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I'm Virtually Yours
I'm Virtually Yours
Jennifer Bohnet
¥23.25
Need a virtual PA? Then Polly Jones is your girl! Polly Jones is taken aback when a new client asks her to investigate the Robertson family business in Devon, after all, a ‘virtual assistant’ doesn’t usually leave their home office! But she needs the work – and less proximity to an endless supply of tea and biscuits can only be a good thing right? So she sets off, with energetic puppy Rosie close by her side. Polly’s new job isn’t quite in her comfort zone… Arriving in the small fishing village where everyone knows everyone’s business, any upsides (all those yummy scones and clotted cream) of course have their downside - she’s completely forgotten to pack her sea legs, and the temptingly handsome Will Robertson is making her job difficult at every turn. It’s so much easier to keep things strictly professional in the virtual world – but with no e-mail to hide behind Polly must admit that Will’s smile is incredibly, deliciously distracting… Praise for Jennifer Bohnet '…it was such a lovely, sweet read that I didn’t want to end!' - Chick Lit Reviews 'What a sweet romance, set by the seaside, starring appealing characters, namely likeable Polly, mysterious Daniel and hunky Will. An intriguing plot with a satisfying ending.' - The Virtual Bookcase
The Fire Dragon
The Fire Dragon
Katharine Kerr
¥44.73
Book eleven of the celebrated Deverry series, an epic fantasy rooted in Celtic mythology that intricately interweaves human and elven history over several hundred years. The Fire Dragon tells two separate stories: one set in the “present” of 1117, and one set in the past, the era of the Civil Wars. In the present, Raena’s trouble-making in Cerr Cawnen leads to terrible death and destruction but may ultimately succeed in offering the final working-out of Rhodry’s Wyrd. In the past, Nevyn and Lilli attempt to solve the riddle of the curse tablet, but the price will be high. In this, the eleventh volume in the Deverry cycle and third of the Dragon Mage series, storylines begun in Dawnspell: The Bristling Wood, A Time of Exile and The Black Raven – both the ‘present’ of 1117 and the past – will reach their triumphant and spellbinding conclusion. But there will be more Deverry books to unravel the situation that climaxes The Fire Dragon…
Velocity
Velocity
Dean Koontz
¥56.11
The international bestseller Dean Koontz delivers a masterclass of storytelling suspense in this thriller. What would you do if a serial killer forced you to choose who he murders next? On the windscreen of his SUV, Billy finds the first note. It gives him a choice. If he takes the note to the police, an elderly woman will be killed. If he doesn’t approach the police, a schoolteacher will die. He thinks it’s a hoax. The schoolteacher is killed. Further notes taunt Billy’s conscience, forcing him to decide who lives and who dies. He must think the unthinkable, fast, in an accelerating nightmare. More communications from the killer follow with ever tighter deadlines. Each is more personal, more confrontational than the last until he is isolated, with no one to rely on but himself. Finally, he must risk everything to save the helpless, clueless victims…
Bombs on Aunt Dainty
Bombs on Aunt Dainty
Judith Kerr
¥34.14
Partly autobiographical, this is the second title in Judith Kerr’s internationally acclaimed trilogy of books following the life of Anna through war-torn Germany, to London during the Blitz and her return to Berlin to discover the past… It is hard enough being a teenager in London during the Blitz, finding yourself in love and wondering every night whether you will survive the bombs. But it is even harder for Anna, who is still officially classified as an “enemy alien”. Those bombs are coming from Germany – the country that was once her own. If Hitler invades, can she and her beloved refugee family possibly survive? This was previously published as The Other Way Round.
