Special Collections
Human-Narrated Books for Adults
Description: Please enjoy this collection of Bookshare books, now with human narration! #adults
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Fear
by Ranulph FiennesSir Ranulph Fiennes has climbed the Eiger and Mount Everest. He's crossed both Poles on foot. He's been a member of the SAS and fought a bloody guerrilla war in Oman. And yet he confesses that his fear of heights is so great that he'd rather send his wife up a ladder to clean the gutters than do it himself.
In Fear, the world's greatest explorer delves into his own experiences to try and explain what fear is, how it happens and how he's overcome it so successfully. He examines key moments from history where fear played an important part in the outcome of a great event. He shows us how the brain perceives fear, how that manifests itself in us, and how we can transform our perceptions.
With an enthralling combination of story-telling, research and personal accounts of his own struggles to overcome fear, Sir Ranulph Fiennes sheds new light on one of humanity's strongest emotions.
The Fifth Ward
by Dale LucasIn the cramped quarters of the city of Yenara, humans, orcs, mages, elves and dwarves all jostle for success and survival, while understaffed watch wardens struggle to keep the citizens in line. Enter Rem. New to the city, he wakes bruised and hungover in the dungeons of the fifth ward. With no money for bail - and seeing no other way out of his cell - Rem jumps at the chance to join the Watch.
Torval, his new partner -- a dwarf who's handy with a maul and known for hitting first and asking questions later -- is highly unimpressed with the untrained and weaponless Rem. But when Torval's former partner goes missing, the two must learn to work together to uncover the truth and catch a murderer loose in their fair city.
Finding Me
by Viola DavisFINDING ME is the deeply personal, brutally honest account of Viola's inspiring life, from her coming-of-age in Rhode Island to her present-day career.
In my book, you will meet a little girl named Viola who ran from her past until she made a life changing decision to stop running forever. This is my story, from a crumbling apartment in Central Falls, Rhode Island, to the stage in New York City, and beyond. This is the path I took to finding my purpose and my strength, but also to finding my voice in a world that didn't always see me.
As I wrote Finding Me, my eyes were open to the truth of how our stories are often not given close examination. They are bogarted, reinvented to fit into a crazy, competitive, judgmental world. So I wrote this for anyone who is searching for a way to understand and overcome a complicated past, let go of shame, and find acceptance. For anyone who needs reminding that a life worth living can only be born from radical honesty and the courage to shed facades and be…you.
Finding Me is a deep reflection on my past and a promise for my future. My hope is that my story will inspire you to light up your own life with creative expression and rediscover who you were before the world put a label on you.
(P)2022 HarperCollins Publishers
Game On
by Matt CainFrom the author of The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle and Becoming Ted, a brand new enemies-to-lovers romcom for fans of Ted Lasso and Red, White and Royal Blue . . .'Heart-warming and joyful' LORRAINE KELLY 'A great big hug of a book' MICHAEL BALL Toddington FC defender Tom Horrocks is never happier than when he's on the football pitch, but when it comes to love, he's hiding a big secret. Worried about his young daughter and sick father - and with his team finally in the Premier League - he avoids all media.Journalist Cosmo Roberts wants to change the world, so is angry when he's sent to a quiet northern town to cover a sport he sees as anti-gay. Then something about Tom catches his eye.Cosmo hates football. Tom hates journalists.Perhaps this time they've both met their match.'Filled with joy and strength and optimism' RUSSELL T. DAVIES'Romantic and heartbreaking and uplifting' LAURA KAYReader love Matt Cain 'Wonderfully uplifting' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'Absolutely brilliant' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'I loved every second of this book' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Girl Before
by Jp DelaneyEnter the world of One Folgate Street and discover perfection . . . but can you pay the price?
Jane stumbles on the rental opportunity of a lifetime: the chance to live in a beautiful ultra-minimalist house designed by an enigmatic architect, on condition she abides by a long list of exacting rules.
After moving in, she makes a shocking discovery about the previous tenant, Emma, and Jane starts to wonder if her own story will be a rerun of the girl before.
A History of Heavy Metal
by Andrew O'NeillThe history of heavy metal brings brings us extraordinary stories of larger-than-life characters living to excess, from the household names of Ozzy Osbourne, Lemmy, Bruce Dickinson and Metallica (SIT DOWN, LARS!), to the brutal notoriety of the underground Norwegian black metal scene and the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal. It is the story of a worldwide network of rabid fans escaping everyday mundanity through music, of cut-throat corporate arseholes ripping off those fans and the bands they worship to line their pockets.
