Showing titles in City Life

As Liverpool and its residents begin to heal from the wounds and memories of World War I, life on Weaver Street in 1924 is blessedly peaceful. But as the Depression begins to bite, and the arrival of the Muller family on Weaver Street signals the worrying drumbeats of conflict coming from Germany, the fragile happiness and peace Liverpool has been enjoying looks destined to end. And as the neighbours pull together in the toughest of times, the women on Weaver Street face the prospect of waving their menfolk off to war.

Anna had never met anyone like Willow. Entering art school with lofty ideas about Art and her role in it, Anna was wholly unprepared for someone as mysterious, moody—and cool—as Willow. Here was Anna’s muse and collaborator all in one, ready to bring her in on Art’s great secrets. Now, five years later, Anna is weary. Where art school was boundless creativity and collaboration, the New York art scene is all about survival. Worse: Willow’s true nature as a muse only to herself has become nakedly apparent, as has her cruelty.

Piglet is judging the contents of your shopping trolley. She is listening to what you order for lunch and is observing whether the dessert you serve is homemade or snatched from a packet. There isn't another 31-year-old that takes food more seriously. And who could blame her, with a childhood nickname like that? In just over a fortnight, she is marrying Kit. Kit and his tasteful family present an opportunity for reinvention - when she had been growing up in Derby, this life, this man had been beyond her imagination.

Maggie Jacobsen has a bright future ahead of her, with a handsome boyfriend and a promising career, until an accident on what should be one of the happiest days of her life takes it all away. Lying in hospital and forced to face the possibility that nothing will ever be the same again, Maggie must figure out how to move forward on her own terms while facing family secrets, heartbreak, and the possibility that love might find her in the last place she would ever expect.

Tommy Jr might be one of the youngest members of the Carter family, but he has plans to one day step into his Uncle Jonny’s shoes as head of the family. But when his young girlfriend Aimee announces she’s pregnant, everything changes. Although only nineteen, Tommy’s determined to be the best dad he can. Aimee’s dad Kevin Fox feels the Carters owe him big time and now he’s going to part of the family it’s time to pay up. But publicly rejected by the Carters, Kevin plots his revenge and Tommy Jr is firmly in his sights.

Henry Miller is undisputedly one of the most important American writers and Sexus like his other works was banned in English speaking countries for obscenity. It explores work, love and friendship and as with all his work is based on autobiographical experiences- in this book his passionate affair with a dance hall hostess in NY that is recounted in intimately graphic and vivid detail.

Max is thirty, a published poet and grossly overpaid legal counsel for a tech company. She’s living her best life! Or is she? The debris of years of dysphoria and failed relationships rattle around in her head. When she tumbles down the stairs at a New Year’s Eve party and wakes up in hospital alone, she decides to make some changes. First things first: a stab at good old-fashioned heteronormativity. Enter Vincent, corporate lawyer and hobby baker. His trad friendship group may as well speak a different language to Max, and his Chinese parents never pictured their son dating a trans woman.

Caught between his well-meaning yet misapprehending family, his boisterous friends, and his self-assured partner Ben, Elom struggles to fit in. All he ever wants is to feel understood – but what does it mean to live authentically when the only thing changing faster than the world around you is the world within? Moving between Accra, Glasgow, London, and the islands of the outer Hebrides, Selali Fiamanya’s extraordinary debut asks what it means to love and be loved in return. Before We Hit the Ground is an intimate portrait of a family, and one man’s struggle to find his place.

When Daisy Kennedy risked everything to rescue her twin sister, Lily, from the clutches of a ruthless gang, she thought it would finally mend the cracks in their fractured relationship. But Lily sees it differently. She’s convinced Daisy’s reckless choices are what put her in harm’s way to begin with, and forgiveness feels as far away as ever. Then Daisy is kidnapped by another notorious gangland boss. His demand? Repay their father’s crippling debt by working as a prostitute in his seedy club. Trapped, terrified, and with no one to trust, Daisy clings to the hope that Lily will come for her.

The troubled and anxious of Tokyo are desperate to find out. They all have their problems - and they all want to believe that a temporary feline companion from a unique pet shop can help them find a solution. Or at least provide a few days' relief and distraction. But, like all their kind, the Blanket Cats are mysterious creatures with their own unknowable agendas, who delight in confounding expectations. And perhaps what their hosts are looking for isn't what they really need. Three days may not be enough to change your life. But it can be enough to change how you see it.

