Narrative theme: identity / belonging

Book SynopsisA dangerous alliance between a Vampyre bride and an Alpha werewolf becomes a love deep enough to sink your teeth into in this new paranormal romance from the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis. Misery Lark, the only daughter of the most powerful Vampyre councilman of the Southwest, is an outcast - again. Her days of living in anonymity among the Humans are over: she has been called upon to uphold an historic peacekeeping alliance between the Vampyres and their mortal enemies, the Weres, and sees little choice but to surrender herself in the exchange - again . . . Weres are ruthless and unpredictable, and their Alpha, Lowe Moreland, is no exception. He rules his pack with absolute authority, but not without justice. And, unlike the Vampyre Council, not without feeling. It''s clear from the way he tracks Misery''s every movement that he doesn''t trust her. If only he knew how right he was . . . Because Misery has her o

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Book SynopsisGenly Ai is an ethnologist observing the people of the planet Gethen, a world perpetually in winter. The people there are androgynous, normally neuter, but they can become male ot female at the peak of their sexual cycle. They seem to Genly Ai alien, unsophisticated and confusing. But he is drawn into the complex politics of the planet and, during a long, tortuous journey across the ice with a politician who has fallen from favour and has been outcast, he loses his professional detachment and reaches a painful understanding of the true nature of Gethenians and, in a moving and memorable sequence, even finds love...Trade ReviewIt's a giant thought experiment that's also a cracking good read about gender -- Neil GaimanUrsula Le Guin is a chemist of the heart -- David MitchellA rich and complex story of friendship and love * Guardian *Ursula Le Guin was able to reimagine many concepts we take to be natural, shared, and unalterable - gender, utopia, creation, war, family, the city, the country - and reveal the all-too-human constructions at their center ... Literature will miss her. There's no one like her -- Zadie SmithUrsula Le Guin is a chemist of the heart -- David Mitchell

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Book Synopsis''One of my top ten books ever. Maybe top five. If you haven''t read it, you should'' Patrick Rothfuss, New York Times bestselling author of The Name of the Wind''Fresh, original and engrossing'' George R.R. Martin, the phenomenon behind A Game of Thrones They say that the Thorn of Camorr can beat anyone in a fight. They say he steals from the rich and gives to the poor. They say he''s part man, part myth, and mostly street-corner rumor. And they are wrong on every count.Only averagely tall, slender, and god-awful with a sword, Locke Lamora is the fabled Thorn, and the greatest weapons at his disposal are his wit and cunning. He steals from the rich - they''re the only ones worth stealing from - but the poor can go steal for themselves. What Locke cons, wheedles and tricks into his possession is strictly for him and his band of fellow con-artists and thieves: the Gentleman Bastards. Together their domain is Trade ReviewThe Lies of Locke Lamora, exports the suspense and wit of a cleverly constructed crime caper into an exotic realm of fantasy, and the result is engagingly entertaining * The Times *Fresh, original, and engrossing . . . gorgeously realized * George R.R. Martin *The Lies of Locke Lamora is one of my top ten books ever. Maybe my top five. If you haven't read it, you should * Patrick Rothfuss *A great, swashbuckling yarn of a novel * Richard Morgan *Filled with thievery goodness, hilarious turns of phrase and description, and some truly harebrained schemes, The Lies of Locke Lamora belongs on any fantasy fans bookshelf * The Fantasy Book Review *This extremely well-written tale of avarice and brotherhood is a treasure of gold * Novel Notions *A rewarding read, well written, and entertaining * Mark Lawrence *[This book] stole hours of sleep. It wrapped me in cozy myth. It gave me the blessing of feeling like a kid again * Pierce Brown *If you like intelligent funny dialogue, clever protagonists facing equally clever antagonists, and vivid original world building, Scott Lynch is your guy * Rick Riordan *

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Book SynopsisPhilip K. Dick's classic SF novel, which was adapted as the film BLADE RUNNER.Trade ReviewOne of the most original practitioners writing any kind of fiction, Dick made most of the European avant-garde seem like navel-gazers in a cul-de-sac * Sunday Times *My literary hero * Fay Weldon *For everyone lost in the endlessly multiplicating realities of the modern world, remember: Philip K. Dick got there first * Terry Gilliam *A masterclass in sci-fi wonderment * Empire *

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Book SynopsisTravis Baldree is a full-time audiobook narrator who has lent his voice to hundreds of stories. Before that, he spent decades designing and building video games like Torchlight, Rebel Galaxy, and Fate. Apparently, he now also writes books. He lives in the Pacific Northwest with his very patient family and their small, nervous dog. He is the author of Legends & Lattes.Trade ReviewThe most fun I've ever had in a coffee shop -- Ben Aaronovitch, author of the Rivers of London seriesThis is a story about following your dreams, even when they take you away from who you thought you had to be. It's sweet, beautiful and, most of all, kind. I hugely recommend this book -- Seanan McGuire, author of the Wayward Children seriesLegends & Lattes is a big-hearted story about the small things in life. A lovingly written ode to the genre, it is a must-read for every D&D player who has ever wondered what happens after ‘happily ever after -- Cassandra Khaw, author of Nothing But Blackened TeethLegends & Lattes is a uniquely beautiful book, unlike anything I’ve read before. It’s wonderfully wholesome, and its success may (one can hope) herald the rise of a ‘slice-of-life’ sub-genre in modern fantasy -- Nicholas Eames, author of Kings of the WyldTake a break from epic battles and saving the world. Legends & Lattes is a low-stakes fantasy that delivers exactly what's advertised: a wholesome, cozy novel that feels like a warm hug. This is my new comfort read -- Genevieve Gornichec, author of The Weaver and the Witch QueenI absolutely loved this book. It's a heartwarming story of how effort, intention and coffee can work together to change the world for the better. Fills my hunger for happy endings -- Genevieve Cogman, author of the Invisible Library seriesLegends & Lattes is the definition of a cosy fantasy comfort read . . . Lovely -- Olivia Atwater, author of Half a Soul

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Book SynopsisTreat a loved one to this joyful, big-hearted read from Booker Prize-winning novelist Bernardine Evaristo...''[Mr Loverman is] Brokeback Mountain with ackee and saltfish and old people'' Dawn FrenchWINNER OF THE JERWOOD FICTION UNCOVERED PRIZE 2014 and FERRO GRUMLEY AWARD FOR LGBT FICTION 2015Barrington Jedidiah Walker is seventy-four and leads a double life. Born and bred in Antigua, he''s lived in Hackney since the sixties. A flamboyant, wise-cracking local character with a dapper taste in retro suits and a fondness for quoting Shakespeare, Barrington is a husband, father and grandfather - but he is also secretly homosexual, lovers with his great childhood friend, Morris.His deeply religious and disappointed wife, Carmel, thinks he sleeps with other women. When their marriage goes into meltdown, Barrington wants to divorce Carmel and live with Morris, but after a lifetime of fear and deception, will he manaTrade ReviewBernardine Evaristo can take any story from any time and turn it into something vibrating with life -- Ali SmithThis riproaring, full-bodied riff on sex, secrecy and family is Bernardine Evaristo's seventh book. If you don't yet know her work, you should - she says things about modern Britain that no one else does * Guardian *Transforms our often narrow perceptions of gay men in England . . . Comical, agonising and, ultimately, moving * Independent *Evaristo has a lot going on in this unusual urban romance, but beneath her careful study of race and sexuality is a beautiful love story. Not many writers could have two old men having sexual intercourse in a bedsit to a soundtrack of Shabba Ranks's Mr Loverman and save it from bad taste, much less make it sublime. But the hero of this book, and his canny creator, make everything taste just fine * Daily Telegraph *An undeniably bold and energetic writer, whose world view is anything but one-dimensional * Sunday Times *Audacious genre-bending, in-yer-face wit and masterly retellings of underwritten corners of history are the hallmarks of Evaristo's wit * New Statesman *Heartbreaking yet witty, this is a story that needed to be told * Observer *I loved this novel. Barrington is flamboyant, complex and in love with his childhood friend Morris. It really makes you think of all the stories, forbidden and forgotten, from the elders who made England their home -- Luan Goldie * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisThis classic story of Anne of Green Gables follows Anne, a spirited orphan, as she uses her imagination and love of reading to become the heart of her new community.

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Book Synopsis THE INTERNATIONAL PHENOMENON BEHIND THE COSMERE **** Speak again the ancient oaths:Life before death.Strength before weakness.Journey before Destination.Return to men the Shards they once bore.The Knights Radiant must stand again.Roshar is a world of stone and storms. Uncanny tempests of incredible power sweep across the rocky terrain so frequently that they have shaped ecology and civilization alike. Animals hide in shells, trees pull in branches, and grass retracts into the soilless ground. Cities are built only where the topography offers shelter.It has been centuries since the fall of the ten consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor that transform ordinary men into near-invincible warriors. Men trade kingdoms for Shardblades. Wars were fought for them, and won by them.One such war rages on a ruined landscape called the Shattered Plains. There, Kaladin, who traded his medical apprenticeship for a spear to protect his little brother, has been reduced to slavery. In a war that makes no sense, where ten armies fight separately against a single foe, he struggles to save his men and to fathom the leaders who consider them expendable.Brightlord Dalinar Kholin commands one of those other armies. Like his brother, the late king, he is fascinated by an ancient text called The Way of Kings. Troubled by over-powering visions of ancient times and the Knights Radiant, he has begun to doubt his own sanity.Across the ocean, an untried young woman named Shallan seeks to train under an eminent scholar and notorious heretic, Dalinar''s niece, Jasnah. Though she genuinely loves learning, Shallan''s motives are less than pure. As she plans a daring theft, her research for Jasnah hints at secrets of the Knights Radiant and the true cause of the war.****FANTASY COULDN''T BE MORE EPIC:''I loved this book. What else is there to say?''PATRICK ROTHFUSSSanderson is a master... He doesn''t disappoint''LIBRARY JOURNAL''Sanderson is astonishingly wise''ORSON SCOTT CARD''Epic in every sense''GUARDIAN Trade ReviewThe Way of Kings is epic in every sense. Sanderson has built a world that leaps to life, a cast of varied characters and a vast history that slowly unfolds. While Sanderson cuts from the familiar cloth of fantasy, his narrative impetus and meticulous world building bode well for future volumes. * GUARDIAN *No one has more fun writing or is better at describing galactic dogfights.... Read the first one for fun or enjoy the second on its own * BOOKLIST *Sanderson is an evil genius * RT BOOK REVIEWS *It's rare for a fiction writer to have much understanding of how leadership works and how love really takes root in the human heart. Sanderson is astonishingly wise -- Orson Scott CardSanderson has created a fascinating world here, one that deserves a sequel * WASHINGTON POST *I loved this book. What else is there to say? -- Patrick RothfussThe best part...is the compelling, complex story of Dalinar, Kaladin, and Shallan as they struggle though emotional, physical, and moral challenges. Fans and lovers of epic fantasy...will eagerly await the next volume * LIBRARY JOURNAL *The Way of Kings is epic in every sense. Sanderson has built a world that leaps to life, a cast of varied characters and a vast history that slowly unfolds. While Sanderson cuts from the familiar cloth of fantasy, his narrative impetus and meticulous world building bode well for future volumes. -- Eric Brown * THE GUARDIAN *

