Life seems idyllic, but little does she know things are about to change. Soon she finds her family split. Her younger siblings are destined for the workhouse, whilst Emma takes a job as a cook in a wealthy London household. Then she meets a dashing young fireman. As Emma marries and her own family grows, so does her happiness. Until tragedy strikes.Will Emma turn her life around once again? And can she finally find her happily ever after?A warm-hearted and nostalgic family saga from the author of The Winter Baby and The Nursemaid's Secret, perfect for fans of Katie Flynn and Sheila Jeffries. Praise for Sheila Newberry 'So gloriously nostalgic . . . a perfect example of her talent.' Maureen Lee, bestselling author of The Seven Streets of Liverpool'Like having dinner with your mother in her warm and cosy kitchen.' Diane Allen, bestselling author of For the Sake of Her Family

    . . Welcome Home is an enthralling and moving drama from bestselling author Margaret Dickinson, set during the Second World War.Neighbours Edie Kelsey and Lil Horton have been friends for over twenty years, sharing the joys and sorrows of a tough life as the wives of fishermen in Grimsby. So it was no surprise that their children were close and that Edie's son, Frank, and Lil's daughter, Irene, would fall in love and marry at a young age.But the declaration of war in 1939 changed everything. Frank went off to fight, and Irene and baby, Tommy, along with Edie's youngest son are sent to the countryside for safety. With Edie's husband, Archie, fishing the dangerous waters in the North Sea and daughter Beth in London doing 'important war work', Edie's family is torn apart.Friendship sustains Edie and Lil, but tragedy follows and there's also concern that Beth seems to have disappeared. But it is Irene's return, during the VE day celebrations, that sends shock waves through the family and threatens to tear Edie and Lil's friendship apart forever.

    Working as a supervisor on a production line for planes, Hildy believes she is doing her part to help with the war effort. But troubles at home, with her dependent and overly-protective mother, make it harder for her to findhappiness as she hides her relationship with an American GI.Meanwhile, Cora has lost both her parents in the Blitz and is still reeling from the devastating loss. Along with her friend, Belle, the two young women turn to the dark streets of Southampton to work on the game, wishing to raise enough money for a new beginning elsewhere and put their pasts behind them.For all three women, the war provides challenges and hardships that they will only emerge from by maintaining courage, strength and, above all, hope.

    Rose Neville works as a Lyon’s Teashop Nippy on the Kent coast alongside her childhood friends, the ambitious Lily and Katie, whose fiancé is about to be posted overseas in the navy. As war creates havoc in Europe, Rose relies on the close friendship of her friends and her family.When Capt. Benjamin Hargreaves enters the teashop one day, Rose is immediately drawn to him. But as Lyon’s forbids courting between staff and customers, she tries to put the handsome officer out of her mind.In increasingly dark and dangerous times, Rose fears there may not be time to waste. But is the dashing captain what he seems?

    This was her job, she told herself, this was what she had wanted. She must do it. So she picked up her bag and followed them to the cage which carried the miners below ground, praying that the man did not die, that she need not produce some miracle . . . Determined to practise as a doctor, Prue escapes a loveless marriage to journey far from home and join a surgery in Tow Law. But she soon finds that long hours and limited resources are only the beginning - gaining the townspeople's trust will be her greatest challenge of all. From the bestselling author of Miss Appleby's Academy comes the story of Prue Stanhope, young woman doctor to the miners of Tow Law, County Durham.

    When war is declared, twins Shirley and Tom are evacuated to the coastal town of Worthing. Almost fourteen, they are very close to their mother, but leaving London is the only way to keep them safe. Shirley is the bright one of the pair, whereas Tom is sometimes slow to understand the world around him. But Shirley helps him get by and is his best friend and ally.The twins are taken in by a local farmer, but their new home quickly proves to be far from a rural dream. Tom is forced to do back-breaking work and sleep under the stairs each night. The farmer's wife is heavily pregnant, and seems to live in fear of him. She's refusing all midwives, so it will be up to Shirley, with no experience in the matter, to help her deliver her baby. Their new teacher at the local school notices that something is not right with the children, but the farmer keeps the twins from seeing anyone, even their own mother. As the cold weather sets in and Tom falls ill, will Shirley be able to find a way out for them both?

    Annie, Rose, Pearl and Millie carry on making matches for the British Army, with bombs raining down around them.Inspired by the Dig for Victory campaign, Annie persuades the owners to start Bryant & May allotment in the factory grounds. With plenty of sweat and toil, the girls eventually carve out a corner of the yard into a green plot full of life and colour. In the darkest of times, the girls find their allotment a tranquil, happy escape. Using pierced dustbin lids to sieve through the shrapnel and debris, they bring about a powerful change, not just in the factory, but their own lives. As the war rages on, the garden becomes a place of community, friendship – and deceit. As the garden thrives and grows, so do the girls' secrets . . . The Allotment Girls is an inspiring and heartwarming novel of wartime hardship, friendship and fortitude from Kate Thompson, author of the Secrets of the Sewing Bee.

