Two girls sit on a bench on a windy pier. This summer will change them both forever. A captivating story of love, betrayal and family secrets set in a Victorian seaside holiday town.

Martha must forget her old life. Arriving with her mother to a new house by the sea, she has to accept that her father, her prospects and her old home are gone. Filled with resentment, she takes a job at the Grand Hotel on the seafront.

Then she meets Lizzy.

Lizzy is everything Martha is not: open, curious and unafraid to see people for who they really are. Soon the two girls are meeting in secret, escaping to the beach after dark, and Martha begins to discover the possibility of a different kind of life.

But there is a reason Martha’s mother had them leave London under cover of night, and a reason Martha can’t tell Lizzy the truth about her family.

A Different Life is a moving story about yearning, betrayal and difference, but most of all, about the different paths we can take to love.

PRAISE FOR JULIA KELLY:

‘A beautifully written story of loss and love’ Florence Knapp, Sunday Times-bestselling author of THE NAMES

‘Tender, moving’ Daily Mail

‘A beautiful story of grief, hope and love’ Lucy Diamond, Sunday Times-bestselling author of ON A BEAUTIFUL DAY