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Book SynopsisThey say that the Thorn of Camorr can beat anyone in a fight. They say he steals from the rich and gives to the poor. They say he''s part man, part myth, and mostly street-corner rumor. And they are wrong on every count. Only averagely tall, slender, and god-awful with a sword, Locke Lamora is the fabled Thorn, and the greatest weapons at his disposal are his wit and cunning. He steals from the rich - they''re the only ones worth stealing from - but the poor can go steal for themselves. What Locke cons, wheedles and tricks into his possession is strictly for him and his band of fellow con-artists and thieves: the Gentleman Bastards. Together their domain is the city of Camorr. Built of Elderglass by a race no-one remembers, it''s a city of shifting revels, filthy canals, baroque palaces and crowded cemeteries. Home to Dons, merchants, soldiers, beggars, cripples, and feral children. And to Capa Barsavi, the criminal mastermind who runs the city.But there are Trade ReviewThe Lies of Locke Lamora, exports the suspense and wit of a cleverly constructed crime caper into an exotic realm of fantasy, and the result is engagingly entertaining * The Times *Fresh, original, and engrossing . . . gorgeously realized * George R.R. Martin *The Lies of Locke Lamora is one of my top ten books ever. Maybe my top five. If you haven't read it, you should * Patrick Rothfuss *A great, swashbuckling yarn of a novel * Richard Morgan *Filled with thievery goodness, hilarious turns of phrase and description, and some truly harebrained schemes, The Lies of Locke Lamora belongs on any fantasy fans bookshelf * The Fantasy Book Review *This extremely well-written tale of avarice and brotherhood is a treasure of gold * Novel Notions *A rewarding read, well written, and entertaining * Mark Lawrence *[This book] stole hours of sleep. It wrapped me in cozy myth. It gave me the blessing of feeling like a kid again * Pierce Brown *If you like intelligent funny dialogue, clever protagonists facing equally clever antagonists, and vivid original world building, Scott Lynch is your guy * Rick Riordan *

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Book SynopsisRECIPIENT OF THE WOMEN'S PRIZE OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION AWARD Treat yourself to this joyful, big-hearted read from Booker Prize-winning novelist Bernardine Evaristo, part of our Penguin Essentials series which spotlights the very best of our modern classics ''Bernardine Evaristo can take any story from any time and turn it into something vibrating with life'' Ali SmithBarrington Jedidiah Walker is seventy-four and leads a double life. Born and bred in Antigua, he''s lived in Hackney since the sixties. A flamboyant, wise-cracking local character with a dapper taste in retro suits and a fondness for quoting Shakespeare, Barrington is a husband, father and grandfather - but he is also secretly homosexual, lovers with his great childhood friend, Morris.His deeply religious and disappointed wife, Carmel, thinks he sleeps with other women. When their marriage goes into meltdown, Barrington wants to divorce Carmel and live with Morris, but after a lifetime of fear and deception, will he manage to break away?Mr Loverman is a ground-breaking exploration of Britain''s older Caribbean community, which explodes cultural myths and fallacies and shows the extent of what can happen when people fear the consequences of being true to themselves.''Sublime'' Telegraph''Rip-roaring . . . she says things about modern Britain that no one else does'' Guardian''Brilliant'' IndependentTrade ReviewBernardine Evaristo can take any story from any time and turn it into something vibrating with life -- Ali SmithThis riproaring, full-bodied riff on sex, secrecy and family is Bernardine Evaristo's seventh book. If you don't yet know her work, you should - she says things about modern Britain that no one else does * Guardian *Transforms our often narrow perceptions of gay men in England . . . Comical, agonising and, ultimately, moving * Independent *Evaristo has a lot going on in this unusual urban romance, but beneath her careful study of race and sexuality is a beautiful love story. Not many writers could have two old men having sexual intercourse in a bedsit to a soundtrack of Shabba Ranks's Mr Loverman and save it from bad taste, much less make it sublime. But the hero of this book, and his canny creator, make everything taste just fine * Daily Telegraph *An undeniably bold and energetic writer, whose world view is anything but one-dimensional * Sunday Times *Audacious genre-bending, in-yer-face wit and masterly retellings of underwritten corners of history are the hallmarks of Evaristo's wit * New Statesman *Heartbreaking yet witty, this is a story that needed to be told * Observer *I loved this novel. Barrington is flamboyant, complex and in love with his childhood friend Morris. It really makes you think of all the stories, forbidden and forgotten, from the elders who made England their home -- Luan Goldie * Guardian *

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Book Synopsis THE BRAND NEW DISNEY+ SERIES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Read the gripping word-of-mouth sensation that''s now a major new series by Oprah Winfrey on Disney+*** SERIES STARS MIA ISAAC, ADRIENNE WARREN, CHIPO CHUNG AND ASHLEY THOMAS ***Everyone wants to discover what they''re made of . . .**Featured on Barack Obama''s Summer Reading List****A Grazia Instagram ''IT'' book to watch out for**''A story as meaningful as it is delicious'' TAYLOR JENKINS REID''A roiling soup of family secrets, big lies [and] great loves'' NEW YORK TIMES''Special, beautifully written. Rich and intoxicating'' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING''Brilliant writing. A stunning book'' PRIMA''EPIC'' GUARDIAN________Eleanor Bennett won''t let her secrets die with her.When Eleanor''s estrangedTrade ReviewUnputdownable. Astonishing. Twists and turns so shocking they will leave your head spinning and your heart aching * Grazia *An extremely assured debut which pulls in threads and echoes from across the Caribbean diaspora to deliver a rich, complex and really satisfying novel -- Alison Finch, BBC Radio 4A delicious novel. The chapters come fast and furious . . . A satisfying literary meal, heralding the arrival of a new novelist to watch * Independent *Black Cake is a beautiful, deeply resonant story of children trying to understand the mother they have lost. Charmaine Wilkerson transports you across the decades and the globe accompanied by complex, wonderfully drawn characters. She has managed to tell a story that is as meaningful as it is delicious. At turns delightfully juicy and then stunningly wise, Black Cake is a winner -- Taylor Jenkins Reid, Sunday Times bestselling author of Daisy Jones and The SixBlack Cake explores the ways we use meals not just to nourish ourselves but to help tell unspeakable stories. Family, food, festering resentment - you'll find plenty to chew on . . . Wilkerson approaches her plot like a mad chef, grabbing ingredients from all over the world, slicing and dicing with abandon, tossing characters and palm fronds and a few drops of rum into a pot and letting it all come to a simmer . . . A roiling soup of family secrets, big lies, great loves, bright colours and strong smells * New York Times *I was instantly taken in by this multi-generational tale of identity, family, and the lifelong push and pull of home. This novel has a tremendous heart at its centre, and I felt its beat on every page. What an extraordinary debut -- Mary Beth Keane, bestselling author of Ask Again, YesA special, beautifully written novel that's as rich and intoxicating as the Jamaican rum cake of its title * Good Housekeeping *So beautifully written I'm struggling to believe it's a debut. The cake is the glue that holds all the layers together and the scenes are so well drawn I could almost taste the cake, feel the warm sea on my skin. My heart broke and was put back together. Bravo -- Nikki May, author of WahalaI [. . .] was immediately drawn in -- Bonnie Garmus, bestselling author of Lessons in Chemistry * i *An intricately woven tale that deliciously captures the experience migration, family, love and loss with such empathy and pathos - a book that is both universal and unique. -- Afua HirschI loved the brilliant writing, the characters and the clever and beautiful way the story melded together. A stunning book * Prima, 'BOOK OF THE MONTH' *Wilkerson explores the nuances of racial identity and betrayal in a powerful novel * Vogue *BLACK CAKE has all the ingredients of the tastiest stories: secrets, romance, danger, and a cast of characters so real you want to scream at them one moment and hug them the next. I felt nearly breathless while reading Eleanor's truth - as if I were right there in the room with Byron and Benny, wholly immersed in their mother's tragedies and triumphs -- Dawnie Walton, author of The Final Revival of Opal and NevA stunning page-turner, with characters that felt real and relatable. I can't recommend this book highly enough. An incredible debut -- Louise Hare, author of This Lovely CityBlack Cake took a hold of me from the first page and didn't let go ... A gripping, poignant debut from an important new voice -- Naima Coster, New York Times bestselling author of What’s Mine and YoursA sparkling debut, which examines migration, estrangement and the stories we tell about ourselves * METRO *Included in 'The books we're looking forward to in 2022' * Good Housekeeping *This powerful debut about family and identity, set against a backdrop of Caribbean culture, history and traditions, already has the stamp of approval from Oprah * Heat *A powerful, beautiful debut * Woman's Own *A multi-generational debut generating hype * Grazia *You can't help but fall in love with this book * Stylist *Utterly engrossing and full of twists, Black Cake is absolutely worth the calories * Red *A testimony to how migration, memories and the life decisions of our elders can trickle down the generations and shape us. The careful cultural references to the Caribbean diaspora are deliciously nostalgic - I couldn't get enough! * Good Housekeeping, Books of the Year *A shining family saga . . . Readers will adore this highly accomplished effort from a talented new writer * Publishers Weekly, Starred Review *A heartfelt story of loss, lies and reconciliation * Daily Mail *Black Cake is such an engaging novel. The structure works brilliantly with its dual narrative and short, sharp chapters. As I read, I felt like I could taste the sweet and spice of the black cake that links generations of the same family. Wilkerson's Black Cake is filled with secrets, family ties and hidden desires. It is an extremely satisfying read that stays with you long after the final page. As moreish as its title. If you want to be transported, read this book -- Jodie Chapman, author of Another LifeA family drama meets murdery mystery * Sunday Times *The perfect recipe for an epic family drama . . . Feuds, grief, and a murder make Charmaine Wilkerson's Black Cake unputdownable * Grazia Book Club Online *One of the most feverishly anticipated debuts of the year * Daily Mail *A delicious and gripping tale that sweeps the reader across decades and continents * Guardian *I really savoured this rich, layered family saga ... Charmaine's writing is subtle and lyrical, pulling you into a powerful story of secrets, roots and identity. The flavour of it will linger long after you've finished -- Beth Morrey, bestselling author of Saving MissyAn extraordinary debut * Hello! *A sweeping story, with Wilkerson masterfully bringing together all the different threads, making social history the backbone of everything * Independent *Completely blew me away ... I loved the brilliant writing, the characters and the clever and beautiful way the story melded together ... this is a stunning book * Red, Book of the Month *Delving into ideas around identity, familial bonds and lifelong secrets, Black Cake looks to be a wildly moreish page-turner * Refinery29 *Touching on racism and acceptance, betrayal and loyalty, this emotional, heartfelt debut explores the meaning of home and the family that define it * Daily Express *A delight to read, each page of Black Cake is more interesting than the last. Wilkerson weaves social history into the backbone of the story, in a way that's nothing short of masterful * Courier *This emotional, heartfelt debut explores the meaning of home and the family that define it * Sunday Express *A skilful debut about family secrets - and food * i news *A wonderful immersive experience * Daily Mail *A beautiful read - a real pageturner * Women's Hour, BBC Radio 4 *A delight to read, each page of Black Cake is more interesting than the last. Wilkerson weaves social history into the backbone of the story, in a way that's nothing short of masterful. * Herald *A resonant story of identity, family and the meaning of home * Mail on Sunday *A delight to read, each page of Black Cake is more interesting than the last. Wilkerson masterfully weaves social history into the backbone of the story * Press Association *Prepare to be hooked * The Handbook *Impressive * Evening Standard *A rich story around immigration and identity ... the novel beautifully captures the struggles of family and identity and the liberation that comes from those struggles * Irish TImes *Engrossing . . . Wilkerson's brilliant descriptions are positively sumptuous for the mind's eye * Heromag *An incredible family saga spanning 60 years, jumping across continents and time, forming a multi-layered book about secrets and inheritance * Guardian.com *A delicious and gripping tale that sweeps the reader across decades and continents, turning everything the siblings think they know about themselves and their family on its head' -- Jyoti Patel, Guardian

