BOOK NEWS: Career Game by Louise Mensch

After her addictive book Beauty, Louise Mensch (otherwise known as Louise Bagshawe) is back this summer with new novel Career Game. Released in June, the novel focuses on Topaz and Rowena, characters from Louise's previous novel Career Girls.

Topaz Rossi and Rowena Krebs are live and kicking. In more ways than one. Music wonder Rowena Krebs is so huge she's now in the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame. Right at the top of Musica Records. Her old rival, now best friend, Topaz Rossi is a magazine guru in New York, heading up American Magazines. Bright and energetic as the city itself. But things are changing: Rowena senses a shift both in business and on the home front. And Topaz can't work out why the circulation figures are dropping. Something's up. Paradise is a place that can bring trouble... 

UNCOVERED INTERVIEWS: Sue Shepherd

This week we're joined by Sue Shepherd, author of newly-released romantic comedy Doesn't Everyone Have a Secret? in which the lives of three people are about to collide. Not only are all three keeping secrets, but they're also being watched over by guardian angels who are trying to steer them in the right direction! The novel is available now, and after finding about the book we just had to ask Sue more about it...

Tell us about your latest novel in 15 words or less.
Three people with a secret to keep and the angels tasked with caring for them.

What inspired you to write Doesn't Everyone have a Secret?
The idea for the book came about a good few years ago actually. When my children were younger I did a couple of creative writing courses with the author Sophie King. I really enjoyed the courses, those two hours on a Thursday night were very precious to me; they were a chance for me to simply be ‘Sue’ for a while. One night I left my house late, as I so often do, and, because I didn’t want to miss anything I drove a bit too fast through dark country lanes. Fortunately I still arrived safely. We started the class with our usual piece of flash fiction; this is where you simply take ten minutes to write whatever pops into your head. I decided to write a rather irreverent piece about an angel who had been assigned ‘Sue Shepherd’ to watch over for the day. I named the angel Angela and in my short piece of fiction she was complaining that ‘Sue’ was a nightmare to look after. It was just a short jokey piece but the rest of the group liked it and they encouraged me to try expanding on the idea and thus, ‘Doesn’t Everyone Have a Secret?’ was born. The more I wrote, the more I found that the human characters wanted to tell their own secrets and the angels gradually gave the story over to them, but the original idea is still very evident and the angels are an integral part of the book.


Where do you do most of your writing?
I like to write in the lounge. I’m happiest when everyone else is out and I have a silent house and a permanently refilled cup of tea.

What is your favourite book?
I think I’d have to say, The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. I have always adored time travel films and books.  I’m a great lover of a paradox and the fact that the first time Clare meets Henry is not the first time Henry meets Clare is a delightful concept.

Which part of Doesn't Everyone have a Secret did you enjoy writing the most?
I loved writing the funny sections, especially the family humour. However, who wouldn’t enjoy the risky bits? Living dangerously through Steph was great fun.

Who is your favourite literary heroine?
I’m not entirely sure she can be classed as a heroine, but my favourite fictional female is most definitely Charlotte from "Charlotte Sometimes" by Penelope Farmer. Charlotte time travels back more than forty years and finds herself in the shoes of Clare. I remember reading this novel as a child and feeling both scared for Charlotte and a little excited at the same time. This novel most definitely ignited my love of ‘all things time travel’ and I’ve read it on many occasions as an adult since.

Do you have any tips for readers who are looking to become published writers?
Don’t be afraid to show your work and take criticism on board. Ask friends to read your draft. If possible join a writing group. Feedback is invaluable. You can hide away and write forever but ultimately you need to stick your head out from under the parapet and take a chance. I was incredibly nervous when Corazon Books read my first draft but ultimately it was the best thing I could have done. By sharing it I was able to get suggestions of ways to improve it that I would never have thought of. If someone gives you advice take it with an open mind and be prepared to make changes.

