But Zoey's relaxing vacation turns out to be anything but peaceful when she meets Shane Lawson, a resort guest who bears a striking resemblance to Braden. And things get even more complicated when the resort's owner starts spilling secrets about Zoey’s aunt Nessa, the woman who raised her. Add a snarky Wellness Coordinator and Nate Holmes—Shane's grumpy friend—to the mix, and you've got the recipe for a perfect tropical storm. When Zoey comes back home with a new husband instead of tacky souvenirs, she must convince everyone she hasn't completely lost her mind. As Zoey and Shane struggle to keep the magic alive outside the resort, Zoey discovers that she isn't the only one having trouble letting go of the past. And when Nate drops a bombshell that changes everything, Zoey must decide if the old saying is true—what happens at the Moment of Zen stays at the Moment of Zen.

     Life is sweet for Joanna until the day she gets a call from a lawyer in Greece that knocks her for six. Her father, whom she has never met, has died. Her late mother was always reticent to discuss a vacation romance she had over two decades ago on a tiny Greek island called Skiathos, and Joanna - a hopeless romantic at heart - has always tried to fill in the blanks. According to the lawyer, her father has left her an inheritance. The condition? Joanna must travel to the island to see it for herself...

    With poverty never far from the door, the battle to stay respectable is finally lost when the family breaks up in tragic circumstances, and Mabel is thrown upon the dubious mercy of her grandmother, the sinister Mimi Court, who has her own dark secrets. But faithful Harry Drover of the Salvation Army, in love with Mabel, gets an opportunity to prove his devotion when Mimi falls foul of the law and Mabel has to fight for her own survival...

    Responsible older brother Will has fled Primrose Bay, unable to forgive and forget after the ultimate betrayal. And Jasmine, no longer the wayward baby sister, is determined to prove to her brother and sister that she’s just as capable as they are. Together in the bay after years apart and a separation spanning three continents, it doesn’t take long for the siblings to clash when Mia calls everyone together in a family crisis. And with jealousy and resentment simmering between them, as well as faces from the past and new loves, the family ties could end up being severed forever. Sometimes we need to lose ourselves in order to find each other again…

    They are all in their 40s and wondering the same thing: “Now what?” Zoe, the mother of 17 year-old twins about to abandon her for college, misses the romance of her twenties, and desperately wants just one last first kiss. Thinking outside the box, she convinces her husband Carlos to embark on an open marriage. Which leads to a new set of problems and questions: How does she pick a “non-skeevy” swinger’s club, do men of a certain age even want sex with no strings attached, and does ordering a glass of Syrah these days really signal to would be suitors that you just want to f*@# them in their car? Most importantly, will getting to be with someone else help or hurt her marriage? And if that someone else is an ex who effortlessly morphs into a fantasy man who after all these years finally says and does all the right things, how does Zoe choose between the life she has and the road not taken? Michelle has made it her routine on her way home to stop one block from her house, park, stare into space, and dread the next few hours of her life. She’s tired of juggling her very full time job as a real estate agent with the full time job of parenting two kids without much help from her husband, Steve. She's also tired of not having sex and the daily silence that has replaced their fighting. Michelle doesn’t have a road not taken, but she’s at a fork in that road. Does she take the easy path, and spend the rest of her life with a man she loves but no longer likes? Or go the hard route: Divorce. Living life with one income, single parenting, lonely Thanksgivings, and kids who may never forgive you. And how does somebody start dating again when all the rules have changed since she took herself off the market years ago? Alexis is the self-made multi-millionaire we all aspire to be. She’s the creator of a slew of hit TV shows and the head of a wildly successful production company. She’s got the dream car, the stunning house on the beach in Malibu, the black AmEx. Everything is going exactly according to plan, and there’s a lot to be happy about. But she also has Connor, her on-again/off-again boyfriend of twelve years. Plus she’s going through early menopause, and now wonders how she forgot to have kids. Her life plan is suddenly thrown into further disarray when Connor shows up with a stray dog, which he leaves with her. Which is just the beginning, as that mangy mutt leads to a teenaged dog walker, a middle-aged widower, and her Sunday morning brunches possibly being replaced by church. So what do you do when nothing in your life is working the way you saw it in your head, and the unplanned life might make you happier? Knowing their girlfriends will always have their backs, Michelle, Zoe and Alexis confront their new realities with honesty and humor, while trying to find happiness amidst hangovers and hot flashes.

    Not quite the life plan she'd had in mind for herself. Only after securing a job at an independent travel company, does she begin to wonder if life might be on an upward trend.A chance meeting with a handsome stranger, who is not only appealing to the eye but has both charm and a black Amex card, sets her pulse racing.As she jets between London and Marbella, Spain she begins to encounter startling family revelations, love triangles and shocking friendship discoveries. What does the future really hold for Lizzie? Could the handsome stranger be 'The One' she's been searching for? Or will she continue Tripping on Love?

    She impulsively takes the first job offered and finds herself working for local dragon Kitty Walker in her tea room True Brew.Lara's life is full of surprises, however, not the least being an unlikely friendship forged with one of Kitty's elderly customers, the Laird Hugo Carmichael. The Carmichael family has lived at the beautiful Glenlovatt Manor for almost 300 years and, although in need of renovation, Hugo, his son and grandson currently make it their home. There's something about Lara that Hugo likes, and when Hugo suddenly passes away, Lara is stunned to discover she is mentioned in his will. But not everyone is happy with the old Laird's faith in Lara. A story of love, family, hope and trust, A Room at the Manor will delight every reader keen to find their place.

