The Beans of Egypt, Maine


Carolyn Chute - 1985
    They live on the wrong side of town in mobile homes strung with Christmas lights all year around. The women are often pregnant, the men drunk and just out of jail, and the children too numerous to count. In the 'Beans of Egypt', Maine, we meet the God-fearing Earlene Pomerleau and experience her obsession for the whole swarming Bean tribe. There is cousin Rubie, a boozer and a brawler, tall Aunt Roberta, the earth mother surrounded by countless, clinging babies, and Beal, sensitive, often gentle, but doomed by the violence within him.

The Ties That Bind


Lexi Landsman - 2016
    One by the smallest bruise. The other by a devastating bushfire. And both by a shocking secret . . .Miami art curator Courtney Hamilton and her husband David live the perfect life until their ten-year-old son Matthew is diagnosed with leukaemia. He needs a bone-marrow transplant but, with Courtney being adopted, the chances of finding a match within his family are slim. Desperate to find a donor, Courtney tracks the scattered details of her birth 15,000 kilometres away, to the remote town of Somerset in the Victorian bush. Meanwhile Jade Taylor wakes up in hospital in Somerset having survived the deadly bushfire that destroyed the family home and their beloved olive groves. Gone too are the landmarks that remind her of her mother, Asha, a woman whose repeated absences scarred her childhood.As Jade rallies her fractured family to rebuild their lives, Courtney arrives in the burnt countryside to search for her lost parents - but discovers far more . . .

Friends and Neighbours: A heart-warming journey of self-discovery


Ruth Torjussen - 2021
    But when your best friend has died and your other friends have moved away it can suddenly get a whole lot tougher. Now heartbroken Jenny has a female shaped hole in her life which - despite the presence of many women - won’t go away. Grief has turned her into a first class snob.Husband Lonny preps the house for climate change and is unable to halt Jenny’s unravelling. Then gorgeous Trudi wafts into the creative writing class bringing some much needed hope.Feeling that this is the only way out of her depression, Jenny’s intention to befriend Trudi builds to an obsession while facing all manner of setbacks. A motley crew of unsuitable local women is encroaching while lovely Trudi remains elusive. Why is something that used to be so easy, now so hard?Mixing serious issues with much hilarity ‘Friends and Neighbours’ is a feel-good story for our times.‘This book made me laugh out loud in many places and shed a tear in others’ Siobhan Curham. Author. 'An American in Paris'

About a Boy


Nick Hornby - 1998
    He's single, child-free, goes to the right clubs and knows which trainers to wear. He's also found a great way to score with women: attend single parents' groups full of available (and grateful) mothers, all hoping to meet a Nice Guy.Which is how Will meets Marcus, the oldest twelve-year-old on the planet. Marcus is a bit strange: he listens to Joni Mitchell and Mozart, looks after his mum and has never owned a pair of trainers. But Marcus latches on to Will - and won't let go. Can Will teach Marcus how to grow up cool? And can Marcus help Will just to grow up?

The Shock of the Fall


Nathan Filer - 2013
    Only Matthew came home safely. Ten years later, Matthew tells us, he has found a way to bring his brother back... Unafraid to look at the shadows of our hearts, Nathan Filer's rare and brilliant debut shows us the strength that is rooted in resilience and love. Editor's Note Feb 10, 2014: St Martin's Press have just announced that Where The Moon Isn't will be republished under the UK title, The Shock of the Fall this week in digital format and later this fall in paperback. They said that the title change was necessary "because otherwise there's a lot of confusion" - The Shock of the Fall recently won the Costa Book of the Year award, which is UK based but has international renown.

"Of Mice And Men" (Penguin Study Notes)


Marsaili Cameron
    It includes character studies and summaries of the plot with discussions of the major themes, as well as a background to John Steinbeck.

We Can't Be Broken


H.K. Christie - 2017
    Once Anna is born everything changes for the better: a new sister, a new house and a perfect life. It’s as if nothing can go wrong—until Anna gets cancer. 

 In the wake of seemingly never-ending hospital stays and chemo treatments, Casey and her older siblings, Kelly and Sam, are suddenly forced to fend for themselves while constantly adapting to a new normal, which is anything but. Now growing up in the shadow of their sister’s cancer, Casey and her siblings try to survive as well as figure out their own place in the world. 

 With the family they once had no longer in existence, Casey finds herself wondering what’s next. Will they ever again find peace, happiness or each other? We Can't Be Broken is a novel inspired by true events.

Irresistible Attraction


Brenda Jackson - 2017
    So when she runs into him in New York City on business, they both see this as an opportunity to explore their undeniable attraction. But can a whirlwind of passion turn into long-lasting love?

The Black Gate


Michael R. Hicks - 2014
     But Peter Miller, an analyst at the headquarters of the Office of Strategic Services in Washington D.C., learns of a secret Nazi weapons project that may pose a far greater threat: the Black Gate. Sent alone on a perilous mission into the heart of Germany in the guise of an SS officer, Peter discovers that Nazi scientists have recreated an ancient machine that opens a portal to another universe, a gate they believe literally leads to Hell. With the help of Mina Hass, a beautiful woman who is also the lover and confidant of the madman leading the project, Peter must find a way to close the gate forever before the Nazis unwittingly unleash Armageddon…

Three Sides To Every Story (In Laws and Play Cousins)


Robyn Gant - 2011
    She shut down and sold the successful movie production company they ran together and fled the country, refusing to hear his excuses. Now she is in hiding, but is she hiding something as well? Her best friend Tracie has undergone a dramatic transformation in order to elude Angelo Gonsales, head of the Internet Crime Division of the FBI. He has discovered her identity, and tracked her location. Will she be convicted of her alleged crimes? "In-Laws and Play Cousins: Three Sides to Every Story," reunites four childhood friends, brings closure to the unfortunate circumstances and renders bittersweet justice for the true villains.

