Lighter Reads
Sometimes you don't want your book to take you somewhere dark. You might be looking for family drama, romance or plain escapism, but there will be something here to keep you entertained, whether that is curled up in winter with the rain lashing outside, or some mental diversion on your sunlounger on holidays.
After Dad, Claire Shiells (Paperback Sept 2022)
£9.99
A bittersweet love story exploring why good people sometimes do bad things... Millie Malone, a spirited, thirty-something journalist returns home to Northern Ireland after a life-changing decision leaves her London life in ruins. A family reunion soon unravels, opening old wounds and igniting new grievances regarding the murder of her father by the IRA decades earlier.Retreating to the family cottage in Donegal, Millie soon meets Finn McFall, a fisherman originally from west Belfast, who loves to paint and recite Irish poetry. In the new modern Ireland, Millie believes religion is no longer a barrier for love. But she soon finds home is a place still struggling with a fragile peace and simmering sectarianism.
As events unfold, Millie is forced to decide between love and loyalty, eventually having to ask herself the ultimate question: can love really conquer all?
Another Marvelous Thing, Laurie Colwin ( paperback Nov 24)
£9.99
At a perfectly ordinary cocktail party, Francis is introduced to Billy and - although it slips right by him at the time - he falls in love with her at once. Billy is a serious, often glum person. An economic historian, she is indifferent to a great many things (clothes, food, home décor), frowns easily and is frequently irritated.
Francis is older. He likes routine and a well-run household; he likes to pay for dinner, open car doors and call Billy at night to make sure she is safe. Both are happily married - but not to each other.
So begins a whirlwind love affair, perfectly captured in this frank, funny irresistible novel, from its fabulous inception to its inevitable end
Big Swiss, Jen Beagin ( paperback Dec 2023)
£9.99
Juicy, salacious and compelling. Trauma shouldn't be this fun.' SARA PASCOEGreta liked knowing people's secrets. That wasn't a problem.Until she met Big Swiss. Big Swiss. That's Greta's nickname for her - she is tall, and she is from Switzerland.
Well that's how Greta imagines her; they haven't actually met in person. Nor has Greta actually ever been to Switzerland. What Greta doesn't know is that she's about to bump into Big Swiss in the local dog park.
A new - and not entirely honest - relationship is going to be born. A relationship that will transform both of their lives . .
. Readers are obsessed with Big Swiss:'This thing is a riot. I laughed out loud regularly.
I've never read anything quite like it.''This book is f u n n y''The premise is bizarre but brilliant! I am ready to move to Hudson, NY to meet these folks!''I haven't read a book this engrossing for a long time.''The blend of real and wit made for a wonderfully sublime experience.'
BPS Bundle I Family Drama (US)
£29.97 £27.00
If you're all about the dynamics of family life, and you enjoy a good escapist narrative, with complex and flawed characters ... then try these 3 great BPS recommended reads.
These Paperback titles are all set in the USA, but there is of course a universality in the human condition that transcends place. Our BPS recommendations for some great engrossing reads are:
The Most Fun we Ever Had, Claire Lombardo £9.99
Pineapple Street, Jenny Jackson £9.99
The Paper Palace, Miranda Cowley Heller £9.99
More details are available on these titles if you search them individually on our site, but using this 'bundle' tag will get you 10% off the combined purchase price.
Enjoy!
BRING ON UNITED - Ferguson’s Golden Generation ( hardback Nov 2024)
£22.00
Bring on United : Ferguson’S Golden Generation in Their Own Words
by Andy Mitten (Author) , Ruud van Nistelrooy (Foreword)
With a foreword by Manchester United interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy The Champions League, the Club World Cup, 6 Premier League Titles, 1 FA Cup, 3 League Cups, 4 Community Shields, 1 legendary manager. From Rio to Rome, 2000–2010. This is the story of one of the greatest eras in the history of England’s most successful club, told through the eyes of the players who made it happen.
Not just the big wins, the cup finals and the trophy parades, but the half-time rows, the mad pranks, the boozy nights out and the training-ground bust-ups. Andy Mitten has tracked down eleven of the stars from those Premier League and Champions League winning teams to open the door to both the dressing room and the boardroom at Old Trafford as the club cemented its status as the dominant force in English football. Bring on United is an astonishingly candid and revealing insight into the workings of a relentless winning machine.
