Book picks similar to
Matilda Windsor Is Coming Home by Anne Goodwin
fiction-europe
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The Air Between Us
Deborah Johnson - 2008
Black people live on one side of town and whites live on the other. The two rarely mix, or so everyone believes. But the truth is brought to the forefront when Billy Ray Puckett, a white man wounded while hunting, shows up at the segregated Doctors Hospital. No one thinks much of his death—just a typical hunting accident—until the sheriff orders an investigation.Suddenly the connections between whites and blacks are revealed to be deeper than anyone expected, which makes the town's struggle with integration that much more complicated. Dr. Cooper Connelly, who hails from a prominent white family, takes an unexpectedly progressive view toward school integration; while the esteemed Dr. Reese Jackson, so prominent he has garnered an Ebony profile, tries to stay above the fray. With fully realized characters and a mystery that will keep readers turning pages until the end, The Air Between Us is a heart-filled, endearing tale.
Seventh Heaven
Alice Hoffman - 1990
She's divorced. She wears a charm bracelet and high heels and red toreador pants. And the way she raises her kids is a scandal. But as time passes, the neighbors start having second thoughts about Nora. The women’s apprehension evolves into admiration. The men’s lust evolves into awe. The children are drawn to her in ways they can't explain. And everyone on this little street in 1959 Long Island seems to sense the possibilities and perils of a different kind of future when they look at Nora Silk...This extraordinary novel by the author of The River King and Local Girls takes us back to a time when the exotic both terrified and intrigued us, and despite our most desperate attempts, our passions and secrets remained as stubbornly alive as the weeds in our well-trimmed lawns.
The Scavenger's Daughters
Kay Bratt - 2013
Together they build a fulfilling life around the most menial of jobs—Benfu’s work collecting trash. As he sorts through the discards of others, he regularly discovers abandoned children. With unwavering determination, he and Calli spend decades creating a family of hand-picked daughters that help heal the sorrow and brighten their modest home. But all is not perfect and when crisis threatens to separate their family, Benfu—or possibly his band of headstrong daughters—must find a way to overcome the biggest hardship yet. Inspired by a true story, and set against the backdrop of a country in transition, The Scavenger’s Daughters is a sweeping present day saga of triumph in the face of hardship, and the unbreakable bonds of family against all odds.
The Book of Aron
Jim Shepard - 2015
He and a handful of boys and girls risk their lives by scuttling around the ghetto to smuggle and trade contraband through the quarantine walls in hopes of keeping their fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters alive, hunted all the while by blackmailers and by Jewish, Polish, and German police, not to mention the Gestapo.When his family is finally stripped away from him, Aron is rescued by Janusz Korczak, a doctor renowned throughout prewar Europe as an advocate of children’s rights who, once the Nazis swept in, was put in charge of the Warsaw orphanage. Treblinka awaits them all, but does Aron manage to escape — as his mentor suspected he could — to spread word about the atrocities? Jim Shepard has masterfully made this child's-eye view of the darkest history mesmerizing, sometimes comic despite all odds, truly heartbreaking, and even inspiring. Anyone who hears Aron's voice will remember it forever.
The Bloodletter's Daughter: A Novel of Old Bohemia
Linda Lafferty - 2012
But the emperor hides an ugly secret: his bastard son, Don Julius, is afflicted with a madness that pushes the young prince to unspeakable depravity. Desperate to stem his son’s growing number of scandals, the emperor exiles Don Julius to a remote corner of Bohemia where the young man is placed in the care of a bloodletter named Pichler. The bloodletter’s task: cure Don Julius of his madness by purging the vicious humors coursing through his veins.When Pichler brings his daughter Marketa to assist him, she becomes the object of Don Julius’s frenzied --and dangerous-- obsession. To him, she is the embodiment of the women pictured in the Coded Book of Wonder, a priceless manuscript from the imperial library that was the mad prince’s only link to sanity. As the prince descends further into the darkness of his mind, his acts become ever more desperate, as Marketa, both frightened and fascinated, can’t stay away.Inspired by a real-life murder that threatened to topple the powerful Hapsburg dynasty, The Bloodletter’s Daughter is a dark and richly detailed saga of passion and revenge.
