Lisette Gibbons has courage and steel. Having made the dangerous crossing from England to New York as a girl, losing her beloved Mammy, and keeping house for her often absent Dadda, she has few friends to turn to when trouble strikes. She reaches out of her small world to find that there are many people who are glad to help, but she fears them learning her dark secret. Merle Shipley loves his life. He enjoys running the town's busy postal office and has big ambitions for it. But he feels something may be missing. Watching so many of his friends find love has made him think about building a family, now his business is doing so well. But will his generous heart make him lose out when he offers sanctuary to a woman he has never even met?
Belinda Weatherhead has secretly loved Thomas Rawlinson her entire life. Tortured by seeing him every day, the easy friendship he shares with her brother makes him off-limits. So when he leaves town unexpectedly, Belinda decides that it is time she got over him and found herself a man who can see her as she really is. Thomas Rawlinson has always been restless. He longs to get away from the confines of his ranching family, knowing he simply doesn't fit in there. But a year in Philadelphia has him missing the family he loves, and he longs to find a way to return, and to somehow save face whilst doing so. Finding an advertisement in the newspaper, he replies, not knowing how much it will change his life. But, will he like what he finds when he finally meets his mystery woman, or will there be another surprise he simply wasn't expecting?
Georgina Fey is expecting a child, but has been left a widow by the tragic death of her husband. But she finds herself at war with his family. Her brother missing, she has nobody to turn to, until she remembers an old friend of her brother's. Being desperate she writes to him, begging for his help, but she does not ever expect him to offer her sanctuary. His warm heart, and gentle ways leave her torn between guilt and affection. Joshua Rawlinson is not ready for marriage, but when the sister of an old friend asks for help he doesn't hesitate to step in and offer her the safe haven she needs. But, will his generosity of spirit leave him enmeshed in troubles not his own? Will he truly be happy if he does whatever is needed to help her?
Jimmy Doyle has a good job and great prospects, but he has never known what it feels like to have a family. But, as things around him begin to change, he wonders if he could be blessed to find love. But, having never known what it feels like to belong, will he recognise true friendship and affection when it is offered him? Maddy Bryant lost her parents when she was only eight years old. She has been pushed from pillar to post ever since, but finally found a stable position in the Kendall's Cambridge town house as a maid. But, her place becomes untenable when a new cook and butler are appointed. Too proud to ask her friends for help, she tries to take matters into her own hands. An unexpected find on a train changes everything, but is destiny merely taking matters into her own hands?
Two worlds in conflict Two untamed hearts intertwined One love worth fighting for Wealthy Englishwoman Lady Elizabeth Baylor longs for adventure. She leaves for America full of hope, only to lose everything to a villain hiding treachery behind his smile. Lost in this strange and lawless land, Elizabeth vows to track down the man who did her wrong...but she can't do it alone. What she needs is someone hardened by the west and unflinching toward its dangers: notorious bounty hunter Logan Best. Ill-mannered and seemingly ruthless, Logan exorcises his dark past by throwing himself into his vengeful profession?hunting wanted men. There's nothing about the pampered Englishwoman that should call to him, and yet as their adventure takes them across the wild and treacherous west, the lonely hunter realizes he'll do anything to keep her safe...and defend his Lady to his final breath. A sweeping, emotional historical western romance, perfect for fans of Jo Goodman and Leigh Greenwood!
COMMITTED. CONFLICTED. AND UTTERLY CHAOTIC. In spite of his continuing hot-blooded affair with his soon-to-be sister-in-law Rachel, Eric’s plan is simple: Give his vampire girlfriend Tabitha the fancy wedding she’s always wanted, then head off to Paris for their honeymoon in the hopes of tracking down his sire, the Empress vampire Lisette. The City of Love proves anything but romantic when the True Immortal rulers of Europe try to block Eric from entering the Continent—and subject Tabitha to a series of challenges to prove her vampire worth. Back home in Void City, Eric’s volatile daughter Greta is getting lonely and bored—and that’s not good news for anyone. And when, like a bat out of hell, Lisette descends upon Void City to wipe Eric and his brood off the face of the earth—forever—this much is clear: the honeymoon is over.
A fathers journey is legendary. The life he lives after the birth of his child casts a light, or shadow, onto his progeny. This is the story of a father who realizes that his legend is as glorious as it is heartbreaking. His life-changing adventure serves as a guide for new parents, sending imperfect adults onto a life of heroic self-sacrifice.
