‘A warm, uplifting story about love and loss . . . but beware, you'll need a big box of tissues!’ Clare Swatman, author of Before We Grow Old Two strangers. One missed flight. It only takes a moment to change a life. One year ago Casey Cassidy was happy. She had great friends, a wonderful teaching job and a busy life – until with one missed flight, everything changes. One year later Casey knows what it means to find that once-in-a-lifetime love people dream of. But when Ben leaves, her heart is shattered. Left facing a year of firsts without him, piecing her life back together seems impossible. But then a friend offers her a home in rural France. In the solitude and emptiness, Casey needs to come to terms with what’s happened and find a way to move forward. She has no idea where that will take her one year later... What readers are saying about The Life You Left Behind: ‘A powerful, emotional, and life-affirming story of love and hope’ Rachael Lucas ‘The writing was INCREDIBLE! I’ve never highlighted so many sections of a book before, but there were just so many beautifully written passages that I knew I indeed to save to come back to' Shan _treatyoshelves_ ‘Still crying. I do not think any other book touched me so much’ itsallaboutbooksandmacarons 'I really loved this book. It's one I'll never forget’ coffee.break.book.reviews 'That was absolutely beautiful. Heart-breaking but beautiful’ mrsbookburnee
Six years ago, Melody Pieterson was attacked and left for dead. Only a chance encounter with a dog walker saved her life. Melody's neighbor and close friend David Alden was found guilty of the crime and imprisoned, and the attack and David's betrayal of her friendship left Melody a different person. She no longer trusts her own judgment, she no longer trusts her friends. In fact, she no longer really has any friends. She's built a life behind walls and gates and security codes; she's cloistered herself away from the world almost entirely. And then, soon after David is released from prison, Eve Elliot is murdered in an attack almost identical to Melody's. With the start of a new police investigation, Melody is suddenly pulled from her ordered, secluded life and back into the messy world around her. But as she learns more about Eve's murder, Melody starts to wonder if perhaps David hadn't betrayed her after all...if perhaps the killer is someone else entirely, someone who's still out there, preparing to strike again. Narrated alternately by Melody and by Eve's lingering ghost, The Life I Left Behind is a taut thriller and an intimate look at two young women bound together in ways neither of them could ever have predicted. Colette McBeth has proven once again that she is a master of suspense.
Jessica Verdi, the author of My Life After Now and The Summer I Wasn't Me, returns with a heartbreaking and poignant novel of grief and guilt that reads like Nicholas Sparks for teens. It's all Ryden's fault. If he hadn't gotten Meg pregnant, she would have never stopped her chemo treatments and would still be alive. Instead he's failing fatherhood one dirty diaper at a time. And it's not like he's had time to grieve while struggling to care for their infant daughter, start his senior year, and earn the soccer scholarship he needs to go to college. The one person who makes Ryden feel like his old self is Joni. She's fun and energetic—and doesn't know he has a baby. But the more time they spend together, the harder it becomes to keep his two worlds separate. Finding one of Meg's journals only stirs up old emotions. Ryden's convinced Meg left other notebooks for him to find, some message to help his new life make sense. But how is he going to have a future if he can't let go of the past? "Ryden's story is a moving illustration of how sometimes you have to let go of the life you planned to embrace the life you've been given. A strong, character-driven story that teen readers will love."—Carrie Arcos, National Book Award Finalist for Out of Reach
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Giver of Stars and the forthcoming Someone Else's Shoes, a sweeping bestseller of love and loss, deftly weaving two journeys from World War I France to present day London. Paris, World War I. Sophie Lefèvre must keep her family safe while her adored husband, Édouard, fights at the front. When their town falls to the Germans, Sophie is forced to serve them every evening at her hotel. From the moment the new Kommandant sets eyes on Sophie’s portrait—painted by her artist husband—a dangerous obsession is born. Almost a century later in London, Sophie’s portrait hangs in the home of Liv Halston, a wedding gift from her young husband before his sudden death. After a chance encounter reveals the portrait’s true worth, a battle begins over its troubled history and Liv’s world is turned upside all over again.
