This March, Barnes & Noble Press is highlighting Women’s History month with a new collection of books that celebrate the sisterhood.
Find a new favorite today!
Women on Duty: A History of the First Female Police Force by Sophie Jackson
On November 27th, 1914, a monumental event in women’s history occurred – the first female police officers went on duty in Grantham, Lincolnshire. The decision would quickly have an effect on female liberation. Suffragettes were behind the movement to see women on the beat and eventually the Women Police Service was founded in 1914. With the First World War pushing women into male work roles, early policewomen were pioneers, but they faced great prejudice and hardship. Yet, across the country, women were taking on roles traditionally reserved for men and the landscape has never been the same.
Indigo Girl by Natasha Boyd
In 1739, sixteen-year-old Eliza Lucas’ family is in danger of losing their South Carolina plantation. With the high value of indigo dye, Eliza believes that it is their salvation. But thwarted at every turn, even by her own family, Eliza is forced to make unlikely allies. In desperation, Eliza strikes a dangerous deal with a slave: learn the intricate, thousand-year-old secret process of making indigo dye, and in return–against the laws of the day–she will teach the slaves to read.
Based on a true story, The Indigo Girl, is a tale of incredible romance, intrigue, friendship, and sacrifice proving that, above all, we are all thread together in a complicated, yet beautiful human tapestry.
Loving Eleanor by Susan Wittig Albert
When AP political reporter Lorena Hickok–Hick–is assigned to cover Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt, the wife of the 1932 Democratic presidential candidate, the two women become deeply, intimately involved. Their relationship begins with mutual romantic passion, matures through stormy periods of enforced separation and competing interests, and warms into an enduring, encompassing friendship that ends only with both women’s deaths in the 1960s–all of it documented by 3300 letters exchanged over thirty years. Now, New York Times bestselling author Susan Wittig Albert recreates the fascinating story of Hick and Eleanor, revealing the first lady as a complex, contradictory, and entirely human woman.
The Calendar of New Beginnings by Ava Miles
After an overseas trauma brings international photojournalist Lucy O’Brien home, the last thing she expected was for her mother to ask her to shoot photos for a ‘Calendar Girls’-like calendar… Of course, it’s all for a good cause so Lucy agrees to help–ribald photos and all. But her longtime BFF, Dr. Andy Hale, isn’t letting her keep secrets from him. He understands heartache. After losing the love of a lifetime, he’s now a widower raising a young son. At first, the sparks of attraction fly amidst their easygoing banter over ice cream cones. But there are deeper feelings at work here, and both must uncover the seeds of their new beginnings together, realizing there’s nothing more powerful than love and friendship to pave the way.
Mud Sisters by Edie Claire
Once upon a hot, lazy summer at Indian Lake, Pennsylvania, two giggling twelve-year-old girls swore to stay best friends forever. But some promises are hard to keep…
When hospital social worker Teagan Hansen is called to the bedside of a Jane Doe who has been beaten and left for dead with no ID and no memory, she expects to be dealing with a victim of domestic violence. The last thing she expects is to look into the eyes of the childhood friend who disappeared abruptly from her life fourteen years before. As the indomitable Teagan vows to help her old friend get back on her feet again, the women’s bond strengthens anew. And when the women realize that their pasts have been intertwined far more deeply than either of them knew, the fate that separated them once before threatens to tear them apart again. This time, it could be forever.
Desperate Measures by Elle Casey
Drawn together over a love of books, three women strike up an unlikely friendship, and end up forming bonds that move well beyond what any of them ever imagined possible. Aimee is a housewife left in the dust by her philandering husband. Armed with an outdated high school education, she knows she needs to start over, but where to even begin? Meanwhile, Elizabeth is an accountant tired of crunching numbers for clients with more money than they know what to do with. And then there is Kiki, an exotic dancer looking for a way out. Desperate Measures serves up laughter, romance, cookies, tea – and a whole lot of love.