More than that, it’s as lively and entertaining a sports book as you’ll ever read. Featuring exclusive interviews with Nemanja Vidic, Ole Gunnar Solskjær, Patrice Evra, Gary Neville, Dimitar Berbatov, Jaap Stam, John O’Shea, Wes Brown, Dwight Yorke, Diego Forlán and Ryan Giggs.
Cassandra in Reverse, Holly Smale ( paperback May 2024)
£8.99
where would you start? Cassie has never really fitted in. She remembers everything. Understands nothing.
And consistently says the wrong thing. So when she gets dumped, fired AND her local café runs out of banana muffins - all in one day - it feels like the end of the world. But then Cassie discovers she has the power to go back and change things.
With endless chances to get it right, can she stop it all from going wrong?
Did Ye Hear Mammy Died, Seamas O' Reilly ( paperback June 2022)
£10.99
THE IRISH TIMES NO. 1 BESTSELLER and AN POST BIOGRAPHY OF THE YEAR
Seamas O'Reilly's mother died when he was five, leaving him, his ten brothers and sisters and their beloved father in their sprawling bungalow in rural Derry. It was the 1990s; the Troubles were a background rumble (most of the time), and Seamus at that point was more preoccupied with dinosaurs, Star Wars and the actual location of heaven than the political climate.
Did Ye Hear Mammy Died? is a book about a family of argumentative, loud, musical, sarcastic, grief-stricken siblings, shepherded into adulthood by a man whose foibles and reticence were matched only by his love for his children and his determination that they would flourish. It is the moving, often amusing and completely unsentimental story of a boy growing up in a family bonded by love, loss and fairly relentless mockery
Duffy and Son, Damian Owens ( paperback August 2023)
£9.99
A heart-warming and hilarious novel about life, love, and the weight of all we leave unsaid, Duffy & Son is a quietly moving masterpiece from one of Ireland's most gifted comic writers. Eugene Duffy is turning 70; his son Jim is turning 40. For decades now, they've been running the family hardware shop and living in good-natured bachelor harmony.But time is marching on, and with thoughts of old age weighing heavily on his mind, Eugene is growing increasingly concerned about his son's future. He resolves to help in the best way possible: by finding Jim a wife. And he's not going to let anyone - let alone Jim himself - stand in his way.
Reminiscent of Fredrik Backman's bestselling novel A Man Called Ove, Duffy and Son contains a likeable but curmudgeonly main character, wry humour, tremendous heart, as well as a strong sense of community
Em & Me, Beth Morrey ( paperback March 2023)
£8.99
From the Sunday Times bestselling author of Saving Missy A mother. A daughter. A secret waiting to be uncovered.The day that Delphine stands up for herself is the day that changes everything... For too long, Delphine has been unable to let go of the past, obsessed with protecting her daughter, Em, and clinging to a secret that has cast a shadow over their lives. When a chance encounter offers a way out, Delphine seizes it with both hands.
As their lives begins to fill with colour again, can she find the courage to change their lives forever? 'An uplifting story of second chances and the hope of human connection ... full of warmth and wit' The i paper 'A beautiful story of love in all its forms' Jessica Ryn 'Glorious and heartfelt ... full of hope, humour and kindness' Sarah Haywood
Good Material, Dolly Alderton ( paperback August 2024)
£18.99
Every relationship has one beginning. This one has two endings.Andy loves Jen. Jen loved Andy. And he can't work out why she stopped.
Now he is. . .
1. Without a home2. Waiting for his stand-up career to take off3.
Wondering why everyone else around him seems to have grown up while he wasn't lookingSet adrift on the sea of heartbreak at a time when everything he thought he knew about women, and flat-sharing, and his friendships has transformed beyond recognition, Andy clings to the idea of solving the puzzle of their broken relationship. Because if he can find the answer to that, then maybe Jen can find her way back to him. Andy still has a lot to learn, not least his ex-girlfriend's side of the story.
From the bestselling author of Ghosts and Everything I Know About Love: a sharply funny, beautifully observed and exquisitely relatable story of heartbreak and friendship, and how to survive both.
Heiresses, Laura Thompson ( paperback May 2022)
£9.99
Laura Thompson explores the phenomenon of the heiress from the seventeenth to the twenty-first centuries. Take Mary Davies, a child bride at the age of twelve, and her thousand-acre dowry of today's Mayfair and Belgravia, which gave the Grosvenors their stupendous wealth.
