Showing titles in Holidays

As a toddler, Elodie Jacques was abandoned by her mother and left in the care of her French grandmother, Gabriella in Dartmouth, Devon. Now 24 years old, Elodie struggles to reconcile the deep anger for the mother she has never since seen. When Gabriella unexpectedly announces she wants the two of them to spend Christmas and her 70th birthday in her home town of Juan-les-Pins in the South of France, Elodie is thrilled. Gabriella meanwhile has her own ulterior motives for wanting to return after 40 years, a homecoming potentially filled with memories, secrets and recriminations.

Kate Cavendish is stuck in a rut. That is until a former colleague contacts her and offers her a chance to fulfill her lifelong dream of becoming a successful photographer. But with her focus pulled in all directions by her children, her pregnant sister, her newly dating mother, and the nagging worry that her husband might be having an affair, Kate is filled with self-doubt. Then, as the countdown to Christmas begins, and memories of her own childhood resurface, Kate’s anxiety deepens—both personally and professionally. Can she move on from past events and rebuild her future?

Mia Ward was amazed to inherit her great-aunt Matilda’s thatched cottage in the tiny seaside village of Little Pondale - especially as Mia didn’t know she had a great-aunt Matilda. She was equally astonished to discover she’d inherit the place only if she lived there for a year. But it didn’t take long for Mia and her friends, Ella and Garrick to settle in. Now Mia’s mum, Lori, has joined them, and they’re all enjoying village life. Mia’s keen to overcome her fear of water, and with Garrick by her side, she’s confident about the future.

I had everything under control until I met Theo. My life was simple, straightforward, and clean. I thrived in my career, improved daily at being a single parent, and disguised any not-so-ideal parts of my life pretty well. Like the fact I carried more than a few insecurities my ex-husband left me with. The biggest being the simple notion that I was one of many options, and my idea of love was ridiculous.

Grab a mug of hot cocoa and a comfortable chair and enjoy all three novellas in the Reindeer Falls Collection in one volume: The Boss Who Stole Christmas (Book 1); If You Give a Jerk a Gingerbread (Book 2); and The One Night Stand Before Christmas (Book 3).

One wet winter night, two women meet on a bridge. One is Tess Taylor, a personal trainer on the way to meet her boyfriend for date night. The other is Kate King, a celebrity married to a handsome billionaire who just happens to make her cry. In the cold, dark evening, there is nothing to link them together but the bridge they shiver on. Little do they know they'll each hold the key to the other's future marriage....

When Tess Ravenel gets herself stuck inside a bathroom stall in one of Charleston's most historic buildings, she isn't exactly thinking about her dating life. But then the paramedic who comes to her rescue has a voice that sounds like butter and enough charm to make her forget she's seconds from having a panic attack.

In my world, nothing is merry and bright. More like dark and dank. In fact, deck the halls should be deck the slobbering drunk who waited for me to get off work and followed me to my car with only one thing in mind. He didn't expect a smart girl with a handy-dandy taser, ready to light the star on his tree. Unfortunately, I didn't expect there to be two of them. While my attacker was on the ground, twitching and convulsing, his face as red and puffed up as ole St. Nick, I was grabbed from behind by Santa's helper.

Slàinte! A Christmas Eve party at snow-covered Vik castle, where the Christmas Star diamond is on display. Good food, dancing and a visit from Santa. What could possibly go wrong? When Santa appears down the chimney, looking far more crispy than expected, it is clear that something has gone very wrong. With the castle cut off from help, a murderer in their midst and the Christmas Star stolen, it's up to Losers Club to investigate. As they follow the network of secret passages to learn more about their fellow guests, they realize that everyone has a motive. Including one of their own.

On the beautiful beaches of Crete, an old woman is handing out scraps of paper. Sofia, eighty-five years old, unable to speak, is desperate to find a daughter she has never known. After a tragic childhood in Athens and a soaring career as a singer, the brutal treatment of the man she loved by a tyrannical regime forced her to give up her daughter mere days after her birth. Now she longs to be reunited with her child before it's too late. Meanwhile in London, Zoe is searching too. In the months since the disappearance of her teenage daughter, Zoe's life has crumbled apart.

