Book picks similar to
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Lovebirds
Amanda Hampson - 2021
Their future was full of promise and, blessed with children and careers, their happiness complete. But a twist of fate changed their lives forever.Now in her sixties, Elizabeth is desperately lonely. She rarely sees her two adult sons and her closest friend is a talkative budgie. But when her grandson, Zach, gets into trouble with the police, she decides to take him on a road trip to find his grandfather, her lost love Ray, in the hope of mending their broken family.Two less compatible travelling companions would be hard to find, as they set off on an unlikely adventure into the wilds of the northern NSW hinterland. What they discover along the way, about Ray and each other, has the power to transform them all. In trying to save Zach, Elizabeth might just save herself.Warm, witty and wise, Lovebirds is an astute and uplifting novel about the power of love and family.
Small Mercies
Richard Anderson - 2020
Ruthie receives the news every woman dreads. Meanwhile, a wealthy landowner, Wally Oliver, appears on the local radio station, warning small farmers like Dimple and Ruthie that they are doomed, that the sooner they leave the land to large operators like him, the better. Bracing for a fight on all fronts, the couple decide to take a road trip to confront Oliver. Along the way, not only is their resolve tested, but their relationship as well.Desperate not to dwell on the past but to face up to the future, Dimple and Ruthie make a crucial decision they soon regret. And when the storm clouds finally roll in across the land they love, there’s more than the rain to contend with.Told with enormous heart, Small Mercies is a tender love story. It is a story of a couple who feel they must change to endure, and of the land that is as important as their presence on it.
Love Under French Skies
Gill Bryant - 2016
In a career rut, abandoned by her husband, with a daughter who has left home and a best friend who has recently re-married, life seems to be passing her by. Then a letter from a French lawyer shakes everything up: it seems she has inherited a house in France from an aunt she didn’t even know she had. Fiona recognises that this might be just what she needs and, taking voluntary redundancy from her lecturing job, packs up and goes to see the house for herself. The beautiful Lot valley and the people she meets in the village begin a much-needed healing process. Fiona falls head over heels in love with France, and with the house — not to mention two very different but equally attractive men: sensible, solid Englishman Mike and wildly impulsive Frenchman Xavier. And Aunt Bernice’s real legacy turns out to be something more deeply significant and life-changing than the house itself. But Fiona has to find out exactly what that is for herself…. Love Under French Skies is a charming contemporary romance, inspired by a real house, with a wonderful view, in the beautiful Lot region of South West France. Praise for Gill Bryant 'A charming love story' - Holly Kinsella, bestselling author of Uptown Girl In February 2015 Gill Bryant's first short story, 'The Swim', was judged runner-up in the Purbeck Literary Festival's Short Story Competition. Love Under French Skies is her first novel. Following a varied career in Adult Basic Education and community project work, Gill retired to rural Wiltshire, where she pursues her love of writing and wide interest in arts and crafts.
Hope's Road
Margareta Osborn - 2013
He now spends his days as a recluse, spying upon the land - and the granddaughter – that should by rights have been his.For Tammy McCauley, Montmorency Downs is the last remaining tie to her family. But land can make or break you - and, with her husband's latest treachery, how long can she hold on to it?Wild-dog trapper, Travis Hunter, is struggling as a single dad, unable to give his son, Billy, the thing he craves most. A complete family.Then, out of the blue, a terrible event forces the three neighbours to confront each other - and the mistakes of their past …
The Inaugural Meeting of the Fairvale Ladies Book Club
Sophie Green - 2017
Five very different women come together in the Northern Territory of the 1970s by an exceptional new Australian author.In 1978 the Northern Territory has begun to self-govern. Cyclone Tracy is a recent memory and telephones not yet a fixture on the cattle stations dominating the rugged outback. Life is hard and people are isolated. But they find ways to connect.Sybil is the matriarch of Fairvale Station, run by her husband, Joe. Their eldest son, Lachlan, was Joe's designated successor but he has left the Territory - for good. It is up to their second son, Ben, to take his brother's place. But that doesn't stop Sybil grieving the absence of her child. With her oldest friend, Rita, now living in Alice Springs and working for the Royal Flying Doctor Service, and Ben's English wife, Kate, finding it difficult to adjust to life at Fairvale, Sybil comes up with a way to give them all companionship and purpose: they all love to read, and she forms a book club.Mother-of-three Sallyanne is invited to join them. Sallyanne dreams of a life far removed from the dusty town of Katherine where she lives with her difficult husband, Mick. Completing the group is Della, who left Texas for Australia looking for adventure and work on the land.If you loved The Guernsey Literary And Potato Peel Pie Society, The Little Coffee Shop Of Kabul and The Thorn Birds you will devour this story of five different women united by one need: to overcome the vast distances of Australia's Top End with friendship, tears, laughter, books and love.
