Christian Fiction. Leesa finds herself dethroned as head of L. L. Lane Unlimited. Her anger and bitterness towards Bill and Lyza lead her into temptation. Will Leesa humble herself enough to change before she hits rock bottom? Chuck O'Malley shows up, adding to her misery, and Leesa decides that Christians ruined her life. Thanks to her new friend, Lennie, her life turns around. Is love shining through? Will Cook's prayers for Leesa be answered, or is the Lord teaching her about patience and grace?
'This Close to Okay hits the ground running. Cross-Smith writes tenderly about the trial and error of intimacy and draws you in with enormous warmth and control' - Raven Leilani, author of LUSTER On a rainy October night, therapist Tallie Clark is on her way home from work when she spots a man standing at the edge of a bridge. Without a second thought, Tallie pulls over and convinces him to join her for a cup of coffee. Eventually, he agrees to come back to her house, where he finally shares his name: Emmett. Over the course of the emotionally charged weekend that follows, Tallie makes it her mission to provide a safe space for Emmett. But he isn't the only one who needs healing-and they both are harbouring secrets... As they inch closer to the truth of what brought Emmett to the bridge-and the hard truths Tallie has been grappling with since her marriage ended-could their connection lead to love? This Close to Okay is an uplifting story about chance encounters, and hope found in the most unlikely moments, from a consummate author of emotionally-wrought romance. Longlisted for the 2022 Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award Longlisted for the Goodreads Choice Awards Book of the Month December Pick Good Housekeeping Book Club February Pick Marie Claire Book Club March Pick
ONE OF NPR'S BEST BOOKS OF 2020 LONGLISTED FOR THE 2021 JOYCE CAROL OATES PRIZE A lush, glittering short story collection exploring female obsession and desire by an award-winning author Roxane Gay calls "a consummate storyteller." From Kentucky to the California desert, these forty-two short stories -- ranging from the 80's and 90's to present day -- expose the hearts of girls and women in moments of obsessive desire and fantasy, wildness and bad behavior, brokenness and fearlessness, and more. On a hot July night, teenage girls sneak out of the house to meet their boyfriends by the train tracks. Members of a cult form an unsettling chorus as they proclaim their adoration for the same man. A woman luxuriates in a fantasy getaway to escape her past. A love story begins over cabbages in a grocery store, and a laundress's life is consumed by her obsession with a baseball star. After the death of a sister, two high school friends kiss all night and binge-watch Winona Ryder movies. Leesa Cross-Smith's sensuous stories -- some long, some gone in a flash, some told over text and emails -- drench readers in nostalgia for summer nights and sultry days. They recall the intense friendships of teenage girls and the innate bonds between mothers, the first heady rush of desire, and the pure exhilaration of womanhood, all while holding up the wild souls of women so they can catch the light.
A richly illustrated history that explores every aspect of life in Leeds.This new history of Leeds covers all the main political, social and economic developments of the city: The Harrying of the North devastated the surrounding area in 1069; the Civil War saw a battle fought in the town itself; cholera and typhus epidemics raged in the nineteenth century; the building of the Middleton Railway in 1758 established the oldest railway in the world; and Richard Oastler, the Factory King, launched the campaign for the Ten Hour Bill in the Leeds Mercury. Due emphasis is given to the place of the wool textile industry, the principal industry until the twentieth century. The story is brought right up to date, as are recent changes in the townscape. An intriguing look at this great city’s remarkable history.
It's 5th July 2014 and the world's biggest cycling race is about to depart from Leeds. 22 teams, 198 riders, 2,000 journalists and 4 million people are converging on this Yorkshire city. Among them are Gizmo the dog, with his owner; a woman carrying a tin full of memories; a refugee with a rose in their pocket; a student; a grandad and grandson; and X. For each of them, 5th July will turn out to be a life changing day. Created by community groups from across the city, The Leeds Story Cycle is what you get when you put a group of young people, asylum seekers, students, retired church folk, writers and recovering addicts in the same room and ask them to tell a story about their home town. Working with the groups, this unique collection of stories has been written by author, Chris Nickson; lyricist, Testament; poet and playwright, Rommi Smith; author, Daniel Ingram-Brown, poet, Jane Steele; playwright, Lorna Poustie; and theatre practitioners, Simon Brewis and Lynsey Jones.
An irresistible story of a woman remaking her life after her husband’s betrayal leads to a year of travel, art, and passion in Paris, from the award-winning author of This Close to Okay. Vincent, having grown up as the privileged daughter of artists, has a lovely life in many ways. At forty-four, she enjoys strolling the streets of Paris and teaching at the modern art museum; she has a vibrant group of friends; and she’s even caught the eye of a young, charismatic man named Loup. But Vincent is also in Paris to escape a painful betrayal: her husband, Cillian, has published a bestselling book divulging secrets about their marriage and his own past, hinting that when he was a teenager, he may have had a child with a young woman back in Dublin—before he moved to California and never returned. Now estranged from her husband, Vincent has agreed to see Cillian again at their son’s wedding the following summer, but Loup introduces new complications. Soon they begin an intense affair, and somewhere between dinners made together, cigarettes smoked in the moonlight, hazy evenings in nightclubs, and long, starry walks along the Seine, Vincent feels herself loosening and blossoming. In a journey that is both transportive and intimate, Half-Blown Rose traverses Paris, art, travel, liminal spaces, and the messy complexities of relationships and romance, with excerpts from Cillian’s novel, playlists, and journal entries woven throughout. As Cillian does all he can to win her back, Vincent must decide what she wants . . . and who she will be.
Every marriage has two hearts, one light and one dark, and Lisey Landon must confront both. King's most personal and powerful book to date is about the wellsprings of creativity, the temptations of madness, and the secret language of love.
“Engrossing . . . Imbued with the flavor of English medieval life, Robb’s story melds true events with fiction to create a gripping historical mystery” (Publishers Weekly). When young nun Joanna Calverley dies of a fever in the town of Beverley in the summer of 1365, she is buried quickly for fear of the plague. But a year later, Archbishop Thoresby learns of a woman who has arrived in York claiming to be the resurrected nun, talking of relic-trading and miracles. And death seems to ride in her wake. The archbishop sends Owen Archer to retrace the woman’s journey, an investigation that leads him across the north from Leeds to Beverley to Scarborough. Along the way he encounters Geoffrey Chaucer, a spy for the king of England, who believes there is a connection between the nun’s troubles, renegade mercenaries, and the powerful Percy family. Back in York, however, Owen’s wife, Lucie, pregnant with their first child, has won the confidence of the mysterious nun and realizes that there are secrets hidden in the woman’s seemingly mad ramblings . . . Based on an enigmatic entry in the records of Clementhorpe Nunnery, this authentic, gripping mystery conjures a fourteenth century ripe with forbidden passions and political intrigue. “[Robb] lives up to the standard set by master medievalist Ellis Peters.” —Booklist
