Publication Day – Page 50

Happy Publication Day – 9 November 2023

Four Weddings And A Christmas By Phillipa Ashley

Can the spirit of Christmas reignite an old flame?

With her thriving business Cottage Angels, Freya Bolton prepares the Lake District’s holiday homes for Christmas visitors. It’s her job to think of everything, from cinnamon-scented candles to tasteful decorations and hampers of seasonal treats.

If only her love life were such a success… After being burned by past relationships, she’s now determined to steer clear of love for good.

So when she bumps into gorgeous – and single – ex-boyfriend Travis, a no-strings festive fling seems perfect.

But when her feelings for him begin to develop, is she on track for another romantic calamity? Or could this Christmas give her the gift of true love?

The Last Train Home By Elle Cook

On the last train home you expect to find…

– Standing space only
– Drunk people singing
– The overpowering smell of McDonalds

You never expect to find love.

When Abbie and Tom cross paths traveling home after a night out, their eyes meet across a crowded carriage and their connection is unmistakable.

What they don’t know is that moments later they will both be caught up in an event that will change them forever.

It’s one that will bring them together. But it will also tear them apart.

A lot can happen in seven seconds. A lot can happen in seven years.

Can they find their way back to each other?

Christmas With The Lords By Hannah Langdon

URGENTLY WANTED: a nanny for Christmas. Seeking an adventurous nanny to work for the aristocratic Lord family at their country estate. Must love naughty dogs, mischievous children and have a high tolerance for Christmas chaos. Room and board provided.

Penny Windlesham is stunned when her long-term boyfriend suddenly dumps her, leaving her with a broken heart just in time for Christmas. At a loose end, she accepts a job as a short-term nanny to a family she’s never met. Climbing aboard a train bound for the Dorset countryside, a tear rolls down her cheek. Alone, working and amongst strangers… could her Christmas be any less magical?

As she crunches up the family’s frost-covered drive, Penny’s spirits lift when she glimpses her home for the next month: an enormous manor house, its windows glowing with firelight and festooned with twinkling holly. And, as she settles into her role caring for the adorable Lord children, she finds herself surrounded by a quirky cast of characters, including loveably frazzled Spanish chef Pilar and the children’s grouchy uncle, Lando Lord.

Despite Penny’s attempts to avoid him, the darkly handsome Lando seems to be everywhere – hanging around like Scrooge amidst the happy present-wrapping and gingerbread baking. Apparently he wasn’t always this way… is there some secret reason he’s so cranky at Christmas?

When Lando is commissioned to carve a beautiful new Nativity scene for the local church, Penny blushingly agrees to be his model, and a sudden spark flickers between them. But it’s not long before the past comes knocking, and Penny discovers exactly why Lando left his old life behind…

Happy Publication Day – 8 November 2023

The French Chateau Escape By Gillian Harvey

It seemed like a good idea. Selling everything we owned. Just Mark and me, swapping our tiny, little, terraced London home – and the heartbreak of not being able to start a family – for an entire chateau in the middle of France… It’s everyone’s dream. And now it’s coming true for us.

As I use the rusty key to open the big, creaking wooden door of the tumbledown fairytale chateau that’s officially our new home, I wonder: what could possibly go wrong?

Little do I know that the answer is going to be… ‘everything’. I don’t speak nearly as much French as I should yet, but I feel like there’s no mistaking the villagers’ hostility. Nor the look of shock on the builder’s face when he sees the roof.

Can our marriage survive this adventure? With all the tumbling masonry, will we?

As the French sun blazes overhead, one thing’s for sure: it’s going to be a year to remember…

Happy Publication Day – 7 November 2023

The First Day Without You By Melissa Hill

Leonie has left behind everything and everyone she loves for a fresh start in California. Desperate to outrun the mess she’s come from, she hopes the change of scenery can mend her broken heart and bury her secrets forever. But when she discovers a bundle of unread love letters hidden in the back of a wardrobe in her new apartment, she is intrigued by the mystery behind them…and can’t help but notice the similarities between them and her own story.

With the help of her new friend Alex, a news reporter toting around baggage of her own, Leonie embarks on a quest down the West Coast to find the ill-fated lovers from the letters and reunite them, whatever it takes. Even if it means confronting the hurt she’s buried deep within herself. Because if the couple behind the love letters can find a happy ending, then perhaps she just might too.

Before I’m Gone By Heidi McLaughlin

Palmer Sinclair has never needed anyone’s help. A successful loan officer, she’s all work and no play. But when splitting headaches and blurred vision begin to affect her job, she begrudgingly sees a doctor and receives a diagnosis that leaves her shaken to her core and with little time left. Facing an uncertain future, Palmer makes a bucket list, determined to do the things she’d only dreamed of before she goes.

