Recommendations based on "Island in the Sun"

Where would I start, and how would it even make sense? How could you understand the year in Shandon Street unless you were there, with us, living it?Rachel Murray is twenty-one years old, platonically infatuated with her housemate James, and less-than-platonically infatuated with her enigmatic, married English professor Dr Byrne. Over the course of a year, as Rachel and James's lives become more and more deeply entwined with those of Dr Byrne and his perfect wife Deenie, tensions rise, and a shocking secret threatens everything they hold dear.The Rachel Incident is a sharp, poignant, and beautifully told story of losing and finding yourself and the lengths we will go to for those we love.

A hopeful, healing novel about new friendships, old loves, and the very human desire to leave a mark on the world, from the Pulitzer Prize-winning, Booker-shortlisted author - available for pre-order now It's autumn in Maine, and the town lawyer Bob Burgess has become enmeshed in an unfolding murder investigation, defending a lonely, isolated man accused of killing his mother. He has also fallen into a deep and abiding friendship with the acclaimed writer, Lucy Barton, who lives nearby in a house next to the sea. Together, Lucy and Bob talk about their lives, their hopes and regrets, and what might have been. Lucy, meanwhile, befriends one of Crosby's longest inhabitants, Olive Kitteridge, now living in a retirement community on the edge of town. They spend afternoons together in Olive's apartment, telling each other stories. Stories about people they have known - "unrecorded lives," Olive calls them - reanimating them, and, in the process, imbuing their lives with meaning. Brimming with empathy and pathos, TELL ME EVERYTHING is Elizabeth Strout operating at the height of her powers, illuminating the ways in which our relationships keep us afloat. As Lucy says, "Love comes in so many different forms, but it is always love." 'A superbly gifted storyteller and a craftswoman in a league of her own' Hilary Mantel 'A terrific writer' Zadie Smith 'She gets better with each book' Maggie O'Farrell

From the million-copy bestselling author of The Lost BookshopNestled among the cobblestone streets of Compiègne, there existed a bakery unlike any other.Rumours were whispered through the town that its pastries offered a taste of magic, chasing away the darkest of sorrows. Just one bite of a croissant might bring luck, unlock a precious memory or reveal hidden longings.But dark clouds were looming on the horizon…For Edie Lane, a recipe for disaster doesn’t require that many ingredients. Take an unhealthy amount of wishful thinking and a sprinkle of desperation and that’s how Edie left everything behind in Ireland for her dream job at a bakery in Paris. Except the bakery isn’t in Paris – and neither is Edie.This might not be where Edie intended to be but she soon realizes it's exactly where she needs to be…Praise for Evie Woods‘Beautifully written and captures the wonder and awe that a story can bring to its reader…a delightful story for any book lover…an ode to storytelling and the connections that books can make!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐‘Wowwww!! It’s been awhile since I read something so fascinating, captivating and special all in one…It takes you on a journey like most books do, but this one, I just want to inscribe on my back and hope that it becomes a part of me so that I can carry it with me always’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐‘A must read for readers that love books’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐‘A beautiful story that begs to be read in one sitting…a magical story filled with beautiful prose and many surprises that readers will not soon forget’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐‘This spellbinding book hooked me from the very beginning and I couldn't put it down til the end’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

When Queenie Hennessy discovers that Harold Fry is walking the length of England to save her, and all she has to do is wait, she is shocked. Her note had explained she was dying. How can she wait?A new volunteer at the hospice suggests that Queenie should write again; only this time she must tell Harold everything. In confessing to secrets she has hidden for twenty years, she will find atonement for the past. As the volunteer points out, 'Even though you've done your travelling, you're starting a new journey too.'Queenie thought her first letter would be the end of the story. She was wrong. It was the beginning.

Bedroom 7:00 p.m. I am so depressed and bored I may even have to do some homework. My new address is: Georgia Nicolson Crap House Crapton-on-Sea Crapshire Crapland Just when the Sex God becomes Georgia’s official boyfriend, he decides to go off and snog sheep in Kiwi-a-gogo land, taking her heart with him. Georgia decides to display extreme glaciosity to all boys -- after all, a girl can only have her heart broken so many times. Until, ohmygiddygodstrousers, she meets Masimo, the new Italian-American lead singer for the Stiff Dylans band. The Dreamboat has landed -- again -- and Georgia is away laughing on a fast camel (whatever that means)!

