In this savage saga of love, war, lust, and magic set in the tenth century, young Sigrid is destined to be the mother of the king of the Nordic lands that would become Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and England. A devout believer in the old Nordic gods, Sigrid is visited regularly in her dreams by the goddess Freya, who whispers to her of the future. Though Sigrid is beautiful, rich, arrogant, and matchlessly clever, her uncanny ability to foresee the future and manipulate the present guides her through dangerous politics as a bloody war between Vikings and Christians rages on. Sigrid's father wants her to marry Erik, a local king, to secure the peace between the Goths and the Swedes. Thinking she is doing Freya's will, she accepts the marriage offer, only to find that her destiny lies not with Erik but with Sweyn, a warrior who dreams of dethroning Harald Bluetooth, the legendary ruler of Denmark. Will Sigrid sacrifice her will for the greatest Viking kingdom of all time, or will she follow her heart at the risk of losing everything?

Unbound: A Tale of Love and Betrayal in Shanghai is the sweeping, multigenerational story of two women-a grandmother and granddaughter-who fight to carve out a place for themselves as women in Shanghai society. Mini Pao lives with her sister and two parents in the British-occupied Shanghai of the 1930s, renowned for its vibrant night life, stunning architecture, and repressive social mores. Mini's struggle to provide for herself and her family while grappling with her desire for romance and independence comes into sharp contrast with the life of her granddaughter, Ting, told in alternating chapters. Ting also resides in Shanghai, decades later in the 1980s, when the city has been transformed beyond recognition by the communist strictures of Chairman Mao. Ting's strict, sheltered upbringing only fuels her curiosity about her grandmother's glamorous past, and she is driven to uncover tragic secrets, grapple with painful truths, and face the hard reality of what the future holds for her if she remains in Shanghai.

The first in a new series from Petra Durst-Benning, the bestselling author of The Glassblower series. An inspiring historical tale of one woman risking it all for her dreams set in 1890s Berlin. After the tragic death of her little brother, Josephine travels to the Black Forest to heal. There she discovers a feeling of freedom astride a brand-new invention: the bicycle. The very idea of a woman on a bicycle is beyond taboo-it is indecent and even illegal-but Josephine will not be deterred. Back home, Josephine rides under cover of night, while the world is still asleep so as not to provoke a scandal. But Berlin's streets are dangerous and the winds of change are blowing. Can Josephine's fighting heart help her overcome the obstacles in her path? Will the passion she feels for this new adventure lead her toward true love?

'Inventive, excellent ... a pure pleasure to read' THE TIMES In this compelling debut, an unknowable legacy passes through generations of one family living on the beautiful island of Barbados. There is Iapetus, a lonely soul haunted by the memory of his father; his son Atlas, dreaming of a life far removed from his reality; Atlas's daughter Calypso, struggling to find her place in an unforgiving society; and her son Nautilus, grappling with various parts of a complex identity. Each of them longs to escape - to go beyond the borders and circumstances that have contained them for so long - but each finds that they are trapped by a history found only in whispers and half-remembered fragments; and that it is dictating a future over which they have little control. With every passing decade another generation must contend with the same doubts about their identity, about their place in the small world they have carved out for themselves and the same question: how can the things we don't know define our futures? Perfect for fans of Girl, Woman, Other and Homegoing, THE ISLAND OF FORGETTING is a powerful story of family and hope, and marks the arrival of a stunning new voice in literary fiction. THE TIMES FICTION BOOK OF THE MONTH

Can she overcome her family's doubts to achieve her dream?Meg Turner has a hard life. She lives on a lonely farm in the Lake District and her only company is her bully of a father and her brother, who resents her. They want to keep her at home, but Meg is desperate for more. She finds comfort in her best friend, Kath, and Lanky Lawson, who is more of a father figure to her than her own. Her true source of hope though, is Lanky's son, Jack, who she loves and hopes to marry one day. However as war looms on the horizon and the world is thrown into chaos, Meg realises that the only thing she can really count on is the land she loves. She throws herself into tending the farm, but when a stranger arrives in the dale, her world will change forever. A vivid and enchanting saga of Lakeland life in the Second World War, perfect for fans of Katie Flynn and Anna Jacobs.

