Chris Manby Books

Stupendo the dog has died. But that's just the beginning of his story.

Five years after leaving university, Lizzie Jordan considers herself one of life's failures, unlike her highflying friends. She still corresponds with Brian, a former student friend, and is overjoyed when he announces a visit.

In the quaint seaside town of Newbay, a beginner's cookery course is starting. And three very different students have signed up. Liz's husband has left her for a twenty-something clean-eating blogger, and she's determined to show the world - and her daughter - she's just as capable in the kitchen. John, newly widowed after fifty years of marriage, can't live on sympathy lasagnes forever. To thirty-year-old workaholic Bella, the course is a welcome escape from her high-pressure job. Their only common ground: between them, they can barely boil an egg! Enter talented chef Alex, who is determined to introduce his pupils to the comforts of cuisine. As Liz, John and Bella encounter various disasters in the kitchen, the unlikely trio soon form a fast friendship. Their culinary skills might be catastrophic - but could the cookery club have given them a recipe for happiness?

The perfect festive stocking-filler: a heartwarming and funny novel by bestselling author Chrissie Manby.

Hilarious, heartwarming chick lit perfect for your beach bag, by bestselling author Chrissie Manby.

The first in a laugh-out-loud, new chick lit series by bestselling author Chrissie Manby, perfect for your beach bag.

A romantic, heartwarming and funny novel full of the magic of Christmas, by bestselling author Chrissie Manby. Mince pies and mayhem guaranteed!

The hilarious new romantic comedy from the author of FLATMATES and DEEP HEAT.

Recovering in hospital from an appendix operation, Ali Harris whiles away her time by entering magazine competitions. A few weeks later, she's delighted to discover that she's won first prize in Complete Woman magazine's Most Romantic Couple of the Year competition. There's just one problem. Ali has been dumped by her fiance, and there's no way she can claim her prize - a romantic holiday for two in Antigua - on her own. Help is at hand in the unlikely form of Jeremy 'Boily' Baxter, the spotty boy next door. But Ali's troubles have only just begun.

The perils and pitfalls of flatsharing are brought vividly to life in this frank and funny first novel by an exceptionally talented new writer who possesses a wickedly accurate eye for detail and a highly infectious sense of humour.

When Lindsey Parker's widowed father announces that he is to remarry, Lindsey does what any good daughter would do: wishes him congratulations then sets about trying to kill his fiancée, Karen. Fortunately, the murder attempt fails but Lindsey still succeeds in driving Karen off. It doesn't take long, however, before Lindsey realizes that her father's heart really is broken and the only way to mend it is by getting Karen back. But Karen already has a new man - mysterious entrepreneur. Lindsey enlists the help of an old schoolmate, now private detective, in an attempt to break this new couple up, but when on her friend's advice, Lindsay turns honey-trapper and sets out to seduce her ex-future-step-mother's new man, she finds herself falling in love...

When the glamorous Grosvenor sisters arrive in the exclusive Hamptons beach town of Little Elbow, they can't help but cause a stir. Gorgeous Grace and Charming Charity are soon hot favourites on everybody's guest-list. Except that of their neighbour, Marcella Hunter. Heiress Marcella doesn't want the competition and when Grace starts dating Marcella's 'Plan B' man - dull but extraordinarily rich Choate Fitzgerald - the gloves are off. Marcella determines to find out where the sisters really came from. And exactly how they can afford to rent a six-bedroom beach house in this millionaires' playground. In the process, however, it's discovered that quite a few of the people spending that summer in Little Elbow are not exactly what they seem...

Why is it that your best friend always seems to end up with men who treat her badly? Why is that your best male friend seems intent on dating the kind of girl who thinks that Nietzche is an STD? Why is it that your own little black book looks more and more like the non-celeb client list of the Priory? Why can't any of you find someone quite right? Ruby, Martin and Lou are three old friends who have spent too much time talking about the ones that got away. Facing another summer without love, they decide to approach the dating dilemma in the way they approached finding flatmates. They're going to place personal ads. For one another.

"The day Emily Brown opens her very own beauty salon, she couldn't be happier. This has been her dream since she was a little girl. And she's even more pleased when her business starts to take off, especially after a celebrity endorsement from reality TV star Carina Lees." "But even with the Z-Iist celeb's support, things start to go mysteriously wrong, and it soon becomes clear that someone's got it in for her." "Are Carina's favours as false as her hair extensions? The search for the truth will lead to all out Spa Wars."--BOOK JACKET.

"Have you ever had your heart broken? How did you get over it? Did a tub of ice-cream cheer you up? Did you delete his number and start again? Are you now friends with your ex? Perhaps you're godmother to his children? In which case, you're a weirdo and this book is not for you. But if you reacted with denial, begging or a spot of casual witchcraft, then you've come to the right place. This is one woman's journey from love to lunacy and back again. If you ever recall past heartbreaks with acute embarrassment and an urge to go into hiding, this will make you feel better. Sure, you may have sent his new girlfriend a bunch of dead roses, but did you spend a grand on psychic hot-lines and a voodoo curse?"--Publisher's description.

