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The Authenticity Project


Clare Pooley - 2020
    But what if they were? And so he writes--in a plain, green journal--the truth about his own life and leaves it in his local café. It's run by the incredibly tidy and efficient Monica, who furtively adds her own entry and leaves the book in the wine bar across the street. Before long, the others who find the green notebook add the truths about their own deepest selves--and soon find each other in real life at Monica's café.The Authenticity Project's cast of characters--including Hazard, the charming addict who makes a vow to get sober; Alice, the fabulous mommy Instagrammer whose real life is a lot less perfect than it looks online; and their other new friends--is by turns quirky and funny, heartbreakingly sad and painfully true-to-life. It's a story about being brave and putting your real self forward--and finding out that it's not as scary as it seems. In fact, it looks a lot like happiness.The Authenticity Project is just the tonic for our times that readers are clamoring for--and one they will take to their hearts and read with unabashed pleasure.

The Shock of the Fall


Nathan Filer - 2013
    Only Matthew came home safely. Ten years later, Matthew tells us, he has found a way to bring his brother back... Unafraid to look at the shadows of our hearts, Nathan Filer's rare and brilliant debut shows us the strength that is rooted in resilience and love. Editor's Note Feb 10, 2014: St Martin's Press have just announced that Where The Moon Isn't will be republished under the UK title, The Shock of the Fall this week in digital format and later this fall in paperback. They said that the title change was necessary "because otherwise there's a lot of confusion" - The Shock of the Fall recently won the Costa Book of the Year award, which is UK based but has international renown.

The Hand of Mary Constable


Paul Gallico - 1964
    Are the spiritual manifestations of Professor Constable's dead daughter Mary genuine or is someone trying to sabotage his work? The only hard evidence is a wax hand bearing a set of Mary's fingerprints, but the truth must be uncovered as the apparent spirit is sapping the Professor's will with each passing hour.

The House We Grew Up In


Lisa Jewell - 2013
    They live in a honey-colored house in a picture-perfect Cotswolds village, with rambling, unkempt gardens stretching beyond. Pragmatic Meg, dreamy Beth, and tow-headed twins Rory and Rhys all attend the village school and eat home-cooked meals together every night. Their father is a sweet gangly man named Colin, who still looks like a teenager with floppy hair and owlish, round-framed glasses. Their mother is a beautiful hippy named Lorelei, who exists entirely in the moment. And she makes every moment sparkle in her children's lives.Then one Easter weekend, tragedy comes to call. The event is so devastating that, almost imperceptibly, it begins to tear the family apart. Years pass as the children become adults, find new relationships, and develop their own separate lives. Soon it seems as though they've never been a family at all. But then something happens that calls them back to the house they grew up in -- and to what really happened that Easter weekend so many years ago.Told in gorgeous, insightful prose that delves deeply into the hearts and minds of its characters, The House We Grew Up In is the captivating story of one family's desire to restore long-forgotten peace and to unearth the many secrets hidden within the nooks and crannies of home.

How to Find Love in a Bookshop


Veronica Henry - 2016
    But owner Emilia Nightingale is struggling to keep the shop open after her beloved father's death, and the temptation to sell is getting stronger. The property developers are circling, yet Emilia's loyal customers have become like family, and she can't imagine breaking the promise she made to her father to keep the store alive.There's Sarah, owner of the stately Peasebrook Manor, who has used the bookshop as an escape in the past few years, but it now seems there's a very specific reason for all those frequent visits. Next is roguish Jackson, who, after making a complete mess of his marriage, now looks to Emilia for advice on books for the son he misses so much. And the forever shy Thomasina, who runs a pop-up restaurant for two in her tiny cottage--she has a crush on a man she met in the cookbook section, but can hardly dream of working up the courage to admit her true feelings.Enter the world of Nightingale Books for a serving of romance, long-held secrets, and unexpected hopes for the future--and not just within the pages on the shelves. How to Find Love in a Bookshop is the delightful story of Emilia, the unforgettable cast of customers whose lives she has touched, and the books they all cherish.