Or Consuelo Vanderbilt, Duchess of Marlborough, whose American railroad fortune helped sustain Blenheim Palace. Winnaretta Singer showcased the work of Debussy in her Parisian salon; Daisy Fellowes enjoyed parties, fashion - and other people's husbands - without shame or conscience. Alice de Janze shot one of her lovers and was suspected of murdering a second; Woolworth heiress, Barbara Hutton, married seven times.
Money should mean power and opportunity, but in the hands of these women it was so often absent. Why did so many struggle to live with so much? Did the removal of need render their life meaningless? Were they riven with guilt at all they had, knowing they really should be happy? With her signature intelligence and wit, Laura Thompson tells these women's stories - glittering and fascinating but often sad and scandalous - on a gripping search for the answer.
'Witty, insightful, deliciously gossip-laden and slightly scandalous... Heiresses makes for an entertaining, occasionally sad and never less than gripping read' Anne Sebba
Hope Street, Mike Gayle ( hardback Feb 2025)
£20.00
Lila Metcalfe is a trainee journalist in Derby and she's very used to being given the stories that no one else wants. So, when her editor tells her that the city's Cossington Park development is being held up by a solitary resident on Hope Street who is refusing to leave, she knows she is going to be the one sent to find out more.
And that's how she meets Connor. Twenty-something Connor is the sole resident of Hope Street and he is not at all what Lila is expecting. And he has a very clear reason not to move: he is waiting for his mum to come home.
The uplifting and heartfelt new novel from the author of A Song of Me and You. 'Moving, uplifting, unforgettable. Mike always writes from the heart and creates stories we fall in love with' Lisa Jewell'Full of relatable characters and as Mike takes us on a journey through all their high and lows and we're with them every step of the way .
. . A wonderful story' Ruth Hogan
It Could Never Happen Here, Eithne Shortall (paperback Sept 22)
£8.99
Small town. Huge scandal.Beverley Franklin will do whatever it takes to protect her local school's reputation. So when a scandal involving her own daughter threatens to derail the annual school musical's appearance on national television, Beverley goes into overdrive. But in her efforts to protect her daughter and keep the musical on track, she misses what's really going, both in her own house and in the insular Glass Lake community - with dramatic consequences.
Glass Lake primary school's reputation is about to be shattered... 'Eithne Shortall mixes humour and tragedy with a deftness reminiscent of Marian Keyes' Irish Times
Long Island Compromise, Taffy Brodesser-Akner ( hardback July 2024)
£20.00
From the Sunday Times bestselling author of Fleishman Is in Trouble comes a darkly exhilarating novel about an American family and its inheritance - the safety and wealth that they fought for, and the precarity of their survival that is their legacy. In 1980, a wealthy businessman named Carl Fletcher is kidnapped from his driveway in the nicest part of the nicest part of Long Island.
He is brutalised, held for ransom and then returned to his family. Miraculously, Carl, his wife and his three kids are left to move on with their lives, and resume their prized places in the ongoing saga of the American dream. But nearly forty years later, when Carl's mother dies, the trauma that has been bubbling beneath the Fletchers' lives all this time surfaces at last.
It becomes apparent that Carl has been quietly pursuing closure to the kidnapping for all these years, and his wife and children must face that the money that they believed bought them safety was actually never capable of doing any such thing. Long Island Compromise spans generations, winding through decades of history all the way through to the wild present, dealing along the way with all the mainstays of American Jewish life and the timeless questions about wealth, trauma, and the American soul.
Too many good reviews to copy!
Love, Politics and Possibly Murder, Jane Ions ( paperback Sept 2022)
£9.99
Jane Ions is such a naturally, genuinely funny writer. I hugely enjoyed her first book 'Domestic Bliss and Other Disasters' ( avialable to order below ) and this sequel, about the same crazy family, was just as good if not better. The central narrator, Sally, is so endearing as she tries to maintain dignity and control but her circumstances - unreasonable friends, a politician husband she hardly sees, a houseful of guests that gets added to just like that - militate against this. Some super narrative hooks at the beginning - Jen's confession that she MAY have murdered her husband, Sally's indiscreet revelations about 10 Downing Street shenanigans in a letter that has 'disappeared', and a growing attachment to Max at her history course - really kept me reading, but the strength of the writing itself did the same.