Kent Wagner has dedicated his life to helping others. An army medic turned paramedic, he’s a regular at Palmer’s bank who makes his monthly car loan payments in person just to see her radiant smile. After responding to not one but two 911 calls involving Palmer, he learns about her bucket list. Touched by her circumstances—and needing a distraction from his own—Kent offers to take Palmer to the places on her list.

Neither is prepared for the emotional journey ahead…or how little time they have left together, but the friendship they find in that brief time might be the most lasting legacy of all.

Check & Mate By Ali Hazelwood

Mallory Greenleaf is done with chess. Every move counts nowadays; after the sport led to the destruction of her family four years earlier, Mallory’s focus is on her mom, her sisters, and the dead-end job that keeps the lights on. That is, until she begrudgingly agrees to play in one last charity tournament and inadvertently wipes the board with notorious “Kingkiller” Nolan Sawyer: current world champion and reigning Bad Boy of chess.

Nolan’s loss to an unknown rook-ie shocks everyone. What’s even more confusing? His desire to cross pawns again. What kind of gambit is Nolan playing? The smart move would be to walk away. Resign. Game over. But Mallory’s victory opens the door to sorely needed cash-prizes and despite everything, she can’t help feeling drawn to the enigmatic strategist….

As she rockets up the ranks, Mallory struggles to keep her family safely separated from the game that wrecked it in the first place. And as her love for the sport she so desperately wanted to hate begins to rekindle, Mallory quickly realizes that the games aren’t only on the board, the spotlight is brighter than she imagined, and the competition can be fierce (-ly attractive. And intelligent…and infuriating…)

Happy Publication Day- 2 November 2023

Change Of Heart By T.A. Williams

Two families at war and Alice finds herself caught in the middle. Can she re-write a story as old as time?

When cutbacks force Alice out of her assistant manager role at a Devonshire stately home, she turns her sights elsewhere: the picturesque hills above the historic city of Parma. An aristocratic Italian family are looking to open their medieval castle to the public, and Alice is just the woman for the job.

Four years ago, a life-changing accident pushed Alice into depression, but the beauty and charm of the Italian countryside works its magic in brightening her days. Especially when she keeps bumping into handsome Luca… But rivalries run deep in the town, and Alice’s work – not to mention her potential love life – are caught in the middle of a long-standing feud between two families.

With her job and future happiness in peril, can Alice save the future of the castle, and bring two warring families together?

The Love Department By Ally Bunbury

The countdown to Christmas is on at Shillington’s luxury department store in Dublin city …

Immy Brooks has just been put in charge of personal shopping and seems to have a gift for knowing exactly what people want. The one person whose mind she can’t read is her best friend (and soon-to-be boss), Lando Shillington. The night before he leaves for Paris, the two share a drunken night of passion – but Immy hasn’t seen or heard from him since …

Lando can’t get Immy out of his head but he is under pressure to save the family business and he’s in Paris to learn the ropes from the retail magnate, Charles de Croix. Radical changes are needed if Shillington’s is to return to its former glory. But Lando hadn’t banked on getting on quite so well with Charles’ daughter, the glamorous and eminently dateable Celine.

Christmas is in the air when Lando returns to Dublin with Celine and de Croix, both determined to give Shillington’s a Parisian makeover, but does their arrival spell the end for Immy and Lando, before they even get started?

Happy Publication Day – 1 November 2023

Snowed In by Catherine Walsh

Megan is dreading going home for the holidays. She’s the village pariah, the she-devil who left local golden boy Isaac at the altar four years ago and ran away to the big city. She could really do without the drama. Particularly as he’s engaged again, and she’s just been dumped for the fourth time this year.

Christian’s fed up of being on his own every Christmas. He doesn’t mind being alone, but he hates his family’s sad eyes and soft tones as they sit around coupled up. Because he’s actually, totally, fine.

So when Megan literally bumps into Christian in a Dublin pub, they come up with a pact to see them through the holiday season. They’re going to be the very best fake dates for each other, ever.

Rules are drawn up, a contract is signed on a wine-stained napkin. They will sit through each other’s family gatherings and be outrageously in love until freed from their annual obligations. After all, it’s only for a few weeks.

But with everyone home for the holidays, two big families to deal with alongside old friends, old flames and old feelings, things are bound to get messy. And when a snowed-in cabin and a little Christmas magic are added to the mix, anything could happen…

Happy Publication Day – 31 October 2023

It Happened One Christmas By Chantel Guertin

Will her Christmas wish come true?

Zoey Andrews lives and breathes Christmas. She loves everything about the season, and after years of directing countless holiday movies, she certainly knows her way around a festive tale. So, when she finally gets the chance to bring her own script to life, she isn’t about to let anything, or anyone, stand in her way–not even the stupidly sexy, utterly frustrating plaid-clad tree farmer Benoît Deschamps. Moonlighting as mayor of Chelsea–the cozy Quebec hamlet at the center of Zoey’s screenplay–Ben maddeningly refuses to grant her a film permit in his enchanting town.