The Sheikh's Unsuitable Bride
Clare Connelly - 2021
But trapped together in a cabin on the border of his country, Elon wonders if the media has it wrong. Because Princess Ella is nothing like he imagined.Innocent Ella has no experience with men and definitely not men like this. The warrior prince completely overwhelms her senses – even when she’s supposed to hate him. But a night of passion leads to so much more when Sheikh Elon demands she return to his palace – as his wife!Their chemistry might be off the charts, but how can their marriage go ahead when outside of the bedroom, Elon keeps Ella at arm's length? And can Ella keep her heart cold when the passion that burns between them is white hot? Books in the Sheikhs' Brides series: 1 - THE SHEIKH'S UNSUITABLE BRIDE - CLARE CONNELLY2 - THE SHEIKH'S UNEXPECTED BRIDE - ELIZABETH LENNOXAll books are standalone with their own HEAs and can be enjoyed out of order.
Charming the Outback (The Bay Series Book 2)
Leesa Bow - 2014
Six months ago, the first guy she'd ever loved shattered her heart before moving home to Broken Hill. Deep down inside, Maddy is hoping that living in the same town will give her an opportunity to prove to Luke that she's one temptation he can't resist. But when she arrives in Broken Hill, Luke White is not the same guy she knew in the city. And it soon seems very clear that he doesn't want her there. Although Maddy settles in quickly, excelling at work and partying with her new friends, she can't understand why Luke is remaining so distant. Particularly when all her instincts are telling her that they're meant to be together – and that he feels the same burning attraction. As Maddy learns more about Luke's family and background, she begins to understand that his mixed messages are caused by balancing what's expected of him with what he really wants. Maddy gave Luke her heart long ago and, despite their differences, she knows she'll only ever be happy with her hot country boy. But how can she convince him that she's the risk he needs to take? Charming the Outback is a stand alone read, and Book 2 in The Bay Series: Reading order: Winning the Player Charming the Outback Jardine Caught Out Winning the Game Playing for Time Note: Edition 2 Originally published in 2014.
Those Other Women
Nicola Moriarty - 2018
.Poppy's world has been tipped sideways: the husband who never wanted children has betrayed her with her broody best friend.At least Annalise is on her side. Her new friend is determined to celebrate their freedom from kids, so together they create a Facebook group to meet up with like-minded women, and perhaps vent just an little about smug mummies' privileges at work.Meanwhile, their colleague Frankie would love a night out, away from her darlings - she's not had one this decade and she's heartily sick of being judged by women at the office as well as stay-at-home mums.Then Poppy and Annalise's group takes on a life of its own and frustrated members start confronting mums like Frankie in the real world. Cafés become battlegrounds, playgrounds become war zones and offices have never been so divided.A rivalry that was once harmless fun is spiraling out of control.Because one of their members is a wolf in sheep's clothing. And she has an agenda of her own . . .
Hello from the Gillespies
Monica McInerney - 2014
This year, Angela surprises herself—she tells the truth....The Gillespies are far from the perfect family that Angela has made them out to be. Her husband is coping badly with retirement. Her thirty-two-year-old twins are having career meltdowns. Her third daughter, badly in debt, can’t stop crying. And her ten-year-old son spends more time talking to his imaginary friend than to real ones.Without Angela, the family would fall apart. But when a bump on the head leaves Angela with temporary amnesia, the Gillespies pull together—and pull themselves together—in wonderfully surprising ways....
Extreme Limit
Kendall Talbot - 2021
One dangerous expedition.Holly Parmenter doesn’t remember the helicopter crash that claimed the life of her fiancé and left her in a coma. The only details she does remember from that fateful day haunt her—two mysterious bodies sealed within the ice, dressed for dinner rather than a dangerous hike up the Canadian Rockies. No one believes Holly’s story about the couple encased deep in the icy crevasse. Instead, she’s wrongly accused of murdering her fiancé for his million-dollar estate. Desperate to uncover the truth about the bodies and to prove her innocence, Holly resolves to climb the treacherous mountain and return to the crash site. But to do that she’ll need the help of Oliver, a handsome rock-climbing specialist who has his own questions about Holly’s motives. When a documentary about an unsolved kidnapping offers clues as to the identity of the frozen bodies, it’s no longer just Oliver and Holly heading to the dangerous mountaintop . . . there’s also a killer, who’ll stop at nothing to keep the case cold.Will a harrowing trip to the icy crevasse bring Holly and Oliver the answers they seek? Or will disaster strike twice, claiming all Holly has left? Extreme Limit is an action-packed romantic suspense full of drama, danger, and passion. It features a feisty heroine and the rugged-yet-mischievous hero who steals her heart. One click to download today and get ready for the adventure of a lifetime, with a happily ever after guaranteed.
