Book picks similar to
A Fresh Start (Quick Reads) (Quick Reads 2020) by Fanny BlakeIan Rankin
short-stories
tbr
fiction
general-fiction
Sparkles
Louise Bagshawe - 2006
mega-bestselling author Louise Bagshawe comes a delicious storyof a diamond heiress in Paris. Spanning continents and decades, Sparkles isan addictive tale of ambition, betrayal, and romance.
The Christmas Guest
Daisy Bell - 2016
A friend is for life. The heartwarming tale of a homeless puppy with a huge heart who healed a family . . .When Teddy runs away from home a week before Christmas, he's far too excited to worry about what lies ahead. But all too soon Teddy realises just how cold and scary the world really is, and what was supposed to be the perfect adventure now seems like a terrible mistake. Then Teddy is discovered on a snowy doorstep by the Woods family. With their kind hearts and cosy cottage, Claire, Ben and their daughter Emily are the family Teddy is desperate to have. But Emily is ill, her parents are stressed and, with Christmas around the corner, raising and training a well-meaning but unruly puppy is hardly a priority.Teddy knows he and little Emily have a once-in-a-lifetime bond, and that he can be the best friend she needs in this dark time. If only he can prove to Ben and Claire how much happier he could make them all, Teddy might just find the family of his dreams this Christmas.
Others
James Herbert - 1999
He carries a secret about himself to which not even he has the answer . . .He is hired to find a missing baby. One that was taken away at birth . . . Or was it?His investigation takes him to a mysteriously located place called Perfect Rest. It is supposed to be a nursing home for the elderly . . . But is it?Here Dismas will discover the dark secret of the Others. And in an astonishing and spectacular finale he will resolve the enigma of his own existence . . .
The Summer Visitors
Fiona O'Brien - 2017
He's hoping that three months researching an old cable station in a remote village on the south-west coast of Ireland will help him and his traumatised son finally move on from the accident that killed his wife.Meanwhile local hotel owner's daughter Annie Sullivan has communication problems of her own to deal with. Home on sabbatical from her life in London, she's keeping a secret from her dysfunctional family and trying to save them and the hotel from their latest drama.As summer draws to a close in Ballyanna, both Dan and Annie are forced to confront the pasts they've been escaping. But will they be able to grasp the future that lies ahead?
The Summer Visitors is a heart-warming story about love, second chances and moving on.
Split
Muhammad Khan - 2020
Instantly accused of being easy, she is shunned by everyone at school, shamed by her community and worst of all, has disappointed her mum. Enough is enough and Salma decides to fight back against the prejudice and rumours, and audition for the role of her dreams. But on the hottest day of the year, with everything against her, can Salma make it in time and show the world who she really is?A powerful story of standing up and standing out, written exclusively for World Book Day 2020 by the Branford Boase Award-winning Muhammad Khan.
Coming Home
Annabel Kantaria - 2015
Now, with the sudden death of her father, she must return. Back to the same house. Back to the memories. Back to her mother.At first, coming home feels unexpectedly comforting. But, as she goes through her father's files, Evie uncovers a secret that opens old wounds and changes her life forever.That's only the beginning.As Evie's world starts to shatter around her, she realises that those she loves most are also those capable of the deepest betrayal.
Getting Over Mr Right
Chrissie Manby - 2010
This is one woman’s journey from love to lunacy and back again. If you ever recall past heartbreaks with acute embarrassment and an urge to go into hiding, this will make you feel better. Sure, you may have sent his new girlfriend a bunch of dead roses, but did you spend a grand on psychic hot-lines and a voodoo curse?
We Are Family
Josie Lloyd - 2004
Fifty years earlier, in the idyllic coastal village of Stepmouth, a forbidden love affair and a devastating flood drove the Vale family apart, but now her aunt is determined that Laurie should know the truth. Laurie escapes to the balmy warmth of Majorca only to find the hopes and passions buried in the past resurfacing in the present. But the more she seeks to heal old wounds, the more she becomes ensnared in a complex love affair of her own. One that could destroy her family for good.A wonderfully entertaining novel about love, family and the secrets that lie just beneath the surface...
A Gift For You
Patricia Scanlan - 2015
Meet Magdalena as she prepares for the birth of her first child, knowing her family are in another country - but will her fiancé surprise her for Christmas? Share memories of treasured tree decorations and the stories they hold. Delight as Irene remembers her husband on Valentine's Day and fate finds a way to remind her of the love they shared. Cheer along with Sophie as she finally finds the courage to deal with a fairweather friend, and laugh as a grandmother receives a visit from her granddaughter - only to turn the tables on her and show her who is boss! Lose yourself in sublime storytelling - the perfect gift for readers everywhere.
