Recibimos abril y sus novedades literarias con expectación
Debido a la situación actual que vive el mundo entero, este es un mes de abril atípico, pero no por ello vamos a dejar de hablar de las cosas que nos gustan y entretienen, todo lo contrario.
Cada mes, seleccionar las novedades que nos llaman la atención resulta un trabajo difícil porque son tantas las novelas que se publican y que nos gustan, que es muy complicado seleccionar solo unas pocas.
Nos gusta e intentamos leer casi todas o la mayoría de novedades que os presentamos aquí, de ahí que tengamos que reducir la lista en lo posible pero no siempre lo conseguimos y vamos añadiendo cada vez más libros a la lista de lecturas pendientes.
Sin embargo, en esta ocasión son pocas las novedades que saldrán publicadas en abril. Pero además, hemos intentado que la mayoría de novedades que os presentamos, sean lectura ligera y feel good, aunque hemos incluido un poco de todo como siempre.
Just because you feel ordinary doesn’t mean you aren’t extraordinary to someone else.
Sixty-two-year-old Elsie knows what she likes. Custard creams at four o’clock, jigsaw puzzles with a thousand pieces, her ivy-covered, lavender-scented garden.
Ten-year-old Billy would rather spend his Saturdays kicking a ball, or watching TV, or anything really, other than being babysat by his grumpy neighbour Elsie and being force fed custard creams.
If it was up to them, they’d have nothing to do with each other. Unfortunately, you can’t choose who you live next door to.
But there is always more to people than meets the eye… Elsie doesn’t know that Billy’s afraid to go to school now, or why his mother woke him up in the middle of the night with an urgent shake, bags already packed, ready to flee their home.
Billy doesn’t know that the rusting red tin he finds buried in Elsie’s treasured garden is a ticking time bomb waiting to explode her carefully organised life. And that when he digs it up, he is unearthing a secret that has lain dormant for twenty-eight years…
When married couple Fern and Aiden have a windfall, their reactions could not be more different. While Fern is content to pay off their mortgage and build a nest egg before starting a family, her husband is set on traveling the world.
Fern’s not much of a back-packer so, before she knows it, the idea of a ‘marriage gap year’ takes shape. And, as Aiden heads off to the wilds of Australia, Fern chooses the more restful Provence for her year out.
Set amidst the glorious French scenery, Château de Vernon offers a retreat from the hustle and bustle of normal life, and Fern agrees to help out in return for painting lessons from the owner – renowned, but rather troubled, painter Nico.
As their year unfolds in very different ways, will the time apart transform their marriage, or will it drive Fern and Aiden even further apart…
Zara Khoury believes in love – so much so that she flies from Dubai to Liverpool to be with a man she barely knows. It’s a risk, but she’s certain that uprooting her life for Nick is the new start she needs.
Jim Glover is stuck. Since his Dad died, he’s put his dreams aside and stayed at home in Liverpool to care for his mum. Trapped in a dead-end job, he’s going nowhere – that is, until he gets a phone call that just might change his life..
Zara and Jim aren’t supposed to meet. But then fate steps in, and when their worlds – and cars! – collide, the real journey begins…
A sweeping, breath-taking tale of love, betrayal…and a secret that could change the course of history.
The secret of Provence House might just be best left untold…
Translator Laura has travelled a world away from her New York home to the turquoise seas and rugged beauty of the Cornish coast. She has been summoned to Provence House, a magnificent English country estate, in order to translate a recently uncovered ancient scroll. But it seems the attraction of Provence House stretches beyond the professional…
Forbidden from discussing the shocking truths she is uncovering with any outsiders, Laura finds herself swept up in a passionate affair with James, the married heir to Provence House. This one glorious Cornish summer will change Laura’s life – and rewrite history – for ever. Laura must find the courage to expose the devastating historical truths, lost in the mists of time, knowing they will rock civilisation to its very core.
For fans of Santa Montefiore and Dinah Jeffries, this sweeping epic is the perfect escapist read for summer 2020.
A sweeping, bittersweet love story amidst the glitz and the glamour of the French Riviera.
Two very different women are starring in their own real-life dramas behind the scenes of the Cannes Film Festival.
Newly in love, Anna Carson returns to the Festival for the first time in nearly 40 years hoping to reconcile her past with her present-day happiness. Journalist Daisy Harris is looking for a big scoop at her first Festival and is determined to embrace her new single status amongst all the glitz and glamour.
Behind the champagne and parties, secrets from the past are bubbling to the surface and difficult decisions need to be taken. One thing’s for certain – by the end of the Film Festival their lives will have changed forever…
A life on the road with best friend Rosie and her beloved camper-van-cum-book-shop, and definitely, definitely, no romance.
But when Aria finds herself falling – after one too many glasses of wine, from a karaoke stage – into the arms of Jonathan, a part of her comes back to life for the first time in years.
Since her beloved husband died Aria has sworn off love, unless it’s the kind you can find in the pages of a book. One love of her life is quite enough.
And so Aria tries to forget Jonathan and sets off for a summer to remember in France. But could this trip change Aria’s life forever…?
Miss Julia has decided to turn over a new leaf. It’s time to stop meddling in other peoples’ lives, she thinks–but her hands are full before long! Her neighbor Mildred is sent into a tizzy when a grandchild she’s never met shows up on her doorstep. And Mildred’s husband keeps forgetting who she is, so she’s all on her own. Meanwhile, Etta Mae is worried about losing her job now that the Handy Home Helpers is up for sale. Luckily, Miss Julia has experience dealingwith children dropped on doorsteps, and sweeps in to lend a hand. But there’s something missing in that child’s life, and Miss Julia knows exactly what it is.
Lottie Wentworth has never been more pleased to hear Big Ben ring in the new year and wave goodbye to The Year of Saying Yes!
When a long-term relationship ended, her best friend’s scheme to get Lottie back in the swing of things seemed like a good idea. She’s kept her promise to Jess to see it through but, as a lover of the quiet life, Lottie couldn’t be happier to say hello to a brand new year – The Year of Saying No!
Unfortunately, the one thing she still seems unable to say no to is the crush she has on her best client and now friend, Army veteran, Seb Marshall. But she’s working on it, and with rescue dog Humphrey at her side, she knows that she’ll manage just fine.
Lottie’s decision to stop trying to please everyone has brought a sense of relief beyond what she had expected. Her actions and determination have also begun to send ripples throughout her life and those closest to her, bringing about changes none of them could have expected.
She wants to steal his Van Gogh. He wants to steal her heart.
Some people would call Clementine Abernathy a criminal. She considers herself a modern day Robin Hood, who steals from the rich and gives to the poor. Not exactly on the up-and-up, but she knows what it’s like to lose everything. Her latest heist involves swiping a priceless Van Gogh from its owner, who’s supposed to be an egotistical trust-fund brat.
Turns out Jack David is a sexy, kind-hearted man…and Clementine is in trouble. Falling for her mark would make her the World’s Dumbest Conwoman, but Jack is charmingly persistent, always singing sweet songs in her ear.
And that earth-shattering kiss? She never stood a chance.
Now she’s imagining a fresh start with this dashing man, but that means telling Jack about her past. And other nefarious sorts are after the same painting. Too soon, Clementine learns what it means to risk it all for love.
Sought-after social media influencer Sara Vance, in recovery from an eating disorder, is coming into her own, with a potential career expansion on the horizon. Despite the good news, her successful siblings (and their perfect spouses) have a way of making her feel like the odd one out. So, when her unreliable boyfriend is a no-show for a Florida family vacation, Sara recruits Luis Navarro—a firefighter paramedic and dive captain willing to play the part of her smitten fiancé . . .
