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The Unbearable Lightness Of Scones (44 Scotland Street #5)
by Alexander McCall SmithTo the casual observer, the great enlightened city of Edinburgh, home of no-nonsense philosophers and cream teas, might appear immune to the rollercoaster of strong emotions. But at 44 Scotland Street, as Matthew and Elspeth embark on the risky enterprise of married love, the raffish portrait painter Angus Lordie has a premonition of disaster. And soon enough Irene Pollock is shocked to learn that her small son Bertie harbours a highly unsuitable ambition; the gloriously vain Bruce discovers a wrinkle and confronts rejection; and Angus finds himself facing the grave consequences of unbridled bliss, not to mention a large Glaswegian gangster bearing gifts . . .
The Unbearable Lightness Of Scones (44 Scotland Street #5)
by Alexander McCall SmithTo the casual observer, the great enlightened city of Edinburgh, home of no-nonsense sermons and cream teas, might appear immune to the rollercoaster of strong emotions. But at 44 Scotland Street, as Matthew and Elspeth embark on the risky enterprise of married love, the raffish portrait painter Angus Lordie has a premonition of disaster. Soon enough Irene Pollock is shocked to learn that her small son Bertie harbours a highly unsuitable ambition; and Angus finds himself facing a large Glaswegian gangster bearing gifts . . .
The Unbearable Lightness of Scones: 44 Scotland Street Series (5) (44 Scotland Street Series #5)
by Alexander Mccall SmithThe witty and utterly delightful new novel in the national bestselling 44 Scotland Street series. Featuring all the quirky characters we have come to know and love,The Unbearable Lightness of Scones, finds Bertie, the precocious six-year-old, still troubled by his rather overbearing mother, Irene, but seeking his escape in the Cub Scouts. Matthew is rising to the challenge of married life with newfound strength and resolve, while Domenica epitomizes the loneliness of the long-distance intellectual. Cyril, the gold-toothed star of the whole show, succumbs to the kind of romantic temptation that no dog can resist and creates a small problem, or rather six of them, for his friend and owner Angus Lordie. With his customary deftness, Alexander McCall Smith once again brings us an absorbing and entertaining tale of some of Scotland's most quirky and beloved characters--all set in the beautiful, stoic city of Edinburgh.
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer: The Unbecoming Of Mara Dyer; The Evolution Of Mara Dyer; The Retribution Of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer #1)
by Michelle HodkinMara Dyer doesn't know if she is crazy or haunted--all she knows is that everyone around her is dying in this suspenseful and "strong, inventive tale" (Kirkus Reviews).Mara Dyer doesn't think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there. It can. She believes there must be more to the accident she can't remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed. There is. She doesn't believe that after everything she's been through, she can fall in love. She's wrong. After Mara survives the traumatizing accident at the old asylum, it makes sense that she has issues. She lost her best friend, her boyfriend, and her boyfriend's sister, and as if that weren't enough to cope with, her family moves to a new state in order to give her a fresh start. But that fresh start is quickly filled with hallucinations--or are they premonitions?--and then corpses, and the boundary between reality and nightmare is wavering. At school, there's Noah, a devastatingly handsome charmer who seems determined to help Mara piece together what's real, what's imagined--and what's very, very dangerous. This fast-paced psychological--or is it paranormal?--thriller will leave you breathless for its sequel, The Evolution of Mara Dyer.
The Unbreakable Student: 6 Rules for Staying Sane at University
by Nic Hooper'Equal parts practical, funny and illuminating - belongs on the required reading list for life' - Sarah Knight, internationally bestselling author of Get Your Sh!t TogetherSo, you're starting university - you've learnt what to pack, where to socialise, how to cook (sort of)... but what about how to look after your mental health?University is a whirlwind of exciting, fresh experiences. But it can also be overwhelming. You're in a strange new environment and faced with the pressure to make friends, complete difficult assignments, stay healthy, manage your finances and so much more, all while being away from your loved ones. In this time of massive change, looking after your mental wellbeing is more important than ever.Nic Hooper has witnessed the student mental health crisis unfolding every day on campus and is determined to help. A psychologist with fifteen years' experience teaching and mentoring young adults, The Unbreakable Student is his guide to navigating your university years and staying sane using six simple rules:· Using exercise to stay healthy in body and mind· Learning to positively challenge yourself· Connecting with your peers· Mindfully embracing the moment· Managing self-critical thoughts and vulnerability· Giving to others and taking positive actionAccessible and inspirational, The Unbreakable Student is the self-care guide that every university student needs.
