Hierdie splinternuwe versameling van Nataniël bevat 31 stories — 5 in Engels, 26 in Afrikaans. Verskeie van die stukke is uit Nataniël-produksies oor ’n periode van twee jaar: Ring Van Vuur, Nineveh Song, Cake Topper en Duif.

A woman who has everything…

People would kill to have Faye Adelheim’s life. She lives in a beautiful apartment, she has a gorgeous husband who gives her everything she’s ever wanted, and she has an adorable daughter who lights up her world.

Or does she?

So how is it, then, that Faye now finds herself in a police station?

The truth is about to come out…

The truth is that Faye’s life is far from what it seems. And now she’s been caught out. There’s no way she’s going down without a fight. The only question is – who will escape with their life?

When New York architect Tate Donovan arrives in Cape Cod to design his best friend’s summer home, he is hoping to make a fresh start. Recently discharged from an upscale psychiatric facility where he was treated for acute depression, he is still wrestling with the pain of losing his beloved sister. Sylvia’s deathbed revelation—that she can see spirits who are still tethered to the living world, a gift that runs in their family—sits uneasily with Tate, who struggles to believe in more than what reason can explain. But when he takes up residence at a historic bed-and-breakfast on the Cape, he encounters a beautiful young woman named Wren who will challenge every assumption he has about his logical and controlled world.

Tate and Wren find themselves forging an immediate connection, one that neither has ever experienced before. But Tate gradually discovers that below the surface of Wren’s idyllic small-town life, hatred, jealousy, and greed are festering, threatening their fragile relationship just as it begins to blossom. Tate realizes that in order to free Wren from an increasingly desperate fate, he will need to unearth the truth about her past before time runs out . . . a quest that will make him doubt whether we can ever believe the stories we tell about ourselves, and the laws that govern our existence. Love—while transformative—can sometimes be frightening.

A story about the power of transcendent emotion, Remain asks us all: Can love set us free not only from our greatest sorrows, but even from the boundaries of life and death?

Internationally bestselling author Christy Lefteri returns with a dazzling new novel, about one family struggling to recover from trauma, set against the backdrop of the forest fires of Greece.

Once upon a time there was a beautiful village that held a million stories of love and loss and peace and war, and it was swallowed up by a fire that blazed up to the sky. The fire ran all the way down to the sea where it met with its reflection.

A family from two nations, England and Greece, live a simple life in a tiny Greek village: Irini, Tasso and their daughter, lovely, sweet Chara, whose name means joy. Their life goes up in flames in a single day when one man starts a fire out of greed and indifference. Many are killed, homes are destroyed, and the region's natural beauty wiped out.

In the wake of the fire, Chara bears deep scars across her back and arms. Tasso is frozen in trauma, devastated that he wasn't there when his family most needed him. And Irini is crippled by guilt at her part in the fate of the man who started the fire. But this family has survived, and slowly green shoots of hope and renewal will grow from the smouldering ruins of devastation.

Once again, Christy Lefteri has crafted a novel which is intimate and epic, sweeping and delicate. The Book of Fire explores not only the damage wrought by human folly, and the costs of survival in our changing world, but also - and ultimately - our powers of redemption and renewal.

