Must Read Releases - 5th March 2018
Evening all from a Premier Inn somewhere in Scotland on after a very very long work day! Here are my top book picks for the day...
The first in an explosive series featuring the Strong family and a legacy of lies that leads to love and murder, passion and heartbreak…
On a balmy night in Barbados, a female slave is made pregnant by the son of a plantation owner. The child, Blanche, comes of age but is left alone in the world when her mother dies. She is certain that Otis Strong, one of the plantation owner’s sons, is her father. He makes arrangements for Blanche to sail to Bristol where she will be taken in by his brother. Blanche sees it as a chance to learn the truth about her parentage and to reconnect with Nelson Strong, who she believes to be a cousin but with whom she is infatuated.
Upon arrival in England, Blanche is shocked to learn she’ll be treated as a servant. It is only Tom Strong, another ward of the family, who treats her as anything other. As Blanche gets closer to finding out the truth about her birth, she discovers there are some secrets that should remain untold...
Previously published as Like an Evening Gone by Jeannie Johnson. Perfect for fans of Dinah Jefferies, Renita D’Silva and Sharon Maas.
On a balmy night in Barbados, a female slave is made pregnant by the son of a plantation owner. The child, Blanche, comes of age but is left alone in the world when her mother dies. She is certain that Otis Strong, one of the plantation owner’s sons, is her father. He makes arrangements for Blanche to sail to Bristol where she will be taken in by his brother. Blanche sees it as a chance to learn the truth about her parentage and to reconnect with Nelson Strong, who she believes to be a cousin but with whom she is infatuated.
Upon arrival in England, Blanche is shocked to learn she’ll be treated as a servant. It is only Tom Strong, another ward of the family, who treats her as anything other. As Blanche gets closer to finding out the truth about her birth, she discovers there are some secrets that should remain untold...
Previously published as Like an Evening Gone by Jeannie Johnson. Perfect for fans of Dinah Jefferies, Renita D’Silva and Sharon Maas.
A Gripping Story of Love, Loss & an Historical Mystery Finally Revealed
The second saga in Lynne Francis’s wartime trilogy. Prepare to be captured by the story of Alice… Can uncovering a long forgotten family mystery change your life?
1890 - Alice is the sole bread-winner for her family, working at the local cotton mill. But when she suddenly begins to attract the wrong attention, her life begins to spiral out of control…
2018 - For Alys, one bad decision after another has left her feeling that her life hasn’t quite turned out the way it should have. But when her aunt is suddenly injured and in need of help baking and running her beloved café, Alys knows a trip to Yorkshire is just the escape she needs.
In lending a hand, Alys stumbles across a long-buried family mystery and quickly finds herself caught up in uncovering the truth of what happened to her great-great-grandmother Alice…
Alys won’t stop until she knows the truth. Will the secrets of her grandmother’s past help her to change her own future?
A beautiful and heart-breaking novel, that brings the past and present together in a gripping story of love, loss and hope.
Perfect for fans of Rosie Clarke and Tracy Rees.
1890 - Alice is the sole bread-winner for her family, working at the local cotton mill. But when she suddenly begins to attract the wrong attention, her life begins to spiral out of control…
2018 - For Alys, one bad decision after another has left her feeling that her life hasn’t quite turned out the way it should have. But when her aunt is suddenly injured and in need of help baking and running her beloved café, Alys knows a trip to Yorkshire is just the escape she needs.
In lending a hand, Alys stumbles across a long-buried family mystery and quickly finds herself caught up in uncovering the truth of what happened to her great-great-grandmother Alice…
Alys won’t stop until she knows the truth. Will the secrets of her grandmother’s past help her to change her own future?
A beautiful and heart-breaking novel, that brings the past and present together in a gripping story of love, loss and hope.
Perfect for fans of Rosie Clarke and Tracy Rees.
Sadia wishes life in high school was as straightforward as a game of basketball.
Fifteen-year-old Sadia Ahmadi is passionate about one thing: basketball. Her best friend Mariam, on the other hand, wants to get noticed by the popular crowd and has started de-jabbing, removing her hijab, at school every morning. Sadia’s mom had warned her that navigating high school could be tricky. As much as she hates to admit it, her mom was right.
When try-outs for an elite basketball team are announced, Sadia jumps at the opportunity. Her talent speaks for itself. Her head scarf, on the other hand, is a problem; especially when a discriminatory rule means she has to choose between removing her hijab and not playing. Mariam, Sadia’s parents, and her teammates all have different opinions about what she should do. But it is Sadia who has to find the courage to stand up for herself and fight for what is right - on and off the court.
