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Find out moreOur high-quality Family Drama selection offers the heart-breaking and heart-warming conflicts and dramas directly from the hearth, telling the stories of these families that have been struck by tragedy, conflict and drama and their struggle to survive intact.
Sliding through thoughts and slicing into feelings, this is a captivating and rewarding psychological thriller. Sandra Ireland’s novels speak to me, darkly mesmerising with throbbing attitude and heart, they are also just that little bit different. Ellie Rook rushes home when she hears bad news, however waiting for her is the life she so desperately wanted to leave behind. Constant, dwelling in the background of the story, is the legend of Finella, who lured a Scottish King to his death in revenge for the death of her son. As I read I discovered nooks, spaces, gaps, did I dare fill in them in? Ellie is feisty, contrary, full of love and uncertainty. She feels alive, real, touchable, relatable. There may well be some differences of opinion on the ending, I will say no more than I personally loved it. The Unmaking of Ellie Rook with a gorgeous blend of folklore and the most thought provoking and modern of times, is a fabulous read.
What a wonderful, charming, readable story to simply fall into, and fall in love with. When cooly glamorous Sophie runs away from her high profile life, she ends up back in her childhood stomping ground. Taking time to relax and enjoy her neighbours and surroundings, she discovers a community that could have been ready made, just for her. But… Sophie has a difficult decision to make. I started reading, and didn’t come up for air. This is a book that is all too easy to sink into and not want to surface from, so ensure you pop your ‘do not disturb’ sign on the door. Milly Johnson expertly built the story, successfully keeping me on tenterhooks before Sophie breaks ranks and escapes. There are some rip-roaringly fabulous characters on offer here, including some that I could quite happily have booed and hissed at. I loved getting to know Sophie, she really is quite delightful, as I read, I smiled and cheered her on. The Magnificant Mrs Mayhew is a gorgeously lively, affectionate and satisfying read. It comes as highly recommended from me, and deservedly sits in our star books selection.
A beautifully constructed, absolute dream of a read. Three women (including the wickedly wonderful Emily from ‘The Devil Wears Prada’) join forces when one of them is set up, publicly discarded and viciously humiliated by her husband. Emily, Miriam and Karolina live what may appear to be a charmed jet-setting, party-licious life, however there is a very long way to fall when the knives are out. I absolutely adore Lauren Weisberger’s novels, they read as a master class in setting the scene and creating an eloquently enjoyable and pointedly wicked read. Each chapter focuses on one of the women, so perfectly describing their life I could not only picture myself there, I was there. My eye-popping disbelief mounted at the tactics, the lifestyle, and I seethed away, joining ranks, willing them on. A quick note, just in case you’ve already hunted this down and read it, ‘The Wives’ was published in the USA as ‘When Life Gives you Lululemons’. ‘The Wives’ is a hugely entertaining, read in one sitting, smoking-hot loaded gun of a read - and I highly recommend it.
Sliding through thoughts and slicing into feelings, this is a captivating and rewarding psychological thriller. Sandra Ireland’s novels speak to me, darkly mesmerising with throbbing attitude and heart, they are also just that little bit different. Ellie Rook rushes home when she hears bad news, however waiting for her is the life she so desperately wanted to leave behind. Constant, dwelling in the background of the story, is the legend of Finella, who lured a Scottish King to his death in revenge for the death of her son. As I read I discovered nooks, spaces, gaps, did I dare fill in them in? Ellie is feisty, contrary, full of love and uncertainty. She feels alive, real, touchable, relatable. There may well be some differences of opinion on the ending, I will say no more than I personally loved it. The Unmaking of Ellie Rook with a gorgeous blend of folklore and the most thought provoking and modern of times, is a fabulous read.
