Showing results by publisher "Boldwood Books" in Contemporary

Jenn has always prided herself on being a city girl – she insists on easy access to good coffee, great food from around the globe, not to mention an easy commute. So, when her job takes her to one of the most famous Italian wine regions in search of the perfect Prosecco, travelling to meetings on a tractor is a bit of a culture shock.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. But for single mum and busy midwife Nadia, it’s quickly turning into her worst Christmas ever. Her marriage is over, and whilst her husband has moved on, Nadia finds herself back home, squashed into her mum’s spare room with her two small children. They might not be a perfect family anymore, but Nadia is determined to make this Christmas special for them. Dr Hamish Spencer totally understands Nadia’s pain. As a fellow single parent, he’s struggling to cope with a rebellious teen daughter and a precocious six-year-old!

Employed at a trendy city centre coffee shop, quirky, pink-haired Star spends her days fantasising about a handsome businessman she serves daily. He's totally out of her league, but a girl can dream. Fin Hunter is exhausted from striving for his father's love and approval and of following a life path of his family’s making. When things go wrong, Fin decides it’s time to stand on his own two feet and follow his own dream. Star is bereft when he stops coming to her coffee shop, but a chance encounter in an unlikely place leaves her wondering if her fantasy could now become a reality?

Click buy: a French chateau. Condition: ‘may require improvement'. It seemed like a good idea. Selling everything we owned. Just Mark and me, swapping our tiny, little terraced London home – and the heartbreak of not being able to start a family – for an entire chateau in the middle of France… It’s everyone’s dream. And now it’s coming true for us. As I use the rusty key to open the big creaking wooden door of the tumbledown fairytale chateau that’s officially our new home, I wonder: what could possibly go wrong?

As an estate agent, Alex’s job is to create happy-ever-afters. It’s just a shame she can’t work the same magic on her own life. Her long-term boyfriend Thomas still lives with his mother, and her hopes of them taking the next step are dashed when he announces he’s spending all his savings (savings she’d quite hoped he’d want to put towards their future home) on an ‘artist retreat’ in San Francisco.

Georgia Banks knows she’s living on borrowed time. So, when doctors tell her she’s got one last summer to make all her dreams come true, she’s determined to make every day count. The one thing that’s never in doubt, is that she wants her best friend, Gabe, to be with her every step of the way. And so, Georgia draws up her not-a-bucket list with all the things she’s determined to tick off before she goes – number one of which is to spend one last summer by the sea.

What if what you really need is right there in front of you, if you just take a moment to look up? Milly has been waiting for this moment forever, and finally it’s just an hour away - an interview with Vogue magazine and the opportunity to get her Louboutin-clad foot in the door. There’s just one problem - totally engrossed in her mobile phone, Milly doesn’t see the bus that is fast approaching - until it’s too late....

When Leah and her husband moved to France, it was with the dream of becoming self-sufficient. But in truth, it’s not the ‘good life’ she’d imagined, as three hours of digging barely yield a single straggly carrot. Worse, her teenage daughter is acting up, and her husband seems to find every strange excuse under the hot French sun to disappear. So when her friend entreats her to join the new book club she’s forming, Leah decides it’s something she will do for herself.

When artist Jools Jones’ new man, Finn Gallichan, leaves the Boardwalk to go travelling for several months she’s not too worried. She has her paintings to keep her busy and helps her grandmother run their second-hand bookshop, Boardwalk Books. She’s happy to wait for Finn’s return, to pick up where they left off, as absence makes the heart grow fonder – right? She’s soon drawn into helping Alan Hidrio trace a copy of a book he wrote years before and meets glass artist Marius Arnesen, who, fascinated by her paintings, offers her a place in an art exhibition.

When Jenny has the chance to leave her days of sofa surfing behind and move to the beach to run her best friend’s ice cream parlour, she jumps at the opportunity. With no relevant experience, she’s certainly kept busy with learning new skills to manage the ice cream parlour at the same time as juggling motherhood and trying to settle into their new home. But when Nick, her best friend’s ex, comes into her life, ill feelings quickly turn to friendship, leaving them both wanting more.