Wrong Time, Wrong Place
Simon Kernick - 2012
She is half-naked, has been badly beaten, and she can't speak English. She is clearly running away from someone. Do you stop to help her? This book deals with these questions.
The Rift
Rachel Lynch - 2021
But will that mean justice?As a high-ranking woman in the Royal Military Police, Major Helen Scott gets the job done – no matter the task. So when she is pulled in to lead a NATO summit security team in Paris, it barely causes a ripple. Yet within hours she’s dispatched to Lyon on a new mission. One with a complex problem at its heart.Kahlil Dalmani and Fawaz bin Nabil were close in childhood, growing up in the hubbub of Algiers. As men, they are both wildly successful. Yet their paths to fortune have caused a rift. Fawaz’s empire is built on illegal trade, and when his estranged friend refuses to grant a favour he seeks to change Kahlil’s mind the best way he knows how: kidnapping his son, Hakim.Working out of the Interpol headquarters, Helen must unpick a web of deceit that spreads across borders and dates back years. Only by trusting those from her own painful past can she hope to return Hakim to his family. But with her focus on saving one life, she risks overlooking a plan that puts many others in grave danger.An explosive and gripping crime thriller from one of the most brilliant British crime fiction authors of recent years. For fans of Angela Marsons and Lee Child.
The World Between Us
Sarah Ann Juckes - 2021
Every day, she logs into Stream Cast and experiences the outside world by watching other people live wonderful and exciting lives. But when one of the streamers is killed in a cycling accident, Alice is introduced to a new streamer.Rowan sees beauty in the everyday and encourages her to stop watching, and start taking control. But Rowan too has a secret he's trying to hide from Alice - and from himself.As Alice and Rowan build a bigger and more beautiful world together, outside forces threaten to bring this new world to an end.
The Modern Faerie Tales: Tithe; Valiant; Ironside
Holly Black - 2010
Fierce and independent, she drifts from place to place with her mother’s rock band until an ominous attack forces Kaye back to her childhood home. There, amid the blue-collar New Jersey backdrop, Kaye finds herself an unwilling pawn in an ancient and violent power struggle between two rival faerie kingdoms—a struggle that could very well mean her death. In Valiant, the companion to Tithe, seventeen-year-old Valerie runs away to New York City, trying to escape a life that has utterly betrayed her. Sporting a new identity, she takes up with a gang of squatters who live in the city’s labyrinthine subway system. But there’s something eerily beguiling about Val’s new friends. When one talks Val into tracking down the lair of a mysterious creature, Val finds herself torn between her affection for an honorable monster and her fear of what her new friends are becoming. In Ironside, the sequel to Tithe, the time has come for Roiben’s coronation. Uneasy in the midst of the malevolent Unseelie Court, pixie Kaye is sure of only one thing—her love for Roiben. But when Kaye drunkenly declares herself to Roiben, he sends her on a seemingly impossible quest to find a faerie who can tell a lie. Unable to see Roiben until she has fulfilled his quest, Kaye finds herself in the center of the battle of wits and weapons being waged over his throne.This omnibus combines all three books into one.
As Good As It Gets?
Fiona Gibson - 2015
With her 16-year-old daughter Rosie newly signed to a top modelling agency, and Will recently out of a job, things are changing in their household.As Will dusts down his old leather trousers and starts partying with their new, fun neighbours, Charlotte begins to wonder what on earth is going on.So when Fraser, Charlotte’s ex – and father of Rosie – suddenly arrives back on the scene, she starts to imagine what might have been…‘The voice of modern woman’ Marie Claire
Island
David Almond - 2017
The arrival of Hassan from war-torn Syria changes everything. Louise is restless and yearning for independence, and the fiercely free and self-reliant Hassan fascinates her. He seems to know the island from long ago as if it were his home from birth. Hassan is an acrobat, maybe a sorcerer, possibly a source of great danger. The wild gang of boys who call the island their home want to cast him out. The forces of love, death and hope move Louise and Hassan towards a deeper understanding of themselves and their place in a world that is both cruel and compassionate. Lindisfarne will change their lives forever. David Almond is the author of many beloved and prize-winning books for children and teenagers. His best known work, Skellig, won the Whitbread Children's Award and the Carnegie Medal and was made into a feature-length film. A Song for Ella Grey, a beautiful retelling of the myth of Orpheus, won the Guardian Children's Book Prize 2015.