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Book SynopsisOrlando, a young nobleman and one of Queen Elizabeth I’s court favourites, is the object of many ladies’ attentions, but after suffering heartbreak he prefers literary pursuits to entertaining any thoughts of marriage. Having obtained an ambassadorial post in Constantinople, Orlando falls into a long sleep and wakes up suddenly transformed into a woman. Also blessed with the gift of never ageing, she embarks on adventurous travels throughout Europe and the following centuries, observing what it is like to be female. A “fantastical biography” inspired by the life of the flamboyant writer Vita Sackville-West, Orlando is an amusing and eccentric jeu d’esprit, as well as a groundbreaking exploration of gender issues.Trade ReviewShe was doing with language something like what Jimi Hendrix does with a guitar. -- Michael Cunningham

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Book Synopsis***The instant Sunday Times bestseller***'Love, mess, secrets; this story of four generations of women is shot through with Ruth Jones's warmth and wisdom.' JOJO MOYES'A hug in a book' Prima'Her best book yet' Woman & Home'Compassionate, wise and life-affirming' The ObserverThe funny, moving and uplifting new novel from Ruth Jones, co-creator of Gavin & Stacey and author of the Sunday Times bestsellers Never Greener and Us Three.Grace is about to turn ninety and she doesn't want parties or presents or fuss. She just wants a quiet celebration: her daily swim in the sea and a cup of tea with granddaughter Elin and great-granddaughter Beca. More than anything, she wants to heal the family rift that's been breaking her heart for decades.And to do that she must find her daughter, Alys - the only person who can help to put things right.But thirty years is a long time.And many words have been left unsaid.So is it too late now to heal the pain of the past?This is a story about mothers and daughters: the love inherent in that bond and the heartache that miscommunication can bring. More than anything, it's about the importance of being true to oneself. Meet Grace, Alys, Elin and Beca - a family you'll come to know, and to love.PRAISE FOR RUTH JONES'Heartfelt, joyful, brave, utterly compelling' RACHEL JOYCE'I adored it' JOANNA CANNON'Joyful, life-affirming' ADELE PARKS'Beautifully warm and totally absorbing. I cried and I laughed. I adored it' JANE FALLONWHAT READERS ARE SAYING*'Good grief. This is truly a novel that pulled on every last emotion.'*'Warm-hearted, beautiful and heartbreaking.'*'Ruth's best book yet... entertaining and incredibly moving.'*'A gorgeous, emotional read that I was completely immersed in.'*'I'm absolutely gutted it's over... loved every single page.'** Sunday Times bestseller July 2023 **Trade ReviewLove, mess, secrets; this story of four generations of women is shot through with Ruth Jones's warmth and wisdom. A big warm blanket of a book. I loved it * Jojo Moyes *Rich in warm, engaging characters and a judicious mix of humour and pathos... it's a compassionate, wise and life-affirming book * The Observer *Full of such warmth and kindness, and the writing is utterly beautiful. I adored it * Joanna Cannon *A 'hug in a book', with characters that felt so real it was like I knew them * Prima *Heartfelt, joyful, brave, utterly compelling, it is a giant tribute to the love between women. You leave this book feeling you have made new friends * Rachel Joyce *

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Book Synopsis''A compelling, powerful portrait of a terrible endurance. Terrific'' The TimesFour months after Pearl Harbor, signs begin appearing up and down the West Coast instructing all persons of Japanese ancestry to report to ''assembly centers''. For one family - reclassified, virtually overnight, as unwelcome enemies - it is the beginning of a nightmare of oppression and alienation that will alter their lives forever.There is the mother, reeling from the order to ''evacuate'', and the daughter, travelling on the long train journey away from freedom. There is the son, who struggles to adapt to their new life in the dust of the Utah desert, and the father, who, after four bitter years in captivity, returns to his family a stranger.Based on a true story, Julie Otsuka''s powerful, deeply humane first novel tells of a forgotten generation who found themselves imprisoned in their own country, and evokes an unjustly overlooked episode in America''s wartime hTrade ReviewA remarkable, beautifully written story of panic, prejudice and shame ... outstandingly accomplished and moving * Sunday Telegraph *An intense jewel of a book written with clarity and beauty * Marie Claire *Vindicates the suffering of the Japanese in America . . . a blistering first novel * The Times Literary Supplement *A compelling, powerful portrait of a terrible endurance. Terrific * The Times *Exceptional * New Yorker *

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Book SynopsisTHE SPECIAL 20th ANNIVERSARY EDITION OF THE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER ‘Devastating’ Daily Telegraph ‘Heartbreaking’ The Times ‘Unforgettable’ Isabel Allende ‘Haunting’ Independent Afghanistan, 1975: Twelve-year-old Amir is desperate to win the local kite-fighting tournament and his loyal friend Hassan promises to help him. But neither of the boys can foresee what will happen to Hassan that afternoon, an event that is to shatter their lives. After the Russians invade and the family is forced to flee to America, Amir realises that one day he must return to Afghanistan under Taliban rule to find the one thing that his new world cannot grant him: redemption.

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Book SynopsisThe American psyche is channelled into the gripping story of one man. This is the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Philip Roth at his very best. It is 1998, the year America is plunged into a frenzy of prurience by the impeachment of a president. In a small New England town a distinguished professor, Coleman Silk, is forced to retire when his colleagues allege that he is a racist. The charge is unfounded, the persecution needless, but the truth about Silk would astonish even his most virulent accuser. Coleman Silk has a secret that he has kept for fifty years. This is the conclusion to Roth’s brilliant trilogy of post-war America – a story of seismic shifts in American history and a personal search for renewal and regeneration.'An extraordinary book - bursting with rage, humming with ideas, full of dazzling sleights of hand' Sunday TelegraphTrade ReviewThe Human Stain pulses with the strengths that make Roth a prime contender for the status of the most impressive novelist now writing in and about America * Sunday Times *One of his very best... There are passages of such sustained brilliance here that I found myself going over them again and again in gaping disbelief. An extraordinary book - bursting with rage, humming with ideas, full of dazzling sleights of hand * Sunday Telegraph *A novel so furious in its telling, with a plot so intricate in its construction that it is infused with a kind of diabolic joy. A masterpiece * Mail on Sunday *[A] tender, shocking and incendiary story on the failure of the American dream refracted through the prism of race -- Arifa Akbar * Guardian *One of the most beautiful books I've ever read * Red *

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Book SynopsisBy the winner of the 2021 Nobel Prize in LiteratureLONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE''One scarcely dares breathe while reading it for fear of breaking the enchantment'' The TimesGurnah is a master storyteller'' Financial TimesOn a late November afternoon Saleh Omar arrives at Gatwick Airport from Zanzibar, a far away island in the Indian Ocean. With him he has a small bag in which lies his most precious possession - a mahogany box containing incense. He used to own a furniture shop, have a house and be a husband and father. Now he is an asylum seeker from paradise; silence his only protection. Meanwhile Latif Mahmud, someone intimately connected with Saleh''s past, lives quietly alone in his London flat. When Saleh and Latif meet in an English seaside town, a story is unravelled. It is a story of love and betrayal, seduction and possession, and of a people desperately trying to find stability amidst the maelstrom of their times.Trade ReviewRarely in a lifetime can you open a book and find that reading it encapsulates the enchanting qualities of a love affair ... one scarcely dares breathe while reading it for fear of breaking the enchantment * The Times *

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Book Synopsis**The bold, brilliant and buzzy new novel from Dawn O''Porter HONEYBEE is available to buy now***THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER and Richard & Judy book club pick*______________________________________________________________WHAT IF THE LIFE YOU'RE LIVING ISN'T THE ONE YOU WANT?Mia has made all the right choices. She's married, she has the nice house, the good career. But life isn't about fitting into a box. And there's another woman inside her who's just clawing to get out PRAISE FOR CAT LADY:Even speaking as a dog man, I thought Cat Lady was an absolute joy to read' Matt HaigMy book of the year' Reader review ?????A reminder to live your life your way. Cat or no cat' Fearne CottonReally gets the reader to think about what matters in life Unputdownable and completely wonderful!' Reader review ?????Witty, thought-provoking and hilarious, Cat Lady is a triumph' The Unmumsy MumDawn O'Porter challenges the stereotypes of the typical cat lady' with this beautiful and emotional read' Reader review?????An ode to finding your people and a celebration of the small things that bring us together' Emma GannonI absolutely adored this book!' Reader review?????Funny, heart-wrenching and full of warmth' Sarah MorganA beautifully written book that I''d recommend to anyone' Reader review?????A lovely onion of a book, layered with humour and emotion' Daisy HaggardA joyous, touching, funny, sharp story I cannot praise it enough. Purr-fection' Milly JohnsonDawn O'Porter''s book ''Cat Lady'' was a Sunday Times bestseller w/c 24-10-2022.Trade Review‘A reminder to live your life your way. Cat or no cat’ FEARNE COTTON ‘I love the way Dawn writes. Even speaking as a dog man, I thought Cat Lady was an absolute joy to read. It is warm, funny and challenges a few stereotypes along the way. I also now want a cat’ MATT HAIG ‘A perfect mix of moving, funny and a little bit bonkers, in Dawn's signature style. A love letter to pets everywhere, an ode to finding your people and a celebration of the small things that bring us together’ EMMA GANNON ‘I cried with laughter as much as sorrow . . . this engrossing and entertaining novel is the cat's whiskers’ SUNDAY EXPRESS ‘I can’t remember the last time a book made me laugh so hard. Witty, thought-provoking and hilarious, Cat Lady is a triumph’ THE UNMUMSY MUM ‘Beautifully written, heart-breaking and hilarious, often counter-intuitive and always thought-provoking’ DAILY MAIL ‘Funny, heart-wrenching and full of warmth. I adored this book’ SARAH MORGAN ‘A witty, tender novel’ I PAPER ‘Quirky, funny and unexpected’ ADELE PARKS ‘At last a kickass novel for us cat ladies. We are legion – and this book is FABULOUS. Purr-fection. I adored it’ MILLY JOHNSON ‘Cat lovers will rejoice in this tale of a woman who simply cannot, and maybe doesn’t want to, be tamed’ HEAT

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Book SynopsisThe phenomenal number one bestseller and a major BBC TV series.A Richard and Judy Book Club Pick. Winner of the Specsavers National Book Award and Waterstones Book of the Year.Beautiful, intoxicating and filled with heart-pounding suspense, Jessie Burton's historical novel set in Amsterdam, The Miniaturist, is a story of love and obsession, betrayal and retribution.On an autumn day in 1686, eighteen-year-old Nella Oortman knocks at the door of a grand house in the wealthiest quarter of Amsterdam. She has come from the country to begin a new life as the wife of illustrious merchant trader Johannes Brandt, but instead she is met by his sharp-tongued sister, Marin. Only later does Johannes appear and present her with an extraordinary wedding gift: a cabinet-sized replica of their home. It is to be furnished by an elusive miniaturist, whose tiny creations mirror their real-life counterparts in unexpected ways . . .NeTrade ReviewThe kind of book that reminds you why you fell in love with reading -- S. J. Watson, author of Before I Go to SleepA fabulously gripping read that will appeal to fans of Girl With a Pearl Earring and The Goldfinch, but Burton is a genuinely new voice with her visceral take on sex, race and class . . . Burton writes great complex female characters * Observer *A terrific novel: compelling cast, gripping plot, writing to savour -- Nathan Filer, author of The Shock of the FallA remarkable debut - complex, involving and deeply atmospheric -- Deborah Moggach, author of Tulip FeverThe Miniaturist by Jessie Burton is set in 17th century Amsterdam where a trader presents his new wife Nella with a miniature replica of their home. Its tiny occupants mirror their real-life counterparts and show Nella what grave dangers lie in wait. -- Hot Books of 2014 * Daily Express *Utterly beguiling and impeccably written. I am missing the characters already -- Emylia Hall, author of The Book of SummersA delight on every page, The Miniaturist completely immerses the reader in sumptuous but strict seventeenth-century Amsterdam. Burton's novel is lovingly done, and exquisite to read -- Naomi Wood, author of Mrs. HemingwayUtterly transporting . . . My first instinct on finishing this book was to immediately read it again -- Hannah Kent, author of Burial Rites

