Books like 'Where Reasons End'
Readers who enjoyed Where Reasons End by Yiyun Li also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary psychological literary-fiction grief family magical-realism poc-mc female-mc
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Marred: Kyle and Violet by Tess Thompson
Rated: 4.70 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsKyle Hicks started with nothing. Now he's a self-made man. And as luck would have it, his latest project as a real estate developer lands him in Cliffside Bay with his very best friends, The Dogs. At the end of his grueling work days, Kyle's got just enough time left for his buddies and not much else... -
Ruby Finds a Worry by Tom Percival
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA sensitive and reassuring story about what to do when a worry won't leave you alone. Meet Ruby—a happy, curious, imaginative girl. But one day, she finds something unexpected: a Worry. It's not such a big Worry, at first. But every day, it grows a little bigger... And a little bigger... Until eventually, the Worry is ENORMOUS and is all she can think about... -
The Glass Girl by Kathleen Glasgow
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsEveryone in fifteen-year-old Bella’s life needs something from her. Her mom needs her to help around the house; her dad needs her to not make waves; her ex needs her to not be so much. The only person who never needed anything from her was her grandmother—and now she’s dead.There’s only one thing that dulls the pressure: alcohol...Categorized as:
family grief literary-fiction female-mc young-adult mental-illness fiction contemporary -
Waiting to Begin by Amanda Prowse
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFrom the bestselling author of The Girl in the Corner comes a story that asks: what would you risk for a shot at happiness?1984. Bessie is a confident sixteen-year-old girl with the world at her feet, dreaming of what life will bring and what she’ll bring to this life. Then everything comes crashing down... -
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Life Goes On by Kelly Moore
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsHappy go lucky Olivia McDill adores her fairy-tale life, married to the man of her dreams. It’s a love that should’ve lasted a lifetime…then in the blink of an eye, everything changed. She learns too quickly that life can be unfair, and she’s left trying to pick up the pieces and make sense of things on her own... -
What the Heart Remembers by Bette Lee Crosby
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsOverview TWO LOVERS. ONE CHANCE AT HAPPINESS....When Max Martinelli returns to Paris in search of her lost love, what she finds will change her life forever. For three years the memory of Julien Marceau has haunted Max. Her life is stuck on hold simply because she can't stop wondering what would have happened if she had gone back... -
No Beach Like Nantucket by Grace Palmer
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe Benson family needs a fresh start. Can they find peace and happiness on the beaches of Nantucket?Last summer, a storm blew the Benson family’s lives to bits.It’s been almost a year since that fateful day.Since they learned that life at the beach isn’t all sunshine and rainbows.They’re doing their best to pick up the pieces.Mae is running the Sweet Island Inn... -
Hearts on Fire by Julia Gabriel
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratings"Julia Gabriel does an amazing job with this devastatingly, heartbreaking love story." — RT Book Reviews, 4.5 stars, Top PickReturn to the shores of the Chesapeake Bay in Julia Gabriel’s new series about love, family, and second chances ... The 300-year-old town of St. Caroline, Maryland, is part fishing village and part summer playground for the wealthy and powerful... -
The Essential Tales of Chekhov by Anton Chekhov
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsOf the two hundred stories that Anton Chekhov wrote, the twenty stories that appear in this extraordinary collection were personally chosen by Richard Ford--an accomplished storyteller in his own right. Included are the familiar masterpieces--"The Kiss," "The Darling," and "The Lady with the Dog"--as well as several brilliant lesser-known tales such as "A Blunder," "Hush!," and "Champagne...Categorized as:
literary-fiction female-mc fiction classics anthologies contemporary psychological literary -
The Aftermath by Gail Schimmel
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThree women: a mother, a daughter, a friend. Can they save each other from the past?It’s been twenty-six years since the accident, but Helen still lives on autopilot, going through the motions of work and motherhood. Her one wish is for her daughter Julia to settle down with her own family—so Helen can let go... -
Iza's Ballad by Magda Szabó
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWhen Ettie's husband dies, her daughter Iza insists that her mother give up the family house in the countryside and move to Budapest. Displaced from her community and her home, Ettie tries to find her place in this new life, but can't seem to get it right... -
Improbably Yours by Kerry Anne King
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsAn unusual inheritance leads to a life-changing journey in a novel of romance, secrets, and the treasure of found family.Blythe Harmon is on the fast track to a life she never wanted...Categorized as:
literary-fiction family magical-realism female-mc romance fiction mystery contemporary -
Wish You Were Here by Cressida McLaughlin
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA warm welcome awaits…the charming new arrival from the No.1 bestselling author of The Canal Boat Cafe.Robin decides that a grand gesture is what’s needed to prove her feelings to Will and, with the help of her guests, hatches a plan that he won’t be able to ignore. But when two of her guests go missing, the only thing that matters is their safe return... -
The Loft by Bette Lee Crosby
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratings50 YEARS OF MEMORIES ARE HIDDEN IN THE WALLS OF THE LOFT... Annie only needs to find one... the one that will save Oliver's life. On the day of their wedding, Annie saw nothing but happiness ahead, but when an accident calls her back to Memory House, her world is changed forever... -
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Secret Obsession by D.M. Mortier
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsColonel Colton James Ragnarson III should have known better. He wanted nothing more than to enjoy his retirement after his intensely active combat years in the US Army, take care of his family, and find the mystery woman who had made him personalized weapons... -
The Other Son by Nick Alexander, Imogen Church
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFrom the outside, Alice’s marriage looks successful. It’s true that Ken was never her first choice, but four decades in, she’s learned to tolerate him. Their two sons have chosen their own paths, Tim as a successful banker and Matt a carefree globetrotter she can’t keep up with... -
Let the Light Shine by Nick Alexander, Penelope Rawlins
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsFrom Nick Alexander, the number one best-selling author of The Photographer's Wife and The Other Son.Penny and Victoria are about as different as two siblings can be, one with a smart London lifestyle, the other struggling to make ends meet. But they are joined by more than blood, and their shared tragic past is affecting the present more than they realise... -
Where The Story Starts by Imogen Clark
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA strange encounter. An unlikely friendship. But will it survive when they both know the truth?As single mother Leah struggles to get her children ready one morning, the doorbell rings. Standing on the doorstep of their terraced house in Whitley Bay is a well-dressed stranger, Clio, who feels an emotional tie to the house that she can’t explain... -
Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsIf you knew your future, would you try to fight fate? Aside from a delay, there will be no problems. The flight will be smooth, it will land safely. Everyone who gets on the plane will get off. But almost all of them will be forever changed. Because on this ordinary, short, domestic flight, something extraordinary happens. People learn how and when they are going to die... -
The Last Goodbye by Kay Lyons
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsSOMETIMES THE PAIN OF LIFE BRINGS A NEW BEGINNING...Widower Dominic Dunn isn’t sure what to think of his wife’s pre-planned trip for him a year after her death. It’s her effort to force him from his work desk to the coast and the peacefulness she’d found at the Carolina Cove Inn...Categorized as:
grief family female-mc contemporary fiction psychological female-author season-summer -
His Uptown Girl by Liz Talley
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsLife doesn't follow rules... Jazz pianist Dez Batiste knows this all too well. It's taken him years to return to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina swept away what mattered most. His musician's soul is still lost in the wreckage, but he's after a brand-new future by opening an Uptown jazz club. Too bad the distractingly sexy Eleanor Theriot is getting in his way... -
Change of Heart by Judith Keim
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsEmerson “Em” Jordan always wanted a Valentine’s Day wedding. But after being dumped by her boyfriend, she spends the holiday at Seashell Cottage on the Gulf Coast of Florida with Devin Gerard, a family friend who has no interest in her or any other woman and is instead concentrating on his pediatric medical practice and continuing medical missions in Costa Rica... -
The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsMikki Brammer's The Collected Regrets of Clover is a big-hearted and life-affirming debut about a death doula who, in caring for others at the end of their life, has forgotten how to live her own, for readers of The Midnight Library... -
The Night Nanny by Nelle Lamarr
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratings“Please don’t worry, Ava. Your baby is safe with me. I’m going to take care of her like she’s my own…”Ever since my daughter Isa was born, I’ve been struggling. I can’t remember anything, and my brain is in a fog. So when my husband Ned suggests we hire a night nanny, I leap at the chance.As soon as she walks into our home, I feel a wave of relief... -
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The Forgetting by Hannah Beckerman
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsFrom the bestselling author of If Only I Could Tell You comes the story of two women determined to uncover the truth. But how can you trust the present if you can't remember the past?“Left me gasping. Brilliant.” —Alex Michaelides“Has one of the best story twists I have ever read…superb writing.” —Ruth Jones“Resonates long after you turn the final page... -
