A heart-warming and nostalgic family saga set at the heart of wartime London, from the bestselling author of A Wartime Christmas. Perfect for fans of Sheila Newberry and Rosie Goodwin 'Surely one of the best saga writers of her time' - ROSIE CLARKE Lizzie Flowers has had a hard life in the East End of London. In the bleak years after World War I, her family faced desperate times and deep tensions split them apart, but when barrow-boy Danny Flowers asked her to leave for a better life with him in Australia, she stayed true to her family's roots. Instead, she married Danny's brother Frank - a decision she came to bitterly regret. When Frank dies suddenly, Lizzie is given the independence she'd always craved, and having found great success running the Flowers' greengrocer's, she has plans to expand the business. With the East End community supporting her, and the return of her true love Danny, back to marry her at last, Lizzie dares to believe she has finally found happiness. But as their wedding day dawns, an unwelcome guest arrives, and Lizzie fears her life will never be the same again . . . 'A gripping page turner' - LEAH FLEMING 'Brings the East End to life - family loyalties, warring characters and broken dreams. Superb' - ELIZABETH GILL

'One of the best saga writers of her time' ROSIE CLARKE IN THE AFTERMATH OF WAR, CAN SHE SAVE HER FAMILY FROM RUIN? Following her mother's untimely death, Lizzie Allen is facing desperate times. Her father Tom, crippled during WWI, has been left a broken and bitter man; her elder brother Vinnie is in serious trouble with the local hard man; her two younger sisters are in danger of being taken into care, and her sweetheart Danny is heading for Australia to seek his fortune. Determined to keep her family together, yet unable to escape the poverty and degradation of the slums, heartbroken Lizzie is tricked into marriage by Danny's unscrupulous brother, Frank. Can she escape her increasingly unhappy and violent marriage and save her family? And will she ever be reunited with her one true love, former barrow-boy, Danny Flowers? A heart-warming and nostalgic family saga set at the heart of wartime London, from the bestselling author of MOLLY’S CHRISTMAS ORPHANS. Perfect for fans of Sheila Newberry and Rosie Goodwin. Praise for CAROL RIVERS: 'A gripping page turner' LEAH FLEMING 'Brings the East End to life - family loyalties, warring characters and broken dreams. Superb' ELIZABETH GILL

1934: Lizzie Flowers has been mother and protector to her East End family, the Allens of Langley Street, since she was fifteen. Even when her doomed marriage to Frank Flowers collapses, she sacrifices her own happiness to keep the family united. But when Lizzie buys the infamous dockland's pub, the Mill Wall, she discovers she's bitten off more than she can chew. Long-time love Danny Flowers abandons her, a close friend is murdered and her adopted child Polly is threatened. Then crime lord, Salvo Vella, makes a move on the Mill Wall. Lizzie could be forced to make a pact with the devil to save herself and her family and friends...

Lizzie Flowers has had a hard life but she is still full of true East End grit. In the bleak years after World War I her family faced desperate times and deep tensions split them apart, but when barrow-boy Danny Flowers asked her to leave for a better life in Australia, she stayed true to her family's roots. She married Danny's brother Frank instead, a decision she came to bitterly regret. It is Frank's death, and her great success running the Flowers greengrocer's, that gives Lizzie independence at last. She has plans to expand the business. She has the East End community around her. And Danny has come back to marry her at last. But as their wedding day dawns, an unwelcome guest arrives and Lizzie's life will never be the same again.

The insightful, audacious, and deeply romantic story of a woman whose life turns upside down after she meets an enigmatic chef on vacation in Italy, from a New York Times bestselling author “Delicious.”—People • “Smart, sexy and funny, full of joy in simple pleasures.”—Minneapolis Star-Tribune What if falling in love means breaking someone’s heart? On the heels of a difficult break-up and a devastating diagnosis, Shakespeare scholar Lizzie Delford decides to take one last lavish vacation on Elba, the sun-kissed island off the Italian coast, with her best friend and his movie-star boyfriend. Once settled into a luxurious seaside resort, Lizzie has to make big decisions about her future, and she needs the one thing she may be running out of: time. She leaves the yacht owners and celebrities behind and sneaks off to the public beach, where she meets a sardonic chef named Dante, his battered dog, Lulu, and his wry daughter, Etta, a twelve-year-old desperate for a mother. While Dante shows Lizzie the island’s secrets, and Etta dazzles with her irreverent humor, Lizzie is confronted with a dilemma. Is it right to fall in love if time is short? Is it better to find a mother briefly, or to have no mother at all? And most pressingly, are the delicacies of life worth tasting, even if you will get to savor them only for a short while? A luscious story of love, courage, and Italian wine, Lizzie & Dante demands to know how far we should travel to find a future worth fighting for.

From a bestselling Caldecott Honor Illustrator, a tale buzzing with energy and humor about a busy bee who won’t slow down to enjoy the simple joys in life. Lizzie is the busiest, buzziest bee in Hivetown! David Shannon’s vivid artwork and Lizzie’s endearing efforts to “do it all” will make children laugh aloud at her frantic antics as she juggles school, multiple sports, dance, violin, and art. With charm and determination, she longs to impress the Queen by winning a spelling contest, but she studies to the point of exhaustion. When she dozes off in the middle of the competition, the only solution is rest—and her refreshing visit to the local Garden finally teaches Lizzie to stop and smell the flowers, “which . . . is exactly what bees are supposed to do.” Shannon’s exuberant book is funny and fresh, approaching the subject of over scheduled children (and adults) with breezy good humor and delivered with his signature fun and heart. “This picture book has a timely message for a generation of families who may find themselves overscheduled.” —School Library Journal “A powerful message in this time of overscheduling and de-emphasis of play.” —Kirkus Reviews “Shannon humorously advocates slowing down to appreciate the small things in life in this bee-themed fable . . . Shannon’s excited narration and bold bee caricatures befit a heroine who’s always on the move, bringing a jittery energy to the pages.” —Publishers Weekly

"A picture book biography about Lizzie Murphy, the first woman to play in a major league exhibition game and the first person to play on both the New England and American leagues' all-star teams"--