Book picks similar to
When the Music Stopped by Beryl Matthews


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Virgil's Pact


Maxwell Farmer - 2022
    A malevolent disease. The Doctor is in. Virgil's a veterinarian, a man dedicated to being a healer of animals. Despite the ups and downs of caring for sick and injured creatures, his career was more than a job. It was his calling. Then his dedication was noticed, and the world around him faded as he was yanked through the void. The great world tree, Yggdrasil, needed a group that could work together to stop a threat that could end reality. The world tree summoned a team of five champions into a world straight out of fantasy, and remade them into something more. Unfortunately for Virgil, he was granted almost no skills that cause damage, and his body was shifted into a reviled Dark Elf. Now hated by the locals, and of little use to the others that can already heal themselves as well as deal damage, Virgil was cast aside. Abandoned and alone, Virgil will take on the threat to this world… no matter what ally gets in his way.

The Daughterhood


Natasha Fennell - 2015
    Sitting outside the hospital after visiting one day, Natasha wondered how she would cope when her mother was gone. There started a panic and self-scrutiny. Had she been a good enough daughter? Would she have enough time to do all the things she wanted to do with her mother before she died? Natasha knew that she couldn't be the only one feeling this way. She began her research and quickly learned that other daughters had similar fears and had never spoken about them before. Love for their mothers, regret for opportunities missed, resentments and emotional complexities all bubbled to the surface. Through these conversations, a friendship blossomed with Róisín Ingle, popular columnist at the Irish Times. After a call out in Róisín's column, hundreds of responses poured in and there The Daughterhood was formed. The Daughterhood is the funny, poignant, and occasionally heart-breaking story of nine daughters coming together to talk about their mothers and the joy and despair that this relationship brings. Over a period of months they commit to completing various tasks all in the hope of improving their relationship with the most important woman in their lives - before she dies.

A Wartime Friend


Lizzie Lane - 2021
    Discovered in France by an RAF pilot, the traumatised Leah wakes to find she’s forgotten everything. Fostered by the pilot and Meg, his wife, Leah becomes Lily, remembering nothing of her former life. However, war and tragedy shatter their lives. With their home in ruins and Lily’s adopted father missing in action, Lily and Meg are forced to flee to the country. In the Somerset countryside, Lily is reunited with Rudy, the heroic German Shepherd, while Meg finds herself subject to the attentions of a local criminal – and the village policeman. Before long, it becomes clear that Rudy isn’t just watching over Lily – he’s protecting Meg too, and someone wants him out of the way. Lily and Rudy’s unlikely friendship could be the only thing that saves them…

Run from the Dead: Book 1: A Zombie Apocalypse


Joanne Nundy - 2021
    Driven by an insatiable hunger for flesh, they attack anyone who dares to go out.Anna is trapped as the zombie apocalypse rages outside her front door. Desperate and alone, she must find a way to get to her children who are with her Ex-partner. As Anna runs from the dead, she finds help from Rob and his fifteen-year-old brother, Jack, despite Rob’s better instincts. Together, they run the nightmare gauntlet that used to be their neighbourhood.Run from the Dead is the first book in a zombie apocalypse series, following ordinary people trying to stay alive no matter what the cost. Battling the dead and humans alike, the people left must become somebody new. Someone prepared to do whatever it takes to live.Anna must learn to survive this cruel new world, where the living can be just as terrifying as the dead.

Hattie's Home


Mary Gibson - 2017
    Edie, a rising star in the ATS, finds herself relegated to the factory floor on her return from the war. Her work mates are unforgiving at Edie's attempt to raise herself up and she is soon ostracised. After journeying across the world to Australia to marry her husband, Clara is betrayed and returns penniless, homeless and trying to raise a child in the face of prejudice. Lou, a war widow, has lost more than most in the war. Her daughter and parents are dead, killed in a bomb blast on an air raid shelter. By day, she works at the factory, by night she roams the bombsites half mad with grief. These women will forge a bond that will ultimately allow each of them to overcome crippling grief, harsh prejudice and post-war deprivation to find hope in a better tomorrow for themselves and their children.

