Search results for ""escape""

'A delicate, evocative story of strength and survival that turns on one of the most powerful forces in the known universe: a mother's love.' - Jonathan Freedland, author of The Escape Artist A powerful, true story of a Holocaust survivor told by her daughter - a tale that reminds us of the resilience of the soul and the ability of the heart to heal.Born in Czechoslovakia, Mira was only 12 years old when World War II broke out and 17 when the Nazis finally caught up with her. Torn apart from her family, she went on to survive four concentration camps, including Auschwitz, and a Death March when she was too weak to walk. She lived when almost everyone she knew did not.At 88, living in Australia, Mira is diagnosed with cancer and her daughter, a journalist, decides to interview her to distract her from her illness. As Mira gives her testimony Rachelle comes to understand how Mira's unique perspective - seeing her experiences through the lens of the goodness of the people who helped her - protected her from the depths of humanity's cruelty, and enabled her to go on to live a full and brilliant life.Rachelle also fits together the jigsaw pieces of her own life as a child of a survivor. She comes to understand that however different their lives have been, she and her mother are uniquely united by a fierce inner strength to live, and a mystery of strange things that always seem to happen around them.A beautiful story of love, loss, wonder and the deepest kind of trust in life, A Brilliant Life questions the role that fate, chance and destiny play. It is a tribute to family, a story of incredible resilience, and a chronicle of the deep connection between a mother and a child which not even death can destroy.

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Hitler's U-boats and his dreaded pocket battleships such as Bismarck and Tirpitz - Churchill dubbed the latter as 'The Beast' - continue to fascinate an ever-growing interest in the Second World War. Despite a numerical disadvantage when compared the Royal Navy, Hitler's U-boats wrecked havoc in the Atlantic against vulnerable convoys and the doomed Bismarck took on the might of Britain's battleships in a mighty clash of the titans. Hitler's Naval Bases, a work of love that took the author over forty years to research and write, is the most comprehensive and dedicated book on the subject matter. A world's first, it covers bases in remarkable detail from the smallest and unmanned locations to the largest dedicated bases in Lorient, Kiel and Wilhemshaven. The book covers the different types of naval base from isolated and forgotten bases, escape and survival bases, to the extremities of the main naval bases. The functions and various departments - artillery, ship construction to dockyard medical service - are explained as are North Sea naval bases in Emden, The Weser Ports and Cuxhaven, Baltic ports, the major bases that never were ('The Lobster's Claw on Heligoland') to France, Asia and German colonies, including re-fuelling in Spain and bases located in Russia and in the 'Heart of England'. Also covered are naval artillery and naval infantry as well as the anatomy of coastal artillery batteries, the shipping yards and even rules for living in such conditions. A most lavish and phenomenal book, it is beautifully illustrated with over 200 unpublished photographs complemented with thousands of unique interviews with veterans during the war as well as survivors. A labour of love, Hitler's Naval Bases is written by a world's leading authoritarian figure and is an essential book for those interested in the armed forces of the Third Reich.

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Cycling Book of the Year - Cross British Sports Book Awards When the 'Iron Curtain' descended across Europe, Dieter Wiedemann was a hero of East German sport. A podium finisher in The Peace Race, the Eastern Bloc equivalent of the Tour de France, he was a pin-up for the supremacy of socialism over the 'fascist' West. Unbeknownst to the authorities, however, he had fallen in love with Sylvia Hermann, a girl from the other side of the wall. Socialist doctrine had it that the two of them were 'class enemies', and as a famous athlete Dieter's every move was pored over by the Stasi. Only he abhorred their ideology, and in Sylvia saw his only chance of freedom. Now, playing a deadly game of cat and mouse, he plotted his escape. In 1964 he was delegated, once and once only, to West Germany. Here he was to ride a qualification race for the Tokyo Olympics, but instead committed the most treacherous of all the crimes against socialism. Dieter Wiedemann, sporting icon and Soviet pawn, defected to the other side. Whilst Wiedemann fulfilled his lifetime ambition of racing in the Tour de France, his defection caused a huge scandal. The Stasi sought to 'repatriate' him, with horrific consequences both for him and the family he left behind. Fifty years on, and twenty-five years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Dieter Wiedemann decided it was time to tell his story. Through his testimony and that of others involved, and through the Stasi file, which has stalked him for half a century, Herbie Sykes uncovers an astonishing tale. It is one of love and betrayal, of the madness at the heart of the cold war, and of the greatest bike race in history.

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World-famous galleries, medieval towers, bustling sidewalk cafés, and a culture steeped in artistic innovation: savour the best of Firenze at your own speed with Moon Florence & Beyond.Explore In and Around the City: Get to know Florence's most interesting neighbourhoods like the historic center, Santa Croce, San Marco, and Santa Maria Novella, and nearby areas including Lucca, San Gimignano, Siena, Chianti, and moreGo at Your Own Pace: Choose from multiple itinerary options designed for foodies, history buffs, art lovers, and moreSee the Sights: Climb to the top of the gravity-defying Duomo, gaze at Michelango's David at the Accademia, see world-famous works at the Uffizi Gallery, or hike to the Basilica San Miniato al Monte for undisturbed views of the city skylineGet Outside the City: Escape the crowds and explore rolling Tuscan hill towns, the charming medieval city of Lucca, and the vineyards of ChiantiSavour the Flavours: Linger over an aperitivo at sunset, sample mouthwatering gelato, explore the city's burgeoning modern restaurant scene, or enjoy a traditional Florentine meal at an old-school trattoriaExperience the Nightlife: From a classic Negroni at an al fresco café to a swanky champagne bar or a neighbourhood enoteca serving local Brunellos, find the best of Florence's many watering holesGet to Know the Real Florence: Follow local suggestions from Italian transplant Alexei CohenFull-Colour Photos and Detailed MapsHandy Tools: Background information on Florentine history and culture, plus tips on sustainable travel, what to pack, where to stay, and how to get aroundDay trip itineraries, favorite local spots, and strategies to skip the crowds: Take your time with Moon Florence & Beyond. Exploring more of Italy? Check out Moon Venice & Beyond or Moon Milan & Beyond: With the Italian Lakes.

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In King of Spies, prize-winning journalist and bestselling author of Escape From Camp 14, Blaine Harden, reveals one of the most astonishing – and previously untold – spy stories of the twentieth century.Donald Nichols was 'a one man war', according to his US Air Force commanding general. He won the Distinguished Service Cross, along with a chest full of medals for valor and initiative in the Korean War. His commanders described Nichols as the bravest, most resourceful and effective spymaster of that forgotten war. But there is far more to Donald Nichols' story than first meets the eye . . .Based on long-classified government records, unsealed court records, and interviews in Korea and the U.S., King of Spies tells the story of the reign of an intelligence commander who lost touch with morality, legality, and even sanity, if military psychiatrists are to be believed. Donald Nichols was America's Kurtz. A seventh-grade dropout, he created his own black-ops empire, commanding a small army of hand-selected spies, deploying his own makeshift navy, and ruling over it as a clandestine king, with absolute power over life and death. He claimed a – 'legal license to murder' – and inhabited a world of mass executions and beheadings, as previously unpublished photographs in the book document.Finally, after eleven years, the U.S. military decided to end Nichols's reign. He was secretly sacked and forced to endure months of electroshock in a military hospital in Florida. Nichols told relatives the American government was trying to destroy his memory.King of Spies looks to answer the question of how an uneducated, non-trained, non-experienced man could end up as the number-one US spymaster in South Korea and why his US commanders let him get away with it for so long . . .

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Winner, 2022 Children's Literature Association Book Award, given by the Children's Literature Association Winner, 2020 World Fantasy Awards Winner, 2020 British Fantasy Awards, Nonfiction Finalist, Creative Nonfiction IGNYTE Award, given by FIYACON for BIPOC+ in Speculative Fiction Reveals the diversity crisis in children's and young adult media as not only a lack of representation, but a lack of imagination Stories provide portals into other worlds, both real and imagined. The promise of escape draws people from all backgrounds to speculative fiction, but when people of color seek passageways into the fantastic, the doors are often barred. This problem lies not only with children’s publishing, but also with the television and film executives tasked with adapting these stories into a visual world. When characters of color do appear, they are often marginalized or subjected to violence, reinforcing for audiences that not all lives matter. The Dark Fantastic is an engaging and provocative exploration of race in popular youth and young adult speculative fiction. Grounded in her experiences as YA novelist, fanfiction writer, and scholar of education, Thomas considers four black girl protagonists from some of the most popular stories of the early 21st century: Bonnie Bennett from the CW’s The Vampire Diaries, Rue from Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games, Gwen from the BBC’s Merlin, and Angelina Johnson from J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter. Analyzing their narratives and audience reactions to them reveals how these characters mirror the violence against black and brown people in our own world. In response, Thomas uncovers and builds upon a tradition of fantasy and radical imagination in Black feminism and Afrofuturism to reveal new possibilities. Through fanfiction and other modes of counter-storytelling, young people of color have reinvisioned fantastic worlds that reflect their own experiences, their own lives. As Thomas powerfully asserts, “we dark girls deserve more, because we are more.”