THE BOOK THAT EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT . . . THE NO. 1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'Again, Rachel is fabulous. Beautifully written, pure 5-star Keyes - clever, lively, funny, compelling' NINA STIBBE 'Funny, heartbreaking, achingly real - Keyes has dones it again. Gorgeous. I absolutely loved it' JANE FALLON 'Beautifully written, funny, heart-breaking and always wise. A proper treat' DAILY MAIL 'An entertaining, growingly poignant contemporary tale' SUNDAY TIMES 'No other author marries heartbreak and hilarity so seamlessly' MAIL ON SUNDAY 'Marian's mastery of story and character is as impressive as ever' HEAT 'BOOK OF THE YEAR' ***CONGRATULATIONS TO THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS AUTHOR OF THE YEAR 2022*** SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOLLINGER EVERYMAN WODEHOUSE PRIZE FOR COMIC FICTION _________ Back in the long ago nineties, Rachel Walsh was a mess. But a spell in rehab transformed everything. Life became very good, very quickly. These days, Rachel has love, family, a great job as an addiction counsellor, she even gardens. Her only bad habit is a fondness for expensive trainers. But with the sudden reappearance of a man she'd once loved, her life wobbles. She'd thought she was settled. Fixed forever. Is she about to discover that no matter what our age, everything can change? Is it time to think again, Rachel? _________ 'It will break your heart and nourish your soul . . . Her finest novel yet' NIGELLA LAWSON 'A sequel worth the wait . . This garrulous, fast-paced read offers the joy of a reunion with not just Rachel, but the rambunctious Walsh clan. An entertaining, growingly poignant contemporary tale' SUNDAY TIMES 'Funny, heart-breaking and so wise' DAILY MAIL 'Utterly brilliant, wise and funny. So fabulous. I adore it' CATHY KELLY 'Wow! It's excellent and it's everything. Funny, gorgeous, exquisite' DAISY BUCHANAN 'A smashing sequel. Keyes delivers punchy home truths with wit and charm' TELEGRAPH 'Like slipping into a warm, bubbly bath' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING FAMOUS FANS AND WHY THEY LOVE RACHEL'S HOLIDAY 'Marian's writing is the truth. With big laughs' Dawn French 'A giant of Irish writing' Naoise Dolan 'Will make you laugh and make you cry, but will also reveal the truth of who you really are' Louise O'Neill 'Keyes weaves the joy and pain of life in a unique and magical way' Cathy Rentzenbrink 'One of the most honest writers writing today' Pandora Sykes 'Compassionate, tender, incisive writing' Lucy Foley 'Her talent for tackling serious issues with such humanity and wit is balm for the soul' Nigella Lawson 'Marian Keyes is a brilliant writer. No one is better at making terrifically funny jokes while telling such important, perceptive and agonizing stories of the heart. She is a genius' Sali Hughes 'Irresistible, profound. Keyes's comic gift is always evident' Independent 'Joyful. Keyes' clever way with words and extraordinary wit. People stared at me as I laughed to myself' C.L. Taylor 'A born storyteller' Independent on Sunday

It's the summer of 1985 and the residents of Delmont Close are preparing a neighbourhood barbecue to watch the biggest music event in history: Live Aid. A day like no other that will end having reached millions and changing the lives of all who attend.

House-proud Lydia Gordon, whose idols are Princess Di and Delia Smith, is determined to put on a show that will impress everyone - with her posh garden and state-of-the-art television, and her sweet husband and two children, Hanna and David.

But as the guests flood into number nine, so do all of the secrets that have been kept in the close.

Rita, a new neighbour from Australia, is hoping for a fresh start but harbours a shocking event in her past; Steve, a young Falklands veteran, battles his own demons; and Mr Wilson is surely too good-looking to ever be trusted.

But as the hours count down to the last performance of the night, it's Lydia who faces the heart-breaking truth that her immaculate home and flawless family might not be so perfect after all.

And if each of their neighbours is guilty of hiding something, so are the Gordons at number nine ...

When he is eight years old, Alfie Logan discovers the magical ability to get a second chance at everything. He can undo any moment and live it again. The one catch: he must accept the consequences of his second try - for better or worse.

He grows up correcting his mistakes and saving himself from adolescent embarrassments. He even takes foolishly dangerous risks, just to see what it's like to come close to death, before tapping back to safety. Eventually, Alfie turns his gift to his love life, studying his crushes and going back to make himself more appealing. In time, he falls deeply in love with Gianna, the woman he believes is the one. He seems to find contentment.

But as the years pass, Alfie's eye begins to wander. Which is when he learns a lone caveat to his power: once he undoes a love, that person can never fall in love with him again. Knowing if he gives into to temptation, he will risk losing what he has with Gianna, Alfie makes a choice that changes his life forever.

The book begins many years later, after an ailing Alfie is arrested for allegedly cheating and winning millions at a casino roulette wheel. As a curious detective interrogates him, he slowly uncovers Alfie's incredible story, and its most unlikely conclusion.

In Twice, America's favourite storyteller, Mitch Albom, is at the top of his powers. A love story that is enchanting, probing, and clairvoyant in matters of the heart, Twice will make you think, weep, and overflow with love from beginning to end.

One last letter. His dying wish. A promise that will change everything…

Beckett,
If you're reading this, well, you know the last-letter drill. You made it. I didn't. I need one thing from you: get out of the army and get to Telluride. My little sister Ella's there, raising the twins alone. If I'm gone, that means I can't be there for her. I can't help them through this. But you can. So I'm begging you, as my best friend, go take care of my sister, my family. Please don't make her go through it alone.
Ryan

When Beckett follows his best friend’s dying wish and arrives in the small mountain town of Telluride, he expects grief, guilt, and the weight of a promise he’s not sure he can keep.

What he doesn’t expect is Ella. Fiercely independent and determined to hold her family together, Ella is still reeling from loss after loss. But as Beckett slowly becomes part of her life, their shared grief begins to turn into something neither of them saw coming.

But Ella knows that loving Beckett means risking heartbreak all over again… and this time she's not sure she'll survive.