Luis’s big Cuban familia has been in Key West for generations, and his quiet strength feeds off the island’s laidback style. Though guarded after a deep betrayal, he’ll always help someone in need—especially a spunky beauty with a surprising knowledge of Spanish curse words. Soon, he and Sara have memorized their “how we met” story and are immersed in family dinners, bike tours, private snorkeling trips . . . sharing secrets, and slow, melting kisses. But when it’s time for Sara to return home, will their fake relationship fade like the stunning sunset . . . or blossom into something beautiful?
‘You don’t think Jamie and I have secrets, do you? No, we tell each other everything.’ She smiled. ‘Including your dirty little secret. So, thinking about it, maybe it’s time to start being nice to me?’
THE WIFE: Clare is ready for a break. It’s been a tough year and now she wants to put her feet up. Arriving at the Italian villa for their summer holiday, she decides it’s high time her husband and his family did some of the work. After all, her husband owes her…
THE HUSBAND: Even though Dan had his head turned by someone else, he’s realised the error of his ways. He’s here now, and he says it’s for keeps. Clare can trust him, can’t she? At least he’ll have his brother there, to keep him in line…
THE BROTHER: Jamie is the prodigal child, back in the family fold again, after years of travelling abroad. But when he gets to the villa, he’s not alone. He’s brought a wife, someone none of them have met before.
THE SISTER-IN-LAW: Ella is everything Clare isn’t. Glamorous. Young. Influential. But she knows a secret about Clare. Something that has the power to break the whole family apart.
And there’s someone who will do whatever it takes to make sure that this deep secret never comes to the surface.
In R. J. Palacio’s collection of stories Auggie & Me, which expands on characters in Wonder, readers were introduced to Julian’s grandmother, Grandmère. This is Grandmère’s story as a young Jewish girl hidden away by a family in Nazi-occupied France during World War II told in graphic novel form.
Opinión
“We are not defined by our mistakes but by what we do after we’ve learned from them”.
Hace poco que Julian cambió de escuela, se está adaptando a su nueva vida y compañeros de clase. Todavía recuerda con pesar algunas cosas de su pasado reciente de las que no se siente nada orgulloso, pero la vida continua y tiene otra oportunidad para hacerlo mejor.
Le han encargado un trabajo en la escuela y ha pensado en que le gustaría contar la historia de su abuela, de la que él apenas conoce nada pues para ella este es un tema muy doloroso y del que evita hablar.
Al principio su abuela reacciona como era de esperar, no quiere remover el pasado que le trae recuerdos tan dolorosos, pero también entiende la importancia de que su nieto y los jóvenes de hoy conozcan el pasado para no repetir los mismos errores.
Y así comienza la Grandmère de Julian a contarnos su vida en Francia, desde que era una niña con sus padres y amigos del colegio, llena de sueños e ilusiones, cómo era su día a día, cómo se pasaba el día dibujando, soñando despierta, hasta el momento en que cambió su vida radicalmente con la llegada de los Nazis, luego su juventud en la Francia ocupada y hasta la actualidad.
Es una novela gráfica preciosa a pesar de la dureza de la situación que nos narra. R.J. Palacio trata el tema de forma directa pero a la vez con mucho tacto y sensibilidad. Se lee muy rápido pero cala hondo y se queda en la mente aun muchos días después de haberla leído.
La Segunda Guerra Mundial es un tema sobre el que no me canso de leer. Creo que siempre puedo aprender algo, ver la misma situación desde una nueva perspectiva o incluso conocer nuevos datos o hechos. Pero aún así, con cada nueva historia me sigo emocionando y White Bird no ha sido la excepción.
Desde mi punto de vista, aunque es una novela gráfica pensada para niños y jóvenes, es muy recomendable para público de todas las edades. Es una forma diferente, bonita y muy buena de aprender sobre unos hechos tan terribles de la historia de la humanidad.
5/5
Puedes comprarlo en el siguiente enlace: White Bird
Four young ladies at the side of the ballroom make a pact to help each other find husbands . . . no matter what it takes
Proud and beautiful Annabelle Peyton could have her pick of suitors—if only she had a dowry. Her family is on the brink of disaster, and the only way Annabelle can save them is to marry a wealthy man. Unfortunately her most persistent admirer is the brash Simon Hunt, a handsome and ambitious entrepreneur who wants her as his mistress.
Annabelle is determined to resist Simon’s wicked propositions, but she can’t deny her attraction to the boldly seductive rogue, any more than he can resist the challenge she presents. As they try to outmaneuver each other, they find themselves surrendering to a love more powerful than they could have ever imagined. But fate may have other plans—and it will take all of Annabelle’s courage to face a peril that could destroy everything she holds dear.
Opinión
“I am coming to believe that there are two kinds of people… Those who choose to be masters of their own fate and those who wait in chairs while others dance.”
La novela comienza en 1841. Por tanto, nos encontramos en plena época victoriana en Inglaterra.
Annabelle Peyton es una inglesa que pertenece a una familia aristocrática empobrecida. Debido a esta última circunstancia, encuentra dificultades para encontrar pretendientes en las temporadas. Hay otras tres chicas que se hallan en la misma situación por diferentes causas. Las cuatro deciden formar el grupo de las “wallflowers” (este es el nombre que se daba en la época a las chicas que iban a un baile y no recibían invitación para salir a bailar), con el fin de aunar esfuerzos para explotar encantos y estrategias en la búsqueda de esposo.
Annabelle tiene un admirador, Simon Hunt, que es un plebeyo, hijo de carnicero, que ha hecho mucho dinero con sus negocios. Sin embargo, este solo busca disfrutar de las mujeres, sin comprometerse a nada más, no quiere lazos permanentes o profundos. Desde el momento en que ambos se conocen, se dan cuenta de que hay una atracción física. Sin embargo, su diferente postura hacia el matrimonio los separa.
La forma de vivir de la aristocracia y el desarrollo de las temporadas sociales de la época victoriana se reflejan muy bien en la novela. En estas, se organizan eventos sociales (bailes, competiciones, etc.) en los que las jóvenes casaderas eran presentadas en sociedad, generalmente al cumplir los 18 años. Una joven se podía considerar solterona si llegaba a la cuarta temporada sin encontrar marido.
Las descripciones que la autora realiza del ambiente, de la forma de vestir, etc. son muy vívidas. Respecto a la época en la que se desarrolla la narración destaca cómo detalla: las reglas de comportamiento; la inferioridad de la mujer respecto al hombre, en cuanto sujeto de derechos; y la importancia de mantener los títulos nobiliarios dentro de la familia, para lo que era imprescindible disponer de mucho dinero, hecho que influía en los acuerdos de matrimonio.
En todo caso, la época en la que se desarrolla el libro está marcada por la pérdida de riqueza que estaba sufriendo la aristocracia inglesa. Al mismo tiempo, se estaba creando un grupo de empresarios inversores que iban acumulando grandes fortunas y que adquirían mansiones en las mejores zonas de Londres. Sin embargo, los nobles eran reticentes a mezclarse con estos nuevos ricos, a los que consideraban poco refinados y de clase inferior. En todo caso, no les quedará otra opción que aceptarlos en un mundo cambiante y en el que la industrialización comienza a extenderse.
