It’s December 1940 and the London Blitz has provided them with one essential; scraps of food they scavenge on the debris of bombed buildings. There’s no love and little for them to eat in the derelict dockside slum they once called home. This is a danger area and to Bella almost worse than the Luftwaffe’s nightly raids. Their mother is a drunkard and earns her meagre living on the streets, turning a blind eye to the abuse her boyfriend dolls out to her two unwanted and neglected children. It’s left to Bella to protect Terry, who has endured so many beatings he is mentally scarred. Bella has learned at a young age that life doesn’t play fair. Her hero is Micky Bryant, a good-looking, streetwise teenager, and the one person she truly trusts. And it’s to Micky that Bella turns in her desperation. But is Micky the kind benefactor Bella believes him to be and will her decision have serious consequences in the years ahead?

    Perfect for fans of Katie Flynn and Annie Groves.Maeve Brannigan is only eighteen when she leaves her rural home in County Donegal and moves to Birmingham, where she falls in love with handsome Brendan Hogan. But married life isn’t as idyllic as she’d imagined, and when Maeve falls pregnant with their first child, she soon realises that Brendan isn’t the man she thought he was.Saddled with a violent husband and with two young’uns needing her protection, Maeve bears her life as best she can. After a particularly vicious attack, she is forced to flee back to Ireland – but her presence is greeted with open hostility by the close-knit catholic community that she was once so eager to escape. Driven away to face her abusive husband, Maeve’s future looks bleak. Will she find the strength to break free and make the prospect of a better life a reality rather than a distant dream?

    Scrolls" Series is a SPECIAL EDITION, DIRECTOR'S CUT of 'JERUSALEM SCROLLS' from the Thoenes' popular "Zion Legacy Series"**The voices inside her whisper, Forgiveness?Yes, for them, but never for you.…The story of Mary Magdalene, in her own wordsAs the harsh Jerusalem winter of 1948 wears on Rachel Sachar, beautiful holocaust survivor, prays for some word from her husband Moshe who vanished in the secret tunnels beneath Jerusalem. Then one night a stranger named Eben Golah arrives with a message from Moshe and the translation of the ancient diary of Mary Magdalene. Like Rachel, Mary was a beautiful child. Everyone said so. Tragedy struck, everything changed in Mary’s family. Her dreams of love and children of her own abruptly ended. No amount of wealth or male companionship can bring Mary what she really longs for, nor can they stop the voices calling, “Finish it! You have no reason to live. No hope…” But might there be a second chance…even for someone like her? Secretly, she wonders…2,000 years separate the tragic stories of Mary Magdalene and Rachel Sachar, and yet their lives lead to Yeshua of Nazareth in Old Jerusalem. Will these women find freedom and forgiveness? Or will Yeshua cast the first stone? This is Mary’s story, from her own diary, as translated by Jewish Haganah fighter and scholar Moshe Sachar in 1948, as he prepares to emerge from his hiding place in the secret library under besieged Jerusalem.DISCOVER THETRUTHTHROUGHFICTION™BODIE & BROCK THOENE(pronounced Tay-nee) have written more than 60 works of historical fiction. Their novels have sold more than 20 million copies and have won eight ECPA Gold Medallion awards. The Thoenes divide their time between London and Nevada.

    As the nation is struggling to come to peace with itself, all Vanessa Clemens can think about is her birthday. She has been dreading it for weeks. On the day she turns fourteen, she must leave the orphanage that has been her home for ten years. The orphanage headmaster has made arrangements for Nessa. Either she can marry the local pastor or she can become a servant . Those are her only options. Then, on her birthday morning, Nessa hears cries flooding the sleeping Missouri town.

    It follows the coming-of-age of two children, Lyra Belacqua and Will Parry, as they wander through a series of parallel universes against a backdrop of epic events. The three novels have won various awards, most notably The Amber Spyglass, the 2002 Whitbread Book of the Year prize, while the trilogy as a whole took third place in the BBC's Big Read poll in 2003. The story involves fantasy elements such as witches and armoured polar bears, and alludes to a broad range of ideas from fields such as physics, philosophy, theology and spirituality. The trilogy functions in part as a retelling and inversion of John Milton's epic, Paradise Lost; with Pullman commending humanity for what Milton saw as its most tragic failing. The series has drawn criticism from some religious individuals and groups due to its alleged negative portrayal of organized religion. Pullman's publishers have primarily marketed the series to young adults, but Pullman also intended to speak to adults.