Fifteen-year-old Sadia Ahmadi is passionate about one thing: basketball. Her best friend Mariam, on the other hand, wants to get noticed by the popular crowd and has started de-jabbing, removing her hijab, at school every morning. Sadia’s mom had warned her that navigating high school could be tricky. As much as she hates to admit it, her mom was right.
When try-outs for an elite basketball team are announced, Sadia jumps at the opportunity. Her talent speaks for itself. Her head scarf, on the other hand, is a problem; especially when a discriminatory rule means she has to choose between removing her hijab and not playing. Mariam, Sadia’s parents, and her teammates all have different opinions about what she should do. But it is Sadia who has to find the courage to stand up for herself and fight for what is right - on and off the court.
Winning Your Never-Ending Battle with Stuff
You don’t have to live overwhelmed by stuff - you can get rid of clutter for good!
While the world seems to be in love with the idea of tiny houses and minimalism, real women with real families who are constantly growing and changing simply can’t purge it all and start from nothing. Yet a home with too much stuff is a home that is difficult to maintain, so where do we begin? Add in paralysing emotional attachments and constant life challenges, and it can feel almost impossible to make real decluttering progress.
In Decluttering at the Speed of Life, decluttering expert and author Dana White identifies the mind-sets and emotional challenges that make it difficult to declutter. Then, in her signature humorous approach, she provides workable solutions to break through these struggles and get clutter out - for good!
But more than simply offering strategies, Dana dives deep into how to implement them, no matter the reader’s clutter level or emotional resistance to decluttering. She helps identify procrasticlutter - the stuff that will get done eventually so it doesn’t seem urgent - as well as how to make progress when there’s no time to declutter.
Sections of the book include:
While the world seems to be in love with the idea of tiny houses and minimalism, real women with real families who are constantly growing and changing simply can’t purge it all and start from nothing. Yet a home with too much stuff is a home that is difficult to maintain, so where do we begin? Add in paralysing emotional attachments and constant life challenges, and it can feel almost impossible to make real decluttering progress.
In Decluttering at the Speed of Life, decluttering expert and author Dana White identifies the mind-sets and emotional challenges that make it difficult to declutter. Then, in her signature humorous approach, she provides workable solutions to break through these struggles and get clutter out - for good!
But more than simply offering strategies, Dana dives deep into how to implement them, no matter the reader’s clutter level or emotional resistance to decluttering. She helps identify procrasticlutter - the stuff that will get done eventually so it doesn’t seem urgent - as well as how to make progress when there’s no time to declutter.
Sections of the book include:
Why You Need This Book (You Know Why)
Your Unique Home
Decluttering in the Midst of Real Life
Change Your Mind, Change Your Home
Breaking Through Your Decluttering Delusions
Working It Out Room by Room
Helping Others Declutter
Real Life Goes On (and On)
As long as we’re living and breathing, new clutter will appear. The good news is that decluttering can get easier, become more natural, and require significantly fewer hours, less emotional bandwidth, and little to no sweat to keep going.
As long as we’re living and breathing, new clutter will appear. The good news is that decluttering can get easier, become more natural, and require significantly fewer hours, less emotional bandwidth, and little to no sweat to keep going.
A concise and inspirational book for anyone dealing with chronic or acute pain by a long time palliative care doctor who is greatly inspired by Native American wisdom and the natural world. This book is a celebration of impermanence and what it means to be awake, alive, and connected to the world.
The Nest in the Stream is an encouraging and inspiring book for the times we live in. Michael Kearney, a physician whose day job is alleviating the pain and suffering of others, shows that how we live with our pain matters hugely, as it affects our quality of living and our capacity to find healing for ourselves, for others, and for our world. Drawing on engaged Buddhism, the indigenous wisdom of Native American and Celtic spirituality, and the powerful teachings he gained by observing nature, Kearney presents a new model for resilience and self-care.
Traditional models of self-care emphasise the importance of professional boundaries to protect us from stress, and time out to rest and recover. The Nest in the Stream offers a way of being with pain that is infused with mindfulness, openness, compassion, and deep nature connection that encourages us to act for the freedom and welfare of all. It will appeal to those whose everyday occupation involves dealing with pain, such as healthcare workers, environmental activists, or those working on the front lines of trauma, but it will also be of interest to everyone who longs to live in our wounded world with an open heart.
The Nest in the Stream is an encouraging and inspiring book for the times we live in. Michael Kearney, a physician whose day job is alleviating the pain and suffering of others, shows that how we live with our pain matters hugely, as it affects our quality of living and our capacity to find healing for ourselves, for others, and for our world. Drawing on engaged Buddhism, the indigenous wisdom of Native American and Celtic spirituality, and the powerful teachings he gained by observing nature, Kearney presents a new model for resilience and self-care.
