Book picks similar to
Life's What You Make It by Siân O'Gorman
netgalley
ebook
chick-lit
arc
Lost For Words
Stephanie Butland - 2017
. .Loveday Cardew prefers books to people. If you look closely, you might glimpse the first lines of the novels she loves most tattooed on her skin. But there are things she'll never show you.Fifteen years ago Loveday lost all she knew and loved in one unspeakable night. Now, she finds refuge in the unique little York bookshop where she works.Everything is about to change for Loveday. Someone knows about her past. Someone is trying to send her a message. And she can't hide any longer.Lost for Words is a compelling, irresistible and heart-rending novel, with the emotional intensity of The Shock of the Fall and all the charm of The Little Paris Bookshop and 84 Charing Cross Road.
A French Affair
Jennifer Bohnet - 2020
What’s not to love!' Lucy Coleman
'This was the first Jennifer Bohnet book I've read, but it definitely won't be the last. A beautifully written and heart-warming tale of family and friendship, I was completely transported to the south of France' Jessica Redland, author of The Secret to Happiness'A perfect summer read! I couldn’t stop myself from turning the pages and read it in one sitting. I absolutely loved it. Highly recommended!' Alison Sherlock, author of A House To Mend A Broken HeartWhat readers are saying about A French Affair:‘An absolute treat to read’’It is a lovely story to escape into with fantastic characters, a beautiful setting, strong friendships and, of course, romance. It is another enchanting read from this highly talented author.’’An uplifting and emotional tale of secrets, renewal and second chances’’The author really is a wonderful storyteller, and I thoroughly enjoyed the way this one unfolded – perfectly paced, a few surprises along the way, that strong focus on family and friendship, a couple of satisfying romances, and the vividly drawn setting.’’It makes me want to rent a cabin in the mountains and sit by the fire looking up at the stars while roasting marshmallows.’’The plot was interesting and the love interest was perfect. All in all, a pure escapism read.’
Living your best life
Maxine Morrey - 2022
Most days Bee does not feel as if she is ‘living her best life’.Sure she has a loyal group of friends, a job she’s good at, and a small London flat to call home, but a lot of the time, Bee feels as if no one actually ‘sees’ her. Her best friend, the unfeasibly handsome and successful Luca Donato does not have that problem. People are practically falling over themselves whenever they see Luca, but one thing the two friends do have in common, is they haven’t yet found the ‘One’. When their friend Tia challenges them to change all that through online dating, Luca and Bee set about the task with very different levels of enthusiasm.The saying goes that you have to kiss a lot of frogs to find your prince, and it’s not long before Bee is ready to admit defeat. But with Luca inundated with potential love interests, Bee is determined not to give up. Surely her perfect partner is out there somewhere…
If I Fall
Ella Harper - 2018
I’m really sorry for what I’m about to do...
It’s fifteen years since graduation, and Connie, Jonas, JJ and Layla have managed to remain close despite the odds. They’ve supported each other, but are some things too big for friendship?Connie is desperate to maintain the veneer of perfect family life.Jonas is feeling the pressure at work.Layla’s career is unravelling thanks to her ill motherJJ’s past is catching up with him.When they stumble and fall, who will be there to catch them?A truly powerful and unforgettable story of love, friendship, and real life, If I Fall is perfect for readers of Alice Peterson, Amanda Prowse and Lianne Moriarty. Praise for Ella Harper:
‘You won’t be able to stop reading’
Heat Magazine
‘This book was heartbreaking but beautiful...Such a joy to read, while holding back tears’ Til Then Smile Often‘Only very rarely does a book come along that captures me and engages me as much as this one did… But don't despair, the ending was uplifting and filled with promise’ Bookish Bits‘I finished the book with a whopping big lump in my throat but with joy in my heart’ JaffaReads‘Wonderful, heart-breaking and poignant… The story touched me to the core with its deeply moving plot, beautiful characters and a unique, inspiring and insightful plot’ Read Day and Night
‘A great book to curl up with’
Daily Mail
‘I had tears in my eyes’ Bookworms and Shutterbugs‘A beautiful emotional story… I shed quite a few tears while reading this book. It's a marvelous must-read’ With Love for Books‘I have a feeling this book will stay with me for a long time’ Lilac Mills‘Warm, perceptive and razor sharp. It’s everything you want from a novel’ Veronica Henry
Sisters One, Two, Three
Nancy Star - 2017
With memories locked away, the sisters take divergent paths. Callie disappears, Mimi keeps so busy she has no time to think, and Ginger develops a lifelong aversion to risk that threatens the relationships she holds most dear.When a whispered comment overheard by her rebellious teenage daughter forces Ginger to reveal a long-held family secret, the Tangles’ carefully constructed web of lies begins to unravel. Upon the death of Glory, the family’s colorful matriarch, and the return of long-estranged Callie, Ginger resolves to return to Martha’s Vineyard and piece together what really happened on that calamitous day when a shadow fell over four sun-kissed siblings playing at the shore. Along with Ginger’s newfound understanding come the keys to reconciliation: with her mother, with her sisters, and with her daughter.At turns heartbreaking, humorous, and hopeful, Sisters One, Two, Three explores not only the consequences of secrets—even secrets kept out of love—but also the courage it takes to speak the truth, to forgive, and to let go.