'An engaging story of opportunities lost and refound' Express Can love help her through the most difficult decisions? Prepare to be spirited away to rural Ireland in this stunning new saga from Anne Doughty. When Jenny McKinstry is offered a new post as the Head of English at her Belfast school she's elated! Yet she can't help but feel conflicted about the position. With all those around her mounting the pressure to start a family and her husband's career about to take off, Jenny feels bound by an overwhelming sense of duty. Will she be able to support her husband's ambitions and land her dream job... Previously published as A Few Late Roses. Readers LOVE Anne Doughty: 'I love all the books from this author' 'beautifully written' 'would recommend to everyone' 'Fabulous story, couldn't put it down!' 'Looking forward to the next one.'

THE SECOND BOOK IN A BRAND NEW TRILOGY BY Bestselling author Mary Wood writing as Maggie Mason 'In the grand tradition of sagas set down by the late and great Catherine Cookson' Jean Fullerton on Blackpool Lass ______________ 1902 Babs and Beth are identical in looks, but very different by nature. Kidnapped by gypsies a decade ago as young girls, Beth has accepted their plight, but Babs has always yearned for their real mother, Tilly, and their beloved hometown of Blackpool. Convinced the best thing for them is to be reunited with Tilly, Babs tries to persuade Beth to escape. But Beth is too afraid, and Babs knows if she wants to find their mother, she'll have to do it alone. 1914 Babs' life has been blighted by misfortune since the night she walked away from her sister, but at last she found peace and purpose as a nurse. She's never given up hope of finding her family, but now the war is sending her to France, away from them. Or so she believes. As the Great War rips families apart, is it possible that Babs and Beth will be reunited with each other, and their mother, at last? The perfect read for fans of Mary Wood, Kitty Neale, Val Wood and Nadine Dorries

On the hottest day of the summer of 1935, thirteen-year-old Briony Tallis sees her older sister Cecilia strip off her clothes and plunge into the fountain in the garden of their country house. Watching Cecilia is their housekeeper's son Robbie Turner, a childhood friend who, along with Briony's sister, has recently graduated from Cambridge.
By the end of that day the lives of all three will have been changed forever. Robbie and Cecilia will have crossed a boundary they had never before dared to approach and will have become victims of the younger girl's scheming imagination. And Briony will have committed a dreadful crime, the guilt for which will color her entire life.
In each of his novels Ian McEwan has brilliantly drawn his reader into the intimate lives and situations of his characters. But never before has he worked with so large a canvas: In "Atonement "he takes the reader from a manor house in England in 1935 to the retreat from Dunkirk in 1941; from the London's World War II military hospitals to a reunion of the Tallis clan in 1999.
"Atonement" is Ian McEwan's finest achievement. Brilliant and utterly enthralling in its depiction of childhood, love and war, England and class, the novel is at its center a profound-and profoundly moving-exploration of shame and forgiveness and the difficulty of absolution.

A winegrower ruined by the Great French Vine Blight takes his one surviving vine stock and boards a ship for California. But the new life he has in store is not the one he had imagined - taken ill aboard ship, he is forced to disembark at Valparaiso, where a misunderstanding at the customs post finds him rebaptized after his birthplace, Lons-le-Saunier: the Lonsonier family is born in Chile. Making the journey in reverse, his sons return to defend the motherland in 1914, and the ghosts of the war live on across the Atlantic, in a house with three lemon trees and a garden filled with birds, for years to come. From the depths of the trenches to the soaring peaks of the Andes and the shadow of dictatorship, the personal stories of the Lonsoniers collide with key moments in a century of global history, painting a vivid picture of what is both gained and lost through migration. This pocket-sized family saga confirms the rich imagination and storytelling talents of exciting young author Miguel Bonnefoy.