Traditional models of self-care emphasise the importance of professional boundaries to protect us from stress, and time out to rest and recover. The Nest in the Stream offers a way of being with pain that is infused with mindfulness, openness, compassion, and deep nature connection that encourages us to act for the freedom and welfare of all. It will appeal to those whose everyday occupation involves dealing with pain, such as healthcare workers, environmental activists, or those working on the front lines of trauma, but it will also be of interest to everyone who longs to live in our wounded world with an open heart.
A Madison Night Mystery
Nightie Night!
Interior decorator Madison Night is no stranger to the occasional odd inheritance. But when an octogenarian friend dies and leaves her a pajama factory, the bounty is bittersweet.
Once a thriving business, Sweet Dreams closed decades ago after a tragic accident took the life of a young model. Or was that simply a cover up?
Between her friend’s death and her own stagnant life, Madison is tempted to hide under a blanket of wilful ignorance.
But when family members and special interest groups lobby to expose the secrets of the factory, Madison gets caught in a tangle of secrets and lies and discovers that sometimes, the bed you make is not your own.
Interior decorator Madison Night is no stranger to the occasional odd inheritance. But when an octogenarian friend dies and leaves her a pajama factory, the bounty is bittersweet.
Once a thriving business, Sweet Dreams closed decades ago after a tragic accident took the life of a young model. Or was that simply a cover up?
Between her friend’s death and her own stagnant life, Madison is tempted to hide under a blanket of wilful ignorance.
But when family members and special interest groups lobby to expose the secrets of the factory, Madison gets caught in a tangle of secrets and lies and discovers that sometimes, the bed you make is not your own.
A bittersweet inheritance reunites three estranged sisters in a novel of family, trust, and forgiveness from New York Times bestselling author Carolyn Brown.
When they were growing up, Dana, Harper, and Tawny thought of themselves as “sometimes sisters.” They connected only during the summer month they’d all spend at their grandmother’s rustic lakeside resort in north Texas. But secrets started building, and ten years have passed since they’ve all been together - in fact, they’ve rarely spoken, and it broke their grandmother’s heart.
Now she’s gone, leaving Annie’s Place to her granddaughters - twelve cabins, a small house, a café, a convenience store, and a lot of family memories. It’s where Dana, Harper, and Tawny once shared so many good times. They’ve returned, sharing only hidden regrets, a guarded mistrust, and haunting guilt. But now, in this healing summer place, the secrets that once drove them apart could bring them back together - especially when they discover that their grandmother may have been hiding something, too…
To overcome the past and find future happiness, these “sometimes sisters” have one more chance to realise they are always family.
When they were growing up, Dana, Harper, and Tawny thought of themselves as “sometimes sisters.” They connected only during the summer month they’d all spend at their grandmother’s rustic lakeside resort in north Texas. But secrets started building, and ten years have passed since they’ve all been together - in fact, they’ve rarely spoken, and it broke their grandmother’s heart.
Now she’s gone, leaving Annie’s Place to her granddaughters - twelve cabins, a small house, a café, a convenience store, and a lot of family memories. It’s where Dana, Harper, and Tawny once shared so many good times. They’ve returned, sharing only hidden regrets, a guarded mistrust, and haunting guilt. But now, in this healing summer place, the secrets that once drove them apart could bring them back together - especially when they discover that their grandmother may have been hiding something, too…
To overcome the past and find future happiness, these “sometimes sisters” have one more chance to realise they are always family.
A Jane Lawless Mystery
Fans of Jane Lawless new and old will be fascinated by newly minted Mystery Writers of America Grandmaster Ellen Hart’s latest intricate puzzle in A Whisper of Bones.
Britt Ickles doesn’t remember much from her only visit to her mother’s childhood home when she was a kid, except for playing with her cousin Timmy and the eruption of a sudden family feud. That’s why, when she drops by unannounced after years of silence, she’s shocked when her aunts tell her Timmy never existed, that she must be confusing him with someone else. But Britt can’t shake the feeling that Timmy did exist…and that something horrible has happened to him. Something her aunts want to cover up.
Britt hires Jane Lawless, hoping the private investigator can figure out what really happened to her cousin. When a fire in the family’s garage leads to the discovery of buried bones and one of the aunts dies suddenly and suspiciously, Jane can’t help but be pulled into the case. Do the bones belong to Timmy? Was the aunt’s death an accident, suicide, or homicide? What dark secret has this family been hiding for decades? It all depends on Jane Lawless to unravel.
