Book picks similar to
The Handfasting by David Burnett
romance
fiction
adult-fiction
bookbub-historical-romance
Decades
Ruth Harris - 1974
Three Decades.Spanning the years from the optimistic post-War 1940s to the Mad Men 1950s and rebellious “Make Love, Not War” 1960s, Decades is about three generations of women who must confront the radical changes and upended expectations presented by the turbulent decades in which they lived.Evelyn, talented but insecure, faithful to the traditional values she grew up with, is a loyal and loving wife and mother whose marriage and family mean everything to her.Nick, handsome and ambitious, a chameleon who changes with the changing times, is her successful but restless husband.Joy, their daughter, coming of age at a time of anger and rebellion, needs them both but is torn between them.Barbara is the other woman. Younger than Evelyn, accomplished but alone, she wonders if she can have everything--including another woman's husband.But can she? Is she willing to pay the price? And how will Evelyn handle her rebellious daughter, her straying husband and the threat to her identity?DECADES, sweeping in scope yet intimate in detail, is the emotional, compelling story of family, marriage, crisis, betrayal and healing.DECADES was originally published in hard cover by Simon & Schuster.
Protecting Paige
Deby Eisenberg - 2015
It is the still innocent year of 1962, and twelve-year-old Paige Noble awakens in a hospital room in Chicago. She has no memory of the random act of gang violence that has left her injured and orphaned. As she waits for her famous uncle to come for her, Paige develops a bond with Gladys, a comforting black nurse’s aide, unaware that Gladys’s son was involved in the crime. Soon, the charismatic Maxwell Noble, a celebrated photographer, is located in Europe and rushes to her side. Although he has led a globetrotting bachelor life, he surprises Paige by embracing his new responsibility. He reveals to her a family legacy in the headlines, beginning with the 1915 Eastland disaster on the Chicago River. But Maxwell struggles to hide his long-time obsession with Paige’s mother, his enchanting French sister-in-law. When Paige discovers her mother’s hidden diary, the secrets of the past begin to surface. Paige and her uncle embark on a journey to France, retracing events of WWII and the Holocaust, in an effort to find the one remaining family member they could claim. Her parents were always intent on protecting Paige, but Maxwell allows her to embrace the Jewish history and heritage that she was denied. A beautiful and moving story about a young girl’s coming-of-age and a man’s quest for a lost love, Protecting Paige combines family drama and fascinating historical detail to create a rich, thought-provoking world.
The Taste of Air
Gail Cleare - 2016
Her mother, Mary, is in a hospital in Vermont. But her mother is supposed to be safely tucked away in an assisted-living facility in Massachusetts, so Nell can’t fathom why she would be so far from home.After notifying her sister, Bridget, Nell hops on a plane and rushes to her mother’s side. There, she discovers that her mother has been living a second life. Mary has another home and a set of complex relationships with people her daughters have never met.When Nell and Bridget delve deeper into their mother’s lakeside hideaway, they uncover a vault of family secrets and the gateway to change for all three women.
The Gilded Curse
Marilyn Turk - 2018
Ten years before, the family quit coming to the exclusive Millionaire’s Club after a series of freak accidents. Her mother believed God cursed the island. Locals say it’s haunted. Russell Parker, whose family has worked at the Jekyll Island Hotel since it opened in 1887, knows many secrets. For the past ten years, he has kept his promise to Lexie’s brother to conceal the incident that ended the Smithfield’s resort vacations. When Lexie and Russell meet again as adults, familiar feelings of friendship mix with new ones of attraction. Set at a time when the resort’s popularity has waned due to the Depression and World War II, many of the cottages have been abandoned, casting a cloud of gloom over the island. Lexie and Russell face threats from the outside such as German U-boats offshore, as well as their own fears of exposure and rejection. Is Lexie’s destiny cursed by the family’s history, or will Russell help her learn the truth and find peace? Or does the truth threaten someone else, putting both their lives at risk?
