Thursdays at Orange Blossom House

Thursdays at Orange Blossom House
Author: Sophie Green
Publisher: Hachette Australia
Total Pages: 403
Release: 2021-07-28
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 073364614X

From the author of beloved Top Ten bestsellers The Inaugural Meeting of the Fairvale Ladies Book Club and The Shelly Bay Ladies Swimming Circle comes a delightful new novel about friendship, love and finding yourself. Far North Queensland, 1993: At 74, former cane farmer Grace Maud is feeling her age, and her isolation, and thinks the best of life may be behind her. Elsewhere in town, high school teacher Patricia has given up on her dreams of travel and adventure and has moved back home to look after her ageing parents, while cafe owner Dorothy is struggling to accept that she may never have the baby she and her husband so desperately want. Each woman has an unspoken need: reconnection. And that's how they find themselves at Orange Blossom House, surrounded by perfumed rainforest, being cajoled and encouraged by their yoga teacher, the lively Sandrine. Together, they will find courage and strength - and discover that life has much more to offer than they ever expected. Set amid the lush beauty of tropical Queensland, Thursdays at Orange Blossom House is a heartwarming story of friendship and family, of chances missed and taken, and the eternal power of love. Praise for Sophie Green: 'Sophie Green has established herself as a leading writer of warm-hearted tales about female friendship and second chances' Canberra Weekly 'A tender, heartwarming read' New Idea 'An upbeat story about suburban life and female solidarity' Spectrum 'Reading this book was like snuggling beneath a warm beach towel after a bracing dip in the ocean' JOANNA NELL 'Heartwarming, fulfilling and Australian as a lamb roast and full-bodied shiraz' The Australian Women's Weekly

The Shelly Bay Ladies Swimming Circle

The Shelly Bay Ladies Swimming Circle
Author: Sophie Green
Publisher: Hachette Australia
Total Pages: 432
Release: 2019-07-23
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0733641172

It's 1982 in Australia. THE MAN FROM SNOWY RIVER is a box office hit and Paul Hogan is on the TV. In a seaside suburb, housewife Theresa takes up swimming. She wants to get fit; she also wants a few precious minutes to herself. So at sunrise each day she strikes out past the waves. From the same beach, the widowed Marie swims. With her husband gone, bathing is the one constant in her new life. After finding herself in a desperate situation, 25-year-old Leanne only has herself to rely on. She became a nurse to help others, even as she resists help herself. Elaine has recently moved from England. Far from home and without her adult sons, her closest friend is a gin bottle. In the waters of Shelly Bay, these four women find each other. They will survive bluebottle stings and heartbreak; they will laugh so hard they swallow water, and they will plunge their tears into the ocean's salt. They will find solace and companionship, and learn that love takes many forms. Most of all, they will cherish their friendship, each and every day. 'A tender, heartwarming read' New Idea 'An upbeat story about suburban life and female solidarity' Spectrum 'A delightful novel about the power of female friendship' Sunday Age 'Reading this book was like snuggling beneath a warm beach towel after a bracing dip in the ocean.' - JOANNA NELL Praise for Sophie Green's THE INAUGURAL MEETING OF THE FAIRVALE LADIES BOOK CLUB 'Tender, intimate, heartwarming, fulfilling and Australian as a lamb roast and full-bodied shiraz' The Australian Women's Weekly **Includes BONUS extract from Sophie Green's new novel, Thursdays at Orange Blossom House**

The Inaugural Meeting of the Fairvale Ladies Book Club

The Inaugural Meeting of the Fairvale Ladies Book Club
Author: Sophie Green
Publisher: Hachette UK
Total Pages: 418
Release: 2018-03-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0751570397

'This gorgeous book completely carried me away' Jenny Ashcroft, author of Island in the East 'The perfect novel to curl up with on a cosy night in' Hello 'An absolute gem of a novel' Better Reading Australia You are warmly invited to join the Fairvale Ladies book club . . . 1978. Life in Australia's vast Northern Territory isn't always easy. Telephones are not yet common, and the treacherous seasons make even travelling to the next town a struggle. But Sybil Baxter is finding a way to connect . . . Bringing together her daughter-in-law Kate, who is finding it hard to adjust to married life, and her old friend Rita, often far away working hard for the Flying Doctors, Sybil starts a book club. Joined by Sallyanne, a mother of three with a trouble marriage, and Della, who moved to the country looking for adventure, they come together to bond over their favourite stories. But as life throws up challenges to each of its members, the club might just provide these five women with what they need more than anything: a friendship capable of overcoming any distance and weathering all seasons. _________________ Join other readers in discovering the joy of the Fairvale Ladies . . . 'A book showing more kindness between its pages than any I have read before' NetGalley Reviewer 'A warm hearted, generous book . . . it was a pleasure and a comfort to come back to the characters each night' Virginia McGregor, author of Before I Was Yours 'I didn't want this story to end and would happily spend time in this world each day' Amazon Reviewer 'The story is timeless, the characters realistic and descriptions of the landscape breathtaking' Amazon Reviewer 'Heartwarming and fulfilling' Australian Women's Weekly 'Wonderfully atmospheric' Sunday Mirror __________________ Perfect for readers of The Chilbury Ladies' Choir, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, The Sunday Lunch Club and The Lido.

