. . No one said anything about a friendly camel or a hunky mechanic Cedar Haynes has a choice: change her high-pressure lifestyle, or end up dead by the time she’s thirty. Not one to do things by half measures, she quits her demanding corporate job, swaps her sports car for an SUV, and moves to the peaceful mountain community of Faraday. She envisions a quiet, peaceful Christmas, surrounding by silence and sparkling snow. When a camel takes up residence on her porch, she realizes small-town life may be more quirky and complicated than she imagined. Thankfully, the local mechanic seems to have all the answers - plus good looks, bad-boy charm, and a mysterious aura that leaves her wanting to know more. Rhett Riggs left big city life behind the moment his small-town uncle needed his help. To make ends meet, he takes over Faraday’s one and only garage and gas station. He gets more than he bargained for, though, when Uncle Will passes away, leaving Rhett a run-down farmhouse, a wacky camel named Lolly, and a deep-rooted love for the community he considers his home. With the holidays approaching, he watches with interest as a new neighbor moves in next door. He waits for Lolly to send the woman running, like she has the last handful of residents. Only this time, if his beautiful neighbor leaves, she’ll take his heart with her.Between spilled secrets, mistaken identities, and a camel determined to spread a little love, it will take more than mistletoe and holiday magic to help Rhett and Cedar find their happy ending.Come along on a sweet Christmas romance adventure sure to uplift the spirit, touch the heart, and imbue the warmth of the holiday season. ˃˃˃ Read all four sweet romances in The Friendly Beasts of Faraday series! * Scent of Cedar (Book 1) - A woman in need of a new beginning finds herself tormented by a camel and captivated by the town's bad boy. Can she overcome her fears to embrace a sweet holiday romance?* Tidings of Joy (Book 2)- Only one woman can draw a shy mail carrier out of his shell, but it will take the help of her donkey and puppy to make it happen.* Boughs of Holly (Book 3)- A free-spirited nurse winds up on a ranch with a stubborn cowboy and his matchmaking grandpa. Will love triumph over her need to roam?* Wings of an Angel (Book 4) - Will a fun-loving teacher convince a woman sworn off romance to give love a second chance? He'll need a hand from her son and his furry, feathered friends. ˃˃˃ The inspiration for the stories. . . The Friendly Beasts Christmas carol mentions a camel, a donkey, a cow, a sheep, and a dove. That sweet carol is what sparked the idea for this series, along with a steal-the-show camel at a live nativity performance. Start reading this heartwarming holiday series today!

    

    Help us set a record! On December 10 at 5:00 pm, we need your help setting a Guinness World Record for the most couples kissing under the mistletoe! Chase Spencer had been firmly planted in the friend-zone ever since he first met Rachel Anthony back when they were in grade school and it looks like that’s where he’s destined to remain. And her latest scheme is bound to be torture. She wants them to help break the Guinness World Record for the most couples kissing under the mistletoe at one time. How should he handle this? Should the kiss be a chaste, friendly kiss like she envisions? Or should he do it in a way that leaves Rachel without a doubt that he wants to be more than friends? It had always been Rachel’s dream to break a world record, and who better to do it with than her best friend Chase? And it wasn’t as if they hadn’t kissed before—sixth grade, spin-the-bottle at Iona Puckett’s party—a peck of the lips and it’d be over. Except she missed the part where they had to hold the kiss for ten seconds. And no one warned her of how she would feel afterwards—confused and longing for more. How can she convince Chase to change her status from friend to girlfriend?

     ♥ When Hannah Wyatt returns home to her family's Colorado ranch for the holiday season, she thinks the biggest surprise is the early inheritance of land parcels that her parents are gifting her and her four siblings. Little does she know that her pen-pal from the UK is about to add to the exciting homecoming! Especially when she realizes that the British friend she thought she knew, is ready to unveil a surprising twist…one that has the ability to throw an additional wrench into Hannah’s new life equation... ~From sweeping scenery to trusting-your-heart life decisions to magical snowstorms~ Join Hannah and her family as they navigate the long holiday season: A fun and bumpy ride starting with a heartwarming Thanksgiving, snowshoeing through a perfect Rocky Mountain Christmas, and into what just may be a very, merry New Year!