When I wake up in the middle of the night, it’s not a sound that disturbs me. It’s a feeling. Silently, I creep to my daughter’s room, breathing a sigh of relief when I see her sleeping, her night-light twirling, butterfly shapes moving their pink wings. Quickly, I lock the door. I won’t let anything happen to my little girl. You tell him everything. The husband you adore, the father of your child, your best friend. He knows, just by looking at your sage-green eyes, when something is wrong. The two of you can communicate with a glance, or a touch of the hand. Except what if you can’t? What if your happy marriage has plastered over one huge lie? A lie you have even started to believe yourself, in order to survive? What if you have a secret, something you have hidden from your beloved husband and your strawberry-scented baby girl, to keep them safe? What if the guilt has kept you up, night after night, for as long as you can remember? Because, after twenty-eight years, that secret is refusing to stay buried. The past you have tried so desperately to outrun is catching up with you. A faded photograph, torn in half, threatens to expose the truth and everyone you love, everything you cherish, is in harm’s way… An emotional, thought-provoking and beautifully written novel which examines the pieces of ourselves we are afraid of, and the impossible decisions we make when we are desperate. Fans of Jodi Picoult, Kerry Fisher and Liane Moriarty will be moved by this heartbreaking tale. Readers absolutely love The Life She Left Behind: ‘Oh my... This was literally “un-put-downable”... This was not a book I could read chapter by chapter and take breaks in between, I NEEDED to keep going!… I know I will be thinking about this story for days… Amazing.’ NetGalley Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘What a fantastic book!! I absolutely loved it, and it is hands down the best book I’ve read this year so far… Amazing… I couldn’t recommend it more highly. Now I’m off to buy several more of Trope’s books to get stuck in to.’ My Little Bookcase, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Wow oh wow, what an absolutely gorgeous read. I devoured this beautiful book in just over an hour… I adored the writing style in this one, the author writes elegantly and in a way that just pulls you into the pages. I cannot say anything negative about this book, I have been truly engrossed and shocked by how quickly I read this one. I didn't want to put it down. This is definitely a beautiful read by a very talented author.’ Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Loved this book! Very emotional! Read it in 1 sitting!’ Reading through the Looking Glass, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘A highly emotional read that had me hooked from the start. This is another fantastic book by Nicole Trope!’ Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Once I started this book, I couldn't put it down. It was that good. It was definitely emotional, and left me guessing until the end.’ The One Where She Blogs, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Page 1, I was hooked and couldn’t put the book down… So enthralling.’ Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Loved it!… This is my third book by this author and they have all struck gold!... As soon as I picked it up, everything around me faded to grey… The author is a great storyteller and she enchanted me.’ B for Bookreview, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘5 stars! Nicole Trope continues to be one of my favourite authors! While her books aren't often easy to read due to their content, I'm always left amazed at her ability to tell a story so well… Very gripping and I found myself race through it. I think this one will stay with me for a while.’ Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Superbly written… Well worthy of 5 stars.’ Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Wow what an emotional book a rollercoaster of emotions… Definitely my number one book of the year.’ NetGalley Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A mesmerizing new thriller from the author of Until You’re Mine Two years after a terrifying spate of teenage suicides, the remote village of Radcote has just begun to heal. Then a young man is killed in a freak motorcycle accident and a suicide note is found among his belongings. When a second boy is found dead shortly thereafter, the nightmare of repeat suicides once again threatens the community. Desperate for a vacation, Detective Inspector Lorraine Fisher has just come to Radcote for a stay with her sister, Jo, but the atmosphere of the country house is unusually tense. Freddie, Jo's son, seems troubled and uncommunicative, and Jo is struggling to reach out to him. Meanwhile, Lorraine becomes determined to discover the truth behind these deaths. Are they suicides, or is there something more sinister at work? Finding answers might help Freddie, but they'll also lead to a shocking truth: whatever it is--or whoever it is--that's killing these young people is far more disturbing than she ever could have imagined, and unraveling the secret is just as dangerous as the secret itself. Wicked, intense, and utterly compulsive, What You Left Behind confirms Samantha Hayes as a top thriller writer.
