Rural Life

This could be any small town. It aches under the heat of summer. It flourishes in the cooler months. Everyone knows everyone. Their families, histories and stories are interwoven and well-known by one and all. Or at least, they think they are. But no one sees anything quite the same way. Perceptions differ, truths are elusive, judgements have outcomes and everything is connected. For better or for worse.

In this delightful memoir, Jared Gulian describes the first four years of their new life in the country, its disasters, small triumphs, surprises, and pleasures. But most of all, he describes the warmth of the local community that welcomed them, saved them from certain peril, taught them how to cook, how to care for animals, and how to understand and love the land.

A rainy-day ritual - a tea party between three little girls - becomes the framework of not only their friendship, but their lives. Blonde, curly-haired Zoe Alexander is openhearted, kind, and free-spirited, but struggles with body image. Emily Waters is shy, diminutive, and would prefer to live vicariously through books. And Shannon Morell - tall, athletic, strong - has a deep sense of loyalty, but will always fear abandonment. As years pass, they forge careers, have their hearts broken, marry, and have children, but the one constant that remains is each other and their tea parties.

1941, Giggleswick: Flora Whittaker runs The Cunning Vixen Inn, a small pub in the centre of the village. When her husband, Bill, re-enlists in the war, he leaves Flora to run the pub with the help of young May, the next-door neighbour’s daughter. Flora has several money-saving and illegal...

Edie - smart, self-assured, beautiful - always worked hard. She worked as a teller at a bank, she worked to save her first marriage, and later, she worked to raise her daughter even as her second marriage came apart. Really, Edie just wanted a good life, but everywhere she turned, her looks defined her. Two brothers fought over her. Her second husband became unreasonably possessive and jealous. Her daughter resented her. And now, as a grandmother, Edie finds herself harassed by a younger man. It’s been a lifetime of proving that she is allowed to exist in her own sphere.

Wiesbaden, 1968. In das Café Engel wurde eingebrochen. Die Familie Koch ist zutiefst erschüttert. Doch als Hilde bei den Aufräumarbeiten ein altes Foto aus der Gründerzeit findet, offenbart dies eine freudige Überraschung: Ihr Café wird 75 Jahre alt - und das muss gefeiert werden! Doch die Vorbereitungen zum Fest werden von unerwarteten Ereignissen überschattet. Während Hilde mit gesundheitlichen Problemen kämpft, verliert sich ihr Sohn Andi in Frankfurt in den Wirren der 68er-Bewegung, wo er in Claudia seine große Liebe findet.

A galloping tale of love, inheritance, lies and scandal, all set against the backdrop of a stunning country estate in the beautiful English countryside. Eden Ennis is a stranger to high society. So when she turns up at the Elmsleigh House estate, determined to tell billionaire owner Troyden...

Mulberry Hotel, perched on a clifftop above a sweeping bay, was once the heart and soul of pretty seaside town Mulberry Bay. Run by the Harte family for years, the place itself is almost as beloved as cheery landlady Anna. The hotel was also once home to 30-something sisters Eleanor and Penny, and while youngest sister Penny still lives close by, it's been some time since Elle has visited. But following a family tragedy, Elle is forced to return from her busy London life and reassess her past.

Max Wendt has a family...but it's sliding sideways, and he has been complicit in its faltering. His wife and his daughter have pulled away from him amid his frequent absences, leaving him to bridge the distance between what he remembers and the way things are now. Max Wendt has a job...but it carries him away from home most of the time, and its dynamics are quickly changing. There's a surprising new hire on his pipeline crew, strife among coworkers, and a boss whose proclivities put everything in peril.

Morning rush hour on the Golden Gate Bridge. Amid the river of metal and glass, a shocking event occurs, leaving those who witnessed it desperately looking for answers, most notably one man and his son, Jake, who captured the event and uploaded it to the Internet for all the world to experience. As the media swarms over the story, Jake will face the ramifications of his actions, as he learns the perils of our modern disconnect between the real world and the world we create online.

Growing up on a farm in early twentieth-century rural Iceland, Karitas Ólafsdóttir, one of six siblings, yearns for a new life. An artist, Karitas has a powerful calling and is determined to never let go of her true being, one unsuited for the conventional. But she is powerless against the fateful turns of real life and all its expectations of women. Pulled back time and again by design and by chance to the Icelandic countryside - as dutiful daughter, loving mother, and fisherman’s wife - she struggles to thrive, to be what she was meant to be.