The Unbreakables: A Novel
by Lisa BarrA delicious, sharp novel about a woman who jets off to France after her perfect marriage collapses, putting the broken pieces of herself back together while rediscovering her own joie de vivre—a lust for life, art, and steamy sex. “Artful, feminist, and emotionally gripping. The Unbreakables is a remarkable tribute to a woman’s strength in the face of heartbreak and adversity.” — Helen Hoang, author of The Kiss QuotientThe worst birthday ever might just be the gift of a lifetime…It’s Sophie Bloom’s forty-second birthday, and she’s ready for a night of celebration with Gabe, her longtime, devoted husband, and her two besties and their spouses. Dinner is served with a side of delicious gossip, including which North Grove residents were caught with their pants down on Ashley Madison after the secret on-line dating site for married and committed couples was hacked. Thirty-two million cheaters worldwide have been exposed…including Sophie’s “perfect” husband. To add insult to injury, she learns Gabe is the top cheater in their town. Humiliated and directionless, Sophie jumps into the unknown and flees to France to meet up with her teenage daughter who is studying abroad and nursing her own heartbreak. After a brief visit to Paris, Sophie heads out to the artist enclave of Saint-Paul-de-Vence. There, for the first time in a long time, Sophie acknowledges her own desires—not her husband’s, not her daughter’s—and rediscovers her essence with painful honesty and humor, reawakening both her sensuality and ambitions as a sculptor. As she sheds her past and travels the obstacle-filled off beaten path, Sophie Bloom is determined to blossom. Allowing her true self to emerge in the postcard beauty of Provence, Sophie must decide what is broken forever...and what it means to be truly unbreakable.
The Unbreakables: When Your Life Falls Apart ... Create A New One
by Lisa BarrA delicious, sharp novel about a woman who jets off to France after her perfect marriage collapses, putting the broken pieces of herself back together while rediscovering her own joie de vivre – a lust for life, art, and steamy sex.Sophie Bloom's forty-second birthday promises a night of celebration with Gabe, her devoted husband, and her two besties and their spouses. Dinner is served with a side of delicious gossip: after a secret dating site for married and committed couples was hacked, thirty-two million cheaters worldwide have been exposed... including Sophie's 'perfect' husband.Humiliated and directionless, Sophie flees to Paris, where her teenage daughter is studying abroad and nursing her own heartbreak. Heading further south to the artist enclave of Saint-Paul-de-Vence, Sophie begins to acknowledge her own desires and rediscover her essence with painful honesty and humour, reawakening both her sensuality and ambitions as a sculptor.Surrounded by the postcard beauty of Provence, Sophie Bloom is determined to blossom. As she allows her true self to emerge, Sophie must decide what is broken forever... and what it means to be truly unbreakable.
The Unbreakables: When Your Life Falls Apart ... Create A New One
by Lisa BarrA delicious, sharp novel about a woman who jets off to France after her perfect marriage collapses, putting the broken pieces of herself back together while rediscovering her own joie de vivre – a lust for life, art, and steamy sex.Sophie Bloom's forty-second birthday promises a night of celebration with Gabe, her devoted husband, and her two besties and their spouses. Dinner is served with a side of delicious gossip: after a secret dating site for married and committed couples was hacked, thirty-two million cheaters worldwide have been exposed... including Sophie's 'perfect' husband.Humiliated and directionless, Sophie flees to Paris, where her teenage daughter is studying abroad and nursing her own heartbreak. Heading further south to the artist enclave of Saint-Paul-de-Vence, Sophie begins to acknowledge her own desires and rediscover her essence with painful honesty and humour, reawakening both her sensuality and ambitions as a sculptor.Surrounded by the postcard beauty of Provence, Sophie Bloom is determined to blossom. As she allows her true self to emerge, Sophie must decide what is broken forever... and what it means to be truly unbreakable.
The Unbroken Hearts Club (Orca Soundings)
by Brooke CarterEver since her mom died of Huntington's disease, Logan has been in a permanent state of neutral. Her dad has been depressed and lonely, but Logan is . . . something else. So much so that she doesn't even see that her best friend, Cole, is head over heels in love with her. To make matters worse, Logan's dad is now hosting a bereavement group in their basement. That was Logan's place to escape; it's where she keeps her darkroom and where she and Cole indulge their mutual love of cinema and black-and-white photography. But Logan agrees to help her dad out with these sad "Broken Hearts Club" meetings, unaware of the effect the group will have on her as she struggles to find meaning in her life.
