deserves the best of everything. When she meets her friend’s fiancé, Jeremy, she has no compunctions about trying to seduce him. But Jeremy’s best friend, Gareth, has other plans. Brought up in the bad side of town and now a self-made millionaire, he decides to teach Octavia that she can’t play with other people’s lives without suffering the consequences.

This engaging story, full of wit and humor, shows us Octavia’s transformation when she drops from riches to rags, falls in love for the first time in her life, and starts to care about other people than herself. Although the heroine might seem unlikeable at first, the author does a fantastic job in penning her journey, and by the end, most women will identify with Octavia.

By Jilly Cooper,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Octavia as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Fall in love with Jilly Cooper, one of Britain's most popular authors, in this up-beat and unmissable rom-com. Octavia is used to having anything (or anyone) she wants - but will she get her just desserts this time? Perfect for fans of Jojo Moyes, Marian Keyes, Dolly Alderton and Jane Fallon.

'Jilly is about bringing joy into your life: daft, silly, boozy joy ... There is no one else like Cooper' -- Guardian
'The Jane Austen of our time' - HARPERS & QUEEN
'Joyful and mischievous' -- Jojo Moyes
'Fun, sexy and unputdownable' -- Marian Keyes
'Outstanding read. If I…


Book cover of Tribute

Melinda De Ross Why did I love this book?

Cilla McGowan has always been fascinated by her grandmother, Hollywood star Janet Hardy, whose untimely death was ruled a suicide. A former actress herself, Cilla chooses a life away from the big screen and starts a business flipping houses. Her first major project is a farm owned by Janet herself. While restoring the house, Cilla begins to uncover the starlet’s secrets, while falling in love with her new sexy neighbor.

This book is a tribute to Nora Roberts’s unmistakable style, an odyssey of witty dialogue, and beautiful storytelling. Cilla’s quest to find her own path in life is entwined with her drive to learn more about her grandmother, which leads to serious danger when she uncovers a decades-old secret. Romance, mystery, humor, danger, suspense—this book has it all!

By Nora Roberts,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Tribute as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A young woman gets caught up in the secrets and shadows of a big-screen legend and a small-town scandal in this #1 New York Times bestseller from Nora Roberts.

Cilla McGowan, a former child star, has found a more satisfying life restoring homes. So she comes to Virginia's Shenandoah Valley to save the dilapidated farmhouse of her grandmother-a legendary actress who died of an overdose there more than thirty years ago.

Plunging into the project with gusto, Cilla's almost too busy and exhausted to notice her neighbor, graphic novelist Ford Sawyer. Determined not to carry on the family tradition of…


Book cover of Bridget Jones's Diary

Melinda De Ross Why did I love this book?

I think the reason why this book is so popular is because Bridget is one of the best embodiments of everyday women in literature.

Single at thirty-two, stuck at a job that seems to be leading nowhere, with no particular ambitions or skills, Bridget approaches life with humor and wit. She gets into situations that range from hilarious to absurd, and like many women, has to deal with betrayal and heartbreak. Having to choose between two men is the least of her worries, in-between her struggles to control her weight, drinking, and smoking.

Fielding has created the perfect symbol of an average single woman, with an extraordinary sense of humor and poise. This book takes some of the most depressing situations in life and turns them into an admirable anti-depressant.

By Helen Fielding,

Why should I read it?

18 authors picked Bridget Jones's Diary as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The multi-million copy number one Bestseller

A dazzlingly urban satire on modern relationships?
An ironic, tragic insight into the demise of the nuclear family?
Or the confused ramblings of a pissed thirty-something?

As Bridget documents her struggles through the social minefield of her thirties and tries to weigh up the eternal question (Daniel Cleaver or Mark Darcy?), she turns for support to four indispensable friends: Shazzer, Jude, Tom and a bottle of chardonnay.

Welcome to Bridget's first diary: mercilessly funny, endlessly touching and utterly addictive.

Helen Fielding's first Bridget Jones novel, Bridget Jones's Diary, sparked a phenomenon that has seen…


Book cover of The Devil Wears Prada

Melinda De Ross Why did I love this book?

Have you ever had a nightmarish boss? He or she cannot possibly be as bad as Miranda Priestley. Rumor has it that Weisberger got her inspiration from real life as she was working as an editor’s assistant at Vogue, and some of the situations in this novel are so far-fetched they have to be true.

Andrea Sachs is the average small-town girl who wants to make it big while keeping her integrity, but the moment she gets a job at Runway Magazine, she learns that life can be a living hell. And her new boss is the devil. Absurdly demanding, perfectionist, impossible to please, and always ten steps ahead of everyone else, Miranda Priestley becomes Andrea’s worst nightmare, then her inspiration, and finally her nemesis.

Although presented as fiction and unbelievable at times, I love how this book shows us the behind-the-scene facets of success, and makes us wonder how much we are willing to sacrifice to get there—or if it’s worth it.

By Lauren Weisberger,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked The Devil Wears Prada as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

High fashion, low cunning - and the boss from hell

When Andrea first sets foot in the plush Manhattan offices of Runway she knows nothing. She's never heard of the world's most fashionable magazine, or its feared and fawned-over editor, Miranda Priestly - her new boss.

A year later, she knows altogether too much:

That it's a sacking offence to wear anything lower than a three-inch heel to work.

That you can charge cars, manicures, anything at all to the Runway account, but you must never, ever, leave your desk, or let Miranda's coffee get cold.

And that at 3…


Explore my book 😀

Celebrity

By Melinda De Ross,

Book cover of Celebrity

What is my book about?

Land a million-dollar deal for my book adaptation. Catch cheating boyfriend in bed with another woman. Hop a one-way flight to Los Angeles.

Determined to leave my two-timing ex and hapless love life in the dust, I set my sights on California, buy a promising fixer-upper in Malibu, and then run smack dab into Blake Tyler, the Hollywood heartthrob who’s starring in my movie. Few women can resist the hottest movie star alive—and I’m not one of them. Just when I thought I’d left behind romance and drama, Blake’s smoldering steel-blue eyes land on me. And so do the paparazzi’s cameras…

Book cover of The Undomestic Goddess
Book cover of Octavia
Book cover of Tribute

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What You Made Me Do

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Book cover of What You Made Me Do

Barbara Gayle Austin Author Of What You Made Me Do

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author

Barbara's 3 favorite reads in 2024

What is my book about?

Willem and Jurriaan have a miserable childhood thanks to their cruel, controlling mother—Louisa Veldkamp, a world-renowned pianist. Dad turns a blind eye. One day, Louisa vanishes without a trace during a family vacation.

Adoptee Anneliese Bakker survives a toxic childhood and leaves home, vowing never to return. While searching for her biological mother, she meets the adult Willem, and they fall in love. Pregnant and engaged, she moves into the family mansion, wanting nothing more than to create a loving family for her child. But the Veldkamps are cold and distant. And why is Louisa a taboo subject?

As Anneliese…

What You Made Me Do

By Barbara Gayle Austin,

What is this book about?

An expectant mother gets more than she bargained for when she marries into a seemingly perfect family in this gripping debut novel–a must read for fans of A. J. Finn and B. A. Paris.

After surviving a nightmarish childhood, Anneliese Bakker is on the mend and searching for her birth mother. But when she meets Willem, she falls madly in love and finally finds a safe place to land. Engaged and expecting her first child, she moves into the Veldkamp mansion on a stately, tree-lined avenue in Amsterdam. And yet, nothing about Willem’s family is as it seems. Instead of…


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