Book picks similar to
The Widow Smalls by Jamie Lisa Forbes


short-stories
historical-fiction
fiction
literary-historical-fiction

Grizzly Killer: The Making of a Mountain Man


Lane R. Warenski - 2017
    After a grizzly kills his pa, Zach struggles to survive a cold and brutal winter alone. After killing a rouge grizzly and fighting hostile Indians on his own, he becomes known as Grizzly Killer and is respected throughout the West. Along with his dog, Jimbo, whom the Indians call the Great Medicine Dog, he finds Running Wolf, an injured Ute warrior, and together they fight off a hostile war party. They rescue two Shoshone sisters from the brutality of a French trapper and take them as wives. After Zach saves Running Wolf’s beautiful sister, Shining Star, he is expected to take her as a second wife, but his Christian beliefs conflict with the Indian traditions, and he struggles within himself to accept the Indian ways. Set in the rugged Uinta Mountains of Northern Utah, this is a story of survival against nature and hostile Indians and the clash of cultures between the Indians and mountain men that were the first to brave this uncharted wilderness, seeking their fortune from the pelts of the beaver.

A Shilling for a Wife


Emma Hornby - 2016
    Then a single coin changed hands. A dismal cottage in the heart of Bolton, Lancashire, has been Sally’s prison since Joseph Goden 'bought' her from the workhouse as his wife. A drunkard and bully, Joseph rules her with a rod of iron, using fists and threats to keep her in check.When Sally gives birth, however, she knows she must do anything to save her child from her husband's clutches. She manages to escape, and taking her baby, flees for the belching chimneys of Manchester, in search of her only relative. But with the threat of discovery by Joseph, who will stop at nothing to find her, Sally must fight with every ounce of strength she has to protect herself and her son, and finally be with the man who truly loves her. For a fresh start does not come without a price . . . The bestselling debut saga novel of 2017. WHAT READERS ARE SAYING:'I was hooked on this story from the very first page' 'One of the best books I've read in a long while''I did not want the book to end''Loved every word'

Evangelista's Fan & Other Stories


Rose Tremain - 1994
    This collection-- dazzling, diverse, sophisticated-- demonstrates the enormous range of her talent between two camps-- alongside such contemporary issues as mortgage debt and medical error.

Reckless Hearts: A Story of Slim Hawks and Ernest Hemingway


Melanie Benjamin - 2015
      Spain, 1959. Slim Hawks Hayward likes to think she doesn’t get jealous. But when her dear friend Lauren “Betty” Bacall learns that Papa Hemingway has come to watch the bullfights and insists that Slim make introductions, she can’t help feeling protective. Slim has known Papa for years. He always makes her feel like the most beautiful woman in the room—even when his wife is standing right beside him. Truth be told, Slim could have learned to love him all those years ago, in the streets of Havana or the mountains of the American West. Now, Slim is sure that Papa will fall for Betty. What she doesn’t anticipate is the feeling that Papa himself has changed—and their relationship will never be the same.   Features a captivating preview of Melanie Benjamin’s highly anticipated novel The Swans of Fifth Avenue!   Advance praise for Melanie Benjamin’s The Swans of Fifth Avenue   “The strange and fascinating relationship between Truman Capote and his ‘swans’ is wonderfully reimagined in this engrossing novel. It’s a credit to Benjamin that we end up caring so much for these women of power, grace, and beauty—and for Capote, too.”—Sara Gruen, New York Times bestselling author of Water for Elephants   “A delicious tale . . . Melanie Benjamin has turned Truman Capote’s greatest scandal into your next must-read book-club selection.”—Jamie Ford, New York Times bestselling author of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet   “Reading The Swans of Fifth Avenue is like being ushered into a party where you’re offered champagne and fed the sumptuous secrets of New York’s elite—without having to pay the price afterward. The swans are outmatched only by the elegance of Melanie Benjamin’s prose—captivatingly earnest and sophisticated.”—Vanessa Diffenbaugh, New York Times bestselling author of The Language of Flowers   “Benjamin convincingly portrays a large cast of colorful historical figures while crafting a compelling, gossipy narrative with rich emotional depth.”—Library Journal

