Book picks similar to
In the Quiet Heart by Marianne Gowers


adult-historical-fiction
book-club
lds-fiction

In the Time of Famine


Michael Grant - 2011
    The British government called the famine an act of God. The Irish called it genocide. By any name the famine caused the death of over one million men, women, and children by starvation and disease. Another two million were forced to flee the country. With the famine as a backdrop, this is a story about two families as different as coarse wool and fine silk. Michael Ranahan, the son of a tenant farmer, dreams of breaking his bondage to the land and going to America. The passage money has been saved. He’s made up his mind to go. And then—the blight strikes and Michael must put his dream on hold. The landlord, Lord Somerville, is a compassionate man who struggles to preserve a way of life without compromising his ideals. To add to his troubles, he has to deal with a recalcitrant daughter who chafes at being forced to live in a country of “bog runners.”In The Time Of Famine is a story of survival. It’s a story of duplicity. But most of all, it’s a story of love and sacrifice.

It Happened to Audrey: A Terrifying Journey From Loving Mom to Accused Baby Killer


Jill Wellington - 2012
    An infant died in her care at the same time the unknown science of Shaken Baby Syndrome hit the media. Swept up in a media frenzy, Edmunds was accused of killing the child through SBS. She was stripped from her children and husband and sent to prison where she would fight for freedom 13 years before she was finally exonerated after updated science showed her innocence. Audrey was and is an all-American mother from the Heartland who shares her story of hope and redemption in the face of unrelenting odds. Built as the ideal reader's club book, It Happened to Audrey includes questions that challenge all readers to think of the possibilities in today's ever-changing world. Edmunds is ultimately released from prison in the middle of a blizzard and reunited with her now grown children.

Meg's Melody


Kaylee Baldwin - 2010
    She gives birth to a little girl, Melody, and finds comfort in her music and in the friendship of a tender-hearted gynecologist.

Pretty Girls: A Novel by Karin Slaughter | Chapter Compilation


James Morgan - 2016
    The book was first published on September 2015. Slaughter is known for writing thriller novels that provoke the readers’ deep-seated emotions and challenge their well-established beliefs. Pretty Girls is particularly remarkable in its ability to capture, and even encapsulate, the reality of any woman’s life in many of the daily life situations of the characters, especially those of the Carroll sisters. Like other books, Pretty Girls hints on the personality of the author, especially with her love and regard for libraries and books. Karin Slaughter headed the “Save the Libraries Campaign” in the United States America, and the character of Helen Carroll is librarian who is also the mother of the protagonists. The author’s complex character, strength, love of language, books and knowledge reflect is reflected through Helen in entirety of the story. This book is a critically-acclaimed novel that is sure to affect the reader’s image of womanhood and feminism.Read more....Download your copy today! Available on PC, Mac, smart phone, tablet or Kindle device. © 2015 All Rights Reserved by Urban Noble, LLC

The Beekeeper's Promise


Fiona Valpy - 2018
    The old château echoes with voices from the past, and soon Abi finds herself drawn to one remarkable woman’s story, a story that could change the course of her summer—and her life.In 1938, Eliane Martin tends beehives in the garden of the beautiful Château Bellevue. In its shadow she meets Mathieu Dubosq and falls in love for the first time, daring to hope that a happy future awaits. But France’s eastern border is darkening under the clouds of war, and history has other plans for Eliane…When she is separated from Mathieu in the chaos of German occupation, Eliane makes the dangerous decision to join the Resistance and fight for France’s liberty. But with no end to the war in sight, her loyalty to Mathieu is severely tested.From the bestselling author of Sea of Memories comes the story of two remarkable women, generations apart, who must use adversity to their advantage and find the resilience deep within.

