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Soul Catcher: A Novel
By Michael C. White. 2007
Augustus Cain faces a past he wants to forget, a present without prospect or fortune, and an uncertain future marred…
by the loss of his most prized possession: the horse that has been his working companion for years. He is also a man haunted by a terrible skill—the ability to track people who don't want to be found. Rosetta is a runaway slave fueled by the passion and determination only a mother can feel. She bears the scars—inside and out—of a life lived in servitude to a cruel and unforgiving master. Her flight is her one shot at freedom, and she would rather die than return to the living hell that she has left behind.In the perilous years before the Civil War, the fates of these two remarkable people will intertwine in an extraordinary adventure—a journey of hardship and redemption that will take them from Virginia to Boston and back—and one that will become an extraordinary test of character and will, mercy and compassion. It is an odyssey that will change them both forever.Soul Catcher is a dazzling tapestry of imagination and character, atmosphere and emotion. Poignant and utterly compelling, it is a story to be savored and remembered.The Light Between Worlds
By Laura E. Weymouth. 2018
What happens when you return to the real world after being in a fantastical one like Narnia? This YA debut…
by Laura E. Weymouth is perfect for fans of Melissa Albert’s The Hazel Wood and Lev Grossman’s The Magicians.Six years ago, sisters Evelyn and Philippa Hapwell were swept away to a strange and beautiful kingdom called the Woodlands, where they lived for years. But ever since they returned to their lives in post-WWII England, they have struggled to adjust.Ev desperately wants to return to the Woodlands, and Philippa just wants to move on. When Ev goes missing, Philippa must confront the depth of her sister’s despair and the painful truths they’ve been running from. As the weeks unfold, Philippa wonders if Ev truly did find a way home, or if the weight of their worlds pulled her under.Walking the line between where fantasy and reality meet, this lyrical and magical novel is, above all else, an exploration of loss and healing, and what it means to find where you belong.The Shopkeeper's Daughter
By Dilly Court, Lily Baxter. 2010
In World War II–torn England, a young woman must fight to keep her family together, whatever the costGinnie Travis has…
been working in her father's shop for the past five years, trying to keep it afloat. When scandal rocks her family just as relentless Nazi raids threaten their very lives, Ginnie and her sister are forced to flee and stay with their aunt in the North of England. The last thing she expects to find in the quiet countryside is love, especially with an American soldier. A soldier who has secrets of his own.Tragedy strikes, the horror of war rages on, and Ginnie will do whatever she must to protect everything she holds dear.The Rib King: A Novel
By Ladee Hubbard. 2021
Thrillist - 30 Books We Can't Wait to Read in 2021Book Riot – Our Most Anticipated Releases of 2021Real Simple…
– The Best New Books to Read in 2021Chicago Review of Books – 12 Must-Read Books of January Book Riot – January 2021 Horoscopes and Book Recommendations Glamour--7 of the Best New Books in JanuaryVulture – 46 Books We Can’t Wait to Read in 2021 Lit Hub – Lit Hub’s Most Anticipated Books of 2021 GMA.com – 16 January reads for the new year Harper’s Bazaar – 24 Books You Need to Read in 2021 -The Millions – Most Anticipated: The Great First-Half 2021 Book Preview Popsugar – From Bravery to Outlawed – These Are the Best Books of January 2021 Ms. Magazine – January 2021 Reads for the Rest of Us Bustle – The Best New Books, Week of January 18th Vulture – 27 Notable New Releases Over the Next Two Weeks Lit Hub – 14 new books to fuel your reading resolutions “Ultimately the reason to read The Rib King is not its timeliness or its insight into politics or Black culture, but because it accomplishes what the best fiction sets out to do: It drops you into a world you could not otherwise visit and makes you care deeply about what happens there.”