I loved your book which brightened up my life no end. I laughed out loud so hard that I frightened the cat. I think you are a wonderful writer. So few books that say they are funny actually are and yours is magnificent.' Cathy Rentzenbrink
Published by Bluemoose Books, one of my favourite small publishers. Watch out for their stuff!
Marzahn Mon Amour, Katja Oskamp ( paperback Feb 2022)
£12.00
A RADIO 4 BOOK AT BEDTIME - WINNER OF THE INTERNATIONAL DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD 2023
I really enjoyed this quirky little insight into the life of personal service - probably relatable for a range of doctors, therapists and beauty providers. Translated from German.
A woman approaching the 'invisible years' of middle age abandons her failing writing career to retrain as a chiropodist in the suburb of Marzahn, once the GDR's largest prefabricated housing estate, on the outskirts of Berlin. From her intimate vantage point at the foot of the clinic chair, she keenly observes her clients and co-workers, delving into their personal histories with all their quirks and vulnerabilities. Each story stands alone as a beautifully crafted vignette, told with humour and poignancy; together they form a nuanced and tender portrait of a community.
Part memoir, part collective history, Katja Oskamp's love letter to the inhabitants of Marzahn is a stunning reflection on life's progression and our ability to forge connections in the unlikeliest of places.
Mrs Harts Marriage Bureau, Sheena Wilkinson ( paperback March 2024)
£9.99
In a world of lonely hearts, are there enough happy endings to go around? Marriage matchmaker seeks assistant; discretion essential, rose-tinted glasses optional… Matchmaker Martha Hart never got her happy ending: the Great War destroyed those dreams. Instead, her life's mission is to bring hope to other lonely hearts, though eligible bachelors are thin on the ground in 1930s Yorkshire.She hopes her new assistant, April McVey, will breathe new life into the bureau. The irrepressible Irish girl with the knack for putting her foot in it is full of modern ideas, but doesn't appear to have a romantic bone in her body. When lonely widower Fabian, and his enigmatic sister require their help, the bureau face their toughest challenge.
Are Martha and April about to discover that in the search for love, it's possible to find something else that's just as wonderful…? ‘A briskly witty delight’ Irish Times 'A charming treat of a novel, full of heart and hope' Hazel Gaynor
Mrs Porter Calling, A J Pearce ( paperback May 2024)
£9.99
AJ Pearce, the beloved author of Dear Mrs Bird... Brilliant, utterly charming and uplifting’ - Jill Mansell, author of Rumour Has It'
London, April 1943. Emmy Lake is most definitely Doing Her Bit for the war effort. The readers of her magazine, Woman’s Friend, are facing the hardships of life on the Home Front and they need Emmy and her support more than ever.
But when a glamorous new owner arrives at Woman’s Friend, Emmy soon realizes that the Honourable Mrs Porter could destroy everything. And then tragedy strikes. As Emmy’s own happiness turns to devastation, she must ask herself if she can find the strength to keep going.
Can she save the magazine so many people love? And can she weather her own heartbreak?'If ever there was a book to cheer a heart, it’s Mrs Porter Calling’ - Milly Johnson, author of My One True North'
Nuclear Family, Kate Davies ( paperback Feb 2025)
£9.99
When Lena buys DNA testing kits for her father Tom and her twin sister Alison, she thinks they’ll enjoy finding out where their ancestors come from, and what percentage Neanderthal they are. She has no idea the gift will blow her family apart. Tom is forced to admit that he isn’t his daughters’ biological father: he and his late wife, Sheila, used a sperm donor.
He's terrified Lena and Alison will reject him, and desperate to win back their trust – whatever it takes. Alison thinks DNA doesn’t matter. She and her wife are trying to start a family using donor sperm, too.
To her, Tom is their dad, and that’s that. But Lena becomes obsessed with tracking down their biological father. And when she discovers she has a half-brother – an actor with a blue tick on Instagram – she becomes obsessed with him, too… From the author of the Polari Prize-winning In at the Deep End, this is a very funny and deeply moving novel about identity, donor conception and what it means to be a family.