The Dream Daughter
Diane Chamberlain - 2018
When Caroline Sears receives the news that her unborn baby girl has a heart defect, she is devastated. It is 1970 and there seems to be little that can be done. But her brother-in-law, a physicist, tells her that perhaps there is. Hunter appeared in their lives just a few years before—and his appearance was as mysterious as his past. With no family, no friends, and a background shrouded in secrets, Hunter embraced the Sears family and never looked back. Now, Hunter is telling her that something can be done about her baby's heart. Something that will shatter every preconceived notion that Caroline has. Something that will require a kind of strength and courage that Caroline never knew existed. Something that will mean a mind-bending leap of faith on Caroline's part.And all for the love of her unborn child.A rich, genre-spanning, breathtaking novel about one mother's quest to save her child, unite her family, and believe in the unbelievable. Diane Chamberlain pushes the boundaries of faith and science to deliver a novel that you will never forget.
Beauty Among Ruins
J'nell Ciesielski - 2021
But just as she is banished overseas to England as a “cure” for her frivolous ways, the Great War breaks out and wreaks havoc. She joins her cousin in nursing the wounded at a convalescent home deep in the wilds of Scotland at a crumbling castle where its laird is less than welcoming.Alec MacGregor has given his entire life to preserving his home of Kinclavoch Castle, but mounting debts force him to sell off his family history bit by bit. Labeled a coward for not joining his countrymen in the trenches due to an old injury, he opens his home to the Tommies to make recompense while he keeps to the shadows. But his preference for the shadows is shattered when a new American nurse comes streaming into the castle on a burst of light.Lily and Alec are thrown together when a series of mysterious events threatens to ruin the future of Kinclavoch. Can they put aside their differences to find the culprit before it’s too late, or will their greatest distraction be falling in love?
A Week at the Shore
Barbara Delinsky - 2020
It's been twenty years since she's been gone—running from the scandal that destroyed her parents' marriage, drove her and her two sisters apart, and crushed her relationship with her first love. But going home is fraught with emotional baggage—memories, mysteries and secrets abound.Mal's thirteen-year-old daughter, Joy, has never been to the place where Mal's life was shaped and is desperate to go. Fatherless, she craves family and especially wants to spend time with the grandfather she barely knows.In just seven watershed days on the Rhode Island coast three women will test the bonds of sisterhood, friendship and family, and discover the role that love and memory plays in defining their lives.
The Christmas Room
Catherine Anderson - 2017
Widow Maddie McLendon has uprooted her life to move to Rustlers Gulch with her son and grandson. But as a brutal Montana winter looms on the horizon, contractors have yet to break ground on their new house, leaving them to live in a makeshift camp of trailers, tents, and sheds....Since his wife died six years earlier, millionaire rancher Sam Conacher has been content to wallow in his grief alone, while keeping a tight rein on his twenty-six-year-old daughter. But now the girl has gone and fallen in love with his foolish new neighbor’s no-good son....Maddie and Sam will never see eye to eye on anything, until a near-tragedy gives them a true glimpse into each other’s souls. And as the first snowflakes begin to fall, they’ll discover that an open heart is the biggest gift of all....
