We can't choose what we inherit. But can we choose who we become?In present-day California, Eleanor Bennett's death leaves behind a puzzling inheritance for her two children, Byron and Benny: a traditional Caribbean black cake, made from a family recipe with a long history, and a voice recording. In her message, Eleanor shares a tumultuous story about a headstrong young swimmer who escapes her island home under suspicion of murder. The heartbreaking tale Eleanor unfolds, the secrets she still holds back, and the mystery of a long-lost child, challenge everything the siblings thought they knew about their lineage, and themselves.Can Byron and Benny reclaim their once-close relationship, piece together Eleanor's true history, and fulfill her final request to "share the black cake when the time is right"? Will their mother's revelations bring them back together or leave them feeling more lost than ever?Charmaine Wilkerson's debut novel is a story of how the inheritance of betrayals, secrets, memories, and even names, can shape relationships and history. Deeply evocative and beautifully written, Black Cake is an extraordinary journey through the life of a family changed forever by the choices of its matriarch.

    By 2008, it is in a complete state of ruin due to the dulled ambition and the financial ineptitude of the twenty-four earls, two world wars, the Wall Street crash, and inheritance taxes. Still: the heir to all of it, Kitto, his wife, Jane, their three children, their dog, Kitto's ancient parents, and his aunt Tuffy Scott, an entomologist who studies fleas, all manage to live there and keep it going. Four women dominate the story: Jane; Kitto's sister, Blaze, who left Trelawney and made a killing in finance in London, the wildly beautiful, seductive, and long-ago banished Anastasia and her daughter, Ayesha. When Anastasia sends a letter announcing that her nineteen-year-old daughter, Ayesha, will be coming to stay, the long-estranged Blaze and Jane must band together to take charge of their new visitor--and save the house of Trelawney. But both Blaze and Jane are about to discover that the house itself is really only a very small part of what keeps the family together.

    You generally assign me a whole host of other preposterous monikers. I think the least imaginative name I’ve heard is “the devil”, but I’ll answer to it if I must. After making the courageous decision to leave her abusive husband, Perdie and her three young children start over and finally find the safety and love they deserve. But years later, when tragedy strikes, Perdie is left wondering if the choice she made to leave has led them to this moment.If she were given the opportunity to take it all back and stay, would she?In a frantic bid to protect her family, Perdie makes a deal to do just that. But in a world where the devil pulls the strings, can Perdie really change the past?Brimming with enlightened observations and brilliant voice, Idle Hands is a haunting examination of grief, resilience, and what we’d give to spend another moment with the ones we love.

    Caterina Lombardi is desperate - her mother has abandoned them already and her brother is being drawn into the mafia. Early one morning, among the ruins of the bombed Naples streets, she is forced to go to extreme lengths to protect her family and in doing so forges a future very different to the one she expected. But will the secrets of her family's past be her downfall? This epic novel is an unforgettably powerful story of love, loss and the long shadow of war.

    Their dreams of the West – of fame, wealth and beautiful things – sustain them through creeping poverty, the long shivering winters and the loss of their fathers. When the fall of the Soviet Union brings them new opportunities, the three girls decide that they will stop at nothing to make their dreams come true.Each woman grasps at a new life in Europe and, for a while, it seems fortune has smiled on them. But gradually, things unravel as reality fails to live up to their teenage dreams.Sofi’s life in a small village in rural France is idyllic, but her husband is remote and cool. Natalia shines on the red carpets and at the fashion shows of London, but her success is precariously reliant on another’s whims. Lena has two beautiful children and a loving husband, but in her mind her sister casts too long a shadow, and she becomes obsessed with the past.Dissatisfactions prompt jealousies, rivalries and betrayals. As their relationships splinter, none of them is aware of a dark figure from their Russian years, and the bad luck that still lies in wait for them…

    Her mother's memory is going (dementia), her boyfriend is gone (Hawaii), her absent sister shows up long enough to have a baby (and then leaves again, without the baby) and her job as a therapist has disappeared after a contentious couples' therapy session goes horribly and honestly sideways. Oh, and then there's the whole thing about the family secret that nobody saw coming.But Tig is a survivor (she hopes) who manages to stumble and step her way to a new job, new truths, new outlooks and a new lease on life.

     At the age of 16, she was in a gang of youths that committed a horrendous crime. As members of the gang start being killed one by one, Jasmine fears for her life. Desperate to uncover who is responsible for the murders, Jasmine starts to investigate. But can she uncover the truth before it’s too late?  Very Nearly Dead is a gripping and suspenseful psychological thriller with an ending you won't see coming. The perfect read for fans of authors like K.L. Slater, Mark Edwards and C.L. Taylor.

     Behind an old dilapidated cottage in a peaceful Shropshire village, is an ancient wishing well. Surrounded by superstition and folklore dating back to the civil war, the well and the house have been left untouched by the locals. When a stranger to the village buys the house, the well is disturbed…. Present Day - Unexpected circumstances lead Milly Lyle to move to The Wishing House, a quintessential country cottage recently restored and renovated by her lover. With its chocolate box looks, quaint location and the pretty well outside, it seems the perfect place for a fresh start. Then she hears of the legend of the Wishing Well Witch and the noises, dreams and strange events begin. 1642 – the turn of the civil war. Constance Yorke, the troubled wife of the parish Clergyman, finds herself turning to the wishing well behind her house for answers to her prayers. Plagued with visions portending a country torn in two by a bloody war waged by the King, it seems that Constance may have dabbled with things that she shouldn’t. Growing more isolated from her distant husband and the other villagers, she is left with nothing but her wishing well and the curious white dog that keeps appearing. When Prince Rupert and his Cavaliers ride through Sleepers Brook after a skirmish at Powick Bridge, it seems that Constance Yorke’s visions are coming true and that perhaps, she really is falling foul of witchcraft. As times collide, one woman’s quest for retribution becomes another’s peril in a chilling story of love, jealousy, betrayal and revenge.

