Book picks similar to
The Nine Lives of Christmas by Florence McNicoll
animals
christmas
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contemporary
Daisy Jones & The Six
Taylor Jenkins ReidTaylor Jenkins Reid - 2019
in the late sixties, sneaking into clubs on the Sunset Strip, sleeping with rock stars, and dreaming of singing at the Whisky a Go-Go. The sex and drugs are thrilling, but it’s the rock and roll she loves most. By the time she’s twenty, her voice is getting noticed, and she has the kind of heedless beauty that makes people do crazy things.Another band getting noticed is The Six, led by the brooding Billy Dunne. On the eve of their first tour, his girlfriend Camila finds out she’s pregnant, and with the pressure of impending fatherhood and fame, Billy goes a little wild on the road.Daisy and Billy cross paths when a producer realizes the key to supercharged success is to put the two together. What happens next will become the stuff of legend.
The Long Walk Home
Will North - 2007
She’s used to unexpected strangers, but few arrive on foot. The man to whom she opens her door is middle-aged, unshaven, sweat-soaked . . . and arrestingly handsome. What neither of them knows at that moment is that their lives are about to change forever.American Alec Hudson has carried the ashes—and the memory—of his late ex-wife, Gwynne, all the way from London’s Heathrow Airport, honoring her request that he scatter them atop a mountain they had climbed together years before—the same brooding peak whose jagged cliffs rise to the sky from the back pastures of Fiona’s farm. But the weather doesn’t cooperate, and as Fiona and Alec wait for it to clear, they are drawn together by mutual loss, longing, and the miracle of love at midlife. On the day he finally reaches the summit, Alec is caught in a vicious hailstorm. As he struggles to descend, he stumbles upon the body of a man he recognizes from a photograph at the farm: it is Fiona’s ailing and reclusive husband, David, and he is close to death.Will North’s debut novel, The Long Walk Home, is a story about grief and hope, about love and loss, and about two people struggling with the agonizing complexities of fidelity—to a spouse, to a moral code, to each other, and to a passion neither thought would ever appear again. By turns lyrical and gripping, set amid a landscape of breathtaking beauty and unpredictable danger, this is a story you will not soon forget.For news, reviews, and a visual walking tour, visit WillNorthOnline.com.From the Hardcover edition.
We Just Clicked
Anna Bell - 2020
So when her colleague and fellow Instagrammer Luke suggests they ‘fake date’ to boost their profiles, Izzy says yes – against her better judgement.Now Izzy’s profile tells the story of a confident, glamorous thirty-something with the perfect boyfriend, and her follower numbers are shooting upwards. So what if Izzy can’t stop bickering with Luke, his habit of checking his quiff in every single mirror is driving her insane, and behind the scenes she’s hiding a secret heartache? Everyone tells a few fibs on social media, right?But when Izzy runs into Aidan, the mysterious stranger who saved her the day her world fell apart two years ago, major sparks start to fly between them. Izzy’s sure she can have the online success she’s always dreamed of, whilst continuing to fall in love – and heal her heart – in real life. After all, Aidan doesn’t use social media… what could possibly go wrong?
If you loved Sophie Kinsella’s My Not-So Perfect Life, Laura Jane Williams’ Our Stop or Sophie Ranald’s Sorry Not Sorry, you will fall head over heels for this touching and hilarious new novel from Anna Bell, the bestselling author of The Bucket List to Mend a Broken Heart.
***
Readers love Anna Bell:
‘What an amazing story! A brilliant, unputdownable read.’‘A hilarious and heart-warming story… I nearly choked on my own laughter in one scene!’‘Absolutely fantastic, I loved it. A**’‘I couldn’t put this book down – I fell in love with the characters instantly.’‘A fun, feel-good read guaranteed to put a smile on your face.’‘A funny, fresh, fast-paced romance full of twists and turns.’‘Beautifully written and paced. Just lovely.’
The Making of Us
Lisa Jewell - 2011
His friend Maggie sits with him every day; she holds his hand and she listens to the story of his life, to his regrets and to his secrets. And then he tells her about the children he has never met and never will. He talks of them wistfully. His legacy, he calls them. Lydia, Dean and Robyn don't know each other. Yet. And they are all facing difficult changes. Lydia is still wearing the scars from her traumatic childhood and although she is wealthy and successful, her life is lonely and disjointed. Dean is a young man, burdened with unexpected responsibility, whose life is going nowhere. And Robyn wants to be a doctor, just like her father - a man she's never met. But is her whole life built on an illusion? Three people leading three very different lives. All lost. All looking for something. But when they slowly find their way into each other's lives, everything starts to change ...
