Showing results by narrator "Tessa" in All Categories

Surfing high on the wave of lesbian chic, author/screenwriter Melissa Hartley is deliciously dangerous. She knows all the right people, goes to all the right parties, says all the right things. When she meets the quiet, elegant Sarah at a hotel bar, Melissa makes all the right moves to get Sarah into her bed, then makes all the right promises to convince the usually cautious young attorney to come live with her in San Francisco.

In this love letter to reading, curated by Pandora Sykes in aid of the National Literacy Trust, bestselling and beloved writers share their favourite books: the ones they hold most dearly, that they return to time and again and that helped make them the writers they are.

Commemorating the 80th anniversary of conscription for women, Army Girls captures remarkable stories from the last surviving veterans who served in Britain's female army and brings to life a pivotal moment in British history. Precious memories and letters are entwined in a rich narrative that travels back in time and sheds new light on being young, female and at war.

Samantha Reynolds had hoped that moving to the resort town of Aloha Lagoon would be the start of an exciting new life. Sure, it may not be everything she had hoped for - she's living with her mom, has no job, no income, and absolutely no idea what to do next. But it's a start! Out of options, Samantha decides to take a job she's just a little under-qualified for - a children's surfing instructor at the Aloha Lagoon Resort. She can surf... but she just doesn't know how to teach surfing. But that soon becomes the least of her worries.

Nicht nur, dass Leona Dorn, eine erfolgreiche Lektorin in einem Frankfurter Verlagshaus, Zeugin eines Selbstmords wird, am selben Tag offenbart ihr Mann Wolfgang ihr, dass er eine Geliebte hat und sie verlassen wird - Leona bricht zusammen. Erst als der sympathische Robert Jablonski in ihr Leben tritt, fängt sich Leona langsam wieder. Robert, der Übersetzer ist und in Ascona lebt, scheint ihr das zu geben, was sie seit ihrer Trennung von Wolfgang so schmerzlich vermisst hat: Geborgenheit und Trost.

Eve Sumptor is back. This time she is facing her toughest opponent yet. Herself. After a passionate affair, Eve Sumptor and Lainey Stanton had difficult choices to make. One chose fear, the other gave in to guilt. As the consequences of those decisions begin to come to light, both women must find a new direction. Will their paths once again come together?

Ein einsames Farmhaus im Hochmoor Yorkshires. Ein jahrzehntealtes, bedrohliches Geheimnis. Eine Fremde, die die Mauern des Schweigens zum Einsturz bringt... Für das zerrüttete Ehepaar Barbara und Ralph Amberg läuft die Weihnachtsreise von Anfang an schief und sie werden in Westhill House eingeschneit. Barbara sieht sich plötzlich mit der Lebensgeschichte jener Frau konfrontiert, der Westhill House einmal gehört hat: Frances Gray. Sie taucht beim Lesen in ein beklemmendes Geflecht aus Liebe und Hass, Verachtung, Abhängigkeit und unbändigem Freiheitswillen ein.

Eve Sumptor has it all. She's beautiful, wealthy, successful, and sexy. But she is haunted by a past that should have destroyed her. Unable to free herself emotionally, Eve keeps her personal relationships at an arm's length. Even if she secretly feels more than she wants to admit. Lainey Stanton needs a change. She loves being a mother, but her marriage has become mundane. When her husband begins treating her like his mother instead of his wife, Lainey decides she needs to change. Going back to work - against her husband's wishes - is just what she needs.

Building a successful career in the world of remote work, hybrid schedules, and a lack of work/life balance is not easy. In fact it’s difficult and often seems impossible. But, it doesn’t have to be that way. By confronting the lies we are told about building a career, this book will bring you one step closer to the epiphany that will change your life.

When a series of disasters lands her living on her cousin's couch—and back in the small island town she never thought she'd see again—Neavh is forced to confront the truth: leaving Clover behind was the biggest mistake of her life, and she'd give every star in the sky for another chance.

