Finding Love in Florence


Book Description

A wonder-struck art school dropout and a disillusioned Italian bachelor have ten days in Florence to change their lives. After Samantha dropped out of art school to care for her grandmother, the two spent years planning a trip to Italy together… but now her grandmother is dead, and Samantha is left to pick up the pieces of her own life and dreams. She’ll start with Florence: stay at a charming countryside castle, study all the sculptures… and try not to get distracted by the sculpted jaw of her hosts’ dreamy—but definitely not interested—son. Edo has come home after six years, summoned to take the reins of the family's bed & breakfast—a fate he's dreaded most of his life. He's not even home a day before his mother is pushing him to play tour guide for their current guest, a pretty girl who seems different from the tourists Edo remembers. As Florence begins to open Samantha’s heart, she opens Edo’s eyes to the city and home he'd forgotten how to love—but Samantha only has ten days in the country; will that be enough for them to build a future on?




Dreaming of Florence


Book Description

Fresh pasta, red wine, fine art... and love? Find enchantment this year in the magical city of Florence When Debbie Waterson’s bicycle crashes into handsome doctor Pierluigi, she wonders if her luck has changed. Determinedly single after ending a long relationship, at last, a man worth bumping into! Inspired to visit Florence, she soon runs headlong into that old foe: reality. But is Pierluigi the man of her dreams? Then there’s her booze obsessed boss, his forbidding secretary and her noisy inconsiderate neighbours. But could her luck be about to change? Will she find love after all? Warm-hearted and unputdownable, Dreaming of Florence is the perfect escape for readers of Holly Martin, Tilly Tennant and Jenny Oliver. Praise for Dreaming of Florence 'Dreaming of Florence will be one of the reading highlights of 2018 for me... An engrossing, cozy and heart warming read... I wanted this book to never end ... It left me feeling relaxed, satisfied and with a smile on my face.' Consumer reviewer 'It’s fun, fresh and heart warming... Dreaming of Florence? I am now!' The Book Trail 'Such a beautiful read... You could taste the wonderful food, it was so vividly written.' Blue Yonder 'Just what I needed – a fantastic read that I thoroughly enjoyed from start to finish... be sensible and pre-order yourself a copy and get ready for a fun filled, heartwarming Italian adventure and romance.' Splashes into Books 'Why did this book have to end?... Dreaming of Florence is a fabulous book that I loved every last second of.' Rachel's Random Reads 'A really beautifully romantic and heartwarming novel. Another brilliant story by T.A. Williams.' Cosiest Corner 'A heartwarming tale of new beginnings in life and love.' Krafti Reader 'I definitely have a lighter step after indulging in the sights, sounds, scents and tastes of Italy and have no hesitation in recommending that you add this one to your collection!' Grace J Reviewer Lady




Reluctantly Matched


Book Description

He doesn't date guests... usually. Samantha had to drop out of art school, but she never dropped her dream of visiting Florence, and now she's there. She's going to study all the sculptures... as soon as she stops getting distracted by the sculpted jaw of her hosts' son. Edo has come home after six years, summoned to take the reins of the family's bed & breakfast--a fate he's dreaded most of his life. He's not even home a day before his mother is pushing him to play tour guide for their current guest, a pretty girl who seems different from the tourists Edo remembers. As Samantha lets Florence open her heart, Edo lets her open his eyes to the city and home he'd forgotten how to love--but Samantha only has ten days in the country; will that be enough for them to build a future on? The sweet romances in this series stand alone and can be enjoyed in any order. 1. Reluctantly Matched 2. Accidentally Enemies 3. Hesitantly Reunited




Nanny and Me


Book Description

A little girl is sad to say goodbye to her parents when they leave for work, but always has fun with her special friend Nanny.




Love & Other Carnivorous Plants


Book Description

This acclaimed, darkly funny debut for fans of Jesse Andrews and Robyn Schneider about a teen who's consumed by love, grief, and self-destructive behavior is now in paperback. Freshman year at college was the most anticlimactic year of Danny's life. She's failing pre-med and drifting apart from her best friend. One by one, Danny is losing all the underpinnings of her identity. When she finds herself attracted to an older, edgy girl who she met in rehab for an eating disorder, she finally feels like she might be finding a new sense of self. But when tragedy strikes, her self-destructive tendencies come back to haunt her as she struggles to discover who that self really is. With a starkly memorable voice that's at turns hilarious and heartbreaking, Love and Other Carnivorous Plants brilliantly captures the painful turning point between an adolescence that's slipping away and the overwhelming uncertainty of the future.




