August is filled with fantastic release, a new book from the ever fantastic Alexandra Potter, debut author last year Rebecca Chance returns with her new one, Diane Chamberlain (who has been compared to Jodi Picoult) has a book out, and many more. Here they are in all of their glory!
Rebecca Chance – Bad Girls – 5th August 2010
They met in rehab – but some of them had rather more therapy than they bargained for. Supermodel Amber Peters should have the world at her feet. But her secret addiction has led her down a dangerous path. Lap dancer Skye Ellwood is desperate to get out of the life she’s living, but has no idea how – until a client makes her an unusual proposition. Following an ultimatum from his fiance, A-list movie star Joe Jeffreys is finally heading to rehab to sort out his sex addiction – and save his squeaky-clean image. Spoiled daughter of a legendary rock god, Petal Gold is convinced she’s a huge star in waiting, and she’ll trample on anyone she thinks is standing in her way. Passion, jealousy, betrayal, revenge and scandal: during their tumultuous thirty days at Cascabel clinic, the lives of Amber, Skye, Joe and Petal will be transformed forever. But for one of them, the stakes could not be higher – or more dangerous.
Jo Rees – Forbidden Pleasures – 5th August 2010
From Las Vegas to Dubai, from Shanghai to London, the fatal pull of the gambling world stretches…
Savannah, pleasure-loving It Girl, wants to prove herself to her powerful, ruthless father Michael Hudson – until a terrible tragedy forces her to re-think her life. Lois, an ex-cop from the wrong side of the tracks, is now running the gambling business of Michael’s greatest rival, Roberto Enzo – and torn between the glamour and wealth of the casinos and the needs of her vulnerable young daughter.
Both women have to confront their pasts, discover new loves, and find out the really important things in life before the greed and corruption of their worlds consume them.
Tasmina Perry – Kiss Heaven Goodbye – 5th August 2010
A delicious cocktail of glittering escapism and gripping entertainment, KISS HEAVEN GOODBYE is Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller Tasmina Perry at her sizzling best… A hot summer. A private island. A dark secret… On the luxurious private island of Angel Cay, four privileged students toast the end of their exams, but one dark night will change their perfect lives for ever. As the friends move into their glamorous careers – fashion, music, politics – each tries to put the past behind them. But no matter how high their stars climb, they cannot escape the dreadful truth. And when the consequences of that fateful night finally catch up with them, for one of the four, there is a terrible price to be paid… From the sugar-white sands of the Bahamas to Australia’s Coral Sea; from London’s glittering society scene to the lavish decadence of Hollywood, Tasmina Perry travels the world and turns up the heat in her most spectacular novel yet…
Rupert James – Stepsisters – 5th August 2010
First they were strangers…Elizabeth Miller is a recent graduate, planning the perfect wedding to her charming fiance. As far as she’s concerned Rachel Barnes is a complete stranger. Only the fact that Elizabeth’s father has just married Rachel’s flighty mother, Anna, makes them related. Then they were family…Elizabeth doesn’t want to like her new stepsister but, annoyingly both she and her brother, Chris, find the pretty teenager charming. If she has to have a baby sister then at least Rachel is sweet, bright and talented. Now they’re enemies…Years later and the two women are no longer sisters, no longer speaking after a devastating betrayal ripped their new family apart. Now an actress, Rachel is dating a rock star and one role away from making it big in Hollywood. Elizabeth is a tabloid journalist, one who knows one too many secrets about Rachel’s past. And both women are about to discover that hell hath no fury like a stepsister scorned…
Rebecca Farnworth – A Funny Thing About Love – 5th August 2010
The funny thing about love is that just when you think you’ve got it sorted, it turns round and bites you on the behind. Which is exactly what’s happened to Carmen Miller. Her ex husband’s girlfriend is pregnant, her career as a comedy agent is going down the pan, she’s made a fool of herself with fellow agent Will Hunter, a man she’s fancied for ages, and to cap it all she has to move out of her flat. Surely things can’t get any worse.
Moving down to Brighton to write the TV comedy series that she’s always dreamed about, Carmen meets the divine Daniel. A man so gorgeous, she doesn’t even mind that he’s got long hair. It seems that Carmen’s life is on the up again. Until, that is…love bites again. It looks like Carmen’s back where she started. But could it be that love isn’t the problem? Maybe she’s just been choosing the wrong men.
Alexandra Potter – You’re The One That I Don’t Want – 5th August 2010
How do you know he’s The One?
Are you getting butterflies just thinking about him?
Have you dreamt of marrying him?
Do you just know?
When Lucy meets Nate in Venice, aged 18, she knows instantly he’s The One. And, caught up in the whirlwind of first love, they kiss under the Bridge of Sighs at sunset. Which – according to legend – will tie them together forever.
But ten years later, they’ve completely lost contact. That is, until Lucy moves to New York and the legend brings them back together. Again. And again. And again.
But what if Nate isn’t The One? How is she going to get rid of him? Because forever could be a very long time…A funny, magical romantic comedy about how finding The One doesn’t always have to mean happily ever after.
