An undercover mission leads to danger, adventure and an impossible choice...After siphoning her own blood magic in the showdown at Hubal, Opal Cowan has lost her powers. She can no longer create glass magic. More, she's immune to the effects of magic. Opal is an outsider looking in, spying through the glass on those with the powers she once had, powers that make a difference in the world.
Suddenly, the beautiful pieces she makes flash in the presence of magic. And then she discovers that someone has stolen some of her blood - and that finding it might let her regain her powers. Or know it could be they are lost forever...
When Mattie is given letters by a guest at the hotel where she has a summer job, she thinks the guest is simply upset. But when the woman is found drowned next day, Mattie must decide whether she will read them, or burn them as requested. A touching funny surprising novel set in 1906 and based on a true story.
I have read this before when I was 16, but I fancied reading it again. 
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The Wag's Diary by Alison Kervin
Tracie Martin is Luton Town's longest-serving WAG. For 12 years, team captain husband Dean has kept her in acrylic nails, UGG boots and Juicy Couture.But with the start of the football season looming, there's a new breed of WAGs at LTFC who aren't quite playing by the rules. Standards are slipping and Wagdom is in crisis! To add insult to injury, Tracie's daughter Paskia-Rose is more interested in the offside rule than shopping.What is a WAG to do?Tracie decides to end this improper conduct by writing the ultimate guide to life for wannabe WAGs. Overnight, she finds herself propelled into the limelight, achieving the A-list status she has craved for so long. From Old Trafford to Baden-Baden, she's the talk of the town. But will fame and fortune bring Tracie more than she bargains for?
Dissolution by C.J. Sansom
In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren.The year is 1537, and the country is divided between those faithful to the Catholic Church and those loyal to the king and the newly established Church of England. When a royal commissioner is brutally murdered in a monastery on the south coast of England, Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII's feared vicar general, summons fellow reformer Matthew Shardlake to lead the inquiry. Shardlake and his young protégé uncover evidence of sexual misconduct, embezzlement, and treason, and when two other murders are revealed, they must move quickly to prevent the killer from striking again.
It’s 1994 and English Ph.D student, Ivy Stone, wakes up in a Moscow flat with a hangover and a vague sense of unease…LIST OF INGREDIENTS: Memory loss, homo sovieticus, and a wandering phD student. This is Neo-chick lit. with a darker side, a vodka twist and a generous slice of post-Soviet living.
Unable to remember what she did last night or why there is a cryptic Post-It note on her fridge, she begins an emotional, alcohol-fuelled journey via an Uzbek wedding, an Estonian sauna, and a Georgian serenade. What dark past haunts her new Russian man? And will she ever find the author of the mystery Post-It note?
Cleo Moon is starting life over again after a divorce. She lands a job as PA to Lady of the Manor - Mimi - having settled herself in a caravan in the sleepy little village of Lovers' Knot. But the trouble starts when the most beautiful boy in the world - Dylan - turns up on her doorstep drunk one night.
And finally, Mastered By Love by Stephanie Laurens. I didn't realise until I got home, but this is actually number 8 in a series, which is a bit annoying, but I'm sure it'll still be good on it's own. I absolutely love the cover on this one!It is the year 1907. William Moon's heart swells with pride at the achievements of his daughter, Maddy. When, at eleven, she won the talent contest held by the Pierrots on Scarborough beach, William knew it wouldn't be long before she asked to join their touring company. Now that day has come; his talented young daughter has grown into a fine young woman - beautiful, and with a voice so pure it would make angels weep. And William isn't the only man to notice. As Maddy journeys around the north of England with Morgan's Melody Makers, she makes new friends everywhere she goes. Now seventeen, she is eager to take her first steps along the road to love. But, as she is to discover, the course of true love never did run smooth, and her heart is taken on a bumpy ride as she experiences the highs and lows, the rapture and the heartache, of falling in love for the first time. Will her dreams of romance and happy ever after come true?
It's funny how they're all romance type stories, that wasn't intentional. I may have to buy some more books tomorrow because the shop where I bought these from had the whole set of the Morganville Vampire series, and they were 3 for £5, so it's the perfect excuse to give the series a go!The men of the Bastion Club proved their bravery secretly fighting for their country. Now their leader faces that most dangerous mission of all: finding a bride.
