Book picks similar to
The Defrosting of Charlotte Small by Annabel Giles
chick-lit
fiction
moved
shelf-of-shame-guilty-pleasures
Saving Face
Brenda Barrett - 2013
Natasha Rowe and her partner Harry Campbell are asked to go under cover to investigate what appears to be a murder. In the process of investigating, Natasha finds herself attracted to lecturer and psychiatrist Taj Jackson. She also realizes that all is not what it appears to be at the school. There are secrets and lies under the veneer of holiness, especially in the life of the dead president.
West End Girls
Jenny Colgan - 2006
They may be twin sisters, but Lizzie and Penny Berry are complete opposites - Penny is blonde, thin and outrageous; Lizzie quiet, thoughtful and definitely not thin. The one trait they do share is a desire to DO something with their lives, and as far as they are concerned, the place to get noticed is London. Out of the blue they discover they have a grandmother living in Chelsea - and when she has to go into hospital, they find themselves flat-sitting on the King's Road. But, as they discover, it's not as easy to become It Girls as they'd imagined, and west end boys aren't at all like Hugh Grant ...
Mother, Mother
Koren Zailckas - 2013
With two beautiful daughters, a brilliantly intelligent son, a tech-guru of a husband and a historical landmark home, her life is picture perfect. She has everything she wants; all she has to do is keep it that way. But living in this matriarch’s determinedly cheerful, yet subtly controlling domain hasn’t been easy for her family, and when her oldest daughter, Rose, runs off with a mysterious boyfriend, Josephine tightens her grip, gradually turning her flawless home into a darker sort of prison. Resentful of her sister’s newfound freedom, Violet turns to eastern philosophy, hallucinogenic drugs, and extreme fasting, eventually landing herself in the psych ward. Meanwhile, her brother Will shrinks further into a world of self-doubt. Recently diagnosed with Aspergers and epilepsy, he’s separated from the other kids around town and is homeschooled to ensure his safety. Their father, Douglas, finds resolve in the bottom of the bottle—an addict craving his own chance to escape. Josephine struggles to maintain the family’s impeccable façade, but when a violent incident leads to a visit from child protective services, the truth about the Hursts might finally be revealed.
Hunting Unicorns
Bella Pollen - 2003
Adrift in a rapidly changing world, the Bevans cling to tradition while wrestling with taxes, tree blight, and the need to keep the family skeleton firmly in the cupboard.Enter Maggie, an opinionated American journalist for the hard-hitting show Newsline. Far happier sending dispatches back from the trenches of war-torn anywhere, Maggie is none too pleased at being forced to research a documentary on the decline of England's upper classes. When these two worlds collide, no one is prepared for the fallout.The story of two brothers bound by duty, and one woman who feels bound by no one, Hunting Unicorns is a delightful romantic comedy that explores loyalty, family, and, ultimately, having the courage to risk everything in the pursuit of what really counts.
The Ice Marathon
Rosen Trevithick - 2012
However, only days after giving birth, Emma falls critically ill. With Simon on an Antarctic expedition, Emma entrusts baby Joseph to her ‘in-laws’. On her recovery, she waits anxiously for them to bring him home, but when her father-in-law arrives alone, she knows that something is seriously wrong.Is the distance between Emma and Simon purely geographical? Will Simon’s return be the key to reuniting mother and son, or is Simon integral to baby Joseph’s disappearance?
Fame
Tilly Bagshawe - 2011
The must-read blockbuster for fans of Penny Vincenzi and Jilly Cooper.Plucked from obscurity at the age of seventeen, Sabrina Leon is the new darling of the film scene, bagging lead roles in the hottest Hollywood movies. But a YouTube sensation on the web is about to destroy everything she's fought for…After a bitter feud with a rival producer, hotshot movie producer Dorian Rasmirez has had the plug pulled on every project he goes near. Casting the disgraced Hollywood diva Sabrina Leon in Wuthering Heights is a risk that might cost him what remains of his career.Newcomer Viorel Hudson, with his jet-black hair and high, slanting cheekbones has scored the role that every A-lister in Hollywood auditioned for—Heathcliff in Dorian Rasmirez's Wuthering Heights. But is he ready for his latest role? For a five million pound pay cheque, it's a risk he's willing to take.Set against the backdrop of a sumptuous English country house, the filmmakers are desperate for some on-screen chemistry—but it’s off-camera that the sparks are really going to fly….
Under My Spell
Deborah Wright - 2004
She's also a witch. Unsure of her feelings towards magic and desperate to escape the clutches of her overbearing mother, she takes a 'proper' job as a nanny for the Wilkins family. But things don't go quite as she has planned. Cara moves into the Wilkins' home and before long the whole family come to rely on her as a source of fun and excitement in their lives. Nick and Andie Wilkins' marriage is falling apart and so Cara sets about trying to reconcile them. When her benign attempts to fix things result in Nick flirting with her and Andie contemplating an affair, Cara can't resist any longer. She resorts to the magic she's been trying so hard to to give up and soon the whole house is in uproar...
Landline
Rainbow Rowell - 2014
She still loves her husband, Neal, and Neal still loves her, deeply — but that almost seems beside the point now.Maybe that was always beside the point.Two days before they’re supposed to visit Neal’s family in Omaha for Christmas, Georgie tells Neal that she can’t go. She’s a TV writer, and something’s come up on her show; she has to stay in Los Angeles. She knows that Neal will be upset with her — Neal is always a little upset with Georgie — but she doesn't expect him to pack up the kids and go home without her.When her husband and the kids leave for the airport, Georgie wonders if she’s finally done it. If she’s ruined everything.That night, Georgie discovers a way to communicate with Neal in the past. It’s not time travel, not exactly, but she feels like she’s been given an opportunity to fix her marriage before it starts...Is that what she’s supposed to do?Or would Georgie and Neal be better off if their marriage never happened?
