Family life fiction / Stories about family
Headline Publishing Group The Secret of Flirting Sinful Suitors 5
Book SynopsisIf you love Julia Quinn''s Bridgerton, you''ll be enchanted by Sabrina Jeffries'' Sinful Suitors!''Anyone who loves romance must read Sabrina Jeffries!'' Lisa Kleypas, New York Times bestselling authorThe Secret of Flirting is the fifth gorgeous book in the Sinful Suitors series by New York Times bestselling author Sabrina Jeffries. Sabrina''s witty, sexy historicals will be loved by fans of Sarah MacLean, Eloisa James and Julia Quinn.When spymaster Baron Fulkham meets the stunning Princess Aurore of Chanay, he''s sure he''s met her before . . . in Dieppe . . . where she was an actress. As he pursues his suspicions, he uncovers a plot of attempted assassination and betrayals that could very well destroy his career, expose his own dark secrets . . . and ruin the woman he''s rapidly falling for. Forced by her great-uncle
£999.99
Headline Publishing Group The Gift of Friends
Book SynopsisTHE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER''Vintage Emma: Wise, funny, full of wit and sparkle. Read and be uplifted'' Cathy Kelly ''Brimming with warmth, love and friendship - Emma is on every page of this absorbing, heartfelt read'' Patricia ScanlanFrom the Number One bestselling author Emma Hannigan comes her new novel, The Gift of Friends, a magical story of love, friendship and hope. Kingfisher Road - a leafy, peaceful street in the town of Vayhill. But there are whispers behind closed doors. Who is moving into Number 10?Engaged to handsome, wealthy Justin Johnston, Danielle appears to her new neighbours to have the perfect, glossy life. But not everything is as it seems...In fact, each of the other four women who live close by has a secret, and each is nursing their own private heartache.But could a gift be waiting on their doorsteps? And, by opening their front doors, and their hearts, to each other, coTrade ReviewPraise for the No. 1 bestseller LETTERS TO MY DAUGHTERSUplifting and magical -- Cathy KellyWarm, intelligent and brilliant -- Marian KeyesA beautiful book by an exceptional author - lose yourself in her wonderful writing -- Sinead MoriartyThe characters shine off the page. A tale packed with warmth, empathy and a deep understanding of the quirks and imperfections of family life. A wonderful storyteller * S magazine *Emma Hannigan pulls at the heartstrings... A beautifully written, inspiring story of hope and family bonds * Express *
£9.49
Headline Publishing Group The List That Changed My Life
Book Synopsis''⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ One of the best books I have read in a very long time!'' ''⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 11/10 would recommend. Get a copy!!'' ''⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Without a doubt the funniest book I''ve read!'' ''⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ I can''t praise this book enough'' Sometimes all you need is a little push . . .Georgia loves wine, reality TV and sitting on the sofa after work. She does not love heights, looking at her bank account, going on dates, or activities that involve a sports bra. And she will never, ever take a risk.That is, until her braver, bolder, big sister finds out that she won''t be able to tick off the things she wanted to do before turning thirty, and turns to Georgia to help her finish her list.With the birthday just months away, Georgia suddenly has a deadline to learn to grab life with both hands. Could she be brave enough to take the leap, for her sister?And how might her own life change if she did?Olivia Beirne''s bestselling The List That Changed My Life will take you on the hilarious and heart-warming journey of a lifetime, showing you what it means to really be alive . . . Perfect for fans of Sophie Kinsella, Rosie Walsh and Marian Keyes.**Olivia''s new novel Three Nights in Italy is available to pre-order NOW!**---------Praise for Olivia Beirne!''A hilarious, heart-warming read''DAISY BUCHANAN''I can''t praise it enough, it''s perfect summer reading''LUCY VINE''Olivia is an assured writer with great comic timing''SHEILA O''FLANAGAN''A mesmerising blend of humour and emotion''WOMAN & HOME''A story of love, friendship and family, whose characters you will fall in love with immediately!''EMILY HOUGHTON, AUTHOR OF BEFORE I SAW YOU''A perfect mix of humour and heart''EMMA COOPER, AUTHOR OF THE SONGS OF US''An uplifting read that leaves you on a high''AMAZON READER REVIEW''A proper feel-good, heart-warming, very natural and relatable story''KIM NASH (KIMTHEBOOKWORM)''I thoroughly enjoyed this book and couldn''t put it down''AMAZON READER REVIEW''A gorgeous life-affirming read''HAYLEY''S BOOK BLOG__________________________________________Trade Review'One of the most hilarious books I have read for a very long time. Olivia writes with great warmth and wit - a fantastically funny debut.' * Emma Cooper, author of The Songs of Us *What an absolutely fabulous debut novel! * Reader Review *This book came into my kindle at just the right time... This book is a feel good, funny, happy, romantic, lovely story. That reaches through the pages, envelopes you in a big warm hug and leaves you smiling from ear to ear. I can't wait to read more from this author in the future. * Reader Review *An inspiring read * Reader Review *The story is very much a mix of romance and sisterly love and how far you would go for the ones you love. At times it does get really emotional and I would have to stop to wipe away the tears but I would happily shed them all over again as it was such a great read. * Reader Review *I loved Georgia and what I loved even more was the relationship that she and her sister Amy have. If anything I was so envious. These two have got a great bond though at times it is pushed to the limits. * Reader Review *The list of things that Amy gives her sister to do, I have to admit there wasn't many that I would have wanted to do. Not that Georgia does either for that matter. The majority of them make for fun reading though as she works her way through them * Reader Review *A heart-warming story of love, family and friendship showing how just how far you would actually go for people you love and care for... a beautiful read that leaves you thinking about it for some time after * Stardust Book Reviews *Olivia Beirne is so talented to create such fabulous characters that you want to know and be friends with. It's a book about living life to the full, right now while you can as you never know what the future may hold. It was a proper feel-good, heart-warming, very natural and relatable story which I thoroughly enjoyed reading. I'd put my money on Olivia Beirne being around for a long time to come. Highly recommended. * Kim Nash (kimthebookworm) *A gorgeous life-affirming read that will make you laugh and cry * Hayley's Book Blog *
£10.44
Headline Publishing Group The Keepsake
Book Synopsis A book of treasures. A wealth of secrets.The Keepsake is a thrilling dual-time novel, with a fascinating, complex woman at its heart, wealth of twists, turns and secrets, and an absolute book club treat, perfect for fans of Lucinda Riley, Rachel Rhys and Hannah Richell. ..............................................Saturday: Pot-au-feu for luncheon. Father willed away inheritance. Betrayed by Edward.1832. The morning after her father''s funeral, Prudence Merryfield wakes to the liberating thought that this is the first day of her new life. At thirty-five and unmarried, she is now mistress of her own fate. But a cruel revelation at the reading of her father''s will forces Prudence to realise that taking only the most drastic action will set her free. Present day. Eliza is gifted a family heirloom by her aunt - a Georgian pocket book, belonging to her ancestor, Prudence Merryfield, whose existence re
£10.44
Headline Publishing Group Isnt it Bromantic
Book SynopsisIf you love Ali Hazelwood, Sally Thorne and Helen Hoang, you''ll LOVE Lyssa Kay Adams!''The most inventive, refreshing concept in rom-coms!'' Entertainment Weekly The Bromance Book Club was one of Bustle''s ''21 Rom-Coms To Give You Warm And Fuzzy Feelings''! Readers are LOVING Isn''t It Bromantic?! ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐''Five stars for this sweet, sexy, funny read''''Wow! What to say about this book? It was everything and more . . . I loved absolutely everything about this book''''Sweet and heartfelt and lovely. Vlad is just an absolute love and I could read about him being in love in every book!''''This book was the full package. Amazing plot, great characters, sexual chemistry, heart, humour, vulnerability . . . A masterclass on romance novel construction'' ''Heartfelt, sweet, emotio
£12.28
Headline Publishing Group The Friendship Pact
Book Synopsis''This amazing, heart-warming contemporary romance will fill the hole in your life the Gilmore Girls left'' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ reader reviewBeloved New York Times bestseller Jill Shalvis, author of ''perfect, feel-good fiction'' (Sarah Morgan), returns to Sunrise Cove with a powerful, moving story about a young woman on a quest to find the truth about her father who learns the meaning of true love along the way.Readers give The Friendship Pact ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐!''Jill Shalvis is just fantastic . . . I also have no hesitation in recommending this gem . . . A book worthy of all the stars''''I couldn''t help but fall in love with the characters , the writing is excellent and Jill weaves a world you just don''t want to leave''''I just love a Jill Shalvis book, fun, romance, snarkiness, and ju
£9.49
Headline Publishing Group Christmas Wishes at the Lakeside Cottage
Book Synopsis''A warm, funny, uplifting writer to celebrate!'' KATIE FFORDEIf you love Lucy Diamond, Phillipa Ashley, Sue Moorcroft and Holly Martin, you''ll LOVE Erin Green''s novels of love, life and laughter. And readers are loving CHRISTMAS WISHES AT THE LAKESIDE COTTAGE so far:''Loved this visit to Lakeside Cottage in this gem of a seasonal book. Great characters, super setting and an excellent storyline. Erin never fails to disappoint'' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ reader review''I absolutely love this author''s books and reading them is like being wrapped in a comforting hug'' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ reader review''A family saga at its best. Lots of well developed characters, great storyline, and a fantastic read'' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ reader review ......................................Welcome to the Lakeside Cottage . . . a place f
£10.44
Amazon Publishing The Widow's Watcher
Book SynopsisFrom Eliza Maxwell, the bestselling author of The Unremembered Girl, comes a gripping novel about the mysteries that haunt us and the twists of fate that can unravel them… Living in the shadow of a decades-old crime that stole his children from him, reclusive Lars Jorgensen is an unlikely savior. But when a stranger walks onto the ice of a frozen Minnesota lake, her intentions are brutally clear, and the old man isn’t about to let her follow through. Jenna Shaw didn’t ask for Lars’s help, nor does she want it. After he pulls her from the brink, however, Jenna finds her desire to give up challenged by their unlikely friendship. In Jenna, Lars recognizes his last chance for redemption. And in her quest to solve the mysteries of Lars’s past and bring him closure, Jenna may find the way out of her own darkness. But the truth that waits threatens to shatter it all. When secrets are surrendered and lies are laid bare, Jenna and Lars may find that accepting the past isn’t their greatest challenge. Can they afford the heartbreaking price of forgiveness?
£8.54
Amazon Publishing The Way of Beauty
Book SynopsisHearts and dreams evolve in the shadow of the once-magnificent Penn Station. Vera Keller, the daughter of German immigrants in turn-of-the-century New York City, finds her life upended when the man she loves becomes engaged to another woman. But Angelo Bellavia has also inadvertently opened up Vera’s life to unexpected possibilities. Angelo’s new wife, Pearl, the wealthy daughter of a clothing manufacturer, has defied her family’s expectations by devoting herself to the suffrage movement. In Pearl, Vera finds an unexpected dear friend…and a stirring new cause of her own. But when Pearl’s selfless work pulls her farther from Angelo and their son, the life Vera craved is suddenly within her reach—if her conscience will allow her to take it. Her choice will define not only her future but also that of her daughter, Alice. Vera and Alice—a generation and a world apart—are bound by the same passionate drive to fulfill their dreams. As first mother and then daughter come of age in a city that is changing as rapidly as its skyline, they’ll each discover that love is the only constant.
