Once Upon a Book

A study in drowning - Ava Reed 🪄

38,000

THE SUNDAY TIMES AND NO. 1 NYT BESTSELLING NOVEL, FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE WOLF AND THE WOODSMAN

Effy has always believed in fairy tales. She’s had no choice. Since childhood, she’s been haunted by visions of the Fairy King. She’s found solace only in the pages of Angharad - a beloved epic about a mortal girl who falls in love with the Fairy King, and then destroys him.

Effy’s tattered copy is all that’s keeping her afloat through her stifling first term her prestigious architecture college. So when the late author’s family announces a contest to design his house, Effy fells certain this is her destiny.

But Hiraeth Manor is an impossible task: a musty, decrepit estate on the brink of crumbling into a hungry sea. And when Effy arrives, she finds she isn’t the only one who’s made a temporary home there. Preston Héloury, a stodgy young literature scholar, is studying Myrddin’s papers and is determined to prove her favourite author is a fraud.

As the two rival students investigate the reclusive author’s legacy, piecing together clues through his letters, books, and diaries, they discover that the house’s foundation isn’t the only thing that can’t be trusted. There are dark forces, both mortal and magical, conspiring against them - and the truth may bring them both to ruin.

Ink blood sister scribe - Emma Torzs 🔮📖

42,000

Waterstones Science Fiction and Fantasy Book of the Month for July 2024

Not all books should be opened. In this thrilling fantasy debut, meet the family tasked with guarding a trove of magical but deadly books, and the shadowy organisation that will do anything to get them back.

Joanna Kalotay lives alone in the woods of Vermont, the sole protector of a collection of rare books; books that will allow someone to walk through walls or turn water into wine. Books of magic.

Her estranged older sister Esther moves between countries and jobs, constantly changing, never staying anywhere longer than a year, desperate to avoid the deadly magic that killed her mother. Currently working on a research base in Antarctica, she has found love and perhaps a sort of happiness.

But when she finds spots of blood on the mirrors in the research base, she knows someone is coming for her, and that Joanna and her collection are in danger.

If they are to survive, she and Joanna must unravel the secrets their parents kept hidden from them - secrets that span centuries and continents, and could cost them their lives.

The satsuma complex - Bob Mortimer 🍊

36,000

My name is Gary. I’m a thirty-year-old legal assistant with a firm of solicitors in London. To describe me as anonymous would be unfair but to notice me other than in passing would be a rarity. I did make a good connection with a girl, but that blew up in my face and smacked my arse with a fish slice.

Gary Thorn goes for a pint with a work acquaintance called Brendan. When Brendan leaves early, Gary meets a girl in the pub. He doesn’t catch her name, but falls for her anyway. When she suddenly disappears without saying goodbye, all Gary has to remember her by is the book she was reading: The Satsuma Complex. But when Brendan goes missing, Gary needs to track down the girl he now calls Satsuma to get some answers.

And so begins Gary’s quest, through the estates and pie shops of South London, to finally bring some love and excitement into his unremarkable life…

A page-turning story with a cast of unforgettable characters, The Satsuma Complex is the brilliantly funny smash hit first novel by bestselling author and comedian Bob Mortimer.

The s*x lives of African women - Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah 🍆😍

A DOROTHY KOOMSON BOOK OF THE YEAR
AN ECONOMIST BOOK OF THE YEAR

44,000

‘Such a beautiful read, like chatting to a friend over a cuppa. This is the intimate, insightful read that I didn’t know I needed. Just brilliant.’ Dorothy Koomson

Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah spent decades talking openly and intimately to African women around the world about s*x. In this book, she brings together their extraordinary stories, whilst also chronicling her own journey towards s*xual freedom.

From finding q***r community in Egypt to living a polyamorous life in Senegal to understanding the intersectionality of religion and pleasure in Cameroon, their necessary narratives are individual and illuminating. This stunning collection provides crucial insight into our quest for s*xual power and offers all women inspirational examples to live a truly liberated life.

NEW RELEASE!! 🎉👏🏼

A thousand broken pieces - Tillie Cole

Exclusive sprayed edge edition 🌸
36k

READ THE HEARTBREAKING SEQUEL TO THE TIKTOK SENSATION A THOUSAND BOY KISSES . . .

A beautiful and life-affirming novel about grief, love and friendship from the international bestselling phenomenon Tillie Cole

—

CAN TWO BROKEN HEARTS MAKE A WHOLE . . . ?

After losing her beloved sister three years ago, Savanna Litchfield has been living half a life. When Savannah’s therapist suggests joining a trip around the world for grieving teens she agrees to go clutching tightly to the unread journal her sister left behind.

Seventeen-year-old Cael Woods is angry. One year after losing his older brother his life has spiralled. Once the most promising hockey player in the junior league, Cael can no longer step onto the ice. When his parents sign him up for a trip abroad no part of him wants to go.

As Cael and Savannah embark on a journey they begin to find solace in each other.
As they start to heal piece by broken piece, could this be the start of a love they never thought they’d feel again?

The Love of My Afterlife - Kirsty Greenwood 🪽

Exclusive Ombre Sprayed Edition ✨
40k

If she wasn’t dead already, Delphie would be dying of embarrassment.

She’s entered the afterlife wearing the sort of pyjamas you don’t want anyone to see and finds herself face-to-face with the most handsome man she’s ever encountered. And he’s smiling at her.

As they start to chat, everything else becomes background noise – until someone comes running out of a door, yelling something about a huge mistake, and sends the dreamy stranger back down to earth.

In a twist of fate, Delphie is offered a deal in which she can return to her previous life and reconnect with the mysterious man she’s sure is her soulmate.

The challenge? She only has ten days to find him.

Ten days to make him fall for her.