Los personajes están bien construidos. Me gusta que cada una de las integrantes de las “wallflowers” tenga una personalidad tan exclusiva. Destacan, sobre todo, dos hermanas americanas, cuyo comportamiento es muy distinto al que se acepta en la alta sociedad londinense, lo que crea situaciones divertidas. En todo caso, echo de menos que el libro no profundice más en el ímpetu, la decisión y la seguridad de Annabelle.
A pesar de que, en algunas partes, la novela tiene un ritmo algo lento y no tiene tantos momentos divertidos como otras de esta autora, es una obra bien escrita y entretenida.
It’s easy to be kind. Offer a smile. Say thank you. Lend a helping hand. You’ll see that when you are kind, others are kind too. A little book about kindness and friendship. For people of all ages.
Opinón
“When you are kind, others are kind too’.
Ser amables no es cosa de la edad o del género, sino una característica que debería poseer todo ser humano y Little Book of Kindness nos lo recuerda de una forma sencilla pero muy bonita.
Es un libro breve con unas imágenes sencillas, bonitas y divertidas que van acompañadas de frases muy cortas pero elocuentes. El protagonista es un cerdito que en ocasiones va solo y en otras, acompañado de otros animales y que nos muestra las diferentes formas en las que podemos ser amables con los demás y la repercusión que un simple gesto puede tener en los demás.
Y, sobre todo, nos recuerda la importancia de sonreír y hacerlo todo de corazón, con la mejor de las intenciones.
Nell’s going back to school… but now she’s learning lessons of the heart
Reception class teacher Nell Shackleton has a plan. At least, she had until she arrived at her new home of Humblebee Farm, a dilapidated farmhouse on the Yorkshire moors. But so what if the roof’s full of holes, the back door’s hanging off and there’s a sheep in the front room? Because sometimes a new beginning means starting at the bottom… right?
Xander Scott is one of the youngest headteachers Leyholme Primary School has ever had. But managing over-zealous parents and their semi-feral kids proves a tricky task for shy Xander – as does keeping his mind on the job when his feelings for the new Reception teacher become more than strictly professional…
At 43, Nell’s new friend Stevie Madeleine has given up on love. After losing her wife, Stevie’s decided that her four-year-old daughter Milly and cocker spaniel Red are the only girls she needs in her life. That is, until larger-than-life dog-walker Deb arrives on the scene. But will the secrets of Stevie’s past stop her new romance dead in its tracks?
Meeting Xander and Stevie brings joy back into Nell’s life – but when old secrets start to surface, there may be some hard lessons to learn for them all…
A gorgeously uplifting and hilarious romantic comedy that will delight fans of Milly Johnson, Holly Martin and Heidi Swain.
Opinión
Nell Shackleton buscaba un cambio radical en su vida y precisamente esto fue lo que consiguió al mudarse. Humblebee Farm estaba en el medio del campo y alejada de todo. Ahora, cuando lo piensa tranquilamente, se da cuenta de que fue una decisión tomada a la ligera, de forma precipitada y en un momento de su vida bastante delicado.
Pero ya está hecho y ahora solo le queda mirar al futuro con optimismo, rendirse no es una opción por más que este lugar no se parezca en nada a como lo imaginaba.
Xander Stott es tímido, torpe y carece de la más mínima habilidad social. Los adultos le intimidan, no sabe nunca qué decir y cómo comportarse, todo lo contrario a lo que le ocurre en presencia de niños, dar clases a los pequeños es una de las cosas que más disfruta en su profesión.
Nell es la nueva profesora en la escuela en la que Xander, de forma temporal, ocupa el cargo de director. Su primer encuentro es bastante accidentado e inusual, pero a Nell esto no hace más que divertirla. Le gusta este hombre tan raro, cree que pueden llevarse bien.
Este es un pueblo pequeño en el que todos se conocen de toda la vida y conviven de forma relajada, con los roces justos sin que lleguen a convertirse en un problema. Stevie Madeleine es, sin pretenderlo la nota discordante. Vino al pueblo por amor y ya no concibe su vida lejos de aquí.
Aún de duelo por la muerte de su pareja, su mundo gira en torno a su hija y su perra, hasta que conoce a Nell y pronto ambas se convierten en inseparables. Tienen mucho más en común de lo que imaginan y al igual que con Xander, Nell siente una conexión muy especial con esta mujer.
Variedad de personajes secundarios
Desde que comencé a leer The school of starting over, me sentí transportada a Yorkshire, absorbida por la trama, por la variedad y calidad de los personajes, incluidos los secundarios que están muy bien desarrollados y juegan un papel destacado en la historia.
Esta novela no solo es muy entretenida y adictiva, sino que trata temas controvertidos o delicados de abordar. Nos brinda la oportunidad de ver las cosas desde otra perspectiva y nos invita a pensar en las decisiones que tomamos ya sea obligados por las circunstancias o porque nos dejamos llevar por el momento.
The school of starting over es una novela bonita, de las que te hace desconectar del mundo por unas horas. Con algún que otro giro inesperado y de las que te deja esa buena sensación en el cuerpo cuando terminas de leerla.
Emily knew there would be strings attached when she relocated to the small town of Willow Creek, Maryland, for the summer to help her sister recover from an accident, but who could anticipate getting roped into volunteering for the local Renaissance Faire alongside her teenaged niece? Or that the irritating and inscrutable schoolteacher in charge of the volunteers would be so annoying that she finds it impossible to stop thinking about him?
The faire is Simon’s family legacy and from the start he makes clear he doesn’t have time for Emily’s lighthearted approach to life, her oddball Shakespeare conspiracy theories, or her endless suggestions for new acts to shake things up. Yet on the faire grounds he becomes a different person, flirting freely with Emily when she’s in her revealing wench’s costume. But is this attraction real, or just part of the characters they’re portraying?
This summer was only ever supposed to be a pit stop on the way to somewhere else for Emily, but soon she can’t seem to shake the fantasy of establishing something more with Simon or a permanent home of her own in Willow Creek.
Opinión
“As your hands are bound together now, so your lives and spirits are joined in a union of love and trust. Above you are the stars and below you is the earth. Like the stars, your love should be a constant source of light, and like the earth, a firm foundation from which to grow”.
Emily se traslada a Willow Creek, la localidad en la que viven su hermana Alice y la hija de esta, Caitlin, para ayudarles después del accidente de tráfico que han sufrido. A Emily le va a venir bien el cambio porque le acaba de dejar su novio, ¡después de lo que ella ha sacrificado por él!
En su estancia en Willow Creek, Emily se verá implicada en una feria renacentista que allí se celebra durante seis fines de semana de verano. Esta feria la organiza y dirige Simon, un profesor de secundaria.
En los ensayos y preparativos de la feria, Simon se muestra estricto y poco abierto a sugerencias de cambio. Se mantiene fiel a lo que dejó definido su hermano, que fue el que lanzó la feria. Tras el fallecimiento de este, Simon se vio en la responsabilidad de seguir con ella.
Un comienzo difícil
La relación de Emily con Simon no comienza bien. Ella no aguanta su intransigencia y rigidez. Sin embargo, el inicio de la feria traerá cambios a este respecto.
En la feria, Simon interpreta a un pirata y su personalidad se vuelve absolutamente diferente, así como su comportamiento hacia Emily. A esta le gusta mucho más, e incluso le atrae físicamente, el Simon que resulta de la actuación: sonríe, hace bromas, es hablador, etc. Estas capacidades que muestra el joven hacen pensar a Emily que realmente se encuentran dentro de él.
La empatía que tiene Emily propicia que se produzcan confidencias entre ella y Simon, lo que les llevará a conocerse mejor. Esto conducirá a Emily a preguntarse por los sentimientos que él alberga hacia ella.
