Showing results by publisher "Avon" in Small Town & Rural

Krystle didn’t have a normal childhood and longed for warm family Christmases with presents under the tree. Now she makes sure everyone else has the perfect Christmas she never had. With her festive business booming, she decides to celebrate by renting a secluded house in the Lakes, with a plan to make this the ultimate yuletide getaway. But fate immediately throws a spanner in the works in the form of a broken-down car, a flooded river and Max; a man who despises Christmas. Krystle becomes determined to show Max the joys of the holiday. Can she melt Max’s Grinch-like heart?

When troubled teenager Immy disappears, she leaves her widowed mother Bea completely devastated. Bea pours her love into her six-year-old niece Phoebe, even taking her in when her single father Ewan takes a job abroad. Then Immy returns, in desperate need of her mother’s help and love. But Ewan is clear: he will never let Bea see Phoebe again if she welcomes her daughter back. As Bea grapples with this impossible choice between two girls who sorely need her, a long-buried secret comes out that changes everything.

Bonnie has been running from her tragic past for far too long. Now, years after the events that changed her life for ever, the time has come to face it. Her search for answers takes her to the idyllic town of Hamblin. Alice’s perfect life is slipping through her fingers. Drowning in debt, she struggles on, working long days alongside her daughter Laura, ever more desperate to hold on to what little remains. Laura had her future as an artist snatched from her when she had to return home to care for her father. When their worlds collide, Laura and Bonnie form an instant bond.

When Holly breaks up with her boyfriend Dean, she’s at a loss as to what to do next. But things go from bad to worse when her beloved grandmother Ivy dies - and Holly is left in charge of sorting out Ivy’s house and garden. As she sorts through her grandmother’s belongings and makes her way through the wilderness outside, Holly soon finds that there is more to Ivy than meets the eye and uncovers a surprising family secret that changes everything.

Seven years ago, Marina Hudson’s husband was lost at sea. She vowed to love him forever - but when kind-hearted Lachlan arrives in Porthmellow, should she deny herself another chance at happiness? Tiff Trescott was living life to the full as a journalist in London - until her boyfriend’s betrayal brought it all crashing down. Fleeing to her cousin Marina’s cottage, Tiff feels like a fish out of water. And when brooding local Dirk wins a day with her in a charity auction, she’s thrown headfirst into Cornish life.

Though they come from the same small Irish village, lonely widow Ruby and struggling single mother Frankie couldn’t be more different. Then they discover the Moonlight Gardening Club, founded to remind its members that even on the darkest of nights, beauty and light can still be found. As they plant flowers chosen specially to be enjoyed under a carpet of stars in the gentle glow of moonlight, an unexpected friendship starts to bloom – and it might be just what each of them needs. But when shocking secrets from the past are revealed, both their worlds are turned upside down.

When Sky Terran returns to the village of Middledip after losing the job she loves, she anticipates a quiet Christmas getting used to her new life. However, the annual street decoration competition is coming up and this year, the residents of Winter Street are determined to win. As she is pulled into the preparations, Sky quickly grows to love the quirky, tight-knit community she is now part of. Including the extremely handsome Daz, who soon becomes more than just a friendly neighbour.

Suzy Medley is having a bad day...when a shabby terrier turns up at her door. Just like Suzy, Scout has been abandoned, although only Suzy has been left with a financial mess and a business in tatters thanks to her ex. Suzy takes Scout in, and her chaotic world changes in unexpected ways: strangers have never been more welcoming, and her teenage kids can’t wait to come home to visit. Then a chance encounter on a windy Hebridean beach makes things more complicated, because Suzy isn’t the only one who needs a friend.

When Evie and Duke meet on set, it’s a frosty encounter. In fact, the only thing icier than their interactions is the snow that coats the Bavarian streets they are filming on. But after images of them arguing leak to the press and put the movie in jeopardy, they are left with no choice but to fake date until the cameras stop rolling. As the pair start to put their differences aside, gradually, somewhere along the Romantic Road, their feelings begin to thaw. But can sparks ever really fly in a snowstorm?

