Book picks similar to
A Stitch in Time by Beryl Kingston


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The Year of Starting Over


Karen King - 2019
    But stuck in a job that’s going nowhere, and a relationship that feels more like it’s going backwards… this year Holly has decided it’s time to change her life. She just has to:– End the relationship with the commitment-phobic boyfriend– Go on a proper adventure – Learn to be herself again– Definitely, categorically not fall in love. Cramming her belongings into her little yellow Mini, Holly drives on to a ferry bound to Spain, to stay at a remote farmhouse near a beautiful village in the Andalusian hills. But the day she arrives she nearly crashes her car into a gorgeous guy on a motorbike. He’s called Matias and their paths keep crossing, much to Holly’s irritation. Because as she learns to speak Spanish from the locals, finally starts laying out plans for her own design business, and sips sangria in the sunlit village square, Holly is beginning to remember who she is and what she wants. So she won’t allow herself be distracted by Matias. Because this year – for Holly – there are more important things in life than love. And she won’t let yet another bad relationship ruin everything… will she?A moving and uplifting romantic comedy about living each moment and learning to trust yourself again, for fans of Jenny Hale, Debbie Macomber, and Sophie Kinsella.Readers love Karen King:‘Best book I have read in ages. Couldn't put it down... My star rating would be max 10 out of 10. Superb!!’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars‘Fantastic from the first page to the last. I really didn't want it to end at all. So enchanting and romantic and about finding your own happiness when you don't think you can… A simply fantastic read, highly recommend it.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars‘Amazing! This book pulls at your heartstrings... Highly recommend.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars‘A pure pleasure to devour this book, I just didn't want it to end, I was enjoying it so much… Wonderful.’ Rachel’s Random Reads, 5 stars‘Such a cleverly written, hilarious and fun book with bucketfuls of drama. Absolutely loved it!’ The Writing Garnet, 5 stars‘I loved this book, it was fun, easy to read with lovely characters and a fab story.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars‘Romantic, edgy, dreamy... Loved it from start to finish.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars‘[A] stonking great read that will leave you wanting more.’ Goodreads reviewer‘Contemporary women's fiction at its best. Utterly charming.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars‘I would heartily recommend this book to anyone who likes a good escapist read.’ Whispering Stories‘Worth far more than five stars… I was hooked from the first page… Full of romance and heartbreak and families and doing what is best.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

The After House


Michael Phillip Cash - 2014
    Little do they know, another occupant is lurking in the haven of their own home. Will the After House be their shelter or their tomb?

The Snow and the Works on the Northern Line


Ruth Thomas - 2021
    Then to her dismay, her old adversary, assertive and glamorous Helen Hansen, is appointed Head of Trustees. To add insult, Helen promptly seduces Sybil's boyfriend. Betrayed and broken-hearted, Sybil becomes obsessed with exposing Helen as a fraud, no matter the cost.

The M Word


Eileen Wharton - 2018
    She dislikes her children, detests her ex-husband and despises her colleagues.When her mother dies, Roberta is left with a pile of letters and a mystery surrounding her son. The letters reveal Roberta’s heritage is not what it seems and she is soon on a mission to become a better person.Told with humour and emotion, The M Word is the tale of one woman’s journey to find out where she came from. As she looks to the past for answers, more questions are raised. Will Roberta discover who she really is?

Keturah


Lisa Tawn Bergren - 2018
    But once they arrive in the Caribbean, proper gender roles are the least of their concerns. On the infamous island of Nevis, the sisters discover the legacy of the legendary sugar barons has vastly declined--and that's just the start of what their eyes are opened to in this unfamiliar world. Keturah never intends to put herself at the mercy of a man again, but every man on the island seems to be trying to win her hand and, with it, the ownership of her plantation. She could desperately use an ally, but even an unexpected reunion with a childhood friend leaves her questioning his motives. Set on keeping her family together and saving her father's once-great plantation, can Keturah ever surrender her stubbornness and guarded heart to God and find the healing and love awaiting her?

The Fall and Rise of Lucy Charlton


Elizabeth Gill - 2013
    Since she was a child, Lucy Charlton has dreamed of working with her father in the family solicitor's firm. But a scandal shatters her dreams and, when her father disowns her, she finds herself on the streets, fighting for survival.Joe Hardy has returned to London after the Great War to find his life in tatters - his father is dead and his pregnant fiancée has disappeared. Then Joe learns he's unexpectedly inherited an old river house in Durham from a stranger called Margaret Lee. With nothing left for him in London, he makes arrangements to travel north and claim it.Lucy's determination has finally secured her a job as a legal secretary, campaigning for the rights of the poorest in society. As Joe arrives in her office to collect the keys to his new home, she promises to help him uncover information about his mystery benefactor. But before long, the past comes back to haunt them both, with shocking consequences...

