Can you believe it’s almost October already? That means it’s almost Christmas. Boy. October is awash with brilliant books, from a new Cecelia Ahern (yay!) to Ali Harris’s debut novel (which sounds and looks fantastic). Tess Daly becomes the latest to accept the tag “celebrity” novelist and Nicholas Sparks is back with another heart-wrenching sounding novel!
Michelle Jackson – 4am In Las Vegas – October 2011
It’s Halloween in Las Vegas and things are crazier than normal for Connie the wedding planner. Vicky and Frank are in town for their nuptials but she soon realises that he has more on his mind than wedding bells. Vicky’s teenage daughter Tina is less than impressed until she meets Connie’s moody and enigmatic son Kyle. Frank’s brother John is trying to hold everyone together but then something happens that turns the wedding party on their heads at 4am in Las Vegas! Life and love seem to have slipped through Suzanne’s fingers but then, new to Facebook, she stumbles upon more than she expected when she receives a friend request from old flame Ronan in Boston. He’s on his way to Las Vegas for a work convention and Suzanne’s friend Eddie convinces her that she should go too. What has she got to lose? When they all meet in Binion’s Casino the cards have already been dealt but will there be a winner?
Claire Allan – If Only You Knew – October 2011
Cousins Ava Campbell (married, sensible, feeling old before her time) and Hope Scott (single, debt-ridden, in love with a man who will never love her back) have nothing in common. But fate is about to throw them together. When their beloved Aunt Betty the free-spirited black sheep of the Scott family dies in France, the girls find themselves flying to the picturesque village of Saint Jeannet, tasked with sorting through her belongings and fulfilling her last wishes. To guide them on their way, Betty has left them a series of letters detailing her own life, the heartbreak that led her to move to France and the peace she found there with her beloved Claude. As the women find each letter, a different layer of Betty’s life, and their own lives, unfolds with hilarious, devastating and life-affirming results. A story of secrets, love, loss, longing and purple shoes.
Anna McPartlin – The Space Between Us – October 2011
If you knew you d leave this world so soon, would you do it all differently? Tick, tock . . . Workaholic Eve Hayes is burnt out and lonely. At the age of thirty-eight, she’s afraid she has allowed the chance of a real and worthwhile life pass her by. Lilly Donovan got married too young and over the years she’s become a prisoner and slave in her own home. Eve survives a horrific car accident only to be reunited with her old friend, Lily. A long time ago these two women were inseparable but the events of one terrible night ended their friendship abruptly. Now, eighteen years later, they have a chance to confront the past and reclaim their friendship. But Eve’s brother Clooney is Lily’s old flame and his presence threatens her already difficult home life. And Lily’s husband, the looming omnipresent Dr Declan Donovan can only be kept in the dark for so long . . . All the while something is whispering into Eve’s ear . . . tick, tock . . .
Shari Low – Friday Night With The Girls – 13th October 2011
You should write it all down, Lou, so that your daughter can understand what happened. Everything. Right from the start.’ Lou Cairney’s life has never been dull. But through twenty years of ups, downs and really bad hairstyles, Lou has had the best friends a woman could hope for in Lizzy and Ginger. Growing up together, they shared their dreams and their disasters, broken hearts and career crashes and they survived it all thanks to love, hope and a large dollop of humour. And cocktails. Lots of cocktails. Until now. Lou needs her friends more than ever because her past has just caught up with her in a shocking way. Everyone makes mistakes in life - but Lou has just discovered that she might have made the biggest one of all…
Tess Daly – The Camera Never Lies – 13th October 2011
Britt Baxter is unaware of the effect she has on people. A big-hearted, no-nonsense northern girl, she naturally looks for the best in everyone she meets, but in her attempts to make it as model she finds she struggles against being pinned down on the casting couch by the most unlikely people… So when a happy accident lands her a career as a presenter on breakfast television, it looks as if she has made it out of the modelling world of close-ups and cattle calls and into the big time - or at least daytime TV. But scarcely has Britt had time to wonder at how far she has come, when backstage machinations propel her with ever increasing speed through a series of trapdoors and she soon realises that the drama backstage far eclipses anything that happens in front of the camera. Tess Daly has written a fast-paced novel with perfect comic timing and as many twists and turns in the plot as her heroine has costume changes. With language that fizzes on the page, enough romance to make the Sex and the City girls blush and a cast of characters that includes American-smoothie heartthrob Hollywood reporter Josh Bailey, Rise and Shine’s co-hosts Cherry Smith - known for her tinkling laugh and penchant for toyboys - and lecherous family man Ken Chudleigh who always has a hand in the cake tin. The Camera Never Lies is both hilarious and hair-raising, a glamorous and revealing tale of love behind the scenes from the popular Strictly Come Dancing presenter.
C
iara Geraghty – Finding Mr Flood – 13th October 2011
Dara Flood always says the most interesting thing about her life happened before she was born. Thirteen days before she came into the world, her father walked up the road and never came back. Now in her twenties, Dara’s life has a careful routine. She lives in Dublin with her mother and sister Angel. She has pizza with friends every Wednesday, salsa class every Friday, and sees her boyfriend every Saturday. It’s safe and that’s the way she likes it. Then Angel gets desperately sick and Dara’s ordered life falls apart. Neither she nor her mother is a compatible match for the kidney Angel needs. So Dara sets out to find the father who could be their last hope. But on the path to uncovering the truth about her father, Dara learns that to let life - and love - in, sometimes you just have to let go . . .