This Life or the Next
Demian Vitanza - 2017
An outsider in his own country—adrift between two worlds divided by class, race, and culture—he’s always been searching for home. Alongside a flock of other streetwise young men, each looking for direction and each easily susceptible, Tariq finds his cause in the Muslim revival.Idealistic, driven by faith, and empowered with purpose, he’s drawn to radical Islam—his last resort for achieving a sense of belonging, for embracing and being embraced. It’s only when he enlists in the war against Assad that Tariq’s eyes are truly opened. Dispirited with the violence, faced with the consequences of his choices, and increasingly distanced from the brutalities of jihad, Tariq’s spiritual struggle is now his alone. So are the stories he will tell to make sense of his life.In this daring and unprecedented work of literary fiction, Demian Vitanza explores the power of memory, the lure of rebellion, the search for meaning amid chaos—and the toll that such a journey can take before finally finding one’s way home.
The Tears of Yesteryear
Julie Tulba - 2019
Thousands settled in Homestead, Pennsylvania, a city where the skies were always black, the steel mills were always roaring, and life was bleak and harsh. One of them, Ewa Piekos, an orphan girl of 15 from Poland, wants simply to be loved and to feel like she is not alone. On the voyage to America, Ewa’s beloved sister dies, throwing her into an emotional tailspin. It’s only after arriving at Ellis Island that Ewa learns the real reason she was brought to the Land of Golden Opportunity. This secret is almost as crushing to her as the moment her sister died. From the time she arrives at Ellis Island, Ewa's life is never an easy one. It is filled with heartache and loss. But her life in America enables her to plant roots which eventually grow with the family she establishes there.
Husband for Sale
B.M. Hardin - 2021
How much is your husband “worth” to you?Nema has the perfect husband.But maybe he’s too perfect and better for someone else.Her personal unhappiness causes her to push and push, until one day, her husband is gone.But little does he know…he needs Nema’s permission to move on.Jealousy causes Nema to realize that she possesses something more precious than gold.She has the man of every woman’s dream.And like anything of value...he can be sold.But Nema is in for one hell of a surprise.Soon, she discovers she’s surrounded by lies.And no matter how hard she tries; she can’t undo what she did.She can’t change the fact that she sold her husband to the “devil” for highest bid.
Aztec Odyssey: Historical Action Adventure
Jay C. LaBarge - 2020
Wracked by plague and war, the majestic Aztec empire begins to crumble. As their beloved capital city falls to the ruthless Spaniards and hordes of vengeful tribes, the Aztecs make a last-ditch attempt to secretly save their heritage before it’s lost to the sands of time forever.Meanwhile in the modern day, a string of high-profile robberies lays waste to archaeological sites and museums across Mesoamerica, overshadowed by a brewing nationalistic fervor which threatens to topple already fragile countries. Rumors say the artifacts hold the secret to a legendary myth—The Seven Cities of Cibola—which has concealed countless treasures for centuries.Faced with unraveling the mysteries of both the present and the past, aspiring archaeologist Nick LaBounty embarks on a dangerous mission to solve a long-held family mystery and discover the truth behind the stolen artifacts.He soon finds his fate irreversibly entangled with a civilization from over five hundred years ago. But time is running out, and the future of both a fabulous treasure—and all Central America—teeters precariously in the balance.
2016
James Force - 2015
Excel in his job as a phone clerk at the Chicago Board of Trade. Climb the ladder to pit broker. Take his place next to the moneyed and powerful. Then someone tries to kill him, and he realizes his job might not be as pedestrian as he thought. As he investigates the circumstances surrounding the attempt on his life, it becomes obvious that his unwitting connection to a trading scheme has made him a target. Desperate to get his life back, Christian enlists the help of Strong and Associates, a shadow group with ties to more than one government intelligence agency. Together they work to unravel the mysterious people behind the illegal trade and to neutralize the threat against Christian’s life. But when their investigation leads them to some of the world’s most powerful bankers and politicians, they discover the threat is greater than they first believed. Now they must battle a secret alliance determined to execute a terrorist attack that will rock the world — and hand them far-reaching control of the White House and beyond.