    During the fall he spent his months preparing, getting ready, making sure this season would be his best ever. And when winter finally comes…he’ll hunt.The winters in Willow Falls, Iowa are cold, brutal and unforgiving. And so is the town’s newest visitor. Except he’s not passing through. He’s here on vacation, for some fun and he’s going to stay for a while.They call him “Robin Hood”, a winter serial killer who has left a gruesome trail of horror and death across four Midwestern states. His grisly trademark is skewering his victims to tree trunks using a hunting crossbow.Now he’s here…For ex-FBI Special Agent Carolyn Ryder, winter is the season to reflect, to come home, to take stock and to grieve. Willow Falls for her is filled with sorrow and regret. She has returned to her hometown to bury her mother after a long battle with illness. Her sister blames Carolyn for not caring, for not being there for her and their mother, for being a cold, dispassionate person who was more interested in building her career than in the family.In the close-knit community of Willow Falls, Ryder has no reputation, no authority and no say with the townsfolk. To them she’s a stranger, an outsider, someone who can’t be trusted.Then the first body is discovered; a local, a teenage girl found almost crucified to a white pine deep in the forest. The local police aren’t equipped to deal with something like this, yet they stubbornly refuse Ryder’s help. With no support, Ryder decides to go it alone, to follow the clues herself, to trust her instincts. Slowly she starts to formulate a theory as to who the killer is. But no one will believe her. It’s too incredible to conceive.Lock the doors, check the windows, stoke the fire and keep the lights on. It’s winter, and a new kind of predator has just come out of hibernation.

    They marry, and Eileen quickly discovers Ed doesn't aspire to the same, ever bigger, stakes in the American Dream. Eileen encourages her husband to want more: a better job, better friends, a better house, but as years pass it becomes clear that his growing reluctance is part of a deeper psychological shift. An inescapable darkness enters their lives, and Eileen and Ed and their son Connell try desperately to hold together a semblance of the reality they have known, and to preserve, against long odds, an idea they have cherished of the future. Through the Learys, novelist Matthew Thomas charts the story of the American Century, particularly the promise of domestic bliss and economic prosperity that captured hearts and minds after WWII. The result is a riveting and affecting work of art; one that reminds us that life is more than a tally of victories and defeats, that we live to love and be loved, and that we should tell each other so before the moment slips away. Epic in scope, heroic in character, masterful in prose, We Are Not Ourselves heralds the arrival of a major new talent in contemporary fiction.

    She’s free from confinement—and ready to tell her secrets before it’s too late.She finds a willing audience in journalist Mick Anders, who is reeling after his suspension from a Boston newspaper and in town, reluctantly, to investigate a mysterious portrait of Eula that reportedly sheds tears. He crosses paths with Dr. Paloma Vega, who’s visiting Puerto Pesar with her own mission: to take care of her ailing grandmother and to rescue her rebellious younger sister before something terrible happens. Paloma and Mick have their reasons to be in the hot, parched border town whose name translates as “Port of Regret.” But they don’t anticipate how their lives will be changed forever.Moving and engrossing, this dual story alternates between Della’s dark ordeals of the 1940s and Paloma and Mick’s present-day search for answers―about roots, family, love, and what is truly important in life.

     As an actress, I have fans that can get a little…obsessed. So, my producer hires bodyguards. Enter Gray, Jace, and Landon, three ripped Marines. Hiring them was strictly business, but just one night of weakness sets off a powder keg of sexual attraction. Their gruff protectiveness makes me yearn for more. Gray, with his slow, sultry smile, likes to take his time. Jace is the quiet one. His eyes promise wicked nights. Landon is the sweet talker. His mouth sets my body on fire. Three powerful men…one incredible woman. No jealousy and no limits, as they vow to protect and claim her in the midst of a crazed fan hellbent on destroying her. ***Her Hollywood Heroes is a steamy reverse harem contemporary romance for readers who love suspense, protective males ready to do whatever it takes to protect their woman, and a headstrong heroine fighting for her life and the men she loves. This is a full length standalone with a Happy Ever After.***

    They believe they are well matched, as young lovers do, but Laurus's beloved family is in Copenhagen, hostage to what the fortunes of Hitler's war will bring. By the time the war is over, Laurus's family has played an active role in Denmark's grassroots rescue of virtually all seven thousand of the country's Jews. Meanwhile, in America, Sydney has led a group knitting for the war effort, and had a baby.Combining the story of one long American twentieth-century marriage with one of the most stirring stories of World War II, Leeway Cottage is a beautifully written tour de force of a novel.

    But does she have the strength to do it?Cole Ryan is on a personal mission. Tall, dark and handsome, Robyn has certainly noticed the brooding hockey player around town. But can she trust her feelings – or his? But she can't risk the past she's kept buried for so long coming out and he hasn't opened his heart for a long time.Will the two of them be able to finally open up, and let themselves, just maybe, fall in love...Previously published as Taking Charge.

    Primordial beasts roamed the land: creatures like the giant sloth, the flat-faced bear, the woolly mammoth, and the dire wolf hunted there, often coming into conflict with their two-legged prey.When Do-na-ti reaches adulthood, he slays the badger for his ceremonial cloak. By wedding E-lo-ni, he unites their clans. Together they must face battle with dire wolves, a stampede of mammoths that destroys their lodge, and the birth of a new volcano, fulfilling an old woman's prophecy and Do-na-ti's conviction that his son must become brother to the mountain."Mayhar has a way of drawing the reader seamlessly into her historical narratives. You can smell the breath of the dire wolf as it closes in for the kill!" -- Robert Reginald