Now in his seventies, Robert Parkin is stunned to find himself the unlikely sex symbol of the village gardening club. Living in happy solitude with his cat Isaac Mewton in the Devon village of Millbrook, entertained by his mischievous chickens and goats, Robert has never figured out the rules of romance. But as the local ladies vie for his company, it soon becomes clear that Robert’s Victoria Sponge cake is the lure, and as his baking prowess grows, so does his confidence. Cheesecakes, meringues, puddings, Robert can do it all, but his real masterpieces are his scones.

When Anais receives a near-derelict Paris hotel in her divorce settlement, her first thought is to tidy it up and sell it immediately. All she wants is to move on and forget her disaster of a marriage ever happened. But selling it proves impossible, so she has only one option: to make it gorgeous and open by Christmas… when her funds will almost certainly run out. She’s not counting on the grumpy American bar-owner next door, Noah, coming and interfering at every moment though.

Portia Fortescue has traded in the hustle and bustle of London to help renovate a magnificent French manor house on the beautiful island of Jersey with her boyfriend Charlie. But what they hoped would be a blissful escape to the chateau turns out to be more of a DIY SOS. As the winter snow sets in, the stress of restoring the derelict building begins to take its toll on their relationship. Portia has known heartbreak before, but thought she’d found her happy-ever-after with Charlie. Then, just as all seems lost, Portia and Charlie discover the warmth of the Boardwalk community.

Piper Le Brocq is happily single after the disastrous ending of her engagement eighteen months before. The only man in her life is Jax, her best friend and cousin, who spends his life teaching locals how to forage and taking tourists on boat trips around the island. Her days are filled with helping out at her mother's guest house and selling her glass mosaics at The Cabbage Patch emporium in Trinity.

As winter descends on the coastal town of Port Agnes, midwife Toni Samuels’ mood is as dark as the winter clouds that roll in. Toni loves her job as a midwife, but her private life is falling apart. Because Toni is keeping a secret - a relationship with fellow male midwife Bobby that no one can ever know about. Kind and gorgeous, Bobby is a huge hit at the midwifery centre, but he’s tired of keeping his feelings for Toni a secret - of always coming second best.

Christmas is a time for love, laughter, families and friends, and in Mermaids Point, everyone is getting ready for the festive season. For Nerissa and Tom, this will be their first Christmas as a couple, but making sure they have time for each other will take some careful planning. Laurie and Jake are flat out running Laurie’s seafront café, packaging up orders of mince pies, sausage rolls and other delectable Christmas goodies, as well as finding time for Jake’s journalism. But when Jake’s mum offers them an unexpected gift, their plans are turned upside down.

After a difficult break-up, Poppy is keen to put the past behind her and what’s better than some relaxing time with her aunt in the picturesque Cornish village of West Par? But life at her aunt Flora’s Dogs’ Home is anything but relaxing. When a poor little pup is stranded at the gates, Poppy takes them for a check up at the local vet, hoping against hope they'll be fine. And there she meets Mack: the vet who is so charming and experienced with the dogs, but selfish and – dare she say it – money-grabbing with his clients.But underneath that cold exterior, she's sure there's more to the story.

Just when Daisy thought she had canal life understood, Theo, her primary go-to for all of her boating questions has left Wildflower Lock, not to mention the budding romance that has been steadily growing. Not one to sit and wallow, Daisy takes matters into her own hands. Who said long-distance relationships can’t work? With the help of trusted friend Yvonne, Daisy takes the September Rose on a round trip to surprise her new boyfriend. The best thing about a home on the water? You can go anywhere!

The Harrison family gathers as usual for Christmas in their big Sussex house. This year, however, outside realities are pressing hard: Pamela and John, married for four decades, know that time is catching up with them. And trouble is brewing in the lives of their four children. Cassie, the cossetted youngest, is in the throes of an affair with a married man; Elizabeth, her awkward older sister, is struggling with a faltering second marriage; Peter, the eldest and designated inheritor of Ashley House, is beginning to meet resistance to such a prospect from his career-orientated wife.

Old friends Shelley, Lena and Pearl have reached their limit with the festive preparation that has always fallen to them, and five days before Christmas, they’ve booked a mini break… without their families. Up until Christmas Eve, they’ll be sipping prosecco in the Highlands while their kids wrap bacon around 100 chipolatas and their partners brave the supermarkets. It’s exactly what they need… until they’re snowed in. Facing the prospect of Christmas 500 miles from home, each woman is forced to confront her real reasons for needing to escape.