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Book SynopsisPowerful and visionary, Keri Hulme has written the great New Zealand novel of our times.Trade Review'In this novel, New Zealand's people, its heritage and landscape are conjured up with uncanny poetry and perceptiveness' Sunday Times

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Book SynopsisIt is 1998, the year America is plunged into a frenzy of prurience by the impeachment of a president, and in a small New England town a distinguished classics professor, Coleman Silk, is forced to retire when his colleagues allege that he is a racist. The charge is unfounded, but the truth about Silk would astonish even his most virulent accuser.Trade ReviewThe Human Stain pulses with the strengths that make Roth a prime contender for the status of the most impressive novelist now writing in and about America * Sunday Times *An extraordinary book - bursting with rage, humming with ideas, full of dazzling sleights of hand' * Sunday Telegraph *One of his very best... There are passages of such sustained brilliance here that I found myself going over them again and again in gaping disbelief. An extraordinary book - bursting with rage, humming with ideas, full of dazzling sleights of hand * Sunday Telegraph *A novel so furious in its telling, with a plot so intricate in its construction that it is infused with a kind of diabolic joy. A masterpiece * Mail on Sunday *[A] tender, shocking and incendiary story on the failure of the American dream refracted through the prism of race -- Arifa Akbar * Guardian *

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Book Synopsis''Original, tender, thoughtful and true'' Reese Witherspoon''Part tender coming of age story, part electrifying tale of political awakening, part heartfelt love letter to Deaf culture, True Biz is a wholly a wonder'' Celeste NgNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - REESE''S BOOK CLUB PICK - A ''tender, beautiful and radiantly outraged'' (The New York Times Book Review) novel that follows a year of seismic romantic, political, and familial shifts for a teacher and her students at a boarding school for the deaf, from the acclaimed author of Girl at War.True biz (adj./exclamation; American Sign Language): really, seriously, definitely, real-talkTrue biz? The students at the River Valley School for the Deaf just want to hook up, pass their history finals, and have politicians, doctors, and their parents stop telling them what to do with their bodies. This revelatory novel plunges readers into the halls of a residential school for the deaf, where they''ll meet Charlie, a rebellious transfer student who''s never met another deaf person before; Austin, the school''s golden boy, whose world is rocked when his baby sister is born hearing; and February, the headmistress, who is fighting to keep her school open and her marriage intact, but might not be able to do both. As a series of crises both personal and political threaten to unravel each of them, Charlie, Austin, and February find their lives inextricable from one another - and changed forever.This is a story of sign language and lip-reading, disability and civil rights, isolation and injustice, first love and loss, and, above all, great persistence, daring, and joy. Absorbing and assured, idiosyncratic and relatable, this is an unforgettable journey into the Deaf community and a universal celebration of human connection.Trade ReviewGoodness, I can't even begin to put into words all the feelings this book provoked!...An eye-opening and heartfelt story about human connection and the beauty and adversity woven into the deaf community and culture. It is both an educational and electrifying peek into a family's life as they fight to forge connections even as the outside world threatens to close the door on them. I loved this story so much, it is not one to miss * Reese Witherspoon (Reese’s Book Club April ’22 Pick) *Tender, beautiful and radiantly outraged...True Biz is moving, fast-paced and spirited... Novic, who is deaf and spent time at deaf schools researching the novel, makes an urgent and heartfelt case for the schools' importance in providing language access, and in nurturing community and a sense of self. Great stories create empathy and awareness more effectively than facts do, and this important novel should - true biz - change minds and transform the conversation. * Maile Meloy, New York Times Book Review *For those who loved the Oscar-winning film CODA, a boarding school for deaf students is the setting for a kaleidoscope of experience * Washington Post *Part tender coming of age story, part electrifying tale of political awakening, part heartfelt love letter to Deaf culture, True Biz is a wholly a wonder. Sara Novic examines the ways language can include, exclude, or help forge an identity - as well as what it means to carve out a place for yourself in a world that sees you as other * Celeste Ng *I fell in love with Sara Novic's True Biz from the first page: delicate, nuanced, playful, and at the same time sweeping in its ideas and reach, this book is a literary novel that is a page turner with a vision which will speak to many a reader in our times and beyond. Sara Novic is one of the best writers of my generation - not just *the* novelist of Deaf culture, but of human nature writ large. Do yourself a favor and get this book- it is inimitable * Ilya Kaminsky, author of Deaf Republic and Dancing in Odessa *I loved True Biz, it's warm, complex and compelling. Of course I love the way it provides a window into a culture that will be unfamiliar to many of us, but what really marks it out is its humanity and intelligence - the threads of coming-of-age, birth, death, and all the rites of passage are interwoven brilliantly, surrounding a core of passion for justice and equality.' * Bridget Collins *This is my favorite kind of novel, fascinating and smart and brimming with contrasts. It's a coming-of-age story but also one of anarchy and protest. It's about the ways communities are bound but also the ways they bind. It's about belonging versus conforming, individual strength alongside solidarity. I laughed. I learned. I entered a world I knew too little about, at once different from mine and of course the same. I will be recommending this book to absolutely everyone * Laurie Frankel, New York Times bestselling author of This Is How It Always Is and One Two Three *Reading True Biz was a transformative experience - it's as important a book as I've read in years. I was in awe of the care and love and hard-won wisdom that went into the writing of it. Sara Novic is the real deal * Jami Attenberg, author of All This Could Be Yours *True Biz is exquisitely crafted and absolutely riveting * Vendela Vida, author of We Run the Tides *Sara Novic's gifts for character, story, and language are evident from the first page. True Biz feels like the discovery of a new written form, a love letter to language itself * Liz Moore, New York Times bestselling author of Long Bright River *Rollicking, immersive, and boldly, exquisitely felt, True Biz delves into the deepest questions about community, communication, and collective action, inviting the reader into a world of language made new * Alexandra Kleeman, author of Something New Under the Sun *An electrifying narrativeset at a present-day boarding school for Deaf high school students, where they find love and friendship and battle a series of injustices...With complex characters seething with rage against the injustices they face, and an immersive and novel treatment of Charlie's experience learning ASL, Novic offers an unforgettable homage to resilience. This is brilliant * Publishers Weekly starred review *

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Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN’S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2023SHORTLISTED FOR THE WATERSTONES DEBUT FICTION PRIZE 2023AN OBSERVER BEST DEBUT NOVEL OF THE YEARIt’s time to dance, to love, to be free…‘Mesmerising’ BERNARDINE EVARISTO, author of Girl, Woman, Other‘Fabulous’ MAGGIE O'FARRELL, author of Hamnet‘Beautiful’ CALEB AZUMAH NELSON, author of Open WaterYamaye lives for the weekend, when she can go raving with her friends at The Crypt, an underground club on the outskirts of London. Then everything changes. Yamaye meets Moose, who she falls deeply in love with, and who offers her the chance of freedom and escape.After their relationship is brutally cut short, Yamaye goes on a dramatic journey of transformation that leads her to Jamaica, where past and present collide with explosive consequences.***A SUNDAY TIMES BEST NOVEL AND GUARDIAN BEST FICTION BOOK OF 2023***‘A wonderfully literary, musical and original novel about a culture and era that rarely makes the pages of fiction’ TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT‘Scorching… We follow Yamaye through love, loss and peril, as she chases her dreams and connects with her heritage’ GUARDIAN‘Ambitious, atmospheric… A novel of passion and anger’ SUNDAY TIMES‘A rich and rhythmic story about love and music’ ITrade ReviewRemarkable... In terms of sheer lyrical force it stands head and shoulders above most debuts * Daily Telegraph *I was blown away by Fire Rush - an exceptional and stunningly original novel by a major new writer... Her mesmerising, imaginative and incantatory writing leaves us swaying to the bass of the visceral rhythms she so powerfully describes. By the end of the novel, I felt charged and changed and already longed to reread it -- Bernardine Evaristo, Booker Prize-winning author of GIRL, WOMAN, OTHERFew have channelled so well the skittering beats and transcendent air of dub music as Crooks does in her semi-autobiographical debut... Startlingly vivid reading * Daily Telegraph, *Summer Reads of 2023* *A heady swirl of a novel that pulls the reader in from the first page... A fabulous, absorbing read -- Maggie O'Farrell, author of THE MARRIAGE PORTRAITA window into the dub scene at the time, with rhythmic, lyrical writing and a story about raving, love and the impact of police violence... Both a page turner and a literary novel... Truly remarkable * Vogue *

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Book SynopsisSo much fun!' Lilly WachowskiHorrifying and delightful' Kristen ArnettRenee has made it: she's in the final four. But is she dying to win?Renee should be thrilled to have been chosen as one of the final four contestants in The Catch, the world's biggest reality show. But now she, the other contestants, and Jeremy the Catch' have arrived on the remote, wooded island for the final show, Renee begins to wonder if there's something wrong. Is she taking a bigger risk than she realised?And as she and the other contestants begin their final challenges, they slowly start to realise that the island they've been taken to is hiding a terrifying secret one that could make the final Elimination Event all too real.''Not one to miss . . . a funny, eccentric page-turner that you will absolutely love.'' Daily Mail''A really fun read that's ultimately about finding a place in the world where

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Book Synopsis''Rose Tremain does not disappoint. As always her writing has a delicious, crunchy precision.'' ObserverA wise and witty look at the contemporary migrant experience.Lev is on his way from Eastern Europe to Britain, seeking work. Behind him loom the figures of his dead wife, his beloved young daughter and his outrageous friend Rudi who - dreaming of the wealthy West - lives largely for his battered Chevrolet. Ahead of Lev lies the deep strangeness of the British: their hostile streets, their clannish pubs, their obsession with celebrity. London holds out the alluring possibility of friendship, sex, money and a new career and, if Lev is lucky, a new sense of belonging...''A novel of urgent humanity'' Sunday TelegraphTrade ReviewA novel of urgent humanity * Sunday Telegraph *Rose Tremain does not disappoint. The Road Home is thematically rich, dealing with loss and separation, mourning and melancholia... As always her writing has a delicious, crunchy precision * Observer *Filled with emotional richness, complex sensibility and a passionate insistence on the humanity of the poor * Sunday Times *A classic work by the gifted Tremain * Guardian *'Tremain is a magnificent story-teller' * Independent on sunday *

