My great-grandmother's name is bold across the cream envelope, now golden at the seams with age. I can't remember the last time I’ve seen graceful, purposeful handwriting with a fountain pen and not the hasty scrawl of ballpoint. Alice Hirshhorn, Astoria Hotel, Seattle Washington. “Letters to Great-grandma Alice,” I say with wonder, tracing my fingers over the faded postmark and foreign stamps. December 1915. Philippine Islands. I turn the thick envelope in my palm, slide out the tightly folded pages, and unfold the thin paper, taking care not to tear the letters that were important enough to keep for a century. My dearest Alice “Great-grandpa was in the Philippines?” I ask. “Oh no. Not your great-grandfather,” answers Grammie, her eyes twinkling with her mother’s secrets. “Elliott.” ​~ At thirty-three and with her future unclear, Ali Waller finds her way home again. A box of long-forgotten love letters written to her great-grandmother holds the unlikely key to Ali finding her new path. As she tracks down the letter writer and his descendants, Ali learns the magic of love, hope, and resilience. Told by three characters, and across century and an ocean, Genealogy is an enchanting story about love and loss, taking chances, and embracing the surprises that life brings.

    She intends to renovate the ruinous house into a hotel, but the shocking discovery of human remains brings her ambitious restoration plans to an abrupt halt before they even begin. Few physical clues are left to identify the body, but one thing is certain: this person did not die a natural death.Hungry for answers, Hetty discovers that Muirlan was once the refuge of her distant relative Theo Blake, the acclaimed painter and naturalist who brought his new bride, Beatrice, there in 1910. Yet ancient gossip and a handful of leads reveal that their marriage was far from perfect; Beatrice eventually vanished from the island, never to return, and Theo withdrew from society, his paintings becoming increasingly dark and disturbing.What happened between them has remained a mystery, but as Hetty listens to the locals and studies the masterful paintings produced by Theo during his short-lived marriage, she uncovers secrets that still reverberate through the small island community—and will lead her to the identity of the long-hidden body.

    Lewis.When Savannah history professor Everly Winthrop is asked to guest-curate a new museum collection focusing on artifacts recovered from the steamship Pulaski, she's shocked. The ship sank after a boiler explosion in 1838, and the wreckage was just discovered, 180 years later. Everly can't resist the opportunity to try to solve some of the mysteries and myths surrounding the devastating night of its sinking.Everly's research leads her to the astounding history of a family of eleven who boarded the Pulaski together, and the extraordinary stories of two women from this family: a known survivor, Augusta Longstreet, and her niece, Lilly Forsyth, who was never found, along with her child. These aristocratic women were part of Savannah's society, but when the ship exploded, each was faced with difficult and heartbreaking decisions. This is a moving and powerful exploration of what women will do to endure in the face of tragedy, the role fate plays, and the myriad ways we survive the surviving.

    The wilds of Gibson County are just being tamed in the year of 1850, and Jubilee ekes a meager existence. But when Rafe Tanner, a cousin of her abusive dead husband, shows up with the deed to her property, Jubilee’s dream of her own home dissolves. Rafe, stinging from his ex-fiancée’s rejection, offers a business marriage, throwing him and Jubilee together in an effort to make the farm successful. But scars from the past keep her in constant fear of her new husband. The pair masquerades as a love-struck couple at Rafe’s family farm, enduring the romantic notions of his family, and the jealousy of his ex-fiancée. Once home, Rafe realizes his newfound love for Jubilee, and sets out to court her. Meanwhile, Jubilee fights demons from her past as her husband reveals his interest. Can Jubilee let go of her distrust and pain to embrace God’s plan of true love and finally find a place to belong?

    Thrilled for a new life in the exotic West Indies, privileged seventeen-year-old Tessa Monroe eagerly embraces her father’s reassignment to the fledgling Caribbean colony of St. Kitts where she can stake her claim as an up-and-coming socialite.But that dream unravels when a hurricane downs their ship on the passage from England, leaving Tessa as the sole survivor. Rescued by a passing ship, Tessa’s grief soon turns to terror as she realizes she isn’t a passenger—she’s a captive.With a future of slavery in the offing, Tessa joins forces with Nicholas Holladay, a charismatic sailor ready to break free from a life of piracy. Mutiny is in the air. Tessa and Nicholas will either win their freedom or earn a spot at the gallows.

    How will Samantha and Jensen's forbidden love survive? Samantha Loche is a strong and brave woman. She managed to escape the fire that killed her parents and now she is trying to start a new life. Motivated by revenge, she wants the man responsible for this to pay.Jensen Reaves has always been a straight-laced, follow-the-rules kind of guy. Being the first-born son to a wealthy ranching family, he is facing an arranged marriage but he longs for freedom.Their seemingly unrelated paths will suddenly cross and change both their lives forever when one night Jensen finds scared Samantha hiding out in his barn.As the two are closing in on the people responsible for Samantha's tragedy, they will reveal an unimaginable scheme that may tear them apart or unite them forever.Caught between love and duty, can a romance so pure resist to burst in flames?"The Rancher’s Unexpected Love" is a stand-alone Western Historical Romance Novel with no cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed happily ever after.

