Recommendations based on "The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae"

**Josie Lloyd's heart-warming and joyful new novel, Lifesaving for Beginners, is available for pre-order now!** *** 'Amazing, heartbreaking and inspiring' Jenny Colgan 'A love letter to the power of friendship, honest and uplifting' Jill Mansell 'A fiercely positive story, about the power of hope' Mike Gayle *** Sometimes we need our friends to help us find our feet... When Keira first receives her breast cancer diagnosis, she doesn't want to have to tell her family, or step back from work. She doesn't want to sit in a hospital, or be part of a group of fellow cancer patients. Cancer is not her club. But as she accepts that her health is no longer something she can rely on, Keira finds herself embracing running. And running in the company of a group of brilliant, funny women each going through treatment unexpectedly gives Keira the hope she needs. Because the C-word is not going to define Keira's identity. And with the Cancer Ladies' Running Club cheering her on, she's going to reclaim her life. One step at a time. Life isn't always the race we expected to run but this moving and uplifting novel is full of hope and about love, family, friendship and the power of finding your tribe. ****** 'A wise, warm and wonderful novel ... an incredibly moving, uplifting and hopeful story that looks at the power of finding your tribe. It will make you smile and love life just a little bit more' Adele Parks, Platinum 'Uplifting and positive, you will be cheering them along' Prima 'An honest read that, despite its heart-wrenching topic, will uplift and inspire you' Heat 'Made me believe in life and in love. Hopeful and life-changing' Katie Marsh, author of The Rest of Me 'An amazing story that shows us all the strength of the human spirit and the power of friendship. An inspiration!' Magic Radio

*Preorder the brand new book in the globally bestselling series*You are invited to a summer of sparkling champagne, warm buttery croissants and a little bit of je ne sais quoi…With a broken heart and a broken spirit, Hattie is in need of a summer escape. So when an opportunity comes up to work at a beautiful, stately chateau in the Champagne region of France she books her flights quicker than the pop of a cork.Romance is the last thing Hattie is looking for but then she wasn’t expecting gorgeous Luc to stroll into her life. With picnics in the warm French sun and delicious foodie trips to the local market, Hattie starts to wonder if a holiday fling – or maybe even something more – might be just what she needs.Praise for Julie Caplin:‘One unputdownable story’ Sunday Times Bestseller Katie Fforde‘An irresistible slice of escapism’ Sunday Times Bestseller Phillipa Ashley

From the wildly popular bestselling author of The Keeper of Lost Things—an uplifting, slightly magical story about how it’s never too late to find out who you really are."Ruth Hogan is the queen of uplifting fiction and Madame Burova reminds us why. The writing crackles with humor and warmth. I can't imagine a better book in which to lose yourself at the moment. Stunning, immersive and absolutely wonderful." --Annie Lyons, author of The Brilliant Life of Eudora HoneysettMadame Burova—beloved Tarot reader, palmist, and clairvoyant—is retiring and leaving her booth on the Brighton seafront.After inheriting her mother’s fortune-telling business as a young woman, Imelda Burova has spent her life on the Brighton pier practicing her trade. She and her trusty pack of Tarot cards have seen the lovers and the liars, the angels and the devils, the dreamers and the fools. Now, after a lifetime of keeping other people’s secrets, Madam Burova is ready to have a little piece of life for herself. But she still has one last thing to do—to fulfill a promise made in the 1970s, when she and her girlfriends were carefree, with their whole lives still before them.In London, it is time for another woman to make a fresh start. Billie has lost her university job, her marriage, and her place in the world when a sudden and unlikely discovery leaves her very identity in question. Determined to find answers, she must follow a trail…which leads to Brighton, the pier, and directly to Madame Burova’s door.In a story spanning over fifty years, Ruth Hogan has conjured a magical world of 1970s holiday camps and seaside entertainers, eccentrics, heroes and villains, the lost and the found. Young people will make careless choices which echo down the years….but it’s never too late to put things right.

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.

A heartfelt contemporary middle grade novel about a girl who must try to save her aunt’s failing pie shop, perfect for fans of The Thing About Jellyfish, Fish in a Tree—and The Great British Baking Show.When Cady Bennett is sent to live with the aunt she didn’t even know she had in the quaint mountain town of Julian, she isn’t sure what to expect. Cady isn’t used to stability, after growing up homeless in San Diego with her dad.Now she’s staying in her mother’s old room, exploring the countryside filled with apple orchards and pie shops, making friends, and working in Aunt Shell’s own pie shop—and soon, Cady starts to feel like she belongs.Then she finds out that Aunt Shell’s shop is failing. Saving the business and protecting the first place she’s ever really felt safe will take everything she's learned and the help of all her new friends. But are there some things even the perfect pie just can’t fix?Summer of a Thousand Pies is a sweet and satisfying treat of a novel full of friendship, family, and, of course, pie.