    Turning for comfort to the one man she can trust, she finds a sudden and undeniable passion instead. But any future with Josh Withers seems a betrayal of her past, and Maggie realises the only way to survive is to conceal a very dark secret of her own... *Includes a preview of the next book in the series and bonus material from the author.* Don't miss Jennie's Families of Fairley Terrace series, which began with Maggie's story in All The Dark Secrets and continued with Lucy's story in The Miner's Daughter, Edie's story in The Girl Below Stairs, Carina's story in The Widow's Promise and Laurel's story in The Sister's Secret.

    Moving on from a first love is never easy though and it's further complicated by the fact that Timmy's mother is the headmistress at Evie's school and can't hear a bad word said against him.Luckily, Evie has two sisters and a close circle of friends to help her through the tough times and as the war brings British RAF officers and American GIs to the once quiet and calm village - as well as evacuees, Land Girls and wounded servicemen - life is going to be anything but dull.

    But when a new businessman in the form of Joseph Dawson enters their lives, both Charlotte and her father decide he's the man for her and, within six months, Charlotte marries the dashing mill owner from Accrington.Then a young mill worker is found dead in the swollen River Ribble. With Joseph's business nearly bankrupt, it becomes apparent that all is not as it seems and Joseph is not the man he pretends to be. Heavily pregnant, penniless and heartbroken, Charlotte is forced to face the reality that life may never be the same again . . .

    She joins the land army and is posted to a farm near Sussex. There she meets Lydi Johnson, the daughter of the wealthy farm owners, who takes Babs under her wing. When Mr Johnson suffers a stroke, handsome Italian POW Mario begins to help out at the farm and Babs and Mario soon become smitten with one another. But as the war ends Mario suddenly leaves. Babs is heartbroken and returns to Rotherhithe, eventually marrying a local man. As her violent marriage begins to fall apart, she knows she must escape before it's too late...

    A motley crew of friends has replaced the family she’s not spoken to in years. That is until the evening Kate’s sister Sarah walks back into her life. Sarah has a favour to ask: she needs Kate to return home to Dorset for one month to look after her daughter, Lizzie. Reluctantly Kate agrees, even though it means facing the troubled past she hoped she’d escaped. Kate is confronted once again by the prejudice and scrutiny of the townsfolk, including the new village vicar. As the war continues, Kate must fight her own battles and find not only the courage to forge a future but perhaps, at long last, love.'Milly Adams' readers will find the story and its rich cast of characters very appealing.'Lizzie Lane

    Not to be missed by readers of Dilly Court and Katie Flynn. Cathie Kinrade is all too used to hardship. Growing up on the Isle of Man in the 1930s, she sees her da set sail daily on dangerous seas while her mam struggles to put food on the table. Cathie has little hope for her own future, until a chance encounter changes her fortunes for ever. Fiercely determined, Cathie leaves for Liverpool, a bustling modern city full of possibility. With a lively job as a shop girl in a grand department store, and a firm friend in kind-hearted Julia, Cathie has found her niche. But the discovery of an explosive secret could put everything at risk. And when love comes calling, Cathie's new friends fear that she may be set to trust the wrong man with her heart...

    For Rainey, music has been a solace during the upheaval of starting a new life with her mother, away from her abusive dad. Bea finds a confidence when she sings that she cannot get from anything else. Ivy sees it as her best chance of making a life away from Gosport and a dead-end job.The three of them sing in a choir run by the strict but kind Mrs Wilkes. The choir provides a couple of hours of stardust each week, away from school and work and family worries.When war breaks out, though, dreams must be put on hold. It seems that local pantomimes and charity shows are as far as the girls will be able to go, despite Mrs Wilkes's faith in their talent. That is, until a mysterious stranger arrives with a proposition that just might change their lives...

    Now she waits for news of her shopkeeper husband Ted, who volunteered at the outbreak of war, for the British Expeditionary Forces.Molly, intent on running the general store with the help of her retired father, Bill Keen and ex-proprietor of the business, listens to the wireless broadcasts on the D Day landings. But Ted perishes, leaving Molly a widow, her only source of income, the store they had built up together.The East End is soon subject to a horrific blitz by the Luftwaffe and unprepared for the vicious aerial attack on London timed to coincide with the tidal low point of the River Thames. Water mains are severed by the unloading of 10,000 fire bombs on the city. Swift’s General Store in Roper Street falls victim to a fierce explosion. Will Molly and her father survive the impact and is tragedy once again looming large in valiant Molly’s life?