In this dazzling debut novel of love and secret histories, a young woman unearths the story of a lost Shanghai pencil company and a hidden family ability which will alter the path of her life forever.

Monica Tsai spends most days on her computer coding for a program that seeks to connect strangers online. A self-confessed recluse, she finds herself escaping into a digital world, counting the days until she can return home to her beloved grandparents. They are now in their nineties, and she worries about them – especially her grandmother Yun whose memory has begun to fade.

Monica has become intent on tracking down her grandmother Yun’s long-lost cousin, Meng, before it’s too late. In her search, Monica connects with a young woman archivist who presents her with a single pencil that holds a clue to a hidden family history. Through this discovery Monica comes to learn of her grandmother’s years in Shanghai, working at the Phoenix Pencil Company.

As WWII raged outside their door, Yun and Meng came into a power unique to the women in their family: the ability to reclaim stories from the pencils they were written with. But when government officials uncovered their secret ability, they were both forced into a life of espionage, betraying other people’s stories to survive. These shocking revelations set Monica on a path that will change all their lives in ways she can scarcely imagine.

At once a sweeping family epic and a powerful love story with deep emotional resonance, Allison King’s brilliantly inventive debut novel pushes us to question how well we really know our own stories and the many beguiling ways they can connect our lives.

Nineteen-year-old Vivian Morris arrives in New York City in the summer of 1940 with nothing but a sewing machine and a heretofore unindulged taste for adventure. Finding employment as seamstress at the Lily Playhouse, a charmingly down-at-heel Manhattan revue, Vivian quickly becomes the toast of the showgirls, transforming the tat only fit for the cheap seats into creations for goddesses. Adventure and opportunity blossom on every corner of this strange wartime city of girls, and Vivian and her girlfriends mean to down New York to its last drop. But there are hard lessons to be learned, and bitterly regrettable mistakes to be made. Vivian learns that to live the life she wants, she must live many lives, ceaselessly and ingeniously making them new.

In her latest novel, Wendy Louise Bardsley has tackled the horrors of the Crimean war with great empathy and, at the same time, has vividly described the pioneer work of Florence Nightingale, as a nurse in that conflict. Florence Nightingale had a calling that took her away from a comfortable life and a marriage proposal to a barracks hospital in Scutari, where she and her group of chosen nurses, would tend sick, wounded and maimed soldiers in the most foul of conditions. Florence had a great supporter for her mission, Sidney Herbert, the Minister for War, and between them, with steadfast perseverance, they secured the supplies of food, medicines and other essentials, that made life bearable for the hospital's patients and staff. In doing so, Florence Nightingale brought a glimmer of hope and light to the lives of those in darkest despair. As the Crimean war ended Florence Nightingale was honoured to receive commendation for her work from Queen Victoria, which signalled the start of a lifelong campaign to enhance the much-treasured nursing profession. FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE: A LIGHT IN DARKEST CRIMEA is a stunning novel that will bring to the reader the stark reality of war.

Spanning ninety years as one family of gifted Korean women's lives are upended under Japanese imperialism, Honey in the Wound is a powerful and sweeping debut novel about a mysteriously gifted Korean family confronting the brutality of the Japanese empire.

A sister disappears and returns as a tiger. A mother's voice compels the truth from any tongue. A granddaughter divines secrets in others' dreams.

Spanning ninety years as one family is displaced across Asia, this novel follows Young-Ja, who finds herself struggling to survive after her family is killed by Japanese soldiers. The magical gift that once brought her joy - the ability to infuse her cooking with her feelings: love, peace, delight - transforms into something more powerful as her sorrow and anger seeps into her confections.

When her talent is noticed by a Korean resistance fighter, she's taken to Manchuria where she becomes enmeshed in a network of spies at a teahouse favoured by Japanese officials. Haunted at every turn by the spectre of Japanese soldiers, she endures horrors and brutality at the hands of the Imperial Army.

With spellbinding inter-generational sweep and atmospheric magical realism, Honey in the Wound explores the ways colonialism forces one family to transform, and ultimately survive.

'A powerful, stirring, wind-swept tale set in Depression-era America that makes your heart break and soar in equal measure. An escape into the past with timely echoes to the present.' - Matt Haig, author of The Midnight Library 'Powerful and compelling' - Delia Owens, author of Where the Crawdads Sing 'A story of love, family, unbreakable bonds, bravery and hope. I loved this book so much!' - Christy Lefteri, author of The Beekeeper of Aleppo She will discover the best of herself in the worst of times . . . Texas, 1934. Elsa Martinelli had finally found the life she'd yearned for. A family, a home and a livelihood on a farm on the Great Plains. But when drought threatens all she and her community hold dear, Elsa's world is shattered to the winds. Fearful of the future, when Elsa wakes to find her husband has fled, she is forced to make the most agonizing decision of her life. Fight for the land she loves or take her beloved children, Loreda and Ant, west to California in search of a better life. Will it be the land of milk and honey? Or will their experience challenge every ounce of strength they possess? From the overriding love of a mother for her child, the value of female friendship and the ability to love again - against all odds - Elsa's incredible journey is a story of survival, hope and what we do for the ones we love. The Four Winds, an instant New York Times number one bestseller and 2022 Richard and Judy Book Club Pick, is a deeply moving story about the strength and resilience of women and the bond between mother and daughter, by the multi-million-copy number one bestselling author of The Nightingale, Kristin Hannah. Praise for Kristin Hannah: 'A rich, compelling novel of love, sacrifice and survival' - Kate Morton 'A masterclass' - Karen Swan **** What readers LOVE about The Four Winds: 'Everyone should read this book. This is the new American classic' 'It will break your heart and bring you to tears. It will also be one of the best books you read all year!' 'This is historical fiction at its best: compelling, compassionate, enraging and courageous. I absolutely loved this book!' 'Gripping and captivating . . . heartbreaking and inspiring' 'We fall in love with a warrior who finds her power and strength, surrounded by love. Beautiful' 'BRAVO to the author, this is her best work yet'