Camberwell Beauty


Jenny Eclair - 2000
    This is a satellite-dish-free zone of tall houses, standing shoulder to shoulder with big front doors, five floors apiece. Come inside, shut the door and smell the coffee: you could almost be in Kensington. This is where the actors, writers and media types live, where small children wearing smart uniforms and shoes in the shape of lightbulbs get ferried every day to schools that are not local. Some people are luckier than others; fortune smiles on some and gobs on the rest. Jo Metcalf (no. 95) smokes and spies on the smug Cunninghams down the street as they play their bile-inducing game of happy families. Why is the grass greener on the other side of the fence? But happiness is a fragile thing and hairline cracks in a perfect world can become craters of misery. Each story is full of comic insight and realistic observation of contemporary British life and focuses on the very different lives of a set of characters living in the same street.

Invincible Summer


Alice Adams - 2016
    Twenty years. One unexpected journey. Inseparable throughout college, Eva, Benedict, Sylvie, and Lucien graduate in 1997, into an exhilarating world on the brink of a new millennium. Hopelessly in love with playboy Lucien and eager to shrug off the socialist politics of her upbringing, Eva breaks away to work for a big bank. Benedict, a budding scientist who's pined for Eva for years, stays on to complete his PhD in physics, devoting his life to chasing particles as elusive as the object of his affection. Siblings Sylvie and Lucien, never much inclined toward mortgages or monogamy, pursue more bohemian existences-she as an aspiring artist and he as a club promoter and professional partyer. But as their twenties give way to their thirties, the group struggles to navigate their thwarted dreams. Scattered across Europe and no longer convinced they are truly the masters of their fates, the once close-knit friends find themselves filled with longing for their youth- and for one another. Broken hearts and broken careers draw the foursome together again, but in ways they never could have imagined. A dazzling depiction of the highs and lows of adulthood, Invincible Summer is a story about finding the courage to carry on in the wake of disappointment, and a powerful testament to love and friendship as the constants in an ever-changing world.

Blind Faith


Ben Elton - 2007
    Where 'sharing' is valued above all, and privacy is considered a dangerous perversion.Trafford wouldn't call himself a rebel, but he's daring to be different, to stand out from the crowd. In his own small ways, he wants to push against the system. But in this world, uniformity is everything. And even tiny defiances won't go unnoticed.Ben Elton's dark, savagely comic novel imagines a post-apocalyptic society where religious intolerance combines with a sex-obsessed, utterly egocentric culture. In this world, nakedness is modesty, independent thought subversive, and ignorance is wisdom. A chilling vision of what's to come? Or something rather closer to home?

The Knives


Richard T. Kelly - 2016
    But that is the mission you accepted, David. So you have to face the knives, with fortitude. Just as we ask of the great British public...'As Home Secretary in Her Majesty's Government, David Blaylock's daily work involves the control of Britain's borders, the oversight of her police force, and the struggle against domestic terror threats. Some say the job is impossible; Blaylock insists he is tough enough. But around Westminster the gossip-mongers say his fiery temper is a liability.An ex-soldier from a modest background, Blaylock has a life-story that the public respects. Privately, though, he carries pain and remorse - over some grievous things he saw in the army, and his estrangement from an ex-wife and three children for whom he still cares. A solitary figure in a high-pressure world, with no place to call home, Blaylock is never sure whom he can trust or whether his decisions are the right ones. Constantly in his mind is the danger of an attack on Britain's streets. But over the course of one fraught autumn Blaylock finds that danger moving menacingly closer to his own person.

The Great Wide Open


Douglas Kennedy - 2019
    The Burns family is celebrating yet another disastrous Thanksgiving and a 17 year-old Alice can’t take it anymore.After years spent chasing the affections of the people who are supposed to love her unconditionally, Alice is beginning to realise that, though you can’t choose your family, you can choose your future, and Alice sees her future far away from her dysfunctional family and the doldrums of small-town life.As she embarks on a journey that will take her through college, heartbreak, and self-discovery, Alice must learn to stand on her own two feet in the great wide open…But no matter how much distance she covers, the past is never far behind.And after years of running, Alice must stand and face the truth.Because sometimes, to move forward, we have to go back…