Claiming Grace
Susan Stoker - 2017
But it’s not long before Logan runs into Grace Mason, his best friend from high school…and the woman who never answered his letters during his Army years.Grace was pleasantly surprised to see Logan return to Castle Rock, despite their falling-out ten years ago. Everyone always assumed they would end up together, including Grace, who had eyes only for him. But as Logan eventually escaped their town, Grace got pulled further into her family’s controlling grasp—and farther away from the man she loved.Now, united by scars both visible and not, the two must fight to free Grace from the suffocating hold of her family. But the Masons won’t let go easily—and they’ll do whatever it takes to keep the couple apart.
In Twenty Years
Allison Winn Scotch - 2016
Now, mostly estranged from one another, the remaining five reluctantly gather at that same house on the eve of what would have been Bea’s fortieth birthday.But along with the return of the friends come old grudges, unrequited feelings, and buried secrets. Catherine, the CEO of a domestic empire, and Owen, a stay-at-home dad, were picture-perfect college sweethearts—but now teeter on the brink of disaster. Lindy, a well-known musician, is pushing middle age in an industry that’s all about youth and slowly self-destructing as she grapples with her own identity. Behind his smile, handsome plastic surgeon Colin harbors the heartbreaking truth about his own history with Bea. And Annie carefully curates her life on Instagram and Facebook, keeping up appearances so she doesn’t have to face the truth about her own empty reality.Reunited in the place where so many dreams began, and bolstered by the hope of healing, each of them is forced to confront the past.
Lake Season
Denise Hunter - 2019
bestselling author Nathanial Grey) is a reclusive author with a bad case of writer’s block. Desperate for inspiration as his deadline approaches, he travels to a North Carolina lake town, the setting of his next novel. There he immediately meets his muse, a young innkeeper who fancies herself in love with his alter ego.When Molly finds an old letter in the walls of her inn she embarks on a mission with Adam to find the star-crossed lovers and bring them the closure they deserve. But the guest she invites along has secrets of his own. Past and present collide as truths are revealed, and Molly and Adam will have to decide if love is worth trusting.
My Perfect Life at Cornish Cottage
S.J. Crabb - 2016
Sophie Bailey has it all or so she thinks until one day she wakes up to find that her husband of 20 years is leaving her for a younger woman. With no job, no money, no self esteem and the threat of losing her home Sophie will have to push aside her heartbreak and act fast. With a 6 year old son and wayward puppy to care for failure is not an option. As if things aren't bad enough she finds herself village gossip fodder, pursued by the mafia - playground variety, forced into servitude and resigns herself to a lifetime of shopping in Poundland. On the plus side there is the gorgeous Mr Rainford on hand to fantasise about twice a day. The only one she can count on is her totally mad friend who thinks that life is like one of the books on her Kindle. With her 40th birthday looming Sophie doesn't think that it can get any worse - she was wrong. Suddenly Sophie's life goes Viral! A bittersweet love story that will have you laughing out loud before crying into your latte. When life explodes around you who can you really count on? This is a story of shattered dreams and broken promises. When life deals you a hard blow you have no choice but to carry on. Throw in a mad dose of humour and you can get through anything. Can't you?
The Spice King
Elizabeth Camden - 2019
Resolved to salvage his family before they spiral out of control, he returns to his ancestral home for good after years of traveling the world.As a junior botanist for the Smithsonian, Annabelle Larkin has been charged with the impossible task of gaining access to the notoriously private Delacroix plant collection. If she fails, she will be out of a job and the family farm in Kansas will go under. She has no idea that in gaining entrance to the Delacroix world, she will unwittingly step into a web of dangerous political intrigue far beyond her experience.Unable to deny her attraction to the reclusive business tycoon, Annabelle will be forced to choose between her heart and loyalty to her country. Can Gray and Annabelle find a way through the storm of scandal without destroying the family Gray is fighting to save?