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An Off-Piste Christmas

Author : Julie Houston

Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing

Page : 145 pages

File Size : 22,69 MB

Release : 2019-11-07

Category : Fiction

ISBN : 1789542286

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Book Description

Prepare to spend Christmas in the Italian alps... The last thing Harriet Westmoreland wants is Christmas away from home, particularly when skiing, snow, heights and freezing her backside off are on the menu. While her own family, together with her best friend Grace's, are soon whizzing down ridiculously scary mountains in the fashionable Italian resort of Cortina d'Ampezzo, Harriet is stuck in the remedial class on the nursery slopes unable, it seems, to remain vertical. Tired of trying to stay upright in the dunces' class, Harriet decides to overcome her fear of heights and take her bruised body off to explore the refugios in the magnificent Dolomites above Cortina. And maybe catch a glance of George Clooney, rumoured to be in town... But what happens next triggers a totally unexpected avalanche of events which proves that, for friends Harriet and Grace and all their families, Christmas really is a time for little miracles... A laugh-out-loud novella from the Kindle top 5 bestselling author of A Village Affair. Praise for Julie Houston: 'A real page-turner. You'll laugh and cry, but not be able to put it down as Julie's trademark humour shines through from beginning to end' Cassam Book Blog. 'This is one of those novels that makes you want to read "just one more chapter" before you turn out the light, and that chapter turns into several more' Big Bertha, Amazon Top 500 Reviewer. 'I became so engrossed in this story I couldn't stop – kept going for just another chapter, and another, until I'd read straight through to the end. I loved it – the magic five for me, a wonderful read and one to keep for rereading' Jeannie Zelos Book Reviews. 'An absolutely briliant read. This will definitely be a book to look out for in 2016 and I, for one, will be recommending it at every opportunity' I Love Smart Books. 'A wonderful read... The prose flows effortlessly and takes the reader on a roller-coaster ride... Julie Houston is definitely an author to watch out for' Kathryn Hughes, Kindle #1 bestselling author of The Letter and The Secret. 'Stick this right at the top of your To Read List' BestChickLit.Com.



The Gilded Chalet

Author : Padraig Rooney

Publisher : Nicholas Brealey

Page : 458 pages

File Size : 12,77 MB

Release : 2016-09-27

Category : Biography & Autobiography

ISBN : 1473645026

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Book Description

Part detective work, part treasure chest, full of history and scandal, The Gilded Chalet takes you on a grand tour of two centuries of great writing by both Swiss and foreign authors and shows how Switzerland has always been at the center of literary Europe. Two centuries after the Romantics went there to invent Gothic horror, the lure of Switzerland hasn't left us. Writers from the Fitzgeralds to Fleming, Highsmith to Hemingway, Conan Doyle to le Carré, came to escape world wars, political persecution, tuberculosis. They came for sanctuary (from oppression or the tax man), for fresh air and nude sunbathing, for scenery resembling, as Rooney puts it, 'Mother Nature on steroids.' Patricia Highsmith spent her last years in a granite home in Ticino with a fridge containing little but peanut butter and vodka. Hermann Hesse had himself buried to the neck as a cure for alcoholism. Nabokov chased butterflies and played tennis on the hotel courts. When it comes to literature, it seems all roads lead to Switzerland. Padraig Rooney peers through the chalet windows and discovers how Switzerland has influenced some of the greatest authors and characters of literature.



Bloomington Days

Author : Blaise Cronin

Publisher : AuthorHouse

Page : 316 pages

File Size : 43,20 MB

Release : 2012-02-15

Category : History

ISBN : 1468539442

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Book Description

Frat boys who think Mario Lanza is an Italian sports car; journalists who consider "Man arrested for blowing mucus from nose at an officer" a news story . . . Welcome to Bloomington: a world of grey cells and limestone, catfish and cheerleaders, binge drinking and bigots, Ockham's razor and buzz cuts. This is the tiny college town where Alfred Kinsey catalogued gall wasps before stinging a nation into belated sexual awareness. If you're gay or Greek, love opera or hoops, Bloomington is heaven on earth; we have as many same-sex couples as sorority sisters, as many divas as athletes. Welcome to my home, a quixotic mix of small-town life and larger than life campus, squirreled away in the flatlands of Middle America, where torpor is sometimes mistaken for nirvanic serenity, irony for insult and "ethnographic dazzle" for deep differences.



