Carmen and Grace by Melissa Coss Aquino

'Powerful' Sunday Times'Electric' Danya Kukafka'Vital' Katie Gutierrez 'A triumph' Alice Ryan'A powerful read' Heat'Read this book!' Angie Cruz'An instant classic' Morning Star'Deserves all the hype' Glamour'Crackles with life' Xochitl Gonzalez'The book of the year' Rene DenfeldCarmen and Grace have been inseparable since they were little girls – more like sisters than cousins, survivors of a childhood marked by neglect and addiction. For too long, all they had was each other.

That is, until Doña Durka swept into their lives and changed everything, taking Grace into her home and playing an outsize role in Carmen’s upbringing too. But Durka is more than a beneficent force in their Bronx neighbourhood. She’s also the leader of an underground drug empire, a larger-than-life matriarch who understands the importance of taking what power she can in a world too often ruled by violent men.

So when Durka dies suddenly, Carmen and Grace’s lives are thrown into chaos. Grace has been primed to take over and has grand plans to expand the business, but Carmen is ready to move on – from Durka’s shadow, and from always looking over her shoulder in fear.

As tough and tender as its main characters, Carmen and Grace is a devastatingly wise and intimate story about the bonds of female friendship, ambition and found family.

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Binding: Paperback,
Pagination: 448 pages