Weddings are at the forefront of my mind at the moment as my son is getting married very soon. I am a mixture of pride; that he's grown to be such an amazing man and wondering how my little boy grew up so quickly. I'm certain some of you understand exactly what I mean.
Not surprisingly, when I was in the library over the weekend, my attention was drawn to books about weddings as well as a couple of others. Does that happen to you? Do you find your reading choices reflect what is going on in your life?
Newlyweds Celestial and Roy are the embodiment of the American Dream. He is a young executive, and she is an artist on the brink of an exciting career. Until one day they are ripped apart by circumstances neither could have imagined. Roy is arrested and sentenced to twelve years for a crime Celestial knows he didn't commit.
Devastated and unmoored, Celestial finds herself struggling to hold on to the love that has been her centre, taking comfort in Andre, their closest friend. When Roy's conviction is suddenly overturned, he returns home ready to resume their life together.
Sara Loveday is changing her life. She's left home and crisis for the beautiful Greek island of Santaniki. There, amid the olive groves, where dark cypress trees step down to the cobalt blue sea, she sets up a wedding planning business, specialising in 'second time around' couples.
But almost at once things begin to go wrong. To make matters worse, a stranger from Sara's past arrives on the island, spreading vicious lies. Will her business survive? And what will happen with the new man she's just begun to love?
Bertie Wooster, recently returned from a very pleasurable soujourn in Cannes, finds himself at the stately home of Sir Henry Hackwood in Dorset. Bertie is more than familiar with the country house set-up: he is a veteran of the cocktail hour and, thanks to Jeeves, his gentleman's personal gentleman, is never less than immaculately dressed.
On this occasion, however, it is Jeeves who is to be seen in the drawing room while Bertie finds himself below stairs - and he doesn't care for it at all.
Love, as so often, is at the root of the confusion. Bertie, you see, has met Georgiana on the Côte d'Azur. And though she is clever and he has a reputation for foolish engagements, it looks as though this could be the real thing. However, Georgiana is the ward of Sir Henry Hackwood and, in order to maintain his beloved Melbury Hall, the impoverished Sir Henry has struck a deal that would see Georgiana becoming Mrs Rupert Venables.
Meanwhile, Peregrine ‘Woody' Beeching, one of Bertie's oldest chums, is desperate to regain the trust of his fiancée Amelia, Sir Henry's tennis-mad daughter.
But why would this necessitate Bertie having to pass himself off as a servant when he has never so much as made a cup of tea? Could it be that the ever-loyal, Spinoza-loving Jeeves has an ulterior motive?
Evoking the sunlit days of a time gone by, Jeeves and the Wedding Bells is a delightfully witty story of mistaken identity, a midsummer village festival, a cricket match and love triumphant.
Sarah Stratford is a wedding planner hiding a rather inconvenient truth - she doesn't believe in love. Or not for herself, anyway. But as the confetti flutters away on the June breeze of yet another successful wedding she somehow finds herself agreeing to organise two more, on the same day and only two months away.
Luckily Sarah has two tried and tested friends on hand to help her. Elsa, an accomplished dress designer who likes to keep a very low profile, and Bron, a multi-talented hairdresser who lives with her unreconstructed boyfriend and who'd like to go solo in more ways than one.
As the big day draws near, all three women find that patience is definitely a virtue in the marriage game. And as all their working hours are spent preparing for the weddings of the year, they certainly haven't got any time to even think about love. Or have they?
Inside every girl is a louding voice.
A voice to speak up for herself, for the girls who came before her and for all those who will follow.
As a third wife in a small Nigerian village, fourteen-year-old Adunni is expected to fade into silence.
But Adunni will not keep quiet. She's smart, funny and curious, with an infectiously joyful spirit. And despite adversity awaiting her at every turn, she's set on getting an education, no matter the cost.
Determined not to settle for her fate, Adunni embarks on a journey from her village to the wealthy enclaves of Lagos. A journey that will change her life and, if you listen closely, possibly yours...
Some say the river drowned her... Some say it brought her back to life
On a dark midwinter's night in an ancient inn on the Thames, the regulars are entertaining themselves by telling stories when the door bursts open and in steps an injured stranger. In his arms is the drowned corpse of a child.
Hours later, the dead girl stirs, takes a breath and returns to life.
Is it a miracle?
Is it magic?
And who does the little girl belong to?
An exquisitely crafted historical mystery brimming with folklore, suspense and romance, as well as with the urgent scientific curiosity of the Victorian age.
No comments:
Post a Comment