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Winner, 2022 Children's Literature Association Book Award, given by the Children's Literature Association Winner, 2020 World Fantasy Awards Winner, 2020 British Fantasy Awards, Nonfiction Finalist, Creative Nonfiction IGNYTE Award, given by FIYACON for BIPOC+ in Speculative Fiction Reveals the diversity crisis in children's and young adult media as not only a lack of representation, but a lack of imagination Stories provide portals into other worlds, both real and imagined. The promise of escape draws people from all backgrounds to speculative fiction, but when people of color seek passageways into the fantastic, the doors are often barred. This problem lies not only with children’s publishing, but also with the television and film executives tasked with adapting these stories into a visual world. When characters of color do appear, they are often marginalized or subjected to violence, reinforcing for audiences that not all lives matter. The Dark Fantastic is an engaging and provocative exploration of race in popular youth and young adult speculative fiction. Grounded in her experiences as YA novelist, fanfiction writer, and scholar of education, Thomas considers four black girl protagonists from some of the most popular stories of the early 21st century: Bonnie Bennett from the CW’s The Vampire Diaries, Rue from Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games, Gwen from the BBC’s Merlin, and Angelina Johnson from J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter. Analyzing their narratives and audience reactions to them reveals how these characters mirror the violence against black and brown people in our own world. In response, Thomas uncovers and builds upon a tradition of fantasy and radical imagination in Black feminism and Afrofuturism to reveal new possibilities. Through fanfiction and other modes of counter-storytelling, young people of color have reinvisioned fantastic worlds that reflect their own experiences, their own lives. As Thomas powerfully asserts, “we dark girls deserve more, because we are more.”

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During the summer of 1916, approximately 270,000 Central Asians-Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Tajiks, Turkmen, and Uzbeks-perished at the hands of the Russian army in a revolt that began with resistance to the Tsar's World War I draft. In addition to those killed outright, tens of thousands of men, women, and children died while trying to escape over treacherous mountain passes into China. Experts calculate that the Kyrgyz, who suffered most heavily, lost 40% of their total population. This horrific incident was nearly lost to history. During the Soviet era, the massacre of 1916 became a taboo subject, hidden in sealed archives and banished from history books. Edward Dennis Sokol's pioneering Revolt of 1916 in Russian Central Asia, published in 1954 and reissued now for the first time in decades, was for generations the only scholarly study of the massacre in any language. Drawing on early Soviet periodicals, including Krasnyi Arkhiv ( The Red Archive), Sokol's wide-ranging and exhaustively researched work explores the Tsarist policies that led to Russian encroachment against the land and rights of the indigenous Central Asian people. It describes the corruption that permeated Russian colonial rule and argues that the uprising was no mere draft riot, but a revolt against Tsarist colonialism in all its dimensions: economic, political, religious, and national. Sokol's masterpiece also traces the chain reaction between the uprising, the collapse of Tsarism, and the Bolshevik Revolution. A classic study of a vanished world, Sokol's work takes on contemporary resonance in light of Vladimir Putin's heavy-handed efforts to persuade Kyrgyzstan to join his new economic union. Sokol explains how an earlier Russian conquest ended in disaster and implies that a modern conquest might have the same effect. Essential reading for historians, political scientists, and policymakers, this reissued edition is being published to coincide with the centennial observation of the genocide.

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Few American artists are as important, beloved and endlessly examined as Bob Dylan, yet he remains something of an enigma. This kaleidoscopic biography, full of the voices of Dylan's family, friends, and fellow travelers through the 60s, offers an entirely fresh narrative perspective, fusing rock star bio with an examination of the music and the zeitgeist that he so mysteriously captured.For almost half a century, Bob Dylan has been a primary catalyst in rock's shifting sensibilities. He has starred in and been the subject of major films; his work is taught in over 200 college courses; and few American artists are as important, beloved, and endlessly examined as he is. Yet, he remains something of an enigma. Who, we ask, is the "real" Bob Dylan? Is he Bobby Zimmerman yearning to escape Hibbing, Minnesota, or the Woody Guthrie wannabe spending the 1960s playing Greenwich Village haunts? The protest poet, the Factory fixture, or the born-again Christian denying the powers of prophecy everyone attributes to him? The events of his life alone do not tell us all we want to know.Now, David Dalton, author, screenwriter, journalist, and founding editor of Rolling Stone, paints a revealing portrait of the rock icon that will be a must-have for his legions of fans. Guided by Dalton's masterful hand, this book will follow Dylan's imaginative life, integrating actual events from his life, Dylan's words, and those of the people who know him most intimately. Drawing upon extensive interviews with Dylan's friends, family, and fellow eyewitnesses to the zeitgeist-including Joan Baez, Keith Richards, Bobby Neuwirth, Kris Kristofferson, Suze Rotolo, Clive Davis, Tom Petty, and others-this book will provide a new perspective on the man, the myth, and the musical era that forged them both.

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Now in paperback, The Shadow of Things to Come and its catastrophic and carnivalesque dreamscape speak out against political rhetoric and the destruction of meaning by government. In an unnamed African nation, the people are subject to a state of perpetual warfare and to an Orwellian abuse of language that strips from language its meaning and renders life senseless. And in a bare room lit only by moonlight, a young man hides, waiting for the mysterious crocodile-men to come and help him escape from the violent tyranny of the state. While he waits, he tells his story. This is Kossi Efoui’s catastrophic and carnivalesque dreamscape, the dark setting of The Shadow of Things to Come. Here, men and women are taken in the night, spirited away from their families, and sent to plantation penal colonies to be worked to the edge of madness. When they return, they are empty shells, their lost time referred to as the “Time of Annexation.” But though his parents were taken, our protagonist survived, first in the care of a quirky benefactress named Mama Maize, then under the wing of the state itself, as a student at one of its elite schools. When he meets a bookseller named Axis Kemal, however, he has found a surrogate father, an eccentric and wise man who can bring him out of the meaningless confusion and tell him the truth about the society he lives in. Through his characters, Efoui speaks out against atrocity and the abuse of power, but more, he writes against political rhetoric and the destruction of meaning by government. This novel is a love letter to language and, in Chris Turner’s dazzling translation, it becomes a stunning introduction for English-language readers to an exciting new talent.

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What is it like to run away from bombing, lose your family, and work out how to take care of yourself in a foreign country when you are seven years old? What do you do when the woman who promised you a good job in Europe turns out to have sold you into prostitution? How do you escape from torture and detention in Libya? What is it like to almost drown in the Mediterranean and then be confined in a garbage and rat-filled settlement on a Greek island for years? In this book, Lynne Jones answers these questions by combining direct testimony from children with a blazingly frank eyewitness account of providing mental health support on the front line of the migrant crisis across Europe and Central America in the past five years. Her diaries document how a compassionate welcome shifted to indifference and hostility toward those seeking refuge from war, disaster, and poverty in the richest countries in the world. They shine light on what it is like to be caught up on the front lines of the migrant crises in Europe and Central America, either as a person in flight or as a volunteer trying to help. They show how people who have fled war, poverty, and disaster—trapped in degrading, humiliating living conditions—have responded with resourcefulness and creativity. In the absence of most large professional humanitarian agencies, migrants and volunteers together have created a new form of humanitarianism that challenges old ways of working. Today there are 79 million forcibly displaced people in the world today, 1 percent of the world’s population. Understanding the perspectives of people on the move has never been more important. The Author's profits from this book will be donated to the charity: CHOOSE LOVE/HELP REFUGEES

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In Bodies in Dissent Daphne A. Brooks argues that from the mid-nineteenth century to the early twentieth, black transatlantic activists, actors, singers, and other entertainers frequently transformed the alienating conditions of social and political marginalization into modes of self-actualization through performance. Brooks considers the work of African American, Anglo, and racially ambiguous performers in a range of popular entertainment, including racial melodrama, spectacular theatre, moving panorama exhibitions, Pan-Africanist musicals, Victorian magic shows, religious and secular song, spiritualism, and dance. She describes how these entertainers experimented with different ways of presenting their bodies in public—through dress, movement, and theatrical technologies—to defamiliarize the spectacle of “blackness” in the transatlantic imaginary.Brooks pieces together reviews, letters, playbills, fiction, and biography in order to reconstruct not only the contexts of African American performance but also the reception of the stagings of “bodily insurgency” which she examines. Throughout the book, she juxtaposes unlikely texts and entertainers in order to illuminate the complicated transatlantic cultural landscape in which black performers intervened. She places Adah Isaacs Menken, a star of spectacular theatre, next to Sojourner Truth, showing how both used similar strategies of physical gesture to complicate one-dimensional notions of race and gender. She also considers Henry Box Brown’s public re-enactments of his escape from slavery, the Pan-Africanist discourse of Bert Williams’s and George Walker’s musical In Dahomey (1902–04), and the relationship between gender politics, performance, and New Negro activism in the fiction of the novelist and playwright Pauline Hopkins and the postbellum stage work of the cakewalk dancer and choreographer Aida Overton Walker. Highlighting the integral connections between performance and the construction of racial identities, Brooks provides a nuanced understanding of the vitality, complexity, and influence of black performance in the United States and throughout the black Atlantic.