One of Spain’s richest men is dying. But as he prepares his estate, his family is shocked to discover he is making plans to give away his wealth to a young woman they have never even heard of. Who is she and what hold does she have over him? Charlotte Fairfax is asked to travel to the troubled family’s home in Spain to get to the bottom of the mysterious bequest. It’s the week before her wedding but she is confident she has time - there’s only one reason an older man leaves his money to a beautiful woman, isn’t there?

It's autumn in Yulethorpe, and everyone is gloomy. It's cold and drizzly, and the skies are permagrey. The last shop on the high street - an adorable little toy shop - has just shut its doors. Everything is going wrong for Yulethorpe this autumn. Until Clara Kristensen arrives. Clara is on holiday, but she can see the potential in the pretty town, so she rolls up her sleeves and sets to work. Things are looking up until Joe comes to Yulethorpe to find out exactly what is going on with his mother's shop.

Truman Capote makes whisky-soaked fruitcake in Alabama; Laurie Lee slides across a frozen pond in Gloucestershire; and Shirley Jackson is outwitted by a wily Santa Claus at the bank. Ghosts haunt the Christmases of Muriel Spark and Elizabeth Bowen, while Dostoyevsky, Daphne du Maurier and Italo Calvino take a cynical view of the season and Selma Lagerlof and Angela Carter celebrate its miracles. Ranging from Cork to Lagos to the Wild West, and from Paris to San Paolo to outer space, this is Christmas as imagined by some of the greatest short-story writers of all time.

Born prematurely, Christoff wasn't as big or as strong as his older brother or the other younglings in the village. Unable to fit in, he does the best he can, helping his father and mother on their farm. His life changes when the mountain near their farm awakens. Believing he is the only one who can quiet it, he retreats to the mountain to watch over the village that shunned him. A hermit for centuries, he dreams of the day he can move on to his next life - a life that he hopes will give him a chance to find his true mate.

Moving to the little village of Budbury, Zoe hopes the crisp Dorset sea breeze and gentle pace of life will be a fresh start for her and her goddaughter, Martha. Luckily for them both, the friendly community at the café provide listening ears, sage advice, shoulders to cry on and some truly excellent carrot cake. And when Martha's enigmatic, absent father suddenly turns up, confusing not only Martha but Zoe too, the love and support of their newfound friends is the best present they could ask for. Have Zoe and Martha truly found their home at the Comfort Food Café?

I go through crushes faster than a kid goes through presents on Christmas morning. When I crash into my annoying(ly hot) nemesis and we get stuck on the elevator during a blackout, the last thing I expect is to develop feelings for him. Nate Cruz is opinionated, a stickler for justice, talks with his hands, and is the space heater keeping me safe while we're stuck on this freezing metal box. He's also the first person to ever push past my defense mechanisms and see me as more than "the girl who messes up everything" that my family sees.

It has been a long and lonely year for neighbours Vivienne, Mary and Gwen. All ladies of a ‘certain age’, their lockdown experience has left them feeling isolated and alone. They are in desperate need of a change. Things start to look up however, when Gwen comes up with a plan to get them out of London by borrowing a motor home. As their journey continues and their friendships deepen and while the seaside views turn into glorious mountains and moors, Mary, Vivienne and Gwen learn to smile again, to laugh again and maybe even to love again.

There he was… Shirtless. Wearing glasses. Chopping wood like some kind of fantasy lumberjack. And Emil was officially helpless. Moving to the East Coast, Emil was there for two things exactly: to become a better person, and to face the part of his past he'd spent his entire life avoiding. He most certainly hadn't planned on falling in love. It was one thing to sleep with his absurdly hot neighbor for a single, steamy one-night stand, but it was quite another to become friends. And the longer Emil knows Renzo, the harder it is to walk away.

Turner has a gym full of sugar-fueled kids and a big red suit to fill when Santa Claus fails to check in for the Green Valley Christmas Pageant dress rehearsal, but more disaster is on the program when he falls at the feet of his fated mate.

Orla and Kate have been best friends forever. Together they’ve faced it all—be it Orla’s struggles as a new mother or Kate’s messy divorce. And whatever else happens in their lives, they can always look forward to their annual weekend away. This year, they’re off to Lisbon: the perfect flat, the perfect view, the perfect itinerary. And what better way to kick things off in style than with the perfect night out? But when Orla wakes up the next morning, Kate is gone.