Recommendations based on "Paradise"

'One of those rarest of books: so beautiful I almost couldn't bear it, and so moving I was reading through tears' STACEY HALLS 'Uniquely witty, beautifully observed, intricately woven' MIRANDA HART 'A truly glorious life-affirming book, in which love, hope and friendship trump sorrow' DINAH JEFFERIES 'Had me absolutely sobbing - a beautiful, beautiful book' JO BROWNING WROE, bestselling author of A TERRIBLE KINDNESS 'Worth every tear' WOMAN & HOME 'Exquisitely tender, powerfully compelling' SARAH HAYWOOD 'One of my new all-time favourite books - an absolute joy' JULIETTA HENDERSON 'Thoughtful, warm and engaging' CHRISTINA SWEENEY-BAIRD 'Honest, heartfelt and hopeful' MARIANNE CRONIN 'A joy to read' ANNE YOUNGSON 'A love song to women everywhere' ERICKA WALLER MEET EVA MARTÍNEZ-GREEN, AN ONLY CHILD FULL OF QUESTIONS ABOUT HER BEGINNINGS. Between her emotionally absent mother and her physically absent father, there is nobody to answer them. Eva is convinced that all is not as it seems. Why are there no baby pictures of her? Why do her parents avoid all questions about her early years? When her parents' relationship crumbles, Eva begins a journey to find these answers for herself. Her desire to discover where she belongs leads Eva on a journey spanning decades and continents - and, along the way, she meets women who challenge her idea of what a mother should be, and who will change her life forever... 'A glorious journey into loving & longing' ANSTEY HARRIS 'Heartrending and heartwarming' CELIA ANDERSON 'Exquisite' JESSICA RYN 'A deep delight of a book that vibrates with love and longing' HELEN PARIS ________________________________________________________ Praise for Joanna Glen's debut novel, The Other Half of Augusta Hope: 'A therapeutic dose of high-strength emotion' GUARDIAN 'Entertains and moves in equal measure' DAILY MAIL 'Keep the tissues close' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING 'An irresistible message of redemption and belonging' RED magazine 'Heartening and hopeful' JESS KIDD 'Mesmerizingly beautiful' SARAH HAYWOOD 'An extraordinary masterpiece' ANSTEY HARRIS

In his critically acclaimed first novel, Kent Haruf delivers the sweeping tale of eighty-year-old Edith Goodnough. Narrated by her neighbour, Edith`s tragedies unfold: a tough childhood, a mother`s death, a violence that leaves a father dependent on his children, forever enraged. She is a woman who sacrifices everything in the name of family - until she is forced to reclaim her freedom in one dramatic and unexpected gesture. Breathtaking and truthful, The Tie That Binds is a powerful tribute to the demands of rural life, and to the tenacity of the human spirit.`Plainsong is beautifully crafted, alive and quietly magnificent. I read it in one mesmerising sitting. I had no choice; it wouldn`t let me go` Roddy Doyle

The Vignes Twin Sisters Will Always Be Identical. But After Growing Up Together In A Small, Southern Black Community And Running Away At Age Sixteen, It's Not Just The Shape Of Their Daily Lives That Is Different As Adults, It's Everything: Their Families, Their Communities, Their Racial Identities. Ten Years Later, One Sister Lives With Her Black Daughter In The Same Southern Town She Once Tried To Escape. The Other Secretly Passes For White, And Her White Husband Knows Nothing Of Her Past. Still, Even Separated By So Many Miles And Just As Many Lies, The Fates Of The Twins Remain Intertwined. What Will Happen To The Next Generation, When Their Own Daughters' Storylines Intersect? Weaving Together Multiple Strands And Generations Of This Family, From The Deep South To California, From The 1950s To The 1990s, Brit Bennett Produces A Story That Is At Once A Riveting, Emotional Family Story And A Brilliant Exploration Of The American History Of Passing.--provided By Publisher Part I. The Lost Twins (1968) -- Part Ii. Maps (1978) -- Part Iii. Heartlines (1968) -- Part Iv. The Stage Door (1982) -- Part V. Pacific Cove (1985/1988) -- Part Vi. Places (1986) Brit Bennett. Good Morning America Book Club--cover

