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
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£9.99
Transworld Romantic Comedy
Book SynopsisCurtis Sittenfeld is the author of the Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling Rodham. Other novels include American Wife and Prep, both bestsellers and longlisted for the Orange Prize, The Man of My Dreams, Sisterland, Eligible, and the acclaimed short story collections You Think It, I'll Say It and Help Yourself. Her stories have appeared in the New Yorker, Esquire, Oprah Magazine and the New York Times magazine. Sittenfeld was also the guest editor for the 2020 Best American Short Stories anthology. She lives with her family in the American Midwest. Follow her on Twitter @CSittenfeld
£9.49
Pushkin Press The Red Notebook
Book SynopsisBookseller Laurent Letellier comes across an abandoned handbag on a Parisian street, and feels impelled to return it to its owner. The bag contains no money, phone or contact information. But it does hold a small red notebook, full of handwritten thoughts and jottings that reveal someone Laurent would very much like to meet. Without even a name to go on, and only a few of her possessions to help him, how is he to find one woman in a city of millions?
£9.49
Birlinn General Trains and Lovers
Book SynopsisA heart-warming stand-alone novel about trains and love! McCall Smith weaves a tale of four strangers who meet on a train. They have one thing in common - they have all been in love. They all have very different experiences to share, but as one of the character observes, loving others is the good thing we do in our lives.
£8.54
Peter Halban Publishers Ltd The Brondesbury Tapestry
Book SynopsisSix women and one man gather in a community centre in North London for a life writing class run by Dorothy, their uniquely unqualified teacher. They have urgent stories to tell and, as they recount them, they discover they are connected in unexpected ways.There is Iris, eighty years old but still with a taste for younger men; Pearl single-handedly bringing up her grandson, enigmatic hooded Kai; elusive Renee; Sabine whose happy Belgian childhood may not have been as happy as it sounds; mixed-up Esther; Edgar whose winning ways charm them all and of course there is Enid, the retired art teacher, who insists on telling her story in pictures not words.Illustrated with sharp line drawings by illustrator Beatrice Baumgartner-Cohen, The Brondesbury Tapestry is a quirky, perceptive look at a group of people who feel the modern world has left them behind but who have decided that they will still have the last word.
£8.99
Chronos Publishing Jareds Story
£9.49
Kiss The Frog Press Unravelling
Book Synopsis
£12.61
WW Norton & Co Wuthering Heights
Book Synopsis“A fine new edition at an affordable price.” —Bernard Duyfhuizen, University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire
£11.99
HarperCollins Publishers Unfinished Tales
Book Synopsis To celebrate its 40th anniversary, the first ever illustrated edition of this collection of tales which takes readers further into the stories told in The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, featuring 18 full-colour paintings depicting scenes from the First, Second and Third Ages of Middle-earth. Trade Review‘Moments of mythic grandeur’Sunday Times ‘Another monument to the incredible imagination of Tolkien’Sunday Telegraph
£24.00
Pan Macmillan Stories of Your Life and Others
Book SynopsisTed Chiang was born in Port Jefferson, New York, and currently lives outside Seattle, Washington. In 1990 he won the Nebula Award for his first published story, 'Tower of Babylon'. His stories have won him numerous other awards including four Hugo awards and six Locus awards making him one of the most honoured writers in contemporary SF.
£9.49
Vintage Publishing Absalom Absalom
Book SynopsisThis postbellum Greek tragedy is the perfect introduction to Faulkner's elaborate descriptive syntax. Quentin Compson and Shreve, his Harvard roommate, are obsessed with the tragic rise and fall of Thomas Sutpen. As a poor white boy, Sutpen was turned away from a plantation owner's mansion by a black butler. From then on, he was determined to force his way into the upper echelons of Southern society. His relentless will ensures his ambitions are soon realised; land, marriage, children, his own troop to fight in the Civil War... but Sutpen returns from the conflict to find his estate in ruins and his family collapsing. Secrets from his own past threaten to ruin the lives of his children and destroy everything he has worked for.Trade ReviewThe novel in which Faulkner most profoundly and completely says what he has to say about the South and the human condition -- Walter AllenFor range of effect, philosophical weight, originality of style, variety of characterisation, humour and tragic intensity [Faulkner's Works] are without equal in our time and country -- Robert Penn WarrenFor all his concern with the South, Faulkner was actually seeking out the nature of man. Thus we must turn to him for that continuity of moral purpose which made which made for the greatness of our classics -- Ralph EllisonThe magnitude of Faulkner's characters lies in their blood and bone and sinew: the exquisite specificity of their human fallibility... Faulkner seemed incapable of separating intimate character from universal truth, and this rough refusal - both humble and defiant - was at the root of his force as a writer... No other American writer has achieved such staggering heights of form * Boston Globe *Heart-pinching * New York Times *
£9.49
Little, Brown Book Group Harry Potter and The Cursed Child Parts One and
Book SynopsisBased on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany and Jack Thorne, a new play by Jack Thorne, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is the eighth story in the Harry Potter series and the first official Harry Potter story to be presented on stage. The play will receive its world premiere in London''s West End on 30th July 2016.It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn''t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband, and father of three school-age children.While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.
