Book picks similar to
Maeve Binchy: Three Great Novels (Scarlet Feather / Tara Road / Evening Class) by Maeve Binchy
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Welcome to Planet Lara
Eliza Gordon - 2021
Clarke.”Lara J. Clarke is used to getting her own way. Motherless at ten and raised by her oft-absent eco-warrior/philanthropist grandfather, she lives the high life afforded by her seemingly bottomless trust fund. That is, until Grandfather Archibald sheds his mortal coil in a very public manner, and Lara’s posh life is set adrift—and headed for a collision course with the gorgeous, private Thalia Island, off the coast of British Columbia. According to the will, Lara will step into the role of Project Administrator, wherein she has one year to fulfill her late grandfather’s dream of a self-sustaining, eco-friendly, family-centered utopia. The stakes are real: fail, and lose access to the family fortune—forever.Convinced Thalia Island will be an extension of the heiress lifestyle she’s long led, Lara is surprised to find her new coworkers—and neighbors—aren’t as pliable as the underlings of her former life. Even with the hunky lead engineer Finan Rowleigh showing her the ropes, Lara quickly learns just how unprepared she is to trade designer heels for steel-toed work boots. When a series of calamities reveals a sinister element undermining the security of the island and her residents, Lara and Finan must reach beyond their job descriptions to protect Archibald’s precious utopia from those who would do her harm. And while keeping her late grandfather’s flame alight, Lara finds her own flame burning hot for a charming man who wants nothing from her but her heart.
Putting on the Style
Freda Lightfoot - 2006
So the vibrant market of Champion Street is a source of many a tempting bargain – as well as all the local gossip.Dena loves her Saturday job at Belle Garside’s market café, and her ready smile makes her a universal favourite. She is soon in thrall to Belle’s two good-looking and dangerous sons. But fate has other plans in store when her younger brother is killed by a gang of thugs.Only when it is far too late does Dena begin to ask herself one terrifying question: has she fallen in love with her brother’s killer?
A moving saga of second chances and forbidden love set around a bustling café in 1950s Manchester, perfect for fans of Kitty Neale and Ellie Dean.
Praise for Putting on the Style 'You can’t put a price on Freda Lightfoot’s stories from Manchester’s 1950s Champion Street Market. They bubble with enough life and colour to brighten up the dreariest day and they have characters you can easily take to your heart’ Northern Echo‘A rattling good read to touch the heart of anyone who has loved someone they shouldn’t have’ Dorset Evening Echo‘Deftly chronicled’ Telegraph & Argus‘Freda Lightfoot’s talent for creating believable characters makes this a page-turning read’ Newcastle Evening Chronicle
House of Cry
Linda Bleser - 2017
On Jenna Hall’s thirteen birthday, her mother committed suicide, a tragedy that continues to haunt the young woman twenty years later. Now, on her thirty-third birthday, Jenna’s pain over her mother’s death and abandonment is tempered by her hopes for a brighter future—of a happier life in the new home she’s buying with her beloved sister, Cassie. While touring the house, Jenna finds a secret room—a portal that magically transports her to an alternate reality in which her mother is still alive. It is the first of many alternate existences Jenna will experience in which she discovers a different version of herself and the people she knows, both the living and the dead. Accompanying her on these mystical journeys is her ever-present guardian angel. Traveling through these alternate realities, Jenna uncovers a long lost sibling, learns about her mother's past, reconnects with a childhood best friend, and meets her soul mate. Ultimately, she discovers newfound courage, confidence, forgiveness, and love—for herself, those around her, and those who are gone.Enchanting and thoughtful, House of Cry explores the consequences of our daily choices and the power they have to shape our lives, reaffirming our faith in restoration and the possibility of personal transformation.
Honey Tongues
Helene Uri - 2006
Though they hide it from themselves, their thoughts and memories reveal the spiteful, long-buried motivations behind seemingly innocent actions. The masks finally drop during an eight-course meal on a celebratory trip to Copenhagen, revealing undisguised fear and loathing. Shocking secrets are unearthed as the balance of power subtly shifts from one to the other. Brilliantly observed, this is female bonding at its worst, manipulative, and psychotic, exposing the dependency and deceit behind the compassionate and affectionate facade.
