But her burgeoning friendship with young salesman Jim draws her into a swirl of secrets within the store. And with the war progressing to crisis point, Cedric Marlow and his staff must battle nightly bombings and the absence of loved ones to keep going.From a former writer of The Archers comes a novel that weaves together a powerful sense of community and a vivid evocation of a time when every man, woman and child was doing their bit. 'Jo writes with a sure hand and a light touch…It's a real page-turner with a spirited heroine who will worm her way into readers' hearts. A sparkling new voice in fiction.' Sunday Times bestseller Veronica Henry

    A machinist at Rubins clothing factory in the East End, she dreams of a more glamorous life. When she meets Tony Hanford, the young and handsome proprietor of a small jeweller's shop in Bond Street, Geraldine is propelled into a new world – but it comes at a heavy price...

    If Angela sings—even speaks—she could ruin her voice for good, but she faces another threat: falling hard for Rudy, her first love, the man she abandoned to follow her career. Over the next few days the three will meet again in Winkler, the small town where the Ridgetop festival takes place. All three will be forever changed. All three will run for their lives

    Annie, Rose, Pearl and Millie carry on making matches for the British Army, with bombs raining down around them.Inspired by the Dig for Victory campaign, Annie persuades the owners to start Bryant & May allotment in the factory grounds. With plenty of sweat and toil, the girls eventually carve out a corner of the yard into a green plot full of life and colour. In the darkest of times, the girls find their allotment a tranquil, happy escape. Using pierced dustbin lids to sieve through the shrapnel and debris, they bring about a powerful change, not just in the factory, but their own lives. As the war rages on, the garden becomes a place of community, friendship – and deceit. As the garden thrives and grows, so do the girls' secrets . . . The Allotment Girls is an inspiring and heartwarming novel of wartime hardship, friendship and fortitude from Kate Thompson, author of the Secrets of the Sewing Bee.

    Only two little girls know where he is but they’re too scared to tell. Time is running out for the policeman. Will the girls get help before it’s too late? Piggy Monk Square is a dark yet frequently very funny novel set in 1970's Liverpool. The action takes place in the volatile period before the Toxteth riots burned much of the inner city down. A BRITISH THRILLER This unusual yet very readable British thriller describes a world tainted with deep mistrust and hostility between the local people and the police force. This harsh world is viewed through the eyes of a nine-year-old girl, Rebecca. Rebecca’s world is changing. Her parents are fighting. Her teachers are cruel. She doesn’t know what to do and turns to her best friend Debbie more and more. But Debbie’s life is just as tough. With a father who is always dodging the police, and a mother who works her to the bone, Debbie is no Cinderella. The world these girls inhabit is no fairy tale, it is confusing and can be brutally violent. A TERRIFYING SECRET No wonder the girls mix reality with fantasy - it’s how they survive, especially when it comes to coping with what will soon become their terrifying secret. A secret that will infuse their childhood with fear and change their lives forever. The nightmare begins when Rebecca and Debbie are playing in the cellar of a derelict house. A policeman catches them there and warns them not to return to this dangerous old building. But they are both determined little girls with nowhere else to play, so they come back, again and again. Unfortunately for them so does the policeman. The policeman tries to chase the girls away, but he falls down a ladder and goes ‘asleep.’ The girls try to wake him but can’t. They want to get help but at the same time they know they shouldn’t have been playing in that cellar. They have learned not to trust the police and are so afraid of getting into trouble that they leave the injured policeman alone. NOWHERE TO TURN Wishful thinking makes the girls hope that he will get up and go of his own accord and that everything will be okay again. But when they return and find him still there, conscious but unable to move they find another way to help him. A way that doesn’t involve adults. But, their interpretation of ‘helping’ the dying policeman has terrible consequences for them all.

    First, a mysterious woman from Swansea, Wales seeks Holmes' help finding her husband who has disappeared in the middle of the night. As soon as she leaves, Holmes receives word that there has been a prison riot with several dead and a few inmates missing. Lestrade is asking for his services. Holmes believes the two cases are not a coincidence, but he has no idea who is behind it and to what end. They go to Swansea in what could be either a wild goose chase or a setup. Will Holmes unravel the mystery before they get to Swansea? If not what will be in store for them when they step off the train?

    She inherits their house while her twin brother Mark is left the family steel works. When World War I breaks out, Mark joins the RAF, and the management of the business is left in Isabel's hands, which is not welcomed by the town's industrialists. She makes many enemies and has to struggle to keep her business alive. After much unhappiness, she finally finds love with the manager of a local foundry as well as the identity of her real father.