The expansive pantheon of heavy metal musicians includes junkies, Satanists and murderers, born-again Christians and teetotallers, stadium-touring billionaires and toilet-circuit journeymen. Award-winning comedian and life-long heavy metal obsessive Andrew O'Neill has performed his History of Heavy Metal comedy show to a huge range of audiences, from the teenage metalheads of Download festival to the broadsheet-reading theatre-goers of the Edinburgh Fringe.
Now, in his first book, he takes us on his own very personal and hilarious journey through the history of the music, the subculture, and the characters who shaped this most misunderstood genre of music.
The Hypocrite
by Jo HamyaWhat happens when we stop idolising the generations above us? Stop idolising our own parents?What happens when we become frightened of the generations below us? Frightened of our own children?The Aeolian islands, 2010. Sophia, on the cusp of adulthood, spends a long hot summer with her father in Sicily. There she falls in love for the first time. There she works as her father's amanuensis, typing the novel he dictates, a story about sex and gender divides. There, their relationship fractures.London, Summer 2020. Sophia's father, a 61-year-old novelist who does not feel himself to be a bad or outdated person sits in a large theatre, surrounded by strangers, watching his daughter's first play. A play that takes that Sicilian holiday is its subject. A play that will force him to watch his purported crimes play out in front of him.
Just For The Summer
by Abby JimenezPraise for Abby Jimenez:'Literally the best book I ever read'⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'This author has blown me away before but this book . . . I can't even. I will need some serious time to recover. It was everything and more'⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'OK, this is the best romance I've ever read. I loved everything about it'⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'This book deserves all the stars in the universe'⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'Things I loved about this book . . . I mean it's literally everything. Not a single flaw'⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'Wow. wow. WOW. Every book I've read of Abby's just gets better and better'⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ .........................To find their soulmates, all they need is four dates, a kiss and a breakup . . .Justin has a curse, and thanks to a Reddit thread, it's now all over the internet. Every woman he dates goes on to find their soul mate the second they break up. When a woman slides into his DMs with the same problem, they come up with a plan: They'll date each other and break up. Their curses will cancel each other's out, and they'll both go on to find the love of their lives. It's a bonkers idea . . . and it just might work. Emma hadn't planned that her next assignment as a traveling nurse would be in Minnesota, but she and her best friend agree that dating Justin is too good of an opportunity to pass up, especially when they get to rent an adorable cottage on a private island on Lake Minnetonka.It's supposed to be a quick fling, just for the summer. But when Emma's toxic mother shows up and Justin has to assume guardianship of his three siblings, they're suddenly navigating a lot more than they expected - including catching real feelings for each other. What if this time Fate has actually brought the perfect pair together?A sharp and scintillating summer novel that will make readers laugh out loud and cry happy tears from the New York Times bestselling author of Yours Truly.'Abby Jimenez's words . . . sprinkle humour and warmth all over my life' ALI HAZELWOOD.........................FIND OUT WHY READERS ARE FALLING IN LOVE WITH ABBY JIMENEZ . . . 'Sweet and achingly romantic - a truly wonderful love story' BETH O'LEARY'Full of fierce humour and fiercer heart' CASEY MCQUISTON'A deliciously hot, sweet debut. This book is an absolute treat' L. G. SHEN
Katherine of Aragon
by Alison WeirKatherine of Aragon: The True Queen by bestselling historian Alison Weir, author of The Lost Tudor Princess, is the first in a spellbinding six novel series about Henry VIII's Queens.
Alison takes you on an engrossing journey at Katherine's side and shows her extraordinary strength of character and intelligence. Ideal for fans of Philippa Gregory and Elizabeth Chadwick.
A Spanish princess. Raised to be modest, obedient and devout. Destined to be an English Queen.
Six weeks from home across treacherous seas, everything is different: the language, the food, the weather. And for her there is no comfort in any of it. At sixteen years-old, Catalina is alone among strangers.
She misses her mother. She mourns her lost brother. She cannot trust even those assigned to her protection.
