Books like 'Mama Ruby'
Readers who enjoyed Mama Ruby by Mary Monroe & Kevin R. Free also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical historical-fiction drama friendship revenge coming-of-age crime family religion literary-fiction
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Roaring Liberty by Jean Grainger
Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsNew York City, 1922Harp Devereaux is torn. Part of her desperately wants to return to Ireland to finish what she and her family and friends started, and to witness the departure of the British forces from Ireland after eight hundred long years. But the other part finds life in America during the Roaring Twenties too exciting to trade for the sleepy streets of County Cork... -
![In Search of Satisfaction by J. California Cooper]()
In Search of Satisfaction by J. California Cooper
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe folk flavor of her storytelling has earned her constant comparison to Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston, but through four collections of short stories and two novels, J. California Cooper has proven that hers is a wholly original talent --one that embraces readers in an ever-widening circle from one book to the next... -
![Say Goodbye for Now by Catherine Ryan Hyde]()
Say Goodbye for Now by Catherine Ryan Hyde
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsOn an isolated Texas ranch, Dr. Lucy cares for abandoned animals. The solitude allows her to avoid the people and places that remind her of the past. Not that any of the townsfolk care. In 1959, no one is interested in a woman doctor. Nor are they welcoming Calvin and Justin Bell, a newly arrived African American father and son...Categorized as:
black-mc coming-of-age drama family female-mc friendship historical-fiction literary-fiction -
![The Queen of Beauty by Petra Durst-Benning, Edwin Miles]()
The Queen of Beauty by Petra Durst-Benning, Edwin Miles
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsPetra Durst-Benning’s captivating historical novel pays homage to the trailblazing women of the early twentieth century—like Elizabeth Arden and Estée Lauder—who shaped culture, shattered convention, and strived to make the world around them more beautiful... -
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![God Still Don't Like Ugly by Mary Monroe]()
God Still Don't Like Ugly by Mary Monroe
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsNew York Times bestselling author Mary Monroe's heart-stopping tale about a woman who's suffered too much to give up on herself, even if everyone else has. . . Growing up, Annette Goode thought all men were as low-down as the father who abandoned her, including the boarder who abused her for years and the men she slept with to earn the money she needed to run away from her life...Categorized as:
black-mc drama female-mc historical-fiction literary-fiction poc-mc religion spirituality -
![A Time to Rejoice by Anna Jacobs]()
A Time to Rejoice by Anna Jacobs
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe heartwarming third instalment of the Rivenshaw series from bestselling saga writer Anna Jacobs... -
![The Wretched Needle Worker by Iris Cole]()
The Wretched Needle Worker by Iris Cole
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsVera has uncovered things she never wanted to know. Her father was a monster.How could Vera have been so blind to what was right before her eyes?After the death of her kind and loving Papa, Vera’s home is claimed by ne’er do well Uncle Merritt, who drives the household with cruelty and deprivation...Categorized as:
historical-fiction family literary-fiction religion female-mc epic spirituality historical -
![Far From Home by Lyn Andrews]()
Far From Home by Lyn Andrews
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsAs daughter of the blacksmith in her tiny Irish village, sixteen-year-old Kitty Doyle knows little of the ways of the world, but she has to grow up fast when her widowed father re-marries and she has no choice but to leave the family home.Luckily there's work to be found over the water in 1920s Liverpool and soon Kitty has a job in a grocer's, where she also catches the eye of the owner...Categorized as:
coming-of-age epic family female-mc friendship historical-fiction 20th-century adult -
![The Asylum Daughter by Rosie Darling]()
The Asylum Daughter by Rosie Darling
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsBorn in the dark horrors of the Victorian Bedlam, Beth Thursday was a no-one. An inconsequential inconvenience.After eight years of dreaming of an unknown mother rescuing her from the workhouse, Beth is unexpectedly liberated to become an apprentice in Mr Whitaker's tailor's shop... -
![The Memory Tree by Linda Gillard]()
The Memory Tree by Linda Gillard
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsCan the power of love overcome life’s darkest memories and deepest losses? When her favourite beech tree is felled in a storm, Ann feels as if someone has died. But when long-hidden seed packets are found inside the trunk, Ann realises there are more memories than her own lurking within the ancient tree . .Categorized as:
