Book picks similar to
Diving for Pearls by Katie Agnew
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Broken Ground
Karen Halvorsen Schreck - 2016
She’s making a home when she learns that her young husband, Charlie, has been killed in an oil rig accident. Ruth is devastated, but then gets a chance for a fresh start: a scholarship from a college in Pasadena, CA. Ruth decides to take a risk and travel west, to pursue her one remaining dream to become a teacher.At college Ruth tries to fit into campus life, but her grief holds her back. When she spends Christmas with some old family friends, she meets the striking and compelling Thomas Everly, whose own losses and struggles have instilled in him a commitment to social justice, and led him to work with Mexican migrant farmworkers in a camp just east of Los Angeles. With Thomas, Ruth sees another side of town, and another side of current events: the forced deportation of Mexican migrant workers due to the Repatriation Act put into place during President Herbert Hoover’s administration.After Ruth is forced to leave school, she goes to visit Thomas and sees that he has cobbled together a night school for the farmworkers’ children. Ruth begins to work with the children, and establishes deep friendships with people in the camp. When the camp is raided and the workers and their families are rounded up and shipped back to Mexico, Ruth and Thomas decide to take a stand for the workers’ rights—all while promising to love and cherish one another.
No Going Back
Casey Kelleher - 2021
A family is out for revenge.Riley Cooke is just one day old when he is stolen from the hospital. His young mother, Shelby, is beside herself. DC Lucy Murphy and her team face a race against time to find the vulnerable baby and bring him home – before the child’s grandfather, fearsome gangster Pete Baker, takes matters into his own hands.Pete is sure he knows who’s behind baby Riley’s abduction, and he thinks they ought to pray Lucy finds them before he does. Because someone is going to pay dearly for causing this much pain to his family.They say never stand between a gangster and his target. But that’s exactly what Lucy must do – because if Pete is wrong, innocent blood could flow.A shocking and addictive read that will keep you turning the pages. Fans of Martina Cole, Kimberley Chambers and Emma Tallon will love this.
Bardwell's Folly: A Love Story
Sandra Hutchison - 2022
A tragic accident pulled Dori from college to care for her only remaining brother, but now the money is running out, her ex-boyfriend appears intent on revenge, a media baron has designs on her father's last, unfinished manuscript, and her own thoughtless blackface joke is about to go viral and turn her life upside down.With a new, media-savvy African American friend, Dori embarks on a voyage into her family's secret history that might just lead her right back to where she started.If you like humorous, heartfelt book club fiction with a strong romantic thread, a love of literature, and a sharp eye for race and class in America, you’ll love BARDWELL’S FOLLY. "Dori is a fabulous, sympathetic character, caught up in a rollicking, funny, original, beautifully-written journey." -- Lucia Nevai, author of SALVATION"Once again, Sandra Hutchison expertly weaves enticing characters with captivating imagery, creating a story so engrossing it's impossible to put down and even harder to forget." -- S.M. Freedman, author of THE FAITHFUL and IMPACT WINTERIncludes discussion questions.
An Eligible Gentleman (The Eversley Saga Book 4)
Alice Chetwynd Ley - 2021
What We Leave Behind
Anna Mansell - 2020
This little girl, dressed in white, her face bright as she swirls and twirls, dancing in the sunshine. ‘Mummy!’ she says, running towards me. I catch her, no question. ‘Mummy, you’re here,’ she says.’ And I hold her tight.Imagine you get home one day… and waiting for you on your doorstep is a gift.It is wrapped beautifully, and inside is a notebook, its pages empty. There is no message.But its sender has a story to tell.About a secret. About the little girl you once were. About everything you know about your family.The gifts keep arriving. But when tragedy strikes – leaving your beloved only daughter fighting for her life – the person who has been sending the gifts will have no choice but to come forward. And to finally tell the truth.Even if it’s the very thing that will tear your family apart…A heartbreakingly beautiful novel about motherhood, loss and family secrets, for fans of Kerry Fisher, Susan Lewis and Jodi Picoult.
Before I Trust You
Daisy White - 2018
Rita Stonehill runs in front of the horses on a sunny day at Brighton racecourse. Why did she kill herself and is there more to it than meets the eye? Ruby Baker is shocked to witness this dramatic event. Rita’s brother thinks she was murdered, but there’s no evidence to suggest that. It seems like an open-and-shut case of suicide, but as a sordid love triangle emerges, Ruby concludes that someone wanted Rita dead. Ruby plunges into the glamorous world of horse racing to discover the truth. This is her most dangerous case yet and Rita’s death strikes very close to home for Ruby. And then Ruby’s best friend Mary has her whole life turned upside down. THE MOST GRIPPING RUBY BAKER MYSTERY YET Discover a new mystery writer today. Great for fans of Agatha Christie or LJ Ross. This is the third book in a mystery series set in 1960s Brighton, a tumultuous time of change and opportunity.
The Talk of Pram Town
Joanna Nadin - 2020
. .It’s 1981. Eleven-year-old Sadie adores her beautiful and vibrant mother, Connie, whose dreams of making it big as a singer fill their tiny house in Leeds. It’s always been just the two of them. Until the unthinkable happens.Jean hasn’t seen her good-for-nothing daughter Connie since she ran away from the family home in Harlow – or Pram Town as its inhabitants affectionately call it – aged seventeen and pregnant.But in the wake of the Royal Wedding, Jean gets a life-changing call: could she please come and collect the granddaughter she’s never met?We all know how Charles and Diana turned out, and Jean and Sadie are hardly a match made in heaven – but is there hope of a happy ending for them?Written in Joanna Nadin’s trademark dazzling prose, The Talk of Pram Town tells the story of three generations of Earnshaws and asks whether it always has to be like mother, like daughter . .
