May is fast approaching and I am looking ahead to some glorious looking new release books coming up.
Long Short Story by Victoria Walters
Who said romance was easy?
Assistant literary agent Freya Harrison never thought her chance at a big break would look like this: at a swanky romance conference in New York, managing the agency’s most insufferable client.
Sure, Jake Richards is a global best-selling author, adored by all his fans. But on meeting him, Freya finds him arrogant, condescending, and, worst of all, a complete phony.
After being overheard calling romance ‘easy money’ and his readers ‘fools’, Jake’s reputation is tanking. And it’s Freya’s job to clean up the mess – and maybe, finally prove her worth to her boss.
But with Jake one slip away from another PR disaster, doubts are starting to set in. Can she survive this week without losing her mind – or her heart?
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Be Mine by Lizzy Barber
Beth is a new mother struggling to find her place in the world. She is exhausted, mentally and physically, but her anxieties are not simply the fears of a first-time mum. A terror burns in her, fuelled by a secret past she is lucky to have escaped. When a letter arrives, bearing only the infinity symbol, Beth knows immediately it is from them. And that her past is finally catching up with her…
Ten years earlier, on the heels of a messy breakup, Beth meets the effervescent Marissa who introduces her to “Elixir” – a health and wellness organisation that she promises will change Beth's life forever. She quickly becomes intoxicated and convinced it is the solution to all her problems. No task is too great, even as the gruelling exercise classes become more frequent, even as the therapy sessions become more costly, even as their ‘requests’ become ‘demands,’ Beth convinces herself this is what she wants.
Then, when she falls for the brand’s enigmatic leader, Tate, she can’t imagine life without Elixir. But as Beth’s star begins to rise, Marissa’s starts to fall. And though Marissa tries to warn her of the darkness lurking beneath the brand’s gleaming exterior, Beth finds she cannot let go.
Be Mine is a story about identity: finding our place in the world today, and where we turn to belong in a godless modern society.
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So That Happened by Christy McKellen
Two strangers. One Bed…
After three months of travelling, all entrepreneur Connor Preston wants to do is return to his holiday home in the South of France, sink into his own bed and shut the world out temporarily. The last thing he expects is to find a stark-naked woman already there….
Forced by her business partner to take a break in her sumptuous French farmhouse, workaholic Josie Marchpane wasn't anticipating company either. So imagine her shock when six foot four inches of pure muscle with a disturbingly sexy smile stranger and apparent co-owner of the house walks in and tells her to leave!
Knowing she has every right to be there, Josie stands her ground, she’s not about to give up without a fight. Because Josie plays to win. The problem? Connor does, too. And with only one bed between them, things are about to get interesting….
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The Rebel of Seventh Avenue by Annabelle Marx
Fashion, I came to realise, wasn’t just about beautiful dresses. It was about self-respect, freedom of expression and power.
1910, Edinburgh. Young seamstress Maisie McIntyre’s world shatters with her mother’s death. Desperate to escape the grinding poverty that has defined her life so far, Maisie makes a daring choice: she steals a bolt of peacock-blue silk, a stash of money and sails for New York City.
With nothing but raw talent and fierce determination, Maisie’s gift for dressmaking opens doors she never imagined. As she builds her couture empire, designing bold, modern fashions for Manhattan’s elite, Maisie falls for Joseph Jackson, a talented Black architect with dreams as ambitious as her own. But in a world steeped in prejudice, she finds herself facing an impossible choice.
Vividly recreating the glamour and grit of early 20th century New York – from the devastating Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire to the emerging women’s rights movement – comes a sweeping tale of ambition, love and a woman determined to fashion not just beautiful clothes but her own place in a man’s world.
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Love Sick by Deidra Duncan
The first year of residency is hard, so when a rumour starts that intern Grace Rose slept her way into the program, she's determined to set the record straight. But after confronting fellow first year Julian, the situation goes from bad to worse.
Julian Santini worked hard to get onto this program, and he can't afford to get distracted. Especially by his beautiful colleague, who seems to hate everything about him . . .
With pressure mounting, they need to work together to survive the program. Can Grace and Julian put aside their rivalry to save their jobs? Or will the sizzling tension between them spell the end for them both?