‘Funny, poignant, smart and wonderfully, achingly real’ SARAH WATERS 'I can’t think of another author who can make me ricochet so quickly from painful empathy to helpless laughter' ERIN KELLY
Piglet, Lottie Hazel ( paperback Jan 2025)
£9.99
For Piglet (an unshakable childhood nickname ) getting married is her opportunity to reinvent. Together, Kit and Piglet are the picture of domestic bliss - effortless hosts, planning a covetable wedding ...
But if a life looks too good to be true, it probably is. Thirteen days before they are due to be married, Kit reveals an awful truth, cracking the facade Piglet has created. It has the power to strip her of the life she has so carefully built, so smugly shared.
To do something about it would be to self-destruct. But what will it cost her to do nothing?As the hours count down to their wedding, Piglet is torn between a growing appetite and the desire to follow the recipe, follow the rules. Surely, with her husband, she could be herself again.
Wouldn't it be a waste for everything to curdle now?Piglet is the searing, unforgettable and original debut which is set to take readers by storm in 2024. - The prose is rich, you will feel hungry and satisfied with this entertaining novel!
Pineapple Street, Jenny Jackson ( Paperback Feb 2024)
£9.99
Pineapple Street in Brooklyn Heights is one of New York City's most desirable residences, and home to the glamorous and well-connected Stockton family . . .
Darley, the eldest daughter, has never had to worry about money. She followed her heart, trading her job and her inheritance for motherhood - but ended up sacrificing more of herself than she ever intended. Sasha is marrying into the wealthy Stockton family, who are worlds apart from her own.
She feels like the outsider, trying to navigate their impenetrable traditions and please her new mother-in-law - plus her hesitancy to sign a pre-nup has everyone questioning her true intentions. Georgiana, the youngest, is falling in love with someone she can't (and really shouldn't) have - and is forced to confront the kind of person she wants to be. Witty, escapist and full of heart, with an unmissable cast of loveable - if flawed - characters, Pineapple Street is a beautifully observed novel about the complexities of family dynamics, the miles between the haves and the have-notes, and the all-consuming insanity of first love - while also asking the age-old question, can money really buy you happiness?
Prisoners of Geography QUIZ BOOK
£16.99
Prisoners of Geography The Quiz Book : How Much Do You Really Know About the World?
Challenge friends and family with this interactive quiz book and discover who is the ultimate armchair explorer. 'Like having a light shone on your understanding' - Evening Standard on Prisoners of GeographyDo you know your continents from your countries, your landmarks from your latitudes, your mountain ranges from your rivers? Put your geographical and political knowledge to the test and discover your geography IQ with bestselling geopolitical author Tim Marshall. Covering every area of the globe, Prisoners of Geography: The Quiz Book tests your trivia with a variety of questions, puzzles, word games and maps, designed to challenge you whilst expanding your world knowledge.
Sandwich, Catherine Newman ( paperback from April 2025)
£9.99
One week in Cape Cod. The perfect family holiday. What could possibly go wrong...?For the past two decades, Rocky has looked forward to her family’s yearly escape to Cape Cod.
Their rustic beach-town rental has been the site of sweet memories, its quirky furniture and mismatched pots and pans greeted like old friends. Now, sandwiched between her children who are adult enough to be fun but still young enough to need her, and her parents who are alive and healthy, Rocky wants to preserve this golden moment forever. This one precious week when everything is in balance; everything is in flux.
But every family has its secrets and hers is no exception. With her body in open revolt and surprises invading her peaceful haven, the perfectly balanced seesaw of Rocky’s life is tipping towards change…
Saving Missy, Beth Morrey ( paperback, March 2021)
£8.99
Seventy-nine is too late for a second chance. Isn't it? Missy Carmichael is prickly, stubborn - and terribly lonely. Until a chance encounter in the park with two very different women opens the door to something new.
Something wonderful. Missy was used to her small, solitary existence, listening to her footsteps echoing around the empty house, the tick-tick-tick of the watching clock. After all, she had made her life her way.
Now another life is beckoning to Missy - if she's brave enough... 'A touching, deftly written debut that celebrates community and kindness' Sunday Times 'Moving and optimistic... will delight readers right up to the very last page' Stylist 'Bittersweet, tender, thoughtful and uplifting .