--BookPage (starred review)The acclaimed author of The Talented Ribkins deconstructs painful African American stereotypes and offers a fresh and searing critique on race, class, privilege, ambition, exploitation, and the seeds of rage in America in this intricately woven and masterfully executed historical novel, set in early the twentieth century that centers around the black servants of a down-on-its heels upper-class white family.For fifteen years August Sitwell has worked for the Barclays, a well-to-do white family who plucked him from an orphan asylum and gave him a job. The groundskeeper is part of the household’s all-black staff, along with “Miss Mamie,” the talented cook, pretty new maid Jennie Williams, and three young kitchen apprentices—the latest orphan boys Mr. Barclay has taken in to "civilize" boys like August.But the Barclays fortunes have fallen, and their money is almost gone. When a prospective business associate proposes selling Miss Mamie’s delicious rib sauce to local markets under the brand name “The Rib King”—using a caricature of a wildly grinning August on the label—Mr. Barclay, desperate for cash, agrees. Yet neither Miss Mamie nor August will see a dime. Humiliated, August grows increasingly distraught, his anger building to a rage that explodes in shocking tragedy. Elegantly written and exhaustively researched, The Rib King is an unsparing examination of America’s fascination with black iconography and exploitation that redefines African American stereotypes in literature. In this powerful, disturbing, and timely novel, Ladee Hubbard reveals who people actually are, and most importantly, who and what they are not.The Castle of Kings
By Oliver Pötzsch. 2015
An epic standalone novel of historical fiction tinged with mystery, set against the backdrop of medieval Germany's Peasant War from…
the best-selling author of the Hangman’s Daughter series.In 1524, in what is now Germany, hundreds of thousands of peasants revolted against the harsh treatment of their aristocratic overlords. Agnes is the daughter of one of these overlords, but she is not a typical sixteenth-century girl, refusing to wear dresses and spending more time with her pet falcon than potential suitors. There is only one suitor she is interested in: Mathis, a childhood friend whom she can never marry due to his low birth status. In the midst of war, Agnes’s falcon finds a mysterious ring, and Agnes begins having strange but seemingly meaningful dreams. Dreams that lead her and Mathis to run away from their home in Trifels Castle and into the midst of the tumultuous Peasants’ War, cast into an adventure that will lead them to shocking revelations about themselves and the future of the emerging German states. “Pötzsch paints picturesque landscapes, whether it’s damp, dark castles, the stink of a medieval tannery, or whirlpool-plagued Rhine River rapids . . . Combine Princess Bride with Germanic history circa 1500, add a dash of Lord of the Rings, and there’s a week of good fun.” — Kirkus Reviews “The war scenes are grimly realistic, and the narration gripping . . . The author makes the fantastical elements work by harnessing them to the grim reality of the Peasants’ War, setting his far-fetched romance in an utterly convincing world of economic hardship, social strife and religious and political uncertainty.” — Wall Street JournalThe Bones of Paradise: A Novel
By Jonis Agee. 2016
The award-winning author of TheRiver Wife returns with a multigenerational family saga set in the unforgiving Nebraska Sand Hills in…
the years following the massacre at Wounded Knee—an ambitious tale of history, vengeance, race, guilt, betrayal, family, and belonging, filled with a vivid cast of characters shaped by violence, love, and a desperate loyalty to the land.Ten years after the Seventh Cavalry massacred more than two hundred Lakota men, women, and children at Wounded Knee, J.B. Bennett, a white rancher, and Star, a young Native American woman, are murdered in a remote meadow on J.B.’s land. The deaths bring together the scattered members of the Bennett family: J.B.’s cunning and hard father, Drum; his estranged wife, Dulcinea; and his teenage sons, Cullen and Hayward. As the mystery of these twin deaths unfolds, the history of the dysfunctional Bennetts and their damning secrets is revealed, exposing the conflicted heart of a nation caught between past and future.At the center of The Bones of Paradise are two remarkable women. Dulcinea, returned after bitter years of self-exile, yearns for redemption and the courage to mend her broken family and reclaim the land that is rightfully hers. Rose, scarred by the terrible slaughters that have decimated and dislocated her people, struggles to accept the death of her sister, Star, and refuses to rest until she is avenged.A kaleidoscopic portrait of misfits, schemers, chancers, and dreamers, Jonis Agee’s bold novel is a panorama of America at the dawn of a new century. A beautiful evocation of this magnificent, blood-soaked land—its sweeping prairies, seas of golden grass, and sandy hills, all at the mercy of two unpredictable and terrifying forces, weather and lawlessness—and the durable men and women who dared to tame it. Intimate and epic, The Bones of Paradise is a remarkable achievement: a mystery, a tragedy, a romance, and an unflagging exploration of the beauty and brutality, tenderness and cruelty that defined the settling of the American West.The Hallowed Isle: The Book Of The Stone (The Hallowed Isle)
