Books like 'Oleander Girl'
Readers who enjoyed Oleander Girl by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
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The Library by Bella Osborne
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsTwo different generations. Two unusual people. Thrown together to save their local library.Tom is a teenager and blends into the background of life. After a row with his dad, and facing an unhappy future at the dog food factory, he escapes to the library. Tom unwittingly ends up with a bagful of romance novels and comes under the suspicion of Maggie... -
Dandelion Summer by Lisa Wingate
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 16 ratings"A story beautifully told, with richly drawn characters that will...make you want to laugh and cry"* from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Lost Friends and Before We Were Yours. All her life, Epiphany Salerno has been tossed like a dandelion seed on the wind... -
Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
Rated: 4.46 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsFrom the New York Times bestselling author of Dear Edward comes an emotionally layered and engrossing story of a family that asks: Can love make a broken person whole?William Waters grew up in a house silenced by tragedy, where his parents could hardly bear to look at him, much less love him...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family historical-fiction literary-fiction adult audiobook book contemporary -
The Art of Inheriting Secrets by Barbara O'Neal
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsWhen Olivia Shaw’s mother dies, the sophisticated food editor is astonished to learn she’s inherited a centuries-old English estate—and a title to go with it. Raw with grief and reeling from the knowledge that her reserved mother hid something so momentous, Olivia leaves San Francisco and crosses the pond to unravel the mystery of a lifetime...Categorized as:
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Redeeming Ryker by Kelly Collins
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsImagine finding out that everything about your life is a lie. Imagine falling for the man who thinks he killed you. Imagine having to remain dead so you can keep him. Twenty-four-year-old Ana Barrett knows who she is. She’s a struggling artist, a loyal friend, an orphan raised by loving grandparents...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family literary-fiction action-adventure adult angst book contemporary -
Around the Bend by Rosemary Hines
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe carefree days of summer bring an unexpected turn in Michelle Baron’s life when her former student (and the birth mother of their adopted son) returns to Sandy Cove... -
Night Road by Kristin Hannah
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsJude Farraday is a happily married, stay-at-home mom who puts everyone’s needs above her own. Her twins, Mia and Zach, are bright and happy teenagers. When Lexi Baill enters their lives, no one is more supportive than Jude. A former foster child with a dark past, Lexi quickly becomes Mia’s best friend. Then Zach falls in love with Lexi and the three become inseparable...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family historical-fiction literary-fiction realistic audiobook book contemporary -
When We Believed in Mermaids by Barbara O'Neal
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsFrom the author of The Art of Inheriting Secrets comes an emotional new tale of two sisters, an ocean of lies, and a search for the truth. Her sister has been dead for fifteen years when she sees her on the TV news… Josie Bianci was killed years ago on a train during a terrorist attack. Gone forever. It’s what her sister, Kit, an ER doctor in Santa Cruz, has always believed...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family historical-fiction literary-fiction realistic abuse audiobook book -
Vita Mia by Sienna Mynx
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIt is the year 2018. Mirabella Battaglia has survived births, deaths, and betrayals as the wife of the most powerful Camorra Mafia Don in all of the Amalfi. Through vengeance and blood the family she swore to protect paid the ultimate price. Now at the seasoned age of 54, she has decided to reveal her truth to her children and the world... -
Lemon Drop Cottage by K.T. Dady
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWelcome to Pepper Bay. A small close-knit community where you’ll find chocolate box cottages, quaint shops, love, drama, and a happily ever after.Snuggle down with this cosy, feel-good, comfort read that whisks you away to a beautiful bay on the Isle of Wight – Perfect for fans of Christie Barlow, Phillipa Ashley, and Holly Martin... -
Broken Playboy by Laura Lee
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsFrom USA Today bestselling author, Laura Lee, comes the sexy and heart-wrenching new standalone story set in the Windsor Academy world.They call me a player.A joker.The guy always down for a good time.But if they knew the secrets I’ve been keeping, they’d call me something else entirely.For the last two years, I’ve been buried in shame, numbing the pain with various vices...Categorized as:
coming-of-age literary-fiction poc-mc black-mc boarding-school book contemporary dark -
The Wishing Tide by Barbara Davis
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsFrom the acclaimed author of The Secrets She Carried comes a novel about the pull of the past and the power of love. As offseason begins on the Outer Banks, a storm makes landfall, and three unlikely strangers are drawn together... Five years ago, Lane Kramer moved to Starry Point, certain the quaint island village was the place to start anew...Categorized as:
family historical-fiction literary-fiction adult book contemporary female-mc fiction -
Secret by Nia Forrester