Cactus Jack
Brad Smith - 2020
His latest novel, for fans of Richard Russo and Jane Smiley, is a terrific novel about a thirty-something single woman, the untried colt she inherits, a horse crazy little girl, and their band of misfits and has-beens who stick it to the establishment in the cutthroat world of horse racing. Billie Masterson is a thirty-something chronic underachiever, drowning herself in alcohol and bad relationships in Ohio. She hasn’t been home to the family’s broken-down thoroughbred farm in Kentucky since college. Her mother committed suicide when Billie was a teen and she blames her father, Will Masterson. When Will drops dead while working on the farm, Billie returns to rural Kentucky for the funeral, intending only to pay her respects before high-tailing it back to Ohio. However, she’s informed by her father’s lawyer, the garrulous David Mountain Clay, that she now owns the farm…and all the debt that goes with it. Determined to sell everything, settle the debts and get out of town, Billie discovers that her father’s colt, a horse named Cactus Jack, is the object of obsession for billionaire Reese Ryker, the louche scion of a department store dynasty and now owner of Double R Racing, one of the top thoroughbred stables in the world. Billie is willing to sell everything to Ryker—until she realizes that he’s an entitled misogynist and a not-so-subtle racist. Against her better judgment, she decides to keep the farm and the untested horse. To do that she needs to race the animal—and beat Ryker at his own game. Assisted by a team of misfits, including a washed-up trainer with whom she has a bit too much history, the horse-crazy little girl next door, and her father’s ex-girlfriend, Billie and Cactus Jack take the track by a storm.
What the Lady Wants
Renée Rosen - 2014
The night of the Great Fire, as seventeen-year-old Delia watches the flames rise and consume what was the pioneer town of Chicago, she can't imagine how much her life, her city, and her whole world are about to change. Nor can she guess that the agent of that change will not simply be the fire, but more so the man she meets that night...Leading the way in rebuilding after the fire, Marshall Field reopens his well-known dry goods store and transforms it into something the world has never seen before: a glamorous palace of a department store. He and his powerhouse coterie--including Potter Palmer and George Pullman--usher in the age of robber barons, the American royalty of their generation.But behind the opulence, their private lives are riddled with scandal and heartbreak. Delia and Marshall first turn to each other out of loneliness, but as their love deepens, they will stand together despite disgrace and ostracism, through an age of devastation and opportunity, when an adolescent Chicago is transformed into the gleaming White City of the Chicago's World's Fair of 1893.
Love by Christmas
Sarah Gay - 2018
She takes a chance and kisses him, only to be rejected. The universe mocks her pain by making him her room mom. Garrett Macey, fire captain at Park City Fire Department, receives bad news and loses his cool in his daughter’s school parking lot. When a pretty teacher calls him out on his unbecoming behavior, he is pulled in by her charm, but with his heart ripped to shreds, the only thing he has to offer his daughter’s teacher is his time as her volunteer. When a little old lady shows up at Garrett’s fire station with a Christmas wish for him to find love by Christmas, Garrett wants to believe that Christmas magic is real. With renewed faith, he reaches out to Maci Bell, hoping he hasn’t lost his chance with her. Will Christmas magic bring love to the fire captain by Christmas? Other books in the series: Her Christmas Miracle by Daniel Banner Snowed-In for Christmas by Cami Checketts Married by Christmas by Taylor Hart Engaged by Christmas by Sarah Gay Yours by Christmas by Jennifer Youngblood
Illumination Night
Alice Hoffman - 1987
Their neighbour Elizabeth, a woman in her seventies, falls from an upstairs window and her granddaughter Jody is summoned to nurse her through her convalescence.The scene is set for a magical story of love and loneliness, of terror and human frailty, of the mystery and grace of ordinary experience. Alice Hoffman's ability to fuse the domestic and the mythic in a narrative of such gentle yet magnetic force confirms her stature as one of the most gifted of American novelists.
The Tanglewood Tea Shop
Lilac Mills - 2019
Her beloved Great Aunt Peggy has passed away, she’s been fired from her job and the love of her life has walked out the door. But when she’s called to the solicitor’s office to hear the reading of Peggy’s will, Stevie’s life begins to change.Left with a large amount of money, Stevie is determined to take Peggy’s advice and turn her life around. The quirky tea shop that she sees up for sale in the beautiful village of Tanglewood must be a sign, and Stevie can’t wait to make it her new home.But what happens after your dreams come true? It turns out that life in the village isn't as idyllic as it may have seemed. With local mums waging war against sugar, a tea shop and its patisserie-chef owner are definitely not welcome.When the gorgeous but grouchy local stable-owner, Nick, shows up he seems like just another fly in the pastry batter but as the two grow closer, Stevie realises he might just be the perfect reason to stay and win over the village...This laugh-out-loud romantic comedy is perfect for fans of Daisy James, Holly Martin and Portia Macintosh.
