Instead she found chaos and intrigue, but also a tight-knit community full of wonderful characters who helped her through difficult times.Swept Away is a short story based around a large country medical practice in Larkford that also features in Penny Parkes' novels Out of Practice and Practice Makes Perfect. The Surgery at Larkford proves to be a hotbed of rivalry, resentment and romance - and that's just the doctors.

    She is single again, and romantic attention is as foreign to her as ancient Carthaginian cuisine. When she meets her new client, sports management agent Mac Sinclair, who is eleven years younger, Jan’s life takes a complete turnaround. She’s thrilled, but everyone in her life isn’t as pleased.

    Modern day matchmaking is tough – people are busy, their hearts are harder to hit and he’s had enough of wall-to-wall romance. And St Valentine has noticed…Annelise is a Lost Cause. She runs a dating agency but her heart is colder than a penguin’s feet. She thinks love is about compatibility and has no time for passion.Can Cupid prove to St Valentine that he hasn’t lost his touch by melting Annelise’s heart? Or is it curtains for Cupid?A romantic comedy novella - 23,000 words long'Gorgeously romantic, unputdownable and utterly delicious!' Miranda Dickinson, Sunday Times Bestseller (Fairytale of New York, It Started With A Kiss, When I Fall In Love)'A completely charming, fantastically funny, romantic romp, perfect reading for a sunny afternoon.' Scarlett Bailey (Married by Christmas, The Night Before Christmas, Santa Maybe)

    Though she'd doused it quickly, a sizzling, ultra-feminine awareness had flared in her eyes in that brief moment they'd met his, along with a sweet blush she'd fought with adorably, stubborn defiance. Damn, she was cute. And intriguing. With that quiet, kitten gaze of hers still mulishly refusing to look his way again, she was drawing him in, hook, line, and sinker.Holy Hefeweizen...It was bad enough that the faint scent of one of her dark ales was lingering on his lips in that sexier-than-sin sort of way, but candying it atop steamy eyes and a gentlemanly sweet center to boot was just plain unfair. He was cowboy-in-the-city sexy with a laughing smile and all sorts of promised temptations radiating from him. And he always smelled like chocolate. With his scorching hot gaze, he was completely lethal to everything that kept her tame.The night Luke and Dani met, they really should have gotten each other's last names. More importantly? Each other's occupations.See how the chocolate vs. beer throwdown between chocolatier Luke Bradford and beer brewing beauty Dani Dobson gets started in this prequel novella to LOVE, CHOCOLATE, AND BEER.*****NOTE FROM AUTHOR: THIS PREQUEL IS NOW TOGETHER WITH BOOK #1: LOVE, CHOCOLATE, AND BEER AS A NON-SEPARATE FREE PREQUEL (meaning when you download Book 1, the free prequel will be at the start of it). IT HAS NOT BEEN AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD SEPARATELY SINCE DEC 2014. IT DOES *NOT* NEED TO BE DOWNLOADED SEPARATELY.*****

    One sticky summer day as Kate is waiting for her husband to come home from his bicycle shop, she spots her distinguished neighbor returning from his last day of work after six decades at Atlanta's oldest men's clothing store. Over a cup of butter coffee, he tells Kate a story of love and heartbreak that makes her remember her past, question her present, and wonder what the future will bring. A magical story on its own, Waking Kate is also a short fiction tie-in to Allen's 2014 bestseller Lost Lake.

    And it was the worst mistake of my life.So when she shows up to play Santa for my daughter’s preschool Christmas party, you’re damn right I’m going to try to get her back.Except Kaitlyn Holly’s lost all of her Christmas cheer. Which means it’s my job to help her get it back. No matter what it takes.Exes and Ho Ho Hos is a short, sexy, standalone Christmas romance told in alternating first person, complete with reindeer, a Santa brawl, and a little mishap on the most iconic skating rink in New York City. It stands alone and has a merrily ever after.

    A real one. Like, one that pays! With graduation looming, Susan Wade’s job prospects are bleak. Following her semi-boyfriend to the bowels of Texas or managing a dilapidated diner are her only options until she’s unexpectedly offered the interview of a lifetime. But when a corporate shark challenges her integrity, will she blow her chance at this dream job or swallow her ego? Find out in this hilarious comedy, rife with psychotic roommates, questionable fashion choices, and an epic search for the perfect cup of coffee.

