Today I am looking ahead to November. The nights will draw in, the heating will be on and it will be the perfect time to snuggle up with a newly released book.
Here are just ten that have caught my eye.
Old Girls Go Greek by Maddie Please
At 64, Meg Foster is ready to paint outside the lines
Newly divorced from overbearing husband Malcom and with only reruns of Bergerac and an irascible black cat called Ivan for company, Meg decides it’s time to add a little colour back into her life. So when she spots a flyer for a local art class at the Lower Begley community centre, she grabs a brush — despite her only painting experience being a half-hearted coat of magnolia in the downstairs loo.
Surrounded by a motley crew of charming amateur artists, Meg slowly begins to rediscover her spark with the help of the other old girls…and the only male in the group Derek. And when someone suggests a painting holiday to sun-soaked Santorini, Meg doesn’t hesitate to sign up. Whitewashed walls, turquoise seas and possibly even a Grecian god or two? Yes please!
As the sun sets over the Aegean, Meg starts to realise that life — like art — is all about perspective. Could this trip be more than just a wash of watercolour fun? Could friendship, freedom and a second-chance romance be just a sketch away?
Full of heart, humour and hues of every shade, relax with another joyful story from Maddie Please celebrating the power of reinvention, female friendship, and living boldly — no matter your age.
Queen Esther by John Irving
Esther Nacht is born in Vienna in 1905. Her father dies on board a ship from Bremerhaven to Portland, Maine, and anti-Semites murder her mother in Portland. In the orphanage at St. Cloud’s, it’s clear to Dr Larch, the physician and director of the orphanage, that the abandoned child not only knows she’s Jewish, but she’s familiar with the biblical Queen Esther she was named for. Dr Larch knows it won’t be easy to find a Jewish family to adopt Esther; he doubts he’ll find any family to adopt her.
When Esther is fourteen, soon to become a ward of the state, Dr. Larch meets the Winslows, a philanthropic family with a history of providing for unadopted orphans. The Winslows aren’t Jewish, but they detest anti-Semitism and similar prejudice. Esther’s gratitude to the Winslows is unending. As she retraces her steps to her birth city, Esther keeps loving and protecting the Winslows – even in Vienna.
The final chapter of this historical novel is set in Jerusalem in 1981, when Esther is seventy-six.
Murder and the Maitre'D by Alex Coombs
The Chilterns are at their best in May and The Old Forge Cafe is flourishing, which makes Charlie think about furniture that lives up to the standards her menu sets. Which is what persuades her to take on a job for a wealthy local businessman who suspects his daughter has fallen for a man who is not only a gold-digger but also a murderer.
To Charlie's surprise, she knows him – he's the Maitre d' at the Michelin-starred restaurant at the other end of the village. Does his charm conceal a killer?
A Million Miracles by Roberta Kagan
He has one vow, one mission, one impossible secret.
Pitor Barr no longer exists. To the world, he is Konrad Hoffman, a trusted SS officer deep inside Hitler’s inner circle. But beneath the uniform lies a desperate Jewish father, risking everything to find the last piece of his soul: his stolen son, Jakup.
To uncover the boy’s fate, Pitor must marry Heidi, a woman entangled in the dark secrets of the Lebensborn home. She alone holds the key to Jakup’s whereabouts. But every day of this false marriage is a dangerous dance, where one wrong glance, one whispered word, could expose the truth. And now, Horst and Gretchen are watching, closing in.
Far from Berlin’s shadows, Steffi is torn from her quiet farm and thrown into the horror of Auschwitz. There, she collides with an old enemy whose twisted revenge could destroy her. Yet his cruelty may unwittingly spark a fragile chance to aid Pitor’s fight from within the heart of darkness.
The Bridge Between Friends by Norma Curtis
On a quiet bridge where memories linger, hearts begin to heal...
1992 Elisavet, a Serbian refugee haunted by loss, finds work on Island Farm Avenue. There, three older women – Cora, Megan, and Gladdie – meet regularly on the old footbridge, a quiet place where stories are shared and wounds are gently laid bare. As they begin to open up about their memories, Elisavet is drawn into their past and the healing power of female friendship.
1944 During the war, a young Cora forms a forbidden bond with Frank, a German prisoner held at Island Farm Camp. A fleeting smile. A folded paper aeroplane. A love that defies the rules of a broken world. But as their connection deepens, Cora must choose between her heart and the hostile judgment of a war-weary town.