£8.54
Amazon Publishing Half a Heart
Book SynopsisFrom bestselling author Karen McQuestion comes a moving novel about broken hearts…and what it takes to put them back together again. At nine years of age, Logan Weber knows the routine. Keep quiet, make the food last, and don’t ever cause trouble. He’ll do what it takes to evade the rages of his troubled, violent father. Even though he’s only a child, Logan already knows too much—has seen too much. So when the opportunity presents itself, Logan runs. He has no idea where his journey will lead, or that the grandmother he’s been told is dead is desperately searching for him. Alone with no home of his own, Logan looks for a safe place to hide. Relying on his instincts and the kindness of strangers, the boy manages to touch the lives of everyone he meets. But his innocent heart cannot survive in the adult world without the most basic human need of all: love.
£8.54
Open Road Media A Good Mother
Book SynopsisHow far would you go to protect your child? An absorbing new novel of psychological suspense by the author of Venus Was Her Name. Three friends at pivotal points in their lives have some serious decisions to make . . . Gina is struggling with demons from her past while trying to be the opposite of her feckless mother. She is about to lose everything and will do whatever it takes to avoid following in her parents’ footsteps. Babs also has a battle on her hands, with her husband and her grown-up kids. After putting everyone first for so long, will she find the courage to break free? Robin has her own secret to keep, a vow to honour, and a fragile daughter to protect. But when her back is against the wall, and she has nowhere to turn, who will help her? These women, beset by threats, obstacles, and anguish, must find their paths forward. Each woman is living on the edge but for one of them, it’s the final straw. Who will it be?
£12.10
Pan Macmillan How To Find Your Way Home
Book Synopsis**A Prima magazine pick of the year**Haunting, beautiful and uplifting, Katy Regan’s How to Find Your Way Home is about sibling love, the restorative power of nature and how home is found within us.'A luminous novel about the power of love . . . It's beautiful, fascinating, perfectly crafted and life affirming. I adored it' - Rowan Coleman, author of The Summer of Impossible ThingsWhat if the person you thought you’d lost forever walked back into your life?In 1987, four-year-old Stephen Nelson welcomes his new baby sister, Emily. Holding her for the first time, he vows to keep her safe forever.Nearly thirty years later, the two have lost touch and Stephen is homeless.Emily, however, has never given up hope of finding her brother and when he arrives at the council office where she works, her wish to be reunited comes true. But should you be careful what you wish for?As they embark on a road trip together, Emily is tormented by memories of a day fifteen years earlier that changed everything. Will confronting the secrets that tore them apart finally enable Emily and Stephen to make their peace – not just with their shared past and each other, but also themselves?'Gorgeous' - Good HousekeepingTrade ReviewA luminous novel about the power of love and how to find your place as part of natural world once again. It's beautiful, fascinating, perfectly crafted and life affirming. I adored it -- Rowan Coleman, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Brontë Mysteries series, The Vanished Bride, The Diabolical Bones and The Red MonarchBeautiful, heartbreaking and life-affirming -- Rosie Walsh, author of The Man Who Didn't CallA gorgeous book with characters that walk off the page and into your heart. I loved it -- Eva Chase, author of The Glass HouseTender and perceptive -- Lucy Diamond, author of Anything Could HappenPowerful and tender, with characters I loved so much that I didn’t want to say goodbye to them . . . Sublime -- Catherine Isaac, author of The World at My FeetA truly touching story about love, hope, belonging and memory -- Araminta Hall, author of Perfect StrangersGorgeously written, emotional and moving, How To Find Your Way Home brought a tear to my eye. It's life-affirming and simply wonderful -- Sarah J Harris, author of One Ordinary Day At A TimeGorgeous * Good Housekeeping *
£9.49
Pan Macmillan The Choice
Book SynopsisFor fans of Jodi Picoult and If Only I Could Tell You, Penny Hancock's The Choice is an engrossing, thought-provoking novel about family secrets and the way that even the smallest decisions can sometimes have far-reaching consequences.‘Emotional and thought-provoking’ – Jenny Quintana, author of The Hiding PlaceAn estranged daughter.Renee Gulliver appears to have it all: a beautiful house overlooking a scenic estuary on England’s East Coast, a successful career as a relationship therapist, three grown-up children, and a beloved grandson, Xavier.A missing grandson.But then Xavier vanishes after Renee fails to pick him up from school, and the repercussions are manifold.A mother faced with an impossible choice.Renee is wracked with remorse; the local community question her priorities, clients abandon her; and, as long-held grievances surface, her daughter Mia offers her a heartbreaking ultimatum.Amid recriminations, misunderstandings and lies, can Renee find a way to reunite her family?‘A real tour de force’ – Kate Rhodes, author of the Locked-Island mysteries‘Gut-wrenching’ – Woman's OwnTrade ReviewA perfect evocation of the complex modern family . . . I found myself holding my breath while reading it, hoping that Xavier would be found unhurt, and identifying with the beautifully drawn characters, as past mistakes come home to roost . . . A real tour de force -- Kate RhodesA hugely readable, carefully perceptive story of family dynamics tough and tender. Rife with entrenched positions, assumptions and gut-wrenching mistakes, it is ultimately loving and redemptive -- Louise FoxcroftThe Choice is an emotional and thought-provoking novel which explores the nature of love and guilt, and the impact of the decisions we make on others and ourselves, through compelling characters and sensitive and absorbing prose -- Jenny QuintanaA gut-wrenching story about the power of our decisions * Woman's Own *A brilliantly woven story around issues that so many women know only too well - Julia Crouch, author of The New Mother Beautifully written, thought-provoking, and brimming with powerful and recognisable emotions, Hancock’s superbly wrought story speaks straight from the heart * Blackpool Gazette *A compelling story of forgiveness and redemption. Powerful, moving, and beautifully written -- Susan Elliot Wright
£9.49
WestBow Press For A Moment's Time
Book Synopsis
£23.70
Graphic Arts Books The Scarlet Letter
Book Synopsis“A perfect work of the American imagination.”-D.H Lawrence “The Scarlet Letter is so terrible in its pictures of diseased human nature as to produce most questionable delights. The reader’s interest never flags for a moment…Hawthorne, when you have studied him, will be very precious to you. He will have plunged you into melancholy, he will have overshadowed you with black forebodings, he will almost have crushed you with imaginary sorrows; but he will have enabled you to feel yourself an inch taller during the process.”-Anthony Trollope Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is a razor-sharp novel set in a seventeen-century puritan community. The book examines the contradictions of good and evil, what is apparent and what is hidden, and the power of redemption. After Hester Prynne, the protagonist of The Scarlet Letter, has a child out of wedlock, she is branded with the scarlet letter “A” on her dress. Shunned in her community as she refused to identify the father of her child, Hester lives with in a small cottage with her daughter, Pearl. Roger Chillingworth, an elderly physician, joins the community, and unbeknownst to all except for Hester, he is her long-departed husband, who was presumed to be dead. In his absence, Hester had an affair and subsequently gave birth to a child. Covertly aiming for revenge on the father of the child, Chillingworth descends on Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, the young minister who he suspects in the illicit affair. Within the remarkable character of Hester, Hawthorne examines female independence and the complexities of sin. With a surprising emotional pitch and powerful insights into the human condition, this is one of America’s greatest novels. With an eye-catching new cover, and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of The Scarlet Letter is both modern and readable.
£11.39
FriesenPress Henri's Last Gift
Book Synopsis
£25.64
Pan Macmillan The Dance Tree: A BBC Between the Covers book
Book Synopsis'Exceptionally brilliant. Immersive, sensual, compelling' - Marian Keyes'Intriguing, haunting . . . raw, beautiful' - Jennifer Saint, author of AriadneThe gripping, historical novel from Kiran Millwood Hargrave, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Mercies. Set in an era of superstition, hysteria, and extraordinary change, and inspired by the true events of a doomed summer, The Dance Tree is an impassioned story of family secrets, forbidden love, and women pushed to the edge.Strasbourg, 1518. In the midst of a blisteringly hot summer, a lone woman begins to dance in the city square. She dances for days without pause or rest, and as she is joined by hundreds of others, the authorities declare an emergency. Musicians will be brought in to play the Devil out of these women.Just beyond the city’s limits, pregnant Lisbet lives with her mother-in-law and husband, tending the bees that are their livelihood. And then, as the dancing plague gathers momentum, Lisbet’s sister-in-law Nethe returns from seven years’ penance in the mountains for a crime no one will name.It is a secret that Lisbet is determined to uncover. As the city buckles under the beat of a thousand feet, she finds herself thrust into a dangerous web of deceit and clandestine passion, but she is dancing to a dangerous tune . . .'Extraordinary . . . An exceptionally atmospheric, original story' - The Sunday Times'Spellbinding' - Elodie Harper, author of The Wolf DenTrade ReviewExtraordinary . . . enthralling . . . An exceptionally atmospheric, original story * Sunday Times, Historical Fiction Book of the Month *The Dance Tree is unusual and beautifully written, and the questions it raises about faith and love linger. The vignettes of the lives of the dancing women are a joy, each a perfect little short story dropped into the main narrative * The Times *Exceptionally brilliant. Immersive, sensual, compelling and totally convincing. Accessible, ambitious, The Dance Tree deserves to win prizes -- Marian KeyesAn intriguing, haunting novel pulsing with raw, beautiful emotion. Kiran Millwood-Hargrave effortlessly intertwines the stories of women tenderly and sympathetically, creating a novel in which female courage and resilience shines brightly against a brilliantly evoked backdrop of claustrophobic horror. -- Jennifer Saint, author of AriadneSome historical novels don't just describe the past, they transport you there . . . I absolutely loved this book . . . an exceptionally beautiful portrait of women from the past, told in the most spellbinding prose -- Elodie Harper, author of The Wolf DenKiran Millwood Hargrave has a masterly ability to summon the past to the page. The Dance Tree vibrates with urgency; its vivid, compassionate evocation of women and their desires in a time of patriarchal control and mass hysteria is a timely reminder of how far we have come, and how far we have to go -- Hannah Kent, bestselling author of Burial RitesThe Dance Tree is, simply put, a stunning piece of writing. There is so much pain and grief and loss in it, yet in the end, it all comes back to the redemptive power of love. Sensual, gripping, moving. -- Louise O'Neill, bestselling author of IdolExploring themes of motherhood, misogyny, the patriarchy and forbidden love, the author utilises this moment in history as a great catalyst for examining issues that are still central to our contemporary concerns. This interweaving of the past with the present is deftly done with the author’s incredible capacity for empathy illuminating the sensitive topics that the story incorporates. * Irish Times *If some prose sings, Kiran Millwood Hargrave’s truly dances . . . Addresses issues of the utmost importance today—the subjection of women, class inequality, the dangers of religious fundamentalism. Ultimately, however, the book’s wisdom, compassion, and beauty transcend historical boundaries: this is a timeless novel -- Hernan Diaz, author of TRUST>The Dance Tree hums with intrigue, grief and rebellion, oozes tenderness and love. Fierce as Lisbet’s bees, delicious as honey. A raw, intoxicating novel. -- Joanne Burn, author of The Hemlock CureHugely tender, heartbreaking and warm. Millwood Hargrave embroiders the world of the book so beautifully, it is an immersive rich experience that plays on in your head even after you put it down. -- Sarvat Hasin, author of The Giant DarkMillwood Hargrave takes an intriguing, female-focused moment of real history and weaves a heartbreaking story into it * Woman & Home *Beautifully written, full of tenderness and hope, The Dance Tree explores grief and courage and the tragic consequences of forbidden love. -- Jenny Quintana, author of The Missing Girl[A] tenderly written story . . . Good characters, good plot and lots to think about in a solid piece of historical fiction * Times of Tunbridge Wells *
