Book picks similar to
The Secrets of Willowra by Kadyan


nopety-nopes
0lgbt-lesbien
australia
friend-recommendations

Unfortunate Ursula Underwood


Susannah B. Lewis - 2017
    On the northern bank of the water, people live spoiled, luxurious lives. They feast on lamb and shop boutiques and want for nothing. On the southern side of the river, however, life is quite the opposite. Downtown residents know nothing but destitution and poverty, and they are not welcomed by their northern neighbors. Spinster Ursula Underwood shares an apartment with a gray and white cat on the impoverished southern side. Because of the loss and hardship she’s endured, Ursula has earned the nickname “Unfortunate”. She harbors great resentment at her lot in life, but a call on a diner payphone changes her outlook and gives her new purpose. Unfortunate Ursula Underwood takes us on a journey through an unknown world riddled with prejudice and hate, but one woman may change it all− as she learns to love the unlovable, forgive the undeserving and heal the intolerance in her heart.

Secrets


Debbie Viggiano - 2016
    But things aren’t always as they seem, as Janey is about to discover when an unexpected stranger turns up exposing a secret that shatters her world. There’s only one thing for it. She’s going to have to disappear. Garth Davis thought he had it all too, until a secret is revealed that turns his world upside down. He is left with one burning question, but he’s going to have to take a five-thousand-mile journey to find the answer. When Janey’s and Garth’s worlds collide, a thaw takes place in Janey’s heart. But is Garth ‘The One’? Making the right decision isn’t easy, especially when Janey’s own past rushes back to meet her.

Jellicle Girl


Stevie Mikayne - 2012
    Jackie—wilful, cheeky and confident, made Beth see things in herself that she'd never imagined, and do things she never thought she would. As memories of Beth's last night with Jackie grow more like waking nightmares, Beth does everything she can to forget the girl who was so much more than a friend. Beth has a self-destructive ritual she swears she'll keep secret, even from the psychologist trying to help her. But Dr. Nancy Sullivan doesn't have time for secrets. In fact, she doesn't have much time at all. She's been charged with helping Beth break through the barriers of her past, knowing very well that her own demons might end her career before she can get through to the stubborn young woman. Meanwhile, a young foster child with a wicked sense of humour, and a devastating past, reminds Beth that secrets seem powerful, but can destroy the person who holds them too close. A haunting and evocative story about redemption, identity, and learning to let go of secrets that scar.

Huntress


A.E. Radley - 2017
    After graduating, she never left her temporary job at the motorway service station. Daily visits from a mysterious woman are the highlight of her days. Until one day, when the mystery woman vanishes. Amy investigates the disappearance and makes a shocking discovery. Suddenly, she’s being framed and no-nonsense Claudia McAllister is being sent to arrest her. Will Amy’s unique approach to evading capture prove successful?

Biding Time


Lyn Gardner - 2021
    You’re born. You live, and you die, your lifespan predisposed by your species, your health, and your luck. But what if there were a species who colored outside the lines?In Back Bay, Massachusetts, dwells such a person. She goes about her life wanting nothing more than to run her business, right some wrongs, and never love again. She keeps her footprint small and her circle of acquaintances even smaller, and she’s an expert at it. So, when her neighbor, Ruby Miller, makes her interest known, it falls on ears deafened by centuries of life.Betrayal leaves scars. Imprinted on your heart and in your mind, they simmer under the surface of every hour of every day of every year, constant reminders of pain, sadness, and loss. Some handle those wounds with retaliation, paying back the hurt with hurt of their own, while others use the ache of a fractured heart like a talisman. Forever holding onto a keepsake filled with the ruins of love gone wrong, they erect walls and promise themselves they’ll never love again.Just because you deny it, doesn’t make it go away. Just because you put others in its path, doesn’t weaken its hold. And just because you’ve loved and lost countless times, doesn’t mean the right love won’t come along. Love is not ruled by the brain, but rather the heart…and even the most damaged is not immune to its sway.