Sinead Moriarty – Pieces of my Heart – 5th August 2010
The modern woman is a Jill of all trades – wife, lover, mother, daughter, friend, fixer, boss … it’s never-ending. Ava is juggling a life that seems to have too many pieces. First, there are her chalk-and-cheese daughters, Alison the angel and Sarah the tearaway. Then there’s husband Paul. Unfortunately, he seems more interested in work than home – which might explain why her sex life is practically on life support. That certainly can’t be said about her Viagra-popping Dad, a loveable rogue who is determined to grow old disgracefully. She would envy her best friend Sally, sassy single singleton-about-town, if she didn’t know that behind her polished exterior Sally is as vulnerable as a kitten. Somewhere in there is Ava herself, trying to do her best for all of them but lately feeling like she’s running on empty. But that’s before she notices Alison is in deep trouble. Now she knows there’s no such thing as empty – not if she is to hold on to the most precious pieces of her heart …
Jennifer Weiner – Fly Away Home – 5th August 2010
Sylvie Woodruff has spent the last 30 or so years being the ideal politician’s wife and raising two daughters. When her world crashes down around her after a painful, public betrayal, she retreats to her grandmother’s rambling seaside home to wait for the scandal to blow over.
Sylvie’s eldest daughter, Diana, married out of friendship and respect, not love…then years later, finds herself falling for a most unsuitable man. When the affair ends badly, she sets off in search of a new beginning.
Lizzie, Diana’s younger sister, who caused her parents such heartache as a teenager, is finally getting her life together. When a summer fling leaves her pregnant, and her charming boyfriend turns violent, she too heads out of town.
Lucy-Anne Holmes – The (Im)Perfect Girlfriend – 6th August 2010
We kissed until it became necessary to stop so that we could breathe, by which time my lips were so swollen it looked like I’d been pleasuring a brillo pad. We grinned at each other again and I felt the urge to utter something brilliantly intellectual.‘Have I mentioned that I’m hopelessly in love with you?’
Actress Sarah Sargeant has finally landed the perfect boyfriend. But as she leaves London for LA, Sarah finds herself morphing from the perfect girlfriend, baby voicing ‘i love you’s, into a nutty one who throws phones and screams a lot.
Where did it all go wrong? Was it the photo of a semi-naked ex-girlfriend doing a downward dog she found in her boyfriend’s filofax? Or maybe it’s the steamy sex scene she films with the handsomest man in the world, ever. Laugh-out-loud funny and brutally honest, The (Im)Perfect Girlfriend is the story of one woman’s search for her happy ever after. It is a novel that firmly establishes Lucy Anne Holmes as one of the best writers of romantic comedy today.
Lauren Weisberger – Last Night At Chateau Marmont – 19th August 2010
Heartbreak, headlines and Hermes – welcome to Brooke’s new world…
Brooke and Julian live a happy life in New York – she’s the breadwinner working two jobs and he’s the struggling musician husband. Then Julian is discovered by a Sony exec and becomes an overnight success – and their life changes for ever.
Soon they are moving in exclusive circles, dining at the glitziest restaurants, attending the most outrageous parties in town and jetting off to the trendiest hotspots in LA.
But Julian’s new-found fame means that Brooke must face the savage attentions of the ruthless paparazzi. And when a scandalous picture hits the front pages, Brooke’s world is turned upside down. Can her marriage survive the events of that fateful night at Chateau Marmont? It’s time for Brooke to decide if she’s going to sink or swim…
Sasha Blake – The Wish – 19th August 2010
We all have our dreams. But how far would we go to protect them?
Lulu longs for a loving man and father figure for her young son. In a perfect world, this would be her gorgeous boss, Ben Arlington. He is her dream man, and likely to remain so – as he’s also a highly sought after gaming industry millionaire, and engaged to another woman.
But not for much longer if Ben’s cold-hearted mother has anything to do with it. Sofia Arlington has a secret to protect, a secret so potentially damaging she’ll do anything to keep it hidden. And now a figure from Sofia’s dark past has been silent for too long. Bessie Edwards is determined to get back what’s rightfully hers. What she’s about to reveal will turn all their glittering lives upside down…
Annie Sanders – Famous Last Words – 19th August 2010
Lucy spends her days beavering away at her sewing machine, making divine, flamboyant clothes that express all the passion and flair that she cannot, and at night she sits alone with her latest creations, fretting over her struggling business. Her life is one of unfulfilled ambitions and missed opportunities. Then one evening Lucy meets the beautiful, fey and enigmatic Micah, who has an uncanny knack for foretelling fortunes, and manages to convince even the cynical Lucy. So when Micah tells her that her future isn’t looking too rosy – in fact she doesn’t have one – Lucy embarks on a spree of ‘what the hell and why not’. She faces her demons, confronts those that have annoyed her, and takes risks for the first time in her life, convinced that the accident he predicts will befall her. When the day of her prophesied demise comes – and goes – Lucy storms round to challenge Micah, who sheepishly admits he must have got it wrong this time. The appalled and angry Lucy has a hell of a mess to put right now, and demands that Micah help her do some damage control. So begins an edge-of-the-seat, race-against-time to repair Lucy’s reckless actions. But halfway through Lucy asks herself if everything is worth mending? Has she inadvertently improved her life just as she thought it was about to end? And why is Micah so reluctant to help her untangle her biggest gaffe of all?