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Much current theorizing about literature involves efforts to renew our sense of aesthetic values in reading. Such is the case with new formalism as well as recent appeals to the notion of "surface reading." While sympathetic to these efforts, Charles Altieri believes they ultimately fall short because too often they fail to account for the values that engage literary texts in the social world. In Reckoning with the Imagination, Altieri argues for a reconsideration of the Kantian tradition of Idealist ethics, which he believes can restore much of the power of the arguments for the role of aesthetics in art. Altieri finds a perspective for that restoration in a reading of Wittgenstein’s later work that stresses Wittgenstein’s parallel criticisms of the spirit of empiricism. Altieri begins by offering a phenomenology of imagination, because we cannot fully honor art if we do not link it to a distinctive, socially productive force. That force emerges in two quite different but equally powerful realizations in his reading of John Ashbery’s "Instruction Manual," which explicitly establishes a model for a postromantic view of imagination, and William Butler Yeats’s "Leda and the Swan." He then turns to Wittgenstein with chapters on the role of display as critique of Enlightenment thinking, the honoring of qualities like sensitivity and the ability to attune to the actions of others, the role of expression in the building of models, and the contrast between ethical and confessional modes of judgment. Finally, Altieri produces his own model of aesthetic experience as participatory valuation and makes an extended argument for the social significance of appreciation as a way to escape the patterns of resentment fundamental to our current mode of politics. A masterful work by one of our foremost literary and philosophical theorists, Reckoning with the Imagination will breathe new life into ongoing debates over the value of aesthetic experience.

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From the prizewinning Jewish Lives series, an exuberant biography of the world’s greatest escape artist “Will leave [readers] entertained and astonished, and that’s a kind of magic of its own.”—Jerry Z. Muller, Jewish Review of Books In 1916, the war in Europe having prevented a tour abroad, Harry Houdini wrote a film treatment for a rollicking motion picture. Though the movie was never made, its title, “The Marvelous Adventures of Houdini: The Justly Celebrated Elusive American,” provides a succinct summary of the Master Mystifier’s life. Born Erik Weisz in Budapest in 1874, Houdini grew up an impoverished Jewish immigrant in the Midwest and became world-famous thanks to talent, industry, and ferocious determination. He concealed as a matter of temperament and professional ethics the secrets of his sensational success. Nobody knows how Houdini performed some of his dazzling, death-defying tricks, and nobody knows, finally, why he felt compelled to punish and imprison himself over and over again. Tracking the restless Houdini’s wide-ranging exploits, acclaimed biographer Adam Begley tells the story of a mystifying man’s astonishing career. About Jewish Lives: Jewish Lives is a prizewinning series of interpretative biography designed to explore the many facets of Jewish identity. Individual volumes illuminate the imprint of Jewish figures upon literature, religion, philosophy, politics, cultural and economic life, and the arts and sciences. Subjects are paired with authors to elicit lively, deeply informed books that explore the range and depth of the Jewish experience from antiquity to the present. In 2014, the Jewish Book Council named Jewish Lives the winner of its Jewish Book of the Year Award, the first series ever to receive this award. More praise for Jewish Lives: “Excellent.”—New York Times “Exemplary.”—Wall Street Journal “Distinguished.”—New Yorker “Superb.”—The Guardian

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Gypsies and the British Imagination, 1807-1930, is the first book to explore fully the British obsession with Gypsies throughout the nineteenth century and into the twentieth. Deborah Epstein Nord traces various representations of Gypsies in the works of such well-known British authors John Clare, Walter Scott, William Wordsworth, George Eliot, Arthur Conan Doyle, and D. H. Lawrence. Nord also exhumes lesser-known literary, ethnographic, and historical texts, exploring the fascinating histories of nomadic writer George Borrow, the Gypsy Lore Society, Dora Yates, and other rarely examined figures and institutions. Gypsies were both idealized and reviled by Victorian and early-twentieth-century Britons. Associated with primitive desires, lawlessness, cunning, and sexual excess, Gypsies were also objects of antiquarian, literary, and anthropological interest. As Nord demonstrates, British writers and artists drew on Gypsy characters and plots to redefine and reconstruct cultural and racial difference, national and personal identity, and the individual's relationship to social and sexual orthodoxies. Gypsies were long associated with pastoral conventions and, in the nineteenth century, came to stand in for the ancient British past. Using myths of switched babies, Gypsy kidnappings, and the Gypsies' murky origins, authors projected onto Gypsies their own desires to escape convention and their anxieties about the ambiguities of identity. The literary representations that Nord examines have their roots in the interplay between the notion of Gypsies as a separate, often despised race and the psychic or aesthetic desire to dissolve the boundary between English and Gypsy worlds. By the beginning of the twentieth century, she argues, romantic identification with Gypsies had hardened into caricature-a phenomenon reflected in D. H. Lawrence's The Virgin and the Gipsy-and thoroughly obscured the reality of Gypsy life and history.

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Are happy-ever-afters made in Manhattan? Find out in this gorgeous novel, perfect for cold winter nights… Once upon a time an English girl went to New York to live out her very own fairytale… Florist Rosie Duncan's life couldn't be better, she has a flourishing business on New York's Upper West Side and fantastic friends. Moving to Manhattan to escape her heartbreak was the best decision she ever made. For the past six years Rosie has kept her heart under lock and key – despite the protests of her inner circle. But then, a blossoming friendship with publishing hot-shot Nate thaws her resolve, sparking a blizzard of emotions. Meanwhile, her brother arrives in the Big Apple, hiding a secret – and she is forced to confront questions she has long been trying to ignore… Can Rosie write her own happily ever after? Or is she destined to be unlucky in love…? A sparkling romantic comedy, perfect for fans of Lindsey Kelk, Josie Silver and Sophie Kinsella. Previously published in 2009 Readers ADORE Fairytale of New York: ‘This book SPARKLES! Unlike anything I’ve ever read. I loved it.’ Reader Review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘If you want a story that is uplifting and engaging, you MUST read this!!!!’ Reader Review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Fabulously written romance that makes you believe fairy tales really do come true.’ Reader Review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘A delightful romantic tale that will put a smile on your face.’ Reader Review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘This is definitely one for all the hopeless romantics out there!!’ Reader Review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Curl up with a cuppa and some chocolate and totally indulge yourself in this romance. Totally super!’ Reader Review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Don’t miss the brand new thriller from USA Today bestselling author, Carissa Ann Lynch. A secret has been kept for twenty years, until now… A new home. A new start. An old nightmare. Inheriting a house was supposed to be the perfect escape for Willow Roberts. But the home is in a town she hasn’t been to since childhood, when her friend ran away. Twenty years later Willow is back. Nothing has changed, but everything is different.Then a body is found, and Willow knows exactly who it is. Now Willow must face the truth. What really happened the summer her friend disappeared? See what real readers have said about Carissa Ann Lynch: ‘I was absolutely invested from page 1 and couldn’t put it down’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘If I could give this book more than 5 stars I would. Thrilling, suspenseful and a page-turner’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Awesome’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Wow … literally blown my mind’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘A twisty thriller that you will not guess’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I was completely hooked’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘From the first page to the last I was gripped’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Great writing and the characters really were fantastic’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘So juicy… the suspense is amped up right from the first page and doesn’t end’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘An easy, fast-paced book’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I read this book in one sitting… I was hooked’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘A fast, entertaining read with a smart twist at the end’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Suspense, intrigue and many twists and turns’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘The cast of characters were complicated and unlikeable in the best ways’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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One man's amazing story of how God protected and provided for him in the midst of the Burundian civil war and brought him to a place of grace, forgiveness and restoration. Theodore Mbazumutima was forced to flee from his native Burundi when tensions between Hutus and Tutsis escalated. Theo's dangerous and incredible journey fleeing civil war is an amazing testimony of God's miraculous intervention, protection and guidance. Despite experiencing suffering first hand, God has brought Theo to such a place of forgiveness that he is now a peace-worker bringing reconciliation to the Burundian people. My Country Wept reminds us that when we submit to God's plan for our lives, he can rescue us from any circumstances and work in every situation. Content Benefits: Escaping murderous mobs in the Burundi civil war to Theo's return to his country to help his own people, this is a truly stunning account of the provision of God, and of grace and forgiveness. An eye opening account of the effect of the Burundian civil war on ordinary people Follows the desperate escape from civil unrest and refugee camps in Africa Inspirational testimony of Theo's faith and God's unfailing love even in the darkest situations Demonstrates how faith in God can sustain us throughout extraordinary trials Shows how God intervenes in our lives through the power of prayer Reveals the power of forgiveness Theo is now Director of Rema Ministries, a peace-building organisation committed to the rights of people in forced displacement situations, particularly refugees, the internally displaced and returnees Perfect for anyone who loves reading biographies Ideal reading for those who love to hear testimonies of God at work in the world Perfect gift idea for men, Father's Day Binding - Paperback Pages - 240 Publisher - Authentic Media