La novela, escrita desde el punto de vista de Emily, es muy entretenida, está bien redactada y es fácil de leer.
Los dos personajes principales están bien definidos. Ambos coinciden en haber estado siempre preocupados por las necesidades y el bienestar de los demás, anteponiéndolos a sus propios intereses. Esta forma de vivir hace que duden de sí mismos, de su valía. Es muy interesante observar en el libro cómo ambos avanzan ganando progresivamente autoconfianza.
Lo único que echo de menos en la novela es que no profundice más en las vidas de Simon, April y algún otro personaje secundario. Esto tiene mucho que ver con que la narración se desarrolle en primera persona.
From the outside, Alice’s marriage looks successful. It’s true that Ken was never her first choice, but four decades in, she’s learned to tolerate him. Their two sons have chosen their own paths, Tim as a successful banker and Matt a carefree globetrotter she can’t keep up with. But when circumstances collide to make her question the life she’s quietly accepted, Alice realises she’s been lying to herself for years.
It’s time to stand up and put her own happiness first, but where do you begin when you’ve turned your back on everything? Alice craves the support of someone who understands her, but Tim won’t take sides and his trophy wife won’t give her the time of day. It seems the only person she can really rely on in her new start is herself.
Unless … Can her other son come through for her? Matt’s been travelling so long that she barely knows which continent he’s on. But could his experience as the black sheep of the family be just what she needs to finally reveal the secret she’s bottled up for years—and find the happiness she gave up on so long ago?
Opinión
Alice es una mujer inmensamente infeliz, aunque no es capaz de reconocerlo o al menos no, abiertamente. Pero no siempre fue así. Recuerda que una vez, hace ya muchísimos años su vida era muy diferente. Era capaz de soñar, de reír y de beberse la vida a borbotones.
Estaba llena de sueños por realizar, pero esos eran otros tiempos, mucho más difíciles que los actuales y no tuvo plena conciencia de ello hasta el día en que sus padres le concertaron un matrimonio por conveniencia.
Ken es una persona gris, amargada, obsesionado con el dinero y con el control. Un maltratador de la vieja escuela, para los que mujer e hijos no son más que un estorbo y el saco de boxeo ocasional cuando el alcohol ya no es suficiente para ahogar sus penas.
En este matrimonio jamás surgió el amor o la complicidad ni aun cuando llegaron los hijos, todo lo contrario. Basado en el miedo en lugar de en la confianza o el amor. Alice terminó convirtiéndose en una persona tan gris y triste como su marido, alguien para la que nada está bien, siempre con la crítica en la punta de la lengua. Incapaz de un gesto cercano o cariñoso.
Un cambio de vida radical
Pero Alice ya no puede más con esta vida tan perfecta de cara a la galería, pero tan dura y carente de amor en la realidad. Quiere otra vida, aunque solo sean para los años que le quedan. Necesita volver a experimentar la felicidad, un recuerdo tan lejano que ahora se le antoja tan necesario como el aire para vivir.
No sabe por dónde empezar y no se saca de la cabeza a su otro hijo. Ese del que nada sabe pero que tanto echa de menos. Ese otro hijo que se ha convertido en un desconocido pero que ahora mismo es como un salvavidas, algo a lo que agarrarse, un rayo de luz y esperanza en este momento tan complicado que está viviendo.
No esperaba que The Other Son fuese una novela tan emotiva, tan dura, escrita con tanto sentimiento y corazón pero que yo disfrutaría tanto leyendo. Aunque tuve que leerla despacio para digerir esta trama que se iba desvelando cada vez más compleja emocionalmente.
En algún momento me sentí superada por las emociones, con un nudo en la garganta, se me salían solas las lágrimas, pero a la vez sentía alegría y el mensaje de esperanza transmitido por el autor a través de ese, el otro hijo.
Es una novela increíble, imprescindible y de las que deja huellas profundas e imborrables. Es una historia insuperable.
5/5
Puedes comprarlo en el siguiente enlace:The Other Son
Este es un día especial en el que recordar y celebrar todo lo que hemos conseguido y sobre todo, para que no perdamos de vista lo que aun nos queda por hacer y conseguir.
Desde Libros Happy queremos celebrarlo con nuestra selección personal de escritoras. No están todas las importantes, pero si las que consideramos que no pueden faltar en nuestras estanterías.
Todas, en su género y con su propio estilo, son autoras comprometidas con la sociedad que nos muestran realidades muy diferentes a las que ya conocemos. Las historias que nos cuentan no son solo un mero entretenimiento sino que también nos hacen abrir la mente y replantearnos todo desde otra perspectiva.
Tanto para Ana como para mi, estas escritoras son un valor seguro, nunca nos decepcionan y por eso siempre repetimos con sus novelas e intentamos leer todo lo que publican.
Son escritoras muy concienzudas a la hora de documentarse, no dejan cabos sueltos y tratan una gran variedad de temas, muchos de ellos delicados o controvertidos. A través de sus personajes, nos invitan a vivir otras vidas, otras realidades.
Laila Ibrahim
Creció en California
Estudió Psicología y Desarrollo del niño además, tiene un Master en Desarrollo Humano.
Tras terminar los estudios, abrió su propia escuela infantil para la enseñanza preescolar
En 2011 auto-publicó su primera novela, Yellow Crocus después de que varios agentes se la rechazaran.
Desde 2015 se dedica a escribir a tiempo completo y ha publicado las siguientes novelas:
A los 32 años le diagnosticaron un cáncer y tras recuperarse, decidió renunciar a su trabajo y dedicarse a lo que siempre había soñado: escribir.
Poppy Day fue su primer éxito. Tras ser rechazado por varios agentes decidió autopublicarlo y donar las ganancias a la Royal British Legion, para su sorpresa se convirtió al momento en un best seller.
Desde entonces ha publicado alrededor de 20 novelas y 6 relatos.
Ha sido traducida a una docena de idiomas.
Es la autora de ficción contemporánea más prolífica de Reino Unido. En Libros Happy hemos reseñado: :
Nacida en Estados Unidos hija de refugiado lituano
Ganadora de la Medalla Carnegie (premio anual al libro infantil/juvenil más destacado. Entre sus ganadores están C.S. Lewis, Terry Partchett, Neil Gaiman).
Le gusta escribir novela histórica porque le apasiona el pasado, descubrir secretos y personas “enterradas” por la historia.
Between Shades of Gray fue la primera novela que publicó. Está inspirada en su padre, quien siendo muy joven escapó de Lituania pero también en los millones de personas que perdieron la vida o fueron afectados durante la ocupación soviética.
Por su contribución a la educación y a la cultura, el presidente de Lituania le otorgó La Cruz de Caballero.
Actriz hasta los 23 años cuando sufrió por un largo periodo de mononucleosis y decidió cambiar de carrera y dedicarse a escribir.
Su primer libro Lovers and Players lo escribió mientras guardaba reposo y fue un amigo quien después de leerlo lo envió a un agente y así fue como firmó su primer contrato editorial.
Sus primeros 8 libros los publicó con el nombre de Lucinda Edmonds.
Su serie de las 7 hermanas es su serie de novelas más famosa en todo el mundo.
Escritora precoz: a los 5 años ya redactó su primera historia.
Se graduó en escritura en la Universidad de Princeton.
Lleva publicados más de una veintena de libros.
Sus obras abordan asuntos comprometidos como la esclavitud, el aborto, etc. en los que las mujeres son las grandes protagonistas.