£18.70
HarperCollins Publishers 4.50 from Paddington Book 8 Marple
Book SynopsisAgatha Christie's classic Miss Marple railway mystery, reissued in a beautiful new classic hardcover edition designed to appeal to the latest generation of Agatha Christie fans and book lovers.Oh, Jane! I've just seen a murder!'For an instant the two trains ran together, side by side. In that frozen moment, Elspeth witnessed a murder. Helplessly, she stared out of her carriage window as a man remorselessly tightened his grip around a woman's throat. The body crumpled. Then the other train drew away.But who, apart from Miss Marple, would take her story seriously? After all, there were no suspects, no other witnesses and no corpse.Trade Review‘Without a doubt, the greatest mystery writer of all time’ – Ragnar Jonasson ‘A hundred years after her first novel, and we are all still standing in her shadow’ – Andrew Taylor ‘She gives us an insight into human nature that few, if any, have surpassed’ – Susan Lewis ‘Dame Agatha has sold more books than all besides Shakespeare and the Bible’ – David Baldacci ‘All crime fiction writers around the globe owe Agatha Christie a massive debt’ – Peter James ‘Reading a perfectly plotted Agatha Christie is like crunching into a perfect apple: that pure, crisp, absolute satisfaction.’ – Tana French
£13.49
Pan Macmillan The Olive Tree: The bestselling story of secrets
Book SynopsisThe Olive Tree is a sun-soaked story of family secrets and an unforgettable summer in Cyprus, from Lucinda Riley, international bestselling author of the Seven Sisters series.A magical house. A momentous summer . . . As a young woman, Helena spent a magical holiday at Pandora, a beautiful house in Cyprus – and fell in love for the first time. Now, twenty-four years later and following the loss of her godfather, she has inherited Pandora. And, though it is a crumbling shadow of its former self, Helena returns with her family to spend the summer there.When, by chance, Helena meets her childhood sweetheart, her past threatens to collide with her present. She knows that the idyllic beauty of Pandora masks a web of secrets that she has kept from her husband and thirteen-year-old son. And that, once its secrets have been revealed, their lives will never be the same . . .'It will whisk you away to the glorious sunshine of Cyprus' – Daily Express** This title has been published outside the UK under the title Helena's Secret. **Trade ReviewIt will whisk you away to the glorious sunshine of Cyprus . . . refreshingly different -- Veronica Henry * Daily Express *A dazzling contemporary novel . . . Brimming with the colour, atmosphere and sultry heat of beautiful Cyprus, this is a gripping story about family relationships across all generations, the ties that bind us with sometimes invisible cords and the complex nature of 'family' in the modern world . . . Riley writes with both insight and empathy . . . a stunning tale of our times from a master storyteller * Lancashire Evening Post *A brilliant page-turner just soaked in glamour and romance -- Daily Mail, on The Seven SistersA masterclass in beautiful writing -- The Sun, on The Sun Sister
£9.49
Canongate Books The Tartar Steppe
Book SynopsisIdealistic young officer Giovanni Drogo is full of determination to serve his country well. But when he arrives at a bleak border station in the Tartar desert, where he is to take a short assignment at Fort Bastiani, he finds the castle manned by veteran soldiers who have grown old without seeing a trace of the enemy. As his length of service stretches from months into years, he continues to wait patiently for the enemy to advance across the desert, for one great and glorious battle . . . Written in 1938 as the world waited for war, and internationally acclaimed since its publication, The Tartar Steppe is a provocative and frightening tale of hope, longing and the terrible sorcery of dreams and desires.Trade ReviewA strange and haunting novel, an eccentric classic -- J.M. COETZEEIt is not often that a masterpiece falls into one's hands. But The Tartar Steppe is undoubtedly a masterpiece, a sublime book, and Buzzati a master of the written word * * Sunday Times * *There are names that the coming generations will not resign themselves to forget. Surely one of them is that of Dino Buzzati -- JORGE LUIS BORGESA beautiful, masterly novel that shimmers like a mirage, bringing into sharp focus the rise and fall of our ambitions and the pitiless erosion of time. It is the story of one Giovanni Drogo - yet how many of us will be stricken to recognise something of ourselves in him? -- YANN MARTELThe Tartar Steppe is a nightmare, a comedy of errors, a beautiful and anguished fable, a call to resistance against folly, the inspired assurance that one last act may justify our lifelong struggle to remain human -- ALBERTO MANGUEL
£999.99
Little, Brown Book Group Their Eyes Were Watching God
Book SynopsisZora Neale Hurston's masterpiece is perhaps the most widely read and highly regarded novel in the entire canon of African American literature. Published as part of a beautifully designed series to mark the 40th anniversary of the Virago Modern Classics.Trade ReviewTo the last page that fills the soul with tears, Hurston's novel delivers. To me, it is also a welcome reminder that books are democratic, subversive and life-changing * The Times *This novel is a packet of surprises as we have no idea what's going to happen next. Many romantic novels basically have the same plot, but this novel is something no one would have ever imagined * Guardian *For me, Their Eyes Were Watching God is one of the very greatest American novels of the twentieth century. It is so lyrical it should be sentimental; it is so passionate it should be overwrought, but it is instead a rigorous, convincing and dazzling piece of prose, as emotionally satisfying as it is impressive. There is no novel I love moreThere is no book more important to me than this one. It speaks to me as no novel, past or present, has ever doneZora Neale Hurston was a knockout in her life, a wonderful writer and a fabulous person. Devilishly funny and academically solid: delicious mixtureA poignant story, told with almost rhythmic beauty * Kirkus Reviews *