Are you working on anything else at the moment and if so, can you tell us?
Yes, I have already begun work on my next book. As my children are older now I have a lot more time to write so I’m hopeful that my second novel will be finished considerably quicker than the first. I’m often asked if the second book is a follow on from ‘Doesn’t Everyone Have A Secret?’ But, I can confirm it’s a completely different story based on a totally different idea. This one is about parallel worlds - a subject I love almost as much as time travel. I’m currently about a third of the way through. A couple of friends have had a look at my ‘work in progress’ and they really like it; they say it’s a very similar mix of humour and grit. I’m really enjoying getting to know my new characters; I just have to keep alert and not confuse my two worlds!

You can find out more about Sue Shepherd at her website.

Doesn't Everyone Have a Secret? by Sue Shepherd
Doesn't Everyone Have a Secret? is a romantic comedy about three very different people, each with a secret, whose lives collide in unexpected ways. 

Steph is a harassed mum who's considering an affair with her children's sexy headmaster. Penny is trying to deal with a crush on her boss, OCD and a sad secret from her childhood. And Mike is a vicar who is being blackmailed for his secret, although it's not all that it seems! 

Meanwhile, all three are being watched over by their own guardian angels, who try to push them in the right direction and help move their lives along - but not always successfully... 

BOOK NEWS: The Chateau on the Lake by Charlotte Betts

The beautiful new historical novel by Charlotte Betts, The Chateau on the Lake, will be released in early May, is set in the time of the French Revolution and follows teacher Madeleine who travels to France in search of her family.

1792. As a teacher at her parents' Academy for Young Ladies in the heart of London, Madeleine Moreau has lived her life sheltered from the outside world. But on the night of a dazzling Masquerade, tragedy strikes and she is left alone in the world. Desperate to find the family she never knew, Madeleine impulsively travels to France in search of them. But with war around the corner, and fearing for Madeleine's safety, the enigmatic Comte Etienne d'Aubery offers her protection at his home, Chateau Mirabelle. Chateau Mirabelle enchants Madeleine with its startling beauty, but it is a place of dark and haunting secrets. As the Revolution gathers momentum and the passions of the populace are enflamed, Madeleine must take control of her own destiny and unravel events of the past in order to secure a chance of future happiness. The Chateau on the Lake is an enthralling historical novel set during the time of the French Revolution; rich, evocative and immersive. If you love Philippa Gregory and Joanne Harris, you will adore Charlotte Betts.

UNCOVERED INTERVIEWS: Maggie Le Page

Maggie Le Page's latest novel The Trouble With Dying is available now, and is perfect for those who are partial to a humorous romance with a paranormal twist! The lovely Maggie has joined Chick Lit Uncovered for the weekly Q&A so that we can find out more about what inspired her to write The Trouble With Dying, and what she'll be up to next!

Tell us about your latest novel in 15 words or less.
Comatose and fighting amnesia, out-of-body Faith must rediscover herself and wake up before she’s murdered.

What inspired you to write The Trouble With Dying?
I’ve always had a fascination with “spooky stuff”: life after death, angels, clairvoyancy. And when a friend mentioned an out-of-body experience she’d had after a bad accident, and how she’d heard and seen things she shouldn’t have known about (because she had just flatlined in the hospital), it got me thinking. How would it be for someone in a coma? Voila! The Trouble With Dying was conceived.

Where do you do most of your writing?
On my laptop. I sit on the couch, or in our bay window, but when I’m in a real writing funk I head down to my local café and set myself up there. It goes without saying my coffee is always needing a refill. A lot of my writing also happens in the dead of night, when the rest of the house is asleep.

What is your favourite book?
Ack! What a question! I’ve loved so many! Confession: I’m not really into “literary” books—I’m more of a commercial fiction girl. It started with Mary Stewart (eg Touch Not The Cat), expanded to Wilbur Smith (OMG! River God!) and James Patterson (eg When The Wind Blows). Then I discovered chick lit and Marian Keyes (eg Rachel’s Holiday) and… yeah. Eclectic tastes, I guess.

