Book picks similar to
A Family Christmas by Katie Flynn
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katie-flynn
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All That Jazz
Dee Williams - 2008
Times are tough and, to support her sister, Daisy has to work hard as a dancer in a nightclub, getting home late and hardly seeing Mary-Jane. One night a fire starts and Mary-Jane is alone in the house. The night's events lead to the sisters being split up and Daisy May begins to fear that she will never see Mary-Jane again...
The Land Girls at Christmas
Jenny Holmes - 2017
Renowned for their camaraderie and spirit, it is these brave women who step in to take on the gruelling farm work from the men conscripted into the armed forces.When Yorkshire mill girl Una joins the cause, she wonders how she’ll adapt to country life. Luckily she’s quickly befriended by more experienced Land Girls Brenda and Grace. But as Christmas draws ever near, the girls’ resolve is tested as scandals and secrets are revealed, lovers risk being torn apart, and even patriotic loyalties are called into question . . .With only a week to go until the festivities, can the strain of wartime still allow for the magic of Christmas?
A wonderful, festive tale of friendship, romance and triumph over adversity that fans of Daisy Styles, Donna Douglas and Call the Midwife will adore.
The Noel Diary
Richard Paul Evans - 2017
Bestselling romance author Jacob Churcher hasn't been home for almost twenty years — not since his mentally ill mother kicked him out of the house when he was just sixteen. When a lawyer calls, days before Christmas, to inform him that his estranged mother has passed away and left her house to him, Jacob returns not just to settle the estate but to try and reconcile with the past and the pain and abuse he experienced as a child. Also, maybe cleaning out her house will be slightly less depressing than spending the holidays alone, watching re-runs of Christmas classics.But as it turns out, the house holds more than just difficult memories, Jacob’s mother had become a hoarder and he must excavate through two decades worth of clutter. As Jacob digs through the detritus, like an archaeologist, he uncovers many puzzling items including a diary left by someone named Noel, a young woman he has no recollection of, who stayed with Jacob’s family during her pregnancy. That’s not the only echo from the past. Jacob has an unexpected visitor, Rachel, a woman looking for the mother who put her up for adoption thirty years before. United by their quest to make sense of the past and rewrite their futures, Jacob and Rachel begin a search for Noel. Along the way they find more than they possibly imagined, including grace, forgiveness and a chance at love.
Home for Christmas
Lizzie Lane - 2014
Robert is the nephew of a Lord, and Lydia a mere doctor’s daughter – and a German doctor at that. While her parentage is no hindrance to their relationship in peacetime, when war is declared Robert’s family makes it clear they no longer approve of the match. With no means of contacting Robert on the Western Front, Lydia volunteers herself, joining the Red Cross. But her love affair with Robert has had more than one consequence…
Pride and Prejudice
Beth Johnson - 1813
He falls in love with Jane, the oldest Bennet girl. Everything goes well—for a while. Then the handsome bachelor’s proud best friend, Mr. Darcy, ruins everything.Elizabeth Bennet has never hated anyone as much as she hates Mr. Darcy. How could she ever forgive the man who has ruined her sister’s happiness? She knows everything she needs to know about him. He is proud, hateful, conceited, and horrid—and he wants to marry her.Elizabeth and Darcy’s memorable, witty battle of hearts and minds has made Pride and Prejudice a readers’ favorite for almost two hundred years.Readability Note: This Townsend Library Classic has been carefully edited for clarity and readability.Source: townsendpress.com
Blast from the Past
Cathy Hopkins - 2019
Unlucky in love, Bea learns that her true soulmate is still out there ̶ and that he’s someone she knew in a past life.Returning home, Bea revisits the men in her life and can’t resist looking up a few old lovers – the Good, the Bad and the… well, the others. As Bea connects with the ones that got away, she suspects that her little black book has remained shut for a reason. But one man out there has her in his sights.They say love is blind and maybe Bea just needs an eye test…Funny and wise, this is the perfect read for anyone who believes in finding love, no matter what their age.
A Child Of Her Time
Maggie Bennett - 2004
With so many young men lost in the Great War, including her own brothers, her life is empty and her future without hope. Until, desperate to break out of her mundane existence, she decides to take up the position of nursery maid in the London home of acclaimed playwright Harold Berridge.Befriended by the actress Maud Ling and thrown into the glamorous but fickle world of cinema, Phyllis falls passionately in love with Maud’s young brother Teddy. But Teddy’s heart lies elsewhere, and when tragedy strikes the Berridge household a heartbroken Phyllis is forced to leave.Six months later, Phyllis has started to rebuild her life but her world is turned upside down once more when is invited to a party at Maud Ling’s film studios. For there she falls under the spell of the charming but devious American actor, Denver Towers, with disastrous consequences. . .
The Gift of Christmas Present
Melody Carlson - 2004
So she couldn't have been more surprised when, shortly after her mother's death, her father revealed the startling truth that Christine had been adopted at birth. In search of clues about her biological mother, Christine encounters a family she never knew she had. She digs deeper as Christmas nears and what she finds reveals a shocking lineage. Will Christine be able to come to grips with the past, take hold of the present, and look forward to a brighter future? Carlson's warm tale of loss, recovery, and acceptance will captivate current fans and create new ones.
