A Winter Wedding At Primrose Hall By Jill Steeples
As the year draws to an end at Primrose Hall, Pia and her Lord of the Manor fiancé Jackson are putting the finishing touches to their annual Carols by Candlelight evening.
The past twelve months have not all been plain sailing – Jackson’s father Rex had a serious health scare, his long-lost brother Tom appeared unannounced, and Jackson himself had his own disaster. So the family are thrilled to finally be able to look forward to Christmas together and the event of the year – Jackson and Pia’s long-awaited wedding.
With the idyllic backdrop of Primrose Woods, the dream venue, and a community ready to celebrate with them, Pia and Jackson are counting the days until they are husband and wife. Now they just need to cross their fingers that the dramas of the previous year are all behind them…
Single dad and rancher Colter Wayne has moved mountains to bring teachers to Pronghorn, Oregon. So he’s floored when one of the new arrivals is the woman he almost married. To make matters worse, it looks like Willa Marshall still hasn’t forgiven him. But the kids need Willa, and she needs his help navigating small-town life. Can Colter and Willa learn to let go of the past and embrace the future…together?
Colter is a charming rancher and a single father to his daughter. Willa, a school teacher, shares a history with Colter. Years ago, Colter did something that caused Willa to leave Pronghorn. Now, this small town needs teachers, and Willa has never completely forgotten Colter. In addition to ranching, Colter is also the president of the school board. After 14 years, Willa returns to Pronghorn as one of five new teachers. Colter is quick to apologize, but Willa has moved on and doesn’t intend to look back.
I loved the small-town setting; Loretta added a lot of humor, and the other characters contributed to the story’s lively mix. Willa and Colter’s second chance was heartwarming, and I’m eager to read more from this series!
Helicopter paramedic Tama James isn’t afraid of hard work, danger or putting his patients first. And he expects nothing less from his team. But when his newest recruit arrives, the bubbly and beautiful Mikayla Elliot, he’s unimpressed to discover she didn’t earn her place. She’s the superior’s daughter. So, he’ll make it is mission to show her just how tough the job really is!
However, Qualified doctor Mikayla is determined to prove everyone wrong. Starting with Tama whose smile is irresistible and infuriatingly arrogant! But neither expected the added distraction of the chemistry catching fire between them. Can they ignore it long enough to keep things professional?
Shy PA Mareka works hard to hide her attraction to her superrich boss, Cayetano Figueroa—until picking up his engagement ring. Unable to resist the dazzling diamond, she impulsively tries it on…and is caught on camera. Suddenly the world thinks she’s Caye’s bride!
Tightly wound Caye is only marrying to keep control of his company. When the scandalous headlines cost him his convenient fiancée, Mareka is the obvious replacement. Yet as they’re alone together in his opulent Argentinian estate, Caye must confront his hunger for the woman testing his self-control to its limit…
Caye is a handsome, alpha billionaire, and Mareka is his European personal assistant. Mareka has a crush on Caye, who seems aloof and cold due to his difficult relationship with his parents. Mareka, too, is struggling with parents who seem indifferent to her. When a situation arises requiring Caye to enter into a fake marriage to inherit his grandfather’s business, he surprises everyone by choosing Mareka over his usual Argentinean fake fiancée, Octavia PA. The catch: to inherit the company, he must have a wife. Throughout the story, Caye seems distant and uninterested in Mareka, while Mareka finds herself falling harder for him with each passing day. The big question is whether Caye will eventually admit his feelings for Mareka. Will their marriage stay a fake arrangement, or will it transform into a real one with genuine love and commitment? This is a fun, fast-paced read that has a good mix of drama, conflict, bad parents, beautiful settings, steamy romance, engaging characters, and a plot that kept me hooked.
A Christmas Romance In The Scottish Highlands By Donna Ashcroft
Thirty-two-year-old Ella’s life is busy enough running her evil stepmother’s cleaning business, without adding Christmas into the mix. She doesn’t have time to play Cinderella in her local festive pantomime, but she recently lost her father, who loved the show and helped out every year, so she finds herself being fitted for glass slippers anyway. Her life may be falling apart, but she won’t let his memory down.
