Book picks similar to
Swaying by Lucinda Blanchard


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Forgotten


Heleyne Hammersley - 2016
    The doctor names her Kai, the Thai word for fever.Unable to recall what led her to end up at the bottom of a cliff, Kai’s only clue to her identity is a diary. Stuck in a foreign land with no memory, she begins to unpick the truth about her past. And she will discover who she and why she is in danger…This is Kai’s story.

By Summer's End


Pamela Morsi - 2005
    Sixteen years is a long time to be away, but life has dealt her something unexpected, and now she has no choice. It takes some forgiveness, a little understanding, and the magic of two young girls to make everyone see that - although it's hard to imagine - they have all ended up where they belong.

The Day We Met


Dusti Bowling - 2011
    At least, she did. Enticed by a chance with the boy she's had a crush on for years, Lenna abandons her values and her lifelong friends to hang out with the popular crowd. What she gets in return couldn't be further from her expectations. Feeling used and alone and facing an unexpected pregnancy, Lenna struggles to regain control of her life, her parents' trust, and the love of her best friend, Will. But when her pregnancy takes an unexpected turn, taking away what little control she thought she had, she must find the strength to make the most heart-wrenching decision of all. A beautiful story of love, faith, and forgiveness, The Day We Met will make you laugh, make you cry, and touch your heart forever.

My Very Best Friend


Cathy Lamb - 2015
    In fact, she has little in her life besides her work, her pampered cats, and her secluded home off the coast of Washington. And then there is her very best friend, Bridget, who lives in Scotland, where Charlotte lived until she was fifteen. Bridget, whom Charlotte hasn’t seen in twenty years, but continues to write to—though the replies have stopped. Hurt by the silence, an opportunity arises to find answers—and maybe much more.   Charlotte must finally return to Scotland to sell her late father’s cottage. It was his tragic death when Charlotte was fifteen that began her growing isolation, and the task is fraught with memories. But her plans are slowed when she’s confronted with the beautiful but neglected house, the irresistible garden—and Toran, Bridget’s brother. Capable and kind, Toran has the answers Charlotte seeks. And as she is drawn deeper into the community she thought she’d left behind, Charlotte learns not only more about her dear friend, but about herself—and discovers a new and unexpected path.

Love and Happiness


Ben Burgess Jr. - 2015
    Karen also has a secret; she’s cheating on her husband, with not one man, but two. On the outside her life seems perfect, but on the inside Karen feels neglected, bored and unappreciated. Yearning for affection and excitement, she falls into the arms of first Raheem and then Tyrell. Out of fear of losing her husband and breaking up her family, Karen ends the affairs but things don’t turn out how she planned. When Karen’s dirty secrets are revealed she must fight to keep her family together. Chris is doing all he can to hold his marriage together. He loves Karen but she grows more distant every day. When she starts coming home later and later, he suspects she is being unfaithful. When Chris accidentally takes her cell phone what he finds changes their lives forever. When tragedy strikes, Karen must decide if she should sacrifice her happiness for her husband’s love, and Chris wonders if he should stay with Karen because he still loves her despite her infidelity. But if they do stay together, will they ever find love and happiness again? Sexy, and relatable, insightful and inspiring, Love and Happiness shows us both sides of Chris and Karen's story, and reminds us that sometimes to have it all, you must first lose it all.

Among Wolves


R.A. Hakok - 2015
    It’s the last place you should be. Gabriel doesn't know how it began. Nobody does, not even Kane, and he was President. Gabriel was on a tour of the White House with Mags and the rest of Miss Kimble’s first-graders when it happened. They fled in helicopters to a long-abandoned mountain bunker, even as the first of the missiles found their targets.Ten years have passed, and Gabriel still lives deep inside the mountain, waiting for the world to thaw. But outside the ash-storms continue to rage, and supplies are running low. The President says it will be okay, but Gabriel isn’t so sure. He’s their scavenger; he’s seen what it’s like out there.Then one day Gabriel finds a bloodstained map. The blood’s not a problem, nor are the frozen remains of the person it once belonged to. Gabriel’s used to seeing dead bodies; there's far worse to be found in any Walmart or Piggly Wiggly you care to wander into. Except this one he recognizes, and it shouldn’t be here. Now all Gabriel can think is how he's going to make it back to the bunker to let the President know what he's found.But the map Gabriel has found is the key to a secret, one that has been buried for a decade. Gabriel's about to learn that inside the mountain things are not as they seem. And to get Mags and the others out he will need to face the thing that terrifies him most.