New York Times BestsellerThe beloved actress and star of One Tree Hill, White Collar, and Lethal Weapon, Hilarie Burton Morgan, tells the story of leaving Hollywood for a radically different kind of life in upstate New York with her husband Jeffrey Dean Morgan—a celebration of community, family, and the value of hard work in small town America.While Hilarie Burton Morgan's hectic lifestyle as an actress in New York and Los Angeles gave her a comfortable life, it did not fulfill her spiritually or emotionally. After the birth of their first son, she and her husband Jeffrey Dean Morgan, the star of The Walking Dead, decided to make a major change: they bought a working farm in Rhinebeck, New York, and began a new chapter in their lives.The Rural Diaries chronicles her inspiring story of farm life: chopping wood, making dandelion wine, building chicken coops. Burton looks back at her transition from urban to country living—discovering how to manage a farm while raising her son and making friends with her new neighbors. She mixes charming stories of learning to raise alpacas and buying and revitalizing the town’s beloved candy store, Samuel’s Sweet Shop, with raw observations on the ups and downs of marriage and her struggles with secondary infertility. Burton also includes delicious recipes that can be made with fresh ingredients at home, as well as home renovation and gardening tips.Burton’s charisma, wide eyed attitude, and fortitude—both internal and physical—propels this moving story of transformation and self-discovery. The Rural Diaries honors the values and lifestyle of small-town America and offers inspiration for anyone longing to embark on their own unconventional journey.

'Full of quirky characters, friendship and humour, you will devour this engaging and heartwarming novel in one sitting' Sunday Express S Magazine Summer at the Comfort Food Cafe will make you laugh, make you cry, and make you raid the pantry in the middle of the night... The Comfort Food Cafe is perched on a windswept clifftop at what feels like the edge of the world, serving up the most delicious cream teas; beautifully baked breads, and carefully crafted cupcakes. For tourists and locals alike, the ramshackle cafe overlooking the beach is a beacon of laughter, companionship, and security - a place like no other; a place that offers friendship as a daily special, and where a hearty welcome is always on the menu. For widowed mum-of-two Laura Walker, the decision to uproot her teenaged children and make the trek from Manchester to Dorset for the summer isn't one she takes lightly, and it's certainly not winning her any awards from her kids, Nate and Lizzie. Even her own parents think she's gone mad. Her new job at the cafe, and the hilarious people she meets there, give Laura the chance she needs to make new friends; to learn to be herself again, and - just possibly - to learn to love again as well. For her, the Comfort Food Cafe doesn't just serve food - it serves a second chance to live her life to the full... What readers are saying about Summer at the Comfort Food Cafe: 'My new favourite author' - Holly Martin, bestselling author of Summer at Rose Island 'A lovely, emotion-filled, giggle-inducing story' - Sunday Times bestselling author Milly Johnson 'A book of hope and solidarity, friendship and humour and the belief that everything might just turn out okay after all' - Sophie, Reviewed the Book 'If this book had arms it would grab you and pull you in to the most amazing book ever... just magical' - Lisa Talks About 'An engaging, entertaining and loveable book' - Rae's Reads 'I wish I could actually go there... an original story and it has such a romantic ending' - With Love for Books

The perfect London read for this summer! 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 London, she's at risk of losing her shiny new life to never-ending English 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?

Another page-turning story of tragedy and triumph from the No.1 bestselling author of The Loner and The Journey. In the sleepy Lancashire village of Salmesbury, childhood sweethearts Emily and John are secretly planning a life together when they are cruelly forced apart. Already abandoned by her father, and unhappy at home, Emily is heartbroken when John leaves the village. Her life takes a devastating turn for the worse when she gives birth to a child. She dare not reveal the identity of the child's father or there will be a terrible price to pay. Many miles away, John is trying to forget Emily and forge a new life. Having carried her in his heart for years, a chance encounter leads him to believe she has forgotten him. Emily has never been able to banish thoughts of John. But when it looks as though history is about to repeat itself, Emily must put the past – and John – behind her and safeguard her daughter. But can she forget him?

A new love could be about to bloom for Lily in this bright, warm women’s fiction title that fans of Holly Hepburn and Cathy Bramley will love. Lily Rose Baxter loves her little flower shop on Foxley Street and the freedom and independence from her family that it represents. Lily can't help but feel that something is missing from her life..., but when mysterious stranger Will Singer comes into her shop looking for the perfect bouquet of roses, all that could be about to change.