£9.49
Orion Publishing Co Mistborn Secret History
Book Synopsis THE INTERNATIONAL PHENOMENON BEHIND THE COSMERE A COMPANION STORY TO THE ORIGINAL MISTBORN TRILOGY **** There''s always another secret.Mistborn: Secret History is a companion story to the original Mistborn trilogy. As such, it contains HUGE SPOILERS for the books Mistborn (The Final Empire), The Well of Ascension, and The Hero of Ages. It also contains very minor spoilers for the book The Bands of Mourning. Mistborn: Secret History builds upon the characterization, events, and worldbuilding of the original trilogy. Reading it without that background will be a confusing process at best. In short, this isn''t the place to start your journey into Mistborn (though if you have read the trilogy - but it has been a while - you should be just fine, so long as you remember the characters and the general plot of the books). Saying anything more here risks revealing too much. Even knowledge of this story''s existence is, in a way, a spoiler... **** FANTASY DOESN''T GET BETTER THAN SANDERSON: ''Highly recommend to anyone hungry for a good read'' ROBIN HOBB ''Epic in every sense'' GUARDIAN ''Sanderson is the most immersive fantasy writer I''ve ever encountered'' BEN AARONOVITCH ''All the explosive action any adventure fan could want'' LOCUSTrade ReviewRather engaging and highly addictive. * STARBURST MAGAZINE *
£10.44
Penguin Books Ltd One Hundred Years of Solitude
Book SynopsisPenguin''s commemorative hardback reissue of One Hundred Years of Solitude by late Nobel laureate and author Gabriel García Márquez is a timeless classic and the perfect Christmas gift for any booklover.Gabriel García Márquez has been one of the undisputed literary giants of the past century; his stories are vivid, energetic, tender and unforgettable; they have touched the lives of readers across the globe and earned him countless awards including the Nobel Prize for Literature.In the wake of the author''s death, his most beloved novel is reissued in commemorative hardback edition. One Hundred Years of Solitude is endlessly fascinating, an intricately patterned work of fiction and a joyful, irrepressible celebration of humanity. Vibrantly colourful and teeming with life, this timeless tale blends the natural with the supernatural in one of the most magical reading experiences on earth.''Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendia was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.''Gabriel Garcia Marquez''s great masterpiece is the story of seven generations of the Buendia family and of Macondo, the town they have built. Though little more than a settlement surrounded by mountains, Macondo has its wars and disasters, even its wonders and its miracles. A microcosm of Columbian life, its secrets lie hidden, encoded in a book, and only Aureliano Buendia can fathom its mysteries and reveal its shrouded destiny. Blending political reality with magic realism, fantasy and comic invention, One Hundred Years of Solitude is one of the most daringly original works of the twentieth century.''Dazzling'' The New York TimesTrade ReviewThe book that sort of saved my life -- Emma ThompsonThe greatest novel in any language of the last 50 years -- Salman RushdieShould be required reading for the entire human race * New York Times *
£13.49
Penguin Books Ltd Territory of Light
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewTsushima evades any label, her fiction transcends gender to focus on the existential loneliness that is at the heart of humanity. -- Kris Kosaka * Japan Times *Wonderfully poetic ... extraordinary freshness ... a Virginia Woolf quality -- Margaret Drabble * BBC Radio 3 *Spiky, atmospheric and intimate, filled with moments of strangeness that linger in the mind * The Spectator *In this short, powerful novel lurk the joy and guilt of single parents everywhere * Guardian *This exquisite and poignant novel . . . will resonate with single mothers always and everywhere -- Shami ChakrabartiAn extraordinary book . . . cool analytic intelligence propelled by sudden eruptions of passion -- Lisa AppignanesiAn astonishing and exquisite masterpiece about love, motherhood, female independence, and the restoration of a damaged family. Yuko Tsushima is an unforgettable name alongside great masters like Virginia Woolf, Alice Munro and Elizabeth Strout -- J. M. Lee, author of The Investigation
£8.54
Vintage Publishing 2666
Book SynopsisSanta Teresa, on the Mexico-US border: an urban sprawl that draws lost souls to it like a vortex.Convicts and academics find themselves here, as does an American sportswriter, a teenage student with her widowed father, and a reclusive, ''missing'' author. But, there is a darker side to the town. Girls and women are disappearing at an alarming rate.As a sense of conspiracy grows and an apocalyptic shadow draws closer, the corruption, violence and decadence of twentieth-century history reveals itself in a novel of an astonishing scale and burning intensity.TRANSLATED BY NATASHA WIMMERA landmark in what's possible for the novel. Bolaño has proven it can do anything' New York TimesWondrous... Unforgettable...will resonate for years to come' Daily TelegraphAs riveting as any top-notch thriller... 2666 achieves something extremely rare in fiction: it provides an all-encompassing view of our world'
£13.49
Penguin Books Ltd The Age of Innocence
Book SynopsisA moving portrayal of the struggle between desire and duty in nineteenth-century New York high societyNewland Archer, an eligible young man of the establishment is about to announce his engagement to May Welland, a pretty ingénue, when May''s cousin, Countess Olenska, is introduced into their circle. The Countess brings with her an aura of European sophistication and a hint of scandal, having left her husband and claimed her independence.Her sorrowful eyes, her tragic worldliness and her air of unapproachability attract the sensitive Newland and, almost against their will, a passionate bond develops between them. But Archer''s life has no place for passion and, with society on the side of May and all she stands for, he finds himself drawn into a bitter conflict between love and duty.