KATHERINE OF ARAGON. The first of Henry's Queens. Her story. History tells us how she died. This captivating novel shows us how she lived. (P)2016 Headline Digital
The Keeper of Lost Things
by Ruth HoganOnce a celebrated author of short stories now in his twilight years, Anthony Peardew has spent half his life collecting lost objects, trying to atone for a promise broken many years before. Realising he is running out of time, he leaves his house and all its lost treasures to his assistant Laura, the one person he can trust to fulfill his legacy and reunite the thousands of objects with their rightful owners.
But the final wishes of the 'Keeper of Lost Things' have unforeseen repercussions which trigger a most serendipitous series of encounters...
Lake of Souls: The Collected Short Fiction
by Ann LeckieHugo, Nebula, and Arthur C. Clarke award-winner Ann Leckie is a modern master of the SFF genre, forever changing its landscape with her groundbreaking ideas and powerful voice. Now, available for the first time comes the complete collection of Leckie's short fiction, including a brand new novelette, Lake of Souls.Journey across the stars of the Imperial Radch universe.Listen to the words of the Old Gods that ruled The Raven Tower.Learn the secrets of the mysterious Lake of Souls.And so much more, in this masterfully wide-ranging and immersive short fiction collection from award-winning author Ann Leckie.Contents:The Lake of SoulsStories from the world of the Imperial RadchNight's Slow PoisonShe Commands Me and I ObeyThe Creation and Destruction of the WorldStories from the world of The Raven TowerThe God of AuThe NalendarThe Snake's WifeMarsh GodsThe Unknown GodBeloved of the SunSaving BaconSci-FiFootprintsHesperia and GloryThe Endangered CampAnother Word for WorldThe JustifiedFantasyBury the DeadThe Sad History of the Tearless Onion
The Last Smile in Sunder City
by Luke ArnoldThe Last Smile in Sunder City is a brilliantly voiced contemporary fantasy for fans of Ben Aaronovitch, Rotherweird or Terry Pratchett's Discworld, and the debut novel from high-profile actor Luke Arnold.
Fetch Phillips fought on the wrong side of a war between humans and magical creatures, and his actions helped to drain the world of enchantment. Now he works on the streets of Sunder City, taking what odd jobs he can while trying to help those whose lives he ruined.
His first case is to find a missing teacher. Professor Rye is a four-hundred-year-old vampire with a heart of gold in a husk of a body. In a world without magic, most vamps have already crumbled into dust, but Fetch is happy to go looking for some dirt with pointed teeth if it gets him his drinking money. Then, when a young siren disappears, Fetch finds out that this dark world still hides some monsters - and he'd better clean up his act before they come into the light.
Late Bloomer
by Mazey EddingsMazey Eddings' signature sparkling voice shines through in this sexy, sapphic, opposites-attract romance!'A magnificent story about queer joy, queer love, and the power of queer community . . . this book is a must-read' ALISON COCHRUNWinning the lottery ruined Opal Devlin's life. She may have been able to leave her dead-end job, but now she's getting endlessly bombarded with people knocking at her door for a handout . . . and she can't seem to stop saying yes.Opal realises she has a chance to follow her own dreams, and decides to spend almost all her new money on a failing flower farm in North Carolina where she can start her painting business. But her plans for isolation soon go hopelessly awry when an angry (albeit gorgeous) Pepper Boden is waiting for her at her new farm. Pepper states that she's the rightful owner of Thistle and Bloom Farms, and she isn't moving out.There's not much else they can do except strike up an agreement of co-habitation, but they're soon butting heads at every turn. While they each have a reason to stay, can these two opposites find a way to plant some roots? Or will their combustible arguing (and growing attraction) burn the whole place down?Amazing praise for Mazey Eddings:'So freaking cute. . .Tilly in Technicolor will have you aching with love for these characters while swooning at their awkward adorableness together. I want to hug this book to my chest' CHLOE GONG'Mazey Eddings's writing is authentic, emotional, and intensely romantic! To me, it's like a Taylor Swift song in book form' ALI HAZELWOOD'Blends sweetness, breathless romance, and moments of striking vulnerability' HELEN HOANG'Prepare to smile, laugh, and cry your way through this witty, fast-paced rom-com' EVIE DUNMORE'Laugh-out-loud funny, almost unbearably cute' ROSIE DANAN'A contemporary romance masterpiece . . . The most intoxicating slow burn I've read in ages' RACHEL LYNN SOLOMON'Funny and cute while also exploring serious topics, powerfully underscoring the truth that relationships require work, and that happy endings are for everyone' SARAH HOGLE'Brims with emotional depth, whip-smart banter, and sizzling chemistry' CHLOE LIESE
Letting in the Light
by Charlotte BettsFrom the award-winning author of The Apothecary's Daughter comes the next book in the Spindrift Trilogy - a beautifully evocative, family drama, perfect for fans of Santa Montefiore, Lucinda Riley and Elizabeth Jane Howard's Cazalet Chronicles.
