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Last Dance in Havana: Escape to Cuba with the perfect holiday read!
By Rosanna Ley. 2016
From the #1 Kindle Bestseller comes an exotic tale of love, family and friendship'The perfect holiday companion' - Heat'The ultimate…
feel-good read' - Candis'Sun-soaked escapism' - Best**********Cuba, 1958Elisa is only sixteen years old when she meets Duardo and she knows he's the love of her life from the moment they first dance the rumba together in downtown Havana. But Duardo is a rebel, determined to fight in Castro's army, and Elisa is forced to leave behind her homeland and rebuild her life in distant England. But how can she stop longing for the warmth of Havana, when the music of the rumba still calls to her?England, 2012Grace has a troubled relationship with her father, whom she blames for her beloved mother's untimely death. And this year more than ever she could do with a shoulder to cry on - Grace's career is in flux, she isn't sure she wants the baby her husband is so desperate to have and, worst of all, she's begun to develop feelings for their best friend Theo. Theo is a Cuban born magician but even he can't make Grace's problems disappear. Is the passion Grace feels for Theo enough to risk her family's happiness?********SEE WHAT EVERYONE IS SAYING ABOUT ROSANNA LEY:'An impeccably researched and deftly written narrative that kept me hooked until the end' - Kathryn Hughes, bestselling author of The Letter 'Loved it from start to finish. A brilliant holiday read' - Amazon reviewer 'Perfect for fans of Santa Montefiore, Victoria Hislop and Leah Fleming' - Candis 'On so many levels a fantastic read' - Amazon reviewer'A fascinating story with engaging themes' - Dinah Jefferies, bestselling author of The Tea Planter's Wife 'Warm, enthralling, one of my favourite authors' - Amazon reviewerThe Lyre and the Lambs
By Sydney Avey. 2014
A feast of family can be a plate load of problems b It s the Sixites…
Modernity and tradition clash as two newlywed couples set up house together Dee and her daughter Valerie move with their husbands into a modern glass house Valerie built in a proudly rural Los Altos California neighborhood When their young relatives start showing up and moving in the neighbors get suspicious Then a body is found in the backyard and the life they are trying to build comes undone Father Mike is back to guide Dee through a difficult time with humor and grace even as his own life is unraveling Now he s going to have to take some of his own advice about love The sequel to The Sheep Walker s Daughter The Lyre and the Lambs explores the passions that draw people together and the faith it takes overcome traumaThe Brother
By Rein Raud, Adam Cullen. 2008
The Brother is a spaghetti western told in poetic prose, simultaneously paying tribute to both Clint Eastwood and Alessandro Baricco.…
It opens with a mysterious stranger arriving in a small town controlled by a group of men-men who recently cheated the stranger's supposed sister out of her inheritance. Following his arrival, fortunes change dramatically, enraging this group of powerful men.Inukshuk
By Gregory Spatz. 2012
"An elaborate tale of family and the paths people take to understanding." -Seattle Times"[This] mix of well-researched history and contemporary…
fiction makes for a fine, sad read." -Minneapolis Star Tribune"Hauntingly honest and emotionally resonant." -Publishers Weekly (starred review)"Gregory Spatz's prose is as clean and sparkling as a new fall of snow." -JANET FITCH, author of White Oleander and Paint it Black"At its heart Inukshuk is about family. But Spatz has transfigured this beautifully told, wise story with history and myth, poetry and magic into something rarer, stranger and altogether amazing. A book that points unerringly true north." -KAREN JOY FOWLER, author of The Jane Austen Book Club and Wit's EndJohn Franklin has moved his fifteen-year-old son to the remote northern Canadian town of Houndstitch to make a new life together after his wife, Thomas' mother, left them. Mourning her disappearance, John, a high school English teacher, writes poetry and escapes into an affair, while Thomas withdraws into a fantasy recreation of the infamous Victorian-era arctic expedition led by British explorer Sir John Franklin. With teenage bravado, Thomas gives himself scurvy so that he can sympathize with the characters in the film of his mind-and is almost lost himself.While told over the course of only a few days, this gripping tale slips through time, powerfully evoking a modern family in distress and the legendary "Franklin's Lost Expedition" crew's descent into despair, madness, and cannibalism aboard the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror on the Arctic tundra.Gregory Spatz is the author of the novels Inukshuk, Fiddler's Dream, and No One But Us, and the short fiction collections Wonderful Tricks and Half as Happy. A graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop and recipient of a Washington State Book Award, he teaches at Eastern Washington University in Spokane and plays the fiddle and tours with Mighty Squirrel and the internationally acclaimed bluegrass band John Reischman and The Jaybirds.Rock, Paper, Scissors
