When she married a much older man, Lydia took a shortcut from grad student to middle-aged matron. Do not pass go. Do not drink jug wine or buy Ikea bookshelves. Now Lydia finds herself a 45-year-old widow. She’s got a suburban McMansion she doesn’t want, a hole in her day where her job used to be, and a bunch of married-couple friends eligible for Social Security. Lydia wants to start over and recapture the endless possibilities life offers at age 25. She adopts a shelter dog with issues. Buys a charming little starter home on the verge of collapse. And accepts a job she doesn’t know how to do. Lydia soon learns that youth isn’t for the faint-hearted. Her dead husband is trying to control her future through the terms of his will. And her impulsive decisions may cost her some new friendships she can’t bear to lose. But with the help of a quirky dog trainer, a hilarious colleague, and a hunky young carpenter, Lydia may get a second chance at the life she missed.

    But then Lara is swept off her feet by the divine Hugo Armstrong-Hamilton - and suddenly nothing can spoil her happiness. Hugh has his faults - Lara can't deny that - but who cares if he cancels dates at the last minute? What does it matter if he never picks up the bill? Lara can even put up with the insult from his snooty friends. Just to be seen in the arm of someone like Hugh is consolation enough. After Hugh, any man would seem like second prize. And Lara would never be able to settle for that. Or would she...?

     Rose Mistletoe runs her family's flower shop on Christmas Parade, and loves every minute of her job. So when the Parade comes under acquisition by a redevelopment company, Rose forms a protest group against the bid. But business tycoon Nick Grimsby is determined to make her sell up. His company is planning to knock down the parade of traditional shops and build a block of exclusive apartments instead. And it seems the sexy billionaire will go to any lengths to get her shop. As Christmas approaches and Nick dangles the proverbial mistletoe, can Rose resist his powerful allure? Given how gorgeous he looks in a tuxedo, the answer is probably no. But she's not going to make it easy for him! Because Rose has secret plans of her own ... Warning! This romcom novella contains jokes, oodles of romance, festive wreaths, mistletoe, holly, and a sprinkling of paper hats. Another quirky romcom in the popular 'Oddest Little Shop' series from Beth Good. Titles can be read in any order.

    She has lived in six different cities and held countless meaningless jobs since graduating college. On the heels of leaving yet another city, Hannah moves back to her hometown of Los Angeles and takes up residence in her best friend Gabby’s guestroom. Shortly after getting back to town, Hannah goes out to a bar one night with Gabby and meets up with her high school boyfriend, Ethan.Just after midnight, Gabby asks Hannah if she’s ready to go. A moment later, Ethan offers to give her a ride later if she wants to stay. Hannah hesitates. What happens if she leaves with Gabby? What happens if she leaves with Ethan?In concurrent storylines, Hannah lives out the effects of each decision. Quickly, these parallel universes develop into radically different stories with large-scale consequences for Hannah, as well as the people around her. As the two alternate realities run their course, Maybe in Another Life raises questions about fate and true love: Is anything meant to be? How much in our life is determined by chance? And perhaps, most compellingly: Is there such a thing as a soul mate?Hannah believes there is. And, in both worlds, she believes she’s found him.

    Susan Isaacs has praised The Dieter as "a delightful novel, intelligent, witty, and very moving". Available in mid-January.

    Or is he? They’re all keeping secrets but as the big birthday looms, the beans are about to be spilt, and one of them is going to need her friends more than ever…

    Ben and Rachel. It was them against the world. Until it all fell apart.It’s been a decade since they last spoke, but when Rachel bumps into Ben one rainy day, the years melt away.From the moment they met they’d been a gang of two; partners in crime and the best of friends. But life has moved on. Ben is married. Rachel is definitely not. In fact, the men in her life make her want to take holy orders…Yet in that split second, Rachel feels the old friendship return. And along with it, the broken heart she’s never been able to mend.If you love David Nicholls and Lisa Jewell then this is the book for you. Hilarious, heartbreaking and everything in between, you’ll be hooked from their first ‘hello’.

