Could the answer to his problems lie in the chestnut orchard at the bottom of the garden?Only Ellie can help Daniel unlock the delicious secret that will bring them the fresh starts they need. And as autumn approaches, romance will blossom amid the glowing embers of the chestnut fire...*Contains an exclusive extract from Jo's brand-new novel, THE OLIVE BRANCH, out February 2015*

    The lives of eight women collide in this opulent, culturally vibrant city on a journey of sisterhood, friendship, love, betrayal and the heartbreaking choices of its residents. We see Jewel, a beautiful but frustrated wife to her powerful Emirati husband, and Tara, a devout Muslim torn between passion and her faith, and Liliana, a tragic dancer in the seedy clubs of Dubai.A stirring tale encompassing, tradition, identity, and faith, Dubai Wives takes the reader into the hidden world behind the walls of lavish mansions and into the back alleys of Dubai, from the hills of Morocco to the glittering lights of the Burj Al Arab. It paints a portrait of a world where no one is who they seem to be...and where everything is possible.

    Alone in the Connecticut farmhouse that was once her mother's, Lucinda's life has become a small thing. Everything she wants or needs can be purchased online, and her only trips to the outside world are to the library or to the post office. It sometimes takes her days before she has the courage to venture past her front door, and even these excursions are sufficiently traumatic to induce blinding migraine headaches.Then, one hot morning in July, as she sits at her computer near the living-room window, a motion in the garden catches her eye. When she turns to look out, she is certain she must be hallucinating--for out there, admiring the overgrown flower beds, is a little girl in shorts and a T-shirt, her bare feet in outsize sneakers. She can't be real, Lucinda tells herself. But when she looks again, the little girl beckons to her to come outside. Bemused, curious, Lucinda gets up and goes outdoors to make the acquaintance of charmingly precocious nine-year-old Katanya Taylor who has, courtesy of the Fresh Air Fund, come from Harlem to spend two weeks with a host family. Taken with the girl's sweet-natured intelligence and generosity of spirit, Lucinda gradually, painfully finds herself drawn back into the world she left after her mother's death. Through Katanya, Lucinda re-examines her past, and gets answers to the questions that kept her locked inside herself and inside her mother's house for more than half her life.

    But after a month of bliss, they suddenly find themselves in rough waters. When Kyle inherits four oil wells from his uncle, he sees his affluence as an opportunity to impress Gretchen. But just before he makes his move, Gretchen hears news of an oil tanker spilling its load near the coast of Alaska. Leaving Kyle behind in Texas, she joins a group of campus activists in Alaska for the summer to clean oil from suffering birds.Kyle is torn between managing his business--and being left lonely in the Lone Star state--and risking everything to fly to Alaska to pursue Gretchen. The young oil man soon discovers that oil slicks are nothing compared to relational slicks. The early bird may get the worm, but the oily bird can ruin romance!

    While there she volunteers with a local hospice program, where she meets Luke, a once proud fisherman whose life and body have been ravaged by cancer. Jessie’s presence is a great help to Luke’s mother, who has moved in to take care of her son.After initial misgivings Jessie and Luke forge a deep friendship, and the former teacher is surprised to find herself opening up about her life, the loss of her father when she was a girl, her often difficult relationship with her mother, and her own battle with illness. When Luke makes a critical request of his new friend, Jessie must look deep within herself for an answer, knowing that her actions will have far-reaching effects on Luke’s family and forever change the bonds within her own.

    Then the way to fame was leading him toward a mistake that could send him straight to hell...She never looked back.Lies, drugs, too many men-- golden skinned singer Topaz Black would do anything to get a hit to the top of the charts, even walk away from her friends and family. But surrounded by greed and lust, the love the longed for seemed to be slipping away forever.He broke all the rules.Brought up in South Central L.A., movie producer Gunther Lawrence learned early how to get the wealth and women he wanted-- and to turn his back on his roots. Now, blinded by Hollywood's glitter, his illusions may shatter when he discovers who really controls his career.As their lives touch, ignite, and explode, three talented African-Americans pursue fame at any cost...and the price may be their happiness...or their lives..An alternate selection of the Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club

    Domestic life is beginning to take its toll until Meg is offered her dream assignment: to write a guidebook about French history. Unfortunately, there is a catch. Jean-Jacques, a scruffy and imperious photographer, has been assigned to the project. As the dueling pair visits each region in search of the past, what they find is the colorful, food-filled present—the festive bullfights in the Camargue, the sacred gypsy pilgrimage at Stes-Maries-de-la-Mer, the pictographs and lightning storms of Mount Bégo. And over the course of mouthwatering meals—of lamb daube, paella and rosé, bull steak and anchioade, Brebis and strawberries—their antagonistic collaboration turns into a fiery love affair. Meg's notions about history—about what we preserve and how we accept the new—evolve, and in the end, she must reconcile her two lives and decide what to hold on to, and what to let go.

    For as long as she can remember, they were Cam and Lilly--happily married, totally in love with each other, parents of a beautiful family, and partners in life. Then, after decades of marriage, it ended as every great love story does...in loss. After Cam's death, Lilly takes a lone road trip to her and Cam's favorite spot on the remote coast of Maine, the place where they fell in love over and over again, where their ghosts still dance. There, she looks hard to her past--to a first love that ended in tragedy; to falling in love with Cam; to a marriage filled with exuberance, sheer life, and safety-- to try to figure out her future.It is a journey begun with tender memories and culminating in a revelation that will make Lilly re-evaluate everything she thought was true about her husband and her marriage.