£13.49
Pan Macmillan How to Save a Life
Book SynopsisIn Eva Carter's How to Save a Life, saving a life is only the start of the story . . .'A sweeping, brave, epic love story. I was hooked from the very first page' - Josie Silver, author of One Night on the IslandEighteen-year-old Kerry has had a crush on Joel for years, but knows he's out of her league. Then something extraordinary happens: minutes before midnight on the eve of the millennium, Joel collapses and Kerry saves his life.As Kerry supports Joel through his recovery, they discover a connection neither of them anticipated – until, haunted by what might have been, he abruptly ends their relationship.Over the course of the next two decades, the two are bound by that moment of life and death; each time they believe they’ve found love, discovered their vocation, or simply moved on, their lives collide again. But Joel got a second chance at life; will Kerry get a second chance at love?Because bravery isn’t just about life or death decisions; it’s also about what happens next . . .'I couldn't put it down until I reached the final page' - Beth O'Leary, author of The FlatshareTrade ReviewHow to Save a Life is so rich and fully-rounded – a sweeping, brave, epic love story. I was hooked from the very first page. I loved it. All the stars -- Josie Silver, author of One Day in December and The Two Lives of Lydia BirdWe fell head over heels for this sweeping love story * Fabulous Magazine *A gripping love story that doesn't shy away from the mess and complexity of real life. I couldn't put it down until I reached the final page -- Beth O'Leary, author of The Flatshare and The SwitchA sliding-doors tale of life and loss * Woman's Own *I was absorbed by this enthralling love story from the very first page -- Rosie Walsh, author of The Man Who Didn't CallA heartwarming page-turner * Closer *A heart-stopping, heart-wrenching and heart-warming story that kept me reading well into the night. I loved it -- Clare Pooley, author of The Authenticity ProjectA beautiful love story * Bella *How To Save A Life is an epic novel that starts with one life-or-death event and then follows the lives of three complex people to show how that moment changed everything. And this novel will change you. It’s extraordinary — a very, very special book indeed -- Julie Cohen, author of Together and SpiritedCouldn't put it down. Gripping, unflinching, honest and dramatic -- Jill Mansell, author of And Now You're BackAn enthralling epic that swept me along through the highs and lows. I feel I’ve lived three different but tightly intertwined lives -- Katie Fforde, author of A Springtime Affair and Highland FlingI was completely swept away by How To Save A Life which truly is a salve for the soul. It’s a beautiful book, full of drama, passion and truth: you’ll remember Joel, Kerry and Tim long after you finish reading their story -- Rowan Coleman, author of The Memory Book and The Girl At the WindowA fabulous story of the strength and fragility of life, love and friendships -- Milly Johnson, author of My One True NorthImpossible to put down, I adored it. How to Save a Life is heartrending and uplifting, tragic and triumphant.It pulses with pain, passion and exquisite pleasure: I don’t think I've read a love triangle which has been so addictive -- Cathy Bramley, author of The Lemon Tree Cafe and My Kind of HappyMoving, gripping, with unforgettable characters, How to Save A Life is a beautiful page-turner with a very big heart. I just loved it -- Eve Chase author of The Glass HouseI fell in love with the characters from page one. Eva captured perfectly the impact of a life-changing event when young; how it impacts how we live and love going forwards. How to Save a Life is the very epitome of a life-affirming novel. I absolutely loved it -- Katy Regan, author of Little Big Love and How To Find Your Way Home
£8.54
Pan Macmillan The Yorkshire Farm Girl
Book SynopsisDiane Allen's The Yorkshire Farm Girl is a heartfelt novel of a family dreaming of a better life when war looms on the horizon. Life is hard for the Fothergill family as they try to make a living on their farm in the Yorkshire Dales. Bob Fothergill has set his sights on buying his own farm instead of renting the one they currently hold. Sally his teenage daughter, wishes her father would see that she could help more with the farm, but he believes that a girl's place is in the home. Ben, their youngest, has no interest in farming so is ignored. Sally's mother makes do knowing her husband wants what's best for them.But when Bob decides to take a well-paid part time job, collecting milk for the local dairy, it causes friction in the family, bringing tension to New Year’s Day, 1939. Ivy and Sally’s lives change. Sally gets her wish to be more hands on with the farm, coping with a bad winter and lambing sheep on her own. But then a stranger walks into Ivy’s life that shows her the affection that she craves and her heart is lost to him.With Germany is shaking its angry fist at other nations and the threat of another war undermines everything. Times are hard and the future is uncertain, but perhaps the coming years could bring better times. But will the Fothergills survive the oncoming storm?Trade ReviewAllen, an observant and insightful writer, fields a fascinating cast of authentic characters in an enthralling tale packed with emotion, drama and the harsh realities of a family’s struggles in the run-up to the Second World War. The Yorkshire Farm Girl is a warm-hearted and compassionate tale, evoking the long and tough working hours of farming life but Allen also brings us romance, the shining light of shared adversity, and proof of the enduring power of love and family to transform even the darkest days. * Lancashire Post *
£17.00
Pan Macmillan The Yorkshire Farm Girl
Book SynopsisDiane Allen's The Yorkshire Farm Girl is a heartfelt novel of a family dreaming of a better life when war looms on the horizon. Life is hard for the Fothergill family as they try to make a living on their farm in the Yorkshire Dales. Bob Fothergill has set his sights on buying his own farm instead of renting the one they currently hold. Sally his teenage daughter, wishes her father would see that she could help more with the farm, but he believes that a girl's place is in the home. Ben, their youngest, has no interest in farming so is ignored. Sally's mother makes do knowing her husband wants what's best for them.But when Bob decides to take a well-paid job collecting it causes friction in the family, bringing tension to everyone. With Germany is shaking its angry fist at other nations and the threat of another war undermines everything. Times are hard and the future is uncertain, but perhaps the coming years could bring better times. But will the Fothergills survive the oncoming storm?
£7.59
John Murray Press Friends and Strangers: The New York Times
Book SynopsisTHE PERFECT BOOK GROUP SUMMER READ FROM BEST-SELLING AUTHOR OF THE ENGAGEMENTS AND MAINE'I LOVED IT' Meg Wolitzer, author of The Female Persuasion'HER BEST YET' Taylor Jenkins Reid, author of Daisy Jones & The Six'A SMART AND DEEPLY COMPELLING EXPLORATION OF FEMALE FRIENDSHIP' Tom Perrotta, author of The Leftovers'CAPTIVATING, WISE AND LAUGH-OUT-LOUD FUNNY' Ann Napolitano, author of Dear EdwardElisabeth, an accomplished journalist and new mother, is struggling to adjust to life in a small town after nearly twenty years in New York City. Alone in the house with her infant son all day (and awake with him much of the night), she feels uneasy, adrift. She neglects her work, losing untold hours to her Brooklyn moms' Facebook group, her "influencer" sister's Instagram feed, and text messages with the best friend she never sees anymore.Enter Sam, a senior at the local women's college, whom Elisabeth hires to babysit. Sam is struggling to decide between the path she's always planned on and a romantic entanglement that threatens her ambition. She's worried about student loan debt and what the future holds. In short, they grow close. But when Sam finds an unlikely kindred spirit in Elisabeth's father-in-law, the true differences between the women's lives become starkly revealed and a betrayal has devastating consequences.A masterful exploration of motherhood, power dynamics, and privilege in its many forms, Friends and Strangers reveals how a single year can shape the course of a life.Trade ReviewJ. Courtney Sullivan is a writer of extraordinary gifts, and this is her most affecting book yet, which I just wanted to keep reading and reading straight through to its climactic and emotional last pages, because its world felt completely realized, and completely real. Sullivan is a writer who offers up small human moments and large social ones, all within the frame of a truly good story. I loved it * Meg Wolitzer, best-selling author of THE FEMALE PERSUASION *I have long been a fan of J. Courtney Sullivan's insightful and rich novels-Friends and Strangers is her best yet! Sullivan has a stunning ability to capture the tenderness and frailty of human relationships. Her newest is a poignant, wise, big-hearted novel full of complicated women doing their best and striving to do better. * Taylor Jenkins Reid, best-selling author of DAISY JONES & THE SIX *J. Courtney Sullivan is one of our great literary treasures, and Friends and Strangers is permeated with her brilliance and heart. The novel is a captivating, wise, laugh-out-loud-funny story about the life-changing friendship between Elisabeth, a new mom, and Sam, her college-age babysitter. I loved this novel from the first word to the last. * Ann Napolitano, best-selling author of DEAR EDWARD *Friends and Strangers is a smart and deeply compelling exploration of female friendship and the complicated politics of motherhood and childcare. J. Courtney Sullivan is a shrewd and sympathetic observer of our current cultural moment, with an unerring eye for the way that the unspoken realities of money and class can affect even our most intimate relationships * Tom Perrotta, best-selling author of THE LEFTOVERS *This book pokes at the sometimes troubling relationship between caregivers and mothers, and what starts out as a sweet and straightforward story evolves into something more nuanced and complex * Vogue *Sullivan . . . writes with empathy for her characters even as she reveals their flaws and shortcomings. And while the story she tells focuses primarily on two women from different backgrounds and at different stages of life, it also illuminates broader issues about money, privilege, and class; marriage, family, and friendship; and the duelling demands of career and domesticity with which many women struggle. This perceptive novel about a complex friendship between two women resonates as broadly as it does deeply * Kirkus *Sullivan's intimate, incisive latest explores the evolving friendship between a new mother and her babysitter . . . Readers will be captivated by Sullivan's authentic portrait of modern motherhood * Publishers Weekly *This new novel from the author of Saints for All Occasions looks at how our locations, both geographic and where we are in life, can take their toll, and delivers what promises to be one of summer's most delicious reads * Town & Country * Tackles motherhood, friendship, family and betrayal * Good Morning America *Friends and Strangers is about whether the unfairness of privilege can ever be sufficiently offset by good deeds. And what of bad deeds: are they forgiven if they result from good intentions? Sullivan massages her themes in scenes as barbed as they are funny, by way of characters as infuriating as they are heartbreaking * Shelf Awareness *Friends and Strangers offers an insightful examination of everything from social media's magnetic pull to the power dynamics between domestic workers and their employers * Washington Post *Friends and Strangers is a big novel with big ideas... An honest rendering of what happens behind closed doors. * New York Times Book Review *There's a rare degree of emotional maturity in Friends and Strangers, a willingness to resist demonizing any of the players, a commitment to exploring the demands of family with the deliberate care such complex relations require. Once again, Sullivan has shown herself to be one of the wisest and least pretentious chroniclers of modern life. Every hard-won insight here is offered up with such casual grace. * Washington Post *Friends and Strangers is a compellingly readable book that feels a little bit like a beach read, but at the same time tackles themes of acceptance of others and also of yourself... The novel takes on modern issues surrounding adulthood, motherhood and class. It also offers a broader look at issues we are facing as an American society... as hilarious as it is insightful and paints an authentic picture of modern motherhood and the power of female friendship. * Today *A deeply personal yet profound exploration of motherhood, friendships, and the role of privilege in determining how we shape our lives. * Booklist *