Home and Away

Home and Away
Author: Sophie Green
Publisher: Hachette Australia
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2015-12-16
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0733635636

WORLD PREMIERE. The Braxton family face their biggest challenge yet in this thrilling story featuring never-before-seen material inspired by the one-off Presto special episode Home and Away: An Eye for An Eye. Contains Exclusive Scenes Not Shown on TV. Ricky is left devastated after her beautiful baby boy, Casey, is abducted in a calculated act of revenge by Brax?s foe, Gunno. In a race against time, Heath, Ash and Kyle frantically search for Casey while Bianca, Ricky and Phoebe frantically try to save ransom money. But as the clock ticks, a shocking revelation about Brax threatens to turn upside down the life that Ricky has built for herself. What does this mean for her rekindled romance with the gorgeous, reliable Nate? Incredibly moving and dramatic, Home and Away: An Eye for An Eye takes you into the hearts and minds of the Braxton family and your favourite characters in the tight-knit community of Summer Bay. It will leave you on the edge of your seat.

A Drizzle of Honey

A Drizzle of Honey
Author: David M. Gitlitz
Publisher: Macmillan + ORM
Total Pages: 571
Release: 2000-09-25
Genre: History
ISBN: 1466824778

When Iberian Jews were converted to Catholicism under duress during the Inquisition, many struggled to retain their Jewish identity in private while projecting Christian conformity in the public sphere. To root out these heretics, the courts of the Inquisition published checklists of koshering practices and "grilled" the servants, neighbors, and even the children of those suspected of practicing their religion at home. From these testimonies and other primary sources, Gitlitz & Davidson have drawn a fascinating, award-winning picture of this precarious sense of Jewish identity and have re-created these recipes, which combine Christian & Islamic traditions in cooking lamb, beef, fish, eggplant, chickpeas, and greens and use seasonings such as saffron, mace, ginger, and cinnamon. The recipes, and the accompanying stories of the people who created them, promise to delight the adventurous palate and give insights into the foundations of modern Sephardic cuisine.

The Last Voyage of Mrs Henry Parker

The Last Voyage of Mrs Henry Parker
Author: Joanna Nell
Publisher: Hachette Australia
Total Pages: 238
Release: 2019-09-24
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0733640389

As the wife of retired ship's doctor Dr Henry Parker, Evelyn is living out her twilight years aboard the Golden Sunset. Every night she dresses for dinner - gown, tiara, runners - and regales her fellow passengers with stories of a glamorous life travelling the world in luxury. But now Henry is missing, and it is up to Evelyn to find him. The Last Voyage of Mrs Henry Parker is a love letter to the memories we make over the course of a lifetime, and how the heart remembers what matters, even when the mind has long forgotten. 'Whip-smart dialogue, humour and sarcasm add a whole new dimension to Mrs Henry Parker and her last voyage. A heart-warming story, extremely well written and highly addictive' Sun Herald **Contains BONUS chapters from Joanna's latest heartwarming and hilarious novel, The Tea Ladies of St Jude's Hospital**

The Elegance of the Hedgehog

The Elegance of the Hedgehog
Author: Muriel Barbery
Publisher: Europa Editions
Total Pages: 282
Release: 2008-09-02
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1609450132

The phenomenal New York Times bestseller that “explores the upstairs-downstairs goings-on of a posh Parisian apartment building” (Publishers Weekly). In an elegant hôtel particulier in Paris, Renée, the concierge, is all but invisible—short, plump, middle-aged, with bunions on her feet and an addiction to television soaps. Her only genuine attachment is to her cat, Leo. In short, she’s everything society expects from a concierge at a bourgeois building in an upscale neighborhood. But Renée has a secret: She furtively, ferociously devours art, philosophy, music, and Japanese culture. With biting humor, she scrutinizes the lives of the tenants—her inferiors in every way except that of material wealth. Paloma is a twelve-year-old who lives on the fifth floor. Talented and precocious, she’s come to terms with life’s seeming futility and decided to end her own on her thirteenth birthday. Until then, she will continue hiding her extraordinary intelligence behind a mask of mediocrity, acting the part of an average pre-teen high on pop culture, a good but not outstanding student, an obedient if obstinate daughter. Paloma and Renée hide their true talents and finest qualities from a world they believe cannot or will not appreciate them. But after a wealthy Japanese man named Ozu arrives in the building, they will begin to recognize each other as kindred souls, in a novel that exalts the quiet victories of the inconspicuous among us, and “teaches philosophical lessons by shrewdly exposing rich secret lives hidden beneath conventional exteriors” (Kirkus Reviews). “The narrators’ kinetic minds and engaging voices (in Alison Anderson’s fluent translation) propel us ahead.” —The New York Times Book Review “Barbery’s sly wit . . . bestows lightness on the most ponderous cogitations.” —The New Yorker

