Judy Astley crea narrazioni profondamente radicate nella disarmonia domestica e nel caos familiare, infuse con una potente miscela di amore, passione e abbondante umorismo. Attingendo a una vasta esperienza personale, i suoi romanzi esplorano le intricate dinamiche delle relazioni con una voce distintiva e accattivante. La scrittura di Astley si estende anche al giornalismo, dove affronta diversi argomenti con una prospettiva spensierata e divertente. Il suo lavoro cattura costantemente i lettori con la sua rappresentazione relazionabile delle complessità della vita.
But then Alex came along...the safer, more restful option, and thanks to her over-controlling mother she opted for him instead. Alex has left her to live in New York with a younger, blonder woman. It's crisis time - and she makes two decisions: First - she will take lessons in self-defence.Second - she will try and find Patrick again.
If you like Carole Matthews and Milly Johnson, you'll love Judy's delightful and funny novel about changing your luck once and for all .Readers love Judy Astley:Warm, funny and unerringly true to life Katie FfordeIrresistible Daily MailAn enjoyable light read Sunday Mirror
Itâe(tm)s twenty years since Miranda, then sixteen, holidayed in Cornwall and her life changed forever. Now sheâe(tm)s back again âe" with her mother Clare and the ashes of her stepfather Jack, whose wish was to be scattered on the sea overlooked by their one-time holiday home. The picturesque cove seems just the same as ever, but the people are different âe" more smart incomers,fewer locals, more luxury yachts in the harbour. But Miranda and Clare both find some strangely familiar faces, and revisit the emotions they both thought had disappeared.
Theaâe(tm)s parents decide to host a big family Christmas in a house by the seaâe¦ even though they are, in fact, about to split up. Thea herself is newly single - her sister and brother are both settled, with children, homes and a future. But Theaâe(tm)s boyfriend has ditched her in favour of his pedigree dogs, and Thea canâe(tm)t decide whether or not she minds. There will be copious food and drink, holly and mistletoe, lots of bracing walks and a wintry barbecue on the beach. If it seems an odd way to celebrate the final break-up of a marriage and the Moving On to new partners, no- one is saying so. But then no-one had anticipated that the new partners might actually turn up to complicate the sleeping arrangements. As Cornwall experiences the biggest snowstorm in living memory, the festive atmosphere comes under some strain. Will Thea manage to find some happiness for herself? Will the mistletoe work its magic on them all?
Every July, the lucky owners of Cornish holiday homes set off for their annual break. They close up their desirable semis in smartish London suburbs - having turned off the Aga and turned on the burglar alarm - and look forward to a carefree, restful, somehow more fulfilling summer. Clare is more than usually ready for her holiday. Her daughter, Miranda, is hitting adolescence bigtime, and her husband Jack is harbouring unsettling thoughts of a change in lifestyle. No wonder that Clare is contemplating a bit of extra-marital adventure, possibly with Eliot, the successful, heavy-drinking author in the adjoining holiday property. Unexpected disasters occur, revelations are made and, as the summer ends, real life will never be quite the same again.
âe~Elegant, witty writing, endearing characters and a wonderful romance. What more could you want?âe(tm) Katie Fforde, bestselling author of A Christmas Feast It is almost a year since Sean and Thea met and it's been a roller-coaster ride: they're getting married on Christmas Day! Neither Thea or Sean want a big fuss - a simple wedding, with Christmas lights and just a few sprigs of mistletoe for decoration is all they need. But before they know it, things begin to get complicated. Trying to manage a long-distance relationship in the build-up to their Christmas wedding is one thing, but as one challenge after another comes their way, the happy couple begin to wonder if they'll ever make it down the aisle . . . With unforgettable characters, charming romance and lots of laughter, A Merry Mistletoe Wedding is a gorgeous Christmas read - perfect for fans of Carole Matthews, Jenny Colgan, Lucy Diamond and Milly Johnson.
This is the story of Stella, an advice columnist for a teenage magazine. Stella's friends assume she doesn't have any problems of her own and deluge her with their woes. Abigail, deserted by her husband, moves in with Stella, but then starts to move in on Stella's husband.
Alice lives a well ordered life with her second husband in a leafy London suburb. However, when her mother falls ill, Alice goes to Cornwall to look after her. Soon she begins to wonder if she has made the right choices in life.
For the last few years, Beth and Ned have gone to the same Caribbean island to the same luxury spa hotel. But this year, home problems have somehow tagged along for the ride. Ned has been playing away—a bit of a drunken fling, that's all, Beth thinks. But although they have put it all behind them, Beth doesn't know that Ned's fling was with the female half of one of the couples they are vacationing with.
Sara's mother told her that she shouldn't marry Conrad - that the twenty-five- year age gap between them would tell in the end. Sara, teaching art at a local college, finds that she has plenty of male company - other people's husbands, ones she tells Conrad all about, who are just good friends to her.