Showing titles in Friendship

Recently married, Barbara should now be enjoying her life as a newlywed, but she is plagued by a secret that she must keep hidden if she wants to keep the family she loves. But no one can keep a secret forever. Barbara knows that if her new husband Alex, a Spitfire pilot, discovers her secret he would surely reject her and their marriage would be over. But when a tragedy almost rips the family apart and then Alex is posted abroad, Barbara has to learn to live without him sooner than she thought.

July 1914. Britain is in turmoil as WW1 begins to change the world. While the young men disappear off to foreign battlefields, the women left at home throw themselves into jobs meant for the boys. Hiding her privileged background and her suffragette past, Constance Copeland signs up to be a Clippie on the trams in Staffordshire, despite her parents' disapproval. Constance, known as Connie, soon makes fast friends with lively fellow Clippies, Betty and Jean, as well as growing closer to the charming, gentle Inspector Robert Caldwell.

After the death of her beloved mill-owner father, thirteen-year-old Darcy Earnshaw is left in the care of her lascivious uncle Abe. Not only is he determined to steal her inheritance, but as she blossoms into a captivating young woman, he longs to steal her innocence too. Desperate to avoid his advances, Darcy decides to flee. Alone and homeless, she is soon taken under the wing of John Carver, a kind-hearted beloved street performer and his family who is captivated by Darcy’s beautiful voice.

Beloved New Yorker writer Lore Segal, at ninety-five years old, is a national treasure. Working at the height of her powers, in this story collection she turns her gimlet eye and compassionate humor on aging and life in the slow lane. From the master of the short short comes a collection of sixteen new stories featuring old friends who have loved and lunched together for over forty years. These erudite, sharp-minded nonagenarians offer startling insights into friendship, family and aging.

Brisbane, 1983: A lost father, a mute brother, a mum in jail, a heroin dealer for a stepfather and a notorious criminal for a babysitter. It's not as if Eli's life isn't complicated enough already. He's just trying to follow his heart, learning what it takes to be a good man, but life just keeps throwing obstacles in the way – not least of which is Tytus Broz, legendary drug dealer. But Eli's life is about to get a whole lot more serious. He's about to fall in love. And he has to break into prison on Christmas Day, to save his mum.

Since having to drop out of her design degree, Bella Douglas has been unlucky in just about everything life has thrown at her. She’s lost more jobs than she cares to remember and despite her Granny Isla’s best attempts to set her up with every eligible bachelor in the Scottish Highlands and she’s still single. Currently PA to her best friend, aka, Lady Olivia MacBain, at the 17th century Drumblair Castle, Bella is yet to find a role that sets her soul on fire.

When their latest adventure takes a dangerous turn, brothers Peter Pollock and Matt Brown and their friends find themselves trapped on Granite Peak in Fishtail, Montana, in a battle for survival. Fear reverberates through the town as their parents grow ever more desperate to hear word that their children have been found. They must place their own trials aside amid a massive search-and-rescue operation. And as they come to lean on one another for support, a media frenzy ensues, heightening tensions and testing some already fragile relationships.

Ellen Russell embarks on the Ultimate Summer —two whole months without the stifling confines of work drudgery, school runs, or juggling the household's never-ending demands. This year promises the idyllic, laughter-filled summer of her dreams with her best friend, Hannah, and their Precious Moppets. But can a summer filled with wicker picnic hampers, vintage bicycles, and a sun-kissed trip to the in-laws' almost-chateau truly live up to The Vision?

Stella fell in love with Simon hard and fast. He was everything she wanted in a husband, and he seemed to feel the same way about her. More than a decade of marriage later, life is sweet. They have three much-wanted children, a successful business and a comfortable London home. What more could Stella possibly want? But then, out of the blue, Simon is gone. Vanished. No one knows where he’s gone or why. Now Stella, with the help of her friends and family, has to pick up the pieces of her and her children’s life, all the while wondering what she missed.