"The perfect pick to really light a fire under my book club, and yours....A reminder that goodness, and books, can still win in this world." —New York Times Book Review"A beautiful, big-hearted treasure of a novel." —Lily KingNational Bestseller * From the award-winning author of The One-in-a-Million Boy comes a heartfelt, uplifting novel about a chance encounter at a bookstore, exploring redemption, unlikely friendships, and the life-changing power of sharing stories.Our Reasons meet us in the morning and whisper to us at night. Mine is an innocent, unsuspecting, eternally sixty-one-year-old woman named Lorraine Daigle…Violet Powell, a twenty-two-year-old from rural Abbott Falls, Maine, is being released from prison after serving twenty-two months for a drunk-driving crash that killed a local kindergarten teacher.Harriet Larson, a retired English teacher who runs the prison book club, is facing the unsettling prospect of an empty nest.Frank Daigle, a retired machinist, hasn’t yet come to grips with the complications of his marriage to the woman Violet killed.When the three encounter each other one morning in a bookstore in Portland—Violet to buy the novel she was reading in the prison book club before her release, Harriet to choose the next title for the women who remain, and Frank to dispatch his duties as the store handyman—their lives begin to intersect in transformative ways.How to Read a Book is an unsparingly honest and profoundly hopeful story about letting go of guilt, seizing second chances, and the power of books to change our lives. With the heart, wit, grace, and depth of understanding that has characterized her work, Monica Wood illuminates the decisions that define a life and the kindnesses that make life worth living."A deeply humane and touching novel; highly recommended for book clubs and fans of Shelby Van Pelt's Remarkably Bright Creatures." — Booklist

From the author of Girl One comes a spellbinding adventure about a strange power lurking in the Arkansas Ozarks, and the group of friends obsessed with finding it.Five friends arrive back in Eternal Springs, Arkansas, the small town they all fled after high school graduation. Each is drawn home by a cryptic, scrawled two-word letter that reads, You promised.It has been fifteen years since the summer that changed their lives, and they’re anxious to find out why Brandi called them back, especially when they vowed never to return.But Brandi is missing. She’d been acting erratically for months, railing at whoever might listen about magic all around them. About a power they can’t see. And about strange houses that appear only when you need them . . .Told in two enthralling timelines, The Wonder State is a gorgeous, immersive, speculative Gothic tale about searching for home. Sara Flannery Murphy has created another brilliant, genre-blurring novel―an adventure story laced with nostalgia, exploring belonging and the lasting power of community.

To survive the Holocaust, a young Jewish woman must pose as a Christian farmer’s wife in this unforgettable novel from USA Today bestselling author Jennifer Robson—a story of terror, hope, love, and sacrifice, inspired by true events, that vividly evokes the most perilous days of World War II. It is the autumn of 1943, and life is becoming increasingly perilous for Italian Jews like the Mazin family. With Nazi Germany now occupying most of her beloved homeland, and the threat of imprisonment and deportation growing ever more certain, Antonina Mazin has but one hope to survive—to leave Venice and her beloved parents and hide in the countryside with a man she has only just met. Nico Gerardi was studying for the priesthood until circumstances forced him to leave the seminary to run his family’s farm. A moral and just man, he could not stand by when the fascists and Nazis began taking innocent lives. Rather than risk a perilous escape across the mountains, Nina will pose as his new bride. And to keep her safe and protect secrets of his own, Nico and Nina must convince prying eyes they are happily married and in love. But farm life is not easy for a cultured city girl who dreams of becoming a doctor like her father, and Nico’s provincial neighbors are wary of this soft and educated woman they do not know. Even worse, their distrust is shared by a local Nazi official with a vendetta against Nico. The more he learns of Nina, the more his suspicions grow—and with them his determination to exact revenge.  As Nina and Nico come to know each other, their feelings deepen, transforming their relationship into much more than a charade. Yet both fear that every passing day brings them closer to being torn apart . . .  

