Book picks similar to
Defective by Susan Sofayov
fiction
mental-health
giveaways
contemporary
The Forgotten Ones
Steena Holmes - 2018
She’s managed to piece together a solid life from a childhood of broken memories and fairy tales her mom told her to explain away bad dreams. But weekly visits to her mother still fill Elle with a paralyzing fear she can’t explain. It’s just another of so many unanswered questions she grew up with in a family estranged by silence and secrets.Elle’s world turns upside down when she receives a deathbed request from her grandfather, a man she was told had died years ago. Racked by grief, regrets, and a haunted conscience, he has a tale of his own to tell Elle: about her mother, an imaginary friend, and two strangers who came to the house one night and never left.As Elle’s past unfolds, so does the truth—if she can believe it. She must face the reasons for her inexplicable dread. As dark as they are, Elle must listen…before her grandfather’s death buries the family’s secrets forever.
Me and Sister Bobbie: True Tales of the Family Band
Willie Nelson - 2020
Abandoned by their parents as toddlers, Willie and Bobbie Nelson found their love of music almost immediately through their grandparents, who raised them in a small Texas town. Their close relationship—which persists today—is the longest-lasting bond in both their lives. In alternating chapters, this heartfelt dual memoir weaves together both their stories as they experienced them side by side and apart. The Nelsons share powerful, emotional moments from growing up, playing music in public for the first time, and facing trials in adulthood, as Willie pursued songwriting and Bobbie faced a series of challenging relationships and a musical career that took off only when attitudes about women began to change in Texas. The memoir is Bobbie’s first book, and in it she candidly shares her life story in full for the first time. Her deeply affecting chapters delve into her personal relationships and life as a mother and as a musician with technical skills that even Willie admits surpass his own. In his poignant stories, Willie shares the depth of his bond with his sister, and how that bond carried him through his most troubled moments. Willie and Bobbie have supported each other through unthinkable personal heartbreak, and they’ve always shared in each other’s victories. Through dizzying highs and traumatic lows, spanning almost nine decades of life, Willie and Bobbie have always had each other’s back.Their story is an inspiring, lyrical statement of how family always finds the way.
The Second Home
Christina Clancy - 2020
If only she’d stayed in Wisconsin, she might never have met Anthony Shaw, and she would have held onto the future she’d so carefully planned for herself. Instead, Ann ends up harboring a devastating secret that strains her relationship with her parents, sends her sister Poppy to every corner of the world chasing waves (and her next fling), and leaves her adopted brother Michael estranged from the family. Now, fifteen years later, her parents have died, and Ann and Poppy are left to decide the fate of the beach house that’s been in the Gordon family for generations. For Ann, the once-beloved house is forever tainted with bad memories. And while Poppy loves the old saltbox on Drummer Cove, owning a house means settling, and she’s not sure she’s ready to stay in one place.Just when the sisters decide to sell, Michael re-enters their lives with a legitimate claim to a third of the estate. He wants the house. But more than that, he wants to set the record straight about what happened that long-ago summer that changed all of their lives forever. As the siblings reunite after years apart, their old secrets and lies, longings and losses, are pulled to the surface. Is the house the one thing that can still bring them together––or will it tear them apart, once and for all?Told through the shifting perspectives of Ann, Poppy, and Michael, this assured and affecting debut captures the ache of nostalgia for summers past and the powerful draw of the places we return to again and again. It is about second homes, second families, and second chances. Tender and compassionate, incisive and heartbreaking, Christina Clancy's The Second Home is the story of a family you'll quickly fall in love with, and won't soon forget.
The Weight of Him
Ethel Rohan - 2017
From his earliest memories, he has loved food's colors, textures and tastes. The way flavors go off in his mouth. How food keeps his mind still and his bad feelings quiet. Food has always made everything better, until the day Billy's beloved son Michael takes his own life.Billy determines to make a difference in Michael's memory and undertakes a public weight-loss campaign, to raise money for suicide prevention--his first step in an ambitious plan to save himself, and to save others. However, Billy's dramatic crusade appalls his family, who want to simply try to go on, quietly, privately.Despite his crushing detractors, Billy gains welcome allies: his community-at-large; a co-worker who lost his father to suicide; a filmmaker with his own dubious agenda; and a secret, miniature kingdom that Billy populates with the sub-quality dolls and soldiers he saves from disposal at the toy factory where he works. But it is only if Billy can confront the truth of the suffering and brokenness within and around him that he and others will be able to realize the recovery they need.Told against the picturesque yet haunting backdrop of rural, contemporary Ireland, The Weight of Him is a big-hearted novel about loss and reliance that moves from tragedy to recrimination to what can be achieved when we take the stand of our lives.