Now That You Mention It


Kristan Higgins - 2017
    Two steps back. The Tufts scholarship that put Nora Stuart on the path to becoming a Boston medical specialist was a step forward. Being hit by a car and then overhearing her boyfriend hit on another doctor when she thought she was dying? Two major steps back.Injured in more ways than one, Nora feels her carefully built life cracking at the edges. There's only one place to land: home. But the tiny Maine community she left fifteen years ago doesn't necessarily want her. At every turn, someone holds the prodigal daughter of Scupper Island responsible for small-town drama and big-time disappointments.With a tough islander mother who's always been distant and a wild-child sister in jail, unable to raise her daughter--a withdrawn teen as eager to ditch the island as Nora once was--Nora has her work cut out for her if she's going to take what might be her last chance to mend the family.But as some relationships crumble around her, others unexpectedly strengthen. Balancing loss and opportunity, a dark event from her past with hope for the future, Nora will discover that tackling old pain makes room for promise...and the chance to begin again.

The Inevitable Collision of Birdie & Bash


Candace Ganger - 2017
    Bash should have been long gone. But when they meet, a collision course is set off they may never recover from.Sebastian Alvaréz is just trying to hold the pieces together: to not flunk out, to keep his sort-of-best friend Wild Kyle from doing something really bad, and to see his beloved Ma through chemo. But when he meets Birdie Paxton, a near-Valedictorian who doesn’t realize she’s smoking hot in her science pun T-shirt, at a party, an undeniable attraction sparks. And suddenly he’s not worried about anything. But before they are able to exchange numbers, they are pulled apart. A horrifying tragedy soon links Birdie and Bash together—but neither knows it. When they finally reconnect, and are starting to fall—hard—the events of the tragedy unfold, changing both their lives in ways they can never undo. Told in alternating perspectives, The Inevitable Collision of Birdie & Bash by Candace Ganger is a beautiful, complex, and ultimately hopeful teen novel that will move you to the very last page.

The Orphan Sisters


Shirley Dickson - 2019
    Fans of Wives of War, Lisa Wingate and Diney Costeloe will lose their hearts to this stunning World War Two novel. 1929: Four-year-old Etty and eight-year-old Dorothy are abandoned at Blakely Hall orphanage by their mother, never to see her again. With no other family to speak of, the sisters worship their beloved mam – confused and heartbroken to be deserted by her when they need her the most. 1940: Etty and Dorothy are finally released from the confines of Blakely Hall – but their freedom comes when the country is in the grip of World War Two and its terrors. Amidst a devastating backdrop of screaming air-raid sirens and cold nights huddled in shelters, the sisters are desperate to put their broken childhoods behind them. But trouble lies ahead. Dorothy must bid goodbye to her beloved husband when he’s sent to war and Etty must nurse a broken heart as she falls in love with the one man she can never be with. Etty and Dorothy survived the orphanage with the help of one another and neither sister can forget the awful betrayal of their mother, which has haunted them their whole lives. But when a shocking secret about their painful childhood comes to light, will the sisters ever be the same again?

Yesterday's Friends


Pamela Evans - 1996
    The brightest girl in her class, Ruth had planned to attend college but the realisation that she was pregnant forced her to abandon all hopes of a career. Now, five years later, she still lives in Shepherd's Bush with her parents, twin brothers and daughter, Jenny. Conscious of a need to make ends meet, Ruth works as a shop assistant at the local chemist while her mother looks after Jenny. Ruth's best friend Kitty bitterly resents what has happened, but never once does Ruth regret the outcome of that magical night. And the joy that Jenny brings is ample reward for the sacrifices she has made. Ruth meets someone new and tries to put the past behind her, but yesterday's friends have an uncanny way of catching up with her and when her father turns up unexpectedly, Ruth's world is thrown into confusion once again...

Namaste: The Whole Story


Sean Platt - 2013
    Death Comes From Without. Amit is a member of the order of shadow monks, his every waking moment is spent training his body and mind to the peak of human ability - and beyond. But the order is pacifist, a repository for deadly weapons with their safeties permanently set to "on." Until everything is taken from him, and Amit decides that turning the other cheek is no longer an option. Now, every ounce of his training will be put to the test. His epic quest for revenge will see wrongs righted - or see Amit forgotten in an unmarked grave. Namaste includes Prelude, as well as the rest of the adventure. Join Amit as he chases Nisha's killer from boss to boss, all the way to the last place he ever expected. He will fight, and die if he must. What will be, will be. It's a Zen thing. ˃˃˃ Readers Love Realm & Sands. Here's What They're Saying About Namaste "Having read just about everything that these guys have written (separately and together), I absolutely loved it! Suspense, mystery, mysticism, monks, murder, love, fear, blood, revenge...just about anything you could imagine (all crammed into this one episode!). I'm still trying to wrap my brain around Amit. Do I love him? Do I hate him? Is he justified in his actions or a man gone over the edge? Knowing Sean and Johnny, no matter what I decide, they'll blow it out of the water! Can't wait to read more. Well done guys!""Screw these guys. I have things to do but I decided to load this just to check out a serial on kindle and now I'm hooked. My dogs need to be fed, I need to change the oil in my car and I'm not sure where my infant son is. But I know where I'll be for the foreseeable future: sitting on my ass reading the sequels.""Sean Platt, Johnny Truant, and David Wright are masters of their craft. They excel at taking all that is good and fun from episodic t.v. and monthly comics and crafting well written stories. Namaste is no exception. A tale of love, loss, and vengeance with their special skewed vision. Like the Punisher main character Amit is almost instantly likable and even before you learn his reasoning you know that he is justified in his pursuit. Like all of the authors books I look forward to the continuing adventures of Amit.""In Namaste, Platt and Truant deftly sketch out the background, setting, and characters of their latest serial with minimal description and brief snatches of dialog, keeping the action at a fever pitch in a high-intensity Hong Kong cinema style thriller. Punctuated by scenes of graphic violence, the experiment in non-linear storytelling is effective for this short action-oriented installment. Over the course of a longer story, the back-and-forth narrative flow might grow tedious or confusing, but here the approach lends a filmic flair to the introduction of "a pacifist monk on a rampage." Fans of Chow Yun Fat or John Woo films looking for a literary equivalent should appreciate this latest Platt & Truant effort." ˃˃˃ WARNING: Namaste is the most violent thing Realm & Sands has so far written. An Unlikely Tale of Vengeance Like Nothing You've Read!

