Book picks similar to
House in the Hills by Erica Brown


historical
generational
family-drama
ebooks

The House of Closed Doors


Jane Steen - 2012
    Yet Nell is determined to elude the duties and restrictions of matrimony. So when she finds herself pregnant at the age of 17, she refuses to divulge the name of the father and even her childhood friend Martin is kept in the dark.Nell's stepfather Hiram sends Nell to live at the Poor Farm of which he is a governor, to await the day when her baby can be discreetly adopted. Nell is ready to go along with Hiram's plans until an unused padded cell is opened and two small bodies fall out.Nell is the only resident of the Poor Farm who is convinced that the unwed mother and her baby were murdered, and the incident prompts her to rethink her decision to abandon her own child to her fate. But the revelations to which her questions lead make her realize that even if she manages to escape the Poor Farm with her baby, she may have no safe place to run to.

The Back Building


Julie Dewey - 2014
    Through the Mueller family we take a deep look at what it means to be mentally ill in the year 1915 and in the present day.By the time she reached fifteen years old, Iona had failed to become a “proper young lady” which profoundly concerned her parents. Her one and only friend, Hetty, the family maid, warned her not to disobey them but Iona couldn’t help herself. Iona’s quirk of counting steps may have been overlooked but when her mother and father learned of her exploits in the woods near her home in Ithaca, New York, she was taken to the town doctor. The doctor took one look at her self-cut short, mangled hair, learned of her bizarre behavior, and declared her insane.At Willard Asylum on Seneca Lake there were plenty of activities to occupy her, including the job she procured working in the barn. Besides, she knew she was not anything like the crazy patients that banged their heads against the cinder walls until they bled or ran naked through the hallways. She was disobedient, that was true, and she would change. If only her parents would accept her correspondence and allow her to return home.Iona’s new roommate, Cat, made every night a fight for survival. When Iona was caught trying to run away she was sent to the second ward, where her fate was sealed. Subject to tranquilizers and hydrotherapy, ice baths and physical beatings, Iona had only one thing on her mind. She had to stay away from the back building. Once you were placed there you were never seen again.Iona met James at the institution’s barn. His kindness made the deprivation more bearable. He recognized that the violet hollows beneath her eyes, the bruises on her arms, and her apparent unraveling were the effect of the second ward. A plan was put into place, one that would remove Iona from harm’s way permanently.In present day, it is Jenna, a young relative of Iona’s, who is plagued with mental illness. Jenna’s odd behaviors, bizarre language, and confusion disrupt her once perfectly normal life. Jenna’s family members trace their roots back to Iona in hopes of understanding their predisposition to mental illness. The journey leads them to an amazing discovery of the suitcases left behind by hundreds of patients at the Willard Asylum.

Summer's Child


Diane Chamberlain - 1999
    Daria's parent's had adopted the infant, but now they are dead and she has accepted responsibility for Shelly--who has grown into a beautiful, slightly handicapped young woman. Without consulting Daria, Shelly contacts Rory Taylor, host of TV's True Life Stories, to ask his help in finding her birth mother. Rory has a personal interest in Shelly's story since he'd been one of the many teenagers hanging out on the beach the summer the baby was found. Daria, meanwhile, has been keeping to herself the crush she's had on Rory for years--along with Shelly's true story. Here, as in previous offerings, Chamberlain (Breaking the Silence) creates a captivating tale populated with haunting characters.