Where Earth Meets Sky
Annie Murray - 2007
With few clues as to her identity she endures a childhood of loneliness and loss. At eighteen she applies for a post as nanny with the family of a Captain Fairford, a soldier in Ambala, north India and his highly strung wife Susan. Lily is drawn into the emotional life of the Fairford family and adores her charge, two year old Cosmo.When, in 1907, Captain Fairford orders a new Daimler car, it is brought out by a young motor mechanic, Sam Ironside. Sam and Lily fall deeply in love, and it is only later that Lily learns that Sam is married and feels utterly betrayed. When Cosmo is later sent home to school, Lily finds another post with a Dr. McBride and his invalid wife, in a beautiful Himalayan hill station. The place is idyllic, and Lily settles for a quiet life. However, she is unprepared for the pain and misunderstandings that follow and force her to run from everything she has known . . ."Where Earth Meets Sky" takes us from Edwardian England and the British Raj, through the darkness of the Great War to the glamour of Brooklands Race Track in the 1920s. Spanning two continents, it is a story of enduring friendships and two hearts which cannot be kept apart.
A Most Eligible Rake of a Duke
Harriet Caves - 2021
Even if that means literally throwing herself at the Duke and risking her own ruination.No man is arguably more broken and debauched than Timothy Burton, the Duke of Marfront. But, according to his father’s will, he needs to wed and produce an heir. Only, he never sleeps with the same woman twice.When Diana finds herself bound to the same man she wanted to frame, she starts discovering not only his tender, guarded heart, but the big secret surrounding his mother’s death. For, she is about to follow her cold trail...
The Christmas Tea Shop & Bakery
De-ann Black - 2013
She moves to a lovely Scottish seaside town and opens up a vintage tea shop and bakery selling cakes, bread, scones and tea.It's Christmas time, and although Erith wants a quiet life, baking during the day and sewing her quilts in the evenings in her house above the shop, the local shopkeepers soon involve her in their festive plans.Stuart, who owns the shop that sells everything, flirts with her. Handsome interior designer, Muir, takes an interest in her, but is she interested in him? And what about Zack, the gorgeous bad boy?In this Christmassy romance, Erith bakes everything from chocolate bread to traditional Victoria sponge cakes. She blends her special selection of teas. She becomes friends with the local sewing bee women, Doreen, Millie and Belle. She also realises that when it comes to love, she has to trust her instincts rather than listen to local gossip.Set in a Scottish seaside town in a snowy December, there's baking, sewing, snogging and sexy men in this light-hearted romance novella. It's 22,000 words of Christmas cheer.Amid the chaos of Christmas, will Erith find time for love? Will there be a festive proposal? Who will be Santa and switch on the town's Christmas tree lights? In the busy little town there's only one thing for sure - no one wants to dress up as the reindeer's bum.
A Quilt for Christmas
Sandra Dallas - 2014
Eliza is confident that he will return home, and she helps pass the months making a special quilt to keep Will warm during his winter in the army. When the unthinkable happens, she takes in a woman and child who have been left alone and made vulnerable by the war, and she finds solace and camaraderie amongst the women of her quilting group. And when she is asked to help hide an escaped slave, she must decide for herself what is right, and who can she can count on to help her.
In Time for Christmas
Heather Blanton - 2013
God has one waiting … a hundred years in the past. In Time for Christmas -- a Novella, is the story of Charlene Williams, a woman trapped in a dangerously abusive marriage. Disappointed that God hasn’t gotten her out of it, or even hears her prayers at all, she has shut down emotionally. When husband Dale becomes suspicious of her daily chats with the mailman, he whisks her out of town and abandons her on his family’s ranch—an isolated, dilapidated place no one has lived on for over forty years. With the promise that he’ll be back in a few days, he knocks her unconscious and leaves.Charlene wakes up on the ranch—a hundred years in the past. Almost instantly she is drawn to Billy Page, Dale’s great grandfather. The connection is powerful and mysterious, but should she risk falling in love with a ghost? What’s going on here? Is Charlene dead, dreaming, in a coma, or simply experiencing a gift from her heavenly father? She’ll learn one thing for certain: God does see the tears of his children.
Last Christmas in Paris: A Novel of World War I
Hazel Gaynor - 2017
England is at war. As Evie Elliott watches her brother, Will, and his best friend, Thomas Harding, depart for the front, she believes—as everyone does—that it will be over by Christmas, when the trio plan to celebrate the holiday among the romantic cafes of Paris.But as history tells us, it all happened so differently…Evie and Thomas experience a very different war. Frustrated by life as a privileged young lady, Evie longs to play a greater part in the conflict—but how?—and as Thomas struggles with the unimaginable realities of war he also faces personal battles back home where War Office regulations on press reporting cause trouble at his father’s newspaper business. Through their letters, Evie and Thomas share their greatest hopes and fears—and grow ever fonder from afar. Can love flourish amid the horror of the First World War, or will fate intervene?Christmas 1968. With failing health, Thomas returns to Paris—a cherished packet of letters in hand—determined to lay to rest the ghosts of his past. But one final letter is waiting for him…
Christmas is for Children
Rosie Clarke - 2018
Christmas should be for the children, but with the Depression biting deeper, money and food in short supply and factories, ship yards and businesses closing down, the outlook is pretty bleak. It looks like many East End kids will wake up on Christmas morning to nothing. Robbie Graham is out of luck and work. Can he earn enough to put food on his table for his motherless children, Ben and Ruthie? Never mind something for their Christmas stockings? Meanwhile single mother and local shop owner, Flo Hawkins cannot bear the thought of some children having nothing for Christmas. Alongside her daughter, Honour, they decide to make their own gifts and the community unites to throw a Christmas party at the Salvation Army for those less fortunate. But will it be Flo who gets the best gift ever?