( I really enjoyed this! Linda )
Slug, Hollie McNish (paperback May 2022)
£12.99
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
'An intoxicating mixture of poetry and prose, Slug is a taboo-busting delight' SCOTSMAN
From Finnish saunas and soppy otters to grief, grandparents and Kellogg's anti-masturbation pants, Slug is a book which holds a mirror lovingly up to the world, past and present, through Hollie's driving, funny, hopeful poetry and prose. Slug is about the human condition: of birth and death and how we manage the possibilities in between. 'The inimitable words of poet/goddess Hollie McNish once again hold up honest, damn funny and refreshing takes on the everydayness of our lives .
This book is an uplifting and outrageous delight. A great introduction to the joys of poetry too.
( Now in paperback - visual is of hardback )
Talking At Night, Claire Daverley (paperback June 2024)
£8.99
Will and Rosie meet as teenagers. They're opposites in every way.
She overthinks everything; he is her twin brother's wild and unpredictable friend. But over secret walks home and late-night phone calls, they become closer - destined to be one another's great love story. Until, one day, tragedy strikes, and their future together is shattered.
But as the years roll on, Will and Rosie can't help but find their way back to each other. Time and again, they come close to rekindling what might have been. What do you do when the one person you should forget is the one you just can't let go
'Spellbinding, beautiful, lyrical and tender...a dazzling debut.
I loved every word and was left longing for more' ROSIE WALSH, author of THE MAN WHO DIDN'T CALL
The Book of Witty Women ( paperback April 2024)
£12.99
This anthology showcases the very best in humorous short story writing, by outstanding contemporary women writers, including Kathy Lette, Sadia Azmat, Lucy Vine, Josie Long, Paula Lennon, and many more. It includes the winning and shortlisted stories from the Comedy Women in Print Short Story Prize. From tales of a narcoleptic biscuit lover, con artists with a twist, and the accidental death of a hamster; to consequences of accidental gluing, the imagined world of extreme shopping, and the delightfully surreal world of canine dating, these 15 boldly imaginative stories range across a multitude of genres and themes.
Each proves the power of the short story to disarm, tickle or simply entertain.
Edited and introduced by Helen Lederer , Kathy Lette (Author) , Sadia Azmat (Author) , Josie Long (Author) , Lucy Vine (Author) , Paula Lennon (Author) , Kimberley Adams (Author) , Annemarie Cancienne (Author) , Kim Clayden (Author) , Jean Ende (Author)
The Divorcées, Rowan Beaird ( hardback May 2024)
£16.99
Lois Saunders thought that marrying the right man would finally cure her loneliness. But as picture-perfect as her husband is, she is suffocating in their loveless marriage.
In 1951, though, unhappiness is hardly grounds for divorce - except in Reno, Nevada. At the Golden Yarrow, the most respectable of Reno's 'divorce ranches' Lois finds herself living with half a dozen other would-be divorcees, all in Reno for the six weeks' residency that is the state's only divorce requirement. They spend their days riding horses and their nights flirting with cowboys, and it's as wild and fun as Lake Forest, Illinois, was prim and stifling.
But it isn't until Greer Lange arrives that Lois's world truly cracks open . . .
Gorgeous, beguiling, and completely indifferent to societal convention, Greer is unlike anyone Lois has ever met - and she sees something in Lois that no one else ever has. Under her influence, Lois begins to push against the limits that have always restrained her. But how much can she really trust her mysterious new friend? And how far will she go to forge her independence, on her own terms?Set in the glamorous, dizzying world of 1950s Reno, THE DIVORCEES is a deliciously slow-burn, atmospheric page-turner and a dazzling exploration of female friendship, desire, and freedom.
The Good The Bad - and the Little Bit Stupid. Marina Lewycka, ( pb, March )
£9.99
A LAUGH-OUT-LOUD NOVEL FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF A SHORT HISTORY OF TRACTORS IN UKRAINIAN
After walking out on his wife to shack up with 'Brexit Brenda' next door, George Pantis thinks he's got it made - especially when he wins millions on a Kosovan lottery he barely remembers entering. Unfortunately, he can't access the money because he's forgotten his password. What is he meant to tell all the forceful people who keep appearing at his doorstep desperate to know his mother's maiden name?The situation is shadier than he thinks, and George is need of rescue.
But will his dysfunctional family be able to save him, and in the process, can they save each other?
