Hello Stranger

The uplifting and big-hearted new love story from the author of Until Next Weekend and Saturdays at Noon 'TOTALLY UNPUTDOWNABLE' 5* Reader review 'HAVE YOUR TISSUES READY' 5* Reader review 'THE ENDING WAS PERFECT' 5* Reader review 'Clever, poignant, and satisfying' Sunday Times bestseller Katie Fforde 'An eminently real and relatable love story . . . Lucy and Jamie had me at Hello' Julietta Henderson, author of The Funny Thing About Norman Foreman 'Heartbreakingly tender & poignant. It kept me guessing & hoping until the last page' Sophie Claire, author of A Winter's Dream _______ From their very first date, Jamie and Lucy know they've met THE ONE. They're as different as night and day. Jamie's a home bird, while Lucy's happiest on holiday. He has a place for everything - she can never find her keys. Yet, somehow, they make each other happier than they ever thought possible. So why does their story start with them saying 'goodbye'? And does this really have to be the end . . . ? _______ Relatable, romantic and heartbreakingly real, HELLO, STRANGER proves that the best love stories often have the most unexpected endings. Praise for Rachel Marks: 'A total delight. Beautifully observed, painfully funny and profoundly moving, it's a wise and wonderful story of hope and love. I adored it!' Miranda Dickinson, Sunday Times bestselling author 'A delightful, heart-warming read. The characters feel so real... I'm sure I must know them somehow!' Sophie Cousens, author of the New York Times bestseller This Time Next Year 'Rachel Marks packs a novel with all the emotions - hope, fear, love, despair and - ultimately - joy' Clare Pooley, bestselling author of The Authenticity Project 'Unpredictable and satisfying' Heidi Swain, Sunday Times bestselling author 'As tender and emotional as it is funny, it made me laugh out loud A LOT, and it made me sob' Cressida McLaughlin 'Heartbreaking, heartwarming, perfect!' Rosie Goodwin, Sunday Times bestselling author

New York Times bestselling author Lisa Kleypas delivers a scintillating tale of an unconventional beauty who finds passion with the spy who can’t resist her A woman who defies her time Dr. Garrett Gibson, the only female physician in England, is as daring and independent as any man—why not take her pleasures like one? Yet she has never been tempted to embark on an affair, until now. Ethan Ransom, a former detective for Scotland Yard, is as gallant as he is secretive, a rumored assassin whose true loyalties are a mystery. For one exhilarating night, they give in to their potent attraction before becoming strangers again. A man who breaks every rule As a Ravenel by-blow spurned by his father, Ethan has little interest in polite society, yet he is captivated by the bold and beautiful Garrett. Despite their vow to resist each other after that sublime night, she is soon drawn into his most dangerous assignment yet. When the mission goes wrong, it will take all of Garrett’s skill and courage to save him. As they face the menace of a treacherous government plot, Ethan is willing to take any risk for the love of the most extraordinary woman he’s ever known.

We navigate our interactions with strangers according to a host of unwritten rules, rituals and (sometimes awkward) attempts at politeness. But what if the people we meet were not a problem, but a gift? When philosopher and traveller Will Buckingham's partner died, he sought solace in throwing open the door to new people. Now, as we reflect on our experiences of the pandemic and its enforced separations, and as global migration figures ever more prominently in our collective future, Buckingham brings together insights from philosophy, anthropology, history and literature to explore how our traditions of meeting the other can mitigate the issues of our time. Taking in stories of loneliness, exile and friendship from classical times to the modern day, and alighting in adapting communities from Birmingham to Myanmar, Hello, Stranger asks: how do we set aside our instinctive xenophobia - fear of outsiders - and embrace our equally natural philoxenia - love of strangers and newness?

“Playing House is relatable, heartwarming, and oh so sexy. I zoomed through this thoughtful and joyful story about two people finding themselves and each other.” —Jasmine Guillory, New York Times bestselling author of The Wedding Date and The Proposal Romance blossoms between two city planners posing as newlyweds in this first in a bright new series by acclaimed author Ruby Lang The last thing Oliver Huang expects to see on the historic Mount Morris home tour is longtime acquaintance Fay Liu bustling up and kissing him hello. He’s happy to playact being a couple to save her from a pushy admirer. Fay’s beautiful, successful and smart, and if he’s being honest, Oliver has always had a bit of a thing for her. Maybe more than a bit. Geeking out over architectural details is Oliver and Fay’s shared love language, and soon they’re touring pricey real estate across Upper Manhattan as the terribly faux but terribly charming couple Darling and Olly. For the first time since being laid off from the job he loved, Oliver has something to look forward to. And for the first time since her divorce, Fay’s having fun. Somewhere between the light-filled living rooms and spacious closets they’ve explored, this faux relationship just may have sparked some very real feelings. For Oliver and Fay, home truly is where their hearts are. One-click with confidence. This title is part of the Carina Press Romance Promise: all the romance you’re looking for with an HEA/HFN. It’s a promise!