How to Make a Life


Book Description

“An engaging and heartfelt portrayal of intergenerational trauma and hope.” —Kirkus Reviews When Ida and her daughter Bessie flee a catastrophic pogrom in Ukraine for America in 1905, they believe their emigration will ensure that their children and grandchildren will be safe from harm. But choices and decisions made by one generation have ripple effects on those who come later—and in the decades that follow, family secrets, betrayals, and mistakes made in the name of love threaten the survival of the family: Bessie and Abe Weissman’s children struggle with the shattering effects of daughter Ruby’s mental illness, of Jenny’s love affair with her brother-in-law, of the disappearance of Ruby’s daughter as she flees her mother’s legacy, and of the accidental deaths of Irene’s husband and granddaughter. A sweeping saga that follows three generations from the tenements of Brooklyn through WWII, from Woodstock to India, and from Spain to Israel, How to Make a Life is the story of a family who must learn to accept each other’s differences—or risk cutting ties with the very people who anchor their place in the world.




The Big Love


Book Description

Literary Nonfiction. California Interest. Women's Studies. Film. Memoir. THE BIG LOVE is a Hollywood nightmare. It tells the story of Errol Flynn--a fading, alcoholic movie star--and the underage dancer-actress Beverly Aadland. The narrator? Beverly Aadland's fame-worshiping mother Mrs. Florence Aadland, who spurs the relationship on. There is nothing subtle or sympathetic about this memoir: It is outrageous, grotesque, surreal, notorious--an intimate look at Hollywood exploitation and decay. On the one hand, THE BIG LOVE depicts the deterioration of Errol Flynn, an actor who is quickly losing relevance after years of playing irresistible swashbucklers in films such as Captain Blood (1935) and The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). He is riddled with medical problems, drinking himself to death. On the other hand, there is Mrs. Florence Aadland, also an alcoholic, an uncultured stage mother psychotically pushing her daughter Beverly forward even at the cost of her own marriage. A bizarre, seedy time capsule of the 1950s, THE BIG LOVE is the long-lost literary sister of Barbara Payton's I AM NOT ASHAMED. And, after languishing out of print for years, it is ready to shock brand new audiences with its absurd humor, villainous characters, and sickly dissipation.




Three Months in Florence


Book Description

Lena Wallace was supposed to go to Italy on her honeymoon. That was sixteen years ago. Instead, she settles for cooking Spaghetti Bolognese for her two children while her husband, Alex, is on yet another business trip to Florence without her. Lena deals with his absences in the same stoic way she deals with all her responsibilities. And then comes the call that changes everything--the one from Alex's Italian mistress. Stunned and heartsick, Lena flies to Florence to confront Alex. The city is every bit as beautiful as she imagined, from its glittering fountains and cafés to the golden sunsets over rolling hills. But the further she goes to salvage her marriage, the less Lena recognizes herself--or the husband she's trying to win back. Instead, she's catching glimpses of the person she once hoped to be and the life and family she truly wants. Most of all, she's wondering if the real journey is only just beginning. . . In a novel as warm and vibrant as its rich Italian setting, author Mary Carter explores the intricacies of marriage, the ways love can both liberate and confine, and the journey to happiness that begins with one surprising step. . . Praise for Mary Carter's My Sister's Voice "At once a story about love and loss, family and friends, the world of the hearing and that of the deaf, My Sister's Voice satisfies on many levels." --Holly Chamberlin, author of Last Summer "Gripping, entertaining and honest. This is a unique, sincere story about the invisible, unbreakable bonds of sisterhood that sustain us no matter how far they're buried." --Cathy Lamb, author of A Different Kind of Normal




Finding Love


Book Description

What if the majority Christian view concerning the gospel is not only wrong, but responsible for the rejection of Christian faith by so many today? If your idea of the gospel is that God’s fundamental disposition toward you is angry judgment, but Jesus came to die on the cross to change God’s mind about you, then Andrew Callander wants you to know the truth. God’s fundamental disposition toward you, and all humanity, is eternal lovingkindness, and the reason Jesus came was to change our minds about God. In company with biblical scholars like David Bentley Hart, contemplative activists like Richard Rohr, and progressive thinkers like Brian McLaren, Callander laments how centuries of Christian energy have been wasted determining and policing religious boundary lines. He wants the reader to be assured that in Jesus Christ, God has destroyed all barriers that stand in the way of our relationship with God. Callander’s key theme is that humanity is already enfolded within God’s eternal love and that our great task is not to find God’s love, but awaken to the reality that the God of love has already found us—and then apply this to our relationships with others and with creation.




Venus and the Arts of Love in Renaissance Florence


Book Description

In this volume, Rebekah Compton offers the first survey of Venus in the art, culture, and governance of Florence from 1300 to 1600. Organized chronologically, each of the six chapters investigates one of the goddess's alluring attributes – her golden splendor, rosy-hued complexion, enchanting fashions, green gardens, erotic anatomy, and gifts from the sea. By examining these attributes in the context of the visual arts, Compton uncovers an array of materials and techniques employed by artists, patrons, rulers, and lovers to manifest Venusian virtues. Her book explores technical art history in the context of love's protean iconography, showing how different discourses and disciplines can interact in the creation and reception of art. Venus and the Arts of Love in Renaissance Florence offers new insights on sight, seduction, and desire, as well as concepts of gender, sexuality, and viewership from both male and female perspectives in the early modern era.