The Seven Steps to Closure


Donna Joy Usher - 2012
    Things go from bad to worse when she discovers that, not only is her ex-husband engaged to her cousin - Tash, the woman he left her for - but that Jake is also running for Lord Mayor of Sydney.Desperate to leave the destructive relationship behind and with nothing to lose, she decides- with encouragement from her three best friends - to follow the dubious advice from a magazine article, Closure in Seven Easy Steps.The Seven Steps to Closure follows Tara on her sometimes disastrous- always hilarious - path to achieve the seemingly impossible.

The Hypnotist's Love Story


Liane Moriarty - 2011
    It’s a nice life, except for her tumultuous relationship history. She’s stoic about it, but at this point, Ellen wouldn’t mind a lasting one. When she meets Patrick, she’s optimistic. He’s attractive, single, employed, and best of all, he seems to like her back.Then comes that dreaded moment: He thinks they should have a talk. Braced for the worst, Ellen is pleasantly surprised. It turns out that Patrick’s ex-girlfriend is stalking him. Ellen thinks, Actually, that’s kind of interesting. She’s dating someone worth stalking. She’s intrigued by the woman’s motives. In fact, she’d even love to meet her.Ellen doesn’t know it, but she already has.

The Bushranger's Wife


Cheryl Adnams - 2019
    she stole his heart. Central Highlands of Victoria, 1861Jack the Devil's reputation precedes him. The most notorious bushranger on the Central Highlands, nothing throws him off his game ... until he holds up Prudence Stanforth and her grandmother. Jack can't help but be captivated by the feisty Pru, with her sweeping red hair and complete lack of fear.Weeks later, Pru crosses paths with the respectable businessman Jack Fairweather, and it's not long before she recognises him as the bushranger who stole her beloved necklace. His price for the locket's return is her silence ... and a kiss. A kiss that sparks something inside them both.When Pru discovers her grandmother has been keeping a devastating secret, running away with Jack the Devil is the perfect escape for her broken heart. The dangerous nature of his less-than-salubrious occupation is a poetic contradiction to her sheltered upbringing and only fuels their passion. Until that danger becomes a reality. Between the return of dark elements from Jack's past and authorities intent on his capture, Jack and Pru must fight for their future together ... or risk losing everything.A rollicking historical tale about following your heart, finding home in unexpected places - and bushrangers - for readers of Darry Fraser and Alison Stuart.

Frame by Frame


C.J. Murphy - 2017
    She travels the U.S. as a photographer for Rider magazine. A self-proclaimed nomad, Val has little inclination to settle down. But something keeps calling her back to a little tourist trap called Cool Springs in rural West Virginia. The sign at the quirky little store boasts, “Good food, groceries, ice cream, hardware, feed store, taxidermy, gifts, and gas.” Cool Springs is owned by Laurel Stemple and her grandmother Ree. Laurel is charged with the daily operations of the catch-all little store/diner and the care of her octogenarian grandmother. A frequent visitor, Val has become like family at Cool Springs. Interesting characters like Mule, aptly nicknamed for his braying laughter and Wunder, whose child-like questions keep everyone in stitches, create a unique tapestry of community in the little store. Over the years, Val and Laurel have gradually fallen in love without acknowledging it. Personal secrets and scars have left the pair unable to move toward a relationship. While covering an annual Memorial Day Ride to the Wall, a near tragic accident forces Val and Laurel to confront their feelings and fears.

The Sleepwalker


Mardria Portuondo - 2021
    

It Was Only One Damn Night


Lady Lissa - 2020
    Neither of them realized that would be easier said than done. Struggling to make sense of the situation and with Marcus putting all the blame on Melina, their marriage becomes strained. A night out with the guys allows Marcus to relax and enjoy himself without thinking about the problems he and his wife are dealing with at home. However, that one night has consequences no one was prepared for.Kalisha thought she had met her knight in shining armor. After a steamy night with the handsome stranger, she gives him her phone number. As the months go by with no word from the man she had hoped would give her a lasting relationship, she finally gives up. However, God has a way of sending us messages to teach us lessons when we least expect them.What will become of Melina and Marcus’ marriage? What will happen when Marcus comes face to face with a past he thought he had left behind? Find out in It Was Only One Damn Night…