Christmas Cakes and Mistletoe Nights

Author : Carole Matthews

Publisher : Sphere

Page : 261 pages

File Size : 33,82 MB

Release : 2017-10-19

Category : Fiction

ISBN : 0751560286

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Book Description

A classic Christmas read from the Sunday Times and multi-million-copy bestseller 'Fabulously enjoyable . . . full of heart and fun' Milly Johnson 'Gorgeous' Katie Fforde 'I laughed and cried and marvelled' Cathy Bramley ---------------------- Fay and Danny are madly in love and it's all Fay's ever dreamed of. But she left everything - including the delightful cake shop she used to run - to be with Danny on his cosy canal boat The Dreamcatcher. And as she soon finds out, making delicious cakes on the water isn't always smooth sailing! Then Fay gets a call that sends her back to where it all began; back to where she first met Danny, back to her friends and the Cake Shop in the Garden. Even as Fay happily returns to dry land and her passion for baking, she knows it will be hard being away from Danny, especially with Christmas round the corner. But their relationship is strong enough to survive . . . isn't it? Can Fay really get everything she ever wanted in Christmas Cakes and Mistletoe Nights? Join Fay and her friends this Christmas and indulge in this wonderful, cake-filled novel of romance and friendship. Christmas Cakes and Mistletoe Nights is Sunday Times bestselling Carole Matthews doing what she does best! Perfect for fans of Jill Mansell and Milly Johnson.



Sing Me a Secret

Author : Julie Houston

Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing

Page : 377 pages

File Size : 41,95 MB

Release : 2020-05-07

Category : Family & Relationships

ISBN : 1789546648

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Book Description

Winner of the RNA 2021 Sapere Books Popular Romantic Fiction Award 'A warm, funny story of sisters and the secrets they keep' Sheila O'Flanagan. 'Warm, funny and well written, with a page-turning plot, this book has everything! I loved it!' Katie Fforde. The four Sutherland sisters have all had very different paths in life, but one secret and a slighty tense production of Jesus Christ Superstar are about to bring them all back together again... When the news that pop-superstar Lexia Sutherland is returning to Westenbury, not everyone is thrilled by the news – including Lexia. There are too many memories she doesn't need to face – or need re-surfacing. Meanwhile, Juno Sutherland just wants a little peace and quiet. As the local village doctor, she's got her priorities in order; kids, job, husband, tenacious pony, a role in the village musical... So when the sexy new locum turns up – and steals her office – the last thing she needed was to be hit with rising temperatures and an over-active imagination. Will these sisters be able to uncover the past, deal with the future and put on the performance of a lifetime? Praise for Julie Houston: 'Julie Houston at her best – heartfelt and hilarious' Sandy Barker 'Laugh-out-loud hilarious and heartwarming!' Mandy Baggot 'This book is an absolute gigglefest with characters you'll fall in love with!' Katie Ginger 'Without a doubt a five-star read' NetGalley Reviewer 'Absolutely LOVED it' NetGalley Reviewer 'An excellent read, highly recommended' NetGalley Reviewer



A Village Secret

Author : Julie Houston

Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing

Page : 400 pages

File Size : 17,2 MB

Release : 2022-04-14

Category : Fiction

ISBN : 1788549821

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Book Description

When Jennifer goes up to Cambridge University with her head full of the Romantic Poets, she never dreams that she will find her very own Byron. But then she meets gorgeous actor Laurie Lewis, and finds herself living a real-life love poem. Fifteen years and two children later, Jennifer and Laurie's relationship is starting to feel more like an epic tragedy. After a series of revelations turn her world upside down, Jennifer will do anything to keep her family together – even if it means moving hundreds of miles away to Laurie's childhood home in Westenbury, Yorkshire. As she reluctantly enters into village life – complete with interfering in-laws, new friends and a surprise delivery of alpacas – Jennifer is amazed to find herself feeling happy for the first time in years. But the village holds one last, devastating secret and Jennifer must decide once and for all what she wants her future to hold. Praise for Julie Houston: 'A warm, funny story of sisters and the secrets they keep' Sheila O'Flanagan 'Warm, funny and well written, with a page-turning plot, this book has everything! I loved it!' Katie Fforde 'Julie Houston at her best – heartfelt and hilarious' Sandy Barker 'Laugh-out-loud hilarious and heartwarming!' Mandy Baggot 'This book is an absolute gigglefest with characters you'll fall in love with!' Katie Ginger



The Girls of Heatherly Hall

Author : Julie Houston

Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing

Page : 383 pages

File Size : 21,18 MB

Release : 2023-07-06

Category : Fiction

ISBN : 1803280034

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Book Description

** Pre-order A WEDDING AT HEATHERLY HALL, the new cosy village romance from Julie Houston, now! ** Fans of Katie Fforde, Phillipa Ashley and The Vicar of Dibley will love this heartwarming and witty new novel from Julie Houston. Three devoted sisters... One complicated family. After the untimely death of their biological father, triplets Eva, Rosa and Hannah find themselves the unlikely owners of Heatherly Hall, the vast manor house overlooking their home village of Westenbury. But the beautiful house comes with almost as much baggage as it does land, not least high running costs and expectations. It's up to the sisters to find a way to keep Heatherly Hall going and, most importantly, in the family. But with drama in their private lives and secrets about to emerge, can the sisters stick together to focus on the task at hand? Praise for Julie Houston's books: 'A warm, funny story of sisters and the secrets they keep' Sheila O'Flanagan 'Warm, funny and well written, with a page-turning plot, this book has everything! I loved it!' Katie Fforde 'Julie Houston at her best – heartfelt and hilarious' Sandy Barker 'Laugh-out-loud hilarious and heartwarming!' Mandy Baggot 'This book is an absolute gigglefest with characters you'll fall in love with!' Katie Ginger