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Book Synopsis'Toni Morrison was the lodestar who inspired us' Bernadine EvaristoTwyla and Roberta have known each other since they were eight years old, when they were thrown together as roommates in a girls' shelter. Inseparable then, they lose touch as they grow older, only to meet again later at a diner, a grocery store and then at a protest. The two women are seemingly at opposite ends of every problem but, despite their conflict, the deep bond their shared experience has forged between them is undeniable. Recitatif keeps Twyla's and Roberta's races ambiguous throughout the story. We know that one is white and one is black, but which is which? And who is right about the race of the woman the girls tormented at the orphanage? This story is a masterful exploration of what keeps us together and what keeps us apart, of race and the relationships that shape our lives. Now with a new introduction by Zadie Smith, it is as radically compelling and relevant today as it was when first written nearly forty years ago.'Toni Morrison is the greatest chronicler of the American experience that we have ever known' Tayari Jones'Her work is an act of giving her community back to itself, so that people - African-Americans but the diaspora as well - can see and witness themselves' Diana EvansTrade ReviewThis smart slippery tale... [is] highly relevant to our times... [Recitatif] serves as a challenge to contemporary novels that prefer to take refuge in racial orthodoxy than unsettle it, as Morrison so brilliantly does here -- Claire Allfree * Daily Mail *A compelling exploration of race and relationships * i *So thought-provoking you'll want everyone you know to read it * Daily Mail, *Summer Reads of 2022* *Genius -- Bernice McFadden, author of SUGAR * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisReturn to the sensational standout TikTok series, The Royals, in this third instalment, Twisted Palace. From mortal enemies to unexpected allies, two teenagers try to protect everything that matters most.Ella Harper has met every challenge that life has thrown her way. She''s tough, resilient, and willing to do whatever it takes to defend the people she loves, but the challenge of a long-lost father and a boyfriend whose life is on the line might be too much for even Ella to overcome.Reed Royal has a quick temper and even faster fists. But his tendency to meet every obstacle with violence has finally caught up with him. If he wants to save himself and the girl he loves, he''ll need to rise above his tortured past and tarnished reputation.No one believes Ella can survive the Royals. Everyone is sure Reed will destroy them all.They may be right.With everything and everyone conspiring to keep them apart, Ella and R

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Book Synopsis''Niven Govinden''s Diary of a Film, his sixth novel, is also his best yet. Smart, sexy and cinematic (in many senses), it is a love letter to Italy and to film'' Observer''Immersive . . . This is a wise and skilfully controlled novel that can be read in an afternoon, but which radiates in the mind for much longer'' Financial Times''A beautiful, poignant novel of love and longing'' TelegraphAn auteur, together with his lead actors, is at a prestigious European festival to premiere his latest film.Alone one morning at a backstreet café, he strikes up a conversation with a local woman who takes him on a walk to uncover the city''s secrets, historic and personal. As the walk unwinds, a story of love and tragedy emerges, and he begins to see the chance meeting as fate. He is entranced, wholly clear in his mind: her story must surely form the basis for his next film.This is a novel about cinema, flânTrade ReviewDiary of a Film is an achingly intimate novel--tender and wise like Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet through the lens of Luca Guadagnino. Govinden drops us into the fray of an Italian film festival only to reveal a secret garden of quiet and stolen moments with a director whose film is about to premiere. In hotel rooms, abandoned buildings, and in a whisper in front of the international press corps, joy blooms, ideas are born, liberties are taken. Trust holds it all afloat. A stunning meditation on the art of creation and the nature of the artist -- Saskia VogelDiary of a Film is about how art ravages and redeems. It is about the responsibility artists bear both for their art and the world that must contain it; about the imperative to create something substantial in a world that moves too quickly to capture beauty to one's satisfaction; it is about living an ideal, committing to a principle whatever the potential cost, leaping into love and trusting that it will hold you -- Stephen Kelman, author of Pigeon EnglishVicariously I experienced again the freedom to travel and visit a European city just to catch an exhibition, go dancing or merely escape the mundane for a weekend. Diary of a Film is about seeing the familiar in new ways, finding friends wherever we are and coming to terms with the past being the past. Set amongst the gourmet surroundings of a Northern Italian film festival, it reads like an elegy for a just-gone era -- Paul Mendez, author of Rainbow MilkA wonderful mediation on why we tell stories, and who gets to tell those stories - and the grief of your masterpiece belonging only to its audience once it's finished. Sentence by sentence, one of the most beautiful novels I've read all year -- Nikesh ShuklaA meditation on film-making, art, grief and privacy. Constructed with the skill of a watchmaker, with a precise, consistent pitch of intensity -- Keith RidgewayPrecision engineered European modernism from a master stylist. It walks us into a luminous and loving conversational drama, rich with complex erotics and interwoven private agonies. He writes exquisitely about art making, about obsession and responsibility. It's a gorgeous novel -- Max PorterGovinden has created a work of taut and enveloping beauty, which gets to the heart of what it is to live an artistic life caught in the never-present of the piece just made and the piece as yet uncreated -- Andrew McMillanA serious, elegant and elegiac novel: an evocative tribute to the lost world of high cinematic glamour and a lament for the artists' struggle towards greatness. When the time comes again, this is the book I'll carry to read during days spent wandering around the grandeur of a city, moving from cafe to cafe, dreaming of the beautiful life -- Preti TanejaI truly fell in love with this book. It gifts the reader, offering complex human relationships, beautifully-written; I felt a genuine sadness when each scene ended. Reading Diary of a Film, I was powerfully reminded of the depth of the human heart, and of the work which proceeds from it -- Okechukwu NzeluImmensely talented -- Sarah Hughes * i newspaper *Niven Govinden's Diary of a Film, his sixth novel, is also his best yet. Smart, sexy and cinematic (in many senses), it is a love letter to Italy and to film -- Alex Preston * Observer *One for literary fiction fans, Niven's prose is intoxicating * Cosmopolitan *Immersive . . . This is a wise and skilfully controlled novel that can be read in an afternoon, but which radiates in the mind for much longer * Financial Times *Govinden's prose flows with the smooth lilt of a moving camera . . . an outstanding, luxurious novel * The i *Fall into its rhythms, and a few nights at a film festival will become an existential exploration of the creative process * The Skinny *A beautiful, poignant novel of love and longing . . . This tale of a director beguilingly captures the agony of making a film - and letting the public see it -- Tim Robey * Telegraph *A sophisticated and sensitive book about storytelling and queer kinship * Attitude *Elegant . . . In a strong, clear tone that's unfettered by hyperbole, Govinden allows us access to the narrator's mind as he muses on love, work and who should tell whose stories * Monocle *A beguiling exploration of artistic obsession -- Colin Grant * The Guardian *It is a book about the dysfunctions of grief and about what rights the artist has to take liberties with somebody else's story. Gorgeously written, Diary of a Film is a book quite ripe, fittingly, for film adaptation * Literary Review *Because this is a novel of introspection - the narrator ponders his relationship to his lead actors, themselves embarking on a relationship with one another, and his life's work - its tone is one of intimacy and shared confidences that draws the listener ever further inwards * Financial Times *What a pleasure it is to read this love letter to art and to human connection (fragile, powerful, transforming), at a time when we're masked and lonesome and can't kiss our own hand without washing it afterwards -- Deborah Levy * New Statesman *Stole my heart . . . it captures a sense of the fragility and intimacy of human endeavour, but also the silence and resilience needed to survive as a woman, a man, as lovers and as artists in a market-driven world. -- Preti Taneja * New Statesman Book of the Year *A passionate director goes to an Italian film festival for the premiere of his latest work. He meets a young woman. They share a cigarette, talk for hours about coffee and gentrification, before she takes him to see a painted mural in an empty apartment block. If Diary of a Film is filmic in spirit, it is not a straightforward paean to art. The book continually returns to the inadequacy of art at representing real life, which, as the narrator realises, "would continue to burn long after the life of the film". Govinden handles it all with great subtlety, posing probing questions but never letting dogma get in the way of what is an outstanding, luxurious novel * i News, Best Books of the Year *Niven Govinden's sixth novel is an unequivocal triumph; everything in his practice has come together . . . With great subtlety, Govinden helps us see we are on a journey of discovery ourselves, as to who owns stories, and who has the right to tell them. -- Paul Mendez

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Book SynopsisJulian Barnes is the author of thirteen novels, including The Sense of an Ending, which won the 2011 Man Booker Prize for Fiction, and Sunday Times bestsellers The Noise of Time and The Only Story. He has also written three books of short stories, four collections of essays and three books of non-fiction, including the Sunday Times number one bestseller Levels of Life and Nothing To Be Frightened Of, which won the 2021 Yasnaya Polyana Prize in Russia. In 2017 he was awarded the Légion d'honneur.Trade ReviewA beautiful and engrossing work * Independent on Sunday *Richly accomplished... Dazzling * Sunday Times *Excellent... Meticulously researched and vividly imagined, both gripping and thoughtful * Sunday Telegraph *From the first paragraphs we know ourselves to be in the hands of a major novelist... A compelling narrative, beautifully controlled... This novel is Barnes at his best -- P D James * The Times *As ever, Barnes serves up a master-class in character observation, lavishing attention on the minutiae of personality, the subtle and conflicting impulses that drive men and women. Barnes seems equipped to write with humour and elegance about anything he turns his attention to * Financial Times *

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Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN’S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2023SHORTLISTED FOR THE WATERSTONES DEBUT FICTION PRIZE 2023AN OBSERVER BEST DEBUT NOVEL OF THE YEARIt’s time to dance, to love, to be free…‘Mesmerising’ BERNARDINE EVARISTO, author of Girl, Woman, Other‘Fabulous’ MAGGIE O'FARRELL, author of Hamnet‘Beautiful’ CALEB AZUMAH NELSON, author of Open WaterYamaye lives for the weekend, when she can go raving with her friends at The Crypt, an underground club on the outskirts of London. Then everything changes. Yamaye meets Moose, who she falls deeply in love with, and who offers her the chance of freedom and escape.After their relationship is brutally cut short, Yamaye goes on a dramatic journey of transformation that leads her to Jamaica, where past and present collide with explosive consequences.***A SUNDAY TIMES BEST NOVEL AND GUARDIAN BEST FICTION BOOK OF 2023***‘A wonderfully literary, musical and original novel about a culture and era that rarely makes the pages of fiction’ TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT‘Scorching… We follow Yamaye through love, loss and peril, as she chases her dreams and connects with her heritage’ GUARDIAN‘Ambitious, atmospheric… A novel of passion and anger’ SUNDAY TIMES‘A rich and rhythmic story about love and music’ ITrade ReviewRemarkable... In terms of sheer lyrical force it stands head and shoulders above most debuts * Daily Telegraph *I was blown away by Fire Rush - an exceptional and stunningly original novel by a major new writer... Her mesmerising, imaginative and incantatory writing leaves us swaying to the bass of the visceral rhythms she so powerfully describes. By the end of the novel, I felt charged and changed and already longed to reread it -- Bernardine Evaristo, Booker Prize-winning author of GIRL, WOMAN, OTHERFew have channelled so well the skittering beats and transcendent air of dub music as Crooks does in her semi-autobiographical debut... Startlingly vivid reading * Daily Telegraph, *Summer Reads of 2023* *A heady swirl of a novel that pulls the reader in from the first page... A fabulous, absorbing read -- Maggie O'Farrell, author of THE MARRIAGE PORTRAITA window into the dub scene at the time, with rhythmic, lyrical writing and a story about raving, love and the impact of police violence... Both a page turner and a literary novel... Truly remarkable * Vogue *A hypnotic journey into the dub reggae scene * Guardian, *Books of the Year* *This beautiful, sprawling narrative is wrought with an incredible precision and a musicality which carries every sentence. Crooks' novel haunts but make space for hope as well -- Caleb Azumah Nelson, author of OPEN WATERA colourful, immersive debut... Throughout, a passion and anger resound as we gain a glimpse into a rarely observed British subculture * Sunday Times, *Summer Reads of 2023* *A brilliant, exuberant novel. Full of beauty, musicality and feminist power -- Irenosen Okojie, author of NUDIBRANCHA scorching, lyrical debut, soaked in dub reggae * Guardian, *Summer Reads of 2023* *

