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Maeve Haran

    January 1, 1950

    Maeve Haran crafts compelling narratives that delve into the complexities of human relationships and societal constraints. Her work often places resilient female protagonists against dramatic historical backdrops, exploring their struggles with love, status, and personal freedom. Haran possesses a unique ability to illuminate the inner lives of her characters and bring the past to vivid life through rich detail and immersive storytelling. Her approach skillfully blends historical authenticity with a profound understanding of universal human desires and conflicts.

    Maeve Haran
    It Takes Two
    A Soft Touch
    An Italian Holiday
    The Painted Lady
    The Time of their Lives
    In the Summertime
    • In the Summertime

      • 368 pages
      • 13 hours of reading

      In the Summertime is a novel filled with wit, warmth and romance set deep in the South Downs.

      In the Summertime
      3.9
    • The Time of their Lives

      • 448 pages
      • 16 hours of reading

      From the bestselling author of Having It All Haven't you heard? Sixty is the new forty . . . Each month best friends Claudia, Sal, Ella and Laura meet for drinks, celebrating 45 years of friendship. They know each other and their lives inside out. Their ambitions, careers, husbands, lovers, children, hopes, fears, the paths taken and not taken . . . Sal had spent a lifetime building a career as a successful magazine editor but she hadn’t banked on the one thing over which she had no control. Claudia loved her urban existence – the thought of the country sent shivers down her spine. But, as many women will know, other people’s needs always seem to come first . . . Ella is ready to try something different. But she hadn’t bargained on quite such a radical change . . . Laura succumbed to the oldest cliché in the book. But it didn’t make it any easier to accept. Outside of the supportive world of their friendships, they find their lives are far from what they expected – the generation that wanted to change the world didn’t bargain on getting old. A truthful, provocative, funny and inspiring novel, The Time of their Lives, asks hard questions about what the world offers women as they get older and finds both moving and joyously uplifting answers in the different ways the four friends celebrate their coming of age . . .

      The Time of their Lives
      3.7
    • The Painted Lady

      • 493 pages
      • 18 hours of reading

      Sixteen-year-old Frances Stuart arrives at the Restoration court to find her innocence and beauty are highly-prized commodities, envied by the women and desired by the men. Before long, King Charles II falls passionately in love with her and will stop at nothing to make her his mistress.

      The Painted Lady
      3.7
    • An Italian Holiday

      • 464 pages
      • 17 hours of reading

      Sunshine, warmth, lemon blossom . . . Springtime in glorious Southern Italy can go to your head. Especially if you are escaping an overbearing husband, the embarrassingly public loss of your company, an interfering mother who still tries to run your life or the pain of a husband's affair with a girl young enough to be his daughter. As the Italian sun ripens the lemons in the groves that tumble down the hillsides and the Mediterranean dazzles beneath them, assertive Angela, extrovert Sylvie, unconfident Claire and mousy Monica find burgeoning friendship and begin to blossom in quite unexpected ways. Packed with memorable characters--from the acid-tongued Grand Old Man of Modern Art who lives next door--to the aspiring gigolo who thinks nothing of a 40 year age gap, this novel is a witty and entertaining reminder of why going a little mad in the sun can sometimes be exactly what you need.

      An Italian Holiday
      3.7
    • A Soft Touch

      • 402 pages
      • 15 hours of reading

      Pretty, well-balanced Rachel used to be every mother's dream. Now she's every mother's nightmare. The reason? sexy, sultry Marko, Mr Darcy with a nose stud. As Marko lures Rachel off to save a woodland and lose her virginity, her nice liberal mum, Catherine, wishes she could lock Rachel in the bedroom, while Rachel's disapproving granny, Lavinia, decides on some far more dramatic action. In this poignantly funny and wildly entertaining story of the war between the generations, all three women find their values - and their love lives - changed forever.

      A Soft Touch
      3.1
    • Novel about family life in the 1990s. When Tess's marriage is blown apart she has to face the question she's always dreaded - should you stay together for the sake of the children?.

      It Takes Two
      3.4
    • The Way We Were

      • 352 pages
      • 13 hours of reading

      In The Way We Were, Maeve Haran shows that we don't have to always do what's expected of us, no matter what age we are.Love can be full of surprises.Rachel is a promising A-level student - until she falls for sexy, dangerous Marko; Mr Darcy with a nose stud.Her mother, Catherine, is trying to be a good parent and work colleague - but wishes the attentions of her attractive boss didn't suddenly seeming so alluring.Grandmother Lavinia is certain of her values, protecting the country village she loves from change - until the return of a long-lost love reminds her that life moves on, for people as well as places. Is it too late for Lavinia to embrace change and find happiness?After all these years - and a lifetime divided by convention - could they really throw other people's expectations to the wind and be the way they were?

      The Way We Were
      3.2
    • The Greek Holiday

      • 368 pages
      • 13 hours of reading

      From the bestselling author of An Italian Holiday comes a humorous, thought-provoking novel about friendship, family and romance.

      The Greek Holiday
      3.6
    • Having it all

      • 528 pages
      • 19 hours of reading

      Liz Ward believed that it was possible to 'have it all' - a glittering career, a successful marriage and a happy family. She wanted it to be possible. But with the chance to become one of the most powerful women in television comes the knowledge that it all could just be a con. Liz accepts the job of programme controller at Metro TV, only to find that it may be the biggest mistake of her life.

      Having it all
      3.6
    • A Very French Wedding

      • 432 pages
      • 16 hours of reading

      Friends and lovers, old and new, come together and fall apart in deepest France culminating in a very special chateau wedding.

      A Very French Wedding
      3.3