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In these pages you will encounter gamblers and adventurers, conmen and conwomen, rodomontades and ragamuffins, outright fools and outrageous liars. Scalawags, the lot of them. But you can be an adventurer, a conman or conwoman, a fool, liar, gambler, rodomontade or ragamuffin and not be a scalawag. Many adventurers are not even interesting, come to think of it, let alone scalawags. There is an ineffable quality, an indefinable something or other that sets some people apart, places themin the special category that Jim Christy calls "scalawag." You might call them something else: nuts, perhaps. And quite frankly in many instances-George Francis Train, for instance, or Louis De Rougemont-you'd probably be right. But likewise you don't have to be a crackpot to be a scalawag: Two Gun Cohen, for instance, or Lady Jane Digby. What you have to be is outrageous with a bit of what Andre Malraux, an adventurer and liar, perhaps-;but not a scalawag-designated, in reviving an old French word, farfelu. It means that you are willing to risk everything, whether on a grand or small scale, on the craziest of schemes, the wildest of notions. "Curious cases of cannibalism, extreme sado-masochism, and generally irrational behaviour abound, making 'Scalawags' the perfect balm anyone attempting to cloister their desires in a bid for self improvement." - Steven Schelling "My advice: Keep your copy of 'Scalawags' in the bathroom. Or on your bedside table. Or in the bag you carry on thebus. It's perfectly suited to those times when you're seeking a momentary escape. There's nothing like outrageous lives and flamboyant characters to take you out of your dreary day-to-day." - Robert J. Wiersema, The Vancouver Sun

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Julie’s having a very bad day. She’s a new manager, and her top performer has resigned to escape her, and her own manager is looking on with a skeptical eye. . . . This is the story of her turnaround. Being a first-time manager is a tough job. If you were Julie, what would you do? Wouldn’t anyone, given the choice of taking on a leadership role (with a raise), or staying put, have done the same? But no one prepared her for developing co-workers, her former peers, while producing as before and leading the team. Now she’s in over her head. Author Katy Tynan understands. In her new book, How Did I Not See This Coming? A Manager’s Guide to Avoiding Total Disaster, Tynan unlocks the truths about management, showing that first-time managers are basically on a journey without a map. It’s not that employers aren’t investing in their new managers, she says, or that the people in leadership don’t care, but they are no longer close to the raw experience of being a new manager. What’s more, most management books are written by experts who lack the memory of first-time failure. In How Did I Not See This Coming?, Tynan tells the fictional story of Julie, a onetime star producer, to illustrate how a new manager can successfully make the shift from a role without leadership responsibilities to one with them. Along the way, Tynan offers the five basic truths about management—starting with recognizing team values and strengths—truths that can be learned by anyone. You, too, can be the manager everyone’s talking about—in a good way—because you’re the one who figured it out.

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What is luck? The chances are you don't really know, but you probably believe in it, and I bet that you invoke the word every day of your life ...'Bad luck!' 'That was lucky!' 'You should be so lucky!' 'What a lucky escape!' - said with varying degrees of intensity, sincerity, sarcasm, amusement, incredulity or disgust. But what is luck? This book tries to determine what luck is, how it operates in our lives, and how far the individual is at its mercy - favoured by good luck or cursed by bad? Is there any justice or fair play in life, or are these merely human concepts that don't exist in the laws governing the universe? Whatever you think you believe, by the time you have read this book, the odds are that you will have changed your mind. James M Kileen's analysis ranges from Astrology to Zoroastrianism and everything in between: the big bang and the butterfly effect, destiny and determinism, fortune-telling and feng shui, gambling and game theory, miracles and Murphy's Law, oracles and ordeals, philosophy and religion, precognition and the placebo effect, serendipity and synchronicity. A Matter of Luck is a highly readable yet thought-provoking work, interspersed with illuminating and amusing examples to illlustrate each facet of this fascinating subject: for example, the true stories of the man who broke the bank at Monte Carlo, King Umberto and the chef, James Dean's car, and the woman who simultaneously chose the winning numbers for both the Massachusetts and Rhode Island lotteries (although the numbers she chose for the Rhode Island lottery were the winning numbers for the Massachusetts lottery, and vice versa). Lucky or unlucky - you decide, if you can.

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This extraordinary true story transports us to Tudor and Stuart England as Alice Spencer, the daughter of an upstart sheep farmer, becomes one of the most powerful women in the country and establishes a powerful dynasty that endures to this day. Perfect for fans of The Duchess Countess and Georgiana. Alice Spencer was born in 1560 to a family on the rise. Her grandfather had amassed a sizeable estate of fertile grazing land and made a small fortune in sheep farming, allowing him to purchase a simple but distinguished manor house called Althorp. With her sizable dowry, Alice married the heir to one of the most powerful aristocratic families in the country, eventually becoming the Countess of Derby. Though she enjoyed modest renown, it wasn’t until her husband’s sudden death (after he turned in a group of Catholics for plotting against Queen Elizabeth I) that Alice and her family’s future changed forever. Faced with a lawsuit from her brother-in-law over her late husband’s fortune, Alice raised eyebrows by marrying England’s most powerful lawyer. Together, they were victorious, and Alice focused her attentions on securing appropriate husbands for her daughters, increasing her land ownings, and securing a bright future for her grandchildren and the entire Spencer family. But they would not completely escape scandals, and as the matriarch, Alice had to face an infamous trial that threatened everything she had worked so hard for. Now, the full story of the remarkable Alice Spencer Stanley Egerton is revealed in this comprehensive and colorful biography. A woman both ahead of and part of her time, Alice’s ruthless challenging of the status quo has inspired future generations of Spencers and will change the way you view Tudor women.

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A WATERSTONES BEST HISTORY BOOK OF 2023'A masterful portrait of one of the world's greatest cities... A must-read' PETER FRANKOPAN'Such a delightful read' KATJA HOYER, The Times'Berlin may well be Europe's most enigmatic city and John Kampfner is the ideal guide.' JONATHAN FREEDLAND, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Escape Artist'Gripping' Financial TimesNo other city has had so many lives, survived so many disasters and has reinvented itself so many times. No other city is like Berlin.Ever since John Kampfner was a young journalist in Communist East Berlin, he hasn't been able to get the city out of his mind. It is a place tortured by its past, obsessed with memories, a place where traumas are unleashed and the traumatised have gathered.Over the past four years Kampfner has walked the length and breadth of Berlin, delving into the archives, and talking to historians and writers, architects and archaeologists. He clambers onto a fallen statue of Lenin; he rummages in boxes of early Medieval bones; he learns about the cabaret star so outrageous she was thrown out of the city.Berlin has been a military barracks, industrial powerhouse, centre of learning, hotbed of decadence - and the laboratory for the worst experiment in horror known to man. Now a city of refuge, it is home to 180 nationalities, and more than a quarter of the population has a migrant background. Berlin never stands still. It is never satisfied. But it is now the irresistible capital to which the world is gravitating. In Search of Berlin is an 800-year story, a dialogue between past and present; it is a new way of looking at this turbulent and beguiling city on its never-ending journey of reinvention.

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People come to the guest house for fresh air and views across the Atlantic. But if they're lucky, they might just leave with the second chance they didn't know they needed... Esme has run the guest house for as long as anyone in Ballycove can remember. But in her declining years, her sight is failing, and when she has a fall on the eve of the summer season, she is forced to take a back seat for the first time in her life. From her chair in the entry hall, not much passes Esme by. There's Cora, the wife visiting indefinitely... without her husband; Niamh, the city professional with a life-changing decision to make; and Phyllie, the grandmother whose family is slipping away from her. Esme's guests provide the colour that helps her keep her grip on the world. All of them have something they want to escape – or to hold on to. But can Esme help them find their way before the summer is over? From bestselling Irish writer Faith Hogan comes a new, uplifting story about discovering love, friendship and the healing power of the Irish sea air. It will charm fans of Sheila O'Flanagan, Heidi Swain and Susanne O'Leary. 'Once again Faith pulls you into her world instantly and never lets you go, with such an incredibly real cast of characters who you feel actually exist. A Life affirming and unputdownable read.' Phillipa Ashley 'What a delight this book is. A gorgeous cast of characters, the perfect seaside setting and Faith Hogan’s wonderful talent for dialogue all come together to make this a lovely feel-good story with an ending that will cheer your heart.' Imogen Clark

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The blockbuster danmei/Boys' Love novels from China that inspired the animated Scumbag System series streaming in English! This comedic tale of a man reborn as a villain in a fantasy novel series who ends up romancing the male protagonist is now in English, for the very first time! Half-demon Luo Binghe rose from humble beginnings and a tortured past to become unrivaled in strength and beauty. With his harem of over three hundred wives, and dominion over both the human and demonic realms, he is truly the most powerful protagonist-in a trashy web novel series! At least, that's what Shen Yuan, online alias "Peerless Cucumber," believes as he finishes reading the final chapter in Proud Immortal Demon Way. But when a combination of rage and a poor meal choice leads to his death, Shen Yuan finds himself reborn into the world of the web novel, in the body of Shen Qingqiu-the beautiful but cruel teacher to a young Luo Binghe. Although as Shen Qingqiu, he now has incredible power and abilities as a cultivator, he's destined to be horrifically punished for crimes against the protagonist, so this new Shen Qingqiu has only one course of action: get into Luo Binghe's good graces before the young man's rise to power. That's the only way he'll escape the awful fate of a true scum villain! This fantasy (xianxia) comedy built around the romanticized love between two men (danmei) was the first series by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu to spur a global multimedia franchise, followed by her later blockbusters Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation and Heaven Official's Blessing. The Seven Seas English-language edition will include exclusive, all-new covers and interior illustrations from Xiao Tong Kong (Velinxi) and feature a translation by Faelicy (faelicy) & Lily (lily_ocho).