By Diana L. Paxson. 2000
After years of conflict, Britannia finally knows peace and Artor reigns from his throne at Camalot. But discontent rumbles through…
the kingdom. A new generation longs for the glory their fathers knew. Medraut, the son conceived by deceit, lusts for Artor's crown -- and his queen. Dreams of an empire draw the king to Gallia to battle again, leaving the sovereignty of the isle in Guendivar's hands. As Artor's painful absence grows longer, the land cries out for its champion -- and even the queen doubts his return. With the rise of revolt home to a country in turmoil. Only he can heal the land and reclaim the kingdom -- or else the hallowed isle will be ripped asunder once again.A darkness born and bred for revenge shadows the nation. But one hope shines -- the Defender of Britannia.The Lowering Days: A Novel
By Gregory Brown. 2021
“In The Lowering Days Gregory Brown gives us a lush, almost mythic portrait of a very specific place and time…
that feels all the more universal for its singularity. There’s magic here.” —Richard Russo, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Empire Falls and Chances AreA promising literary star makes his debut with this emotionally powerful saga, set in 1980s Maine, that explores family love, the power of myths and storytelling, survival and environmental exploitation, and the ties between cultural identity and the land we live onIf you paid attention, you could see the entire unfolding of human history in a story . . .Growing up, David Almerin Ames and his brothers, Link and Simon, believed the wild patch of Maine where they lived along the Penobscot River belonged to them. Running down the state like a spine, the river shared its name with the people of the Penobscot Nation, whose ancestral territory included the entire Penobscot watershed—the land upon which the Ames family eventually made their home. The brothers’ affinity for the natural world derives from their iconoclastic parents, Arnoux, a romantic artist and Vietnam War deserter who builds boats by hand, and Falon, an activist journalist who runs The Lowering Days, a community newspaper which gives equal voice to indigenous and white issues. But the boys’ childhood reverie is shattered when a bankrupt paper mill, once the Penobscot Valley’s largest employer, is burned to the ground on the eve of potentially reopening. As the community grapples with the scope of the devastation, Falon receives a letter from a Penobscot teenager confessing to the crime—an act of justice for a sacred river under centuries of assault. For the residents of the Penobscot Valley, the fire reveals a stark truth. For many, the mill is a lifeline, providing working class jobs they need to survive. Within the Penobscot Nation, the mill is a bringer of death, spewing toxic chemicals and wastewater products that poison the river’s fish and plants. As the divide within the community widens, the building anger and resentment explodes in tragedy, wrecking the lives of David and those around him. Evocative and atmospheric, pulsating with the rhythms of the natural world, The Lowering Days is a meditation on the flow and weight of history, the power and fragility of love, the dangerous fault lines underlying families, and the enduring land where stories are created and told.All the Ever Afters: The Untold Story of Cinderella's Stepmother
By Danielle Teller. 2018
In the vein of Wicked, The Woodcutter, and Boy, Snow, Bird, a luminous reimagining of a classic tale, told from…
the perspective of Agnes, Cinderella’s "evil" stepmother.We all know the story of Cinderella. Or do we?As rumors about the cruel upbringing of beautiful newlywed Princess Cinderella roil the kingdom, her stepmother, Agnes, who knows all too well about hardship, privately records the true story. . . .A peasant born into serfdom, Agnes is separated from her family and forced into servitude as a laundress’s apprentice when she is only ten years old. Using her wits and ingenuity, she escapes her tyrannical matron and makes her way toward a hopeful future. When teenaged Agnes is seduced by an older man and becomes pregnant, she is transformed by love for her child. Once again left penniless, Agnes has no choice but to return to servitude at the manor she thought she had left behind. Her new position is nursemaid to Ella, an otherworldly infant. She struggles to love the child who in time becomes her stepdaughter and, eventually, the celebrated princess who embodies everyone’s unattainable fantasies. The story of their relationship reveals that nothing is what it seems, that beauty is not always desirable, and that love can take on many guises.Lyrically told, emotionally evocative, and brilliantly perceptive, All the Ever Afters explores the hidden complexities that lie beneath classic tales of good and evil, all the while showing us that how we confront adversity reveals a more profound, and ultimately more important, truth than the ideal of "happily ever after."The Hallowed Isle: The Book of the Cauldron (The Hallowed Isle)
