Book picks similar to
Housewife Down by Alison Penton Harper


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Fairytale of New York


Miranda Dickinson - 2009
    Once upon a time an English girl went to New York to live out her very own fairytale! Florist Rosie Duncan's life couldn't be better, she has a flourishing business on New York's Upper West Side and fantastic friends. Moving to Manhattan feels like the best decision she ever made. Even though at the time, it was her escape route from heartbreak ...For the past six years Rosie has kept her heart under lock and key, despite the protests of her closest friends - charming, commitment-phobic Ed, unlucky in love Marnie and the one-woman tornado that is Celia. Then a blossoming friendship with publishing hot-shot Nate begins to shake Rosie's resolve at the same time as her brother arrives in the Big Apple, hiding a secret. But a chance meeting brings Rosie face to face with her past, unravelling the mystery behind her arrival in New York. Rosie is forced to confront questions she has long been trying to ignore, including will she ever get her very own happy-ever-after? A sparkling, romantic comedy about an English girl who finds herself in the city where dreams can come true - or so she thinks!

Second Time Lucky


Sophie King - 2007
    Now, however, the house has been divided into separate residences for financial purposes. The Lord is forced to live in one of the humble apartments alongside his newly acquired housemates, among them a newly-divorced mother-of-three, a legendary screen goddess of the 1940s, and an American PhD student. Over an eventful year their children, a burglar, a friendly dog, a very capable cleaner, and at least one ghost will transform all of the residents' lives.

Marvellous Mary Brown and the Mysterious Invitation


Bernice Bloom - 2019
    But she has absolutely no idea who the deceased is. She’s told that he invited her on his deathbed, and he’s very keen for her to attend, so she heads off to a dilapidated old farm house in a remote part of Wales. When she gets there she discovers that only five other people have been invited to the funeral. None of them knows who he is either. NO ONE GOING TO THIS FUNERAL HAS EVER HEARD OF THE DECEASED. WHAT IS GOING ON?? Then they are told that they have 20 hours to work out why they have been invited in order to inherit a million pounds. Who is this guy and why are they there? And what of the ghostly goings on in the ancient old building? Featuring Mary Brown, star of the Adorable Fat Girl series of books, in her greatest adventure yet. This is BOOK NINE in the series, but can be enjoyed as a stand-alone book or as part of the series.

The Debutante Divorcee


Plum Sykes - 2006
    In a delightful mix of charm, cheek, and satire, Sykes returns to the glittering world of her New York Times bestselling debut Bergdorf Blondes to introduce the Debutante Divorces--high society's newly unwed heiresses.

Friends, Lies and Alibis


Debby Holt - 2011
    Now she's back, with a husband who is sapping the life from her. He is also unfaithful, a fact which Leah wished she had never discovered. Should Merrily's friends stand by and watch their old friend sink ever further into drab submissiveness?

I Do. I Did. Now What?!: Life After the Wedding Dress


Jenny Lee - 2002
    My Name is Jenny. And I'm a Wife Her Vera Wang gown still warm, Jenny Lee explores the subject no friend would ever talk about: what happens after the band stops playing and the guests go home. Covering finances, the freakish occurrences of getting beaten at Scrabble, meeting other couples, and establishing principles ("It's not that I can't cook. I don't cook."), it's the hilarious, all-too-true story of what it means to be a wife—with a real-life husband, one television remote, and the sneaking suspicion that he's using your very, very expensive, very, very hard-to-find shampoo.

Be Careful What You Wish For


Alexandra Potter - 2006
    Not just big stuff like world peace or a date with Brad Pitt, but little, everyday wishes, made without thinking. One day she buys some heather from a gypsy and suddenly her bad hair days stop, and a handsome American answers her ad for a housemate, and she starts seeing James.

Isobel's Wedding


Sheila O'Flanagan - 2000
    The Mediterranean honeymoon booked for months. A pile of presents bigger than Everest. And her lovely Tim, the most perfect bridegroom a girl could wish for. Except, two weeks before the wedding, he changes his mind... Isobel’s wedding is off.Her world in tatters, Isobel turns to Spain, a new job, a new life and as many men as she can decently manage. Including the very appealing Nico with whom, she feels, there could be a long-term future. But part of Isobel knows that she will have to go back home some day. And that, despite all that’s happened since she left, she still has unfinished business...

The Best Day of Someone Else's Life


Kerry Reichs - 2008
    The affliction hit at the tender age of six when she was handed a basket of flower petals and ensnared by the "marry-tale." The thrill, the attention, the big white dress—it's the Best Day of Your Life, and it's seriously addictive. But at twenty-seven, with a closetful of pricey bridesmaid dresses she'll never wear again, a trunkful of embarrassing memories, and an empty bank account from paying for it all, the illusion of matrimony as the Answer to Everything begins to fray. As her friends' choices don't provide answers, and her family confuses her more, Vi faces off against her eminently untrustworthy boyfriend and the veracity of the BDOYL.Eleven weddings in eighteen months would send any sane woman either over the edge or scurrying for the altar. But as reality separates from illusion, Vi learns that letting go of someone else's story to write your own may be harder than buying the myth, but just might help her make the right choices for herself.