    He’s miserable because the woman he was planning on marrying has dumped him.He’s now worried that with his A-list celebrity status he won’t find a woman who genuinely loves him. Ruby devises a plan to disguise Steve, so that he is unrecognisable as the famous Hollywood actor, in a hope to help him find true love. It worked for Clark Kent, right?As Steve searches for his not-so-perfect woman and has a taste of normality, his relationship develops with his sister. But will he find the right woman before he has to head back to his real life in Hollywood?

    Though the rest of her adoptive family scorned her as an outsider, Gram and her grandson Ian always loved Laina like she was one of their own. Now Laina is all grown up and a foster parent in her own right, to a little girl named Jada whose upcoming adoption by strangers is sure to break Laina’s heart. But Laina faces the prospect of another devastating loss when Gram’s health begins to fail. As she has so many times before, Laina turns to Ian for advice, only to find that her feelings for her handsome, warm-hearted friend have changed, deepening into a love that could transform her life...or ruin her dearest friendship.When Laina and Ian come together at the family summer home on the windswept shores of Hatteras Island, the sparks igniting between them cannot be ignored. But with stakes as high as these, can they overcome their fear of heartbreak to claim the promise of love?

    If life isn’t living up to your expectations, is it possible to stop and start again? Rachel Asquith thinks so. She escapes the city for Bluebell cottage in the tiny Hamlet of Perivale, one of those twinkling stars that fell to earth and took root. This place has it all. Beautiful beach, pretty cottage, fabulous views and a set of neighbours who take her in and make her one of their own. Then there are the men. Logan - hot, angry and intriguing. Jack - the local handyman who is extremely handy with his… um tools. Then there’s Max. The pilot/playboy who thinks life should be lived in the fast lane and does everything at supersonic speed. Rachel soon finds that choices need to be made. At some point, she needs to head home and face the mess she’s caused. At some point, she will need to choose between her new life and old, and at some point, she needs to decide if she’s just fooling in love again with the wrong person. However, the decision faces her much quicker than she thought when she needs her old life to rescue the new one. She will have to leave the place she now calls home to save it and in doing so may just lose the man she loves. Love is a complicated business – it’s just a good thing business is what she does best.

    While her three sons spend the summer holiday with their father, Kate has an opportunity to prove to herself that there is a new life, after her divorce.Harry Sinclair is the owner of Vale Volumes book shop on Willowbury High Street. Content, if a little bored with his lot, his shop, as well as his life, could do with freshening up. When Kate offers to spruce up Vale Volumes ready for the visit of a famous author, they find they have a lot more in common than colour schemes.But both have secrets and responsibilities, and when the trials of family life threaten their burgeoning friendship, can they overcome the experiences of their pasts? Will Somerset’s most magical town cast its spell on them? Or will Kate and Harry have to concede that their friendship really is just for the summer?Let Fay Keenan transport you to the perfect British summertime, with beautiful countryside, an unforgettable romance, and just the right dose of escapism. Perfect for all fans of Debbie Macomber, Cathy Bramley and Katie Fforde.

    Almost.In a couple of years, she’ll be the CEO of the company she’s spent most of her adult life working in. For now, though, she’s still busy shimmying up the greasy pole of corporate business. She’s single, carefree, and independent, and nothing can stop her getting what she wants and deserves.Until she discovers she’s pregnant.Determined to have her cake and eat it, she’s convinced that having a baby will make little difference to her life, and that she will be one of those women who can hold down an incredibly demanding job and also be a perfect mother.But as her pregnancy progresses and her life slowly falls apart, she has the sneaking suspicion that Max Oakland, the new guy on the block, is out to steal her dream job. That she’s terribly attracted to him doesn’t help, nor does the fact that he’s devilishly handsome, appears to be a really nice fella, and is good in a crisis.When she gradually comes to realise that something has got to give, what she doesn’t want it to be is her heart

    But she's not the only islander back for the summer...Twelve years ago, Willow ran away to the mainland after her childhood sweetheart, Luc, betrayed her. Luc has since become a heartthrob musician, touring sold-out stadiums around the world, but he's finally come home to headline the island's annual music festival – and to win Willow back.As Willow untangles her messy past, she stumbles on a secret that could destroy the island's fragile community – and her second chance at love...

    The book to fall in love with this summer - perfect for fans of Fern Britton, Liz Fenwick and Veronica Henry. Oliver Foxley is an acclaimed movie star and global heartthrob. But under the glare of the spotlight his 'perfect' life - and marriage - is slowly starting to crumble. Cara Penhaligon is a struggling young Cornish artist, and widowed mother of two children. Life has been unbearably harsh to Cara, but meeting Oliver might just give her a second chance at the happiness she deserves. As each begins to heal the other, the pieces of Oliver's frustrating jigsaw puzzle effortlessly fall into place. But as the Cornish summer draws to a close, Oliver faces the toughest of choices, and no one emerges quite as they were at the start. Previously published as Cry of the Gulls.

    This study guide includes the following sections: Plot Summary, Chapter Summaries & Analysis, Characters, Objects/Places, Themes, Style, Quotes, and Topics for Discussion.