Showing results by publisher "Hachette UK - Bookouture" in Literature & Fiction

Hailey has always been told she can have it all. And saying yes to every opportunity that comes her way seems like the obvious way to make sure she gets it. But somewhere between saying "yes" to Vivian’s latest demands and still trying to make it home on time for box sets and burritos on the sofa with Dom, Hailey has lost sight of what she really wanted in the first place.

Lauren has spent years running away from her home town, her childhood, and the memories of her best friend, Hannah. Until the 10th anniversary of Hannah’s death forces her to return home and to the group of friends she abandoned there. It should be a quick visit, just so Lauren can pay her respects. At home, Lauren finds Hannah’s old diary. A diary full of secrets. The terrible things Lauren did, the lies she’s told, the reason she ran away. And she receives a message: "I don’t know why you’re back, but I know why you left." Hannah’s dead, isn’t she?

We were the perfect family once. Shep, my handsome husband. My darling little boy… and our tiny baby girl. The night she died I lost everything. I know without a shadow of a doubt that I would never, ever have hurt her. I was trying to save her. But nobody believed me. So, I can only watch through the rain-streaked window as Shep’s new girlfriend plays mother to my son. Hugs him, holds him. Does he even remember me? Now I am finally out of the hospital, I will make sure everyone knows what really happened. I will get my son back. The doctors might say my nightmares are dangerous…

While war rages across the world, Kate struggles on her family farm by the wild Atlantic Ocean. But when she meets American airman Tony, whose blue eyes are as stormy as the sea, her life collides with the war in ways she never imagined.Their time is cut short when Tony leaves for war, promising to come back for her. Only then does Kate learn she is carrying his child - and when her family finds out, she is shunned and banished to a Magdalen Laundry to be imprisoned.

Germany, 1939: When Rosa Herzelfeld boards the SS St Louis, she doesn’t believe its promise of freedom. Surely there can be no escape from the Nazis, not even on the other side of the world. Besides, she knows that no matter how far she travels, there is no escaping her past....

When her fiancé is tragically killed in an accident, 26-year-old Alba is convinced she’s to blame. Heavy with grief and guilt, she flees to her childhood home - the tiny village of Rofelle, nestled in a remote Tuscan valley. Out hiking one day to fill the long, lonely hours, she finds a mahogany box filled with silverware, hidden near the vine-covered ruins of an isolated house left abandoned after World War II. Could finding the rightful owner ease Alba’s heartache, and somehow make amends for her own wrongs?

Tessa has always dreamed of her own business. And when a beautiful run-down house comes up for sale in the Southern town of Bellegrove, she knows it has perfect potential to be an amazing one-stop wedding shop. Teaming up with wedding planner to the stars Stefan, cake-baker extraordinaire Ama, and dress designer Natalie, they’re ready for big things. They’ve even found their first client - a sweet old lady named Bianca, who’s desperate to give her grandson a spectacular wedding. But as the big day approaches, things start to go wrong.

Manchester, England 1965. Little Kathy Openshaw is waiting in the car, with only her toy doll for company, while her mother Connie visits close friends Myra and Ian. But when Connie returns to the car, Kathy has vanished. Instantly, she thinks of the news reports of the children who have gone missing from the area. Parents everywhere are worried sick. Connie is struck with terror: What kind of mother leaves their child alone, when a kidnapper is on the loose? Listen to this pulse-pounding, heart-wrenching, and unforgettable story.

I count down the days until we can leave the city behind and return to the beach house. Where James and Katie can roam free over the dunes, like they did as children, and Peter will swap his six a.m. starts for the stacks of fluffy pancakes he lovingly serves up for our family breakfasts. These sun-drenched, golden days, just the four of us, are what I hold on to all year long. But this summer, Katie’s best friend will be coming with us. I tell myself the girls will have fun together, pushing aside the doubts I have about this uninvited guest. Isa. 

Berlin, 1939. Edith Falkenstein once lived a fairy-tale life. Falling in love with Julius introduced her to a world she had only dreamed of. She wore the finest silk dresses to host parties in their historic mansion home. But those days are a distant memory. Under Nazi rule, her Jewish husband, Julius, has been stripped of everything. Now the couple share a cramped apartment with other destitute families, and the priceless jewels that once adorned Edith’s neck have been sold to buy food on the black market.

