As Connie and Eva talk they discover they are from feuding families, the Maxwells and the Dixons. But when they both begin nurses’ training, they can’t deny their natural bond of friendship and become more like sisters.Their lives intertwine as Connie starts courting Eva’s brother, Roger, a bomb disposal expert. In her heart, Connie holds a torch for local artist and freespirit Eugene, but a dark memory from her past makes her wary of trusting any man.The two women are determined to uncover the secrets that have plagued them and kept the two families at war for so long. But can their friendship survive the shocking truth?A moving family drama for fans of Maureen Lee and Katie Flynn.

    But the dream of a better life is dashed as bad fortune dogs the family.When Angela marries her childhood sweetheart, she has hopes of a brighter future, which are dashed when her husband is called up to fight in the Great War. Tragedy strikes and Angela is left to rear her frail daughter on her own, though the worst is yet to come when Angela suffers another terrible misfortune.Pregnant and destitute and already with one mouth to feed that she can ill afford, there is nowhere left to turn. What destiny awaits Angela and her unborn child? Caught between the devil and the deep blue sea, will Angela forever be punished for the choices that she makes?

    Hundreds of miles away, in London, Queen Victoria is preparing for her wedding. She will wear the most exquisite wedding dress in history, bearing the famous Honiton lace. When Lily is asked to be one of the select few to work on this top-secret commission it is the answer to her prayers.Lily quickly makes an impression, both as an expert seamstress and a natural leader of the women working day and night to ensure their families' survival. But there are others who want to see Lily fail, including Squire Clinsden who issues her with a terrible ultimatum - work for him, and be subject to his unwanted advances, or lose the family home.Torn between her duty and her dreams of a better life, Lily must remember where she came from or risk losing those most important to her.

    As each boat ferries exhausted men from the beaches to the waiting ships, under incessant fire from enemy aircraft and in a sea awash with debris and bodies, the men are unknowingly united by a powerful driving force—the urgent need to find one man, brother or son, who matters more to them than anyone else. Each of these missing men has a family, a wife or a sweetheart at home who is anxiously waiting for news—and one sweetheart in particular is determined to play her own part in the rescue.

    . . From birth, Polly Harper seems destined for tragedy. Raised by her loving grandparents on Paradise Farm she is unknowingly tangled in a web of secrecy regarding her parentage. When she falls in love with Tobias, the wealthy son of a local landowner of disrepute, her anxious grandparents send her to work in a dairy. There she becomes instantly drawn to the handsome Matt Dinsdale, propelling her further into the depths of forbidden romance and dark family secrets. But tragedy strikes, Polly is forced to confront her past and decide the fate of her future. Will she lose everything, or will she finally realize that her roots and love lie in Paradise?

    But when Jim is tragically killed in an air raid, Helen is heartbroken, her life in ruins.Battling grief and despair, Helen resolves to escape her domineering mother and rebuild her shattered world. Wartime Manchester is a dangerous place, besieged by crime and poverty. So when Helen joins the Women's Auxiliary Police Corps, working with evacuees, the destitute and the vulnerable, she finds a renewed sense of purpose. She's come a long way from her place behind the counter in the corner shop.But there's still something missing in her heart. Is Helen able to accept love and happiness and find the courage to change her life?

    Kitty Williams has suffered more than her fair share of tragedy but rather than wallowing, she's more determined than ever to do her part in the battle against Hitler. Stepping up her own war effort, Kitty leaves her home town of Coventry and joins the Auxiliary Territorial Service (Women's Army - ATS) where she finds new friends in Di, Peggy and Mary but also new obstacles to overcome in both her professional and personal lives.Packed full of wartime adventure, romance, heartbreak and friendship, The Spark Girls is a gripping and poignant saga perfect for fans of Ellie Dean, Daisy Styles and Maggie Ford.

    A new opportunity in a country on the precipice of unspeakable evil.November 1932. Seamus Ritter, a widower with four children, returns from riding the rails in an America crippled by the great depression. Realizing that his homecoming will not be how he envisioned it, and in a desperate attempt to make amends with his 16-year-old daughter, Maureen, Seamus accepts an invitation to come and work for his long-lost uncle in Berlin. With little other choice, Seamus takes the ship to Germany with his family. Maureen leaves everything to go with her father she no longer trusts, dedicated to taking care of her younger siblings.The Germany the Ritter family encounters is vastly different than the one Seamus spent time living in as a child. An upstart politician called Adolf Hitler has come to the fore, but surely it’s only a matter of time before the right-thinking members of society banish him to the fringes of the political landscape he emerged from.As the Ritter family struggles to adjust to life in a country ravaged by unemployment and internal strife, Seamus meets Lisa, a beautiful and mysterious woman weighed down by the ghosts of her past life. When tragedy strikes, Lisa and Seamus will be forced to act together to save their lives and build a future together in a nation that, unbeknownst to the citizens there, is about to descend into the greatest evil the world has ever known.