By Diana L. Paxson. 1999
The Romans came, conquered, and departed, leaving behind them a strange new religion called Christianity. The princes of Britannia have…
driven back the invading Saxons and dream of a return to bygone days, while others on the island invoke the magic of a time older still. For the revered ancient goddesses Eve on in the hearts and memories of the proud royal women of the old British tribes. And now, King Artor -- wounded in body and spirit -- proclaims that the sword and the spear must be put to rest, and summons his mother Igierne, Lady of the Lake, to use the powers of the Cauldron to heal a troubled, wartorn land. But old jealousies and new power struggles threaten disaster, as Artor's sister Morgause hides a deadly secretand a darker magic. It is Guendivar the queen who holds the key to their survival, if she can master her own power in time.For a darkness is emanating from high places -- and it threatens to devastate a realm.When the Men Were Gone: A Novel
By Marjorie Herrera Lewis. 2018
“…Sublimely ties together the drama of high school football, gender politics, and the impact of war on a small town…
in Texas.” – Sports IllustratedA 2019 One of the Best Books So Far--Newsweek.comA cross between Friday Night Lights and The Atomic City Girls, When The Men Were Gone is a debut historical novel based on the true story of Tylene Wilson, a woman in 1940's Texas who, in spite of extreme opposition, became a female football coach in order to keep her students from heading off to war.Football is the heartbeat of Brownwood, Texas. Every Friday night for as long as assistant principal Tylene Wilson can remember, the entire town has gathered in the stands, cheering their boys on. Each September brings with it the hope of a good season and a sense of unity and optimism.Now, the war has changed everything. Most of the Brownwood men over 18 and under 45 are off fighting, and in a small town the possibilities are limited. Could this mean a season without football? But no one counted on Tylene, who learned the game at her daddy’s knee. She knows more about it than most men, so she does the unthinkable, convincing the school to let her take on the job of coach. Faced with extreme opposition—by the press, the community, rival coaches, and referees and even the players themselves—Tylene remains resolute. And when her boys rally around her, she leads the team—and the town—to a Friday night and a subsequent season they will never forget. Based on a true story, When the Men Were Gone is a powerful and vibrant novel of perseverance and personal courage.The Way to London: A Novel of World War II
By Alix Rickloff. 2017
From the author of Secrets of Nanreath Hall comes this gripping, beautifully written historical fiction novel set during World War…
II—the unforgettable story of a young woman who must leave Singapore and forge a new life in England. On the eve of Pearl Harbor, impetuous and overindulged, Lucy Stanhope, the granddaughter of an earl, is living a life of pampered luxury in Singapore until one reckless act will change her life forever. Exiled to England to stay with an aunt she barely remembers, Lucy never dreamed that she would be one of the last people to escape Singapore before war engulfs the entire island, and that her parents would disappear in the devastating aftermath. Now grief stricken and all alone, she must cope with the realities of a grim, battle-weary England.Then she meets Bill, a young evacuee sent to the country to escape the Blitz, and in a moment of weakness, Lucy agrees to help him find his mother in London. The unlikely runaways take off on a seemingly simple journey across the country, but her world becomes even more complicated when she is reunited with an invalided soldier she knew in Singapore. Now Lucy will be forced to finally confront the choices she has made if she ever hopes to have the future she yearns for.Revelations
By Mary Sharratt. 2021
A fifteenth-century Eat, Pray, Love, Revelations illuminates the intersecting lives of two female mystics who changed history—Margery Kempe and Julian of Norwich. Bishop&’s…
