Contemporary fiction titles are those which focus on the present or near past. Stories rooted in the current cultural, social, and political landscape which feature characters we can all recognise.
Contemporary Fiction Books
Headline Publishing Group Out of Oz
Book SynopsisThe global bestselling series that inspired the hit musical phenomenon.The final book in the series that inspired the major movie and record-breaking box office sensation.**Book 4 in a new collector''s edition of the WICKED YEARS quartet, with stunning ''vintage'' variant cover artwork**The once peaceful and prosperous land of Oz is besieged with social unrest. The Emerald City is mounting an invasion of Munchkinland, Glinda is under house arrest and the Cowardly Lion is on the run from the law. And look who''s knocking at the door. It''s Dorothy. Yes, that Dorothy. Amid all this chaos, Elphaba''s granddaughter has come of age. Now, a girl with emerald-green skin will take up her broom in an Oz wracked by war - one last time.Fall under the WICKED spell this year...''An epic end to an epic series'' ''Absolutely full of wonder!''''A captivating page-turner''
£10.44
Hodder & Stoughton Dune
Book SynopsisBefore The Matrix, before Star Wars, before Ender's Game and Neuromancer, there was Dune, the first book in one of the greatest science fiction series ever written.Melange, or 'spice', is the most valuable - and rarest - element in the universe. And it can only be found on a single planet: the inhospitable desert world Arrakis.Whoever controls Arrakis controls the spice. And whoever controls the spice controls the universe.When stewardship of Arrakis is transferred to his house, Paul Atreides must travel to the planet's dangerous surface to ensure the future of his family and his people. But as malevolent forces explode into conflict around him, Paul is thrust into a great destiny beyond his understanding.And in this game of power, only those who can conquer their fear will survive.Trade ReviewA sweeping work of science-fiction that helped define the genre and bring it to the mainstream * The Independent *A sweeping work of science-fiction that helped define the genre and bring it to the mainstream * The Independent *Adapted from Frank Herbert's 1960s opus, Dune is dense, moody and quite often sublime - the missing link bridging the multiplex and the arthouse * The Guardian - 5* *Adapted from Frank Herbert's 1960s opus, Dune is dense, moody and quite often sublime - the missing link bridging the multiplex and the arthouse * The Guardian - 5* *This new adaptation of the 1965 Frank Herbert novel ... it's science-fiction at its most majestic, unsettling and enveloping * Daily Telegraph *This new adaptation of the 1965 Frank Herbert novel ... it's science-fiction at its most majestic, unsettling and enveloping * Daily Telegraph *Dune is this generation's Lord of the Rings trilogy ... firmly grounded in Herbert's book. The author's story of feudal nobles waging war over Arrakis, the only source of a powerful drug known as spice, is thick with conflicting ideas that academics are still unpacking today * The Independent *Dune is this generation's Lord of the Rings trilogy ... firmly grounded in Herbert's book. The author's story of feudal nobles waging war over Arrakis, the only source of a powerful drug known as spice, is thick with conflicting ideas that academics are still unpacking today * The Independent *Dune: science fiction's answer to Lord of the Rings * The Guardian *Dune: science fiction's answer to Lord of the Rings * The Guardian *Dune, more than 50 years after it was first published, is a story that speaks to the issues of our time * BBC Science Focus *Dune, more than 50 years after it was first published, is a story that speaks to the issues of our time * BBC Science Focus *Astonishing in its scope and thought-provoking in its breadth of themes, Dune is an unforgettable fantasy adventure like no other * Woman & Home *Astonishing in its scope and thought-provoking in its breadth of themes, Dune is an unforgettable fantasy adventure like no other * Woman & Home *Astonishing in its scope and thought-provoking in its breadth of themes, Dune is an unforgettable fantasy adventure like no other * Isabelle Broom, womanandhome.com, Best Fantasy Books of All Time *Astonishing in its scope and thought-provoking in its breadth of themes, Dune is an unforgettable fantasy adventure like no other * Isabelle Broom, womanandhome.com, Best Fantasy Books of All Time *
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers The Love We Found
Book SynopsisTEN YEARS. TWO LOVES. ONE LAST CHANCE. 'Santopolo is a true master of matters of the heart' Taylor Jenkins Reid 'No one writes about love, in all its beautiful mess, the way Santopolo does' Carley Fortune 'The Light We Lost broke my heart, The Love We Found mended it' Paige Toon *** FATE BROKE HER HEART It's been ten years since Lucy Carter Maxwell lost her soulmate. Having hidden from love ever since, she's stunned to find it pulling at her when she discovers an old, forgotten box of Gabe's photographs. Desperate to find the hope she has been searching for, Lucy begins to unravel the secrets that Gabe left behind. CAN NEW LOVE SET HER FREE? The journey leads Lucy to Italy and into the path of Dr. Dax Armstrong. The pain in his sad, intense eyes, matches Lucy's own his touch reignites her in a way that no one has since Gabe. Afraid of these newly awakened parts of herself, Lucy can feel the comfort of her old life tugging at her. But with an earth-shattering secret waiting in the shadows, can Lucy ever embrace love, if she doesn't embrace the truth? A devastating love story about fate, and the enduring power of love. Perfect for fans of David Nicholls, Paige Toon and Claire Daverley. READERS HAVE BEEN SWEPT AWAY BY THE LOVE WE FOUND: 'A love story for the ages. If love is not like this I don't want it' ????? 'Beautiful, sad, hopeful, loving, and more' ????? 'Santopolo masterfully captures the raw and complex emotions of love, loss, and healingan absolute must-read' ????? 'I truly adored this amazing story' ????? 'Folks, grab another box of tissues a beautifully crafted tale of love, loss, and the enduring power of second chances' ????? 'Do yourself a favor and add this wonderful book to the top of your TBR list. I promise you'll be happy you did' ?????