Swept Through Time: 7 Bestselling Time Travel Treasures


Tamara Gill - 2015
    Forced to step into the shoes of a near-identical ancestress, she is desperate to get back -- until she falls for the very man her counterpart most wanted to avoid.Catherine Prescott wants nothing more than freedom--from rules and from the prospect of an unwanted marriage. When she abruptly finds herself in 2013, it seems all of her dreams have come true, especially when she finds her soulmate in a man her counterpart never cared for.THE TARTAN MP3 PLAYER by bestselling & award winning author C.A. SzarekClaire McGowan gets sucked into 1672, naked and scared. Duncan MacLeod rescues her only to realize she's the key to finding his brother who was kidnapped by the Fae. Can they work together and both get what they want? Will sudden passion for each other change their goals?A TUMBLE THROUGH TIME by USA Today bestselling author Callie HuttonA jilted bounty hunter lands in the year 1870 three weeks before an interview vital to her law enforcement career. A Kansas marshal wages a daily battle with Civil War memories, but now has to deal with a strange woman who dropped out of nowhere at the same time townspeople are turning up dead.HIGHLAND SORCERER by Clover AutreyCharity Greves has the gift of healing. So when a naked bleeding Highlander materializes out of the air into her kitchen, she does what any rational free-thinking herbalist under the same circumstances would do--she heals him. She didn't expect to be drawn back to the 13th Century where a dangerous whacked-out witch holds the handsome Highlander captive. Nor is she prepared to be drawn so strongly to him that she'll do whatever it takes to save him.Imprisoned by the witch, Toren Limont the High Sorcerer and Protector of the Fae's magic, uses the last of his magical reserves to go forward in time and find a healer the witch doesn't have any influence over. He merely seeks the small respite a healing can give him in order to continue to withstand the witch's tortures long enough for his clan and siblings to flee.Until Charity falls with him through time as either his salvation or his entire clan's downfall.SMOOCH by Laura Marie AltomOnce upon a time in the not so distant future . . .There was a beautiful scientist determined to capture her every dream. Money. Fame. And most importantly-finally earning her father's respect. All Lucy Gordon must do is discover a new frog species. Then, miraculously, that frog finds her. Consumed with joy, she kisses the little guy.And... Poof! By magic, her frog is replaced by a wholly naked, wholly medieval, bad-boy prince claiming she's saved him from an amphibian eternity. But Lucy doesn't want a prince. She wants her frog-her dreams. At least until the prince returns her kiss with spellbinding intensity.RIDGEWAY by Louise ClarkWhen Jaclyn Sinclair researches the Fenian Invasion of 1866, a little known incident in US and Canadian history, strange things start happening, until she is flung back in time to the day the invasion began. Taken prisoner, she is questioned by Sean O'Dell, one of the invading Fenians. Now she's stuck in 1866, in the middle of a historical event she knows far too much about, being interrogated by one of the most gorgeous men she's ever met. Uh-oh.DEFIANT SURRENDER by bestselling author Tamara GillLondoner Maddie St. Clair discovers a medieval ring that throws her back to 1102 Cumberland and into the life of heiress Lady Madeline Vincent a woman about to married by Kings decree to Baron, Lord William Dowell.Their marriage does not start well, but when Madeline's life is threatened, William's loyalty to his kin is tested by the astonishing desire that flares between them. Not to mention the love that Madeline ignites that would last an eternity. If fate will allow.

The Feud


Amanda James - 2019
    After losing his wife to leukaemia, he wants to make a fresh start. His new life is going well until Matt returns to his cottage to discover a grim warning on his doorstop. The message is clear – Leave now and go back to London.Not wanting to give up his new life, Matt eventually discovers that there has been a 200-year-old feud between his family, the Trevelyars, and another local family, the Penhallows.When Matt learns that one of his ancestors burned down a barn belonging to the Penhallows, and that there were tragic consequences, he understands why his family name is mud. But why is Matt paying for the sins of his ancestors now? And is there more to the feud than meets the eye? Amanda James is the bestselling author of the psychological thrillers Another Mother, The Cornish Retribution and Rip Current, as well as the heart-warming women's fiction novel, The Calico Cat. The Feud is a suspenseful drama which will appeal to fans of authors like K.L. Slater, Shalini Boland and Lucy Dawson.

Finding Southern Comfort


Barbara Lohr - 2013
    She’s desperate when he sends her home. Jobs are scarce and eviction looms. Former boyfriend Billy took off for California and she’s too proud to head home to Chicago. Although Cameron may not go for her cheerleader kicks, he does admire Harper’s spunk. When she answers his ad for a nanny, she’s horrified to find herself back at his mansion. But she can’t turn down the generous salary or Bella, the toddler with troubled eyes. Youngest in the Kirkpatrick clan, Harper’s not an expert on kids. Neither is the young widower. Her head-strong personality soon puts her at odds with Cameron and his TV personality girlfriend, Kimmy Carrington. When she stands in for Kimmy at a Savannah gala, Harper and Cameron spark a fire that nearly burns down the dance floor. Never has the wrong man felt so right. Never has a boy from the south worked so hard to rev up the charm. Will the Windy City girl be able to put the heart back in his home? Can he convince her that his southern comfort has staying power?

Fortune and Glory (The Change)


John Birmingham - 2017
    Set in S.M. Stirling’s epic storyworld of The Change, ‘Fortune and Glory’ drops readers into the dead heart of post-apocalyptic Sydney.

The Wanton Redhead


Meg Hutchinson - 2006
    Viciously raped, then thrown out of the family home, the girl goes on the run, fleeing her cruel rapist.

Double Jeopardy


Donna Schlachter - 2020
    Now his murder bequeaths her a mystery, a ramshackle homestead, and a silver mine.Zeke Graumann signs on as Becky’s foreman to keep his portion of his family’s ranch. He shares the workers’ reservations about a woman boss, especially one who burns water and prances around in dungarees. Even though she did look awful good in the dungarees.Then a series of accidents add threat to tension. Can Becky trust Zeke, find her father’s killer, and turn her mine into a profitable venture? Will Zeke be forced to give up his ranching dream to win Becky’s heart?“With a feisty heroine and a secret hero, sparks fly.” —Lena Nelson Dooley, editor, speaker, and author of fifty Christian novels