Book picks similar to
The Brittle Star: An epic story of the American West by Davina Langdale
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Probability Angels
Joseph Devon - 2008
He has, after all, been bouncing around New York city ever since, causing mischief and having fun as a supernatural being. But recently some problems have been cropping up: not only is he hallucinating things in garbage cans, but his mentor doesn't think he's working up to his full potential, his best friend can't offer any solace but drunken confusion, and his wife is dying in Central Park. See, the past twenty years haven't meant a thing because now it's time for Matthew to make his second choice and become a tester of humanity. And that's all before the zombies show up. Come explore the world of Matthew and Epp and see what a samurai from Feudal Japan has to do with the course of modern physics, what a two-thousand year old Roman slave has to do with the summit of Mount Everest, and what a dead man from Brooklyn has to do with the fate of the world.
God Spare the Girls
Kelsey McKinney - 2021
Made famous by a viral sermon on purity co-written with his eldest daughter, Abigail, Luke is the prototype of a modern preacher: tall, handsome, a spellbinding speaker. But his youngest daughter Caroline has started to notice the cracks in their comfortable life. She is certain that her perfect, pristine sister is about to marry the wrong man—and Caroline has slid into sin with a boy she’s known her entire life, wondering why God would care so much about her virginity anyway.When it comes to light, six weeks before Abigail’s wedding, that Luke has been having an affair with another woman, the entire Nolan family falls into a tailspin. Caroline seizes the opportunity to be alone with her sister. The two girls flee to the ranch they inherited from their maternal grandmother, far removed from the embarrassing drama of their parents and the prying eyes of the community. But with the date of Abigail’s wedding fast approaching, the sisters will have to make a hard decision about which familial bonds are worth protecting.An intimate coming-of-age story and a modern woman’s read, God Spare the Girls lays bare the rabid love of sisterhood and asks what we owe our communities, our families, and ourselves.
Sleepaway
T.R. Pearson - 2019
A Blue Ridge camping trip goes sideways for two young brothers and their minder in this sweet, brief novel of calamity and kindness.
Travess Blood
Quinn Larson - 2017
It is a story of good versus evil--of two brothers who are mortal enemies--but its main characters do not fit typical hero-villain molds. Clint Travess, Sheriff of Trenton County: a man dedicated to the law but plagued by guilt, and tormented by desire for another man's wife. Troy Travess, his brother: an ex-convict possessed by hate and a vow of revenge against the lawman who sent him to prison, but capable of loving the memory of a girl--and the son she left him. Matt Gustafson, wealthy rancher: a man who has nothing in common with Troy--except a vow to see Clint Travess dead. Ann Stuart Gustafson, Matt's wife: a woman who has everything she ever wanted, and would gladly trade it all for the man she loves. Mark Travess, Troy's son: a child caught in the middle of a deadly war between the two men who share his Travess blood. Will good triumph over evil in the end? Perhaps. But not without pain. Not without suffering. Not without the shedding of Travess blood. Click "Look inside" for a preview of this unusual western novel.
Goodbye, Enorma
John Locke - 2013
Enorma, coveted by every man within 100 miles of Dodge City -- and every Indian Tribe -- is a handful in every sense of the word.
FKA USA
Reed King - 2019
Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz, Douglas Adams’s A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, and Ernie Cline’s Ready Player One.In Reed King’s wildly imaginative and possibly prescient debut, the United States has dissolved in the wake of environmental disasters and the catastrophic policies of its final president.It is 2085, and Truckee Wallace, a factory worker in Crunchtown 407 (formerly Little Rock, Arkansas, before the secessions), has no grand ambitions besides maybe, possibly, losing his virginity someday.But when Truckee is thrust unexpectedly into the spotlight he is tapped by the President for a sensitive political mission: to deliver a talking goat across the continent. The fate of the world depends upon it.The problem is—Truckee’s not sure it’s worth it.Joined on the road by an android who wants to be human and a former convict lobotomized in Texas, Truckee will navigate an environmentally depleted and lawless continent with devastating—and hilarious—parallels to our own, dodging body pickers and Elvis-worshippers and logo girls, body subbers, and VR addicts.Elvis-willing, he may even lose his virginity.FKA USA is the epic novel we’ve all been waiting for about the American end of times, with its unavoidable sense of being on the wrong end of the roller coaster ride. It is a masterwork of ambition, humor, and satire with the power to make us cry, despair, and laugh out loud all at once. It is a tour de force unlike anything else you will read this year.