£16.14
Duckworth Books Murder Ole
Book SynopsisA group trip to Mexico turns into a murder investigation for Angela Benbow and Caledonia Wingate when they lose two residents of their retirement home.
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers Saving Missy
Book SynopsisBeth Morrey''s brand new, joyful and uplifting novel, LUCKY DAY, is available to pre-order now*The Sunday Times bestseller*Sometimes it takes a lifetime to find where you truly belongSeventy-nine is too late for a second chance. Isn't it?Missy Carmichael is prickly, stubborn and terribly lonely. Until a chance encounter in the park with two very different women opens the door to something new. Something wonderful.Missy was used to her small, solitary existence, listening to her footsteps echoing around the empty house, the tick-tick-tick of the watching clock. After all, she had made her life her way.Now another life is beckoning to Missy if she's brave enoughAtouching, deftly written debutthat celebrates community and kindness'Sunday TimesMoving and optimisticwill delight readers right up to the very last page'StylistBittersweet, tender, thoughtful and uplifting . . . I loved it' Nina StibbeA Sunday Times #6 hardback bestseller w/e 15th FebTrade Review‘Bittersweet, tender, thoughtful and uplifting. Reminds you that everyone deserves a second chance. I loved it’ Nina Stibbe, Reasons to be Cheerful ‘A touching, deftly written debut that celebrates community and kindness’ Sunday Times ‘A thought-provoking, uplifting read that is far from predictable’ The Independent ‘Tender, funny and thoughtful… wholeheartedly celebrates second chances and the power of friendship’ Daily Express ‘Moving and optimistic… will delight readers right up to the very last page’ Stylist ‘A beautiful story about love, loss, guilt and the power of friendship’ Jill Mansell, Maybe This Time ‘The most beautiful and moving book I’ve read in a long time’ Emma Flint, Little Deaths ‘A story of friendship and having a second chance at life – one to savour’ Woman & Home ‘[A] glorious debut… simply stunning’ Woman’s Weekly ‘A generous-hearted story showing the transformative power of friendship and community… fabulously enjoyable’ Sarah Haywood, The Cactus ‘A heartwarming tale of sacrifice, courage and reward – a hymn to the power of basic human kindness’ Rosie Walsh, The Man Who Didn’t Call ‘A soulful, refreshing and tender book, written with grace, humour and empathy’ Stephanie Butland, Lost for Words ‘Moving but not sentimental… [a character] as complex, frustrating, vulnerable and surprising as any I’ve met in print’ Eleanor Wasserberg, Foxlowe ‘A truly uplifting ‘coming-of-old novel with a subtle twist’ Saga ‘A heartfelt reminder of the affirmative joy of being kind to others, and to yourself’ Piers Torday, The Lost Magician ‘Exquisitely written and uplifting… A book to hold close when you’ve finished’ Katy Regan, Little Big Love
£8.54
Pushkin Press My Name is Stramer
Book Synopsis
£14.24
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Such a Fun Age
Book SynopsisDyslexia-Friendly Edition of The instant Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller, longlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize
£11.69
Pushkin Press Arturos Island
Book Synopsis
£10.44
Granta Books The End of Days
Book SynopsisFrom the author of Kairos, winner of the International Booker Prize: a story of the twentieth century told through the various lives of one woman - an intoxicating masterpiece of a novel about character, time and history.
£9.49
Little, Brown Book Group Shock Induction
Book SynopsisFrom the bestselling author of Fight Club comes a dark, satirical parable about a string of mysterious high school disappearances, the seedy underbellies of billionaires, and the tough choices we make in the face of an uncertain future.
£18.70
HarperCollins Publishers Inc Pride Prejudice and Other Flavors
Book SynopsisAward-winning author Sonali Dev launches a new series about the Rajes, an immigrant Indian family descended from royalty, who have built their lives in San Francisco...It is a truth universally acknowledged that only in an overachieving Indian American family can a genius daughter be considered a black sheep.Trade Review“A truly wonderful and joyous book.” — Jasmine Guillory, New York Times bestselling author “A profound, unique talent, Sonali Dev grabs the reader by the heart.” — Kristan Higgins, New York Times bestselling author “Ideal for romantics and foodies alike.” — Booklist “Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors is a vibrant multicultural feast written with a taste for the true nature of the American stew--not a mush of indecipherable flavors but a celebration of its many ingredients. Sonali Dev is a fresh, unique, and wise voice in women’s fiction.” — Barbara O’Neal, The Art of Inheriting Secrets
£9.49
DC Comics DC vs Vampires World War V Vol. 1
Book SynopsisThe smash-hit Elseworlds series returns, as the fight between heroes-turned-vampires and what?s left of humanity goes global!DC vs. Vampires was just the beginning! The sequel has arrived, and the team of writer Matthew Rosenberg and artist Otto Schmidt return as a new Ice Age dawns.It?s the dead of winter, and any hope for a fragile truce between the Green Arrow-led human heroes and vampire queen Barbara Gordon?s army has been dashed by Damian Wayne and his guerrilla fighters. He?s the only one fighting back against the bloodthirsty hordes, leaving Green Arrow with a choice: Does he stand and fight, or sacrifice the boy in the name of peace?This volume collects DC vs. Vampires: World War V #1-6, the first half of the bloody battle.
