Book picks similar to
The Fortune's Rocks Quartet by Anita Shreve
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Tuppence to Tooley Street
Harry Bowling - 1989
But he was one of the lucky ones.Returning home, he is reassured to find that things are just the same: the smell of the wharves and warehouses in Tooley Street; the usual hubbub in Dawson Street, where aproned figures stand in doorways discussing the war; the men down The Globe; the children playing tin-can copper in the gutters. And at number 26, Danny's family crowd round to welcome their beloved son home. But, scarred in mind as well as body, Danny is to realise that things have changed.Unable to do heavy work because of his war wounds he must adjust to a different way of life. And, worst of all, his childhood sweetheart, Kathy, didn't wait for him ...
The Other Daughter
Lauren Willig - 2015
Grief-stricken, she returns to the small town in England where she was raised to clear out the cottage...and finds a cutting from a London society magazine, with a photograph of her supposedly deceased father dated all of three month before. He's an earl, respected and influential, and he is standing with another daughter-his legitimate daughter. Which makes Rachel...not legitimate. Everything she thought she knew about herself and her past-even her very name-is a lie.Still reeling from the death of her mother, and furious at this betrayal, Rachel sets herself up in London under a new identity. There she insinuates herself into the party-going crowd of Bright Young Things, with a steely determination to unveil her father's perfidy and bring his-and her half-sister's-charmed world crashing down. Very soon, however, Rachel faces two unexpected snags: she finds she genuinely likes her half-sister, Olivia, whose situation isn't as simple it appears; and she might just be falling for her sister's fiancé...From Lauren Willig, author of the New York Times bestselling novel The Ashford Affair, comes The Other Daughter, a page-turner full of deceit, passion, and revenge.
The Gravity of Love
Noëlle Harrison - 2018
A vivid, gripping tale of family secrets and lost love."SANDRA IRELAND, author of Beneath the SkinArizona, 1989Joy Sheldon loves the plants that bloom in the desert but dreams too of the sea's elemental wildness. Now, riven by terrible secrets, Joy embarks on a journey to seek her identity and to discover why the sea pulls at her heart.London, 1967Lewis Bell, a young graphic designer, is aiming for the big time if only he can keep his creative spark. But, as his talented girlfriend Marnie adds her own pressures, sixties Soho fast shows its darker side.Ireland, 1989Drawn together, Joy and Lewis fly across the Atlantic to the Irish coast. She's in search of a lost mother; he's looking for a lost love. They need to make peace with the past, themselves and others. But the truths they encounter will transform everyone's lives forever.Bold, intimate and joyful. This glorious novel tells an unforgettable story of love's true gravity.
The First Time I Said Goodbye
Claire Allan - 2013
In Derry they both start to realise that sometimes you have to say goodbye to what you thought you always wanted, in order to find what you have needed all along. Editorial Reviews “One of the most scrumptious books i think I’ve ever read”All Things Books“Like a hug in a book! ... ideal book for those who doubts there's such a thing as having it all” – Woman’s Way“An amazing story of first love and how, even years later, the feelings can still exist. Based on a true story, this was my favourite tale of true love in recent years. Sweet, warm and endearing, it stayed with me for weeks after I had finished it. For all of us that believe there is a soulmate out there for everyone.” Bleach House LibraryQuite simply, this is one of the nicest, warmest and moving love stories I have read in years and I found myself very emotional while reading it. It had some personal meaning to me, as it was a similar tale to a relative of mine, and I had to stop reading a few times in order to pull myself together. I didn’t want it to end and the lump in my throat remains with me, even as I write this review. Writing.ieI LOVED this book. I was completely absorbed in it ...I really couldn't put it down - At Home with Mrs M“A feel-good, touching and amusing tale which readers will find hard to put down” – Irish Independent
Juliet's Nurse
Lois Leveen - 2014
As she serves her beloved Juliet over the next fourteen years, the nurse learns the Cappellettis’ darkest secrets. Those secrets—and the nurse’s deep personal grief—erupt across five momentous days of love and loss that destroy a daughter, and a family.By turns sensual, tragic, and comic, Juliet’s Nurse gives voice to one of literature’s most memorable and distinctive characters, a woman who was both insider and outsider among Verona’s wealthy ruling class. Exploring the romance and intrigue of interwoven loyalties, rivalries, jealousies, and losses only hinted at in Shakespeare’s play, this is a never-before-heard tale of the deepest love in Verona—the love between a grieving woman and the precious child of her heart.In the tradition of Sarah Dunant, Philippa Gregory, and Geraldine Brooks, Juliet’s Nurse is a rich prequel that reimagines the world’s most cherished tale of love and loss, suffering and survival.
