Showing results for "Quest" in Literary Fiction

When Ellie Chapman inherits a dilapidated farm, perched high up on the cliffs above the English Channel, it’s not long before she decides to launch a wedding business. After all, with a mum whose cake baking skills rival Mary Berry’s, and the perfect venue, it seems the natural choice.

She might be a total novice when it comes to the first wedding, but with a bride who leaves everything until the last minute, a vengeful ex-fiancé of her own, and the world’s naughtiest donkey...What could possibly go wrong?

It is the week before Christmas, and the cathedral city of St Albans is blanketed by snow. But beneath the festive lights, darkness is stirring. The frozen body of a young girl is discovered by the ice-covered lake. The police scramble for clues. A local woman, Jenny, has had visions of what happened the night of the murder. But Jenny is an exhausted new mother whose midnight wanderings pull her ever closer to the lake. Then another girl goes missing, and the community unravels. Neighbour turns against neighbour, and Jenny has no idea who to believe.

In her provocative debut, Carmen Maria Machado demolishes the borders between magical realism and science fiction, comedy and horror, fantasy and fabulism. Startling narratives map the realities of women's lives and the violence visited on their bodies, both in myth and in practice.

In a house full of history and secrets, the past will not stay where it belongs.... Lou has always loved Hill House, the derelict manor on the abandoned land near her home. As a child, the tragic history of its owners, the Mandevilles, inspired her dream to become a history teacher. But in her late 20s, working in a shop to pay off student debts, life is passing her by. That changes when a family disaster sends Lou’s life into a downward spiral, and she seeks comfort in the ruined corridors of Hill House.

A seemingly ordinary young man is forced to become a spiritual guru and takes a leap of faith. He sets off with his followers on a 600 km journey on foot, without money and belongings to test the truth of the scriptures and spiritual laws. Inspired by the life of a sparrow, which survives every day without any worry and never hoards for the future, he wishes to prove that survival, which has become a central concern of all human beings, is no big deal. He believes that human beings are destined to play a much bigger evolutionary role. A higher calling awaits us.

Melody Rosewood loves her new home in idyllic Sandcastle Bay. The beautiful little cottage on the edge of Sunshine Beach, with its bright yellow door and view of the sea, has captured her heart. And she loves being close by to her family and her best friend, Tori Graham. Life by the sea is pretty much perfect. There’s just one thing missing.... Gorgeous Jamie Jackson, with his cheeky grin and adorable puppy, works as a sculptor opposite Melody’s jewellery shop. From the moment he and Melody meet, sparks fly. But despite their instant attraction, a past heartache is holding Jamie back.

Sixteen-year-old Kate McGuire has a secret; her father, Joe has disappeared, and Kate, her mother Stella, and sister Emma are left to fend for themselves with little income and no one to turn to. For two years, they are heartbroken, wondering why he left, or whether he is still alive. Kate decides she must take on a role she never wanted; as caretaker for her abusive alcoholic mother and guardian of her sister who seems intent on finding the solace she needs her own way - a decision that leaves Kate almost unable to continue because of the hurt she causes.

Artist, lover, wife, mother: can one woman be them all? Born in 1924, Jennet Mallow grew up with a disillusioned mother and a father haunted by memories of war. But Jennet has a talent - and a passion - for art. When she meets the handsome painter David Heaton, they begin a tempestuous affair which takes them from the dank terraces of London to a bohemian artistic community in St Ives. But as Jennet's career flourishes, her relationship with David suffers - with potentially tragic consequences....

The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath is a novella by American writer H. P. Lovecraft. Begun probably in the autumn of 1926, the draft was completed on January 22, 1927 and it remained unrevised and unpublished in his lifetime. It is both the longest of the stories that make up his Dream Cycle and the longest Lovecraft work to feature protagonist Randolph Carter. Along with his 1927 novel The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, it can be considered one of the significant achievements of that period of Lovecraft's writing.