The House of Stone and Ivy


Anita Stansfield - 2019
    Together, they suffered the horrors of orphanages and the workhouse, and now grown, they continue to rely on each another. When Lottie approaches Hennie about a possible position at a manor house, Hennie is eager to work alongside her dear friend. However, to secure the positions as stable hands, they will have to undergo a bold act of deception: the women must disguise themselves as men.Upon arriving at the manor, Hennie is stunned. Her new position is at Ivy Manor—the beautiful estate where her mother was employed long ago and where Hennie was raised until her mother’s death. Hennie has wonderful memories of her friendship with the son of the house, Jack, and is shocked and dismayed to learn he has vanished. Living in disguise at the manor allows her to gradually uncover the truth of Jack’s disappearance and eventually find him. Both Hennie and Jack are thrilled to be reunited, and their friendship is renewed. Soon, their relationship blossoms . . . and threatens their determination to remain concealed. With so much at stake, will they be prepared to risk everything for love?

Free Sampler of The Sea Sisters (Chapters 1-6)


Lucy Clarke - 2013
    . .Katie’s carefully structured world is shattered by the news that her headstrong younger sister, Mia, has been found dead in Bali – and the police claim it was suicide.With only the entries of Mia’s travel journal as her guide, Katie retraces the last few months of her sister’s life, and – page by page, country by country – begins to uncover the mystery surrounding her death.What she discovers changes everything. But will her search for the truth push their sisterly bond – and Katie – to breaking point?The Sea Sisters is a compelling story of the enduring connection between sisters.

The Husband


Deirdre Purcell - 2016
    Soon she has divorced her husband and, in the throes of newfound passion, finds herself quickly remarried to this extraordinary man.Her new husband has unlocked something in Marian and she feels high on life as never before, even when a darker side to his nature begins to reveal itself.Nothing can prepare her for what is to follow, though, as devastating circumstances lead her on a trail to Daniel's home in Ireland, and in turn back to America, as she tries to come to terms with the enigmatic nature of the man for whom she threw it all away - only to discover that nothing was what it seemed. The Husband is a gripping human story of love in its many guises, of losing everything and ultimately - in the small Midlands village of Glanmilish - of rediscovering the meaning of family.

The Last Road Trip


Gareth Crocker - 2015
    Abandoning the humdrum routine of life at their retirement estate, they embark on a thousand-mile road trip that will take them from the furthest corner of the Kruger Park to the blazing stars of Sutherland for the biggest adventure of their lives and one last hurrah together. Along the way, they rediscover things about themselves that they thought had long since been lost. Above all, they discover that it’s never too late to start living. Gareth Crocker’s latest novel is all heart and page-turning glory.

Hometown Weekly


Bruce Lindsay - 2008
    After more than thirty years of being asked the same question—"Why don't you give us some good news for a change?"—veteran television news anchor Bruce Lindsay obliges us with humorous and heartwarming stories from the idyllic town that we believe we grew up in—or wished we did. Inspired from the stories found in real small-town newspapers, Bruce Lindsay introduces us to the down-to-earth, foible-filled characters from Parley's Grove—folks who can make the mundane mesmerizing and the absurd endearing. Warm, poignant, and always hilarious, these affectionate vignettes of small-town life will help you remember who you are and where you're from.

Moment of Truth


Cheri J. Crane - 2005
    But while on vacation with her family in Mexico, she meets Ed, a seventeen-year-old Baptist from Illinois who is spending his vacation building houses for the homeless. Laurie returns to Utah determined to make a difference through her actions and weekly editorial in the student newspaper.Unfortunately, she finds her best friend, Roz, has also changed. Their strong-willed personalities collide as they stand on opposite sides of a heated battle involving popularity and Church standards. As Laurie writes impassioned pleas in the student newspaper for how things ought to be, she seems to further alienate herself from her peers, leaving her with only her new-found friend in Illinois. In the end, Laurie discovers how difficult and terrifying--and absolutely worthwhile--it is to truly stand for something.

The Paris Architect


Charles Belfoure - 2013
    So when a wealthy industrialist offers him a large sum of money to devise secret hiding places for Jews, Lucien struggles with the choice of risking his life for a cause he doesn’t really believe in. Ultimately he can’t resist the challenge and begins designing expertly concealed hiding spaces—behind a painting, within a column, or inside a drainpipe—detecting possibilities invisible to the average eye. But when one of his clever hiding spaces fails horribly and the immense suffering of Jews becomes incredibly personal, he can no longer deny reality.Written by an expert whose knowledge imbues every page, this story becomes more gripping with every life the architect tries to save.