In an effort to leave her oppressive existence in England, Alice Wright marries the charming American Bennett Van Cleve. However, life in small-town Kentucky rapidly proves to be cramped, especially when she lives with her controlling father-in-law. Alice readily agrees to help when a request is made for a group of ladies to deliver books as part of Eleanor Roosevelt’s new mobile library.
Margery, the group’s leader and soon to be Alice’s biggest ally, is a witty, independent woman who has never sought a man’s approval for anything. Three further unusual women who take on the moniker “Packhorse Librarians of Kentucky” will join them.
Their experiences—as well as those of the men they love—become an astonishing drama of devotion, fairness, humanity, and passion. These strong women won’t let convention or men intimidate them. And despite the numerous dangers they confront in an environment that can be both breathtakingly beautiful and harsh, they are dedicated to their work of giving books to those who have never had any and equipping them with the knowledge that will improve their lives.
The Giver of Stars is unmatched in its breadth and majestic in its storytelling, and it is based on a genuine story with historical roots in America. It is bound to become a modern classic and is funny, tragic, and captivating. It is a deeply fulfilling tale about women’s friendship, genuine love, and what happens when we strive beyond our reach for the great beyond.
Best Quotes from this Book:
“There is always a way out of a situation. Might be ugly. Might leave you feeling like the earth had gone and shifted under your feet. But there is always a way around.”
“She just wasn’t sure she had yet been to the place she was homesick for.”
“That some things are a gift, even if you don’t get to keep them.”
“Time flew. And each ended the night full and happy with the rare glow that comes from knowing your very being has been understood by somebody else. And that there might just be someone out there, who will only ever see the best in you.”
“A certain kind of man looked at God’s own land, she thought, as she drew closer, and instead of beauty and wonder, all he saw was dollar signs.”
In Colleen Hoover’s tragic yet upbeat novel, which is the #1 New York Times bestselling author, a disturbed young mother longs for a chance at atonement. In an effort to reconcile with her 4-year-old daughter, Kenna Rowan returns to the town where everything went wrong after serving five years in jail for a catastrophic error. But it seems difficult to repair the bridges Kenna burned. No matter how hard Kenna attempts to establish herself, everyone in her daughter’s life is determined to keep her out. Ledger Ward, the proprietor of a nearby tavern and one of the few people still connected to Kenna’s kid, is the only person who hasn’t totally shut the door on her.
But if anyone were to find out how Ledger is gradually taking over Kenna’s life, both would run the risk of losing the respect of everyone who matters to them. Despite the pressure they are under, the two connect, but as their romance develops, the risk increases. In order to create a future based on healing and optimism, Kenna must discover a way to put her past transgressions behind her.
Best Quotes from this Book:
“People say you fall in love, but fall is such a sad word when you think about it. Falls are never good. You fall on the ground, you fall behind, you fall to your death. Whoever was the first person to say they fell in love must have already fallen out of it. Otherwise, they’d have called it something much better.”
― Colleen Hoover, Reminders of Him
“Now that I’ve forgiven myself, the reminders of him only make me smile.”
― Colleen Hoover, Reminders of Him
“There was before you and there was during you. For some reason, I never thought there would be an after you.”
― Colleen Hoover, Reminders of Him
“Reading is a hobby, but for some of us, it’s an escape from the difficulties we face. To all of you who escape into books, I want to thank you for escaping into this one.”
― Colleen Hoover, Reminders of Him
“Is that . . . is that a fucking pigeon?”
― Colleen Hoover, Reminders of Him
Beyah Grim’s parents only ever gave her two things: life and a terrible last name. Beyah is well on her path to greater and better things because of the route she carved out for herself. A sudden death leaves Beyah with nowhere to go in the meantime, only two short months dividing her from the future she’s created and the past she’s desperately trying to leave behind. Beyah is made to spend the rest of her summer on a peninsula in Texas with a father she hardly knows after being forced to use her final line of defense.
