Why am I passionate about this?

As a writer, I’m fascinated by relationships, what makes them work and what might make them fail. And I’ve always been gripped by the power of two people who try to love each other, no matter how different they may be or what obstacles they face. I honestly believe that two people in love are far more than the sum of their parts and can create something magical that wouldn’t have been there without them. So, yes, I’m a romantic at heart but, even in these cynical times, I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I hope you love the books on this list as much as I do.


I wrote

Where You Hurt The Most

By Anne Brooke,

Book cover of Where You Hurt The Most

What is my book about?

This is a book about love where you’d never expect to find it. Adrian works as a high-class escort for…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Persuasion

Anne Brooke Why did I love this book?

I love this book so much because it’s about two people giving their relationship a second chance.

At first it made me feel sad because the heroine Anne Elliot could so easily have been happy with Captain Wentworth when he first proposed. It’s only when he returns to the area years later that she begins to listen to her heart rather than her head.

The years have changed them and they need to rediscover each other before they can be truly happy. It’s a quiet and deeply moving love story.

By Jane Austen,

Why should I read it?

10 authors picked Persuasion as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 17.

What is this book about?

'In Persuasion, Jane Austen is beginning to discover that the world is larger, more mysterious, and more romantic than she had supposed' Virginia Woolf

Jane Austen's moving late novel of missed opportunities and second chances centres on Anne Elliot, no longer young and with few romantic prospects. Eight years earlier, she was persuaded by others to break off her engagement to poor, handsome naval captain Frederick Wentworth. What happens when they meet again is movingly told in Austen's last completed novel. Set in the fashionable societies of Lyme Regis and Bath, Persuasion is a brilliant satire of vanity and pretension,…


Book cover of Jane Eyre

Anne Brooke Why did I love this book?

I love this book because it’s about two people who society would never have expected to fall in love.

Jane and Mr Rochester are so far away from each other on the social scale that at the time it was written it was almost impossible to imagine they could ever get married. I also love that Jane is no beauty and is described as plain, but that doesn’t matter when it comes to love.

I also find it moving that both she and Mr Rochester have to overcome huge emotional challenges in order to be together at all. Finally, I have a soft spot for this book as my own paternal grandmother was a governess who married the ‘lord of the manor’ as Jane does here!

By Charlotte Brontë,

Why should I read it?

37 authors picked Jane Eyre as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

Introduction and Notes by Dr Sally Minogue, Canterbury Christ Church University College.

Jane Eyre ranks as one of the greatest and most perennially popular works of English fiction. Although the poor but plucky heroine is outwardly of plain appearance, she possesses an indomitable spirit, a sharp wit and great courage.

She is forced to battle against the exigencies of a cruel guardian, a harsh employer and a rigid social order. All of which circumscribe her life and position when she becomes governess to the daughter of the mysterious, sardonic and attractive Mr Rochester.

However, there is great kindness and warmth…


Book cover of Rebecca

Anne Brooke Why did I love this book?

I love this book as the heroine is so ordinary and so very unimportant in society that she isn’t even given a first name.

She’s simply the second Mrs de Winter. She marries on impulse and has to work out her relationship with her husband Maxim who is hiding so many secrets. There is a deep sense of mystery and danger that settles on every page and I couldn’t put it down.

She and her husband are worlds apart, and I love her loyalty and determination never to give up, but to discover the truth if she can. In the end, love and loyalty is balanced so beautifully with what might be the truth, but is still somehow stronger.

By Daphne du Maurier,

Why should I read it?

43 authors picked Rebecca as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

* 'The greatest psychological thriller of all time' ERIN KELLY
* 'One of the most influential novels of the twentieth century' SARAH WATERS
* 'It's the book every writer wishes they'd written' CLARE MACKINTOSH

'Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again . . .'

Working as a lady's companion, our heroine's outlook is bleak until, on a trip to the south of France, she meets a handsome widower whose proposal takes her by surprise. She accepts but, whisked from glamorous Monte Carlo to brooding Manderley, the new Mrs de Winter finds Max a changed man. And the memory…


Book cover of Apples Never Fall

Anne Brooke Why did I love this book?

I love this book as it’s about a marriage in crisis and it shows the complete power that those we love most can hold over us.

