Recommendations based on "Good Material"

‘Feisty and fabulous. Love it. Love Tracy Bloom!’ Milly Johnson‘Pure Joy!’ Katie Fforde‘Love this – just the pick me up I needed!’ Jo Thomas'Guaranteed to put a smile on your face.' Debbie Johnson‘It's laugh out loud!’ Adele ParksCathy Collins is a mum on a mission – to change her life.When her husband drops a midlife-crisis bombshell,Cathy decides it’s time to take control.No more laundry, teenage tantrums or housework.After years of putting herself last, she’s going to be first for a change.Cathy Collins is carving a new path, and nothing is going to get in her way…From No.1 bestselling author Tracy Bloom, The Wife Who Got a Lifeperfectly captures the joyous chaos of family life.Readers love The Wife Who Got a Life!‘This is the literary equivalent of meeting your closest girlfriends for a coffee and a gossip… So, so, so funny, I genuinely laughed out loud for the majority of this blooming marvellous, inspirational diary’, Amazon reviewer, 5 stars‘I absolutely loved this book. No doubt about it… at least a 6 out of 5!’ Amazon reviewer, 5 stars‘Peppered with fantastically humorous episodes, as well as much more serious issues, The Wife Who Got a Life is a brilliant read, and the cast of characters are a joy too’ Amazon reviewer, 5 stars‘It wasn’t long before I was so engrossed in it that I couldn’t put it down… I loved this book’ Amazon reviewer, 5 stars‘This book is funny, totally relatable and made me laugh out loud, shed a tear in parts as well as the “yes I can identify with that” moments.’ Amazon reviewer, 5 stars‘A five star read that I absolutely loved.’‘Tracy Bloom has the lightest of touches with the deepest of understanding.’ Amazon reviewer, 5 stars‘Where has [Tracy Bloom] been all my life, another author to add to my growing list of authors to keep an eye out for.’ Amazon reviewer, 5 stars‘I really loved this book, so funny and life affirming.’ Amazon reviewer, 5 stars‘Very funny, with a few tears, thoroughly recommended.’ Amazon reviewer, 5 stars‘Hilarious, touching and really laugh out loud!!’ Amazon reviewer, 5 stars‘A fab read which you don't want to put down.’ Amazon reviewer, 5 stars‘Just like catching up with a good friend that you want to catch up with.’ Amazon reviewer, 5 stars‘What a fantastic story! I absolutely loved the characters but especially Cathy – I empathised and rooted for her all through the book.’ Amazon reviewer, 5 stars‘What is utterly brilliant about this book is that the story is real… the things that happen are the things that happen to all of us. Like arguing with siblings (in your head) and facing the reality of ageing parents.’ Amazon reviewer, 5 stars‘Great story not least because it made me realize I’m not alone.’ Amazon reviewer, 5 stars

Meredith Maggs hasn't left her house in 1,214 days. But she insists she isn't alone.She has her cat, Fred. Her friend Sadie visits when she can. There's her online support group, StrengthInNumbers. She has her jigsaws, favourite recipes, her beloved Emily Dickinson, the internet, the Tesco delivery man and her treacherous memories for company.But something's about to change.First, new friends Tom and Celeste burst into her life, followed by an estranged sister she hasn't spoken to in years, and suddenly her carefully curated home is no longer a safe place to hide.Whether Meredith likes it or not, the world is coming to her door...

Until that fateful day in Brighton, Maggie had thought she would never be happy again ...Maggie's once happy marriage has turned sour, leaving her tied to a husband who no longer seems to love her. So she continues to work, keeps in touch with her friends and tries not to think about the lack of love in her life. But all that changes when Maggie meets someone who transforms how she feels about herself and turns her entire world upside down.

For readers of Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine and A Man Called Ove, a life-affirming, deeply moving "coming-of-old" story, a celebration of how ordinary days are made extraordinary through friendship, family, and the power of forgiving yourself--at any age."At a time when people are having to isolate, [this novel is] a balm, offering an expansive sense of love and possibility at a time when the main characters feel like those chances are gone." --Christian Science MonitorThe world has changed around seventy-nine-year-old librarian Millicent Carmichael, aka Missy. Though quick to admit that she often found her roles as a housewife and mother less than satisfying, Missy once led a bustling life driven by two children, an accomplished and celebrated husband, and a Classics degree from Cambridge. Now her husband is gone, her daughter is estranged after a shattering argument, and her son has moved to his wife's native Australia, taking Missy's beloved only grandchild half-a-world away. She spends her days sipping sherry, avoiding people, and rattling around in her oversized, under-decorated house waiting for...what exactly?The last thing Missy expects is for two perfect strangers and one spirited dog named Bob to break through her prickly exterior and show Missy just how much love she still has to give. In short order, Missy finds herself in the jarring embrace of an eclectic community that simply won't take no for an answer--including a rambunctious mutt-on-loan whose unconditional love gives Missy a reason to re-enter the world one muddy paw print at a time.Filled with wry laughter and deep insights, The Love Story of Missy Carmichael is a coming-of-old story that shows us it's never too late to forgive yourself and, just as important, it's never too late to love.