Beyah had intended to keep a low profile and let the summer pass without incident, but her new neighbor Samson threw a spanner in the works. On the surface, Samson and Beyah appear to have nothing in common. He comes from a wealthy and privileged family, while she came from a life of deprivation and neglect. They do, however, share the tendency to gravitate toward depressing things. Which implies that they are drawn to one another. Beyah and Samson decide to stay in the deep end of the pool of a summer affair after experiencing an almost immediate connection that was too strong for them to keep ignoring. Beyah is about to have her heart dragged out to sea by a rip current, but she isn’t aware of it.
Best Quotes from this Book:
“Hearts don’t have bones. They can’t actually break.”
― Colleen Hoover, Heart Bones
“Love is a lot like water.
It can be calm. Raging. Threatening. Soothing.
Water will be many things, but even in all its forms, it will always be water.
You are my water.
I think I might be yours, too.”
― Colleen Hoover, Heart Bones
“Maybe we did grow heart bones. But what if the only way of knowing you grew a heart bone is by feeling the agony caused by the break?”
― Colleen Hoover, Heart Bones
“Sometimes I believe personalities are shaped more by damage than kindness. Kindness doesn’t sink as deep into your skin as the damage does. The damage stains your soul so bad, that you can’t scrub it off. It stays there forever, and I feel like people can see all my damage just by looking at me.”
― Colleen Hoover, Heart Bones
“Beyah,
My father once told me love is a lot like water.
It can be calm. Raging. Threatening. Soothing.
Water will be many things, but even in all its forms, it will always be water.
You are my water.
I think I might be yours, too.
If you’re reading this, it means I’ve evaporated.
But it doesn’t mean you should evaporate, too.
Go flood the whole goddamn world, Beyah.”
― Colleen Hoover, Heart Bones
By Summer of ’69’s #1 New York Times bestselling author: They have been having a covert relationship for many years, but this summer could be the turning point. Link Blessing, Mallory Blessing’s son, is unsure of what to anticipate when his mother gives him instructions on his deathbed to phone a number on a slip of paper in her desk drawer. He does not, however, anticipate Jake McCloud responding. Jake DeGournsey’s wife, Ursula, is the front-runner in the forthcoming presidential election in the late spring of 2020.
Link speculates that there must be a mistake. How are Mallory and Jake acquainted? Recall the delightful summer of 1993: Mallory accepts the invitation to host her brother’s bachelor party at the beachside property she recently inherited from her aunt on Nantucket. Jake McCloud, Cooper’s college friend, also attends, and the two develop a relationship that will last until Mallory hears that Ursula is dying. This relationship will endure through marriage, having children, and Ursula’s meteoric political climb.
28 Summers, which is based on the classic movie Same Time Next Year and which Mallory and Jake watch every summer, examines the pain and romance of a one-weekend-per-year relationship as well as the dramatic ways in which it both complicates and enriches their lives and the lives of the people they care about.
Best Quotes from this Book:
“And the worst thing about being young is not being able to appreciate that you’re young because you aren’t old enough to know any better.”
― Elin Hilderbrand, 28 Summers
“Just be aware that what you achieve doesn’t matter as much as what kind of person you are,”
― Elin Hilderbrand, 28 Summers
“Nothing was off-limits, nothing was deemed “too adult,” and nothing took precedence over reading; it was considered the holiest activity a person could engage in.”
― Elin Hilderbrand, 28 Summers
“You’re young,” Mallory says. “And the worst thing about being young is not being able to appreciate that you’re young because you aren’t old enough to know any better.”
― Elin Hilderbrand, 28 Summers
“This island chooses people, Aunt Greta said. It chose Bo and me, and I think it’s chosen you as well.”
― Elin Hilderbrand, 28 Summers
Up to this point, no one had ever seen perfection in her. Tiny and has titian hair Theresa Noble has previously interacted with some of her father’s business partners, but the stunning, Italian-born Sandro De Lucci left her speechless. But Sandro has frozen over after only 18 months of marriage. Theresa musters the courage to file for divorce out of desperation to get away from a relationship that has shown itself to be both cold and hateful as well as stubbornly passionate. Theresa must give Sandro a son before he can agree to his desire.