Ali Harris – Miracle on Regent Street – 13th October 2011
Dreams can come true - it could happen to you…For the past two years, Evie Taylor has lived an invisible existence in London, a city she hoped would bring sparkle to her life. But all that is about to change. For winter has brought a flurry of snow and unexpected possibilities. Hidden away in the basement of Hardy’s - once London’s most elegant department store - Evie manages the stockroom of a shop whose glory days have long since passed. When Evie overhears that Hardy’s is at risk of being sold, she secretly hatches a plan. If she can reverse the store’s fortunes by December 26th - three weeks away - and transform it into a magical destination once again, she might just be able to save it. But she’s going to need every ounce of talent and determination she has. In fact, she’s going to need a miracle.
Cecelia Ahern – The Time of My Life – 13th October 2011
The stunning and magical new novel from the Number One bestselling author. Lying on Lucy Silchester’s carpet one day when she returns from work is a gold envelope. Inside is an invitation – to a meeting with Life. Her life. It turns out she’s been ignoring it and it needs to meet with her face to face. It sounds peculiar, but Lucy’s read about this in a magazine. Anyway, she can’t make the date: she’s much too busy despising her job, skipping out on her friends friends and avoiding her family. But Lucy’s life isn’t what it seems. Some of the choices she’s made – and stories she’s told – aren’t what they seem either. From the moment she meets the man who introduces himself as her life, her stubborn half-truths are going to be revealed in all their glory – unless Lucy learns to tell the truth about what really matters to her. Lucy Silchester has an appointment with her life – and she’s going to have to keep it. Touching, warm, funny and poignant, Cecelia Ahern’s new novel explores what happens when you stop paying attention to your life.
Nicholas Sparks – The Best of Me – 13th October 2011
They were teenage sweethearts from opposite sides of the tracks ? with a passion that would change their lives for ever. But life would force them apart. Years later, the lines they had drawn between past and present are about to slip …Called back to their hometown for the funeral of the mentor who once gave them shelter when they needed it most, they are faced with each other once again, and forced to confront the paths they chose. Can true love ever rewrite the past? The new epic love story from the multi-million-copy bestselling author of The Notebook and The Last Song. Nicholas Sparks is one of the world’s most beloved authors.
Linda Green – And Then It Happened – 13th October 2011
How would you feel if the only man you’d ever loved was taken away from you? And imagine how he’d feel if he hadn’t really been taken away at all - but couldn’t find a way to let you know… Mel Taylor was thirteen years old when she found her Mr Right. Twenty years on they are blissfully in love. She has the man she adores, a gorgeous daughter, a great job and a dream home. But Mel’s happiness is spoilt by a dark secret and a niggling fear that her good fortune can’t last for ever. Despite her husband Adam’s efforts to reassure her that nothing bad is going to happen, Mel can’t shake the feeling that someone is about to call time on their happiness. And then it happens…
Susan Wiggs – The Winter Lodge – 21st October 2011
Snow is falling, the fire is roaring curl up this winter with a Susan Wiggs Jenny lifted her face to the sky, feeling the snow flakes touch her cheeks. Everything was going to be okay. Jenny s lived her whole life in Willow Lake, finding safety and warmth at the family bakery she runs. Until one winter she loses everything in a devastating house fire. But sifting through the ashes she finds a chance for a different life… Whilst touched by the love of the community and surprised by the attention of her gorgeous rescuer, Rourke McKnight, Jenny s heart is caught by another treasure. One that could take her on a path towards a life she had never imagined. An undiscovered family of strangers waiting to make her their own. But in chasing one dream another may slip through Jenny s fingers. If she stays in Willow Lake long enough for the snow to settle, happiness is waiting to find her.
Trisha Ashley – The Magic of Christmas – 27th October 2011
Another deliciously seasonal and heart-warming tale from the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Twelve Days of Christmas and Chocolate Wishes. In the pretty Lancashire village of Middlemoss, Lizzy is on the verge of leaving her cheating husband, Tom, when tragedy strikes. Luckily she has welcome distraction in the Christmas Pudding Circle, a group of friends swapping seasonal recipes – as well as a rivalry with local cookery writer Nick over who will win Best Mince Pie at the village show… Meanwhile, the whole village is gearing up for the annual Boxing Day Mystery Play. But who will play Adam to Lizzy’s Eve? Could it be the handsome and charismatic soap actor Ritch, or could someone closer to home win her heart? Whatever happens, it promises to be a Christmas to remember! Previously published as Sweet Nothings, Trisha has extensively reworked the original novel with fabulous new extra material.
Scarlett Bailey – The Night Before Christmas – 27th October 2011
All Lydia’s ever wanted is a perfect Christmas…
So when her oldest friends invite her to spend the holidays with them, it seems like a dream come true. She’s been promised log fires, roasted chestnuts, her own weight in mince pies - all in a setting that looks like something out of a Christmas card.
But her winter wonderland is ruined when she finds herself snowed in with her current boyfriend, her old flame and a hunky stranger. Well, three (wise) men is traditional at this time of year…
Katie Price – Santa Baby – 27th October 2011
‘I thought Tiffany should know that she has a half sister. She’s Angel Summer – the famous model.’ With these few words from the mother who gave her away, aspiring stylist and pizza waitress Tiffany Taylor’s life is turned upside down. As soon as they meet, Angel and Tiff feel as if they’ve known each other for years, and before she knows it, Tiffany is working as a stylist on Angel’s TV makeover programme, and going out with Raul, a Brazilian racing driver who has all the girls weak with lust. If only Angel’s seriously sexy bodyguard Sean could be as welcoming. Obviously he has things on his mind, like the kidnap threat hanging over Angel and her daughter Honey, but would it kill him to loosen up a bit?As everyone gathers at Angel and Cal’s mansion for a big Christmas celebration, Sean’s defences finally drop. But as he relaxes, the danger moves closer, and Tiffany finds herself in terrible danger.
Missed Connections: Love, Lost & Found by Sophie Blackall