Named of the Dragon
Susanna Kearsley - 1998
Tormented by horrific nightmares since the death of her baby five years before, literary agent Lyn Ravenshaw agrees to accompany an author to Wales, where she encounters an eccentric young widow desperately afraid for her own infant's safety and a reclusive playwright who could be her only salvation.
Going Home
Judith S. Keim - 2019
She makes it to San Francisco, but soon learns she needs a job if she’s to live properly. A kind, young man named Kenton Chandler offers her a sandwich and a job at his father’s inn and vineyards. With nothing to lose, Lettie takes him up on his offer and begins a whole new life in the Willamette Valley, Oregon. She immediately falls in love with the land and is fascinated with the idea of growing grapes in order to make wines. She, Kenton, and Rafe Lopez become friends as she learns about running the small inn on the property. At the same time she marries Kenton, a stroke kills his father. And then before she can tell Kenton she’s pregnant, he dies in an automobile accident. Heartbroken and burdened with the gift of the Chandler Hill Inn and Winery, she’s left with the task of making them a success. Struggling to raise a child alone while working to grow the business, Lettie makes a shocking discovery that changes everything.
More Than Words
Jill Santopolo - 2019
Raised by her father, owner of New York City's glamorous Gregory Hotels, after her mother's death, Nina was taught that family, reputation, and legacy are what matter most. And her boyfriend Tim, thoughtful, kind, and honest, not to mention her best friend since childhood, feels the same. But after Nina's father passes away, she learns he may not have practiced what he preached. As her world falls apart, Nina begins to question everything she thought she knew and to see the men in her life--her father, her boyfriend, and unexpectedly, her handsome and attentive boss, Rafael--in a new light. Soon Nina finds herself caught between the world she knows and loves, and a passion that could upend everything.More than Words is a heartbreaking and romantic novel about grief, loss, love, and self-discovery, and how we choose which life we are meant to live.
Broken Dreams
Traci Hunter Abramson - 2021
Now a coach, her father Gordon is living his dreams through the skaters he trains—until Maggie is forced to deliver heartbreaking news: her mother’s battle against cancer will be a losing one. Shattered, her father loses his dreams in an instant—his beloved wife and his will to coach. Left to pick up the pieces, a devastated Maggie finds herself relying on the steadfast support of her childhood best friend, Lance Whitmore. Despite the fact that Maggie has never seen Lance as more than a friend, his heart has always been hers. Lance does what he can to help Maggie work through her grief, and soon their friendship blossoms into love. But when distance threatens their relationship, Maggie is torn between building a life with the man she loves and helping her broken father rebuild his life.
A Winter's Love
Madeleine L'Engle - 1957
Tenuously holding on to a failing marriage, Emily Bowen finds herself caught up in a relationship with a man who offers her the love and affection she so desperately desires.
The Colonel's Brother
Stephanie Vale - 2021
Fitzwilliam Darcy and his cousin Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam are making their annual visit to the estate of their aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, and her daughter Anne. Lady Catherine has not given up her plan for Anne to marry her cousin Darcy. But a few months ago Darcy met a young woman, Elizabeth Bennet, who attracts him more than anyone he has ever known, and as luck would have it she is also in Kent, just next door, visiting her best friend, who is married to Lady Catherine’s parson.Then Richard’s elder brother, the Viscount Leicester, shows up unexpectedly. He is looking for a wife, and the very pretty Miss Elizabeth catches his eye….The Colonel's Brother is a Pride and Prejudice variation of approximately 44,000 words.Content warning: self-harm. Recommended for readers at least 13 years of age.
I Heart New York
Lindsey Kelk - 2009
But events don't go as planned. And when a girl is in possession of a crumpled bridesmaid dress - and can't go home - New York (for the very first time) seems like an excellent idea. Angela's new friend Jenny Lopez gives Angela a whirlwind tour of the city that never sleeps, and a makeover. Who hasn't dreamed of starting afresh with a sassy New York wardrobe, a new haircut and a trip to the make-up counter? Before she knows it, the new Angela is getting over her broken heart by having dinner with two different boys. And, best of all, she gets to write about it in her fabulous new blog. But it's one thing telling readers all about your romantic dilemmas. It's another trying to figure them out for yourself! Warm, funny and unputdownable, I Heart New York is an unforgettable debut.