£23.40
Penguin Books Ltd My Name Is Leon
Book SynopsisA STUDENT EDITIONIt's 1981, a year of riots and royal weddings. Amid tumult and change, nine-year-old Leon tries to find his place. He and his little brother Jake have gone to live with Maureen. They've lost one home, but have they found another?Maureen feeds and looks after them. She has wild red hair and mutters swearwords under her breath when she thinks they can't hear. She claims everything will be okay. But will they ever see their mother again? Who are the couple who secretly visit Jake? Between the street violence and the street parties, Leon must find a way to reunite his family . . .This education edition includes teacher-designed guided reading questions. For more information, including interviews with author Kit de Waal and activities related to studying My Name is Leon, visit https://www.penguin.co.uk/lit-in-colour/teaching-resourcesWINNER OF THE IRISH NOVEL PRIZEStartlingly funny. Balances the gritty with the fee
£9.49
Simon & Schuster Ltd Wild About You
Book SynopsisShe’s had enough of saying yes. But what if someone drives her wild enough to change her mind…? Anna Whitlock is done being nice. After a lifetime of saying yes to everything - work deadlines, sponsored runs, impromptu drinks and (especially) her fiancé Sean - everything Anna has worked so hard for falls apart in one terrible afternoon. With a broken heart she heads to the countryside to start again. The glorious Stonemore Estate in the wilderness of Northumberland holds more than enough distraction for a city girl. There’s Callum, the gorgeous estate manager, and an enthusiastic beagle called Hugo. And then there’s Jamie, Stonemore’s sexy but emotionally unavailable owner, who seems to be hell-bent on making Anna’s rewilding job as difficult as possible. But when romance with Callum begins to flourish is her newfound resolve to stop people-pleasing
£9.49
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC In the City by the Sea
Book Synopsis_______________ 'Full of fun, longing and wit … a debut of spirit and imagination, loaded with intelligent charm' - Ali Smith 'A touching and engrossing story … an assured debut' - The Times 'A colourful and peripatetic view of politics in Pakistan … an interesting and promising novel' - Guardian _______________ BY THE ACCLAIMED WINNER OF THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION SHORTLISTED FOR THE JOHN LLEWELLYN RHYS PRIZE _______________ Hasan is eleven years old. He loves cricket, pomegranates, the night sky, his clever, vibrant artistic mother and his etymologically obsessed lawyer father, and he adores his next-door neighbour Zehra. One early summer morning, while lazing happily on the roof, Hasan watches a young boy flying a yellow kite fall to his death. Soon after, Hasan's idyllic, sheltered family life is shattered when his beloved uncle Salman, a dissenting politician, is arrested and charged with treason... Set in a land ruled by an oppressive military regime, this eloquent, charming and quietly political novel vividly recreates the confusing world of a young boy on the edge of adulthood, and beautifully illustrates the transformative power of the imagination.Trade ReviewFull of fun, longing and wit … a debut of spirit and imagination, loaded with intelligent charm -- Ali SmithA touching and engrossing story … an assured debut * The Times *Lively, playful, provocative -- Anita DesaiA colourful and peripatetic view of politics in Pakistan … an interesting and promising novel * Guardian *Utterly enchanting -- Deborah Moggach
£8.54
Simon & Schuster Ltd Firewatching
Book Synopsis'Clever and compulsive' LOUISE CANDLISH 'A fantastic read' JAMES DELARGY 'I loved it' LEE CHILD ‘It's everything you could want from a crime novel' SARAH WARD 'A bold and brilliant new voice in crime fiction' KATE RHODESA WATERSTONES THRILLER OF THE MONTH_____________________________ One wrong move will ignite the city . . . A body is found bricked into a wall of the Old Vicarage. From the state of the hands, it’s clear the dead man was buried alive. When the man is connected to an old missing person’s case, Detective Sergeant Adam Tyler is called. After an ‘incident’, Tyler needs this case to go well in order to prove himself and get his career back on track. But he soon discovers that he has a connection to the case that hopeless
£8.99
HarperCollins Publishers Once More From The Top
Book SynopsisA propulsive novel about music, coming of age and the cost of fame, for fans of Megan Abbott and Daisy Jones and the Six.''The secrets simmer in this atmospheric, powerful novel'' KATIE BISHOP''You won''t be able to put it down'' RUFI THORPETHIS IS MY STORY. NOT MY DEAD BEST FRIEND''S STORY.Dylan Read, the legendary country pop star, has spent fifteen years learning to craft the perfect good-girl image. But Dylan is privately haunted by the loss of her best friend Kelsey, who went missing the year before Dylan's meteoric rise to fame.When Kelsey's body is found at the bottom of a New England lake, Dylan is drawn back to her hometown where she must revisit their ill-fated teenage friendship and reckon with secrets that have stayed hidden for decadesA beautifully written, nuanced thriller, and an unflinching look at a celebrity culture and a loneliness of superstardom' RED MAGAZINE
£9.49
Profile Books Ltd The Material
Book Synopsis''Utterly charming ... Bordas is an invaluable new voice'' George Saunders ''A disquisition into the nature of comedy and creativity. Like the best comedians ... Bordas is alert to the deeper joke'' Sunday Times ''Amusing... impressive'' New York Times ''Marvellously engaging and entertaining ... full of terrific moments and cutting dialogue'' Independent Every comedian knows that there''s a line between sharp and cruel, that sad becomes funny at the right angle, that any moment in life, however painful or triumphant, has the potential to become a punchline. At the Chicago Stand-up School, success is about the material. But maybe Artie is too handsome to be taken seriously on stage, Olivia too scared to examine her past, and Phil too afraid to cause harm. Their teachers are obsessed with failure: Kruger trying to command his father''s respect, Ashbee weary of the way his Blackness attracts a type of white admirer, Dorothy wondering how her talent is connected to her loneliness. Whether a visiting comedian-the famous, controversy-steeped Manny Reinhardt-will do more to help or to harm their cause remains to be seen. Set over the course of a single day, and shifting exquisitely between several points of view, The Material examines life through the eyes of a band of outsiders bound together by the need to laugh, and the desire to make others laugh even harder.
