Book picks similar to
The Christmas Key (The Magic of Christmas #1) by R.J. Murphy
holidays
first-reads
christmas
drama
Home for Winter
Rebecca Boxall - 2016
Luna always had a mean streak and, as a teenager, her selfishness culminated in an almighty betrayal from which Serena thought she’d never recover.Years later the twins are reunited by tragedy and Luna is a changed woman. The arrogance and spite of her youth are gone and, at a time when Serena really needs support, Luna sets aside her own life to come to the rescue. But her generosity is not what it seems and before long she does something so devastating that her past conduct pales into insignificance.Distraught once more, Serena and her vicar boyfriend, Will, move to a country parish for a fresh start, but Luna casts a long shadow over their dream of a happy family life. Serena wants nothing to do with her sister, but while Luna has the upper hand, it’s impossible for her to move on.These twins, torn apart by bad blood, discover that you can’t choose your relatives—and sometimes you can’t escape them either.
Celia's Journey
Heather Muzik - 2010
They have a life they love in a world they have created for themselves that is filled with harmony and happiness and a touch of chaos too. Then a tragic accident stops their world on a dime. Peace is shattered. Everything is torn asunder as a child is lost—a son and brother—and those left behind are thrust into the darkness of grief and guilt. Celia’s Journey takes the Stranes from the pit of despair through the tentative steps toward healing—testing the strength of their love, searching the depths of their pain, and finding the triumph of their spirit.
The Christmas Baby Bundle
Barbara Lohr - 2014
For five years they’ve worked at starting their family. Timed lovemaking and failed fertility treatments drain the romance from their marriage. Then Connor’s sister McKenna, a Chicago midwife, links them up with Angie from her natural childbirth class. Young and unmarried, Angie is looking for a home for her baby, due shortly after Christmas. At the same time, the couple begins working with Dr. Logan Castle on a new in vitro technique. But Amanda is afraid to hope her dream might finally come true, irritating the heck out of Connor. They’re at odds when heavy snow almost cancels the baby shower organized by the Kirkpatrick clan. Amanda’s parents haven’t even responded to the invitation. Have they given up hope as well? As Amanda and Connor teeter on the brink of Christmas hope, life bestows a surprise that could bring everything back into focus. The Christmas Baby Bundle is a heartwarming holiday novella.
Cruel Beautiful World
Caroline Leavitt - 2016
It's 1969, and sixteen-year-old Lucy is about to run away with a much older man to live off the grid in rural Pennsylvania, a rash act that will have vicious repercussions for both her and her older sister, Charlotte. As Lucy's default caretaker for most of their lives, Charlotte's youth has been marked by the burden of responsibility, but never more so than when Lucy's dream of a rural paradise turns into a nightmare.Cruel Beautiful World examines the intricate, infinitesimal distance between seduction and love, loyalty and duty, and explores what happens when you're responsible for things you cannot make right.
Christmas at Hideaway Lake (A Hideaway Lake Novel Book 3)
Terri Lorah - 2020
The Painted Table: Honoring Mother--By Not Becoming Her
Suzanne Field - 2011
A television? No need. Having friends over? A mistake not to be repeated. Unreasonable expectations and criticism? Painfully expected. And all part of "normal." But her mother's unpredictable spells of arguing with imaginary tormentors, a Norwegian heirloom table subjected to countless layers of paint during such fits, and her father's refusal to seek help for his unstable wife these too are "normal." Saffee meets the wide-open world with these secrets stowed away, and she plans to keep things that way. Jack, a blind date gone right, helps Saffee gain victory over the past, and connect to spiritual moorings.
Until Forever
Darlene Shortridge - 2010
No answer. She tried calling several times while she ate her lunch. Still no answer. She closed her eyes and rested her arms and head on her desk. She breathed deeply, wishing she had remembered to call earlier. Until Forever is a story of a young family that is torn apart by the devastating effects of alcoholism. Can healing take place in a relationship when an unforgivable act is committed? Will Jessi's pain and Mark's guilt keep them apart forever, or will unforeseen circumstances bind them together?