The B&B at Tigertail Beach, Prequel (Marco Island Series Prequel)


Jessie Kelley - 2021
    Her life has been going perfectly until she lets her friend, Marie, not only talk her into going to a party, but also persuade her into wearing a rather revealing outfit.Julie realizes she has compromised her values when she looks at herself in the mirror and sees a different woman staring back at her. Her usual conservative mode of dress has always had the effect of keeping rakish types at bay. So, when she meets Marco, a lascivious playboy who won’t take no for an answer, she is completely out of her depth.But fate takes over, and she is soon well and truly in love with the man of her dreams. Jim is everything that a woman like Julie could desire and she trusts him completely. He is a young entrepreneur who has recently started his own winery, and even her brother Hans appears to approve. Unbeknown to Julie, he hasn’t been entirely honest with her about his past, but the terrible consequences of that are still very far in the future. Right now, they have everything, and it seems as though their happy ending is within their grasp.Disaster strikes in the form of Julie’s would-be ravager. Marco. He has been lying low and his festering ego has now overtaken his sanity. Driven by vengeance he hatches an evil plan, which could destroy their happiness forever…Will Julie ever manage to escape from her predator and find peace and love? Will their love survive the twist of fate that brings them to the brink of disaster?Jump right in, the waters of Marco Island are beckoning. Tag along with Jim and Julie and all the characters, tension, and dramatic twists and turns of the Hart family and their friends, starting with this thrilling prequel to the 5-book series.

The Norman Maclean Reader


Norman Maclean - 2008
    But it was a role he took up late in life, that of writer, that won him enduring fame and critical acclaim—as well as the devotion of readers worldwide. Though the 1976 collection A River Runs Through It and Other Stories was the only book Maclean published in his lifetime, it was an unexpected success, and the moving family tragedy of the title novella—based largely on Maclean’s memories of his childhood home in Montana—has proved to be one of the most enduring American stories ever written.The Norman Maclean Reader is a wonderful addition to Maclean’s celebrated oeuvre. Bringing together previously unpublished materials with incidental writings and selections from his more famous works, the Reader will serve as the perfect introduction for readers new to Maclean, while offering longtime fans new insight into his life and career. In this evocative collection, Maclean as both a writer and a man becomes evident. Perceptive, intimate essays deal with his career as a teacher and a literary scholar, as well as the wealth of family stories for which Maclean is famous. Complete with a generous selection of letters, as well as excerpts from a 1986 interview, The Norman Maclean Reader provides a fully fleshed-out portrait of this much admired author, showing us a writer fully aware of the nuances of his craft, and a man as at home in the academic environment of the University of Chicago as in the quiet mountains of his beloved Montana.Multifarious and moving, the works collected in The Norman Maclean Reader serve as both a summation and a celebration, giving readers a chance once again to hear one of American literature’s most distinctive voices.

An Offer You Can't Refuse


Jill Mansell - 2008
    Then she discovers a secret that makes her think again. Dougie would probably have broken up with her in the long run, and this way she can help one of the people she loves most in the world. Ten years later, though, when Lola meets Dougie again, her feelings for him are as strong as ever. But she broke Dougie’s heart and he’s about to discover that she was paid to do it. She can never tell him the truth, so can she get him back? Well, Lola’s very attractive and very persuasive. But even she’s got her work cut out this time…

Red


Alison Cherry - 2013
    John has it all—loyal best friends, a hot guy, and artistic talent. And she’s right on track to win the Miss Scarlet pageant. Her perfect life is possible because of just one thing: her long, wavy, coppery red hair.Having red hair is all that matters in Scarletville. Redheads hold all the power—and everybody knows it. That’s why Felicity is scared down to her roots when she receives an anonymous note:I know your secret.Because Felicity is a big fake. Her hair color comes straight out of a bottle. And if anyone discovered the truth, she’d be a social outcast faster than she could say "strawberry blond." Her mother would disown her, her friends would shun her, and her boyfriend would dump her. And forget about winning that pageant crown and the prize money that comes with it—money that would allow her to fulfill her dream of going to art school.Felicity isn’t about to let someone blackmail her life away. But just how far is she willing to go to protect her red cred?

Jeffrey Dahmer: The Gruesome True Story of a Hungry Cannibalistic Rapist and Necrophiliac Serial Killer (Real Crime by Real Killers Book 3)


Ryan Becker - 2017
    Necrophiliac. Kidnapper. Killer.The stories of serial killers often begin with terrible upbringings and sad events of trauma, but not all have such unfortunate beginnings. Some simply develop their evil on their own and become tainted without anyone realizing it.Jeffrey Dahmer was a man described by his own father as the result of a child becoming lost in the maelstrom while nobody paid attention, of a child who was strange and apathetic but who nobody bothered to ask why......The results were catastrophic.Seventeen men lost their lives and were defiled even after death because of the desires of a neglected young boy who just wanted to fulfill his needs. The following is the tale of said child, the same young man who grew up to become the infamous Milwaukee Cannibal, one of the worst serial killers in humanity's history.Jeffrey Dahmer: The Gruesome True Story of a Hungry Cannibalistic Rapist and Necrophiliac Serial Killer (Vol 3) is a book that recounts the tale of the Milwaukee Cannibal, a man capable of committing the most truly degrading acts on his victims before and even after death; a man who to his last days - and long after - still haunts the city of Milwaukee with the memories of his horrific murders.Be warned, reader, you aren't just about to read about Jeffrey Dahmer and his acts.You are about to walk into his very mind.