Recommendations based on "The Lucky Penny"

*THE TOP 10 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER*'One of this summer's most buzzed about books (and one that might just change your life)' Sunday TimesAfter years of feeling that love was always out of reach, journalist Natasha Lunn set out to understand how relationships work and evolve over a lifetime. She turned to authors and experts to learn about their experiences, as well as drawing on her own, asking: How do we find love? How do we sustain it? And how do we survive when we lose it?In Conversations on Love she began to find the answers:Philippa Perry on falling in love slowlyDolly Alderton on vulnerabilityStephen Grosz on accepting changeCandice Carty-Williams on friendshipLisa Taddeo on the loneliness of lossDiana Evans on parenthoodEmily Nagoski on the science of sexAlain de Botton on the psychology of being aloneEsther Perel on unrealistic expectationsRoxane Gay on redefining romanceand many more...'A gorgeous, richly layered book about all forms of love. You can pick it up and turn to any page - literally any - and find a gem to soothe and fortify your soul' Pandora Sykes, Sunday Times bestselling author of 'How Do We Know We're Doing It Right?''Hopeful and uplifting... this deep dive into the human heart will expand and enrich your perspective on love' Evening Standard'This eclectic and heartwarming collection explores love in all its forms, from romantic and parental love to friendship and loss'Observer'Conversations on Love is a glorious celebration of human vulnerability and connection. It has made me laugh, shed tears, think deeply. I want every person I love to read this book' Dr Kathryn Mannix, Sunday Times bestselling author of WITH THE END IN MIND

Perfect for fans of Cecelia Ahern and Jojo Moyes, a beautiful and moving story about the unbreakable bond between a mother and daughterBrett's Life List1. Go to Paris2. Perform live, on a super big stage3. Have a baby, maybe two4. Fall in loveBrett Bohlinger seems to have it all: a plum job, a spacious loft, an irresistibly handsome boyfriend. All in all, a charmed life. That is, until her beloved mother passes away, leaving behind a will with one big stipulation: In order to receive her inheritance, Brett must first complete the life list of goals she’d written when she was a naïve girl of fourteen.Grief-stricken, Brett can barely make sense of her mother’s decision―her childhood dreams don’t resemble her ambitions at age thirty-four in the slightest. Some seem impossible. How can she possibly have a relationship with a father who died seven years ago? Other goals (Be an awesome teacher!) would require her to reinvent her entire future.As Brett reluctantly embarks on a perplexing journey in search of her adolescent dreams, one thing becomes clear. Sometimes life’s sweetest gifts can be found in the most unexpected places.

A story of falling out of love from the winner of the Comedy Women in Print Award, for fans of Monica Heisey and Dolly Alderton

*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

Shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction!"Brilliantly faceted and extremely funny. . . . While I was reading it, I was making a list of all the people I wanted to send it to, until I realized that I wanted to send it to everyone I know." — Ann PatchettThe internationally bestselling sensation, a compulsively readable novel—spiky, sharp, intriguingly dark, and tender—that Emma Straub has named one of her favorite books of the yearMartha Friel just turned forty. Once, she worked at Vogue and planned to write a novel. Now, she creates internet content. She used to live in a pied-à-terre in Paris. Now she lives in a gated community in Oxford, the only person she knows without a PhD, a baby or both, in a house she hates but cannot bear to leave. But she must leave, now that her husband Patrick—the kind who cooks, throws her birthday parties, who loves her and has only ever wanted her to be happy—has just moved out.Because there’s something wrong with Martha, and has been for a long time. When she was seventeen, a little bomb went off in her brain and she was never the same. But countless doctors, endless therapy, every kind of drug later, she still doesn’t know what’s wrong, why she spends days unable to get out of bed or alienates both strangers and her loved ones with casually cruel remarks.And she has nowhere to go except her childhood home: a bohemian (dilapidated) townhouse in a romantic (rundown) part of London—to live with her mother, a minorly important sculptor (and major drinker) and her father, a famous poet (though unpublished) and try to survive without the devoted, potty-mouthed sister who made all the chaos bearable back then, and is now too busy or too fed up to deal with her.But maybe, by starting over, Martha will get to write a better ending for herself—and she’ll find out that she’s not quite finished after all.

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.

Beth has never stuck at anything.She's quit more jobs and relationships than she can remember and she still sleeps in her childhood bedroom. It's not that she hasn't tried to grow up, it's just that so far, the only commitment she's held down is Friday drinks at the village pub.Then, in the space of a morning, her world changes.Beth is now guardian to her teenage niece and toddler nephew, catapulted into an unfamiliar world of bedtime stories, parents' evenings and cuddly elephants. Having never been responsible for anyone - or anything - it's not long before she feels seriously out of her depth.What if she's simply not up to the job?With a little help from her best friend Jory (purely platonic, of course ...) and her lovely, lonely next-door neighbour, Albert, Beth is determined that this time she's not giving up. It's time to step up.This is a story about digging deep for strength you never knew you had and finding magic in things that were there all along.

Discover the healing power of community in this charming, feel-good second chance romance, perfect for fans of Jill Mansell & Milly Johnson. *** 🌸Could a new start heal her appetite for life?🌸 When Cath moves to a rural Northumberland village to escape her husband's betrayal and a life that no longer feels her own, she's determined to embrace a fresh start. But the quiet charm of her new surroundings seems only to magnify the loneliness of being on her own for the first time. On a whim, Cath suggests starting a supper club, transforming her garden shed into a cosy, twinkling haven where neighbours can gather. What begins as an effort to ease her solitude becomes something far greater - a circle of friends, each bringing their own stories, struggles, and laughter. As bonds deepen over shared meals and mishaps, can Cath discover the healing power of community...and dare to believe in love again? Readers have fallen in love with The Second Chance Supper Club 'A heartwarming story of hope, second chances and starting over. A sublime read!' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Brilliant cosy read' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'A brilliant heartwarming 5 star read I would definitely recommend' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Couldn't put it down! I loved the sense of community' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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?

*AN INSTANT BESTSELLER!* "The perfect escape for readers wanting to get away."—Booklist One woman takes the vacation of a lifetime in this poignant and heartwarming story about the threads that hold a family together from #1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery. Single mom Robyn Caldwell needs a new plan for her future.  She has always put her family first.  Now, with her kids grown, she yearns for a change. But what can she do when her daughter has become the most demanding bride ever, her son won’t even consider college, her best friend is on the brink of marital disaster and her ex is making a monumentally bad decision that could ruin everything? Take a vacation, of course. Press reset. When her great-aunt Lillian invites her to Santa Barbara for the summer, Robyn hops on the first plane to sunny California. But it’s hard to get away when you’re the heart of the family. One by one, everyone she loves follows her across the country. Somehow, their baggage doesn’t feel as heavy in the sun-drenched, mishmash mansion. The more time Robyn spends with free-spirited Lillian, the more possibilities she sees—for dreams, love, family. She can have everything she ever wanted, if only she can muster the courage to take a chance on herself.   Don't miss #1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery's latest masterpiece, For the Love of Summer, a captivating story that weaves together the complexities of family, friendship, and unexpected bonds.   Discover more from Susan Mallery: For the Love of Summer - Coming June 2024! The Summer Book Club The Sister Effect The Boardwalk Bookshop The Summer Getaway