£7.99
Cornerstone Dragonfly In Amber: (Outlander 2)
Book SynopsisTHE SECOND NOVEL IN THE BESTSELLING OUTLANDER SERIES – Now a major TV series. For twenty years Claire Randall has kept her secrets. But now she is returning with her grown daughter to the majesty of Scotland's mist-shrouded hills. Here Claire plans to reveal a truth as stunning as the events that gave it birth: about the mystery of an ancient circle of standing stones, about a love that transcends the boundaries of time, and about James Fraser, a warrior whose gallantry once drew the young Claire from the security of her century to the dangers of his.Now a legacy of blood and desire will test her beautiful daughter as Claire's spellbinding journey continues in the intrigue-ridden court of Charles Edward Stuart, in a race to thwart a doomed uprising, and in a desperate fight to save both the child and the man she loves.Trade ReviewA triumph! A powerful tale layered in history and myth, at its core is a love so vivid and fierce... -- Nora RobertsMarvellous... It is a large canvas that Gabaldon paints, filled with strong passions and derring-do. * San Francisco Chronicle *
£9.99
HarperCollins Publishers Over My Dead Body The Next Thriller from the
Book SynopsisThe gripping new instalment in the William Warwick series, An Eye for an Eye, is available to pre-order now!An unputdownable story of murder, revenge and betrayal from international number one bestseller Jeffrey Archer.THE CLOCK IS TICKING IN THIS ROLLERCOASTER RIDE OF A THRILLERIn London, the Metropolitan Police set up a new Unsolved Murders Unit a cold case squad to catch the criminals nobody else can.In Geneva, millionaire art collector Miles Faulkner convicted of forgery and theft was pronounced dead two months ago.So why is his unscrupulous lawyer still representing a dead client?On a luxury liner en route to New York, the battle for power within a wealthy dynasty is about to turn to murder.And at the heart of all three investigations are Detective Chief Inspector William Warwick, rising star of the Met, and ex-undercover operative Ross Hogan, brought in from the cold.But can they catch the killers before it's too late?Praise for Jeffrey Archer:Probably the greatest storytelleTrade Review‘A fabulous read for any newcomers, written by a masterful storyteller’ Sunday Express ‘A cracking read’ Daily Mail ‘A bold, rollercoaster thriller’ Platinum Praise for Jeffrey Archer: ‘Probably the greatest storyteller of our age’ Mail on Sunday 'Peerless master of the page turner' Daily Mail 'If there were a Nobel Prize for storytelling, Archer would win' Daily Telegraph ‘Archer is a master entertainer’ Time
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers The Young Widows
Book Synopsis''If you love Liane Moriarty and Shari Lapena, you''ll love this twisty psychological thriller'' Pick Me Up An addictive thriller that will keep you guessing until the last page, perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty and Shari Lapena.?Meet the young widows:The hot messKylie is done with commitment. Her trust in men died with her husband. Now she trawls bars looking for fun no strings, no promises, no second night. That is until she meets a man who seems to want more, but is it a mistake to trust again?The new memberHannah's grief is fresh and reminds the other widows how raw their pain once was however, do they want to let that back into their lives?The wallflowerIsabel is used to hiding in the shadows, her past still haunts her. Only her late husband knew what happened the night that ruined her life.The fiancéeAdriana is moving on. But as her wedding draws closer, she's starting to question how well she truly knows her partner. Then she receives an anonymous note that reads: Get out while you still can.Four very different women brought together by their grief, only to find their lives are inexplicably linked in the darkest of ways.Readers love The Young Widows!Fantastic. A very twisty read full of suspense'A real rollercoaster'Kept me hooked'Had me gripped. I raced through and there were plenty of twists!'Trade Review Praise for S.J. Short ‘Genuinely entertaining and memorable’ – Booklist ‘Truly excels at character development’ – Kirku ‘Elegant, descriptive and delectable’ – RT Magazine 'If you love Liane Moriarty and Shari Lapena, you'll love this twisty psychological thriller' –Pick Me Up Magazine
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd Cold Comfort Farm
Book SynopsisOne of the BBC''s ''100 Novels That Shaped Our World''''Brilliant ... very probably the funniest book ever written'' Sunday TimesWhen sensible, sophisticated Flora Poste is orphaned at nineteen, she decides her only choice is to descend upon relatives in deepest Sussex. At the aptly-named Cold Comfort Farm, she meets the doomed Starkadders: cousin Judith, heaving with remorse for unspoken wickedness; Amos, preaching fire and damnation; their sons, lustful Seth and despairing Reuben; child of nature Elfine; and crazed old Aunt Ada Doom, who has kept to her bedroom for the last twenty years. But Flora loves nothing better than to organise other people. Armed with common sense and a strong will, she resolves to take each of the family in hand. A hilarious and ruthless parody of rural melodramas and purple prose, Cold Comfort Farm is one of the best-loved comic novels of all time.''Screamingly funny and wildly subversive'' Marian Keyes, GuardianThe Penguin Classics edition of Stella Gibbons''s Cold Comfort Farm is introduced by Lynne Truss, author of Eats, Shoots and Leaves.If you enjoyed Cold Comfort Farm you might like George and Weedon Grossmith''s Diary of a Nobody, also available in Penguin Classics.