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Discover the sizzling brother's-best-friend, small town romance that went viral on TikTok - now in a special edition with an exclusive sneak peek at the next book in the series and a Q&A with the author!She's off-limits, but he's never been good at following the rules . . .'A sweet slow burn . . . sunshine in written form' - Lana Ferguson, USA Today bestselling author For the first time in her life, Clementine 'Emmy' Ryder has no idea what she's doing. She's accomplished everything on her to-do list. She left her small hometown of Meadowlark, Wyoming, went to college, and made a career for herself by doing her favorite thing: riding horses. But after an accident makes it impossible for her to get back into the saddle, she has no choice but to return to the hometown she always wanted to escape.Luke Brooks is Meadowlark's most notorious bad boy, bar owner, and bachelor. He's also the unofficial fifth member of the Ryder family. As Emmy's older brother's best friend, Luke spent most of his childhood antagonizing her. It's been years since he's seen her, but when she walks into his bar and back into his life, he can't take his eyes off her. Against his better judgment, he wants to do a whole lot more than just look at her. As things between Emmy and Brooks heat up, it gets more difficult for him to keep his hands off of her. Can he help her get her spark back? Or will they both go up in flames?5* READER REVIEWS FOR DONE AND DUSTED'SUCH a joy to read''The plot . . . amazing, the characters . . . amazing and the spice . . . AMAZING''This was so cute!!!''I am absolutely + utterly obsessed with this book''I ate this book up!'

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SOME LEGACIES ARE MEANT TO BE BROKEN. "I love the feeling of a magical world existing just beneath the surface of our own and this story gave me everything I wanted: incredible characters, ancient lore and secret societies – all grounded in our very real, very flawed world . . ." –Leigh Bardugo, author of Shadow and BoneAn explosive fantasy debut that is taking TikTok by storm. Perfect for fans of Cassandra Clare, Leigh Bardugo, Sarah J. Maas and Cinderella is Dead! Filled with mystery and Southern Black Girl Magic, Tracy Deonn’s New York Times bestselling Legendborn offers the dark allure of City of Bones with a modern-day twist on a classic legend . . . After her mother dies in an accident, sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews wants to escape. A residential programme for bright high-schoolers seems like the perfect opportunity – until she witnesses a magical attack her very first night on campus . . .A flying demon feeding on human energies.A secret society of so-called “Legendborn” that hunt the creatures down.A mysterious mage who calls himself a “Merlin” and who attempts – and fails – to wipe Bree’s memory of everything she saw. The mage’s failure unlocks Bree’s own unique magic and a buried memory about her mother. Now Bree will do whatever it takes to discover the truth, even infiltrate the Legendborn. But when the Legendborn reveal themselves as the descendants of King Arthur’s knights and foretell a magical war, Bree must decide how far she’ll go for the truth. Should she use her magic to take the society down – or join the fight?Winner of the Coretta Scott King – John Steptoe for New Talent Author Award, and a New York Times bestseller!

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'Nobody does cosy, get-away-from-it-all romance like Jenny Colgan' Sunday ExpressEscape to a cosy festive bookshop this winter with this page-turning and magical treat. PRAISE FOR JENNY COLGANAn evocative, sweet treat' Jojo Moyes'Gorgeous, glorious, uplifting' Marian Keyes'A cracker - the must-read this festive season' Sun'Irresistible' Jill Mansell'Just lovely' Katie Fforde'Naturally funny, warm-hearted' Lisa Jewell'A gobble-it-all-up-in-one-sitting kind of book' Mike Gayle_______________The brand new feel-good Christmas novel from Sunday Times top ten bestselling author, Jenny Colgan. Carmen has always worked in her local department store. So, when the gorgeous old building closes its doors for good, she is more than a little lost.When her sister, Sofia, mentions an opportunity in Edinburgh - a cute little bookshop, the spare room in her house - Carmen is reluctant, she was never very good at accepting help. But, short on options, she soon finds herself pulling into the snowy city just a month before Christmas.What Sofia didn't say is that the shop is on its last legs and that if Carmen can't help turn things around before Christmas, the owner will be forced to sell. Privately, Sofia is sure it will take more than a miracle to save the store, but maybe this Christmas, Carmen might surprise them all...____________________Why readers ADORE Jenny Colgan 'Jenny Colgan has a way of writing that makes me melt inside''Her books are so good I want to start over as soon as I have finished''There's something so engaging about her characters and plots''Her books are like a big, warm blanket''Her stories are just so fabulous''She brings her settings and characters so vividly to life''The woman is just magic'

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The uses of shame (and shamelessness) in spheres that range from social media and consumerism to polarized politics and mass violenceToday, we are caught in a shame spiral—a vortex of mutual shaming that pervades everything from politics to social media. We are shamed for our looks, our culture, our ethnicity, our sexuality, our poverty, our wrongdoings, our politics. But what is the point of all this shaming and countershaming? Does it work? And if so, for whom?In Shame, David Keen explores the function of modern shaming, paying particular attention to how shame is instrumentalized and weaponized. Keen points out that there is usually someone who offers an escape from shame—and that many of those who make this offer have been piling on shame in the first place. Self-interested manipulations of shame, Keen argues, are central to understanding phenomena as wide-ranging as consumerism, violent crime, populist politics, and even war and genocide. Shame is political as well as personal. To break out of our current cycle of shame and shaming, and to understand the harm that shame can do, we must recognize the ways that shame is being made to serve political and economic purposes.Keen also traces the rise of leaders on both sides of the Atlantic who possess a dangerous shamelessness, and he asks how shame and shamelessness can both be damaging. Answering this question means understanding the different types of shame. And it means understanding how shame and shamelessness interact—not least when shame is instrumentalized by those who are selling shamelessness. Keen points to a perverse and inequitable distribution of shame, with the victims of poverty and violence frequently being shamed, while those who benefit tend to exhibit shamelessness and even pride.

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THE SUNDAY TIMES NO.1 BESTSELLEREscape into a world of magic and danger with THE DARK STAR TRILOGY. Drawing on a rich tradition of African mythology, fantasy and history, this is the story of a lost child, an extraordinary hunter, and a mystery with many answers . . .*Perfect for fans of Pratchett, George R. R. Martin and Octavia Butler*'The kind of novel I never realized I was missing until I read it. A dangerous, hallucinatory, ancient Africa, which becomes a fantasy world as well-realized as anything Tolkien made' Neil Gaiman*****Tracker is a hunter. Known throughout the thirteen kingdoms as one who has a nose, he always works alone. But he breaks his own rule when, hired to find a lost child, he finds himself part of a group of hunters, each stranger and more dangerous than the last.As the mismatched gang follow the boy's scent from perfumed citadels to enchanted darklands, Tracker starts to wonder:Who really is this mysterious boy? Why do so many people want to stop him from being found? And, most important of all, who is telling the truth and who is lying?Marlon James weaves a breathtaking tapestry - at once ancient and startlingly modern - exploring the fundamentals of truth, limits of power, excesses of ambition, and our need to understand them all.Chronicling the same events but telling a very different story - who will you believe? Read THE DARK STAR TRILOGY in any order! Book two, MOON WITCH, SPIDER KING, is available now.*****'Complex, lyrical, moving and furiously gripping . . . This new book will propel James into a new galaxy of literary stardom' Observer'A game-changing modern fantasy classic' Financial Times'James has thrown African cultures, mythologies, religions, histories, world-views and topographies into the mighty cauldron of his imagination to create a work of literary magic' New Statesman

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In the aftermath of the Civil War, an aging itinerant news reader agrees to transport a young captive of the Kiowa back to her people in this exquisitely rendered, morally complex, multilayered novel of historical fiction from the author of Enemy Women that explores the boundaries of family, responsibility, honor, and trust. In the wake of the Civil War, Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd travels through northern Texas, giving live readings from newspapers to paying audiences hungry for news of the world. An elderly widower who has lived through three wars and fought in two of them, the captain enjoys his rootless, solitary existence. In Wichita Falls, he is offered a $50 gold piece to deliver a young orphan to her relatives in San Antonio. Four years earlier, a band of Kiowa raiders killed Johanna's parents and sister; sparing the little girl, they raised her as one of their own. Recently rescued by the U.S. army, the ten-year-old has once again been torn away from the only home she knows. Their 400-mile journey south through unsettled territory and unforgiving terrain proves difficult and at times dangerous. Johanna has forgotten the English language, tries to escape at every opportunity, throws away her shoes, and refuses to act "civilized." Yet as the miles pass, the two lonely survivors tentatively begin to trust each other, forming a bond that marks the difference between life and death in this treacherous land. Arriving in San Antonio, the reunion is neither happy nor welcome. The captain must hand Johanna over to an aunt and uncle she does not remember-strangers who regard her as an unwanted burden. A respectable man, Captain Kidd is faced with a terrible choice: abandon the girl to her fate or become-in the eyes of the law-a kidnapper himself.

