Book picks similar to
Ann Devine, Ready for Her Close-Up by Colm O'Regan
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The Stone House
Marita Conlon-McKenna - 2004
It is time to return from Dublin, London and New York to Rossmore and the old stone house overlooking the Irish Sea where they grew up. But ancient jealousies surface as each sister confronts the past and the decisions they have made.For work-driven Kate it is time to take stock of her role as a high-flying ambitious lawyer and single parent; life is a battle between work and looking after Molly with little time for a proper relationship. Even Patrick, the man she once fell for, has ended up marrying her sister. Beautiful and intense Moya must take a hard look at her marriage to the charming but unfaithful Patrick and consider her own worth. For wild child Romy who has travelled the world and hasn't put a foot on Irish soil for years, it is time to finally stop running and find the courage to confront her family.A good and caring mother, Maeve Dillon has somehow over the years labelled each of her three daughters: Moya the beautiful, Kate the brains, and Romy, the bold and wild one. Now it is finally time for all three to break out of the box.
The Reluctant Millionaire
Joseph Birchall - 2017
His job bores him and his love is unrequited. Very few people pay attention to Michael, and that suits him fine. Then one day, he finds himself the winner of the largest lottery in the history of Europe – €190,000,000! Under the weight of his new found wealth and fame, Michael’s life spirals out of control until he is forced to make a decision. A decision that will capture the imagination of the entire world…
Hand of Fire
Thomas Rath - 2001
Saved by Jack, a HuMan, thought by Thanes people to be simple myths, Thane is hurled into a foreign world that he must make his own if he hopes to survive. When his only friends, Dor and Tam, try to find and help him, they are caught and tortured by a massive gathering of trolls that could bring about the annihilation of all races. Now, in a desperate search to find and save his friends, Thane must come to grips with his powers and himself before all is lost to the gathering storm of evil. An epic tale of good versus evil, Hand of Fire is a written tapestry of emotion that will draw in readers of all genres and not let them go until the last word is devoured.
Unprepared: Surviving an EMP attack on American soil
Gavin Shoebridge - 2020
They weren't alone, either. Something had rendered every piece of technology useless, from wristwatches to refrigerators. Their entire state - perhaps the entire country - was thrust into a modern stone age as everything with a microchip was rendered unusable. But they had an advantage over their fellow citizens. Being 'preppers', they realized that the cause was almost certainly an electromagnetic pulse from a detonating nuclear warhead. The problem was, they were far from home in an increasingly hostile countryside as society began its inevitable collapse. They needed to get home to their supplies before others figured it out. But getting there was going to be difficult, and once home, staying alive was going to be equally challenging. The result is story of modern survival, following two ordinary people as they learn to source water & food, protect themselves from looters using what little armaments they have, communicate silently, and form a neighborhood alliance to stay alive in this cutthroat new world. Yet, despite this, the two keep their offbeat senses of humor and human approach to a situation for which they thought they were prepared - but it turns out they weren't. And just when you think they've mastered this new, unwelcoming world, everything changes. The story will entertain traditional lovers of apocalyptic fiction, but also entices a wider, more contemporary audience to the genre who want more than endless action scenes or two-dimensional characters. Unprepared is an urban disaster story for normal people, just like you.
Sorority Girl
John Locke - 2016
Three men armed with assault rifles intend to rob your house and kill your family. But of course the leader finds himself attracted to you, and—against the wishes of the others—decides to spare you. Of course, there are the usual threats: if any of you mention the burglary to the police, they’ll bust out your teeth, slice off your nipples, and kill your parents. So there’s that. Obviously, you’re too afraid to stay in your home, so you spend the night in a hotel and by noon the next day you’ve finally calmed down enough to venture to the hotel lobby restaurant to grab a bite, and then a voice right behind you says: “Hello, Lindy,” and you nearly jump out of your skin because, of course, it’s him, the guy from last night, and… PRELIMINARY COMMENTS: "You know that feeling you get when you read the first few pages of a new book and instantly know you’re in the hands of a master story-teller? 'Sorority Girl' is like that." "John Locke leads you down a path filled with twists and turns and just when everything gets all serious he tosses in a scene like the coffee shop restroom and you find yourself wondering for the millionth time how he comes up with this stuff." "Once again Locke kept me guessing throughout. And even though this novel is longer than some of his others, I read it just as quickly. In other words, in one sitting. And loved it!" "When John Locke writes, I read. I don’t care what subject he chooses, or which series, I know I’m going to read it from start to finish. I keep saying “One more chapter” and then he one-more-chapters me all through the night."
Primeval Valley
Edward J. McFadden III - 2019
The town’s peace is shattered when a young boy is taken by a strange creature, and a distraught father goes on a desperate hunt only to uncover a valley that shouldn’t exist. A world where dinosaurs roam hunting prey. A world better left hidden.
A Year of Broken Promises (An Irish Family Saga, #2)
Jean Reinhardt - 2014
Even with the famine years behind them, tragedy and hardship does not stop. Promises made in good faith are broken, along with the hearts of those making them. A solicitor, a constable and a secretive organization, all play a part in determining the fate of a young couple whose only desire is to provide for their family and live a simple life.