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An Italian Wedding Adventure by Leonie Mack
Eight years ago, on 29th February, wedding planner Sophie-Leigh Kirke took matters into her own hands and proposed to the man she loved.
But when her boyfriend Andreas rebuffed the romantic gesture, heartbroken Sophie cut all contact with the gruff mountaineer, determined to get on with her life.
When the destination wedding agency she works for merges with an adventure travel company to create unique ceremonies for outdoor enthusiasts, Sophie is horrified to discover Andreas works there. Even worse: he's been assigned as her guide for a scouting trip to Italy, in search of the perfect location for a summit-top wedding.
Thrown together to make another couple’s romantic dreams come true, all Sophie can think about are the dreams she once had for them. But when the truth of what actually happened eight long years ago finally emerges, will Sophie risk imagining a happily-ever-after and opening her heart to Andreas again…?
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Big Bad Wool by Leonie Swann
A flock of sheep graze on the edge of a peaceful French forest. But these are not your average sheep and, in reality, the setting is far from tranquil. While the herd are the cleverest you will ever encounter, thanks to their shepherds' regular bedtime stories and previous testing of their detective skills, they are unprepared for a fresh threat.
Several sheep have recently disappeared, and other creatures have fallen prey to a shadowy figure. The theory of a werewolf might be just a wild fairy tale, but when a human is killed, it becomes clear that even fantasies can be fatal. Miss Maple, Mopple and the rest of the flock, with the help of their goat neighbours, follow the werewolf's trail in a desperate attempt to stop the killings with sheep logic, courage, and concentrated food.
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The Search for Othella Savage by Foday Mannah
When one of their own is found unconscious in the boot of her car, Scotland's Sierra Leonean community is cast into a state of shock. And the young woman's death a few days later sparks a murder investigation.
Though Hawa Barrie lives on the fringes of that community, which revolves around the Lion Mountain Church, the disappearance of a second woman - her childhood friend Othella Savage - draws her in.
But as the police investigation drags on, Hawa grows increasingly suspicious of the charismatic Pastor Ronald Ranka - and increasingly fearful for her friend, Othella. Desperate, she launches her own search, which will take her from Scotland to Sierra Leone and back again, revealing the true nature of Ranka's church whilst exposing dark secrets within the fabric of both countries she calls home.
A darkly compelling read inspired by a real incident, The Search for Othella Savage is an engaging and compulsive debut which examines the insidious nature of corruption - both religious and political - whilst also exploring the enduring power of friendship.
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Three Mothers by Hannah Beckerman
A heartbroken mother
When seventeen-year-old Isla Richardson is killed in a hit-and-run incident, a community’s lives are thrown into disarray. For Isla’s mum, Abby, it is her second devastating bereavement, having lost her husband five years ago. As Abby begins to uncover secrets about Isla’s life, she’s forced to rethink everything she thought she knew about her family.
A supportive best friend
For Abby’s best friend, Nicole, the tragic death sets in motion a chain of events that will have irreparable consequences for her husband and her two teenage sons.
A determined mum
For Jenna, Isla’s death threatens to expose secrets about her son’s past that she has done everything in her power to hide, to secure him a better future.
A tragedy unites them—but it could also tear their families apart
Tackling friendship, family, social prejudice and the pressures facing young women, Three Mothers asks: How well do we really know our children? And how far would any of us go to protect the people we love?
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The Cardinal by Alison Weir
AN EXTRAORDINARY RISE TO POWER. A TRAGIC FALL FROM GRACE.
It begins with young Tom Wolsey, the bright and brilliant son of a Suffolk tradesman, sent to study at Oxford at just eleven years old.
It ends with a disgraced cardinal, cast from the King's side and estranged from the woman he loves.
The years in between tell the story of a scholar and a lover, a father and a priest. From the court of Henry VIII, Tom builds a powerful empire of church and state. At home in London, away from prying eyes, he finds joy in a secret second life.
But when King Henry, his cherished friend, demands the ultimate sacrifice, what will Wolsey choose?
Alison Weir's riveting new Tudor novel reveals the two lives of Cardinal Wolsey, a tale of power, passion and ambition.
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