    Christmas cookies? She’ll take three dozen. Christmas movies? Yeah, she’s seen them all. So it’s no surprise when she’s put in charge of Loveridge & McGowan’s holiday festivities. Secret Santas? Yep. Ice skating? Of course. Holiday trivia? Duh. Christmas-themed bar crawl? That’s one big jingle bell hell yes.Kissing her boss at a Christmas tree lighting in front of his ex-girlfriend? Well… it is the season of giving. And Olivia does not come with a gift receipt. No exchanges. No returns. No refunds. All sales are final.In an effort to ungrinch the grinchiest man she’s ever met, Olivia enlists herself, Santa’s Executive Helper, to scheme up a plan that includes sleigh rides, snow days, and one too many mistletoe kisses, which certainly gets Asher’s tinsel in a tangle. She’s pretty sure that she sleighed this whole fake dating thing.Well… until she realizes there’s nothing fake about her feelings for Asher, and suddenly tangled tinsel, unsolicited Christmas trees, and celebrity heartthrobs are the least of her worries.

    But when her little brother witnesses a killing, everything changes. The government says they’ll put him in witness protection, but Callie doesn’t trust anyone to protect her brother—except for Finn O’Donnell.All Finn wants for Christmas is some peace and quiet on his newly purchased ranch. But he owes Callie Brewster his life, and he always repays a debt. Now there’s a woman in the house who joined the army to get away from ranching, a boy who is scared of his shadow, and a feud going on amongst the other ranchers. Yet in the midst of all the chaos, Finn is happier and more at peace than he’s ever been before…

    He always had two places to be at the same time. He always had two things to do at once. When asleep he dreamed. In between dreams, he ran through the events of the day while making plans for the next. When at home with his wife and family, his mind was always someplace else.On his way into work one early winter morning, Lou meets Gabe, a homeless man sitting outside the office building. Intrigued by him and on discovering that he could also be very useful to have around, Lou gets Gabe a job in the post room.But soon Lou begins to regret helping Gabe. His very presence unsettles Lou and how does Gabe appear to be in two places at the same time?As Christmas draws closer, Lou starts to understand the value of time. He sees what is truly important in life yet at the same time he learns the harshest lesson of all.This is a story about people who not unlike parcels, hide secrets.They cover themselves in layers until the right person unwraps them and discovers what’s inside. Sometimes you have to be unravelled in order to find out who you really are. For Lou Suffern, that took time.

    The smouldering heat between her and Kit is an unwelcome shock – especially as Sophie’s masquerading as Jasper’s girlfriend all holiday! Although Kit’s bravery is legendary, he’s dreading the return to his bleak ancestral home. But Sophie’s vibrancy dispels the shadows in his tortured soul, consuming Kit with a potent desire for the one woman he’s forbidden to touch…The FITZROY LEGACY Wedlocked to the aristocratic Fitzroy family – where shocking secrets lead to scandalous seduction. An unforgettable two-part story from award-winning author India Grey.

    Three stories to lift your holiday spirits! Snow Pup A small town’s lovely deputy and a father who lost his son years ago to a vindictive wife team up to save the kid from an overzealous social worker and foster home he hates. Find Me A Home An accident changes the lives of: a little baby girl who loses her parents, a crabby puppy who hates all men, a soft-hearted beauty who fears for her brother and also the cop who can’t escape his destiny. Frosty the Snowman Stranded in an Alaskan snowstorm, strangers Hali and Terry are forced to rely on each other for survival. The frigid temperatures are brutal and when Terry falls through the ice to save a puppy, the stakes for survival become enormous.