This unique, incisive novel is an emotionally engrossing road-trip reinvention of Moby Dick with female characters, and a gripping mystery about what main protagonist Dinah is running from to find her place to call home. Seventeen-year-old Dinah has lived her whole life on a commune and now feels compelled to flee everything she’s ever known. After being home-schooled, a recent period in mainstream schooling has turned her world upside-down, as has turbulent upheavals at home, and then there’s the mystery of what happened between Dinah and new friend Queenie. She shaves off her hair, adopts a new name and flees, illegally driving a VW campervan (her version of Moby Dick’s Pequod ship) with a cantankerous one-legged neighbour for company. While driving, Dinah confronts her many demons, most of which stem from her confusing sense of identity. She’s mixed race, but feels neither black nor white, and she’s attracted to boys and girls. The road is bumpy, with many revelations and confrontations along the way. Eventually, though, Dinah realises that “the road that took you away has led you all the way back home”. This is a smartly-crafted novel with real resonance, a story that honestly and empathetically imparts an uplifting message to “Always be yourself first…find yourself and be yourself”.
Thirty-year-old Shalini has lived a privileged life, but one beset by uncertainty. She was her erratic mother’s “little beast” and is struggling to come to terms with her tragic death. Adrift from work and the wider world, Shalini journeys to find Bashir, a travelling salesman she and her mother befriended through her childhood, tentatively hoping this will provide some understanding of her mother’s death. As Shalini’s journey unfolds in the present, a second narrative reveals her past with raw poignancy. On the road, Shalini’s faltering need to belong somewhere is revealed through her romantic imaginings of being part of a stranger’s family. And then, in Bashir’s remote Himalayan village, she becomes caught in a complex political situation, with the tangled conflict between her heart and conscience made powerfully palpable. While she feels “I had chosen this place, these people, this life, with its secrets and its violence, it’s hardness and its beauty”, Shalini recognises that she’s thrown Bashir’s family “into disarray with my invasion and my probing questions”. The writing is so exquisitely magnetic that I struggled to draw myself away from it, especially as Shalini’s story rose to an unexpected, pulse-quickening climax. This is the rare kind of novel that lingers long in the heart and mind, like a dream one feels compelled to return to.
A very special and beautiful read that left my heart full of feelings. When she was young, Mona’s Dadda told her there was a trick to time, as she revisits the past can she reshape her future? Having fallen in love with Kit de Waal’s first novel My Name is Leon (do read it, it’s simply gorgeous), I just had to get myself a copy of The Trick to Time. I thought I would read a crafty few chapters before going out, however the words caught me to them and held on. I completely forgot I was meant to be leaving and was just a little late! I adore Kit de Waal’s writing, it reaches inside, to hidden depths of awareness I wasn’t even sure existed, and nudges them awake. She has a gift with words, seemingly simple, building thoughts and feelings until they develop into a heartfelt, vividly intense moving picture. As Mona visits the past, lives in the present, and looks to the future I found myself alongside her every step of the way. The Trick to Time is a book I will keep close to hand to reread again and again, and I imagine that I will discover a slightly different version each time I step inside the pages. Highly recommended, I have chosen it as one of my Liz Robinson picks of the month, and a LoveReading Star Book.
A beautifully charming, amusing, and gentle read, visiting with great empathy and grace occasional cloudy darkness. Library volunteer Martha Storm is a quietly helpful, book-loving hoarder. When she finds a mysterious book relating to her past, Martha begins to see the possibilities life can offer. I have used the word quirky previously for Phaedra Patrick’s writing and it again popped into my mind for ‘The Library of Lost and Found’. This is an author who explores different, cheers on quiet, and celebrates the unique properties to be found in each of us. The words sang to me, I gathered them up and hugged every single one as they arrived in my mind. I adored this read, my heart filled with love for the characters as I smiled and felt heart-ache alongside them. Other magical stories can be found within the pages, they arrive and make a considerate, thoughtful point. ‘The Library of Lost and Found’ is there waiting for anyone who has ever felt a little lost or lonely, it is a wonderful read and I have chosen it as one of my picks of the month.
