Then, she meets an aspiring Hollywood actress Marlena DiPluma, who says four life-changing words—You Can Do Anything—and gives her a journal to read. The journal, written by Ava, a defiant girl of Lydia’s age, becomes the catalyst for Lydia’s awakening and new life adventure.A story of parallel lives, Portion of the Sea follows two young women in passionate pursuit of their independence–Lydia during the cultural revolution of the 1950s and 1960s, and Ava during the late-1800s when a few pioneering American ladies set the course for women’s freedom.In this stirring follow-up to her debut novel Sanibel Scribbles, Christine Lemmon offers a trademark story of how women can inspire each other to pursue bold dreams, make courageous choices, and reclaim lost treasures.

    Her life is a whirl of parties and drinking, pursued by the press and staying on just the right side of scandal, all while running from the life her parents would choose for her.Lawrence Weston is a penniless painter who stumbles into Selina's orbit one night and can never let her go even while knowing someone of her stature could never end up with someone of his. Except Selina falls hard for Lawrence, envisioning a life of true happiness. But when tragedy strikes, Selina finds herself choosing what's safe over what's right.Spanning two decades and a seismic shift in British history as World War II approaches, Iona Grey's The Glittering Hour is an epic novel of passion, heartache and loss.

    Due to marry a man she has never met and always believed to be a monster, she truly believes her life is over. But is life with the Duke really something to be afraid of? Will Isabella be able to get past her own prejudice and see the man beneath the scars? And will the Duke be able to let go of the pain and guilt that has swallowed him whole for almost two decades and find a new life with a new love?A Courtship to RememberElizabeth Ramsbury is only interested in pursuing her independence and her musical talent. Unfortunately, the entrapment of matrimony looms over her head like a bad omen. After her father forces her hand, she sees no other choice but to take the only honourable route and find a suitable match to marry. A fortuitous meeting at a ball leads her to make an elaborate plan with the Baron to convince everyone that they are courting. What happens when their scheme paves the way for true feelings to start blossoming? Will Elizabeth realize that she can find the love and passion music has given her in a different place too?Smitten with an Ethereal LadyLady Charlotte Lumley knows that she can never aspire to have a normal life, like any other lady in her position would. Many years ago, an accident on a rainy day, had put an end to any chance of her becoming a bride. Charlotte has resigned herself to an inevitable fate - she became a social recluse, who even her parents never speak of, because of the affliction that torments her; a ghost daughter, who must stay hidden away. But when she meets the kind and handsome Marquess, her heart flutters for the first time! Can she let go of her secret and believe that love is on the cards for her too?If you love clean Regency romances that feature strong women of the era and determined, yet charming, male protagonists, then you are going to love this collection!Each book features a standalone, clean and sweet story of approximately 80,000 words. No cheating, no cliffhangers, and a sweet happily ever after.

    As Charlie locks eyes with Stella across the platform, a brief, powerful spark of recognition flashes between them. But they are strangers … aren’t they?Plunging back thirty years we watch as, unknown to them all, the lives of Stella and John, and Charlie and his girlfriend Beth, are pulled ever closer, an invisible thread connecting them across the decades and through London’s busy streets.For Stella, becoming a young mother in the 1970s puts an end to her bright academic career in a way John can’t seem to understand. Meanwhile Charlie gambles all future happiness with Beth when his inner demons threaten to defeat him.In rhythmic and captivating prose, Katy Mahood effortlessly interweaves the stories of these two families who increasingly come to define one another in the most vital and astounding ways. With this soaring debut, she explores the choices and encounters that make up a lifetime, reminding us just how closely we are all connected.

    With my world turned upside down, I find myself leaning into him.We keep secrets.We torture ourselves through our attraction.We blame each other.I don’t know what I'm doing or who I am anymore.All I know is I don't want him to ever stop looking at me like he is right now.You're to Blame is a standalone novel.