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Book Synopsis'A debut collection of such precocity and aplomb that it stands comparison to the likes of Junot Díaz and Bryan Washington' Observer 'Moving, truthful, straight from the heart' Neel Mukherjee 'These are excellent stories, told with skill and verve' Jon McGregor Here, beneath the planes circling Heathrow, various lives connect. Priti speaks English and her nani Punjabi. Without Priti's mum around they struggle to make a shared language. Not far away, Chetan and Aanshi's relationship shifts when a woman leaves her car in their drive but never returns to collect it. Gujan's baba steps out of his flat above the chicken shop for the first time in years to take his grandson on a bicycle tour of the old and changed neighbourhood. And returning home after dropping out of university, Lata grapples with a secret about her estranged family friend, now a chart-topping rapper in a crisis of confidence. Mapping an area of West London, these stories chart a wider narrative about the movement of multiple generations of immigrants. In acts of startling imagination, Gurnaik Johal's debut brings together the past and the present, the local and the global, to show the surprising ways we come together.Trade ReviewMoving, truthful, straight from the heart (and a very capacious heart too), the stories in WE MOVE announce the arrival of a promising young writer we will be talking about for years to come. Gurnaik Johal, welcome. * Neel Mukherjee *Delicate, controlled and moving portraits of the strange, poignant dislocation wrought by both distance and proximity * Colin Barrett *A stunning collection * Evening Standard *A whole universe of lives intricately connected and woven together in a way that is wholly surprising and unobvious * Huma Qureshi, author of Things We Do Not Tell the People We Love *An assured and profoundly humane collection, rich in character and story * Jo Lloyd, author of The Earth, Thy Great Exchequer, Ready Lies *'These are excellent stories, told with skill and verve. Gurnaik Johal has a sharp eye for details, an ear for the gaps and evasions in real dialogue, and a heart for the hopes and regrets that carry us through our lives. But most of all, he has the instincts of a storyteller, and in We Move he has put those instincts to great effect' * Jon McGregor *Deft and defiant. These stories are told with real heart and dazzling speed * John Patrick McHugh, author of Pure Gold *With this beautiful, kaleidoscopic, moving, staggeringly full-of-life debut collection of stories, Gurnaik Johal has catapulted himself into the front rank of the chroniclers of the country we live in. You don't know Britain until you've read We Move * Rahul Raina, author of How to Kidnap the Rich *Conversational, brimful of beautifully observed descriptions of the sights and sounds of this world. * Daily Mail *To describe Johal as a writer to watch would be true but misleading, implying that we need to wait for better things to come. Better to say that he's a writer to read now. -- John Self * Observer *

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Book Synopsis'Masterful . . . has much to say to our times' Guardian'Begs to be read' Spectator'A luminous, thought-provoking novel' Esi Edugyan, author of Washington BlackIn 1792, formerly enslaved Benjamin Honey and his Irish wife, Patience, discover an island where they can make a life together. More than a century later, the Honeys' descendants remain, with an eccentric, diverse band of neighbours. But during one tumultuous summer at the dawn of the twentieth century, one prejudiced missionary lands on the island's shores, disrupting the community's fragile balance with everlasting consequences.Full of lyricism and power, Paul Harding's This Other Eden explores the hopes and dreams and resilience of those seen not to fit a world brutally intolerant of difference.Trade ReviewThe Pulitzer prize-winning author's gifts have found their fullest expression . . . [This Other Eden] impresses time and again because of the depth of Harding's sentences, their breathless angelic light * Observer *Masterful . . . This Other Eden is a story of good intentions, bad faith, worse science, but also a tribute to community and human dignity and the possibility of another world. In both, it has much to say to our times * Guardian *Harding's new novel is suffused with the tremulous imagery and soaring imagination that won him the Pulitzer Prize . . . Exquisite -- Financial TimesMasterful . . . This Other Eden is a story of good intentions, bad faith, worse science, but also a tribute to community and human dignity and the possibility of another world. In both, it has much to say to our times. * Guardian *Harding's new novel is suffused with the tremulous imagery and soaring imagination that won him the Pulitzer Prize . . . Exquisite. * Financial Times *

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Book SynopsisRejected by fifteenth-century Parisian society, the hideously deformed bell-ringer Quasimodo believes he is safe under the watchful eye of his master, the Archdeacon Claude Frollo. But after Quasimodo saves the beautiful Romani girl Esmeralda from the gallows and brings her to sanctuary in the cathedral, he and Frollo's mutual desire for her puts them increasingly at odds, before compassion and cruelty clash with tragic results.An emotionally stirring story, Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre-Dame is rightfully considered to be one of the finest novels ever written, and this beautiful edition, featuring an afterword by John Grant, is the perfect way to experience this unforgettable tale.Designed to appeal to the booklover, the Macmillan Collector's Library is a series of beautiful gift editions of much loved classic titles. Macmillan Collector's Library are books to love and treasure.

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Book SynopsisBy the winner of the 2021 Nobel Prize in LiteratureThe elegance and control of Gurnah''s writing, and his understanding of how quietly and slowly and repeatedly a heart can break, make this a deeply rewarding novel' Kamila Shamsie, Guardian ________________________For seven-year-old Salim, the pillars upholding his small universe his indifferent father, his adored uncle, his treasured books, the daily routines of government school and Koran lessons seem unshakeable.But it is the 1970s, and the winds of change are blowing through Zanzibar: suddenly Salim's father is gone, and the island convulses with violence and corruption the wake of a revolution. It will only be years later, making his way through an alien and hostile London, that Salim will begin to understand the shame and exploitation festering at the heart of his family's history. ________________________Riveting The measured elegance of Gurnah'sTrade Review[A] captivating storyteller, with a voice both lyrical and mordant, and an oeuvre haunted by memory and loss. His intricate novels of arrival and departure … reveal, with flashes of acerbic humour, the lingering ties that bind continents, and how competing versions of history collide * Guardian *Gurnah is a master storyteller -- Aminatta Forna * Financial Times *Gurnah writes with wonderful insight about family relationships and he folds in the layers of history with elegance and warmth * The Times *Exile has given Gurnah a perspective on the “balance between things” that is astonishing, superb * Observer *Gurnah etches with biting incisiveness the experiences of immigrants exposed to contempt, hostility or patronising indifference on their arrival in Britain * Spectator *Gurnah writes with quiet humour and great affection about pre-revolutionary Zanzibar and its people … Gurnah writes beautifully, with the satisfying assurance of someone who knows how to achieve his effects without undue fuss but with absolute precision * Daily Telegraph *Gurnah evokes his world in poetic prose which is pure and lucid * Guardian *His prose is elegant and evocative * Mail on Sunday *Gurnah has laid powerful imaginative claim to the eastern seaboard of Africa * Independent *Gravel Heart is one of the beautiful novels that lingers in the mind long after reading. Gurnah writes about the clash of worlds with such pathos and elegance. -- Amanda ForemanGlittering...Each work is different from the last, yet they build into a powerfully evocative oeuvre that keeps coming back to the same questions, in spare, graceful prose, about the ties that bind and the ties that fray -- Judith Woods * Daily Telegraph *Entertainingly intertwines migration and a tale of family drama ... Gurnah has rightly been praised for his masterful storytelling ... An emotive tale about betrayal, families and the East African diaspora -- Theresa Munoz * Sunday Herald *A colourful tale of lie in a Zanzibar village, where passions and politics reshape a family ... Expect echoes of Shakespeare's Measure for Measure -- Jeffery Burke * Mail on Sunday *Throughout, the elegance and control of Gurnah’s writing, and his understanding of how quietly and slowly and repeatedly a heart can break, make this a deeply rewarding novel * Guardian *The measured elegance of Gurnah’s prose renders his protagonist in a manner almost uncannily real … Gurnah’s portrayal of student immigrant life in Britain is pleasingly deliberate and precise, and also riveting … Even the minor characters in this novel have richly imagined histories that inflect their smallest interactions – one of the loveliest pleasures of this book, and a choice that makes its world exceptionally full * New York Times *A poignant, understated and frequently moving novel * Herald *

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Book SynopsisEmmy is her own worst enemy. So why does she fancy someone who looks like her? Overthinker and recent drama school graduate Emmy Clooney (no relation) will do anything to be successful, despite the lack of roles for queer actors. But in the audition room for what should be her big break, Emmy collides with rising star, Mae Jones. Mae is the same casting type as Emmy (‘Short-haired Lesbian’), so they’ll always be fighting for the same parts. Unfortunately, Mae is also very talented, very charismatic, and very hot... She’s Emmy’s type in every way. When their opposite personalities clash, Emmy and Mae begin a fierce competition to be the best gay in showbiz. But if they’re cast in the same play, will they find a way to act nicely – or take their rivalry to the next stage? ‘Extremely fun’ - Kate Davies 'The world needs more queer frivolity and more genuinely funny books like this' - Bethany RutterTrade ReviewPRAISE FOR MY OWN WORST ENEMY: ‘I adored this novel about love and belonging and fancying your sexy pirate co-star... Whip smart, wickedly funny and so much fun’ Laura Kay ‘Witty and heartfelt, with lashings of chemistry and dialogue that shines’ Lex Croucher ‘The world needs more queer frivolity. Lily Lindon has such a light, witty touch and such an acute understanding of love and relationships’ Bethany Rutter ‘Life-affirming and joyful, with a hilarious and loveable heroine’ Hannah Dolby ‘I loved, loved, loved it... Lily Lindon’s warmth and irrepressible sense of humour shines through on each page’ Emma Hughes ‘A clever reworking of the conventions of the rom com... It’s cupcake cute and really quite joyous’ Matt Cain ‘Tender, uplifting and laugh-out-loud funny’ Taylor Cole ‘Expect horny romps and big feelings as Emmy and Mae fight it out’ Lizzie Huxley-Jones 'EXTREMELY FUN - if anyone is in need of a funny, charming queer rom com set in the world of acting (yes please) with TWO BUTCH LESBIANS as the romantic leads (YES PLEASE), this is the book for you.' Kate Davies

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Book SynopsisA haunting and moving historical fiction, The Midwife by Tricia Cresswell is perfect for fans of The Familiars and The Binding.1838. After a violent storm, a woman is found alone, naked and near death, on the Northumberland moors. She has no memory of who she is or how she got there. But she can remember how to help a woman in labour and how to expertly dress a wound, and can speak fluent French. With the odds against her, a penniless single woman, she starts to build her life from scratch, using her skills to help other women around her. She finds a happy place in the world. Until tragedy strikes, and she must run for her life . . .In London, Dr Borthwick lives a solitary life working as an accoucheur dealing with mothers and babies in the elegant homes of high society together with his midwife, and volunteering in the slums of the Devil’s Acre alongside a young widow, Eleanor Johnson. His professional reputation is spotless and he keeps his private life just as clean, isolating himself from any new acquaintances. But he is harbouring a dark secret from his past – one that threatens to spill over everything.Trade ReviewAmongst the many excellent entries for the Mslexia Novel Prize, this novel really stood out: a gripping and smartly executed double narrative full of surprises, with something serious to say about women's place in society and the strategies they employ to survive. -- Louise Doughty, bestselling author of Apple Tree YardA vivid, engrossing mystery about a woman who can’t remember her own identity but knows with certainty how to deliver babies. The authentic medical details form a compelling picture of the precariousness of life in the mid 19th century, when childbirth could prove fatal for even the fittest of women. I was hooked! -- Gill Paul, bestselling author of The Secret WifeAtmospheric, haunting and intriguing. A compelling and beautifully written debut. -- Tracy Rees, bestselling author of Amy Snow and The Rose Garden

