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Normal Dog and the Legend of Self Esteem: A Formula Q Story - Alexander Charalambides

Description Kosuke is a perfectly normal dog with an unusual ambition: he wants to be a mechanic. He wants to design and build the powerful, exhilarating jetcars of Formula Q. His problem? He’s a dog. Some people just won’t take him seriously, and that includes his own brother.  Encouraged by Speedlord, an unknown subscriber to Kosuke’s lifestream, Kosuke decides to take one last shot at his dream, but when his big brother turns out to prove him wrong, the event becomes far more than just a race. Can Kosuke prove that he too can handle the awe-inspiring speed of the Hyper Q jetcars he longs to design or will he lose not just the race, but his hopes and dreams for the future? Will his brother succeed in proving he’s a no talent normal dog? Who exactly is Speedlord?  Normal Dog and the Legend of Self Esteem can be read alone or as part of a collection of YA stories and (so far) one novel (Formula Q - to be published September 2018) set in a bright, colorful future where cars fly, m

The Mistress of Pennington's - Rachel Brimble

Description 1910 – A compelling tale of female empowerment in Bath's leading department store. Perfect for the fans of the TV series  Mr Selfridge  and  The Paradise . Elizabeth Pennington should be the rightful heir of Bath's premier department store through her enterprising schemes and dogged hard work. Her father, Edward Pennington believes his daughter lacks the business acumen to run his empire and is resolute a man will succeed him. Determined to break from her father's iron-clad hold and prove she is worthy of inheriting the store, Elizabeth forms an unlikely alliance with ambitious and charismatic master glove-maker Joseph Carter. United they forge forward to bring Pennington's into a new decade, embracing woman's equality and progression whilst trying not to mix business and pleasure. Can this dream team thwart Edward Pennington's plans for the store? Or will Edward prove himself an unshakeable force who will ultimately ruin both Elizabeth a

The Lucky Dress - Aimee Brown

Description We all have our lucky dress... an irresistibly hilarious rom-com! Emi Harrison  hasn't been feeling particularly lucky lately. Ever since her ex-fiancée, Jack Cabot, successfully shattered her heart into a million pieces. She's managed to avoid him for a whole year, but all that's about to change at her brother Evan's wedding... She will have to face Jack, Jack's sister, Jack's parents, and Jack's new girlfriend: a mean girl that just won't quit.  What could possibly go wrong? With her lucky dress on, all bets are off, and maybe  Emi will find her happily-ever-after at last? Review I've actually read and reviewed this book before - except Aimee got a new publisher and rewrote the book and so it's not technically the same book at all. I never read books twice - I mean why would you when there are so many books to read. However, something about the previous version of the book "The Little Gray Dress" hooked me

How to Stop Time - Matt Haig

Description HOW MANY LIFETIMES DOES IT TAKE TO LEARN HOW TO LIVE? Tom Hazard has a dangerous secret. He may look like an ordinary 41-year-old history teacher, but he's been alive for centuries. From Elizabethan England to Jazz-Age Paris, from New York to the South Seas, Tom has seen it all. As long as he keeps changing his identity he can keep one step ahead of his past - and stay alive. The only thing he must not do is fall in love . . . Review If you've read my reviews before you will know I love time travel books. Now whilst this isn't strictly time travel, it's someone who has lived for a very long time, so it still felt a little like time travel and I loved it. I also love social history and this book has it in oodles, as Tom recounts some of his life from years past and then in the present day he points out how things in London have changed since Tudor times. I've read before accounts of the witch hunts and the dunking stool, but this brough

No Further Questions - Gillian McAllister

Description The police say she's guilty. She insists she's innocent. She's your sister. You loved her. You trusted her. But they say she killed your child. Who do you believe? Review I was a little torn when I began this book as I hadn't realised the child that had been killed was a baby. I wasn't sure I wanted to read it - but I have read her two previous books and really wanted to see what this book was like.  Most of the book is a court room scene and I'm not sure if that is why it took me a while to get into it. It also seemed to be an open and shut case and I found it hard to get interested for the first few chapters. Mainly because it was such an emotive read. Two sisters on opposing sides and a dead baby. As the witnesses were introduced the author also gave a little back story as to how they had seen the evidence from their point of view. This really was great observational writing and gave life to each of the characters, even

Convenience Store Woman - Sayaka Murata

Description Keiko has never really fitted in. At school and university people find her odd and her family worries she'll never be normal. To appease them, Keiko takes a job at a newly opened convenience store. Here, she finds peace and purpose in the simple, daily tasks and routine interactions. She is, she comes to understand, happiest as a convenience store worker. But in Keiko's social circle it just won't do for an unmarried woman to spend all her time stacking shelves and re-ordering green tea. As pressure mounts on Keiko to find either a new job, or worse, a husband, she is forced to take desperate action... A best-seller in Japan, and the winner of the prestigious Akutagawa Prize,  Convenience Store Woman  marks the English-language debut of a writer who has been hailed as the most exciting voice of her generation Review Having visited Japan I am working my way through books by Japanese authors. As soon as I read the words "Irasshaimase!" I wa

How Hard Can It Be? - Allison Pearon

Description Kate Reddy is back! The follow-up to the international bestseller I Don’t Know How She Does It, the novel that defined modern life for women everywhere. This time she’s juggling teenagers, ageing parents and getting back into the workplace, and every page will have you laughing and thinking: It’s not just me. Mail on Sunday’s Books of the Year Kate Reddy is counting down the days until she is fifty, but not in a good way. Fifty, in Kate’s mind, equals invisibility. And with hormones that have her in shackles, teenage children who need her there but won’t talk to her and ailing parents who aren’t coping, Kate is in the middle of a sandwich that she isn’t even allowed to eat because of the calories. She’s back at work after a big break at home, because somebody has to bring home the bacon now that her husband Rich has dropped out of the rat race to master the art of mindfulness. But just as Kate is finding a few tricks to get by in her new workplace, her old clien