But then things get a whole lot worse when Josie's inheritance is stolen and her granddmother's death brings eviction from the only home she's ever known. Determined to rise above these bitter blows, Josie struggles to support herself, and, desperate for affection, stumbles into an ill-fated love affair. But there are those around who do recognise Josie's worth, and, although she is unaware of it, one man in particular is keeping a close eye on her progress...

    But this is 1930s Ireland where they must fight against repressive laws and social attitudes.Harry has married his childhood sweetheart but finds his wife’s life and his marriage jeopardised by the strict laws of Church and State.As he struggles to become a writer, Joseph rejects the love of the girl next door. He goes to fight in the Spanish Civil War where he finds a different kind of love.Kathleen, an actress, has romantic ideas about going to Hollywood but a love affair threatens to ruin her life and shatter the happiness of her family.Mary becomes a teacher and forms some strong emotional bonds, but gossip and injustice may rob her of everything she holds dear.Can they overcome prejudice or must they bow to convention?

    They've been friends since they were toddlers and now they've become young ladies and left school. Joan finds work at Dunlop's tyre factory, while Ginny's dream comes true when she is taken on as a counter assistant at Woolworths. But things don't work out as she had expected, and she carries around a dark secret...

    At thirty-six, Bella Porter is dependent on her abusive cousin, acting as an unpaid servant. When a kind relative leaves her a house in the village of Backshaw Moss, Thomas tries to take it from her, but she defies him and grasps this chance of a new start in Lancashire. It is not going to be easy, though. The house is on the edge of a slum and in a state of disrepair, let out to various people, some good, some bad. But if she succeeds in keeping her house, she might also gain other benefits.

    Life is hard for Katie - not only because of their poverty but also because of the stigma of her father's shame.When Lewis is released years later, it seems that life must improve. But to Katie's horror, it becomes worse than she has ever known it. When she and her father are left alone together, Katie seeks happiness and love elsewhere, but as she struggles to make a new life for herself, there is difficulty and danger at every turn ...

    Now, two years later, struggling in a poorly paid job, Rachel feels her luck will never change. So when she finds herself the new owner of her late Uncle Chip's Hammersmith boat-building business she wonders if it's too good to be true. Why would Chip have left it to her when he has a son himself? The business is only just afloat - thanks to the hard work of Chip's charismatic assistant, Ben - but Rachel is determined to restore it to its former glory for the sake of her sons. And before long, she realises that she's falling in love with kind-hearted and handsome Ben. But her good fortune doesn't last for long - someone is maliciously plotting to sabotage her plans...

    As a child Blake is taken in by neighbours after the death of his grandparents and works for his keep on their farm. As a young man he falls in love with his employer's daughter, Annie. To build a life together, away from the farm, Blake is determined to make his name and leaves the farm to seek work in the shipyards of Sunderland. He swears one day he will come back for Annie—but can he be sure she will wait for him?

    Joe , born of an unlikely alliance between a native American squaw and a wealthy British businessman, is always perceived by the Swansea elite as a foreigner and an outsider. When Llinos's father dies after a long illness, she is devastated, but her grief turns to fear when Joe is accused of his father-in-law's murder by the local doctor and is incarcerated inside the walls of the castle along with thieves and debtors. There among the filth and dirt, Joe makes friends with an old Jewish man, and this brief friendship, formed in the most ill-fated circumstances, proves to be the catalyst to a series of events which unexpectedly threaten to destroy the marriage and the very lives of Joe and Llinos. Iris Gower has created a wonderful background of the romantic china clay industry of South Wales for her new and dramatic novel sequence.

    A few too many drinks.A few harsh words said. No one was hurt.All easily forgotten.Both can healExcept he didn’t forget. Their threats. How they made him feel…They must pay - with their lives.But one will always leave a scar…A young woman goes missing. She’s done it before, but Detective Inspector April Decent senses this time it’s serious. Can she convince her colleagues she’s right before it’s too late?Decent and her DS Skeeter Warlock face their most deadly opponent yet in Syn, the second novel in Malcolm Hollingdrake’s superb Merseyside Crime Series.

    Rachael's family comes to America to start a new life after fleeing the pogroms in Russia. Rebekah comes to America with her son, Samuel, fleeing his father, Misha, a Russian soldier with whom she had an affair and has threatened to take him away from her so he will not grow up as a Jew and the son of a cobbler. Set in the Lower East Side of New York and pre-revolutionary St. Petersburg, Russia, both women adjust to life in America until Misha kidnaps Samuel and returns with him to Russia. How Rebekah rises to the challenge of earning enough money as a designer of women's gowns to return to St. Petersburg to find her son, and the difficulties she encounters while there, including murder and prison, show the reader the full extent of a mother's ingenuity and determination when it comes to her child. Rachael also faces the possibility of losing a child to war when her son Solomon enlists in the army as America's entry into World War I approaches.