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Book SynopsisThe breakout poetry collection by Sunday Times bestselling author and presidential inaugural poet Amanda Gorman‘Poetry so alive you want to hold it and protect it’ Malala YousafzaiThe luminous poetry collection captures a shipwrecked moment in time and transforms it into a lyric of hope and healing. In Call Us What We Carry, Gorman explores history, language, identity, and erasure through an imaginative and intimate collage. Harnessing the collective grief of a global pandemic, these poems shine a light on a moment of reckoning and reveal that Gorman has become our messenger from the past, our voice for the future.‘A new collection full of hope and healing from the young American poet who electrified the world’ Guardian‘Reading these poems, I feel at once haunted, heartened and formidably ministered to’ Tracy K. Smith‘The liberating force of the stories these poems tell about our resilience and survival showcases a powerful griot for our times’ Oprah DailyTrade ReviewHaunting... A soaring sense of history and solidarity pervades Gorman's debut collection... Call Us What We Carry is wide awake to the complex strata of human history and restlessly original in its poetic form... This is poetry rippling with communal recognition and empathy * Guardian *A book of poetry so alive you want to hold it and protect it, to read it all at once, and then immediately read it againPowerful... poignant... tender... Amanda Gorman's debut proves that she is poetry's brightest young thing * Tatler *Between breath, light, water and soil, text messages and letters, and visual formations of ships, whales and flags, Gorman's Call Us What We Carry is an inventive literary resurrection * Daily Mail *Amanda Gorman is a seer, a seeker, a speaker of our most difficult and astonishing truths. Reading these poems, I feel at once haunted, heartened and formidably ministered to

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Book Synopsis**A BBC BETWEEN THE COVERS BIG JUBILEE READ PICK**''A milestone in the campaign for racial equality'' GuardianIn 1945, Rick Braithwaite, a smart, highly educated ex-RAF pilot, looks for a job in British engineering. He is deeply shocked to realise that, as a black man from British Guiana, no one will employ him because of the colour of his skin. In desperation he turns to teaching, taking a job in a tough East End school, and left to govern a class of unruly teenagers. With no experience or guidance, Braithwaite attempts to instil discipline, confound prejudice and ultimately, to teach.''Moving and inspiring'' New York TimesWITH AN INTRODUCTION BY CARYL PHILLIPSTrade ReviewA book that the reader devours quickly, ponders slowly, and forgets not at all-Moving and inspiring * New York Times *E.R. Braithwaite's postwar novel about a black teacher fighting to win the respect of white pupils in a school in the East End of London is a milestone in the campaign for racial equality * Guardian *It is the noblest, most moving, least sentimental account of life in a modern school and of a teacher's struggles with his pupils and with himself that I have come across -- Michael Croft * Observer *

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Book SynopsisAn Irish Times Book of the Year An electrifying descent from loneliness and grief into obsessive, all-consuming love, by an Italian literary star. ‘When Xu bites me, when she has me in her teeth, naked and bad on top of me, everything is good.’ In a skyscraper apartment overlooking Shanghai’s blue-tinged, pulsating nightlife and filled with rotting food, two women swallow little yellow pills that will make all things dangerous feel safe. They’re both running from a turbulent past. In abandoned factories and dilapidated slaughterhouses, Xu pushes Ruben to extremes of pleasure and pain that she has never experienced before, to a place where language breaks down and passion becomes consumption. Blue Hunger asks how we create our identities and how we escape them; it is a fever-dream of a novel, visionary and uncanny, that demolishes all taboos and wisely explores, in a wildly imaginative language, the twisted peaks of loss and desire.Trade Review‘I thoroughly recommend Blue Hunger by Italian novelist Viola Di Grado, translated by Jamie Richards. Di Grado’s prose is clean, efficient, and devastating as she explores queer love, displacement, and grief against the backdrop of Shanghai.’ -- Martin Doyle * The Irish Times *‘To read Blue Hunger is to enter a dreamlike state, guided by irresistible, evocative writing, immaculate details, and vivid emotions dripping with desire. Viola Di Grado offers us a brilliant, highly immersive story about the need to consume and be consumed, love, messiness, and the power of language. Blue Hunger is a wholly compelling piece of art, and Viola Di Grado is a genius.’ -- Jami Attenberg, author of The Middlesteins‘Viola Di Grado is, most importantly, a powerful and original writer; the fact that she also writes, movingly and with complexity, about members of the LGBT population, renders her work all the more singular.’ -- Michael Cunningham, author of The Hours‘Blue Hunger is a devastating study of the ways in which grief renders everything, even the self, foreign. A gorgeous grotesquerie of lust and despair backdropped by the writhing rhythms of Shanghai.’ -- Rachel Yoder, author of Nightbitch‘Di Grado is a real writer, so everything under the spell of her words is vibrant and evocative. Blue Hunger, a prose poem and a fearless descent into language and the realm of meanings, is about our experience in the acidic lights of the contemporary world.’ -- FIlippo La Porta * La Repubblica *‘Sticky, neon, and electric, Blue Hunger drips with desire, danger, and hunger in myriad forms.’ -- Jessica Andrews, author of Saltwater‘Blue Hunger’s is a disorientating world made strange by grief — a world where words have lost their meaning, and identity fragments. In luminous and startling prose, Viola Di Grado lays bare the risk inherent in human relationships, the capacity we have to inflict and enjoy pain as well as pleasure, and the disassembling power of grief. Bold and addictive, this is a carnal, sensual, drug-and-sex-infused trip of a novel. -- Imogen Crimp, author of A Very Nice Girl‘Blue Hunger is a most vibrant novel about lust: beautifully written and full of sensuous images, Viola Di Grado’s book is a powerful literary journey into food and sex and the city. In depicting the constant foreignness of falling in love, Di Grado reveals herself as a true master of style.’ -- Claudia Durastanti, author of Strangers I Know and Cleopatra Goes to Prison’Haunting … An erotic and disturbing depiction of the effects of grief.’ * Kirkus Reviews *’Readers will be fascinated by the novel’s scenery, psychological acuity … Queerness, grief, isolation, dependence, and love merge in this novel of geographically-based healing and descent.’ * Booklist *‘Blue Hunger is a breezy yet dizzying fever-dream of a read. The narrator’s voice is deceptively quiet. The book feels like it has a flame lighting it from underneath. It moves with a steady, compact agility, like a ship gesturing towards a mid-sea battle … The final scene is a spectacular feat, managing to be both unexpected, and exquisitely tender.’ -- Jessie Tu * The Sydney Morning Herald *‘The language of Blue Hunger has a tour de force energy … Di Grado’s prose is exhilaratingly dynamic, made up of fragmented paragraphs that look and sound like prose poetry and that use poetic language in surprising and edgy ways. The translator, Jamie Richards, has done an excellent job in keeping up … Although Blue Hunger reads as an exercise in style, there is also substance here, particularly when it comes to the self-destructiveness so often bound up with what we call love.’ -- Maria Takolander * The Saturday Paper *‘A sensuous and biting account … It’s worth indulging in this visceral story.’ * Publishers Weekly *‘Italian author Viola Di Grado simulates the fever dreamlike state of an all-consuming love.’ * RUSSH *‘It’s lush, dreamlike, and once started, you won’t be able to stop thinking about it.’ -- Terri Schlichenmeyer * Los Angeles Blade *‘[T]his short but electrifying book captures the life of a young Italian woman in Shanghai as she finds herself captivated by a beautiful, enigmatic woman named Xu … Blue Hunger goes on to explore identity in a writhing blend of lust and pain … Her strength as a writer lies in the layers of metaphors that weave into a narrative fabric thick with intertwined meaning … [A] dizzying, intricate study of grief, displacement, obsession and desire under the glittering veneer of Shanghai.’ -- Fruzsina Gál * Aniko Press *‘Translated by Jamie Richards, the writing is simply gorgeous, luring the reader in even as the plot takes some decidedly visceral turns … It’s a fever-dream of a novel, a breathless, erotic, and often uncomfortable examination of what grief, loneliness, and a desperate search for answers can do … its combination of rich, evocative writing, and oft unsettling content makes it near impossible to look away from the page.’ -- Jodie Sloan * The AU Review *Praise for Hollow Heart: ‘A danse macabre for the millenials … In Hollow Heart, Di Grado elegantly and playfully thematises the emptiness of unquestioned vessels of meaning (which is to say, words) with the story of a girl who has taken her own life before she has even really lived it.’ * LA Review of Books *Praise for Hollow Heart: ‘The writing is pristine. Each sentence lures us further into the flies and blood-filled spirals of Di Grado’s dreamworld and, most importantly, we are willing to follow her.’ * The Independent *Praise for 70% Acrylic 30% Wool: ‘Viola Di Grado’s charming prose romps through chthonic worlds of nibbling insects, ammoniac seepage, and shattering depression, using language that is both glib and scrumptious.’ * Music & Literature *Praise for 70% Acrylic 30% Wool: ‘[Di Grado’s] black comedy, pungent metaphors, and controlled ambiguity announce the arrival of a considerable talent.’ * Times Literary Supplement *

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Book SynopsisTHE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER SOON TO BE A TV SERIES STARRING GEMMA ARTERTON AND RUPERT EVERETT''Simply unputdownable'' Guardian''Hilarious'' Daily Telegraph''Highly entertaining'' Sunday Times _________________Make them laugh, and they''re yours forever . . .Barbara Parker is Miss Blackpool of 1964, but she doesn''t want to be a beauty queen. She wants to make people laugh.So she leaves her hometown behind, takes herself to London, and overnight she becomes the lead in a new BBC comedy, Sophie Straw: charming, gorgeous, destined to win the nation''s hearts.Funny Girl is the story of a smash-hit TV show and the people behind the scenes. But when life starts imitating art, they all face a choice. How long can they keep going before it''s time to change the channel? ______________''Warm, funny, touching . . . winningly perceptive about human relationshiTrade ReviewSo simple, so easy to read and yet so sensitive and profound at the same time. This is a world that feels real and one you don't want to leave * Independent on Sunday *Like all Hornby's best work, it is both hugely enjoyable and deceptively artful * Spectator *Everything Hornby writes is addictively readable and clever, but with Funny Girl he has surpassed himself * Red *Hornby's sunniest novel * Metro *

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Book SynopsisThe sensational debut novel about love, friendship and finding happiness in the most unexpected places.  'It's as fun as it is thoughtful: a tender and generous novel about finding your people, getting vulnerable, and celebrating every joy - big or small.' Buzzfeed 'Elvin James Mensah's Small Joys is breathtaking and heartrending, by turns hilarious and devastating and surprising and wild. Mensah's prose makes the intangible deft and tremendous — from the balm of friendship, to the beauty of queerness, and the all-encompassing elixir of community. Tender, thrilling, and honest; Small Joys is a beam of light.' Bryan Washington, author of Memorial 'A beautiful, moving story of love, male intimacy, chosen family and finding self worth.' Paul Mendez, author of Rainbow Milk ‘I adored Sma

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Book Synopsis''Beautifully rendered and instantly captivating. Malinda Lo writes queer desire like no other.'' DIVA MAGAZINE''Lo writes tenderly about the first buds of teenage desire amid a downtown hipster at scene.'' DAILY MAIL''Poignant, vivid and so beautifully written. I adored it.'' LAURA KAYA Scatter of Light is a companion novel to the National Book Awards winner and New York Times bestseller Last Night at the Telegraph Club, and is about how the threads of family, inspiration, art, and identity are woven across generations.Aria Tang West thought she''d be spending one last summer on Martha''s Vineyard with her friends before starting MIT in the fall, where she intends to study astronomy, like her late grandfather. But after topless photos of her are posted online, she''s abruptly uninvited from her friends'' summer homes. Aria''s parents, a writer and opera singer with plans of their

