Charlotte is ecstatically in love with Geoffrey; Peter prepares for the day when he will inherit the family distillery, while Andrew, gregarious and fun-loving, is already turning heads and hearts. Nell, the youngest, contents herself with daydreams of a handsome highlander. The Great War, however, has no respect for family life. As those carefree pre-war days fade, with death and devastation brought in their wake, the Drummonds are plunged into the horrors of the trenches in France. Yet those who survive discover that love can transcend class, creed, and country.

    She’s on a charitable mission, by damn, and that rowdy cantina next door is drowning out her gospel singing. The clash with the sexy-as-hell man who runs the cantina hits with enough force to burn down the small Mexican town. What happens in Mexico… Is supposed to stay in Mexico but Hunter can’t get that blonde with the ice blue eyes out of his mind when he goes home to Texas. Finding her isn’t the problem. Convincing her that he’s interested—well, that’s another story. Mercy tried to get over Hunter, especially when she found out about his past. She had two choices: move on or give him one more chance because no other man should have to live in an old love’s shadow. If you liked Carolyn Brown’s books, Love Is, Trouble in Paradise, The Wager or The Yard Rose, you will love An Old Love’s Shadow.

    In 1965, she returned to stand by her friend Sheila Thorogood, imprisoned for running a brothel. Sheila's Edwardian house was sadly neglected, but Queenie transformed it into a respectable guesthouse. While in Blackburn, Queenie runs into Rick. Their meeting unlocks crucial secrets from the past that threaten to tear their lives apart...

    Betrayal. Assassination. Rome, 133 b.c. Gaius Marius is back from war in the West. They fought for the peace and prosperity of Rome, but the legions return to find the Eternal City far less peaceful and prosperous than they had hoped. People are starving, homelessness abounds, war after war has overtaxed the legions. And the revolutionary tribune, Tiberius Gracchus, thinks he has a solution for everything. Political parties are developing, the people are up in arms, the senate is enraged. And Tiberius is at the center of it all. Before Marius has a chance to reacclimate to civilian life, he’s thrust into this political upheaval in Rome. His allegiances are put to the test as Rome is almost brought to the brink of civil war. For the first time in the history of the Republic, blood will be shed in the forum.

    She had to leave the comfortable home she had shared with Edward and their three children, now all grown-up, and move into a small flat in the middle of Bath. The dramatic change in her lifestyle threatened to overwhelm her. But gradually Naomi began to appreciate the changes, and even to enjoy them. For the first time in her life she could do what she liked, and make her own friends. If these included men friends - well, why not? Unfortunately her children could think of many reasons why not, and Naomi began a battle to establish her own independence, and to persuade her family that she had moved into the springtime of a whole new life. In this warm and inspiring new novel, Elvi Rhodes's wonderful storytelling skills are used to explore a dilemma faced by many women today.

    When war is declared, the love lives of the Granville girls suffer. Rosie's husband is killed during the Blitz. Then Lousie falls in love with Jack, a sixteen-year-old evacuee from the slums of London. When she falls pregnant, she is sent to Wales in disgrace. The girls? mother, Liza, can only pin her hopes on Charlotte now . . .

    But her personal life (including a failed marriage and an exciting but unfulfilling affair) makes Bev feel she is lacking as a woman. Using all of her strength and intuition to reach the very pinnacle of success, she is still constantly searching for love.Public Smiles, Private Tears is not only Bev's story --- it is the story of an entire generation of women who find themselves in a world where traditional standards and assumptions no longer work. There is Ruth who followed the rules, Marion who broke them, and Sylvia --- who created her own. Here too are the men who loved them, used them, worshiped from afar, hurt them --- and sometimes left them. Helen Van Slyke draws upon her own experience in the glittering world of the powerful to tell a fascinating story of the people she knows so well: their successes and failures, their triumphs and tragedies, their public smiles and their private tears.This is Helen Van Slyke's tenth and final novel, the first half of which she had completed before her untimely death on July 3, 1979. Although she had begun writing only nine years at the age of fifty, she achieved international acclaim as the author of such bestsellers as No Love Lost, A Necessary Woman, The Mixed Blessing, and The Heart Listens. James Elward, novelist (Storm's End: Tomorrow I Mine) and play-wright (Best of Friends; Hallelujah!), had always admired Helen Van Slyke, both as a writer and as a person. When he read the unfinished manuscript of Public Smiles, Private Tears, he truly felt that it was Helen's greatest achievement, and immediately began the enormous task of finishing the book. The result is a novel so completely faithful to the spirit of Helen Van Slyke that it is sure to captivate and move her readers just as her previous books have done --- a fitting tribute to a writer beloved by millions.