1914 Spindrift House, Cornwall
Edith Fairchild's good-for-nothing husband, Benedict, deserted her when their children were babies. Now the children are almost adult, Edith and Pascal, her faithful lover of two decades, are planning to leave their beloved Spindrift artists' community and finally be together.
But an explosive encounter between Benedict and Pascal forces old secrets into the light, causing rifts in the happiness and security of the community. Then an assassin's bullet fired in faraway Sarajevo sets in motion a chain of events that changes everything. Under the shadow of war, the community struggles to eke out a living. The younger generation enlist or volunteer to support the war effort, facing dangers that seemed unimaginable in the golden summer of 1914.
When it's all over, will the Spindrift community survive an unexpected threat? And will Edith and Pascal ever be able to fulfill their dream?
The Librarians of Rue de Picardie
by Janet Skeslien CharlesThe New York Times bestselling author of the The Paris Library returns with a powerful, moving new novel based on the extraordinary true story of Jessie Carson, the American librarian determined to bring books to the children of war-torn France.'This is hands down my book of 2024. A rich, glorious life-affirming ode to the power of books and female solidarity. Simply unforgettable!' KATE THOMPSON'A wonderful story about the power books have not only to inspire, but also to rescue and restore. The characters are so richly drawn... I absolutely loved it' RUTH HOGAN------------------------Under what was left of the roof of the ruined cottage, a girl with pigtails perched on a pile of rubble, hunched over a book...1918: As the Great War rages, Jessie Carson takes a leave of absence from the New York Public Library to work for the American Committee for Devastated France, a group of women determined to rebuild devastated French communities just miles from the front. Upon arrival, Jessie strives to establish something that the French have never seen - children's libraries. She turns ambulances into bookmobiles and trains the first French female librarians. Then she disappears.1987: When NYPL librarian and aspiring writer Wendy Peterson stumbles across a passing reference to Jessie Carson in the archives, she becomes consumed with learning her fate. In her obsession, she discovers that she and the elusive librarian have more in common than their work at New York's famed library, but she has no idea their paths will converge in surprising ways across time.*Published under the title Miss Morgan's Book Brigade in the US*'An astonishing novel with the beating heart of courageous women who change the world through books. For every reader who was once told to get their head out of the clouds because they read too many books, this one is for you... A moving novel of sacrifice, heroism, and inspired storytelling immersed in the power of books to change our lives' PATTI CALLAHAN HENRY'Bursting with remarkable characters and filled with heart-in-mouth moments... an enthralling, emotional story rich in historical detail. Janet Skeslien Charles has done real justice to the legacy of these courageous women; this wonderful book is a gift to the reader' LIESE O'HALLORAN SCHWARZ'Bibliophiles are in for a treat' PUBLISHERS WEEKLY'I found myself captivated by this eye-opening book and reminder of the good that comes from dedicated hard work. I am grateful to Janet Skeslien Charles for educating me about the remarkable women of CARD' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Goodreads reviewer 'I love books about libraries and books. The fact that this book is actually based off of real people is amazing. This book celebrates the contributions that these women made when they are usually swept under the rug. I loved Jessie so much, and I will be thinking of these brave women for a long time to come' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Goodreads reviewer
The Library Thief
