"The hardest part of death is learning how to live.
The last thing Alice expects to see at her husband’s graveside on his birthday is a giant, talking frog. On closer inspection, it’s a grown man dressed as Kermit.
Turns out Alice’s husband is buried next to Ben’s older brother Harry, who—as a parting practical joke in his will—insisted that Ben visit his grave each year, on this specific day, dressed in an as-yet-undisclosed pageant of embarrassing fancy dress.
With little but their grief and this one day in common, Alice and Ben form a very special, very strange friendship, meeting just once a year: same day, same time, same place—different silly costume. As the years pass and grief alters, can their unique bond help them cope with the hardest part of death: life?"
"In this hilarious and heartfelt story from the bestselling author of Dry Hard, Will hasn’t seen his rock-star dad for thirty years. But now he’s back for an encore…
Will Fairweather is getting old. His back aches, his bowels misbehave if he eats spicy food and he’s completely lost his sense of rhythm. Life has taught him not to take risks, but even that hasn’t stopped his marriage hitting the rocks too. The last thing he needs is a surprise call from Red Fairweather, devil-may-care rock god—and the father Will hasn’t seen for thirty years.
If Will’s old before his time, Red’s the boy who won’t grow up.
When Will needs somewhere to live, with nowhere else to turn, he finds himself back with the hellraiser who deserted his family. As Will tries to come to terms with the downward spiral of his life, he starts to realise there’s more to Red than he thought—there’s a real human being under all that leather and attitude, a dad determined to make up for lost time and help his son get back on track.
Can Will make his peace with a father seeking forgiveness?"
"In this madcap tale from the bestselling author of Dumped, Actually, two’s company for Jake and his bestie Sy. But three? A disaster!
Jake Carlisle is living his best life, thanks to the crazily successful influencer channel he created with his best friend Sy. Reviewing whacky hobbies and adrenaline-fuelled adventures, Sy has pushed Jake into doing more exciting stuff than either ever thought possible. Then disaster strikes.
When newbie Helena joins the team, Sy quickly falls head over heels for her…All of a sudden, with romance blossoming and the business dynamic shifting, Jake is horrified to find himself becoming the dreaded third wheel.
Being the odd one out was not what he signed up for. And he’ll do anything to get his best friend back—even if that involves a little light sabotage, an unhealthy amount of jealousy…and one very unfortunate pair of tartan Speedos.
Will Jake be relegated to the background from now on? Or will he finally learn to stand on his own two feet and succeed at getting his life—along with his friendship—back on track?"
"From the bestselling author of Dumped, Actually comes a hilarious, heartfelt story about marriage, divorce and what the hell happens next.
Amy and Joel’s honeymoon in the Maldives was the perfect week of love, sun, sex and a free minibar…but unfortunately, it was also the high point of a marriage that quickly descended into an absolute disaster zone.
Eight years on, they’re back in paradise, trying to recreate the magic with new partners. What a crying shame they’ve picked the same week to do it…
Trapped together on an island small enough to spit across with the wind behind you, Amy and Joel pick up right where they left off: at total loggerheads. And so begins a hideous week of rivalry, one-upmanship and score-settling—as each tries to prove they’ve now comprehensively won at life.
The thing is, hurt and pain are strongest where there was once love. And what if being back in this island paradise, with all its wonderful memories, sets sparks flying in more ways than one?"
"From the bestselling author of Dumped, Actually comes a laugh-out-loud story about saving your job…and maybe saving the planet in the process.
Meet Ellie Cooke. When it comes to all things environmental she’s, well, a bit ‘green’. It’s not that she doesn’t care about things like climate change and plastic pollution, it’s just that life has always got in the way of that sort of thing.
But when the PR firm Ellie works for is taken over by keen environmentalist Nolan Reece, it’s clear that if she wants to save her job, she’s going to have to get serious about being green—or face being recycled.
Going green is no walk in the park, though. It involves a lot of big changes, tough choices…and at least one case of accidentally showing your knickers off to your boss.
Can Ellie do enough to save her job, and maybe do her bit to help save the planet while she’s at it? And what will Nolan think of her, now that she can’t stop thinking about him…?"
"From bestselling author Nick Spalding comes a hilarious, uplifting story about one man’s attempt to live a tech free life.
Andy Bellows is in a right state. Plagued with insomnia, anxiety and neckache, he’s convinced there’s something seriously wrong with him. And the worst thing is that his doctor agrees. The diagnosis: Andy is in the grip of a self-destructive addiction to technology—he just cannot put that bloody mobile phone down.
Texting, tweeting, gaming and online dating—technology rules Andy’s life. His phone even monitors his bowel movements. So how will he cope when he’s forced to follow doctor’s orders and step away from all of his beloved screens?
When he loses his precious digital window on the world, Andy discovers just how bewildering and scary living an analogue life can be. And when his sixty-day detox hits the headlines—making him a hero to suffering technophiles everywhere—Andy is sorely tempted to pack it all in and escape in the nearest Uber.
Can he get himself out of this mess, and work out how to live a better, technologically balanced life…without consulting Google even once?"