Raised by her cold, bitter grandmother following the death of her parents, Christie Ryan worked hard to build a satisfying life for herself as an adult. Nobody is more surprised when Gran leaves her an abandoned cottage in a remote seaside town. But there is more to the cottage than she expects, with the discovery in the attic of unworn wedding rings and unopened love letters. Reading these casts Christie into the tragic, romantic world of a young couple from fifty years ago. Their love is a stark contrast to her own relationship. Questions about what really happened on the beach all that time ago lead her to Martin, a reclusive artist who prefers to keep secrets and has a dog who adores her on sight. As Christie faces difficult decisions about her own future, will the consequences of righting old wrongs be too high a price to pay? Fall in love with River's End and rediscover real romance in this spellbinding story of true love, redemption, courage, and starting over.

'With echoes of David Nicholls's One Day, this romance has just the right mix of heart-melting moments and heart-rending near misses' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING 'Intensely romantic' SUNDAY MIRROR 'Wonderful, heart-tugging' PRIMA 'Timeless and moving' HOLLY MILLER Perfect for fans of ONE DAY and ME BEFORE YOU, this is a heartbreaking love story spanning three decades that starts and ends on a bench, by the Richard & Judy Book Club bestselling author. __________________________________________ It begins at the end. It begins on a bench, on a heath, where a woman waits for a man. Ten years ago, they made a pact: On this bench, on this day, they will end a love affair that's spanned three decades, or start again. They should never have met. They should never have fallen in love. But they did, until a lie separated them for a lifetime. Can they fix the mistake, forgive the lie, erase the years in-between? Can what was lost ever truly be found? __________________________________________ Readers are falling in LOVE with The Bench . . . 'I loved this book from beginning to end' ***** Reader review 'A raw, emotional book about love in all its guises'Sun 'I cried at the end, they were happy tears!' ***** Reader review 'Heartbreaking' Bella 'What an epic love story, I loved this so much' ***** Reader review 'Irresistible' Jemma Wayne 'Beautiful, painful, heart-breaking' ***** Reader review 'Honest, tender' Emma Rous 'Poignant and heart-wrenching' Mary Chamberlain 'I absolutely loved it' ***** Reader review 'Beautiful' Cecilia Ekbäck 'I fell head over heels in love with it' Fiona Mitchell 'Wonderful storytelling' ***** Reader review 'Wonderful' Lisa Ballantyne *THE NEW LOVE STORY FROM SASKIA SARGINSON, SEVEN MONTHS OF SUMMER, IS OUT NOW*

Winner of the Nautilus Award and the New England Society Book Award, Monica Wood's The One-in-a-Million Boy is the incandescent story of a 104-year-old woman and the sweet, strange young boy assigned to help her around the house--a friendship that touches each member of the boy's unmoored family. "The story of your life never starts at the beginning. Don't they teach you anything at school?" So says 104-year-old Ona to the 11-year-old boy who's been sent to help her out every Saturday morning. As he refills the bird feeders and tidies the garden shed, Ona tells him about her long life, from first love to second chances. Soon she's confessing secrets she has kept hidden for decades. One Saturday, the boy doesn't show up. Ona starts to think he's not so special after all, but then his father arrives on her doorstep, determined to finish his son's good deed. The boy's mother is not so far behind. Ona is set to discover that the world can surprise us at any age, and that sometimes sharing a loss is the only way to find ourselves again. "Readers won't be able to resist falling for Ona...The conclusion will leave them smiling through their tears."--Shelf Awareness "Poignant...There is much to enjoy in this heartfelt tale of love, loss, and friendship."--Express "A must-read book...Whimsical and bittersweet."--Good Housekeeping

Cosy up on the sofa with this year's most heartwarming, feel good comfort read! Welcome to Love Heart Lane... When Flick Simons returns to the cosy village of Heartcross she only expected to stay for a few days. The white-washed cottages of Love Heart Lane might be her home, but the place holds too many painful memories, and of one man in particular - Fergus Campbell. When a winter storm sweeps in, the only bridge connecting the village to the main land is swept away. As the villagers pull together, Flick finds herself welcomed back by the friends she once left behind. And as the snow begins to melt, maybe there is a chance that Fergus's heart will thaw too... Readers ADORE Christie's books: 'A hug in a book' Jeannie, Amazon 'A warm, cosy winter read perfect for January nights' Susie, Amazon 'I love reading about a community pulling together in the face of adversity...These days so many live lonely, anonymous lives in towns and cities' Joanna, Amazon 'A book full of love and community spirit' Kathy, Amazon 'I want to live there!!!' Cally, Amazon 'Delightfully warm feelgood fiction at its best' Lorna, Amazon

From the critically acclaimed author of the Outline trilogy, an irresistible novel of fame, power, beauty, and truth—and a blazing renovation of the form. M is a famous actor. She has been famous since she was a child. With such fame, her life has the appearance of freedom: people are instantly obliging, spaces are altered to accommodate her, time can be rearranged. Over time she has grown so accustomed to being recognized that not to be recognized comes as a rare surprise. This might be why she agrees to let a stranger write her biography, a stranger who knows nothing of M and yet resembles her uncannily. The project they embark upon together sprawls and expands, to the olive groves and holiday beaches where M spends her days, across hotel rooms and bourgeois facades and film sets, through the endless modern cities whose beauty requires great suffering, whose ugliness holds great beauty. Out of the bewildering torrent of the present, Rachel Cusk has fashioned a new kind of literature. What begins with a collision between two people—M, and the ordinary stranger who begins to tell her story—evolves into a chronicle of modern life, a choral investigation into how we might find what is significant within the wreck of the ordinary. This is a novel stripped of artifice, that takes our emptiness and fills it with grace. It is a shocking achievement.