Book picks similar to
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The Empty Hearth


Kitty Neale - 2006
    He's jealous when she shows us any affection.'Set in Battersea in the Fifties and Sixties, the Pratchett family have to contend with coalman Alfie Pratchett's obsessive jealousy. Although Alfie is a bully, his two teenage children, John and Millie, have learned to dodge him and his moods. The main concern of ugly duckling Millie - who looks nothing like her handsome brother John - is to protect their mum, Eileen.When a serious crisis occurs at the Pratchetts' home, Alfie is forced to watch his whole world gradually collapse around him. Their old life has gone forever, and a new one has begun - one in which rape, debt, alcoholism and insanity play their parts. And redemption is a long time comingKitty Neale is a storyteller of rare power, unafraid to uncover the dark secrets that lie behind the well-scrubbed doorsteps of family homes.

The Haunted Boy


Carson McCullers - 2018
    Here are authors ranging from Kathy Acker to James Baldwin, Truman Capote to Stanislaw Lem and George Orwell to Shirley Jackson; essays radical and inspiring; poems moving and disturbing; stories surreal and fabulous; taking us from the deep South to modern Japan, New York's underground scene to the farthest reaches of outer space.

On the Trail of a Vicious Killer


Ethan Westfield - 2019
    When the Arapaho mine collapses, a series of tragic events are to follow: murdered bodies of locals are identified in the woods, as well as downtown. Jack will attempt to solve the riddle of the sudden deaths, while he'll be confronted with an impossible dilemma: Is it a creature that should be blamed for the mysterious losses, or is there another evil force that is threatening the town?Laura Allsop had just moved to Griswold along with her husband, when he tragically died in the mine cave-in. Although they got married for companionship and she was never genuinely enamoured with him, Laura is deeply traumatized by his bitter end. Despite the fatal start of her new life in Griswold, she will not give up. She is determined to stay, and run a small kitchen in order to make her living. Will she finally manage to overcome the sorrowful events of the past and build a better future? A thrilling story full of adventure, mystery and romance, where the expected becomes the unexpected. How will Jack and Laura trace the dangerous menace, so that the cursed town doesn't face another horrific loss?

Promise of Dreams


Cecelia M. Chittenden - 2017
    Her father has gone to bring home a son missing because of the war. Loyal servants give her support and comfort and are at her side when she learns of her father’s death. She promises to fulfill her father’s dream but someone doesn’t want her to, the one person she should be able to trust. He sets out to defeat her until another man, a Northern stranger, comes to her aid.

Stone City


Mitchell Smith - 1990
    A series of killings prompts officials to coerce Bauman to track down the killer. His quest takes readers into the web of corruption that is inherent in a big state prison.

Let The Right One In


Jack Thorne - 2013
    She doesn’t go to school and never leaves the flat by day. Sensing in each other a kindred spirit, the two become devoted friends. What Oskar doesn’t know is that Eli has been a teenager for a very long time…Jack Thorne's adaptation of Let The Right One In premiered in June 2013 at the Dundee Rep Theatre in a production by the National Theatre of Scotland, before transferring to London's Royal Court Theatre in November 2013.

One Good Mama Bone


Bren McClain - 2017
    When her husband drinks himself to death, Sarah, a dirt-poor homemaker with no family to rely on and the note on the farm long past due, must find a way for her and young Emerson Bridge to survive. But the more daunting obstacle is Sarah s fear that her mother s words, seared in her memory since she first heard them at the age of six, were a prophesy, You ain t got you one good mama bone in you, girl. When Sarah reads in the local newspaper that a boy won $680 with his Grand Champion steer at the recent 1951 Fat Cattle Show & Sale, she sees this as their financial salvation and finds a way to get Emerson Bridge a steer from a local farmer to compete in the 1952 show. But the young calf is unsettled at Sarah s farm, crying out in distress and growing louder as the night wears on. Some four miles away, the steer s mother hears his cries and breaks out of a barbed-wire fence to go in search of him. The next morning Sarah finds the young steer quiet, content, and nursing a large cow. Inspired by the mother cow s act of love, Sarah names her Mama Red. And so Sarah s education in motherhood begins with Mama Red as her teacher. But Luther Dobbins, the man who sold Sarah the steer, has his sights set on winning too, and, like Sarah, he is desperate, but not for money. Dobbins is desperate for glory, wanting to regain his lost grand-champion dynasty, and he will stop at nothing to win. Emboldened by her lessons from Mama Red and her budding mama bone, Sarah is committed to victory even after she learns the winning steer s ultimate fate. Will she stop at nothing, even if it means betraying her teacher?McClain s writing is distinguished by a sophisticated and detailed portrayal of the day-to-day realities of rural poverty and an authentic sense of time and place that marks the best southern fiction. Her characters transcend their archetypes and her animal-as-teacher theme recalls the likes of Water for Elephants and The Art of Racing in the Rain. One Good Mama Bone explores the strengths and limitations of parental love, the healing power of the human-animal bond, and the ethical dilemmas of raising animals for food."