£11.07
Hodder & Stoughton The Island of Longing: The emotional,
Book SynopsisWOULD YOU EVER GIVE UP ON FINDING YOUR CHILD, IF THEY VANISHED WITHOUT A TRACE?Number One Irish bestselling author of When All is Said Anne Griffin returns with this beautiful, emotional novel about love, loss, family and hope that will break your heart . . . but also put it back together again.THE IRISH BESTSELLER THAT EVERYONE IS RAVING ABOUT:'Stunning . . . I loved it' LIZ NUGENT'Elegant and moving' JOHN BOYNE'A storyteller of rate gifts' JOSEPH O'CONNOR'A beautiful, emotive mystery' CHRIS WHITAKER'Gently heartbreaking, but also hopeful and uplifting. An insight into the fragility of the human condition and what holds us together when we break' IRISH TIMESOne unremarkable afternoon, Rosie watched her daughter Saoirse cycle into town, expecting to hear the slam of the door when she returned a few hours later. But the slam never came. Eight years on, Rosie is the only person who believes that her child might one day return home.Will this belief come at the cost of everything she has left?Trade ReviewHer most emotionally complex book yet . . . Gently heartbreaking, but also hopeful and uplifting. An insight into the fragility of the human condition and what holds us together when we break -- Edel Coffey * Irish Times *One of Griffin's great gifts is how she draws small-town communities and the personalities that make them what they are * Irish Sunday Times Culture *Exquisite -- Woman's OwnThis beautiful novel about maternal love is especially moving on the back and forth between hope and acceptance. -- Good HousekeepingAn agonising but hauntingly beautiful tale * Sunday Post *An elegant and moving account of family loss and reconnection, this is Anne Griffin's best novel yet. -- John BoyneAn immensely powerful novel by a storyteller of rare gifts -- Joseph O'ConnorAnne takes a deep dive into the soul of the mother of a missing child and the result is a story that is both heartwarming and heartbreaking. Beautifully written and sensitive without ever being sentimental, this is a stunning portrait by a master craftswoman. I loved it. -- Liz NugentA beautiful, emotive, heartbreaking mystery. The Island of Longing takes a quietly powerful, yet deeply hopeful, humorous and compassionate look at loss, and belonging, and the absolute agony of the unknown. -- Chris WhitakerAnne Griffin is a lovely writer, and this is a lovely book . . . Oiled by the sturdy little ferry that ploughs the sea between the novel's West Cork island setting and the mainland, Griffin's story is tender and wise and ultimately life-affirming. -- Kathleen MacMahonAnne Griffin's central character Rosie Driscoll will pitch your heart into a stormy sea. You'll feel as if you're right beside her in the waves of love and loss as she strikes out for safe harbour. A beautiful story, steeped in Irish brine -- Tish DelaneyGripping, heart-wrenching and acutely human novel that offers a deeply empathetic view of suffering and resilience - and the many shapes that survival can take. Read this book! -- Alice RyanA powerful novel that is full of grace, this latest work of beauty proves once again that Griffin is a gorgeous storyteller full of empathy and wisdom -- Helen CullenGriffin's writing is as engaging and compassionate as ever: The Island of Longing is a superb novel that tussles with the hope and heartbreak of being alive. -- Danielle McLaughlinA compelling, cleverly structured novel about loss, legacy and the healing power of community -- Sarah GilmartinWith a great ear for dialogue and eye for setting, Griffin builds a real sense of what loss can do to a family. * The Style List *A beautiful novel, heartbreaking, thoroughly moving and impossible to put down, The Island of Longing further enhances Anne Griffin's standing as one of our very best writers. A sheer joy to read, and a book that deserves to hit every height -- Billy O'CallaghanWhat do you think when the unthinkable happens? The Island of Longing transported me to West Cork to ask that very question in a moving story of family, loss and hope. It's the little details-dialogue, street names and details on the ferryboat-that made me feel at home with heroine, Rosie . . . Griffin perfectly captures the stifling isolation of grief, how claustrophobic tragedy can feel and how, sometimes, only the sea can offer relief. -- Freya BromleyI sympathised with Rosie on every page . . . a suspenseful and deeply satisfying novel -- Margot LiveseyI absolutely loved this novel. Incredibly moving, beautifully observed, with characters so well-drawn that I felt I'd known them my whole life. Although the subject matter is achingly sad, the warmth and humanity that shines through Anne's writing makes it a total joy to read. A bittersweet story of love and loss, deftly and sensitively told, that will stick with me for a long time to come. -- Rebecca PertThe Island of Longing is a moving unforgettable novel, about the burden of loss and grieving, told through Griffin's vivid prose and characteristic gentle humour. This book consumed me -- Disha BoseA beautifully written tale of love, loss and human endurance, with an emotional depth that rings true. -- Madeleine D'ArcyPRAISE FOR ANNE GRIFFIN:There are deep thoughts sown beneath the light and charming surfaces of Griffin's novels. Her books are fable-like, deep musings on life, mortality, and what makes a life worth living, philosophy for everyday readers, cleverly disguised as a good old-fashioned story * Irish Times *The next big name to emerge from the Irish writing scene. -- John BoyneIreland's long line of magical storytellers is further enriched by Anne Griffin, who follows her poignant debut When All is Said with another outstanding read * Sunday Express *Her most emotionally complex book yet . . . Gently heartbreaking, but also hopeful and uplifting. An insight into the fragility of the human condition and what holds us together when we break -- Edel Coffey * Irish Times *One of Griffin's great gifts is how she draws small-town communities and the personalities that make them what they are * Irish Sunday Times Culture *Exquisite -- Woman's OwnThis beautiful novel about maternal love is especially moving on the back and forth between hope and acceptance. -- Good HousekeepingAn agonising but hauntingly beautiful tale * Sunday Post *An elegant and moving account of family loss and reconnection, this is Anne Griffin's best novel yet. -- John BoyneAn immensely powerful novel by a storyteller of rare gifts -- Joseph O'ConnorAnne takes a deep dive into the soul of the mother of a missing child and the result is a story that is both heartwarming and heartbreaking. Beautifully written and sensitive without ever being sentimental, this is a stunning portrait by a master craftswoman. I loved it. -- Liz NugentA beautiful, emotive, heartbreaking mystery. The Island of Longing takes a quietly powerful, yet deeply hopeful, humorous and compassionate look at loss, and belonging, and the absolute agony of the unknown. -- Chris WhitakerAnne Griffin is a lovely writer, and this is a lovely book . . . Oiled by the sturdy little ferry that ploughs the sea between the novel's West Cork island setting and the mainland, Griffin's story is tender and wise and ultimately life-affirming. -- Kathleen MacMahonAnne Griffin's central character Rosie Driscoll will pitch your heart into a stormy sea. You'll feel as if you're right beside her in the waves of love and loss as she strikes out for safe harbour. A beautiful story, steeped in Irish brine -- Tish DelaneyGripping, heart-wrenching and acutely human novel that offers a deeply empathetic view of suffering and resilience - and the many shapes that survival can take. Read this book! -- Alice RyanA powerful novel that is full of grace, this latest work of beauty proves once again that Griffin is a gorgeous storyteller full of empathy and wisdom -- Helen CullenGriffin's writing is as engaging and compassionate as ever: The Island of Longing is a superb novel that tussles with the hope and heartbreak of being alive. -- Danielle McLaughlinA compelling, cleverly structured novel about loss, legacy and the healing power of community -- Sarah GilmartinWith a great ear for dialogue and eye for setting, Griffin builds a real sense of what loss can do to a family. * The Style List *A beautiful novel, heartbreaking, thoroughly moving and impossible to put down, The Island of Longing further enhances Anne Griffin's standing as one of our very best writers. A sheer joy to read, and a book that deserves to hit every height -- Billy O'CallaghanWhat do you think when the unthinkable happens? The Island of Longing transported me to West Cork to ask that very question in a moving story of family, loss and hope. It's the little details-dialogue, street names and details on the ferryboat-that made me feel at home with heroine, Rosie . . . Griffin perfectly captures the stifling isolation of grief, how claustrophobic tragedy can feel and how, sometimes, only the sea can offer relief. -- Freya BromleyI sympathised with Rosie on every page . . . a suspenseful and deeply satisfying novel -- Margot LiveseyI absolutely loved this novel. Incredibly moving, beautifully observed, with characters so well-drawn that I felt I'd known them my whole life. Although the subject matter is achingly sad, the warmth and humanity that shines through Anne's writing makes it a total joy to read. A bittersweet story of love and loss, deftly and sensitively told, that will stick with me for a long time to come. -- Rebecca PertThe Island of Longing is a moving unforgettable novel, about the burden of loss and grieving, told through Griffin's vivid prose and characteristic gentle humour. This book consumed me -- Disha BoseA beautifully written tale of love, loss and human endurance, with an emotional depth that rings true. -- Madeleine D'ArcyPRAISE FOR ANNE GRIFFIN:There are deep thoughts sown beneath the light and charming surfaces of Griffin's novels. Her books are fable-like, deep musings on life, mortality, and what makes a life worth living, philosophy for everyday readers, cleverly disguised as a good old-fashioned story * Irish Times *The next big name to emerge from the Irish writing scene. -- John BoyneIreland's long line of magical storytellers is further enriched by Anne Griffin, who follows her poignant debut When All is Said with another outstanding read * Sunday Express *
£15.29
Quercus Publishing Love Orange: a vivid, comic cocktail about a
Book SynopsisA disturbing portrait of a modern American family'Imagine Richard Yates becoming fascinated by Donald Antrim before writing Revolutionary Road and you'll have some idea of Love Orange. One of the most satisfying novels you will read this year. This book rules' Christian Kiefer, author of Phantoms'I enjoyed every minute of it' Chris Power, author of Mothers'A stunningly accurate portrayal . . . shining with vivid dialogue and observation' Chloe Aridjis, author of Sea Monsters'[A]n exuberant, comic, irresistibly dark examination of contemporary anxieties' Vanity Fair'An exquisite balance of humour and pathos' LunateAn extraordinary debut novel by Natasha Randall, exposing the seam of secrets within an American family, from beneath the plastic surfaces of their new 'smart' home. Love Orange charts the gentle absurdities of their lives, and the devastating consequences of casual choices. While Hank struggles with his lack of professional success, his wife Jenny, feeling stuck and beset by an urge to do good, becomes ensnared in a dangerous correspondence with a prison inmate called John. Letter by letter, John pinches Jenny awake from the "marshmallow numbness" of her life. The children, meanwhile, unwittingly disturb the foundations of their home life with forays into the dark net and strange geological experiments. Jenny's bid for freedom takes a sour turn when she becomes the go-between for John and his wife, and develops an unnatural obsession for the orange glue that seals his letters...Love Orange throws open the blinds of American life, showing a family facing up to the modern age, from the ascendancy of technology, the predicaments of masculinity, the pathologising of children, the epidemic of opioid addiction and the tyranny of the WhatsApp Gods. The first novel by the acclaimed translator is a comic cocktail, an exuberant skewering of contemporary anxieties and prejudices.Trade ReviewImagine Richard Yates becoming fascinated by Donald Antrim before writing Revolutionary Road and you'll have some idea of Love Orange. At turns funny, discomfiting, and darkly harrowing, Randall's debut is real life inscribed upon the page. The classic American family of countless TV dramas and comedies is here fractured against the hard fulcrum of the current age. One of the most satisfying novels you will read this year. This book rules. -- Christian Kiefer, author of PHANTOMS'In Love Orange we see the American nuclear family in meltdown, a phenomenon Natasha Randall describes with wisdom, wit, and a lot of heart. I enjoyed every minute of it' Chris Power, author of MothersAs an acclaimed translator of Russian novels, Natasha Randall has a fine-tuned sense of the absurd, and a wonderfully original way of seeing the world. A stunningly accurate portrayal of American society, shining with vivid dialogue and observation -- Chloe Aridjis, author of Sea Monsters[T]he first novel by this acclaimed translator is an exuberant, comic, irresistibly dark examination of contemporary anxieties * Vanity Fair *An exquisite balance of humour and pathos...The setting and plot ofLove Orange is extremely well crafted * Lunate *Randall throws satirical light on everything from opioid addictions to the domination of modern technology in this exuberant and contemporary novel. * Independent *The translator Natasha Randall's debut novel is a keenly observed account of the travails of an apparently normal American family . . . Hugely ambitious * Observer *Translator Randall makes her fiction debut with this assured and funny story of an American family in crisis trying to hide behind their new "smart" home. * The i *I was . . . hooked by this comedic take on the modern American family * Saga *I loved the rich emotional mayhem of Natasha Randall's Love Orange. * White Review (BOTY) *Love Orange is narrated in a close third-person from multiple points of view, artfully moving between the characters to build an absorbing story. Randall depicts the very contemporary struggles of the Tinkley family with empathy. And her wry humour leavens the serious topics she tackles: the prison system, gender roles, the perils of intrusive technology and the slippery slope of addiction - whether one reaches for drugs or devices for relief from the "marshmallow numbness" of daily life. * TLS *