The Happiness Project


Pippa James - 2019
     1) Exercise more 2) Eat healthily 3) Learn how to live again… Forty-year-old Alison Lund has always carefully planned everything in her well-ordered life, from colour co-ordinating her beautiful house to persuading her excitable son Alexander that sticker charts are more fun than misbehaving. But Alison’s perfect world has just fallen apart… Her head is left spinning when her beloved larger than life mother-in-law, Maggie, passes away and Alison is left heartbroken. Every afternoon they’d talk and laugh over a pot of tea, she was the glue that kept Alison together through the first few tough years of motherhood. And now Alison is trying to figure out a future without her. With a little help from her two best friends, Alison resolves to be more Maggie. After an emotional New Year’s Eve get together, the three women create a happiness project, challenging themselves to step outside their comfort zones and make the most of every single day. Daring to do things differently, can Alison learn to live more spontaneously and find happiness along the way? Or will letting go be harder than she ever imagined? What readers are saying about Pippa James: ‘Brilliantly funny, entertaining and damn amazing… boy can she write a novel!... Loved it.’ The Cosiest Corner, 5 stars ‘Full of laugh out loud moments, many cry your eyes out moments as well… will touch your heart…’ Goodreads Reviewer ‘A brilliant, laugh out loud read… I loved the characters… it really is the perfect read… such a wonderful novel… I highly recommend this book’ Lead Reads Books ‘A true rollercoaster of emotions.’ Stardust Book Reviews ‘Absolutely fabulous, it is such a good read, I would recommend it to everyone.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars ‘One of the funniest book I’ve read in 2018… laughed a lot… Highly recommended!’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars ‘Made me laugh out loud with a big beamer of a smile on my face… A fabulous, fun-filled, gentle read which will make you laugh.’ The Writing Garnet ‘Entertaining… perfect for a relaxing time on the sofa, with lots of LOL moments.’ Simona’s Corner of Dreams

The Post Office Girls


Poppy Cooper - 2021
    On Beth Healey's eighteenth birthday, she hopes that she will be able to forget the ghastly war and celebrate. But that evening, her twin brother Ned announces that he has signed up to fight. No longer able to stand working in her parents' village shop while others are doing their bit, Beth applies to join the Army Post Office's new Home Depot on the Regent's Park, and is astounded to be accepted. She will be responsible for making sure that letters and parcels get through to the troops on the front line. Beth is thrilled to be a crucial part of the war effort and soon makes friends with fellow post girls Milly and Nora, and meets the handsome James. But just as she begins to feel that her life has finally begun, everything starts falling apart, with devastating consequences for Beth and perhaps even the outcome of the war itself. Can Beth and her new friends keep it all together and find happiness at last?The Post Office Girls is perfect for fans of Johanna Bell, Daisy Styles and Nancy Revell. EADERS LOVE THE POST OFFICE GIRLS! 'A superb debut novel' - 5 STARS'Entertaining, enlightening and thoroughly enjoyable' - 5 STARS'I absolutely loved this book and I am already eagerly awaiting book two in the series' - 5 STARS'The book gave a wonderful in sight into postal-service life during the war. Well done, Poppy' - 5 STARS'An excellent WW1 book' - 5 STARS

The American Girl


Rachael English - 2017
    Rose Moroney is seventeen, smart, spirited – and pregnant. She wants to marry her boyfriend. Her ambitious parents have other plans. She is sent to Ireland, their birthplace, to deliver her daughter in a Mother and Baby home. Against Rose's will, her baby is taken for adoption. Dublin 2013. Martha Sheeran’s life has come undone. Her marriage is over, and her husband has moved on with unsettling speed. Under pressure from her teenage daughter, she starts looking for the woman who gave her up for adoption more than forty years before. Martha's search for her birth mother leads her to the heart of long-buried family secrets and forces her to question everything she thought she knew. When her first love, Paudie Carmody, re-enters the frame, she's also forced to take a hard look at her own life. From Boston to rural Ireland; from Dublin back to Boston, The American Girl is a heart-warming and enthralling story about mothers and daughters, love and cruelty and, ultimately, the struggle for acceptance – and the embrace of new horizons.

The Witchfinder's Sister


Beth Underdown - 2017
    With a heavy heart, Alice Hopkins returns to the small town she grew up in. Widowed, with child, and without prospects, she is forced to find refuge at the house of her younger brother, Matthew. In the five years she has been gone, the boy she knew has become a man of influence and wealth--but more has changed than merely his fortunes. Alice fears that even as the cruel burns of a childhood accident still mark his face, something terrible has scarred Matthew's soul.There is a new darkness in the town, too--frightened whispers are stirring in the streets, and Alice's blood runs cold with dread when she discovers that Matthew is a ruthless hunter of suspected witches. Torn between devotion to her brother and horror at what he's become, Alice is desperate to intervene--and deathly afraid of the consequences. But as Matthew's reign of terror spreads, Alice must choose between her safety and her soul.Alone and surrounded by suspicious eyes, Alice seeks out the fuel firing her brother's brutal mission--and is drawn into the Hopkins family's past. There she finds secrets nested within secrets: and at their heart, the poisonous truth. Only by putting her own life and liberty in peril can she defeat this darkest of evils--before more innocent women are forced to the gallows.Inspired by the real-life story of notorious "Witchfinder General" Matthew Hopkins, Beth Underdown's thrilling debut novel blends spellbinding history with harrowing storytelling for a truly haunting reading experience.