The Lodgers, Eithne Shortall ( paperback May 2024)
£9.99
One house, three strangers... Tessa- Activist, 69 years young. Not ready to sell up her big seaside house, but she knows a little help around the place would do wonders.
Conn - Looking for a quiet place to heal after a family tragedy, this seaside escape would be the perfect haven if it weren't for... Chloe - Arrives to drop off a package and leaves with a room. Her life is a bit of a mess, but this could be the start of a new chapter.
She's ready for change. But is she ready for Conn?'An ideal summer read ... by turns hilarious and heartbreaking' Irish Independent'This moving, funny and charming novel is reminiscent of Marian Keyes' Louise O'Neill
The Love of my Life, Rosie Walsh ( paperback July 2023)
£8.99
Who are you?Emma loves her husband Leo and their young daughter Ruby: she'd do anything for them. But almost everything she's told them about herself is a lie. And she might just have got away with it, if it weren't for her husband's job.Leo is an obituary writer and Emma is a well-known marine biologist, so, when she suffers a serious illness, Leo copes by doing what he knows best - reading and writing about her life. But as he starts to unravel her past, he discovers the woman he loves doesn't really exist. Even her name is fictitious.
When the very darkest moments of Emma's past life finally emerge, she must somehow prove to Leo that she really is the woman he always thought she was . . .
But first, she must tell him about the love of her other life. 'Stunning' Daily Mail'A winning combination of big emotions and didn't-see-that-coming twist' Good Housekeeping
The Most Fun we Ever Had, by Claire Lombardo ( paperback, June 2020)
£9.99
This book got a little overlooked when published as a hardback because it was simply gigantic. I predict late success with the paperback, it has been longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction and is a superb, engrossing read.
MARILYN has somehow fallen into motherhood and spent four decades married to DAVID, who's pretty certain he loves her more than anyone has ever loved another person.
WENDY, their eldest, a cause for concern, soothes herself with drink after being widowed young, while VIOLET, lawyer-turned-stay-at-home-mother, is disturbed by the reappearance of a son placed for adoption fifteen years earlier. LIZA, a professor, is pregnant with a baby she's not sure she wants by a man she's not sure she loves and GRACE, their dawdling youngest daughter, lives a lie that no one in her family suspects. 'A gripping and poignant ode to a messy, loving family in all its glory' Madeline Miller, author of Circe and The Song of Achilles'
Everything about this brilliant debut cuts deep: the humor, the wisdom, the pathos' Rebecca Makkai
The Paris Novel, Ruth Reichl ( paperback Feb 2025)
£9.99
Ripping open the envelope, she read Celia's last words to her. There was just one line written on the paper: 'Go to Paris.'The last word anyone would use to describe Stella St.Vincent is adventurous. She's perfectly comfortable with the familiar, strict routines of her life as a copyeditor in New York. Or at least, she is until she receives a mysterious note from her late mother and a one-way plane ticket to Paris. Alone and overwhelmed in a foreign city, Stella avoids new people and ventures out as little as possible.
But then she meets Jules, an octogenarian art collector with very different ideas about how she should spend her time in the French capital. And to start with, there's a vintage Dior dress with her name on it. Somewhere between the cramped shelves of Shakespeare and Company bookshop, the crisp tablecloths of the Brasserie Les Deux Magots and a pile of discarded paintings at a busy flea market, long-buried truths about Stella's own past begin to emerge. Soon she starts to wonder if there might not have been more to her mother's suggestion than she first suspected...
No one writes about food like Ruth Reichl... I consider her essential nourishment.' NIGELLA LAWSON
The Rachel Incident, Caroline O’Donogue (paperback June 2024)
£9.99
The Rachel Incident is an all-consuming love story. But it's not the one you're expecting. It's unconventional and messy.
It's young and foolish. It's about losing and finding yourself. But it is always about love.
When Rachel falls in love with her married professor, Dr Byrne, her best friend James helps her devise a plan to seduce him. But what begins as a harmless crush soon pushes their friendship to its limits. Over the course of a year they will find their lives ever more entwined with the Byrnes' and be faced with impossible choices and a lie that can't be taken back...
'A deliciously complicated and very real romance with some refreshing twists. O'Donoghue captures all the intensity of messy young love' MAIL ON SUNDAY
Order now for delivery with paperback publication around 6th June !