By K. E. Semmel, Naja Marie Aidt. 2015
"The emotions unleashed in this tale . . . are painfully universal. Yet you know exactly where in the universe…
you are. This is the hallmark of great short stories, from Chekhov's portraits of discontented Russians to Joyce's struggling Dubliners."-Radhika Jones, TimeNaja Marie Aidt's long-awaited first novel is a breathtaking page-turner and complex portrait of a man whose life slowly devolves into one of violence and jealousy.Rock, Paper, Scissors opens shortly after the death of Thomas and Jenny's criminal father. While trying to fix a toaster that he left behind, Thomas discovers a secret, setting into motion a series of events leading to the dissolution of his life, and plunging him into a dark, shadowy underworld of violence and betrayal.A gripping story written with a poet's sensibility and attention to language, Rock, Paper, Scissors showcases all of Aidt's gifts and will greatly expand the readership for one of Denmark's most decorated and beloved writers.Naja Marie Aidt was born in Greenland and raised in Copenhagen. She is the author of seven collections of poetry and five short story collections, including Baboon (Two Lines Press), which received the Nordic Council's Literature Prize and the Danish Critics Prize for Literature. Rock, Paper, Scissors is her first novel.K. E. Semmel is a writer and translator whose work has appeared in Ontario Review, the Washington Post, and elsewhere. His translations include books by Karin Fossum, Erik Valeur, Jussi Adler-Olsen, and Simon Fruelund.The Sheep Walker’s Daughter
By Sydney Avey. 2013
Does it really matter where you come from?In 1953, a war widow’s difficult mother dies before revealing the identity of…
her daughter’s father and his cultural heritage. As Dee sorts through what little her mother left, she unearths puzzling clues that raise more questions: Why did Leora send money every month to the Basque Relief Agency? Why is her own daughter so secretive about her soon-to-be published book? And what does an Anglican priest know that he isn’t telling?All of this head-spinning mystery breaks a long, dry period in Dee’s life and leads her to embark on an odyssey. She might just as well lose her job and see where the counsel of her new spiritual advisor and the attentions of an enigmatic ex-coworker lead her.The Sheep Walker’s Daughter pairs a colorful Basque immigrant history of loss, survival, and tough choices with one woman’s search for identity and fulfillment. Dee’s journey will take her through the Northern and Central California valleys of the 1950s and reach across the world to the Basque Country.Along the way, she will discover who she is and why family history matters.The Department of Missing Persons: A Novel
By Ruth Zylberman. 2017
A startling debut novel about the burden of Holocaust memory and the implacable zest for life. Thirty-six years after her…
mother was liberated from Bergen-Belsen, the unnamed narrator lives a comfortable life in Paris. Her mother sees ghosts at every turn, longing to find the family that disappeared behind the miasma of the Holocaust, but she cannot reconcile her mother’s trauma to the cheery bustle of daily life that surrounds them. The pain of memories that are not hers haunt her, weighing all too heavily until she is incapacitated by them, unable forge her own future. As our narrator becomes further entrenched in the past, a letter is sent by the Department of Missing Persons suggesting that her grandfather is not dead, though details of his survival and current situation are unknown. Along with her mother, the narrator begins a desperate hunt, fighting through the past and present, love and loss, and her own vulnerabilities to find the truth and rid them both of their lingering ghosts.An Italian Affair
By Caroline Montague. 2018
'Thoroughly engrossing' - Julian Fellowes, creator of Downton AbbeyLove. War. Family. Betrayal.Italy, 1937. Alessandra Durante is grieving the loss of…