Britt Ickles doesn’t remember much from her only visit to her mother’s childhood home when she was a kid, except for playing with her cousin Timmy and the eruption of a sudden family feud. That’s why, when she drops by unannounced after years of silence, she’s shocked when her aunts tell her Timmy never existed, that she must be confusing him with someone else. But Britt can’t shake the feeling that Timmy did exist…and that something horrible has happened to him. Something her aunts want to cover up.
Britt hires Jane Lawless, hoping the private investigator can figure out what really happened to her cousin. When a fire in the family’s garage leads to the discovery of buried bones and one of the aunts dies suddenly and suspiciously, Jane can’t help but be pulled into the case. Do the bones belong to Timmy? Was the aunt’s death an accident, suicide, or homicide? What dark secret has this family been hiding for decades? It all depends on Jane Lawless to unravel.
“Murderers are rarely who you imagine them to be . . . ”
One moment, Selena Cole is at the playground with her children . . . the next, she has vanished without a trace.
The body of Dominic Newell, a well-respected lawyer, is found on a remote mountain road, blood oozing from the stab wound in his neck.
In the sleepy borderland between England and Wales, sheep outnumber people and serious crimes are rare. Which makes this Tuesday morning, with two calls coming in to the local police station, even more remarkable. Detective Constable Leah Mackay and her brother, Detective Sergeant Finn Hale, begin their respective investigations, but soon find them inextricably linked. And when Selena is found alive and unhurt twenty hours later, the mystery deepens.
Selena’s work consulting on kidnap and ransom cases has brought her into close contact with ruthless criminals and international drug lords. But now, as Selena walks back into her life wearing a blood-spattered sweater, claiming no memory of the preceding hours, Leah can’t be sure if she is a victim, a liar, or a murder suspect.
Leah and Finn delve into each case, untangling the secrets and betrayals - large and small - that can lie just beneath the surface of a life, yet unprepared for where both trails will lead.
With engrossing characters, devilish twists, and evocative prose, The Missing Hours is that rare page-turner - as satisfying and complex as it is unpredictable.
One moment, Selena Cole is at the playground with her children . . . the next, she has vanished without a trace.
The body of Dominic Newell, a well-respected lawyer, is found on a remote mountain road, blood oozing from the stab wound in his neck.
In the sleepy borderland between England and Wales, sheep outnumber people and serious crimes are rare. Which makes this Tuesday morning, with two calls coming in to the local police station, even more remarkable. Detective Constable Leah Mackay and her brother, Detective Sergeant Finn Hale, begin their respective investigations, but soon find them inextricably linked. And when Selena is found alive and unhurt twenty hours later, the mystery deepens.
Selena’s work consulting on kidnap and ransom cases has brought her into close contact with ruthless criminals and international drug lords. But now, as Selena walks back into her life wearing a blood-spattered sweater, claiming no memory of the preceding hours, Leah can’t be sure if she is a victim, a liar, or a murder suspect.
Leah and Finn delve into each case, untangling the secrets and betrayals - large and small - that can lie just beneath the surface of a life, yet unprepared for where both trails will lead.
With engrossing characters, devilish twists, and evocative prose, The Missing Hours is that rare page-turner - as satisfying and complex as it is unpredictable.
Everyone is equal. But no one is safe.
In a ruined world, Manhattan is now New America, a walled-in society based on equality. But the perfect façade hides a dark truth.
A timid math geek, sixteen-year-old Drayden watches his life crumble when his beloved mother is exiled. The mystery of her banishment leads him to a sinister secret: New America is in trouble, and every one of its citizens is in jeopardy.
With time running out, he enters the Initiation. It’s a test within the empty subway tunnels - a perilous journey of puzzles and deadly physical trials. Winners join the ruling Bureau and move to its safe haven. But failure means death. Can Drayden conquer the Initiation, or is salvation out of his grasp?
In a ruined world, Manhattan is now New America, a walled-in society based on equality. But the perfect façade hides a dark truth.
A timid math geek, sixteen-year-old Drayden watches his life crumble when his beloved mother is exiled. The mystery of her banishment leads him to a sinister secret: New America is in trouble, and every one of its citizens is in jeopardy.
With time running out, he enters the Initiation. It’s a test within the empty subway tunnels - a perilous journey of puzzles and deadly physical trials. Winners join the ruling Bureau and move to its safe haven. But failure means death. Can Drayden conquer the Initiation, or is salvation out of his grasp?
I can't wait to read and review these books so watch this space!
If you liked this post have a look at my complete list of Reading Lists or my complete list of What I Learned full review posts.
Happy Reading!
If you liked this post have a look at my complete list of Reading Lists or my complete list of What I Learned full review posts.
Happy Reading!
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