£9.49
Canelo Here Lie the Dead
Book SynopsisSix months ago, a girl vanished. Now, it's happening again.When the body of a teenager is discovered near Eilean Donan Castle several months after she disappeared, DCI Jack Logan and his team journey across the Highlands to investigate.As they start to unpick the young woman''s life, the secrets and lies they expose soon threaten to tear the small, rural community apart.But, when a second girl goes missing in similar circumstances, it isn't just a murder investigation that Jack finds himself running.It's a race against time.Here Lie the Dead is the 15th book in the multi-million selling DCI Jack Logan series from Scottish crime author, JD Kirk.
£9.49
Faber & Faber The Expedition to the Baobab Tree
Book SynopsisWearily, I take the path to the river, there in the cool to fill my being with the sounds of my sister-being, to refresh myself in the modest scents of pigeonwood and mitzeerie, to let my gaze end in a tangle of monkey ropes and fern arches and the slowly descending leaves, and to find rest, all day long, all night long.A young slave girl accompanies her owner on an expedition into the African interior in search of a mythical city. In unfamiliar terrain, the party gets lost. One by one, our narrator''s companions disappear, leaving her to take refuge in the hollow of a baobab tree. There, she finds the space and will to reflect upon her life''s journey, telling her story to the boabab itself. This powerful fable, translated from Wilma Stockenström''s original Afrikaans by Nobel Prize-winner J. M. Coetzee, is a remarkable portrait of dislocation and empowerment. It is also a brilliant insight into Coetzee''s craft as a writer.
£7.59
Penguin Random House Group Ash Dark as Night
Book Synopsis
£8.54
Penguin Random House Group Disco Witches of Fire Island
Book Synopsis
£13.49
HarperCollins Publishers A Secret Escape
Book Synopsis??Escape for summer with this uplifting and gorgeous feel-good novel full of friendship, forgiveness and love, from the Number One Sunday Times bestselling author!?? * * * *
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd Lake Success a novel
Book Synopsis*Over 50 Best of 2018 listings worldwide* ''Gary Shteyngart hears America perfectly; its fatuity, its poignant lament, its boisterous self-loathing. Its heartbeat. Reading him sometimes makes me want to scream - with recognition and with pure hilarity'' - Richard FordA riotously satirical road trip through modern America from the brilliant author of Super Sad True Love Story and AbsurdistanBarry Cohen, master of the universe, has just had a very public meltdown involving a dinner party, an insider trading investigation and a $30,000 bottle of Japanese whisky. So he flees New York City, leaving behind his beautiful young wife and son, but remembering to bring his six favourite designer watches. Zig-zagging south through Trump''s America on a Greyhound Bus pilgrimmage he is singularly unprepared for, Barry heads to Texas - to find his old college girlfriend and, with her, a shot at a second chance...LaTrade ReviewShteyngart, perhaps more than any American writer of his generation, is a natural. The wit and the immigrant's sense of heartbreak just seem to pour from him * The New York Times *Uproariously funny, bitingly satiric, yet also warm and big-hearted * Boston Globe *SPECTACULAR... More than just an artistic tour de force, Lake Success succeeds in saying something big about America today. By turns compassionate and mournful, wickedly satirical and ultimately aspirational. He captures what Philip Roth once called the 'indigenous American berserk' * NPR/Fresh Air *A novel in which comedy and pathos are exquisitely balanced * Washington Post *Gary Shteyngart hears America perfectly; its fatuity, its poignant lament, its boisterous self-loathing. Its heartbeat. Reading him sometimes makes me want to scream - with recognition and with pure hilarity -- Richard FordAn unforgettable road trip through an America that's ominously divided, wildly diverse, and weirdly familiar. Gary Shteyngart writes with brutal honesty, virtuoso wit, and stubborn compassion for his deeply flawed but still somehow lovable characters -- Tom Perrotta, bestselling author of 'The Leftovers'The funniest book you'll read all year. A rollicking and zinger-filled road trip [and] a poignant tale of a man trying to outrace his problems. Epic, melancholy, staggeringly beautiful -- Maria Semple, author of 'Where'd You Go, Bernadette?'A trip through the American wasteland - from the people who have too little, to the people who have too much. Incredibly smart, incredibly funny, incredibly tragic, and therefore incredibly human, this is the perfect novel for these dysfunctional times -- Nathan Hill, author of 'The Nix'A novel reflecting with perfect comedy and horrible tragedy exactly what America feels like right this minute. I barked with laughter, at the same time as wincing in pain. Shteyngart has held up a mirror to American culture that is so accurate and so devastating... Stupendous -- Elizabeth GilbertLake Success is a genial and warm-hearted book...a virtuoso piece of work, full of brilliant noticings...an unhysterical novel about a hysterical country at a hysterical time - the work of a novelist who believes in the power of fiction to illuminate out shared world. * Literary Review *Shteyngart does slapstick as well as ever, but he stakes out new terrain in the expert way he develops his characters' pathos.... A stylish, big-hearted novel. Shteyngart made his name as a sharp satirist, and he'll undoubtedly widen his appeal with this effort * Publisher's Weekly *The satirical layering is masterful. Dark - so dark - yet delicious. * Esquire *Lake Success is undeniably enjoyable, rattling along with good jokes and sharp set pieces, and shot through with Shteyngart's good-natured melancholy. * The Times *Referencing classic novels like The Great Gatsby and On the Road, Shteyngart whips up a novel that's part-satire and part-comedy of manners, humanising the super-rich while casting a critical eye over their world. It's funny, cutting, but above all compassionate * The Herald Magazine *Shteyngart's comic energy is well deployed on the ridiculously rich, especially amid Trump's campaign and his election by, perhaps, many Greyhound riders. * Daily Mail *
£8.99
DC Comics Dark Knights of Steel Allwinter
Book SynopsisThe Dark Knights of Steel saga, placing DC s heroes in the realm of epic fantasy, continues with a standalone tale starring Deathstroke in a deadly frozen wasteland!