Which part of The Trouble With Dying did you enjoy writing the most?
The flashbacks. Faith’s flashbacks contained the essence of the past she and Nate had shared, and I couldn’t wait to reveal their story to readers.

Who is your favourite literary heroine?
What—I can only have one? Unfair! I’ll go with Anne Frank. She showed so much hope and courage in the face of the Holocaust’s horrors. I read her diary as a young teen and it had profound impact on me.

Do you have any tips for readers who are looking to become published writers?
Write write write. And don’t expect to succeed overnight: be in it for the long haul. (This is where it helps if you have persistence—aka bloody-minded determination—in your genes.)

Are you working on anything else at the moment and if so, can you tell us?
I’ve just started book three which is a sequel to my rom-com, A Heat Of The Moment Thing. It’s about a woman who inherits a house when her great-aunt dies but, for all sorts of reasons, it’s a house she really doesn't want.

Thanks, Maggie!

You can find out more about Maggie Le Page and her books at her website, Facebook, Amazon page, or by following her on Twitter.

The Trouble With Dying by Maggie Le Page
When Faith Carson wakes up on a hospital ceiling looking down on her body in a coma, it’s a bad start to the week. A very bad start. She has no idea who she is or how she got there or why, and the biggest mystery of all is why she married the schmuck who wants her ventilator switched off. 

As if that’s not enough Faith has a dead gran haunting her, a young daughter missing her, and one devilishly delicious man making her wish she could have a second chance at life. 

And maybe she can, if she finds a way back into her body and wakes up by Friday. But if she doesn’t, this will be her last bad week—ever. 

Nate Sutherland decided long ago he’d settle for friendship if he couldn’t have Faith’s heart. But now, as she nears death, he’s going to have to listen to his feelings in a whole new way—and act. Because if he doesn’t, this week will be the worst damn week of his life. He’ll lose everything he’s ever loved.

BOOK REVIEW: The Life Intended by Kristin Harmel

What do you do when the life your perfect life is snatched away from you in an instant? In Kristin Harmel's new novel, The Life Intended, Kate is still dealing with the grief of losing her husband Patrick twelve years previously.

Having lost the love of her life in a car accident more than a decade ago, Kate is slowly coming to terms with Patrick's death and is getting ready to marry the lovely, handsome and reliable Dan. Of course, Dan will never replace Patrick, but Kate is finally starting to feel ready to move on.

Then, after some heartbreaking news from her doctor, Kate begins to reconsider her life plans. Does Dan want what she wants in life? Is he ready to have a family?

Kate's fears grow worse when she begins having vivid dreams about Patrick. Dreams of their old home, and their older selves, living a life that was never to be. The dreams seem impossible ­how could Patrick have aged? How does Katie remember everything in this 'other' life? And who is the young girl who appears in her dreams and calls her Mom?

Kate is convinced that the strange dreams are significant, but sister Gina and best friend Susan believe that it's simply down to her inner guilt of finally moving on. But how can she move on, when she's somehow living an alternate life?

Especially when things in the dreams have become reality; that there are events Kate would not have known about had it not been for the perfect existence she lives in her sleep. It's clear that these aren't just dreams, and that this other life ­ the life that should have been ­ is trying to tell her something, and lead her to what she's been looking for...

I hadn't read Kristin Harmel's previous work before I was sent The Life Intended, so I didn't know what to expect ­ but what I got was a beautifully moving, magical read that I finished in a day. Kate's grief is heartbreaking from the start of the story, even more so when her dreams began (and I am not one to usually get so emotional!) I felt compelled to read on just to see what she would do next, to see where her 'other' life would take her. I don't want to go into too much detail and reveal any spoilers, but The Life Intended is such a wonderful read. The twist at the end is perfect, but to explain what I loved most about this novel would potentially spoil the ending! So I will just say that what I loved most of all was Kate's own happy-ever-after.

Rating: 5/5

CELEB READS: Walk on By by Stacey Solomon

UK Romance publisher Totally Bound has launched a new imprint called Celebritease, which will feature romatic tales penned by celebrities. The first in the series is Walk on By, by singer Stacey Solomon, who is currently working on a new album.