Baggage Claim
David E. Talbert - 2003
Talbert leaps onto the publishing scene with his debut novel, a big-hearted story about friendship, family, and the relentless pursuit of love. ""Baggage Claim" gives you a first-class peek into the wacky world of Montana Moore, a thirty-five-year-old flight attendant with enough baggage from her past relationships to fill an entire Samsonite showroom. Montana is an incurable romantic. A dreamer. The kind of woman who has her head in the clouds while her heart splatters swiftly to the ground.With her mother having just tied the knot for a record-breaking fourth time and her baby sister, Sheree, rushing to jump the broom, five-time maid of honor Montana is dangerously close to becoming not only the oldest, but the only woman in her entire family never to be married.Having convinced herself that there's no way in heaven or hell she's showing up at her sister's Christmas Eve engagement party without a prospect of her own, Montana concocts her wildest and most romantically ridiculous plan yet: a thirty-day, thirty-thousand-mile trek in search of a husband.Will it be Damon Diesel, a young hip-hop producer whose motto is "Making the green scream and the dolla holla!"? Or will she win over the Reverend Curtis P. Merewether, pastor and founder of Greater House of Deliverance, Tabernacle of Praise, Worship, and Miracles? Of course Langston Jefferson Battle III, superattorney turned city councilman, needs a wife now that his sights are set on the United States Congress. Or perhaps her lifelong mate is Quinton Jamison, amultimillionaire textile guru twenty years her senior. Only time -- or the lack of it -- will tell.Fasten your seat belts, lift your tray tables up, and prepare for takeoff. Our final destination: THE ALTAR!
The Keeper of Secrets
Julie Thomas - 2011
A family torn apart. A decision that could change everything.Berlin, 1939. Fourteen year old Simon Horowitz is awash in a world of music. His family owns a superb collection of instruments and at its heart is his father's 1742 Guarneri de Gesu violin. But all is lost when the Nazis march across Europe and Simon and his father and brother are sent to Dachau. Amid unimaginable cruelty and death, Simon finds kindness from an unexpected corner, and a chance to pick up a violin again and a chance to live.In the present day, orchestra conductor Rafael Gomez has seen much in his time on the world's stage, but he finds himself oddly inspired by the playing of an aspiring violin virtuoso, a fantastic talent who is only just fourteen. Then the boy, Daniel Horowitz, suddenly refuses to play another note, and Rafael knows he'll do anything he can to change that. When he learns the boy's family once owned a precious violin, believed to have been lost forever, Rafael thinks he might know exactly how to get Daniel playing again. In taking on the task he discovers a family story like no other that winds from World War II and Communist Russia all the way to Rafael's very own stage.
Mr. Rochester
Sarah Shoemaker - 2017
Rochester himself."Reader, she married me."For one hundred seventy years, Edward Fairfax Rochester has stood as one of literature's most romantic, most complex, and most mysterious heroes. Sometimes haughty, sometimes tender-professing his love for Jane Eyre in one breath and denying it in the next-Mr. Rochester has for generations mesmerized, beguiled, and, yes, baffled fans of Charlotte Brontë's masterpiece. But his own story has never been told.Now, out of Sarah Shoemaker's rich and vibrant imagination, springs Edward: a vulnerable, brilliant, complicated man whom we first meet as a motherless, lonely little boy roaming the corridors and stable yards of Thornfield Hall. On the morning of Edward's eighth birthday, his father issues a decree: He is to be sent away to get an education, exiled from Thornfield and all he ever loved. As the determined young Edward begins his journey across England, making friends and enemies along the way, a series of eccentric mentors teach him more than he might have wished about the ways of the men-and women-who will someday be his peers.But much as he longs to be accepted-and to return to the home where he was born-his father has made clear that Thornfield is reserved for his older brother, Rowland, and that Edward's inheritance lies instead on the warm, languid shores of faraway Jamaica. That island, however, holds secrets of its own, and not long after his arrival, Edward finds himself entangled in morally dubious business dealings and a passionate, whirlwind love affair with the town's ravishing heiress, Antoinetta Bertha Mason.Eventually, after a devastating betrayal, Edward must return to England with his increasingly unstable wife to take over as master of Thornfield. And it is there, on a twilight ride, that he meets the stubborn, plain, young governess who will teach him how to love again.It is impossible not to watch enthralled as this tender-hearted child grows into the tormented hero Brontë immortalized-and as Jane surprises them both by stealing his heart. Mr. Rochester is a great, sweeping, classic coming-of-age story, and a stirring tale of adventure, romance, and deceit. Faithful in every particular to Brontë's original yet full of unexpected twists and riveting behind-the-scenes drama, this novel will completely, deliciously, and forever change how we read and remember Jane Eyre.