For Sydney Flynn, her treasured family home, Starlight Cottage, is her sanctuary. The house on the beach, surrounded by glittering turquoise waters, is the perfect place for her fresh start, piecing her life back together after it fell apart. That’s until her knees almost buckle at the sight of Nate Henderson. Nate is back to make it up to Sydney, but can she forgive him for all the heartbreak he caused? And it’s not only about her - Sydney is a single mother to Robby, her whole world, and she won’t let just anyone into their lives. Can she trust that Nate has really changed?

When the call finally comes, my life as I know it is over—my job as a teacher, my marriage, my family are all gone. In a heartbeat, I’ve lost everything that ever mattered to me. All because of one secret and what someone thinks she saw....

A Barefoot Summer is a beautiful, touching story about coming home, the importance of family, and the special place that first loves hold in our hearts. Sometimes you find perfect where you least expect it. Libby Potter has just lost the perfect job, the perfect apartment and the perfect boyfriend. Moving back to the home town that she couldn’t wait to escape when she was younger was definitely not on her to-do list. Especially as it means running into the man whose heart she broke when she left.

Marisa is the town busybody in the affluent suburb of Gledhill in the Hamptons. She gave up everything to be Mrs. Avery Thurston, and now that her twin girls have left home her life lacks a purpose; coffee and gossip with her best friends are all she has left. When Jodi, a vulnerable, pregnant girl turns up on her doorstep, Marisa is quick to come to the young girl’s aid. But Jodi isn’t just an innocent young girl. The father of her unborn child is someone the women know very well.

I haven’t seen my brother for 20 years. Not since he killed the man I loved. And now he’s back. I have imagined this scene a million times. But nothing could prepare me for what he actually says: “I didn’t do it.” He must be lying. Because, who pleads guilty to a murder they didn’t commit? He insists that with my help he can prove his innocence. But no one else will ever believe it. Everyone in our small town wants him gone. 

I didn’t turn up uninvited. He asked me to come. He didn’t need to ask twice. He knew I’d agree. Kind Laura. Obedient Laura. Laura the soft-spoken schoolteacher with the faded cardigans and flat shoes. Nobody ever suspected someone like me would appeal to handsome, charismatic, happily married Ralph. I think even he was surprised by his choice. But I’m used to people underestimating me. But then maybe I underestimated Ralph, too. Because I never thought he’d be capable of doing what he did. It wasn’t only dangerous, it was very, very wrong. 

When I found out I was pregnant, I couldn’t have been happier. Ever since my own father died, I’d felt utterly lost. But you changed everything. Finally, I had found my purpose: to be the best mother I could be. But I couldn’t–wouldn’t–tell anyone who your father was. I could never forget the look in his eyes that day. The betrayal written across his face. All the things we didn’t say and the secret that tore us apart.

The hidden village was meant to keep them safe, but the Nazis have found it.... There’s no time to lose. Laura gathers the children and whispers to them to be brave. The smallest cowers in her arms as they hear the crack of gunshots outside. Laura knows they’ll have to run if they are to survive....

When her gram passes away, Melanie Simpson feels utterly lost. She has no idea what to do with her life after she has devoted years to looking after her beloved grandmother. But Gram’s will may hold the answer, instructing Melanie to use her inheritance to buy a crumbling house in Rosemary Bay. They used to visit the village every summer, sit by the sparkling gulf on a beach the color of a fresh pearl, and daydream about turning the place on the corner into a bed and breakfast.

In a freezing, isolated farmhouse with ice on its windows, Flora is looking after her sick mother. Since she was a little girl, Flora has been frightened of her mother. And when she discovers a photo of a smiling baby girl she doesn’t recognize, hidden at the bottom of a drawer, her mother grows even more remote, and refuses to talk about it. So, when a visitor arrives from a paradise island of sapphire coves and white sand beaches, and confirms that the baby in the picture is her sister, she should feel joy. But, he also brings the news that Flora’s sister is dying.