The Rigel Affair
L.M. Hedrick - 2019
will their love survive the separation and wartime bloodshed?
The Words That Fly Between Us
Sarah Carroll - 2019
She and her mother want for nothing. Nothing, that is, that can be bought.But money cannot buy Lucy the words she needs. The words to stand up to her bully of a father. The words to inspire her mother to do something about the family life that is suffocating them both. The words to become the person she wants to be.Then Lucy finds something else: An escape route...Soon she discovers that every building on her row is connected, through the attic, to the next. As she explores the inner lives of those who live on her street, Lucy realises that she is not the only one to suffer in silence. She also sees ways she can help some, and ways to punish those that deserve it.But as the mighty fall, Lucy is forced to realise that while she can affect the lives of others from the safety of the attic, she will need to climb down to face her own fears.
Fireflies at 3 am
Danni Thomas - 2020
It’s a book with the flow of poetry but the ebb of short stories – rightfully called “Shoetry”. This creation takes you to the roots of humanity - stripping back the veneers of life, society and interaction to see people and their ways in an entirely new light.
My Mother's Children
Annette Sills - 2021
She has just lost her mother Tess and brother Mikey, her marriage to Joe is coming apart at the seams and her thirty-year friendship with Karen is on the rocks.While clearing out her childhood home, Carmel discovers that her mother gave birth to a baby in an Irish Mother and Baby home when she was sixteen, a place notorious for its mass burial of babies and illegal adoptions.Carmel goes on a quest for the truth about her troubled mother’s past. Her roller-coaster journey takes her from her comfortable Manchester home to the west of Ireland and to London's theatre land. It’s a journey that leads her to ask: Can we ever escape our own family history or is our destiny in our DNA?
The Art of Emptying The Brain: Nepalese method spontaneous mental healing
Leonid Altshuler - 2018
Leonid Altshuler M.D., a board-certified psychiatrist, went through years of misdiagnosis and suffering before he discovered an innate connection between stress, diet and physical and mental illnesses. In this book Dr. Altshuler describes a unique method called the Art of Emptying the Brain that he was taught in Nepal where he lived in a monastery studying different meditation techniques taught by a Master.He was dealing with a lot of stress at that time in his personal and professional life and was eagger to find a treatment to relieve stress. But he was told from the beginning by the Master that he could not study any techniques because he was not ready.He said that if Dr. Altshuler started meditating right away without preparation then eventually, he would cause a lot of emotional problems for himself.He said that Westerners have a restless mind and cannot just jump to practice meditation right away , they need to learn specific technique first to be able to empty their mind and only then begin meditation.He said that the preparation stage would be discharging unwanted emotions, memories and images spontaneously and the task would be not to interfere in the process. Dr, Altshuler has been teaching this unique Nepalese technique to all his patients who are interested in studying meditation. He achieves excellent results utilizing this method in the treatment of depression, anxiety and chronic insomnia.This book does not replace the advice of your medical practitioner, it is intended to support the work of your medical practitioner and to help you or a loved one to achieve good health.
The Lost Secret of Ireland: Completely unforgettable and uplifting Irish fiction (Starlight Cottages Book 2)
Susanne O'Leary - 2021
When she moved from Paris to a beautiful coastguard cottage on the sea, she wanted peace and quiet and the space to grieve after her mother’s death. She never imagined that her mother’s eccentric best friend Lucille would insist on moving in to keep her company.With Lucille by her side, Ella finds herself laughing more than she has in years and it soon becomes clear that Lucille has her own reasons for coming to Sandy Cove: she wants Ella to help her move to her own little cottage by the sea. But then Lucille’s son Rory comes to town and her dream is under threat: he wants her in Tipperary, where she can safely grow old in their family home. Ella admires Lucille’s sense of adventure but she can’t help but wonder if Rory is right. Especially when she sees the rickety old cottage Lucille intends to buy and realises that the real reason she wants to escape could turn Rory’s life upside down.As Ella and Rory get closer, sharing a moment under the stars that feels meant to be, Ella finds herself caught between the man she is falling for and the loyalty she has to Lucille. Ella knows that she must convince Lucille to tell her family the truth, but it may force them to leave her and Sandy Cove for good…
The Secret: A captivating read which will keep you guessing! (The Missensham Series)
Jennifer Wells - 2018
An isolated guest room and a surprise pregnancy leave her longing to return to the stage and her London life. She soon discovers that Elmridge House is not all that it seems – the house holds secrets which make it difficult for her to leave. Missensham 1942 – Young nurse Ivy Watts is called out to a patient at Elmridge House, home of the aloof Mrs Cuthbertson and reclusive Dr Cuthbertson. Ivy is entranced by the opulence of the house and its glamorous past, but when she tells her mother about Mrs Cuthbertson, her mother becomes fearful and forbids her from returning to the house. What secrets does Elmridge House hold? And why does Lily's mother live in fear of the mysterious Mrs Cuthbertson? Perfect for the fans of Lesley Pearse and Susan Lewis.
November Sky
Marleen Reichenberg - 2014
She’d finally come to terms with her quiet, predictable life—that is, until she meets charismatic actor Nick, who rekindles her faith in men.Despite initial doubts, Laura begins to let Nick in. But as she learns to trust again, she’s surprised to find that he’s not always the cheerful, confident man he appears to be when the cameras are rolling. Soon Nick’s violent downswings begin to push the limits of her endurance, and Laura must find the strength to help him understand his own dark past. But can she save him—without losing herself?