Keeping Lucy


T. Greenwood - 2019
    Dover, Massachusetts, 1969. Ginny Richardson's heart was torn open when her baby girl, Lucy, born with Down Syndrome, was taken from her. Under pressure from his powerful family, her husband, Ab, sent Lucy away to Willowridge, a special school for the “feeble-minded." Ab tried to convince Ginny it was for the best. That they should grieve for their daughter as though she were dead. That they should try to move on. But two years later, when Ginny's best friend, Marsha, shows her a series of articles exposing Willowridge as a hell-on-earth--its squalid hallways filled with neglected children--she knows she can't leave her daughter there. With Ginny's six-year-old son in tow, Ginny and Marsha drive to the school to see Lucy for themselves. What they find sets their course on a heart-racing journey across state lines—turning Ginny into a fugitive.For the first time, Ginny must test her own strength and face the world head-on as she fights Ab and his domineering father for the right to keep Lucy. Racing from Massachusetts to the beaches of Atlantic City, through the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia to a roadside mermaid show in Florida, Keeping Lucy is a searing portrait of just how far a mother’s love can take her.

Tangled Webs


Bobby Rodgers - 2011
    The first story is called The Perfect Life. This tale is about Rene Carter and two of her closest friends. Rene is a well respected Baltimore City police officer who is very good at her job. She is married and her husband is a well known attorney who loves her dearly and worships the ground she walks on. Rene is living the perfect life, but she has a dark side. The only people who know her secret are Tonya Lewis and Rhonda Harris who are also police officers. Rhonda resents everything about her and would love to see her fall flat on her face. The second story is called Imitation. Stacie Sims is an up and coming emergency room physician. She has a loving fiancé named Billy Addams. Billy is the son of a wealthy business man. He is the perfect man for Stacie, but he is hiding a dark secret from her. So sit back and enjoy the worlds of Rene and Stacie who both quickly learn that life can get tangled like a spider’s web.

The Bookshop at Peony Harbor (An Aster Island Novel)


Rosie Summers - 2021
    Thanks to an unexpected divorce, Eloise is low on funds, and if she doesn’t figure out a way to make ends meet—soon—she’ll lose the beachfront cottage that’s been in her family for over three generations.Then one morning, out of the blue, Eloise receives a mysterious letter from her grandmother who has been gone for over twenty years. Inside the envelope is the deed to a rundown bookshop on Main Street—a gift for Eloise. Is she up to the task of breathing life into the almost-derelict building, or will she have to sell the beloved property so she can afford to stay on the island near her children?Fortunately, Eloise isn’t alone in her decision. She’s got three grown children on her side, though each has problems of their own.Jack, the eldest, is running his own company. Despite his success, he finds that something in his life is missing. Next is Lilah, a mother of two young children whose husband has been spending unexplained late nights at the office, and she’s determined to find out why. The youngest, Angelica, is a free spirit traveling the world for her career. But when she encounters an old flame at home, is it enough to draw her back?Come visit the Paisley family on Aster Island and follow their journey as they explore new love and second chances, as they travel far and return home, and as they throw their hearts and souls into making a dream come true.

One Night at the St. Nicholas


Jodi Thomas - 2019
    At twenty-one, future heiress Jacqueline Hartman needs a husband, or so her father claims. And at tonight’s ball, she must choose one, even though what she longs for is independence and adventure far from the Texas ranch where she was born. Gruff, honorable former Army captain Cody Lamar is just one of the local ranchers who plans to ask for her hand, even if his primary attraction is to the land she will inherit. A down-and-out actor mistaken for a bank robber (and currently impersonating a marshal) and an Irish hotel maid with dreams of her own are only two of the people who will complicate the evening. When it comes to love, this Christmas promises to deliver the most unexpected gifts... Previously published in the anthology, A Texas Kind of Christmas

The Coming and Going of Strangers


Simon Van Booy - 2009
    On the verge of giving up—anchored to dreams that never came true and to people who have long since disappeared from their lives—Van Booy's characters walk the streets of these stark and beautiful stories until chance meetings with strangers force them to face responsibility for lives they thought had continued on without them.

The Lost Coast: A Homecoming Serial


Eli Horowitz - 2017
    The Lost Coast is a six-part novella, written to accompany the six episodes of the second season of Homecoming, an audio series starring Catherine Keener, David Schwimmer, and Oscar Isaac.The two works are designed to be read in alternating installments - Episode One of the podcast, then Chapter One of the book, then Episode Two, and so on - but other sequences are probably fine too.