Traducidas a numerosos idiomas, también algunos de sus libros se han convertido en películas.
Ha recibido varios premios por su carrera como escritora.
Algunas de sus novelas más leídas son:
My sister’s keeper
Small great things
Nineteen minutes
The pact
The storyteller
Dinah Jefferies
Nació en Malasia, país que le ha marcado mucho, y a los 9 años se trasladó a Inglaterra.
Se graduó en literatura inglesa.
Ha tenido una vida “movida”. Por ejemplo, ha trabajado como au-pair para una condesa en la Toscana y ha vivido en una comuna hippie con una banda de rock.
Ha residido durante cinco años en la Sierra de Aracena (Andalucía).
El fallecimiento de su hijo de catorce años en un accidente de trabajo le cambió profundamente y condicionó su primera novela, The Separation.
Sitúa sus novelas en países del este, con unos paisajes y épocas exóticos.
Suele visitar los países en los que ubica sus novelas: los vive y los estudia.
Evelyn Taylor-Clarke sits in her chair at Forest Lawns Care Home in the heart of the English countryside, surrounded by residents with minds not as sharp as hers. It would be easy to dismiss Evelyn as a muddled old woman, but her lipstick is applied perfectly, and her buttons done up correctly. Because Evelyn is a woman with secrets and Evelyn remembers everything. She can never forget the promise she made to the love of her life, to discover the truth about the mission that led to his death, no matter what it cost her…
When Evelyn’s niece Pat opens an old biscuit tin to find a photo of a small girl with a red ball entitled ‘Liese, 1951’ and a passport in another name, she has some questions for her aunt. And Evelyn is transported back to a place in Germany known as ‘The Forbidden Village,’ where a woman who called herself Eva went where no one else dared, amongst shivering prisoners, to find the man who gambled with her husband’s life…
Opinión
“A dear man told me yesterday that he’d had a lifetime of achievement but now he could no longer achieve anything and couldn´t see the point of life’.
En 2016, Evelyn es una anciana que reside en un geriátrico en medio del campo. Finge demencia para evitar que se descubran secretos que ha mantenido intactos a lo largo de su vida. Estos comienzan con la participación de esta mujer inglesa en la Segunda Guerra Mundial, en la que su querido marido falleció cuando estaba luchando en Francia. Después del suceso, un amigo del matrimonio contará a Evelyn que su esposo fue “sacrificado”, junto con otros, y le proporcionará el nombre del mando responsable de la operación.
La búsqueda de respuestas
A partir de ese punto, el objetivo principal de Evelyn será vengarse del mando. Esto la llevará a participar en un centro de interrogación en Alemania, después de finalizar la guerra, y que está al cargo de dicho mando. Allí, la mujer observará la brutalidad que este ejerce sobre los detenidos. Incapaz de soportarlo, Evelyn abandona el puesto. En todo caso, se quedará en Alemania, en un campo en el que se reciben a los liberados de la guerra, y donde se les ayuda a buscar familiares, amigos o, al menos, un destino apropiado.
Cuatro décadas después, Evelyn se encontrará con él en Londres y entablará una relación a través de la cual querrá obtener lo que siempre ha perseguido.
Mientras la trama principal se va desarrollando, la autora va introduciendo esporádicamente a una niña importante en la vida de Evelyn. ¿Quién será? Este es un misterio que se irá revelando lentamente.
La Segunda Guerra Mundial como telón de fondo
Como podéis ver, se trata de otro libro sobre la Segunda Guerra Mundial, si bien, este tiene un elemento diferenciador: se centra en la etapa de la posguerra, en la que sorprenden las ganas de venganza de los que han sufrido la contienda. A pesar de haber vivido tanta brutalidad, les quedan “ganas” de ejercer más.
El libro está escrito en tercera persona, salvo cuando se presentan las cartas que Evelyn escribía para su marido. Tiene numerosos saltos en el tiempo, que, en este caso, ralentizan la lectura.
Por otra parte, los personajes, desde mi punto de vista, son algo extremos. Si Evelyn destaca por su fortaleza y decisión, me parece excesiva respecto a ambos valores. Además no encuentro una explicación racional a su fingida demencia, y sobre todo, al extremo al que la lleva en los últimos días en los que se desarrolla la novela.
En todo caso, es una obra interesante, que refleja bien la brutalidad de la guerra, y en la que se mezclan la valentía de aquellos que defienden a su amenazado país, y la violencia de los que aprovechan la ocasión para ejercer la crueldad.
Estas son algunas de las novedades editoriales que saldrán durante el mes de marzo. Es solo una pequeña selección de las novelas que más nos llaman la atención.
In Danielle Steel’s stunning novel, modern relationships come together, fall apart, and are reinvented over time, proving that age is just a number.
Eileen Jackson was happy to set aside her own dreams to raise a family with her husband, Paul. Together they built an ordinary life in a Connecticut town, the perfect place for their kids to grow up. But when Eileen discovers that Paul’s late nights in the city are hiding an affair with a younger woman, she begins to question all those years of sacrifice and compromise. On the brink of forty and wondering what she’s going to do with the rest of her life, is it too late for her to start over?
Meanwhile, as Paul is thrust back into the role of suburban fatherhood, his girlfriend, Olivia, is in Manhattan, struggling to find herself in the shadow of her mother, a famous actress, and her grandmother, a fiercely independent ninety-two-year-old artist. With their unique brands of advice ringing in her head, Olivia takes a major step, expanding her art gallery business internationally. Seeing her mother pursue old dreams and even find new love, Olivia realizes that there is so much she must learn about herself before committing her life to someone else.
Ultimately, Eileen decides to chase her own dreams as well. She’s off to Paris to attend Le Cordon Bleu cooking school. What awaits is an adventure that reinvents her life and redefines her.
At every age, there are challenges to be met and new worlds to discover. In this surprising, illuminating novel, Danielle Steel gives us a warmhearted portrait of people driven by their emotions, life experiences, and loyalties, who realize that it’s never too late to turn a new page and start again.
Cordelia Carstairs is a Shadowhunter, a warrior trained since childhood to battle demons. When her father is accused of a terrible crime, she and her brother travel to Edwardian London in the hope of preventing the family’s ruin. Cordelia’s mother wants to marry her off, but Cordelia is determined to be a hero rather than a bride. Soon Cordelia encounters childhood friends James and Lucie Herondale and is drawn into their world of glittering ballrooms, secret assignations and supernatural salons, where vampires and warlocks mingle with mermaids and magicians. All the while, she must hide her secret love for James, who is sworn to marry someone else.
But Cordelia’s new life is blown apart when a shocking series of demon attacks devastate London. These monsters are nothing like those the Shadowhunters have fought before – these demons walk in daylight, strike down the unwary with incurable poison and seem impossible to kill. London is immediately quarantined. Trapped in the city, Cordelia and her friends discover that their own connection to a dark legacy has gifted them with incredible powers – and force a brutal choice that will reveal the true cruel price of being a hero.
Escaping from an abusive marriage, seventeen-year-old Lakshmi makes her way alone to the vibrant 1950s pink city of Jaipur. There she becomes the most highly requested henna artist—and confidante—to the wealthy women of the upper class. But trusted with the secrets of the wealthy, she can never reveal her own…Known for her original designs and sage advice, Lakshmi must tread carefully to avoid the jealous gossips who could ruin her reputation and her livelihood. As she pursues her dream of an independent life, she is startled one day when she is confronted by her husband, who has tracked her down these many years later with a high-spirited young girl in tow—a sister Lakshmi never knew she had. Suddenly the caution that she has carefully cultivated as protection is threatened. Still she perseveres, applying her talents and lifting up those that surround her as she does.