Walk on By is the first in Stacey's Best Things in Life series, and focuses on overnight singing sensation Charlotte Taylor, aka Lola.

Ever since Charlotte Taylor was a little girl she’s wanted fame and fortune. She sings with the voice of an angel and is soon plucked out of obscurity and launched into the limelight as the overnight sensation ‘Lola’.

Charlotte attends wild celebrity parties and moves in circles with the rich and famous, but the people living the life of celebrity aren’t all she imagined them to be and neither is her life. Struggling to find the real Charlotte again she battles against the crazy life she’s thrust into, desperately trying to swim to the surface.

Blake Hudson is a self-made man. Successful in his own right, he’s busy making his own mark on the world. Self-assured, strong and determined, he’s not looking for a permanent relationship. But when he meets the sweet and charming Charlotte, he’s captivated. But the world of celebrity and business collide and commitments, half-truths and unintentional deception don’t make for smooth sailing.

Hilarious consequences ensue through this romantic comedy, but can Lola and Blake overcome the challenges that life and fame throw their way to find their own happy-ever-after, or will Lola just have to Walk on By?

BOOK REVIEW: Weightless by Sarah Bannan

Weightless is the new novel from Sarah Bannan, which is due for release this Thursday. Granted, I don't usually cover a lot of young adult fiction on the blog, as this is not a genre I tend to read very much. However, when I was sent the news about Weightless, I felt compelled to read it and once I had, I was extremely glad. Weightless focuses on the harsh realities of cyber­bullying in an American high school environment, which is a concerning problem in today's society that's ruled by the internet and social media.

In Adams High, life is going by at its usual pace; the Varsity cheerleaders, ever perfect and popular, are on the field, witnessed by the other students who could only dream of being one of them. Brooke and Gemma effortlessly reign over the entire school, no matter what others might sneakily be saying behind their backs. It doesn't matter when you're perfect. This is normality for Adams High, but it all changes when new student Carolyn Lessing arrives at the school from New Jersey, bringing with her talent, beauty and a friendly charm that instantly attracts attention.

Carolyn is perfect in her own right - she's pretty, kind and highly intelligent; who all the girls want to be, and who the boys want to date. And that's exactly the problem with Carolyn Lessing. As the weeks go by, Carolyn finds herself the target of jealousy and harassment, with vicious rumours circulating around the school and on the anonymous Adams High gossip blog. As the Hot List is updated on the site, Carolyn is ranked one of the top - and it's only a matter of time before the school's queen bees vow to bring her down.

I'm going to stop here with the story. One, because continuing would reveal big spoilers, and secondly, because Weightless is a must-read. It's powerful, it's shocking, and when the ending comes, it hits you hard.

Weightless reveals the affects that cyber-bullying can have on an individual, and just how damaging they can be, particularly among teenagers. As an adult, reading this novel was particularly frightening. I was bullied at school, and consider myself lucky that this was before the arrival of smartphones and social media, when the teasing stopped, albeit temporarily, when the last bell rang. Today, it's a different world, in which victims of bullying, just like Carolyn, can be made to feel hopelessly trapped.

Throughout the book, the narrator is never named - even though I assumed that the narrator is female, she describes herself always as part of a group, as 'we'. This is interesting, though becomes a little more sinister with every chapter. What starts out as normal gossip and general curiosity about a new student descends into something that there's no going back from, which is why this novel is such a real and powerful read.

I would fully recommend this book to everyone; adults and teenagers alike.

Rating: 5/5

BOOK NEWS: The Girl Who Couldn't Stop Arguing by Melissa Kite

Having loved the 2012 book Real Life by journalist Melissa Kite, I was very excited to hear of Melissa's upcoming novel, The Girl Who Couldn't Stop Arguing. Said to be perfect for fans of Helen Fielding  and Allison Pearson, The Girl Who Couldn't Stop Arguing will be released on April 2nd and is about a woman who has always focused on being right rather than happy...