Following the phenomenal success of Girls' Night In, you're invited to spend another night with the hottest women authors in town . . . and some fellas as well (under strict supervision, of course). Over forty of your favourite writers have written stories specially for Girls' Night In, Gentlemen by Invitation, making it the chunkiest and funkiest book around. And since all of the proceeds go to the charity War Child, by buying this book you've made a difference to the lives of children devastated by conflict. Guaranteed to make you laugh, cry and . . . blush, Girls' Night In, Gentlemen by Invitationcontains bedtime stories that your parents never told you.

Upright young zoologist Dr. Jennifer Niederhauser is looking forward to making her mark in the conservation world as head of the chimpanzee project at Prowdes Animal Sanctuary. Prowdes seems even more determined to make its mark on her with its uncontrollable chimps and even wilder keepers. Especially Guy Gibson, her deputy and part-time Gorilla-Gram. But Prowdes is in financial trouble and she may not have a job for much longer. Salvation comes in the form of a documentary team who want to film the sanctuary's most recent arrival, Ulysses. But does Jennifer need to be exposed to the show's presenter, chimpanzee expert Dr. Timothy Lauder? Who is also, unfortunately, her ex...

Lizzie Jordan has her life all mapped out: a glittering acting career at the RSC, followed by Hollywood, Oscars, babies, and hapiness--including her marriage to Richard. But instead, Lizzie is sharing a cockroach-infested house in Venice Beach, California, working as a waitress in a transvestite bar and pretending to be the fiancée of a gay Hollywood director. Maybe running away wasn't such a good idea, after all.

Lara Fenton is resigned to life on the shelf, especially now her best friend Julie's got engaged. But then Lara is swept off her feet by the divine Hugh Armstrong-Hamilton - and suddenly nothing can spoil her happiness. Hugh has his faults - Lara can't deny that - but who cares if he cancels dates at the last minute? What does it matter if he never picks up the bill? Lara can even put up with the insults from his snooty friends. Just to be seen on the arm of someone like Hugh is consolation enough. After Hugh, any man would seem like second prize. And Lara would never be able to settle for that. Or would she . . .?

Every bride is entitled to some pre-wedding jitters. And what girl wouldn't think twice about marriage when her fiancé gets his eyebrows shaved off just in time to look horrendous for the photographs. But what if it's not the ceremony that freaks you out but the happy ever after? Heidi Savage is wondering whether she can really forsake all others for macho, beer-swilling Ed. And how can a couple who've never even been baby-sitters be ready to start a family of their own? Will the answer come in the form of her ex-boyfriend Steven? Grown-up, gorgeous and good-with-children. Is Heidi's dilemma simply a case of right shoes, right dress, wrong husband?

Top authors Jessica Adams, Fiona Walker, and Chris Manby present an anthology featuring stories from bestselling young women writers, all centered around the theme of the battle of the sexes, with proceeds benefiting War Child. Each story showcases the unique style of its writer.

Heiress and celebrity Birdie Sederburg has been used to getting everything she wants. That is, until hot young actor Dean Stevenson (quite literally) crashes into her life. Birdie's convinced she's found The One. But Dean is only in it for his career, and is resisting her charm offensive. Still, Birdie is not prepared to admit defeat. As her obsession with Dean grows, she realises she may have to do something drastic to make him fall in love with her. But is getting herself kidnapped in order to win his heart as insane as it sounds? How far would you go for love?

When Rachel Buckley announces that she is going to get married, her best friends Yaslyn and Carrie Ann can't wait to give her a proper send-off. No second-rate male stripper in a smoky bar for Rachel though. The girls choose instead to take a 'hen week' in Turkey, in the all-inclusive surroundings of luxurious holiday resort. It should be the perfect trip. But all three girls are bringing along more than their luggage. While Rachel looks forward to her wedding day with excitement, Carrie Ann wonders why the pain of her abusive marriage didn't end when the decree nisi arrived and Yaslyn considers the possibility that she might never be ready to marry her patient boyfriend Euan. Add unlimited free cocktails, rampant reps and a nasty dose of sunstroke and suddenly 'getting away from it all' comes dangerously close to 'going back to nothing'. Can three firm friendships survive just seven sunny days?

Tracey Mortimer is 33, stuck in a dull marriage that's only tolerable because her husband is rarely at home; and her days with two children are a never-ending round of kids' TV and alphabetti spaghetti. It's a long way from being the Most Popular Girl in the School ...So when a TV company decides to make a reality-style show on a perfect school reunion it could be Tracey's chance to re-live the good old days. But not all her ex-classmates remember their school days in quite the same way. Tracey made Suzanne Sharp's life hell - so what better way to get her own back than revenge live on national television ...

