Book picks similar to
The Runaway Wife by Rosie Clarke
historical-fiction
kobo
mary-s
historical-fiction-uk
Tears of the Dragon: A sweeping, exotic historical saga for fans of Dinah Jefferies
Jean Moran - 2019
One sultry evening in Kowloon, Dr Rowena Rossiter and Sister Alice Huntley are off-duty and in search of fun – little knowing that their world is on the brink of collapse. That night, Rowena will meet two men who will fight for her heart for the next four years. Connor O'Connor, the rebellious Irish soldier, who will woo and then lose her, and Kim Pheloung. Immensely rich and the most beautiful man Rowena has ever seen, he is also the most ruthless, with a sinister need possess and control. When the Japanese invasion leaves this previously strong and independent woman raped and broken, who will succeed in claiming Rowena's body and soul? And will she ever learn to love the child born of that terrible Christmas Day?
Havana Jazz Club
Lola Mariné - 2012
Lured by her new playboy husband, the beautiful, trusting woman leaves her close-knit and caring family in Cuba to follow him to Spain. Once there, he reveals his true—and violent—nature, and Billie chooses the dangers of the street over the abuses of the man she once loved. Soon she finds herself with trouble to spare and nowhere to turn, but when her voice lands her a spot at the Havana Jazz Club, she discovers a new, unconventional family in a city far from the one she left behind. And with every high note and heartbreak, Billie skirts destiny to write her own song.
The Woman I Was Before
Kerry Fisher - 2019
A new home can be a happy ending. Or a fresh start. Or a hiding place... Kate Jones is running away. She has left her old life behind, changing both her own name and her daughter’s. No-one must ever connect Kate with the mistake that destroyed her life. Starting afresh on Parkview Road – a brand new street full of newly built houses – Kate looks at the other women on the street with envy. They seem to have it all: Gisela with her busy life, full house and successful children, Sally with her exciting spontaneous marriage, her glamorous holidays, her high-flying career. The pictures that Kate's new friends post online confirm their seemingly perfect existence, whilst Kate hides from the world at all costs. Until one day, everything changes. Kate is called to the scene of a devastating accident, which is about to test everything the women thought they knew about each other, and themselves. From the bestselling author of The Silent Wife, The Woman I Was Before is a book about the things we hide from those closest to us – and the terrible consequences that keeping those secrets can have. Perfect for fans of Jodi Picoult, Liane Moriarty and Diane Chamberlain.
No Fear
Casey Kelleher - 2020
Now she must fight to save herself.When DC Lucy Murphy meets Debra, wife of feared drug dealer Gerard Jennings, she sees a young woman in urgent need of help. Brutalised by her husband, Debra is too terrified to tell the police what she knows. But Lucy is determined to bring Gerard down – for Debra’s sake, and the safety of the Griffin Estate.Meanwhile, after the death of one of his drug runners, Gerard is under pressure from his bosses to prove he’s still up to the job. Facing threats of violence as well as police interest, Gerard is getting desperate – and desperate men are the most dangerous of all.As Lucy prepares to go undercover in Gerard’s gang to get the evidence she needs to arrest him, her beloved grandmother Winnie starts acting strangely. She mentions a man visiting her at night in her care home, but that makes no sense – does it?Any distraction could prove deadly for Lucy and the people she’s trying to protect. But she has backed a vicious man into a corner, and he’ll stop at nothing to get what he wants.
What I Didn't Say
Jade Beer - 2018
captivating and flawless... will leave you sobbing… grabbed my attention from the start and I could not put it down!’ Goodreads reviewerIf you could wish one thing for your daughter, what would it be?Jenny lost her beloved mother as a teenager. As a parting gift her mother left a bundle of letters, one for each significant day of Jenny’s future. First date, first broken heart, wedding day, when she becomes a mother…But now Jenny is in her late twenties, and while at the hospital where she works she helps other women start families every day, she still hasn’t opened the letter for the day she meets the love of her life, let alone the one for having a baby.And Jenny is still writing back:I’m sorry I don’t love cycling.I’m sorry I don’t always dream about you.I’m sorry the last thing I whispered in your ear was, ‘can I stay up late?’ when it should have been ‘I love you’.When a case of mistaken identity leads to an unexpected friendship with Helen, a kindly shopkeeper in her fifties, the bond growing between them makes Jenny wonder: she treasures her mother’s words more than anything, but are they keeping her stuck in the past?Can we ever heal from a loss that cuts so deep? Can Jenny find a way to let go, and start living life to the full, as her mother truly wanted?An absolutely unforgettable book-club read that will break your heart. If you love Jojo Moyes, Cecelia Ahern and Nancy Thayer you will love this unputdownable page-turner.