by Kuchenga ShenjéAn extraordinary historical debut for any reader who loves gothic mysteries like Rebecca and Fingersmith, and fiction which shines a light on untold stories.'Intriguingly and superbly plotted . . . Shenjé weaves race, identity, feminism, sexuality and class into a beguiling mystery' WOMAN & HOMEThe library is under lock and key. But its secrets can't be contained.After he brought her home from Jamaica as a baby, Florence's father had her hair hot-combed to make her look like the other girls. But as a young woman, Florence is not so easy to tame - and when she brings scandal to his door, the bookbinder throws her onto the streets of Manchester. Intercepting her father's latest commission, Florence talks her way into the remote, forbidding Rose Hall to restore its collection of rare books. Lord Francis Belfield's library is old and full of secrets - but none so intriguing as the whispers about his late wife. Then one night, the library is broken into. Strangely, all the priceless tomes remain untouched. Florence is puzzled, until she discovers a half-burned book in the fireplace. She realises with horror that someone has found and set fire to the secret diary of Lord Belfield's wife - which may hold the clue to her fate . . .'A tantalising read that swells with secrecy and intrigue. It's hard to believe that Kuchenga Shenjé writes of the past, and not of the present. A beautifully and skilfully written debut' CANDICE CARTY-WILLIAMS, author of Queenie'Powerful, gorgeously absorbing and wholly original'JOANNE BURN, author of The Hemlock Cure'Threads in themes of identity, sexuality and a woman's impossible choices into an intricate web of mysteries that would not let me go'CARI THOMAS, author of Threadneedle'I was swept up with the mystery. A beautifully crafted story full of nuanced characters, gothic undertones and plenty of heart'STACEY THOMAS, author of The Revels'Atmospheric and compelling. Victorian gothic with a fresh twist'FREYA BERRY, author of The Birdcage Library'Filled with fantastically drawn characters and with a love of books that shines through the prose'KATIE LUMSDEN, author of The Secrets of Hartwood Hall
Love and Other Thought Experiments
by Sophie WardRachel and Eliza are planning their future together. One night in bed Rachel wakes up terrified and tells Eliza that an ant has crawled into her eye and is stuck there. Rachel is certain; Eliza, a scientist, is skeptical. Suddenly their entire relationship is called into question. What follows is a uniquely imaginative sequence of interlinked stories ranging across time, place and perspective to form a sparkling philosophical tale of love, lost and found across the universe.
The Massacre of Mankind
by Stephen BaxterIt has been 14 years since the Martians invaded England. The world has moved on, always watching the skies but content that we know how to defeat the Martian menace.
Machinery looted from the abandoned capsules and war-machines has led to technological leaps forward. The Martians are vulnerable to earth germs. The Army is prepared.
So when the signs of launches on Mars are seen, there seems little reason to worry. Unless you listen to one man, Walter Jenkins, the narrator of Wells' book. He is sure that the Martians have learned, adapted, understood their defeat.
He is right.
Thrust into the chaos of a new invasion, a journalist - sister-in-law to Walter Jenkins - must survive, escape and report on the war. The Massacre of Mankind has begun.
Read by Nathalie Buscombe
Me And Mine
by Anna May ManganME AND MINE tells the story of an Irish immigrant family who left rural Ireland in the 1950s in the hope of finding work and a better way of life in England.
But home is never far away as aunts ferry over suitcases dripping with blood from the Irish boat train because English meat is 'dirt' or smuggle poteen disguised as holy water in Virgin Mary shaped bottles, and gossip is delivered weekly in the form of the local county paper.
ME AND MINE is an entertaining and vivid portrait of immigrant life in 1950s England, told through the stories of a truly colourful cast of characters.
Metamorphoses
by Karolina Watroba'A high-spirited, richly informed, and original portrait, a cross between biography, literary analysis and a study in modern canonisation: Karolina Watroba is an inspired guide and her book a pleasure to read.' Marina WarnerIn 2024, exactly one hundred years after his death at the age of 40, readers all over the world will reach for the works of Franz Kafka. Many of them will want to learn more about the enigmatic man behind the classic books filled with mysterious courts and monstrous insects. Who, exactly, was Franz Kafka?Karolina Watroba, the first Germanist ever elected as a Fellow of Oxford's All Souls College, will tell Kafka's story beyond the boundaries of language, time and space, travelling from the Prague of Kafka's birth through the work of contemporary writers in East Asia, whose award-winning novels are in part homages to the great man himself.Metamorphoses is a non-chronological journey through Kafka's life, drawing together literary scholarship with the responses of his readers through time. It is a both an exploration of Kafka's life and an exciting new way of approaching literary history.