The Uncertainty Principle
by Joshua Davis Kal Kini-DavisAn epic, breathtaking story of self-discovery, love, and adventure from New York Times bestselling author Joshua Davis and his son Kal Kini-Davis, perfect for fans of Nina LaCour and John Green.Seventeen-year-old Mia is stranded in the middle of the Caribbean. After a mortifying incident in the school cafeteria, her parents decide there is only one way to deal with her meltdown: move onto a battered sailboat and leave everything behind. Her mom and dad think it&’s the best decision they&’ve ever made. Mia feels like she&’s been kidnapped and imprisoned in paradise with no internet and no destination.Her only hope is to hack together a solar-powered satellite phone so she can call her best friend and fix everything. To do it, she&’ll have to build a mobile laboratory on the boat and ignore her neurotic mother, who thinks Mia is falling apart.The problem is, Mia is falling apart. By day, she scours deserted islands, looking for anything she can use to build the phone. At night, she squeezes into a narrow bunk and talks to an imaginary friend. She knows, with absolute certainty, that she needs to abandon her family to save her sanity.And then two teenagers sail into her world, promising friendship, and maybe even romance. Thoughtful, soulful Alby was raised in Australia but now his family calls the sea their home. The only thing missing is his soulmate. Bold, beautiful Nisha is simply vacationing on her dad&’s megayacht when a chance encounter upends her life.Now—with everything hanging in the balance—Mia must decide who she is and what she wants. And with this decision comes the revelation that her past and future are more uncertain than she thought.
The Uncivil War
by Sheila S. KlassEven with her father as principal, Asa Andersen is certain that sixth grade will be perfect, until a new boy in school starts making fun of her name and the baby her mother is expecting is born prematurely.
The Uncommon Appeal of Clouds (Isabel Dalhousie Novels #9)
by Alexander McCall SmithAs a mother, wife, employer and editor of the Review of Applied Ethics, Isabel Dalhousie is aware that to be human is to be responsible. So when a neighbour brings her a new and potentially dangerous puzzle to solve, once again Isabel feels she has no option but to shoulder the burden.A masterpiece painting has been stolen from Duncan Munrowe, old-fashioned philanthropist, father to two discontented children, and a very wealthy man. As Isabel enters into negotiations with the shadowy figures who are in search of a ransom, a case where heroes and villains should be clearly defined turns murky: the list of those who desire the painting - or the money - lengthens, and hasty judgement must be avoided at all cost. Morals, it turns out, are like Scottish clouds: complex, changeable and tricky to get a firm grip on; they require a sharp observational eye, a philosophical mindset, and the habit of kindness. Fortunately for those around her, Isabel Dalhousie is in possession of all three.
The Uncommon Appeal of Clouds (Isabel Dalhousie Novels #9)
by Alexander McCall SmithAs a mother, wife, employer and editor of the Review of Applied Ethics, Isabel Dalhousie is aware that to be human is to be responsible. So when a neighbour brings her a new and potentially dangerous puzzle to solve, once again Isabel feels she has no option but to shoulder the burden.A masterpiece painting has been stolen from Duncan Munrowe, old-fashioned philanthropist, father to two discontented children, and a very wealthy man. As Isabel enters into negotiations with the shadowy figures who are in search of a ransom, a case where heroes and villains should be clearly defined turns murky: the list of those who desire the painting - or the money - lengthens, and hasty judgement must be avoided at all cost. Morals, it turns out, are like Scottish clouds: complex, changeable and tricky to get a firm grip on; they require a sharp observational eye, a philosophical mindset, and the habit of kindness. Fortunately for those around her, Isabel Dalhousie is in possession of all three.