With just four days left before Christmas, Zoey must change Ben’s mind, but not before an unscripted ice storm leaves them stranded in the middle of nowhere, with nothing except . . . each other.

Will Ben’s chilly resolve shatter Zoey’s Christmas movie wish? Or will Zoey be able to melt his stubbornness–and maybe even his heart?

Happy Publication Day – 29 October 2023

The Impossible Search For The Perfect Man By Debbie Howells

Imagine for a moment, your husband leaves you. Then through a bizarre twist of events, you find yourself working with the girl he’s left you for – and even worse, she’s pregnant…

All Louisa wants is the impossible. To find a straightforward man, who isn’t remotely messed up. Now there’s a thought… But does such a man even exist?

All she knows is that she doesn’t need any more complications in her life. She has enough to deal with, with one best friend with a very strange horoscope habit, and the other dealing with a screwed-up husband. Not to mention dealing with her own ex-husband and his pregnant new girlfriend, who seems to need Louisa to give them relationship counselling!

She resolves that maybe a life of helping other people find their happy-ever-afters is enough for her. But then handsome vet Marcus walks into her life. And everything changes…

Happy Publication Day – 26 October 2023

The Christmas Love Letters By Sue Moorcroft

The love letters were only the start of the story…

Tucked into a crook of the Norfolk coast lies Nelson’s Bar – an idyllic village where time seems to stand still. Maddy Austen has called this beautiful spot home all her life, as had her husband Adey – until one snowy night an epic row sent him storming out, never to be seen again.

Six years on, and Maddy’s life in the village has settled into a gentle pattern with her daughter Lyla and Great Aunt Ruthie. However, when handsome stranger Raff turns up at Ruthie’s door with a handful of long-forgotten love letters, their quiet life is upended as family secrets from the past are unearthed.

As Raff and Maddy get to know each other, they grow closer and a love story of their own seems inevitable. But when Maddy receives a mysterious message, she can’t help but wonder whether her own past is as distant as she thought it was…

Never Ever Getting Back Together By Phoebe Macleod

Everyone remembers their first love. Jess Thomas definitely does. So, it’s more than a little awkward when Jess’s first love, Jamie Ferguson, turns out to be the best man at the wedding she’s catering for. And more than a little insulting when he doesn’t appear to remember her at all.

Since Jamie broke her heart (via text!), 10 years earlier, Jess has sworn off romance. And with a booming catering business to focus on, she’s doing OK. She has no interest in revisiting the past.

But when Jess’s car breaks down on a country lane, she has no choice but to accept Jamie’s help. Now, Jamie is determined to show Jess he’s a new man. But can guys like Jamie ever really change? And if she gives him another chance, is she setting herself up for a fall?

The Mother Of All Problems By Nancy Peach

When did having it all become doing it all?

Penny Baker is coping. Just about.

Three kids, one dog, one lovely but sometimes oblivious husband. Tick, tick tick.

She is even managing to hold her own among the competitive school mums – if you don’t look too closely. But when she finds herself also caring for her elderly mother, diagnosed with dementia, the household is thrown into disarray and Penny finds herself stretched to breaking point trying to meet everyone’s needs.

Can she make the new family situation work? And is there any chance of finding some space in it all for herself?

Happy Publication Day – 25 October 2023

Chasing Dreams At Wagging Tails Dogs’ Home By Sarah Hope

The Cornish sea air, old friends, and cuddles with a cute pup…

Sometimes you’re just where you need to be…

After a difficult break-up, Poppy is keen to put the past behind her and what’s better than some relaxing time with her aunt in the picturesque Cornish village of West Par?

But life at her aunt Flora’s Dogs’ Home is anything but relaxing. When a poor little pup is stranded at the gates, Poppy takes them for a check up at the local vet, hoping against hope they’ll be fine.

And there she meets Mack: the vet who is so charming and experienced with the dogs, but selfish and – dare she say it – money-grabbing with his clients.

But underneath that cold exterior, she’s sure there’s more to the story. If only she could convince him to open up. Because without him, the future of Wagging Tails isn’t so assured…

Happy Publication Day – 24 October 2023

Three Cowboys And A Puppy By Kate Pearce

With a thriving cattle ranch and good friends all around, there’s not much Luke Nilsen would change about his life. But when his buddy Noah’s sister comes to visit, Luke begins to wonder if it’s time to change himself—and become the kind of man a sophisticated city woman like her would want. Maybe his female bestie, Bernie Cooper, who runs the local coffee shop, can use her womanly expertise and give him a man makeover . . .