A Clean Billionaire Boxset


Anne-Marie Meyer - 2019
     Get swept away today with these swoon-worthy heroes! Forgiving the Billionaire Love deserves a second chance. Hannah has finally come home after having been away for seven years. Despite her fears about facing her past, she’s desperate to get away from her boyfriend’s proposal. She didn’t expect to see Logan again. Logan is trying to adjust to his father’s death, being a single dad, and his new status as a billionaire. He thought he had a handle of that until his childhood crush, Hannah, comes back into his life. And she’s everything he remembered her to be. If only they could move on from their broken hearts. If only they could see how perfect they are together. Then maybe the mountains in front of them wouldn’t feel so unsurmountable. Finding Love with the Billionaire Opposites attract in the Alaskan wilderness. Madeline is desperate to finally be taken seriously, but that doesn’t seem to be the case when her boss asks her to write a puff piece of billionaire party boy, Liam Davenport. Liam just wanted a quiet life roaming the world. When his father dies, leaving him to face the media storm surrounding Davenport Outdoors, he’s forced to trade in his hiking boots for tailored suits. They’re determined they already know all there is to know about the other person. Until their plane crashes into an Alaskan mountain side. Suddenly, they’re faced with a choice. Put down their pride to survive, or keep their prejudices and struggle alone. Falling for the Billionaire Two lost souls make a whole. Paige has moved to New York after her father lost his business and passed away. Living with her quirky aunt as she attempts to start over wasn’t what she had envisioned for her life, but she’d determined to be successful. James has a golden finger. As a billionaire, his life is perfect—except that’s not the life he wants. Trouble is, he’s not sure what he’s meant to do. When James meets Paige, he’s intrigued by her. She seems to have everything figured out. The plan was simple. Figure out what James enjoys. If only their hearts hadn’t gotten involved. If only their pasts didn’t come back to haunt them. When everything feels as if it’s crashing down around them, the one thing they feared might be the one thing they needed all along. Fixing the Billionaire Love can mend a broken past. Millie has given up on love. After all, men never seem to show up when they’re supposed to. Joseph is trying to atone for his mistakes that he made before his daughter passed away. He’s left behind his privileged life to travel from town to town, paying off stranger’s medical bills. They were perfectly happy living their single lives until Millie rear ends Joseph in the parking lot of the hospital where she works. Fate intervenes and they find themselves thrown together. But love isn’t that simple.

Vines of Ostara


John P. Logsdon - 2019
    There are just a few bugs to fix first... Join this comedic romp through the land of Kazaran, where you'll find interesting characters, a vast RPG world, adult themes/language/innuendo (don't worry, it's not a harem/reverse-harem book!)...and a fair amount of bloodshed too! In a nutshell, Kazaran is intended for mature audiences who harbor very immature thoughts. Grant Palaski is a low-level bug tester at the world’s largest MMORPG, Kazaran Online. It was meant to be a starting point to a high-level writing job, but all he has to show for his master’s is a mountain of student loan debt, a grudging addiction to caffeine, and zero respect. When he is handpicked to lead a group of pro gamers into Kazaran's new innovation, everyone is shocked. Why him? Even Grant can't answer that question, but he's not going to pass up the opportunity of a lifetime. The mission is to go from a level 1 newbie to a level 50 master. Millions of jealous gamers from all over the globe will watch the adventure, though hopefully, there’s no cameras in the showers. Plus, he’ll get paid. A lot. Except he probably should have questioned more about why he was chosen. Someone inside the company doesn’t want him to succeed. When everything goes wrong, Grant and his party have to balance the challenges of the game with uncovering the mystery of who sabotaged their test run. Can a guy used to losing lead his team to victory? Or will it be game over for good?

Lily's War: An uplifting WWII saga of women on the home front


Shirley Mann - 2019
    1942, Manchester World War Two is in full swing and Lily Mullins is determined to do her bit for the war effort. Her friends and sweetheart have all joined up and Lily's sure there must be a role for her that goes further than knitting socks for the troops! When she decides to volunteer for the Women's Auxiliary Air Force, Lily soon discovers that she has a talent as a wireless operator. Helped along the way by a special gang of girls, she finds strengths she didn't know she had and realises that the safety of the country might just be in her hands . . . Meanwhile, Danny is determined to marry Lily, but his letters home become more and more distant. Will a long separation mean the end of their love story?An uplifting and inspiring novel of women on the home front. '[The story] read so true to me and I really didn't want to put it down . . . It may be fiction but those things could, and did, happen.' Vera Morgan, wartime WAAF 'An impeccably researched and uplifting story of love, loss and courage: a heartwarming read that will captivate all those who love a good war story.' Clare Harvey, author of The Gunner Girl'A wonderful, inspiring story. I can't wait to read more from Shirley Mann.' Sheila Newberry