The Lover’s Dictionary: A Love Story in 185 Definitions
The Lover’s Dictionary: A Love Story in 185 Definitions
David Levithan
¥66.22
How does one talk about love? We are all beginners when it comes to love, from those tentative first dates to learning how to live with, or without, someone. But how does one describe love? How does one chart its delights and pleasures, its depths and desolations? Do we even have the right words to describe something that can be both utterly mundane and completely transcendent, pulling us out of our everyday lives and making us feel a part of something greater than ourselves? David Levithan's The Lover's Dictionary starts where we all once started – with the alphabet. Constructing the story of a relationship as a dictionary, Levithan explores the intimacies and workings of love through his nameless narrator, to paint a moving portrait of love through everyday words. Cleverly using the confines of language to provide an intimate window into the great events and quotidian trifles of being part of a couple, Levithan gives us an indelible and deeply moving portrait of love in our time.
The Kingdom by the Sea (Collins Modern Classics)
The Kingdom by the Sea (Collins Modern Classics)
Robert Westall
¥51.50
Guaradian award winning novel about courage, friendship and war. Reissued into the Essential Modern Classic list. When a bomb during an air raid destroys Harry's home and kills his family, he knows that he is all alone in the world and has only himself to rely on. Anxious that he will be sent to live with his fussy Cousin Elsie he goes on the run across the war-battered land of North East England, his only friend in his journey a stray dog that he meets on the beach. Will Harry ever find a place to call home again, or will he be on the run forever?
Ironcrown Moon: Part Two of the Boreal Moon Tale
Ironcrown Moon: Part Two of the Boreal Moon Tale
Julian May
¥59.15
The continuation of a powerful new fantasy adventure filled with dark magic and deadly intrigue, from the worldwide bestselling author of the SAGA OF THE PLIOCENE EXILE. King Conrig Ironcrown now rules the entire island of High Blenholme. But the peace he achieved after ruthlessly uniting its four quarrelling kingdoms into a Sovereignty is about to be challenged by enemies both mortal and supernatural. Rumours abound that his vengeful first wife, Maudrayne, believed to have committed suicide when she discovered his infidelity, is in fact still alive and about to reveal a secret that could cost Conrig his throne. A more tangible threat is posed by the ambitious sorcerer Beynor, and his crony, Conrig's traitorous former alchymist Kilian, who have stolen a trove of currently inactive moonstones capable of drawing tremendous power from the mysterious supernatural Beaconfolk. After initiating a civil war, the pair hope to utilize this power to vanquish Conrig's fatally divided realm and rule it themselves. The King's unlikely champion is his royal intelligencer, Deveron, a young man secretly possessed of magical talents. But Deveron is torn between his loyalty to the iron-willed king and his own conscience. The resulting clash involves not only human beings, but also the ancient races who inhabited High Blenholme before them – and who now intend to take back their lost homeland.
Jimmy Coates: Target
Jimmy Coates: Target
Joe Craig
¥31.49
Jimmy’s back in the electrifying sequel to Jimmy Coates: Killer. Stand back for this high-speed adventure, packed with surprises, danger and escape against the odds. “Jimmy's fingers were slipping. Smeared with blood, he had hardly any grip. He had to hold on. Mitchell chopped his hand down hard into Jimmy's shoulder, cutting off the nerves to his fingers. Staring up into Mitchell's ice-cold eyes, Jimmy fell into the shredder.” Jimmy Coates is still on the run – and this time NJ7 are pulling no punches. They’re out for blood, and even though Jimmy has gone into hiding in France, they still track him down. Jimmy might think that life could hold no further surprises for him – but he’s very, very wrong.
Anita and Me
Anita and Me
Meera Syal
¥66.22
Nine-year-old Meena can’t wait to grow up and break free from her parents. But, as the daughter of the only Punjabi family in the mining village of Tollington, her struggle for independence is different from most. Meena wants fishfingers and chips, not chapati and dhal; she wants an English Christmas, not the usual interminable Punjabi festivities – but more than anything, she wants to roam the backyards of working-class Tollington with feisty Anita Rutter and her gang. Blonde, cool, aloof, outrageous and sassy, Anita is everything Meena thinks she wants to be. Meena wheedles her way into Anita’s life, but the arrival of a baby brother, teenage hormones, impending entrance exams for the posh grammar school and a motorcycling rebel without a future threaten to turn Anita’s salad days sour. Anita and Me paints a comic, poignant, compassionate and colourful portrait of village life in the era of flares, power cuts, glam rock, decimalisation and Ted Heath. It is a unique vision of a British childhood in the Seventies, a childhood caught between two cultures, each on the brink of change.
