London, 1847. In a quiet house in the countryside nearby, the finishing touches are being made to welcome a group of young women. The house and its location are secret, its residents unknown to one another, but the girls have one thing in common: they are fallen. Offering refuge for prostitutes, petty thieves and the destitute, Urania Cottage is a second chance at life – but how badly do they want it?
Meanwhile, a few miles away in a Piccadilly mansion, millionairess Angela Burdett-Coutts, one of the benefactors of Urania Cottage, makes a discovery that leaves her cold. Her stalker of ten years has been released from prison, and she knows it’s only a matter of time before their nightmarish game resumes once more.
As the women’s worlds collide in ways they could never have expected, they will discover that freedom always comes at a price . . .
The Household is the new novel from the award-winning, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Familiars, The Foundling and Mrs England. Set against Charles Dickens’ home for fallen women and inspired by real figures from history, it is Stacey Halls’ most ambitious and captivating novel yet.
Saffy Huntley-Oliver has a secret. A secret that she is deeply ashamed of. It's not the fact that she's a serial killer in her free time. In fact, she's quite proud of that. After all she's only killing the bad men. She is making the w orld a better place.
No, her secret is far w orse than that. Saffy has a messy, inexplicable, uncontrollable crush. So w hile she's busy plotting her next murder, she also has the much harder task of figuring out how to get a boyfriend.
But if there's one thing Saffy know s, it's how to get her man . . .
Danny Hook is a directionless twenty-something year old fresh out of therapy. Dealing with his disappointed family and dead-end career, he’s sure things couldn’t get much worse, until a drink-driving accident leaves his best friend Nudge dead.
Danny also discovers he can see ghosts – but only when he’s drunk. Saddled with a best friend who can’t leave his side, they must figure out what’s going on and why Nudge can’t cross over. Can Danny negotiate family life, therapy and a ghost that refuses to fade into the background before time runs out?
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ANTON AND HIS FRIENDS ARE THE KINGS OF YEAR 9.
They’re used to ruling the school and Anton wears the crown. The other kids run away when he’s about but that’s the way he wants it – he’s got a reputation to live up to after all.
So when he gets into serious trouble at school, he doesn’t really care, but his mum most definitely does. She decides it’s time for Anton to make some new friends and join the Happy Campers, a local activity group. Anton would quite literally rather do anything else, especially when he finds out Matthew, the biggest loser in school, is also a member.
But after Matthew unexpectedly saves Anton’s life, Anton figures maybe this kid is worth a shot. Teaching him some game is the least Anton can do to repay the debt.
As the boys strike up an unlikely friendship, Anton finds himself questioning everything he thought was important. Does he want ruling the school to be his crowning glory or should he set his sights on better things?
Two perfect strangers in San Francisco. Gracie and Weston have their futures mapped out.
Gracie's future is glossy, glam and loved-up. Flaw less like her influencer lifestyle. Weston's is all tattoo parlors, hitting the bar on the regular, and earning his police officer's badge. Tough guy, or so he tells himself.
What they have in common is heartbreak. In the aftermath of shattered romances, they're reeling. Gracie's been unceremoniously dumped ... by the guy who promised to be her forever. While Weston is realizing he never show ed his ex quite how much he loved her.
When two sets of friends stage an intervention - no more pity parties - worlds collide in a dow ntow n club. There's spilled drinks, throw n punches and ugly tears in the back of an Uber. Not exactly a cute meet-cute.
Their futures uncertain, Gracie and Weston gravitate toward one another. The chemistry between them is undeniable - but they're just friends, right. Right?
Cue unexpected - and blush-worthy - lessons in dating etiquette, life skills and forging a connection to make your heart stand still. Somewhere in the Sunset has all the feels.
Oh, and the sex is fire.
When the log princess goes missing her brother, the little wooden robot, sets out on an epic adventure to find her. He will encounter goblins, magic puddings, a mushroom queen and a very intimidating w ood pile as he seeks to bring his sister home.
The Little Wooden Robot and the Log Princess is an exquisitely illustrated modern fairytale about sibling love. Tom Gauld brings all of his wit, draghtsmanship and narrative craft to a funny, moving tale that proves that woodlice can be heroes too.
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Growing up in the same Ghanaian town, Selasi and Akorfa are more than just cousins – they're best friends. The girls share everything: whispered late-night conversations, dreams for the future, secrets.
