In 1891, Tilly Kirkland is reeling with shock and guilt after her tempestuous marriage ends in horrific circumstances. Fleeing to the farthest place she knows, Tilly takes a job on Ember Island in Moreton Bay, Australia, where she becomes the governess to the prison superintendent’s precocious young daughter, Nell. Tilly knows she must keep the past hidden in order to start a new life, but she doesn’t know that Nell is watching her every move and writing it all down, hiding tiny journals all over their rambling manor home. More than one hundred years later, bestselling novelist Nina Jones is struggling to complete her next book. A reporter asking questions about her great-grandmother sends Nina retreating to her family’s home on Ember Island, where she hopes to find her lost inspiration somewhere in the crumbling walls. Though they are separated by years, both Tilly and Nina must learn that some secrets never stay buried, but what matters most is learning to trust your heart.From BooklistTwo women, separated by more than a century, are connected by the secrets they carry with them to Ember Island. After her marriage to a deceitful opportunist is exposed as a sham, Tilly Kirkland accidently starts a fire that kills her unfaithful husband and his lover. Fleeing to a remote island off the coast of Australia, she assumes an alias and accepts a position as governess to Nell Holt, the precocious daughter of the local prison superintendent. Fast-forward more than 100 years and best-selling author Nina Jones, Nell’s great-granddaughter, takes refuge on Ember Island, nursing a broken heart and guarding an emotionally and professionally paralyzing secret. As Tilly and Nina are both drawn tentatively into new beginnings, their alternating stories are linked by their relationships with Nell. Romance, history, and a touch of windblown gothic mystery will appeal to a broad cross section of readers. --Margaret Flanagan Review"Freeman skillfully unites the stories of two women who live a century apart but both face the challenge of overcoming difficult pasts, and both under the lighthouse’s watchful presence. . . . Freeman’s moving tale gives her two heroines the unique chance to make a fresh start in life." (Publishers Weekly) "The author’s description of the beautiful Australian coastline will linger with readers long after they finish the book." (Kirkus Reviews) “Freeman weaves the two time periods together so seamlessly." (Booklist) "What a perfect beach read. A sunken ship, buried treasure, a home on the beach by the lighthouse, sister relationships, adventure, and romance. Lighthouse Bay packs a lot into its two-pronged story." (atravelerslibrary.com) "The novel's strength instead lies in Freeman's complex characters—capable of love and hate, shame and redemption. Both Beattie and Emma find themselves having to start over, and it is for these two women that readers cheer and sympathize." (Publishers Weekly) "By the last satisfying scene, you may find yourself reluctantly parting with old friends who will live on once the cover has closed. Highly recommended." (Historical Novels Review) "[Freeman] made her characters come to life, the scenery visible through her words, and the story was believable and made me want to read more." (Book Nook Club) "The complexities of character and female relationships make this novel very rich and emotional." (Examiner.com) "A gorgeous story of family and secrets and the redemptive power of love." (Kate Morton, author of The Distant Hours and The Forgotten Garden) Views: 82
"The Queer Principles of Kit Webb kept me up all night! I simply couldn't put it down."— Tessa Dare, New York Times bestselling author"Sharp, smart, and oh-so-swoony, The Queer Principles of Kit Webb reminds me that Cat Sebastian is an author at the absolute top of her game."— Rachel Hawkins, New York Times bestselling authorCritically acclaimed author Cat Sebastian pens a stunning historical romance about a reluctantly reformed highwayman and the aristocrat who threatens to steal his heart.Kit Webb has left his stand-and-deliver days behind him. But dreary days at his coffee shop have begun to make him pine for the heady rush of thievery. When a handsome yet arrogant aristocrat storms into his shop, Kit quickly realizes he may be unable to deny whatever this highborn man desires.In order to save himself and a beloved friend, Percy, Lord Holland must go against every gentlemanly behavior... Views: 81
A stirring novel of first love in a time of war and the unbearable choices that could tear sisters apart, from the celebrated author
of The Kommandant’s Girl
Life is a constant struggle for the eighteen-year-old Nowak twins as they raise their three younger siblings in rural Poland under the shadow of the Nazi occupation. The constant threat of arrest has made everyone in their village a spy, and turned neighbor against neighbor. Though rugged, independent Helena and pretty, gentle Ruth couldn’t be more different, they are staunch allies in protecting their family from the threats the war brings closer to their doorstep with each passing day.