    Petersburg, New Year's Eve, 1916. Marina Makarova is a young woman of privilege who aches to break free of the constraints of her genteel life, a life about to be violently upended by the vast forces of history. Swept up on these tides, Marina will join the marches for workers' rights, fall in love with a radical young poet, and betray everything she holds dear, before being betrayed in turn.As her country goes through almost unimaginable upheaval, Marina's own coming-of-age unfolds, marked by deep passion and devastating loss, and the private heroism of an ordinary woman living through extraordinary times. This is the epic, mesmerizing story of one indomitable woman's journey through some of the most dramatic events of the last century.

    Now, grown up and married with a young family, they feel their worst nightmares are behind them. Until the day their daughter is abducted and murdered.Both Elise and Nathaniel lost their mothers to a notorious killer who manipulated innocent victims into taking their own lives. Could it be that ‘the Watcher’ has returned for another round of the same sadistic game? Why now? And why are Elise and Nathaniel being targeted again?When Elise’s family falls under suspicion, her world crashes down around her. Is there anyone she can trust, or is her whole life built on lies?Only one thing is clear: someone left their cruel game unfinished all those years ago. This time the Watcher intends to win – once and for all.

    Violante's father bankrolled the manipulative Rodrigo Borgia into the Vatican, and in return Violante becomes lady in waiting to the new pope's scandalous daughter, Lucrezia, now Duchess of Ferrara. Flattered by Lucrezia's favor, seduced by the friendship of the Duchess's cousin Angela, and swept off her feet by the mysterious and seductive Cesare Borgia, Violante is drawn deep into intrigue and deceit. Her extraordinary journey will test her heart to its utmost and leave her the guardian of secrets she must carry to her grave.

    A dangerous time for a woman to be different . . .Midsummer’s Eve, 1648, and England is in the grip of civil war between renegade King and rebellious Parliament. The struggle reaches every corner of the kingdom, even to the remote Tidelands – the marshy landscape of the south coast. Alinor, a descendant of wise women, crushed by poverty and superstition, waits in the graveyard under the full moon for a ghost who will declare her free from her abusive husband. Instead she meets James, a young man on the run, and shows him the secret ways across the treacherous marsh, not knowing that she is leading disaster into the heart of her life.Suspected of possessing dark secrets in superstitious times, Alinor’s ambition and determination mark her out from her neighbours. This is the time of witch-mania, and Alinor, a woman without a husband, skilled with herbs, suddenly enriched, arouses envy in her rivals and fear among the villagers, who are ready to take lethal action into their own hands.

    She has moved back to Chicago, is considering her next career move (or temp job), and has absolutely no time to look for love—until a mysterious dating app called Met suddenly appears on her phone, and with it, an invitation for Corinne to reconnect with four missed connections from her past. One of them, Met says, is her soul mate…Corinne doesn’t believe the app for a second, but when she very quickly finds herself with back-to-back blasts from the past, she’ll have to consider if maybe she’s wrong about it. The thing is, Corinne’s also been introduced to a really great guy outside the app’s influence. As their feelings for each other grow, Corinne has to wonder: With her apparent true love still out there, should she tap yes to the next match?With help from a new group of friends, her loving if annoying family, and maybe a touch of fate, can Corinne come to terms with the loss she’s still reeling from, take control of her career, and find love along the way?

    Marvellous Ways is a ninety-year-old woman who's lived alone in a remote creek for nearly all her life. Recently she's taken to spending her days sitting on the steps of her caravan with a pair of binoculars. She's waiting for something - she's not sure what, but she'll know it when she sees it. Freddy Drake is a young soldier left reeling by the war. He's agreed to fulfil a dying friend's last wish and hand-deliver a letter to the boy's father in Cornwall. But Freddy's journey doesn't go to plan, and sees him literally wash up in Marvellous' creek, broken in body and spirit. When Marvellous comes to his aid, an unlikely friendship grows between the two. Can Freddy give Marvellous what she needs to say goodbye to the world, and can she give him what he needs to go on?