£22.49
Penguin Books Ltd Malina
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewA portrait, in language, of female consciousness, truer than anything written since Sappho's Fragment 31. Once you're in, you're in ... You're racing along, deep in the rhythms of the narrator's thoughts, which are bone-true and demonically intelligent -- Rachel Kushner, author of THE MARS ROOMIf I was permitted to keep one book only it would be Malina. Malina has everything -- Claire-Louise Bennett, author of PONDA writer of genius * The New York Times *Rare and strong * Los Angeles Times *It seems in Malina there is nothing Bachmann cannot do with words * New York Review of Books *A passionate tour de force * Village Voice *
£9.49
Zaffre The Woman Who Wanted More: 'Beautifully written,
Book SynopsisA perfect foodie novel with plenty of bite - ideal for fans of Beth O'Leary, Joanna Cannon and Libby Page. Two women. One unusual cookbook. And a friendship that will show them how to savour each moment . . . Kate Parker is about to turn forty and her world has fallen apart. Her seemingly rock-solid relationship is suddenly up in the air, and she's been forced to move back in with her mother. In need of some distraction, Kate (reluctantly) volunteers at her local retirement home. Cecily Finn is a ninety-seven-year-old resident of Lauderdale House for Exceptional Ladies. Her tongue is as sharp as her mind but lately she's lost her spark, seemingly resigned to the Imminent End. But then Cecily prescribes Kate a self-help recipe book with a difference - and so begins an unlikely friendship between two lonely and stubborn souls. Together, these two very different women - one near the end of her life, one adrift somewhere in the middle - will show each other that food is for feasting, life is for living, and that it's always essential to ask for more.Praise for The Woman Who Wanted More: 'Beautifully written, full of insight and food. This is one of those I carried round the house wanting to read it every spare second' - Katie Fforde 'Wise, warm, witty and mouth-watering - this wonderful book has it all' - Isabelle Broom, Woman & Home 'A fabulous read about finding your way; about friendships and letting go. I adored it' - Nina Pottell, Prima Magazine 'A mouth-watering treat of a book that celebrates food and female friendship . . . An irresistible novel!' - Kate HarrisonTrade ReviewIn times like these, we all need a happy ending and a story that makes us see that better times are ahead and Vicky Zimmerman provides that with happiness to spare. A tale that will bring a little sunshine into your life in these strange times * 17 Degrees Magazine *Beautifully written, full of insight and food. This is one of those I carried round the house wanting to read it every spare second * Katie Fforde *Wise, warm, witty and mouth-watering - this wonderful book has it all . . . Hungry for a love story with added bite? With deliciously real characters, a sprinkling of humour, a pinch of pathos and huge helping of wisdom, this book has all the ingredients to become this summer's must-read * Isabelle Broom, Author and books editor for Woman & Home *If you're at a stage in your life when you're querying your relationship or career then this is the book for you. A fabulous read about finding your way; about friendships and letting go. I adored it. * Nina Pottell, Prima Magazine books editor *A wonderfully wise, warm and witty read. * Woman & Home magazine *Clever, romantic and truly uplifting ... absolutely irresistible. * Sunday People *Touching and hilarious ... the perfect read for food enthusiasts ... Charming and lyrically written, each character, recipe and emotion flows seamlessly into one empowering story. It's a delight. * Woman's Weekly *Written with a real sense of the whirring stream of consciousness of a woman whose life is no longer her own, the style of this book is so easy to get into and impossible to leave. * Magic Radio Book Club *UpLit novel to light up your life * RED magazine online *A mouth-watering treat of a book that celebrates food and female friendship . . . An irresistible novel! * Kate Harrison, author of The Secret Shopper’s Revenge *This scrumptious read could leave you salivating for more. * The Sunday Post *A deliciously authentic book, beautifully written, poignant but ultimately inspiring. Highly recommended! * Hot Brands, Cool Places *Heart-warmer * BEST magazine *A great read * Tom Doorley, Food writer & Ireland's longest-serving restaurant critic *Well written, readable - like a delicious petit four, The Dish leaves you wanting more * Heat (on Vicky Zimmerman's previous work as Stella Newman) *I absolutely loved it * Katie Fforde (on Vicky Zimmerman's previous work as Stella Newman) *Achingly funny, searingly honest, Pear Shaped is quite simply the freshest thing I've ever read . . . * Claudia Carroll (on Vicky Zimmerman's previous work as Stella Newman) *It reminded me of a lemon meringue pie: sharp and sweet and satisfying all at once. It's funny, sad and uplifting... It's a belter * Kate Long, bestselling author of The Bad Mother's Handbook (on Vicky Zimmerman's previous work as Stella Newman) *Combines our two dearest loves: food and romance * Cosmopolitan (on Vicky Zimmerman's previous work as Stella Newman) *With really likeable characters, a witty turn of phrase, moments of real poignancy and, of course, mouthwatering details of food, it's rather delicious * Sunday Mirror (on Vicky Zimmerman's previous work as Stella Newman) *Hugely entertaining * Lady (on Vicky Zimmerman's previous work as Stella Newman) *Must Have... The Dish will make you hungry for more * Sunday Express S magazine (on Vicky Zimmerman's previous work as Stella Newman) *Deliciously good stuff! * Sun on Sunday Fabulous magazine (on Vicky Zimmerman's previous work as Stella Newman) *The story is dotted with genuine warmth and humour.... It's a truly satisfying read * Love it! Magazine (on Vicky Zimmerman's previous work as Stella Newman) *This book will leave you happy and hungry in equal doses! * Take a Break (on Vicky Zimmerman's previous work as Stella Newman) *A brutally honest tale of life and love (or the lack of it) and an exploration of the heroine's tremendous affection for food . . . Sharp and funny it's a celebration of why life is more than just falling in love * WOMAN magazine (on Vicky Zimmerman's previous work as Stella Newman) *A perfect slice of feel-good chick lit . . . mouthwatering fun you'll want to devour immediately * FABULOUS magazine (on Vicky Zimmerman's previous work as Stella Newman) *Funny, feisty and fresh * Manchester Evening News (on Vicky Zimmerman's previous work as Stella Newman) *If you are a girl with a passion for food, this modern city heartbreak is the book for you * Heat (on Vicky Zimmerman's previous work as Stella Newman) *Her writing is witty and snappy and she is hilarious * Wendy Holden (on Vicky Zimmerman's previous work as Stella Newman) *A delicious read to enjoy with a glass of wine * Novelicious.com (on Vicky Zimmerman's previous work as Stella Newman) *Witty and engaging . . . A funny and honest story * ChickLitClub.com (on Vicky Zimmerman's previous work as Stella Newman) *A funny page-turner * Bella (on Vicky Zimmerman's previous work as Stella Newman) *
£7.59
Pan Macmillan All That Is
Book SynopsisJames Salter was the author of numerous books, including the novels Solo Faces, Light Years, A Sport and a Pastime, The Arm of Flesh (revised as Cassada), and The Hunters; the memoirs Gods of Tin and Burning the Days; the collections Dusk and Other Stories, which won the 1989 PEN/Faulkner Award, and Last Night, which won the Rea Award for the Short Story and the PEN/Malamud Award; and Life Is Meals: A Food Lover's Book of Days, written with Kay Salter. He died in 2015.
