Author:Katie Fforde,Jilly Bond
Brought to you by Penguin.
It must be love. A wonderfully romantic novel from the No. 1 Sunday Times bestselling author of Recipe for Love, A French Affair and The Perfect Match.
Althea is the mother of three strong-minded children - one of whom is a Buddhist - and owner of a finicky dog named Bozo.
Saddled with too large a house (albeit in a beautiful Cotswold village), worrisome mortgage payments, a bossy younger sister and irksome ex-husband, Althea still manages to muddle through life comfortably enough. Until she loses her job.
Seeking solace in her borrowed greenhouse, Althea decides to develop her passion for gardening. And when she wins the opportunity to design a garden at the Chelsea Flower Show with the unexpected help of gorgeous architect Patrick Donahugh, it looks as though Althea may have unearthed a new man as well as a new career...
Joanna Trollope crossed with Tom Sharpe
—— Mail on SundayThe romance fizzes along with good humour and is a good, fat, summery read
—— Sunday MirrorOld-fashioned romance of the best sort … funny, comforting
—— Sunday TimesDelicious
—— ElleCan be scoffed at one sitting … tasty!
—— CosmopolitanA big warm-hearted book
—— Marie ClaireCould this be her best yet? We think so
—— EvePraise for Lisa Jewell
—— -Addictively readable
—— The TimesTerrific
—— Sunday TimesA joy . . . a fun summer read
—— GuardianThe best romantic comedy we've read in ages
—— CompanyTackles serious issues with humour - proving that chick-lit can be intelligent, interesting and huge fun
—— Sunday ExpressA triumph
—— HelloTop marks. Fantastic
—— HeatLovely
—— Daily TelegraphMoving and intelligent
—— IndependentMagnetic, unpretentious and bursting with one-liners
—— CosmopolitanJewell's readability and emotional intelligence make her the cream of pop fiction
—— GlamourFans of chick-lit will understand when I say that this is a book you simply disappear into
—— Sunday TelegraphPlayful and inventive… There is a merged ocean of thought with [Frankisstein]; ideas slip between characters and time frames. Frankisstein reincarnates as it evolves, each part deepening the part before it.
—— Rozalind Dineen , Times Literary SupplementA weird and engaging and extremely funny take on Shelley’s classic… The book seeks to shift our perspective on humanity, I think, and the purpose of being… Technology today is allowing us to shape our notions of sex and gender; tomorrow, it will shape our end.
—— Judie Bindel , UnHerdI'm awestruck, as always, by Jeanette Winterson…. Frankissstein…is a dazzlingly bonkers reworking of Mary Shelley's classic Frankenstein, featuring artificial intelligence, sex robots and sci-fi experiments.
—— Laura Bailey , VogueFrankisstein leaps from the Peterloo Massacre to contemporary bioethical speculation to nineteenth-century Bedlam to early computers, its eager, passionately clever narrator always plunging enthusiastically ahead, like the mysterious giant figure Mary Shelley glimpsed racing across that icy glacier.
—— Michèle Roberts , Tablet, *Book of the Week*An oft-moving, oft-hilarious retelling of Shelley’s much-retold classic.
—— Maria Crawford , Financial Times, *Summer Reads of 2019*Winterson teases away at…boundaries – between genders, life and death, fact and fiction, human and machine – to great, and hugely entertaining effect.
—— Daily Mail, *Summer reads of 2019*Jeanette Winterson’s latest book is a shape-shifting, time-hopping gem of a novel… Reading one of Winterson’s books is like going on a magic carpet ride through her subconscious… her stories are creative, overflowing with ideas, and shot through with her wicked sense of humour.
—— James Lloyd , Science FocusRich, thoughtful, and entertaining… [a] heady combination of literary history, futurology, and romance.
—— Dougal Jeffries , BJGPAn utterly brilliant book from one of the most talented writers of the moment
—— HandbookFrankissstein not only draws on the stories of real contemporary research around artificial intelligence and cryogenics, but also features historical figures and their compelling stories of scientific insight and discovery… I've read much of Winterson's work over the years and it seems to me she re-awakened the literary playfulness of The Passion and Sexing the Cherry with this offering.
—— Chemistry WorldBeautiful, life-affirming stories that whisk you away and make you fall in love
—— Miranda DickinsonTender. A beautiful festive tale of a girl in search of a family for Christmas
—— My WeeklyA sweeping historical novel that opens in the waning days of the Ottoman Empire… The Parisian calls to mind a 19th-century novel.
—— New York TimesComplex, subtle and challenging… [The Parisian is] excelling––with a powerful ending that is moving in the way it knits together the themes of self-betrayal and social and political treachery.
—— Gareth Jenkins , Socialist WorkerReconciling oneself with the pain and pleasure of the ties that bind one to certain people and places is something that lies at the heart of Hammad’s novel… the world Hammad paints is a rich one.
—— Lucy Scholes , iHammad… convincingly weaves the conversations and arguments around the Palestinian table, inviting the reader to join the friends and family who are full of complexity and humanity, and refuse to be defined by the tragedy that is befalling them… To read The Parisian is to gradually get to know a friend, like drinking tea with a favourite uncle and hearing about family stories, gossip and politics.
—— Tanushka Marah , Middle East EyeEscapism in the form of adventure and sisterhood. This is a novel with real depth and feeling and touches on worker's rights, racism, environmentalism and education
—— iThis tribute to female friendship and the joy of books is a compelling read
—— Woman's WeeklyA captivating tale of love, friendship and self-actualisation
—— PeopleEscapism in the form of adventure and sisterhood. A novel with real depth and feeling. Empowering
—— Press AssociationAn exploration of people's cruelty and also their kindness
—— Ruth Junes , Good HousekeepingThe author of Me Before You pulls off a cracker with this stirring, exciting adventure story inspired by true events, in depression-era Kentucky, women find freedom and friendship by joining a brigade of horseback librarians
—— BestJojo Moyes is back with another page turner. Inspired by a remarkable true story, The Giver of Stars features five incredible women who will prove to be every bit as beloved as Lou Clark, the unforgettable heroine of Me Before You
—— StellarJoyous. Pucky female characters and wonderful writing. This is her best
—— Good HousekeepingAbout five extraordinary women in 1920s Kentucky, who worked on horseback as travelling librarians
—— Woman & HomeAn enthralling read based on a true story
—— My Weekly Special SeriesOne to get lost in. Escape with this book and follow the story of five women who are embarking on a powerful journey - and refuse to obey any man's commands!
—— No. 1 Magazine, Books to cosy up with this winterA brand-new page-turner . . . based on a true story and tracks five feisty women living in America during the Great Depression
—— That's LifeJojo Moyes is back with this tale based on the real-life horseback librarians of Kentucky
—— Hello!Took me to the mountains of depression-era Kentucky where brave women librarians risked all to deliver books on horseback
—— Damian Barr, Big Issue Books of the YearCelebrates the world of books . . . A fictional yarn about a quintet of extraordinary intrepid women from disparate backgrounds
—— RTE GuideFrom the very first page, I was drawn into the world and the characters that Jojo Moyes has so carefully created
—— Health & WellbeingA fabulous adventure story
—— BestPraise for Jojo Moyes
—— -Moyes somehow manages to break your heart before restoring your faith in love
—— Sunday ExpressRaw, funny, real and sad, this is storytelling at its best
—— Marie ClaireImmensely readable and enjoyable
—— Sunday TimesThis truly beautiful story made us laugh, smile and sob like a baby - you simply have to read it
—— CloserWonderfully written and completely engrossing, with exquisitely drawn characters in a brilliantly plotted narrative
—— Daily MailA heart-stopping read. Destined to be the novel that friends press upon each other
—— Independent on SundayBritain's best contemporary female author
—— Sun on SundayThe storytelling treads the delicate balance between heartbreak and hope perfectly
—— Good HousekeepingA triumph
—— HeatA tender, funny and hopeful look at love, grief and life. Bumper box of tissues required
—— StylistJoyful, with a pitch-perfect ending
—— Daily ExpressJulia Whelan is perfect as Alice Wright
—— The Times, Pick of the AudiobooksConcentrates on sisterhood and friendship
—— Scotsman, Best books to give this ChristmasA sweeping story of female friendship with a dash of romance, set in 1930s Kentucky
—— Daily ExpressHer writing is beautiful and whimsical with unique storylines
—— Liv Arnold, author of Etched in StoneThis most recent book of Jojo's is her best . . . I loved this adventure story for girls for its plucky female characters and wonderful writing
—— Good Housekeeping