Madison Flight refuses to be born for five days. She comes out eventually - kicking, screaming, and scarred for life by forceps - but it isn't long before her mother, Cynthia, realises the terrible truth: she has given birth to the world's first arguing baby. Cyntha's husband Mitchell soon takes off in terror, leaving her to raise their quarrelsome rugrat with only the help of the next door neighbour Shirley - a sadistic retired nurse who detests children. Madison's young life is full of proud milestones: at the age of one she breaks the world record for the number of times anyone has said the word 'no' during a two week Spanish package holiday - 4,477 times - and she gets better with practice. Lots of practice. This is the story of a girl who wanted to be right rather than happy. This is the story of the girl who couldn't stop arguing.

UNCOVERED INTERVIEWS: Sarah Bannan

Sarah Bannan's new novel Weightless, which is published on 12th March, is a young adult tale focusing on the realities of cyber bullying. Weightless is gripping and emotional novel set in an American high school, and after hearing of this novel I just had to put the weekly questions to Sarah, who is Head of Literature at The Arts Council Ireland.

Tell us about your latest novel in 15 words or less.
15 year-old Carolyn Lessing moves to Adamsville, Alabama, unsettling the conservative and monotonous status quo.

What inspired you to write Weightless?
I moved a lot growing up and, when I was thirteen, my family relocated to a small town in Alabama. I was one of only a few kids who hadn’t grown up there and I stuck out, or at least I thought I did. I made great friends in high school, but the school and the town were conservative, with rigid social hierarchies.

In 2011 when I started a writing course, I was doing a lot of reading about the Phoebe Prince case on Slate. It struck me that teenage life had become more complex with the prevalence of social media. I started re-imagining my high school life but with access to iphones, Facebook, twitter and instagram.

I suppose I put these two areas of interest together when writing the book – which is, of course, completely fictional.

Where do you do most of your writing?
My husband, daughter and I live in a tiny house, so my options are pretty limited at home!

We have a tiny fold-out desk outside of our bathroom and I write there a lot. The good thing about it: I have to crawl in to work there, which means it’s a pain to get out. That keeps me working longer than I might otherwise.

Lately, I’ve been getting up before my daughter and husband, at around 4.30, and I’ll work in my daughter’s toddler bed. (She wakes most nights at 1 am and wants to get into ours, so we do a swap!) I find it comforting to be there and I love that time on my own before the world has started. I sometimes get so lost in my writing that I forget what time it is. (If I get up too early, though, all my characters do is talk about sleep deprivation.)

During the days, if I have a day off for writing, I usually go to a coffee shop and work there. I like the noise and I’m less likely to doss if I’m in public. Plus, you can’t get up and do other things cause you’d be worried someone would take your stuff! For me, it’s about finding a place that’s hard to get out of. Staying with the work is the hardest, and most important, thing for me.

What is your favourite book?
For me, that’s an impossible question! I’m always reading and pronouncing a new title as my favourite book ever. Apparently, this makes me unreliable. But here we go:

The last thing that I read and loved was Anne Enright’s new novel THE GREEN ROAD, which is out in May. Like all of Enright’s work, it’s sharp and wise and witty and beautifully written, sentence by sentence.

Curtis Sittenfeld is a real hero of mine and I think all of her books are remarkable. SISTERLAND was a joy to read, as was AMERICAN WIFE and, obviously, PREP. Paul Murray’s SKIPPY DIES is a masterpiece and I feel like I’m always pressing it into people’s hands with urgency. I loved Colum McCann’s LET THE GREAT WORLD SPIN and TRANSATLANTIC. I think that Lorrie Moore is a genius, which is stating the blindingly obvious. Same goes for Alice Munro. I read Tom Perotta’s THE LEFTOVERS last summer and was totally blown away. Then I read LITTLE CHILDREN and was equally wowed. He’s terrific.

I loved Roddy Doyle's BARRYTOWN TRILOGY before I emigrated to Ireland (nay to Dublin!) and I am a big fan of everything he publishes. His children's writing is wonderful and his last collection of short stories BULLFIGHTING are magnificent.