The Uncommoners #1: The Crooked Sixpence (The Uncommoners #1)
by Jennifer BellAnyone with a Hogwarts-shaped hole in their lives can’t miss this fantasy series opener. Dive into a secret underground city below London where ordinary objects are capable of extraordinary magic! "Part Tim Burton, part J.K. Rowling! A terrific debut." —Soman Chainani, New York Times Bestselling Author of the School for Good and Evil series Welcome to a world where nothing is quite as it seems… When their grandmother Sylvie is rushed to the hospital, Ivy Sparrow and her annoying big brother Seb cannot imagine what adventure lies in store. Soon their house is ransacked by unknown intruders, and a very strange policeman turns up on the scene, determined to apprehend them . . . with a toilet brush. Ivy and Seb make their escape only to find themselves in a completely uncommon world, a secret underground city called Lundinor where ordinary objects have amazing powers. There are belts that enable the wearer to fly, yo-yos that turn into weapons, buttons with healing properties, and other enchanted objects capable of very unusual feats. But the forces of evil are closing in fast, and when Ivy and Seb learn that their family is connected to one of the greatest uncommon treasures of all time, they must race to unearth the treasure and get to the bottom of a family secret . . . before it’s too late. Debut novelist Jennifer Bell delivers a world of wonder and whimsy in the start of a richly uncommon series."An auspicious trilogy opener." -Kirkus ReviewsFrom the Hardcover edition.
The Uncommoners #2: The Shadows of Doom (The Uncommoners #2)
by Jennifer BellAnyone with a Hogwarts-shaped hole in their lives can't miss the second book in this fantasy series. Escape to Lundinor, the underground city that holds the world's greatest treasures . . . and its biggest threats."Part Tim Burton, part J.K. Rowling! A terrific series." --Soman Chainani, New York Times bestselling author of the School for Good and Evil seriesIvy and her older brother, Seb, are back in Lundinor--the underground city where enchanted objects can do incredible things, if they're uncommon. But not everyone is thrilled at their arrival. Namely, Selena Grimes, the wicked ghoul who will stop at nothing to return her guild, the Dirge, to their former glory. When Ivy and Seb learn that Selena is after the Jar of Shadows, one of the five most powerful uncommon objects, they know it's up to them to find it first. But there's more than just Selena to worry about this trading season. Jack-in-the-Green, an escaped shape-shifting convict, haunts the city; Grivens, a troubling game where players often end up horribly injured--or worse--is on the rise; and foes disguised as friends lurk in the shadows. Ivy will have to figure out who they can trust--before they meet their uncommon ends.
The Uncommoners #3: The Deadly Omens (The Uncommoners #3)
by Jennifer BellAnyone with a Hogwarts-shaped hole in their lives can't miss the third book and final showdown in this fantasy series. Return to Lundinor, the underground city that holds the world's greatest treasures . . . and its biggest threats."Part Tim Burton, part J. K. Rowling! A terrific series." --Soman Chainani, New York Times bestselling author of the School for Good and Evil seriesAfter years of searching, Ivy gets word that her best friend Valian's long-missing sister Rosie may be hidden in the uncommon trading city of Nubrook, located under the populated New York City. The kids reunite to scour Nubrook for any sign of Rosie, but the hunt leads to one of the last remaining Great Uncommon Good: the Sands of Change, an enchanted necklace that turns objects--and people--into their opposites. The ever-powerful Dirge guild is no doubt also on the hunt for the pendant, so Ivy and her friends are in a race against time to find Rosie and put an end to the Dirge once and for all! Don't miss the epic conclusion in the fight to save the uncommon world.
The Uncontrollable Child: Understand and Manage Your Child's Disruptive Moods With Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills
by Matis MillerEvidence-based skills, insight, and methods drawn from dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) to help you gain a greater understanding of your child's behavior, parent them with compassion and confidence, and restore peace to your home. Is your child extremely irritable most of the time? Do they have difficulty interpreting social cues? Are they impulsive and prone to outbursts or explosive rages? <p><p>Parenting a child who has emotional dysregulation can be a bumpy ride. You've probably received advice—some of it unsolicited—from friends, teachers, and family members. But strategies and techniques that work for other kids are usually ineffective when it comes to your unique child, and can even lead to more stress for everyone in your family. <p><p>The Uncontrollable Child is here to help. Written for parents of children with emotion dysregulation disorders, including disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD), The Uncontrollable Child is a lifeline. It contains a powerful set of skills based in dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)--including mindfulness, validation, limit-setting, and behavior-shaping—to help you better understand your child and their behavior, and successfully find balance between acceptance and change, flexibility and consistency, and limits and love. As a parent, you want the very best for your child, but if you have a child with explosive emotions, you need extra help. Let this book guide you toward creating a nurturing, healthy, and loving environment in which your whole family can thrive.
