Calling Major Tom by David M Barnett (99p)

A gorgeous, laugh-out-loud story of friendship, family and forgiveness. The perfect book club read for fans of A Man Called Ove, A Boy Made of Blocks and The Rosie Project.

A man who has given up on the world. A family who show him how to live.

Forty-something Thomas is very happy to be on his own, far away from other people and their problems. But beneath his grumpy exterior lies a story and a sadness that is familiar to us all. And he’s about to encounter a family who will change his view of the world… for good.

 

A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf (FREE)

A Room of One’s Own is an extended essay by Virginia Woolf. First published on 24 October 1929, the essay was based on a series of lectures she delivered at Newnham College and Girton College, two women’s colleges at Cambridge University in October 1928. While this extended essay in fact employs a fictional narrator and narrative to explore women both as writers of and characters in fiction, the manuscript for the delivery of the series of lectures, titled “Women and Fiction”, and hence the essay, are considered non-fiction. The essay is generally seen as a feminist text, and is noted in its argument for both a literal and figural space for women writers within a literary tradition dominated by patriarchy.

 

A Wedding in Cornwall by Laura Briggs (FREE)

It’s the career move of a lifetime, and Julianne can’t believe it’s hers: a position as an event planner at a country house in Cornwall, England, beginning with the wedding of a celebrity! If her old firm’s senior planner back in the States hadn’t fallen suddenly sick with the chicken pox, Julianne would never have found herself chosen for a life in one of England’s most beautiful coastal counties, surrounded by rugged shores, quaint cottages, elegant gardens and a house to die for.

But life in Cornwall isn’t exactly as Julianne imagined it. Her first bride-to-be is a resentful, petted snob, the groom is immature and bored, and the Cornish staff of Cliffs House has a difficult time believing that an event planner from a mid-level position can handle a wedding this big. And then there’s a personal matter — the handsome, sometimes charming, sometimes standoffish gardener Matthew Rose. He and Julianne have a strangely complicated relationship somewhere between friendship and attraction. But with a secret in his past, and a scheming bridesmaid plotting to have Matthew all to herself, will Julianne find a way to untangle her feelings and the problems of planning a perfect Cornish wedding?

 

The Oddest little Book Shop by Beth Good (FREE)

Daisy Diamond is a big television star, and she’s finally going home. After ten long years away. Back to the gorgeous seaside resort of Port Pol in sunny Cornwall.

But she’s not home five minutes before she realises the mistake she’s made. Because her childhood sweetheart Nick Old – affectionately known as ‘Devil’ in Port Pol – is still living there, running the local bookshop, and has no intention of letting her forget what they once felt for each other.

Daisy is no longer the dewy-eyed romantic of her school days, though. And though her life has not gone according to plan, she’s not afraid to show Nick how much she’s grown up since he famously dumped her at the school leavers’ disco. Even if it means bending her heart out of shape a little …

 

Spirit of Lost Angels by Liza Perrat (FREE)

Her mother executed for witchcraft, her father dead at the hand of a noble, Victoire Charpentier vows to rise above her impoverished peasant roots.

Forced to leave her village of Lucie-sur-Vionne for domestic work in Paris, Victoire suffers gruesome abuse under the 18th century old regime. 

Imprisoned in France’s most pitiless madhouse, La Salpêtrière asylum, the desperate Victoire begins a romance with fellow prisoner Jeanne de Valois, infamous conwoman of the diamond necklace affair. With the help of the ruthless and charismatic countess, Victoire carves out a new life for herself.

Enmeshed in the fever of pre-revolutionary France, Victoire must find the strength to join the revolutionary force storming the Bastille. Is she brave enough to help overthrow the diabolical aristocracy?

As this historical fiction adventure traces Victoire’s journey, it follows too, the journey of an angel talisman through generations of the Charpentier family. 

Amidst the intrigue and drama of the French revolution, the women of Spirit of Lost Angels face tragedy and betrayal in a world where their gift can be their curse.