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Book SynopsisInspired by real life stories of the Windrush Generation and her mother’s own experiences as a nurse coming to Britain from the Caribbean, Sarah Lee’s debut novel An Ocean Apart is a must for fans of Call the Midwife.It’s 1954 and, in Barbados, Ruby Haynes spots an advertisement for young women to train as nurses for the new National Health Service in Great Britain. Her sister, Connie, takes some persuading, but soon the sisters are on their way to a new country – and a whole new world of experiences.As they start their training in Hertfordshire, they discover England isn’t quite the promised land; for every door that’s opened to them, the sisters find many slammed in their faces. And though the girls find friendships with their fellow nurses, Connie struggles with being so far from home, and keeping secret the daughter she has left behind in search of a better life for the both of them . . .Trade ReviewThis is a really clever novel . A beautiful story of friendship, new beginnings and love, which entices you in with characters you immediately care about. It's a love letter to the women who left behind everything to help heal our country and establish the NHS. At its heart, it's a story of courage! I could not have loved this more and thought about it long after I turned the last page. -- Kate Thompson, author of The Little Wartime LibraryA glorious triumph of a book full of characters that feel like real friends, so atmospheric, compelling and nostalgic, I adored it. -- Alex Brown, author of A Postcard from ItalySarah Lee never shies away from weightier themes that add layers of depth. Identity and how we present ourselves to others, race, trauma, secrets and relationships of many kinds weave through the story too. With romance, realism and just a touch of humour, An Ocean Apart is billed as a must for fans of Call the Midwife. * My Weekly *An uplifting yet thought-provoking story of friendship, loyalty and care for others and a wonderful tribute to a group of people who brought so much to the UK. * WI Life *This topical book is beautifully written and has a gentle pace to it, which keeps the reader enthralled and eager to keep turning the page and is a wonderful debut novel. * Our Man On the Ground *An evocative tale of post-War London * History Revealed *an easy, enjoyable read that celebrates women working hard to succeed together. * Historical Novel Society *An Ocean Apart is a warm hug of a book - the charming story of the joys and struggles of a trio of young women in a foreign land . . . Above all, it’s an affectionate and nostalgic look back at the British NHS system at a specific moment in time. Enjoyable stuff. -- Kirstie Pelling, author of The Happiness Project

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Book SynopsisJama is a clever and sensitive young Maasai girl who likes elephants better than people.She decides to escape the classroom gossip about the new boy, Leku, by going to the watering hole outside her village. There, she befriends a baby elephant that she names Mbegu.When Mbegu's mother, frightened by poachers, stampedes, Jama and Mbegu are blamed for two deaths - one elephant and one human. Now Leku, whose mysterious and imposing father is the head ranger at the conservancy, may be their only lifeline.A beautiful, heart-pounding story of a girl, an elephant, and their life-changing friendship.

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Book Synopsis'Sparkling... funny, it is also cutting, a nearly forensic study of family conflict... both compulsively readable and thought-provoking.' New York TimesThe Oppenheimer triplets have been reared with every advantage: wealth, education, and the determined attention of at least one of their parents. But they have been desperate to escape each other ever since they were born.Now, on the verge of their departure for college and so close to their long-coveted freedom, the triplets are forced to contend with an unexpected complication: a fourth Oppenheimer sibling has just been born. What has possessed their parents to make such an unfathomable decision? The triplets can't begin to imagine the the power this little latecomer is about to exert - nor just how destructive she'll be to their plans . . .'Korelitz draws us in again, this time with her ease, grace and wit, in a satisfying novel that spans generations, lives, and fates.' Meg WTrade Review'Remarkable.' - Stephen King, on The Plot'It keeps you guessing and wondering, and also keeps you thinking. ' - TheNew York Times Book Review, on The Plot

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Book SynopsisDark clouds are looming on the horizon of the vampire world as Dillon returns to VAMPS in DARK HORIZONS, the sizzling sequel to Fresh Blood, available to pre-order now.'Fast-paced and enthralling' Sun 'A slick new series of romance and intrigue' Observer 'Everything you want from a vampire novel' United by Pop IN DARKNESS WE SHINE    Welcome to VAMPS, an elite academy in the Swiss Alps for the children of the wealthiest and most powerful vampire families. Dillon is an outsider, a dhampir – half vampire, half human – sent to VAMPS to learn to nurture his vampire side. Thrown in at the deep end, he must embrace his fangs if he is to survive. But blood never lies and there is something special in Dillon’s veins that the others do not have. And as his power grows, so does the&Trade Review'Fast-paced and enthralling' Sun 'A slick new series of romance and intrigue' Observer 'Everything you want from a vampire novel' United by Pop 'A refreshing take . . . This school-set coming-of-age tale will appeal to teens who can't get enough vampires' Booklist '[A] sexy, dark academia-tinged debut… Fans of non-horror vampire stories and Olivie Blake’s The Atlas Six should put this on their radar' Publishers Weekly 'Arend creates an exciting world of civilized vampires that hold power and weight even inside the human hierarchy. It’s an alluring and fast-paced read for fans of The Atlas Six, A Deadly Education and True Blood' Library Journal

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Book SynopsisThe breakthrough book from the highly acclaimed author of By the SeaTrade ReviewRich in detail and filled with acute observations, this novel movingly examines the absences eating away at the core of all of its characters * Sunday Telegraph *As beautifully written and pleasurable as anything I've read ... Gurnah's portrait is the work of a maestro * Guardian *This is an impressive and deeply serious book, a careful and often heartfelt exploration of the way memory inevitably consoles and disappoints us * Sunday Times *An absorbing novel about abandonment and loss ... Gurnah writes beautifully, with the satisfying assurance of someone who knows how to achieve his effects without undue fuss but with absolute precision * Daily Telegraph *

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Book Synopsis'A sharply written story with messy, deeply moving characters' Taylor Jenkins Reid 'I was captivated by the writing from page one... Powerful' Lizzie Damilola Blackburn 'The story of Kemi, Muna and Brittany-Rae – Black women hoping to start anew in a society that does not see them – is a story for these times' Chika Unigwe 'A sexy, surprising, searing debut about love, loss, desire, and the many dimensions of Black womanhood. Timely and terrific!' Deesha Philyaw Three very different women are desperate for their lives to change. Though strangers, they are drawn to the same place: Stockholm, a city famed for its egalitarianism. But beneath the city's glittering surface lurk challenges old and new. Challenges that threaten to tear them down once and for all...Trade ReviewA sharply written story with messy, deeply moving characters, raising brutal questions and steering clear of easy answers. A book that will stick with you long after you've turned the last page -- Taylor Jenkins Reid, bestselling author of Daisy Jones and the SixThese characters will pull at your heartstrings. L?lá writes with a contemporary flair, highlighting the layered subtleties of the Black woman's plight -- Nicole Dennis-Benn, bestselling author of novels Here Comes the Sun and PatsyA sexy, surprising, searing debut about love, loss, desire, and the many dimensions of Black womanhood. Timely and terrific! -- Deesha Philyaw, award-winning author of The Secret Life of Church LadiesThis is a very different and unpredictable portrayal of Black women's search for love and self, and it's pure magic -- Kim Golden, author of Maybe BabyAt once enjoyable and disturbing as it explores the painful price millions of women around the world pay for walking around with black skin -- Imbolo Mbue, New York Times bestselling author of Behold the DreamersCaptivating. Åkerström describes what it is to be an ambitious black woman in today's world. The story of Kemi, Muna and Brittany-Rae – black women hoping to start anew in a society that does not see them – is a story for these times, and their fate is a stark reminder that the seaweed isn't always greener in somebody else's lake -- Chika Unigwe, author of On Black Sisters' StreetA striking debut... As entertaining as it is revealing, Åkerström's novel has readers hoping that each of these women is able to break free from toxic expectations and achieve her every dream and ambition. Along the way, Åkerström also delivers poignant commentary on Swedish culture and the price Black women pay by virtue of the color of their skin. A guaranteed favorite for fans of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Americanah' * Booklist *Take three Black women in search of a better life. Add love and desire to a mix of family expectations and what it's like to have no family whatsoever. Akinmade Akerstrom's voice is fresh and insightful as she tells a compelling story of what it means to be a Black woman in a globalised world. From a rich, cushioned elite to a determined refugee, she takes us from the US and London to Sweden. This ambitious novel is beautifully realised. Akinmade Akerstrom is definitely a writer to watch! -- Yaba Badoe, author of A Jigsaw of Fire and Stars and WolflightLolá Ákínmádé Åkerström’s debut novel is as much a liberating battle cry as it is a searing, multifaceted examination of the hearts and minds of Black women navigating white-dominated spaces... Rather than shying away from or oversimplifying difficult and complex topics, Åkerström has effectively packaged themes of racism, immigration, fetishism and otherness into an engrossing story that will enlighten its readers, regardless of their nationality or race' * BookPage *A beautiful novel [...] that highlights what it's really like to be a Black woman today... Contemporary and vivid, this story will captivate and educate' * Good Morning America *A rich narrative, weaving together each woman's perspective to unpack nuances around foreignness and belonging. Through lively prose and spirited dialogue, Åkerström shows that for all the protagonists' differences, being a Black woman in a white-dominated society will inevitably lead them to the same fate * Vulture *An engaging novel that presents the nuanced experiences of Black women from all walks of life. The author takes on misogynoir masterfully in this book that's never quite what you think it is * Essence *I loved In Every Mirror She's Black so much. I was captivated by the writing from page one, and the characters kept me turning. I was heavily invested in Brittany, Kemi, and particularly, Muna, whom I had become protective of. Although it had sad notes, I appreciated how Lola didn't shy away from exploring heavy themes, as it made the book even more powerful -- Lizzie Damilola Blackburn, author of Yinka Where Is Your Husband?Incisive, thought-provoking and un-put-down-able... Riveting, moving and stirring (with punch-packing endings you won't see coming), In Every Mirror She's Black is a magnificent must-read' * LoveReading *Each must find their way in a society depicted as more concerned with hygge than humanity in this hectic and ultimately extremely sad story * The Gloss Magazine *The book provides a pointed look at how Black women must navigate the world around them * Independent *An immersive novel about three Black women building new lives in Sweden and how racism manifests in an already-insular society * Red Magazine *A thought-provoking read * Prima Magazine *Stunning thought-provoking contemporary fiction from Akinmade Åkerström shines a deeply nuanced light on the Black woman experience in the Nordics * Bella Naija *In search of escape these three women find themselves in Stockholm – but instead of a fresh new start, they find the same problems just wear a different name * Closer *As their lives intersect, this smart, unflinching novel reveals facets of how it is to be a Black woman living and working in a white-dominated society * Heat *There are powerful, important themes underpinning the narrative, but what really shines through is the distinctness of the different characters and the depiction of real lives and emotions * South Wiltshire Living *Åkerström writes all too convincingly about racism, fetishism, identity and loneliness, giving additional depth and texture to this vivid, involving novel * Daily Mail *Åkerström sustains an undercurrent of darkness, a pulse of anxiety, so you as the reader never quite know where you will be from page to page * Bad Form *Drawing comparisons to Queenie and Americanah, it promises to be one of the most discussed novels of 2021 * Stylist *

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