It was the very last Wednesday of August when I realized Disney had been lying to me about Happily Ever Afters. Because, you see, I was four days into mine, and my prince was nowhere to be found.
“Please don’t lose contact. I need to see you again,” he’d said. So why was I here, banging my head against a metaphorical wall, weighing up the pros and cons of sending another message? This wasn’t a big deal. It was just a guy texting another guy. A guy who knew all my biggest secrets, and had Seen. Me. Naked™. A guy who’d convinced me he really, really liked me. A guy who’d better have been abducted by goddamn aliens…
When Ollie meets Will over the summer break, he thinks he’s found his Happily Ever After. But once summer’s ended, Will stops texting him back, and Ollie finds himself short of his fairy-tale ending.
A family emergency sees Ollie uprooted and enrolled at a new school across the country – Will’s school – and Ollie finds that the sweet, affectionate and comfortably queer guy he knew from summer isn’t the same one attending Collinswood High. This Will is a class clown, a basketball jock and, well, a bit of a jerk.
Ollie isn’t going to pine after a guy who isn’t ready for a relationship. But as school life repeatedly throws them together, from music class to the lunch table, Ollie finds his resolve weakening.
With the noisy drama of their friends as the backdrop – from ambitious Juliette and frosty Lara, to big-hearted Darnell and king-jock Matt – Ollie has a decision to make.
The last time he gave Will his heart, Will handed it back to him trampled and battered. Ollie would have to be an idiot to trust him with it again. Right?
Between tending to the whims of her seven-year-old and the demands of her boss, Viv barely gets a moment to herself. It’s not quite the life she wanted, but she hasn’t run screaming for the hills yet.
But then Viv’s husband Andy makes his mid-life crisis herproblem. He’s having an affair with his (infuriatingly age-appropriate) colleague, a woman who – unlike Viv – doesn’t put on weight when she so much as glances at a cream cake.
Viv suddenly finds herself single, with zero desire to mingle. Should she be mourning the end of life as she knows it, or could this be the perfect chance to put herself first?
When life gives you lemons, lemonade just won’t cut it. Bring on the gin!
Exploring the psychological dynamics of the relationship between a precocious yet naïve teenage girl and her magnetic and manipulative teacher, a brilliant, all-consuming read that marks the explosive debut of an extraordinary new writer.
2000. Bright, ambitious, and yearning for adulthood, fifteen-year-old Vanessa Wye becomes entangled in an affair with Jacob Strane, her magnetic and guileful forty-two-year-old English teacher.
2017. Amid the rising wave of allegations against powerful men, a reckoning is coming due. Strane has been accused of sexual abuse by a former student, who reaches out to Vanessa, and now Vanessa suddenly finds herself facing an impossible choice: remain silent, firm in the belief that her teenage self willingly engaged in this relationship, or redefine herself and the events of her past. But how can Vanessa reject her first love, the man who fundamentally transformed her and has been a persistent presence in her life? Is it possible that the man she loved as a teenager—and who professed to worship only her—may be far different from what she has always believed?
Alternating between Vanessa’s present and her past, My Dark Vanessa juxtaposes memory and trauma with the breathless excitement of a teenage girl discovering the power her own body can wield. Thought-provoking and impossible to put down, this is a masterful portrayal of troubled adolescence and its repercussions that raises vital questions about agency, consent, complicity, and victimhood. Written with the haunting intimacy of The Girls and the creeping intensity of Room, My Dark Vanessa is an era-defining novel that brilliantly captures and reflects the shifting cultural mores transforming our relationships and society itself.
Lydia and Freddie. Freddie and Lydia. They’ve been together for almost a decade, and Lydia thinks their love is indestructible.
But she’s wrong. Because on her 27th birthday, Freddie dies in a tragic accident.
So now it’s just Lydia, and all she wants to do is hide indoors and sob ’til her eyes fall out. But Lydia knows that Freddie would want her to live her life well. So, enlisting the help of his best friend and her sister Elle, she takes her first tentative steps into the world and starts to live – perhaps even to love – again.
Then something unbelievable happens, and Lydia gets another chance at her old life with Freddie. But what if there’s someone in her new life who wants her to stay?
Casey has ended up back in Massachusetts after a devastating love affair. Her mother has just died and she is knocked sideways by grief and loneliness, moving between the restaurant where she waitresses for the Harvard elite and the rented shed she calls home. Her one constant is the novel she has been writing for six years, but at thirty-one she is in debt and directionless, and feels too old to be that way – it’s strange, not be the youngest kind of adult anymore.
And then, one evening, she meets Silas. He is kind, handsome, interested. But only a few weeks later, Oscar walks into her restaurant, his two boys in tow. He is older, grieving the loss of his wife, and wrapped up in his own creativity. Suddenly Casey finds herself at the point of a love triangle, torn between two very different relationships that promise two very different futures.
Lily King’s Writers & Lovers follows Casey in the last days of a long youth, a time when everything – her family, her work, her relationships – comes to a crisis. Hugely moving and impossibly funny, it is a transfixing novel that explores the terrifying and exhilarating leap between the end of one phase of life and the beginning of another. It is a novel about love and creativity, and ultimately it captures the moment when a woman becomes an artist.
Harper Anderson has a to-do list longer than the Colorado river, and fields of tulips to tend to at her family’s flower farm in Hillsboro County, California. It’s her dream to run the business with her sisters when their father retires, keeping up traditions that began with her great-great-grandmother.
That is, if there’s a farm left to run. Rich out-of-towners looking for a slice of country living are hiking up the prices in town and it’s putting her family out of business. So she has no time for the arrogant LA tech mogul who makes her an offer to use their farm as his sister’s wedding venue. No amount of money could make up for the destruction it would wreak on next season’s crop. The sooner Luke Martin is on his way, the better.
But Luke isn’t willing to go. He’s been looking out for his sister ever since their deadbeat parents left them to fend for themselves, and he’ll do whatever it takes to make her happy. So when Harper’s newest farmhand leaves her in the lurch, he sees an opportunity to strike a deal. He’ll work on the farm for free if she’ll give him the chance to change her mind.
Harper and Luke each expect the other to crack first. What they don’t expect is the chemistry that sparks between them as they work side by side among the budding roses. But Luke’s presence is turning over more than the earth, and just as Harper is starting to let her guard down, he stumbles upon a secret that could spell disaster for the entire Anderson clan.
With her family’s happiness at stake, can Harper put her trust in a man who is worlds apart from everything she knows?
Verity seems to have it all. A beautiful home, two grown-up sons and a husband who has always been her rock. But one day, the doorbell rings. And it changes Verity’s life forever.
Saskia has nowhere else to go. Before she died, her mother left her with her father’s name and nothing else. The only way for Saskia to take care of herself – and her unborn baby – is to find the father she never knew. And the family that didn’t know she existed.
This family secret means the end of everything they’ve ever known. But could it also be the chance for a new beginning?
She had to be able to look back at this as a time that was sacred, magical. There would be pain enough later.
Cass and Loll used to be inseparable. They met at university and they made sense, like two halves of a whole. They had planned their lives around each other, writing down their dreams in The Big Book of Our Life – the things they wanted to achieve, the places they’d go after they finished university. But then one night changed everything.
Seven years later, Loll receives a letter from her old friend. The coming year will be the year they both turn 30, but Loll might be making it to 30 alone. Cass has cancer. She wants to know if Loll still has The Big Book as her dying wish is to do everything they had planned. Little does Loll know that there is one big difference: Veronica, Cass’s six-year-old daughter, will be coming with them.