    But when he rode to the family home, he made two shocking discoveries: his family was gone, and he had been declared dead by the army four years earlier. He left to cross the plains of Nebraska to find his family, but would find so much more.

    Her plan takes a wrong turn when she finds Veronica, her twenty-year-old housekeeper and daughter of her beloved nanny, Lola, hovering over the dead body of octogenarian Randolph Brentwood, the fifth richest man in the world. Maple has never been a warm and fuzzy type of family person, and the last thing she wants to do in her final months of life is deal with Veronica’s mess. But long ago Maple made a promise to Lola that she’d always look out for her “little sister” Veronica. Still, the stubborn Maple, hardened from her own personal loss, resists involvement until she learns that Veronica is pregnant with Lola’s grandchild, an heir to the Brentwood estate. To make good on her promise to Lola, Maple vows to help Veronica. With the assistance of Michael, a handsome and savvy PI, they journey up and down the East Coast, dodging the authorities, a shady lawyer, a cold-hearted hit man, and the powerful widow, Mrs. Brentwood. As Maple’s bitterness about spending her last days saving Veronica dissipates and her friendship with Michael develops, she realizes that on the way to death, she’s found something she’s never had—life. (PLEASE NOTE: This is the Author's Women's Fiction Debut. It is NOT a Romance. Further, this book touches on serious subjects that may affect more sensitive readers.)

     'Riveting' Lesley Pearse on The Letter. 'Gripping' Good Housekeeping on The Secret. 1956 It's Ellen Crosby's first day at work as a student nurse at Ambergate County Lunatic Asylum. When she meets a young girl committed by her father, and a pioneering physician keen to try out the various 'cures' available for mental illness, little does Ellen know that a choice she will make is to change all their lives for ever...2006Sarah is drawn to the abandoned Ambergate Asylum and whilst exploring the old corridors she discovers a suitcase in an attic belonging to a female patient who was admitted to the asylum fifty years earlier. The shocking contents of the suitcase lead Sarah to unravel a forgotten story of tragedy, lost love and an old wrong that only Sarah may have the power to put right. Join the hundreds of thousands of readers worldwide who have lost their hearts to Kathryn Hughes' novels: 'I cried buckets of tears reading it' 'You cannot fail to fall for this story' 'I went through every emotion under the sun' 'One of the finest stories I have ever read' 'I have finished this book with tears in my eyes but a smile on my face' 'I feel like I'm a better person for reading it'

    Home to lords and ladies, horsemen and farmers, and plenty of secrets and scandals…Leaving a scumbag ex behind her, Lottie Brinkley has hotfooted it out of Spain and back home to the country in serious need of some flirtatious fun to soothe her aching heart.Luckily for her she’s spoilt for choice with not one but three eligible bachelors offering a steamy romp in the hay! But faced with the attentions of roguish eventer Rory Steel, the smiling Irish eyes of hunky farrier Mick O’Neal, and mysterious newcomer Tom Strachan, how can she possibly choose?When billionaire landowner Marcus James drops dead unexpectedly, his WAGish wife Amanda threatens to sell the heart of the village and sets her sights on Tom! It seems things are heating up for little Tippermere… both in and out of the saddle.A hilarious, sexy rom com perfect for fans of Jilly Cooper!

    there was The New Mrs D! 'Wine-spittingly, chocolate-chokingly brilliant! Hill is the Tom Sharpe of her era! Genuinely laugh out loud funny with great writing and a plot to keep you hooked. Buy it, read it - but if like me you are of a certain age, do so with an empty bladder." – Amanda Prowse, author Four days into their honeymoon in Greece, Bernice and David Dando have yet to consummate their marriage and after having accepted his almost non-existent desire for sex throughout the relationship, Bernice finally discovers the reason; he is addicted to porn. Learning that the love of her life chooses the cheap thrill of fantasy over her is devastating but then, 'every man does it; it’s just looking, right?’ If she leaves the relationship because of virtual adultery, will she be labelled as pathological, overreacting, or even worse, frigid? When funny, feisty, forty-something Bernice plans the adventure trip of a lifetime, she doesn’t expect to be spending it alone. But as it turns out, unintentionally contributing to a Greek fish explosion, nude karaoke and hilarious misadventures with volcanoes are exactly what she needs to stop fretting about errant husbands and really start living. But when Mr D tries to win her back, Bernice has a decision to make: is this a holiday from her humdrum life, or the start of a whole new adventure? "The New Mrs D is a refreshing, sharp-witted and empowering romp that reflects real life, delves into unspoken about subjects and slaps the reader in the face with honesty." Fleur Ferris, author It is a story about one woman's midlife awakening... on her honeymoon alone. ˃˃˃ Praise For The New Mrs D "A very funny and touching book from a brilliant new voice in women's fiction.” – Jon Rance, author"Heather Hill is a very funny lady." – Ben Hatch, author"...a humorous and cleverly written story with characters that jump off the page and a plot that will keep you engaged until the last page." - Lisa O'Meary, Chick Lit Club "Ms Hill whisks off to the Greek Islands for a colourful adventure. She takes us on a sensory journey where we soak up the hot sun, drink in the fragrant wine and cradle our temples as Binnie flings her flip flop at us from a speeding scooter" ”" Talesfromabruceeyeview "the perfect setting for a hilarious update to Eat Pray Love" - Tara Gladden Cornerstones 'This book would do well on your Kindle as a fairly light summer read with a little discussion of more serious issues. You can’t call this “chick lit” – it’s way better than that. Take a look.' - AMAZON VINE VOICE REVIEW ˃˃˃ International Praise For The New Mrs D 'Watch out Jane Green and Helen Fielding! There's a new novelist from your side of the pond.' - Annie McDonnell, Chick Lit Plus The New Mrs D by Heather Hill had me laughing from page 1. The book is so engaging that I stayed up all night to read it - I downloaded it at 10.30 pm and just kept reading. To say it grabbed me by the short and curlies is an understatement! I totally identified with Binnie and so "got it". Heather's light, chatty writing style is refreshingly "real" and she has all the hallmarks of a truly great story teller.This is a woman's story.