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Dream job. Dream house. Fake fiancé. A year in a gorgeous Italian castle… When Anna Roberts’ life implodes, an online search leads her to an ad for the ultimate dream job – management of a gorgeous castle on the shores of Lake Como, accommodation included. The only catch? Anna can’t do it alone… …With the last man on earth she’d choose! The castle owners will only accept a couple as caretakers, which means Anna needs a man on her arm at the interview. Enter her neighbour, Jake Tucker. Though Anna and Jake have never seen eye-to-eye, Jake’s had a rough few years and an escape to Italy sounds ideal. Yet, when they get the job and jet off, Anna and Jake face an unexpected challenge. Pretending to be a couple is difficult … but pretending the tension simmering between them doesn’t exist is quickly proving impossible! Readers are loving Anna and Jake’s romance: ‘I see fake dating, I see Italy, I read…It felt like the author had gone into my brain and pretty much wrote the romantic comedy of my dreams’ Catarina ‘Everything I typically love in a romance book…full of sexual tension, snarky (but very witty) comments’ Porshe ‘Read this in one sitting…who wouldn’t want to fall in love with the bad boy neighbour, a beautiful castle and an Italian coast?’ Bee ‘A slow burn enemies to friends to lovers…it has all the best romance tropes’ Ruby ‘Reading this book felt like inhaling a breath of fresh air…It was so good, I really loved it’ Meghan ‘To start off, ugh, I adore this cover!! My favorite types of novels are the ones that feel unique and fresh…this one was especially that’ Oniya ‘A fun fake relationship book with just a touch of enemies to lovers…plenty of spicy tension and good banter’ Meg

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‘Thoroughly enjoyable locked-room murder mystery. I highly recommend this book’ Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I was hooked from the first page, wonderful’ Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Brilliant, brilliant book . . . this was one of the best books I’ve read in a long time’ Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Entertaining, engaging and thoroughly enjoyable . . Wonderful escapism’ Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Never a dull moment, lots of red herrings, plenty of humour and a plot worthy of Agatha!!!’ Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ * * * It’s been an enjoyable and murder-free time for Judith, Suzie and Becks – AKA the Marlow Murder Club – since the events of last year. The most exciting thing on the horizon is the upcoming wedding of Marlow grandee, Sir Peter Bailey, to his nurse, Jenny Page. Sir Peter is having a party at his grand mansion on the river Thames the day before the wedding, and Judith and Co. are looking forward to a bit of free champagne. But during the soiree, there’s a crash from inside the house, and when the Marlow Murder Club rush to investigate, they are shocked to find the groom-to-be crushed to death in his study. The study was locked from the inside, so the police don’t consider the death suspicious. But Judith disagrees. As far as she's concerned, Peter was murdered! And it’s up to the Marlow Murder Club to find the killer before he or she strikes again… * * * ‘I love Robert Thorogood’s writing’ Peter James ‘Lots of laughs, a quick pace and an easy read to escape into’ Glamour ‘A perfect locked room mystery’ My Weekly ‘Cosy crime at its best’ Crime Monthly ‘Satisfying locked-room mystery’ Saga ‘Cleverly plotted and laugh-out-loud funny’ Yours magazine ‘The perfect cosy crime to curl up with’ Heat

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'Superb... authoritative, thoughtful and terrifying in equal measure', The Secret Barrister'Astonishing. Detailed, dispassionate and definitive. An urgent warning and work of major importance', James O'Brien0n 26 March 2020, a new law appeared. In eleven pages it locked down tens of millions of people, confined us to our homes, banned socialising, closed shops, gyms, pubs, places of worship. It restricted our freedoms more than any other law in history, justified by the rapid spread of a deadly new virus.You may have expected such a law to be fiercely debated in Parliament. But it wasn't debated at all. A state of emergency was declared, meaning the law came into force the moment it was signed. The emergency was supposed to be short but lasted for 763 days, allowing ministers to bring in, by decree over 100 new laws restricting freedoms more than any in history - laws that were almost never debated, changed at a whim and increasingly confused the public. Meanwhile, behind the doors of Downing Street, officials and even the Prime Minister broke the very laws they had created.This book tells the startling story of the state of emergency that brought about an Emergency State. A wake-up call from one of the UK's leading human rights barristers, Emergency State shows us why we must never take our rights for granted.'A riveting account of how our democracy was put under threat during the Pandemic and why we must never let the Emergency State - all-powerful but ignorant and corrupt - take over again', Lady Hale, former President of the UK Supreme Court'Clear-eyed, forensic and compelling, Wagner sets out what happened during the Covid-19 pandemic - and the lessons we need to learn', Jonathan Freedland, author of The Escape Artist

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Four stories set in the Eleventh Doctor era, starring Jacob Dudman: 2.1 The Evolving Dead by Doris V Sutherland. The dead stalk the corridors of research station Romeo. For a technician (dead) and her ex-boyfriend (also dead), the Doctor’s their only chance to escape. For the rest of the crew, he’s their only chance to feed. 2.2 The Day Before They Came by Daniel Blythe. In the shabby seaside town of Bayview, Kayla Worthington is sitting on the beach waiting for an alien invasion. Her patience is rewarded when an alien arrives, although he doesn’t seem to be invading. He’s called the Doctor, and he wants to buy her a cup of tea. 2.3 The Melting Pot by Christopher Cooper. Arriving on Piir to sample the local cuisine, the Doctor finds a society wildly different from the one he remembers. With violence brewing on the streets, the Doctor will have to get to the bottom of what has gone wrong on Piir, before the world tears itself apart. 2.4 A Tragical History by Tessa North. To most of the inmates in Hythe Prison, life is miserable. However, some are living out their idealised lives within its walls. Amongst the dank conditions, the Doctor is about to uncover the key to everything he could ever desire. Cast: Jacob Dudman (The Doctor), Laura Aikman (Sarah Ellison), Tom Alexander (Maxwell/Headshot), Ayesha Antoine (Babs), Nicholas Asbury (Preacher Stem), Joe Barnes (Ray), Nicholas Briggs (Spongiform), Jacob Daniels (Lee), Bethan Dixon Bate (Lady Dora Swift), Joe Jameson (Arvin), Avita Jay (Evo/Eleanor Pearce), Jenny Lee (Eliza Smith), Paul Panting (Ilyani/Bailiff), Jeany Spark (Gonch/Piir Mother), Milly Thomas (Elix), Venice Van Someren (Mary Wainwright), Jo Woodcock (Kayla Worthington). Other parts played by members of the cast.

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'Uplifting and utterly defiant' Matt Nixson, Daily Express 'Immediate and important ... This is an insider's account of how an ordinary life became extraordinary' Helen Davies, The Times'At first we did not understand what war was. You can't understand it until you see it and hear it.'As Russian forces build up beyond the Ukrainian borders and the prospect of war becomes a devastating reality, Andrey Kurkov chronicles the shocking impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Part political and historical commentary, part personal journal, Kurkov explores the fraught interrelation of Russian and Ukrainian history, the complicated coexistence of their languages, and in describing how a peaceful society defies occupation, the author builds an image of a culture which, contrary to Putin's claims, is unique and democratic, liberal and diverse, one that will 'resist to the end'.Redirecting his satirical flair to paint a defiant portrait of his compatriots, Kurkov tells of a people united against erasure. Bread is baked and shared in the ruins. An amputee is carried aboard an evacuating train, grandmothers escape occupied towns with their noisome roosters. And despite the networks of toloka, of community work for common good, being stretched to breaking point, and the embittering reticence of some European nations to make good their promises of aid and armaments, hope channels its perennial resistance: children are born deep within besieged cities and farmers go on working the fields made lethal by unexploded shells. Kurkov braids his personal story with those of other displaced Ukrainians and the communities that have gone to extraordinary lengths to care for them. Showing an irrepressible spirit, they 'wait for the moment when it will be safe to return,' he writes, 'just as I am waiting.'