Time is ticking for Cass, who is desperate to make lasting memories for her young daughter and ensure that she’s leaving her in good hands. But how do you say goodbye to those you love most in the world?
Braden Mack thinks reading romance novels makes him an expert in love, but he’ll soon discover that real life is better than fiction.
Liv Papandreas has a dream job as a sous chef at Nashville’s hottest restaurant. Too bad the celebrity chef owner is less than charming behind kitchen doors. After she catches him harassing a young hostess, she confronts him and gets fired. Liv vows revenge, but she’ll need assistance to take on the powerful chef.
Unfortunately, that means turning to Braden Mack. When Liv’s blackballed from the restaurant scene, the charismatic nightclub entrepreneur offers to help expose her ex-boss, but she is suspicious of his motives. He’ll need to call in reinforcements: the Bromance Book Club.
Inspired by the romantic suspense novel they’re reading, the book club assists Liv in setting up a sting operation to take down the chef. But they’re just as eager to help Mack figure out the way to Liv’s heart… even though she’s determined to squelch the sparks between them before she gets burned.
Where do you see yourself in five years? When Type-A Manhattan lawyer Dannie Cohan is asked this question at the most important interview of her career, she has a meticulously crafted answer at the ready. Later, after nailing her interview and accepting her boyfriend’s marriage proposal, Dannie goes to sleep knowing she is right on track to achieve her five-year plan. But when she wakes up, she’s suddenly in a different apartment, with a different ring on her finger, and beside a very different man. The television news is on in the background, and she can just make out the scrolling date. It’s the same night—December 15—but 2025, five years in the future. After a very intense, shocking hour, Dannie wakes again, at the brink of midnight, back in 2020. She can’t shake what has happened. It certainly felt much more than merely a dream, but she isn’t the kind of person who believes in visions. That nonsense is only charming coming from free-spirited types, like her lifelong best friend, Bella. Determined to ignore the odd experience, she files it away in the back of her mind. That is, until four-and-a-half years later, when by chance Dannie meets the very same man from her long-ago vision. Brimming with joy and heartbreak, In Five Years is an unforgettable love story that reminds us of the power of loyalty, friendship, and the unpredictable nature of destiny.
Seven years after his sister vanished without a trace, Jude is on the road, determined not to return home until he has found her. He wants to reunite his broken family, but more than this he wants to know why Zoe left—what happened when they were kids, on that terrible day when everything fell apart.
They’d been enjoying the funfair—grasping a rare moment of happiness following their parents’ divorce—when after a ride together, Zoe had stopped speaking to her mother’s new partner. Though Mandy believed he was the man she’d waited all her life for, her love for her daughter trumped even that, and soon suspicions of an unthinkable betrayal shattered the family.
So finding Zoe would be just the start. If Jude can find her, then what happens next will depend on the story she’s been carrying with her all these years. Because when families are destroyed by dark secrets, can the wounds ever truly heal?
In Oak Knoll, a verdant, tight-knit North Carolina neighborhood, professor of forestry and ecology Valerie Alston-Holt is raising her bright and talented biracial son, Xavier, who’s headed to college in the fall. All is well until the Whitmans—a family with new money and a secretly troubled teenage daughter—raze the house and trees next door to build themselves a showplace.
With little in common except a property line, these two families quickly find themselves at odds: first, over an historic oak tree in Valerie’s yard, and soon after, the blossoming romance between their two teenagers.
A Good Neighborhood asks big questions about life in America today—what does it mean to be a good neighbor? How do we live alongside each other when we don’t see eye to eye?—as it explores the effects of class, race, and heartrending love in a story that’s as provocative as it is powerful.
Nell’s going back to school… but now she’s learning lessons of the heart
Reception class teacher Nell Shackleton has a plan. At least, she had until she arrived at her new home of Humblebee Farm, a dilapidated farmhouse on the Yorkshire moors. But so what if the roof’s full of holes, the back door’s hanging off and there’s a sheep in the front room? Because sometimes a new beginning means starting at the bottom… right?
Xander Scott is one of the youngest headteachers Leyholme Primary School has ever had. But managing over-zealous parents and their semi-feral kids proves a tricky task for shy Xander – as does keeping his mind on the job when his feelings for the new Reception teacher become more than strictly professional…
At 43, Nell’s new friend Stevie Madeleine has given up on love. After losing her wife, Stevie’s decided that her four-year-old daughter Milly and cocker spaniel Red are the only girls she needs in her life. That is, until larger-than-life dog-walker Deb arrives on the scene. But will the secrets of Stevie’s past stop her new romance dead in its tracks?
Meeting Xander and Stevie brings joy back into Nell’s life – but when old secrets start to surface, there may be some hard lessons to learn for them all…
A gorgeously uplifting and hilarious romantic comedy that will delight fans of Milly Johnson, Holly Martin and Heidi Swain.
When a body is pulled out of an office fire, three women are first in line for questioning.
All of them have reasons for wanting revenge against the company’s CEO.
It could be Laura, who has returned to work to find that her maternity cover isn’t leaving. The CEO insists he’s doing what’s best for the company. Laura isn’t convinced he’s telling the truth.
Or there’s Mia. Brought in as temporary cover for Laura, she has quickly made herself indispensable – and popular with her colleagues. But if people knew why she was so desperate to keep her job, they might not welcome her so freely.
Then there’s Janie, wife to the CEO, who gave up her courtroom career to support her husband and his business. She has her own secret to protect – and will go to any length to keep it safe.
Can one summer house bring two broken hearts together?
Summer escapes to Lilac House have always been a source of comfort for Anna Harris. Though things will never be the same since her husband’s death, she knows that it is there, nestled in Lake Summers in the heart of the Adirondack Mountains, that she and her children Zac and Evie can begin to build a new life.
The house is just as beautiful as Anna remembers, and caught up in the rhythm of small town life, helping her Aunt Hope run the little shop on Main Street, Anna begins to feel a sense of herself she hasn’t felt in years. Then she meets Aidan. Handsome, strong and quiet, he also knows what’s it’s like to lose someone. In each other they recognise something they’ve both been missing and they feel a spark.
But Aidan’s past holds a different set of complications. He’s hiding a secret about why he came to Lake Summers. And just as the Lilac House finally starts to feel like home, Anna learns something devastating about Greg’s death that makes her question everything…
The summer might have brought Anna and Aidan together, but can Anna finally let go of the past now she really has the chance for a new beginning?
The first time Alexis saw Austin, it was a Saturday night. Not in a bar, but in the emergency room where Alexis sutured a bullet wound in Austin’s arm. Six months later, on the brink of falling in love, they travel to Vietnam on a bike tour so that Austin can show her his passion for cycling and he can pay his respects to the place where his father and uncle fought in the war. But as Alexis sips white wine and waits at the hotel for him to return from his solo ride, two men emerge from the tall grass and Austin vanishes into thin air. The only clue he leaves behind is a bright yellow energy gel dropped on the road. As Alexis grapples with this bewildering loss, and deals with the FBI, Austin’s prickly family, and her colleagues at the hospital, Alexis uncovers a series of strange lies that force her to wonder: Where did Austin go? Why did he really bring her to Vietnam? And how much danger has he left her in? Set amidst the adrenaline-fueled world of the emergency room, The Red Lotus is a global thriller about those who dedicate their lives to saving people, and those who peddle death to the highest bidder.