Originally published in 2019

Norway, 1951: ‘I need you to know how much I love you, Amalie. I never wanted us to be parted, and I will do whatever it takes to come back to you and our baby. Please wait for me.’

London, Present day: Everything in Charlotte’s life is about to change. As she clutches a small box in her palm containing a diamond ring and a Norwegian crest, she knows she must return home to be reunited with her beloved great-grandmother Amalie and her Norwegian family.

Accepting her dream job as a head chef at Norway’s most prestigious hotel, Charlotte is welcomed by the hotel’s head designer, Harrison. For years, Charlotte sacrificed everything for her career. As she tours her new surroundings with Harrison, she soon starts to see a way of focussing on her heart too. But when Charlotte takes the box to Amalie, everything Charlotte thought she knew about her family changes in an instant. As Amalie clutches the ring that she thought had vanished forever, she reveals a tragic love story and a precious secret that stayed buried for years.

When Charlotte discovers the huge sacrifice Amalie made to keep her family safe, will it give Charlotte the strength she needs to follow her heart? Or will she leave Norway forever?

An utterly heart-warming and gorgeous story about the importance of following your heart and never being afraid to find your new beginning. Perfect for fans of Santa Montefiore, Lucinda Riley and Victoria Hislop.

Bo lives a quiet existence in his small rural village in the north of Sweden. He is elderly and his days are punctuated by visits from his care team and his son.

Fortunately, he still has his memories, phone calls with his best friend Ture, and his beloved dog Sixten for company.

Only now his son is insisting the dog must be taken away. The very same son that Bo is wanting to mend his relationship with before his time is up. The threat of losing Sixten stirs up a whirlwind of emotions and makes Bo determined to resist and find his voice.

*Winner of the UJ Debut Prize*

Family secrets run deep for Grace, a young girl growing up in Cape Town during the 1980s, spilling over into adulthood, and threating to ruin the respectable life she has built for herself.

When an old childhood friend reappears, Grace’s memories of her childhood come rushing back, and she is confronted, once again, with the loss that has shaped her. The novel is permeated with the long shadow cast by personal trauma, violence and loss on people’s lives.

“This apricot tree has multiple souls that fill me with wonder every morning and enchant me by afternoon. This tree has bitter-sweet memories, just like the fruit it bears.”

If the apricot trees of Soweto could talk, what stories would they tell? This short story collection provides an imaginative answer. Imbued with a vivid sense of place, it captures the vibrancy of the township and surrounds. Told with satirical flair, life and death are intertwined in these tales where funerals and the ancestors feature strongly; where cemeteries are places to show off your new car and catch up on the latest gossip.

Populating these stories is a politician mesmerised by his mistress’s manicure, zama-zamas running businesses underground, a sangoma with a remedy for theft, soccer fans ready to mete out a bloody justice, a private dancer in love and many other intriguing characters.

Take your seat under the apricot tree and be enthralled by tales that are both entertaining and thought-provoking.

Part 1 of a new two-book series by bestselling author Jackie Phamotse!

It is 2005, a time of silent anticipation and hidden possibilities in the rugged Cederberg mountains. Cameron Coal is embroiled in a desperate fight to save his family’s rooibos farm, which is a hair’s breadth from bankruptcy, while wrestling overwhelming grief after his wife’s death and trying to build a relationship with his blind daughter. His father, John, might be the family’s last hope to save their farm from an enemy lurking in plain sight. But in the shadows, Cameron’s brother, Sole, harbours a secret that could shatter their world.

Amid the chaos of a veld fire, Cameron’s gaze falls upon an enigmatic nurse, Luna Parks, who is new to their town. As Luna and Cameron grow closer, her mysterious past and closely guarded secrets could shatter the very foundation of their relationship.

In the meantime, several questions must be answered: Who wanted Cameron’s wife dead?

How far will Cameron go to keep his enemies at bay? Will Luna ever tell him the truth about her past? Who really owns South Africa’s indigenous plant, the illustrious rooibos?

And will Cameron’s decisions cost another life, or will they ensure the rise of the Tea Merchant?

From the worldwide bestselling author of The Four Winds, The Nightingale and Firefly Lane (a Number One series on Netflix), The Women is a story of devastating loss and epic love.

"Women can be heroes, too". When twenty-year-old nursing student, Frances "Frankie" McGrath, hears these unexpected words, it is a revelation. Raised on California's idyllic Coronado Island and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing, being a good girl. But in 1965 the world is changing, and she suddenly imagines a different path for her life. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she impulsively joins the Army Nurses Corps and follows his path.