A sweeping historical romance that is “gripping, tragic, yet filled with passion and hope” (Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author), offering a vivid and unique portrayal of life in war-torn 1941 Bucharest during World War II and its aftermath—perfect for fans of Lilac Girls and Sarah’s Key. On a freezing night in January 1941, a little Jewish girl is found on the steps of an apartment building in Bucharest. With Romania recently allied with the Nazis, the Jewish population is in grave danger so the girl is placed in an orphanage and eventually adopted by a wealthy childless couple who name her Natalia. As she assimilates into her new life, she all but forgets the parents who were forced to leave her behind. As a young woman in Soviet Romania, Natalia crosses paths with Victor—an important official in the Communist regime that she used to know as an impoverished young student. Now they are fatefully drawn into a passionate affair despite the obstacles swirling around them and Victor’s dark secrets. When Natalia is suddenly offered a one-time chance at freedom, Victor is determined to help her escape, even if it means losing her. Natalia must make an agonizing decision: remain in Bucharest with her beloved adoptive parents and the man she has come to love, or seize the chance to finally live life on her own terms, and to confront the painful enigma of her past. The Girl They Left Behind “is a vividly told, beautifully written, impossible-but-true story” (Helen Bryan, internationally bestselling author of War Brides) that you won’t soon forget.
"This book will make you cry, think, and then cry some more." —Nicola Yoon, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Everything, Everything From the New York Times bestselling author of More Happy Than Not comes an explosive examination of grief, mental illness, and the devastating consequences of refusing to let go of the past. When Griffin’s first love and ex-boyfriend, Theo, dies in a drowning accident, his universe implodes. Even though Theo had moved to California for college and started seeing Jackson, Griffin never doubted Theo would come back to him when the time was right. But now, the future he’s been imagining for himself has gone far off course. To make things worse, the only person who truly understands his heartache is Jackson. But no matter how much they open up to each other, Griffin’s downward spiral continues. He’s losing himself in his obsessive compulsions and destructive choices, and the secrets he’s been keeping are tearing him apart. If Griffin is ever to rebuild his future, he must first confront his history, every last heartbreaking piece in the puzzle of his life.
'Before We Grow Old had me from the first page, and crying buckets by the last!' Katy Regan When seven-year-old Fran first met Will they knew instantly that they were made for each other. For eleven years they were inseparable, but then, at the age of eighteen, Will just upped and disappeared. Twenty-five years later Will is back. Is fate trying to give them a second chance? Still nursing the heart break from all those years ago, Fran is reluctant to give Will the time of day. The price Will must pay is to tell the truth – the truth about why he left, the truth about why he’s back... And Fran has her own secrets to hide. The time has come to decide what Fran and Will really want from life – before it’s too late. Unashamedly romantic, Before We Grow Old is a book full of love, laughter and tears, and you’ll be rooting for Fran and Will from the moment you meet them. Let Clare Swatman whisk you away for the love story of the year. Perfect for fans of Sophie Cousens and Isabelle Broom. Praise for Clare Swatman: 'Before We Grow Old is an unashamedly big, life-affirming, tear-jerking love story. Beautifully told, characters Fran and Will had me from the first page, and crying buckets by the last ! Just gorgeous.' Katy Regan 'Heart-breaking and life-affirming in equal measures, Before We Grow Old is the tender story of a chance meeting between former childhood sweethearts Fran and Will, and is packed with secrets and revelations. Through her beautiful writing, Clare Swatman delivers a powerful lesson in learning to love with your whole heart and accepting the same, no matter what life throws at you.' Sarah Bennett 'Before We Grow Old took me on an intense emotional journey, and I cried at the end (and I rarely cry when I'm reading!) The portrayal of the mother and son bond - with its peaks and troughs of intensity and frustration - felt incredibly real, and the dialogue in particular was brilliantly done.' Victoria Scott 'A beautifully written tale of enduring love' - Rowan Coleman 'Irresistible . . . A delightfully bittersweet story that will appeal to fans of One Day' - Sunday Mirror 'Wonderful' - Sun