Spare Change


Bette Lee Crosby - 2011
    A boy running for his life. A town defending them both.From award-winning USA TODAY Bestselling Author BETTE LEE CROSBY, the first book of a gritty, small-town, family saga in the tradition of the finest Southern fiction.Small-town gossip never much bothered Olivia Westerly. As a single career woman, she's weathered her share. It's easy to ignore the raised eyebrows over her late-in-life marriage to Charlie Doyle. But after he drops dead on their honeymoon, the whispers are salt on her raw grief. Especially when an orphaned, eleven-year-old-boy shows up on her doorstep, looking for the grandfather he never met.Behind Ethan Allen Doyle's wary blue eyes lie heavily guarded emotions that unexpectedly tug on Olivia's heart, and she finds herself wanting to win his trust. But when his murderous secret comes looking for him, the entire town embraces the lonely widow and desperate child to show its true heart when danger threatens one of its own.A heartwarming tale of love, loss and unexpected gifts, featuring a woman you'd like to call friend, a boy you will ache to hug, and a town you wish you could call home. USA TODAY BESTSELLER AND WINNER OF FIVE LITERARY AWARDS - Royal Palm Literary Award, Reviewer's Choice Award, FPA President's Book Award, IAN Outstanding Fiction Award, Eadon Contemporary Fiction Award

A Hundred Years of Happiness


Nicole Seitz - 2009
    An American soldier. A war-torn country. Nearly forty years of silence.Now, two daughters search for the truth they hope will set them free and the elusive peace their parents have never found.In the South Carolina Lowcountry, a young mother named Katherine Ann is struggling to help her tempestuous father by plunging into a world of secrets he never talks about. A fry cook named Lisa is trying desperately to reach her grieving Vietnamese mother who has never fully adjusted to life in the States. And somewhere far away, a lost soul named Ernest is drifting, treading water, searching for what he lost on a long-ago mountain.They're all yearning for connection. For the war that touched them to finally end. For their hundred years of happiness at long last to begin.From the beloved author of The Spirit of Sweetgrass  and Trouble the Water comes this generous story of family, war, loss, and longing . . . of the ways we hide from those we love, and the ways that love finds us anyway.

It Felt Like a Kiss


Sarra Manning - 2013
    Great job, really good hair, loyal friends, loving family. It’s only her succession of lame duck boyfriends that ruin the picture.Oh, and the world-famous rock-star father she’s never met, who won’t even acknowledge her existence.Then Ellie’s perfect life is smashed to pieces when her secret is sold to the highest bidder and her name, face (and pictures of her bottom) are splashed across the tabloids. Suddenly everyone thinks she’s a gold-digging, sex-crazy, famewhore.Enter David Gold. Charming and handsome David Gold. On paper he’s even more perfect than Ellie, if only he wasn’t her father’s ruthlessly ambitious lawyer whose job is to manage the crisis – and her. He certainly doesn’t think that Ellie’s the innocent party and she doesn’t trust him at all. So why is it that every time they’re alone together, damage limitation is the last thing on their minds?

The Last Will of Moira Leahy


Therese Walsh
    So busy that she leaves little time for memories of her lost twin, Moira; her fractured family in Castine, Maine; and the music she left behind in the wake of tragedy nine years ago.Until a childhood relic and a series of anonymous notes resurrects her dreams, a lost language, and her most painful recollections; and prompts her to cross an ocean in search of ancient history. There, Maeve will learn new truths about her past, and come face to face with the one thing she truly fears. Only then can she choose between the safe life she's built for herself and one of risk, with bonds she knows can be both wrenchingly delicate and more enduring than time.