epic family female-mc friendship historical-fiction literary-fiction adult audiobook -
![Hide Her Name: The Four Streets Trilogy by Nadine Dorries]()
Hide Her Name: The Four Streets Trilogy by Nadine Dorries
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThis gripping follow on from The Four Streets finds the community alive with rumours and gossip after the murder which rocked it to the core... -
![This Bitter Earth by Bernice L. McFadden]()
This Bitter Earth by Bernice L. McFadden
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIn This Bitter Earth, Sugar Lacey is on her way out of Bigelow, Arkansas, where she’d come to break with the past. With her worn leopard-print suitcase and her head held high, she walks past the prying eyes of its small-minded, cruel-hearted townsfolk, praying for the strength to keep going. She doesn’t stop until she arrives at her childhood home in Short Junction... -
![Bitter Winds by Kay Bratt]()
Bitter Winds by Kay Bratt
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe third book of the Tales of the Scavenger’s Daughters series, Bitter Winds continues the saga of Chinese couple Benfu and Calli, and the abandoned young women in their care.Since the night her sister was almost burned alive in a fire and they were taken from their mother, Ivy has been the self-appointed guardian and guide to her blind twin, Lily... -
![The Fire Blossom by Sarah Lark]()
The Fire Blossom by Sarah Lark
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe bestselling author of the Sea of Freedom Trilogy returns with a sweeping family saga of two women in nineteenth-century New Zealand and their epic journey to survive in a world of their own making. It’s 1837, and immigrating to a small New Zealand fishing village is an opportunity for Ida Lange’s family to build a better future... -
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![Bright Day Dawning: Music Hall Series, Book 3 by Anna Jacobs]()
Bright Day Dawning: Music Hall Series, Book 3 by Anna Jacobs
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsGwynna had fallen from grace once, bearing a stillborn child out of wedlock. Determined to have a respectable future, she finds a position for herself as a nursemaid at Hungerton House. But just as she begins to find her feet, the secrets of her past are revealed. She is swiftly dismissed but not before she becomes the target of a lascivious groom... -
![Little Black Girl Lost 4: The Diary of Josephine Baptiste by Keith Lee Johnson]()
Little Black Girl Lost 4: The Diary of Josephine Baptiste by Keith Lee Johnson
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsRevealing the roots of Johnnie Wise's family tree, the author takes readers to Nigeria where a beautiful sixteen-year-old girl, preparing to marry a much older man, escapes with her young lover on the night before the arranged marriage is to take place on a Dutch slave ship bound for America where she becomes Josephine Baptiste... -
![The River Maid by Dilly Court]()
The River Maid by Dilly Court
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe first in a stunning new series from Sunday Times bestseller, Dilly Court London, 1854: twenty-year-old Essie Chapman lives with her father in poverty stricken Limehouse, working on the river as a boatman. Her life seems set before her, never to leave this part of London and forever at her father’s beck and call... -
![The Pickpocket Girl by Rosie Darling]()
The Pickpocket Girl by Rosie Darling
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsMolly had been a pickpocket for as long as she could remember. In Victorian London on the filth covered streets of the Old Nichol, everyone was a thief, it was a way of life, the only way to survive. Molly had spent her childhood perfecting her craft. A craft that had snatched her father from her, like she snatched pocket watches... -
![Return To Jarrow by Janet MacLeod Trotter]()
Return To Jarrow by Janet MacLeod Trotter
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsCatherine (Kitty) McMullen, is seventeen, restless and rebellious. Resentful of her mother Kate's new husband, she yearns for stories of the father she never knew and when her gossipy aunt divulges that he was a wealthy gentleman, Catherine's discontent with grimy, impoverished Jarrow grows... -
![Things Past Telling: A Novel by Sheila Williams]()
Things Past Telling: A Novel by Sheila Williams
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratings“This is a truly character-driven novel that explores how people define themselves, the creation of family and home, and the importance of memory and language. . . . Fans of historical epics won’t be able to put this book down.”—Historical Novel Society“Emotionally satisfying. . . . A remarkable character portrait... -
![Saltwick River Orphan: Historical Victorian Saga by Dolly Price]()
Saltwick River Orphan: Historical Victorian Saga by Dolly Price