    The lonely days become weeks, months. Her husband Hugh, a prison doctor, will offer no explanation for their sexless marriage. She comes to suspect the answer lies with a hunger-striking suffragette who was force fed and held in solitary confinement. But what really happened between Hugh and his prisoner patient?A Petrol Scented Spring is a riveting novel of repression, jealousy and love, and the struggle for women’s emancipation.

    The young witch and the fierce red dragon, Leander are heading out into the wide open world.Raven is taking on the responsibilities of a WarMage – just like her mother - and has joined the corps.Time to get ready for whatever the world throws at her and the kingdom of Lomberdoon.Something is affecting the dragons, wild and tame. A few have turned up crazed, spitting fire and ice, right before they die. Did the creepy crawly monsters of her childhood leave one last poisonous gift behind?Can Dr. Welby find out what’s causing it and create a cure before it’s too late?And Raven’s grandfather, Connor, is still missing. Can the frenemy, Bella and her private company track him down for Raven – in exchange for a favor, of course.Things are changing in the land of Lomberdoon and battles may be on the horizon. Who will stand with Raven and Leander?

    From the courageous struggle of the Hungarian revolution, to the dramatic strife of the civil rights movement in Mississippi…from Israel’s heroic fight for freedom, to the eve of the Six-Day War…Leah’s children confronted their own convictions and desires in an ever-changing world fraught with danger, idealism, and betrayal. Their uncompromising search for love and fulfillment carried them into dangerous emotional territory—where only the strength, courage, and imagination inherited from their mother could lead them to their own triumphant destinies.

    DEVON 1918. When Jessie Hale loses her nursing job at the end of the First World War, she leaves London to become the nurse maid to the Kendle family in Devon. On arrival she finds the family in disarray. Captain Kendle is a loving father but is traumatised by the war and kept at arm's length by his frosty wife. When their elderly Nanny suffers a bad fall, Jessie has to try to bring the household together. Gradually Jessie finds her place in their lives, becoming devoted to Captain Kendle's lively son Jack, his lovely, but quiet daughter Catherine, as well his invalid Mother. Jessie soon starts to love her life at Kendlebury Hall, but problems arise when her feelings for her employer start to change... What people are saying about JESSIE'S PROMISE: 'A beautiful story very well written' 'I quickly got drawn into this book, the description made me realise how tough life in service was' 'Jessie's Promise is a book that HAS to be devoured this year'

    She collects men, fast cars and designer dresses. But no matter how delicious the distractions, Phryne never takes her eyes off the main prize: bringing down villains.

    As her unnamed mother breathes her last, Sarah is taken in at the grand Meadow Hall in South Riding, Yorkshire. As soon as she can hold a scrubbing brush, her working life begins. Feisty and headstrong, Sarah's temper often leads her into trouble. At just 14 she decides to escape the life of a servant and run away. Dressed as a boy, she meets good-hearted Aidan and impulsive Danby, forming an unlikely but happy trio. Sarah's true identity eventually comes to the surface after nearly a year, along with new feelings for Aidan. However, knowing that the place for a teenage girl is definitely not with two young men, Aidan reluctantly takes Sarah to the workhouse. He plans to rescue her from this miserable place just as soon as he can, but something keeps Aidan from his promise—and nearly takes his life. Reunited as adults, and now strangers to each other, Sarah holds a secret about Danby, Aidan, and her unborn child. But can she do what is right for her baby, even if it means losing the love of her life?

     For more Information please visit: http://1888novel.blogspot.co.uk/PLEASE NOTE: As of January 2nd, 2013, this book has been comprehensively edited and proofread to address some of the concerns that have been raised in the reviews below.

    Christianity has swept unstoppably across Scandinavia, leaving few enclaves of the old ways clinging on to their fading world as King Olof of Sweden works to convert his people.A young warrior, Halfdan, has witnessed the ‘mercy’ of the Christian lords, watched his people attacked, his village burned and the Odin stone toppled as heretical. Watched his father cut down by an ambitious Christian jarl and his zealous priest. Among the ashes of his world he vowed an oath of vengeance before all the gods.That oath will bring together an unlikely band of allies and carry them to the very edge of the world, fighting giants, dragons and wraiths, in pursuit of his father’s killer: Yngvar. The jarl is powerful, and the weaving of Fate difficult, but the blood price must be paid.