She is disgusted by the impasse. It doesn’t matter that Sandro hasn’t yet introduced Theresa to his extended family, which is very important to him. Or perhaps Theresa hears her husband speaking on the phone with a stranger. The most damning aspect of Sandro’s treatment of Theresa is that she can tell that her terrible father, Jackson Noble, is working behind the scenes. Theresa must go deep into her anxieties to discover the inspiring truth about the husband who refers to her as his care, or his beloved, with such icy tenderness.
Best Quotes from this Book:
“Chemistry was a terrible thing, sometimes it simply sparked between the wrong people”
“Suddenly it felt like there was a ticking time bomb in the house. I didn’t have all the time in the world to make you love me again; I had only a few short months.”
“It’s like putting a band-aid on an amputation!”
“I told you before, I don’t want out of this marriage. And if you give me nothing but daughters for the next twenty years, I would consider myself blessed.”
“All the air suddenly seemed to leave his sails and his shoulders sagged as he dropped to his knees in front of her,bringing his eyes down to the same level as hers.”I want to be here with you. Why is that so hard for you to understand?”
In disguise as a housemaid, Margaret Macy leaves London with a plan to marry her off to an unethical guy. She will inherit money and independence if she can avoid getting married until her next birthday. She had no intention of actually working as a servant, though. And definitely not in the house of Lewis and Nathaniel Upchurch, two past suitors.
When suspicions are raised and nosy onlookers arrive at Fairbourne Hall, Margaret struggles to conceal her identity while she stumbles through the first meaningful work of her life. Can she evade a trap that will draw her out of hiding? Big Stone Gap is a jewel of a book with a large heart, brimming with humor and sensible views of small-town life.
Best Quotes from this Book:
“Life is a mystery to be lived, not a problem to be solved”
“People have often told me that one of their strongest childhood memories is the scent of their grandmother’s house. I never knew my grandmothers, but I could always count of the Bookmobile.”
“Having a purpose is the little secret of the nonpretties. Something to do always beats something to look at.”
“Or maybe when she realized that he was never going to come and rescue her, she did what all strong women do. She found a way to save herself.”
“The best thing a father can do for his son is love his mother.”
Jess Davis is a single mom and a data and statistics whiz, but no amount of math can persuade her to enter the dating scene again. In addition, her ex-husband decided he wasn’t “father material” before her kid was even born, her father never showed up, and her hard-partying mother left when she was six. Jess keeps her loved ones near, but it’s difficult—and lonely—to labor nonstop to survive.
Jess then learns about GeneticAlly, a hot new DNA-based matchmaking business that is expected to revolutionize dating. Using DNA to find your soul mate? The accuracy of numbers Jess has a grasp on this. She believed she did, at least, until her test revealed an improbable 98 percent match with another person in the database: Dr. River Pea, the founder of GeneticAlly. She is unable to comprehend this particular number because she is already familiar with Dr. Pea. She can be sure that the arrogant, unyielding man is not her soul mate. However, GeneticAlly is offering a reward if you get to know him. Despite her doubts about the initiative and her distaste for River, Jess—who is barely getting by—is unable to refuse it. Jess starts to suspect that maybe there is more to the scientist—and the science underlying a soulmate—than she first imagined as the two are pushed from one event to the next as the “Diamond” pairing that might send GeneticAlly’s worth sky-high.
Best Quotes from this Book:
“I haven’t been home in years, but I feel that way with you.”
“Destiny could also be a choice, she realized. To believe or not, to be vulnerable or not, to go all in or not.”
“Statistics can’t tell us what will happen, they can only tell us what might happen.”
“I realize your default energy level is Cardboard Cutout, but I can’t get to know you if you don’t speak.”
“I generally want to commit a felony when I see him. I’m not sure that’s a sign of romantic compatibility.”