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For fans of The Flatshare by Beth Leary and Grown Ups by Marian KeyesShortlisted for the 2020 Romantic Novelists' Association Joan Hessayon award'Playful, witty and beautifully written' Daily Mail__________________________________Rachel vowed that she would love David for better or worse... But when she spots him kissing another woman, she knows their marriage is over. And she's determined to get her revenge through divorce. The trouble is, her romantic destination wedding wasn't exactly legal - so if she wants to divorce her husband, she'll have to marry him first... But as Rachel recreates the magic of their early days in a bid to lure David back down the aisle again, will it bring back long-lost feelings for him too?__________________________________Readers are saying How to Marry Your Husband is the best rom-com they've read in years:'If you're a fan of Marian Keyes you will love this witty story.''One of those fantastic books that allows you to escape your troubles for an afternoon. How To Marry Your Husband was the distraction I so needed.''Utterly entertaining and deeply human, How to Marry Your Husband is a moving and yes, hilarious novel about love and mistakes, about almost perfect, about changes of plans, bumps in the road, and what to make of lemons when life throws them in your face.''The perfect romance with a touch that makes all the difference''A delightful rom-com that kept me on my toes the whole time. The storyline was exceptional and the characters engaging and believable.''An entertaining and witty novel.' 'Definitely a 5 star rating from me!''I loved this book & couldn't put it down!''A great story that will keep you hooked!'

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This stunning hardcover journal is a bold, interactive guide to discovering and creating the truest, most beautiful lives, families and world we can imagine, based on the #1 Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller Untamed."We must stop asking people for directions to places they've never been. Every life is an unprecedented experiment. We are all pioneers. I created Get Untamed: The Journal as an interactive experience in charting our own way - so we can let burn that which is not true and beautiful enough and get started building what is." - Glennon DoyleWith Untamed, Glennon Doyle -writer, activist, and "patron saint of female empowerment" (People) - ignited a movement. Untamed has been described as "a wake-up call" (Tracee Ellis Ross), "an anthem for women today" (Kristen Bell), and a book that "will shake your brain and make your soul scream" (Adele). Glennon now offers a new way of journaling, one that reveals how we can stop striving to meet others' expectations-because when we finally learn that satisfying the world is impossible, we quit pleasing and start living. Whether or not you have read Untamed, this journal leads you to rediscover, and begin to trust, your own inner-voice.Full of thought-provoking exercises, beloved quotations from Untamed, compelling illustrations, playful and meditative coloring pages, and an original introduction, in Get Untamed: The Journal, Glennon guides us through the process of examining the aspects of our lives that can make us feel caged. This revolutionary method for uprooting culturally-constructed ideas shows us how to discover for ourselves what we want to keep and what we'll let burn so that we can build lives by design instead of default. A one-of-a-kind journal experience, Get Untamed proves Glennon's philosophy that "imagination is not where we go to escape reality, but where we go to remember it."

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This range of two-part audio dramas stars Tom Baker reprising his most popular role as the Fourth Doctor (from 1974 - 1981) with a number of his original TV companions. This fifth series reunites the Doctor with Romana (Lalla Ward), a fellow Time Lord for adventures across Time and Space! The Doctor and Romana land in Budapest in 1979, intent on enjoying another holiday, but shortly after landing they find themselves too late to save the life of a man who has seemingly been attacked by a vampire. As they learn that this is the latest in a series of violent attacks, it becomes clear that they have stumbled onto something that needs investigating. Aided by a vampire hunter who is searching for Dracula, they look into the nearby Buda caves, currently being used for storage by the military - and find that the soldiers have problems of their own. Stalked through the tunnels by a monster, and up against an ancient evil, the race is on to escape alive - and foil the dastardly schemes of the maniacal Zoltan Frid. The fifth series in a Big Finish range which is hugely popular with fans of the classic TV series Doctor Who. The pairing of the Doctor and Romana harks back to the most-watched period of Doctor Who, one that to a generation is the most loved and iconic and which broke the records for viewers of the show. Tom Baker's portrayal of the Fourth Doctor Who still tops popularity polls today. He was a special guest in 2013's 50th anniversary story Doctor Who - The Day of the Doctor. Guest actor Celia Soames appeared in BBC3's top cult hit Being Human. CAST: Tom Baker (The Doctor), Lalla Ward (Romana), Katie Bracken (Celia Soames), Mark Bonnar (Zoltan Frid), John Dorney (Ensign Kanta), Anjella Mackintosh (Anita Kereki).

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WINNER OF THE ATWOOD GIBSON WRITERS' TRUST FICTION PRIZE 2023SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2023 AMAZON CANADA FIRST NOVEL AWARD COSMOPOLITAN'S 10 BEST HISTORICAL FICTION BOOKS OF 2023'Fresh and propulsive . . . a veneration of those whose tales are often forgotten' New York Times'A mesmerizing, lyrical testament to the power of storytelling' Atwood Gibson Writer's Trust Fiction Prize judgesFreedom, you can't get and bury, and keep it and keep it so it won't ever go away. No, child.You got to swing your freedom like a club.In 1859, deep in the forests of Canada, an elderly woman sits behind bars. She came to Dunmore via the Underground Railroad to escape enslavement, but an American bounty hunter tracked her down. Now she's in jail for killing him, and the fragile peace of Dunmore, a town settled by people fleeing the American south, hangs by a thread. Lensinda Martin, a smart young reporter, wants to gather the woman's testimony before she can be condemned, but the old woman has no time for confessions. Instead she proposes a barter: a story for a story. As the women swap stories - of family and first loves, of survival and freedom against all odds - Lensinda must face her past. And it seems the old woman may carry a secret that could shape Lensinda's destiny. Travelling along the path of the Underground Railroad from the American South to British Canada, from the Indigenous nations around the Great Lakes, to the Black refugee communities of Canada, In the Upper Country is an unforgettable debut about the interwoven history of peoples in North America, slavery and resistance, and two women reckoning with the stories they've been given, and the ones they want to tell.

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'A gorgeous epic . . . Wholly absorbing. I adored it' MARIAN KEYESTwo young girls. One hot, long, sultry summer. And a rambling old English manor house where nothing is as it seems . . .'This sweeping, absorbing story is a treat' ADELE PARKS'A compelling story of female friendship, dark secrets and family bonds that pulls you in and won't let go' ROSANNA LEY'If you love atmospheric stories about old houses, families and secrets, this is for you' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING'A gorgeous story to get immersed in' Prima__________A successful London barrister, Catherine Christophe, goes missing the day before her wedding anniversary. The clue to her disappearance, it seems, lies buried thirty years in the past.Somerset, 1989. Janey Lestrange arrives to stay for the summer at the grand old house of the Hunter family. But something is wrong behind the beautiful façades of Vanes. Janey's childhood friend, Kitty Hunter, her brother and their eccentric parents - once so welcoming - do not seem to want her there. It is only as the night of an ancient and mysterious family ritual looms closer that Janey comes to realise they need her . . .Decades later, the tragic events of that unforgettable summer still cast the darkest shadow. Can the truth about what happened that night ever be brought into the light? __________'Bewitching, beguiling and utterly beautiful, The Beloved Girls will pull you into their mysterious and enchanted world and never let you go. With a cast of compelling characters and a labyrinthine plot, it's a page-turner of the most luxurious kind - a real escape.' VERONICA HENRYCompelling, immersive and luxurious, THE BELOVED GIRLS is the outstanding new novel from the Sunday Times Top Ten bestselling author of The Garden of Lost and Found and The Wildflowers

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A look at one of the biggest challenges facing our world today - migration - and how we are tackling itPeople have always moved to find work, improve their lives or to escape conflict. Most stay in their own country, but some migrate to other lands. Migrants can bring host countries a range of benefits, from filling job vacancies to making cultures more diverse, but there are also undeniable challenges, and resources can feel very stretched.How can we build a better, fairer, more equal, cleaner world? This series seeks to answer this by exploring some of the greatest challenges facing our planet today - from disease to conflict, and from the energy crisis to the plight of refugees. It explains what is already being done to meet and tackle these challenges, and explores what more could and should be done, both individually and collectively, to ensure a better future for our planet, its people and its wildlife.Taking a positive, but realistic perspective, this series aims to empower young readers by helping them understand these complex and troubling issues, calm their anxieties, and promote empathy and understanding for the many millions of people suffering from for example, poverty or inequality.Perfect for readers aged 9 and upContents:What is migration?/Why do people migrate?/Who are migrants and where do they go?/Fleeing danger: refugees and IDPs/How moving is good for migrants/Difficulties for migrants/How migration helps host countries/Problems for host countries/Helping their homelands/Brain drain and dependence/Building peace/Climate-change action/The freedom of movement debate/Glossary/Further information/IndexTitles in the series:Climate ChangeDiseaseInequalityMigrationPoverty & Food InsecurityWar & Conflict