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd I Want To Go Home But Im Already There
Book Synopsis
£15.29
Little, Brown Book Group The Wedding
£10.44
Little, Brown Book Group Jane and Dan at the End of the World
£9.49
Little, Brown Book Group The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry
Book SynopsisBY THE AUTHOR OF THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW''Marvelously optimistic about the future of books and bookstores and the people who love both'' Washington PostA.J. Fikry, the grumpy owner of Island Books, is going through a hard time: his bookshop is failing, he has lost his beloved wife, and his prized possession - a rare first edition book has been stolen. Over time, he has given up on people, and even the books in his store, instead of offering solace, are yet another reminder of a world that is changing too rapidly.But one day A.J. finds two-year-old Maya sitting on the bookshop floor, with a note attached to her asking the owner to look after her. His life - and Maya''s - is changed forever.Gabrielle Zevin''s enchanting novel is a love letter to the world of books - an irresistible affirmation of why we read, and why we love.Readers say:''A lovely uplifting book'' five star reader review''Devoured in a day. So much heart and control. Love it'' five star reader review''the writing style and characters made this novel a firm five stars'' five star reader review''This book has become my absolute favourite and not just best of the year but ever. I had to make a new shelf for it on GoodReads. I was completely blown away by it'' five star reader reviewTrade ReviewZevin has done something old-fashioned and fairly rare these days. She has written an entertaining novel, modest in its scope, engaging and funny without being cloying or sentimental. On top of all that, it is marvelously optimistic about the future of books and bookstores and the people who love both * Washington Post *Packed with the love of a life lived around books * Metro *This wonderful, funny, uplifting homage to bookshops is an absolute treat. I've bought it for everyone I know * Huffington Post *Delightful! I read [it] in one sitting. This novel has humor, romance, a touch of suspense, but most of all love--love of books and bookish people and, really, all of humanity in its imperfect gloryI read this book in one big greedy gulp. A charming and funny love letter to the written word - it will leave you smiling and with a large lump in your throatReminds us what saves us all from a life of loneliness and isolation: our sense of empathy; our ability to love and be loved; our willingness to care and be cared for. Gabrielle Zevin has written a wonderful, moving, endearing story of redemption and transformation that will sing in your heart for a very, very long timeReaders who delighted in Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows's The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Rachel Joyce's The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, and Jessica Brockmole's Letters from Skye will be equally captivated by this adult novel by a popular YA author about a life of books, redemption, and second chances. Funny, tender, and moving, it reminds us all exactly why we read and why we love * Library Journal *In this sweet, uplifting homage to bookstores, Zevin perfectly captures the joy of connecting people and books . . . Filled with interesting characters, a deep knowledge of bookselling, wonderful critiques of classic titles, and very funny depictions of book clubs and author events, this will prove irresistible to book lovers everywhere * Booklist *A breezy, big-hearted treat, especially if you've ever wondered about the inner workings of America's national treasures--neighborhood bookstoresZevin is a deft writer, clever and witty, and her affection for the book business is obvious * Publishers Weekly *Sometimes funny, sometimes true to life and always entertaining . . . A likable literary love story about selling books and finding love * Kirkus *I was captivated . . . a touching, funny and uplifting novel that reminds us how books have the power to shape and transform our lives * Psychologies *it's hard not to be charmed by this story . . . Full of knowing literary jokes, Zevin's pithy novel is nonetheless undoubtedly entertaining and remains unconventional enough to cut through the sentiment * Daily Mail *A warm and uplifting story which manages to be witty and quietly subversive while avoiding the pitfalls of sentimentality * Mail on Sunday *
£9.49
Baker Publishing Group The Love Script
Book SynopsisHollywood hair stylist Nevaeh loves making those in the spotlight shine. But when a photo of her and Hollywood heartthrob Lamont goes viral for all the wrong reasons, they suddenly find themselves in a fake relationship to save their careers. In a world where nothing seems real, can Nevaeh be true to herself . . . and her heart?
£10.79
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Pigeon English
Book SynopsisShortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and Guardian First Book Award''Pigeon English is a book to fall in love with: a funny book, a true book, a shattering book'' The TimesSimultaneously accurate and fantastical, this boy''s love letter to the world made me laugh and tremble all the way through. Pigeon English is a triumph'' Emma Donoghue, author of RoomEleven-year-old Harrison Opoku, the second best runner in Year 7, races through his new life in England with his personalised trainers - the Adidas stripes drawn on with marker pen - blissfully unaware of the very real threat around him.Newly arrived from Ghana with his mother and older sister Lydia, Harri absorbs the many strange elements of city life, from the bewildering array of Haribo sweets, to the frightening, fascinating gang of older boys from his school. But his life is changed forever when one of his friends is murdered.As the victim''s nearly new football boots hang in tribute Trade Review‘Simultaneously accurate and fantastical, this boy's love letter to the world made me laugh and tremble all the way through. Pigeon English is a triumph' * Emma Donoghue, author of Room *Pigeon English is a book to fall in love with: a funny book, a true book, a shattering book * Erica Wagner, The Times *Stephen Kelman's [first novel] has a powerful story, a pacy plot and engaging characters. It paints a vivid portrait with honesty, sympathy and wit, of a much neglected milieu, and it addresses urgent social questions. It is horrifying, tender and funny ... Brilliant * Daily Telegraph *The humour, the resilience, the sheer ebullience of its narrator - a hero for our times - should ensure the book becomes, deservedly, a classic * Daily Mail *
£9.49
Orion Publishing Co Trust Nobody
Book Synopsis''As good as Martina Cole and Jessie Keane'' Amazon reviewThings have gone from bad to worse for Daisy Lane.When husband Kenny is banged up for robbery, she is left to run the family café with his brother Eddie.Hard man Eddie is a handsome man, but the price of a brutal childhood was a vicious streak that leads him to commit acts of terrifying violence just to get his way. And with brother Kenny out of the picture, Eddie makes his move on a villain even harder and more territorial than he is.But for all his bravado, Eddie''s got an Achilles heel: Daisy Lane. And Daisy soon learns that it''s not just territory Eddie''s after . . .If you like books by Jessie Keane, Kimberley Chambers and Martina Cole, you''ll love Trust Nobody: the first novel in the Daisy Lane thriller series.Why readers love June Hampson''s thrillers:''A crackinTrade ReviewA cracking story * THE BOOKSELLER *A great alternative to Martina Cole * Amazon reviewer *If you like gritty, hard hitting drama then I would highly recommend this * Amazon reviewer *This book is an emotional rollercoaster full of grit, violence, sadness, warmth, emotion and love * Goodreads reviewer *
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd Crushing
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£9.49
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Entitlement
Book SynopsisFrom the internationally bestselling author of Leave the World Behind, a compulsive tale of money, morality and how far we'll go to get what we want
£9.49
Pan Macmillan Western Lane
Book SynopsisChetna Maroo's stories have been published in The Paris Review, The Stinging Fly and The Dublin Review and she was the recipient of the 2022 Plimpton Prize for Fiction. She lives in London. Western Lane is her first novel.