    At last she will be free from him, even though she and Nuala, the sister who depends on her for everything, must now leave his miners cottage. Then Kate discovers they have an aunt in the Midlands whom their father had kept secret, and who now offers them a home. Despite leaving her heart in Durham with Matthew, a young artist, Kate feels loved and safe with Aunt Beth. But her peace is shattered by an astonishing revelation from Nuala, and a series of brutal attacks on the women of Nuneaton. Kate turns to a handsome widower, Martin Denby, but is his kindness too good to be true?

    With the success of the novels came a widely loved television series. While you might be a loyal fan of the books, the show, or both — do you know all about the history of the leading families? This book aims to thoroughly detail the early history of the houses Targaryen, Stark, and Lannister, including how they first rose to power, and what happened in the years leading up to the beginning of The Game of Thrones story. Of the houses of the Seven Kingdoms, the great houses have the most power. In the past, they were largely royalty, but have sworn to the Iron Throne since then. Of the known world, the great houses are the most powerful throughout all of the different regions in the area. Do you know how the Targaryens first took control of the land of the Seven Kingdoms? Follow the tale of Aegon the Conqueror, and learn how he used his people’s might to force a union of the kingdoms. You will follow the story of the dragons, and find out how they came to be killed off, leaving the Targaryens vying for power with the other houses. Despite their great conquests, they are too among the houses who play the game of thrones, attempting to restore their name to glory. And what of the Starks, who were once the Kings of Winter, ruling over the North. They fought off advances from invaders and remained in power for thousands of years. How did they come to lose their hold over their kingdom, to become only wards? And what happened to turn Lord Eddard away from his caring of the throne? The Lannisters of Casterly Rock were the Kings of the Rock at one time. Ever since the legendary Lann the Clever took it for himself through trickery, they have been rich and powerful. These people of the First Men used marriage and alliances to strengthen their hold over their neighbors. But their insidious tactics worked to bring an Andal to be the ruling Lannister. Find out how they came to be ruled by a dysfunctional family of mistrusting infighters. Here Is A Preview Of What You'll Learn... Game of Thones Family Histories Game of Thrones Lore and History Game of Thrones Character Biographies Character Relationships and alliances Historic Battles Much, much more!Download your copy today! Tags: Game of Thrones, Game of Thrones Books, Game of Thrones Family Histories, Game of Thrones Family History, Game of Thrones Reference, Game of Thrones for Dummies, Game of Thrones Characters, Game of Thrones Houses, History of Thrones, Fire and Ice, Game of Thrones Book, Game of Thrones text, Game of Thrones Study Guide, Game of thrones show, Game of Thrones education

    As she prepares to welcome them, she thinks of her life - to her tough childhood in Yorkshire, to her mother, to her three husbands and to Alun, the great love of her life. Yet her family don't realize the life she's led.

    

    But Merry has a secret: the magic has stopped flowing from her fingers. Try as she might, she can’t summon up the sparkle that makes her stories shine. And as her deadline whooshes by, her personal life falls apart too. Alex tells her he wants something other than the future she’d always imagined for them and Merry finds herself single for the first time since – well, ever. Desperate to get her life back on track, Merry leaves London and escapes to the windswept Orkney Islands, locking herself away in a secluded clifftop cottage to try to heal her heart and rediscover her passion for writing. But can the beauty of the islands and the kindness of strangers help Merry to fool herself into believing in love again, if only long enough to finish her book? Or is it time for her to give up the career she’s always adored and find something new to set her soul alight??The brand new series from Holly Hepburn, author of A Year at the Star and Sixpence. Parts one to four in the new series are available to pre-order now: BROKEN HEARTS AT BRIGHTWATER BAY, SEA BREEZES AT BRIGHTWATER BAY, DANGEROUS TIDES AT BRIGHTWATER BAY and SUNSET OVER BRIGHTWATER BAY ~*~Praise for Holly Hepburn~*~ 'A fresh new voice, brings wit and warmth to this charming tale of two sisters' Rowan Coleman 'Warm, witty and laced with intriguing secrets! I want to pull up a bar stool, order a large G&T and soak up all the gossip at the Star and Sixpence!' Cathy Bramley 'You'll fall in love with this fantastic new series from  star of women's fiction, Holly Hepburn. Filled to the brim with captivating characters and fantastic storylines in a gorgeous setting ... simply wonderful. I want to read more!' Miranda Dickinson 'The Star and Sixpence sparkles with fun, romance, mystery, and a hunky blacksmith. It's a real delight' Julie Cohen 'Like the dream pub landlady who always knows exactly what you want, Holly Hepburn has created the most delightful welcome to what promises to be a brilliant series, in the first Star and Sixpence. The sisters are warm and intriguing, the neighbours are (mostly!) friendly and the gossip is utterly addictive. I was very sad when it was time for last orders, and am already looking forward to the next round. Especially if a certain blacksmith happens to be at the bar...' Kate Harrison 'Warm, witty and utterly charming, Snowdrops at the Star and Sixpence is the perfect book to curl up with on a cold winter's day.