Ellie and her twin daughters, Marie and Jessica, each have decisions to make as they forge new futures and let go of their past. They all know that the choices they make will impact on the whole family. Set in a beautiful Cotswold town these stories follow three contemporary women as they find their own way in life, maintain family bonds, and come to terms with change, endings and new beginnings. The Vintage Tea Room books contained in this collection: The Vintage Tea Room: end of an era and new beginnings When Ellie decides to sell the tea room she didn’t bank on her twin daughters showing up with ideas of their own. Ellie has been running the tea room for more than twenty years. Her daughters have both left home - Jessica is married and expecting her first child and Marie has built a successful career. She is ready for change and to leave the past behind however, her daughters are not. They still want the security of having their family home as a base to return to and yet seem reluctant to help with the day to day tasks of running the business. To complicate matters further Ellie meets Michael. She was not looking to meet a man but life occasionally throws in a few surprises. Maybe now is the right time to change more than just her work. Set in the beautiful Cotswold town of Cirencester the first book in the Vintage Tea Room series is a story of a mother ready to move on and forge a new future for herself and of her daughters who are not yet ready to let go of their past. If you enjoy reading about contemporary women finding their own way in life you will love this story of a family coming to terms with both endings and beginnings. The Vintage Tea Room 2: room for a small one Jessica is determined to put her stamp on the tea room by baking and offering a range of Artisan breads. She plans to launch the new menu before the arrival of her first baby – in less than one month. Jessica and Edward have recently taken over the tea room. Jessica soon realises that the customers love everything her mum has created – they do not want change - however, she wants to add something of her own. She decides that, despite having limited experience of baking, she is going to make bread. When her initial attempts do not turn out well it looks like she may have to rethink her plans. Even though Jessica has not yet prepared for the arrival of the baby she is convinced she still has plenty of time to get her new venture off the ground. Babies, however, have a habit of foiling even the best laid plans. The second book in the Vintage Tea Room series is a story of a young woman’s determination, with the help and support of her family, to make a success of her new business. The Vintage Tea Room 3: changing times and new opportunities Marie has a decision to make – take the job in Copenhagen and move away from her family or give up on her dream of being at the top of the advertising industry. When Marie arrives back in Cirencester for her mother’s wedding she can’t wait to share the news of her new job with her twin sister, Jessica. To Marie’s surprise Jessica is less than enthusiastic and gives her reason to wonder if now is the right time for such a move. Marie does not want to burden her mum with news of her job or the reason she is having second thoughts. She confides in Adam, the temporary chef at the tea room. Despite being unsympathetic he may have the solution to her problem.

    What Michael doesn’t expect, is to be put in charge of a group of offenders and sent to a remote location in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Spain to teach them survival skills as part of their rehabilitation programme. But Michael knows nothing at all about survival skills. He was sort of in the SAS, yes, but his shining record on the “Escape and Evasion” courses was more a testament to his computer skills than his ability to catch wildlife and barbecue it over an impromptu fire. Basically, he was the SAS’s techy nerd and only achieved that position as a result of a bet with a fellow hacker. Facing a stark choice between starvation or returning home to serve out their sentences, the group of offenders under Michael’s supervision soon realise that the only way to survive is to use their own unique set of skills – the kind of skills that got them arrested in the first place.

    Nothing and no one keeps us lot down.'A life of poverty in a cramped pit cottage is all that seventeen-year-old Ruby Dinsdale has known. Even with her father and younger brother working at the coal mine, money is tight. Her mother Mary is skilled at stretching what little they have, but the small contribution Ruby makes from her job at the local pub makes all the difference. So when Ruby is sacked, and Mary becomes pregnant again, the family's challenges are greater than ever.When charming miner Gordon begins to court Ruby it seems as though happiness is on the horizon, until she uncovers a deeper betrayal than she could ever have imagined.But although the Dinsdales are materially poor, they are rich in love, friendship and determination - all qualities that they will draw on to get them through whatever lies ahead.

    Now, two years later, struggling in a poorly paid job, Rachel feels her luck will never change. So when she finds herself the new owner of her late Uncle Chip's Hammersmith boat-building business she wonders if it's too good to be true. Why would Chip have left it to her when he has a son himself? The business is only just afloat - thanks to the hard work of Chip's charismatic assistant, Ben - but Rachel is determined to restore it to its former glory for the sake of her sons. And before long, she realises that she's falling in love with kind-hearted and handsome Ben. But her good fortune doesn't last for long - someone is maliciously plotting to sabotage her plans...

    While Matt is planning his lavish wedding to his model fiancée, James has vowed to have nothing to do with women ever again. So, when Great Aunt Milly dies and leaves her one-million pound share portfolio to whichever of the boys first marries and has a child, it's assumed the fortune will go to Matt. But add to the mix a sex-mad German, a gorgeous photographer, a matchmaking mother, and one very pampered pooch, and things don't run quite as smoothly as Matt would like ...