Turbulenter Roman um drei Freunde, ihr "Dating-Dilemma" und wie sie es lösen wollen.§§Warum gerät Lou immer an Männer, die unzuverlässig und sprunghaft sind? Warum ist Martin auf Frauen abonniert, die Nietzsche für eine neue japanische Automarke halten? Warum hat Ruby gar keine Lust mehr, sich mit jemandem zu verabreden? Warum kann keiner der drei endlich den richtigen Partner finden? Alle drei geraten immer wieder an die Falschen, und sie haben davon die Nase voll. Deswegen greifen sie zu einer völlig neuen Methode: Sie geben Kontaktanzeigen auf - und zwar füreinander. Ist das der Pfad zum Glück oder der sichere Weg in die Katastrophe?

Wer einmal lügt: Lizzie führt ein aufregendes Leben mit hippen Parties und wichtigen Meetings. Doch dieses Leben gibt es nur in ihrer Fantasie und in ihren E-Mails an Brian, ihre Studienliebe. Eines Tages kündigt er seinen Besuch an. Wie soll Lizzie erklären, dass die Schilderung ihres Lebens ein klein wenig von der Realität abweicht? Fantasievoll wie sie ist, hat sie bald einen wunderbaren, absolut sicheren Plan ... Und meistens kommt es anders: Lizzie freut sich auf eine glanzvolle Theaterkarriere und darauf, bald Mrs. Adams zu werden. Doch einen Monat später ist sie Single und jobbt als Kellnerin. Ein bekannter (und schwuler) Regisseur engagiert sie schließlich, um seine Verlobte zu spielen eine letzte Freude für seine todkranke Mutter. Doch die Aussicht auf die Hochzeit ihres Sohnes und Enkelkinder lässt die alte Dame auf wundersame Weise wieder genesen ... "Die Romane um Lizzie Jordan sind temporeich, witzig und unwiderstehlich." Cosmopolitan

Una data, un nome, un destino. Nata il giorno delle nozze tra il principe Carlo e la principessa del Galles, Diana cresce in un mondo dorato, viziata dai genitori. Ora, con la data del matrimonio fissata con il suo Ben, desidera organizzare un evento indimenticabile, "regale". Dall'altra parte, Kate, prossima ai quarant'anni, non ha mai pensato di sposarsi, troppo impegnata con il lavoro e senza un uomo che le faccia battere il cuore. Ma Ian, una persona generosa e affidabile, entra nella sua vita, e la malattia terminale della madre la spinge ad accettare la proposta di matrimonio, a patto che la cerimonia sia sobria e intima. Diana e Kate, due donne opposte, si incontrano per caso davanti a un abito da sposa sontuoso, perfetto per Diana ma troppo appariscente per Kate. Il destino, però, è capriccioso: quel vestito sembra disegnato apposta per Kate, suscitando la gelosia di Diana. L'organizzazione dei due matrimoni si trasforma così in un turbinio di sorprese e tensioni, rivelando quanto le loro vite siano intrecciate in modi inaspettati.

Opustil vás? Klidně šílejte… Ale ne až takhle. Zlomil vám někdo srdce? Jak jste se z toho dostala? Rozveselila vás vana zmrzliny? Vymazala jste z mobilu jeho číslo a začala znovu? Jste teď s bývalým kamarádi? Možná jste kmotrou jeho dětí? V tom případě jste divná a tohle čtení není pro vás. Pokud jste ovšem zareagovala popřením reality, prosbami, nebo jste se dala na magii, držíte v ruce tu správnou knihu. Projděte si cestou jedné ženy od lásky k šílenství a zase zpátky. Pokud na předchozí milostné nezdary vzpomínáte se silným pocitem trapnosti a touhou jít se někam schovat, tahle kniha vám spraví náladu. Jistě, možná jste jeho nové přítelkyni poslala kytici pohřebních růží, ale tisíce za horkou linku na vědmu a za kletbu voodoo jste určitě neutratila, viďte?

Bohatá dědička a celebrita Birdie Sederburgová byla zvyklá dostat vše, co si umanula. Tedy do chvíle, kdy narazila, a to doslova, na začínajícího přitažlivého herce Deana Stevensona. Birdie se domnívá, že našla toho pravého, Dean nikoliv, ten vnímá jen její slávu. S dívkou se schází za účelem zvýšení vlastní popularity, aby pomohl své herecké kariéře. Takže nemá problém odolávat její milostné ofenzivě. Birdie přesto není ochotná přiznat si porážku, její posedlost Deanem naopak narůstá. Chce získat jeho lásku za každou cenu. Co kdyby zinscenovala vlastní únos? To by mohlo pohnout Deanovým srdcem a probudit v něm lásku. Je to tak šílený nápad, jak se na první pohled zdá?