Inherent Truth
Alicia Anthony - 2020
Scrambling to make sense of her grandmother’s legacy, Liv finds herself face to face with undercover Agent Ridge McCaffrey.Assigned to protect the woman whose gifts unnerve him, all for a covert psychic intelligence operation he doesn’t understand, Ridge struggles to place duty over desire. But when a body is found at Sullivan Farm and Liv’s allegiance is called into question, Ridge’s mission becomes clear.Can Liv unearth family secrets that are best left buried before the ghosts of her past destroy her dreams of a normal future?
Duncan
Anna Castor - 2019
I need to know if you feel this too." Kayla Walsh ran thousands of miles to start her life over in Austin, Texas. Kayla isn't ready for the sexy former MMA fighter Duncan Mills who instantly set his sights on her. Duncan makes her feel alive again and isn't giving up without a fight. Duncan is all in for the first time in his life, but will Kayla let him close enough to win over her heart?
Fall in love with the Lucky Irish big family romance families and see why thousands of readers have started binge reading the sassily strong and witty alpha characters in the Lucky Irish series. All Lucky Irish books can be enjoyed as stand-alone novels or as part of the larger series.
Duncan is a laugh out loud sexy and heartfelt big family romance that will have you swoon while reading Kayla and Duncan’s happily ever after. Filled with hilarious family banter between brothers and sisters this romance series will make you feel part of their families.
In the Lucky Irish series you'll find MMA fighters, bartenders, private investigators, police officers, a hot single dad, bad boy alphas, second chances, surprise babies, friends-to-lovers, enemies-to-lovers, love at work, slowburn and steamy instalove.
Book 1 - DuncanBook 2 - Donovan Book 3 - Brennan Book 4 - DeclanBook 5 - KeenanBook 6 - Ronan
Necropolis
Guy Portman - 2014
Perfect for the head of Burials and Cemeteries at Newton Borough Council.But Dyson’s fed up. How long will he have to deal with banal work colleagues, drug-addled girlfriends and gaudy memorial structures? It feels like he’s just serial-killing time …When Dyson suspects someone of having an even darker past than him, he sees a chance to get out. Will he take it, or is he destined for a life of toil in the health-and-safety-obsessed public sector?Brutal, bleak and darkly comical, Necropolis is a savage indictment of political correctness and woke culture.‘… a magnificent foray into the mind of a sociopath’ – DLS Reviews ‘The book is full of razor-sharp satire’ – Crime Fiction Lover‘… a mix between The Office and American Psycho’ – Amazon ReviewerNecropolis is the first instalment in the Necropolis Trilogy - #1 Necropolis #2 Sepultura #3 Golgotha ‘…it’s the well-crafted and perfectly executed satirical observations, along with the dry wit and devious humour that makes ‘Necropolis’ such a delight to read.’ – Chris Hall (Top 500 Amazon Reviewer. Vine Voice)‘I remain slightly troubled as to why I found myself applauding a sociopath for being so thoroughly entertaining.’ – Little Bookness Lane (Top 1000 Amazon Reviewer)
The River Widow
Ann Howard Creel - 2018
Essentially trapped, Adah must plan an escape.But when she develops feelings for the one person essential to her plan’s success, she faces a painful choice: Will she choose to risk everything saving Daisy or take the new life offered by a loving man?
Fortune in Blood
Phil Philips - 2016
But as the youngest son of a notorious gangster, it seems he can’t escape the life. Soon he’s forced to prove himself by leading a team in the heist of the century. Will he be able to pull it off?Vince was always worried about getting to lectures on time, and spending time with his hot girlfriend. But everything changes when he’s embroiled in his detective father’s world. Now he’s on the run for his life from the mob.FBI Agent Monica is smart, beautiful, tough and unyielding. Caught in the middle of the mob and the police, her loyalty is being questioned by both sides. But Monica seems to have her own agenda.In a world where corruption is rife, she will be tested to the limit. Who can be trusted and who will be left standing? And who will ultimately escape with all the money? A showdown is set in motion and no one will be left unscathed.˃˃˃ NON STOP ACTIONIn this elaborately plotted, fast-paced thriller, Phil Philips takes you on a roller coaster ride that will keep you guessing until the very last page.˃˃˃ Phil’s writing style has been linked to James Patterson and Matthew Reilly.˃˃˃ If you like heist thrillers and corruption in America this is the book for you
The Bounce Back
Addie Woolridge - 2021
She’s landed a spot in an exclusive art program that’s sure to be her ticket to success, but then her best shot at stardom goes up in flames—literally. When her relationship follows suit, Neale finds herself a stone’s throw from rock bottom.Her heart broken and her dream deferred, Neale decides to work a soul-crushing nine-to-five job until the heat dies down. However, that’s not exactly what happens when she meets Anthony, a sizzling coworker with a perfect smile.Convinced that she breaks everything she touches, Neale’s sworn off art and men. Yet her creative spirit still beckons, and she can’t get Anthony out of her head. She’s caught in that familiar space between daydreams and responsibilities, desperate to find a new way forward. With her future hanging in the balance, Neale must decide if she is down and out…or ready to bounce back.