Synopsis: Haunted by his past, Mike is heading home after many years adrift. Upon arriving he encounters a strange girl at his childhood home who seems to know things about him. With Halloween and the Day of the Dead Festival as a backdrop, he embarks on a dream journey through buried memories about his mother’s death and a violence that changed the townspeople who, like him, are struggling to feel repressed emotional pain so they can start living again. Set in the Inland Empire, a vast area bordering Los Angeles and the desert, riddled with California history and miscreants of variable charm, the play explores how the places from our past are time machines, and that people can still connect even if they are in pain. Cast Size: 3 Females, 3 Males

The glorious novel from the beloved author whose bright, hopelessly romantic New York Times bestsellers have been called “My perfect 10 of a book” (Emily Henry) and cheered for their “speedy pacing and sexual tension for miles” (People). Love may be blind. But what if . . . what you see isn't what you get? It’s all starting to come together for struggling artist Sadie Montgomery. She was just named a finalist in the national portrait competition of her dreams. But when she winds up with a rare, but real, condition where human faces look like jumbled puzzle pieces . . . it is, to say the least, not good. With only a few weeks to paint the best portrait of her entire life, Sadie will do anything to reverse her condition and get back to work, but it’s anyone’s guess when (or even if) that'll happen. Enter her dog’s charming veterinarian (who may or may not be Sadie’s daydream fiancé), and her bowling-jacket-wearing, Vespa-riding neighbor (who she can’t seem to stay away from)—both vying for her attention and adding to the chaos. It’s a lot, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad. Because the truth is, seeing the world differently has its upsides. And love has an undeniable way of giving us courage. And the best way of looking is always, always with the heart. "With its emphasis on its central character, combined with its “swoony” romance, “Hello Stranger” is a hit. Sadie is everything you could want in a protagonist — the right amount of quirky, sunshiney and stubborn, and the men she’s in love with are equally fascinating. All the side characters provide humor and comfort, and even those characters who you aren’t really supposed to like are annoyingly intriguing and captivating. Center created a brilliant cast of characters, set to a plot that’s sure to keep you reading." --Michigan Daily

How and why the ability to connect with strangers is vital to business success Good communication with colleagues and clients is an important aspect of doing business successfully. But if you're only talking to your associates, you're missing out on half the story and leaving money on the table. Start with "Hello" reveals how the most successful businesspeople and leaders share an overlooked and underappreciated talent—the ability to engage and communicate with strangers in productive, creative ways. Put simply, people like to do business with people they know, like, and trust. So get to know more people! Even if you don't think of yourself as the most outgoing person, you can learn to be more open and engaging to strangers. The book explains simple, key aspects of communication that make it easy to connect with new people, including behavioral styles, body language, and eye contact. Add together simple tips for starting conversations and following-up on them, and you'll be well on your way to making the business connections that count. Features straightforward guidance for anyone who needs help building new connections with new people Written by a high-profile expert and thought leader in the art of relationship building Includes real stories that reveal how often chance meetings and conversations develop into profitable business relationships In a small, hyper-connected world, today's stranger might be tomorrow's client. If you want to boost your business prospects in simple, practical ways, Start with "Hello" is the resource for you.

A “meticulously researched and buoyantly written” (Esquire) look at what happens when we talk to strangers, and why it affects everything from our own health and well-being to the rise and fall of nations in the tradition of Susan Cain’s Quiet and Yuval Noah Harari’s Sapiens “This lively, searching work makes the case that welcoming ‘others’ isn’t just the bedrock of civilization, it’s the surest path to the best of what life has to offer.”—Ayad Akhtar, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Homeland Elegies In our cities, we stand in silence at the pharmacy and in check-out lines at the grocery store, distracted by our phones, barely acknowledging one another, even as rates of loneliness skyrocket. Online, we retreat into ideological silos reinforced by algorithms designed to serve us only familiar ideas and like-minded users. In our politics, we are increasingly consumed by a fear of people we’ve never met. But what if strangers—so often blamed for our most pressing political, social, and personal problems—are actually the solution? In The Power of Strangers, Joe Keohane sets out on a journey to discover what happens when we bridge the distance between us and people we don’t know. He learns that while we’re wired to sometimes fear, distrust, and even hate strangers, people and societies that have learned to connect with strangers benefit immensely. Digging into a growing body of cutting-edge research on the surprising social and psychological benefits that come from talking to strangers, Keohane finds that even passing interactions can enhance empathy, happiness, and cognitive development, ease loneliness and isolation, and root us in the world, deepening our sense of belonging. And all the while, Keohane gathers practical tips from experts on how to talk to strangers, and tries them out himself in the wild, to awkward, entertaining, and frequently poignant effect. Warm, witty, erudite, and profound, equal parts sweeping history and self-help journey, this deeply researched book will inspire readers to see everything—from major geopolitical shifts to trips to the corner store—in an entirely new light, showing them that talking to strangers isn’t just a way to live; it’s a way to survive.