£9.49
Granta Books Weasels in the Attic
Book SynopsisA UK debut from a fresh, prize-winning talent, this quietly surreal novel is perfect for fans of Sayaka Murata and Mieko Kawakami Two friends meet across three dinners. In the back room of a pet shop, they snack on dried shrimps and discuss fish-breeding. In a remote new home in the mountains, they look for a solution to a weasel infestation. During a dinner party in a blizzard, a mounting claustrophobia makes way for uneasy dreams. Their conversations often take them in surprising directions, but when one of the men becomes a father, more and more is left unsaid. With emotional acuity and a wry humour, Weasels in the Attic it is an uncanny and striking reflection on fertility, masculinity, and marriage in contemporary Japan.Trade ReviewSimmers with eerie tension and bursts with unforgettable monologues * NPR *Oyamada is in complete control of her talent... A writer flexing their muscles and preparing for something truly profound * Japan Times *Surreal and mesmerizing -- Praise for THE HOLE * The New York Times *
£9.49
Vintage Publishing The Noise of Time
Book Synopsis'BARNES'S MASTERPIECE' - OBSERVERIn May 1937 a man in his early thirties waits by the lift of a Leningrad apartment block. He waits all through the night, expecting to be taken away to the Big House. Any celebrity he has known in the previous decade is no use to him now. And few who are taken to the Big House ever return.‘Stunning’ Sunday Times‘A profound meditation on power and the relationship of art and power… It is a masterpiece of sympathetic understanding… I don’t think Barnes has written a finer, more truthful or more profound book’ Scotsman‘A tour de force by a master novelist at the top of his game’ Daily ExpressTrade ReviewA great novel, Barnes’s masterpiece… Exquisite, intimate detail. He has given us a novel that is powerfully affecting, a condensed masterpiece that traces the lifelong battle of one man’s conscience, one man’s art, with the insupportable exigencies of totalitarianism. -- Alex Preston * Observer *Barnes’s sombre, brilliant new novel opens with a scene like something from a story by Chekhov… Gleaming with intelligence and literary flair, this elegantly composed fictional meditation offers a fresh gloss on a musical genius’s collisions and collusions with power. -- Peter Kemp * Sunday Times *[Barnes is] a master of the narrative sidestep… Not just a novel about music, but something more like a musical novel… The story itself is structured in three parts that come together like a broken chord. It is a simple but brilliant device, and one that goes right to the heart of this novel. -- Robert Douglas-Fairhurst * The Times *A compelling novel about art and power, courage and cowardice, and the capriciousness of fate…Barnes brilliantly captures the composer’s conflicted state of mind…This book is only 190 pages long, but it packs an extraordinary emotional punch. -- Sebastian Shakespeare * Tatler *The writing in the early pages is magnificent… The reader has the confidence of being in the hands of a master storyteller… Barnes has a good sense of what life was like in the Soviet Union. He captures well the black humor, irony and cynicism. -- Orlando Figes * New York Review of Books *Julian Barnes’ novel deftly evokes the complexity of Shostakovich’s relationship with Stalin and the power of his oeuvre… Thick with period detail… The book returns us to the music itself, that immense 20th-century oeuvre that contains everything but confirms nothing. -- Hedley Twidle * Financial Times *Gripping… An intimately illuminating montage of Shostakovich’s life… Immediately engaging. -- James Lasdun * Guardian *A novel of deceptive slenderness... You expect nothing less from a writer soaked in Flaubert. -- Duncan White * Daily Telegraph *A series of elegant insights into the mind of a brilliant artist… Throughout, Barnes offers a surety of touch that few writers can match. * Independent on Sunday *[A] sad, self-lacerating and darkly funny hybrid of a novel. The Noise of Time is both a burrowing meditation on an artist’s lifelong relationship with totalitarian power, fear and compromise, and a fascinating fictional biography of one of the 20th century’s greatest composers… Barnes is a master. -- Tod Wodicka * The National *A profound meditation on power and the relationship of art and power… It presents a life, and refrains from judgment. It is a masterpiece of sympathetic understanding… I don’t think [Barnes] has written a finer, more truthful or more profound book. -- Allan Massie * The Scotsman *The skilled novelist here brings alive not just the political turmoil that surrounded Shostakovich, but his love for his wives, his love for his children, a vivid counterpoint of artistic freedom and political oppression – the eloquent conjuring of one glass of vodka clinking against another. * The Economist *
£9.49
Bonnier Books Ltd The Tarot Reader of Versailles
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£9.49
Europa Editions (UK) Ltd. Culpability
Book SynopsisA suspenseful family drama about moral responsibility in the age of artificial intelligence
£13.49
Cornerstone Carrie Soto Is Back: From the author of The Seven
Book SynopsisFrom the bestselling author of MALIBU RISING, DAISY JONES & THE SIX and THE SEVEN HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO'It made me cry twice, and when I finished reading, I had to sit for a minute with the hole it left in my chest . . . just order it' EMILY HENRY'A crowd-pleaser. Taylor Jenkins Reid captures all the sweat, rivalry and glamour of elite sport' THE TIMES'Jenkins Reid has written yet another page turner . . . [it] will have you hooked' INDEPENDENTCarrie Soto is the greatest player the world has ever seen.But six years after her last match, she watches a young British tennis player steal her world record - and Carrie knows she has to go back and reclaim her rightful place at the top. Even if the world doesn't believe in her. Even if it almost breaks her.This is a story about the cost of greatness and the burden of fame.The fight for a place in history is about to begin . . .'It artfully combines the heady glamour of elite sport with questions about what happens when we find ourselves winning professionally, but losing personally' STYLIST'A portrait of female ambition in all its raw and divine glory, Carrie Soto will stay with you long after the last page is turned' ERIN KELLYTrade ReviewA portrait of female ambition in all its raw and divine glory, Carrie Soto will stay with you long after the last page is turned -- Erin KellyThis Nineties tennis romp is a crowd-pleaser. Taylor Jenkins Reid captures all the sweat, rivalry and glamour of elite sport * The Times *In typical TJR fashion, it artfully combines the heady glamour of elite sport with questions about what happens when we find ourselves winning professionally, but losing personally . . . an escapist beach read * Stylist *An exhilarating, immersive and gripping