Ellis Island. Arriving off one of the many transatlantic freighters are Cetta Luminita and her illegitimate baby boy Natale, fleeing the poverty and violence of their Southern Italian hometown. Having sacrificed everything, and endured every possible shame, Cetta has but one wish: that her baby should be an American, and grow up with the freedom to decide his own destiny. As they alight, US Immigration officials give Natale a new name: Christmas. Growing up in the Lower East Side of New York with his mother, who works as a prostitute, Christmas is determined to be a success, whether a decent person or a gangster. The city is ruled by gangs from each community, Italian, Jewish and Irish, and survival is dependent on ruthlessness and strength. But Christmas has a vivid imagination, and an ability to tell stories that people want to believe...and thus is born his imaginary gang, the Diamond Dogs, which earns him respect within the ghetto. All this changes the day he saves the life of a rich Jewish girl Ruth, and despite their different backgrounds, he falls hopelessly in love with her. When circumstance tears them apart, Christmas vows that he will find her, by any means possible. A sweeping saga of love and hate set in the Roaring Twenties, The Boy Who Granted Dreams is the story of Christmas and Ruth; the story of the dawn of radio, Broadway and Hollywood; and above all, a story about believing in the power of dreams.

    The only problem is that Lexi hasn’t called ahead to let her parents know she’s coming… Lexi arrives at her Hope Island childhood home only to realise that her parents have decided to go on holiday for the festive season this year. With nowhere else to go, and no one else to stay with, Lexi is going to have to spend Christmas home alone in her parents’ big house, but the bigger the house, the emptier it seems. With her nosy neighbours suspicious and her childhood friends asking her all about her life, Lexi lies that she’s here to use her parents’ house for a big Christmas party while they are away, but as more and more people find out about the party, it’s going to take a lot more than some loud music and some flashing lights to convince everyone that she isn’t alone. With just 12 days to go, will Lexi find someone to spend the holidays with, or will she be home alone for Christmas? Home Alone on Hope Island is a festive stand-alone novella set in Portia MacIntosh’s Marram Bay series. Perfect for fans of Sophie Kinsella, Holly Martin and Jo Watson. Readers love Portia Macintosh! ‘A hilarious, roaringly fun, feel good, sexy read. I LOVED it!‘ – Holly Martin ‘Portia’s books just get better and better!’ – Got Books, Babe? ‘Hilarious and refreshingly brilliant!’ – The Writing Garnet ‘I just couldn’t put it down!’ – Sweet Is Always In Style

    She’s left school responsibility behind and adult responsibility is looming, but this is her one, one last summer to be free. Heather doesn’t expect to even meet Jack, let alone fall in love with him. Jack is an enigmatic Vermonter a few years older than she is, who is following his grandfather’s journal to various cities around Europe. But in the same way that forces are bringing Jack and Heather together, life and duty are pushing them apart. And Jack has a secret that is going to change absolutely everything.

    Over the course of their visit, Lolly reveals the story behind each charm on her bracelet, and one by one the family stories help Lolly, Arden, and Lauren reconnect in a way that brings each woman closer to finding joy, love, and faith.A compelling story of three women and a beautiful reminder of the preciousness of family, The Charm Bracelet is a keepsake you’ll cherish long after the final page.

    The electrical grids collapse on an epic scale and unleash a devastating chaos in the total blackout. And unbeknownst to the general population, nuclear reactors are starting to overheat…When a former hacker and activist who knows a thing or two about infiltrating networks starts investigating the cause of this disaster, he soon becomes a prime suspect. As threats to the United States start to emerge, he goes on the run with a young American reporter based in Paris, racing desperately to turn the lights back on. Because if they stay off, tomorrow may be too late.

    They laugh, reminisce, and commiserate about their soul-sucking jobs. Maybe they should have listened to everyone who warned them to study something “practical.”Then an unexpected windfall arrives—one million dollars, to be exact—with the stipulation that they use it to jump-start their new careers. Almost overnight, a professor, a bartender, a copywriter, and an administrative assistant reinvent themselves as a novelist, an event planner, a pastry chef, and a bed-and-breakfast owner. But the changes in their professional roles create unexpected turbulence in their personal lives, and soon the secrets and scandals from their past start to resurface. For anyone who has ever wondered “What if?,” this engaging novel provides a sweet, funny look at friendship, romance, and second chances.