    When Isobel Morton takes over the café in Lichfield’s market square, she has big plans. Soon renamed The Victory Café, with a  menu that delights despite rations, the girls who work at the Vic are swept away by Belle’s lust for life.   Among the regular customers  is a trio of soldiers from the nearby American base and waitress Dorrie Goodman soon befriends them, learning about jazz and romance in the process. But the stifling morality of a Midlands town in the 40s cannot accommodate such a friendship; jealously, hatred and the weight of public disapproval combine to precipitate a tragedy.  It is not until many years after the war that friendship and reconciliation can begin to heal the wounds of the past …Praise for Leah Fleming 'I enjoyed it enormously.It's a moving and compelling story about a lifetime's journey in search of the truth' RACHEL HORE 'A born storyteller' KATE ATKINSON

    Love is Blind is a gripping wartime saga from much-loved author Anne Baker, which follows a family's path through heartache and war. Perfect for fans of Katie Flynn and Sheila Newberry.Patsy Rushton's brother Barney doesn't know the meaning of hard work, so when their father tragically dies, Patsy has no choice but to save the family's business. Meanwhile, Barney has got his girlfriend pregnant and, feeling trapped, he abandons her and leaves Merseyside altogether. But trouble follows Barney wherever he goes and when he learns of his sister's growing success, he can't help feeling resentful. Why is their mother, Beatrice, so quick to forgive him? Surely, she can't be blind to his faults? As Patsy is to discover, there's something else about Barney that is frightening her mother so much she has never dared to speak of it before. What readers are saying about Love is Blind 'Very good, easy read. The twists and turns in the plot kept the intrigue alive. I would recommend to anyone''Engaging characters and a gripping war time story. A good insight into life during the war. Can't wait to read another of Anne Baker's books'

    She is the talk of Ryhope when she arrives there, aged seventeen, alone, seeking work and a home in the pit village. But Sadie is keeping a secret - that she is searching for her baby girl who was taken from her at birth to be sold by the child's wicked, battleaxe grandmother when Sadie was just fifteen years old. All that Sadie knows about the family who took her daughter is that they lived in Ryhope. And the only thing she knows about her daughter is that when the baby was born, she had a birthmark on one shoulder that resembled a tiny ladybird. But as Sadie's quest begins, a visitor from her past appears - one who could jeopardise the life she's beginning to build and could separate from her beloved child forever...

     Ada Houston is alone. Her grandfather has recently passed away and her brother is missing, last seen working on the Liverpool docks. Everyone assumes him to be dead. But she will not give up hope. Ada's determined search takes her to the Crimea where she joins the team of Florence Nightingale's nurses. She may have set off looking for her brother, but along the way Ada finds friends, romance and a new purpose in her own life in the most troubling and difficult of places.

    

    Jean’s proud of her honest, hardworking husband and their children, but there’s never a penny to spare. Vi’s equally proud of her husband’s new role as a local councillor and their elegant new house, and has raised her children to expect the best.As war breaks out, agonising decisions must be faced. Should the oldest children enlist? Should the youngest be evacuated? All the traditional certainties are overturned. Then the twins’ own younger sister, singer Francine, returns home unexpectedly and stirs up the past, even in the midst of present danger.This is a tremendous saga of fighting spirit and family closeness, and the belief that even though today is full of destruction and pain, there is hope for a better tomorrow.

    . . Evie spent her early years left outside on the step. With a drunk for a father and a neglectful mother, all little Evie has ever craved is a safe home and a normal existence. Her young eyes had seen so much but this never tainted her spirit. If it wasn't for her best friend Gary, and friendly dog called Whisky - Evie might never have made it to the sixteenth birthday.At sixteen she meets Ken, a sweet brown-eyed boy, not much older than she is. Perhaps her fortunes have changed? But no sooner does she give over her heart, she is betrayed, not for the first time in her young life... Will Evie ever find the love and warmth she's always craved?