    From the best-selling author of Liverpool Daisy and Three Women of Liverpool.A BOOK WHICH WILL MAKE YOU LAUGH, CRY, AND HAVE YOU ABSOLUTELY GRIPPED TILL YOU FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENS.CANADA 1960sMeet Mrs Olga Stych, daughter of an immigrant Ukrainian pig farmer. She has finally made it to the top of the social order in Tollemarche, a small town in Canada’s Bible Belt.But to get there, she has not only had to see off her most determined rival, she has neglected her son Hank. He’s a latchkey kid.As a member of the Committee for the Preservation of Morals, Olga mounts a passionate campaign against the latest ‘immoral’ bestseller. But the author of the book turns out to be her own son Hank…Olga’s fall delights her rivals. And throughout the whole affair, Hank continues to draw strength and support from the one woman who has believed in his work and inspired his love…WILL HER RISE AND FALL SHOW HER ANYTHING ABOUT WHAT REALLY MATTERS IN LIFE?

    He has just been decorated for extraordinary bravery under fire, been given command of the fourth-rate Drakkar, learned from his father's deathbed that he as a fully grown illegitimate brother, and will soon be dispatched on a special mission chasing pirates in the Caribbean…and that's just in the first fifteen pages! Honoring his dying father, the eponymous "Fighting James Anthony," Vice Admiral of the Blue, Gil takes his half-brother Gabriel into the ship's company as a senior midshipman. As Drakkar sails, Captain Anthony soon realizes having his brother aboard might not be the family reunion he hoped for when he encounters the resentment of one of his officers, Lieutenant Witzenfeld.But the real conflict lies ahead with the menacing pirate raiders who must be captured to end the depredations against peaceful English merchants. There Drakkar will find the feared pirate frigate Reaper and have her entire crew tested in savage combat!Boson Books also offers HMS Seawolf and Barracuda by Michael Aye. For an author bio, photo, and sample read visit bosonbooks.com

    But help comes in an unexpected form: Ivan is adopted by a pack of dogs, and the dogs quickly become more than just his street companions: They become his family. Soon Ivan, who used to love reading fairytales, is practically living in one, as he and his pack roam the city and countryside, using their wits to find food and shelter, dodging danger, begging for coins. But Ivan can’t stay hidden from the world of people forever. When help is finally offered to him, will he be able to accept it? Will he even want to?A heart-pounding tale of survival and a moving look at what makes us human.

    When she comes upon Nevermore, an enchanted book unlike anything else she has seen in the castle, Belle finds herself pulled into its pages and transported to a world of glamour and intrigue. The adventures Belle has always imagined, the dreams she was forced to give up when she became a prisoner, seem within reach again.The charming and mysterious characters Belle meets within the pages of Nevermore offer her glamorous conversation, a life of dazzling Parisian luxury, and even a reunion she never thought possible. Here Belle can have everything she has ever wished for. But what about her friends in the Beast’s castle? Can Belle trust her new companions inside the pages of Nevermore? Is Nevermore’s world even real? Belle must uncover the truth about the book, before she loses herself in it forever.

    

    "A fast-moving novel based upon an actual historical incident with a spunky heroine and fine historical detail."--School Library Journal. Author's note."There are few authors who can consistently manage both to entertain and inform." --Booklist

    Led by Admiral David Pratt, the Americans assemble two teams to strike at the Soviets in their own back yard. The first, a strike force team of Navy SEALS, has the task of infiltrating a base of Black Berets in Spitzbergen. The other, an effort led by Russian-speaking Henry Cobb, is to capture the head of the Strategic Rocket Forces of the Soviet Union. Only their combined efforts can win the day.Filled with non-stop action on the land, air, and sea, death-defying escapes, and tension-filled submarine and carrier battles, First Salvo is a classic tale set against the backdrop of the Cold War era.

    It tells the story of Aram, a field-tender, the lowest order of slaves in the empire of Manon the Great, the grim lord of the world. Transported eastward from the plains to the fringe of mountainous regions upon the borders of the empire for the purpose of opening up new lands, Aram resolves to escape and become something of which, as the son of slaves for generations, he has no real concept - a free man. Seizing the unexpected opportunity provided by a sudden, fierce, and blinding thunderstorm, he escapes from the fields of his servitude and flees into the wild. Hunted by servants of the grim lord and by wild beasts alike, he delves ever deeper into the wilderness, seeking liberty. Desiring only his freedom and the chance to live at peace, he finds instead a destiny he did not seek, and becomes something much more than he ever imagined.

    Now, Joe Fox is forging a new trail?of vengeance!

    Mr Drew's religious fervor holds a dark secret; Jim, the eldest son, is terrified of something from his past; Delia longs to escape from the island and tall, handsome Matthew wants only one thing - Rosa herself. Rosa's background is one of mystery, but Mr Drew knows the secret of Rosa's past - and so do the two mysterious Irishmen who come back to the island after many years to threaten everything Rosa holds dear...