Book picks similar to
Staying On by C.M. Taylor


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The Lydgate Widow


Alexandra Connor - 2006
    But the stories end abruptly on the day Adele and her sister are orphaned, and they grow up with only each other to rely on. Adele finds work in an antiques shop but when a wrongful accusation robs her of her reputation, her future looks bleak. So it's not hard for Col Vincent, a successful businessman, to persuade Adele to marry him. Adele grows to love him - until she realises that her husband is a violent man. In the 1930s, a woman who leaves her husband faces penury. Somehow Adele survives, and then news comes that will transform her life, bringing back the haunting memory of the Lydgate Widow - and the man who has loved Adele for decades...

The Mummy Lessons: The second novel from award winning blogger Just A Normal Mummy


Helen Wallen - 2019
    

The House Of Bonneau


Elvi Rhodes - 1990
    They knew they had struggles of a practical nature ahead of them - trying to build the bankrupt mill into a new and thriving business - but Madeleine felt that, providing everything was right between her and Leon, they could face whatever lay ahead. But trouble and disruption were still to be part of her future - for Leon's family in France bitterly resented the Yorkshire girl who had taken their son away from them. And Hortense Murer, who had thought she would be Leon's wife, resented her even more. And over all hung the shadow of a foolish curse made by her old enemy, Sophia Parkinson - that Madeleine would never bear a son - a curse that, against all the tenets of common sense, seemed to be coming true.

Hallmarked


Terri Reid - 2021
    And after one disastrous morning, she wishes that her life was like those portrayed in her favorite channel's Christmas romances. A place where everything and everyone is perfect. But Mary soon learns that she needs to be careful of what she wishes for.

Poppy's Dilemma (Black Country Chronicles)


Nancy Carson - 2015
    When Poppy is left fatherless, her world becomes fraught with danger, men vying to claim her as their own.Her one ray of hope is Robert, a young engineer, who she meets one day by the tracks. But his wealthy family have different plans for him… Can Poppy ever hope to win his heart?And would she give up her whole way of life for him?A compelling, heartwarming story about one girl’s brave search for happiness against all odds…

A Girl's Best Friend


Louise Marley - 2004
    Everyone is stunned - except Isabel, who isn't there to hear it. She is having far too much fun in the garden with rock star Taz Taylor. She couldn't care less about the family business, as long as she has something sparkly to wear to a party. But her ambitious sister, Danielle, who has her own plans for Vanders, feels betrayed. If Isaac no longer wants Vanders, why can't he give it to her? However, Danielle is not the only one interested in Vanders. On the day of the party, Isabel's best friend, Jemma Stortford, wakes up to find a handsome stranger lying beside her and cannot believe her luck. But, having conned two women into bed in two days, Nico Morales is feeling more than a twinge of guilt. He has broken his number one rule - never get involved. For Isabel and Danielle, life begins to! get a little dangerous - it looks like diamonds are anything but "A Girl's Best Friend"...

A Nurse at War


Maggie Holt - 2005
    So at twenty-one she escapes to London to train as a nurse, where she gathers many admirers - none more dashing than RAF officer Sandy Redfern, with whom she falls in love.But the coming of war, with the chaos of the Blitz, brings upheavals and unforeseen entanglements. On hearing of Sandy's reckless affair with a married woman, a heartbroken Lily throws herself into her work. Then further changes in circumstances bring her to a busy RAF hospital in Hampshire, where a faithful childhood sweetheart persuades her to become engaged to him.And then fate brings Sandy Redfern back into her life, physically scarred by burns and inwardly embittered. What of their once passionate love and her present commitment? Can the past ever be recaptured?

Lily, My Lovely


Lena Kennedy - 1986
    His romantic ways make Lily go weak at the knees, and although she sticks by her husband, her heart belongs wholly to her flying Dutchman.Torn between his native homeland and his yearning for 'Lily, my lovely', Kasie sweeps in and out of her life throughout the post-war years and the swinging Sixties, always on a tide of storms and passion. Only when that tide finally recedes does an older and wiser Lily settle down among her adored grandchildren to remember fondly her adventurous life.

Spring Shoots on Sunflower Street


Rachel Griffiths - 2020
    Jilted on her wedding day by her fiancé, she has little interest in looking for love again. She spends most of her time hiding away in her cosy cottage, snuggling on the sofa with her two cats and trying to find the energy to invest in her online craft business. Widower Ethan Morris has been drifting from job to job since he lost his wife, unable to commit to anything for long. He’s returned to Sunflower Street to stay with his ailing mother and is secretly glad to have an excuse to go home. His mother suggests that he puts his manual skills to good use by starting his own painting and decorating business.The glorious spring sunshine reveals all the areas of Lila’s cottage that are in need of maintenance, as well as a good spring clean, and her friends suggest that she hires someone to do the work. At first, Lila is reluctant, having kept things the same since her fiancé left, but she has to admit that a fresh lick of paint on the walls and some more shelves for her books would be nice. When a flier advertising a new local painter and decorator lands on Lila’s doormat, it seems like fate has made the decision for her. As Ethan works his magic on Lila’s cottage, and spring brings hope and renewal to Sunflower Street, is it possible that there could be a new beginning in store for Lila and Ethan too?