Fighting with Shadows


Beryl Matthews - 2005
    In the aftermath of the war, Angie Westwood thinks the hard times are behind her. But when her cousin, Jane, dies of heart failure at the tender age of twenty, leaving a three-year-old son and an unresolved mystery over his father's identity, her life changes beyond all expectations. Angie immediately adopts Danny and decides to bring him up as her own, but she is torn between a desire to trace his father - for the boy's sake - and her fear of losing him to this unknown man. Concerned about Danny's well-being, Angie takes him to visit John and Hettie Sawyer, whose farm she and Jane were evacuated to during the war. The moment they lay eyes on him it is immediately apparent to the Sawyers who Danny's father is. But should they share this news with Angie? For his identity will be the most enormous shock to her...

False Flag


Mark Goodwin - 2022
    The condition upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal vigilance; which condition if he break, servitude is at once the consequence of his crime and the punishment of his guilt.John Philpot CurranJennifer Martin struggles to keep her small business afloat in the aftermath of a global pandemic. But when a blast from the past informs her of a plan to take down America, she realizes the pandemic was only the opening act. Death and destruction hang like a dark cloud over the horizon. Jennifer must steel herself for the trouble to come.Sometimes the cure is worse than the disease.Government intervention during the pandemic has weakened the economy and the social fabric of the nation. Nevertheless, bureaucrats and lawmakers refuse to change course and double down on the failed policies that have crippled the country. Rising prices and labor shortages are pushing Jennifer Martin’s small Atlanta restaurant to the brink of destruction.A bitter red pill.After years of being out of touch, Lucas McIntosh shows up at Jennifer’s doorstep. He tells her about his dishonorable discharge from the Army and about the purge designed to cleanse the military of patriots and conservatives.New laws serve to exacerbate the growing food shortage in America. Paired with crippling inflation, the scarcity triggers food riots across the country.And a fatal false flag.Shortly after the riots are brought under control, a cyber-attack brings down the electrical grid sending the country into total chaos. The assault is blamed on a group of malcontents who believe the last US election was rigged. But Lucas believes this narrative is only a ruse intended to further divide the fractured nation.With so many already in dire straits, the power outage pushes people to the edge. The crisis brings out the worst in humanity, turning average citizens into desperate savages. Jennifer and her small group of friends will have to stick together and be smart if they have any hope of surviving the turmoil.

Yesterday Erased


Andy Schrock - 2013
    An unlikely meeting with a cop and a skateboard sends his life in a completely new direction. He starts high school and, along with his group of misfit friends, soon becomes a contender on the Cincinnati skateboard scene. Along the way he quickly learns that life off the board isn’t so simple. The party life is snatching his friends away from their boards. He winds up stuck in an on-again and off-again love triangle. And he realizes that not fitting in just may be the death of him. YESTERDAY ERASED is a hard-to-put-down, 109,000-word commercial fiction piece, based on my own experiences growing up. It deals in themes any young adult, skateboarder or not, can relate to and leaves you pondering your life when you’re done. No matter who you are, you'll find a piece of yourself in this book! The author, Andy Schrock, spent most of his time growing up on a skateboard. He now makes a living creating content online as well as running his own skateboard company, ReVive Skateboards. He lives in Cincinnati, Ohio with his wife and their son.

My Mother's Man


O'Sharra - 2019
    With a mother who only cared about herself and her men, she was forced to learn how to parent sooner than she should have. Cooking, cleaning and being her mother's foot stool was just a small portion of the hell Jeanette had to deal with, and she did it all with a smile on her face. Mason Vactor is an all around ladies man and there was no doubt he loved the ladies. Fine, fly, and hardworking, his charm was sure to get him any woman he wanted; even Netta. Witnessing the abuse Jeanette endured while sharing the same bed with her mother, Mason deleopes a soft spot for the young teen and her son. So when Nett's mother threw them out with no place to go, he was there to pick up the pieces. But what happens when he turns the sweet, innocent, girl he once adored, into his doormat? Cooking and cleaning won't be the only thing she's good for. My Mother's Man is sure to bring out every sense of emotion you have. So grab your tissue and get ready for one hell of a ride!