The Inside Man
James Phelps - 2021
The unputdownable action thriller from Australia's no.1 true crime writer.Riley Jax, convicted murderer. Once a promising engineer in the army, he lost everything in a single night when he killed a man - an act he cannot remember.It's a devastating gap in an otherwise perfect memory.Now he's facing a new life, one behind bars, where he has to learn a whole different set of rules and only the toughest survive.And as a series of deadly bombings rocks the outside world, the only man who might be able to find the truth behind the conspiracy ... is on the inside.
The Accusation
Wendy James - 2019
A body of damning evidence. A world of betrayal.Eighteen-year-old Ellie Canning is found shivering and barely conscious on a country road, clad only in ill-fitting pyjamas. Her story of kidnap and escape quickly enthrals the nation: a middle-aged woman with a crazy old mother has held Ellie in a basement, chained her to a bed and given her drinks from an old baby's sippy cup. But who was this woman and what did she want with Ellie? And what other secrets might she hide?When the accusation is levelled at local teacher Suzannah Wells, no one seems more bewildered than Suzannah herself ... to start with. The preposterous charge becomes manifestly more real as she loses her job and her friends. And the evidence is strong: a dementia-affected mother, a house with a basement, a sippy cup that belonged to her long-dead daughter. And Ellie Canning's DNA everywhere. As stories about Susannah's past emerge, even those closest to her begin to doubt she's innocent.And Ellie? The media can't get enough of her. She's a girl-power icon, a social-media star. But is she telling the truth?
The Song of Us
J.D. Barrett - 2017
Five years ago, she fled her successful career as a concert harpist in London to return to her Bondi home. She still plays, but now her audience is on the way out ... literally. It's complicated and complication is something Zoe understands well. Her best friend is chasing a new love, her brother's chasing too much love and her father has been married far too many times. Compared to them she thought she was doing okay. She's met the guy she is sure is the one. He wooed her and has been sleeping with her for almost five years. It would all be perfect ... if he wasn't married.Zoe is learning that hearts, like harps, are capable of beautiful music if treated the right way and can be tricky to manoeuvre. She's over the old tune. But does Zoe have the courage to rewrite the song of her own life?The Song Of Us is a soulful story of family, love and the notes that define our lives by the author of The Secret Recipe For Second Chances.
Nature Of The Lion
T.M. Clark - 2018
Clark.
Hiding from the law, they never expected to be caught in the crosshairs of a hunter…
After relocating to South Africa on the heels of scandal five years ago, Chloe and her invalid father, Mike, once wealthy Zimbabwean landowners, now have little. Away at university, Chloe has had to rely on her father's best friend Enoch and his son Xo to watch over Mike. When a violent confrontation puts Chloe in danger, Enoch steps in to help – with inadvertent fatal results. With increasing pressure from a right–wing group on the police to charge Enoch, this mismatched family have no choice but to flee back to Zimbabwe. But crossing the border will be dangerous and near impossible with their route taking them amid warring dissident armies and landmines, and their every footstep is stalked by a shadowy ring of hunters – whose trophies are taken from more than animals...Only with help from Nick, formerly a soldier under Mike's command, now a professional game ranger, will the fugitives have a chance of making it home. But Nick has long struggled to come to terms with his fellow soldiers' choices before their unit was abandoned. Will his past demons put them all at risk?
The Good Mother
Rae Cairns
Can she save them from her past?Sarah Calhoun is a regular Sydney soccer mum, but she's keeping terrifying secrets from everyone she loves . . . and her past is about to catch up with her.When two men from Northern Ireland hunt her down, she's forced to return to Belfast to testify at a murder trial. Caught in the crossfire of an obsessive policeman, driven by a disturbing past, and a brutal IRA executioner, Sarah faces an impossible choice: lie and allow a killer to run free, or tell the truth and place her children in the line of fire.With her family and innocent people at risk, Sarah must find the courage to fight for the truth. But righting the wrongs of the past just might cost her everything . . .This taut, plot-fuelled thriller will keep you on the edge of your seat to its gripping finale.'Show me a soldier who would fight harder than a mother to save her son.'PRAISE'This story wouldn't let me go' Michael Robotham'Past and present collide on and off the page in this explosive debut . . . a pacy, plot-driven thriller that stands up against some of the best in the genre.'
Sunday Telegraph