The Single Girl's To-Do List
Lindsey Kelk - 2011
Rachel doesn’t know it, but it will take her on all kinds of wild adventures – and get her in some romantic pickles too. And then it won't be a case of what but who she decides to tick off…• Mr. bendy yoga instructor• Mr. teenage sweetheart• Mr. persistent ex• Mr. deeply unsuitableThe Single Girl’s To-Do List gives Rachel the perfect heartbreak cure – and proves love is out there if you’re willing to take a chance.
Plan B
Jonathan Tropper - 2000
Ten years ago, Ben, Lindsey, Chuck, Alison, and Jack graduated from New York University and went out into the world, fresh-faced and full of dreams for the future. But now Ben's getting a divorce; Lindsey's unemployed; Alison and Chuck seem stuck in ruts of their own making; and Jack is getting more publicity for his cocaine addiction than his multimillion-dollar Hollywood successes.Suddenly, turning thirty-- past the age their parents were when they were born, older than every current star athlete or pop music sensation-- seems to be both more meaningful and less than they'd imagined ten years ago.Jonathan Tropper's wonderful debut novel is about more than friendship, love, celebrity, addiction, kidnapping, or even turning thirty-- it's a heartfelt comic riff on what it means to be an adult against your will, to be single when you thought you'd have a family, to discover you are not, in fact, immortal, and to learn that Star Wars is as good a life lesson today as it was when you were six years old.
When Never Comes
Barbara Davis - 2018
For a while, she found a safe haven in her marriage to bestselling crime novelist Stephen Ludlow—until his car skidded into Echo Bay. But Stephen’s wasn’t the only body pulled from the icy waters that night. When details about a mysterious violet-eyed blonde become public, a media circus ensues, and Christy-Lynn runs again.Desperate for answers, she’s shattered to learn that Stephen and his mistress had a child—a little girl named Iris, who now lives in poverty with her ailing great-grandmother. The thought of Iris abandoned to the foster care system—as Christy-Lynn once was—is unbearable. But she’s spent her whole life running—determined never to be hurt again. Will she finally stand still long enough to open herself up to forgiveness and love?
The Last Bathing Beauty
Amy Sue Nathan - 2020
Back then Betty Stern was an eighteen-year-old knockout working at her grandparents’ lakeside resort. The “Catskills of the Midwest” was the perfect place for Betty to prepare for bigger things. She’d head to college in New York City. Her career as a fashion editor would flourish. But first, she’d enjoy a wondrous last summer at the beach falling deeply in love with an irresistible college boy and competing in the annual Miss South Haven pageant. On the precipice of a well-planned life, Betty’s future was limitless.Decades later, the choices of that long-ago season still reverberate for Betty, now known as Boop. Especially when her granddaughter comes to her with a dilemma that echoes Boop’s memories of first love, broken hearts, and faraway dreams. It’s time to finally face the past—for the sake of her family and her own happiness. Maybe in reconciling the life she once imagined with the life she’s lived, Boop will discover it’s never too late for a second chance.
Mother's Day
Kirsty Scott - 2006
But, here, three women are about to discover that friends are the only accessories they will need. Working mum Alison is devoted to her daughter, but since juggling motherhood with a career has left her with a permanent headache, a larger family is the only thing Not on her to-do list...Trophy wife Katherine seems rich, glamorous and care-free. In fact, her husband only ever touches her as he guides her into social functions, and her kids barely know she exists either. Stay-at-home mum Gwen has three lovely kids and a blissful marriage to Rob. It seems like she has it all - until two bombshells cause her perfect world to crumble. A deliciously warm, funny and moving take on being a mum, making new friends and dealing with the posturing and politics of the playground - something we never really leave behind...
The Wrong Girl
Zoë Foster Blake - 2014
The new chef has just arrived on set and he is drop dead gorgeous. And despite everything – the sabbatical that Lily and her flatmate Simone are taking from men, the fact that Jack is a work colleague – Lily falls head over heels for him. And while Lily battles her feelings, her flatmate Simone breaks their pact and starts dating some guy from her wholefoods shop. That guy turns out to be Jack. Up close, Lily bravely watches on as romance blossoms between Simone and Jack. Or does it? They don't seem to have much in common, apart from their striking good looks. And Lily and Jack just seem to get each other. Is that the same thing as falling in love? And could she ever dream of betraying a friendship? Lily has to make some difficult decisions about work and home, and realises that if she doesn't take life by the scruff of the neck, she is the one who'll be picked up, shaken and dumped.
East of the Sun
Julia Gregson - 2007
The Kaiser-i-Hind is en route to Bombay. In Cabin D38, Viva Hollowat, an inexperienced chaperone, is worried she's made a terrible mistake. Her advert in The Lady has resulted in three unsettling charges to be escorted to India.Rose, a beautiful, dangerously naive English girl, is about to be married to the cavalry officer she has met only a handful of times.Victoria, the bridesmaid, is determined to lose her virginity on the journey before finding a husband of her own in India. And overshadowing all three of them, the malevolent presence of Guy Glover, a strange and disturbed schoolboy.Three potential Memsahibs with a myriad of reasons for leaving England, but the cargo of hopes and secrets they carry has done little to prepare them for what lies ahead.From the parties of the wealthy Bombay socialites to the poverty of the orphans on Tamarind Street, East of the Sun is everything a historical novel should be: alive with glorious detail, fascinating characters and masterful storytelling.