ode to the cost of greatness, this is Taylor Jenkins Reid's best book yet. Carrie Soto is an icon for the ages. Five stars, ten out of ten, an A+ and more from me! -- Laura Jane WilliamsThere's something about Carrie I will take forward with me in my life, and be a little better for. This book comes out in a few short weeks and you should preorder it. It made me cry twice, and when I finished reading, I had to sit for a minute with the hole it left in my chest . . . just order it -- Emily HenryFans of Taylor Jenkins Reid will adore this * Stellar *Just like Carrie Soto, it's such a thrill to watch Taylor Jenkins Reid get better and better . . . she uses fame to illuminate the battles every woman has to fight - and in doing so, makes the reader feel powerful, too -- Caroline O'DonoghueAddictive, fun and heartwarming. You will never want to leave Carrie Soto -- Fearne CottonNot every woman worries about winning a Grand Slam, but many can likely relate to Soto's challenges with getting older, wanting it all, and trying to manage a fiercely competitive spirit when the world expects women to stay quiet and smile nicely. It's for these reasons you find yourself rooting for the star, in spite of an attitude which isn't about endearing herself to others. Jenkins Reid has written yet another page-turner which will have you hooked, from the first serve to match point. 9/10 * Independent *Compulsive . . . A voyeuristic glimpse into the lives of the sporting elite * Daily Telegraph *I was (still am) obsessed with her 2019 faux-oral history of a sixties rock band Daisy Jones and the Six and have taken one of her novels on holiday with me ever since. Her next book, Carrie Soto is Back, is released just in time for the dying days of summer on Tuesday 30 August. I must get a trip booked * iNews *This some of Reid's best writing: focused, colourful and compassionate. The question is not whether Carrie can win, but whether she can ever be happy * iNews *These are the types of novels to read if you're looking to be swept away by a dazzling, entertaining story with fascinating characters * Cosmopolitan *Like Jenkins Reid's Daisy Jones and The Six, this is a compulsive read about the price of success * Grazia *If you're still in mourning for Wimbledon, this is the novel for you * Metro *She's done rock 'n' roll, she's done surfing now Taylor Jenkins Reid turns her attention to the world of elite tennis in this hugely entertaining and compulsively readable novel about a tennis player who comes out of retirement in her late 30s to reclaim her former glory * Red *The captivating tale of a former tennis star goaded out of retirement in a final bid for grand-slam glory. Edge-of-your-sunlounger stuff * Mail on Sunday *Taylor Jenkins Reid has done it again with her powerful new novel, which sees a legendary athlete attempt a comeback when the world considers her past her prime * Hello *Taylor Jenkins Reid is fast becoming a modern literary success, with a chain of hugely popular novels under her belt . . . Her forte is creating page- turners about the rich, famous and the people lurking on the shadows of their starry lives. Fans of her previous work won't be disappointed with this exhilarating, escapist novel that will make the perfect summer read - strawberries and cream optional * Carlisle Living *Jenkins Reid has written yet another page-turner which will have you hooked, from the first serve to match point * Press Association *This raw and powerful read shows Carrie growing and learning, about herself as much as others. Though she's an abrasive character, readers will cheer her on every step of the way * Sunday Express *TJR is surely the queen of escapist fiction * Sunday Telegraph *This top-rank tale of beating the odds is full of heart and breezy charm * Metro *Altogether, it makes for a gripping and engaging read about a woman persevering against all odds, recognising your limits and knowing when to push back. As well as a complex and nuanced character study, Carrie Soto is Back offers its readers a warm-hearted story of the love between a father and a daughter, as well a tender journey of learning how to love yourself and open up to others too. Between the action-packed tennis matches, Carrie's emotional reckoning and the wider commentary of women having to continuously fight for recognition in male-dominated fields, Taylor Jenkins Reid has crafted another compelling novel that effortlessly draws in readers and will no doubt keep them thinking about Carrie Soto long after they turn the final page * Culturefly *At times, her prose is so engaging that you feel as though you are waiting on the baseline while Soto gets ready to serve an unstoppable ace * Independent (Ireland) *In Carrie Soto is Back, as at Flushing Meadows this and next month, there are great rivalries, millions of dollars and legacies on the line. Letting go cuts deep. But, boy, there is glamour * Tatler *The author has created another heroine we can't quite work out whether we like, but we're rooting for her anyway because she's fabulous * Woman's Weekly *Another delectable slice of escapism drama * Living North *Pacy, propulsive and utterly immersive, you're going to want to read this * Elle *Taylor has done it again . . . a brilliant and dynamic book about what it means to be an ambitious woman- for better or for worse * Woman *With a wonderfully complex character, a world you can't help being seduced by, and an important message about it never being too late, TJR has served up another ace * Heat *Frank, funny and emotional * Marie Claire *A fascinatingly realistic look into the world of elite sports where driven and flawed characters' private lives are just as intriguing and controversial as they are on the court * Business Post *This is a well-researched, exciting and genuinely tender book * RTÉ *
£9.49
Canongate Books Life Cycle of a Moth
Book SynopsisAN OBSERVER BEST DEBUT OF 2025 ''Astonishing'' LUCY ROSE''Biting and rich'' MOLLY AITKEN''Unforgettable'' OBSERVER''A novel of rare power'' GABRIELLE GRIFFITHSAn itchy feeling.A wrinkle in the forest.A cracking twig.A coming sound.Myma, do you hear it?Myma, do you hear?Myma?Maya and Daughter live in complete isolation in a secluded woodland, their days aligned with the light and changing seasons, a complex pattern of routine and ritual. Daughter has never questioned the life her mother has chosen for them; the life that has meant she''s never met another soul, or known anywhere except their forest home. But one day, when Daughter is almost sixteen, a red-haired stranger steps into the confines of their territory. Where there was always two, suddenly there are three - and the carefully constructed world that Maya has built to keep her daughter safe may not survive it.Urgent, haunting and thrillingly alive, Life Cycle of a Moth explores both the tenderness and ferocity of maternal love, asking what we might find ourselves capable of - and willing to sacrifice - in order to shelter those we hold dear.