As Elisavet pieces together the intertwined pasts of these three extraordinary women, she uncovers a story of resilience, love, and the kind of friendship that builds bridges across time.
Life in a Medieval Town by Kathryn Warner
An original work of social history focusing on numerous fascinating aspects of life in an English town in the late Middle Ages. Welcome to a world which ordered people not to leave their homes after nightfall and not to let their pigs wander the streets, where butchers who sold bad meat to the public were locked into a pillory with the meat burning beneath them, and where dirt heaps, common scolds, and attempts to cure diseases with dead animal flesh were a normal part of life. Were medieval towns really as filthy as we might think? If not, how did people wash themselves and their clothes? What did being drawn on the hurdle mean? What did people eat, and where did they buy it? What happened to criminals? Did women work outside the home, and if so, in which professions? What were people’s houses like? How did they entertain themselves? How much did they earn, and how much did things cost? What kind of medical treatment was available? Did people travel to other towns, and if so, how did they get there?
Never Too Late by Maxine Morrey
Every moment of your life is a second chance...
Thirty years ago, Kitty Collins was a confident, carefree fashion history student living her best life in Paris. But then Tomas Laurent broke her heart and she retreated back to England.
A year later, Kitty’s a married stay-at-home mum and those big hopes and dreams have been replaced by nappy changes, school runs and dinner parties for her husband’s Academia colleagues.
Now 50 and recently divorced, Kitty is empowered to embrace single life and finally makes plans with Sasha, her daughter, to return to the city that stole her heart to move forward with her life.
But when a chance encounter awakens feelings she’d forgotten she had Kitty begins to wonder whether the ghosts of Paris should be left in the past.
With the help of old friends and new friends, can Kitty discover the woman she’s supposed to be and fall in love with the City of Light once more?
Wartime with the Cider Girls by May Ellis
Can their home-front resistance see them through the darkest days?
When war breaks out, Rose Flaherty is eager to do her bit. Swapping city life in Birmingham for the fields of Somerset, she joins the Land Army to help keep Britain fed. But life on the farm is tough, the work backbreaking – and the farmer’s son, Jimmy, isn’t exactly welcoming.
An accident in the orchard brings Rose into the path of nurse Daisy and ATS clerk Elsie, and soon the three girls form an unbreakable bond. But even their quiet corner of the countryside can’t escape the shadow of war.
When Rose uncovers suspicious behaviour and whispers of a secret resistance network, she finds herself pulled into a world of coded messages, hidden identities – and very real danger.
As enemy forces close in, can the girls’ friendship and fierce spirit help protect those they love… and win a battle no one knows they’re fighting?
The Shabbat Effect by Alan Morinis
What if one day of rest could transform your entire life?
One of the most important biblical mandates, so significant that it numbers among the Ten Commandments, is the directive to observe a weekly day of rest. The Shabbat Effect illuminates how the practice of a day set aside for rest brings about a deep, lasting, and pervasive transformation of character, not just on that seventh day but every day. Drawing on venerable Jewish sources as well as the experiences of contemporary practitioners, this user-friendly and accessible guide explores the eight essential traits that reflect the true meaning of Shabbat.
Rooted in the 1,100-year-old Jewish tradition of Mussar as well as the experiences of contemporary practitioners, this accessible guide offers a radical and moving exploration of how the practice of Shabbat enhances and refines core traits of character. Readers will find that it contributes immeasurably to their enjoyment of life, as well as helping them fulfill their highest human potential.
How to Survive in Ration Book Britain by Toni Mount
This guide, How to Survive in Ration-Book Britain, will help the time-traveller who journeys back to mid-twentieth century Britain. From 1939 to 1945, the country is involved in World War Two and even after victory is achieved, Britain is cash-strapped and years of austerity follow. Throughout, food, clothing, fuel, furniture and items we take for granted today are rationed and people are scrimping, scraping and using their imagination just to get by. As cities and towns are bombed, lives lost and homes destroyed, men are called to serve the country, children are evacuated and women are expected to ‘do their bit’ on the ‘Home Front’, maintaining the house as a place of welcome, boosting morale and stretching meagre food allowances to keep everyone fed and fit. This is no easy life yet people find lighter moments and ‘carry on carrying on’. Whatever the disaster, somebody will find a way to make tea. The English ‘cuppa’ is the answer to almost every problem. You have to admire their spirit. Enjoy the experience as this book helps you to survive the hazards and live life to the full in Ration-Book Britain.
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