Lyn Andrews' WHERE THE MERSEY FLOWS is a powerful, heartwarming saga perfect for fans of Kate Thompson and Donna Douglas. A young girl leaves her privileged upbringing behind for Liverpool's slums, but can her new life bring love and happiness? Liverpool, 1910. Leah Cavendish and Nora O'Brian seem to have little in common - except their friendship. Nora is a domestic and Leah the daughter of a wealthy haulage magnate but both are isolated beneath the roof of the opulent Cavendish household. Instantly they recognise kindred spirits in each other. When Nora is unfairly flung on to the streets by Leah's grasping brother-in-law, the outraged Leah follows her, defiantly declaring her intention to move into a house in Liverpool's docklands, alongside Nora and her impoverished family. But nothing can prepare Leah for the squalor that greets her in Oil Street. Nor for Sean Maguire, Nora's defiant Irish neighbour . . . Praise for Lyn Andrews' unforgettable novels: 'An outstanding storyteller' Woman's Weekly 'A vivid portrayal of life' Best 'Spellbinding' Northern Echo

During WWI, Greyladies - an ancient manor house in rural Wiltshire - is requisitioned for a hospital. Its mistress, Harriet, Joseph and their sons are allowed to stay in the rear part of the house, but when tragedy strikes Joseph's brothers, his future at Greyladies is at risk. Latimer family legend says a new mistress will be found to look after the house, yet how does this happen? In Swindon, Phoebe Sinclair is unaware of her connection to Greyladies and the Latimers. When her German employers are interned because of the war, she loses her job. Even worse, her brutish step-cousin Frank tries to force her to marry him. Phoebe flees to London.

'A splendid warm-hearted novel' - Rachel Hore London, 1944. Clara Button is no ordinary librarian. While the world remains at war, in East London Clara has created the country's only underground library, built over the tracks in the disused Bethnal Green tube station. Down here a secret community thrives: with thousands of bunk beds, a nursery, a cafe and a theatre offering shelter, solace and escape from the bombs that fall above. Along with her glamorous best friend and library assistant Ruby Munroe, Clara ensures the library is the beating heart of life underground. But as the war drags on, the women's determination to remain strong in the face of adversity is tested to the limits when it seems it may come at the price of keeping those closest to them alive. Based on true events, The Little Wartime Library is a gripping and heart-wrenching page-turner that remembers one of the greatest resistance stories of the war.

#1 New York Times Bestseller "Absorbing . . . impossible to resist." -The Washington Post As Europe erupts, can one young spy protect his queen? Ken Follett takes us deep into the treacherous world of powerful monarchs, intrigue, murder, and treason with his magnificent epic, A Column of Fire-the chronological latest in the Kingsbridge series, following The Pillars of the Earth, World Without End, and the prequel, The Evening and the Morning. In 1558, the ancient stones of Kingsbridge Cathedral look down on a city torn apart by religious conflict. As power in England shifts precariously between Catholics and Protestants, royalty and commoners clash, testing friendship, loyalty, and love. Ned Willard wants nothing more than to marry Margery Fitzgerald. But when the lovers find themselves on opposing sides of the religious conflict dividing the country, Ned goes to work for Princess Elizabeth. When she becomes queen, all Europe turns against England. The shrewd, determined young monarch sets up the country's first secret service to give her early warning of assassination plots, rebellions, and invasion plans. Over a turbulent half century, the love between Ned and Margery seems doomed as extremism sparks violence from Edinburgh to Geneva. Elizabeth clings to her throne and her principles, protected by a small, dedicated group of resourceful spies and courageous secret agents. The real enemies, then as now, are not the rival religions. The true battle pitches those who believe in tolerance and compromise against the tyrants who would impose their ideas on everyone else-no matter what the cost. Exciting and ambitious, and set during one of the most turbulent and revolutionary times in history, A Column of Fire will delight longtime fans of the Kingsbridge series and serve as the perfect introduction for readers new to Ken Follett.

What is the difference between friendship and love? Gustav grows up in a small town in Switzerland, where the horrors of the Second World War seem a distant echo. But Gustav's father has mysteriously died, and his adored mother Emilie is strangely cold and indifferent to him. Gustav's life is a lonely one until he meets Anton. An intense lifelong friendship develops but Anton fails to understand how deeply and irrevocably his life and Gustav's are entwined until it is almost too late... 'A perfect novel about life's imperfection... Tremain is writing at the height of her inimitable powers...' Kate Kellaway, Observer 'Heartbreaking, unsentimental and beautifully written, and it reinforces my opinion that there are few writers out there with the dexterity or emotional intelligence to rival that of the great Rose Tremain.' John Boyne, The Irish Times