Íosac Mulgannon is a man called to stand. Losing a grip on his mental and physical health, he is burdened with looking after a mute child whom the local villagers view as cursed. The aging farmer stubbornly refuses to succumb in the face of adversity and will do anything, at any cost, to keep hold of his farm and the child. This dark and lyrical debut novel confronts a claustrophobic rural community caught up in the uncertainties of a rapidly changing world.

This uplifting debut novel from Cornwall based writer, Liz Hurley, is sure to put a smile on your face. Ariana Byrne knows how to survive. After becoming a guardian to her four little sisters after their parents died when she was only eighteen, she had to grow up quickly. Now shes in her twenties, stuck in a loveless marriage to Greg, trying to make ends meet for her young twins, William and Leo.

Sie soll für einige Tage die Pension ihrer Freundin Marleen auf Norderney übernehmen – ein Job, von dem die 47-Jährige nicht die leiseste Ahnung hat. Kein Wunder, dass die beiden Schwestern schnell an ihre Grenzen stoßen. Und das nicht nur, weil sie nicht kochen können. Ihre Anwesenheit spricht sich auf der Insel schnell herum. Zu schnell. Und so dauert es nicht lange, bis Papa Heinz und Mama Charlotte vor der Tür stehen, um ihre Töchter mit höchst eigenwilligen Ideen zu unterstützen.

Schluss mit Großstadt, ab aufs Land! Sascha und Anna kaufen ein Haus und ziehen mit Teenietochter Marie in die Dorfidylle. Das passt prima zu Saschas neuer Stelle als Nachhaltigkeitsbeauftragter und dazu, dass Anna für ihren beruflichen Neustart Freiraum braucht. Marie, als engagierte Umweltaktivistin, liebt die Natur sowieso, nur die Spinnen nicht. Doch das Landleben wird schwieriger als gedacht. Es gibt manipulative Rasenmäherverkäufer und argwöhnische Nachbarinnen, und da ist dieser Maulwurf, der bald den ganzen Garten umpflügt. Ordnungsfreak Sascha sagt ihm den Kampf an.

Ein neuer fesselnder Roman über ein faszinierendes Familiengeheimnis und die Kraft der Liebe von Bestsellerautorin Cynthia Ellingsen Abby Harringtons Familie lebt schon seit Generationen in einer zauberhaften Kleinstadt am Lake Michigan, wo sie ein Weingut betreibt. Als während einer Familienfeier ihre Sammlung besonders edler Weine gestohlen wird und wenig später Abbys Großvater nach einem Flugzeugabsturz im Krankenhaus um das Überleben kämpft, wird klar: Jemand möchte der Familie schaden. Abby versucht herauszufinden, wer es auf sie abgesehen hat.

Glory, trentotto anni e il cuore a pezzi, torna nella natia Gilead per prendersi cura del padre, il pastore Robert Boughton. Pochi mesi dopo bussa alla porta di casa anche Jack, la pecora nera della famiglia, il figlio piú amato, il piú corrotto, il piú smarrito. Quel ritorno tanto atteso mette l'anziano padre di fronte alla paura di farsi ancora del male, al dovere della comprensione, alla vera natura dell'amore.

Wie der Erste Weltkrieg den Alltag des Hamburger Geldadels zerrüttete. Der Erste Weltkrieg setzt dem unbekümmertem Leben der Hamburger Familie Bramfeld, die in der Villa am Feenteich residiert, ein jähes Ende. Frederike, die Tochter des Bankiers Bramfeld, versucht verzweifelt das Erbe zusammenzuhalten. Der einzige Lichtblick: Ihre aufkeimenden Gefühle zu Martin Stelling, den sie über ihre Freundin Viktoria Stelling kennenlernt.

Esmae Grace Williams has settled into life in the country quite well. She has found contentment and happiness in the small town of Meadow Creek. After having her heart broken and swearing off men, Esmae has decided to date once again. The problem is, which guy should she choose? Esmae is finally ready to move forward. That is, until Brooklyn arrives in town. Who is this Southern Belle? Quickly, Esmae discovers that her dating plans may all come to a screeching halt. Now, Esmae wonders if she will find the man of her dreams—or will she end up all alone?

Set during WW2 in the Yorkshire valley of Dentdale, Secrets in the Dales is a heartfelt story of family, romance and one woman's determination in hard times. In the sleepy Yorkshire Dales, the peaceful existence of Sally’s family is shattered by the outbreak of the Second World War. With her...