Lynn, England, 1413. At the age of forty, Margery Kempe has nearly died giving birth to her fourteenth child. Fearing that another pregnancy might kill her, she makes a vow of celibacy, but she can&’t trust her husband to keep his end of the bargain. Desperate for counsel, she visits the famous anchoress Dame Julian of Norwich. Pouring out her heart, Margery confesses that she has been haunted by visceral religious visions. Julian then offers up a confession of her own: she has written a secret, radical book about her own visions, Revelations of Divine Love. Nearing the end of her life and fearing Church authorities, Julian entrusts her precious book to Margery, who sets off the adventure of a lifetime to secretly spread Julian's words. Mary Sharratt vividly brings the medieval past to life as Margery blazes her trail across Europe and the Near East, finding her unique spiritual path and vocation. It's not in a cloistered cell like Julian, but in the full bustle of worldly existence with all its wonders and perils.The Quintland Sisters: A Novel
By Shelley Wood. 2019
"A historical novel that will enthrall you... I was utterly captivated..." — Joanna Goodman, author of The Home for Unwanted GirlsAN INTERNATIONAL…
BESTSELLERFor fans of Sold on a Monday or The Home for Unwanted Girls, Shelley Wood's novel tells the story of the Dionne Quintuplets, the world's first identical quintuplets to survive birth, told from the perspective of a midwife in training who helps bring them into the world. Reluctant midwife Emma Trimpany is just 17 when she assists at the harrowing birth of the Dionne quintuplets: five tiny miracles born to French farmers in hardscrabble Northern Ontario in 1934. Emma cares for them through their perilous first days and when the government decides to remove the babies from their francophone parents, making them wards of the British king, Emma signs on as their nurse. Over 6,000 daily visitors come to ogle the identical “Quints” playing in their custom-built playground; at the height of the Great Depression, the tourism and advertising dollars pour in. While the rest of the world delights in their sameness, Emma sees each girl as unique: Yvonne, Annette, Cécile, Marie, and Émilie. With her quirky eye for detail, Emma records every strange twist of events in her private journals. As the fight over custody and revenues turns increasingly explosive, Emma is torn between the fishbowl sanctuary of Quintland and the wider world, now teetering on the brink of war. Steeped in research, The Quintland Sisters is a novel of love, heartache, resilience, and enduring sisterhood—a fictional, coming-of-age story bound up in one of the strangest true tales of the past century.The Myth of Perpetual Summer
By Susan Crandall. 2018
From the national bestselling author of Whistling Past the Graveyard comes a moving coming-of-age tale set in the tumultuous sixties…
that harkens to both Ordinary Grace and The Secret Life of Bees.Tallulah James&’s parents&’ volatile relationship, erratic behavior, and hands-off approach to child rearing set tongues to wagging in their staid Mississippi town, complicating her already uncertain life. She takes the responsibility of shielding her family&’s reputation and raising her younger twin siblings onto her youthful shoulders. If not for the emotional constants of her older brother, Griff, and her old guard Southern grandmother, she would be lost. When betrayal and death arrive hand in hand, she takes to the road, headed to what turns out to be the not-so-promised land of Southern California. The dysfunction of her childhood still echoes throughout her scattered family, sending her brother on a disastrous path and drawing her home again. There she uncovers the secrets and lies that set her family on the road to destruction.Lose yourself in this captivating and heart-wrenching saga from much loved author Jess Foley, written in the bestselling tradition of…
Josephine Cox, Catherine Cookson and Dilly Court. You will not want to put it down...READERS ARE LOVING TOO CLOSE TO THE SUN'Good story couldn't put it down' -- ***** Reader review'Keeps you gripped to the end'-- ***** Reader review'A stunning read'-- ***** Reader review'An emotional rollercoaster of a book'-- ***** Reader review**************************************************HOW HIGH A PRICE MUST SHE PAY TO KEEP HER FAMILY SAFE?Grace Harper's world falls apart when she is orphaned and she and her little brother Billy are left homeless and alone. Putting her grief and fear aside, she must think practically.When she finds a job as companion to the wealthy, lonely Mrs Spencer, she and Billy are relieved to have a roof over their heads again, but just as Grace starts to find her feet disaster strikes again.Things look desperate, and when she is offered marriage and a good life for herself and Billy, Grace is tempted.But is her suitor to be trusted? Or is she, desperate in her search for safety for her little family, flying too close to the sun?Tomorrow Is Another Day: An Adams Family Saga Novel (The Adams Family #16)
