BOOKSIMO

  Description What if you could write your own perfect storyline...? The heartwarming, feelgood novel from the much-loved  Sunday Times  bestselling author, Milly Johnson Polly Potter is surviving, not thriving. She used to love her job as a business consultant, turning around businesses that were on their uppers – until her mentor died and her new boss decided to make her life hell. She used to love her partner Chris – until he cheated on her, and now she can’t forget. The only place where her life is working is on the pages of the novel she is writing – there she can recreate herself as a feistier, bolder, more successful version of herself – as the fictional Sabrina Anderson. But what if it was possible to start over again? To leave everything behind, forget all that went before, and live the life you’d always dreamed of? That’s how Polly finds herself as Sabrina, living at the heart of a noisy Italian family restaurant by the sea. Run by Teddy, the charming son of her...

  Description A BBC,  Financial  Times and  Cosmopolitan  What to Read in 2024 pick Set in a New York apartment building,  Fourteen Days  is an irresistibly propulsive novel with an unusual twist: each character in this diverse, eccentric cast of neighbours has been secretly written by a different, major literary voice - from Margaret Atwood and John Grisham to Emma Donoghue and Celeste Ng. One week into lockdown, the tenants of a run-down apartment building in Manhattan have begun to gather on the rooftop each evening and tell stories. With each passing night, more and more neighbours gather, bringing chairs and milk crates and overturned pails. Gradually the tenants – some of whom have barely spoken to each other before now – become real neighbours. A dazzling, heartwarming and ultimately surprising narrative,  Fourteen Days  is an ode to the power of storytelling and human connection. Includes writing from : Charlie Jane Anders, Margaret A...

  Description *The sparkling new novel from the award-winning, million-copy bestselling author of  The Maid* ‘Witty, joyful and utterly unique’  A J FINN ‘Captivates from page one’  JANICE HALLETT ‘A flawless and brilliant read’  LIZ NUGENT _________________________________________________________________ A new mess. A new mystery . Molly the maid returns . . . Molly Gray wears her Head Maid badge proudly for every shift at the Regency Grand Hotel, plumping pillows, sweeping up the guests’ secrets, silently restoring rooms to a state of perfection. But when a renowned guest – a famous mystery writer – drops very dead in the grand tea room, Molly has an unusual clean-up on her hands. As rumours and suspicion swirl in the hotel corridors, it’s clear there’s grime lurking beneath the gilt. And Molly knows that she alone holds the key to the mystery. But unlocking it means thinking about the past, about Gran, and everything else she’s kept tidied away in her memory ...

  Description A gripping mystery with a heart-breaking revelation,  The Secrets Between Us  is a sublimely satisfying story of lost love, betrayal and the dangers of war. ‘Sublimely satisfying’ Veronica Henry, author of  The Forever House High in the mountains in the South of France, eighteen-year-old Ceci Corvin is trying hard to carry on as normal. But in 1943, there is no such thing as normal; especially not for a young woman in love with the wrong person. Scandal, it would seem, can be more dangerous than war. Fifty years later, Annie is looking for her long-lost grandmother. Armed with nothing more than a sheaf of papers, she travels from England to Paris in pursuit of the truth. But as she traces her grandmother’s story, Annie uncovers something she wasn’t expecting, something that changes everything she knew about her family – and everything she thought she knew about herself… Perfect for fans of Kate Morton's  The Lake House  and Dinah Jeffries'...

  Description Now in his seventies, Robert Parkin is stunned to find himself the unlikely sex symbol of the village gardening club. Living in happy solitude with his cat Isaac Mewton in the Devon village of Millbrook, entertained by his mischievous chickens and goats, Robert has never figured out the rules of romance. But as the local ladies vie for his company, it soon becomes clear that Robert’s Victoria Sponge cake is the lure, and as his baking prowess grows, so does his confidence. Cheesecakes, meringues, puddings, Robert can do it all, but his real masterpieces are his scones – ginger, rosemary, coconut, fruit, his recipes are inspired and soon come to the attention of the local media. Which county does the best cream tea – Devon or Cornwall? It’s time for an age-old debate to be settled with a competition. Robert’s sisters Bunty and Hattie are both at crossroads in their lives, so news of their brother’s baking competition is the perfect excuse to bring them to Millbrook. An...

  Description One split-second decision. Two different love stories. Lucy's life is at a crossroads. She's just walked out of her unrewarding job and has no idea about her next step: use her savings to pursue her dream of becoming a writer, or move to London to try and revive her career? It almost seems like fate that on that same night she meets Caleb, a stranger in a bar, and runs into Max, the one-time love of her life. Should Lucy stay in the seaside town she grew up in, and in doing so, get to know Caleb better? Or should she go to London and reconnect with Max again after he broke her heart a decade ago? It's just one decision - but sometimes one decision can change the course of your whole life . . . WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN is a sweeping and unforgettable novel for anyone who has ever believed in destiny and soulmates - or paused to wonder what your life might look like if you'd made a different choice. Review If you've seen the film Sliding Doors or read the Tw...

  Description It's never too late for the adventure of a lifetime . . . Heather Winterbottom  has worked side by side with her husband as GPs in their idyllic rural practice for over forty years. But as the time comes to hang up their stethoscopes, the Winterbottoms discover that they have rather different visions of retirement . . . Heather dreams of exploring the Greek Islands, of escaping the shackles of her routine life and embracing an exciting new adventure. Alan dreams of growing his own vegetables. When things come to a head at a family lunch, Heather announces that she has decided to take a year off. From her old life, from her marriage - from Alan. Alone in beautiful Greece, Heather embarks on her very own odyssey - complete with peak experiences, pitfalls and temptations. But what if coming home is the biggest adventure yet? Review There were so many facets to this story and I enjoyed all of them. What I loved most about this book is that it covered lots of things I...