    The sort of novel that comes along rarely to touch something personal in us. It's the story of a man and woman falling in love, and of the children and the memories of a perfect first wife that could keep them apart. "Excellent!" —Philadelphia Inquirer

    Miranda Fox has devoted much of her life to caring for her elderly father. After his tragic death, she starts to make plans for her future, funded by the inheritance she is sure will be coming her way, but it seems her arrogant and domineering half-brother has very different ideas . . . Then a chance encounter with a man who has been given months to live boosts Miranda’s confidence, and as their friendship grows she finally learns to stand up for herself and her dreams. Can Miranda find the happiness that she deserves?

    You are fond of sending shitstorms my way. I lost my parents and grew up with one relative after another. A few months into my marriage, I discovered my husband in my best friend’s bed. Well, guess what? You made me one heck of a survivor! The joke's on you. Now this ‘hot’ Doctor you sent my way-the one who moved in next door to my stepbrother--don’t think I will be fooled by his charm like everyone else who is eating out of his hand. His smart quips, teasing words and piercing gazes do not scare me. I see him for the man because of whom I experienced several ‘firsts’--my first accident, my first ride in an ambulance, and not proud to say it, but my first arrest! I may not be able to get even with you Life, but I will get even with the Doc! It should be easy for he does have a habit of popping up wherever I go. Yours insincerely, Danika

    Serenity Cottage was a place of beauty and privilege owned by the luminous Halworths -- but in the blink of an eye, tragedy left them in ruins. Determined not to follow in his father's footsteps, Terry grew up to become a high-flying Hollywood film agent -- but he has lost himself along the way. When he is called back to Maine by his father's death, he finds a note that stops him cold: Open Serenity for Christmas. No one has been in the house in thirty years. Although Terry's first instinct is to leave it all behind, he discovers that Katherine Halworth, the girl he remembers from that fateful night, is the new owner. With her arrival imminent, Terry's past comes rushing back and he soon learns that it's never too late to forgive -- and never too late to love.

    A boy. A heir. To carry the family name and the company forward into the future. Instead I got you! Two daughters. Fit for nothing except to marry someone and walk away.”Kajal Rathore had walked out of her home and her father after that confrontation, making a life and living it on her own terms. Away from the archaic chauvinism that made her father reject her because she was not the son he wanted. Now her father’s flailing health has brought her back to her home. And to the company that had been in her family for generations. Once Kajal had had a dream of becoming a part of that company and now fates were handing over that dream. But to claim it, she will have to confront the father who denies her, the mother who never stood up for her, the sister who needs her and the man who wants her. “I want you to marry Kajal. I don’t..I can’t trust her with Rathore Industries. But I don’t have a choice. But if you are beside her, I would never have to worry. Marry her and the company would be yours.”Arjun Shekhawat was deeply indebted to his boss. The man who had been his godfather and his mentor. Refusing him was not on cards. Even when it was something as personal as marriage. After all, it was a win-win situation. But keeping the promise meant getting close to his boss’s daughter. Close enough to win her trust, to appreciate the person that she was and the secrets that surrounded her. Close enough to fall in love with her. And to realize that he had unwittingly agreed to become the weapon that would one day be used against her.

    . . and their foolish choice. In love with the same man. The wrong man.  Women found him so easy to love. Clay Bowen had it all—charisma, good looks, and power in the glamorous world of television. Laura, the delicate dancer, gave up her dazzling career to marry him and have his child. Nina excelled at everything—except capturing her father’s complete attention. Bambi, his ruthless young “assistant,” thought she was using him. And Susan, a brilliant writer, couldn’t bear to think their twenty-year bicoastal romance was too good to be true.   In her most riveting novel since The Best of Everything, Rona Jaffe weaves a compelling story of passion and obsession. Moving from the glittering capitals of the world and the epicenter of the TV and movie industries to the darkest depths of the human heart, she holds her readers captive to the very last page.  Praise for An American Love Story   “Jaffe comprehends the ambivalence of women in love like few other contemporary novelists.”—New Woman   “Compelling . . . a novel of growth, despair, destruction and realization—a novel to read and have a daughter read.”—UPI  “Savvy and sharp.”—St. Petersburg Times   “Thoughtful, provocative.”—San Antonio Express-News

    After one too many New Year's spent watching bad television, and one too many dull outings with dependable fiance Tom, she decides to chuck it all in, throw her backpack into her little Fiesta, and set off into the Wild West - of Ireland, that is - on the road trip of a lifetime. Along the way she manages to meet a cast of interesting characters, live in a caravan, accidentally get a new job, and lose the boring fiance. But, as is often the way in life, things are not as they should be. Pitching up in the little seaside town of Merway, she doesn't intend to stay long, but the down-at-heel charm of the place and the warmth of the locals draw her in. As winter turns to summer, Lizzie begins to realise that the past cannot be shrugged off like an old winter coat, and that here, too, she must make difficult choices.