Before I Go
Catherine Cookson - 2017
When her Estate discovered this never-before-published memoir in the attic of her home, it was an astonishing find. Before I Go is the definitive story of her life, in the author’s own candid words.While Cookson had authored previous autobiographies, none have truly touched upon the tragedy and personal anguish she experienced until now. For the first time, she reveals the worst years of her life—her constant battles with illness and a series of devastating miscarriages, the damaging jealousy of her friend and her struggle to be taken seriously as a writer. But what shines through most is her strength in the face of adversity, her deep love for her husband, Tom, the solace she found in her art and her unmistakable character. Before I Go is an inspiring story of resilience and a must for any Cookson fan.
The Girl Who Loved a Spy
Kulpreet Yadav - 2014
As Andy is sucked deeper, he discovers a shocking connection between organized crime and desperate businessmen. As a part of the secret organization called 'The List,' which does all the government's dirty work, Andy has been working undercover for the Indian Intelligence Service ever since he left the army, a fact not known to Monica. Risking his life and wading through political twists, human redemption, and tangled conspiracies, Andy finds himself pitched against a dirty bomb in the hands of the enemy. It's not that Andy wants to live forever, but this is one case he can't afford to lose. Not just for truth but, for the first time in his life, for love.
The Secret Diaries of Juan Luis Vives: A Novel
Tim Darcy Ellis - 2020
When England's Sir Thomas More offers him the role of tutor to Mary, daughter of Catherine of Aragon and Henry VIII, he eagerly accepts.While publicly navigating life as a 'New Christian,' Vives is quickly drawn into the secretive and dangerous world of London's Jewish community. With a foot in each world, he is torn between the love of two women.Inside the Tudor court, the king and queen separately seek Vives's assistance to support their opposed demands. He must betray one to help the other, knowing his decision could cost him his life. Whom will he choose? Will his wily skills allow him to manipulate them both? Not only his survival but that of his family and his entire people hang in the balance.
Eden
W.A. Schwartz - 2020
In present-day California she struggles to care for her teenage daughter and manage the considerable stressors of her own complicated life. She is stunned to receive a call from the sheriff in Eden.Construction crews working on the site of her childhood home have made a hideous discovery. They have unearthed the decades-old remains of a girl, strands of hair and clothing still attached to the bones. Evelyn is devastated by the phone call. The Eden coroner informs her officials there suspect the remains may be those of her sister.Evelyn, who has mentally reduced her childhood to a series of blotchy Images and fragmented memories, fears something sinister may await her in Eden. Perhaps something she is unable to remember. She has no desire to return. Her fragile internal world is suddenly threatened with collapse by this discovery and the pressure to return home to help identify the remains.The discovery of the body sets in motion a series of events leading inevitably to the uncovering of secrets dating back multiple generations; terrible events that may involve the entire town of Eden. As Evelyn pursues the answers to the mysteries presented she finds her sanity, her life, and the life of her daughter threatened. She must face truths about her mother, Gwen, and her father as well as the rest of her family. Ultimately she must peel back the layers of her own consciousness, face her memories, and delve deeper into painful questions about her sister, and finally herself.Eden is a complex novel. Set against a background thick and sensuous with Southern beauty and imagery-the the live oak and Spanish moss and cypress swamps play roles nearly as big as the characters themselves-the book explores the devastating nature of secrets When played as a silent conspiracy between generations and yet the ultimate power of love to overcome.