An American Love Story
Rona Jaffe - 1990
. . and their foolish choice. In love with the same man. The wrong man. Women found him so easy to love. Clay Bowen had it all—charisma, good looks, and power in the glamorous world of television. Laura, the delicate dancer, gave up her dazzling career to marry him and have his child. Nina excelled at everything—except capturing her father’s complete attention. Bambi, his ruthless young “assistant,” thought she was using him. And Susan, a brilliant writer, couldn’t bear to think their twenty-year bicoastal romance was too good to be true. In her most riveting novel since The Best of Everything, Rona Jaffe weaves a compelling story of passion and obsession. Moving from the glittering capitals of the world and the epicenter of the TV and movie industries to the darkest depths of the human heart, she holds her readers captive to the very last page. Praise for An American Love Story
“Jaffe comprehends the ambivalence of women in love like few other contemporary novelists.”—New Woman
“Compelling . . . a novel of growth, despair, destruction and realization—a novel to read and have a daughter read.”—UPI “Savvy and sharp.”—St. Petersburg Times
“Thoughtful, provocative.”—San Antonio Express-News
Fakers
Meg Collett - 2014
Her bubbling personality and fresh beauty capture her audience each week, but they don't know the truth-she's just faking it. Beneath the surface of light-hearted smiles is a simmering darkness threatening to pull Kyra under. When Kyra moves to Canaan Island and buys her deceased mother's childhood home, she hopes to confront the lurking shadows haunting her every step. But when she meets her grumpy contractor, even her best-laid plans start to unravel. Hale Cooper is as brutally honest as he is intriguing. He hates fakers, and isn't afraid to call Kyra on her false personality. Yet, she is drawn to him, and the unexpected attraction to a man who challenges her to be her true self lands her in unchartered waters. But if she lowers her guard and allows herself to be honest with Hale, will the darkness creep in too?*This book is recommended for mature readers due to some sexual content and language. Cutting is represented in this book, and scenes may be considered triggering to some.*
Happily Ever After
Harriet Evans - 2012
At twenty-two, Eleanor Bee is sure about three things: she wants to move to London and become a literary superstar; she wants to be able to afford to buy a coffee and croissant every morning; and after seeing what divorce did to her parents—especially her mum—she doesn’t believe in happy endings. Elle moves to London. She gets a job at Bluebird Books, a charmingly old-fashioned publisher. She falls out of bars, wears too-short skirts, makes lots of mistakes, and feels like she’s learning nothing and everything at the same time. And then, out of the blue, she falls in love, and that’s when she realizes just how much growing up she has to do. Ten years on, Elle lives in New York, and you could say she has found success; certainly her life has changed in ways she could never have predicted. But no matter where you go and how much you try to run away, the past has a funny way of catching up with you...
The Stanford Lasses
Glenice Crossland - 2006
They lost. They lived.
In the small Yorkshire town of Cottenly - dominated by the steel works and surrounded by beautiful countryside - Isaac Stanford lives with his wife Emily and their three lovely daughters, known locally as the Stanford lasses. Alice, the eldest, lives only for her work as a secretary and chapel on Sunday. Fair and loving Lizzie is content with her job making umbrellas - until she falls in love with George Crossman and all she desires is to be a wife and mother. And headstrong Ruth, the merry one, is intent upon marrying handsome charmer, Walter Wray, despite warnings from friends and family.
Already emotionally damaged by a traumatic childhood, Alice struggles to lead a normal life. Poor but happy with her ever increasing family, with the onset of war, Lizzie faces the threat of losing all she holds dear. And Ruth soon realises she has made a terrible mistake in her marriage as she becomes trapped in a life of poverty and violence. As the years pass each sister is forced to confront her greatest challenge ...