    With a new job that offers excitement; a cool car; and her own suite with a TV, DVD player, and a cell phone, how can she go wrong?Then she meets . . . the Fitzgeralds -- Dick and Vanessa and their unruly brood of rugrats who have suddenly been entrusted into Jo's care. There's eight-year-old "psycho-babe" Cassandra; bloodthirsty Zak, the six-year-old Terminator; and timid little Tallulah.So what else could go wrong? How about the arrival of Dick's children from his first marriage: teenage Toby and (gulp!) all-grown-up-and-very-nicely-at-that Josh the accountant? And now that she has to temporarily share her room with Josh, Jo's head is really in a spin -- because with her hometown beau still in the picture and a sexy possibility sleeping just a foot away, life has suddenly gotten very complicated indeed!

    Estranged from her family over her sister's mental illness and death, Esther can't help but feel alone. And when Esther hears the voice of her twin sister who committed suicide seven years ago, she begins to question her own sanity, leading her to wonder if anything is what it seems. Searching for answers, Esther must confront her past while looking towards a new future—one in which she is finally accepted. Through humor and heartbreak, Esther learns that blood does not mean family, that absence does not make the heart grow fonder and that silence can speak volumes.

    So she returns to the small Kent village where she grew up to make a fresh start. Little did she know that would mean saving her beloved childhood dance school or falling for her old school crush Tom too!

    But her friends think otherwise and, as a birthday present, buy her an ad for an online dating site.Furious at first, she eventually agrees to try it out - and ventures into a world where the description on the tin rarely matches the contents.Once her reservations have faded, she embarks on several dates of varying success, until one day a catastrophic event brings her life sharply into focus and makes her re-evaluate everything she's ever known ...Any woman who has ever been on a bad date will read this hilarious book and weep with laughter and sympathy for internet dating novice Jess.

    Before she has chance to confront him, however, he is struck by lightning. When he regains consciousness, he has lost his short-term memory—including that of the affair. Given a chance to erase history and possibly save her marriage, Poppy decides to remake herself in the mistress’s image, so that Parker might never be tempted to stray again. Her quest to become his perfect woman has disastrous and hilarious results—and just might turn out to be the worst thing possible for their relationship.

    She just never imagined they'd be the Hollywood ones…A hilarious romantic comedy for anyone who’s ever had their head in the clouds…Carly's living the dream. Almost. She has the kids, the husband, the lethargic sex life, and who cares if her novels aren't exactly bestsellers – pole-vaulting her ironing pile is excitement enough.Just when she's resigned to domestic mediocrity, a phone call from Hollywood changes everything. Carly is off to Tinseltown…As she arrives in LA, Carly knows life will be transformed…but she doesn't count on marital disaster, a career roller-coaster and an A-list movie star who wants to offer her more than just a friendly welcome.Carly Cooper is strutting along the Hollywood Walk of Fame but can she get to the end without falling flat on her face?

    He’s a rat, anyway, and currently attends Sex Addicts Anonymous. He still comes by the house, though, as do her hippie, macrobiotic mother; her feisty, alcoholic best friend; her God-fearing grandmother; and that Perfect Guy, the one with the beatific son who plays with her daughter, the one who happens to have a winning smile, wild black hair, a professorship at Harvard—and (drats!) a gorgeous doctor girlfriend. Told in short takes that perfectly mimic the frantic nature of our busy lives, Hot and Bothered follows its heroine through the streets of Cambridge, where she spends far too much time staring into space and sipping mocha lattes with extra whipped cream; to church, where she prays for a little salvation; to Alaska, where she believes a rugged outdoorsman might just be that salvation; and to Cape Cod, where, in a little house by the sea, she might finally see the light. Annie Downey has written an updated Cinderella story for all single moms.