The Outcast: A Modern Retelling of The Scarlet Letter


Jolina Petersheim - 2013
    Refusing to repent and name the partner in her sin, Rachel feels the wrath of the religious sect as she is shunned by those she loves most. She is eventually coerced into leaving by her brother-in-law, the bishop.But secrets run deep in this cloistered community, and the bishop is hiding some of his own, threatening his conscience and his very soul. When the life of Rachel’s baby is at stake, however, choices must be made that will bring the darkness to light, forever changing the lives of those who call Copper Creek home.

The Himalayan Summer: The heartbreaking story of a missing child and a true love


Louise Brown - 2017
    You will laugh, cry and you will want a sequel", Lovereading.comEllie Jeffreys arrives in Darjeeling with her British husband, en route to Kathmandu. They have ten-month-old, golden-haired twins, and despite appearing to be a happy family, Ellie's relationship with the overbearing, philandering Francis is disintegrating. At a cocktail party, Ellie meets Hugh Douglas, a maverick explorer and botanist. Despite the rumours surrounding Hugh, Ellie is drawn to him. A year later, Nepal is devastated by a catastrophic earthquake and in a falling building, Ellie is forced to make an instant, and terrible, decision: she has time to save only one of her children. When she returns for her son's body the next day, it has gone. Ellie knows he cannot have disappeared; someone, somewhere has her child, and it is to Hugh that she turns for help.

In the Mirror, a Peacock Danced


Justine Bothwick - 2021
    Increasingly enamoured with his work on the booming railway, Florence yearns to know more, but finds herself brushed away, encouraged only to perform the more ladylike hobbies of singing and entertaining guests. So when a dazzling young engineer walks into her life, she finds herself not only gripped by secret lessons in physics but swept entirely off her feet.Portsmouth, 1953: Fifteen years later, Florence finds herself pregnant and alone in post-war England – a far cry from her sun-drenched existence in India. Struggling to cope with the bleakness of everyday life in a male-dominated world, Florence is desperate to find the woman she used to be. But when someone from her past reaches out, Florence might just have a chance to start over.Soaring from the shimmering heights of the big top to the depths of heartbreak, can Florence find the happiness, independence, and passion she once had in order to start living again?

The Mistress of Pennington's


Rachel Brimble - 2018
    Perfect for the fans of the TV series Mr Selfridge and The Paradise. Elizabeth Pennington should be the rightful heir of Bath's premier department store through her enterprising schemes and dogged hard work. Her father, Edward Pennington believes his daughter lacks the business acumen to run his empire and is resolute a man will succeed him. Determined to break from her father's iron-clad hold and prove she is worthy of inheriting the store, Elizabeth forms an unlikely alliance with ambitious and charismatic master glove-maker Joseph Carter. United they forge forward to bring Pennington's into a new decade, embracing woman's equality and progression whilst trying not to mix business and pleasure. Can this dream team thwart Edward Pennington's plans for the store? Or will Edward prove himself an unshakeable force who will ultimately ruin both Elizabeth and Joseph? What readers are saying: 'It was so interesting to read ... I hope Rachel Brimble writes another book about these characters. Highly recommend!' Sharon Brewer, NetGalley. 'The story was a pleasure to read as the writing was so very good and easy to get lost in ... It's a captivating read that touched my heart deeply and is currently one of my top 5 favorite books to have read so far this year' Clare Roden, NetGalley. 'This story [...] brought out the fact that hard work and determination pays and that you can succeed despite the odds' Mystica Varathapalan, NetGalley.

Christmas to Come


Carol Rivers - 2007
    It’s December 1940 and the London Blitz has provided them with one essential; scraps of food they scavenge on the debris of bombed buildings. There’s no love and little for them to eat in the derelict dockside slum they once called home. This is a danger area and to Bella almost worse than the Luftwaffe’s nightly raids. Their mother is a drunkard and earns her meagre living on the streets, turning a blind eye to the abuse her boyfriend dolls out to her two unwanted and neglected children. It’s left to Bella to protect Terry, who has endured so many beatings he is mentally scarred. Bella has learned at a young age that life doesn’t play fair. Her hero is Micky Bryant, a good-looking, streetwise teenager, and the one person she truly trusts. And it’s to Micky that Bella turns in her desperation. But is Micky the kind benefactor Bella believes him to be and will her decision have serious consequences in the years ahead?