Junius Maltby
John Steinbeck - 1932
This short story is taken from one of Steinbeck's early works, "The Pastures of Heaven."
Mothers and Daughters
Leah Fleming - 2009
Crete, present day. A woman anxiously awaits the arrival of someone who could change her life for ever…Lancashire, the 1950s. Three young girls make their way in a brave new post-war world. But can they escape the trappings of the past?Bookworm Connie dreams of university. Brought up on myths about her mysterious father, her life is turned upside down when she accidentally discovers the truth about him.Former ugly duckling Joy is determined to snare a man now she's finally a swan. Winning the "Miss Mercury" competition she bowls over local heart-throb Denny Gregson. But she quickly finds he's not all he seems…Convent-educated Rosa is a born rebel, desperate to flee the strict nuns for a life on the stage. But sometimes you need to be careful what you wish for…As all three girls face heartbreak and tragedy, can they learn from the mistakes of their mothers? Or will history repeat itself?For everyone who loves Maureen Lee and Maeve Binchy, this emotionally charged tale of that most special relationship of all will capture your heart.
The Weekend Wives
Christina Hopkinson - 2016
1 a wife whose husband works away and only comes home at the weekends. 2 a wife who misses her husband when he's gone, but wants him gone when he's at home.Emily's vision of country life was building dens with the children, walking a glossy hound and cosy nights in by the fire. But her kids are more interested in their smartphones, the family dog has 'issues' and she's permanently freezing. And when husband Matt is home, he still seems worryingly distant.Sasha and her husband Ned used to have a great connection, but nowadays the only connection between them is via Skype. And when a woman from Ned's past comes with news that threatens the perfect life she's built for her children, Sasha feels further from her husband than ever before.Tamsin's husband might be away during the week, but he's never truly gone. He seems to know her every move, which is fine, sort of - until her first love reappears in the most mysterious of ways...
Golf Mind Play:Outsmarting your brain to play your best golf.
Tracy Tresidder - 2012
Golf Mind Play is an indispensable guide for golfers of all standards. Mental golf training tips to maximise your golfing potential. This is a concise and convenient quick reference tool. The mental golf practical tips and routines will allow you to play your best golf ever.Reviewer Bruce says "Golf is the ultimate mind game, you against yourself for many golfers. This book describes eloquently how to get your mind working for you instead of against you. Instead of spending $50 - $100 on yet another golf lesson most golfers would benefit greatly by reading this book and understanding what the author is saying. It won't only benefit your golf game, mind games are a big part of life."The practical tips and routines will allow you to play golf out of your mind, lower your handicap and enjoy your golf more than ever.You will learn how to relax and play golf in the zone, lower your handicap by outsmarting your brain, remove your self sabotaging techniques, eliminate bad habits and mental mistakes, discover how to stay clam, enjoy your golf more and lower your handicap. Buy this book today and FOREVER CHANGE the way you think when you play golf. Download your copy today and and watch you golf game improve out of sight!
The Lighthouse Road
Peter Geye - 2012
But their pasts travel with them, threatening to capsize even their fragile hope. In this triumphant new novel, Peter Geye has crafted another deeply moving tale of a misbegotten family shaped by the rough landscape in which they live--often at the mercy of wildlife and weather--and by the rough edges of their own breaking hearts.
Safekeeping
Jessamyn Hope - 2015
Full of romance, tragedy, betrayal, and the constant reminder that chaos is a driving force in everyone’s story, Safekeeping is a wise and memorable debut by a novelist of great talent and originality.” —The Boston GlobeIt’s 1994 and Adam, a drug addict from New York City, arrives at a kibbutz in Israel with a medieval sapphire brooch. To make up for a past crime, he needs to get the priceless heirloom to a woman his grandfather loved when he was a Holocaust refugee on the kibbutz fifty years earlier.There Adam joins other troubled people trying to turn their lives around: Ulya, the ambitious and beautiful Soviet émigré; Farid, the lovelorn Palestinian farmhand; Claudette, the French Canadian Catholic with OCD; Ofir, the Israeli teenager wounded in a bus bombing; and Ziva, the old Zionist Socialist firebrand who founded the kibbutz. By the end of that summer, through their charged relationships with one another, they each get their last chance at redemption.In the middle of this web glows the magnificent sapphire brooch with its perilous history spanning three continents and seven centuries. With insight and beauty, Safekeeping tackles that most human of questions: how can we expect to find meaning and happiness when we know that nothing lasts?