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Discover the classic mystery from Dick Francis, one of the greatest thriller writers of all time'Loads of twists and turns throughout keeps you drawn along. Terrific' 5***** Reader Review'Outstanding. Dick Francis delivers in this action-packed thriller that is impossible to put down' 5***** Reader Review______Sid Halley, ex-champion jockey turned investigator, is facing his toughest test.A number of horses have been brutally mutilated, horrifying their owners and the general public. Even Sid's friend, broadcaster Ellis Quint, has been moved to make a shocking programme about it.But when Sid is asked to look into the case, the evidence he uncovers points in a startling direction and he finds that his head must overrule his heart. As friends and associates are angered by his discoveries, Sid is drawn into a terrible web of conspiracy and intrigue.Escape will require all his legendary wits and cunning . . .Packed with intrigue and hair-raising suspense, Come to Grief is just one of the many blockbuster thrillers from legendary crime writer Dick Francis.Praise for Dick Francis:'As a jockey, Dick Francis was unbeatable when he got into his stride. The same is true of his crime writing' Daily Mirror'The narrative is brisk and gripping and the background researched with care . . . the entire story is a pleasure to relish' Scotsman'Dick Francis's fiction has a secret ingredient - his inimitable knack of grabbing the reader's attention on page one and holding it tight until the very end' Sunday Telegraph'A regular winner . . . as smooth, swift and lean as ever' Sunday Express'The master of suspense and intrigue' Country Life'Francis writing at his best' Evening Standard'Still the master' Racing Post

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Clem Beckett was fourteen when he first rode a homemade motorcycle over the cobbled streets of his hometown. It was the start of a lifelong love affair with speed and machines. For Beckett, the motorbike was a means of escape from the uncertain future of Oldham's stricken industries in the aftermath of the First World War. Beckett's zest for life, his natural exuberance and determination to be a winner, overcame the disadvantages of a poor home bereft of a father. As a pioneering Dirt Track (speedway) rider he broke records galore, and as a volunteer in the Spanish Civil War he broke down class barriers. Whether as a tearaway teenager, an outspoken sportsman, or a member of the Communist Party, his life was characterized by broadsides of irreverence towards authority. To Beckett, the appeal of revolutionary politics was youthful rejection of old fogey' values and the dominating role of of tweedy gentility in motorcycle sport. Reviving faded memories and anecdotes of his career as a pioneer speedway rider, this book traces Beckett's extraordinary rise from blacksmith's apprentice to superstar, in a new sport which typified the energy of the Roaring Twenties, and was characterised by risk-taking and serial injury. Ever the showman, and banned from the Dirt Track for trying to protect his fellow riders from exploitation, Beckett took to riding the Wall of Death. Observing the rise of fascism on his travels in Europe, Beckett's increasing involvement with politics led to marriage to the mysterious Lida Henriksen, and inexorably to volunteer service in the British Battalion of the International Brigades in Spain. A narrative spiced with anecdotes and new revelations about Beckett shows why from boyhood to the poignant circumstances of his death in battle, Clem Beckett inspired love and loyalty.

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'Nobody does cosy, get-away-from-it-all romance like Jenny Colgan' Sunday Express___________________________________In the Scottish Highlands, a tiny bookshop perches on the edge of a loch . . . Curl up and escape with Jenny Colgan 'A total joy' Sophie Kinsella'An evocative, sweet treat' Jojo Moyes'Gorgeous, glorious, uplifting' Marian Keyes'Irresistible' Jill Mansell'Just lovely' Katie Fforde'Naturally funny, warm-hearted' Lisa Jewell'A gobble-it-all-up-in-one-sitting kind of book' Mike GayleZoe is a single mother, sinking beneath the waves trying to cope by herself in London. Hari, her gorgeous little boy is perfect in every way - except for the fact that he just doesn't speak, at all. When her landlord raises the rent on her flat, Zoe doesn't know where to turn. Then Hari's aunt suggests Zoe could move to Scotland to help run a bookshop. Going from the lonely city to a small village in the Highlands could be the change Zoe and Hari desperately need. Faced with an unwelcoming boss, a moody, distant bookseller named Ramsay Urquart, and a band of unruly children, Zoe wonders if she's made the right decision. But Hari has found his very first real friend, and no one could resist the beauty of the loch glinting in the summer sun. If only Ramsay would just be a little more approachable...Dreams start here . . . ___________________________________ Why readers ADORE Jenny Colgan 'Jenny Colgan has a way of writing that makes me melt inside' 'Her books are so good I want to start over as soon as I have finished' 'There's something so engaging about her characters and plots''Her books are like a big, warm blanket''Her stories are just so fabulous''She brings her settings and characters so vividly to life''The woman is just magic'

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Secrets will be uncovered . . .'I was absolutely gripped . . . the atmospheric setting of Greyfriars intertwined with the grim reality of the war camps of Singapore was inspirational.' Linda Finlay'A thought-provoking and atmospheric read.' Evie GraceAn epic, sweeping drama about a family with secrets and a house shrouded in mystery, Greyfriars House is perfect for fans of Rachel Hore, Kate Morton, Kate Riordan and Tracey Rees. On a remote Scottish island sits Greyfriars House1939Nine-year-old Olivia Friel is delighted to be spending the summer at Greyfriars House, a place where her parents, their family and friends are always happy. But this year there's an underlying tension that Olivia doesn't understand. Then one night she sees something she's not meant to, and accidentally lets slip a devastating betrayal. 1984Charlotte Friel gets a call from her ailing mother, asking something she's never asked before: for Charlotte to come home. There are things Olivia needs to tell her daughter before it's too late, secrets to be shared about forgotten relatives and a mysterious house.Left reeling by recent events, Charlotte is unsure what path to follow. But eventually her curiosity, and a desire to escape her own life, lead her to Greyfriars House. Will she find the answers she needs to make peace with the past?Praise for Emma Fraser:'A gripping tale . . . romance, adventure and an intriguing underlying mystery' - Lancaster Guardian 'A heartbreaking novel of love and loss' - Blackpool Gazette 'A powerful and at times gritty tale of love and loss . . . a great, insightful read' - Novelicious 'An epic tale of one woman's determination to follow her dreams' - People's Friend'First rate' - Lovereading'Engaging and enjoyable' - The Historical Novel Society?

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Spring 1958: a mysterious individual believed to be high up in the Polish secret service began passing Soviet secrets to the West. His name was Michal Goleniewski and he remains one of the most important, yet least known and most misunderstood spies of the Cold War. Even his death is shrouded in mystery and he has been written out of the history of Cold War espionage - until now. Tim Tate draws on a wealth of previously-unpublished primary source documents to tell the dramatic true story of the best spy the west ever lost - of how Goleniewski exposed hundreds of KGB agents operating undercover in the West; from George Blake and the 'Portland Spy Ring', to a senior Swedish Air Force and NATO officer and a traitor inside the Israeli government. The information he produced devastated intelligence services on both sides of the Iron Curtain.Bringing together love and loyalty, courage and treachery, betrayal, greed and, ultimately, insanity, here is the extraordinary true story of one of the most significant but little known spies of the Cold War.Acclaim for The Spy Who Was Left Out in the Cold: 'Totally gripping . . . a masterpiece. Tate lifts the lid on one of the most important and complex spies of the Cold War, who passed secrets to the West and finally unmasked traitor George Blake.' HELEN FRY, author of MI9: A History of the Secret Service for Escape and Evasion in World War Two'A wonderful and at times mind-boggling account of a bizarre and almost forgotten spy - right up to the time when he's living undercover in Queens, New York and claiming to be the last of the Romanoffs.'SIMON KUPER, author of The Happy Traitor'A highly readable and thoroughly researched account of one of the Cold War's most intriguing and tragic spy stories.' OWEN MATTHEWS, author of An Impeccable Spy

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***The start of a brand new trilogy******Epic fantasy from a David Gemmell Award shortlisted author******Watson has 1000s of Goodreads and Amazon ratings***YOU DIE WHEN YOU DIE . . .You can't change your fate - so throw yourself into battle, because you'll either end the day a hero or drinking mead in the halls of the gods. That's what Finn's people believe.But Finn wants to live. When his settlement is massacred by a hostile nation, Finn plus several friends and rivals must make their escape across a brutal, unfamiliar landscape, and to survive, Finn will fight harder than he's ever fought before.The author of Age of Iron returns with You Die When You Die - an epic fantasy adventure in which a mismatched group of refugees battle animals and monsters, determined assassins, an unforgiving land and each other as they cross a continent to fulfil a prophecy.'I loved every second of it . . . More please, as soon as is humanly possible!' The Eloquent Page'Hugely entertaining' SFX'A rip-roaring, swiftly paced adventure set in a sprawling and beautifully detailed world . . . sure to win the devotion of plenty of fans' RT Book Reviews'The first book in Watson's new fantasy trilogy is raw, violent, and gritty . . . You Die When You Die blurs the lines between hero and villain into who lives and who dies. He who survives another day wins for the moment; tomorrow might be another story' BooklistFor more epic action from Angus Watson, check out:West of West TrilogyYou Die When You DieThe Land you Never LeaveWhere Gods Fear to GoThe Iron Age TrilogyAge of IronClash of IronReign of Iron

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