Giacomo is stuck in a funk he can’t shake – and a translation he can’t finish. When he’s summoned home to Sardinia, to say a final goodbye to his dying grandmother, he’s offered the perfect opportunity to escape.
On the noisy, sun-drenched island, Giacomo reconnects with long-lost friends and overbearing relatives, relives the childhood he once couldn’t wait to leave behind, and rediscovers new joie-de-vivre within him. Never mind that he’s making no progress on his translation. . .
When the time comes to leave once more, Giacomo wonders: has he fallen back in love with his home-island? Or has he been hiding from something which he needs the courage to return and confront?
But most importantly – is his grandma really as ill as she’s claiming to be?
Can one promise change the fate of two women decades apart?
Scotland, 1940
War rages across Europe, but Invermoray House is at peace – until the night of Constance’s 21st birthday, when she’s the only person to see a Spitfire crash into the loch. Rescuing the pilot and vowing to keep him hidden, Constance finds herself torn between duty to her family and keeping a promise that could cost her everything.
2020
Kate arrives in the Highlands to turn Invermoray into a luxury B&B, only to find that the estate is more troubled than she’d imagined. But when Kate discovers the house has a dark history, with Constance’s name struck from its records, she knows she can’t leave until the mystery is solved . . .
Thirty years ago, a child was found in the New Jersey backwoods.
He had been living a feral existence, with no memory of how he got there or even who he is. Everyone just calls him Wilde.
Now a former soldier and security expert, he lives off the grid, shunned by the community – until they need him.
A child has gone missing. With her family suspecting she’s just playing a disappearing game, nobody seems concerned except for criminal attorney Hester Crimstein. She contacts Wilde, asking him to use his unique skills to find the girl.
But even he can find no trace of her. One day passes, then a second, then a third.
On the fourth, a human finger shows up in the mail.
And now Wilde knows this is no game. It’s a race against time to save the girl’s life – and expose the town’s dark trove of secrets…
Daisy grew up around secrets she knew by heart but were never spoken. She had no idea just how much damage secrets could do, but she would soon learn.
It’s a warm, cloudless morning on the day the envelope arrives for Daisy. Soft sunlight streams into the apartment she shares with her partner, Anderson, who is sleeping peacefully. Daisy’s fought hard for this happiness, worked her way up from being a vulnerable teenage runaway to a woman with a stable job and a loving boyfriend.
But when Daisy discovers the handwritten wedding invitation from her childhood best friend, Stella, her bright morning turns suddenly dark. The wedding is back amongst the misty woods and rolling hills of Daisy’s North Carolina hometown. The same town where her heartbroken mother never spoke about her miscarriages, and her distant father drank away what little money they had. The same town where she is still known as ‘the crazy one’ for telling people about the dead girl she saw that summer’s day in the woods. A girl who looked just like her, and whose body was never found.
Daisy hasn’t been back home since her parents sent her away and now, the thought of returning fills her with dread. She doesn’t know if she can forgive Stella, the girl she once called ‘blood sister’, for turning her back on her when everyone else did. And why is Stella reaching out now, after fifteen years?
There’s only one thing Daisy is sure of—if she wants to build a happy future, she’s going to have to finally confront the mysteries of her dark past.
Food stylist Cara, corporate lawyer Alex and stay-at-home mum Beth couldn’t be more different. If it wasn’t for the fact they live next door to each other in Cuthbert Close, they’d never have met and bonded over Bundt cake. The Close is an oasis of calm and kindness. The kind of street where kids play cricket together and neighbours pitch in each year for an end of summer party.
But no one’s told Charlie Devine, glamorous wife of online lifestyle guru, The Primal Guy. When she roars straight into the party with her huge removal truck and her teenage daughter with no care or regard for decades-old tradition, the guacamole really hits the fan.
Cara thinks the family just needs time to get used to the village-like atmosphere. Beth wants to give them home cooked meals to help them settle in. Alex, says it’s an act of war. But which one of them is right? Dead guinea pigs, cruelly discarded quiches, missing jewellery, commercial sabotage and errant husbands are just the beginning of a train of disturbing and rapidly escalating events that lead to a shocking climax.
When the truth comes out, will it be the end of Cuthbert Close?
Vincent is a bartender at the Hotel Caiette, a five-star lodging on the northernmost tip of Vancouver Island. On the night she meets Jonathan Alkaitis, a hooded figure scrawls a message on the lobby’s glass wall: “Why don’t you swallow broken glass.” High above Manhattan, a greater crime is committed: Alkaitis is running an international Ponzi scheme, moving imaginary sums of money through clients’ accounts. When the financial empire collapses, it obliterates countless fortunes and devastates lives. Vincent, who had been posing as Jonathan’s wife, walks away into the night. Years later, a victim of the fraud is hired to investigate a strange occurrence: a woman has seemingly vanished from the deck of a container ship between ports of call.
In this captivating story of crisis and survival, Emily St. John Mandel takes readers through often hidden landscapes: campgrounds for the near-homeless, underground electronica clubs, the business of international shipping, service in luxury hotels, and life in a federal prison. Rife with unexpected beauty, The Glass Hotel is a captivating portrait of greed and guilt, love and delusion, ghosts and unintended consequences, and the infinite ways we search for meaning in our lives.
Adulting shouldn’t be this hard. Especially in your thirties. Having been pressured by her tight-knit community to get married at a young age to her first serious boyfriend, Anu Desai is now on her own again and feels like she is starting from the beginning.
But Anu doesn’t have time to start over. Telling her parents that she was separating from her husband was the hardest thing she’s ever done—and she’s still dealing with the fallout. She has her young daughter to support and when she invests all of her savings into running her own yoga studio, the feelings of irresponsibility send Anu reeling. She’ll be forced to look inside herself to learn what she truly wants.
Carey Douglas has worked for design gurus Melissa and Rusty Tripp for nearly a decade, and – more than anyone would suspect – has helped them build an empire. With a new show and a book about to launch, the Tripps are on the verge of superstardom. There’s only one problem: America’s favourite couple can’t stand each other.
James McCann, engineering genius, was originally hired as a structural engineer, but the job isn’t all he thought it’d be. The last straw? Both he and Carey must go on book tour with the Tripps and keep the wheels from falling off the proverbial bus.
Unfortunately, neither of them can quit. Carey needs health insurance and James has been promised the role of a lifetime if he can just keep the couple on track for a few more weeks. While road-tripping with the Tripps, Carey and James vow to work together to keep their bosses’ secrets hidden. But if they stop playing along – and start playing for keeps – they may have the chance to build something beautiful together . . .
Lara and Theo are meant to be. They just don’t know it yet…
Lara loves her job as a wedding planner. She gets to organise other people’s perfect days and make sure nothing ever goes wrong.
Theo loves his job as a jazz musician, working unpredictable hours and giving other people great nights out.
Lara knows she’s got high standards. But there’s nothing wrong with getting things right… so why has it stopped her finding Mr Right?
Theo knows people think he’s a bit scruffy, a bit too laid back. But there’s nothing wrong with setting your own pace… if only he could find someone who wanted to live life at his speed.
It’s okay, though. Lara gets to come home in the evening and have heart-to-hearts with her greedy grey cat Fluffy. And Theo can come home in the early hours and unwind with his loyal cat Satchmo.
What they don’t know is that it’s the same cat.
And when they find out – standing in the street in their pyjamas, both on the hunt for their lost pet – sparks of the wrong sort will fly…
Esta web usa cookies para mejorar tu experiencia. Asumiremos que aceptas la política si sigues usando este sitio.AceptoVer política
