Showing titles in Contemporary

Sophie used to adore everything about Christmas. Hot chocolate and velvet bows, mistletoe and mince pies. Until the December her fiancé jilted her. Since then, Sophie opened Sunnyside Hotel, a quaint guesthouse nestled deep in the Cumbrian countryside. And, though it might be winter at Sunnyside, it’s never Christmas. Marketing her hotel to those who wish to avoid the festivities, Sophie is busy preparing for a season full of joy and laughter, but without bells and whistles. Yet, as she finds herself growing closer to her gorgeous neighbour, Brody, her heart begins to melt.

What’s the actual last thing you’d ever want your celebrity crush to see you doing when you finally come face-to-excruciatingly-handsome-face with him? Singing and dancing around by yourself to “Dreams” by The Cranberries while drinking straight from a bottle of champagne? While you’re wearing some wedding gown you just found in a closet? Yeah. Me too. And yet, here we are. At a mountain cabin I was sent to by the awfully pretty actress/pretty awful human I work for to get things ready for her romantic New Year’s Eve getaway with him.

One week with one little girl—an angel, according to my staffing agency. Acting as the short-term nanny for a single dad should have been an easy way to make some extra cash. Until I show up for my first day and face off with a demon disguised as a seven-year-old girl wearing a red tutu and matching glitter slippers. Oh, and her father? My temporary boss? Maddox Holiday. The same Maddox Holiday I crushed on in high school. The same Maddox Holiday who didn’t even know I existed.

The flight attendant working a shift on her birthday. The mother struggling alone with two young children. The newlyweds excited about their tropical honeymoon . The overworked father missing his kid’s big show. The young man returning from his best friend’s funeral. The ER nurse wondering what retirement will bring. All strangers. All unsuspecting. Each with a life heading in a particular direction – or so they imagine.

I ran from home to escape heartbreak, only to deliver myself into the hands of a wolf. Henry Wolf, that is. Heir to a luxury hotel chain, infamous playboy, arrogant bastard...and my new boss. Why he wants me, Abbi Mitchell - a girl who lacks experience on every front that would matter to him - as his personal assistant, I cannot fathom, especially when I keep messing up in the most spectacular way. Did I already mention he's a bastard? A beautiful, moody one, who's quick to demand, slow to apologize. And toying with me every chance he gets.

Iris Nightingale is more than okay. She has her life planned out to a perfect schedule. Work, run, sleep, repeat. She spends her quiet Friday nights sitting alone on a bench in the park, trying to push back the memories that no amount of running can help her escape. But one evening, there’s someone else on her bench - Hunter. Tall, wry and infuriating: everything about him gets under Iris’s skin. Little does she know that he's about to upset more than just her routines...

Direction and a sense of purpose for her life evaded Daniella Archer. She was in college, but her classes didn’t hold her interest. She had a boyfriend, but never got butterflies when he was near. Her two best friends were her lifelines, the ones who always stood by her. Then, tragedy shattered her world, and she sunk into a deep depression. She watched helplessly as the rainy sky mimicked her tears and the dark clouds, her mood.

Hockey coach Ashley Jaswal doesn't take nonsense from anyone … except her overbearing and superstitious family. They believe she's a good luck charm for her brother Jas, the newest Vancouver Canucks draft pick, forcing Ash to attend all his games as he rises up the NHL ranks, sacrificing her personal life (not that she has one—who decided hockey season needed to be 10 months long anyway?). Ash also clashes with Jas’s teammate, Canucks captain Devin Snyder.

The Penryn family have always been eccentric—living in a dilapidated castle in the wilds of Cumbria with an orchid-mad father and a classicist mother who likes to re-enact Greek myths, who wouldn’t be? Well-heeled Londoner Althea Penryn doesn’t expect a divorce and job hunt over the Christmas holidays, but her husband claims he’s done and the prenup is solid. She packs up her reluctant teenage children and heads home to Casterglass Castle to confront the ghosts of her past—including the real one her mother claims lives in the old guard tower.