Rob and Maegan both have a whole lot on their plates. Rob’s rich dad attempted suicide after he was caught embezzling their community and he’s now severely disabled, unable to speak or do anything for himself. Until eight months ago, “Everyone wanted to be me,” but now Rob’s an outcast, tainted by his father’s fraud, which is something Maegan also knows a thing or two about. Previously an academic overachiever, pressures led her to cheat in last year’s exams, which in turn led to hundreds of her peers’ marks being invalidated. Connected by a Calculus project and their dads (Maegan’s cop father was first on the scene when Rob’s dad shot himself), the two outcasts strike up an unlikely friendship, and more. Alongside their romance and the gripping twists, I loved the moving camaraderie between Rob and Owen, whose single mom was thrown into crippling financial hardship by Rob’s dad. For a book that packs-in plenty of big issues, it’s also an entertaining page-turner - the perfect YA package with the overriding messages that “one mistake doesn’t define you”, and “one choice doesn’t determine your whole future.”
Enchanting, colourful, delightful… a quirky absolute joy of a read (yes I fell in love with 59 Memory Lane). At 110 years old, and quite determined to reach 111, May Rosevere is a collector of memories. However, a new friendship brings an added sense of awareness, just what happens within the gap of a memory doomed to be lost forever? May quickly took root in my heart, and the rest of the characters followed. From the oldest to the youngest, each person matters, and adds to the distinctive nature of the story. Celia Anderson encourages each relationship to grow, to exist, to be of consequence. There are no labels on show to create diversity, each person is an individual, behaving as such. There is intrigue and a bewitching charm to be discovered along the way, weaving a glorious spell. Be aware though, this is not a gooey overly sweet confection. Yes this read is wonderfully charming, it also holds a nettle-sting prickle of warning. Just that little bit different, and so very readable, 59 Memory Lane is a reading treasure trove of delight and must sit as one of my Liz Robinson picks of the month.
Prepare yourself for an emotional read… full of deep abiding love and hope, there are also parts of this book that caused an intensely physical ache long after I’d finished reading. I don’t want to give too much away, I want you to be able to enter as I did, and experience all that is on offer. So, let me just say that Max and Pip have to make an impossible decision, one that will affect them forever more. The prologue sets the scene perfectly, and I felt a fellow sharp intake of breath at the last sentence before moving to chapter one. This is one of those books where I didn’t make many notes as I read, I was completely caught up in the story. Each character is perfectly placed, their emotions reaching out from the page to touch my heart and soul. There are times when right and wrong do not exist in a clear, comprehensive format and this book successfully shreds presupposition into tiny confetti-like pieces. After I had finished reading, the note at the end by Clare Mackintosh sent goosebumps skittering down my arms. After the End is powerful, provocative, and I can wholeheartedly recommend this extraordinarily beautiful read. I have chosen it as one of my picks of the month and a LoveReading star book.
A suspense filled, dramatic story surrounds a couple as they grieve the death of a loved one. Bede and Elin live on the banks of the river Severn, environmentally conscious, they attempt to live their lives off-grid. When the village is threatened with fracking and accusations are thrown their way, their marriage not only takes the strain, danger beckons. Alison Layland balances the turmoil in the story quite beautifully with the descriptions of the countryside and surroundings. A hidden diary occasionally rears its head, spilling secrets, altering thoughts. Bede and Elin felt entirely real to me, the fractures in their relationship and sense of self are tangible. Menace and intrigue walk hand in hand through the pages, adding a sharp edge to the tale. As the story powers towards its conclusion, the tension reaches breaking point. Riverflow is a fascinating, thoughtful, and compelling tale with real bite.
Whether it’s Barbara Taylor Bradford’s window into the dark secrets of dynastic powerhouses, or the hard realities of Allison Pearson’s writing: the incisively humourous observations of Nick Hornby, or the light touch of Charlotte Bingham: the engrossing passion of Jojo Moyes, or the captivating worlds conjured by Jodi Picoult and Daisy Waugh, the range of fantastic stories in the Family Drama section is almost endless. Luckily our unique expert reviews and hand-picked recommendations are here to help match you with your perfect next read. Sign up to our monthly emails to stay in touch with the latest output from warm, wise Elizabeth Buchan, insightful Kate Atkinson, sensory-stimulating Joanna Harris, huge-scale Sidney Sheldon, magical Alice Hoffman and so many more in the varied family of fantastic authors of the genre.