Queenie Malone's Paradise Hotel


Ruth Hogan - 2019
    She loved fizzy drinks, swear words, fish fingers and Catholic churches, but most of all she loved living in Brighton in Queenie Malone's Magnificent Paradise Hotel with its endearing and loving family of misfits - staff and guests alike.But Tilly's childhood was shattered when her mother sent her away from the only home she'd ever loved to boarding school with little explanation and no warning. Now, Tilda has grown into an independent woman still damaged by her mother's unaccountable cruelty. Wary of people, her only friend is her dog, Eli. But when her mother dies, Tilda goes back to Brighton and with the help of her beloved Queenie sets about unraveling the mystery of her exile from The Paradise Hotel and discovers that her mother was not the woman she thought she knew at all ... Mothers and daughters ... their story can be complicated ... it can also turn out to have a happy ending.

The Wedding Season


Samantha Chase - 2015
    Her friendship with Sean Peterson was rock solid 2. She had a career that she absolutely adored 3. This summer was going to be the death of her With the proverbial "Always a Bridesmaid and Never a Bride" becoming her new mantra, Tricia didn't know how she was going to survive this year's round of weddings. Six of them this summer alone! In an attempt to ward off the pity-party, her best friend Sean gives her the perfect solution to help her get through - he'll pretend to be her boyfriend. While not certain that was going to be of any help, Tricia's knows it also won't hurt. When circumstances beyond Sean's control keep him from coming home to Tricia's aid, he sends his brother Ryan in his place. Four years older than his brother and his best friend, Ryan isn't sure why these weddings are such a big deal. He's also not sure of what the exact nature is of this relationship between Sean and Tricia. And that's becoming a big problem because the more time he spends with Tricia, the more he realizes that she's the one he wants to plan a wedding with.*This is a 40,000 word stand-alone novella*

A Word for Love


Emily Robbins - 2017
    Bea, an American exchange student, has learned them all: in search of deep feeling, she travels to a Middle Eastern country known to hold the “The Astonishing Text,” an ancient, original manuscript of a famous Arabic love story that is said to move its best readers to tears. But once in this foreign country, Bea finds that instead of intensely reading Arabic she is entwined in her host family’s complicated lives—as they lock the doors, and whisper anxiously about impending revolution. And suddenly, instead of the ancient love story she sought, it is her daily witness of a contemporary Romeo and Juliet-like romance—between a housemaid and policeman of different cultural and political backgrounds—that astonishes her, changes her, and makes her weep. But as the country drifts toward explosive unrest, Bea wonders how many secrets she can keep, and how long she can fight for a romance that does not belong to her. Ultimately, in a striking twist, Bea’s own story begins to mirror that of “The Astonishing Text” that drew her there in the first place—not in the role of one of the lovers, as she might once have imagined, but as the character who lives to tell the story long after the lovers have gone.With melodic meditation on culture, language, and familial devotion. Robbins delivers a powerful novel that questions what it means to love from afar, to be an outsider within a love story, and to take someone else’s passion and cradle it until it becomes your own.

What Milo Saw


Virginia Macgregor - 2014
    But for now, he sees the world through a pin hole and notices things other people don't. When Milo's beloved 92-year-old gran succumbs to dementia and moves into a nursing home, Milo begins to notice things amiss at the home. The grown-ups won't listen when he tries to tell them something's wrong so with just Tripi, the nursing home's cook, and Hamlet, his pet pig, to help, Milo sets out on a mission to expose the nursing home and the sinister Nurse Thornhill.

Clear My Name


Paula Daly - 2019
    It deserves to be a huge bestseller.' Mark Edwards'Loved it - twisty, turny and as brilliant as ever!' Jill Mansell‘The UK’s answer to Liane Moriarty. Amazing.’ Claire McGowanInnocent?When Carrie was accused of brutally murdering her husband’s lover, she denied it. She denied it when they arrested her, when they put her in front of a jury, and when they sent her to prison.Now she’s three years into a fifteen-year sentence, away from the daughter she loves and the life she had built. And she is still denying that she is to blame.Guilty?Tess Gilroy has devoted her life to righting wrongs. Through her job for Innocence UK, a charity which takes on alleged miscarriages of justice, she works tirelessly to uncover the truth.But when she is asked to take Carrie’s case, Tess realises that if she is to help this woman, she must risk uncovering the secrets she has struggled a lifetime to hide . . .We’ve all done things we’re not proud of.'Compelling concept, kick-ass characterisation and a gut punch of a sting in the tale.' LV Hay

Murder on Olympus


Robert B. Warren - 2011
    Despite their bickering, they share a universal bond, a thread of commonality that unites them. They’re all jerks. After a stint with the Olympic Bureau of Investigation, Plato Jones is through with the Gods and their political games. Against his protests, he's drawn into a murder investigation, where the murderer's targets are the Gods themselves.Plato has cracked some tough cases: exposing cheating spouses, capturing treasonous heretics, hunting three-headed dogs. But this time he’s in over his head. How can he solve a crime that’s impossible to commit? And what chance does Plato—a mere mortal—have against something powerful enough to kill a God?

Some They Lie


M.K. Farrar - 2018
    No one is perfect—she knows that better than most. Everyone has their secrets. But something about Michael’s behaviour sets her nerves on edge, and, when people around her start to go missing, and then turn up dead, she’s forced to act.Knowing the police will never believe what she’s witnessed, and terrified her accusations will only drag up the past she’s worked so hard to bury, Olivia has no choice but to take things into her own hands... Get this new, heart-racing, psychological thriller now!