Obituary writer Nadine Barbault doesn’t mind being called “Lady Death”. It suits the ice queen persona she’s cultivated to survive the fast-paced Toronto Herald. So when Nadine learns that famous (and reclusive) author Dot Voline has died, she doesn’t hesitate to run the obituary…only to discover that Dot is very much alive. Nadine’s screw-up has brought Wesley Chen of the rival Spear no end of joy—she’s been a thorn in his extremely ambitious side for years. But the renewed interest in Dot also surfaced chatter about a mysterious past scandal.

When Jess Newman married the love of her life Ben she was sure they had what it took to stay together forever. So when Ben falls out of love with her only to promptly fall in the arms of new girlfriend, Naomi, she really doesn't know how to come to terms with their divorce.

Anna Walsh had a dream life - according to everybody else. She lived in New York, had a long-term boyfriend, and had The Best Job In The World working as a highly successful beauty PR. So why did she decide to take a flamethrower to the lot? Because now she's back Dublin, living with her parents. She's undeniably forty-eight, with no partner, no job, and no direction. Anna's lost her purpose. She needs a new challenge to help her fall back in love with life again. When an opportunity arises to solve a PR crisis in the tiny town of Maumtully, Anna leaps at the chance.

A second chance by the sea? When Kiki Jackson's marriage falls to pieces, there's only one place that she knows she can escape to - her sister's little guesthouse in Butterfly Cove. But she's worried that turning up on bride-to-be Mia's doorstep, especially with her two adorable children in tow, will spoil her sister's imminent wedding plans! Luckily, handsome neighbour Aaron Spenser offers to share his new cottage with Kiki until she's back on her feet....

Anna Cooper and Jake Reynolds both live at a luxury London building. The only difference is that Jake lives in the penthouse, and Anna lives in a tent on the roof. When Jake finds out, he offers Anna a chance of a new life in his grandmother's childhood home in Pepper Bay, and she decides to take the opportunity to see if she really can make a fresh start somewhere else. The beauty of Pepper Bay, with its quaint shops, chocolate box cottages and all of Jake's closest friends, immediately fills Anna's heart with nothing but love.

When Kerra left the quiet Cornish town of Penvennan Cove for the bright lights of London, she didn't look back. But after the death of her mother, she's decided it's time to face her past and return to the place she called home. Her father needs her, and perhaps she needs him more than she's willing to admit? Tackling town gossip, home renovations and a flame from her past, it's not quite smooth sailing for Kerra. Ross is the bad boy she was meant to forget, not a man who still sets her heart aflutter.

Book Three in Janice Thompson's best-selling Weddings by Bella series: Bella couldn't be happier that her long-feuding Aunt Rosa and Uncle Lazarro have finally admitted their love for one another and are getting married. Their '40s-style wedding is sure to be a night to remember. But when the Rossi house begins to fill up with family from Italy - and an old mobster from New Jersey - life starts to get complicated. Will Lazarro's friend from the past drive the happy couple apart once more? And will Bella ever have time to think of her own rapidly-approaching wedding amidst the chaos?

Coach and assistant coach, single dad romance.

Following heartbreak, Rosy has rebuilt her life in the beautiful Cornish village of Penmenna. Now headmistress of the local school, she is living by The Rule: no dating anyone in the village. Easy, right? But Rosy Winter has a new neighbour: handsome gardener Matt. In Penmenna for his new gardening TV show, this guy next door will do everything he can to persuade her to break her rule and win her heart.

Aisling is 28 and she’s a complete...Aisling. She lives at home in Ballygobbard (or Ballygobackwards, as some gas tickets call it) with her parents and commutes to her good job at PensionsPlus in Dublin. Aisling goes out every Saturday night with her best friend, Majella, who is a bit of a hames (she’s lost two phones already this year - Aisling has never lost a phone). They love hoofing into the Coors Light if they’re 'Out' or the vodka and Diet Cokes if they’re 'Out Out'.

Holly has the place to herself this Christmas. It’s not her place, though – she is house-sitting for friends who live on Nightingale Square – just there to keep the place warm and cosy and only for long enough for her to sort her life out. Newly single and finding herself unsure about next steps for her career, she plans to hunker down and make some life decisions. To clear her mind, she sets off on early morning walks around a nearby lake and bumps into May, an older lady who is also new to the area, and her dapper Dachshund Monty.