Saint Gabriel's Gospel
Jerry Harber - 2013
Stephen Saint Gabriel and his team discover a first century codex hidden in an earthenware jar. As he begins to decipher the ancient writing, he comes face to face with the journal kept by Mary Magdalene as she followed Jesus during his ministry. As Gabriel and his team take high resolution photographs of the codex pages for study, the codex is stolen, but by whom? Is it forces within the Israeli government? Perhaps members of his own team? Or, is it a sinister group within the Catholic Church--The Dark Brothers--who seek to suppress the discovery and keep Mary’s revelations from the world?Gabriel is joined by Nicki Taylor, a beautiful and wealthy volunteer on the dig, as they attempt to protect the photographic images and make Mary’s words available to the world. And in the process they make another discovery that could shatter two millennia of teaching by Christians around the world--a discovery which they must protect with their lives.
The Cocky Cage Fighter Nine Book Box Set
Lane Hart - 2017
. Newly admitted attorney Page Davenport is willing to do anything to finally prove herself in her father’s law firm. Anything except represent the infamous miscreant, Jackson "The Mauler" Malone. Page and Jax struggle to work together, engaging in a knockdown drag-out fight for dominance. When they finally stop taking swings at each other, they're both surprised to realize that sometimes first impressions are completely wrong. ~ JUDE ~ MMA cage fighter Jude Malone leads a simple life - eat, sleep and train. While Jude's had his fair share of recent losses, he's better than his record. He just needs a chance to prove it. When Jude is offered the fight of a lifetime by his head coach, there is only one tiny string attached. But that little string just might turn out to be the one that unravels him completely. ~ LINC ~ Linc is in love with a porn star. Okay, so maybe he’s not in love with Eve Kelly, but he’s completely freaking obsessed with her. For years he’s been using Eve as an escape from reality. Why? Because Linc’s heart was ripped out of his chest by his high school sweetheart. By confronting his demons, or in this case one incredibly sexy demoness, he thinks he’ll finally be able to get his social life back. Linc didn’t consider the possibility that he could fall even harder for her. ~ MACE ~ Mace fell for Hailey the moment he laid eyes on her, before he knew about the three King Kong size battles he would have to fight to be with her. By the time Linc warned Mace that his gorgeous sister with legs a mile long was off limits and “emotionally fragile,” it was too late. There was no turning back. ~ SENN ~ The woman is pure evil. Tiny, sexy, manipulative evil. I can’t even blame my stupidity on alcohol. There was only half a beer in my bloodstream when I agreed to get into that cab with her. Nobody, especially Linc, can ever find out that I broke the bro code and slept with his ex-girlfriend, Abby. Everything was going great, until a few months later when she called and said the two words that set me up for the biggest fight of my life – “I’m pregnant.” ~ NATE ~ Burdened by his guilt, Nate’s unable to let go of his painful memories. He keeps to himself, refusing to let anyone else in for fear that they’ll learn the truth. When a nosy reporter starts investigating his past, the skeletons Nate’s kept locked up tight in his closet start to rattle, threatening to surface and ruin him. ~ TRICK ~ The fairy tales have it all wrong. Cinderella didn’t fall in love with the prince. He was nothing more to her than an easy escape from her shitty life. How do I know? Because in this twisted Cinderella story I’m her long-lost stepbrother. ~ LUKE ~ Have you ever loved someone who is completely wrong for you? God knows I have. But in my defense, I fell for Megan Warner years before my older brother Eli ever noticed her, before he asked her out and made her his. After four long years without a word, Megan has moved back to Cary, North Carolina but she’s not alone. She has a three-year-old son and I think there’s a pretty good chance that Megan’s son is actually mine.
Blown Cover
Mark A. Hewitt - 2017
Three years after being chased from office, the former president discovers the identity of the man who released his secret file. The ex-President begins to exact revenge while plotting his return to power. A fatwa makes CIA pilot Duncan Hunter the most wanted man in America. Then an airliner disappears over the Pacific Ocean. The new President gives the CIA two time-sensitive missions: find and eliminate his traitorous predecessor, and stop a self-radicalized computer scientist before another airliner goes missing. Duncan Hunter is in the race of his life to stop a jumbo jet from crashing. The CIA believes they have finally located the former president. All roads lead to Dubai where a showdown between good and evil begins on the top floor of the world’s tallest building.