     Beckett Bradshaw knows what it’s like to be on top of the world and then to come crashing down to the lowest form of human existence, living on the streets. It has taken a huge amount of hard work and self control to get where he is today. He’s content with his job as a firefighter and so incredibly grateful for the miraculous recovery of his young daughter. When a mysterious old lady shows up at the fire station and makes a prophecy that Beckett will find love by Christmas, he doesn’t believe it. Beckett doesn’t dare pray for the desires of his heart for fear that he’s used up all of his miracles. Then, Beckett meets the beautiful and vivacious Ava Lawrence and starts to hope that maybe he really can find love. Beckett is hesitant to tell Ava about his checkered past for fear that she won’t want him. However, Ava has a few secrets of her own that could destroy everything Beckett has built. Will a Christmas miracle be enough to bind two lonely hearts together or will the scars of the past prevent Beckett and Ava from finding the lasting love they most desire?

    It's cold, drizzly and the skies are permagrey. The last shop on the high street - an adorable little toy shop - has just shut its doors. Everything is going wrong for Yulethorpe this autumn. Until Clara Kristensen arrives.Clara is on holiday but she can see the potential in the pretty town, so she rolls up her sleeves and sets to work. Things are looking up until Joe comes to Yulethorpe to find out exactly what is going on with his mother's shop. Joe is Very Busy and Important in the City and very sure that Clara is up to no good. Surely no one would work this hard just for the fun of it?Can a man who answers emails at 3 a. m. learn to appreciate the slower, happier, hygge things in life - naps, candles, good friends and maybe even falling in love?

    She doesn't need a blast from the past like Luke Saxon, who's back in Butterfly Harbor after more than a decade away. The hard-luck kid who nearly destroyed her family, leaving her to pick up the pieces, is taking over as sheriff. She can't trust him, even if Luke's ideas for the town's upcoming anniversary seem to show he's trying to give back to their community. Has Butterfly Harbor found its unlikely savior? And has the widowed single mother finally found a man she can believe in, rely on…and love?

    The second stunted by her sister's shadow. The youngest propelled by desperation. Gwen is the oldest of four children in the Aaldenberg family, and the one who seems to have it all. She's also most desperate to escape. Betta, having nursed their dying grandpa for the past three years, is anxious for Gwen to go, so she can finally have reins to the family business. And Esmerelda, viciously determined to follow in Gwen's footsteps, vies for popularity as a freshman in high school, only to learn she must sell her soul, reputation, and most prized possession for acceptance. When Gwen's fiancé moves to town, Gwen does her best to resign herself to a local life, while Betta struggles for meaning without the store. In order to carve out a place for herself, Betta must decide to what lengths she'll go in order to become her own person, and Gwen must decide what's more important: her sister or her future. Can this family pull through their disappointment, jealousy, and regret? Or will they cling so tightly to their desires that it ruins them?

    Framed for a crime she didn’t commit, she suddenly finds herself without a job. Then to make matters worse, Tabby’s boyfriend dumps her and gives her cat away to a shelter.But rescue comes in the form of kindly Mercy. A master of saving waifs and strays, Mercy wants Tabby to breathe new flair into her ailing cracker business. Together, they’ll save Marwood’s Magical Christmas Crackers.But someone has other ideas. Mercy’s nephew Randal thinks Tabby’s a fraudster. Stubborn, difficult and very attractive, her future depends upon winning him round. But it’s that time of the year when miracles really can happen. Standing under the mistletoe, Tabby’s Christmas is set to be one that she will never forget . . .

     Sweet Christmas Kisses 5 brings you contemporary romances that celebrate the joy of the season around the world, including snowy Maine and the sun-kissed skies of Florida, the mountains of Colorado to small-town Illinois and Virginia, New York to San Francisco, and even the glittering lights of Paris and the old-world charm of Florence. Sweet Christmas Kisses 5 features nine all-new, standalone novellas that will make you smile and warm your heart with the Christmas spirit.