her husband when she discovers she has inherited her ancestral family seat, Villa Durante, deep in the Tuscan Hills. Longing for a new start, she moves from her home in London to Italy with her daughter Diana and sets about rebuilding her life. Under the threat of war, Alessandra's house becomes first a home and then a shelter to all those who need it. Then Davide, a young man who is hiding the truth about who he is, arrives, and Diana starts to find her heart going where her head knows it must not.Back home in Britain as war breaks out, Alessandra's son Robert, signs up to be a pilot, determined to play his part in freeing Italy from the grip of Fascism. His bravery marks him out as an asset to the Allies, and soon he is being sent deep undercover and further into danger than ever before.As war rages, the Durante family will love and lose, but will they survive the war...?'Enthralling...An Italian Affair snares us in an ever-tightening circle of love and despair, secrets and forgiveness' - Joanna LumleyThe Dublin Girls: A powerfully heartrending family saga of three sisters in 1950s Ireland
By Cathy Mansell. 2020
Dramatic, emotional and romantic, if you love Lorna Cook, Tracy Rees and Jenny Ashcroft, you'll love this gripping and heartrending…
novel from Cathy Mansell, author of A Place to Belong.'Glorious - a cross between Maeve Binchy and Catherine Cookson' 5* early reader review'A superb saga' PETERBOROUGH TELEGRAPH'A heart-warming story full of characters you'll come to love' ROSIE GOODWIN'Page-turning and compelling... Most highly recommended' MARGARET KAINE'Rarely have I read a book where every character springs from the pages so authentically' JEAN CHAPMAN'A warm-hearted, engaging story' MARGARET JAMES, WRITING MAGAZINEIn 1950s Dublin, life is hard and jobs are like gold dust.Nineteen-year-old Nell Flynn is training to be a nurse and planning to marry her boyfriend, Liam Connor, when her mother dies, leaving her younger sisters destitute. To save them from the workhouse, Nell returns to the family home - a mere two rooms at the top of a condemned tenement.Nell finds work at a biscuit factory and, at first, they scrape through each week. But then eight-year-old Róisín, delicate from birth, is admitted to hospital with rheumatic fever and fifteen-year-old Kate, rebellious, headstrong and resentful of Nell taking her mother's place, runs away.When Liam finds work in London, Nell stays to struggle on alone - her unwavering devotion to her sisters stronger even than her love for him. She's determined that one day the Dublin girls will be reunited and only then will she be free to follow her heart.Look for more gripping, heartwrenching page-turners from Cathy Mansell - don't miss A Place to Belong, out now.The Slaughterman's Daughter: Winner of the Wingate Prize 2021
By Yaniv Iczkovits. 2020
A SUNDAY TIMES MUST READS PICK"Boundless imagination and a vibrant style . . . a heroine of unforgettable grit" DAVID…
GROSSMAN"A story of great beauty and surprise" GARY SHTEYNGARTThe townsfolk of Motal, an isolated, godforsaken town in the Pale of Settlement, are shocked when Fanny Keismann - devoted wife, mother of five, and celebrated cheese-maker - leaves her home at two hours past midnight and vanishes into the night.True, the husbands of Motal have been vanishing for years, but a wife and mother? Whoever heard of such a thing. What on earth possessed her?Could it have anything to do with Fanny's missing brother-in-law, who left her sister almost a year ago and ran away to Minsk, abandoning their family to destitution and despair?Or could Fanny have been lured away by Zizek Breshov, the mysterious ferryman on the Yaselda river, who, in a strange twist of events, seems to have disappeared on the same night?Surely there can be no link between Fanny and the peculiar roadside murder on the way to Telekhany, which has left Colonel Piotr Novak, head of the Russian secret police, scratching his head. Surely a crime like that could have nothing to do with Fanny Keismann, however the people of Motal might mutter about her reputation as a vilde chaya, a wild animal . . .Surely not.Translated from the Hebrew by Orr ScharfThe Operator: A Novel
By Gretchen Berg. 2020
'What if you could listen in on any phone conversation in town? Irresistible!' Kathryn Stockett, bestselling author of THE HELP'Glorious,…