Galleon


C.J. Williams - 2018
    His only hope for survival is to partner with an alien Artificial Intelligence named Alyssa. She is the brain of the most improbable star ship Gus has ever seen, part ancient sailing ship, part incredible star-faring vessel. But there is a catch. Alyssa’s first priority is to finish an epic yacht race that started twenty-eight thousand years ago. THE WORLD IS CAPTURED BY THE ALIEN DRAMA Every day Gus sends a video love letter to his wife via the lifeboat’s one-way subspace signal where it is automatically posted on YouTube. Few people care until another lifeboat crashes with two young women aboard, both of them celebrities. Their fame turns Gus into a worldwide phenomenon; everyone watches the three castaways fight to carve a life from the tiny island life even though they have little hope of rescue. When disaster threatens, Gus and the girls have no choice but to resurrect the crippled galleon. Their impossible task is to sail Alyssa across an alien sea and then fly her across unimaginable galactic reaches. WHEN ALYSSA FINALLY AGREES TO HELP, SPACE PIRATES STRIKE On live television, the public watches helplessly when a ship of vicious murderers attack the three survivors. The world grieves when the now-famous exiles go silent. At least until Earth's Space Navy reports they are under attack by a ship that is beyond imagination.

Long Black Stockings: A turn-of-the-century memoir


Ethel Benson Soper - 2014
    The details are exquisite and take one back to beloved books of childhood such as Little House on the Prairie while at the same time providing full grown-up fare for history buffs. Wry humor and insights are deftly woven throughout, making the reader smile precisely because the author is not trying to do anything but authentically tell her story. And a wonderful story it is.” Kate Turpin

The Mage of Mages


Whiskey Flowers - 2016
    Sawyer had been training his whole life to make the cut to be considered a warrior when his plans go astray, Sawyer is found to have magic. While the talent is not unheard of in Haven it becomes clear Sawyer is much better than his well bred peers, when war starts looming many will find out why Sawyer is the Mage of Mages.

Apache Snow


William L. Casselman - 2015
     While the characters are fictional, the battle was very real and when it was over 70 Americans were killed in action, 420 were wounded and 633 North Vietnamese were confirmed dead. Matthew Kendal, a pastor’s youngest son from a white middle-class California background, enlists in the army and volunteers for service in Vietnam to avenge his brother’s death; a Green Beret sergeant killed in 1968. During training Matthew becomes close friends with John Adams, a tough-skinned Afro-American youth from the poorer neighborhoods right outside our nation’s capital, and Jose Martinez, a street wise Chicano from East Los Angeles. Together they experience the rigors of Airborne training and journey to Vietnam to become Screaming Eagles, of the 101st Airborne. Placed in 2nd Squad, the story follows the actual events surrounding D Company during the intense battle for Hill # 937, which would later be known as the “Battle for Hamburger Hill”.

The Never List: Free First Chapter


Koethi Zan - 2013
    And then, very suddenly and without warning, there were three. Even though the fourth person hadn't made any noise at all in several months, the room got very quiet when she was gone. For a long time after that, we sat in silence, in the dark, each of us wondering what this meant for her and for us, and which of us would be the next in the box.NEVER GET IN THE CARFor years, best friends Sarah and Jennifer kept what they called the 'Never List': a list of actions to be avoided, for safety's sake, at all costs. But one night, they failed to follow their own rules.NEVER GO OUT ALONE AFTER DARKSarah has spent ten years trying to forget her ordeal. But now the FBI has news that forces her to confront her worst fears.NEVER TAKE RISKSIf she is to uncover the truth about what really happened to Jennifer, Sarah needs to work with the other women who shared her nightmare. But they won't be happy to hear from her. Because down there in the dark, Sarah wasn't just a victim.NEVER TRUST ANYONE

Blamed


Dana Griffin - 2017
    His last memory is putting the landing gear down. The NTSB and news media blame him and the deceased first officer Ned Partin for the accident that killed thirty-eight, and burned or severely injured ten. Bill knows from experience flying with Ned that they would have prevented the accident. While recovering from his debilitating injuries, Bill investigates why data that would exonerate him has disappeared. Why hasn’t the NTSB figured out there was something wrong with the rudder? And why does his airline’s management thwart his attempts to prove he shouldn’t be blamed? Those who caused the accident will go to extreme lengths to assure Bill does not uncover their secret agenda.

Tame the Savage Heart


Michael Edwin Q. - 2019
    She was a young slave girl. He was an African warrior purchased at a slave auction with the intent he would father a new breed of stronger slave. Despite all odds, a language barrier and the disapproval of her family and friends, the two fight for a life together.