Bonita Faye by Margaret Moseley
When small town girl Bonita Faye’s abusive husband, car salesman and fishing guide Billy Roy is killed, she begins an adventurous new life that takes her from Poteau, Oklahoma to Paris and back again in a story of murder and redemption…and more murder… stretching over three decades. Uproariously funny and slick, with a poignant and captivating heroine, Bonita Faye is the Eliza Doolittle of the dust bowl.
The Talking Tree by Judith Keim
Following her estranged mother’s death, Marissa Cole returns to her hometown where her mother has left a request for Marissa to scatter her ashes in New Hope, Maine. But Marissa doesn’t understand why; she’s never heard her mother talk of such a place. In Maine, Marissa is thrilled to discover a family she never knew she had. Except, the family isn’t really what she thought, and helping her grandmother keep her share of the family fortune might cause Marissa to lose the only man she’s ever trusted enough to love.
The Last Letter by Kathleen Shoop
In the summer of 1905 Katherine Arthur’s mother arrives on her doorstep, dying, forcing her to relive a past she wanted to forget. Ten-year-old Katherine had loved her mother fiercely, put her trust in her completely, but when there was no other choice, her mother resorted to extreme measures on the prairie to save her family and the decision tore Katherine’s world apart. Now, seventeen years later, and far from the homestead, Katherine has found the truth – she has discovered the last letter. After years of anger, can Katherine find it in her heart to understand why her mother made the decisions that changed them all? Can she forgive and finally begin to heal before it’s too late?
Tea and Primroses by Tess Thompson
Constance Mansfield had a perfect life: a successful writing career, a beloved daughter, a beautiful home, loving friends, and perhaps most importantly, her privacy. But after Constance is killed, her grieving daughter Sutton begins to unravel her mother’s secrets amidst the grief of unexpected loss. And it seems that Constance’s privacy was not for her protection, but for something – or someone – else entirely. As Sutton struggles to answer the questions about her mother’s emotional walls, she finds herself craving the comfort of her past. A past that includes complications. Forced to face both the pain of lost love and the mystery of her mother’s complicated life, can Sutton emerge stronger than before? Or will life’s tragedies be her undoing?
Lovely by Autumn J. Bright
They say bad things happen to good people, but that old cliché doesn’t bring much comfort to Lovely Duval. In a time of fading innocence, at a young age, Lovely takes on a life of responsibility after a tragic accident strikes home. But when a nomadic family member returns to small-town Willisburg, South Carolina, the challenges of the home escalate–cutting Lovely’s childhood short and propelling her down a path of self-destruction.
Now a young woman, Lovely has to make a decision. Will she succumb to the demons of her past? Or will she fight for change and allow love to heal her heart?
The Secret Lives of Husbands and Wives by Josie Brown
Suburbia is a jungle, filled with lots of vicious creatures. Take the Paradise Heights Women’s League board. Friends gossip about the neighbors while ignoring their own problems. Lyssa Harper really should have warned golden-haired Harry Wilder what he was getting into when she invited him to meet the mommies who run their suburban, gated community. And when Harry and his wife — the neighborhood’s perfect couple — call it quits, the hunt is on. But what Lyssa never expected was the explosive impact her ongoing friendship with Harry would have on her close-knit pals–and on her marriage
Spare Change by Bette Lee Crosby
Small-town gossip never much bothered Olivia Westerly. As a single career woman, she’s weathered her share. It’s easy to ignore the raised eyebrows over her late-in-life marriage to Charlie Doyle. But after he drops dead on their honeymoon, the whispers are salt on her raw grief. Especially when an orphaned, eleven-year-old-boy shows up on her doorstep, looking for the grandfather he never met. A heartwarming tale of love, loss and unexpected gifts, featuring a woman you’d like to call friend, a boy you will ache to hug, and a town you wish you could call home…
We Were Here by Daisy Prescott
This is the story of seven friends…
In the 90’s, sex was dangerous, music was life, and love was something no one had ever felt like we did. We met in college. We were completely free for the first time in our lives. And we were determined to enjoy every minute of it. For four years, we gossiped and flirted, partied and road-tripped. We were inseparable. Each of us has our own story of falling in or out of love. Of finding out who we are. Of growing up. We thought we knew everything. We knew nothing. We Were Here perfectly captures the humor, angst, and sheer chaos of growing older but maybe not growing up.