'A compelling first novel which I promise you won't be able to put down' Daisy Styles, bestselling author of The Bomb Girls Can her fight for the country fix her broken heart? A knock on the door early one morning wouldn't normally be cause for concern but it is 1941, Britain is at war, and Kitty Williams's fiance Joe is far from home fighting Hitler with the Navy. As Kitty's heart is shattered into pieces hearing the news she had been dreading, resolve kicks in and she becomes more determined than ever to do her bit for the war effort. Signing up to the Women's Army is just the sort of challenge Kitty needs and on meeting new recruits Mary, Di and Peggy, she is happy to learn that the challenge won't be a lonely one. But it also won't be easy and when bombs start to fall on her home town of Coventry, and supposed allies turn against her, Kitty must find the strength she never knew she had to save her family, fix her broken heart and help her country to victory. The Spark Girl is an absorbing and poignant saga, perfect for fans of Daisy Styles, Kate Thompson and Ellie Dean. The second book in the series, The Spark Girl's Promise is now available for pre-order 'a fabulous debut from an immensely talented author' Annie Groves 'Ford gets to the heart of what it was like to live through the dangerous war years in this warm, captivating, down-to-earth story which is brimming with engaging characters, adventure, romance and heartbreak.' Lancashire Post 'Fiona Ford has written a charming and very appealing story...Kitty Williams is the girl we all want to be.' Swirl and Thread 'an enjoyable read with a twist towards the end to keep the reader engaged until the next one!' Jera's Jamboree

'1942 was going to be a very different type of year to its predecessor, she decided resolutely. Gone would be the feckless Evie, mooning over one faithless man after another, and in would come a bolder and more positive Evie ' As a new year begins and the world is at war, Evie Yeo is turning over a new leaf. Her nearest and dearest in the little Devon village of Lymbridge, the war effort for the boys on the front, and her class of infant pupils will be getting all of her attention this year and nothing will soften her resolve. Though rations are slim, and work is hard with the men away, Evie knows she's lucky to have her friends and family around her - even if they don't always agree on each other's choices in fashion, hobbies or love. They have supported her through a broken heart more than once so she knows they'll stick together even when there are new suitors, new babies or new jobs to contend with. But as the snow falls, Evie realises it might be harder than she thought to put the past behind her and find her happy ending. And when the trauma of war is felt even in the usually peaceful village, will Evie and those she cares about emerge unscathed?

A moving family drama of one young woman's fight to survive, to find her long-lost relatives and to find a place to call home Bridgette has been hurt many times in her life. Her early years were blighted by her spoilt brother; her marriage ruined by World War Two. Now her mother is dying. And then comes a deathbed revelation - somewhere Bridgette has another family and a father. Bridgette joins the war effort and shows her courage by aiding a British Agent whose life is in danger. But, as the war draws to a close, Bridgette is still full of questions about her past and is determined to find the answers. So she sets off for Birmingham - not knowing what she will discover, but desperately hoping to find a place where she can finally belong...

A penniless governess And the dour Laird of Ardmore Lydia Farnham must travel to a remote Scottish island to work for widower Alasdair MacDonald, who doesn't trust her or her unconventional teaching methods! Yet as his daughter flourishes, so too does the intense connection between Lydia and Alasdair. Only she should know better than to fall for the handsome laird when it could leave her without a job, or a home...

Set against the backdrop of revolutionary Russia, The Amber Keeper is a sweeping tale of jealousy and revenge, reconciliation and forgiveness. English Lake District, 1960s: A young Abbie Myers returns home after learning of her mother's death. Estranged from her turbulent family for many years, Abbie is heartbroken to hear that they blame her for the tragedy. Determined to uncover her mother's past, Abbie approaches her beloved grandmother, Millie, in search of answers. As the old woman recounts her own past, Abbie is transported back to the grandeur of the Russian Empire in 1911 with tales of her grandmother's life as a governess and the revolution that exploded around her. As Abbie struggles to reconcile with her family, and to support herself and her child, she realizes that those long-ago events created aftershocks that threaten to upset the fragile peace she longs to create.