Showing posts with label Jojo Moyes. Show all posts

UNCOVERED PICKS: Five new reads for October

October's here! Time for darker evenings, colder days and gorgeous autumnal weather. And of course, chilly nights are perfect for cosying up with a good book. Here are five of the many new novels that'll be available this month!

Losing It by Emma Rathbone
Twenty-six year old Julia Greenfield has long suspected that everyone is having fun without her.

It’s not that she’s unhappy, per se. It’s just that she’s not exactly happy either.

She hasn’t done anything spontaneous since about 2003. Shouldn’t she be running a start up? Going backpacking? Exploring uncharted erogenous zones with inappropriate men?

Trapped between news of her mother’s latent sexual awakening and her spinster aunt’s odd behaviour, Julia has finally snapped. It’s time to take some risks, and get a life.

After all – what has she got to lose?

We Were On a Break by Lindsey Kelk
‘You’ve just had a holiday,’ I pointed out, trying not to yawn. ‘Wasn’t that enough of a break?’

‘I don’t mean that kind of break.’

There’s nothing worse than the last day of holiday. Oh wait, there is. When what should have been a proposal turns into a break, Liv and Adam find themselves on opposite sides of the life they had mapped out.

Friends and family all think they’re crazy; Liv throws herself into work – animals are so much simpler than humans – and Adam tries to get himself out of the hole he’s dug. But as the short break becomes a chasm, can they find a way back to each other?

More importantly, do they want to?

Paris for One (and Other Stories) by Jojo Moyes
Nell is twenty-six and has never been to Paris. She's never even been on a romantic weekend away to anywhere before. Traveling abroad isn't really her thing. But when Nell's boyfriend fails to show up for their mini-vacation, she has the opportunity to prove everyone including herself wrong. Alone in Paris, Nell finds a version of herself she never knew existed: independent and intrepid. Could this turn out to be the most adventurous weekend of her life? Funny, charming, and irresistible, Paris for Oneis vintage Moyes as are the other stories that round out the collection.

The Singalong Society for Singletons by Katey Lovell
Monique and Issy are teachers, housemates and lovers of musicals! Their Friday night routine consists of snacks, wine and the Frozen DVD. So when Monique’s boyfriend moves to America for a year and her sister Hope moves in because of her own relationship woes, Friday nights get a new name… ‘The Singalong Society for Singletons’!

It’s a chance to get together, sing along to their favourite tracks from the best-loved West End shows, and forget the worries of work, relationships and love (or lack of it). But when Issy shares the details of their little group further afield, they get some unexpected new members who might just change their opinions on singledom for good…

Today Will be Different by Maria Semple
Eleanor knows she's a mess. But today, she will tackle the little things. She will shower and get dressed. She will have her poetry and yoga lessons after dropping off her son, Timby. She won't swear. She will initiate sex with her husband, Joe. But before she can put her modest plan into action-life happens. Today, it turns out, is the day Timby has decided to fake sick to weasel his way into his mother's company. It's also the day Joe has chosen to tell his office-but not Eleanor-that he's on vacation. Just when it seems like things can't go more awry, an encounter with a former colleague produces a graphic memoir whose dramatic tale threatens to reveal a buried family secret. 

UNCOVERED PICKS: Five February Releases

It's February already, and this month will see more new releases from both new and well-known authors. Here are our five picks...

Diary of an Unsmug Married by Polly James
What happens to love when life gets in the way? A funny and perceptive book about real relationships. Perfect for fans of Dawn French, Sue Townsend and Bridget Jones' Diary. Meet Molly Bennett. Married to Max and mother to two warring teenagers, she's just 'celebrated' a significant birthday. Bridget Jones would call Molly a "smug married". So why doesn't she feel it? Is it because everyone seems to be having a better time of it than her? Or is it that Max has started showing more interest in 'business trips' and less interest in their sex life? Molly begins to despair. And then an old school friend starts flirting with her through Facebook...

The One Plus One by Jojo Moyes
The One Plus One is the beautiful, poignant and utterly compelling new novel by the internationally bestselling author Jojo Moyes. One single mum. With two jobs and two children, Jess Thomas does her best day after day. But it's hard on your own. And sometimes you take risks you shouldn't. Because you have to...

One chaotic family Jess' gifted, quirky daughter Tanzie is brilliant with numbers, but without a helping hand she'll never get the chance to shine. And Nicky, Jess' teenage stepson, can't fight the bullies alone. Sometimes Jess feels like they're sinking...

One handsome stranger Into their lives comes Ed Nicholls, a man whose life is in chaos, and who is running from a deeply uncertain future. But he has time on his hands. He knows what it's like to be lonely. And he wants to help...

If You're Not the One by Jemma Forte
Jennifer Wright has a seemingly perfect life a husband, two kids, a lovely house. She also isn't entirely sure if she's happy. Frustrated with her lack of career and a husband who barely seems to notice her, she can't help but wonder, is this it?

At 38 she's hurtling toward middle age and a mid- life crisis. And she starts to think what her life would be like had she made different choices along the way...

Would she be happier if she'd stayed with sexy, carefree, unconventional Aidan? Or fabulously wealthy Tim? Would she be living happily ever after with sweet, kind, harmless Steve? Jennifer's about to find out. After a terrible row with her husband she has a life threatening accident, and, whilst unconscious, is given the gift of seeing what would have happened if she'd stayed with each of these men from her past. And then Jennifer's left with the biggest decision of all... 

The Dead Wife's Handbook by Hannah Beckerman
'Today is my death anniversary. A year ago today I was still alive.'

Rachel, Max and their daughter Ellie had the perfect life - until the night Rachel's heart stopped beating. Now Max and Ellie are doing their best to adapt to life without Rachel, and just as her family can't forget her, Rachel can't quite let go of them either. Caught in a place between worlds, Rachel watches helplessly as she begins to fade from their lives. And when Max is persuaded by family and friends to start dating again, Rachel starts to understand that dying was just the beginning of her problems.

As Rachel grieves for the life she's lost and the life she'll never lead, she learns that sometimes the thing that breaks your heart might be the very thing you hope for.

Mother of the Year by Karen Ross
'I often think my mother would prefer colonic irrigation to hanging out with me...'

Beth Jackson is a national treasure, celebrated for her television shows and winning the Mother of the Year Award three times in a row.

Only, her daughter just wishes that Beth would be more like a normal mum...