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsDrugged and supposedly drowned by the mother who should have loved her, 6-year-old Gwendoline is dredged from the Saltwick River. Poverty-stricken but rich in love Mr. and Mrs. Paul love the tiny child as their own until hard times and tragedy drive them to the workhouse... -
![God Ain't Through Yet by Mary Monroe]()
God Ain't Through Yet by Mary Monroe
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsEven though her life has its ups and downs, Annette Goode Davis feels lucky. Most of all, she's grateful that her husband, Pee Wee, took her back after he discovered she was having an affair. The trouble is, Annette isn't sure his heart is really in it. Her best friend Rhoda is quick to point out that Annette got herself into this mess, so she has to be patient with Pee Wee... -
![The Secret Diary by Anna Stuart]()
The Secret Diary by Anna Stuart
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsTwo women. One house. And a secret that spans decades…The past merges with the present in an unforgettable, poignant story of love, loss and courage in this beautifully written story set between World War Two and the present day.She steps into the room and it’s like going back in time.Catapulting her right into the heart of the 1940s.The spindle of the record player frozen and ready to play...Categorized as:
family female-mc friendship historical-fiction literary-fiction 20th-century adult book -
![God Ain't Blind by Mary Monroe]()
God Ain't Blind by Mary Monroe
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratings"Monroe is a masterful storyteller." -- Philadelphia Inquirer There are some things even forever friends can't fix. . . Annette Goode Davis is a survivor. Life has often knocked her down, but she's never stayed there for long. To Annette, it's all about family and old friends like Rhoda O'Toole. And right now, Annette needs all the friends she can get... -
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![The Upper Room by Mary Monroe]()
The Upper Room by Mary Monroe
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsMama Ruby's known for taking things that aren't rightfully hers, like her best friend's stillborn infant, who she brought back to life and christened Maureen. She's also rumored to have done away with her husband. Some fear her, others try their best to avoid her. But Mama Ruby doesn't pay them any mind. Not when she's got the one gift God gave her--her precious baby girl... -
![The Outside Boy by Jeanine Cummins]()
The Outside Boy by Jeanine Cummins
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIreland, 1959: Young Christy Hurley is a Pavee gypsy, traveling with his father and extended family from town to town, carrying all their worldly possessions in their wagons. Christy carries with him a burden of guilt as well, haunted by the story of his mother's death in childbirth. The peripatetic life is the only one Christy has ever known, but when his grandfather dies, everything changes...Categorized as:
coming-of-age drama family historical-fiction literary-fiction audiobook book fiction -
![The Chocolatier of Hideaway Bay by Michele Brouder]()
The Chocolatier of Hideaway Bay by Michele Brouder
Rated: 4.70 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAfter a series of poor choices and mistakes, Valerie decides she needs a fresh start in a new city. But first, she wants to check out the little town of Hideaway Bay that her grandmother spoke about often with fondness and hopefully solve the mystery why her grandmother left and abandoned her house on Star Shine Drive... -
![The Corrigan Legacy: A captivating story of secrets and surprises by Anna Jacobs]()
The Corrigan Legacy: A captivating story of secrets and surprises by Anna Jacobs
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsMeet the Corrigans. Childless Maeve, though rich and successful, is dying of cancer. She wants to leave her business empire to one of the offspring of her two estranged brothers, Des and Leo. But which young relative should she choose? Des has four children. His second wife Judith has just left him and he is overstretched financially...Categorized as:
female-mc historical-fiction literary-fiction religion spirituality adult audiobook book -
![Carved in Stone by Margaret Manchester]()
Carved in Stone by Margaret Manchester
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFROM AMAZON INTERNATIONAL NUMBER ONE BESTSELLING AUTHOR Northern England 1881. Sent away during her brother’s trial, Phyllis Forster returns home as mistress of Burnside Hall only to find that the Weardale people have turned against the Forster family, and she desperately wants to win back their respect...Categorized as:
epic family female-mc historical-fiction literary-fiction religion spirituality adult -
![Rose's Choice by Chrissie Bradshaw]()
Rose's Choice by Chrissie Bradshaw
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsRationing, bombing, disease and pit disasters are part of Rose Kelly’s World War 2 childhood. When the spirited coalminer’s daughter discovers a family secret, she makes a choice that overshadows her teenage years. Rose tries to make the most of post-war opportunities but family tragedy pulls her back to a life in the colliery rows...Categorized as:
coming-of-age epic family female-mc historical-fiction religion spirituality 20th-century -
![The Abandoned Waif's Christmas Miracle: Victorian Romance by Nell Harte]()
The Abandoned Waif's Christmas Miracle: Victorian Romance by Nell Harte
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsIn the small hours of Christmas morning, a shrouded figure moves quickly through the biting storm in the Old Nichol, a tiny bundle wrapped in tattered rags hidden beneath its coat. “I’m sorry” the figure whispers, as it places the bundle on the cold stone of the work-house steps, “There is no other way... -
![A Daughter’s Courage by Kitty Neale]()
A Daughter’s Courage by Kitty Neale
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsHer strength is all she has left… When Dorothy meets Robbie, she falls for him quickly and it’s not long before the pair are engaged. But then an unexpected pregnancy puts everything at risk, and Dorothy is left alone – with Robbie nowhere to be seen. Heartbroken, Dorothy picks up the pieces of her life as a working girl in Battersea helping to support her mother and father... -
![When Daylight Comes by Lyn Andrews]()
When Daylight Comes by Lyn Andrews
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsJessica Brennan's world falls apart when her father is lost at sea. The death of her mother soon after is almost too much to bear. Then Jess learns that the family business is in ruins, and there are further blows to come.Suddenly a young woman who has known only comfort and security finds herself alone and friendless... -
![Tilly's Story by June Francis]()
Tilly's Story by June Francis
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsCan she leave her troubles behind to find true happiness? In the aftermath of the Great War, many are searching for a new life. But has Tilly missed her only chance for love? Since the end of the First World War, the residents of Victoria Crescent have been slowly rebuilding their lives... -
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![When the Clouds Go Rolling By by June Francis]()
When the Clouds Go Rolling By by June Francis
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe secrets of the past can never be forgotten An orphaned young woman is overjoyed to find a family she never knew existed, but has to come to terms with their troubled history. Since her parents died Clara O’Toole has lived with her grandmother, Bernie...Categorized as:
epic family historical-fiction literary-fiction religion spirituality 20th-century adult -
![Ragged Girl of the Manor (Diary of Family Girls) (Victorian Saga Romance) by Rachel White]()
Ragged Girl of the Manor (Diary of Family Girls) (Victorian Saga Romance) by Rachel White
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsOrphaned and illiterate, her baking skill is all she relies on to survive in a manor full of mistrust and jealousy. Mabel Elton loves the feeling of dough between her fingers and the smell of warm bread in the air. When a vicious banker takes her home and her bakery after Mabel’s father dies unexpectedly, Mabel’s livelihood is lost... -
![The Orphan Thieves by Nell Harte]()
The Orphan Thieves by Nell Harte
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsIt’ll be quick, the child thought, her feet wading further to the deep waters of the Irish Sea.. Don’t, a soft voice murmured, as a hand came to rest on her shoulder. Whatever’s happened, this isn’t the answer.On the brink of the unthinkable, eight year old Maggie is snatched from death by the lion hearted notorious Liverpool thief, Irene Westfield... -
![Step by Step by June Francis]()
Step by Step by June Francis
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWill their friendship survive against all odds? In the early 1900s two girls see each other through good times and bad. But can their friendship endure when an dreadful act of violence sees their families turn against one another? Hannah Kirk and Alice Moran have been friends since childhood. Growing up in the back streets of Chester, they support each other through hard times... -
![A Family Scandal by Kitty Neale]()
A Family Scandal by Kitty Neale
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratings**A gritty and emotional family drama, from the Sunday Times bestseller. Perfect for fans of Nadine Dorries and Katie Flynn.**You can never leave a bad man behind…Mavis Pugh has had a hard life. Despised and abused throughout her teenage years, she turned to the first man who showed her kindness. But her new husband, Alec, quickly revealed himself to be a violent bully... -
![The Italian Daughter by Soraya M. Lane]()
The Italian Daughter by Soraya M. Lane
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratings“Estee, I bought this ring the day after I saw you on stage, all those years ago. You’re the only woman I’ve ever loved.” Estee wanted to see it so badly, but instead she reached for Felix’s hand and gently closed it over the box. “No,” she whispered. “I want you to propose only when you’re truly free.”Italy, 1946: As Estee bids farewell to Felix her heart breaks...Categorized as:
epic female-mc friendship historical-fiction literary-fiction religion spirituality 20th-century -
![An Ordinary Woman: An utterly captivating and uplifting story of one woman’s strength and determination… by Susan Sallis]()
An Ordinary Woman: An utterly captivating and uplifting story of one woman’s strength and determination… by Susan Sallis
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWhen Rose was four the scandal broke about her head. She was really too young to understand what was happening - only that her mother was in disgrace and that they were leaving Aunt Mabe in America and returning home to England. The following May, Joanna - 'Jon' - was born. Rose and Jon were totally different... -
![Fifth Born by Zelda Lockhart]()
Fifth Born by Zelda Lockhart
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWhen Odessa Blackburn is three years old her beloved grandmother dies, and so begins her story, set in St. Louis, Missouri, and rural Mississippi. As the fifth born of eight children, Odessa loses her innocence at first when her drunken father sexually abuses her, and then again when she alone witnesses her father taking the life of his own brother... -
![Blood Sisters by Barbara Keating, Stephanie Keating]()
Blood Sisters by Barbara Keating, Stephanie Keating
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsKenya 1957. During their childhood years in the Kenya Highlands three girls from vastly different backgrounds become blood sisters, promising that nothing will ever destroy the bond between them. But the legacy of the Mau Mau rebellion, and the tensions and upheavals of newly independent Kenya, tear their childhood dreams apart... -
![Fortune's Daughters by Consuelo Saah Baehr, Nicol Zanzarella]()
Fortune's Daughters by Consuelo Saah Baehr, Nicol Zanzarella
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsFaith Simpson is born at the dawn of the twentieth century into a dynasty that gives her everything she will ever need—except her parents’ love and attention. Often misunderstood, she trusts few as she grows up on the family’s manicured Long Island estate. Just twenty-nine miles away, on lower Manhattan’s dirty, crowded streets, Hope Lee’s world is one of poverty and desperation... -
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![Coming Apart by Karen Heenan]()
Coming Apart by Karen Heenan
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsNo one knows you like a sister.Ava has always been poor, so she doesn't think the Great Depression will change anything. But when her mother dies and her coal miner husband loses his job, Ava's certainty falters. The last thing she needs is a letter from her estranged sister, asking for the impossible.Claire has everything she could ever want, except the child she promised her husband... -
![The Street Sweeper by Elliot Perlman]()
The Street Sweeper by Elliot Perlman
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsHow breathtakingly close we are to lives that at first seem so far away. From the civil rights struggle in the United States to the Nazi crimes against humanity in Europe, there are more stories than people passing each other every day on the bustling streets of every crowded city. Only some survive to become history... -
![Toward the Sea of Freedom by Sarah Lark]()
Toward the Sea of Freedom by Sarah Lark
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIn mid-nineteenth-century Ireland, charming Kathleen and dashing Michael harbor secrets and dreams. Imagining a life beyond the kitchen and fields of the wealthy family they both work for, they plot to leave their homeland, marry, and raise the child Kathleen is secretly carrying. The luck of the Irish, however, is not on their side... -
![Flowers in the Snow by Danielle Stewart]()
Flowers in the Snow by Danielle Stewart
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIf you step across the threshold of Betty Grafton’s house, you can be sure of two things: she’ll feed you until you’re ready to bust and she’ll love you before you even realize you’re worthy of it. She’s spent her life building a family that finally feels complete. But as sad news forces her to relive the darkest moments of her life, she decides to share the story with those she loves...Categorized as:
black-mc coming-of-age family female-mc friendship historical-fiction literary-fiction poc-mc -
![The Immigrants by Howard Fast]()
The Immigrants by Howard Fast
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsIn a passionate, multigenerational novel set against the backdrop of San Francisco, the son of an Italian fisherman struggles from the rubble of the great earthquake to build a shipping empire. Reprint... -
![Rhythms by Donna Hill]()
Rhythms by Donna Hill
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIt all began in 1927, in the small town of Rudell, Mississippi, after the sudden and tragic death of Cora Harvey's parents. She has nothing left except her burning desire to become a singer. But her dream will never come true in Rudell, especially if she marries the man she adores, Dr. David Mackey...
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