Showing results by publisher "QUEST from W. F. Howes Ltd" in Family Life

Euridice is bright and ambitious. But this is Brazil in the 1940s, and society expects her to be a loving wife and mother. While Antenor is busy congratulating himself on his excellent catch, Euridice spends her spends her humdrum days ironing his shirts and removing the lumps of onion from his food, dreaming of the success she could have made of herself - as a writer, dressmaker or culinary whiz - in another life. 

Claire Carmichael leads a charmed life. She has two beautiful sons, Jamie and Joshua, and a handsome and successful husband who loves her. Even when she was in school, Claire had it all. She was clever, likeable, and after passing the initiation tests, she was welcomed into the society of popular girls - the Queen Bees. So when a scandal threatened to ruin Claire's reputation, the Queen Bees closed rank to protect her, no matter who else got hurt. Claire may have moved on from her school days, but for one person who she hurt irreparably, those memories are as fresh as blood.

On the night her younger sister, Giulia, moves in with Risa to recover from a bad break-up, a fateful accident occurs: Risa, boiled over with anger and fear, strikes a drunk, erratic Sav with a cast-iron pan, killing him on the spot. The sisters are left with a choice: notify the authorities and make a case for self-defense, or bury the man’s body and go on with their lives as best they can. In a moment of panic, in the late hours of the night, they call upon Sav’s childhood friend—the sweet, loyal Christopher Gardini—to help them, hoping they can trust him to carry a secret like this.

Erica Cantelli feels weighed down and it has nothing to do with the extra pounds she's trying to lose. Juggling a successful career with two children and a deadweight husband, most days can feel she's biting off more than she can chew. In fact fantasising about getting rid of her increasingly disinterested husband is just about all that keeps Erica sane. That and daydreaming about the incredibly handsome new school Principal, Julian Foxham. So when her husband jokes about trading her for a size 0 model, Erica knows something has to change.

When Eliza Jarvis discovers her property show presenter husband, Harry, has been expanding his portfolio with tabloid darling Melody Bird, her perfect life crumbles around her ears. Before you can say Pensioner Barbie she’s in a stolen car, heading to the North Yorkshire coastal village of Kearton Bay in search of the father she never knew, with only her three-year-old daughter and a family-size bag of Maltesers for company. 

While in hospital, seven-year-old Cora Kelly is excited to receive a visit from her mother, who brings a gift of a gingerbread man. Little does Cora know that this will be the last time she sees her. When tragedy strikes, she moves to London with her new guardian, Eliza. As war approaches and the past comes knocking, everything changes again. Is Cora destined to repeat her parents' mistakes?

In her huge mansion overlooking Wyllow Cove, you'd be forgiven for thinking that Natalia Amore had everything she could possibly want. But her house is empty and Nat yearns for the cosiness and bustle of seaside living. In particular, the rundown Lavender Cottage that has gone up for sale. But when her family arrives on the doorstep, all in need of her love and care, Nat's dream of a new life crumbles. Lavender Cottage will just have to wait. That is, until Irishman Connor enters Nat's life and makes her realise that it's okay to put herself first, and she's allowed to wish for more.

1976. Rushing out of the University Library, undergraduate Alice Kenzie bumps straight into PhD student Tristan Somers. There begins a whirlwind romance, and Alice falls pregnant and gives birth to a baby girl. Then Tristan is killed in a car accident. Unable to cope, Alice takes her baby to Summer House, Tristan's family home in Suffolk, leaves her there and disappears. 2018. Olivia Somers has always been told that her mother died in the same accident as her father. When she finds old letters in Summer House, everything she ever believed about her mother is called into question.

Veronica and Gabe met when they were children at ballet class, and by the time they’d reached their teens, they knew they’d be dancing together forever. Only Gabe’s mother had other ideas.... Twenty-something years later, Veronica no longer dances and life hasn’t turned out how she thought it would. She’s divorced with a needy ex-husband, monosyllabic teenage sons, a sister who fancies herself as a long in the tooth ‘it girl’ and a mother who’s recently moved into a care home. 

When Maggie King turned 60, she thought her life complete. Now she’s 61, and everything has gone horribly wrong. Husband Greg has abruptly upped and left leaving Maggie bewildered. But there’s no time to question his departure because her ancient parents are all-consuming. Once fondly referred to as the Golden Oldies, they’re now the BOBs–Bad-Tempered Old Buggers. Sister Freya is never available to help, and Maggie is rapidly reaching the end of her tether. She wants her life–and husband–back.