The New York Times bestselling author of The Lost and Found Bookshop brings readers a can't-miss tale of friendship, hardship, redemption, and love between a San Francisco baker and a barbecue master from Texas. "Susan Wiggs understands the tender dramas of everyday life, of friendship and family, of wanting something that might be just beyond reach. She will make you believe in life's sweetness."--Luanne Rice, New York Times bestselling author of The Shadow Box "Wiggs writes with compassion and insight...This is another winner." --Booklist Jerome Sugar learned the art of baking in his grandma's bakery, also called Sugar, on historic Perdita Street in San Francisco. He supplies baked goods to the Lost and Found Bookshop across the street. When the restaurant that shares his commercial kitchen loses its longtime tenant, a newcomer moves in: Margot Salton, a barbecue master from Texas. Margot isn't exactly on the run, but she needs a fresh start. She's taken care of herself her whole life, pulling herself up by her fingernails to recover from trauma, and her dream has been to open a restaurant somewhere far, far from Texas. The shared kitchen with Jerome's Sugar bakery is the perfect setup: a state-of-the-art kitchen and a vibrant neighborhood popular with tourists and locals. Margot instantly takes to Jerome's mother, the lively, opinionated Ida. The older woman proves to be a good mentor, and Margot is drawn to Jerome. Despite their different backgrounds their attraction is powerful--even though Jerome worries that Margot will simply move on from him once she's found some peace and stability. But just as she starts to relax into a happy new future, Margot's past in Texas comes back to haunt her...

An unforgettable, heart-wrenching story tying together past and present, from the bestselling author of The Forgotten Bookshop in Paris Avignon, France, 1941. Brave, beautiful Mathilde is helping her cousin sabotage a railway line when he's killed and she's arrested by the Gestapo. With the help of her friends in the Resistance, she manages to escape from custody, and stumbles upon an abandoned vineyard where she takes refuge.But Mathilde soon stumbles upon a monumental secret in the vineyard, and as the local Vichy official starts to pay too much attention, she must do everything she can to make sure the vineyard, and her new family, stay safe... Present Day. Juliette's relationship with her husband is already struggling, just a short time after their wedding. So when the couple have the opportunity to leave their home in Paris and travel south to investigate the story of Mathilde's war years for themselves comes along, Juliette jumps at the opportunity. A break from Paris is just when they needed - but the things they uncover might just be what breaks their marriage once and for all. A heart-wrenching, beautiful tale of love, loss and the realities of war, perfect for fans of Kate Quinn and The Forgotten Bookshop in Paris. Readers love Daisy Wood!'Oh my!!! This is one of those books you just can't put down or stop thinking about. A must read.' NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'One of my favourite reads of the year. The two timelines are seamlessly [woven] together... I loved it!' NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'A truly wonderful read that you will not want to put down!' NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'This book had me mesmerised from beginning to end. Highly recommended.' NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'A heck of a good story filled with hope, and heartbreaking at the same time. Brilliantly written!' NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'Such a stunning read! Five stars.' NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

With millions of copies sold worldwide, Di Morrissey is one of the most successful authors Australia has ever produced.Queenie and TR return in Di Morrissey's sequel to the bestselling Heart of the Dreaming.Queenie Hanlon has a perfect life. She's the mother of two adoring children, the wealthy owner of a thriving outback station and the wife of handsome bushman TR Hamilton.Then one day, Queenie's perfect life comes crashing down...Her bitter and vengeful brother returns from Italy to lay claim to his inheritance. Her precious daughter is seduced by her uncle into giving up all Queenie's strived for. And her beloved TR, injured in a riding accident, can no longer recall the life they once shared.Follow the Morning Star is a triumphant story of courage, strength and a rare and beautiful love that endures the test of time.

Artie Dam is a man with a secret. He spends his days teaching history to high schoolers, expanding their young minds, correcting their casual cruelties, and lending a kind word to those who need it most. He goes to holiday parties with his wife of three decades, makes small talk with neighbours, and, on weekends, takes his sailboat out on the beautiful Massachusetts Bay. He is, by all appearances, present and alive. But inside, Artie is plagued by feelings of isolation. He looks out at a world gone mad-at himself and the people around him-and turns a question over and over in his mind- how is it that we know so little about one another, even those closest to us? And then, one day, Artie learns that life has been keeping a secret from him, one that threatens to upend his entire world. Once he learns it, he is forced to chart a new course, to reconsider the relationships he holds most dear-and to make peace with the mysteries at the heart of our existence. With exquisite prose and profound insight, Elizabeth Strout captures the way grief reverberates through decades, the comfort found in deep friendships and the freedom that comes when we break free of our secrets. The Things We Never Say is a stunning new novel from one of our most acclaimed observers of the human heart.