Ben, in the World
Ben, in the World
Doris Lessing
¥68.67
From Doris Lessing, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, the sequel to one of her most celebrated novels, ‘The Fifth Child’. ‘The Fifth Child’, Doris Lessing’s 1988 novel, made a powerful impact on publication. Its account of idyllic marital and parental bliss shattered by the arrival of the feral fifth child of the Lovatts made for unnerving and compulsive reading. That child, Ben, is the central character of this sequel, which picks up the fable at the end of his childhood and takes our primal, misunderstood, maladjusted teenager out into the world. He meets mostly with mockery, fear and incomprehension, but with just enough kindness and openness to keep him afloat as his adventures take him from London to the south of France and on to South America in his restless quest for community, companionship and peace. Lessing employs a plain, unadorned prose fit for fables; again, we have a childlike perspective at the heart of the book; again, the world in all its malevolence and misapprehension swirls around at the edge, while, occasionally, a strong character steps forward to try to set a good example.
Cocaine Nights
Cocaine Nights
J. G. Ballard,James Lever
¥57.09
‘Snort up “Cocaine Nights”. It’s disorientating, deranging and knocks the work of other avant-garde writers into a hatted cock’ Will Self Five people die in an unexplained house fire in the Spanish resort of Estrella de Mar, an exclusive enclave for the rich, retired British, centred on the thriving Club Nautico. The club manager, Frank Prentice, pleads guilty to charges of murder – yet not even the police believe him. When his Charles arrives to unravel the truth, he gradually discovers that behind the resort’s civilized fa?ade flourishes a secret world of crime, drugs and illicit sex. At once an engrossing mystery and a novel of ideas, ‘Cocaine Nights’ is a stunningly original work, a vision of a society coming to terms with a life of almost unlimited leisure. This edition is part of a new commemorative series of Ballard’s works, featuring introductions from a number of his admirers (including Neil Gaiman, Zadie Smith, John Lanchester and Martin Amis) and brand-new cover designs.
99 Reasons Why
99 Reasons Why
Caroline Smailes
¥34.14
From the brilliant author of ‘Black Boxes’ comes a gritty and heartfelt novella with a twist: 99 Reasons, 11 endings, your pick. Kate isn’t like other 22 year olds. She’s got a job to do for her Uncle Phil. Each day, she spies on The Kevin Keegan Day Nursery across the road from her bedroom window, writing down all of the comings and goings in her notebooks. That’s how she spots her little girl in the pink coat. She likes her, and it isn’t long before Kate asks her mam to get her for her. Plans are made. But then, quite unexpectedly, Kate flashes her breasts out her bedroom window at the little girl’s father. And that's the reason that nothing will ever be the same again… There is no one ending to Kate’s story, instead there are eleven possible outcomes, 9 of which you can navigate through your e-reading device. Each is different, and each exposes a little more of Kate’s utterly wonky world.
The Verruca Bazooka (GUNK Aliens, Book 1)
The Verruca Bazooka (GUNK Aliens, Book 1)
Jonny Moon
¥27.27
Aliens are coming… to get up your nose! A long time ago, on a planet really, really far away, a bunch of slimy aliens discovered the secret to clean, renewable energy – snot! That was when the Galactic Union of Nasty Killer Aliens (G.U.N.K.) was born. Its mission: to find human life and drain its snot. Rockets were sent to the four corners of the known universe, each carrying representatives from the major alien races. Three of them were never heard from again. But one of them landed on a planet quite simply full of humans. This one. Now all that stands between earth and alien invasion is a hero named Jack. Problem is, he’s not even out of primary school yet…
The Devil and Miss Prym
The Devil and Miss Prym
Paulo Coelho
¥66.22
A novel from Paulo Coelho, author of The Alchemist. A stranger arrives in the small mountain village. He carries with him a backpack containing a notebook and eleven gold bars. Burying these in the vicinity, the stranger strikes up a curious friendship with a young woman from the village – Miss Prym. His mission is to discover whether human beings are essentially good or evil. In this stunning novel, Paulo Coelho’s unusual protagonist sets the town a moral challenge from which they may never recover. A fascinating meditation on the human soul, The Devil and Miss Prym illuminates the reality of good and evil within us all, and our uniquely human capacity to choose between them.
The Zahir: A Novel of Obsession
The Zahir: A Novel of Obsession
Paulo Coelho
¥45.62
‘The Zahir’, Paulo Coelho's new novel available in paperback for the first time, incorporates exclusive new content including an extra section containing interviews with Paulo and plenty of information for those for whom the book just wasn't enough. It begins with a glimpse or a passing thought. It ends in obsession. One day a renowned author discovers that his wife, a war correspondent, has disappeared leaving no trace. Though time brings more success and new love, he remains mystified – and increasingly fascinated – by her absence. Was she kidnapped, blackmailed, or simply bored with their marriage? The unrest she causes is as strong as the attraction she exerts. His search for her – and for the truth of his own life – takes him from France to Spain, Croatia and, eventually, the bleakly beautiful landscape of Central Asia. More than that, it takes him from the safety of his world to a totally unknown path, searching for a new understanding of the nature of love and the power of destiny. With ‘The Zahir’, Paulo Coelho demonstrates his powerful and captivating storytelling.
Brida
Brida
Paulo Coelho
¥57.09
The spellbinding novel from one of the world's best-loved authors, Paulo Coelho, now in ebook. This is the story of Brida, a young Irish girl, and her quest for knowledge. She has long been interested in various aspects of magic, and has taken courses in astrology, tarot, and numerology, but is searching for something more. Her search leads her to people of great wisdom, who begin to teach her about the world. Her teachers sense that Brida has a gift, but cannot tell what that is. Meanwhile, Brida pursues her course ever deeper into the mysteries of life, seeking to answer questions about who she is. She meets a wise man who dwells in a forest, and teaches her about overcoming her fears and trusting in the goodness of the world, and a woman who teaches her how to dance to the music of the world, and how to pray to the moon. She seeks her destiny, as she struggles to find a balance between her relationships and her desire to become a witch. This enthralling novel incorporates themes fans of Paulo will love. It is a tale of love, passion, mystery and spirituality.
Gentleman’s Relish
Gentleman’s Relish
Patrick Gale
¥46.99
An exhilarating new collection of stories by the author of Richard & Judy-bestseller ‘Notes from an Exhibition’, combining wit and poignancy to illuminate experiences both common and uncommon. Love (and loathing) within families is dissected – a father makes an unexpected discovery about his son which is too hard for him to cope with. A son wreaks revenge through the power of cookery. Three generations of the same family gain freedom through the years in a once-despised caravan. A bored wife finds happiness when an old lag teaches her the art of angling. A dog-training lesson with a puppy who hasn’t grasped the meaning of ‘obedience’ leads to the discovery of a murder. Here too are music and silence – the sweetness and sadness of festivals, of the Church and of the control exercised by those in charge in small communities. This tremendously enjoyable collection of stories has the same wit, tenderness and acute psychological observation as Gale’s bestselling novels, including NOTES FROM AN EXHIBITION and the recent THE WHOLE DAY THROUGH. For Gale's many fans, GENTLEMAN’S RELISH is certain to be a real treat.
The Other Queen
The Other Queen
Philippa Gregory
¥66.22
A dramatic novel of passion, politics and betrayal from the author of The Other Boleyn Girl. They can fear me, and they can hate me. They can even deny me. But they cannot kill me. 1568. The Virgin Queen Elizabeth I has ruled England for ten years, but refuses to name a successor, despite the rival claims that threaten her kingdom. Bess of Hardwick, the new Countess of Shrewsbury, has secured her future with her fourth marriage to George Talbot. Ambitious and shrewd, Bess anticipates royal favour when she and the Earl are asked to give sanctuary to the fugitive Mary Queen of Scots. But the Scottish queen rails against house arrest in a desolate castle and plots to regain her throne. The castle becomes the epicentre of intrigue against Elizabeth, the Earl blinded by admiration for the other queen. Even Bess’s own loyalty is thrown into question. If Elizabeth's spymaster William Cecil links the Talbots to the growing conspiracy to free Mary, they will all face the Tower…
Graveminder
Graveminder
Melissa Marr
¥14.32
When Rebekkah returns to her small-town home for her beloved Grandmother’s funeral, she little suspects that she is about to inherit a darkly dangerous family duty on behalf of Claysville’s most demanding residents – the dead. Everyone in Claysville knows that the Barrows are no ordinary family, but no one can really explain why. When respected matriarch Maylene Barrow dies suddenly her granddaughter Rebekkah returns to the small town she grew up in, where she must face the demons of her past – the suicide of her half-sister Ella, the person she was closest to in the world, and the subsequent break-up of her parents marriage. And she also re-encounters Byron, Ella’s old boyfriend, someone to whom she has always felt a deep and mysterious connection. But the demons of the past are nothing compared with what the future has in store for Rebekkah. Her grandmother has left her an inheritance both wonderful and terrible. An onerous responsibility now rests on her shoulders – one for which she is ill-prepared to say the least. For behind Claysville’s community-spirited, small-town facade lies a dark secret. One that ties Rebekkah and Byron together in an inextricable bond, and that will require them both to sacrifice everything to keep their friends and neighbours from harm.
Fortune: The Original Snogbuster
Fortune: The Original Snogbuster
Megan Cole
¥51.50
Upgrade your beach reading to first class… Brad Masters is rich. Very, very rich. CEO of the Perfect Cut record label, he owns properties in the Med, the Florida Keys, New York and London. He flies a private jet, drives a collection of supercars and walks nowhere, if he can help it. But there's one thing missing: although he has a string of girlfriends, he doesn't have an heir. And with his sixties rapidly approaching, Brad can no longer convince himself he's immortal… What Brad does have is a past full of indiscretions – and that includes the three women, in three different countries, who gave birth to his three illegitimate daughters. None of them have any claim on him, of course. He paid them off years ago. But that was then, and this is now. As his sixtieth birthday looms, Brad sends off three very special invitations to his party. The question is – which daughter will he choose?
Disguise
Disguise
Hugo Hamilton
¥66.22
Hugo Hamilton, the internationally acclaimed author of ‘The Speckled People’ and ‘Sailor in the Wardrobe’, turns his hand back to fiction with a compelling drama tracing Berlin's central historical importance throughout the twentieth century. 1945. At the end of the second world war in Berlin, a young mother loses her two-year-old boy in the bombings. She flees to the south, where her father finds a young foundling of the same age among the refugee trains to replace the boy. He makes her promise never to tell anyone, including her husband – still fighting on the Russian front – that the boy is not her own. Nobody will know the difference. 2008. Gregor Liedmann is a Jewish man now in his sixties. He's an old rocker who ran away from home, a trumpet player, a revolutionary stone-thrower left over from the 1968 generation. On a single day spent gathering fruit in an orchard outside Berlin with family and friends, Gregor looks back over his life, sifting through fact and memory in order to establish the truth. What happened on that journey south in the final days of the war? Why did his grandfather Emil disappear, and why did the Gestapo torture uncle Max? Here, in the calmness of the orchard, along with his ex-wife Mara and son Daniel, Gregor tries to unlock the secret of his past. In his first novel since the best-selling memoir ‘The Speckled People’, Hugo Hamilton has created a truly compelling story of lost identity, and a remarkable reflection on the ambiguity of belonging.