Holly is feeling on top of the world - celebrating a new promotion and dying to pop the champagne with her best friend Roz. But is Holly just imagining things, or is Roz - who supported her every step of the way - not as happy for her as she should be? Something about Roz's behaviour doesn't add up. And soon Holly has the sneaking suspicion that there's a target on her back. Has someone been playing dirty in a war Holly didn't know she was fighting? And is Roz more tangled up in this than she'll admit? Only one woman can be left standing - but will the best woman win?

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. 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.

Adrift in her early thirties, Mary sets out to change her life, one ill-advised decision at a time. First, she books a spontaneous flight to Ibiza where she meets Tom, a brilliant young chemist working on an experimental drug called Eudaxa that claims to cure the anxieties of modern life. As their connection deepens, Mary thinks she might finally be falling in love. Then Mary lands a job at Openr, an innovative dating app with no limits. Its founder, Mary’s ex girlfriend Lara, will do everything it takes to make it a global phenomenon.

Thea Fox is just twelve years old when her parents are brutally slain. With Thea's help the police are able to put their murderer - a psychotic serial killer called Ray Riggs - behind bars for life. Changed forever, Thea slowly learns to come to terms with the events of that terrible night and builds a new life in a small country town where she can breathe in the smells of pine, fresh bread and her grandmother's homemade candles. But the connection that helped Thea put her parents' killer behind bars will come to haunt her.

Blackpool, November 1942. Wartime worries fail to dampen the glitz and glamour of the ballroom in the run-up to Christmas. After all, life is for living. Newlywed Pearl's bliss is cut short when her beloved Bernie is called up into the Army. Will dancing at the Tower Ballroom take the edge off her heartache or will it throw temptation her way? Unexpected news of an inheritance presents Joy with a different dilemma. Should she move to Scotland in line with her parents' final wishes or stay in Blackpool to dance with Tommy, the man she loves?

Three years after the Essex Dogs battled through the Siege of Calais, the Black Death has torn through Europe. Romford, basking in his new riches, now finds himself living as a knight errant. Loveday, whose businesses have been destroyed by the plague, must return to the life he vowed to abandon: fighting. And Millstone and Thorp enlist themselves on a deadly mission to escort a princess to Castille.

It’s the hottest day of the 1976 heatwave and there’s not a breath of fresh air in the labour ward at Lincoln County Hospital. Michelle is having her fourth child, a girl, while beloved husband Dean is sipping a cold pint in the pub. Their little house is already bursting at the seams, but Michelle is sure they’ll find a way to stretch their budget and continue life as a blissfully chaotic happy family. They name their new baby Donna.

The inhabitants of the Inventor's Housing Estate keep themselves to themselves. There are the friendly 'Hellos' when commutes coincide and the odd cheeky eye roll when the wine bottles clank in number seven's wheelie bin, but it's not exactly Ramsay Street. The dilapidated community centre is no longer the beating heart of the estate that Becky remembers from her childhood. So the new pottery class she's helped set up feels like a fresh start. And not just for her.

When an ex’s heartbreak stirs up some emotions from the past, Phoebe realises she must deal with some unfinished business. It would seem a miracle is needed to pull off a happy ending for everyone – but is it within Phoebe's power to work miracles?

At Ridgewood High, Amy, Frankie, Rachael, and Nina formed a deep bond. Now, 15 years after leaving school behind, they’re back for a reunion, laughing, reminiscing, and chatting how much has changed - and how much hasn’t. But Frankie has an idea to help solve that: a singles cruise for the holidays.

Sentaro has failed. He has a criminal record, drinks too much, and his dream of becoming a writer is just a distant memory. With only the blossoming of the cherry trees to mark the passing of time, he spends his days in a tiny confectionery shop selling dorayaki, a type of pancake filled with sweet bean paste. Into his life comes Tokue, an elderly woman with disfigured hands and a troubled past. Tokue makes the best sweet bean paste Sentaro has ever tasted. She begins to teach him her craft, but as their friendship flourishes, social pressures become impossible to escape.

