The Other Half of Augusta Hope


Joanna Glen - 2019
    At seven, she’s correcting her teachers. At eight, she spins the globe and picks her favourite country on the sound of its name: Burundi. And now that she's an adult, Augusta has no interest in the goings-on of the small town where she lives with her parents and her beloved twin sister, Julia.When an unspeakable tragedy upends everything in Augusta's life, she's propelled headfirst into the unknown. She's determined to find where she belongs – but what if her true home, and heart, are half a world away?

The Note


Zoë Folbigg - 2017
    Maya knows immediately and irrevocably, that he is The One.But the beautiful man on the train always has his head in a book and never seems to notice Maya sitting just down the carriage from him every day. Eventually, though, inspired by a very wise friend, Maya plucks up the courage to give the stranger a note asking him out for a drink. Afterall, what's the worst that can happen?And so begins a story of sliding doors, missed opportunities and finding happiness where you least expect it.Based on the author's true story, The Note is an uplifting, life-affirming reminder that taking a chance can change everything...

You Were Always Mine


Nicole Baart - 2018
    But when her phone rings one quiet morning, her world is shattered. As she tries to pick up the pieces and make sense of what went wrong, Jess begins to realize that a tragic death is just the beginning. Soon she is caught in a web of lies and half-truths—and she’s horrified to learn that everything leads back to her seven-year-old adopted son, Gabriel.Years ago, Gabe’s birth mother requested a closed adoption and Jessica was more than happy to comply. But when her house is broken into and she discovers a clue that suggests her estranged husband was in close contact with Gabe’s biological mother, she vows to uncover the truth at any cost. A harrowing story of tenacious love and heartbreaking betrayal, You Were Always Mine is about the wars we wage to keep the ones we love close, perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty and Jodi Picoult.

Firebird


Janice Graham - 1999
    Janice Graham's Firebird is an extraordinarily accomplished first novel that will be published around the world and has been named a main selection of the Literary Guild, already marking this as one of the most noteworthy debuts of 1998 and assuring Graham a brilliant future as a greatly beloved storyteller.Set in the majestic Flint Hills of Kansas, Firebird tells of a man caught between two women—one who shares his life and his dream of land and cattle; the other a stranger whose love threatens to destroy the dream he has built. Ethan Brown is a gentleman rancher—an Ivy-educated lawyer who is as comfortable amongst his books as he is at ease in the company of cowboys. Engaged to the daughter of the wealthiest landowner in the county, he is within reach of the life he has worked so hard to achieve. Annette Zeldin enters Ethan's life when she returns from Europe to settle her mother's estate. A concert violinist, she feels every inch the outsider in the closed ranching community of Cottonwood Falls and clings to her darling young daughter, her lifeline. The time Annette spends with Ethan in his office offers her moments of comfort and communion, and before long, both must acknowledge the passion growing between them.Annette and Ethan begin a clandestine, transcendent affair that promises to change the landscape of their lives, but is too soon torn apart by tragedy. Yet their connection is soul-deep and everlasting, and their love transforms the lives of those around them in ways subtle and unknown long after its embers have died down. Graham skillfully infuses the novel with ethereal touches that transport the reader from the vast prairies of the Midwest to the intimate realm of the heart. Firebird is a novel that richly articulates the enduring possibilities of love; it is a novel impossible to forget.

The Bookshop of Yesterdays


Amy Meyerson - 2018
    But on Miranda’s twelfth birthday, Billy has a mysterious falling-out with her mother and suddenly disappears from Miranda’s life. She doesn’t hear from him again until sixteen years later when she receives unexpected news: Billy has died and left her Prospero Books, which is teetering on bankruptcy—and one final scavenger hunt.

The Most Wanted


Jacquelyn Mitchard - 1998
    Public-aid lawyer Annie Singer, whose own careful, well-ordered life is catapulted into change from the moment she meets Arley, will become first the girl's advocate and defender, then the closest thing to a loving mother Arley will ever have. What happens to Arley and her husband, Dillon LeGrande, is the stuff of legend. He will break out of prison on a terrifying errand, but is it to claim his wife and their baby daughter or to destroy them? His love will put them into nearly unthinkable danger -- danger Arley and even Annie will find too compelling to ignore, too seductive to flee.No other writer has Mitchard's fierce, brave, and tender insights into the bonds of mothers and daughters. Larger than life, yet the very stuff of life itself, The Most Wanted is the tour de force that the millions who treasure The Deep End of the Ocean have been waiting for.The new novel by the author of The Deep End of the Ocean -- a story of doomed compassion and reckless love that breaks all the rules

Small Pleasures


Clare Chambers - 2021
    But the more Jean investigates, the more her life becomes strangely (and not unpleasantly) intertwined with that of the Tilburys: Gretchen is now a friend, and her quirky and charming daughter Margaret a sort of surrogate child. And Jean doesn't mean to fall in love with Gretchen's husband, Howard, but Howard surprises her with his dry wit, his intelligence and his kindness — and when she does fall, she falls hard.But he is married, and to her friend — who is also the subject of the story she is researching for the newspaper, a story that increasingly seems to be causing dark ripples across all their lives. And yet Jean cannot bring herself to discard the chance of finally having a taste of happiness...But there will be a price to pay, and it will be unbearable.