Meet Me on the Beach: An emotional drama of love and friendship to warm your heart


Hilary Boyd - 2015
    Her only comfort in her grief and isolation is William, the sympathetic local vicar.As Karen shares her secret, William's listening ear soon becomes a shoulder to cry on, and before long Karen realises she is falling in love. But William has a wife and teenaged daughter, not to mention a parish to watch over - and be watched by.As the pressure becomes too much to bear, Karen flees to the seaside and to Mike Best's beach café. But when William suddenly turns up again in her life, can they persuade each other to take one final leap of faith together?

The Mary Kay Andrews Collection: Summer Rental, Spring Fever, Ladies' Night


Mary Kay Andrews - 2014
    Includes:SUMMER RENTALEllis, Julia, and Dorie. Friends since Catholic grade school, they now find themselves, in their mid-thirties, at the crossroads of life and love. A month in North Carolina's Outer Banks is just what each of them needs. Ty Bazemore is their landlord. After an inauspicious first meeting with Ellis, the two find themselves disturbingly attracted to one another, even as Ty is about to lose everything he's ever cared about. Maryn Shackleford is a stranger on the run who needs just a few things: no questions, a good hiding place, and a new identity. Ellis, Julia, and Dorie can provide what Maryn wants; can they also provide what she needs?SPRING FEVERAnnajane Hudgens truly believes she is over her ex-husband, Mason Bayless. They've been divorced for four years, she's engaged to a new, terrific guy, and she's ready to leave the small town where she and Mason had so much history. She is so over Mason that she has absolutely no problem attending his wedding to the beautiful, intelligent, delightful Celia. But when fate intervenes and the wedding is called to a halt as the bride is literally walking down the aisle, Annajane begins to realize that maybe she's been given a second chance. Maybe everything happens for a reason. And maybe, just maybe, she wants Mason back. But there are secrets afoot in this small Southern town and Annajane discovers that change can bring out the worst in people and uncover family scandals. And even though there are people determined to keep Annajane from getting what she wants, happiness could be hers for the taking, and the life she once had with Mason in this sleepy little lake town could be in her future. That is, if she can find out what she's really made of and what really matters most to her.LADIES' NIGHTGrace Stanton's life as a rising media star and beloved lifestyle blogger takes a surprising turn when she catches her husband cheating and torpedoes his pricey sports car straight into the family swimming pool. Grace suddenly finds herself locked out of her palatial home, checking account, and even the blog she has worked so hard to develop in her signature style. Moving in with her widowed mother, who owns and lives above a rundown beach bar called The Sandbox, is less than ideal. So is attending court-mandated weekly "divorce recovery" therapy sessions with three other women and one man for whom betrayal seems to be the only commonality. When their "divorce coach" starts to act suspiciously, they decide to start having their own Wednesday "Ladies' Night" sessions at The Sandbox, and the unanticipated bonds that develop lead the members of the group to try and find closure in ways they never imagined. Can Grace figure out a new way home and discover how strong she needs to be to get there?

The Phaistos Paragon (Baseborn Archaeology Series Book 1)


Nate Granzow - 2017
    That hasn't made him a friend of law enforcement. His record of successful heists has put him at the top of relic recovery agent Susara Eaves' target deck. But when Lane seeks to steal the key to unlocking an ancient civilization's legendary vitality and beauty for his cancer-stricken daughter, Susara finds herself compelled into a strange partnership with him. Together, they undertake a journey through heavily guarded museum vaults and ruins of ancient Minoan palaces to unearth a paragon civilization's most precious secret. Only, they aren't the only ones hunting the answer to this archaeological enigma. Their adventure into the dark recesses of ancient worlds grows perilous as Lane's lifelong rival, the bloodthirsty assassin son of a Corsican mafia consigliere, strives to beat them to the prize.

The Moments


Natalie Winter - 2019
    Moments that make us who we are. But what if they don't unfold the way they're supposed to...?What if you get on the wrong bus, or don't speak to the right person at a party, or stay in a job that isn't for you? Will you miss your one chance at happiness? Or will happiness find you eventually, when the moment is right?Meet Matthew and Myrtle. They have never really felt like they fitted - in life or with anyone else. But they are meant to be together - if only they can find each other.A powerful and emotional story about missed chances, interwoven lives and the moments that define us.

False Advertising


Dianne Blacklock - 2007
    She recycles, obeys the water restrictions, she is even polite to telemarketers. as a mother, wife, daughter and nurse, Helen is used to putting everyone's needs before her own. But it only takes one momentary lapse of concentration to shatter her life forever.There was no momentary lapse for Gemma. Her customary recklessness leaves her pregnant, alone and estranged from her family with her one-promising advertising career in tatters.So when Gemma barges unceremoniously into Helen's life, things will never be the same again for either of them. Two very different women who have one thing in common - their lives have fallen short of their expectations. But is fate offering them a second chance?

The Summer Visitors


Fiona O'Brien - 2017
    He's hoping that three months researching an old cable station in a remote village on the south-west coast of Ireland will help him and his traumatised son finally move on from the accident that killed his wife.Meanwhile local hotel owner's daughter Annie Sullivan has communication problems of her own to deal with. Home on sabbatical from her life in London, she's keeping a secret from her dysfunctional family and trying to save them and the hotel from their latest drama.As summer draws to a close in Ballyanna, both Dan and Annie are forced to confront the pasts they've been escaping. But will they be able to grasp the future that lies ahead? The Summer Visitors is a heart-warming story about love, second chances and moving on.