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsShayla has a secret. She’s very different than the person she used to be three short years ago; that woman she finally feels like she’s left behind and never wants to be again. And she’s been doing fine so far with her plan to reinvent herself. Trey Denison wasn’t going to put even a dent in those plans... -
Breaking the Silence by Diane Chamberlain
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsLaura Brandon had promised her dying father she would visit Sarah Tolley, but her own agony is drowning out the old woman's ramblings. Her husband killed himself, and the only witness--her daughter, Emma--now refuses to speak. Desperate, Laura turns to a man she met once five years ago: Emma's real father...Categorized as:
family historical-fiction literary-fiction realistic adult audiobook book contemporary -
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The Day She Came Back by Amanda Prowse
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsWhen her loving, free-spirited grandmother Primrose passes away, Victoria is bereft, yet resilient—she has survived tragedy before. But even her strength is tested when a mysterious woman attends Prim’s funeral and claims to be the mother Victoria thought was dead...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family literary-fiction audiobook book contemporary domestic-drama drama -
The Keeper of Stories by Sally Page
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA charming, uplifting debut novel—full of humor and depth—that has taken readers around the world by surprise. Everyone has a story to tell. But does Janice have the power to unlock her own?She can’t recall what started her collection... -
The Candid Life of Meena Dave by Namrata Patel
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA woman embarks on an unexpected journey into her past in an engrossing novel about identity, family secrets, and rediscovering the need to belong.Meena Dave is a photojournalist and a nomad. She has no family, no permanent address, and no long-term attachments, preferring to observe the world at a distance through the lens of her camera... -
One Way Ticket by Kate O'Keeffe, Melissa Baldwin
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWould you switch lives with someone you just met? Sabrina Monroe is poised and ready for her future as Mrs. Todd Edward Blakely. Everything seems perfect, but on the big day, suddenly she’s not so sure. Her nicely mapped out life ahead of her, she finds herself in her own movie scene as the runaway bride, climbing out of the bathroom window. All she can think is escape... -
Treasure Me by Christine Nolfi
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsFinalist, 2012 Next Generation Indie Awards "Highly recommended" by The Midwest Book Review Welcome to Book Two of The Liberty Series, where love, friendship and family life arrive with a second chance in the most heartwarming circumstances. Petty thief Birdie Kaminsky has arrived in Liberty, Ohio to steal a treasure hidden since the Civil War... -
Lady Luck's Map of Vegas by Barbara Samuel
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA successful Web designer, forty-year-old India has a fabulously hip life in Denver and a sexy Irish lover in New York who jets out to see her on bi-weekly visits. The long-distance romance suits India just fine: Though Jack is the only man who has ever made India feel truly alive, she doesn’t want things to get too serious...Categorized as:
family historical-fiction literary-fiction adult audiobook book contemporary female-mc -
The Essential Elizabeth Stone by Jennifer Banash
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsFrom the author of The Rise and Fall of Ava Arcana comes an emotional and empowering multigenerational family saga about a mother and daughter, and the secrets they keep from each other—and from themselves.For more than thirty years, Elizabeth Stone has been an irreplaceable fixture in homes around the world, a food and lifestyle icon with a brand as warm and inviting as New England brown bread...Categorized as:
family historical-fiction coming-of-age literary-fiction contemporary fiction audiobook culinary -
Awakening You by Jessica Sorensen
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsLately, life has been going well for Ayden. His relationship with Lyric is starting to heat up and his career in music is taking off. But the disappearance of his sister still weighs heavily on his mind. Desperate to find out where his sister is, Ayden decides to take drastic measures...Categorized as:
coming-of-age literary-fiction realistic abuse book contemporary fiction high-school -
Leave Myself Behind by Bart Yates
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsNoah York is a closeted gay teenager with a foul mouth, a critical disposition, and plenty of material for his tirades. After his father dies, Noah's mother, a temperamental poet, takes a teaching job in a small New Hampshire town, far from Chicago and the only world Noah has known...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family literary-fiction realistic 21st-century abuse book contemporary -
Sweet Liar by Jude Deveraux
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIt was her father's dying wish that Samantha Elliot search for her grandmother, who'd disappeared from Louisville when she was a baby. So here she was, in big, dirty New York City...her parents were dead, her divorce was final, and she was all alone.... Michael Taggert was Samantha's landlord, and he was easily the most beautiful man she'd ever seen...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family historical-fiction literary-fiction 20th-century adult audiobook book -
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Flight Patterns by Karen White
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsThe New York Times bestselling author of the Tradd Street novels tells the story of a woman coming home to the family she left behind—and to the woman she always wanted to be.... Georgia Chambers has spent her life sifting through other people’s pasts while trying to forget her own...Categorized as:
family historical-fiction literary-fiction realistic 20th-century adult audiobook book -
92 Pacific Boulevard by Debbie Macomber, Sandra Burr
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsOlivia Lockhart-GriffinCedar Cove, WashingtonDear Listener,I'm sorry to say that our good sheriff, Troy Davis, has suffered a disappointment in love. He was hoping to marry his onetime girlfriend, Faith Beckwith, who recently moved back to town. Well, the latest is that Faith ended the relationship last month, even though both of them are widowed and available...Categorized as:
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Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry by Joya Goffney
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsQuinn keeps lists of everything—from the days she’s ugly cried, to “Things That I Would Never Admit Out Loud” and all the boys she’d like to kiss. Her lists keep her sane. By writing her fears on paper, she never has to face them in real life. That is, until her journal goes missing . . -
A Simple Spring by Rosalind Lauer
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA CHANCE TO FOLLOW HER HEART, A CHOICE THAT WILL LAST A LIFETIME Although Sadie King is blessed with the voice of an angel, she never thought that following the song in her heart would take her far beyond the strict boundaries of her Amish faith and away from the only home she’s ever known...Categorized as:
family historical-fiction literary-fiction audiobook book christian contemporary fiction -
High-Wire Heartbreak by Anna Schmidt
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIn 1936--A party at the Ringling mansion Ca d’Zan in Sarasota, Florida, leads to a robbery--and possibly death. A successful historical mystery writer, Chloe Whitfield comes to Ca’ d’Zan to research her next novel. Chloe’s fascination with the circus is rooted in family stories of her great-grandmother Lucinda Conroy, who reportedly was a trapeze artist of some renown... -
I Will Save You by Matt de la Peña
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsKidd is running from his past and his future. No mom, no dad, and there’s nothing for him at the group home but therapy. He doesn’t belong at the beach where he works either, unless he finds a reason to stay. Olivia is blond hair, blue eyes, rich dad. The prettiest girl in Cardiff... -
Fragile Beasts by Tawni O'Dell
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWhen their hard-drinking, but loving, father dies in a car accident, teenage brothers Kyle and Klint Hayes face a bleak prospect: leaving their Pennsylvania hometown for an uncertain life in Arizona with the mother who ran out on them years ago...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family literary-fiction audiobook book contemporary female-author female-mc -
How Not to Disappear by Clare Furniss
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsOur memories are what make us who we are. Some are real. Some are made up. But they are the stories that tell us who we are. Without them we are nobody.Hattie's summer isn't going as planned. Her two best friends have abandoned her: Reuben has run off to Europe to 'find himself" and Kat is in Edinburgh with her new girlfriend...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family realistic historical-fiction romance young-adult contemporary fiction -
Safe Harbor by AnnaLisa Grant
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsLayla Weston was supposed to be planning her wedding, not waiting for her fiancé’s father to die.As Luke prepares to defend Holly for the shooting of Gregory Meyer, Layla and her family weigh the possibility of being able to return home to North Carolina. Only Layla isn't quite sure that's what she wants... -
The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding by Holly Ringland, Emmanuelle Mattana
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFrom international bestselling author of The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, Holly Ringland, comes a haunting and magical novel about joy, grief, courage, and transformation. 'On the afternoon that Esther Wilding drove homeward along the coast, a year after her sister had walked into the sea and disappeared, the light was painfully golden...Categorized as:
family literary-fiction historical-fiction romance fiction contemporary fantasy mystery -
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The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart by Holly Ringland
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsAn enchanting and captivating novel about how our untold stories haunt us — and the stories we tell ourselves in order to survive.After her family suffers a tragedy, nine-year-old Alice Hart is forced to leave her idyllic seaside home... -
The Girl on the 88 Bus by Freya Sampson
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsCan one chance meeting change the course of your life? When Libby Nicholls arrives in London, broken-hearted and with her life in tatters, the first person she meets on the bus is elderly pensioner Frank. He tells her about the time in 1962 he met a girl on the number 88 bus with beautiful red hair just like her own...Categorized as:
realistic family literary-fiction romance fiction contemporary womens-fiction audiobook -
The English Bookshop by Janis Wildy
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsAn inheritance, a bookshop and a promise…Lucy isn’t ready for a life-changing journey when it comes knocking; she just wants to keep everything the same as the day her stepfather died. Unfortunately, expenses have overtaken her small family business, forcing her to do something quickly to keep it afloat...Categorized as:
historical-fiction family literary-fiction romance fiction contemporary womens-fiction cozy -
Q & A by Vikas Swarup