"From the bestselling author of Checking Out and Dry Hard comes a hilarious story about losing the love of your life, and finding yourself in the aftermath.
When Ollie Sweet is very publicly dumped by ‘The One’, his seemingly perfect world dissolves into misery, self-pity, and a bizarre rooftop meeting with a suicidal man in flip-flops. While most would seek out the support of loved ones at such a torrid time, natural-born journalist Ollie asks the subscribers of his website: how did they get over their failed relationships?
When Ollie follows some of their more extreme advice, chaos inevitably ensues, including accidentally exposing himself to some unsuspecting wildlife, jumping out of a perfectly serviceable aeroplane, and suffering from an extremely painful bottom, courtesy of a maniacal Scotsman.
Of course, all of this goes down a storm with his online following, and Ollie soon finds himself the centre of everyone’s attention — whether he likes it or not!
With his eclectic collection of supporters to guide him, can Ollie mend his broken heart, heal his broken bottom, and learn to find happiness again?"
"From the bestselling author of Fat Chance and Checking Out comes a hilarious story about giving up… but definitely not giving in.
Kate and Scott’s marriage has always been a lot of fun, with alcohol at the heart of it. After all, what’s more entertaining than a good laugh and a large drink… or six?
But recently, those relaxing drinks have become more crutch than comfort—and the couple have almost forgotten how to talk to each other sober.
Then their teenage daughter Holly uploads a video of their humiliating drunken escapades, which gets picked up by YouTube superstar PinkyPud—and goes horrifyingly viral.
In a last-ditch attempt to prove to the world they’re more than just boozy idiots, Kate and Scott quit alcohol completely. But with Holly’s… er… “help”, what begins as a family promise soon escalates into a social media phenomenon: #DryHard!
With the eyes of the Internet upon them, can Kate and Scott stay teetotal…and save their marriage in the process?"
"What do you do when the doctor says you could die at any moment? Well…after you’ve made a cup of tea, of course.
Nathan James is young, successful and has the world at his feet. Unfortunately, he’s also about to die—which ruins things somewhat. And now he’s staring imminent death in the face, Nathan is having to rethink some of his life choices very hard.
This means embarking on a hectic journey of self-discovery that includes, amongst other things, losing his dignity to an inescapable bean bag, suffering screaming nightmares about a monstrous potato, and getting up close and very personal with a bipolar donkey.
All of which is fine, but then Nathan falls in love with a charming girl called Alison, which is a really stupid thing to do. Because how can you give your heart to someone when it might be about to stop?
From Nick Spalding, the bestselling author of Fat Chance, Bricking It and Mad Love, comes a comedy about dying—which is easy—and living, which is most certainly not."
"Can two people who have never met make a marriage work? Popular dating site Sociality thinks so, and is marrying London lad Adam to California girl Jessica to prove it.
What better way to show that your ‘love algorithms’ work than to put two complete strangers together in an expensive publicity stunt? But, as livewire Jess and lazybones Adam quickly discover, just because a computer says you’re the perfect match, it doesn’t make it so!
Two million Sociality subscribers and the media are following the happy couple’s progress, and they have to make a go of it or they’ll lose everything, look like idiots, and destroy Sociality’s reputation. But can the mismatched pair, who seem to be constantly at each other’s throats, put their differences aside and work their way into each other’s hearts?
Nick Spalding, bestselling author of Fat Chance and Bricking It, will make you cry with laughter at this story of marital warfare—complete with sinking boats, badly aimed flatulence, well aimed tennis balls and some very suggestive pastry."
"When siblings Dan and Hayley Daley inherit their late grandmother’s derelict Victorian farmhouse, it seems like a dream come true. All they have to do is fix the place up and sell it for a tidy profit!
Except—as anyone who has renovated an old house knows—things are never that easy.
The walls are rapidly crumbling around them, the architect is a certified lunatic, the budget is spiraling…and then there’s the disturbingly intelligent cow to worry about.
On top of all this, the renovation is being featured on a daytime reality TV show, and as soon as Great Locations presenter Gerard O’Keefe catches sight of Hayley’s first-floor balcony, he’s determined to woo her out of her ban on romance, whether she wants him to or not.
Will Dan and Hayley survive and sell up? Or will the whole thing collapse on them like a ton of bricks?
From bestselling author Nick Spalding comes a hilarious tale of life, love and dodgy plumbing."
"Meet Zoe and Greg Milton, a married couple who have let themselves go a bit.
Zoe was a stunner in her college days, but the intervening decades have added five stone, and removed most of her self-esteem. Greg's rugby-playing days are well and truly behind him, thanks to countless pints of beer and chicken curry.
When Elise, a radio DJ and Zoe's best friend, tells them about a new competition, it seems like the perfect opportunity to turn their lives around. Fat Chance will pit six hefty couples against one another to see who can collectively lose the most weight and walk away with a £50,000 prize.
So begins six months of abject misery, tears, and frustration—that just might turn out to be the best thing that ever happened to them—in another laugh-out-loud look at the way we live now from bestselling author Nick Spalding."
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