    I loved the settings, they really did come alive for me. The waterfall and the cave scenes took my breath away.” Jera’s Jamboree Book Blog “If you want a fun adventure that is fast paced and mentions Treasure Island then this is for you.” Comet Babe’s Books “A very entertaining and fun read. Another great addition to the world of fiction by Janice Horton.” The Book Maven. “A lively romantic adventure, a nice and easy read that I found hugely entertaining, and enjoyable.” Books4U Castaway in the Caribbean Vacationing on the beautiful Caribbean island of Antigua, Janey Sinclair is persuaded by her magazine editor boss to do a quick island hop in order to supervise an impromptu photo-shoot for the front cover. With no flights immediately available, Janey is directed to the harbour. Captain Travis Mathews hates tourists, although he’s not above making a bit of money off a prissy and sharp tongued young British girl when she’s desperate to get to the neighbouring island of Tortola. After striking a deal, they set off together in Travis’s weather-beaten old boat. When the vessel comes to a sudden full stop in the sea, the mismatched pair end up as castaways on an uninhabited island. In this fast moving romantic adventure about a vacation that turns into a tropical nightmare there’s more fun than you’ll find in any travel brochure. A message from the author: I was incredibly fortunate to spend most of last summer in the Caribbean, writing and researching this novel. I found it challenging only in the respect of being continually distracted from the manuscript by the tropical sunshine, the white sand beaches, the warm aquamarine sea, rum cocktails, and the fabulous social scene on offer. Many of these distractions are well documented on my website, blog and Facebook page, if you are interested in reading the details and seeing the photos! Janice xx

    To save them from the workhouse, Nell returns to the family home - a mere two rooms at the top of a condemned tenement.Nell finds work at a biscuit factory and, at first, they scrape through each week. But then eight-year-old Róisín, a delicate from birth, is admitted to hospital with rheumatic fever and fifteen-year-old Kate, rebellious, headstrong and resentful of Nell taking her mother's place, runs away.When Liam finds work in London, Nell stays to struggle on alone - her unwavering devotion to her sisters stronger even than her love for him. She's determined that one day the Dublin girls will be reunited and only then will she be free to follow her heart. Look for more gripping, heartwrenching page-turners from Cathy Mansell - don't miss A Place to Belong, out now.

    They lost. They lived. In the small Yorkshire town of Cottenly - dominated by the steel works and surrounded by beautiful countryside - Isaac Stanford lives with his wife Emily and their three lovely daughters, known locally as the Stanford lasses. Alice, the eldest, lives only for her work as a secretary and chapel on Sunday. Fair and loving Lizzie is content with her job making umbrellas - until she falls in love with George Crossman and all she desires is to be a wife and mother. And headstrong Ruth, the merry one, is intent upon marrying handsome charmer, Walter Wray, despite warnings from friends and family. Already emotionally damaged by a traumatic childhood, Alice struggles to lead a normal life. Poor but happy with her ever increasing family, with the onset of war, Lizzie faces the threat of losing all she holds dear. And Ruth soon realises she has made a terrible mistake in her marriage as she becomes trapped in a life of poverty and violence. As the years pass each sister is forced to confront her greatest challenge ...

    your perfect new life?On paper, Iris Atkins is an estate agent, but she's not just good at finding suitable houses for her clients. In fact, she has a gift: Iris is able to see into their lives and understand exactly what is missing and what they need - and not just in bricks-and-mortar terms either.Of course, concentrating so much on fixing other people's problems doesn't leave much time for examining your own. Over the course of one whirlwind year Iris discovers that while she may know what's best for everyone else, she doesn't necessarily know what's best for herself - and what she finds out could make her happier than she'd ever dreamed of.

    

    To mask betrayal, or deceit. But what happens when those lies start to catch up with us? When our lives begin to be shaped by the lies of others?The late 'noughties'. A global recession looms. A group of old friends, all leading outwardly successful, interesting lives. All in apparently loving, secure relationships. Yet all, in some way, lying to those closest to them, concealing secret worries, jealousies, desires. This group of friends is about to discover that the truth won't stay buried for ever...Welcome to the darker side of love.

    

    Now that her children are close to flying the nest, she is looking across the table and thinking, Is this really how my life was meant to be?As women, we make sacrifices for our children, for our husbands and for our families. Some are worth it and some we may regret. But there comes a point when it's time to follow our own hearts. This is the story of what happens when we do. It probably helped to have been round the block a few times when it came to creating Harper, but I think her story can be enjoyed whoever you are and whatever your age.I hope you'll grow to love her, as I have - and to laugh and cry with her on her journey. Lots of love,Denise xx

    Rachael's family comes to America to start a new life after fleeing the pogroms in Russia. Rebekah comes to America with her son, Samuel, fleeing his father, Misha, a Russian soldier with whom she had an affair and has threatened to take him away from her so he will not grow up as a Jew and the son of a cobbler. Set in the Lower East Side of New York and pre-revolutionary St. Petersburg, Russia, both women adjust to life in America until Misha kidnaps Samuel and returns with him to Russia. How Rebekah rises to the challenge of earning enough money as a designer of women's gowns to return to St. Petersburg to find her son, and the difficulties she encounters while there, including murder and prison, show the reader the full extent of a mother's ingenuity and determination when it comes to her child. Rachael also faces the possibility of losing a child to war when her son Solomon enlists in the army as America's entry into World War I approaches.