Then Helena discovers an American paratrooper stranded outside their small mountain village, wounded, but alive. Risking the safety of herself and her family, she hides Sam—a Jew—but Helena’s concern for the American grows into something much deeper. Defying the perils that render a future together all but impossible, Sam and Helena make plans for the family to flee. But Helena is forced to contend with the jealousy her choices have sparked in Ruth, culminating in a singular act of betrayal that endangers them all—and setting in motion a chain of events that will reverberate across continents and decades. Views: 81
The #1 New York Times bestselling author's award-winning Inspector Lynley series returns with another character-driven crime drama featuring beloved Scotland Yard members Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers and Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley.Elizabeth George first claimed a spot on the New York Times bestseller list in 1994. Two decades later her Lynley novels are still at the top of national bestseller lists, proving how vast and loyal her audience is. Critics and fans alike cherish Inspector Lynley, eighth Earl of Asherton, and Sergeant Havers, his working-class partner, for their believably irascible relationship as much as for their uncanny ability to solve the most challenging cases. And in her twentieth Inspector Lynley novel, A Banquet of Consequences, George delivers another winner as Lynley and Havers are drawn from Cambridge to London to the windswept town of Shaftesbury during one of their most complex cases yet. Views: 80
An evocative and compelling story of two sisters who would do anything for each other—perfect for fans of Thirteen Reasons Why and Speak. Joy Preble's stirring new novel explores the lengths to which sisters go to protect each other, and the winding road that brings two strangers into each other's lives.Sisters Leo and Paris Hollings have only ever had each other to rely on. They can't trust their mother, who hops from city to city and from guy to guy, or their gambler stepfather, who's moved them all to Las Vegas. It's just the two of them: Paris, who's always been the dreamer, and Leo, who has a real future in mind—going to Stanford, becoming a doctor, falling in love. But Leo isn't going anywhere right now, except driving around Vegas all night with her sister.Until Paris ditches Leo at the Heartbreak Hotel Diner, where moments before they had been talking with physics student Max Sullivan. Outside, Leo finds a cryptic note from Paris—a clue.... Views: 78
Even a life on the untamed plains of Africa can't prepare Wilhelmina for the wilds of an English boarding school in this lovely and lyrical novel from the author of Rooftoppers, which Booklist called "a glorious adventure."Wilhelmina Silver's world is golden. Living half-wild on an African farm with her horse, her monkey, and her best friend, every day is beautiful. But when her home is sold and Will is sent away to boarding school in England, the world becomes impossibly difficult. Lions and hyenas are nothing compared to packs of vicious schoolgirls. Where can a girl run to in London? And will she have the courage to survive? From the author of the "witty, inventively poetic" Rooftoppers comes an utterly beautiful story that's sure to be treasured. Views: 78
Sussex, 2003. When a beautiful blonde girl is found half-drowned on a beach, she has no memory of who she is or what horrors have left her there.But an article about her in a Brighton newspaper rings alarm bells for beautician Dale, who shows the police photographs of Lotte Wainright. The girls met working on a cruise ship and their friendship blossomed as they sailed the seas of South America, until Lotte fell under the sinister influence of an older American couple. To her regret, Dale hasn't seen Lotte since leaving the ship months earlier - but the girl on the beach - although badly bruised - is indeed her much missed friend.Their reunion only marks the beginning of a dangerous tidal wave of secrets, lies and nightmares. Where has Lotte been? Who is the man who seems to want to kill her? And what has become of the baby she's recently given birth to? Dale and Lotte must dig deep and find the strength to hold on against the odds if they are to rebuild their friendship... Views: 76
Balford-le-Nez is a dying seatown on the coast of Essex. But when a member of the town's small but growing Asian community, is found dead on its beach, his neck broken, sleepy Balford-le-Nez ignites. Working solo, without her long-time partner Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley, Sergeant Barbara Havers must probe not only the mind of a murderer and a case very close to her own heart, but the terrible price people pay for deceiving others...and themselves.From the Paperback edition. Views: 76
Eleven-year-old Delphine has it together. Even though her mother, Cecile, abandoned her and her younger sisters, Vonetta and Fern, seven years ago. Even though her father and Big Ma will send them from Brooklyn to Oakland, California, to stay with Cecile for the summer. And even though Delphine will have to take care of her sisters, as usual, and learn the truth about the missing pieces of the past.When the girls arrive in Oakland in the summer of 1968, Cecile wants nothing to do with them. She makes them eat Chinese takeout dinners, forbids them to enter her kitchen, and never explains the strange visitors with Afros and black berets who knock on her door. Rather than spend time with them, Cecile sends Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern to a summer camp sponsored by a revolutionary group, the Black Panthers, where the girls get a radical... Views: 75