The Rocking R Ranch


Tim Washburn - 2020
    . . THE LEGEND BEGINS When the Ridgeway family staked their claim on more than 40,000 acres of land in northwest Texas, they knew they had their work cut out for them. Located on a sharp bend of the treacherous Red River, their new home—the Rocking R Ranch—was just a stone’s throw away from Indian territory. It was as lawless and wild as the West itself, crawling with unsavory characters, cattle rustlers, horse thieves, outlaws, robbers, and worse. But still, the Ridgeways were determined to make the Rocking R a success—and a home—for their four remarkable children: Percy, Eli, Abigail, and Rachel. This is their story. Together, the Ridgeways could endure anything. Floods, tornadoes, Commanche raids in the dead of night. But when one of their own is kidnapped . . . that’s when all hell breaks loose. This is their story. The story of the American West.

The Runaway Children: The heartbreaking, page-turning new historical saga from Lindsey Hutchinson for 2022


Lindsey Hutchinson - 2022
    

Tea Cups & Tiger Claws


Timothy Patrick - 2013
    The miracle is the birth of identical triplets, and the madness is all about money, of course. The year is 1916 and the newborn baby girls have become pint-size celebrities. Unfortunately, this small portion of fame soon leads to a much larger portion of greed, and the triplets are split up—parceled out to the highest bidders. Two of the girls go to live in a hilltop mansion. The third girl isn't so lucky. She ends up with a shady family that lives in an abandoned work camp. That’s how their lives begin: two on top, one on the bottom, and all three in the same small town. And when their worlds collide, as they must, the consequences are extreme."Tea Cups & Tiger Claws" spans fifty years and takes the reader from a shantytown to a gilded mansion, from dark desires to sacrificial love.

Widow Walk


Gar Lasalle - 2015
    LaSalle recounts the brutal, poignant clash between Native American Indian tribes and white settlers in the Pacific Northwest with economy and beauty, writing clean, devastating prose that clutches at your heart. This lean, unsparing narrative will make you look away in sorrow--before raising your fist in triumph. A quintessential rendering of the American Experience."- -Richard Barager, author of Altamont Augie, Silver Medal winner 2011 Book of the Year Awards In the early days of the American Pacific Northwest, small settlements dot the wilds of streams and dense woods. Isaac Evers, a community leader and former militiaman, has established a small colony on Whidbey Island. Though the area appears calmer than in the past, the northern indigenous clans still threaten the livelihood of Isaac's growing family. While Isaac is away on expeditions, his wife Emmy tends to the many duties required of a property owner on Whidbey Island. Bold and assertive, Emmy has little time for the restraint of social mores. But as times on the island become more turbulent, her constitution and conviction are tested. Elsewhere, Haida native Anah-nawitka feels the rush of his first kill and the satisfying vengeance cast from his hand to the head of the invading white colonists. Basking in the praise from his tribemates, Anah starts down a violent path that will alter a great many lives. Meanwhile, the British and the U.S. Army are quietly grinding against each other following a boundary dispute, leaving men like Captain George Edward Pickett in a tight situation. In charge of the nearby Union fort, Pickett does his best to maintain his authority while he struggles with tragic events in his past. Weaving these story threads together into a powerful whole, Gerard LaSalle tells the story of an unforgettable American adventure.

The Sea Glass Cottage


RaeAnne Thayne - 2020
    The 16-hour work days are unfulfilling and so are things with her on-again, off-again boyfriend. But when she hears that her estranged mother, Juliet, has been seriously injured in a car accident, Liv has no choice but to pack up her life and head home to beautiful Cape Sanctuary on the Northern California coast.It’s just for a few months—that’s what Liv keeps telling herself. But the closer she gets to Cape Sanctuary, the painful memories start flooding back: Natalie, her vibrant, passionate older sister who downward-spiraled into addiction. The fights with her mother who enabled her sister at every turn. The overdose that took Natalie, leaving her now-teenaged daughter, Caitlin, an orphan.As Liv tries to balance her own needs with those of her injured mother and an obstinate, resentful fifteen-year-old, it becomes clear that all three Harper women have been keeping heartbreaking secrets from one another. And as those secrets are revealed, Liv, Juliet, and Caitlin will see that it’s never too late—or too early—to heal family wounds and find forgiveness.