A Wedding at Heatherly Hall

Author : Julie Houston

Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing

Page : 371 pages

File Size : 28,16 MB

Release : 2024-02-29

Category : Family & Relationships

ISBN : 1803280069

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Book Description

***Pre-order this gorgeous new read from Julie Houston, now!*** Romantic entanglements, A-list weddings and missing diamonds... it's going to be a busy spring in Westenbury! Sisters Hannah, Rosa, and Eva are on a mission to sustain picturesque Heatherly Hall, in Yorkshire's Westenbury village. So when they hear the legend of the Jet Set – a necklace with a rare diamond, commissioned by royalty and hidden in their hall – they plan a fundraiser: an Agatha-Christie style am-dram production and treasure hunt. As if that weren't enough, music superstar Drew Livingston and Bollywood legend Aditi Sharma have chosen their hall for a wedding in just six weeks' time, and the pressure is mounting to pull off the wedding of the decade. Staging the play, unravelling the mystery of the diamond, and meeting the demands of an A-list bride and groom without their lives unravelling seems impossible. But these three sisters know that with family by your side, anything can be overcome... Perfect for fans of Katie Fforde, Jill Mansell, and anyone who loves a warm and witty romance with a dash of intrigue.



A Village Vacancy

Author : Julie Houston

Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing

Page : 386 pages

File Size : 25,49 MB

Release : 2020-10-22

Category : Fiction

ISBN : 1789546656

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Book Description

'A Village Vacancy is a tour de force of beautiful, funny and emotional storytelling' Fay Keenan From the bestselling author of A Village Affair comes a warm, witty, wonderful new Westenbury tale... As the Yorkshire village of Westenbury mourns the loss of one of their own, the women can't help but contemplate who will fill the vacancy in handsome widower David's life. Meanwhile, Grace Stevens has decided to move on without her good-for-nothing husband. Right now, she needs to focus less on men and more on wrangling with her unruly class of pre-teens. And thankfully, there's plenty to keep her occupied. Between an accidental dalliance with a pupil's dad, helping close down a drug ring and keeping up with her closest girlfriends, Grace is busier than ever. But as she spends more time with David, her determination to go it alone begins to waver... Praise for Julie Houston: 'A warm, funny story of sisters and the secrets they keep' Sheila O'Flanagan 'Warm, funny and well written, with a page-turning plot, this book has everything! I loved it!' Katie Fforde 'Julie Houston at her best – heartfelt and hilarious' Sandy Barker 'Laugh-out-loud hilarious and heartwarming!' Mandy Baggot 'This book is an absolute gigglefest with characters you'll fall in love with!' Katie Ginger



The Village Vicar

Author : Julie Houston

Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing

Page : 396 pages

File Size : 10,52 MB

Release : 2023-01-19

Category : Fiction

ISBN : 180328000X

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Book Description

Fans of Katie Fforde, Phillipa Ashley and The Vicar of Dibley will love this heartwarming and witty novel from Julie Houston. Three devoted sisters... One complicated family. When Rosa Quinn left her childhood home in Westenbury, she never expected to return over a decade later as the village vicar. But after a health scare and catching her boyfriend cheating, Rosa jumps at the chance to start over and live closer to her triplet sisters Eva and Hannah. But Rosa's isn't the only old face in the village, and when her role in the parish throws her into the path of her ex, she begins to wonder if she's made a terrible mistake. Meanwhile, Eva and Hannah face their own troubles, as secrets about their family threaten to emerge. Can Rosa make a life for herself in Westenbury? Or will the sisters discover you can't run away from the past? *** Praise for The Village Vicar: 'Hilarious and full of heart, I couldn't put it down!' Faith Hogan 'A rollercoaster of a read that will have you laughing out loud and then moments later holding back tears. Witty, poignant - a real treasure.' Linn B. Halton 'A gorgeous story about the ties that bind us... a page-turning, captivating family drama with a hefty dose of laughs' Sandy Barker Praise for Julie Houston's books: 'A warm, funny story of sisters and the secrets they keep' Sheila O'Flanagan 'Warm, funny and well written, with a page turning plot, this book has everything! I loved it!' Katie Fforde 'Julie Houston at her best – heartfelt and hilarious' Sandy Barker 'Laugh-out-loud hilarious and heartwarming!' Mandy Baggot 'This book is an absolute gigglefest with characters you'll fall in love with!' Katie Ginger



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