Marsh's Valley
C.J. Petit - 2017
She knew she’d be hanged or shot if she stayed in Missoula, so she’d have to run. But where could she go? The only place that came to mind was the hidden valley northwest of town. It was owned by a loner named Marsh Anderson, whom she had never met. She was going to have to bet her life that he wouldn’t turn her in to the sheriff, the brother of her dead husband.
Ella
Samantha Evans - 2019
King Breen, Liam's father, and Cullen, Liam's brother, believe that true honor is achieved once they slay a dragon. Liam believes that dragons are majestic and do not deserve to die. King Breen, Liam’s father, brings Liam along on an expedition to slay a dragon. On one of the nights of the expedition, Liam rescued a dragon’s egg. Liam decides to care for it, and it hatches on Liam’s birthday. Tragedy strikes, which leads to Liam having to leave Derzeli, and Liam goes on the run with the help of Ella the dragon. Ella helps him escape, and runs to a barren wasteland where he saw himself to becoming a hermit for the rest of his life. But due to an event happening with the help of a new friend, and a childhood friend he has no choice but to return home. Having to make the decision to run away from his destiny, or embrace it, the destiny of a king.
The Blue Washing Bag
Mary Clancy - 2020
Constantly reminded of their mother’s unforgivable fall from grace, they suffer the consequences of her shameful act. Separated without warning at the age of eight, the bond they shared is broken.1960Molly Payton arrives in town. Shiny red suitcase in her hand – looking forward to a clean slate – hopeful of a bright future. She is forced to leave again less than a year later, traumatized … having left her baby behind.1985Years later, Daisy discovers the distressing truth of her past. Abandoned at birth, left at the side of the street in a washing bag. She has encountered many hardships on her journey which only serve to strengthen her resolve, to prepare her as she sets out to find those who are responsible … and make them pay.
Love Notes from a German Building Site
Adrian Duncan - 2019
Wrestling with a new language, on a site running behind schedule, and with a relationship in flux, he becomes increasingly untethered.Set against the structural evolution of a sprawling city, this meditation on language, memory and yearning is underpinned by the site’s physical reality. As the narrator explores the mind’s fragile architecture, he begins to map his own strange geography through a series of notebooks, or‘Love Notes’.This is at once a treatise on language, memory, building and desire, relayed in translucent Sebaldian prose in a voice new to Irish fiction.
The Good Mother
Rae Cairns
Can she save them from her past?Sarah Calhoun is a regular Sydney soccer mum, but she's keeping terrifying secrets from everyone she loves . . . and her past is about to catch up with her.When two men from Northern Ireland hunt her down, she's forced to return to Belfast to testify at a murder trial. Caught in the crossfire of an obsessive policeman, driven by a disturbing past, and a brutal IRA executioner, Sarah faces an impossible choice: lie and allow a killer to run free, or tell the truth and place her children in the line of fire.With her family and innocent people at risk, Sarah must find the courage to fight for the truth. But righting the wrongs of the past just might cost her everything . . .This taut, plot-fuelled thriller will keep you on the edge of your seat to its gripping finale.'Show me a soldier who would fight harder than a mother to save her son.'PRAISE'This story wouldn't let me go' Michael Robotham'Past and present collide on and off the page in this explosive debut . . . a pacy, plot-driven thriller that stands up against some of the best in the genre.'
Sunday Telegraph
Kingdoms of Sand: Books 1-3
Daniel Arenson - 2017
This bundle contains the first three novels of Kingdoms of Sand, a fantasy series from a USA Today bestselling author. That's over 1,000 pages of battles, intrigue, and magic.Sweeping from snowy forests to cruel deserts, from bazaars of wonder to fields of war, here is a tale of legionaries and lepers, priests and paupers, kings and crows. Here a girl travels across endless dunes, seeking magic; a cruel prince struggles to claim a bloodstained throne; and a young soldier fights to hold back an overwhelming host. The fate of all civilization stands upon a knife's edge, for under the storm of war, even the greatest nations are but kingdoms of sand.
The Wild Laughter
Caoilinn Hughes - 2020
Brothers Hart and Cormac Black are waking up to a very different Ireland – one that widens the chasm between them and brings their beloved father to his knees. Facing a devastating choice that risks their livelihood, if not their lives, their biggest danger comes when there is nothing to lose. A sharp snapshot of a family and a nation suddenly unmoored, this epic-in-miniature explores cowardice and sacrifice, faith rewarded and abandoned, the stories we tell ourselves and the ones we resist. Hilarious, poignant and utterly fresh, The Wild Laughter cements Caoilinn Hughes' position as one of Ireland's most audacious, nuanced and insightful young writers.
The Letter
Maria Duffy - 2013
But just before she sets off for a fun-filled New York hen party weekend, she finds a letter addressed to her sister Caroline. Dated only weeks before Caroline died in a tragic accident, it contains some startling information which forces Ellie to face some truths about herself, Caroline's death - and even her forthcoming marriage. Ellie has spent the three years since Caroline's death running from the truth. But as the weekend in New York comes to a close, she makes a drastic decision. As Ellie finally lays old ghosts to rest, she realises that the truth can set you free. But will she be willing to take the risk?