Book picks similar to
If You Were Here by Alice Peterson


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genre-contemporary-fiction

Coming Home


Annabel Kantaria - 2015
    Now, with the sudden death of her father, she must return. Back to the same house. Back to the memories. Back to her mother.At first, coming home feels unexpectedly comforting. But, as she goes through her father's files, Evie uncovers a secret that opens old wounds and changes her life forever.That's only the beginning.As Evie's world starts to shatter around her, she realises that those she loves most are also those capable of the deepest betrayal.

Beautiful Broken Things


Sara Barnard - 2016
    Their differences have brought them closer, but as she turns sixteen Caddy begins to wish she could be a bit more like Rosie – confident, funny and interesting. Then Suzanne comes into their lives: beautiful, damaged, exciting and mysterious, and things get a whole lot more complicated. As Suzanne’s past is revealed and her present begins to unravel, Caddy begins to see how much fun a little trouble can be. But the course of both friendship and recovery is rougher than either girl realises, and Caddy is about to learn that downward spirals have a momentum of their own.

Pear Shaped


Stella Newman - 2012
    She meets James Stephens: charismatic, elusive, and with a hosiery model ex who casts a long, thin shadow over their burgeoning relationship. He’s clever, funny and shares her greatest pleasure in life – to eat and drink slightly too much and then have a little lie down. Sophie’s instinct tells her James is too good to be true – and he is.An exploration of love, heartbreak, self-image, self-deception and lots of food. Pear-Shaped is in turns smart, laugh-out-loud funny and above all, recognizable to women everywhere.

Heads You Win


Jeffrey Archer - 2018
    With a final twist that will shock even his most ardent listeners, Heads You Win is #1 New York Times bestseller Jeffrey Archer’s most ambitious and creative work since Kane and Abel. Leningrad, Russia, 1968. Alexander Karpenko is no ordinary child, and from an early age, it is clear he is destined to lead his countrymen. But when his father is assassinated by the KGB for defying the state, he and his mother will have to escape from Russia if they hope to survive. At the docks, they are confronted with an irreversible choice: should they board a container ship bound for America, or Great Britain? Alexander leaves that choice to the toss of a coin . . .In a single moment, a double twist decides Alexander’s future. During an epic tale of fate and fortune, spanning two continents and thirty years, we follow his triumphs and defeats as he struggles as an immigrant to conquer his new world. As this unique story unfolds, Alexander comes to realize where his destiny lies, and accepts that he must face the past he left behind in Russia.

Our Secrets and Lies


Sinéad Moriarty - 2018
    But when she found herself alone and pregnant with twins, she knew she had to abandon her studies to raise her children. Even if it meant losing someone she loves … Now as a mother to 17 year olds, Lucy is determined they will have all the opportunities she missed out on, and that they won’t make the same mistakes she made. But what if her dreams for her children aren’t what they really want? Is she forcing her children to live her life for her? Might Lucy actually be pushing the children for whom she gave up everything, to their breaking points? As her beautiful and sensitive daughter Kelly contemplates the unthinkable, Lucy’s secrets are finally revealed and she is forced to face up to some difficult home truths. Can Lucy give up her dreams to let her children find their own? And will her secrets bring her family closer together or push them further apart? If you love Jodi Picoult, Jojo Moyes and Nicholas Sparks, you’ll love this heart-breaking novel from Sinéad Moriarty. Our Secrets and Lies is a gripping story of motherhood and love and will have you hooked until the very last page. What readers are saying about Sinéad Moriarty: ‘One of the best books I have ever read! This is a must read! A wonderful book of family, love and relationships… I read the whole book in one sitting, forgetting everything I had to do!’ Goodreads Reviewer ‘Heart-wrenching … I loved everything about this book. Sinéad Moriarty is fast becoming a favorite author of mine … a fabulous read.’ Write-Escape ‘A real page turner. This emotionally charged book had me reaching for the tissues.’ Just Book Talk ‘Heart-warming and heartbreaking, Sinead Moriarty has written a winner.’ Women’s Way magazine ‘I love this author – she never disappoints!’ Renita D’Silva ‘OMG! I’m an emotional wreck after reading this novel, probably not helped by the fact that I pulled an all-nighter to finish it ... I just could not put it down.’ RTE review ‘Heartfelt and deeply moving … I couldn't put it down.’ Susan Lewis 'Intriguing and thought-provoking ... a great read.' Katie Fforde ‘Moriarty has written an extremely emotional novel which only increases in intensity as the novel progresses.’ Goodreads Reviewer ‘There are so many words that can be used to describe this book, but the best one would have to be BRILLIANT!!! I could not put this book down until the very end.’ Goodreads Reviewer ‘A powerful read that will leave you hooked.’ Goodreads Reviewer ‘First book I've read by this author. I loved her story telling.’ Goodreads Reviewer ‘Sensational. It completely blew me away and was everything I thought it would be and more.’ Han’s Book Reviews

Still Thinking Of You


Adele Parks - 2001
    They can’t wait to celebrate their wedding with their closest friends, all of whom have known each other since university, where they enjoyed a hedonistic whirl of parties, popularity, sex and success.But is fun really as easy-come-easy-go in your thirties as it was in your twenties? How do relationships change once you leave college and have to cope with real life? And what if the love of that life were to reappear now?As old, long buried passions are reawakened, the group realise that a lot can change in twelve years. And a lot can happen in seven days…

Incendiary


Chris Cleave - 2005
    But the bombing is only the beginning. In a voice alive with grief, compassion, and startling humor, Incendiary is a stunning debut of one ordinary life blown apart by terror.