Flying by the Seat of my Knickers by Eliza Watson
When Caity Shaw is fired from her first decent job, her older sister, has her back. Rachel is an event planner. She hires Caity to work a meeting in Dublin. And Caity jumps at the opportunity to travel abroad and escape her pathetic life. However, even four thousand miles from home, there’s no avoiding her problems. From debt collectors, an overbearing mother, and haunting memories of a controlling ex. These struggles and more seem to follow Caity to Dublin. In need of a distraction, Caity finds comfort in a hot Irish coworker. Together, they begin research on Caity’s Irish grandmother. Soon, Caity discovers the mysterious past of this courageous woman she barely knew who might just hold the answers to her future.
Beneath it All by Tori Madison
No one is prepared to hear they have cancer. Nor are spouses, family, or friends. But when Victoria learns she has breast cancer, she and everyone she loves couldn’t possibly be prepared for what life had in store next. Taking stock of her choices is easy, but making changes are hard. And the effects of this diagnosis on a once carefree lifestyle seem almost insurmountable. But with an uncertain future, Victoria vows to take control. Her life didn’t stop when she got cancer. It was only just the beginning.
Stardust Summer by Lauren Clark
Single mom Grace Mason likes the quiet life, complete with her eight-year-old son, their tiny house, and her teaching job. For Grace, happiness means that nothing much ever changes in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Then a massive heart attack leaves Grace’s estranged father comatose in an Upstate New York hospital. Grace and Evan rush to his bedside to say their final goodbyes. But Henry’s passing brings little closure for Grace, as she finds herself inexplicably drawn to her new surroundings. What begins as a short trip results in an entire summer spent in a a life she never really knew. And when a series of unlikely events lead to Evan’s disappearance, Grace must face her worst fears to find her son and bring him back home.
Bess Truman by Margaret Truman
A story only a daughter could tell…
Bess Truman is more than a rare, intimate, and surprising portrait of a famous First Lady who kept her deepest feelings – and considerable influence on her husband – hidden from public view. It also is the heartwarming story of an enduring love and a remarkable political partnership. Margaret Truman has been able to draw on her own personal reminiscences and a treasure trove of letters never before published. With more than 1,000 letters from Bess found after her death and several hundred from Harry, they bring her mother and father wonderfully alive. Through their frank, uninhibited correspondence, we get a richly detailed picture of their lifelong love affair and marriage. And through the eyes of the Trumans, we come to know history as they made it. Bess Truman recreates the human drama of an extraordinary woman. And a man who became one of America’s most beloved presidents.
Iron Butterfly by Lisa Wainland
In an instant, Cassie receives sudden, life-changing news and realizes that losing everything might become a terrifying reality. Cassie’s shocking news infiltrates the lives of everyone she loves, particularly her husband, Jake, and her estranged sister, Sandy. Jake wants to be strong for Cassie, but this unexpected turn brings back painful memories. And a terrible secret he’s shared with no one. Sandy, who ran away to pursue stardom, is called home to face those she left behind. The golden child of the family, Sandy fell from her pedestal long ago. Will she be able to face her own failures? As Cassie struggles against an uncertain future, Jake and Sandy battle with the demons of the past. All three will learn valuable lessons about love, forgiveness and appreciating the days we’re given.
Have Your Cake & Eat It by Isabelle Andover
Bella Hunt thought the nanny quitting was the worst life got. Until she lost her job, that is. Going from a high-flying fashion PR consultant to a stay-at-home mother turns out to be a rather rude awakening. And Bella finds she’s coming up short in a few too many areas. But with a dash of ingenuity, a spoonful of friendship, and a sprinkling of love, Bella manages to not only have her cake, but devour every last sprinkle too.