As green and inexperienced as the young men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is overwhelmed by the chaos and destruction of war, as well as the unexpected trauma of coming home to a changed America. Frankie will also discover the true value of female friendship and the heartbreak that love can cause.

A heart-swelling beauty of a debut novel of love, trauma and found family.

In a remote valley in Idaho in 1981, a man, a woman and three children stop running to wash the blood from their hands and bodies. They are the few survivors of a terrible tragedy. Their only choice now is, somehow, to become a family.

Five years earlier, Opal and her husband James arrive in the small mining community of Silver Valley, drawn by promises of fortune and independence. There they meet Baron Rowe, the charismatic visionary who controls the community with an iron fist. Baron's son Denny has spent his life trying, and failing, to live up to Baron's expectations, and to protect his little sister Maude from their father's excesses.

Soon, a tragic accident will change all their lives. And five years later, change will come again at the barrel of a gun . . .

Sw eeping across tw o generations, from the ghettos of Europe during the Second World War to the enclaves of New York's Fifth Avenue, The Hidden Girl traces the life of Leah Thompson, w ho rises from humble beginnings in rural Yorkshire to take the modelling w orld by storm.

But her fateful association w ith the Delancey family dominates her life. The secrets they hide from one another start to explode into nightmares of thw arted ambition, forbidden love, revenge and murder . . . culminating in a fatal, forgotten prophecy from the past.

This title was previously published as Hidden Beauty by Lucinda Edmonds, and has been rewritten and reimagined by her son, Harry Whittaker, for Lucinda Riley fans the world over.

An Icelandic volcano has thrown an ash cloud into the atmosphere and, across the world, planes have stopped flying. Overhead, the skies are severely blue. Leah Nash and Niall Lawrence, twenty-somethings in love, grow strangely restless. They set out on different but parallel pathways. He takes on work at an Antarctic polar station and experiences the strange and lonely beauty of the precarious ice-world. She studies writing in England and struggles to find her way. They are both determined to stay together, though separated by thousands of miles.

Elleke Boehmer’s Ice Shock is a love story set against the backdrop of the melting ice caps. The novel asks what it is to be close even when we are far apart—distant yet proximate. How do we go on loving each other when the environment around us is changing catastrophically by the day?’

Vimbai, a final-year law student at the University of Zimbabwe, is determined not to join the long line of unemployed graduates. She'd would rather trade sexual favours to get a job than go back to living with her aunt-turned-stepmother. Unlike her roommate, Nosihle, she prides herself on being pragmatic. Nosihle is the good girl who mistakenly falls in love with the wrong man and then there’s Ruby, the spoilt socialite who is leading a double life.

Through their messy choices, their lives become intertwined. Vimbai is looking for someone who can offer her the opulence and grandeur of the Sunshine City. Even if it means sleeping with Cheropa, the former first son and Ruby’s boyfriend. It’s a dog-eat-dog world after all. But Vimbai soon learns that every action has a consequence and some of our wishes come to haunt us when we are at our happiest.

Her carefully orchestrated life takes a nosedive when her secrets are held against her by a mysterious well-connected man.

WINNER OF THE 2026 WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION.

Every morning, Sybil Van Antwerp sits down to write letters – to her brother, to her best friend, to the president of the university who will not allow her to attend a class she desperately wants to take, to her favourite authors to tell them what she thinks of their latest books, and to one person to whom she writes often yet never sends the letter.

Because at seventy-three, Sybil has used her correspondence – witty and wise – to make sense of the world. But beyond the page, she has spent the last thirty years keeping the people who love her at arms’ length... Until letters from someone in her past force her to examine one of the most painful periods of her life.

Now, Sybil must send the letter she has been writing for all these years - and find forgiveness within herself in order to move on.

This isn't a romance. But it is about love.

Remy is lucky. Her three best friends have always been there for her - until the day that they're not. One of them is moving to New York. One of them is pregnant. And one is busy with her (awful) boyfriend. Suddenly, their foursome is splitting - and it feels like a break-up.

Simone doesn't need friends. The only people she needs are her family - but when they cut her off, she realises how alone she is.

When the pair meet in a bookshop, they don't immediately click. But as life keeps throwing them together, they realise that they might just have bumped into exactly what they need... if they can only be brave enough to let each other in.

Reghardt du Toit is ’n bekende sanger met die wêreld aan sy voete. ’n Ernstige ongeluk verander sy lewe onherroeplik. As gevolg van gehoorverlies, is sing skielik buite die kwessie. Hy gaan soek na ’n nuwe begin in die klein WesKaapse dorpie van Philadelphia.

