From her sweeping novels to her searing journalism Penny Vincenzi has been writing all her life & this is a collection of her work brought together in a single edition for the first time. As well as ten stunning short stories Penny also shares some of her thoughts on a huge range of subjects from love & relationships to work & families & gives us a peek at the tantalising first chapter of her new novel
- making LOVE IN THE AFTERNOON & OTHER DELIGHTS a must-have for any Vincenzi fan.
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When Seb joins Barleybridge the last thing on his mind is romance. Keen to settle into his first real job & make a good impression he embraces the working life of a country vet. He has almost forgotten his high maintenance ex-girlfriend Carly & concentrates on settling down to a job he really loves. He is welcomed by the other members of the Practice & is soon contending with a menagerie of very diverse clients which take Seb on an incredibly steep learning curve. Seb is to find that his expertise with animals & their owners leads to a friendship with the upper-class Jilly & rather more than that with Maggie whose family is heartbroken when he diagnoses their alpacas with TB. But when a surprise meeting in the Practice itself turns his world upside down... ...

A family struggles to survive bereavement bombing & bitter rivalry... Patsy Rushtons brother Barney doesnt know the meaning of hard work so when their father tragically dies Patsy has no choice but to save the familys business. Meanwhile Barney has got his girlfriend pregnant & feeling trapped he abandons her & leaves Merseyside altogether. But trouble follows Barney wherever he goes & when he learns of his sisters growing success he cant help feeling resentful. Why is their mother Beatrice so quick to forgive him? Surely she cant be blind to his faults? As Patsy is to discover theres something else about Barney that is frightening her mother so much she has never dared to speak of it before. ...

When Jane decides to move to the Australian outback in search of a husband her sister Anthea thinks she's mad. But then again the sisters have never seen eye-to-eye. Anthea is slim beautiful & has a perfect life & fiance. Jane has always felt like the ugly duckling in comparison. But when Anthea follows her sister Down Under to try & save Jane from this latest crazy plan she ends up taking a walk on the wild side herself. A sexy funny & heartwarming adventure
- curl up & enjoy this fabulous Quick Read from Kathy Lette.
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Merryn Somerset Webb star of Channel 4's hit series ' Superscrimpers' shows you how to face the future with both money & confidence in this financial bible for sassy women. Money may not buy you love but it certainly helps with life's other little luxuries. From shopping sprees to pension plans ISAs to investments money plays a crucial role in our present & future comfort. We may not like to admit it but diamonds -- or cold hard cash -- really can be a girl's best friend. So why when women have much to celebrate are we reluctant to talk about it? Why when we have more wealth in our own names than ever before do women take less interest in money than men? & why do we still feel that demonstrating an interest in finance is somehow!unfeminine? Because let's face it -- for most of us Prince Charming & his bank balance just aren't coming. If we want to secure our futures we're going to have to do it ourselves. The good news is that it's not hard to do. Dealing with our personal finances is much much easier than the financial industry would have us believe. Women tend to make better investors than men too -- our instincts so to speak are on the money. All we need is a bit of know-how & the confidence to put it into practice. Combining years of financial expertise with a healthy dose of scepticism & an easy sense of humour Merryn Somerset Webb's sharp witty & appealing guide to personal wealth for sassy women provides the answers. Whether you're drowning in debt negotiating a higher salary or tackling the thorny issue of a pre-nup just one read through & you'll be in a position to sort your finances out for good transforming them from a constant worry into a source of peace of mind. ...

In the 1980s Elton John saw friend after friend loved one after loved one perish needlessly from AIDS. In the midst of the plague he befriended Ryan White a young Indiana boy ostracized by his town & his school because of the HIV infection he had contracted from a blood transfusion. Ryans inspiring life & devastating death led Elton to two realizations: His own life was a mess. & he had to do something to help stop the AIDS crisis. Since then Elton has dedicated himself to overcoming the plague & the stigma of AIDS. He has done this through the Elton John AIDS Foundation which has raised & donated $275 million to date to fighting the disease worldwide. Love Is The Cure is Eltons personal account of his life during the AIDS epidemic including stories of his close friendships with Ryan White Freddie Mercury Princess Diana Elizabeth Taylor & others & the story of the Elton John AIDS Foundation. With powerful conviction & emotional force Elton conveys the personal toll AIDS has taken on his life
- & his infinite determination to stop its spread. Elton writes This is a disease that must be cured not by a miraculous vaccine but by changing hearts & minds & through a collective effort to break down social barriers & to build bridges of compassion. Why are we not doing more? This is a question I have thought deeply about & wish to answer
- & help to change
- by writing this book. The sale of Love Is the Cure will benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation.


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Beth Lara & Rio
- three exotic women with a common cause & vengeance in their hearts. They're out to avenge a murder & they'll
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The year is 1140 & England is torn by the strife of civil war. Oliver Pascal chances upon a village raided by mercenaries & rescues the survivors: an orphaned boy who is the illegitimate son of the old king & his mother's maid a young widow named Catrin. After escorting them to Bristol Castle they are accepted into the household of Robert of Gloucester & while Catrin finds herself falling in love with Oliver she suffers a deep boredom at the frivolity of court life. Thus when the old midwife Etheldreda offers to teach her the secrets of her ancient art Catrin agrees. But the midwife's life is fraught with dangers not least Oliver's own personal fears which threaten their relationship but also in the shape of two men both killers & both of whom threaten the couple's lives. However Catrin is determined to pursue her career & keep Oliver & while England fights a civil war she battles for her love & for her vocation. ...

Fourteen-year-old Prue & her sister Grace have been educated at home by their controlling super-strict father all their lives. Forced to wear Mum's odd h&-made garments & forbidden from reading teenage magazines they know they're very different to 'normal' girls
- but when Dad has a stroke & ends up in hospital unable to move or speak Prue suddenly discovers what it's like to have a little freedom. Sent to a real school for the first time Prue struggles to fit in. The only person she can talk to is her kindly young
- & handsome
- art teacher Rax. They quickly bond & Prue feels more & more drawn to him. As her feelings grow stronger she begins to realise that he might feel the same way about her. But nothing could ever happen between them
- could it?



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