The Uncoupling
by Meg WolitzerOne winter a strange, formidable wind blows into the bedrooms of Stellar Plains, New Jersey, and, most particularly, into the hearts and loins of Dory and Robby Lang u the easy-going and popular high school teachers at Eleanor Roosevelt elementary school u whose comfortable lives are suddenly thrown into confusion as Dory finds herself inexplicably repelled by her husband's touch. Meanwhile at Elro, in a curious case of life imitating art, the mysterious new drama teacher Fran Heller chooses for the school play Lysistrata, Aristophanes' comedy in which women withhold sexual privileges from their menfolk as a means of forcing them to end the interminable Peloponnesian War. All across town, a quiet battle starts to take place between the sexes as caresses go unreciprocated, relationships come to abrupt and unexpected ends and marital issues suddenly explode to the surface. Every woman in Stellar Plains is claimed by the spell u from Bev Cutler, the overweight guidance counsellor who has 'let herself go', to Leanne Mukerjee, the sexy school psychologist who could have any man she wants -- even the Langs' teenage daughter Willa is not left untouched. Until everything comes to a climax on the first night of the school playa
The Undefeated
by Kwame AlexanderThis book celebrates the black people who have reached the pinnacle of their profession despite their historical sufferings.
The Underdogs of Upson Downs
by Craig SilveyA heartwarming and hilarious story about a girl and her dog, and of kindness, friendship, hurdles, tunnels, see-saws, and—most importantly—bringing out the best in yourself and others.Annie Shearer lives in the country town of Upson Downs with her best friend, an adopted stray dog called Runt. The two share a very special bond.After years evading capture, Runt is remarkably fast and agile, perfect for herding runaway sheep. But when a greedy local landowner puts her family's home at risk, Annie directs Runt's extraordinary talents toward a different pursuit--winning the Agility Course Grand Championship at the lucrative Krumpets Dog Show in London.However, there is a curious catch: Runt will only obey Annie's commands if nobody else is watching.With all eyes on them, Annie and Runt must beat the odds--and the fastest dogs in the world--to save her farm.
The Underdogs: Children, Dogs, and the Power of Unconditional Love
by Melissa Fay GreeneFrom two-time National Book Award nominee Melissa Fay Greene comes a profound and surprising account of dogs on the front lines of rescuing both children and adults from the trenches of grief, emotional, physical, and cognitive disability, and post-traumatic stress disorder.The Underdogs tells the story of Karen Shirk, felled at age twenty-four by a neuromuscular disease and facing life as a ventilator-dependent, immobile patient, who was turned down by every service dog agency in the country because she was "too disabled." Her nurse encouraged her to tone down the suicidal thoughts, find a puppy, and raise her own service dog. Karen did this, and Ben, a German shepherd, dragged her back into life. "How many people are stranded like I was," she wondered, "who would lead productive lives if only they had a dog?"A thousand state-of-the-art dogs later, Karen Shirk's service dog academy, 4 Paws for Ability, is restoring broken children and their families to life. Long shunned by scientists as a manmade, synthetic species, and oft- referred to as "Man's Best Friend" almost patronizingly, dogs are finally paid respectful attention by a new generation of neuroscientists and animal behaviorists. Melissa Fay Greene weaves the latest scientific discoveries about our co-evolution with dogs with Karen's story and a few exquisitely rendered stories of suffering children and their heartbroken families.Written with characteristic insight, humanity, humor, and irrepressible joy, what could have been merely touching is a penetrating, compassionate exploration of larger questions: about our attachment to dogs, what constitutes a productive life, and what can be accomplished with unconditional love.
The Underground River: A Novel
by Martha ConwaySet aboard a nineteenth century riverboat theater, this is the moving, page-turning story of a charmingly frank and naive seamstress who is blackmailed into saving runaways on the Underground Railroad, jeopardizing her freedom, her livelihood, and a new love.It’s 1838, and May Bedloe works as a seamstress for her cousin, the famous actress Comfort Vertue—until their steamboat sinks on the Ohio River. Though they both survive, both must find new employment. Comfort is hired to give lectures by noted abolitionist, Flora Howard, and May finds work on a small flatboat, Hugo and Helena’s Floating Theatre, as it cruises the border between the northern states and the southern slave-holding states. May becomes indispensable to Hugo and his troupe, and all goes well until she sees her cousin again. Comfort and Mrs. Howard are also traveling down the Ohio River, speaking out against slavery at the many riverside towns. May owes Mrs. Howard a debt she cannot repay, and Mrs. Howard uses the opportunity to enlist May in her network of shadowy characters who ferry babies given up by their slave mothers across the river to freedom. Lying has never come easy to May, but now she is compelled to break the law, deceive all her new-found friends, and deflect the rising suspicions of Dr. Early who captures runaways and sells them back to their southern masters. As May’s secrets become more tangled and harder to keep, the Floating Theatre readies for its biggest performance yet. May’s predicament could mean doom for all her friends on board, including her beloved Hugo, unless she can figure out a way to trap those who know her best.