Vacation can be a killer. Dr. Kate Hampton, a respected psychiatrist, gathers with a group of strangers at her favorite travel spot, Sunset Villa in Jamaica. Included in the mix are friends of the owners, a businessman with dubious credentials, and a couple who won the trip from a TV game show. It is January 2013, following the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. The luxury resort is struggling, not from the storm, but due to a scathing review from caustic travel writer, Matthew Kane. The owners have invited him back with hopes he will pen a more favorable review to restore their reputation. Even though she is haunted by her own demons, Kate feels compelled to help. She sets out to discover the motivation behind Kane's vitriol. Used to getting what he wants, has the reviewer met his match in Kate? Or has she met hers? Stranger at Sunset is a slow-burning mystery/thriller as seen through the eyes of different narrators, each with their own murky sense of justice. As Kate's own psychological past begins to unravel, a mysterious stranger at Sunset may be the only one who can save her.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the co-author of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society comes a wise, witty, and exuberant novel, perfect for fans of Lee Smith, that illuminates the power of loyalty and forgiveness, memory and truth, and the courage it takes to do what’s right. Annie Barrows once again evokes the charm and eccentricity of a small town filled with extraordinary characters. Her new novel, The Truth According to Us, brings to life an inquisitive young girl, her beloved aunt, and the alluring visitor who changes the course of their destiny forever. In the summer of 1938, Layla Beck’s father, a United States senator, cuts off her allowance and demands that she find employment on the Federal Writers’ Project, a New Deal jobs program. Within days, Layla finds herself far from her accustomed social whirl, assigned to cover the history of the remote mill town of Macedonia, West Virginia, and destined, in her opinion, to go completely mad with boredom. But once she secures a room in the home of the unconventional Romeyn family, she is drawn into their complex world and soon discovers that the truth of the town is entangled in the thorny past of the Romeyn dynasty. At the Romeyn house, twelve-year-old Willa is desperate to learn everything in her quest to acquire her favorite virtues of ferocity and devotion—a search that leads her into a thicket of mysteries, including the questionable business that occupies her charismatic father and the reason her adored aunt Jottie remains unmarried. Layla’s arrival strikes a match to the family veneer, bringing to light buried secrets that will tell a new tale about the Romeyns. As Willa peels back the layers of her family’s past, and Layla delves deeper into town legend, everyone involved is transformed—and their personal histories completely rewritten. Praise for The Truth According to Us “As delightfully eccentric as Guernsey yet refreshingly different . . . an epic but intimate family novel with richly imagined characters . . . Willa’s indomitable spirit, keen sense of adventure and innate intelligence reminded me of two other motherless girls in literature: Scout Finch in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird and Flavia de Luce in Alan Bradley’s big-hearted British mystery series.”—The Washington Post “The Truth According to Us has all the characteristics of a great summer read: A plot that makes you want to keep turning the pages; a setting that makes you feel like you’re inhabiting another time and place; and characters who become people you’re sad to leave behind—and thus who always stay with you.”—Miami Herald “It takes a brave author to make the heroine of a new novel an observant and feisty girl . . . like Scout Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird. . . . But Barrows . . . has created a believable and touching character in Willa.”—USA Today “[A] heartwarming coming-of-age novel [that] sparkles with folksy depictions of a tight-knit family and life in a small town . . . full of richly drawn, memorable characters.”—The Seattle Times “A big, juicy family saga with warm humor and tragic twists . . . The story gets more and more absorbing as it moves briskly along.”—St. Louis Post-Dispatch “Annie Barrows leaves no doubt that she is a storyteller of rare caliber, with wisdom and insight to spare. Every page rings like a bell.”—Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife
In a Queendom divided, can one girl unite the realms? Jacs, an inventor’s apprentice from the Lower Realm, has only ever dreamed of what the land among the clouds holds. That is until she finds a letter from Connor, an Upperite boy hoping to learn more about the land below. Little does Jacs know, Connor is actually Prince Cornelius of the Queendom of Frea. With wooden boats and hot air balloons, the two begin a secret correspondence. But their friendship is divided by a heavily-guarded bridge and an inescapable prejudice. The strength of their bond was thought to transcend distance and time, but when the royal family visits the Lower Realm, the Queendom’s feud is reignited. To save her people, Jacs must infiltrate the Upper Realm and earn her place to compete in the Contest of Queens. In a story about friendship, love, bravery, and defying gravity, Jacs will strive to prove that a Queendom is strongest when united.