The Shadow Between Us by Carol Mason
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWhat is it about the coast that attracts people running from their past? Maybe there’s something in a sea breeze that blows away your problems. Maybe when you look out at the ocean you can see the future; forget the secrets and pain holding you back. Or at least you can forget them for a time. When Olivia moves to Port Townsend, her marriage is floundering, and her life is in pieces... -
The Marriage Mender by Linda Green
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe only relationship she can't save is her own . . .Alison is a marriage counsellor. Her job is to help couples who fear they have reached the end of the line. But the trouble with spending your time sorting out other people's problems is that you tend to take your eye off your own. Even when her husband's ex Lydia arrives on the doorstep demanding to see her son, Alison thinks she can handle it... -
A Life Worth Living by Louise Guy
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsAre some white lies simply too big to forgive?Eve and Leah are identical twins—but beyond that, they’re polar opposites. Struggling journalist Leah envies Eve’s seemingly perfect life—the loyal husband, the beautiful twin daughters, the stellar career—little knowing that what Eve longs for most is Leah’s independence... -
The Passing Storm by Christine Nolfi
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsA gripping, openhearted novel about family, reconciliation, and bringing closure to the secrets of the past.Early into the tempestuous decade of her thirties, Rae Langdon struggles to work through a grief she never anticipated. With her father, Connor, she tends to their Ohio farm, a forty-acre spread that itself has enjoyed better days... -
The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsAfter the tragic death of his beloved musician father, fourteen-year-old Benny Oh begins to hear voices. The voices belong to the things in his house - a sneaker, a broken Christmas ornament, a piece of wilted lettuce... -
Nonfiction by Julie Myerson
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThis is definitely not a ghost story. But for a while after you’re gone, I see you everywhere. Every ragged young person sitting huddled on a pavement, every stretched-out body under cardboard in a shop doorway.Two parents stand by powerlessly as their only child seems intent on destroying herself...Categorized as:
literary-fiction family fiction contemporary mental-illness substance-abuse psychological book -
One Summer Night at the Ritz by Jenny Oliver
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsGorgeously glamorous and unforgettably romantic, One Summer Night at the Ritz is the fairy-tale perfect forth story in Jenny Oliver’s ‘Cherry Pie Island’ series... -
Multiple Me's by Sasha Wright
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsMoneca Robinson had to grow up fast when, at a young age, she was forced to care for her mother after a nervous breakdown. Living the fast life way before her adult years, she finally met her match when she fell in love with Rex. Although she thought he was everything she’d been missing, she soon learned Rex was not the man she thought... -
Lark Song by Jane Bailey
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThey want to move on—but one terrible truth could shatter it all.As a widowed mother of three, new love seems impossible for Freya—until she meets Duncan, and suddenly she feels alive again. But there are secrets afflicting Freya’s family, some more sinister than others, that could destroy their relationship before it has a chance to flourish... -
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Never Say Goodbye by Susan Lewis
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsFor readers of Jodi Picoult, Heather Gudenkauf, and Elizabeth Flock comes a deeply moving novel of finding friendship and love in the most unexpected of places. Josie Clarke, a loving wife and mother, struggles to make ends meet by cleaning homes and working at a diner while her husband drives a taxi. Josie’s joy is her two children, just entering adulthood... -
The Index of Self-Destructive Acts by Christopher R. Beha
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratings“Beha tackles finance, faith, war, entitlement, and no end of self-destructive acts. I greatly admired both the writing and the ambition... -
Moonlight Shadow by Banana Yoshimoto
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratings"Moonlight Shadow" (ムーンライト・シャドウ) is an award-winning novella by Japanese author Banana Yoshimoto, partly inspired by Mike Oldfield's song with the same title. The novella is included in most editions of Yoshimoto's novel Kitchen...Categorized as:
female-mc literary-fiction magical-realism action-adventure adult audiobook book contemporary -
Circle of Doubt by Tracy Buchanan
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsShe thought she was the perfect mother—until the new neighbours moved in.Emma and Dele’s dreams came true nine years ago when they adopted their daughter, Isla. It felt like fate, like they were meant to find each other, and now they’re living the life they always wanted... -
The Family Trap by Lorna Dounaeva