Through my work at the Arts Council, I get to read lot of writers when they’re just starting out, so I was lucky enough to see work by writers like Colin Barrett and Mary Costello at a really early stage. I admire their work hugely, along with this whole new generation of Irish writers.

During college, I was obsessed with the 19th century Russian novelists and I reread ANNA KARENINA last year, along with THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV. I still loved them but found myself identifying with different characters than I had in college. There are so many amazing new books out every WEEK that it can be hard to get back to reading classics, or even the books that were big last year. But it’s so enjoyable and revelatory.

Which part of Weightless did you enjoy writing the most?
There’s a scene near the middle of the book that’s probably considered the mid-point, and it almost wrote itself. It’s chapter 17 and starts with ‘We knew that Carolyn and Shane had had sex.’ I guess because it felt easier to write, I enjoyed writing it!

Who is your favourite literary heroine?
I think, years ago, I would have said Jane Eyre. But now I’d say Tassie from THE GATE AT THE STAIRS by Lorrie Moore.

Do you have any tips for readers who are looking to become published writers?
Read lots.
Get back to the desk.
Write a little every day.
Even an hour at the desk is better than nothing.
If weighing up laundry versus writing: choose writing.

Are you working on anything else at the moment and if so, can you tell us?
I’m working on a new novel and I’m about 50,000 words in. This is a terrifying place to be, because there’s no going back now! As a new-ish mother, I was drawn to very different ideas when writing this book, but I'm a little superstitious about saying too much about it. And it's possible I could hit a problem (or idea!) and change things entirely... The main thing, though, is that  I’m really enjoying writing it at the moment. Hoping to finish this year.

Thanks, Sarah!

Weightless by Sarah Bannan
Adamsville wasn't a place that people came to. It was a place you were from, where you were born, where you were raised, where you stayed. Before Carolyn Lessing arrived, nothing much had ever happened in Adamsville, Alabama. Each week, at dinner tables and in the high school assembly, everyone would pray for the football team to win. Each year, the Adams High hotlist would be updated, and girls would rise and fall within its ranks. Each day, everyone lived by the unwritten rules that cheerleaders did not hang out with the swim team, seniors did not date freshmen and the blistering heat was something that should never be remarked upon. But then the new girl came. All Carolyn's social media could reveal was that she had moved from New Jersey, she had 1075 friends - and she didn't have a relationship status. In beach photos with boys who looked like Abercrombie models she seemed beautiful, but in real life she was so much more. She was perfect. This was all before the camera crews arrived, before it became impossible to see where rumour ended and truth began, and before the Annual Adamsville Balloon Festival, when someone swore they saw the captain of the football team with his arm around Carolyn, and cracks began to appear in the dry earth.

UPCOMING RELEASE: The Life Intended by Kristin Harmel

The Life Intended is the beautiful new book by Kristin Harmel, which arrived in the mail today. It's due for release on March 12th, and follows Kate, who is about to marry her new love after losing first husband Patrick.

After her husband's sudden death over ten years ago, Kate Westhoven never expected to be lucky enough to find another love of her life. But now she's planning her second walk down the aisle to a perfectly nice man. So why isn't she more excited?

At first, Kate blames her pre-wedding jitters on stress. But when she starts seeing Patrick, her late husband, in her dreams, she begins to wonder if she's really ready to move on. Is Patrick trying to tell her something about his death and is there a chance his nighttime visits could be more than just wishful thinking?

UNCOVERED PICKS: Five new releases for March

March is here, and so are some great new books! Among the new releases this month are Rowan Coleman's latest novel, an intriguing read from Beth Thomas and the newest addition to Nikki Moore's #LoveLondon short story series...

Cocktails in Chelsea by Nikki Moore
Nathan Black is on a mission to prove himself. His family may be upper class and his cousin Matt might be a famous music producer, but he's going to make it on his own. So as soon as he has enough money set aside, he's quitting his bar-tending job on the King's Road and opening up his own cocktail bar. He hasn't got time for love, and definitely not with the spoilt Chelsea Princesses who flirt with him shamelessly every night. But is there something a bit different about the pretty blonde who's just walked in?

