Cirrus@Austlit

'A legendary ruin. An ancient mystery. Will unveiling the past transform the future.

'San Francisco, 2007. Madeline Moretti is grieving for her fiance. Nothing brings her joy any more, and Maddie's grandmother, a fiery Italian, sends her to Tuscany to heal. Here, Maddie is immersed in the mystery of a ruined villa. Destroyed centuries ago in a legendary storm on the Eve of St Agnes, it has been known ever since as the Casa al Vento - the House of the Wind.

'Tuscany, 1347. Mia hasn't spoken since her mother's death, and lives in silence with her beloved aunt. One dark night, a couple seek refuge in their villa. Used to welcoming passing pilgrims, Mia is entranced by the young bride's radiance and compassion, but mystified by her reluctance to reveal even her name. Where has she come from, and why must her presence be a secret? Centuries apart, each searching for a way to step into her future, Mia and Maddie will be haunted by the myth of the woman who walked unscathed from the ruins of the House of the Wind.' (Publication summary)

'In Cold War Leningrad, Sofi and her cousins Natalya and Lena hope for a different life for themselves. Their dreams of the West - of fame and wealth and beautiful things - sustain them through creeping poverty, the long shivering winters, and the loss of their fathers. When the fall of the Soviet Union brings them new opportunities, the three girls decide they'll stop at nothing to make their dreams come true.

'Each woman grasps at a new life in Europe and, for a while, it seems fortune has smiled on them. But gradually things unravel as reality fails to live up to their teenage dreams.

'Sofi's life in a small village in rural France is idyllic, but her husband is remote and cool. Nataliya shines on the red carpets and at the fashion shows of London, but her success is precariously reliant on another's whims. Lena has two beautiful children and a loving husband, but in her mind her sister casts too long a shadow directly and she becomes obsessed with the past.

'Dissatisfactions prompt jealousies, rivalries and betrayals. As their relationships splinter, none of them is aware of a dark figure from their Russian years, and the bad luck that still lies in wait for them...'

Source: Author's website, http://www.kimwilkins.com/
Sighted: 24/09/2008

'When Lucy's husband of eighteen years runs out on her, she'll do anything to win him back. Including climbing out of her bedroom window at one in the morning wearing her daughter's mini skirt.

'Jasper has left Lucy for her best friend, the chic and thin interior decorator Renee. To make matters worse, her teenage daughter Tally, blames her Mum. "Dad left because you've let yourself go, you're overweight and you nagged him. No wonder he buggered off."

'While Tally is busy trying to find a loophole in her birth certificate so she can put herself up for adoption, Lucy tries to accept that a child is for life and not just for Christmas. Although a signed-up member of Underachievers Anonymous, in Lucy's quest to win back her husband she learns to be a surf life saver, loses weight and gets a job. She also falls in lust, finding herself torn between an older and a much younger man.But it's not until Lucy makes the Freudian discovery that her toy boy is also dating her daughter - and that he's been paid to do so by her conniving ex as ammunition for a custody battle, that she finally learns to stand on her own two stilettos.' (Publisher's blurb)

'As a teenager, Cassie Munro fled her seaside hometown of Bilkara, taking a dark secret with her to a new life in London. Now, devastated by revelations of her husband's betrayal and a brutal attack on her father, she returns home feeling she has nothing left to lose.

'Against her better judgement, she finds herself battling to save her family's beloved tow-truck business. With violent opposition from a competitor and only lukewarm support from her childhood mentor, the tattooed towie Kingi, she seems set to fail. In the midst of her struggle, Cassie is reunited with her first love, Mack, who forces her to confront her guilty secret and the tragic past they share.' (Publisher's blurb)