Summertime
Vanessa Lafaye - 2015
Hurricane Season.Tens of thousands of black and white men scarred by their experiences of war in Europe return home to find themselves abandoned to destitution by the US government.The tiny, segregated community of Heron Key is suddenly overwhelmed by broken, disturbed men with new ideas about racial equality and nothing left to lose.Tensions flare when a black veteran is accused of committing the most heinous crime of all against a white resident’s wife.And not far off the strongest and most intense hurricane America has ever witnessed is gaining force.For fans of The Help and To Kill a Mockingbird, this is the story of the greatest tragedy you've never heard of.(Summertime is the title of the UK edition of Under a Dark Summer Sky)
All the F*cks I Cannot Give
Michael Carlon - 2017
Three weeks before Christmas, New York bound mild mannered Marketing Consultant Kelly Carson gets fired from his job over the telephone while sitting in an airline lounge in the Los Angeles Airport. Terri Flynn, a fiery and controversial starlet who is running away to New York after walking off the set of her latest feature film, overhears Kelly’s unceremonious firing and becomes hell bent on transforming him from the Clark Kent he is into the Superman the impulsive actress feels he’s destined to become. After their flight to New York is cancelled, Kelly and Terri take a last-minute jaunt to Hawaii, putting in motion a series of hilarious events and misfortunes that shake both of their worlds to the core, but not always for the better. From romps on the beach and overindulging on edibles to swinger’s parties and diverted flights, Michael Carlon’s fifth novel, All the F*cks I Cannot Give, will have you belly laughing on every single page - and maybe even wishing you were in Kelly Carson’s shoes for just one day.
Going To See the Elephant
Rodes Fishburne - 2008
Slater has come to “see the elephant,” to stake his claim to fame and become the greatest writer ever. But this city of gleaming water and infinite magic has other plans in this astounding first novel—at once a love story, a feast of literary imagination, and a dazzlingly original tale of passion, ambition, and genius in all their guises...
Slater Brown lays siege to San Francisco like Achilles circling Troy—until he crashes headlong into reality. Out of money and prospects, he applies for a job at a moribund weekly newspaper called the Morning Trumpet—and, as if by fate, is given a very special parting gift from a moonlighting mystic. Suddenly Slater has an exclusive on every story in the city. With his uncanny knack for finding scoops, he’s bringing the Trumpet back to life, infuriating a corrupt mayor and falling in love with the woman destined to become his muse. But it is the astonishing inventor Milo Magnet—a man obsessed with harnessing the weather—who will force Slater to navigate the most dangerous straits. For as Milo unleashes his power on San Francisco and the ravishing Callio de Quincy entrances Slater with hers, as storm clouds gather literally overhead, Slater will become at once a pawn, a savior, and the last best hope for a city that needs him—and his knack for the truth—more than ever before.From the Hardcover edition.
The Italian Party
Christina Lynch - 2018
Newly married, Scottie and Michael are seduced by Tuscany's famous beauty. But the secrets they are keeping from each other force them beneath the splendid surface to a more complex view of ltaly, America and each other.When Scottie's Italian teacher--a teenager with secrets of his own--disappears, her search for him leads her to discover other, darker truths about herself, her husband and her country. Michael's dedication to saving the world from communism crumbles as he begins to see that he is a pawn in a much different game. Driven apart by lies, Michael and Scottie must find their way through a maze of history, memory, hate and love to a new kind of complicated truth.Half glamorous fun, half an examination of America's role in the world, and filled with sun-dappled pasta lunches, prosecco, charming spies and horse racing, The Italian Party is a smart pleasure.
Forbidden
Kimberley Griffiths Little - 2014
But while this union with Horeb, the son of her tribe’s leader, will bring a life of riches and restore her family’s position within the tribe, it will come at the price of Jayden’s heart. Then a shadowy boy from the Southern Lands appears. Handsome and mysterious, Kadesh fills Jayden’s heart with a passion she never knew possible. But with Horeb’s increasingly violent threats haunting Jayden’s every move, she knows she must find a way to escape—or die trying. With a forbidden romance blossoming in her heart and her family’s survival on the line, Jayden must embark on a deadly journey to save the ones she loves—and find a true love for herself. Set against the brilliant backdrop of the sprawling desert, the story of Jayden and Kadesh will leave readers absolutely breathless as they defy the odds and risk it all to be together.