But, for Isla and her brother, their mother's sadness and the cold, damp greyness of Hobart's stone streets seeps into everything.Then, one morning, Isla sees a red ship. That colour lights her day. And when a sailor from the ship befriends her mother, he shares his stories with them all - of Antarctica, his home in Denmark and life onboard. Like the snow white petrels that survive in the harshest coldest place, this lonely girl at the bottom of the world will learn that it is possible to go anywhere, be anything. But she will also find out that it is just as easy to lose it all.For Isla, those two long summers will change everything.Favel Parrett delivers an evocative and gently told story about the power fear and kindness have to change lives.

     Having recently relocated to Seattle, Shelby longs for someone special in her life. When a handsome green-eyed stranger walks into the coffee shop where she works, her interest is piqued. Later, she finds a bag containing five beautiful hand-painted Christmas bells on the cream and sugar table. No one comes back to claim it, so she decides to do a little detective work. Does she dare hope that it will lead her to the stranger with the magnetic green eyes? Chris Bertone loves his job at Impact Ministries, but working day and night has prevented him from having much of a social life. On a whim, he stops for a cup of coffee and is instantly smitten with the beautiful barista. Now, even with everything he has to take care of at work, all he wants to do is find time for another coffee break. But things are so hectic this holiday season, how can he manage to get to know her better without being too overbearing, or breaking his budget on coffee? Holiday Hearts…seasons of love.

    But fitting into the tight-knit community proves harder than she expected. As she navigates new friendships, financial worries and the pull of returning to her city life, she learns how flowers can bring her the happiness she’s been looking for.And when romance appears on the horizon, Lily realises she can’t commit until she reconciles her mistakes.Can she overcome her past and learn the true meaning of love?Discover this spring's perfect feel-good read.Lisa Darcy's Lilly's Little Flower Shop is the perfect heartwarming read for fans of authors like Heidi Swain, Holly Martin and Jill Mansell.

    When Joy tells Miranda that she plans to drive an old RV decked out in Christmas decorations from their Chicago neighborhood to her new retirement digs in Phoenix—in the dead of winter, no less—the much younger Miranda insists that Joy cannot make such a trip by herself. Besides, a crazy trip with Joy would be more interesting than another Christmas home alone. Unemployed and facing foreclosure, Miranda feels she has nothing to lose by packing a bag and heading off to Route 66. But Joy has a hidden agenda for their Christmas joyride—and a hidden problem that could derail the whole venture.No one captures the heartwarming fun of the Christmas season quite like Melody Carlson. Fasten your seat belt, because it's going to be an exciting ride!

    When he spoke and I heard his British accent, I'm pretty sure an ovary exploded. Then he knocked on my door with a bottle of wine and two glasses in hand before inviting himself inside. After my bad breakup, I wasn't ready to date. I hadn't even looked for a rebound, but there he was, practically gift wrapped. Too bad I wanted nothing more than a second chance with my ex. Will Montana. I loved saying her name. I'd been watching her for months before she ever noticed me. She was too hung up on that cad to pay me any attention. Despite how perfect for me she seemed, I thought I might have a chance with her. After all, I had a cute accent and since we lived on the same floor, geography was on my side. A month ago, I'd actually witnessed their break up at the restaurant where I bartended. So, I bided my time and waited for her to recover. I wasn't built to be a rebound. And while I was certain her ex would come crawling back, I knew once I'd had a taste of life with her, I could never let her go.

    Tabitha Bird has gifted us this wonder’ Cass MoriartyMeet Willa Waters, aged 8 . . . 33 . . . and 93.On one impossible day in 1965, eight-year-old Willa receives a mysterious box containing a jar of water and the instruction: ‘One ocean: plant in the backyard.’ So she does - and somehow creates an extraordinary time slip that allows her to visit her future selves.On one impossible day in 1990, Willa is 33 and a mother-of-two when her childhood self magically appears in her backyard. But she’s also a woman haunted by memories of her dark past – and is on the brink of a decision that will have tragic repercussions . . .On one impossible day in 2050, Willa is a silver-haired, gumboot-loving 93-year-old whose memory is fading fast. Yet she knows there’s something she has to remember, a warning she must give her past selves about a terrible event in 1990. If only she could recall what it was.Can the three Willas come together, to heal their past and save their future, before it’s too late?'A courageous and magical debut novel that reminds us that while we can’t change events from our past, we do have the power to change the story we tell ourselves about them.' Sally Piper

    She has a wonderful son and a business she loves. Though challenged to make ends meet, she’s come a long way from the tough times she endured as a teenage mom. With the busy Christmas season ahead, things are looking up, until Scrooge himself arrives intent on putting a huge resort next to her inn—a resort destined to put her out of business. Wealthy business developer Rob McKenna is coming back home to the tiny town of Pinetop, Colorado to tie up loose ends. After the death of his mother, he’s inherited her Victorian home, her dog, and hundreds of acres of land he plans to develop into a resort and sell. It all seems so simple until he runs into Celia Roberts. In high school, she was the “it” girl, and he was nobody. She dated the bully, and he was the target. Now he’s back, and she’s single, and as beautiful as ever. However, she’s the only thing standing between him and his plan to get in, get rich, and get out of town. He wants to move the small town into the future. She wants to preserve the past. Can the magic of Christmas leave them both with full hearts and bright futures or will one of them end up with nothing under the tree?