The Saint of Lost Things, Tish Delaney ( paperback April 2023)
£8.99
Lindy Morris is stuck. She lives in rural Ireland, banished to a lonely bungalow by her Granda Morris, with only her Auntie Bell and the TV for company. But one day Lindy realises that life is not quite what she thought it was: her mother's disappearance and her own lost years need to be brought out into the light.Suddenly Lindy is awake, uncovering the very secrets that will release her from her past. Told with devastating wit and poignancy, THE SAINT OF LOST THINGS is the triumphant story of an unlikely heroine as she makes her bid for freedom.
The Wake Up Call, Beth O’Leary ( paperback Feb 2024)
£9.99
They'll do anything to save the hotel, except work together . . .Welcome to Forest Manor Hotel, where the staff and guests are one happy family. Except for Izzy and Lucas - bitter rivals banned from working the same shift, for everyone's sake. After struggling for years, the hotel may soon have to close its doors forever.
But when Izzy returns a guest's lost wedding ring, the reward convinces management this might fix everything. With four rings still sitting in lost property, Izzy and Lucas are forced to work together to try to save the day. But as their rivalry becomes something much more complicated, Izzy and Lucas start to wonder if there's more at stake here than the hotel's future .
This Is Happiness, by Niall Williams ( paperback 2020)
£9.99
A new novel from the wonderful Niall Williams ( History of the Rain, Four Letters of Love).
One of my favourite books of 2020 - Linda
Change is coming to Faha, a small Irish parish unaltered in a thousand years. For one thing, the rain is stopping. Nobody remembers when it started; rain on the western seaboard is a condition of living.
But now - just as Father Coffey proclaims the coming of the electricity - the rain clouds are lifting. Seventeen-year-old Noel Crowe is idling in the unexpected sunshine when Christy makes his first entrance into Faha, bringing secrets for which he needs to atone. Though he can't explain it, Noel knows right then: something has changed.
As the people of Faha anticipate the endlessly procrastinated advent of the electricity, and Noel navigates his own coming-of-age and his fallings in and out of love, Christy's past gradually comes to light, casting a new glow on a small world. Harking back to a simpler time, This Is Happiness is a tender portrait of a community - its idiosyncrasies and traditions, its paradoxes and kindnesses, its failures and triumphs - and a coming-of-age tale like no other. Luminous and lyrical, yet anchored by roots running deep into the earthy and everyday, it is about the power of stories: their invisible currents that run through all we do, writing and rewriting us, and the transforming light that they throw onto our world.
Tom Lake, Ann Patchett ( paperback June 2024)
£9.99
This is a story about Peter Duke who went on to be a famous actor. This is a story about falling in love with Peter Duke who wasn't famous at all. It's about falling so wildly in love with him - the way one will at twenty-four - that it felt like jumping off a roof at midnight.There was no way to foresee the mess it would come to in the end. It's spring and Lara's three grown daughters have returned to the family orchard. While picking cherries, they beg their mother to tell them the one story they've always longed to hear - of the film star with whom she shared a stage, and a romance, years before.
Tom Lake is a meditation on youthful love, married love, and the lives parents lead before their children are born. Both hopeful and elegiac, it explores what it means to be happy even when the world is falling apart. 'One of our greatest living chroniclers of love and marriage ...
True Colours, James Simpson ( paperback August 2024)
£12.99
Derry on a plate ( with a side order of Strabane)… this book has joy, poignancy and humour all wrapped up in a Derry shaped package. Thoroughly enjoyable, quirky and heartwarming.
- signed copies available!
Welcome to Glorious Tuga, Francesca Segal ( paperback April 2025)
£9.99
’‘Full of romance, intrigue and friendships’‘Blue sea; small island; paradise. Sign me up!’‘
Zoologist Charlotte Walker has taken up a year-long fellowship on the tiny, remote island of Tuga de Oro to study the endangered gold coin tortoises in the jungle interior. She is warmly embraced by the tight-knit community of islanders – and their animals – who are keen to adopt Charlotte as Tuga’s first vet.
But Charlotte has a family secret that connects her to the island. She is determined to solve the mystery: she just needs to make sure she stays focused on her research, and absolutely does not fall in love with the first man she meets…’A much-needed escape, I warmly recommend this beauty’ NIGELLA LAWSON