Bernie thinks Luke is just fine the way he is—more than fine, even—aside from being blind to the fact that Bernie is perfect for him. But what’s a BFF to do? Perhaps it’s time for her to finally get over Luke and move on. Yet as Luke helps organize their small town’s Adopt a Shelter Dog auction event, one sweet little puppy seems to be on a mission to help Luke realize that the right woman has been right by his side all along . . .

Renewed By Nikki Kiley

Jenni Russo: Single mom, home-staging extraordinaire, and for one whirlwind night, “Samantha.” Marcos Chance wasn’t just another handsome face in the crowd, he had the swagger that had me forgetting my own name, literally. So, I might’ve fibbed a bit, and called myself “Samantha” for the night. No harm, right?

Wrong.

Because Mr. Smoldering Eyes isn’t just visiting. He’s the owner of the construction company I’ve been vying to work with. Plus, he remembers everything about our night, except my real name. And the chemistry? Let’s just say my walls aren’t the only thing getting a fresh coat of passion.

But in a town where everyone knows everyone’s business, our tangled passions and those little white lies are catching up to us. As the lines between professional and personal blur, I’m faced with a heart-wrenching dilemma: come clean and risk my dream job and possibly his trust, or keep quiet and risk losing a shot at love.

What Happens On Vacation By Jo Watson

Journalist Margaret loves her job, writing important stories about the impact of government decisions on day-to-day lives for a respected newspaper in Johannesburg. There’s only one problem: her co-worker, Jagger Villain. Is that even his real name? she often wonders. Jagger spends his days writing fluff pieces on everything from the worst-rated barber in Johannesburg to speed dating to male sex toys. To make matters worse, they share a cubicle and a desk, and every day he finds new ways to drive her to distraction. She needs a vacation!

Thankfully the upcoming company quiz night has the perfect first prize: a deluxe trip to a resort in Zanzibar. It will be the perfect escape for Margaret and her mother after a difficult year dealing with the death of her father and divorce. Margaret’s never met a quiz night she can’t win, but then she’s never competed against Jagger. That’s when the unthinkable happens. They tie. They both win. They both get to go to Zanzibar.

It’s bad enough that Margaret has to be on the same island as Jagger, but at least she has her widowed mother with her to help her avoid her co-worker and whoever he brings. However, Jagger’s plus one isn’t what she expected. It’s not some girl of the moment, it’s his father, which shakes up her opinion of him . . . at least a bit. And that’s when the entire situation goes from farce to horror show: their parents fall in love and decide to get married.

Suddenly Margaret and Jagger go from co-workers who dislike each other (but also ‘accidentally’ had sex one night,) to step siblings who dislike each other (but also ‘accidentally’ had sex one night!). But maybe they don’t dislike each other as much as they initially thought they did?

Winter Wishes At Roseford Reloved By Fay Keenan

When the ceiling of preloved clothing shop Roseford Reloved falls in at the height of Christmas season, owner Polly Parrott is in despair. She can see her fortunes draining away as quickly as the water is pouring through her roof. What makes it worse is that standing right underneath the deluge is Will Sutherland, sporting hero and new owner of Parson’s Grange, the new modern mansion in Roseford.

Polly and Will’s first meeting is about as far from a success as it can be, but over a festive season of Christmas markets, a Yuletide Ball and inconvenient snowfalls, can they forge a friendship or even more, despite their unpromising beginning? Or will the complications in both of their lives end their romance before it even begins?

His Assistant’s New York Awakening By Emmy Grayson

He’s utterly off-limits…
and the only man she’s ever wanted!

Temporary assistant Evolet Grey has precisely the skills and experience to help Damon Bradford win the biggest contract in his company’s history. But she’s also maddeningly attractive and testing the iron grip the Manhattan CEO always has on his self-control…

Putting her needs first has never come easily to innocent Evolet. But she can barely think straight in her new boss’s presence! She’d be putting everything on the line by revealing the powerful attraction Damon has awoken, but would walking away from it be the biggest risk of all?

Love Interest #9 By Mia Summers

I promised myself I wouldn’t fall for someone rich and famous. Not after what happened last time. But when leading man Lucas Stone comes to town, I might have trouble keeping my promises…

After getting my heart broken and being kicked out of my apartment, I return to my hometown.

I settle for a job – and a place to sleep – at the local bed and breakfast. The job? Playing tour guide for tourists with more money than sense. It’s irritating, but it’s only temporary.

Thank God.

Until Hollywood hotshot Lucas Stone arrives. He’s scouting locations for his next flick, and after one look at me, he demands that I be his personal tour guide.

Which wouldn’t be a problem if he wasn’t such an entitled jerk.

And there’s no way I’ll be getting involved with someone like him. Not again.

But when we get trapped in a way-too-small tent during a thunderstorm, we have no choice but to cuddle together, and Lucas reveals a secret that might just change my mind.

About absolutely everything.