Then Ella meets brooding and handsome stranger, Alexander, who is playing Prince Charming, and her heart skips a beat. Might this knight-in-shining-armour inspire Mistletoe’s best show yet? But Alexander quickly makes it clear that he doesn’t want anything to do with her or their town’s traditions. And as the night of the show draws near, it’s one disaster after another, with the ugly stepbrothers falling suspiciously ill, and Alexander rolling his eyes at every chance he gets. Ella is exhausted and can’t help but feel she’s letting everyone – including her father – down.
But when an on-stage kiss gets a little too heated between Ella and Alexander, she’s surprised when he offers his muscled shoulder to lean on. Under the spotlight, Alex’s gentle encouragement of the child performers and his adorable pre-show nerves make Ella wonder if there may be more to her prince than she thought. As props go missing and scenery falls flat, can Ella and Alex bring the town to together for one last showstopper? And as the curtain falls on the performance of her life, will Ella find her fairytale ending?
Hope Blooms In Tuppenny Bridge By Sharon Booth
After years of putting others first, Daisy has found a place to call her own in the charming market town of Tuppenny Bridge. The Crafty Cook Café, her pride and joy, is a testament to her determination. But beneath her cheerful demeanour and flour-dusted apron, Daisy still carries the weight of her past.
As summer unfolds in the Yorkshire Dales, Daisy takes long hikes through wildflower meadows, gradually learning to leave her troubles behind with each step. When Daisy meets Noah Lavender, the kind-hearted local headmaster, they forge a connection that helps her more than any amount of cake therapy ever could. But it seems he’s not quite the uncomplicated Prince Charming she might have wished for – Noah carries a secret of his own…
Then, Daisy bumps into a figure from her past who forces her to confront long-buried memories. With autumn approaching, it feels time to take a leap of faith. But will the echoes of yesterday remind her that this new life is too precious to risk?
This Mother’s Day, they’re finding new moms …in these two irresistible novellas
Friendship could blossom into more in Lee Tobin McClain’s A Mother for His Childwhen single dad Blake Evans’s six-year-old daughter announces she wants her babysitter, Zoey Grey, to be her new mommy. And in Kathryn Springer’s The Mommy List, a little girl plays matchmaker between her dad, Gage Lawrence, and their next-door neighbor, Megan Albright…but are they ready to take that leap?
In “A Mother’s Gift,” I loved how McClain crafted the friends-to-sweethearts story. Widower Blake valued Zoey’s care as a babysitter for his daughter and cherished their friendship, but it took time for him to realize he was in love with her. The emotional ups and downs of their lives kept me hooked, reading late into the night.
In “The Mommy List,” Springer opened with a twist that surprised me. I loved how Gage’s daughter’s Mommy List led him to adopt a dog, ultimately bringing him to Megan, the dog rescue owner. Springer did a great job showing two sides of workaholics and how this theme played a key role in both characters’ growth.
Both authors explored the emotional impact of Mother’s Day when you’ve lost your mom, handling this sensitive topic with grace and compassion.
Chiara Fortemani is home for the holidays—technically, her family’s tiny villa—where she’ll explore post-breakup digs and grow their vineyard’s brand during Napa’s annual Christmas food and wine festival. But as she interviews local wood craftsmen to curate custom gifts, she’s shocked to run into Jameson West… her ex’s best friend.
Jameson has loved Chiara since he carved her a birdhouse in woodshop. She’s everything he ever wanted: beautiful, funny, loyal… but thanks to the bro code, off-limits. Now a rising investment banking star, Jameson’s in town temporarily to help the family business tackle seasonal contracts. West Woodworks has been making Fortemani casks for ages, so the job will be easy. It’s the unexpected reunion with newly single Chiara that has him on shaky ground.
As they design together, days in the lumberyard and nights on steamy calls create magic. When Jameson confesses his feelings, Chiara is amazed by this sweet, attentive man who always should’ve been her first choice. But Jameson is still her ex’s best friend. Is uprooting her life for a man again a huge mistake…or a Christmas miracle?