    But an airport mishap with a cranky Englishman gets her off on the wrong foot (quite literally), especially when he moves into the university guest house across the street. Can Maddie find a love for her unapproachable new neighbor, or has she finally met her match?

    She slings insults with precision, not caring about the destruction she leaves in her wake. We clash in a battle of wills every time we’re around each other, and yet… I still fantasize about being lodged deep within her body.Clash (verb): to come together or collideI have never encountered someone that grates me the way Cal Carson does. His pompous, arrogant demeanor. A holier-than-thou attitude. Any interaction with “Saint Cal” ends in a verbal clash of epic proportions, and yet… there’s no one I’d rather have in my bed than him.Clash (noun): a battle, fight or skirmishHer breathy moans mingle with the sound of our flesh coming together, clashing with the silence that surrounds us, dispelling any notions I once had about Macy Carrington.Maybe I can break down her walls if we can call a truce to this battle.He whispers filthy words in my ear, provoking feelings I never knew were possible. The burning desire in his touch clashes with everything I once believed about Cal Carson.Maybe he can be the balm I need to soothe my broken soul, if only temporarily.**Cal and Macy’s story is a trilogy within the Legal Affairs series. All three books—Clash, Grind and Yield—must be read in order. You do not have to read the other Legal Affairs books to understand this trilogy.

    Why?Her sister is marrying Bobby's brother.She's trussed up in a bridesmaid dress that must have been designed originally as a Victorian Torture Chamber.To teach them a lesson, she and Bobby have been assigned to the Kiddie Table.And that's only the beginning...

    But when old Smiler takes a seat beside him, sucking in pint after pint through his gingery whiskers, a whole new world of battles and bones opens up before him…H. E. Bates – a prolific English novelist and short story writer – wrote 'Castle in the Air' for The Evening News in 1957, but the story was never re-printed in any of his later collections. In fact, its existence was forgotten until 2013 when it was spotted accidentally during a rummage through a newspaper archive. On re-discovering this charming and humorous short story – which exemplifies H.E. Bates's great skill of drawing vivid characters and his ability to create an almost tangible sense of a place – Bates's descendants felt it had to be shared with a wider audience.Bloomsbury Reader is delighted to be re-publishing 'Castle in the Air' alongside the whole body of H. E. Bates's short fiction and novellas, and here we offer it as a free taste of Bates's irresistible writing.

    Three wishes. And a dollop of magic… Shy Chrissie, well-meaning Dee and no-nonsense Amber have worked together at law firm Hood, Mann & Derek ever since leaving their respective colleges. Now in their late twenties, the women have a close-knit friendship with much more in common than just typing up letters and legal documents for their solicitor bosses. Firstly, they’ve all been living with their respective boyfriends for the last few years. Secondly, they feel a marriage proposal is well overdue. When office siren Cougar Kate invites the three women to her birthday soirée – complete with visiting fortune teller – the girls know there is only one question they’ll be asking the mysterious Madam Rosa: Will their men be going down on one knee any time soon? But opting to see a clairvoyant like Madam Rosa, who claims to know everything, is a bit like opening Pandora’s box. Some revelations are a joy, whereas others are most definitely not. Sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for…

    But whenever she is on the trail of a big story, things just... happen. Andrea is given one last chance to prove herself with the cover story on sexy billionaire heartbreaker, Alexander Donovan. The wealthy philanthropist appears to be living the American dream, but Andrea is determined to uncover the real story. When Alex’s secrets are revealed, Andrea will have to choose between climbing the ladder of success or falling in love…

    Her annoying ex-husband, Simon has been "displaced" after forgetting to pay his rent and has nowhere to go. As much as she seethes at the sight of him, Elizabeth can't turn her back on the man who was once the love of her life. After all, they were happily married for two years before "the incident" ripped them apart. There's just one teensy problem. Elizabeth's fiance, Austin, has no idea that she was previously married. Nor is he aware that Simon is bunking with his future bride. Elizabeth must keep the two away from each other until she is ready to come clean about her marriage and divorce. This proves exhausting in close quarters while planning a wedding. As Elizabeth and Austin prepare for their upcoming nuptials, it gets more and more difficult to hide the truth from Austin. Especially, when Elizabeth is starting to have doubts about what the truth really is.

    In fact, much to her astonishment, she actually starts to like the guy. A lot.Trouble is, Ian doesn’t know who she really is, and explaining it to him is going to be a little difficult now—which is bad news, because Trish is starting to realize that all she really wants for Christmas this year… is Ian.