    Rowan’s brother Albert, the natural heir to the farm, has died and Rowan’s dad’s health is failing. Although he longs to, there is no way that Rowan can refuse his mother’s request as she prepares the farm for sale.This is the story of the final harvest – the story of a young man in a place he doesn’t want to be, being given one last chance to make peace before the past, and those he has loved, disappear.

    Breath is an extraordinary evocation of an adolescence spent resisting complacency, testing one’s limits against nature, finding like-minded souls, and discovering just how far one breath will take you. It’s a story of extremes—extreme sports and extreme emotions. On the wild, lonely coast of Western Australia, two thrillseeking and barely adolescent boys fall into the enigmatic thrall of veteran big-wave surfer Sando. Together they form an odd but elite trio. The grown man initiates the boys into a kind of Spartan ethos, a regimen of risk and challenge, where they test themselves in storm swells on remote and shark-infested reefs, pushing each other to the edges of endurance, courage, and sanity. But where is all this heading? Why is their mentor’s past such forbidden territory? And what can explain his American wife’s peculiar behavior? Venturing beyond all limits—in relationships, in physical challenge, and in sexual behavior—there is a point where oblivion is the only outcome. Full of Winton’s lyrical genius for conveying physical sensation, Breath is a rich and atmospheric coming-of-age tale from one of world literature’s finest storytellers.

    . . and he's convinced he's no longer fit to rule Concordia. Not now . . . but maybe someday. Taking advantage of an obscure law that allows him to temporarily abdicate his throne, he transfers short-term power to his younger brother and retreats to Tinsel, Vermont. Perhaps in this tucked-away town, with its enchanting Christmas decorations and unusual media ban, Jonah will discover the peace and privacy he needs to heal, find his vision for his country . . . and somehow believe himself worthy of the crown.Eight years ago, Rowan Bell dropped out of college and sacrificed her dream of traveling the world to keep a promise to her dying grandmother--to care for Tinsel's charming library. But the antiquated Cape Cod cottage that has housed the library for decades is falling apart around her, and Tinsel's city leaders have arranged to relocate the library. Desperate to keep her grandmother's legacy alive--and hopefully hush the longings of her restless heart in the process--Rowan hatches a plan to preserve the historic house. Help comes in the most unexpected form when a handsome bookworm--a king!--appears in Rowan's life.Drawn together under Tinsel's Christmastime spell, Rowan and Jonah work to secure the library's future, even as they grapple with all the uncertainty in their own futures. But when a national crisis calls Jonah home, it's not only his claim to the throne that's in danger, but their two hearts which had only begun to hope again.One Royal Christmas originally appeared in the 2019 novella collection Royally Yours. This is a standalone novella filled with romance, royalty and small-town charm.

    But payback - in the shape of a man - will be hers.

    enjoying the prolonged company of his personal assistant, Brenna Dillinger. When a freak, weather-related accident traps the pair together overnight, in very close quarters, long-hidden feelings and desires emerge. Professional lines are crossed, relationships blurred... and windows fogged. A perfect pair forced together… accidentally on purpose.

    Desperate, she decides to take a chance and ask her favourite writer, a celebrated but reclusive English novelist, to help her find a second chance. When she receives the author's reply in an envelope with a Cornish postmark, Maisie decides not to take the writer's half-hearted 'no' for an answer. With nothing to lose, she takes off for the author's last known location, a beautiful hotel on Cornwall's western coast. But when the hotel mistakes her for the latest applicant for a maid's position, Maisie finds herself given an opportunity too good to lose ... and a chance for a summer adventure far bigger than she ever imagined. Surrounded by breathtaking Cornwall and working in an elegant hotel, Maisie's world becomes one of secret identities, quirky friends, and unintentional mishaps — and despite reminders of past relationship disasters, a certain handsome, charming local resident Sidney Daniels has her conflicted about her heart's desires, too. Will Maisie find the chance she's been waiting for — and a possible new romance — in her perfect Cornish summer?

    She's still living in Brighton with her Nan - who could give the Grinch lessons in how to be miserable - her acting career has been reduced to playing one of Santa's elves, and not even the prospect of a friend's winter wedding can cheer her up...That is until Olivier, the gorgeous French chef, reappears in her life. Or more accurately, next door.When they were teenagers, Olivier would spend every Christmas with his mother, who just happens to be Ash's neighbour and owner of the best chocolate shop in England.If anyone can bring a little sparkle back to Ash's life, it's Olivier. All she needs is one kiss before Christmas...