A Pleasant Escape
Piyush Rohankar - 2020
A chance encounter with Sarah seems like destiny’s compensation for all his hard work. He also meets buddies for a lifetime. Their life-stories of love, regret, friendship and shattered dreams take him through Kashmir and Turkey; from brothels to hospitals; and from dingy quarters to the hallowed halls of UPSC.When life finally seems to be coming back on track, he stumbles upon a truth that is bound to change him and the rest of his life.Will Alok crack the exam, or will he be just one of the many soon-forgotten aspirants? Will a strange revelation make him see his life as A Pleasant Escape?
Like Mother Like Trick
Dannaye Carter - 2013
With each penetration they gain a sense of sexual maturity. Then later decide, their sweet pea is like treasure and should be discovered with gentle anticipation. By time they realize what it’s really worth, their sexual juices have been ran dry. Get well acquainted with the main character Erin, of “Like mother, Like Trick”, as she unfolds her truth of her mother’s expectations of a woman’s Hustle. Erin, a young girl, recently graduated out of high school is given 2 choices by her biological mother, Nicole Grey. Either hustle to make it, or die thinking about it. Erin referred to her mother as “Lady” She felt no neutering connection to her mother. They were more like sisters sharing the same dwelling space. Lady explained to Erin, “The fastest way to money is through your Pussy. Every man wants some, and will pay great money for it. You better know what it’s worth and use for the better good!” Lady would explain to Erin confusing the concepts of self worth. Erin was taught Lady’s value of sex at a very young age. Middle school lunch spent in the faculty parking lot for 100-dollar blowjobs. High school study hall spent in the Embassy suits for lunch rush pussy, for her clients working on corporate exchange Blvd. Lady exposed Erin to a very lavish lifestyle, and instilled in her the importance of money over everything, including morals and self- respect. Lady insisted that Erin help with the bills as well as feed clothe and finance her own dues from the money Erin received from clients. That was her way of teaching Erin Value of a dollar. By Erin’s freshman year of high school, she had known very well what she was into. She had maintained a very big clientele, and had become a very known and skillful trick expert. Erin felt she mastered her craft, and it still didn’t fulfill her desires. She hated her hustle and absolutely fell disgusted with the thought of engaging in sexual intercourse for income,. She needed a way out. Quick,, fast, and in a hurry. She needed help and knew that there was only one person that could help her. Erin gained the respect of her mother’s current boyfriend Kahlief. In Kahlief’s eyes, Erin was ambitious determined. He could sense through body language, she hated what she was doing. Often times Kalief would introduce Erin to his well known friends in the modeling industry, photographers and agents all over the city, but those small gigs wouldn’t last too long. Well aware of what was taking place with his girlfriend and her daughter. He didn’t give a damn. He was more obsessed with the fact that, to his old hood, his bitch was the baddest; she had bread, and was upgrading his finances on a regular. And to top it off Lady didn’t give a damn what anybody had to say.Erin became very close to Kahlief. When this Double trick Empire was at its best, He knew more than anybody, she was in search for something worth much more. Something not even the highest paying customer could finance. Something that would make her stop this lifestyle and come from up under Lady’s dirty schemes and diversions. She was looking for Love. Real love, that best friend love, that I’m “sorry ladies, I have to be in by 9” love. She was determined to find it. Get involved with this twisted tale as Erin finally finds Mr. Right and falls in love with a man who has everything but only wants to be with her. Just when Erin decides she doesn’t have to resort to her sexual encounters for money, she is soon devastated as she finds Lady lying lifeless in a pool of blood
The Perfect Marriage
Adam Mitzner - 2021
Unfortunately, their newfound shot at happiness is not without collateral damage.There’s Jessica’s ex-husband. He pretends for all the world that he’s resilient and strong. If only for the sake of their teenage son, profoundly vulnerable in his own way. James’s ex has taken a different road. Bitter, vengeful, and threatening, she wants only the worst for the happy couple. And then there’s the couple themselves: Are they truly as in love as they seem?When James enters into an extraordinarily profitable, if shady, transaction with a beautiful art dealer, Jessica and James’s seemingly perfect marriage takes a dark and tragic turn.Amid suspicions, tested loyalties, revenge, and guilt, no one escapes unscathed from sins committed in the name of love.