£8.54
Quercus Publishing The Fire
Book SynopsisIn her perceptive and affecting new novel, Daniela Krien explores a marriage where everything hangs in the balance. "Quietly devastating" HANNAH BECKERMANN, Observer"A stylish, subtle read" Woman & Home BOOK OF THE MONTH"Perfectly paced, nuanced" Saga Magazine PICK OF THE MONTH"Powerful . . . subtle and psychologically astute" Times Literary Supplement"Beautifully written" IndependentHow can two lovers find a way back to each other, when the pain of the past stands between them?With plans adrift after a fire burns down their rented holiday cabin, Rahel and Peter find themselves unexpectedly on an isolated farm where Rahel spent many a happy childhood summer. Suddenly, after years of navigating careers, demanding children and the monotony of the daily routine, they find themselves unable to escape each other's company. With three weeks stretching ahead, they must come to an understanding on whether they have a future together.What happens when love grows older and passion has faded? When what divides us is greater than what brought us together? And how easy is it to ask the fundamental questions about our relationships? Praise for LOVE IN FIVE ACTS:"Highly recommended" The Times "Exquisite . . . Utterly captivating" Woman and Home"Unfailingly impressive" Irish Times "Beautifully direct and lucid prose" Sydney Morning Herald"A beautiful novel" New European "Sympathetic and clear-eyed" Financial Times"An intelligent study of female ambition and frailty" ObserverTranslated from the German by Jamie BullochTrade ReviewA quietly devastating portrayal of a marriage . . . Krien beautifully conveys Rahel's sense of impotent frustration, familial tensions and the thwarted desires of middle age -- Hannah Beckerman * Observer *[A] slim yet powerful novel about families and relationships . . . subtle and psychologically astute . . . acutely observed -- P.D. Smith * Times Literary Supplement *With her trademark hypnotic prose, Krien looks at the nuances of a relationship with honesty and clarity. A stylish, subtle read that digs deeps into the human psyche. -- Zoe West * Woman & Home "Book of the Month" *The intersecting of a troubled past, uneasy present and increasingly uncertain future makes for a quiet, reflective read -- Catherine Taylor * Irish Times *Deeply engaging . . . Beautifully written, subtle and shines a light on the feelings and desires of middle-aged women -- Prudence Wade * Independent *Impactful * Irish Times (Gloss Magazine) *The Fire examines the endurance of long-time love through a couple finding themselves cocooned in an isolated farmhouse for three weeks. -- Charlie Connelly * New European *[A] perfectly paced, nuanced, forgiving story of good, flawed people with a family secret at its heart * Saga Magazine "Pick of the Month" *The plot develops with summery lightness, and the intellectual depth of this book is gradually revealed. * Spiegel *Daniela Krien's The Fire achieves the masterstroke of touching upon the existential without flaunting it. -- Rainer Moritz * Neue Zuercher Zeitung *She writes clearly and without frills. Her language is never banal, but always artfully literary. -- Anke Jahns * NDR Kultur *
£15.29
Vintage Publishing Black & White
Book SynopsisClara’s mother is famous for the nude portraits she took of Clara throughout her childhood.Clara has spent her entire adult life pulling away from her mother. At age eighteen, sick of her notoriety as 'the girl in the pictures', Clara fled New York City, settling and making her own family in small-town Maine. But years later, when her mother reaches out from her deathbed, Clara suddenly finds herself drawn back to the past she thought she had escaped.From the beloved author of SIGNAL FIRES and FAMILY HISTORY, BLACK & WHITE is a moving love letter to those familial bonds that both bruise and make you in equal measure.‘Spellbinding...provocative, hypnotic’ USA Today ‘Uncompromising storytelling’ Los Angeles Times‘Ambitious…thrilling’ TimeOut New YorkTrade ReviewShapiro does something rather thrilling with her story: she gets it just right. * Washington Post *Universal dilemmas face us all, and it is the novelist's job to breathe life into them one way or another, and this is something Shapiro does very well indeed * New York Times Book Review *Trenchant and enduring * Los Angeles Times Book Review *Shapiro's central characters are expertly rendered * Elle Magazine *Spellbinding...provocative, hypnotic...spot-on authentic. A cool depiction of a mother and daughter's fraught and fiery relationship * USA Today *
£9.49
iUniverse The Dance Man
Book Synopsis
£17.95
Little, Brown & Company How to Survive a Scandal
Book SynopsisA marriage of convenience leads to true love in this sparkling Regency debut.When Benedict Asterly rescues a woman who's freezing to death, he thinks he thinks it's just another good deed done. Until they're caught alone post-rescue and forced to marry. Lady Amelia is judgmental, abrasive, and the opposite of the type of women Benedict had hoped to wed. But since propriety has forced them into marriage, he's determined to make the best of it by convincing Lady Amelia to give up the trappings of London and get used to being a business owner's wife.Lady Amelia was raised to be the perfect duchess. So when she's forced to marry an untitled gentleman, she's furious. She was trained to run a household efficiently, not to do the cleaning herself. When Benedict's business interests are threatened, Amelia realizes that she has the perfect opportunity to prove to her husband that London manners aren't all bad. She'll impress the visiting Americans looking to invest in his factory and show Benedict that she's just the kind of wife he needs.
£7.99
Little, Brown & Company All the Things We Don't Talk About
Book SynopsisMorgan Flowers just wants to hide. Raised by their neurodivergent father, Morgan has grown up haunted by the absence of their mysterious mother Zoe, especially now, as they navigate their gender identity and the turmoil of first love. Their father Julian has raised Morgan with care, but he can't quite fill the gap left by the dazzling and destructive Zoe, who fled to Europe on Morgan's first birthday. And when Zoe is dumped by her girlfriend Brigid, she suddenly comes crashing back into Morgan and Julian's lives, poised to disrupt the fragile peace they have so carefully cultivated.Through it all, Julian and Brigid have become unlikely pen-pals and friends, united by the knowledge of what it's like to love and lose Zoe; they both know that she hasn't changed. Despite the red flags, Morgan is swiftly drawn into Zoe's glittering orbit and into a series of harmful missteps, and Brigid may be the only link that can pull them back from the edge. A story of betrayal and trauma alongside queer love and resilience, ALL THE THINGS WE DON'T TALK ABOUT is a celebration of and a reckoning with the power and unintentional pain of a thoroughly modern family.
£19.00
Little, Brown & Company Antoinette's Sister
Book SynopsisAs Marie Antoinette took her last breath as Queen of France in Paris, another formidable monarch-Antoinette's dearly beloved sister, Charlotte-was hundreds of miles away, in Naples, fighting desperately to secure her release from the revolutionaries who would take her life. Little did Charlotte know, however, that her sister's execution would change the course of history-and bring about the end of her own empire."You are the queen. You are the queen that Antoinette wanted to be."Austria 1767: Maria Carolina Charlotte-tenth daughter and one of sixteen children of Empress Maria Theresa of Austria-knows her position as a Habsburg archduchess will inevitably force her to leave her home, her family, and her cherished sister, Antoinette, whose companionship she values over all else. But not yet. The Habsburg family is celebrating a great triumph: Charlotte's older sister, Josepha, has been promised to King Ferdinand IV of Naples and will soon take her place as queen. Before she can journey to her new home, however, tragedy strikes. After visiting the family crypt, Josepha contracts smallpox and dies. Shocked, Charlotte is forced to face an unthinkable new reality: she must now marry Ferdinand in her sister's stead.Bereft and alone, Charlotte finds that her life in Naples is more complicated than she could ever have imagined. Ferdinand is weak and feckless, and a disastrous wedding night plunges her into despair. Her husband's regent, Tanucci, a controlling and power-hungry man, has pushed the country to the brink of ruin. Overwhelmed, she asks her brother Leopold, now the Holy Roman Emperor, to send help-which he does in the form of John Acton, a handsome military man twenty years Charlotte's senior who is tasked with overseeing the Navy. Now, Charlotte must gather the strength to do what her mother did before her: take control of a country.In a time of political uprisings and royal executions and with the increasingly desperate crisis her favorite sister, Queen Marie Antoinette, is facing in France, how is a young monarch to keep hold of everything-and everyone-she loves? Find out in this sweeping, luxurious tale of family, court intrigue, and power.Includes a Reading Group Guide.
£13.49
Little, Brown & Company Three Times You
Book SynopsisFrom an internationally bestselling author comes the powerful and poignant final book in his Rome Novels trilogy, following two soulmates whose lives will be intertwined forever-perfect for fans of Reminders of Him and In Five Years. Step Mancini has more than any man has a right to ask for. He has succeeded beyond his wildest dreams as a television producer and can afford to surround himself with beautiful things, including his lawyer wife. And now his life is even more perfect because they have a baby on the way.But there's nothing like the magic of first love. When Babi Gervasi suddenly reappears in Step's life, she brings back tender memories along with a shocking request for his help. Step knows that his wife can never find out, and so he begins a double life, torn between the two women he cares about most in the world.
£14.24
Little, Brown & Company Half-Blown Rose: A Novel
Book SynopsisVincent, having grown up as the privileged daughter of artists, has a lovely life in many ways. At forty-four, she enjoys strolling the streets of Paris and teaching at the modern art museum; she has a vibrant group of friends; and she's even caught the eye of a young, charismatic man named Loup. But Vincent is also in Paris to escape a painful betrayal: her husband, Cillian, has published a bestselling book divulging secrets about their marriage and his own past, hinting that when he was a teenager, he may have had a child with a young woman back in Dublin-before he moved to California and never returned.Now estranged from her husband, Vincent has agreed to see Cillian again at their son's wedding the following summer, but Loup introduces new complications. Soon they begin an intense affair, and somewhere between dinners made together, cigarettes smoked in the moonlight, hazy evenings in nightclubs, and long, starry walks along the Seine, Vincent feels herself loosening and blossoming.In a journey that is both transportive and intimate, Half-Blown Rose traverses Paris, art, travel, liminal spaces, and the messy complexities of relationships and romance, with excerpts from Cillian's novel, playlists, and journal entries woven throughout. As Cillian does all he can to win her back, Vincent must decide what she wants . . . and who she will be.