    And when years later her father remarries a scheming woman who makes it clear she doesn't see Rowan as part of her new family, she finds herself facing a desolate future at the local asylum. Yet Rowan refuses to give up hope. With her mother's cherished red ribbon tied around her wrist, she draws on the strength of her spirit to plot a daring escape to a nearby town. It is here that Rowan finds work as an apprentice to a bonnet and dressmaker, discovering a natural talent for colour and detail that brings success beyond her wildest dreams. But the greatest reward of all is the blossoming of a romance.But Rowan's past still casts a shadow over her happiness. Torn between her new life and the family she longs for, will she ever find a place to call home?The AuthorAs an image consultant, Linda has always had an avid interest in people. Linda's writing has been published in a number of magazines and annuals. Moving to the spectacular Devon coast and learning about its local history inspired her novels set in the area.

    When she is turned away from the workhouse for women, Lily is forced to swallow her last iota of respectability and work in a brothel in Leadenhall Square. But Lily sees potential where others can only see destitution and ruin, and soon forges strong relationships with the other women there: good-hearted women who have fallen on hard times. Lily and her 'fallen angels' outwit the low-life brothel-keeper and work to turn the house in Leadenhall Square into something altogether more respectable. And before any of them know it, doors swing open, lost loves are recovered and the happy endings none of them dared to dream of begin to materialise . . . If you enjoy books by Katie Flynn and Dilly Court, you'll love Val's heartwarming stories of triumph over adversity.

    Saturday nights at the dance hall and dressmaking with her two best friends keep Lily upbeat, and now there’s a blossoming romance with childhood friend Harry Bainbridge to put an extra spring in her step, too.But then a run of misfortune threatens Lily’s work, home and personal life, and she has to rely on the community at the mill to rally together for support. With so many others to worry about, will Lily always put them first or can she find her own happy ending?A heart-warming, nostalgic tale of triumph over adversity that readers of Katie Flynn, Donna Douglas and Call the Midwife will adore.

    

    Ruby is always hungry, but she will go without if it means her young brothers can eat. 1930s Bermondsey might be called the larder of London, with its pie, pickle and jam factories, but for the poor working classes, starvation is often only a heartbeat away. When Ruby's neighbour suggests she ought to go to the Methodist Mission for free food, Ruby knows her father will be furious, but that she has no other option. It is a decision that will change the course of her life forever, split her family and in the end lead her to face a terrible choice between duty and a great love.

    The Second World War has gone on too long. Shops are closed ‘for the duration’. Trains run a restricted service ‘for the duration’. Life has paused, for the duration. A little girl, Pamela, is growing up fast. A young Englishman, Rupert Blundell, vows there’ll be no more wars. Both are waiting for their lives to begin.Then comes Hiroshima. Finally, devastatingly, the war is over.1962. Rupert is now strategic advisor to Lord Mountbatten, and his close confidant. Pamela is eighteen and has moved to London, eager for love and experience of every kind. There’ll be parties at Cliveden, Christine Keeler, Stephen Ward, the Astors. Life is a whirlwind.But beneath the glamour lies quiet, desperate terror, as the Cuban missile crisis unfolds and the world spins ever closer to nuclear war.Reckless is a gripping novel set against the world in crisis, by a superb novelist at the height of his powers.

    Since escaping his family’s notoriety in Australia Will Kidd has spent a decade sailing the seas, never looking back. Content to live the life of a wanderer, everything changes in a single moment when he comes face to face with a ghost from his past on a cloudy beach in Liverpool.The daughter of an abusive zealot, every step of Hannah Dawson's life has been laid out for her... until she meets Will by chance and is set on a new path. Their love is forbidden and forces on all sides divide them, but their bond is undeniable. Now, they will have to fight against all the odds to escape the chains of their histories and find their way back to one another. A compelling tale of family secrets and love against the odds, perfect for fans of Fiona Valpy and Gill Paul. Praise for Storms Gather Between Us 'Another great book by Clare Flynn’ Reader Review‘A really gripping and moving pre WWII story’ Reader Review‘I would recommend this book without hesitation’ Reader Review‘Very descriptive, immersive and well written. This book is guaranteed to make you turn each and every page.’ Reader Review‘I was totally gripped from the first page’ Reader Review

    Magsy O’Gara, her husband killed in the war, plodded through her daily routine as a hospital cleaner, dedicating all her spare time to Beth, her genius daughter. Pursued by men who admired her great beauty, she was determined to remain a widow. Nothing was to divert her from her gruelling schedule. Her goal was simple: Beth would become a doctor.Beth, however, wanted a normal life – a brother, a sister, a stepfather who might make her wonderful mother happy. So Beth was delighted when a personable man began to court Magsy.Across, the road at number 1, Nellie Hulme, trapped in a world of silence, watched the other two Saturday girls. Deaf since infancy, Nellie had a secret so huge that it amused her. What would folk have thought had they known her true position in life? And why did she ‘hear’ in her dreams?