£10.44
Penguin Books Ltd The Vanishing Point
Book SynopsisFrom the bestselling novelist, travel writer, and master of the short story (NPR) comes a brilliant new collection. The stories in The Vanishing Point are both exotic and domestic, their settings ranging from Hawaii to Africa and New England. Each focuses on life's vanishing pointsa moment when seemingly all lines running through one's life converge, and one can see no farther, yet must deal with the implications. With the insight, subtlety, and empathy that has long characterized his work, Theroux has written deeply moving stories about memory, longing, and the passing of time, reclaiming his status, once again, as a master of the form. The most gifted, most prodigal writer of his generation' Jonathan RabanThe most exciting contemporary practitioner of a literary tradition honed to elegantly crafted terseness by Somerset Maugham and Graham Greene. A terrific teller of tales and conjurer of exotic locales' Sunday Times
£17.00
Random House Wandering Stars
Book SynopsisTommy Orange is faculty at the Institute of American Indian Arts MFA program. An enrolled member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma, he was born and raised in Oakland, California. Orange's debut novel, There There, was a New York Times bestseller, a finalist for the 2019 Pulitzer Prize, and received the 2019 American Book Award. Wandering Stars is his second book.
£9.49
Headline Publishing Group Reunited at the Lakeside Cottage
Book SynopsisEscape this winter with the new feel-good read from Erin Green!
£10.44
Simon & Schuster Ltd City Girls Forever
Book Synopsis*** THE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLING AUTHOR *** 'One of Scanlan's great strengths is her gift for writing fully rounded characters, and this is Scanlan at her very best' Irish Independent The City Girls are back! As City Girl, Devlin Delaney’s iconic gym and spa prepares to mark a big anniversary, her best friends, Caroline and Maggie are looking forward to a fabulous party where they can all put their problems behind them and celebrate. Devlin’s past has returned to haunt her, with a shocking revelation. But she’s strong and her beloved Luke has her back. Caroline is facing up to issues she’s long suppressed, with the help of a man who’s becoming more than a friend. Will happiness finally be hers? Maggie’s
£18.70
Simon & Schuster Ltd Same Time Next Week
Book SynopsisPRE-ORDER LET THE BELLS RING OUT, THE HEARTWARMING AND UPLIFITNG NEW MILLY JOHNSON NOVEL, COMING THIS CHRISTMAS! 'Milly is the most wonderful, life-affirming writer about women's lives, love and friendship; her books are a joy.' JENNY COLGAN ‘Real women, real life, real feeling, Milly brings it all.’ CATHY BRAMLEY 'Milly writes with a huge heart about the challenges women face, particularly in later life. Her wisdom shines through, as does her humour: no-one can bring you from tears to smiles more quickly. Her books are warm, funny and real, and her stories celebrate triumph over adversity, the power of love, and the importance of friendship. Her heroines are down to earth yet reach for the sky and are truly inspirational, like Milly herself. She makes the world a better place.' VERONICA HENRY 'Romantic fiction at it's very best, I adored it. Warm, welcoming, funny, and wise, just like Milly!' JO THOMASWelcome to Spring Hill, home to a square of independent shops and cafes, a thriving local community and nearby the newest venture, Ray’s Diner. Here a group of women meet once a week over a cup of something warming. Amanda is primary carer to her elderly mother and one of the only women in a male-dominated company. Used to being second-best all her life, is this her time to finally break ranks and shine? Sky works at the repair shop, patching up old teddy bears, and their owners’ hearts. But her heart beats for the one man who is strictly off-limits. Mel has been a loyal and loving wife to Steve for thirty years. Then when he goes to his old school reunion, life as she knows it will never be the same again. Erin is trying to get over a traumatic loss where her guilt weighs more than her grief. Can she find the first step to healing lies in sharing an hour with strangers once a week? Astrid is feeling in need of a change and a challenge. But when a fantastic opportunity presents itself, who is around to convince her she is worthy enough to take the risk? Can these women find the answers to their worries, acceptance, courage, support here? Join them at the same time next week to find out…
£15.29
HarperCollins Publishers Inc Simply the Best
Book Synopsis
£10.44
HarperCollins Publishers Alice Isnt Dead
Book SynopsisFrom the creator of the wildly popular Welcome to Night Vale podcast comes a story about loving, about searching and about the courage you need when you find the unexpected.Keisha Lewis mourned the loss of her wife, Alice, who disappeared two years ago. There was a search, there was grief beyond what she thought was possible. There was a funeral.But then Keisha began to see her wife, again and again, in the background of news reports from all over America.Alice isn't dead. And she is showing up at the scene of every tragedy in the country.Keisha shrugs off her old life and hits the road as a trucker hoping on some level that travelling the length of the country will lead her to the person she loves.What she finds are buried crimes and monsters (both human and unimaginable), government conspiracies, haunted service stations and a darkness far older than the highway system it lies beneath.Cast in the fluorescent lights of midnight diner-signs, this story is as big as the open road and Trade Review“ … Thrilling … Creator of the popular Welcome to Nightvale podcast, Fink fills his world with fully realized characters … Fans of eerie suspense will find much to like.”Publishers Weekly PRAISE FOR WELCOME TO NIGHT VALE ‘Clever, twisted, beautiful, strange, wonderful and sweet . . . this might be the best book I've read in years’New York Times bestselling author Patrick Rothfuss ‘I'm packing up and moving to Night Vale!’New York Times bestselling author Ransom Riggs 'Cultural phenomenon'Telegraph 'As hilarious as it is macabre'Time Out