I'm Low Key Feeling You: Complete Series: A Thug Love Story


Cole Hart - 2019
    And now it’s available here as a complete collection edition. In this two-book series, you’ll take an unforgettable ride with the national bestselling author Cole Hart that brought you The Sunday School Teacher, Rich Thugs, Hood Romance themed novels and several Thug Love stories. His writing is very clever, gripping, and this story is unputdownable. **Warning** This is not your typical Urban romance, dope boy, thug love, or kingpin savage book. Heart pounding. Nail-biting. Gritty. Street Literature. Hood love. Aaliyah Pride has her hands full with pursuing her career and trying to figure out, what led to the sudden change in her man, Chris’ behavior. The last thing she needed was for the temptation to step in-leading her to question everything she thought she knew about life and love but that’s exactly what she got when she met Montae Wilson. Montae “Baby Boy” Wilson was blessed from birth with handsome looks, irresistible charm and a passion for hard work. He’s a man that can adjust to his surroundings and go from classic to hood in zero to sixty seconds without blinking an eye. From the moment he saw Aaliyah he knew there was something special about her. Something that went far beyond her almond-shaped eyes, pouty lips, feisty attitude and inviting curves. Briana Henson's world was flipped upside down, when her father, one of Atlanta’s biggest Kingpins, was sentenced to a thirty-year sentence in federal prison. A product of her environment, the only thing Briana knew was partying in the A-Town nightlife and spending money. Now that 'broke' is her lifestyle, she’s desperate to find a come up and eager to use her assets to seal the deal. When she meets Montae, money is the last thing on her mind and she quickly finds herself caught up in her emotions and feeling him on an unfamiliar level. Before long, Briana is left asking herself if a woman of her stature could really love a man that's working a nine to five at Walmart. As the lives of these three collide, hearts will be broken, bonds will be damaged and an unknown enemy will submerge. Discover what can happen when chance run-ins and nights of passion lead to intimate deceptions and see just how far some admirers will go when they’re low key feeling you.

The Ragman's Daughter


Alan Sillitoe - 1963
    He stole for kicks. He met Doris, daughter of a prosperous scrap merchant, who became his partner in love and thievery. He was caught after they robbed a shoe shop one night. He spent 3 yrs. in prison. Doris was pregnant, she married a mechanic, & both were killed in an accident. After Tony came out of prison he went straight. He never acknowledged his & Doris' child but knows the boy is well cared for by his grandfather." (from The New Yorker); Inspiration for the film, The Ragman's Daughter, a 1972 British crime-drama / romantic film directed by Harold Becker starring Simon Rouse and Victoria Tennant.

The Vintage Teacup Club


Vanessa Greene - 2012
    They decide to share it - and form a friendship that changes their lives.Jenny can't wait to marry Dan. Then, after years of silence, she hears from the woman who could shatter her dreams.Maggie has put her broken heart behind her and is gearing up for the biggest event of her career - until she's forced to confront the past once more.Alison seems to have it all: married to her childhood sweetheart, with two gorgeous daughters. But as tensions mount, she is pushed to breaking point.Dealing with friendship and families, relationships and careers, highs and lows, The Vintage Teacup Club is heart-warming storytelling at its very best.

The Lido


Libby Page - 2018
    When she’s assigned to write about the closing of the local lido (an outdoor pool and recreation center), she meets Rosemary, an eighty-six-year-old widow who has swum at the lido daily since it opened its doors when she was a child. It was here Rosemary fell in love with her husband, George; here that she’s found communion during her marriage and since George’s death. The lido has been a cornerstone in nearly every part of Rosemary’s life.But when a local developer attempts to buy the lido for a posh new apartment complex, Rosemary’s fond memories and sense of community are under threat.As Kate dives deeper into the lido’s history—with the help of a charming photographer—she pieces together a portrait of the pool, and a portrait of a singular woman, Rosemary. What begins as a simple local interest story for Kate soon blossoms into a beautiful friendship that provides sustenance to both women as they galvanize the community to fight the lido’s closure. Meanwhile, Rosemary slowly, finally, begins to open up to Kate, transforming them both in ways they never knew possible.In the tradition of Fredrik Backman, The Lido is a charming, feel-good novel that captures the heart and spirit of a community across generations—an irresistible tale of love, loss, aging, and friendship.

The Librarian


Salley Vickers - 2018
    But the apparently pleasant town is not all it seems. Sylvia falls in love with an older man - but it's her connection to his precocious young daughter and her neighbours' son which will change her life and put them, the library and her job under threat.How does the library alter the young children's lives and how do the children fare as a result of the books Sylvia introduces them to?