Bluff (v.)

To deceive someone through the art of pretence (namely Warren The-Traitorous-Arseface Barton)

Em Stewart is no pushover. She can hot wire a car, torpedo a beer in under ten seconds, and make the most curse-hardy trooper blush with her colourful tongue. But when she's abandoned by Warren, her long-time boyfriend, twenty minutes into starting their new life together on a remote island, she's in a tailspin.

Somehow, she must forge their fresh start on her own in a place full of strangers and find her groove within the small island community – even with its songbird-loving eccentricities.

The problem is Em isn't very good at hiding the truth. Her face syphons blood off her organs every time she meets the local ranger, and she accidentally gives up the island's greatest secret to the one person most willing to exploit it.

Now Em has to perform the biggest bluff of her life to protect her new home against the corporate interest of her ex-boyfriend, even if it means ruining a fresh shot at love before it's had much of a chance.

But Em's not afraid of going down in a revenge-fuelled blaze of glory. And one thing's for sure: She's about to take the islanders on the ride of their lives.

Bluffing for Beginners is the second of four stand-alone novels in the award-winning Good Life series.