But as they enter their teens, Selasi begins to change, construction a wall around herself designed to keep everyone away. Soon, Akorfa no longer recognises her sullen, withdrawn cousin.
It will take many years for their paths to cross again. Their lives may have drifted in different directions, but Selasi and Akorfa haven't forgotten the closeness they once shared. Akorfa now works in international development as she navigates the challenges of life as a Black woman and mother in the US; Selasi is a successful restaurateur running the hottest spot in Accra. And when an incident at her restaurant puts Selasi in danger, the women must overcome their differences and face the truth of what happened all those years ago, even if others would prefer them to remain silent.
Nightbloom is an irresistible story about female friendship, about the relationships that shape us and the people we never quite leave behind.
Step forward Daphne Devine – you are about to change the course of the war
‘A breathtaking historical thriller.’ Erin Kelly, author of The Skeleton Key
‘Vivid and thoroughly entertaining… More, please.’ Guardian, best crime and thrillers
June 1940. As World War Two rages, Daphne Devine remains in London, performing each night as assistant to stage magician Jonty Trevelyan, aka the Grand Mystique.
Then the secret service call.
For, aware of Hitler’s belief in the occult, the war office has set up a hidden cohort to exploit this quirk in the enemy’s chain of command.
Daphne and Jonty find themselves far from the glitz and glamour of the theatre, deep inside the lower levels of Wormwood Scrubs prison. Here, they join secret ranks of occultists, surrealists, and other eccentrics co-opted to the war effort. There is one goal: to avert invasion on British shores.
Soon Daphne realises she must risk everything if there is any chance of saving her country
Inspired by real accounts of the Forgotten Blitz bombings, The British Booksellers highlights the courage of those whose lives were forever changed by war—and the stories that bind us in the fight for what matters most.
A tenant farmer’s son had no business daring to dream of a future with an earl’s daughter, but that couldn’t keep Amos Darby from his secret friendship with Charlotte Terrington…until the reality of the Great War sobered youthful dreams. Now decades later, he bears the brutal scars of battles fought in the trenches and their futures that were stolen away. His return home doesn’t come with tender reunions, but with the hollow fulfillment of opening a bookshop on his own and retreating as a recluse within its walls.
When the future Earl of Harcourt chose Charlotte to be his wife, she knew she was destined for a loveless match. Though her heart had chosen another long ago, she pledges her future even as her husband goes to war. Twenty-five years later, Charlotte remains a war widow who divides her days between her late husband’s declining estate and operating a quaint Coventry bookshop—Eden Books, lovingly named after her grown daughter. And Amos is nothing more than the rival bookseller across the lane.
As war with Hitler looms, Eden is determined to preserve her father’s legacy. So when an American solicitor arrives threatening a lawsuit that could destroy everything they’ve worked so hard to preserve, mother and daughter prepare to fight back. But with devastation wrought by the Luftwaffe’s local blitz terrorizing the skies, battling bookshops—and lost loves, Amos and Charlotte—must put aside their differences and fight together to help Coventry survive.
From deep in the trenches of the Great War to the storied English countryside and the devastating Coventry Blitz of World War II, The British Booksellers explores the unbreakable bonds that unite us through love, loss, and the enduring solace that can be found between the pages of a book.
1. Split timeline: WWI and WWII
2. Stand-alone novel
3. Book length: 118,000 words
4. Includes discussion questions for book clubs
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He crossed an ocean, and it still wasn’t enough to escape his lifelong nemesis. Now he has to work with her.
Successful screenwriter Finn Masters just landed his dream job writing for Neighbors, one of Hollywood’s highest-rated, longest-running sitcoms. The only downside? It will put him back in proximity of the show’s universally adored, optimistic, altruistic star, Lavender Rhodes, who has been inadvertently ruining his life since they were school chums in England. But she doesn’t even know she destroyed his acting career and wrecked his relationship with the love of his life.
He’s not about to let this woman yank yet another dream out from under his feet. In fact, he realizes he’s been given the ideal opportunity to plot his payback: spinning her character in shocking new directions. What could go wrong? Only everything. As Finn’s not-so-brilliant plot backfires one scene after the next, catching him in the blasts, he’s forced to think about this impossible, infuriating…and maybe even lovable woman in an entirely new light.
Sweet romantic comedy
Stand-alone novel
Book length: 88,000 words
Includes discussion questions for book clubs
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