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsVikas Swarup's spectacular debut novel opens in a jail cell in Mumbai, India, where Ram Mohammad Thomas is being held after correctly answering all twelve questions on India's biggest quiz show, Who Will Win a Billion? It is hard to believe that a poor orphan who has never read a newspaper or gone to school could win such a contest...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family historical-fiction literary-fiction poc-mc realistic 21st-century abuse -
The Olive Tree by Lucinda Riley
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsIt is said that anyone who comes to stay at 'Pandora' for the first time will fall in love . . . It has been twenty-four years since a young Helena spent a magical holiday in Cyprus, where she fell in love for the first time. When the now crumbling house, 'Pandora', is left to her by her godfather, she returns to spend the summer there with her family... -
The House of Lost Secrets by Anstey Harris
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsShe thought she knew her best friend…She was wrong.The weatherworn cottage Clachan has always been Jo Wilding’s sanctuary, a blissful escape from her tumultuous home life...Categorized as:
coming-of-age literary-fiction family romance mystery fiction contemporary audiobook -
True Colors by Kristin Hannah
Rated: 3.99 of 5 stars · 34 ratingsTrue Colors is New York Times bestselling author Kristin Hannah's most provocative, compelling, and heart-wrenching story yet. With the luminous writing and unforgettable characters that are her trademarks, she tells the story of three sisters whose once-solid world is broken apart by jealousy, betrayal, and the kind of passion that rarely comes along.The Grey sisters have always been close... -
Jackpot by Nic Stone
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFrom the author of the New York Times bestseller Dear Martin --which Angie Thomas, the bestselling author of The Hate U Give, called "a must read"--comes a pitch-perfect romance that examines class, privilege, and how a stroke of good luck can change an entire life... -
Messy, Wonderful Us by Catherine Isaac
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWhat if loving someone means keeping a secret that will break your heart?In late 1983, a letter arrives from Italy, containing secrets so unthinkable that it is hidden away, apparently forever. More than three decades later, it is found . . . by the last person who was ever supposed to see it...Categorized as:
family historical-fiction literary-fiction adult audiobook book contemporary fiction -
The Strawberry Thief by Joanne Harris
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsThe compelling new novel from the author of the bestselling Chocolat.Vianne Rocher has settled down. Lansquenet-sous-Tannes, the place that once rejected her, has finally become her home. With Rosette, her 'special' child, she runs her chocolate shop in the square, talks to her friends on the river, is part of the community. Even Reynaud, the priest, has become a friend...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family historical-fiction literary-fiction 21st-century adult audiobook book -
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Upstate by Kalisha Buckhanon
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratings"Baby, the first thing I need to know from you is do you believe I killed my father?"So begins Upstate, a powerful story told through letters between seventeen-year-old Antonio and his sixteen-year-old girlfriend, Natasha, set in the 1990's in New York... -
The Speed of Falling Objects by Nan Fischer
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsFrom the author of When Elephants Fly comes an exceptional new novel about falling down, risking everything and embracing what makes us unique. Don't miss this compulsively readable novel about the most unlikely of heroes.Danger "Danny" Danielle Warren is no stranger to falling. After losing an eye in a childhood accident, she had to relearn her perception of movement and space... -
The Secrets of Paper and Ink by Lindsay Harrel
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsLindsay Harrel presents a powerful story of healing, forgiveness, and finding the courage to write your own story. A year after the death of her abusive fiancé, domestic violence counselor Sophia Barrett finds returning to work too painful... -
Looking for Clara by Simona Grossi
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsClara is a successful lawyer in L.A. She moved to the West Coast after graduating from law school, leaving behind William, her best friend or more than that. Before she even settles in L.A., her law firm sends her to Siena, Italy, to work on a project for at least six months. This is the original plan. Once in Siena, though, Clara's life takes unexpected turns...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family literary-fiction romance contemporary fiction mystery womens-fiction -
The Lightning Bottles by Marissa Stapley
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe author of New York Times bestseller and Reese’s Book Club pick Lucky returns with a love letter to rock ‘n’ roll and star-crossed love, following Jane Pyre’s road trip around Europe as she attempts to find out what really happened to her partner in love and music, who disappeared without a trace years earlier, leaving Jane to pick up the pieces...Categorized as:
historical-fiction literary-fiction romance fiction mystery contemporary audiobook female-mc -
The Widows of Wichita County by Jodi Thomas
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsApart from sharing the same zip code, Randi Howard, Anna Montano, Meredith Allen, Helena Whitworth and Crystal Howard have absolutely nothing in common—until a fiery explosion on a west Texas oil rig changes everything.Their husbands are men who live to search for "black gold," men who are willing to exchange backbreaking work and long days for danger and excitement—and money...Categorized as:
family historical-fiction literary-fiction adult book contemporary female-mc fiction
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