Watch Over Me


Daniela Sacerdoti - 2011
    Years of failed fertility treatments, a cheating husband and an oppressive family have pushed her to the limit. Desperate for relief, Eilidh seeks solace in the only place she’s ever felt at home – a small village in the Scottish Highlands. There, Eilidh slowly begins to mend her broken heart but soon learns she is not the only one in the village struggling to recover from a painful past.Jamie McAnena, Eilidh’s childhood friend, is trying to raise his daughter Maisie alone. After Maisie’s mother left to pursue a career in London and Jamie’s own mother, Elizabeth, passed away, he has resigned himself to being a family of two.But sometimes there is more to a story than meets the eye. Despite their reluctance, curious circumstances keep bringing Jamie and Eilidh together. For even when it seems all is lost, help can come from the most surprising places.An ethereal and beautifully written debut novel, Watch Over Me is a poignant story about letting go and moving on – with a little bit of help from beyond the grave.

The House Beneath the Cliffs


Sharon Gosling - 2021
    A tiny kitchen lunch club. The perfect place to start again. Anna moves to Crovie, a tiny fishing village on the Moray Firth, for a fresh start. But when she arrives, she realises her new home is really no more than a shed, and the village itself sits beneath a cliff right on the edge of the sea, in constant danger of storms and landslides. Has she made a terrible mistake?Yet as she begins to learn about the Scottish coast and its people, something she thought she’d lost reawakens in her. She rediscovers her love of cooking, and turns her kitchen into a pop-up lunch club. But not all the locals are delighted about her arrival, and some are keen to see her plans fail. Will Anna really be able to put down roots in this remote and wild village? Or will her fragile new beginning start to crumble with the cliffs . . . ? Beautiful, moving and utterly absorbing, The House Beneath the Cliffs is a novel of friendship and food, storms and secrets, and the beauty of second chances

The Vintage Teacup Club


Vanessa Greene - 2012
    They decide to share it - and form a friendship that changes their lives.Jenny can't wait to marry Dan. Then, after years of silence, she hears from the woman who could shatter her dreams.Maggie has put her broken heart behind her and is gearing up for the biggest event of her career - until she's forced to confront the past once more.Alison seems to have it all: married to her childhood sweetheart, with two gorgeous daughters. But as tensions mount, she is pushed to breaking point.Dealing with friendship and families, relationships and careers, highs and lows, The Vintage Teacup Club is heart-warming storytelling at its very best.

The Break


Marian Keyes - 1999
    . . We're taking a break.''A city-with-fancy-food sort of break?'If only.Amy's husband Hugh says he isn't leaving her.He still loves her, he's just taking a break - from their marriage, their children and, most of all, from their life together. Six months to lose himself in south-east Asia. And there is nothing Amy can say or do about it.Yes, it's a mid-life crisis, but let's be clear: a break isn't a break up - yet . . .However, for Amy it's enough to send her - along with her extended family of gossips, misfits and troublemakers - teetering over the edge.For a lot can happen in six-months. When Hugh returns if he returns, will he be the same man she married? And will Amy be the same woman?Because if Hugh is on a break from their marriage, then isn't she?The Break isn't a story about falling in love but about staying in love. It is Marian Keyes at her funniest, wisest and brilliant best.

The Dark Side


Danielle Steel - 2019
    As a young woman driven by these painful memories, Zoe sets the bar high for herself, studying hard and pursuing a career in the nonprofit world, where her deep compassion for disadvantaged children finds a focus. When Zoe falls in love and has her own child, she is determined to be a perfect mother as well. But before long, old scars long dormant begin to pull Zoe to the edge of an abyss too terrifying to contemplate. As Zoe is haunted by the ghosts of the past, her story will become a race against time and a tale of psychological suspense that no reader will soon forget.

The Split


Sharon J. Bolton - 2020
    She took a job on this isolated island to hide from him, but now that he's out of prison, having served a term for murder, she knows he won’t give up until he finds her.But a doctor delving into the background of Felicity and Freddie's relationship, back in Cambridge, learns that Felicity has been on the edge for a long time. Heading to South Georgia himself to try and get to her first is the only way he can think of to help her.

Window on the Bay


Debbie Macomber - 2019
     Jenna Boltz's life is at a crossroads. After a messy divorce from her surgeon husband nearly twenty years ago, she raised her two children on her own, juggling motherhood with her beloved job as a Seattle intensive-care nurse. Now that Paul and Allie have gone to college and moved out, Jenna can't help but wonder what her future holds.Her best friend, Maureen, is excited for Jenna's newfound independence. Now is the perfect time to finally book the trip to Paris they've been dreaming of since their college days. But when it comes to life's other great adventure--dating--Jenna still isn't sure she's ready to let love in . . . until an unexpected encounter begins to change her mind.When Jenna's elderly mother breaks her hip, Dr. Rowan Lancaster saves the day. Despite his silent, stoic exterior, Rowan is immediately smitten with Jenna. And even though Jenna is hesitant about becoming involved with another surgeon, she has to admit that she's more than a little intrigued. But when Jenna's children approach her with shocking news, she realizes that she needs to have faith in love and embrace the unexpected--before the life she has always dreamed of passes her by.

The Girlfriend


Sarah J. Naughton - 2017
    The perfect boyfriend. The perfect lie.Mags doesn't believe her brother's fall was an accident. In that forty-foot stairwell, he didn't just slip over the edge.But there is only one witness, Jody, the girlfriend grieving at his bedside.Which is another story Mags doesn't believe.Because Jody likes telling stories, and this may be her most twisted one yet.As Mags begins to unearth the secrets hidden in her brother's wake, she finds she isn't just looking for the truth. For Mags, this is more than a simple tragedy. This is an opportunity for revenge.