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsPrudence welcomed Zoe into her home. Now she’s fighting to survive.Two simple words shatter Prudence Ahern’s world - “I’m pregnant.”Her son Nathan is only eighteen when his new girlfriend Zoe drops that little bombshell. Prudence feels she has to support her son and asks Zoe to move in with them.Right from the start, Prudence knows something isn’t right...Categorized as:
family female-mc literary-fiction psychological fiction contemporary suspense thriller -
We Own the Sky by Luke Allnutt
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratings“We looked down at the cliff jutting into the sea, a rubber boat full of kids going under the arch, and then you started running and jumping through the grass, dodging the rabbit holes, shouting at the top of your voice, so I started chasing you, trying to catch you, and we were laughing so hard as we ran and ran, kicking up rainbow showers in the leaves... -
The Halo Effect by Anne D. LeClaire
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIn this tour de force, a father, shaken by tragedy, tries to avenge his daughter’s murder—and restore his family’s shattered life. It was supposed to be a typical October evening for renowned portrait artist Will Light... -
The Mires by Tina Makereti
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA literary page turner that explores the intertwined lives of three neighboring families in a small coastal New Zealand town—a blend of Little Fires Everywhere and The Island of Missing Trees, combining domestic drama, suspense, indigenous folklore, and the threat of extremism on ordinary lives.Three women give birth in different countries and different decades...Categorized as:
literary-fiction female-mc family magical-realism fiction audiobook contemporary female-author -
The Secret Mother by Shalini Boland
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsAre you my mommy?Tessa Markham returns home to find a child in her kitchen. He thinks she is his mother. But Tessa doesn't have any children.Not anymore.She doesn't know who the little boy is or how he got there. After contacting the police, Tessa is suspected of kidnapping the mystery child. Her whole life is turned upside down. And then her husband reveals a secret of his own.. -
The Waiting Room by Emily Bleeker
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFrom the bestselling author of When I’m Gone and Working Fire comes a gripping novel about a mother, her missing daughter, and the dark secrets that engulf them.Ever since her husband’s death collided with the birth of her daughter, postpartum depression has taken hold of Veronica Shelton. She can’t sleep, can’t work, and can’t bear to touch her beautiful baby girl... -
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What Remains True by Janis Thomas
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsIn this mesmerizing drama, one life-altering event catapults a family into turmoil, revealing secrets that may leave them fractured forever . . . or bind them together tighter than ever before.From the outside, the Davenports look like any other family living a completely ordinary life—until that devastating day when five-year-old Jonah is killed, and the family is torn apart... -
After She Left by Claire Amarti
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsAbigail Gibson is gone. The morning after Christmas Day, she walks out of her home in the leafy suburbs of Westchester, New York, leaving behind a strange note on the kitchen table… and her ten-year-old son, Sam.When her sister Gillian gets the call, she can barely believe it...Categorized as:
family literary-fiction female-mc fiction contemporary suspense thriller psychological -
Skyward by Mary Alice Monroe
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsE.R. nurse Ella Majors has seen all the misery that she can handle. Burned-out and unsure of her next step, she accepts the temporary position as caregiver to Marion Henderson, a frightened five-year-old who suffers from juvenile diabetes. But Ella soon realizes there is more sorrow in the isolated home than the little girl’s illness can account for... -
Little Friends by Jane Shemilt
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsTHE STUNNING NEW PSYCHOLOGICAL SUSPENSE FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF RICHARD & JUDY BOOK CLUB SENSATION DAUGHTERTheir children are friends first. They hit it off immediately, as kids do. And so the parents are forced to get to know each other. Three wildly different couples. Three marriages, floundering.There are barbecues, dinner parties, a holiday in Greece... -
Breaking Point by Edel Coffey
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsOne mistake could cost her everything.Susannah has two beautiful daughters, a high-flying medical career, a successful husband and an enviable life. Her hair is glossy, her clothes are expensive; she truly has it all.But when - on the hottest day of the year - her strict morning routine is disrupted, Susannah finds herself running on autopilot... -
What We Owe by Golnaz Hashemzadeh Bonde
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsNahid has six months left to live. Or so the doctors say. But Nahid is not the type to trust anyone. She resents the cancer diagnosis she has been given and the doctor who has given it to her. Bubbling inside her is also resentment toward life as it turned out, and the fact that it will go on without her. She feels alone, alone with her illness and alone with her thoughts...
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