Motherhood has been one of the great blessings of Dawn Dix-Beaumont’s life, but with her children’s growing independence, it’s finally time for Dawn to return to teaching. However, Mother Nature has other ideas.... Rick Beaumont loves his family, but he’s busier than ever. With his high-flying career, two children and a third on the way, there’s a lot to juggle. Battling expectations, disappointments and a few surprises along the way, Dawn and Rick find their commitment to each other tested to the limit.

From the rubble-strewn streets of US-occupied Baghdad, the scavenger Hadi collects human body parts and stitches them together to create a corpse. His goal, he claims, is for the government to recognise the parts as people and give them a proper burial. But when the corpse goes missing, a wave of eerie murders sweeps the city, and reports stream in of a horrendous-looking criminal who, though shot, cannot be killed. Hadi soon realises he has created a monster: one that needs human flesh to survive - first from the guilty, and then from anyone who crosses its path.

Anna Francis lives in a tall old house with her father and her doll Penelope. She is a refugee, a piece of flotsam washed up in England by the tides of the Great War. Once upon a time, she had a mother and a brother, and they all lived together in the most beautiful city in the world. But that is all gone now, and only to her doll does she ever speak of it. And then one winter day, she finds an interloper in the attic. A boy named Luca with yellow eyes, who is as alone as she is. That day, she’ll lose everything in her life, and find the only real friend she may ever know.

In 2019, seventy-year-old Signe sets out on a hazardous voyage to cross an entire ocean in only a sailboat. She is haunted by the loss of the love of her life, and is driven by a singular and all-consuming mission to make it back to him.

Euridice is bright and ambitious. But this is Brazil in the 1940s, and society expects her to be a loving wife and mother. While Antenor is busy congratulating himself on his excellent catch, Euridice spends her spends her humdrum days ironing his shirts and removing the lumps of onion from his food, dreaming of the success she could have made of herself - as a writer, dressmaker or culinary whiz - in another life.

Lola and Pijin make up stories to test each other, stories of daring and adventure, of bad people and of Gwyn, who drives his ice cream up the hill to their town every week. Gwyn is a dangerous man, and Pijin knows it. Lola is not so sure. As they grow up and their friendship grows more complicated, some of their stories fall silent, but some will come true.

Caught in the hook of love, a young woman marries a dashing university professor. She moves to a rain-washed coastal town to be with him, but behind closed doors she discovers that her perfect husband is a perfect monster. As he sets about battering her into obedience, and as her family pressures her to stay in the marriage, she swears to fight back - a resistance that will either kill her or set her free.

The gripping story of a young boy and his family, driven from their home by war and indiscriminate violence. Like millions of others, they attempt the treacherous journey across their war-torn continent, trying to reach the safety of Europe. The truth is, Europe doesn't want them, and thousands die every month at the hands of thieves and profiteering men to whom life is cheap. Kalu believes that he can lead his family to safety. They have money and a plan, and Kalu is, after all, the smartest man in Monguno.

Samuel has lived alone for a long time. One morning, he finds the sea has brought someone to offer companionship and to threaten his solitude. An intense and powerful audiobook about guilt and fear, friendship and rejection; about the meaning of home.

Sometimes a broken heart can actually break you. Keisha Grant learnt that the hard way. Fifteen years ago, something happened on an ordinary Wednesday. Something that imploded her world, shattering her life as she knew it. It changed her forever - the girl she used to be is nothing but a faded memory. Ever since then, Keisha’s been in survival mode. The scar she covers with a tattoo is an important reminder: your heart can’t break if you don’t let it feel in the first place. It’s an insurance policy she lives by.

A remarkable man makes the journey from England to Berlin. He has six days left to live and must relate his life story before he dies. He has witnessed firsthand the rise of the Nazis, experienced family tragedy, fought in the German army, been interred in a POW camp and faced persecution in peacetime Britain. He has survived at the limits of human endurance. His secret is someone else's salvation.