    . . . It's 2 A.M. on a Saturday night in the spring of 2001, and twenty-eight-year-old Cecily Gardner sits alone in a dive bar in New York's East Village, questioning her life. Feeling lonesome and homesick for the Midwest, she wonders if she'll ever make it as a reporter in the big city--and whether she made a terrible mistake in breaking up with her longtime boyfriend, Matthew.As Cecily reaches for the phone to call him, she hears a guy on the barstool next to her say, "Don't do it--you'll regret it." Something tells her to listen, and over the next several hours--and shots of tequila--the two forge an unlikely connection. That should be it, they both decide the next morning, as Cecily reminds herself of the perils of a rebound relationship. Moreover, their timing couldn't be worse--Grant is preparing to quit his job and move overseas. Yet despite all their obstacles, they can't seem to say goodbye, and for the first time in her carefully constructed life, Cecily follows her heart instead of her head.Then Grant disappears in the chaos of 9/11. Fearing the worst, Cecily spots his face on a missing-person poster, and realizes she is not the only one searching for him. Her investigative reporting instincts kick into action as she vows to discover the truth. But the questions pile up fast: How well did she really know Grant? Did he ever really love her? And is it possible to love a man who wasn't who he seemed to be?The Lies That Bind is a mesmerizing and emotionally resonant exploration of the never-ending search for love and truth--in our relationships, our careers, and deep within our own hearts.

    The setting is present-day England, and the girls' father, an eccentric aristocrat, has just died, leaving the Hasty family so impoverished that they are about to lose their splendid but crumbling house. So the two oldest sisters--Rufa, tall, elegant, and too serious for her own good; and Nancy, a gorgeous, irreverent redhead who relishes her work as a part-time barmaid in the local pub--decide that the way to redeem the family fortunes is to marry money. Surely it can't be that hard to find two very rich men and make the men fall in love with them.Thus begins a gloriously modern story that makes us genuinely care about the whole Hasty family. As Rufa and Nancy set out to blaze a trail through London society, they find that nothing in The Marrying Game turns out quite the way they've planned.

    Samantha loves her husband, Richard, and she loves her sister, Elizabeth. But the two of them can barely exist in the same room, which has caused the entire family years of emotional distress. Yet it’s not until Samantha’s sister is diagnosed at age forty-three with lung cancer that her family and her marriage are tipped into full-blown crisis.A story of love, loss, forgiveness, learning to live with grief, and healing, Appearances will resonate with anyone who has ever experienced tension in their familial relationships—even as it serves as a poignant reminder that no amount of privilege can protect us from family conflicts, marital difficulty, or mortality.

    She's looking forward to a fresh start and a simple life. Then she bumps into the man who shares her awful secret, and things fall apart. The only way to fix things is to confess to the terrible mistake she made.

    Now she's a single mother still living in the quaint seaside town of Newbay, still working at the hotel where she got her first ever job. When she bumps into ex-boyfriend Nat, Dani wonders if this might be the start of something not-quite-new. But that's before she meets his fiancée . . . Dani's daughter Flossie is sixteen - so she knows best about everything, of course. And her new boyfriend Jed is all she could ever want in a man . . . right?Flossie's grandma Jane, a widow of fifteen years, firmly believes that lightning never strikes twice. So when she finds herself visiting Bill's pet shop a little more often than necessary, she refuses to believe that the L-word has anything to do with it. In a whirlwind of cakes, elopements and more naughty puppies than they can handle, will the three women discover that 'once in a lifetime' isn't quite as rare as they thought?Praise for Chrissie Manby: 'This sassy and addictive read will make you laugh - a lot!' - Closer'I've been a fan of Manby's writing for years and thoroughly enjoyed this' - Daily Mail'Perfect, unputdownable summer adventures.' - Jenny Colgan'Manby's novels are made for holidays.' - Glamour'Nothing short of brilliant' - Marie Claire'A gloriously delicious read! . . . Packed with warm characters and hilarious situations' - www.handwrittengirl.com'[This novel] was funny and emotional, it was heartwarming, it was so genuine and realistic and it is a MUST READ this autumn. Highly recommended!' - On My Bookshelf

    And soon enough, the lessons turn to matters of the heart. Lucy has been recently widowed and now faces the loss of her “old-fashioned” food column. Rebecca is a flighty single mother with a voracious sexual appetite, and Joanna is a hard charging businesswoman, who comes home nightly to an empty house.

    Angelina Morgan is a beautiful consultant who practices an ancient art form called Feng Shui. Will Scott is an all-business CEO who doesn't believe anything he can't see and touch. With the help of a meddling ex-wife, a well-meaning best friend, and a matchmaking mother, Angelina and Will are about to find out what happens when opposites attract...and sparks fly.* * *

    She rounds out the end of her year-long journey in Hollywood, New York City, and Aspen. In October, Mia starts her new life working on a celebrity daytime television show where she runs a regular segment about living beautiful. Her guy deals with the aftermath of captivity, and together they find a way to fight through the storms. Next, Mia travels to the Big Apple to tape a program about being thankful. All of her dreams are coming true except for one. Finally, in December, our girl finds herself in the winter wonderland of Aspen, Colorado to film a segment on local artists under rather unique circumstances. Prepare to be wowed as Mia s journey merges into the ending everyone has been waiting for."

    If only she'd done things differently. If only she could make right all her regrets... But she can't. It's over. She has to forget about him. Drunk and upset on New Year's Eve she wishes she'd never met him.But when she wakes up to discover this dream has come true, she realises she has a chance. To do it all over again. And to get it right this time...