Eve and Lainey Sumptor have faced many trials in their journey to one another. Now, after a long, hard road they are both in a place where they can relax and enjoy themselves. They’re together, they’re deliriously happy, their kids are thriving, and the demons from the past are dead and buried. It’s time to embrace their life, ripe with domestic bliss, as it unfolds before them at last. Neither woman ever dreamt they could be so fulfilled. But the problem with demons is they are tricky things that don’t always stay gone…

Eve Sumptor-Riley’s life is perfect. She’s married to the love of her life, has a beautiful daughter and the best friend any woman can have. With her businesses flourishing, and her husband’s professional life expanding, Eve’s life was finally happy. Or so she thought. Someone does not want Eve to be happy. They are determined to take everything away from her. Once again, Eve must battle her past, this time from an unknown foe. Will she be able to triumph again? Or will she lose everything she worked so hard to achieve?

Dame Ivy Compton-Burnett (1884-1969) was an English novelist who was a bestseller in the mid-20th century. She published eighteen highly acclaimed works of fiction in her lifetime, inspired by her own tragic experiences of family life. Her works consist mainly of dialogue and focus on family life among the late Victorian or Edwardian upper middle class. They deal with money, power, status, incest, adultery, murder, homosexuality – about which she was years ahead of her time – and all the passions and stresses of family life, described with brilliant wit and perception.

Riley, a New York workaholic, has health issues that leave her no choice but to move to a small town to lead a calmer life. She hates the huge mansion she bought on a whim and stands out like a sore thumb in the cheery community of Mystic.

On a winter Saturday night in post-war Bristol, sisters Moira and Evelyn, on the cusp of adulthood, go to an art students’ party in a dockside pub; there they meet two men, Paul and Sinden, whose air of worldliness and sophistication both intrigues and repels them. Sinden calls a few days later to invite them over to the grand suburban mansion Paul shares with his brother and sister, and Moira accepts despite Evelyn’s misgivings. As the night unfolds in this unfamiliar, glamorous new setting, the sisters learn things about themselves and each other that shock them.

Practical Magic is a charmed introduction to the wonders of modern magic and mysticism, from crystals and astrology to chakras, dream interpretation, and, of course, a few spells! Focusing on three primary areas - healing, magic, and fortune-telling - this book provides the perfect primer for sophisticated dabblers. Clear introductions on trending topics, like herbal tonics and astrological charts, are paired with home remedies, hands-on instructions, and suggested rituals in a chic, stylish format that will capture the imaginations of good witches of all ages.

Ist das Liebe, oder kann der weg? Hannah, die als Coach für fachgerechtes Ausmisten arbeitet, soll ausgerechnet dem neuen Flirt ihrer Freundin ein geordnetes Zuhause verpassen. Prompt entbrennt mit dem eigenwilligen Pascal erbitterter Streit: behalten oder ab in die Tonne? Doch je mehr Hannah aufräumt, desto tiefer manövriert sie sich mitten ins emotionale Chaos - denn plötzlich findet sie nicht nur eine echte Leiche auf dem Dachboden, sondern sie fühlt sich auch so merkwürdig zu Pascal hingezogen.

Every day, we hear about and experience griefs, large and small, in our families, friendships, communities, and worldwide. The grief of a loved one passing. The grief of a way of life ceasing to exist. The grief of global pandemic, war, climate collapse. As her mother’s dementia advances and she can no longer live independently, Tessa McWatt confronts personal and political losses, and finds herself wandering in a forest asking, how do we grieve? And what can we learn from nature and those whose communities are rooted in nature about not only how to grieve but also how to live?

Alter egal – alles Liebe! Anne kriegt die Krise. Da hat sie monatelang die Goldene Hochzeit ihrer Eltern vorbereitet, dann verkündet ihre Mutter, sie werde sich scheiden lassen. Altersstarrsinn oder Late Life Crisis? Als die alte Dame noch dazu einen deutlich jüngeren Mann präsentiert, wendet sich Anne verzweifelt an Tom, den Sohn des neuen Lovers – doch der hat kein Problem damit. Prompt bringt eine ganz und gar überraschende Versuchung auch Annes Leben durcheinander, und sie muss sich fragen: Ist die Liebe zu einem jüngeren Mann wirklich so abwegig?

The morning of her niece's wedding, Margo Just drinks a double martini and contemplates the many mistakes she's made in her fifty-odd years of life. Spending three decades in love with a wonderful but unattainable man is pretty high up on her list of missteps, as is a long line of unsuccessful love affairs accompanied by a seemingly endless supply of delicious cocktails.