Beastings


Benjamin Myers - 2014
    A priest and a poacher. A savage pursuit through the landscape of a changing rural England. When a teenage girl abducts a child, a local priest and poacher are called upon to retrieve them. Chased through the Cumbrian mountains of a distant past, the girl fights starvation and the elements, encountering the hermits, farmers and hunters who occupy the remote hillside communities along the way. Like an American Southern Gothic tale set against the violent beauty of Northern England, BEASTINGS is a sparse and poetic novel about morality, motherhood and corruption.

The Eternal Game (Journey of Black and Red Book 2)


Alex Gilbert - 2020
    

Sleepovers


Ashleigh Bryant Phillips - 2020
    We meet a runaway teen, a mattress salesman, feral kittens, an elderly bachelorette wearing a horsehair locket, and a little girl named after Shania Twain. Here, time and memory circle above Phillips’ characters like vultures and angels, as they navigate the only landscape they’ve ever known. Corn reaches for rain, deer run blindly, and no matter how hungry or hurt, some forgotten hymn is always remembered. “The literary love child of Carson McCullers and John the Baptist, Ashleigh Bryant Phillips’ imagination is profoundly original and private," writes Rebecca Lee. Sleepovers is the winner of the 2019 C. Michael Curtis Short Story Book Prize, selected by Lauren Groff.

Rude: Stop Being Nice and Start Being Bold


Rebecca Reid - 2020
    So, when she put her finger to her lips and shushed him, she became instantly known on the internet as “Rebecca Rude.” It was only then that she realized that being rude could actually be her superpower. A captivating blend of advice and pop culture, Rude will show you how to utilize the power of boldness in every area of your life. Exploring famous women who have been perceived as rude—including Princess Margaret, Anna Wintour, Taylor Swift, Meghan Markle, and others—this book demonstrates how those women used their “rudeness” to get what they want—and deserve—out of life. Reid also addresses whether there are different rules of rudeness for women compared to men (yes, there are) and how being taught not to be rude actually prevents women from being successful—especially because when women are assertive, they are often judged as being aggressive. And while there’s a place for politeness, Rebecca argues that it’s never a bad time to stand up for yourself to achieve your dreams.

Woman To Woman 2: It's Only Fair


Tiece - 2017
    The two of them are happy and continuing the plans of their wedding. However, the baby mama drama is still lurking in the shadows to destroy their happy home. Bridgette refuses to let their peaceful union be great. With an obsession so strong, no telling what lengths she'll go through to get what she wants. Although, an unexpected twist has her now not knowing what to do, or who to go after. With a new relationship being exposed, will Bridgette finally let go of Damon? Or, will she continue to play the role of a crazy baby mama? Ethan is caught up in his own love triangle with Sasha and Kenya. Trying to do what he thought was best for all involved, turns out to be a bigger task, and an undeniable mistake that could possibly take him out of character. With secrets exposed, and lies coming to surface, whom will Ethan ultimately choose? Will Damon and Tiana finally get their happily ever after without Bridgette interfering? Or, will Bridgette be able to drive a wedge between them that is too deep for them to recover from? Find out what happens when the gloves come off in this twisted love story, Woman 2 Woman 2.

SORROW - The Sighted Sister (The Revenge Series)


Ann Robbins-Phillips - 2013
    Enticed by promises of work with good pay, people flock to textile mills in the South. Many leave their beloved mountains for what they hope is a step up from their grinding poverty. It’s guaranteed pay and housing. Being the sighted sister of the Hooper/Watson family, Lottie is grieved by a dream that sorrow will come to her home. Yet, she leaves Cocke County, Tennessee, with Beck Radford, her new husband, and her four children from a previous, abusive marriage, and goes to Clifton, South Carolina. Lottie is a stranger to village life and close neighbors. Life is harder than any of them imagined. In spite of hard work, widespread poverty remains a fact of life for everyone in the mill town. Lottie’s “gift” of second sight into the future is not an ability she would’ve chosen. One event she didn't see coming, yet someone else did, rips apart their life, as well as everyone’s around them.

Greta's Surprise Baby: Mail Order Bride Romance


Mercy Levy - 2019
    But, as a woman of true faith, she decides to move west and accept a position as a school teacher. When she arrives in Brown Ridge, a small town filled with faith and anger, Greta is soon cast into the middle of a family battle involving a bitter cowboy, a preacher, and an innocent newborn baby. It isn't long before Greta falls in love with the newborn baby as she slowly begins to understand that in order to save a lost soul, she must place her heart on the line. Depending on God, Greta decides to care for the bitter cowboy in order to lead his heart away from the anger eating him alive. But caring for an angry man with the hopes of changing him into a healed man isn't as easy as Greta hopes. Facing off against anger and pain, she steps into a battle that must be won for the sake of a newborn baby, a desperate preacher, and a bitter cowboy that is being destroyed by his own anger. Will Greta's faith overcome the dark clouds facing her? Or will the storm she is thrust into destroy all of her hope?

Tame the Savage Heart


Michael Edwin Q. - 2019
    She was a young slave girl. He was an African warrior purchased at a slave auction with the intent he would father a new breed of stronger slave. Despite all odds, a language barrier and the disapproval of her family and friends, the two fight for a life together.