Hier maak Reghardt ’n boetiekrestaurant oop terwyl die dorpie en inwoners in sy hart inkruip. ’n Dokter met ’n praktyk in die naburige Malmesbury trek ook met sy gesin en ’n geheimsinnige au pair na Philadelphia.

Die plaaslike dominee se dogter is ’n internasionale model en haar pa se enigste kind. Sy weet sy presies wat sy in die lewe wil hê. Sy spits haar toe daarop om Reghardt se hart te verower. Die dowe sanger fokus egter daarop om mentor te wees vir ’n seun wat sy eie sangtalent wil slyp.

’n Skokkende tragedie bring ’n onverwagse wenteling in almal se lewens. Sal Reghardt genoeg liefde en vergifnis kan vind om die ontrafeling wat volg te weerstaan, of sal alles weer inmekaartuimel?

Dié boek kry dit reg om peripheral characters en vertellers oppie voorgrond te plaas.

Die tailor-dokter met sy briefcase vol sample-lappe, maatband en pen. Die pyn vanne vrou wat haar pasgebore tweeling moet begrawe. Ennie stryd vannie pligsgetroue, prim en proper Mareldia. En dan is daar oek Ghoemeira wat tradisionele waardes mettie modern moet versoen.

Hier hoor jy die klanke vannie gemeenskap, musky en soet soes ryke uit die Jannat.

What if the year's most talked about TV show was all about your marriage?

Kate, thirty years into her marriage, has a seemingly idyllic metropolitan, North London life. Phoebe, a young screenwriter, is the creator of the year's hit TV show, Cheating.

When Kate's world takes a darker turn, she thinks she sees details and intimacies in the show that only she and her husband Jack could possibly have known. But who has betrayed who? Who gets to tell whose story?

A black comedy of resentment and entitlement, Look What You Made Me Do is the story of two very different women from two very different generations, heading toward a battle only one of them can win.

World War II brings together six remarkable young flight nurses, who face the challenges of war and its many heartbreaks and victories as unsung heroes, in this inspiring novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Danielle Steel.

Audrey Parker’s life changes forever when Pearl Harbor is attacked on December 7, 1941. Her brother, a talented young Navy pilot, had been stationed there, poised to fulfill their late father’s distinguished legacy. Fresh out of nursing school with a passion and a born gift for helping others, both Audrey and her friend Lizzie suddenly find their nation on the brink of war. Driven to do whatever they can to serve, they enlist in the Army and embark on a new adventure as flight nurses.

Risking their lives on perilous missions, they join the elite Medical Air Evacuation Transport Squadron and fly into enemy territory almost daily to rescue wounded soldiers from the battlefield. Audrey and Lizzie make enormous sacrifices to save lives alongside an extraordinary group of nurses: Alex, who longs to make a difference in the world; Louise, a bright mind who faced racial prejudice growing up in the South; Pru, a selfless leader with a heart of gold; and Emma, whose confidence and grit push her to put everything on the line for her patients.

Even knowing they will not achieve any rank and will receive little pay for their efforts, the “Flying Angels” will give their all in the fight for freedom. They serve as bravely and tirelessly as the men they rescue on the front lines, in daring airlifts, and are eternally bound by their loyalty to one another. Danielle Steel presents a sweeping, stunning tribute to these incredibly courageous women, inspiring symbols of bravery and valor.

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB 2018 SELECTION

ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S BEST BOOKS OF 2018

‘Haunting...beautifully written.’ The New York Times Book Review

‘Compelling.’ The Washington Post

‘Epic...transcendent…triumphant.’ Elle

‘It’s among Tayari’s many gifts that she can touch us soul to soul with her words.’ Oprah Winfrey

‘Tayari Jones’ vision, strength, and truth-telling voice have found a new level of artistry and power.’ Michael Chabon, author of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay

Newlyweds Celestial and Roy are the embodiment of both the American Dream and the New South. He is a young executive, and she is an artist on the brink of an exciting career. But as they settle into the routine of their life together, they are ripped apart by circumstances neither could have imagined. Roy is arrested and sentenced to twelve years for a crime Celestial knows he didn’t commit. Though fiercely independent, Celestial finds herself bereft and unmoored, taking comfort in Andre, her childhood friend, and best man at their wedding. As Roy’s time in prison passes, she struggles to hold on to the love that has been her centre. When his conviction is suddenly overturned, he returns to Atlanta ready to resume their life together.

This stirring love story is a profoundly insightful look into the hearts and minds of three people who are at once bound and separated by forces beyond their control. An American Marriage is a masterpiece of storytelling, an intimate look deep into the souls of people who must reckon with the past while moving forward – with hope and pain – into the future.