Daisy meets Adam on their first day of university. Immediately, they become friends. But when tongues wag and their relationship is questioned, Adam shares his secret with Daisy, who promises to stand by him. When their grandmother dies, Adam’s older brother Ryan returns from abroad, and Daisy quickly falls for him. After a troubled upbringing at the hands of a drunken mother and jailbird father, Adam and Ryan have only each other. In adulthood, their bond holds firm, glued together by Daisy with whom they are now both in love. 

Ruby lives on a run-down, crime-infested estate in Manchester, with Stella, her feckless, self-centred mother. Rosie, Ruby’s cousin, leads a middle-class existence but feels suffocated by her domineering mother, Doreen. Although Stella and Doreen have little in common, they share the inability to show the love that their daughters deserve. Meanwhile, Olivia, a member of the elite Cheshire set, is aloof and distant, rattling around in her sprawling mansion, attending charity functions and hosting infamous bridge nights. 

Forty-three year-old Erica has finally got everything she wanted—she's put an ocean between herself and her ex, obtained full custody of the kids, and married Julian. The only fly in the champagne? Julian wants her to have his baby. Which is not as easy as he seems to think. So IVF it is, with frustrations galore. And then Julian's old flame, Genie Stacie, turns up offering Julian what Erica can't give him.

The Keane sisters grew up together at Raven House, a luxurious riverside home that their mother inherited. On the day of a party at the house, tension fills the air as Jess, Natalie and Teresa all fear the exposure of things they're desperate to hide. The beautiful evening is marred by tragedy, and a celebration turns into a nightmare when a young life is lost. It is a haunting reminder of a shocking event five years earlier. As guests eye their companions with suspicion, it's the family who have the most to hide. 

After a long overdue divorce, Erica has finally made it to Italy with her two children and, amazingly, her now dreamy fiancé Julian Foxham. The plan was to start fresh and for Erica to run a country B&B, but two years in and her business is failing miserably, while Julian's career as a novelist is soaring and taking him all over the world with his gorgeous agent. Despite having set a wedding date, with every day that goes by, their dreams are heading in opposite directions. And when her sexy Italian chef Alberto offers her a shoulder to cry on—as the saying goes, When in Rome.

Since Ginevra Innocenti’s death, the cottage has lain empty and abandoned in the woods. Until the day Ginevra’s granddaughter, Sara, sees a dragonfly in the depths of winter. Intrigued, she follows it and discovers the forgotten cottage. When Sara learns that her grandmother was once a healer, a series of events is set in motion which could lead to the end of the family legacy. As long-hidden secrets are revealed, Sara starts to doubt everything she once believed in. Her mind in turmoil, she no longer knows whether she can follow in the footsteps of her ancestors.

So I’m knocked up again. Preggers. Up the duff. Or to put it another way...whoops. And while Alex and I get our heads around unexpected parenthood, I’m having all the usual pregnancy symptoms: throwing up, indigestion, sciatica, constipation, migraines and brain-fuddling tiredness. Mother Nature is a psychopathic old hag. Luckily, modern science offers some lovely distractions, in the form of cruise ships and European air travel. This summer I’m determined to get away. Mum is demanding the usual Duffy family all-inclusive Greek holiday.

Ali Devlin isn't the type of woman to have an affair...but as her marriage to her childhood sweetheart Colin turns bitter, she begins to rediscover the woman she once was. She seeks solace from her toxic relationship by throwing herself into a new job that she loves; confiding in her best friend, Corina; and, most dangerously of all, spending more and more time with her workmate Owen - who just so happens to be passionate, charming and everything her husband used to be. 

Born on the night of a bad-luck comet, Ursula Flight has a difficult destiny written in the stars. Growing up with her family in the country, she is educated by a forward-thinking father who enables her to discover a love of reading, writing and astrology. Ursula dreams of becoming a famous playwright but is devastated to learn she must instead fulfil her family's expectations and marry. Trapped and lost, Ursula plots her escape - but her freedom will come at a price.

Stephanie - bored housewife and disillusioned mother - wants a job, and Madeleine’s recruitment company appears to be the ideal place to go. Except that PAs isn’t quite what it seems. Far from providing companies with Personal Assistants, the agency offers Perfect Alibis to unfaithful women. And as Stephanie soon discovers, there are lots of them about! Founder member Patsy is a serial philanderer, and there’s a dark side to her best friend Millie. For the well-heeled ladies of Edenhurst, PA’s is a ticket to risk-free adultery.