Bournemouth girl Sofia Gold is reluctantly visiting old childhood friends in London for Easter weekend. Keenly aware she's not part of their glamorous world, she's more comfortable riding a surfboard than wearing designer dresses and towering heels… although she's always had a soft spot for cocktails.

It's never really bothered Sofia that she's 'one of the boys,' and that her romantic experiences have been amazingly unspectacular, so when she meets gorgeous Nathan, why does she find herself faking an accent and pretending to be a London socialite? It can't be anything to do with impressing him, can it? After all, she's only in the capital for a few days…

But one impulsive kiss later, they both find themselves wishing for things they didn't know they wanted.

Spring in Chelsea – will love blossom?

The One That Got Away by Bethany Chase
Sarina Mahler thinks she has her life all nailed down: a growing architecture practice in Austin, Texas, and an any-day-now proposal from her loving boyfriend, Noah. She's well on her way to having the family she's hoped for since her mother's death ten years ago. But with Noah on a temporary assignment abroad and retired Olympic swimmer—and former flame—Eamon Roy back in town asking her to renovate his new fixer-upper, Sarina's life takes an unexpected turn. Eamon proves to be Sarina's dream client, someone who instinctively trusts every one of her choices—and Sarina is reminded of all the reasons she was first drawn to him back in the day. Suddenly her carefully planned future with Noah seems a little less than perfect. And when tragedy strikes, Sarina is left reeling. With her world completely upended, she is forced to question what she truly wants in life—and in love.

Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center
A year after getting divorced, Helen Carpenter, thirty-two, lets her annoying, ten years younger brother talk her into signing up for a wilderness survival course. It's supposed to be a chance for her to pull herself together again, but when she discovers that her brother's even-more-annoying best friend is also coming on the trip, she can't imagine how it will be anything other than a disaster. Thus begins the strangest adventure of Helen's well-behaved life: three weeks in the remotest wilderness of a mountain range in Wyoming where she will survive mosquito infestations, a surprise summer blizzard, and a group of sorority girls. Yet, despite everything, the vast wilderness has a way of making Helen's own little life seem bigger, too. And, somehow the people who annoy her the most start teaching her the very things she needs to learn. Like how to stand up for herself. And how being scared can make you brave. And how sometimes you just have to get really, really lost before you can even have a hope of being found.

The Day We Met by Rowan Coleman
A gorgeous husband, two beautiful children, a job she loves—Claire's got it all. And then some. But lately, her mother hovers more than a helicopter, her husband Greg seems like a stranger, and her kids are like characters in a movie. Three-year-old Esther's growing up in the blink of an eye, and twenty-year-old Caitlin, with her jet-black hair and clothes to match, looks like she's about to join a punk band—and seems to be hiding something. Most concerning, however, is the fact that Claire is losing her memory, including that of the day she met Greg.

When Claire meets a handsome stranger on a rainy day, she starts to wonder if Greg still belongs in her life. She knows she should love him, but she can't always remember why. When Greg gives her a blank book, Claire fills its pages with private memories and keepsakes, jotting down beginnings and endings and everything in between. The book becomes the story of Claire—her passions, her sorrows, her joys, her adventures in a life that refuses to surrender to a fate worse than dying: disappearing.

His Other Life by Beth Thomas
He was hiding a terrible secret...

Grace’s new husband Adam seems like the perfect package. Good looking, great job, completely charming – almost too good to be true...

So when Adam suddenly disappears from Grace’s life, she is left bewildered and heartbroken. And with a lot of unanswered questions.

As she tries desperately to find him, Grace opens a Pandora’s Box of secrets and lies – and starts to learn that Adam wasn’t so perfect after all.

What shameful secrets was her husband hiding? Is Grace in danger? And can she survive the truth? However terrible it may be...