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About Britain - Tim Cole

  Description In 1951, the Festival of Britain commissioned a series of short guides they dubbed ‘handbooks for the explorer’. Their aim was to encourage readers to venture out beyond the capital and on to ‘the roads and the by-roads’ to see Britain as a ‘living country’. Yet these thirteen guides did more than celebrate the rural splendour of this ‘island nation’: they also made much of Britain’s industrial power and mid-century ambition – her thirst for new technologies, pride in manufacturing and passion for exciting new ways to travel by road, air and sea. Armed with these  About Britain  guides, historian Tim Cole takes to the roads to find out what has changed and what has remained the same over the 70 years since they were first published. From Oban to Torquay, Caernarfon to Cambridge, he explores the visible changes to our landscape, and the more subtle social and cultural shifts that lie beneath. In a starkly different era where travel has been transformed by the pandemic and

Yours Cheerfully - A J Pearce

  Description The Times  Top Ten Bestseller From the  Sunday Times  bestselling author of  Dear Mrs Bird  comes  Yours Cheerfully,  the charming and hilarious tonic we've all been waiting for! 'Sweet, heart-warming and uplifting . . . Absolutely lovely!' - Marian Keyes, author of  Grown Ups 'Full of wit, friendship and the uplifting knowledge that when people come together, great changes can be made' - Katie Fforde, author of  Wedding Season London, September, 1941. Following the departure of the formidable Editor, Henrietta Bird, from  Woman’s Friend  magazine, things are looking up for Emmeline Lake as she takes on the challenge of becoming a young wartime advice columnist. Her relationship with boyfriend Charles is blossoming, while Emmy’s best friend Bunty, is still reeling from the very worst of the Blitz, but bravely looking to the future. Together, the friends are determined to Make a Go of It. When the Ministry of Information calls on Britain’s women’s magaz

The Girl Who Reads on the Metro - Christine Féret-Fleury

  Description For fans of  The Little Paris Bookshop  and  The Elegance of the Hedgehog ,  The Girl Who Reads on the Métro  is the French phenomenon by Christine Féret-Fleury, ready to charm book-lovers everywhere . . . When Juliette takes the métro to her loathed office job each morning, her only escape is in books – she avidly reads on her journey and imagines what her fellow commuters’ choices might say about them. Then she meets Soliman – the mysterious owner of the most enchanting bookshop Juliette has ever seen – and things will never be the same again. For Soliman believes in the power of books to change the course of a life, and he’s about to change Juliette’s forever . . . Review This book was on a list for  books to choose from in my library book reading group. The title of the book and the description drew me to this book, but in the end I was disappointed with it. I listened to the audio version of the book.  In essence this is a fairytale set in the real world. I hadn'

The Vanishing Half - Brit Bennett

  Description The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, southern black community and running away at age sixteen, it's not just the shape of their daily lives that is different as adults, it's everything: their families, their communities, their racial identities. Ten years later, one sister lives with her black daughter in the same southern town she once tried to escape. The other secretly passes for white, and her white husband knows nothing of her past. Still, even separated by so many miles and just as many lies, the fates of the twins remain intertwined. What will happen to the next generation, when their own daughters' story lines intersect? Weaving together multiple strands and generations of this family, from the Deep South to California, from the 1950s to the 1990s, Brit Bennett produces a story that is at once a riveting, emotional family story and a brilliant exploration of the American history of passing .  Looki

Love You Bad - Louise Mullins

  Description Kerensa lives a life of privilege few could imagine. Loving husband. Luxury home. Financial security. But in the attic of their sea view mansion is a secret waiting to be discovered, threatening to destroy their perfect marriage. When their daughter's au pair uncovers Dominic's carefully constructed illusion, one lie at a time, it ends in murder. But whose? A twisty page-turning psychological thriller perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell, Ruth Ware, and Louise Candlish. Yet will equally appeal to readers of romantic suspense by authors such as Kendra Elliot, Mary Burton, Melinda Leigh, and Willow Rose. Review Trigger warning for violence and strong/sexual language. I actually read this book in one sitting, as once I started I couldn't put it down. The story is told alternatively from the perspective of Domonic and Kerensa in five parts. The action also flips between the past and the present with each successive part bringing the past nearer to the present.  It'

Mrs March - Virginia Feito

  Description Shirley Jackson meets Ottessa Moshfegh meets  My Sister the Serial Killer  in a brilliantly unsettling and darkly funny debut novel full of suspense and paranoia George March’s latest novel is a smash hit. None could be prouder than Mrs. March, his dutiful wife, who revels in his accolades and relishes the lifestyle and status his success brings. A creature of routine and decorum, Mrs. March lives an exquisitely controlled existence on the Upper East Side. Every morning begins the same way, with a visit to her favourite patisserie to buy a loaf of olive bread, but her latest trip proves to be her last when she suffers an indignity from which she may never recover: an assumption by the shopkeeper that the protagonist in George March’s new book – a pathetic sex worker, more a figure of derision than desire – is based on Mrs. March. One casual remark robs Mrs. March not only of her beloved olive bread but of the belief that she knew everything about her husband – and herself

Masterpiece - Janet Pywell

  I'm delighted to be on the Blog Tour today for #MASTERPIECE Description NOT EVERYONE GETS A CHANCE AT A FORTUNE. BUT SHE'S ONLY ONE BURGLARY AWAY… Photographer, artist and art forger Mikky dos Santos has had a tough life and now she’s about to steal the world’s most famous stolen painting – Vermeer’s  The Concert –  worth $200 million. When Mikky’s flatmate is commissioned to paint one of the world’s most famous divas her life begins to spiral into chaos. An evil investigative journalist and a dangerous businessman are on the hunt to uncover Mikky’s darkest secrets and threaten her detailed plans. The race is on. This breathtaking protagonist is exhilarating and has attitude, yet underlying it all, a longing for human connection that makes you love her despite her own best efforts to push you away. There are rich glimpses into European cities, a savvy feel for the international art world and an electrifying female sleuth who blasts into your life with explosive excitement. Th