A Feather in the Rain


Alex Cord - 2005
    I felt a real affinity with the characters and hope to one day see this book as a motion picture." Harrison Ford, actor Alex Cord novel is ablaze with passion Alex Cord has starred in more than 30 movies and 300 television shows, often portraying men of grit and toughness. As a boy, he was stricken with polio and confined to a hospital. As a young man, he made a living as a professional bull rider on the rodeo circuit, once landing in a pile of broken bones that led to another lengthy stay in a hospital. Nothing, however, could prepare him to deal with the tragic loss of his son Damien Zachary. "I went into a major depression," explains Cord. "Nothing in my life seemed to have any value, any purpose." He says he pulled the covers over his head, both literally and figuratively, unable to deal with the heartache. "I came to understand the weight of the phrase, ...died of a broken heart." He dragged himself out of bed one day, determined to write down his memories of Zach. But what began as a cathartic writing exercise soon blossomed into full-blown novel, A Feather in the Rain. The story begins by telling of Jesse Burrell, a Texas rancher and horseman who had buried his son. Disconsolate, Jesse's love and lust for life went fallow. Determined to never again experience the heartache of loss, this trail-hardened cowboy chose a self-imposed lonely and celibate existence. With great effort, he managed to struggle through the motions of his life, running a ranch and occasionally winning awards in cutting horse competitions (although the ultimate dream of a Futurity championship eluded him.) That was how his life was, and that was how it seemed destined to remain. Then through a chance encounter, he meets a beautiful young woman, her own heart shattered by the death of her brother. They immediately see in each other a kindred spirit. Their explosive love affair will set readers' hearts ablaze with empathy and passion. "Of course, I know where the initial idea for the story came from," confesses Cord, "but a lot of it? Well, the story just took on a life of its own." Cord is a private man, not given to explaining where the line is that divides fiction from fact in his latest book. A Feather in the Rain is Cord's second novel. The first-Sandsong-was published by Warner Books and has been optioned for a feature film production. He has also written and sold three screenplays. Ernest Borgnine, Academy Award-winning actor, says of A Feather in the Rain, "Alex has written one of the finest love stories I’ve ever read."

Easily Amused


Karen McQuestion - 2009
    After all, she’s happily single, with fabulous friends and her dream job working at a popular magazine. Life is perfect—until her new neighbors make her their new “project,” a heartbroken high school friend crashes indefinitely at her house, and her younger sister announces she’s getting married…on Lola’s thirtieth birthday. Suddenly Lola’s not so keen on her newfound domestic bliss. But when she meets handsome, mysterious Ryan Moriarty, Lola dares to hope she’s found the perfect guy to one-up her sister and add a little spice back into her life. This light-hearted romantic comedy from Karen McQuestion is headlined by a charming cast of characters, led by the self-deprecatingly funny Lola. Breezy and fun, Easily Amused serves as a gentle, often amusing reminder that love can often be found in the place we least expect—under our very noses.

When Archie Met Rosie: An Unexpected Love Story


Lynda Renham - 2018
    The first is to move off the Tradmore Estate, and the second is to see Paris. Archie wants for nothing. He has his five-bedroom house but no one to share it with now that his beloved wife, Cath, has died.  And then … Holly has a disastrous night out and, against all the odds, Archie meets Rosie. A funny, sad and poignant tale of how love can be found in the strangest of places.

The Dating Game


Susan Buchanan - 2012
    That’s all Glaswegian recruitment consultant Gill does. Her friends fix her up with numerous blind dates, none suitable, until one day Gill decides enough is enough.Seeing an ad on a bus billboard for Happy Ever After dating agency ‘for the busy professional’, on impulse she signs up. Soon she has problems juggling her social life as well as her work diary.Before long she’s experiencing laughs, lust and … could it be love? But just when things are looking up for Gill, an unexpected reunion forces her to make an impossible choice.Will she get her happy ever after, or is she destined to be married to her job forever?

Crazygirl Falls In Love


Alexandra Wnuk - 2015
    Coupled with an inconvenient affection toward the elusive ‘Stranger’ and her evil ex-fiancé wreaking havoc on her professional integrity, things aren't going well. Then she meets Blue, waiter and DJ extraordinaire. Penelope considers him condescending and undesirable at first, but over the course of ten days discovers he is not all he once appeared.

Did I Mention I Was Getting Married?: A Romantic comedy about weddings, new starts and taking a chance on love!


Julie Butterfield - 2018
    She had every intention of putting the past behind her and starting again, but it turned out to be so much more difficult than she had imagined. Then Daniel announces he is getting married again and as Rebecca broods over how he has found it so easy to move on her daughter phones with good news - she’s getting married too! Determined not to be left behind Rebecca throws caution to the wind and finally meets someone who can give her the new start she so desperately wants. Now her ex-husband is back in her life, the future Mrs Miles wants to be her best friend, she has her daughter’s wedding to plan and a ramshackle old wedding venue to renovate to its former perfection in just a few months, if only she can find a builder who will take on the job. There are challenges, surprises, love and heartbreak ahead but at the end of a long, hot summer, will there be any weddings? ‘ a very enjoyable captivating romance which keeps you wondering what will happen next’ MoMoBook Diary I adored Did I Mention I Won the Lottery? and was thrilled when I saw there was a sequel. Did I Mention I Was Getting Married? is every bit and good. Funny, intelligent, covering all the emotions and with the absolutely perfect ending -Tina J Sequel to ' Did I mention I won the lottery?' & it's just as good. I want to read more from This author as it took me another place. Thank you’ Christine Davies ‘This is the third book I’ve read by this author and they are all as fantastic as each other.’ Sarah Devine Amusing, insightful, memorable. A delightful follow up to 'Did I Mention I Won the Lottery?' Netnoggin