£9.49
Vintage Publishing Clock Dance
Book SynopsisA bittersweet novel of family and self-discovery from the bestselling, award-winning author of French BraidWilla Drake can count on one hand the defining moments of her life: her mother's disappearance when she was just a child, being proposed to at an airport at the age of twenty-one, the accident that would leave her a widow in her forties. Each time, Willa ended up on a path laid out for her by others.So when she receives a phone call from a stranger informing her that her son's ex-girlfriend has been shot, she drops everything and flies across the country. The spur-of-the moment decision to look after this woman and her nine-year-old daughter leads Willa into uncharted territory and the eventual realisation that it's never too late to choose your own path.**ANNE TYLER HAS SOLD OVER 8 MILLION BOOKS WORLDWIDE**'Anne Tyler takes the ordinary, the small, and makes them sing' Rachel Joyce'She knows all the secrets of the human heart' Monica Ali 'A masterly author' Sebastian Faulks'I love Anne Tyler. I've read every single book she's written' Jacqueline WilsonTrade ReviewIf Anne Tyler isn't the best writer in the world, who is? * BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour *One of our greatest living fiction writers and if I was in charge, she'd have a Nobel by now * Observer *Brims with the qualities that have brought her legions of fans and high critical acclaim. Characters pulse with lifelikeness. The tone flickers between humorous relish and sardonic shrewdness. Dialogue crackles with authenticity. Beneath it all is an insistence that it's never too soon to recognise how quickly life can speed by and never too late to make vitalising changes * Sunday Times *How does she do it? Her style is deceptively simple. Even though she performs narrative cartwheels that would lead other novelists to be praised as experimental... she does it with such ease that it seems closer to life than to art. it is almost as though we are there to witness time passing, and people changing * Mail on Sunday *A writer sharp-eyed as a butcher-bird, skewering complacency... an immensely funny writer... a quiet writer, in that much of her skill goes toward the excision of anything that reminds the reader they are reading * Sunday Telegraph *
£9.49
Vintage Publishing Adjustment Day
Book SynopsisThe author of Fight Club takes America beyond our darkest dreams in this timely satire. People pass the word only to those they trust most: Adjustment Day is coming. They’ve been reading a mysterious blue-black book and memorising its directives. They are ready for the reckoning. In this ingeniously comic work, Chuck Palahniuk’s first novel in four years, he does what he does best: skewer the absurdities in our society. Smug, geriatric politicians hatch a nasty fate for the burgeoning population of young males; working-class men dream of burying the elites; and professors propound theories that offer students only the bleakest future. When it arrives, Adjustment Day inaugurates a new, disunited states. In this mind-blowing novel, Palahniuk fearlessly makes real the logical conclusion of every separatist fantasy, alternative fact, and conspiracy theory lurking in the American psyche.‘His best book in years’ Irish IndependentTrade ReviewHis best book in years… Mashing up the current febrile mood in America and the destructive impulses of Fight Club, Adjustment Day… skewers every tribe in the identity politics rainbow… Welcome back, Chuck. -- Ian O'Doherty * Irish Independent *An heir to Chuck Palahniuk's most famous novel, Fight Club, Adjustment Day is one of the most ingeniously fucked-up and enticingly original novels to be published this year... Think Will Self, George Orwell, Stephen King and William Burroughs mixed up in a Molotov cocktail. * attitude *There is more than a mere whiff of Nineteen Eighty-Four and The Purge in Palahniuk’s latest novel, and it could be read as a treatise on contemporary America. * Irish Times *The Fight Club author is on a mission to offend everyone with his new satire about America… his humour expresses a genuine anger, and that gives his book a crackling energy… This is one of those books that is best enjoyed in a bad mood, when you’re thinking that a good cull is really what the human race needs, although even when feeling quite sunny, I found the glee Palahniuk takes in his Book of Revelation-esque scenario rather infectious. -- Jake Kerridge * Daily Telegraph *Timely… with crosshairs fixed on the absurdity of both sides of the political divide. Set in contemporary America, the novel seizes hold of dark separatist ideas and drags them to their ultimate conclusion. * iNews *
£999.99
Random House Wild Houses
Book SynopsisColin Barrett grew up in County Mayo, Ireland. His stories have been published in the Stinging Fly, Granta, Harper's and the New Yorker. His first book, the short story collection Young Skins, won the Guardian First Book Award, the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award and the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature. His second collection, Homesickness, made the New York Times 100 Notable Books of the Year and was a Book of the Year in Oprah Daily and the Irish Times.