The Slaver Wars: Books 1-3
Raymond L. Weil - 2017
Weil comes the first three books in the Slaver Wars series. Over 400,000 copies sold.The Hocklyns were a cruel and callous race. World after world fell to the onslaught of their powerful warfleets. Populations were ruthlessly reduced with the remainder becoming slaves working for the benefit of the Hocklyn Slave Empire. For thousands of years this had been the way of life for the Hocklyns, but now they had encountered an adversary who refused to bow down to their powerful fleets. The Human Federation of Worlds would not become slaves.It was up to Fleet Admiral Hedon Streth to stop the advance of the Hocklyns. If he failed, then the Human Federation of Worlds would be no more, and the entire galaxy would fall to the conquering Hocklyn war machine.
The Twin Flame Game
Adam Eccles - 2018
A group of passionate people, convinced their twin soul is somewhere roaming on the Earth and they must find and be with that person.It’s an unexploited vein of gold for a womaniser like Keith.He uses his cunning and jet-set lifestyle to the aid the task of bedding as many women as possible in a hilarious search for his one true love and soul mate. Pausing to help some lost souls along the way.But will he find her? And if he does, can he hold on to her?Your twin flame will be your mirror image, the yang to your yin. Be careful what you wish for. Your life and plans just might get turned upside-down.When the fires of passion have flickered out with a whimper, try kindling a new flame. Journey through the modern dating minefields and see if you can make it out in one piece.
A Summerstoke Affair
Caroline Kington - 2019
Juliet Peters – soap star, publicity junkie and all-round flirt – and Isabelle Garnett – ex-artist, neglected housewife and mother of two – seem to have nothing in common. But when both women try to build new lives in the country, they soon discover that in a small village there are no such things as secrets. Their husbands seem to be a collision course, too. One, the new MP returned to the rural vale where he grew up; the other the local paper editor ever on the lookout for scandal, and the story that could help him make it big. Add to the mix a wild-child teenager, a reformed rogue, a social-climbing couple who'll stop at nothing, and four old ladies with a manor house and an ear for gossip, and you've got a recipe for trouble. As the days grow colder, passions only grow warmer. Before the year is out Juliet, Isabelle, and their new neighbours must discover if their hearts really are in the country, and in the right hands. Packed with intrigue, humour and spirit, Caroline Kington's delightful novel serves up an affair to remember. A Summerstoke Affair is the second in the bestselling Summerstoke Trilogy.
Jaded Hearts (Blue Moon Series, #2)
Ambernique Legget
Really hurt. What happens when she, a simple human, is mated to Matt Stone, the Gamma of the Blue Moon Pack? Matt knows that she is the missing piece that he has been searching for but He asked first teacher about his life as a wolf, And all that goes into it before she can truly be his. When the shadows come back from her past to haunt her, will they be strong enough to overcome or will the darkness take them both?
Peggie
Lynda Page - 1994
At last she can save her family from financial ruin. Ever since Cyrus Crabbe stole her father Septimus's brake and claimed it as his own vehicle, Sep has dreamed of the day he would run a bus service for the villagers of Leicester to put the Crabbes out of business once and for all. It now looks like that day is in sight. But Cyrus Crabbe is a dangerous man, determined to stop the Cartwrights from succeeding. A wicked remark from his acid tongue forces Septimus to abandon his beloved brood, and as Sep's absence stretches from weeks to months, Peggie watches her mother sink into a deep decline. Peggie's brothers and sisters are used to heartache but when Billy is beaten black and blue and Cyrus's son Reginald turns his attentions to young Letty it seems that none of the family is to be spared... Peggie knows it's up to her to keep the business afloat and spirits raised. For no matter what obstacles are thrown her way she is determined to fulfil her father's dream.
The Unexpected Path
Barbara Hinske - 2021
Convincing her well-intentioned but misinformed coworkers that she’s as capable as ever is her biggest challenge…until Connor shows up on her door. Can they heal old wounds and give their fledgling marriage a fresh start?Meanwhile, tragedy strikes young Zoe, and Emily has a life-changing choice to make.Follow along as Garth and Emily step out, together, to meet every challenge.