This Impossible Light


Lily Myers - 2017
    Her dad has moved out, her mother is withdrawn, her brother is off at college, and her best friend, Anna, has grown distant. Worst of all, Ivy’s body won’t stop expanding. She’s getting taller and curvier, with no end in sight. Even her beloved math class offers no clear solution to the imbalanced equation that has become Ivy’s life.Everything feels off-kilter until a decision to change the way she eats gives her a boost in confidence and reminds Ivy that her life is her own. If she can just limit what she eats—the way her mother seems to—she can stop herself from growing, focus on the upcoming math competition, and reclaim control of her life. But when her disordered eating gives way to missed opportunities and a devastating health scare, Ivy realizes that she must weigh her mother’s issues against her own, and discover what it means to be a part of—and apart from—her family.

A David Lodge Trilogy


David Lodge - 1993
    When Philip Swallow, lecturer in English at Rummidge, changes places with flamboyant Morris Zapp of Euphoric State University, USA, trouble ensues. Then, ten years on, older but not noticeably wiser, they are let loose on the international conference circuit - a veritable academic carnival. And finally, Dr Robyn Penrose becomes part of a scheme to learn about industry instead of reading about it, with hilarious results. David Lodge exposes the dizzy pursuit of knowledge - literary, commercial, romantic and erotic - with unparalleled wit and insight.Changing Places 1975Small World 1985Nice Work 1989

Spin


Catherine McKenzie - 2009
    Go to rehab 2. Befriend/spy on "It Girl" 3. Write killer expose 4. Land dream job Piece of cake! When Kate Sandford lands an interview at her favorite music magazine, The Line, it's the chance of a lifetime. So Kate goes out to celebrate—and shows up still drunk to the interview the next morning. It's no surprise that she doesn't get the job, but her performance has convinced the editors that she'd be perfect for an undercover assignment for their gossip rag. All Kate has to do is follow "It Girl" Amber Sheppard into rehab. If she can get the inside scoop—and complete the thirty-day program—they'll reconsider her for the position at The Line. Kate takes the assignment, but when real friendships start to develop, she has to decide if what she has to gain is worth the price she'll have to pay.

After You Left


Carol Mason - 2017
    It isn’t the pain of him not being there—loneliness is manageable. The worst thing is not knowing why.When Justin walks out on Alice on their honeymoon, with no explanation apart from a cryptic note, Alice is left alone and bewildered, her life in pieces.Then she meets Evelyn, a visitor to the gallery where she works. It’s a seemingly chance encounter, but Alice gradually learns that Evelyn has motives, and a heartbreaking story, of her own. And that story has haunting parallels with Alice’s life.As Alice delves into the mystery of why Justin left her, the questions are obvious. But the answers may lie in the most unlikely of places…

Dark Descent into Desire


J.J. Sorel - 2020
    Romance for him is art and beauty. But sex is sex. And he needs lots of it. He doesn’t connect the two. He’s never witnessed love in its finer form, for his youth was crippled by a difficult upbringing. But no one knows that. When he encounters Penelope Green at an art exhibition selling her work, he’s not only spellbound by her beauty, but by her art which speaks to his soul. It’s not just smoldering attraction that they share, but also difficult pasts. While her upbringing took place in a rundown estate caring for her troubled mother, Blake’s, although brought up in a picturesque village, was just as dark. He grew up around the windswept moors in a gothic castle with walls stained in secrets, and where his mother worked as a maid. Leading her into a world of opulence, taste, and raw lust, Blake Sinclair with eyes that flit from moody to stormy blue, manages to seduce Penelope. Her entry into his bedroom, other than eliciting steamy passion, opens up a part of him hidden even from himself. He soon finds himself swimming in uncharted waters. Although he’s not new to addiction, this time it’s not just sex that’s got Sinclair in its tantalizing grip, but something deeper and more powerful. Penelope’s not only a hot temptress, but a kindred spirit, and even more profoundly, she knows what “dark” feels like. When he learns that she too has secrets, Penelope becomes his obsession. Even if his need for control is constantly challenged by her feisty independence: a quality that not only feeds his sudden unhealthy need to possess her but also places a wedge between them. Dylan Fox is a nefarious character that shadows this story. As the son of Lord William Fox, Blake’s late mother’s employer, Fox grew up terrorizing the young Blake. Believing that Blake stole from him, Dylan Fox, who runs a criminal empire, drags Blake into the center of a scandal involving the rich and powerful, a private island, and teenage girls. Blake Sinclair has one powerful weapon: a clear conscience. But he has to convince Penelope and the world around him first. Faced with criminal gangs, while working behind the scenes on a dangerous exposé involving big names, Blake flexes his considerable muscles to save Penelope and his reputation.

Ask the Dark


Henry Turner - 2015
    Tell the truth, I'm tired of getting asked. I want to answer everybody all at once and get it all the hell over with…Billy Zeets has a story to tell.About being a vandal and petty thief.About missing boys and an elusive killer.And about what happens if a boy who breaks all the rules is the only person who can piece together the truth.Gripping and powerful, this masterful debut novel comes to vivid life through the unique voice of a hero as unlikely as he is unforgettable.

Einstein's Beach House


Jacob M. Appel - 2014
    In eight tragi-comic stories, Einstein's Beach House: Stories features ordinary men and women rising to life's extraordinary challenges.

The Sinaloa Story


Barry Gifford - 1998
    Ava is a Mexican prostitute, beautiful and no victim of circumstance. When DelRay falls in love with her at the drive-in whorehouse where she is the prize, she seizes the chance to break free. They take off for Sinaloa ,Texas, the lone-dog state where "nothin’ good ever happens." The far-out border flunkies they meet — Thankful Priest, the one-eyed former football player; Indio Desacato, Ava’s pimp and a small-town racketeer; Arkadelphia Quantrill Smith, an octogenarian whose father marched with Shelby in the Iron Brigade; and many others — fill out the sinister and electrifying ride.