Flight Risk
Joy Castro - 2021
After decades of turning her back on her past, she’s forced to return to Appalachia when she receives news of her estranged mother’s death.But going back means revisiting the traumatic childhood she escaped—and the family that cast her out when she needed them most. Back on the land she has inherited, she’s flooded with memories of the forest where she once roamed free, of her beloved lost brother, and of the old house in the West Virginia hills where she grew up. Her mother has left her another legacy, too, which reveals secrets that Isabel is only beginning to understand.As forces bear down and threaten to take what she has left, it’s time for Isabel to step into her power, reclaim her roots, and finally confront the painful memories that have kept her from the life she truly wants.
Evergreen Tidings from the Baumgartners
Gretchen Anthony - 2018
And this year she's going to throw her husband, Ed, a truly perfect retirement party, one worthy of memorializing in her upcoming letter. But the event becomes a disaster when, in front of two hundred guests, Violet learns her daughter Cerise has been keeping a shocking secret from her, shattering Violet's carefully constructed world.In an epic battle of wills, Violet goes to increasing lengths to wrest back control of her family, infuriating Cerise and snaring their family and friends in a very un-Midwestern, un-Baumgartner gyre of dramatics. And there will be no explaining away the consequences in this year's Baumgartner holiday letter...Full of humor, emotion and surprises at every turn, Evergreen Tidings from the Baumgartners brings to life a remarkable cast of quirky, deeply human characters who must learn to adapt to the unconventional, or else risk losing one another. This is the story of a family falling to pieces--and the unexpected way they put it all back together.
Every Wild Heart
Meg Donohue - 2017
Nine years ago when Gail’s husband announced that he wanted a divorce, her ensuing on-air rant propelled her local radio show into the national spotlight. Now, “The Gail Gideon Show” is beloved by millions of single women who tune-in for her advice on the power of self-reinvention. But fame comes at a price. After all, what does a woman who has staked her career on being single do when she finds herself falling in love? And is the person who is harassing her in increasingly troubling ways a misguided fan or a true danger to Gail and her daughter, Nic? Fourteen-year-old Nic has always felt that she pales in comparison to her vibrant, outgoing mother. Plagued by a fear of social situations, she is most comfortable at the stable where she spends her afternoons. But when a riding accident lands Nic in the hospital, she awakens from her coma changed. Suddenly, she has no fear at all and her disconcerting behavior lands her in one risky situation after another. And no one, least of all her mother, can guess what she will do next…
To Kill a Mockingbird (A BookHacker Summary)
BookHacker - 2013
Sometimes you try and it’s just so boring and impenetrable that you can’t get through it. And then, even worse, sometimes you’re asked to take a test or write a paper about it. If that sounds familiar, then BookHacker was designed for you.BookHacker summaries strip away all the subtlety and stuffiness of literature’s classic works (100% “thou”-free guaranteed) and get right to the point. Taking away all the guess work, BookHacker presents the book's warm gooey center in a concise, logical and entertaining way. Just because literary classics can be dry and boring doesn't mean understanding them has to be.In Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird, BookHacker gets to the essence of what’s going down in Depression-era Maycomb, Alabama. Told through the eyes of Scout Finch, whose youthful idealism is being chipped away by the evils of her small, Southern town, BookHacker walks you through a fight for justice her father Atticus cannot win. It's his unerring dedication to protecting the innocent (and his badass sniper skills) that gives her hope."I'm not going to lie--I used this to get out of having to read the book for class and it worked" Steven, 10th grade
“BookHacker gave me exact details and plotting, EXACTLY everything I needed to get through a dry, tough book” Rebecca, college freshman
“This was surprisingly cool and honest. Would I want my teachers to know I used it? No, but that's why it's worth buying." Andrew, 12th gradeBOOKHACKER BREAKDOWN:1. Executive Summary - This is the Who, What, Where, When, Why, How in 60 seconds or less.2. Plot - We do the reading so you don’t have to. The essential plot points of the story.3. Scenes - Every great story has a number of number of important moments that are crucial (read: "testable") to its understanding. These are those.4. Characters - If you can’t figure out what this section is about, you should probably be coloring.5. Analysis - Themes, symbolism, and all manner of insufferable literary nonsense.6. Quotes - All the intimacy of the book with none of the commitment.7. Popular Culture - Books have a way of finding their place in the cultural consciousness. You might want to know about that.8. Extras - Media, links and leftovers.