Caged in Winter
Brighton Walsh - 2014
She's only seventy-six days away from college graduation--and the future she's dreamed of for so long. She just has to stick to her rules: Don't lose focus. Trust no one. Hookups only--she doesn't want or need a man ruining her plans.But then Cade Maxwell, aspiring chef and Prince Charming in-training, comes swooping in to her life. All brash exterior and marshmallow center, Cade strips away her walls as easily as he strips away her clothes. One of the best in his class, he's on the fast-track to his dream job--as long as he keeps his eye on the prize.This close to graduation, neither of them can afford a distraction. Despite their explosive chemistry, nothing serious can develop between them. Thankfully, Winter's rules are keeping them safe.Except Cade's not playing by her rules anymore.
Second Star To The Right
Mary Alice Kruesi - 1999
She’s not even certain she believes in luck. Practical, smart and desperate to escape a shadowy past, Faye takes a job at a top advertising firm in London where she hopes she and her children can find a fresh start. When she finds the beautiful two-story flat for rent in a stately old Victorian complete with a neglected but tumbling English garden, she can scarcely believe her good fortune. But it’s not long before Faye realizes everything in the old home may not be as peaceful as it seems. A strange light begins to appear in her children’s rooms at night, and then there’s the reclusive elderly tenant her landlady warned her to steer clear of, the woman who spends her evenings spying on Faye’s children from her garret-room window. To make matters worse, Faye, who has sworn off men, discovers her downstairs neighbor Jack is a disturbingly handsome professor with a talent for charming women and children alike. Before she knows it, Faye has embarked upon a whole new adventure into a world where anything might be possible, where broken hearts can be healed by a kiss, and where Neverland may not be a place of fables, but a forgotten land one can still find if they are only brave enough to follow the second star to the right.
Christmas at the Log Fire Cabin
Catherine Ferguson - 2017
When Poppy’s boyfriend Martin proposes the week before Christmas, she doesn’t know what to do. It’s not that she doesn’t love him… it’s just that she has her doubts. But with the twelve days of Christmas to decide, time is running out.Meanwhile, her best friend Taylor is desperate for the pair of them to fulfil their dream of setting up a dinner party catering company – and when an opportunity arises at a luxury log-fire cabin, the girls take their chance to impress. But they hadn’t bargained on the owner of the lodge being quite so attractive – and having quite such a sexy voice. As the twelve days tick on, will Poppy realise that Martin is the one for her? Or will it be love in the lodge when the new year comes?
Snowbound
Janice Kay Johnson - 2007
Their host is John Fallon, a handsome, enigmatic war veteran haunted by secrets and scars that may never heal.John Fallon never imagined he'd be playing host to this captivating teacher and her eight teenage charges. But when his solitude is shattered by their arrival, his world shifts on its axis. He needs Fiona--but does she need him? There's only one way to find out. The ex-soldier must find the courage to reach out to the remarkable woman who has transformed his life....
Fast Friends
Jill Mansell - 1991
But Roz Vallender and Loulou Marks are no ordinary guests. Roz, stunning and self-assured, is notorious as a TV presenter and superbitch, whilst the reckless Loulou owns Vampires, the trendiest wine bar in town. Horrified to discover that husband Jack has been playing around, Camilla determines to make some changes. With a little help from her friends she soon finds out that life in the fast lane is a lot more fun and the future still holds plenty of surprises.
Badly Behaved
Meagan Brandy - 2021
A chameleon. I’m whatever I must be.And what I must be is a flawless daughter, a skilled socialite, and the perfect prize to the man who signed along the dotted line. Not that I’m complaining. I’m all for a contractual agreement, a quick and clean catapult into the next phase of rich girl life. One that takes little thought, less effort, and zero devotion. It’s exactly what I want. An impassive life. A calculated future. Or, it was until the lights went out, darkness took over, and I learned what it meant to live.To feel.To fall. But everyone knows what thrives in the night burns in the light and flames were among us. There is no escape. No turning back. No ending within my control. My mother always says our choices determine our consequences. 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵.