Not the marrying kind? Staff nurse Maggie Carr had hated Luke Fabrizzi on sight and was irritated that everyone else worshiped the handsome new Italian senior resident. Their conflict had stemmed from resentment when Maggie's family had tried to introduce them with marriage in mind. When it dawned on Luke that they could avert their families by staging a relationship, Maggie agreed. It was a truce that led them to the root of their strong feelings and yet another battle – a fight against their real desires and emotions.

The brave owls of Ga'Hoole are back in their second mythic adventure as they strive to preserve owldom from the evil that lurks around them. Join the owls in their quest for the Great Ga'Hoole Tree, the legendary place where ordinary owls are transformed into the heroes that guard the owl kingdom. Out of the darkness a hero will rise… It began as a dream. A quest for the Great Ga’Hoole Tree, a mythic place where each night an order of owls rises to perform noble deeds. There Soren, Gylfie, Twilight and Digger hope to find inspiration to fight the evil that dwells in the owl kingdom. The journey is long and arduous for Soren, Gylife, Twilight and Digger. When they finally arrive, they realize that the journey has barely started and that greater challenges lay ahead. If they succeed in following in the footsteps of their leaders, they will soon become true Ga'Hoolian owls– honest, brave, true and wise.

Everything a romantic novel should be - an absolute delight.’ - Veronica Henry Meet Molly New York’s most famous agony aunt, she considers herself an expert at relationships…as long as they’re other people’s. The only love of her life is her Dalmatian, Valentine. Meet Daniel A cynical divorce lawyer, he’s hardwired to think relationships are a bad idea. If you don’t get involved, no-one can get hurt. But then he finds himself borrowing a dog to meet the gorgeous woman he sees running in Central Park every morning… Molly and Daniel think they know everything there is to know about relationships…until they meet each other that is… 'Wonderfully romantic and sumptuously atmospheric.’ -Alex Brown, author of The Secret Orchard Cottage

The Boss's Baby Bargain When resort developer Cameron McNeill goes undercover to root out problems at his prized island property, his first discovery is the irresistible concierge, Maresa Delphine. Her business smarts are vital to his mission. But the struggling single mom could help with his personal mission, too: fulfilling the marriage terms of his grandfather's will. Maresa is overwhelmed caring for her infant niece and tending to the demands of the resort's sexy mystery guest. When he reveals himself as the owner, she's thrown for a loop. But when he proposes…can she resist his brand of trouble in paradise?

A temporary tryst with a sexy Texan…no problem, right? All it takes is a daring out-of-character ride on a mechanical bull to send Erin Sinclair straight into the arms of one fine-looking cowboy. With Royal, Texas, on edge over the criminal targeting their secrets, she needs to blow off steam. Dan Hunt is happy to give the ex-nanny the time of her life, but the rich rancher insists he doesn't do relationships. With Erin leaving Royal in a matter of weeks, why not have a no-strings affair? Even if it feels like it could be the commitment of a lifetime…

‘An emotional love story with great heart’ Sunday Express The Sunday Times Top Ten Bestseller

Sometimes you just need to escape. But you can never, ever go back… Are you a crooked politician? A deposed dictator of a third-world nation? Or simply a white-collar criminal looking to avoid prison or a deadlier form of payback? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then Exit Strategy is at your service. With just one call, Exit Strategy will assist all manner of wealthy-but-wanted types to disappear completely. They can fake your death, give you a new name and face, and launder whatever ill-gotten funds you need to establish a new life on the other side of the world. When Jordan Parrish, the brilliant founder of a medical technology start-up, made the call to Exit Strategy, he thought he had no other way out. But after his exit, he begins to wonder about the circumstances that led him to make that momentous decision: was someone, in fact, working against him? To find out, Jordan will have to break the cardinal rule of Exit Strategy: you can never, ever go back. Exit Strategy is a globe-trotting thriller about the type of shadowy organisation that many have long suspected exists, but have never glimpsed inside … until now.

First published in 2005 and now available as an ebook. Des Lynam’s autobiography gives a frank and opinionated insight into the man behind the myth. Des Lynam is one of Britain's best-loved and most successful personalities. Famously guarded about his private life, Des will attempt to set the record straight and talk about the ladies in his life, his childhood days in Ireland, as well as his early marriage and life in 70s London. Des takes us through his 30 years at the BBC from a reporter on local radio to the drama of his top-secret move to ITV which was front page news on every national newspaper. The World Cups, the Olympic Games including his reporting of the Israeli shootings in Munich. Following Muhammad Ali to his fights in Zaire, Malaysia and the USA. The Grand National that never was, the IRA threatened race. The programmes he turned down, the ones he wished he had! Des offers a candid account of life behind the scenes at the national broadcaster, the people he has met, the triumphs, the disasters. In the unique role of top presenter on both main channels, he tells of his 5 years at ITV, his reasons for going there and why his decision was justified but in other ways disastrous.

Painstakingly restored from Tolkien’s manuscripts and presented for the first time as a continuous and standalone story, the epic tale of Beren and Lúthien will reunite fans of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings with Elves and Men, Dwarves and Orcs and the rich landscape and creatures unique to Tolkien’s Middle-earth. The tale of Beren and Lúthien was, or became, an essential element in the evolution of The Silmarillion, the myths and legends of the First Age of the World conceived by J.R.R. Tolkien. Returning from France and the battle of the Somme at the end of 1916, he wrote the tale in the following year. Essential to the story, and never changed, is the fate that shadowed the love of Beren and Lúthien: for Beren was a mortal man, but Lúthien was an immortal Elf. Her father, a great Elvish lord, in deep opposition to Beren, imposed on him an impossible task that he must perform before he might wed Lúthien. This is the kernel of the legend; and it leads to the supremely heroic attempt of Beren and Lúthien together to rob the greatest of all evil beings, Melkor, called Morgoth, the Black Enemy, of a Silmaril. In this book Christopher Tolkien has attempted to extract the story of Beren and Lúthien from the comprehensive work in which it was embedded; but that story was itself changing as it developed new associations within the larger history. To show something of the process whereby this legend of Middle-earth evolved over the years, he has told the story in his father's own words by giving, first, its original form, and then passages in prose and verse from later texts that illustrate the narrative as it changed. Presented together for the first time, they reveal aspects of the story, both in event and in narrative immediacy, that were afterwards lost.

“You have the luck of Croesus on stilts (as my Auntie Vi would have said) if you’ve had the sort of career, ups and downs, warts and all that I have in that wondrous little corner of show business called musical theatre.” One of the most successful and distinguished artists of our time, Andrew Lloyd Webber has reigned over the musical theatre world for nearly five decades. The winner of numerous awards, including multiple Tonys and an Oscar, Lloyd Webber has enchanted millions worldwide with his music and numerous hit shows, including Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, Cats, The Phantom of the Opera―Broadway’s longest running show―and most recently, School of Rock. In Unmasked, written in his own inimitable, quirky voice, the revered, award-winning composer takes stock of his achievements, the twists of fate and circumstance which brought him both success and disappointment, and the passions that inspire and sustain him. The son of a music professor and a piano teacher, Lloyd Webber reveals his artistic influences, from his idols Rodgers and Hammerstein and the perfection of South Pacific’s ‘Some Enchanted Evening,’ to the pop and rock music of the 1960s and Puccini’s Tosca, to P. G. Wodehouse and T. S. Eliot. Lloyd Webber recalls his bohemian London youth, reminiscing about the happiest place of his childhood, his homemade Harrington Pavilion―a make-believe world of musical theatre in which he created his earliest entertainments. A record of several exciting and turbulent decades of British and American musical theatre and the transformation of popular music itself, Unmasked is ultimately a chronicle of artistic creation. Lloyd Webber looks back at the development of some of his most famous works and illuminates his collaborations with luminaries such as Tim Rice, Robert Stigwood, Harold Prince, Cameron Mackintosh, and Trevor Nunn. Taking us behind the scenes of his productions, Lloyd Webber reveals fascinating details about each show, including the rich cast of characters involved with making them, and the creative and logistical challenges and artistic political battles that ensued. Lloyd Webber shares his recollections of the works that have become cultural touchstones for generations of fans: writings songs for a school production that would become his first hit, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat; finding the coterie of performers for his classic rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar; developing his first mega-hit, Evita, which would win seven Tonys Awards, including Best Musical; staking his reputation and fortune on the groundbreaking Cats; and making history with the dazzling The Phantom of the Opera. Reflecting a life that included many passions (from architecture to Turkish Swimming Cats), full of witty and revealing anecdotes, and featuring cameo appearances by numerous celebrities―Elaine Paige, Sarah Brightman, David Frost, Julie Covington, Judi Dench, Richard Branson, A.R. Rahman, Mandy Patinkin, Patti LuPone, Richard Rodgers, Norman Jewison, Milos Forman, Plácido Domingo, Barbra Streisand, Michael Crawford, Gillian Lynne, Betty Buckley, and more―Unmasked at last reveals the true face of the extraordinary man beneath the storied legend.

Roy Porter is Professor of the Social History of Medicine at the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine. He is the editor of the Fontana History of Science series, and the author of over sixty-five books, including the acclaimed bestseller ‘London: A Social History’. His book on the history of madness in England, ‘Mind Forg’d Manacles’, won the Leo Gershoy Prize.

What pushed Blunt, Burgess, Cairncross, Maclean and Philby into Soviet hands? With access to recently released papers and other neglected documents, this sharp analysis of the intelligence world examines how and why these men and others betrayed their country and what this cost Britain and its allies. Enemies Within is a new history of the influence of Moscow on Britain told through the stories of those who chose to spy for the Soviet Union. It also challenges entrenched assumptions about abused trust, corruption and Establishment cover-ups that began with the Cambridge Five and the disappearance of Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean on the night boat to Saint-Malo in 1951. In a book that is as intellectually thrilling as it is entertaining and illuminating, Richard Davenport-Hines traces the bonds between individuals, networks and organisations over generations to offer a study of character, both individual and institutional. At its core lie the operative traits of boarding schools, the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, the Intelligence Division, Foreign Office, MI5, MI6 and Moscow Centre. Davenport-Hines tells many stories of espionage, counter-espionage and treachery. With its vast cope, ambition and scholarship, Enemies Within charts how the undermining of authority, the rejection of expertise and the suspicion of educational advantages began, and how these have transformed the social and political temper of modern Britain.

Rachel Allen was brought up in Dublin and at the age of eighteen left to study at the prestigious Ballymaloe Cookery School. Today, she not only teaches at the school, she also writes regular features for national publications, presents highly acclaimed television programmes which have been broadcast internationally. She is the winner of the 2012 Irish Book Award for Best Non-Fiction for Easy Meals.

Born and bred in the Bronx, Chris Bianco is a second generation New York Italian. He established a pizzeria in Arizona after taking the first flight to a city he liked the sound of. Pizzeria Bianco was born, inside the back corner of a local grocery store, and has had queues around the block since.In 2005 Chris opened Pane Bianco, serving foccacia breads and sandwiches, then his Italian Restaurant.Chris’ food meccas have attracted fans from around the world and in 2011 he joined forces with Jamie Oliver to open Union Jacks in the UK. He is a James Beard award-winning chef, has appeared on TV shows as diverse as Oprah Winfrey and Martha Stewart, and now lives between London and Pheonix.

A brilliant study of a brilliant woman' LUCY WORSLEY History has forgotten Caroline of Ansbach, yet in her lifetime she was compared frequently to Elizabeth I and considered by some as ‘the cleverest queen consort Britain ever had’. The intellectual superior of her buffoonish husband George II, Caroline is credited with hastening the Enlightenment to Britain through her sponsorship of red-hot debates about science, religion, philosophy and the nature of the universe. Encouraged by Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, she championed inoculation; inspired by her friends Leibniz and Samuel Clarke, she mugged up on Newtonian physics; she embraced a salon culture which promoted developments in music, literature and garden design; she was a regular theatre-goer who loved the opera, gambling and dancing. Her intimates marvelled at the breadth of her interests. She was, said Lord Egmont, ‘curious in everything’. Caroline acted as Regent four times while her husband returned to Hanover, and during those periods she possessed authority over all domestic matters. No subsequent royal woman has exercised power on such a scale. So why has history forgotten this extraordinary queen? In this magnificent biography, the first for over seventy years, Matthew Dennison seeks to reverse this neglect. The First Iron Lady uncovers the complexities of Caroline’s multifaceted life: the child of a minor German princeling who, through intelligence, determination and a dash of sex appeal, rose to occupy one of the great positions of the world and did so with distinction, élan and a degree of cynical realism. It is a remarkable portrait of an eighteenth-century woman of great political astuteness and ambition, a radical icon of female power.

A classic Golden Age crime novel, and one of the first to feature a serial killer. Investigating the disappearance of a vicar’s daughter in London, the popular novelist and amateur detective Roger Sheringham is shocked to discover that the girl is already dead, found hanging from a screw by her own silk stocking. Reports of similar deaths across the capital strengthen his conviction that this is no suicide cult but the work of a homicidal maniac out for vengeance – a desperate situation requiring desperate measures. Having established Roger Sheringham as a brilliant but headstrong young sleuth who frequently made mistakes, trusted the wrong people and imbibed considerable liquid refreshment, Anthony Berkeley took his controversial character into much darker territory with The Silk Stocking Murders, a sensational novel about gruesome serial killings by an apparent psychopath bent on targeting vulnerable young women.

One of the earliest psychological crime novels, back in print after more than 80 years. Mrs Bentley has been arrested for murder. The evidence is overwhelming: arsenic she extracted from fly papers was in her husband’s medicine, his food and his lemonade, and her crimes are being plastered across the newspapers. Even her lawyers believe she is guilty. But Roger Sheringham, the brilliant but outspoken young novelist, is convinced that there is ‘too much evidence’ against Mrs Bentley and sets out to prove her innocence. Credited as the book that first introduced psychology to the detective novel, The Wychford Poisoning Case was based on a notorious real-life murder inquiry. Written by Anthony Berkeley, a founder of the celebrated Detection Club who also found fame under the pen-name ‘Francis Iles’, the story saw the return of Roger Sheringham, the Golden Age’s breeziest – and booziest – detective.

Tom Jackson started putting old postcards on Twitter in 2016. He lives in South London. @pastpostcard

The heart-warming story of one little dog’s big adventure, and the lives he changes along the way. This Christmas, anything could happen… When their pet corgi goes missing on a trip to London, the Walker family search everywhere. But Henry has ended up in the one place they never think to look… Henry has been mistaken for a royal corgi by the Queen’s Guard, and found himself in a very different sort of family home. In no time, Henry is getting the royal treatment in Buckingham Palace, from velvet thrones to a personal chef. If this is a dog’s life, he doesn’t mind it one bit. But as Christmas spirit fills the palace, Henry knows he must somehow get back to the Walkers. Because true family is for life, not just for Christmas… The feel-good Christmas story to read on your holidays, perfect for fans of Debbie Johnson and Erin Green.

Writer and canine behaviourist Carol Price has owned, trained and bred Border Collies for over 15 years. She is a member of The UK Registry of Canine Behaviourists, specialising particularly in Border Collies and rescue dogs, and the author of the best-selling books Understanding the Border Collie and Understanding the Rescue Dog. She has written extensively for The Times on canine and other animal behaviour subjects, and is a regular contributor and training advisor for both of the UK’s top-selling dog magazines, Dogs Today and Your Dog.

By picking up this book, you are probably either considering keeping exotic pets, or you already have an interest in them. Not only are many of these creatures extremely beautiful to look at but they are also much simpler to look after than some of the more traditional pet mammals and birds with whom we choose to share our lives.Among the most popular pet amphibians, tree frogs are remarkably easy to look after and many species are suitable for handling by keepers.