£15.29
Cinder House Publishing Baby Driver
£10.44
Simon & Schuster Ltd After I Do
Book SynopsisFrom the New York Times bestselling author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, comes a breath taking novel about modern marriage, the depth of family ties, and the year that one remarkable heroine spends exploring both. When Lauren and Ryan's marriage reaches the breaking point, they come up with an unconventional plan. They decide to take a year off in the hopes of finding a way to fall in love again. One year apart, and only one rule: they cannot contact each other. Aside from that, anything goes. Lauren embarks on a journey of self-discovery, quickly finding that her friends and family have their own ideas about the meaning of marriage. These influences, as well as her own healing process and the challenges of living apart from Ryan, begin to change Lauren's ideas about monogamy and marriage. She starts to question: When you can have romance without loyalty and commitment without marriage, when love and lust are no longer tTrade ReviewPraise for Taylor Jenkins Reid ‘Spellbinding’ Emily Giffin ‘Full of raw human emotion’ Beth O’Leary ‘An entirely fresh and new perspective on what can happen after the "happily ever after”’ Jen Lancaster ‘The very best of Classic Hollywood intrigue, a delicious twist and incisive commentary on the wages of stardom’ Anne Helen Petersen ‘I can't remember the last time I read a book that was so fun’ Dolly Alderton ‘The characters were beautifully layered and complex... captured my heart’ Reese Witherspoon ‘Everyone should read this’ Claudia Winkleman ‘Dramatic, salacious and oh-so-romantic’ Woman & Home ‘Wildy addictive’ PopSugar ‘Glamour, ambition and shocking secrets’ People ‘Earth-shaking… you will flip for this epic love story’ Cosmopolitan ‘Heartwrenching’ Us Weekly ‘Reid masterfully grabs hold of the heartstrings and doesn't let go’ Publishers Weekly ‘No one does life and love better’ InStyle
£8.88
Bedford Square Publishers Out on a Limb
Book Synopsis'Warm, sexy, and vulnerable... Hannah Bonam-Young needs to be on your romance radar' - Hannah Grace
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers Scott Pilgrims Finest Hour
Book SynopsisThe last installment in the brilliant Scott Pilgrim' graphic novel series from Bryan Lee O'Malley, writer of Scott Pilgrim Takes Off now a major Netflix series.It''s finally here! Six years and almost 1000 pages have all led to this epic finale! With six of Ramona''s seven evil exes dispatched, it should be time for Scott Pilgrim to face Gideon Graves, the biggest and baddest of her former beaus. But didn''t Ramona take off at the end of Volume 5? Shouldn''t that let Scott off the hook? Maybe it should, maybe it shouldn''t, but one thing is for certain: all of this has been building to Scott Pilgrim''s Finest Hour!Trade Review"Scott Pilgrim is the best book ever. It is the chronicle of our time. With Kung Fu, so, yeah: perfect." Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer "Scott Pilgrim is the best book ever. It is the chronicle of our time. With Kung Fu, so, yeah: perfect." Joss Whedon "One of the best things to happen to printed comics this millennium." Ain't It Cool News "A hilarious, idiosyncratic gem." Washington Post "A great oddball tale that captures the energy of a generation." Publishers Weekly "An inventive, genre-tweaking tale of young love, platonic bed-sharing and epic battles unlike anything else you will likely pick up. So, go on, pick it up." E! Online "Scott Pilgrim is the best 23-year-old ever. Like Proust's Swann, he has a story that takes multiple volumes to unfold, except Pilgrim is even more awesome because he's in a comic book … the series is wildly enjoyable for its absurdist humor, its indelible characters and its growing, inevitable sense of melancholy as Pilgrim becomes that most terrifying of things: 24 years old." Glen David Gold, author of Carter Beats the Devil and Sunnyside
£9.49
Daphne Press Hell Followed With Us
Book SynopsisSixteen-year-old trans boy Benji is on the run from the doomsday Christian cult that unleashed Armageddon and infected him with a deadly monster that's eating him alive. But when a ragtag LGBTQ+ group of survivalist teens rescues him, Benji swears to use his monster to protect them and stop the cult before they destroy the rest of the world.
£9.49
Union Square & Co. Little Women
Book SynopsisA talented, ambitious, restless tomboy with a wild imagination, Jo bridles against ladylike conventions. She has no interest in becoming a lady; she will become a writer.
£17.10
Bonnier Books Ltd The Sewing Machine
Book Synopsis
£9.49