As the mysterious leader of the Bastion Club known as "Dalziel," Royce Varisey, tenth Duke of Wolverstone, served his country for decades, facing dangers untold. But as the holder of one of England's most august noble titles, he must now take on that gravest duty of all: marriage.
Yet the young ladies the grand dames would have him consider are predictably boring. Far more tempting is his castle's willful and determinedly aloof chatelaine, Minerva Chesterton. Beneath her serene facade lies a woman of smoldering sensuality, one who will fill his days with comfort and his nights with sheer pleasure. Determined to claim her, he embarks on a seduction to prove his mastery over every inch of her body . . . and every piece of her heart.
Also I got my first ever ARC, which is pretty cool. It's My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares. I just started reading this today, and so far I really love it!Rachel Riley is the offspring of a depressingly unbroken home. Her mum and dad refuse to let her have a mobile phone, and have banned Ribena (too purple) and Eastenders (too common); her seven-year-old brother buys giant Des Lynam cut-outs and Will Young dolls from ebay and talks in Elvish; and the adopted dog eats her Pride and Prejudice boxed collection. It is time to change things. Rachel resolves that this year she will become tragic, literary and interesting - and will win the heart of Justin, the lead guitarist from Certain Death, along the way. Laugh-out-loud funny from beginning to end, this is a fresh new voice which will speak directly to teenagers everywhere. If Bridget Jones had kept a diary when she was a teenager, it is unlikely to have been this funny!
Well, that's what I got this week, what did you get?Daniel has spent centuries falling in love with the same girl. Life after life, crossing continents and dynasties, he and Sophia (despite her changing name and form) have been drawn together-and he remembers it all. Daniel has "the memory", the ability to recall past lives and recognize souls of those he's previously known. It is a gift and a curse. For all the times that he and Sophia have been drawn together throughout history, they have also been torn painfully, fatally, apart. A love always too short.
Interwoven through Sophia and Daniel's unfolding present day relationship are glimpses of their expansive history together. From 552 Asia Minor to 1918 England and 1972 Virginia, the two souls share a long and sometimes torturous path of seeking each other time and time again. But just when young Sophia (now "Lucy" in the present) finally begins to awaken to the secret of their shared past, to understand the true reason for the strength of their attraction, the mysterious force that has always torn them apart reappears. Ultimately, they must come to understand what stands in the way of their love if they are ever to spend a lifetime together.
I have not had a very good week this week. Yesterday I found out that my bank card had been cloned and someone had stolen all of my money from my bank account!! The bank said that they should be able to reimburse me after they've done a full investigation, which could take weeks! In the mean time my account has been frozen and I can't pay anything in our out of my account. Also I'll have to open a new account which means ringing around every company that I pay bills to and letting them know that my payments might be delayed until this all gets sorted. Major stress that I do not need!
Father Brown, one of the most quirkily genial and lovable characters to emerge from English detective fiction, first made his appearance in The Innocence of Father Brown in 1911. That first collection of stories established G.K. Chesterton's kindly cleric in the front rank of eccentric sleuths.
This complete collection contains all the favourite Father Brown stories, showing a quiet wit and compassion that has endeared him to many, whilst solving his mysteries by a mixture of imagination and a sympathetic worldliness in a totally believable manner.
In the Gloucestershire village of Honeycote, country life is anything but quiet. Maybe it's something to do with all that fresh air, but it's the kind of place where passions run high...The Liddiard family are well known in Honeycote - and now there is to be a big wedding. But will everything go according to plan? Lucy Liddiard knows her husband is no saint, but isn't prepared for his latest confession. Bride-to-be Mandy has no idea what joining the Liddiards really means. And local girl Mayday, wild child, rebel and free spirit, is thinking the unthinkable - with unimaginable consequences ...JUST A FAMILY AFFAIR is a glorious, all-consuming story about finding out the truth, finding a husband, or perhaps just finding yourself.
Sally Jupp seemed the ideal girl to help Mrs Maxie run a large house and look after her invalid husband. She was pretty, docile and grateful; or so it seemed, until murder shattered the tranquility of her new home. A puzzling, disturbing killing that brought Detective-Chief Inspector Adam Dalgliesh to the quiet village in search of the murderer.
"Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood," writes Frank McCourt in Angela's Ashes. "Worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood." Welcome, then, to the pinnacle of the miserable Irish Catholic childhood. Born in Brooklyn in 1930 to recent Irish immigrants Malachy and Angela McCourt, Frank grew up in Limerick after his parents returned to Ireland because of poor prospects in America. It turns out that prospects weren't so great back in the old country either--not with Malachy for a father. A chronically unemployed and nearly unemployable alcoholic, he appears to be the model on which many of our more insulting cliches about drunken Irish manhood are based. Mix in abject poverty and frequent death and illness and you have all the makings of a truly difficult early life. Fortunately, in McCourt's able hands it also has all the makings for a compelling memoir.
One of Willard Price's adventure books featuring Hal and Roger Hunt. On safari in Africa, the pair find that the bogus Colonel Bigg is hindering their attempts to capture a man-eating tiger. Worse is to come in the shape of an evil witch-doctor, who is determined to kill the boys.
Gillian and Imogen's lives are very ordinary until Bimbo the Siamese kitten and Topsy the fox terrier come to live at their house. Suddenly, nothing is boring or quiet again as the animals rush around causing chaos wherever they go.
Someone is killing Catholic priests. FBI profiler Maggie O'Dell is brought in to investigate the killing spree and it soon becomes clear to her that more than one perpetrator is responsible. The gruesome murders leave the public reeling. Then O'Dell gets a lead that leaves her stunned.
For years she has been hunting Father Keller, the monster whose acts of brutality continue to haunt her. When he offers to help Maggie solve the crimes, she has no choice but to ally herself with the elusive child killer, crossing a dangerous line into a world from which she may not return unscathed.
Maggie knows the bargain is a necessary evil... one that may be made in blood...
Cat Cleary has escaped the Irish slums and is looking for work in Liverpool. She's full of hope, determined to make her fortune and be someone. Joe Calligan, a deckhand who saves Cat's life, can't bring himself to tell her, the most beautiful girl he's ever set eyes upon, that Liverpool is full of people walking the streets, looking for work.
As soon as Cat sees the luxury liner the White Empress her heart is set on becoming Chief Stewardess. Despite her lack of money or education, Cat sets about achieving her incredible dream. Whilst doing so, she discovers that having a good man by her side will bring her more happiness than she could ever have hoped for.
Inevitably, domestic mayhem ensues. Just trying to get out of the house without going to A&E is a feat, as is managing the children's complicated play date schedule while fending off the unwelcome advances of Jodhpur Mum at the playground. And Sam's foolproof 72-step Childcare Programme doesn't seem remotely up to the task.When father-of-two Sam loses his job, he reluctantly agrees to stay at home while his wife returns to work. Secretly thinking this whole parenthood thing a breeze of leisurely jaunts to the park and occasionally attending a civilised play date or two, Sam quickly realises just what exactly it means to be a stay-at-home parent.
Desperate to get his life back on track, Sam seizes upon a variety of mad schemes, but just as things look like they're beginning to fall into place, he makes a very surprising discovery...
Moving to London, his new marriage is soon interrupted by the spiralling events of the 1640's where the struggle between King and Parliament begins to escalate beyond any control.Sir Charles Berkeley comes from humble roots, but through a humiliating war with Scotland, he is able to make a name for himself and attract the patronage of the influential Earl of Holland.
He struggles to live in the hub of all this discord and during the overlooked, but pivotal year of 1641, he finds himself determined to remain above the fray.
Life will never be the same as the country lurches ever closer to civil war. Sir Charles agonizes over the decision that many of our ancestors would have grappled with - King or Parliament?
Very soon, Sir Charles is thrust into the dispute and is at the forefront of the crisis, experiencing the battle for power from both sides.
Enter the world of the 17th century!
In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren.A decade earlier it was Lewis who waited for his father's homecoming from the war. His mother, a free-spirited and glamorous woman, holds husband and son in her thrall. But when tragedy strikes, Lewis and his father, unable to console one another, are torn apart by their grief.One summer's day in 1957, nineteen-year-old Lewis Aldridge stands alone at Waterford railway station. The only person awaiting his return is a fifteen-year-old girl called Kit Carmichael. Like him, she endured a childhood spent in the stifling atmosphere of an English village recovering from the ravages of the Second World War.
Now, from the fractured remains of their old lives, Kit and Lewis must forge their own futures. As menacing as it is beautiful, The Outcast is a devastating portrait of transgression and redemption from an astonishing new voice.