    That belief nearly destroyed her. Seventeen years later, when cleaning out her mother’s house, Jess unpacks a box of cards and letters hidden in the attic and makes a discovery that changes everything about life as she knows it.Shaken but empowered, Jess—and her two stalwart best friends—set out on a remarkable journey to follow a set of faded postmarks around the world. Is Joe still alive? Does he know that Jess never forgot him? Maybe their love story isn’t over.Maybe one day they’ll find each other again…

    The suspense keeps you hooked right until the last page!’ Goodreads reviewer, 5***** There’s a new girl at work.Young, beautiful, confident, she’s everything you used to be. You’re flattered when she befriends you.So when your boss starts giving her your work, at first you think it’s a mistake.But then, one Sunday, the new girl turns up in your local pub. The next week, she starts dressing like you…Now she’s taking control of everything. Because she doesn’t just want your job – she wants your life…‘A truly creepy tale of jealousy and obsession.’ Woman & Home‘A hypnotic dance of gaslighting and revenge.’ People‘Guaranteed to start the mother of all office fights.’ I News*A previous version of this novel was published with the title Precious You.*___Your favourite authors can’t stop talking about That Woman:‘Dark, disturbing, compulsive. I was genuinely terrified reading this.’ Adele Parks‘An intergenerational clash between two women, played out to a shocking finale. Nail-biting.’ Harriet Tyce‘Creepy and unnerving… a breathtaking debut.’ Samantha Downing‘A deliciously dark, addictive and twisted page-turner.’ Alice Feeney‘What a debut! Twisty, explosive, and hugely compelling, with hints of Gone Girl.’ Will Dean‘Twisted, dark and shocking. Absolutely terrific.’ Jo Spain‘Will change the way you look at your colleagues forever.’ Phoebe Morgan‘Supremely twisted and completely riveting’ Katie Lowe

    McQueen (no relation, unfortunately) seems to have a knack for bad luck. But a failed marriage, a stalled career, a judgmental ex-wife, a distant daughter, a horrid little studio apartment in the far reaches of the London suburbs-all these pathetic elements seem to pale in the chiseled face of his newest tormentor: the Twelfth Sexiest Man in the World, Josh Harper.Josh is the star of Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Know, a biographical play about Lord Byron-and Stephen is his understudy. Not only is Josh fantastically, infuriatingly good-looking, internationally renowned, and remarkably talented, he's also frustratingly healthy. No matter how many all-night booze-and-coke benders Josh goes on, he always shows up at the stage door for his call like clockwork. Stephen doubts he'll ever get his chance to slip on the puffy shirt and tight breeches of Byron and tread the boards in the role that would certainly be the break he's always waited for.And just when Stephen's sure he couldn't resent Josh more, he meets Josh's witty, restless American wife, Nora . . . and discovers he likes her a little too much. Another man might curse his luck at finding that his potential dream woman is a rival's wife, but at this point, Stephen would expect nothing else. Caught between his stirring feelings for Nora, the demands of an insistent and secretive Josh, and his lifelong desire for a real career in show business, Stephen must make a terrible decision: Will it be the girl or the fame?A hapless, bumbling bloke in love, an arrogant megastar with a potpourri of addictions, a sexy married woman out of her element in the fast lane-David Nicholls brings them all together in this knockout romantic comedy.From the Hardcover edition.

    Bewildered and afraid, she finds comfort in an unexpected new relationship.In a family caught in the throes of lies, infidelity, death, and eventually the Civil War, Ethan is struggling with changes in his own life, and with his faith. In 1856 he is just beginning his last summer of adolescence at Catahoula Plantation before going off to school at the Virginia Military Institute. Falling in love was not part of his plans—until Rachel came into his life.Spirited and daring, she is unlike any woman he has ever known. He didn’t expect she would turn his world upside down like she does, nor did he anticipate how strongly his father would react to how they feel about each other, or the extremes to which he will go to keep them apart.