Dhruv and Seema loved each other. That should have been the end of the story, right? Except it wasn’t. Meet Dhruv, the ex-cricketer turned coder. It’s been years since he broke up with Seema. He’s moved on. Life is good. He’s even changed cities. And then he sees her. On the TV. Cheering for her favourite team like she always did. The same smile that doomed him years ago. And he falls again. Meet Seema. The one who never truly gave up what she loved. Be it the man or the sport. So years later when the guy who broke her heart reaches out again, what will she do? Forgive him or make him suffer? Love Before Cricket follows the journey of three tech-savvy friends who call themselves the three Adventurers. Amid the high-pressure demands of their jobs, they embark on an exciting quest that is about more than just escaping their routines. A delightful blend of romance, friendship, and personal growth, this is a heartwarming tale of love, the bonds that keep us going, and the adventures that make life exciting. Whether you’re a romantic at heart or just love a good story, this journey will stay with you long after the final page.
Vineet was an average engineer at an IT firm. His office sucked the life out of him making him hate every moment he spent there. Cricket was his passion, a passion which he never had the guts to pursue until fate bestowed upon him an opportunity which would change his life forever. Shrugging off a sparkling career as a management consultant that lay ahead, this rubber ball stroking bloke embarks upon the most mercurial excursion to fulfil his dream of donning the navy blue jersey that reads INDIA. The expedition which is riddled with the most crushing lows and mind numbing highs proves to be the ultimate test of his fortitude and makes him even more resolute. How much more can he sacrifice to get there? And most importantly, will he get there?
“A moving, splendidly realized story of courage and grit in modern-day Kabul.” —Vikas Swarup, author of Slumdog Millionaire A harrowing yet tender novel—Bend It Like Beckham in a burka—The Taliban Cricket Club is a moving and unforgettable tale of one woman’s courage and guile in the face of terror and tyranny. Set in war-torn Kabul, Afghanistan, this extraordinary new fiction by Timeri N. Murari, acclaimed author of the international bestseller, Taj, is a sweeping story of love, family, resilience, and survival, featuring an unforgettable heroine determined to help her loved ones win their freedom with a bat and a ball.
Sat, Sam, and Trib (a.k.a Triple sundae gang) are teenagers and they love cricket. They spend most of their time watching and playing the sport they love. They dream of making their living in the sport. When they are not playing the game, they put on their thinking cap and come up with alternate versions of important matches or provide parodic answers to questions that have plagued cricket fans over the years. However, fate intervenes in their idyllic life. On 18th April 1986, Javed Miandad hits Chetan Sharma for a six in Sharjah and leaves their cricket viewing life in tatters. The after-effects of this fateful event, continue to haunt them for many years. Their problems don’t end there. Sat fails to graduate from school level cricket to state-level cricket. He is heartbroken by the loss of his dreams and faces a mini identity crisis. How do the boys solve their problems? Will the boys ever recover from that Javed Miandad incident? Will Sat get his mojo back? Come, join the heartwarming ride and find out the answers, as Sat takes you through his nostalgic memories of the sport and narrates his coming of age story, which is deeply influenced by the sport!
Anna had everything figured out – she was about to start senior year with her best friend, she had a great weekend job and her huge work crush looked as if it might finally be going somewhere... Until her dad decides to send her 4383 miles away to Paris. On her own. But despite not speaking a word of French, Anna finds herself making new friends, including Étienne St. Clair, the smart, beautiful boy from the floor above. But he's taken – and Anna might be too. Will a year of romantic near-misses end with the French kiss she's been waiting for?
I have been standing on the side of life, watching it float by. I want to swim in the river. I want to feel the current. So writes Mamah Borthwick Cheney in her diary as she struggles to justify her clandestine love affair with Frank Lloyd Wright. Four years earlier, in 1903, Mamah and her husband, Edwin, had commissioned the renowned architect to design a new home for them. During the construction of the house, a powerful attraction developed between Mamah and Frank, and in time the lovers, each married with children, embarked on a course that would shock Chicago society and forever change their lives. In this ambitious debut novel, fact and fiction blend together brilliantly. While scholars have largely relegated Mamah to a footnote in the life of America’s greatest architect, author Nancy Horan gives full weight to their dramatic love story and illuminates Cheney’s profound influence on Wright. Drawing on years of research, Horan weaves little-known facts into a compelling narrative, vividly portraying the conflicts and struggles of a woman forced to choose between the roles of mother, wife, lover, and intellectual. Horan’s Mamah is a woman seeking to find her own place, her own creative calling in the world. Mamah’s is an unforgettable journey marked by choices that reshape her notions of love and responsibility, leading inexorably ultimately lead to this novel’s stunning conclusion. Elegantly written and remarkably rich in detail, Loving Frank is a fitting tribute to a courageous woman, a national icon, and their timeless love story. BONUS: This edition includes an excerpt from Nancy Horan's Under the Wide and Starry Sky. Advance praise for Loving Frank: “Loving Frank is one of those novels that takes over your life. It’s mesmerizing and fascinating–filled with complex characters, deep passions, tactile descriptions of astonishing architecture, and the colorful immediacy of daily life a hundred years ago–all gathered into a story that unfolds with riveting urgency.” –Lauren Belfer, author of City of Light “This graceful, assured first novel tells the remarkable story of the long-lived affair between Frank Lloyd Wright, a passionate and impossible figure, and Mamah Cheney, a married woman whom Wright beguiled and led beyond the restraint of convention. It is engrossing, provocative reading.” ——Scott Turow “It takes great courage to write a novel about historical people, and in particular to give voice to someone as mythic as Frank Lloyd Wright. This beautifully written novel about Mamah Cheney and Frank Lloyd Wright’s love affair is vivid and intelligent, unsentimental and compassionate.” ——Jane Hamilton “I admire this novel, adore this novel, for so many reasons: The intelligence and lyricism of the prose. The attention to period detail. The epic proportions of this most fascinating love story. Mamah Cheney has been in my head and heart and soul since reading this book; I doubt she’ ll ever leave.” –Elizabeth Berg