Recently widowed Venetia Hamilton Hargreaves is left with a huge house, a bank balance to match and an uneasy feeling that she's been sleepwalking through the last fifty years. Determined to live fully again, she embraces life with an enthusiasm and purpose she'd forgotten she could muster. Buying the dilapidated Phoenix Ballroom and with it a drop-in centre and spiritualist church could be seen as reckless, but Venetia's generosity, courage and kindness provide a refuge for a touching cast of damaged and lonely people who find their chosen family.

Kitty Cox is adjusting to a new life alone. She’s spent several years caring for her ailing husband but now she’s having to adjust to a life without him.When Kitty’s old friend Vee reappears in the village in desperate need of a place to stay, Kitty quickly sees an obvious solution to both their dilemmas. She invites Vee, her new partner Raf and young son Bear to move in with her for the summer.

Eudora Honeysett is done - with all of it. Having seen first-hand what a prolonged illness can create, the 85-year-old has no intention of leaving things to chance. With one call to a clinic in Switzerland she takes her life into her own hands. But then 10-year-old Rose arrives in a riot of colour on her doorstep. Now, as precocious Rose takes Eudora on adventures she’d never imagined, she reflects on the trying times of her past and soon finds herself wondering - is she ready for death when she’s only just experienced what it’s like to truly live?

October 1940. Twenty-three-year-old Bobby Bancroft is working as a typist for a city newspaper, but she longs to be breaking the news herself. When she successfully applies for a junior reporter role at The Tyke, a magazine serving the Yorkshire Dales, she's thrilled – even if she only gets the position because so many men are away fighting. Bobby moves to the sleepy village of Silverdale, but she quickly discovers life in the countryside is a different world.

Vera Wong, tea house owner and occasional sleuth should feel content. Her son Tilly has moved in with his girlfriend, and the shop has been inundated with customers. But Vera can’t help feeling a little… bored. Sometimes, all an old lady wants is a murder to solve. Is that too much to ask for? Then Vera comes across a distressed young woman called Millie, whose friend Xander has gone missing. Is this Vera's chance to get out her trusty notebook and solve another mystery?

Once upon a time, Dr. Emily Nichols—the academic kind, not the physician kind—was an eco-crusader who was shot with water cannons, hunted by poachers, and chased by a bulldozer. Now? Action Emily lives in a bland condo with gray walls and teaches disengaged students at a university alongside a risk-allergic boyfriend, asking herself every day: How did I get here?

1925 - The Midland Canals. Born on the canals, feisty Beth Dawson, knows danger lurks in the shadows. When she falls victim to a vicious attack and knowing she might be pregnant, she quickly marries a fellow boatman. Her mundane existence is interrupted by the arrival of Anthony Wesley whose mission is to organise the impoverished boatmen for strike action. Anthony makes her feel valued and she wants to help the cause in any way she can. Along the way she makes friends with rebellious Abigail Gatehouse, daughter of the owner of the company. She too is in love with Anthony.

Estate 1978, in una piccola frazione del Meridione, spersa tra le immense distese di grano nella campagna arsa dal sole, Michele Amitrano ha 9 anni e un grande segreto da custodire: nei pressi di una casa abbandonata ha scoperto un buco nel terreno dove è tenuto prigioniero in condizioni disumane un bambino, Filippo. Pubblicato con grande successo nel 2001, Io non ho paura è ormai considerato un classico della nostra letteratura. Nel 2003, il regista Gabriele Salvatores ne ha fatto un film.

Poppy Greer is getting married and four of her old schoolmates are to be her trusted bridesmaids. They may have drifted but true friendships last a lifetime, don't they? Plus, who would pass on a free first-class ticket to white sands and bottomless cocktails on a private Caribbean island? But the women have underestimated their host, and each other. And as their darkest secrets are revealed, the trip of their dreams becomes the hen do from hell. Will anyone make it off the island alive?

Cathy Collins is a mum on a mission - to change her life. When her husband drops a midlife-crisis bombshell, Cathy decides it’s time to take control. No more laundry, teenage tantrums or housework. After years of putting herself last, she’s going to be first for a change. Cathy Collins is carving a new path, and nothing is going to get in her way.