Oh, and he has no recollection of them ever having met…

Love game - Emma Rae 🎾🧁
28,000

Can a player on the court be a keeper at home?

Elle’s love language is food. But finding the right kind of work in her industry is difficult. After multiple different stints and temporary work, she lands her dream role: a personal chef to huge tennis star, Nicky Salco. It’s just a bonus that he’s handsome and athletic...but totally off limits.

The pressure is on, and not just in the kitchen. As Nicky trains for hours on the court for Wimbledon, Elle treads carefully around his brutally judgemental fiancée, while also trying to ignore her own boyfriend’s cheating habits.

But the temperature rises when Nicky’s training leads him to get hungry late at night and Elle is the one tasked with keeping his belly full. Despite being worlds apart, their late night rendezvous seem to lead to more than what they intended.

Should they risk the lives they have already built, for the lives they truly want?

A sizzling, forced-proximity sporting romance that fans of Hannah Grace and Ali Hazelwood will fall head over heels for.

Hits different - Tasha Ghouri and Lizzie Huxley-Jones 🏖️

EXCLUSIVE OMBRÉ SPRAYED EDGE EDITION ✨
37,000

DISCOVER YOUR BOOK OF THE SUMMER FROM TASHA GHOURI, LOVE ISLAND STAR AND DISABILITY CAMPAIGNER!

Cassie needs a change.

She’s in a job she hates, dating a guy who couldn’t care less about her, and secretly dreaming of making her dance ambitions a reality. But that’s all they are, dreams. Because no way could she actually do it . . . right?

But then an opportunity to dance on tour with a global superstar presents itself and Cassie decides to give it a shot. Jetting off for a hot summer in Ibiza, her dreams seem closer than ever, and so does real love. Levi, the guy she keeps bumping into, sees and uplifts her in a way no one else ever has. If only Cassie could believe in herself like he does, she might find that life hits different when you learn to love yourself first . . .

A sizzling summer romance from Love Island star Tasha Ghouri and Lizzie Huxley-Jones, perfect for fans of Emily Henry and Talia Hibbert!

NEW RELEASE - The third and final instalment in the housemaid series 🔑

The housemaid is watching (3) - 38,000
The housemaids secret (2) - 37,000
The housemaid (1) - 38,000

Set of 3 - 110,000

You must be our new neighbors!” Mrs. Lowell gushes and waves across the picket fence. I clutch my daughter’s hand and smile back: but the second Mrs. Lowell sees my husband a strange expression crosses her face. In that moment I make a promise. We finally have a family home. My past is far, far behind us. And I’ll do anything to keep it that way…

I used to clean other people’s houses―now, I can’t believe this home is actually mine. The charming kitchen, the quiet cul-de-sac, the huge yard where my kids can play. My husband and I saved for years to give our children the life they deserve.

Even still, I’m wary of our new neighbor Mrs. Lowell. When she invites us over for dinner it’s our chance to make friends. Her maid opens the door wearing a white apron, her hair in a tight bun. I know exactly what it’s like to be in her shoes. But her cold stare gives me chills…

The Lowells’ maid isn’t the only strange thing on our street. I’m sure I see a shadowy figure watching us. My husband leaves the house late at night. And when I meet a woman who lives across the way, her words chill me to the bone: Be careful of your neighbors.

Did I make a terrible mistake moving my family here?

I thought I’d left my darkest secrets behind. But could this quiet suburban street be the most dangerous place of all?

Unbelievably twisty and tension-packed, The Housemaid is Watching can be enjoyed as a standalone read: and once you start, it will have you up all night racing through the pages until the final explosive twist.

NEW IN 🌟Gorgeous EXCLUSIVE Edition sprayed edges now available!

RECKLESS - Lauren Roberts
37,000

Following on from Powerless, Reckless is the second bewitching instalment in Roberts’ bestselling romantasy trilogy.

The second heart-racing instalment in this bestselling and sizzling fantasy romance trilogy. Perfect for fans of Red Queen and The Hunger Games. 

The kingdom of Ilya is in turmoil…
After surviving the Purging Trials, Ordinary-born Paedyn Gray has killed the King, and kickstarted a Resistance throughout the land. Now she’s running from the one person she had wanted to run to.

Kai Azer is now Ilya’s Enforcer, loyal to his brother Kitt, the new King. He has vowed to find Paedyn and bring her to justice.  
Across the deadly Scorches, and deep into the hostile city of Dor, Kai pursues the one person he wishes he didn’t have to. But in a city without Elites, the balance between the hunter and hunted shifts – and the battle between duty and desire is deadly.

Be swept away by this bestselling, kiss-or-kill romantasy trilogy taking the world by storm.

The serpent and the wings of the night - Carissa Broadbent ⚕️

38,000

The Hunger Games meets vampires in the first book of the New York Times bestselling Crowns of Nyaxia series by Carissa Broadbent, a heart-wrenching, epic fantasy romance of dark magic and bloodthirsty intrigue.

Human or vampire, the rules of survival are the same: never trust, never yield, and always – always – guard your heart.

The adopted human daughter of the Nightborn vampire king, Oraya carved her place in a world designed to kill her. Her only chance to become something more than prey is entering the Kejari: a legendary tournament held by the goddess of death herself.

But winning won’t be easy, pitting Oraya against the most vicious warriors from all three vampire houses. To survive, she will be forced to make an alliance with a mysterious rival.

Everything about Raihn is dangerous. He is a ruthless vampire, an efficient killer, an enemy to her father’s crown – and her greatest competition. Yet, what terrifies Oraya most of all is that she finds herself oddly drawn to him.

But there’s no room for compassion in the Kejari – and nothing more deadly than love . . .

The Serpent and the Wings of Night is the first book in the Crowns of Nyaxia series, the New York Times bestselling TikTok sensation by Carissa Broadbent.