By Mary Jane Staples. 2000
From autumn 1941 to the first months of 1942, the war continued to affect the lives of the Adams and…
Somers families. It was not so much the war, however, as a succession of tragic domestic events that brought a sad and lonely little girl called Phoebe into the care of Susie and Sammy Adams, reminding them of the entry of Rosie as a child into the lives of Boots and Emily. Much needed to be done to cure little Phoebe of her sadness, and it proved a difficult time for Susie and Sammy.Further shadows fell when news came that Tim was a prisoner of war, and that Japan had attacked the American fleet in Pearl Harbour and British bases in the Far East.But Boots's French-born daughter Eloise had her dearest wish come true when she married Colonel Lucas of the Commandos in Alexandria.Time to Say Goodbye
By Katie Flynn. 2014
From the Sunday Times bestselling author Katie Flynn. Three girls, evacuated from Liverpool during World War Two, support each other…
through hardship and heartbreak..It’s 1939, and three ten-year-old girls meet on a station platform.Imogen, Rita and Debby all missed the original evacuation and now the authorities are finding it difficult to place them. When Auntie and her niece, Jill, who run the Canary and Linnet Public House, offer to take them in, the billeting officer is greatly relieved.The countryside is heaven to the three little townies, especially after they meet Woody and Josh, also evacuees. They find that by climbing to the top of the biggest tree in the beech wood they have a perfect bird’s-eye view of the nearest RAF station and are able to watch the comings and goings of the young fighter pilots as the Battle of Britain rages. Then they find an injured flier and the war becomes a stark reality. As they grow up, love and rivalry enter their lives and, twenty years on, when the girls decide on a reunion, many surprises come to light...Love and friendship blossom when strangers are brought together by tragedy in this enchantingly captivating novel from multi-million copy seller…
and Sunday Times bestselling author Susan Sallis. Fans of Rosamunde Pilcher, Maeve Binchy and Fiona Valpy will not be disappointed. 'Susan Sallis has a natural touch' -- Woman's Realm'Susan Sallis never disappoints' -- ***** Reader review'Highly recommend this book' -- ***** Reader review'A page-turner' -- ***** Reader review'Could not put it down! -- ***** Reader review'Don't miss this one' -- ***** Reader review********************************************************ONE JOURNEY THAT WILL CHANGE THE LIVES OF MANY FOREVER...1951: the 8.45 from Bristol to Paddington is preparing to leave.Albert, the driver - whose father and grandfather before him worked on the railway - says goodbye to his wife with mixed feelings. Their seeming inability to have a child has overshadowed their happy marriage.Jenny, clumsy but loveable, longs to make a success of her job in the restaurant car, where she attracts the interest of Marvin, the steward.The passengers - some regulars on the line, others making a rare visit to London - settle down for the journey. Some talk and get to know each other, some while away the journey working or sleeping.But as they near their destination, disaster strikes...Thursbitch: From the author of the 2022 Booker longlisted Treacle Walker
By Alan Garner. 2003
A gripping time-slip novel by the author of the 2022 Booker Prize-longlisted Treacle WalkerHere John Turner was cast away in…
a heavy snow storm in the night in or about the year 1755. The print of a woman's shoe was found by his side in the snow where he lay dead. So reads an enigmatic memorial stone, high on the bank of a prehistoric Pennine track in Cheshire, a mystery that lives on in the surrounding hill farms. John Turner was a packman. With his train of horses he carried salt and silk, travelling distances incomprehensible to his community. John brought ideas as well as gifts, from market town to market town, from places as distant as the campfires of the Silk Road.In the twenty-first century, two hundred and fifty years after John's life, Ian and Sal's world resounds with the echo John's death. Walking on the moor one day they slip between time and are lost somewhere between Jack's vanished world and their own. This poetic, fantastical novel is is an evocation of the lives and the language of all people who are called to the valley of Thursbitch.'Eerie and immaculately written' Olivia Laing, Observer