The Silver Ladies of London
Lesley Eames - 2018
This is a heart-warming story of friendship, loyalty, courage and love. Perfect for the fans of Elaine Everest and Daisy Styles.
Dismissed without references when their employer's valuable necklace goes missing, friends Ruth, Lydia, Jenny and Grace try to rebuild their lives far from home in London. A surprise financial inheritance and gift of a beautiful silver Rolls Royce leads them to set up in business as female chauffeurs and the Silver Ladies of London is born. But driving is a man's world and the girls face a future fraught with constant challenges. Soon their business; romances and even their friendship come under threat. Can the Silver Ladies overcome their struggles and find love, success and happiness? Featuring four heroines, a scandal, a secret and a silver Rolls Royce.
Dreams of a Little Cornish Cottage
Nancy Barone - 2021
But having kicked out her adulterous ex-husband, her house is filled with nothing but echoes and Nat yearns for the coziness and bustle of seaside living. In particular, the rundown Lavender Cottage that has gone up for sale.But when her mother has a fall, Nat's dream of a quiet new life crumbles as she instantly brings her into her home to care for her. With her two energetic nieces then dumped on her doorstep and her recently heartbroken daughter moving back into the nest, Nat can't possibly abandon her family... Lavender cottage will just have to wait.That is until Irishman Connor enters Nat's life and makes her realize that it's okay to put herself first, and she's allowed to wish for more.
A Letter from Nana Rose
Kristin Harper - 2021
You were once so happy in this house. Now I’m gone, all I ask is that you spend one last summer here together on Dune Island. And please forgive me, your Nana, for the secret I’m about to tell you…”Arriving at the honeysuckle-covered beach house inherited from her beloved grandmother, recently heartbroken Jill hopes to convince her two feuding sisters not to sell a place so full of happy childhood memories. But the envelope waiting on the driftwood table changes everything. In her elegant handwriting, Nana Rose promises a new letter will arrive each day of the summer revealing a family secret she took to her grave.Shaken, Jill anxiously awaits each letter filled with Nana’s bittersweet memories of her own sister who she loved more than anyone—and lost far too young. But why did Nana never speak of this tragic loss to her grandchildren?Watching the sunset each night and wondering how well they really knew Nana Rose, Jill feels her family is closer than they’ve been in years. And after a chance encounter with blue-eyed tree surgeon Alex, she wonders if Nana believed being back on Dune Island would help Jill find love, too?But when Nana’s final letter arrives, the revelation about how her sister died is more shocking than Jill ever imagined. Suddenly, despite the chance of happiness with Alex, selling the house seems the only way forward. Will Jill find a way to forge new bonds of sisterhood and save their inheritance, or will Nana Rose’s secret tear them all apart?
The House on Boundary Street
Tea Cooper - 2020
Sly grog shops thrive, the cocaine trade flourishes and brothels abound. Into this big dark city comes fresh-faced country girl, Dolly Bowman, ready to risk everything in pursuit of her dreams. After all it's the 1920s - time to turn her back on her terrible childhood and search for her future.Cynthia Burton's life changes irrevocably the day she steps over the threshold of the house on Boundary Street. Determined to survive the only way she can, she breaks into the world of money and matinee idols in order to fulfil a promise she made and now there's no going back.As Dolly and Cynthia lives entangle they find themselves drawn into a far-reaching web of lies, intrigue and double dealing. Could it be that the house on Boundary Street, once their safe haven, offers nothing more than a dangerous facade?The House on Boundary Street is a revised and expanded edition of the novel originally published as Jazz Baby.
Summer at the French Olive Grove
Sophie Claire - 2021
So when she suffers an accident on her travels and finds herself recuperating in the quiet French seaside village where she spent her childhood, she can't wait to escape. Not least because Olivier - Lily's childhood friend and former crush, who she has spent the last thirteen years avoiding - is staying next door . . .Strong-minded masterbaker Olivier is happily settled in St Pierre, preparing to marry and put down roots. But Lily's return to the village risks turning his carefully-laid plans upsidedown, and as the pair rediscover their familiar rivalry and fun, sparks fly.Is Lily really as fearless and independent as she seems on the surface - or is she just running from the past? And what if Olivier is the only one who can teach her what it really means to be brave?