It is the evening of 16-year-old Melody's coming of age ceremony in her grandparents' brownstone. Watched lovingly by her relatives and friends, making her entrance to the music of Prince, she wears a special custom-made dress - the very same dress that was sewn for a different wearer, Melody's mother, for a celebration that ultimately never took place. Unfurling the history of Melody's parents and grandparents - from the 1921 Tulsa massacre to post-9/11 New York....

The trip of a lifetime! Rosie Lewis has her life together. A swanky job as a Michelin-starred sous chef, a loving husband and future children scheduled for exactly January 2021. That’s until she comes home one day to find her husband’s prepacked bag and a confession that he's had an affair. Heartbroken and devastated, Rosie drowns her sorrows in a glass (or three) of wine, only to discover the following morning that she has spontaneously invested in a bright pink campervan to facilitate her grand plans to travel the country.

Sofia, Bulgaria, a landlocked city in southern Europe, stirs with hope and impending upheaval. Soviet buildings crumble, wind scatters sand from the far south and political protesters flood the streets with song. In this atmosphere of disquiet, an American teacher navigates a life transformed by the discovery and loss of love. As he prepares to leave the place he’s come to call home, he grapples with the intimate encounters that have marked his years abroad, each bearing uncanny reminders of his past.

Sister Europe tells the story of one wild night in Berlin, as a ragtag group meet at the Hotel Interconti to celebrate an elderly author’s venerable career (all under the resolute assurance that their wealthy host will provide a free and fancy dinner). Inevitably, boredom, hunger and horniness set in, and the gang—a young trans teen and her father; an ageing publisher and his flakey date; a dog, a troubled heiress and an Arabic prince—are flung out on an exhilarating odyssey through the city’s shadow and light.

When high school English teacher Richard Boyle comes face-to-face with an ex-student determined to commit an atrocity, his whole world changes. Thanks to his quick thinking, Richard averts a major tragedy and is hailed as a hero, with his face splashed across the media. But not all the attention coming his way is good…Somewhere out there, a memory is triggered by someone watching the news of the incident. A plan is hatched. When Richard receives the first threat, it’s very clear: it’s time to talk about what you did to me…

Carefree personal trainer Drake North is long on charm and short on connections that do more than skim the surface. His main ties are to his family and his best friend, so when his friend’s little sister moves to town, Drake promises to look out for her. But when he offers her his spare bedroom for a few nights, he might be getting in over his head.

Powerful and enigmatic billionaire Braden Black doesn't do relationships. He doesn't fall in love. But ever since meeting Skye Manning, he's breaking every one of his careful rules. He just can't get enough of her fierce independence and the white-hot sizzle of attraction between them. Of course, there are still lessons Skye has yet to learn . . . Only Braden isn't sure Skye is ready. Falling in love is one thing. Inviting her completely into his world—and the reality of his darker, most forbidden appetites—is quite another. It's about trust. His and hers.

Naomi Alderman's The Lessons reflects the truth that the lessons life teaches often come too late. Hidden away in an Oxford backstreet is a crumbling Georgian mansion, unknown to any but the few who possess keys to its unassuming front gate. Its owner is the mercurial, charismatic Mark Winters, whose rackety trust-fund upbringing has left him as troubled and unpredictable as he is wildly promiscuous.

When multi-millionaire Jacki Turner is forced to take stock of her life, she sets her daughters a challenge - in order to inherit her vast fortune, each must fulfil a task that she believes will push them to become better versions of themselves. Rose, an exhausted mother of three, must write and publish a children's picture book. Exercise-hater Mel must run the Gold Coast marathon. Isla, the eldest, must figure out who she is beyond her wealth and status, while commitment-phobic Jess must stay in a relationship for longer than three months.

London, 1969: The Kray twins, the nemeses of Charles Holborne, barrister, are finally convicted of multiple murders and sent away for the longest prison terms ever imposed by a British court. But with London in the grip of a housing crisis and unscrupulous landlords hiking rents, there are new ruthless enforcers terrorizing destitute East Enders. When a tenant dies during a violent altercation with bailiffs, Charles is instructed to represent the businessmen charged with conspiracy to murder.