Killing the Secret
Donna Welch Jones - 2011
Lexie's investigation intensifies when a local woman is murdered, and the citizens blame her for the death. When Lexie discovers there are three secrets she fears more will die while the investigation goes in multiple directions. Her dilemma is further magnified by the the fact that one of the women may be the next First Lady of the United States—provided she doesn't die first.
In the Light of the Garden
Heather Burch - 2017
Raised by a narcissistic single mother, Charity’s only sense of a loving home comes from childhood summers spent with Gramps and Grandma. But piercing her fondest memories is her sharpest grief—the death of her beloved grandmother, when Charity stopped believing in the magical healing power of the weeping willow that still casts a shadow on their property.Now that Charity has returned, she’s full of longing and regret, until she befriends her neighbor Dalton Reynolds, who has come to Gaslamp Island carrying his own heartache. As other exiles arrive—a great uncle harboring secrets, a teenage runaway—Charity begins to reconsider what makes a family. When her own estranged mother shows up in crisis, Charity is challenged to search her heart for forgiveness. But forgiving herself may require a little magic from the last place she’d expect to find it.
Millicent Glenn's Last Wish
Tori Whitaker - 2020
As she nears her ninety-first birthday, her daughter Jane, with whom she’s weathered a shaky relationship, suddenly moves back home. Then Millie’s granddaughter shares the thrilling surprise that she’s pregnant. But for Millie, the news stirs heartbreaking memories of a past she’s kept hidden for too long. Maybe it’s time she shared something, too. Millie’s last wish? For Jane to forgive her.Sixty years ago Millie was living a dream. She had a husband she adored, a job of her own, a precious baby girl, and another child on the way. They were the perfect family. All it took was one irreversible moment to shatter everything, reshaping Millie’s life and the lives of generations to come.As Millie’s old wounds are exposed, so are the secrets she’s kept for so long. Finally revealing them to her daughter might be the greatest risk a mother could take in the name of love.
Angel
Danielle Carriere - 2019
However, Angel’s plans are disrupted when she becomes stranded in an unfamiliar town. With no means to leave and no place to stay, Angel finds aid in an unexpected place: Nathan, a childhood acquaintance with scars of his own.All nineteen-year-old Nathan wants is to leave every memory of his father far, far behind. But when Nathan’s path leads him to Angel, he begins to realize that his father’s influence has reached further than he could ever have imagined.As Nathan and Angel face the prejudices of the townspeople together, their tenuous friendship begins to grow into something more. However, when Nathan’s father returns, Angel and Nathan must decide whether they are willing fight for the life they’ve created for themselves, or whether they will once again leave everything they love—including each other—behind.
Thin Girls
Diana Clarke - 2020
Like most young women, they’ve struggled with their bodies and food since childhood, and high school finds them turning to food—or not—to battle the waves of insecurity and the yearning for popularity. But their connection can be as destructive as it is supportive, a yin to yang. when Rose stops eating, Lily starts—consuming everything Rose won’t or can’t.Within a few years, Rose is about to mark her one-year anniversary in a rehabilitation facility for anorexics. Lily, her sole visitor, is the only thing tethering her to a normal life.But Lily is struggling, too. A kindergarten teacher, she dates abusive men, including a student’s married father, in search of the close yet complicated companionship she lost when she became separated from Rose. When Lily joins a cult diet group led by a social media faux feminist, whose eating plan consists of consuming questionable non-caloric foods, Rose senses that Lily needs her help. With her sister’s life in jeopardy, Rose must find a way to rescue her—and perhaps, save herself.Illuminating some of the most fraught and common issues confronting women, Thin Girls is a powerful, emotionally resonant story, beautifully told, that will keep you turning the pages to the gratifying, hopeful end.