    She likes to spy from the crumbling wall into the gardens and imagine that one day she’ll escape her meager existence and live there surrounded by its otherworldly splendor. Then one day Dante, the son of the villa’s powerful industrialist owner, invites her inside and shows her the enchanting Mermaid Garden. From that moment, Floriana knows that the only destiny for her is there, in that garden, with Dante. But as they grow up and fall in love, their romance causes a crisis, jeopardizing the very thing they hold most dear.Decades later and hundreds of miles away, a beau-tiful old country house hotel on England’s Devon coast has fallen on hard times after the financial crash of 2008. Its owner, Marina, advertises for an artist to stay the summer and teach the guests how to paint. The man she hires is charismatic and wise and soon begins to pacify the discord in her family and transform the fortunes of the hotel. However, he has his own agenda. Is it to destroy, to seduce, or to heal? Whatever his intentions, he is certain to change Marina’s life forever.Spanning four decades and sweeping from the Italian countryside to the English coast, this new story by Santa Montefiore is a moving and mysterious tale of love, forgiveness, and the past revealed.

    Perfect for fans of The Letter by Kathryn Hughes, The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. What if keeping your loved ones safe meant never seeing them again? Norfolk, 1940: Sylvia’s husband Howard has gone off to war, and she is struggling to raise her two children alone. Her only solace is her beach hut in Wells-Next-The-Sea, and her friendship with Connie, a woman she meets on the beach. The two women form a bond that will last a lifetime, and Sylvia tells Connie something that no-one else knows: about a secret lover… and a child. Canada, present day: When Martha’s beloved father dies, he leaves her two things: a mysterious stash of letters to an English woman called ‘Catkins’ and directions to a beach hut in the English seaside town of Wells. Martha is at a painful crossroads in her own life, and seizes this chance for a trip to England – to discover more about her family’s past, and the identity of her father’s secret correspondent. The tragedy of war brought heartbreaking choices for Sylvia. And a promise made between her and Connie has echoed down the years. For Martha, if she uncovers the truth, it could change everything…

    The business helps to fill the void in Zach’s life during the off-season, but when he closes his eyes at night, he still can’t forget the girl who left that gaping hole in his heart when she left him standing at the altar. Lauren ‘Rennie’ Alexander would do anything to fulfill a sick child’s wish. Not only is it her job, as director of the Sky’s the Limit Foundation, but it’s her passion. So when her assistant brings her a letter scribbled in crayon, complete with an application from the little boy’s loving parents, Rennie is ready to make another dream come true. Until she realizes that sick little boy’s dream is her worst nightmare. He wants to meet his hero, baseball player, Zach Foster. The same lying jerk who broke Rennie’s heart. It’s seems she has no choice but to take one for the team.

    Seventeen-year-old farm girl Cornelia has been heartbroken since the day her mother died five years ago. As a new tragedy provides Cornelia still more reason to reject her parent’s faith, a mysterious visitor appears in her hour of desperation. Alone and carrying a heavy secret, she makes a desperate choice that will haunt her for years to come. Never telling a soul, Cornelia pours out the painful events of the war in her diary.Many decades later, Cornelia’s granddaughter, Benita, is in the midst of her own crisis, experiencing several losses in the same week, including the grandmother she adored. The resulting emotional and financial stress takes its toll on her and her husband, Ken, who is unemployed. On the brink of divorce, she discovers Cornelia’s diary. Now the secrets of her grandmother’s past will lead Benita on an unexpected journey of healing, reunion, and faith.