The Faraday Girls


Monica McInerney - 2007
    With her mother often away, her aunts took turns to look after her - until, just weeks before Maggie's sixth birthday, a shocking event changed everything.Twenty years on, Maggie is living alone in New York City when a surprise visit from her grandfather brings a revelation and a proposition to reunite the family. As the Faradays gather in Ireland, Maggie begins to realize that the women she thought she knew so intimately all have something to hide .

When the Heart Cries


Cindy Woodsmall - 2006
    She's been in love with Mennonite Paul Waddell for three years, and before returning to college for his senior year, Paul asks Hannah to be his wife. Hannah accepts, aware that her marriage will change her relationship with her family forever.On the evening of their engagement, tragedy strikes and in one unwelcome encounter, all that Hannah has known and believed is destroyed. As she finds herself entangled in questions that the Old Ways of her people cannot answer, Hannah faces the possibility of losing her place in her family, in her community- and in the heart of the man she loves.When the Heart Cries is book one in the Sisters of the Quilt series.

Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman


Elizabeth Buchan - 2002
    After twenty-five years spent juggling husband, career, and kids with admirable success, Rose suddenly finds both her marriage and her career in unexpected ruin. Forced to begin a new life, she is at first terrified, then energized, by her newfound freedom — it’s amazing what prolonged reflection, a little weight loss, a new slant on independence, and some Parisian lingerie will do for the psyche! Witty, insightful, and emotionally resonant, Buchan’s novel will strike a chord with anyone who has ever wondered what Middle Age would look like from the other side of the looking glass (answer: much better than you could ever expect).

Billy and Me


Giovanna Fletcher - 2013
    But when famous actor Billy comes to town to play Mr. Darcy in a new film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, Sophie's quiet life is quickly turned on its head. Billy is adored by women around the world, but he only wants Sophie on his arm. But being with Billy comes at a price, and Sophie is thrown in the spotlight after years of shying away from attention. Can she handle the constant scrutiny that comes with being with Billy?Brimming with humor, wit, and genuine warmth, Billy and Me is a book about taking a chance on life and on love.

The Inn at Rose Harbor / When First They Met


Debbie Macomber - 2013
      Jo Marie Barlow first arrives in Cedar Cove seeking a sense of peace and a fresh start. Coping with the death of her husband, she purchases a local bed-and-breakfast—the newly christened Rose Harbor Inn—ready to begin her life anew. Yet the inn holds more surprises than Jo Marie can imagine.   Her first guest is Joshua Weaver, who has come home to care for his ailing stepfather. The two have never seen eye to eye, and Joshua has little hope that they can reconcile their differences. But a long-lost acquaintance from Joshua’s high school days proves to him that forgiveness is never out of reach and love can bloom even where it’s least expected.     The other guest is Abby Kincaid, who has returned to Cedar Cove to attend her brother’s wedding. Back for the first time in twenty years, she almost wishes she hadn’t come, the picturesque town harboring painful memories from her past. And while Abby reconnects with family and old friends, she realizes she can only move on if she truly allows herself to let go.   A touching novel of life’s grand possibilities and the heart’s ability to heal, The Inn at Rose Harbor is a welcome introduction to an unforgettable set of friends.From the Hardcover edition..

South of Superior


Ellen Airgood - 2011
     When Madeline Stone walks away from Chicago and moves five hundred miles north to the coast of Lake Superior, in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, she isn't prepared for how much her life will change. Charged with caring for an aging family friend, Madeline finds herself in the middle of beautiful nowhere with Gladys and Arbutus, two octogenarian sisters-one sharp and stubborn, the other sweeter than sunshine. As Madeline begins to experience the ways of the small, tight-knit town, she is drawn into the lives and dramas of its residents. It's a place where times are tough and debts run deep, but friendship, community, and compassion run deeper. As the story hurtles along-featuring a lost child, a dashed love, a car accident, a wedding, a fire, and a romantic reunion-Gladys, Arbutus, and the rest of the town teach Madeline more about life, love, and goodwill than she's learned in a lifetime. A heartwarming novel, "South of Superior" explores the deep reward in caring for others, and shows how one who is poor in pocket can be rich in so many other ways, and how little it often takes to make someone happy.

The Library


Bella Osborne - 2021
    Two unusual people. Thrown together to save their local library.Tom is a teenager and blends into the background of life. After a row with his dad, and facing an unhappy future at the dog food factory, he escapes to the library. Tom unwittingly ends up with a bagful of romance novels and comes under the suspicion of Maggie.Maggie is a pensioner and has been happily alone for ten years, at least that's what she tells herself. When Tom comes to her rescue a friendship develops that could change her life. As Maggie helps Tom to stand up for himself, Tom helps Maggie realise the mistakes of her past don't have to define her future.They each set out to prove that the library isn't just about books – it's the heart of their community.Together they discover some things are worth fighting for.

The Falls


Joyce Carol Oates - 2004
    Ariah, "the Widow Bride of the Falls," begins a relentless seven-day vigil in the mist, waiting for his body to be found. At her side is confirmed bachelor and pillar of the community Dirk Burnaby, who is unexpectedly drawn to this plain, strange woman. What follows is a passionate love affair, marriage, and family--a seemingly perfect existence. But the tragedy by which they were thrown together begins to shadow them, damaging their idyll with distrust, greed, and even murder. Set against the mythic-historic backdrop of Niagara Falls in the mid-twentieth century, this haunting exploration of the American family in crisis is a stunning achievement from "one of the great artistic forces of our time" (The Nation).