Me and My Mate Jeffrey

Me and My Mate Jeffrey
Author: Niall Breslin
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2016-05-31
Genre: Athletes
ISBN: 9781473631885

In his book, Niall Breslin speaks openly about living with depression and anxiety, and his crippling journey to finally acknowledging 'Jeffrey' - the name he chose for it - years after he took the decision to conceal his growing mental health issues from the world, at age 15. Told with raw honesty, it is a story of the demons that lay beneath outward success, and how they impacted on his career in sports and later music, as he coped with a condition that at times seemed hell bent on wrecking everything in its wake. It is also the story of a road to reconciliation with brokenness - beginning after a massive panic attack before a live TV appearance in 2012 - leading to brighter horizons. Me and My Mate Jeffrey is an essential book for anyone who knows what it is to feel alone, and who doesn't know how to ask for help - or anyone who wants to better understand that journey.

Rose Under Fire

Rose Under Fire
Author: Elizabeth Wein
Publisher: Hachette UK
Total Pages: 377
Release: 2013-09-10
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 1423198697

Don’t miss Elizabeth Wein’s stunning new novel, Stateless While flying an Allied fighter plane from Paris to England, American ATA pilot and amateur poet, Rose Justice, is captured by the Nazis and sent to Ravensbrück, the notorious women's concentration camp. Trapped in horrific circumstances, Rose finds hope in the impossible through the loyalty, bravery, and friendship of her fellow prisoners. But will that be enough to endure the fate that’s in store for her? Elizabeth Wein, author of the critically-acclaimed and best-selling Code Name Verity, delivers another stunning WWII thriller. The unforgettable story of Rose Justice is forged from heart-wrenching courage, resolve, and the slim, bright chance of survival. Praise for Rose Under Fire * “Wein masterfully sets up a stark contrast between the innocent American teen’s view of an untarnished world and the realities of the Holocaust. [A]lthough the story’s action follows [Code Name Verity]’s, it has its own, equally incandescent integrity. Rich in detail, from the small kindnesses of fellow prisoners to harrowing scenes of escape and the Nazi Doctors’ Trial in Nuremburg, at the core of this novel is the resilience of human nature and the power of friendship and hope.” —Kirkus, starred review * “Wein excels at weaving research seamlessly into narrative and has crafted another indelible story about friendship borne out of unimaginable adversity.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

The Bellbird River Country Choir

The Bellbird River Country Choir
Author: Sophie Green
Publisher: Hachette UK
Total Pages: 424
Release: 2022-07-27
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 075158519X

The perfect summer read from the internationally bestselling author. For fans of THE 24-HOUR CAFE and THE CHILBURY LADIES CHOIR . . . Bellbird River, 1998 Teacher and single mum Alex has arrived in the small town of Belllbird River after escaping the city in search of a change of pace and the chance to reconnect with her young daughter. Across town, well-known matriarch Victoria and her globe-trotting, opera-singing cousin Gabrielle find themselves at a crossroads in their personal and professional lives, while local baker Janine and newcomer to the area Debbie are each secretly dealing with the consequences of painful pasts. With its dusty streets, lone pub and iron-lace verandahs, Bellbird River could just be a pit stop on the road to somewhere else. But their town holds some secrets and surprises - and it has a heart: the Bellbird River choir. Amid the melodies and camaraderie of the choir, each of the women will find the courage to leave the past behind. And together, they'll discover that friends are much closer to home than they'd ever realised. A warm-hearted story of fresh beginnings, unexpected friendships and the sustaining power of love and community, from the internationally bestselling author of The Shelly Bay Ladies Swimming Circle and Thursdays at Orange Blossom House. PRAISE FOR SOPHIE GREEN: 'Heart-warming' Hello 'Wonderfully atmospheric' Sunday Mirror 'A heart-warming tale' Woman & Home (Best Escapist Reads) 'Will have you laughing and crying' Yours