£19.00
Amazon Publishing The Shaanxi Opera: A Novel
Book SynopsisWinner of the Mao Dun Literature Prize. From one of China’s most celebrated authors comes a masterful novel about modernity and tradition, love and obsession, and economic change and quixotic dreams—all set against the backdrop of a rapidly urbanizing China. In post–Cultural Revolution China, in the fading village of Freshwind, the fates of two households are shifting. The Bais, once the most powerful family in the region, have fallen from status. Their beautiful daughter, Snow Bai, an embodiment of tradition, pursues a career in a vanishing art form. The Xias, enthusiastic members of the Party, are on the rise. Their favorite son, Wind Xia, is a citified politician whose marriage to Snow Bai could unite the two families. But in a village casting about for a new road to prosperity, fortunes can change. Watching it all unfold is a local outcast named Spark. The inveterate busybody is given to strange visions and flights of fancy, and is motivated by the only constant in Freshwind: his mad love for Snow Bai. Expansive, funny, monumental, and deeply poignant, Jia Pingwa’s The Shaanxi Opera is a keenly observant portrait of China in an era of globalization, societal upheaval, and the growing influence of popular culture.
£16.43
Amazon Publishing The Rise of Light: A Novel
Book SynopsisA powerful novel about the expectations of family—and the risks and liberation of defying them—by the Washington Post bestselling author of One for the Blackbird, One for the Crow. 1975. In the town of Rexburg, Idaho, aspiring artist Aran Rigby, his younger sister, Tamsin, and their two brothers are locked in orbit around their emotionally abusive father. Gad is the kind of man who soothes the failures of his own life by controlling the lives of others. But Aran and Tamsin are united in rebellion against their father. They understand each other. They have dreams beyond their small town. Arriving in Rexburg is Linda Duff, an outsider from Seattle hoping to plant new roots far from the bitter ones of her childhood. She’s quickly taken with Aran, in no small part because of his talent. But when they fall in love, Linda is drawn into a family more damaged than the one she left behind. She also becomes privy to a secret Aran and Tamsin share that could dismantle everything everyone holds dear. Upsetting the precarious balance in the Rigby home, Linda becomes an unwitting catalyst for the upheaval of Gad’s oppression. Now it’s time for them all to break free of the past, overcome the unforgivable, and find a new way forward—whatever the price.
£8.54
Amazon Publishing The Singing Trees: A Novel
Book SynopsisA young artist forges a path of self-discovery in an enriching novel about forgiving the past and embracing second chances, from the bestselling author of An Unfinished Story. Maine, 1969. After losing her parents in a car accident, aspiring artist Annalisa Mancuso lives with her grandmother and their large Italian family in the stifling factory town of Payton Mills. Inspired by her mother, whose own artistic dreams disappeared in a damaged marriage, Annalisa is dedicated only to painting. Closed off to love, and driven as much by her innate talent as she is the disillusionment of her past, Annalisa just wants to come into her own. The first step is leaving Payton Mills and everything it represents. The next, the inspiring opportunities in the city of Portland and a thriving New England art scene where Annalisa hopes to find her voice. But she meets Thomas, an Ivy League student whose attentions—and troubled family—upend her pursuits in ways she never imagined possible. As their relationship deepens, Annalisa must balance her dreams against an unexpected love. Until the unraveling of an unforgivable lie. For Annalisa, opening herself up to life and to love is a risk. It might also be the chance she needs to finally become the person and the artist she’s meant to be.Trade Review“Walker’s (An Unfinished Story) beautifully written coming-of-age novel is set during the Vietnam War…Ideal for book groups and for readers who enjoyed Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Daisy Jones & the Six, Susan Elizabeth Phillips’s Dance Away with Me, or Nicholas Sparks’s novels.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) “The Singing Trees is a beautifully crafted coming-of-age story set in working class Maine during the seventies, a time of intense turmoil and transformation in America. It is a heartfelt, complex tale of chasing your dreams without forsaking your roots, and I was swept away by Boo Walker’s deft storytelling and incredibly complex characters. Soulful but also full of sharp dialog and humor, The Singing Trees is exactly the sort of book you get lost in then mourn when it is over.” —Suzanne Redfearn, #1 Amazon bestselling author of In an Instant “The Singing Trees is more than a poignant coming-of-age story; it is a deep exploration of the intricacies of personal growth, family ties, and that most elusive and extraordinary of human gifts, forgiveness. Walker’s lively cast of characters centers around the young artist, Annalisa, whose vibrant, yearning nature lights up this story. I cared for her from the first page as she struggles, as we all do, to protect herself from heartbreak only to find that an open heart is a necessary condition for her art, and, ultimately, for happiness. Book clubs will enjoy second-guessing Annalisa’s choices, and readers everywhere will be enthralled by this clear-eyed journey into the lessons of the heart.” —Sonja Yoerg, Washington Post bestselling author of True Places and The Family Ship “Boo Walker is that rare writer who is both a master storyteller and wordsmith all at once. Set against the backdrop of small-town Maine, The Singing Trees is an uplifting story about the juxtaposition of love and great art, and the possibility of second chances. This is a book to bring you to tears but leave you with a light in your heart.” —Eoin Dempsey, bestselling author of White Rose, Black Forest “Boo Walker’s The Singing Trees filled my heart with a song that echoed inside me long after I’d read the last sentence. With his skill at storytelling on display, Walker deftly takes the reader on a journey through the choices and sacrifices facing those who are caught in creativity’s siren call in this tale of love, sacrifice, and ultimately forgiveness. Bring tissues because there will be tears, but the good kind—the kind that let you know you are alive.” —Emily Bleeker, Wall Street Journal and Amazon Charts bestselling author
£8.54
Amazon Publishing I Thought You Said This Would Work: A Novel
Book SynopsisA road trip can drive anyone over the edge—especially two former best friends—in bestselling author Ann Garvin’s funny and poignant novel about broken bonds, messy histories, and the power of forgiveness. Widowed Samantha Arias hasn’t spoken to Holly Dunfee in forever. It’s for the best. Samantha prefers to avoid conflict. The blisteringly honest Holly craves it. What they still have in common puts them both back on speed dial: a mutual love for Katie, their best friend of twenty-five years, now hospitalized with cancer and needing one little errand from her old college roomies. It’s simple: travel cross-country together, steal her loathsome ex-husband’s VW camper, find Katie’s diabetic Great Pyrenees at a Utah rescue, and drive him back home to Wisconsin. If it’ll make Katie happy, no favor is too big (one hundred pounds), too daunting (two thousand miles), or too illegal (ish), even when a boho D-list celebrity hitches a ride and drives the road trip in fresh directions. Samantha and Holly are following every new turn—toward second chances, unexpected romance, and self-discovery—and finally blowing the dust off the secret that broke their friendship. On the open road, they’ll try to put it back together—for themselves, and especially for the love of Katie.Trade Review“Despite dealing with some heavy topics—cancer, widowhood, and the impending birth of a first child—Garvin’s (I Like You Just Fine When You’re Not Around) book is laugh-out-loud funny.” —Library Journal “Both humorous and incredibly heartfelt, [I Thought You Said This Would Work is] a feel-good story that will stay with you long after the final page.” —BookTrib “A charming exploration of female friendship and cancer’s uncanny ability to put perceived slights into perspective…[I Thought You Said This Would Work is] a testament to the power of one’s own voice and the mistruths in the stories we tell ourselves, and an introspective, heartwarming, and witty farce.” —Booklist “It’s a hoot!” —BookTrib “Garvin does excellent work in balancing the heartbreaking realities of illness and the unfair hands we are often dealt with goofy, laugh-out-loud moments that leave readers wanting more.” —Erie Reader “Ann Garvin writes brilliantly about women.” —Good Morning America “Equal parts hilarious and heartfelt, I Thought You Said This Would Work kept me reaching for tissues—from laughing so hard. This book is a pure delight.” —Colleen Oakley, USA Today bestselling author of You Were There Too “Ann Garvin navigates the twists and turns of female friendship like few writers working today. I Thought You Said This Would Work is at once profound, hilarious, and ridiculously entertaining. Her best novel yet, I didn’t want it to end!” —Karen Karbo, New York Times bestselling author of Yeah, No. Not Happening. “Laughter, tears, and an unforgettable cast of characters: I Thought You Said This Would Work has everything I love, so it’s no surprise that I adored this novel. Ann Garvin’s latest, about three unlikely allies on the road trip to end all road trips, is the sort of life-affirming story we all need right now. I can’t recommend it highly enough.” —Camille Pagán, bestselling author of This Won’t End Well “Ann Garvin knows how to find the ooey-gooey center of your emotions to make you laugh, cry, and hoot in appreciation. I Thought You Said This Would Work celebrates female friendship in all its complicated glory. Read immediately, curled up with a furry friend and hot cup of coffee.” —Amy E. Reichert, author of The Kindred Spirits Supper Club “Anyone who has ever known the healing power of love—from friends both two-footed and four—will fall hard for Garvin’s latest book. Like the road trip at the heart of its story, I Thought You Said This Would Work surprises [and] thrills at every turn.” —Gretchen Anthony, bestselling author of Evergreen Tidings from the Baumgartners and The Kids Are Gonna Ask “I Thought You Said This Would Work is a heart-breaking and hilarious story of how we rescue each other. It’s a great, big, generous, warm-hearted page-turner about best friends and love and loss and forgiveness and dogs, told with absolute honesty and humor. You couldn’t ask for more from a novel.” —Lauren Fox, author of Send for Me “Road trip! Three women embark on a breakneck, cross-country adventure in this wholly original story of friendship and old misunderstandings, love and devastating loss. Filled with Garvin’s signature humor and heart, this book takes the reader on a wild ride with rescued pets, romantic possibilities, and one highly-charged secret.” —Amy Poeppel, author of Musical Chairs “No one captures the human condition in all its complexity, humor, and magnificence quite like Ann Garvin. I Thought You Said This Would Work is a relatable story about the complexity of female friendship, its evolution through the years and the people who are always there no matter what. In the pages of her approachable and inspirational new novel, Garvin is at the height of her distinctive, transportive storytelling powers. You will laugh, cry, and find yourself rushing back to the page whenever you have to walk away.” —Kristy Woodson Harvey, USA Today bestselling author of Feels Like Falling “Nobody captures the nuances of friendship like Ann Garvin. I Thought You Said This Would Work features incredibly relatable characters who rely on old friends to help them muddle through the challenges of midlife with humor and grace. Despite long-held grudges and jealousy, this is a tale of sacrifice and devotion (and dogs!), and the importance of feeling truly known.” —Christina Clancy, author of Shoulder Season
£8.54
Amazon Publishing Someone Else's Secret: A Novel