When he issued his impulsive invitation… their passion wasn’t meant to last!
A devastating injury brought Joan Santos’s world crashing down. Until, at a high-society wedding, her raw encounter with brooding billionaire Ivo Faulkner makes Joan feel alive for the first time in months!
With his private jet booked for the next day, Ivo has a business deal he’s intent on closing. Except after his night with Joan, his infamous laser focus is nowhere to be found! He invites her to his opulent castle to exorcise their attraction, but by indulging their temptation, Ivo risks being unable to ever let his oh-so tempting Cinderella go…
I thoroughly enjoyed the romantic journey of Ivo and Joan. Ivo, a billionaire in the middle of a business deal, shares a passionate night with Joan that he can’t seem to forget. He invites her back to his castle, and their chemistry is undeniable as they navigate their forced proximity. Their attraction, chemistry, and growing love for each other made them a delightful couple to follow.
When Stella finds herself back home with a string of disastrous dates under her belt, she’s certain she’s hit rock bottom. Until she discovers her mother has signed her up to The Love Hotel: a luxury matchmaking service where a perfect love match is guaranteed! Stella is adamant she’ll have nothing to do with this nonsense! But then a match is found faster than she can say ‘Not. A. Chance!’ So, how bad can two weeks in the scorching Spanish sunshine be?
Very bad, actually. Because when Stella arrives, she’s mortified to learn her date is no perfect stranger. In fact she knows him a little too well. Because Max is the childhood sweetheart who broke her heart, who her heart remembers and who is more gorgeous than ever.
With no refunds, Stella reluctantly decides to stay and enjoy the holiday – all she has to do is keep Max at an arm’s length…right? Easier said than done when Max is impossible to ignore. And as the Love Hotel begins to work its matchmaking magic, Stella can’t deny that the sparks still sizzle between them. And maybe, the experts were right after all…
Personal shopper Annie Valentine is back! Older and bolder!
Fashion guru Annie is struggling to cope with her hectic life. With the demands of two older children, plus four-year-old twins, her marriage to Ed is in a romance-free rut and she’s clinging by a couture thread to her job as the nation’s favourite fashion fixer.
And where is Svetlana, her multi-millionaire friend, when Annie needs her? Busy with an expensive mid-life crisis, that’s where!
When Ed gets the chance to teach in Paris, Annie thinks time apart could be the answer. Wrong!
In Paris, Ed transforms into a debonair silver fox, attracting the attentions of stylish siren Sylvie.
Annie can’t lose her man or the job she loves, so bundling her bags, her babies and a reluctant Svetlana onto the Eurostar, she sets off to the rescue. But can the City of Love deliver the ooh la la that her marriage, and her fashion series, so desperately needs?
In the latest chapter of Annie Valentine’s life, her husband Ed goes to Paris for a work exchange program, leaving her feeling overwhelmed by his absence and realizing how much she depends on him and her sister, Dinah, who helps with childcare. While taking her kids to visit a friend, Annie nearly crashes her car when she sees a social media post showing Ed sitting closely with a beautiful colleague in Paris.
Annie decides to visit Paris under the guise of researching French fashion for her show. She arranges for Dinah to look after her older son, Owen, and takes her twins to Paris to find out what’s happening with Ed. Meanwhile, her friend Svetlana, feeling the void left by her sons going to boarding school, plans some cosmetic surgery but agrees to meet Annie in Paris for a makeover.
Chaos ensues in Paris as Annie navigates her strained relationship with Ed and helps Svetlana update her decades-old style. This installment explores themes of priorities, responsibilities, and how people react to aging—some embrace it while others try to recapture their youth. The book offers a more serious tone than earlier in the series, with Annie reflecting on her marriage, career, and family dynamics.
Despite the turmoil, the story maintains a strong sense of humor and relatable characters. The author leaves the story open-ended, hinting at more adventures for Annie. This chapter stands out as a compelling read, with a blend of comedy, drama, and deeper themes of personal growth and reconciliation. Overall, the book provides a satisfying continuation to the series, leaving readers eager for the next chapter.
My Sanctuary 