When Scarlett Melrose receives a call from her estranged sisters, she immediately knows something is wrong. Their mother’s inn has been cursed, and they need her help to save it. As the conflicted middle-child, returning home is giving Scarlett the heebie jeebies. And to make matters worse, she’s just come face-to-face with charming old flame and handyman, Nate. When her spell to break the curse goes horribly wrong, all Scarlett wants to do is flee back to the peace and quiet of her San Francisco flat. But she can’t keep running away forever, and she’ll need all the help she can.

For Rose, every day is a gift. She narrowly survived a life-threatening illness and owes everything to her anonymous donor. Determined to thank him, Rose follows a trail of clues that lead her to the little Cornish fishing village of Falford. But things become complicated when Rose is drawn into local life, becoming involved in the legendary Falford Regatta and meeting the handsome Morvah brothers—one of whom might just be the man she’s looking for. But which one? Can Rose find the answer she’s searching for, or will she lose her heart before the summer is over?

When Poppy’s boyfriend Harrison proposes the week before Christmas and gives her 12 days to decide, she doesn’t know what to do. With the festive season in full swing, it’s make or break time for the couple, and the clock is ticking.... Meanwhile, Poppy’s best friend Erin is desperate for the pair of them to fulfil their dream of setting up a dinner party catering company - and when an opportunity arises at a luxury log fire cabin, the girls take their chance to impress. But they hadn’t bargained on the owner of the cabin being quite so attractive....

This year, Lottie is hosting one last big family Christmas at the home she grew up in - just like her Nana would have wanted. But when her relatives descend on the old manor house, Lottie gets more than she bargained for.

Becky Lawson’s life has been shattered. When she discovered her husband, John – a trusted policeman – was a monster, she reported him. But her faith in the system was crushed when it didn't lead to any charges or consequences. Now, John lives freely with a new girlfriend and her young daughter, while Becky battles guilt over missing the obvious signs.

Retired schoolteachers Liz, Pat and Thelma never expected they would be caught up in a crime even once in their lives, let alone twice. But when poison pen letters start landing on the doorsteps of friends and neighbours in their Yorkshire village, old secrets come to light. With the potential for deadly consequences. It won’t be long until the three friends are out on a case yet again.

Meet 65-year-old widow Maggie Lawford. After retiring two years ago and travelling the world with her husband Geoff, she’s alone again – and retirement has gone from a never-ending holiday to grief-filled and lonely. Though looking after her gorgeous granddaughter Alice for her high-flying daughter Hannah brings so much joy, Maggie yearns for more. After her ambition of being a chef was deferred forty years ago in favour of a more family-friendly career, Maggie knows it’s now or never to chase her dreams.

Last winter she had a plan. Lucy fell in love with tumbledown Rosemary Cottage as a child. So 30 years on, when she loses her city job and discovers the cottage is for sale, it feels like fate. She'll raise her children in Burley Bridge and transform the cottage into a B&B with her husband. But a year can change everything.... Now Lucy is juggling two children and a B&B, but on her own. Christmas looks set to be their last on Rosemary Lane until she meets James, a face from her past and someone who might offer a different kind of future.

The day Heather, Niamh and Lauren met, they promised to be best friends for life, and that instant connection only grew stronger with their weekly sunrise swims in their stunning local lake. When they left school, they agreed that every year on midsummer’s dawn, they would meet at their old spot and swim together. Now, fifteen years later, the tradition has disappeared in the face of life’s realities. In fact, they don’t speak any more. But this summer, they find themselves back in their Irish hometown and realise this could be their last chance to recapture what they have lost.

Soon after upending her life to accompany her boyfriend, Ryan, to the Arctic, Maya realises it’s not all Northern Lights and husky sleigh rides. Instead, she’s facing sub-zero temperatures, 24-hour darkness, crippling anxiety - and a distant boyfriend as a result. In her loneliest moment, Maya opens her late mother’s recipe book and cooks Indian food for the first time. Through this, her confidence unexpectedly grows - she makes friends, secures a job as a chef and life in the Arctic no longer freezes her with fear.

Luke Craven is convinced that the world is against him; his once-happy life hasn’t been the same since he lost both of his parents and his wife in quick succession, and his everyday has become more about existing than living. But he is forced to reconsider his glass-half-empty outlook when he narrowly escapes a freak accident with his life - pushed to safety by a stranger, who isn’t so lucky.