gossipy, delicious and perfect' Jill Mansell, bestselling author of AND NOW YOU'RE BACKREADERS LOVE THIS BOOK!* 'Unique and quirky . . . You will definitely see Vivian and co. in your mind's eye!' THE BOOKTRAIL* 'Moving and ultimately uplifting . . . A wonderful novel' JO'S BOOK BLOG* 'The small town feeling is portrayed really well . . . Great' SHORT BOOK AND SCRIBES* 'A joy to read . . . Wonderful, witty, intriguing and heart-felt' EMMA'S BIBLIO TREASURES* 'Delightfully written and cleverly woven. I enjoyed getting to know all the characters and learning their secrets' LOCKY LOVES BOOKS>It's 1952. The switchboard operators in Wooster, Ohio, love nothing more than to eavesdrop on their neighbours' conversations, and gossip about what they learn. Vivian Dalton is no different (despite her teenage daughter's disapproval), and always longs to hear something scandalous. But on the night of December 15th, she wishes she hadn't. The secret that's shared by a stranger on the line threatens to rip the rug of Vivian's life from under her. Vivian may be mortified, but she's not going to take this lying down. She wants the truth, no matter how painful it may be. But one secret tends to lead to another . . . This moving, heart-felt and ultimately uplifting novel brilliantly weaves together an irresistible portrayal of a town buzzing with scandal, and an unforgettable story of marriage, motherhood and the unbreakable ties of family.'Funny, sweet, secretive, and full of fascinating 1930s, 40s, and 50s period details... a poignant look at life in a small town with its nosy neighbors, thorny families, imperfect romances, scandalous pasts, and gratifyingly just deserts' Laurie Frankel, bestselling author of THIS IS HOW IT ALWAYS IS'Funny and fast-paced' HeatThe Stolen Child: The most heartwrenching and heartwarming saga you'll read this year
By Jennie Felton. 2019
'One of the nation's favourite saga writers' Lancashire Post'A real heartbreaker' Peterborough Telegraph'Brimming with high drama, anguish, love, loss, tragedy,…
and gripping twists and turns, this is an absorbing and poignant story... Felton, a born storyteller, has a warm and compassionate heart...and an eye for the rich period detail that brings the past to life' Lancashire PostA powerful new saga from Jennie Felton in the grand tradition of Josephine Cox, Dilly Court, Maggie Hope and Rosie Goodwin of love, loss, tragedy, drama, secrets and twists and turns.Readers are hooked by The Stolen Child!'Like the twists and turns...a great read' 5* reader review'Keeps you on the edge...could not put it down' 5* reader review'A heartbreaking read. 5 stars' 5* reader review'A must read' 5* reader reviewWill anyone believe her baby is gone?When Stella Swift is discovered holding a shard of broken glass near her newborn baby boy, fears that she might harm William result in her being taken to Catcombe - the local asylum. Although the regime is not as harsh as it once was, it's not somewhere that Tom wants to send his wife - but he has no choice.Turning to his kind-hearted sister-in-law Grace for help taking care of his other three children whilst he keeps working at the mine seems like the simplest solution until Stella is well - if only there wasn't the shared history between Tom and Grace...At first Catcombe seems to offer the respite Stella needs - until one day she becomes convinced that the baby the nurses have given to her is not William. Is Stella losing her mind? Or is it true that a mother will always know her own child?Don't miss Jennie's Families of Fairley Terrace series, which began with Maggie's story in All The Dark Secrets and continued with Lucy's story in The Miner's Daughter, Edie's story in The Girl Below Stairs, Carina's story in The Widow's Promise and Laurel's story in The Sister's Secret.The Cheffe: A Culinary Novel
By Marie NDiaye. 2016
The Cheffe is born into a very poor family in Sainte-Bazeille in south-western France, but when she takes a job…
working in the kitchen of a couple in the Landes region, it does not take long before it becomes clear that the Cheffe has an unusual, remarkable talent for cooking. She dreams in recipes, she's always imagining food combinations and cooking times, she hunts down elusive flavours and aromas, and she soon usurps the couple's cook.But for all her genius, the Cheffe remains very secretive about the rest of her life. She becomes pregnant, but will not reveal her daughter's father. She shares nothing of her feelings or emotions. And when the demands of her work and caring for her child become too much, she leaves her baby in the care of her family, and sets out to open her own restaurant, which will soon win rave reviews and be lauded by all.But her relationship with her daughter will never be easy, and before long, it will threaten to destroy everything the Cheffe has spent her life perfecting.'One of the nation's favourite saga writers' Lancashire PostThe Sister's Secret is a powerful new saga from Jennie Felton, in…