More
by Philip CogganEconomics may seem like a modern field, but its object of study is ancient. Resources have been exchanged and distributed since the dawn of history, and the economies that arose from those transactions were more complex than you might expect. In this panorama of the development of trade and industry, Economist columnist Philip Coggan tracks the development of the world economy starting with the first obsidianblades that made their way from Turkey to what is now the Iran-Iraq border 7,000 years before Christ, and ending with the Sino-American trade war that we are in right now.Taking the history in great strides, More illustrates broad changes by examining details such as the design of the standard medieval cottage, the development in the 12th century of great international trade fairs under the patronage of the Counts of Champagne and Brie, and the stranglehold that Paris's three belt-buckle-making guilds exercised over innovation in the field of holding trousers. Along the way it reveals that historical economies were far more sophisticated than we might imagine - tied together by webs of credit and financial instruments much like the modern economy.Between the chapters making up the grand historical sweep Coggan dives into different facets of the economic world - providing potted histories of migration, finance, energy, and agriculture. In total, he shows how technologies and social systems spread, crosspollinated and created the possibility of new waves of development. And he shows how, at every step of our long journey, it was connections between people - allowing more trade, more specialisation, more ideas and more freedom - that created the conditions of prosperity.
Neverwhere
by Neil GaimanUnder the streets of London lies a world most people could never dream of. When Richard Mayhew stops to help a girl he finds bleeding in the street, his unremarkable life changes in an instant. This act of kindness leads him to a place filled with murderers and angels, pale girls in black velvet, a Beast in a labyrinth and an Earl who holds Court in a tube train. It is strangely familiar yet utterly bizarre.
Here is London Below, the city of people who have fallen between the cracks. And for Richard Mayhew, it's just the beginning.
One Girl Began
by Kate Murray-Browne'A beautiful novel . . . reminds us that our streets are thick with history'ROWAN HISAYO BUCHANAN'Both moving and addictive'JOANNA BRISCOE'Terrific'FRANCES QUINNTHREE WOMEN. ONE BUILDING. 111 YEARS . . .East London, 1909. When her family fall on hard times, Ellen finds work in a box factory and is drawn into a tight-knit circle of friendship, one that will transform her life and test her in unexpected ways.In 1984, the factory is now derelict. Eighteen-year- old Frances moves in with a group of squatters and activists who have taken over the abandoned building. As she tries to build a new life, an unsettling relationship develops, forcing her to question who she is and where her loyalties lie.In 2020, the squat is now a gentrified conversion in a fashionable corner of the city. Amanda feels trapped in her tiny flat, overwhelmed by the demands of new motherhood and unsure of what the future holds - until the possibility of an alternative life presents itself . . .From acclaimed author Kate Murray-Browne, One Girl Began is a vibrant, enthralling and moving novel about three women across three very different moments in time, connected by the same building and the forces that shape our lives.
One Summer in Cornwall
by Karen KingEscape to Cornwall this summer... A heart-warming, feel-good romance, returning to the beautiful Cornish town of Karen's Kindle bestseller THE CORNISH HOTEL BY THE SEA.
When Hattie is made redundant and evicted from her flat in one horrible week, she needs time to rethink. Her Uncle Albert left her and her father each half of Fisherman's Rest, his home in the Cornish town of Port Medden, so this seems the perfect place to escape to until she can figure things out.
As Hattie stays in the cottage, clearing it out, tidying it up and getting it ready to sell, she starts to find her feet in Port Medden and making a new home here begins to feel right. If only her dad didn't need a quick sale and things weren't complicated by her unwelcoming neighbour Marcus . . .(P) 2022 Headline Publishing Group Ltd
Open Season
by Cassie Werber"A breathtaking novel that gets under the skin of the complexities of love, sex and human nature"-Katie Bishop, author of THE GIRLS OF SUMMER"A perceptive book about intimacy and desire that feels zingy, original, fresh"-Chloë Ashby, author of SECOND SELF"Tender, shimmering, elegant, and true... thoughtful and sensual, sexy and cerebral"-Laura Barnett, author of THE VERSIONS OF USEvery relationship has rules. What if they all changed?Hura and Cillian have a happy, secure marriage and are on the brink of planning a family. But when Hura's teaching career gets derailed, they decide it's time to explore a fantasy: opening up their relationship.Roses has never been monogamous. Her connection with elusive James-who works all hours as a junior doctor-is electric, and they're falling for each other. But both have secrets that make intimacy feel dangerous, and in a bid to reassert her independence, Roses suggests they sleep with other people.When these two couples collide, life shifts on its axis and starts to spin out of control. As Roses and James fight to keep the past from overwhelming them, and Cillian and Hura test the limits of trust, they must all decide which lines to draw-and which to cross.A passionate deconstruction of the complexities of sex, love, honesty and betrayal, OPEN SEASON marks Cassie Werber out as a major new talent.