Book SynopsisHere’s the thing about secrets: they change shape over time, become blurry with memory, until the truth is nearly lost. 2009. Lindsey and Georgie have high hopes for their summer on Martha’s Vineyard. In the wake of the recession, ambitious college graduate Lindsey accepts a job as a nanny for an influential family who may help her land a position in Boston’s exclusive art world. Georgie, the eldest child in that family, is nearly fifteen and eager to find herself, dreaming of independence and yearning for first love. Over the course of that formative summer, the two young women develop a close bond. Then, one night by the lighthouse, a shocking act occurs that ensnares them both in the throes of a terrible secret. Their budding friendship is shattered, and neither one can speak of what happened that night for ten long years. Until now. Lindsey and Georgie must confront the past after all this time. Their quest for justice will require costly sacrifices, but it also might give them the closure they need to move on. All they know for sure is that when the truth is revealed, their lives will be forever changed once again. From a fresh voice in fiction, this poignant and timely novel explores the strength and nuance of female friendship, the cost of ambition, and the courage it takes to speak the truth.Trade Review“A plot that keeps you guessing…an ominous trauma that can set your teeth on edge with the tension it creates…Spiro so viscerally renders Georgie’s feeling of awkward adolescent alienation as she tries desperately to be part of the older crowd that you might cringe with memories of what that stage of life felt like.” —Martha’s Vineyard Times “The stage is thus very neatly set for a sweet, sun-drenched summer-on-the-Vineyard novel but Ms. Spiro has other, darker ideas in mind. The combined forces of lust, envy, conspiratorial scheming and townie resentment are churning just under the surface at all times, culminating in an incident at a lighthouse that will reverberate in the lives of both Lindsey and Georgie…There is personal and emotional wreckage between them that needs courage and self-honesty to clear away.” —Vineyard Gazette “From a fresh voice in fiction, this poignant and timely novel explores the strength and nuance of female friendship, the cost of ambition, and the courage it takes to speak the truth…unputdownable!” —Frolic “All the more impressive when considering that Someone Else’s Secret is the debut novel for author Julia Spiro, this deftly crafted and narrative-driven story of the challenging yet enduring friendship between two women is a thoroughly absorbing read. This is the kind of novel that will linger in the mind and memory of the reader long after it has been finished and set back upon the shelf.” —Midwest Book Review “Suspenseful and dishy, Someone Else’s Secret exposes the dark underbelly of a moneyed summer town and the lengths one outsider will go to belong. Spiro brings Martha’s Vineyard to life with delicious precision; I felt like I was there with my toes in the sand, a glass of rosé in my hand, and plenty of reasons to look over my shoulder. If the walls in these summer estates could talk, they would say, ‘Trust no one.’” —Jessica Knoll, New York Times bestselling author of Luckiest Girl Alive “Someone Else’s Secret is a sandy, sun-soaked, character-driven exploration of what happens when there are no good options, when the truth turns out not to be enough, when following your heart proves impossible. It is a novel about being young and very young and then not so young after all and about finding the strength to fight for all those former selves.” —Laurie Frankel, New York Times bestselling author of This Is How It Always Is “Someone Else’s Secret explores the realities of young love, coming-of-age, and the traumatic events women often face. Julia Spiro handles these difficult issues gracefully by pulling us into her fictional journey but also elevating the voices of women everywhere who are sure to recognize a part of themselves along the way.” —Wendy Walker, national bestselling author of The Night Before “In Someone Else’s Secret, debut author Julia Spiro has crafted a timely exploration of the weight of secrets and what it takes to tell the truth. When an ambitious recent college graduate lands a ‘cushy’ job among the elite of Martha’s Vineyard, she gets an unwelcome lesson on the dark side of power and privilege. A compelling and cautionary tale that pulses with authenticity.” —Karen Dukess, author of The Last Book Party “Someone Else’s Secret is a gorgeous debut that, from page one, sets itself apart from the rest…Julia Spiro has written a story that is truly a breath of fresh air. The layered plot and rich cast of characters plunge the reader into a masterful story of secrets, ambition, and the fragile bonds of friendship. Someone Else’s Secret is perfect for book clubs and should be on everyone’s summer 2020 list.” —Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke, bestselling authors of The Two Lila Bennetts “In Someone Else’s Secret, Julia Spiro weaves a relatable, heart-wrenching tale full of secrets, lies, denial, and redemption. A dizzying dance with the truth for fans of Kristin Hannah and for women everywhere.” —Rea Frey, author of Not Her Daughter and Because You’re Mine “Someone Else’s Secret is at once an arresting work of storytelling and a page-turning exploration of the violent power dynamics that weave throughout Martha’s Vineyard and other glamorous summertime retreats. I was left haunted, moved, and in awe of Julia Spiro’s taut prose. A propulsive riptide of a book.” —John Glynn, author of Out East: Memoir of a Montauk Summer “Engaging and perceptive, Someone Else’s Secret uses the sunny idyll of Martha’s Vineyard as the backdrop for a coming-of-age story about two women navigating class, desire, and the things that go unspoken.” —Sam Lansky, author of The Gilded Razor
£8.09
Amazon Publishing Very Very Lucky
Book SynopsisA life-affirming story from million-copy bestselling author Amanda Prowse about having it all, losing it all, and how new friends can show each other the way back to happiness. With kids to look after, an ailing mother and a neglected husband, life is full for Emma Fountain—too full, she realises, when she wakes up in IKEA after falling asleep in one of the show beds. Only her crazy, funny best friend Roz keeps her sane. But when Roz climbs in through her bathroom window one day to deliver terrible news, Emma’s belief that she can find a way around any obstacle crumbles in the face of a problem she just can’t fix. For recently widowed Thurston, life without his beloved wife of sixty-two years has lost all its joy and sense of purpose. That is until he finds himself driving his niece to work one day and meets Emma, whose busy days are the opposite of his own. As Thurston is drawn into the whirlwind of Emma’s chaotic life, and as his calming influence starts to bring her troubles into perspective, an unlikely friendship grows. In a world where grief is the price we pay for love, can two very different people realise that the little things in life are precious, that love is all around us, and that, even after all, they might still be very, very lucky?
£8.54
Amazon Publishing Happyish: A Novel
Book SynopsisIt was supposed to be a good day. On the one-year anniversary of her divorce, Alex Martinez is getting closure—and margaritas with her two best friends. But just before the celebratory meetup, Alex is clobbered by life once again. Damping the cheer is the diagnosis of a brain tumor she can’t pronounce, a procedure she’d rather postpone, and the prospect of what to say to an already heartbroken mother. Not that Alex plans to tell her anything anytime soon. Going from blissful to blindsided in one afternoon, Alex has other plans: to be impulsive and embark on an adventure she’ll never forget. Expected destinations: the Grand Canyon, Puerto Rico, and zip-lining through Costa Rica. Unexpected companion: a hiker named David who’s found a woman after his own heart. But no matter how enriching the journey, how long can Alex keep running? It’s time to accept past griefs, reconnect with her mother, and find her way back to happy. For Alex, whatever the future holds, maybe everything she really needs to face is right where she left it.Trade Review“Cuban American Escudero writes a sometimes gritty, occasionally hilarious, and mostly heart-wrenching story. A relatable, gripping tale, infused with Latinx culture, that packs an emotional wallop.” —Library Journal (starred review)
£8.54
Amazon Publishing Unplanned
Book SynopsisHeartwarming, funny and bold, Natalie K Martin’s Unplanned asks: what if the unplanned moments are what life’s all about? Travelling the world for eleven years, Zoe and Sam have been living the dream—Sam’s dream. But when Zoe discovers she is pregnant, she decides it is time to find a new dream, even if Sam isn’t a part of it. Back in London and sleeping in her childhood bedroom, Zoe’s new life at first seems nothing more than her old single life, but with a bump. But then her best friend, Nina, challenges Zoe to take the next nine months to complete a pre-baby bucket list. Now forced to look at her life through a new lens, Zoe has to decide what she wants, and whether that includes a man or not. But after a decade of being part of a ‘we’, is nine months enough time for Zoe to find out who she is as a ‘me’?
£13.06
Amazon Publishing Better Left Unsaid
Book SynopsisThree siblings. Three promises. Three lifetimes of saying all the wrong things… “A family drama with a huge amount of heart… A powerful, hopeful read.” —Bobby Palmer “A layered and powerful story about family and identity. Tufayel Ahmed is a talented and vital voice.” —Lauren Ho “Entertaining, poignant, and eye-opening.” —Justin Myers (The Guyliner) Since their mother’s death, siblings Imran, Sumaya and Majid have drifted in three very different directions, trying to live up to the last promises they each made to her. But when a viral news piece throws an unwanted spotlight on the family, they’re drawn back into each other’s lives for the first time in years. With the media attention exposing the cracks in Imran’s already fragile marriage, he begs Sumaya to return from New York to help—but living under the same roof again after all this time brings up all the secrets they’d both thought long-buried. And now nothing can stop the truth from coming out… With the promises they once made in tatters, is this a chance for the siblings to finally live the lives they’ve always wanted and rebuild the bond they once had? Or has too much already been said?Trade Review“With its vividly-rendered cast of characters and an intriguing plot that gives up its secrets with great emotional precision, Better Left Unsaid is a layered and powerful story about family and identity. Tufayel Ahmed is a talented and vital voice.” —Lauren Ho, author of Last Tang Standing and Lucie Yi is Not a Romantic “A family drama with a huge amount of heart, I tore through it in about two days. A powerful, hopeful read.” —Bobby Palmer “With insight and sensitivity, Better Left Unsaid explores complicated family dynamics and the eternal push-and-pull conflicts between tradition, repression, grief and the desire for openness, healing and joy. Entertaining, poignant, and eye-opening.” —Justin Myers (The Guyliner)
£8.54
Amazon Publishing A Spanish Sunrise: A Novel
Book SynopsisA widowed father and his young daughter embark on a life-changing journey in a heartening novel of family and second chances by the bestselling author of The Singing Trees. Adjusting to the death of his wife hasn’t been easy on Baxter Shaw—or on their eight-year-old daughter, Mia. Baxter has left his band and abandoned his dreams to focus on being a single father, but it’s not enough: Mia’s exhibiting escalating behavioral problems. And neither has been able to face the past head-on…until the past reaches out to them. After surprising results from a DNA test, Baxter and Mia journey to southeastern Spain to connect with their mysterious roots. Staying in a centuries-old villa on a renowned olive oil estate, they come to know the family they never realized they had, including a woman whose strength and passion for the estate remind Baxter of the love he lost—and that it’s not too late to rekindle his own dreams. For Baxter and Mia, it’s a healing season in Spain, and the romance of the culture awakens a new outlook on life. But when long-simmering family secrets surface and the estate’s fate is called into question, Baxter must choose to let go of the past if he ever hopes to find love and live again.Trade Review“Walker dazzles in this heart-wrenching tale about a grieving father’s restorative trip to Spain with his daughter… Transporting descriptions of Ester’s farm bring the setting to life, the characters all earn the reader’s emotional investment, and the pacing is perfect. Readers will fall in love.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Set against the lush backdrop of a centuries-old villa, A Spanish Sunrise explores a heartbreaking question: How do you rebuild your life after losing a beloved spouse? For Baxter Shaw, the road to healing starts in earnest when his daughter Mia—an eight-year-old unable to process her own grief—begins acting out in troubling ways. With her wellbeing in mind, Baxter sets them on a journey into his late wife’s mysterious past, where an unexpected homecoming awaits. Readers will cheer on these memorable characters and savor every page to the story’s wonderful and uplifting conclusion.” —Christine Nolfi, bestselling author of A Brighter Flame “Boo Walker’s A Spanish Sunrise is a beautifully written tale about overcoming grief, embracing the true meaning of family, and resurrecting lost dreams. Walker takes a deep dive into grief’s many guises, yet manages to deliver a story that is both heartfelt and hopeful. A splendid cast of characters and settings that positively come to life on the page make this one of the most satisfying books I’ve read in a long time. Clear-eyed, thoughtful, and thoroughly charming, A Spanish Sunrise is the perfect escape!” —Barbara Davis, bestselling author of The Keeper of Happy Endings “A delightful novel. Lose yourself in the evocative descriptions of the Spanish countryside as you sink into the lives of this loving but complicated family. This touching story of a man doing his best for his young daughter in heart-breaking circumstances will stay with you long after you turn the final page.” —Imogen Clark, million-copy bestselling author of Impossible to Forget