My Daughter's Mistake
Kate Hewitt - 2021
My darling girl. I remember her tiny hand in mine, her first smile. I recall her tears when she’d tumble over, healed instantly with a band-aid and a little kiss. I have to keep her safe. Even if it means someone else gets hurt…In the pretty, privileged college town of Milford, New Hampshire, everyone is friendly, everything is safe. And on this cold autumn day, as red and yellow leaves begin to fall from the trees, and everyone wraps up for the first time, it would be easy to believe nothing bad could ever happen here.Until a screech of tires is heard, a thud, a child’s scream. The crash that sees Jenna’s six-year-old daughter Amy Rose being hit by a car driven by seventeen-year-old Maddie.Maddie’s mother, Ellen—a college professor with a warm, approachable reputation—insists it must have been an accident. Her daughter is always safe on the road—and she’s vulnerable herself.But as Amy Rose lies unconscious in hospital, the town begins to take sides. With Ellen, who just wants to defend her daughter. Or with Jenna, a single mother with a past, whose child hovers between life and death…The truth is that both mothers have secrets they’re trying to keep. And, with Amy Rose’s life hanging in the balance, one of them will stop at nothing to protect the person she loves—her daughter.An incredible, powerfully emotional and heartbreaking read, with a dilemma that will make everyone wonder what they would do, in either mother’s shoes. Perfect for fans of Jodi Picoult, Jojo Moyes and Diane Chamberlain.
Confessions of a First Time Mum
Poppy Dolan - 2018
Stevie loves being a mum, but between the isolation and being vomited on five times a day, she really wishes she had someone to talk to.With husband Ted working hard to keep the family afloat, Stevie really doesn’t want to burden him with her feelings. Turning to the internet, Stevie starts the anonymous First-Time Mum blog and blasts the rose-tinted glasses of parenthood right off her readers.In the real world, Stevie meets the formidable Nelle and gorgeous Will, along with their own little treasures, and starts to realise that being a ‘perfect mum’ isn’t everything. But when the secret blog goes viral, Stevie must make some tough choices about who she wants to be, and whether she’s ready for the world to know the truth…A perfect laugh-out-loud read for fans of The Unmumsy Mum, Gill Sims and Emma Robinson.
All the Lies We Told
Jennifer Harvey - 2020
Not since he killed the man I loved. And now he’s back.I have imagined this scene a million times. But nothing could prepare me for what he actually says:“I didn’t do it.”He must be lying. Because who pleads guilty to a murder they didn’t commit?He insists that with my help he can prove his innocence. But no one else will ever believe it. Everyone in our small town wants him gone. They’re all scared of him. And up here, with nothing but the mountains and forests surrounding us, I’m scared of him too.And then I see something in his blue eyes. As blue as the sky reflected in the lake on that last morning before my world fell apart: before the fire, the police and the red blood on the ferns. That look reminds me of everything we used to be and I realise I need to know the truth.No matter what it costs me…A dark, emotional story of a family shattered by a terrible crime that will make you wonder how well we truly know the ones you love. Fans of Claire McGowan and Teresa Driscoll will be totally gripped by this absolutely addictive read.
Christmas Surprises at Mermaids Point
Sarah Bennett - 2021
What festive traditions will they make their own?Laurie and Jake are flat out running Laurie’s seafront café, packaging up orders of mince pies, sausage rolls and other delectable Christmas goodies, as well as finding time for Jake’s journalism. But when Jake’s mum offers them an unexpected gift, their plans are turned upside down.Alex can’t help but be charmed by beautiful and talented Ivy, but he’s still recovering from his ex-wife’s betrayal and has a secret life he’s not ready to share with anyone yet. But as the Christmas spirit starts weaving its magic, Alex may find himself ready for love sooner than he imagines.For Andrew, nothing is more important than family. As friends and family gather beneath his roof it’s a time for reflection about what the future might hold.As far as Nick is concerned, pop sensation Aurora Storm is the ‘one that got away’. After they shared a brief holiday fling, he has been thinking about her ever since. Is Christmas the perfect time to finally reach out to her, or is love at first sight just in fairy-tales?Sarah Bennett captures the joy of Christmas perfectly in these captivating vignettes. Christmas Surprises at Mermaids Point is a guaranteed joy for fans of Mermaids Point and new readers alike
Lost Daughter
Ali Mercer - 2019
Your husband has stuck by you and he’s a good dad. Your daughter Becca makes your heart explode with love.And then, in the time it takes to say ‘bad mother’, there’s no longer a place for you in your own family. Your right to see your child has disappeared.Life goes on in your house – family dinners, missing socks and evening baths – but you aren’t there anymore. Becca may be tucked up in bed in Rose Cottage, but she is as lost to you as if she had been snatched from under your nose.Everyone knows you deserve this, for you what you did. Except you’re starting to realize that things maybe aren’t how you thought they were, and your husband isn’t who you thought he was either. That the truths you’ve been so diligently punishing yourself for are built on sand, and the daughter you have lost has been unfairly taken from you. Wouldn’t that be more than any mother could bear?A heart-wrenchingly emotional drama for fans of Lisa Wingate, Jill Childs, and Jodi Picoult.