I also loved the fascinating insight into the world of tennis as both main characters are tennis coaches – and I’ve always enjoyed Wimbledon! I thought the family dynamics and the push-and-pull of who to trust and why was utterly gripping.

I also loved how the way other people see the marriage is so completely different to how Stan and Joy, the husband and wife, see it. There are different versions of truth and, somehow, the one that carries the most love is the most important of all.

By Liane Moriarty,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked Apples Never Fall as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

#1 New York Times Bestseller

From Liane Moriarty, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Big Little Lies and Nine Perfect Strangers, comes Apples Never Fall, a novel that looks at marriage, siblings, and how the people we love the most can hurt us the deepest.

The Delaney family love one another dearly―it’s just that sometimes they want to murder each other . . .

If your mother was missing, would you tell the police? Even if the most obvious suspect was your father?

This is the dilemma facing the four grown Delaney siblings.

The Delaneys are fixtures in…


Book cover of Lie Beside Me

Anne Brooke Why did I love this book?

I love this book because, even though it’s a crime story, it’s also a rollercoaster ride through the story of the marriage of Louise and Niall, who are both in various ways involved in the crime.

Each person is lying for different reasons and each of them is terrified to tell the truth to each other for fear of how the other person might react. The plot takes them through moments of dark despair, utter dishonesty, anger, and even hatred, all of which is somehow part and parcel of the marriage they have created.

There is hope, however, and they come to realise a deeper truth about themselves and their relationship which, for me, was incredibly moving in an unexpected way.

By Gytha Lodge,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Lie Beside Me as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A HUSBAND. A LIAR. A KILLER . . . The gripping new thriller from the Sunday Times bestseller

'Utterly gripping and unpredictable' 5***** Reader Review
'Suspenseful and compulsive with twists galore' 5***** Reader Review
'You won't be able to put it down' 5***** Reader Review
'Absolutely brilliant' Claire Douglas, bestselling author of The Couple at No 9
_______

Louise wakes up. Her head aches, her mouth is dry, her memory's fuzzy. But she knows she's done something bad.

She rolls over towards her husband, Niall.

But it's not Niall lying beside her. In fact, she's never seen this man before.…


Explore my book 😀

Where You Hurt The Most

By Anne Brooke,

Book cover of Where You Hurt The Most

What is my book about?

This is a book about love where you’d never expect to find it. Adrian works as a high-class escort for a number of regular clients. When his boss asks him to entertain his nephew, Adrian agrees, but meeting Dan challenges him in ways he'd never imagined. Dan is scarred inside and out from an accident that destroyed a promising future.

Despite Adrian's loveless lifestyle and Dan's withdrawal and anger, the two men forge a deep - if unnerving - connection. Soon they find themselves questioning the choices they've made and the futures they've mapped out for themselves. Can they ever be strong enough to step away from the life they know and towards one they hardly dare hope for?

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All They Need to Know

By Eileen Goudge,

Book cover of All They Need to Know

Eileen Goudge Author Of All They Need to Know

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Baker

Eileen's 3 favorite reads in 2023

What is my book about?

On the run from her abusive husband, Kyra Smith hits the road. Destination unknown. With a dog she rescued in tow, she lands in the peaceful California mountain town of Gold Creek and is immediately befriended by an openhearted group of women who call themselves the Tattooed Ladies. They’re there for Kyra—and for each other.

The maternal Frannie is a tattoo artist struggling with a troubled daughter. Suzy is a self-described fashionista grandma bearing a painful estrangement from her son. Then there’s Jo, whose storybook marriage is shadowed by a grim medical diagnosis. And bookstore owner Marisol. She longs for…

All They Need to Know

By Eileen Goudge,

What is this book about?

A woman escaping a violent past finds new friendships, romance, and tenuous sanctuary in an emotionally gripping novel by New York Times bestselling author Eileen Goudge.

On the run from her abusive husband, Kyra Smith hits the road. Destination unknown. With a neglected dog she rescued in tow, she lands in the peaceful California town of Gold Creek and is immediately befriended by an openhearted group of women called the Tattooed Ladies Club. They're there for Kyra-and for each other.

The maternal Frannie is a tattoo artist struggling with a troubled daughter. Suzy is a self-described fashionista grandma bearing a…


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Interested in romantic love, mental disorders, and sibling rivalry?

Romantic Love 929 books
Mental Disorders 179 books
Sibling Rivalry 26 books