£8.54
Amazon Publishing Wherever the Wind Takes Us: A Novel
Book SynopsisWhen life stops making sense, it’s time to raise the anchor and follow the tide. Twenty-two years of marriage, and all Becca Larkin’s divorce settlement includes is a live-aboard sailboat and a huge helping of heartache. So when normally cautious Becca proposes a girls’ trip with her daughter, Liv, boating from Maine to a ready buyer for the boat in Miami, it seems like a recipe for a fun summer and a fresh start. After all, how hard can this sailing thing be? Enter Grant Murphy, a stunning Irish sailing coach that Liv can barely stand—and Becca can’t seem to resist. Grant’s too young for Becca, but he’s insightful and kind, and his passion for sailing is contagious. Through his eyes, Becca sees for the first time in years a future she might want to navigate toward. There are seventeen hundred miles between Maine and Miami, but the journey Becca’s on can’t be charted on any map. And the only way to get there is to hoist the sails and throw caution to the wind. From the bestselling author of The Overdue Life of Amy Byler comes a sparkling novel about mothers and daughters, change and escape, and learning to love again.Trade ReviewPraise for Wherever the Wind Takes Us “Fans of Marian Keyes, Nicola Yoon, and Karen Raney will appreciate the evolving mother-daughter relationship, while a surprising source of romance adds intrigue to this journey of self-discovery, self-reliance, and perseverance.” —Booklist Praise for Kelly Harms Seven Day Switch “Harms’s latest captures the messy, complicated, and often all-consuming mindset of motherhood.” —Booklist (starred review) “Written with Harms’s disarming humor and honesty, The Seven Day Switch is fun and funny—and leaves you with a powerful punch.” —Maddie Dawson, bestselling author of Matchmaking for Beginners The Bright Side of Going Dark “A surprisingly easy read containing a little romance, a lot of personal growth, and an honest look at weighty topics.” —Kirkus Reviews The Overdue Life of Amy Byler “A great light read full of tears, laughter, and charming, relatable characters.” —Library Journal (starred review) “No one cuts right to the heart of life—in all its hilarity and heartbreak—quite like Kelly Harms.” —Kristy Woodson Harvey, author of Slightly South of Simple “A laugh-out-loud funny, pitch-perfect novel that will have readers rooting for this unlikely, relatable, and totally lovable heroine, The Overdue Life of Amy Byler is the ultimate escape…” —New York Journal of Books
£8.54
Amazon Publishing The Light in the Hallway
Book SynopsisFrom the bestselling author of The Girl in the Corner comes the moving story of a man whose life is changed in an instant. How do you start again when you lose the only love you’ve ever known? When Nick’s wife Kerry falls ill and dies, he realises for the first time how fragile his happiness has always been, and how much he’s been taking his good life and wonderful family for granted. Now, he suddenly finds himself navigating parenthood alone, unsure how to deal with his own grief, let alone that of his teenage son, Olly. In the depths of his heartbreak, Nick must find a way to navigate life that pleases his son, his in-laws, his family and his friends—while honouring what Kerry meant to them all. But when it comes to his own emotions, Nick doesn’t know where to begin. Kerry was his childhood sweetheart—but was she really the only one who could ever make him happy? And in the aftermath of tragedy, can Nick and his son find themselves again?Trade Review“Amanda Prowse manages to talk about [grief] with heartbreaking accuracy…It seems strange to call a book like this uplifting, but it really is.” —Yahoo! “A moving read.” —Bella “There’s sorrow and joy to be found in this emotional story.” —My Weekly “[An] absorbing and emotionally acute tale of grieving, family, and new beginnings. Heartbreaking and heartwarming in equal measure.” —The Lady magazine “…a moving story.” —Yours Magazine “Prowse writes about these life-changing situations with such finesse.” —Woman Magazine
£8.54
Amazon Publishing Life
Book SynopsisAn essential masterwork from Chinese literary giant Lu Yao—winner of the Mao Dun Literature Prize—available for the first time in English. Lu Yao published only two novels before his untimely death—but their extraordinary influence catapulted the author to the top tier of Chinese contemporary fiction, establishing him as one of the most widely read and respected figures in Chinese literature. In this first-ever translation of Lu Yao’s Life, we meet Gao Jialin, a stubborn, idealistic, and ambitious young man from a small country village whose life is upended when corrupt local politics cost him his beloved job as a schoolteacher, prompting him to reject rural life and try to make it in the big city. Against the vivid, gritty backdrop of 1980s China, Lu Yao traces the proud and passionate Gao Jialin’s difficult path to professional, romantic, and personal fulfillment—or at least hard-won acceptance. With the emotional acuity and narrative mastery that secured his reputation as one of China’s great novelists, Lu Yao paints a vivid, emotional, and unsparing portrait of contemporary Chinese life, seen through the eyes of a working-class man who refuses to be broken.
£8.54
Amazon Publishing The Storyteller's Secret: A Novel
Book SynopsisAn Amazon Charts, USA Today, and Washington Post bestseller. From the bestselling author of Trail of Broken Wings comes an epic story of the unrelenting force of love, the power of healing, and the invincible desire to dream. Nothing prepares Jaya, a New York journalist, for the heartbreak of her third miscarriage and the slow unraveling of her marriage in its wake. Desperate to assuage her deep anguish, she decides to go to India to uncover answers to her family’s past. Intoxicated by the sights, smells, and sounds she experiences, Jaya becomes an eager student of the culture. But it is Ravi—her grandmother’s former servant and trusted confidant—who reveals the resilience, struggles, secret love, and tragic fall of Jaya’s pioneering grandmother during the British occupation. Through her courageous grandmother’s arrestingly romantic and heart-wrenching story, Jaya discovers the legacy bequeathed to her and a strength that, until now, she never knew was possible.
£8.54
Coach House Books Not Anywhere, Just Not
Book SynopsisBoy meets Girl, Boy marries Girl, and years later Boy mysteriously disappears in this Gordon Lish–style novel.The boy and the girl have been married for decades, mostly getting along as they go about their lives. But one day, like thousands of people around the world, the boy vanishes, and the girl is left to wait, wonder, and worry. Will he return? Who might she be if she moves on without him?This is a world where every morning the cat gets fed and the coffee gets made, but also one in which God sometimes lives in the garage – she likes to sleep on the freezer – and gigantic words can fall from the sky. Not Anywhere, Just Not cracks open the small dramas of our lives to show the dread and wonder inside all of us."Ken Sparling is a brilliant writer and this book, like all his books, is a beauty. Sparling chronicles the times I fear most—the moments of loneliness, of loss, of ennui—and somehow makes them seem worthwhile, even wondrous, and often flat-out funny. His work makes life look livable, which makes him a wizard to me." – Derek McCormack, author of Castle Faggot"A gorgeous rendition of the domestic uncanny, Not Anywhere, Just Not is an ostensibly quiet book that slowly and carefully unnerves and unsettles you--both because of its precise swapping out of reality and because of just how familiar it so often seems. All of us, Sparling seems to say, are on the verge of vanishing at any moment." – Brian Evenson, author of Song for the Unraveling of the WorldTrade Review"In Ken Sparling’s sixth novel, people sometimes just disappear. And when they reappear, they can’t quite say where they’ve been. When this happens to one half of a middle-aged couple, the partner who remains frets about his eventual return. Bordering magic realism and absurdity, Not Anywhere, Just Not is sure to be a metaphysical delight." – Andrew Woodrow-Butcher, Quill & Quire '2023 Spring Fiction Preview'"Not Anywhere, Just Not is a rhythmic, brooding novel in which a woman whose life was intertwined with her husband’s searches for an identity after his loss." – Kristen Rabe, Foreword Reviews' Book of the Day"It is a pleasure to read something that has ideas, that poses questions and that desires participation from the reader." – Kris Rothstein, Subterrain
£11.04
Angelico Press The Chain: A Story of Faith Seeking Understanding
Book Synopsis
£24.70
She Writes Press Boop and Eve's Road Trip: A Novel
Book SynopsisEve Prince is done—with college, with her mom, with guys, and with her dream of fashion design. But when her best friend goes MIA, Eve must gather together the broken threads of her life in order to search for her. When Eve’s grandmother, Boop, a retiree dripping with Southern charm, finds out about the trip, she—desperate to see her sister, and also hoping to alleviate Eve’s growing depression—hijacks her granddaughter’s road trip. Boop knows from experience that healing Eve will require more than flirting lessons and a Garlic Festival makeover. Nevertheless, Boop is frustrated when her feeble efforts yield the same failure that her sulfur-laced sip from the Fountain of Youth wrought on her age. She knows that sharing the secret that’s haunted her for sixty years might be the one thing that will lessen Eve’s growing depression—but she also fears that if she reveals it, she’ll lose her family and her own hard-won happiness. Boop and Eve’s journey through the heart of Dixie is an unforgettable love story between a grandmother and her granddaughter.Trade Review2020 American Fiction Awards Winner in Coming of Age 2021 Eric Hoffer Montaigne Medal Finalist 2021 Eric Hoffer Category Finalist Buzzfeed's "12 Most Anticipated Books of Fall" Popsugar's “The 21 Most Exciting New Releases Hitting Bookshelves Throughout October” Parade's “Highly Anticipated Books of Fall” Frolic's “Ten Books Perfect for Your Book Club” “A touching intergenerational romp through the coastal South.” —Kirkus Reviews “Book and Eve's Road Trip will touch your heart. A beautiful and emotional story of sisterhood, family, and friendship. From the first page, Mary Helen Sheriff’s lush and lyrical writing draws you in. Fans of Patti Callahan Henry and Kristy Woodson Harvey will adore this debut.” —Kerry Lonsdale, Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Last Summer “Boop and Eve’s Road Trip is warm, witty, and wise, with characters I loved and characters I loved to hate. Filled with twists and turns and many a bump in the road, this trip is a delight from beginning to end.” —Han Nolan, National Book Award–winning author of Dancing on the Edge “Debut author Mary Helen Sheriff has woven a contemporary, heartwarming saga about women, for women. Peppered with surprises and humor, her story follows three generations of a dysfunctional family through their hurt, anger, and regret and toward reconciliation and hope.” —Pam Webber, best-selling author of The Wiregrass and Moon Water “Boop and Eve’s Road Trip is a delightful, funny, poignant ride filled with laughter, tears, and mystery. It is both a physical and emotional journey that Boop and Eve undertake, and the healing they both experience is something that might just heal a little part of everyone.” —Kathy Hepinstall, author of The Book of Polly “Three generations of women, one agonizing secret. Boop and Eve will steal your heart as they travel together—one seeking her future and the other forced to face her past. Sheriff’s novel will make you laugh and cry, sometimes on the very same page.” —T. Greenwood, award-winning author of Keeping Lucy and Rust & Stardust
£999.99