79 A.D. (Bachiyr Book 3)
David McAfee - 2015
One now roams the Spanish countryside, feeding on robbers and bandits, while the other hides in a cave on the slopes of Mt. Vesuvius, experimenting with his newfound powers. Neither has thought much about the other over the last eighteen years. But Baella, the ancient renegade, has plans for the pair, and her plans don’t involve letting the two live out their lives in relative peace. Through her treachery, they are reunited in Pompeii, but not even Baella can stop the coming cataclysm. Powerful forces are rising in the world of the Bachiyr, and Taras and Theron may find themselves caught up in something much bigger than they can imagine. That is, if either of them survive the mountain’s fiery anger.
An Irish Wish: Irish Rose / Irish Rebel
Nora Roberts - 2020
Horse rancher Burke Logan is intrigued by his neighbors' cousin when he meets her on a trip to Ireland, but Erin thinks Burke is nothing but a brutish American. Impressed by her cleverness, and determined to win her over, Burke offers Erin a job at his farm in Maryland. It's a big change from her small Irish hometown, but she decides to take a chance. Even though it's clear that Burke is falling for Erin, this practical woman is determined to resist his smooth-talking flattery and bold kisses...no matter how weak-kneed they make her feel.
Irish Rebel
As soon as he laid eyes on her, Brian Donnelly knew that Keeley Grant was off-limits. Hired on as a horse trainer at the Grant family's farm, Brian tries to keep his distance, dismissing Keeley as the boss's spoiled daughter. He soon learns that she's much more than that. Though Keeley continuously brushes Brian off, something about his intensity draws her in. Maybe it's his cocky grin, or his gentle way with animals, but strangely, Keeley finds herself dreaming about the Irish rogue. Working together is complicated, as are Keeley's new feelings, and trying to avoid each other could prove to be useless when there are so many reasons to give in to the promise of first love.
To Die For
M.A. Comley - 2021
Can Sam drag them into the light in time, or will she be buried with the deadly secret?From NY Times bestselling author who brought you the Justice Series, M.A. Comley now brings you To Die For, the first book in these brand-new police procedural series, a tour-de-force not to be missed.
Forbidden Pleasures
Jo Rees - 2010
From Las Vegas to Dubai, from Shanghai to London, the fatal pull of the gambling world stretches...Savannah, pleasure-loving It Girl, wants to prove herself to her powerful, ruthless father Michael Hudson - until a terrible tragedy forces her to re-think her lifeLois, an ex-cop from the wrong side of the tracks, , is now running the gambling business of Michael's greatest rival, Roberto Enzo - and torn between the glamour and wealth of the casinos and the needs of her vulnerable young daughter.Both women have to confront their pasts, discover new loves, and find out the really important things in life before the greed and corruption of their worlds consume them.
Ann Devine, Ready for Her Close-Up
Colm O'Regan - 2019
Now that her youngest has flown the nest, Ann finds herself at a loose end. Until, that is, she is put forward for the Kilsudgeon Tidy Towns Committee. Yet all is not neat and tidy in Kilsudgeon. There are strange sightings of people who aren't local driving 4x4s with a yellow reg, a man bun requesting kefir in the restaurant and a quad bike at a funeral.What does this have to do with rumours of a brand new television series to rival Game of Thrones? And what will it all mean for Kilsudgeon's newly proposed town park? A lot, as it happens.As the town begins to fill up with the film crew, extras and a Hollywood star who is fond of the drink, everyone welcomes the chance to make a few bob and to finally get enough broadband to send an attachment.Or nearly everyone. Harmony is threatened when the newcomers seem to be doing more damage than good and the last straw is when Ann’s pride and joy - a floral arrangement in a boat - is trashed. She’s about to discover what it means to go viral…'Warm-spirited, funny, dark when it needs to be, and – most importantly – underwritten by a scalpel-sharp ear for how Irish people really speak…O’Regan never gets it wrong' Sunday Business Post'Ann Devine brings a smile to the face of rural Ireland…O’Regan satirises small-town Ireland with both affection and deadpan wit' Sunday Times'This book captures something warm and wholesome … it feels indulgent and reminds the reader of home. Prepare to laugh and grimace at the antics of the Irish Mammy' Irish Times'Everybody knows an Ann Devine ... It's hard to write a book that's funny the whole way through, consistently funny with belly laughs ... but Colm has done that' Áine Toner, Ireland AM'Laugh-out-loud' Irish Daily Mail'O’Regan taps into the wild, weird and woolly' RTÉ Guide