her Families of Fairley Terrace series, in the grand tradition of Josephine Cox, Dilly Court, Maggie Hope and Rosie Goodwin of secrets, romance, drama and triumph in the wake of a bitter tragedy.Can she hide the truth to protect those she loves?The Sykes family have lived at Fairley Terrace since their youngest daughter, Rowan, was born. Fiercely clever, Rowan finds it difficult to fit in with the other village children, so when her beloved older sister, Laurel, takes a new job and moves back home, Rowan is overjoyed. Laurel is happy to be with her family - even if she's keeping the real reason for her return to herself. It seems like she's destined to keep repeating the mistakes of her past when it comes to matters of the heart. The two sisters are each longing for excitement and a fresh start, and when familiar faces return to Fairley Terrace, along with an enigmatic new resident, it looks like they might get their wish. But their harmony is about to be shattered by a mysterious stranger who threatens to expose a long-kept secret - and is prepared to stop at nothing to wreak revenge on the family.Don't miss the rest of the Families of Fairley Terrace series, which began with Maggie's story in All The Dark Secrets and continued with Lucy's story in The Miner's Daughter, Edie's story in The Girl Below Stairs, and Carina's story in The Widow's Promise.Music Across the Mersey
By Geraldine O'Neill. 2017
When a Dublin family is torn apart, can a new start in Liverpool help heal the wounds? 1940s DublinHandsome widower…
Johnny Cassidy is out of work, broken-hearted and lost as to how to look after his four children. At his lowest ebb, he's forced to realise that help sometimes comes from the strangest places. With Johnny's family over the sea in Liverpool, it's his wife's spinster cousin Nora who comes to the rescue and has her life turned upside down by this brood of children. With Nora around, Ella Cassidy can be a teenager again rather than trying to raise her younger siblings, while older brother, Sean, finds that music might be his salvation. It seems that each member of the Cassidy family cherishes secret dreams, but will they bring them together or tear them apart?A warm and inviting story of family and friendship, duty and desire, perfect for fans of Maureen Lee and Lyn Andrews.Beauty Like the Night: Spymaster 6 (Spymaster)
By Joanna Bourne. 2017
In Beauty Like The Night, Joanna Bourne, 'master of romance and suspense' (Teresa Medeiros) returns to the French Revolution, with…
a stirring tale of intrigue, espionage, and irresistible attraction. For fans of Stephanie Laurens, Elizabeth Hoyt For fans of Stephanie Laurens, Elizabeth Hoyt and Poldark, this is a must-read. Severine de Cabrillac, orphan of the French revolution and sometime British intelligence agent, has tried to leave spying behind her. Now she devotes herself to investigating crimes in London and finding justice for the wrongly accused.Raoul Deverney, an enigmatic half-Spaniard with enough secrets to earn even a spy's respect, is at her door demanding help. She's the only one who can find the killer of his long-estranged wife and rescue her missing fourteen-year-old daughter.Severine reluctantly agrees to aid him, even though she knows the growing attraction between them makes it more than unwise. Their desperate search for the girl unleashes treason and murder...and offers a last chance for two strong, wounded people to find love.For more spellbinding Spymasters romance, look for the other titles by Joanna Bourne: The Forbidden Rose, The Spymaster's Lady, My Lord and Spymaster, The Black Hawk and Rogue Spy.Cry, Mother Spain
By Lydie Salvayre. 2014
Aged fifteen, as Franco's forces begin their murderous purges and cities across Spain rise up against the old order, Montse…
has never heard the word fascista before. In any case, the villagers say facha (the ch is a real Spanish ch, by the way, with a real spit).Montse lives in a small village, high in the hills, where few people can read or write and fewer still ever leave. If everything goes according to her mother's plan, Montse will never leave either. She will become a good, humble maid for the local landowners, muchísimas gracias, with every Sunday off to dance the jota in the church square.But Montse's world is changing. Her brother José has just returned from Lérida with a red and black scarf and a new, dangerous vocabulary and his words are beginning to open up new realms to his little sister. She might not understand half of what he says, but how can anyone become a maid in the Burgos family when their head is ringing with shouts of Revolución, Comunidad and Libertad?The war, it seems, has arrived in the nick of time.The Return
