Pearl Harbor and the tentacles of Word War II turn San Francisco into a raucous, electrifying city. Twenty-year-old Carmel St. John moves into this maelstrom with dreams of winning the heart of Dr. Phillip Barron and becoming a big band singer.

There, Carmel meets Caesar Almalto, a black-market kingpin, and Jerry Cassidy, a musician who helps her and hopes to win her love. Nightclub life, lust, and murder swirl around her, as does her tenuous relationship with Phillip, who leaves as a commissioned officer aboard the first hospital ship in the Pacific theater. A family crisis threatens to destroy Carmel's dreams when she is called home to San Jose to manage the family's 1,100-acre ranch during the war.

"The Stone Must Break" tells the saga of two families, the St. Johns and the Barrons, as they grapple with tragedy, love, and responsibility in a world at war.

Bristol 1941 Having left her abusive husband for very good reasons, Mary Anne Randall finds herself judged harshly by her friends and neighbours, after courageously risking everything for a second chance at happiness with Michael. With Michael away fighting Mary Anne is less concerned by her tarnished reputation and focusses on keeping her beloved children safe. But with the bombs beginning to fall on Bristol, danger is all too close to home. Will Mary Anne rise above her tarnished reputation and protect those she loves from the uncertainty of a world at war? A sequel to A Wartime Wife. Praise for Lizzie Lane: 'A gripping saga and a storyline that will keep you hooked' Rosie Goodwin 'The Tobacco Girls is another heartwarming tale of love and friendship and a must-read for all saga fans.' Jean Fullerton 'Lizzie Lane opens the door to a past of factory girls, redolent with life-affirming friendship, drama, and choices that are as relevant today as they were then.' Catrin Collier 'If you want an exciting, authentic historical saga then look no further than Lizzie Lane.' Fenella J Miller

Stacpoole's often-filmed 1908 romance is a classic of lyrical beauty, as two children are castaway on a beautiful island and grow up there, innocent of the real world.

Step right up for the most captivating read of the year . . . Filled with the sights and sounds of Victorian England, Circus of Wonders is the instant Sunday Times bestseller from Elizabeth Macneal, author of The Doll Factory. 'Intensely satisfying' - Stacey Halls, author of The Familiars England, 1866. When Jasper Jupiter's Circus of Wonders arrives in a coastal village, Nell soon catches the showman's eye. Shunned by her community because of the birthmarks speckling her skin, to Jasper she is a prize - she could be his very own leopard girl. But how to make her his? Soon Nell finds herself the star of Jasper's show. Suddenly she is famous. Crowds rush to watch her soar through the air. Figurines are cast in her image. Even Queen Victoria wants to see her perform. But is Nell free to live and love as she chooses? And when her fame begins to eclipse Jasper's own, could she be in danger? After all, the higher you fly, the steeper the fall . . . 'Filled with character and life' - The Times 'Utterly beguiling' - Daily Mail 'Brilliantly involving' - Daily Express 'Exhilarating' - Sunday Times, Books of the Year 'An immersive gem' - Red 'Joyous, frightening, heartbreaking' - Independent 'Deliciously vivid' - Woman & Home

Stacpoole's often-filmed 1908 romance is a classic of lyrical beauty, as two children are castaway on a beautiful island and grow up there, innocent of the real world.

Out of the depression that darkened Germany in the late 1800s came a group of brave women who dedicated their lives to a new order in the Catholic Church: the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother.

In the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi, Frances Streitel knows her work will center on the poorest of the poor. But Frances doesn't realize that she and her followers will travel across continents, narrowly avoiding grave dangers, to start hospitals and schools in the wilds of the American frontier and elsewhere.

It is difficult for the nuns to earn the trust of local families and endure the elements and insecurities of their new home in America. Later, as their story moves from the 1880s to the start of a world war, they are deeply affected by what occurs in Germany, where their order is headquartered and where many Catholics and Jews alike are banished.

A sweeping portrayal of loyalty and sacrifice, "Into America with Love" captures the anxiety and hope of a handful of women who dared to look past hardships and build a bright future.

"How do you think it feels to recognize...the damned?"

Jennie Raeburn has spent most of her life apart from reality, in and out of asylums for the insane, and her granddaughter Maegen has returned home to find out why. From childhood memories to an old diary written entirely in French, Maegen digs deep into the past of a woman who has lost not her mind, but her soul.

With only the diary and the evocative portrait of an unfamiliar man to guide her, she searches for the answer to her grandmother's descent into madness, and learns the story of a forbidden love that divided an entire community.

Can Maegen pick up the pieces of Jennie's shattered life before she is put away forever? Or will Jennie silently waste away, lost to the world...and to herself?