The Underpants of Chaos (Tuchus & Topps Investigate #1)
by Jenny Pearson Sam Copeland"I should have realised that there was going to be something SERIOUSLY weird about a town called Little STRANGEhaven."Something BAD is happening at Little Strangehaven Primary.What are the peculiar SHIVERS that keep striking the school, bringing Strangeness in their wake -from uncontrollable ballroom dancing to an attack by military chickens?Spy-detective Agatha Topps is determined to find out. She's the only person who doesn't forget the Strangeness as soon as it's over. At least, until new boy Lenny Tuchus turns up and remembers too.Their spy-detectoring leads them to the Book of Chaos, an ancient text which has been hidden away in the Room of Forbidden and Dangerous Books. Can Agatha and Lenny fight off attacks from evil underpants and Transylvanian gargoyles to stop the SHIVERS before their town is sucked into oblivion?Because power lies in books - especially this one . . .The perfect story for 7 to 9-year-olds (or STRANGE adults) and fans of Ben Miller, David Walliams and Tom Fletcher. Packed with hilarious illustrations and easy-to-read text, discover the secrets of Little Strangehaven.
The Underside of Joy
by Halverson Sere PrinceSet against the backdrop of Redwood forests and shimmering vineyards, Seré Prince Halverson's compelling debut tells the story of two women, bound by an unspeakable loss, who each claims to be the mother of the same two children. To Ella Beene, happiness means living in the northern California river town of Elbow with her husband, Joe, and his two young children. Yet one summer day Joe breaks his own rule-never turn your back on the ocean-and a sleeper wave strikes him down, drowning not only the man but his many secrets. For three years, Ella has been the only mother the kids have known and has believed that their biological mother, Paige, abandoned them. But when Paige shows up at the funeral, intent on reclaiming the children, Ella soon realizes there may be more to Paige and Joe's story. "Ella's the best thing that's happened to this family," say her close-knit Italian-American in-laws, for generations the proprietors of a local market. But their devotion quickly falters when the custody fight between mother and stepmother urgently and powerfully collides with Ella's quest for truth. The Underside of Joy is not a fairy-tale version of stepmotherhood pitting good Ella against evil Paige, but an exploration of the complex relationship of two mothers. Their conflict uncovers a map of scars-both physical and emotional-to the families' deeply buried tragedies, including Italian internment camps during World War II and postpartum psychosis. Weaving a rich fictional tapestry abundantly alive with the glorious natural beauty of the novel's setting, Halverson is a captivating guide through the flora and fauna of human emotion-grief and anger, shame and forgiveness, happiness and its shadow complement . . . the underside of joy. .
The Understudy: A comic masterpiece by the author of ONE DAY
by David Nicholls***Pre-order David Nicholls' new novel YOU ARE HERE now - Coming April 2024***A COMIC MASTERPIECE BY BELOVED BESTSELLER DAVID NICHOLLSA scintillating comedy of ambition, celebrity, jealousy and love'Irresistible' DAILY MAIL 'Wonderfully chaotic' THE TIMES 'Delightful' OBSERVER 'Brilliant' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING 'Funniest book of the year' MARIE CLAIRE For Josh Harper, being in show-business means everything he ever wanted: money, fame, a beautiful wife and a lead role on the London stage. For Stephen C. McQueen, it means being stuck with an unfortunate name, a hopeless agent and a job as understudy to Josh Harper, the 12th Sexiest Man in the World. When Stephen falls in love with Josh's clever, funny wife, Nora, things get even more difficult. But might there yet be a way for Stephen to get his big break?ONE OF BRITAIN'S MOST ACCLAIMED WRITERS'One of the most astute chroniclers of England as it is now'FINANCIAL TIMES'An uncanny ability to make us laugh out loud, but also care passionately about his characters'DAILY TELEGRAPH'Nicholls writes with such tender precision about love'THE TIMES'No one else writes novels that are both relatable and revelatory in the way he does'EVENING STANDARD'Genuinely brilliant'NEW STATESMAN