By Dulce Maria Cardoso. 2011
Everyone has gone away... We too should no longer be here.Luanda, 1975. The Angolan War of Independence has been raging…
for at least a decade, but with the collapse of the Salazar dictatorship, defeat for the Portuguese is now in sight. Thousands of settlers are fleeing back to Portugal to escape the brutality of the Angolan rebels.Rui is fifteen years old. He has lived in Luanda all his life and has never even visited the far-away homeland - although he has heard many stories. But now his family are finally accepting that they too must return, and Rui is filled with a mixture of excitement and dread at the prospect. But just as they are leaving for the airport, his father is taken away by the rebels, and the family must leave without him.Not knowing if the father is alive or dead - or if they will ever find out what has become of him, Rui, his mother and sister try to rebuild their lives in their new home. This turns out to be a five star hotel in a quiet, seaside suburb of Lisbon, where returnee families are crammed into luxurious rooms by the dozen. These palatial surroundings are a cruel contrast with the reality of returnee life. The hotel becomes a curious form of purgatory as the families wait to discover what will become of them - ever conscious of the fact that they are hardly welcome back in their homeland. Rui has his own personal struggle with his new life: growing up, dropping out of school, facing discrimination, and the ever-present worry over his mother's deteriorating health and his father's fate.And then one night Rui's father returns from the dead.Translated from the Portuguese by Ángel Gurría-QuintanaNo. 1 New York Times bestselling author Johanna Lindsey delivers a sparkling, passionate tale of an earl's daughter who must…
convince a mysterious viscount to marry her and end his vendetta against her brother. Perfect for fans of Julia Quinn's Bridgerton.One duel could be considered a matter of honour, but three duels are attempted murder. With enlightened society outraged at such reckless behaviour among young noblemen, the Prince Regent orders Robert Whitworth, the earl of Tamdon's heir, and Lord Dominic Wolfe to end their dispute by allying their families through marriage. Whichever party refuses to comply will forfeit his lands and title.Whitworth relishes the idea of sending his younger sister Brooke to his enemy's remote estate. He knows the Wolf will reject her as a bride, thereby losing his wealth and status. The Wolf, however, is determined to scare away the Whitworth chit. With duelling no longer an available means of destroying the man he abhors, he will be satisfied to see him lose his lands and title. But he hadn't expected his enemy's sister to be so resourceful or resilient.Brooke Whitworth has been dreaming of her first Season in London because she intends to win a husband who will take her far away from her unloving family. Instead, she is being sent to the Yorkshire moors to wed a mysterious nobleman whose family is cursed and who has thrice tried to kill her brother. But there's no room in her heart for fear; this man is her means of escape. She will make him love her...Utterly captivating. Wonderfully entertaining. Let legendary author Johanna Lindsey capture your heart with her unforgettable romance.A Wicked Pursuit: Breconridge Brothers Book 1 (Breconridge Brothers)
By Isabella Bradford. 2014
For fans of Julia Quinn, Eloisa James and Sarah MacLean, comes Isabella Bradford's enthralling new trilogy of London's most scandalous…
rakes, the Breconridge Brothers, who are about to lose their hearts... As the eldest son of the Duke of Breconridge, Harry Fitzroy is duty-bound to marry well. Lady Julia Barclay, the catch of the season, seems the perfect candidate. But a fall from his horse throws his plan awry and he finds himself trapped in the country in the care of Julia's younger sister. Harry has never met a woman like Lady Augusta. Utterly without artifice, Gus seems to care not a fig for society. After a taboo kiss awakens an unexpected passion, Harry realizes he'd almost given his heart to the wrong sister. Now he must use his most seductive powers to convince Gus that she belongs with him - as his equal, his love, his wife.Before the Breconridge Brothers, came the Wylder sisters. Don't miss a moment of the romantic and captivating debut trilogy from Isabella Bradford: When You Wish Upon a Duke, When The Duchess Said Yes and When The Duke Found Love.