 

The Puppet Master by Abigail Osborne (FREE)

Billie’s hiding from the world, believing it to be the only way to take control of her life as she lives in fear of the man who nearly destroyed her. But what she doesn’t realise is that she’s exactly where he wants her; isolated and afraid. A chance meeting with budding journalist Adam sparks a relationship that could free her from the terror that controls her. But will Adam be able to see the real Billie buried under her terror and pain? 

Adam knows exactly who Billie is and is determined to expose her and get justice for the lives she ruined. But first, he needs to convince her to open up to him but as unwanted attraction and feelings blossom between them, Adam is forced to realise that all is not as it seems. 

Most of their lives have been unknowingly governed by the desires and needs of someone who considers himself their master. He has influenced and shaped them for years, meticulously weaving a web of lies and control around them. Can Billie and Adam survive the betrayals in store and cut the strings that bind them? 

One thing is for sure. The master wants his puppets back – and he’ll do anything to keep them.

 

The House of Secrets by Sara Manning (99p)

An ordinary house on an ordinary street, built in 1936 and never lived in. Its rooms might be empty, but this house is full of secrets.

When Zoe and Win, raw and reeling from a recent tragedy, move into their new home it’s meant to be a fresh start and a way to mend the holes in their relationship.

But pushed to the back of a cupboard is a suitcase that’s been gathering dust for eighty years. Inside is a wedding dress, letters and a diary all belonging to a woman called Libby. And there’s something else in the suitcase, something that echoes Zoe’s own pain.

Zoe follows Libby’s trail from Paris to Spain on the brink of Civil War to secret trysts in London, and as Libby finds the courage to live and love again, Zoe begins to let go of her own grief.

But when Libby’s story takes a darker turn, Zoe becomes increasingly obsessed with discovering what really happened all those years ago. Because if Libby managed to get her happy ever after then maybe Zoe and Win can too . . .

 

Poor Hands by Oliver Tidy (99p)

In a big old building on the south coast of Kent, David Booker runs a book-themed coffee shop and Jo Cash operates a private investigation business. They live there, too. But not like that.

Jo needs help with tracing a mystery client’s living relatives. David needs help with his staffing problems.  Will they both get what they are looking for?

Sometimes two heads are better than one. Sometimes a poor hand is better than none. But not always…

 

He Made Me by Oliver Tidy (FREE)

David Booker and Jo Cash are experiencing similar stuttering starts to their new lives on Romney Marsh when Rebecca Swaine turns up seeking help. Someone is demanding a lot of money from her husband and she wants to know why.

What do the dying words of one man – he made me – actually mean?

As the mystery unfolds people will come undone and reputations will be ruined before the answer becomes clear.

At the end of the day Mrs Swaine might end up wishing she’d let sleeping dogs lie…

 

The Perfect Husband by Lisa Gardner FREE)

When Tess Beckett married Jim, a well-respected and decorated cop, she thought all her dreams had come true. But within two years the vows she made were shattered as her husband was charged with murdering ten women.

With Jim behind bars, Tess feels certain that she can move on with her life. Until she learns that Jim has escaped from prison.

As a frantic and rigorous manhunt gets underway in four states, Tess knows that it’s only a matter of time until her perfect husband tracks her down for the revenge he is sure to demand. And when he finds her, she must be ready. Because this time she’s determined that their separation will be ’till death do us part’.

 

The Cherry Tree Cafe by Heidi Swain (FREE)

Lizzie Dixon‘s life feels as though it’s fallen apart. Instead of the marriage proposal she was hoping for from her boyfriend, she is unceremoniously dumped, and her job is about to go the same way. So, there’s only one option: to go back home to the village she grew up in and to try to start again.
 
Her best friend Jemma is delighted Lizzie has come back home as she has just bought a little cafe and Lizzie’s sewing skills are just what she needs to help get it ready for the grand opening.

With a new venture and a new home, things are looking much brighter for Lizzie. But can she get over her broken heart, and will an old flame reignite a love from long ago…?