THE INSTANT #1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERA Good Housekeeping "Book We're Most Looking Forward To" * An Independent Today "Best Fiction Books to Read" * A GQ Magazine (UK) "Best Book of 2024" * A Harper’s Bazaar (UK) "Best Novels to Read" * A Daily Record "Best Novel""Captivating [and] flawless...An affectingly hard-won romance. [Michael is] a sturdy and slyly amusing authority figure, … flailing amid the debris of a loving marriage gone sour. Marnie is a compulsively witty, winningly cranky near-agoraphobe...Both protagonists are prickly, smart and desperately yearning, but utterly guarded for understandably good reasons. Nicholls builds his own erotic and at times wrenchingly emotional suspense as the would-be lovers reveal past mishaps and surrendered dreams... As in the best romances, we cherish Michael’s and Marnie’s difficult personalities, and relish the unlikely process that might bring them together. The novel is sharp-tongued and irresistible." — New York Times Book Review"I finished this novel in two breathless sittings, as invested in its outcome as I would be in the happiness of a friend. This is the magic of You Are Here: warm, generous and funny, it invites readers into the world of Marnie and Michael with the promise that everyone is welcome, and that choosing happiness and being courageous in any small way we can is always possible. I loved this book." — Kaliane Bradley, author of The Ministry of TimeFrom the internationally bestselling and Booker Prize-longlisted author of One Day, one of the most enduring love stories of its generation, comes an uplifting and unputdownable love story about second chances.Sometimes you need to get lost to find your way . . .Michael is coming undone. Adrift after his wife's departure, he has begun taking himself on long, solitary walks across the English countryside. Becoming ever more reclusive, he’ll do anything to avoid his empty house.Marnie, on the other hand, is stuck. Hiding alone in her London flat, she avoids old friends and any reminders of her rotten, selfish ex-husband. Curled up with a good book, she’s battling the long afternoons of a life that feels like it’s passing her by.When a persistent mutual friend and some very unpredictable weather conspire to toss Michael and Marnie together on the most epic of ten-day hikes, neither of them can think of anything worse. Until, of course, they discover exactly what they’ve been looking for.Michael and Marnie are on the precipice of a bright future . . . if they can survive the journey.A hilarious, hopeful, and heartwarming love story—the novel belovedNew York Times bestselling author David Nicholls calls “my funniest book yet”—You Are Here is a bittersweet and hopeful story of first encounters, second chances, and finding the way home.

*** Book Character of the Year 2013 - Guy Duval - Supportive Business Mums ***'This was a captivating read full of romance and secrets' - Me, My Books and I'A must read for all those that love a well-written story' - After the Final Chapters'It will have you gripped from the start and will hold onto you until the very end' - MissMelvis2005 was the most traumatic year of Emma Barron's life. It was the year her mother died and the year she met Guy Duval. Eight years on, she's an English teacher with a doting boyfriend and a young son. Life's been hard but now it's comfortable. She's settled and content...so why would she risk it all for another chance with the man that broke her heart?Guy's an international renowned footballer newly signed to a top UK team. But behind the confident facade is a man determined to drown the horrors from his childhood with fame, success and money.Unable to confide in her best friend, Ally, Emma tries to hold her life together as her heart is pulled apart. Did she turn her back on love too soon?Neither of them know what really happened on 5 September 2005 and as events are slowly revealed can anyone cope with the truth?'A story of love reveals a labyrinth of despair and hope' - Jolliffe'Mandy's characters Guy and Emma are brought to life by her great gift for storytelling' - Kate Hopkins'Fabulous story, one to re-read' - Jeannie Zelos

The author of the beloved international hit The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot returns with a funny, uplifting story about the power of friendship and finding love in unexpected places.Eddie Winston is 90 years old. He has lived and he has loved, but he has never been kissed.A true gentleman and incurable romantic, Eddie spends his days volunteering at a charity shop, where he sorts through the donations of the living and the dead, preserving letters and tokens of love along the way. And it is here that he meets Bella, a troubled young woman who, at 24 years old, has just lost the love of her life.When Bella learns that Eddie is yet to have his first kiss, she resolves to help Eddie Winston finally find love, sparking an adventure that will take them to unexpected places and, they hope, bring Eddie Winston to the moment he has waited for all his life.A tale of friendship and kindness that reminds us that those we love are never forgotten and it is never too late to try again.

Angela,s back on home turf - and in her biggest romantic scrape yet...Angela Clark has fallen in love with New York - and it,s starting to love her back. But when she,s summoned home to England, she,s at risk of losing her shiny new life to rain, warm beer and bad memories. Talk about stepping back in time There,s Mark, the ex-boyfriend - who she ran to New York to get away from. There,s Louisa, her best friend, with her terrifying new baby. And there,s her mum, still talking to her as though she,s fifteen. Now there,s a wedding in the offing - and everyone remembers how well Angela behaved at the last one...Can the arrival of boyfriend Alex and best friend Jenny save her from a re-run of her old self?