Rowan Coleman – The Happy Home For Broken Hearts – 19th August 2010
Ellie Woods spends her days immersed in the escapist pages of the romantic novels she lovingly edits. But her reality is somewhat less rose-tinted. Once upon a time, Ellie had her ‘happily ever after’ moment when she married her beloved Nick, but fifteen years later her husband’s tragic death leaves her alone with their soon-to-become-a-teenager son, faced with a mountain of debt, and on the verge of losing the family home. On the brink of bankruptcy, Ellie finally succumbs to her sister’s well-meant bullying and decides to rent out some rooms. And all too soon the indomitable Allegra with her love for all things lavender, Sabine on secondment from Berlin and estranged from her two-timing husband, and unreconstructed lads’ mag aficionado Matt enter her ordered but fragile existence – each with their own messy life in tow. And Ellie finds herself forced to step out of the pages of the romantic novels she hides behind, and learn to live – and love – again. Maybe a new chapter is about to begin for them all…
Polly Courtney – The Fame Factor – 19th August 2010
Does for the music industry what The Devil Wears Prada did for fashion.By day, Zoë Kidd lives a tedious existence, following orders and trying to appease her parents. By night, she’s the raucous lead singer of all-girl rock band, Dirty Money.
For six years, Dirty Money has toured the London scene, playing pubs, clubs, shopping centres and the odd public toilet. They’re gifted, they’re beautiful and they’re determined to make it to the top.
So when the American hit-maker Louis Castle appears at one of their gigs with talk of record deals and stadium tours, it seems as though their dreams are finally beginning to come true.
But fame turns out to be more elusive and divisive than any of the girls could imagine…The Fame Factor is a fast-moving story of friendship, resilience and revelation, exposing the darker side to an industry obsessed with the limelight.
Julie Buxbaum – After You – 19th August 2010
Ellie’s life is turned upside down when she learns the heartbreaking news that her best friend, Lucy, has been murdered. And, as best friends do, Ellie drops everything to travel to London to pick up the pieces.
Desperate to help Lucy’s traumatized child, who has simply stopped speaking, Ellie turns to the book that gave her comfort as a child – The Secret Garden. And while its story of hurt, magic and healing blooms around them, so too, do the secrets Lucy kept hidden, even from her best friend.
As Ellie peels back the layers of her friend’s life, she’s forced to confront her own as well. Suddenly her carefully constructed existence spins out of control in a chain of events that will transform her life – and the lives of those around her – for ever.
Wen
dy Holden – Gallery Girl – 19th August 2010
Zeb’s the darling of Brit Art; the rock n’ roll bad boy artist whose works go for bazillions. But can he keep his end up – in every sense – now that his powerful female patron is losing interest? Beth loves art and the traditional gallery she works in and loves her boyfriend, doctor David. But the hospital hours he keeps are putting a strain on the relationship. Marie’s pop-star husband was big in the Nineties; he’s relaunching his boy band with a vengeance. But where does this leave Marie and her dreams of being a painter? Ben’s a brilliant portrait artist but no-one wants his stuff. Why have a picture that actually looks like you when you could have a gold-sprayed prosthetic limb? Disillusioned Ben’s reduced to living in the country and holding adult education life classes. But what happened to his life? Then Beth finds herself catapulted into the crazed world of contemporary art. Marie walks into Ben’s life class. And the picture changes completely.
Diane Chamberlain – Secrets She Left Behind – 20th August 2010
This title is from the number 1 bestselling author of “The Lost Daughter”. Nineteen-year-old Maggie Lockwood spent a year in prison for her part in a fire that cost three lives. The scars carried by the surviving victims – inside and out – are still raw and Maggie’s release from jail does nothing to free her from the guilt. Returning home, Maggie hides herself away, too afraid to see Keith, the boy she grew up with, played with as a child – and recently learnt is her half-brother. Keith nearly lost his life in the fire and the emotional and physical wounds he carries have changed him forever. With childhood innocence gone, Maggie and Keith must learn to come to terms with their new lives, but trying to move forward will have deadly consequences.
In what could be construed as a coming-of-age story for thirtysomethings, Gilbert leaves behind an excruciating divorce, tumultuous affair, and debilitating depression as she sets off on a yearlong quest to bridge the gulf between body, mind, and spirit. Part self-deprecating tour guide, part wry, witty chronicler, Gilbert relates this chapter of her life with a compelling, richly detailed narrative that eschews the easy answers of New Age rhetoric. In the book’s early pages, a flashback finds the smart, savvy, successful Gilbert on her knees on the bathroom floor of the Westchester house she inhabits with her husband, wailing and wallowing in sorrow, snot, and tears (“a veritable Lake Inferior”), awkwardly embarking on her first conversation with God.
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