£9.49
Farrar, Straus and Giroux Brother Brontë
Book Synopsis
£21.00
Simon & Schuster Ltd The Memory Garden
Book SynopsisFrom the million-copy Sunday Times bestseller comes a breathtaking story of family secrets and forbidden love. Secrets from the past, unravelling in the present… Uncovering secrets that span generations, Rachel delivers intriguing, involving and emotive narrative reading group fiction like few other writers can.Idyllic Cornwall, a lost garden, a love story from long ago . . . A hundred years ago, Lamorna Cove, a tiny, picturesque bay in Cornwall, was the haunt of a colony of artists. Today, Mel Pentreath hopes it will be a place she can escape the pain of losing her mother and a broken love affair, and gradually put her life back together. Renting a cottage in the enchanting grounds of Merryn Hall, Mel embraces her new surroundings and offers to help her landlord Patrick restore the overgrown garden. Soon she is daring to believe her life can be rebuilt. Then Patrick finds so
£8.54
HarperCollins Publishers The Hidden Queen
Book SynopsisThe second book in the Nightfall Saga, the stunning new epic fantasy series set in the world of the Demon Cycle, from New York Times bestselling author Peter V. Brett.
£9.49
Profile Help Wanted
Book Synopsis'Help Wanted is like a great nineteenth-century novel about now, at once an effervescent workplace comedy and an exploration of the psychic toll exacted by the labour market' Elif Batuman, author of The Idiot'Help Wanted held me from its first page. Waldman transmits, through narrative tension and beautifully rendered heartbreak, the exact way that capitalism turned on the very lives it was there to boost and instead corroded' Taffy Brodesser-Akner, author of The Long Island Compromise 'Poignant, funny, stealthily ambitious' The New York Times'Eliot-like ... . It is simultaneously a joke, a homage, and a provocation for our unequal age. Help Wanted washes labour in a stately, almost Steinbeckian light, emphasizing its difficulty but also its dignity' New YorkerTightly plotted, slyly caustic and often very funny' Daily MailWhen the store manager at an upstate New York superstore announces he's leaving, the motley crew members of Team Movement take the news surprisingly well. Overworked
£9.49
Faber & Faber Women Talking Miriam Toews
Book Synopsis**READ THE BOOK BEFORE YOU WATCH THE MAJOR FILM STARRING CLAIRE FOY, JESSIE BUCKLEY, ROONEY MARA AND BEN WHISHAW**''Don''t miss this.'' MARGARET ATWOOD''Beautiful. . . a novel for the times.'' LISA McINERNEYTender, enraging and brimming with a bitter wit.' The Times''An astonishment, a volcano of a novel.'' LAUREN GROFFIn a remote Mennonite colony, over a hundred girls and women were knocked unconscious and violatedby what many thought were ghosts or demonsas punishment for their sins. Their accounts were chalked up to wild female imagination.' Women Talking is an imagined response to these real events. When the women learn that they were in fact drugged and attacked by men in their community, they hold a secret meeting in a hayloft. They have two days to make a plan before the rapists are bailed out and brought home: will they dare to escape?''Profound, affecting stuff.'' Sunday Telegraph
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd Swallowing Geography
Book SynopsisA stunning early novel by the twice Booker-shortlisted author of Hot Milk and Swimming Home, Deborah Levy. Like her namesake Jack Kerouac, J.K. is always on the road, travelling Europe with her typewriter in a pillowcase. From J.K.''s irreverent, ironic perspective, Levy charts a new, dizzying, end-of-the-century world of shifting boundaries and displaced peoples._________________________________''An exciting writer, sharp and shocking as the knives her characters wield'' Sunday Times ''Levy is a brilliant writer'' Telegraph ''Levy''s strength is her originality of thought and expression'' Jeanette WintersonTrade ReviewOne of the few British writers comfortable on a world stage * New Statesman *Levy is a brilliant writer * Telegraph *An exciting writer, sharp and shocking as the knives her characters wield * Sunday Times *
£8.54
Indie Novella Teardrop
Book SynopsisAs a girl, Jazz knew that a gecko falling on your right side foretold a sudden death. In 1950s Ceylon, trying to forge her own way while British rule collapses, Jazz begins her new life as a journalistand accompanying seasoned crime reporter Sonny to the Eastern Province in search of clues as an unknown body is found in the new reservior.
£10.44
Orion Publishing Co The Bell Tower
Book SynopsisDeath Row duty comes with three simple rules:Do not make it personalDo not question the systemDo not take justice into your own handsGarrett Nelson will break every one of them.Injured during a drug bust, sheriff''s deputy Garrett Nelson finds himself working at a Florida Penitentiary, under the shadow of an old bell tower turned execution chamber.There, his belief in the justice system will be tested to its limit - as a manhunt through the Everglades sparks a conflict of duty versus conscience.Can he turn a blind eye to an innocent man''s execution or risk his own life in the pursuit of truth? For life on death row takes its toll: until you can''t take it anymore...****PRAISE FOR R.J. ELLORY''Beautiful and haunting... A tour de force'' MICHAEL CONNELLY''Beautifully written novels that are also great mysteries'' JAMES PATTERSON''A uniquely gifted, passion
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Little, Brown Book Group Chasm A Weekend
Book SynopsisChasm is the only novel by Dorothea Tanning, the famed surrealist artist, and was published when she was 93 years old.Trade ReviewTanning's fictional debut unquestionably deserves to be recognised as a complete artistic success . . . Told in confident, fluid prose highlighted by passages of hallucinatory beauty. -- Nicholas Royle * Guardian *It seems hardly fair that Dorothea Tanning, in a long, passionately inventive career as a painter, should have acquired as well the other harmony of prose, and that her passionate inventions as a writer should be so lovingly, so wisely resolved -- Richard Howard
£9.99
HarperCollins Publishers The Maids Secret
Book SynopsisMolly the Maid is used to being invisible. Now someone is watching her every move *THE SPARKLING NEW MYSTERY FROM THE MULTI-MILLION-COPY BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE MAID*
£15.29