Following the success of Remarkable Cricket Grounds, author Brian Levison focuses his attention on the amazing variety of grassroots cricket venues throughout the British Isles. In the original book he covered some of the largest stadia where cricket is played throughout the world. In Remarkable Village Cricket Grounds he concentrates on the smallest. The inventory of beautiful and atmospheric grounds includes those played by the seaside, at the edge of moorland, in front of grand country houses or on wind-blasted hillsides. Village cricket is played next to windmills, thatched cottages, trout streams, in the heart of Cotswold stone hamlets, and on many of the country's verdant village greens. There are some classic cricketing pubs included along with lavish teas, ancient pitch rollers, equally ancient club secretaries and a variety of warning signs for those wishing to park their car within slogging distance. Almost all of the venues are located in the kind of set-piece British landscape that will have the tourist boards begging for copies. It is a treasury of British life featuring clubs from: Devon, Somerset, Dorset, Hampshire, Sussex, Kent, Wiltshire, Bedfordshire, Surrey, Essex, Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Yorkshire, Cheshire, Lancashire, Cumbria, Northumberland, Leicestershire, Wales and Scotland.
“Stephanie Perkins’ characters fall in love the way we all want to, in real time and for good.”—Rainbow Rowell “This adorable YA romance is half New York love story, half Parisian romance, and fully prepared to make your heart melt quicker than a gelato dropped on a sidewalk.”—MTV.com From the glittering streets of Manhattan to the moonlit rooftops of Paris, falling in love is easy for hopeless dreamer Isla and introspective artist Josh. But as they begin their senior year in France, Isla and Josh are quickly forced to confront the heartbreaking reality that happily-ever-afters aren't always forever. Their romantic journey is skillfully intertwined with those of beloved couples Anna and Étienne and Lola and Cricket, whose paths are destined to collide in a sweeping finale certain to please fans old and new.
"Utterly romantic and fun. I didn't want Nantucket Blue to end." --New York Times bestselling author Jenny Han One summer changes everything in this romantic, emotional, unputdownable story of love and friendship, perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Sarah Dessen For Cricket Thompson, a summer like this one will change everything. A summer spent on Nantucket with her best friend, Jules Clayton, and the indomitable Clayton family. A summer when she'll make the almost unattainable Jay Logan hers. A summer to surpass all dreams. Some of this turns out to be true. Some of it doesn't. When Jules and her family suffer a devastating tragedy that forces the girls apart, Jules becomes a stranger whom Cricket wonders whether she ever really knew. And instead of lying on the beach working on her caramel-colored tan, Cricket is making beds and cleaning bathrooms to support herself in paradise for the summer. But it's the things Cricket hadn't counted on --most of all, falling hard for someone who should be completely off-limits. -- that turn her dreams into an exhilarating, bittersweet reality. A beautiful future is within her grasp, and Cricket must find the grace to embrace it. If she does, her life could be the perfect shade of Nantucket blue. "[Howland] evokes the Nantucket setting vividly . . . when it comes to indulgent beach reading, sometimes it's more fun to get pushed over by a wave than to stay safely on your towel." -- The New York Times "Readers should feel empowered by Cricket's efforts to grow up into a strong, honest, and emotionally intelligent young woman, even as they are enchanted by the romantic and exclusive island setting. This is a natural beach read, but will easily win Howland year-round fans, too." -Publishers Weekly, starred review "Sand, secrets, Nantucket Reds, and romance. A fresh, feel-good debut." -- Boston Globe "Utterly romantic and fun. I didn't want Nantucket Blue to end." -- New York Times best-selling author Jenny Han "Several elements in this novel make it a little more than just another summer romance. Cricket's struggle to define herself apart from Jules, her decision to follow her heart, and her realization that she can rise above her parents' divorce make this a story that many teens will find absorbing." --VOYA "It's going to be the perfect summer for Providence teenager Cricket Thompson. She'll live with her friend Jules' family in their Nantucket house and pursue Jay Logan, the boy of her dreams. But tragedy strikes Jules' life and everything changes, including their friendship. Cricket does end up on Nantucket, but living in the inn where she works long, hard hours. To her surprise, she falls in love with entirely the wrong person -- and learns how magical love can be. A rich satisfying novel for high school students (and older)." -- Providence Journal "Fans of Sarah Dessen will find much to like here, as the charm of this summery yarn lies in Cricket's open appeal. Readers will root for her as she falls down, takes her lumps, and moves forward to her final year in high school, always remembering what she learned under the Nantucket sun." -- School Library Journal
