Judging a chocolate-making competition for the women’s shelter’s annual fundraiser should be an easy, even pleasurable, assignment for Maise, new food critic for the Bloomingfield Daily Dispatch. Too bad just the smell of chocolate makes her stomach roil. By the time she reaches the last table, she hopes her face isn’t as green as her holiday sweater. But the tall, square-jawed man behind piles of fudge makes her want to linger, even savor the moment along with his chocolate-coffee-flavored confection.

When Holly steps into a homeless shelter looking for an MIA piano student, she notices a distinct lack of Christmas cheer because a handsome building inspector is forcing the shelter to temporarily close down. Holly knows bad guys - she was married to one. Yet, when the man asks her out, she finds herself agreeing with an absolute yes.

There’s no place like home. Until the heart gallops off in an unexpected direction... Prepare for romance in this heartwarming holiday book brought to you by USA Today best-selling author Josie Riviera. After Chiara passes her RN license exam, she plans to leave Virginia and return to her beloved Kansas hometown for good. Except her home health client’s handsome brother makes her consider changing her plans.

When a Miami investor calls in search of prime property-flip prospects, North Carolina real estate broker Candee Contando expects to meet a balding, steely-eyed land shark. Turns out the first customer she’s had in months is a hot prospect in more ways than one. Except his gaze has fallen on her dream house, a dilapidated Victorian she just bid her last penny on in hopes of creating a safe place for disadvantaged children - like the girl she used to be.

Known as the town tomboy, Alexis Le Blanc enjoys her simple life in Crystal Cove, Maine and devotes all her time to running her family’s winery, Coastal Vines. She wants to keep it small and traditional, but her parents have other ideas - hence why they hire some big-shot marketing executive from Napa Valley to rev up business. When Benito Martelli shows up in her family’s tasting room with his slick style and movie star good looks, she’s more than stunned to discover he’s the man who wined and dined her the night before.

Will Reo Greene ever learn to say no? She's just finished organizing Lilac's first 5k race and is swamped with Online college exams. Now, the mayor wants her to collaborate with Jack Warfield to evaluate Main Street decoration proposals for the town's upcoming 250th anniversary. The last thing she wants is to work with the man who rejected her five years before, but the mayor is determined to make an example of the two former high school enemies. If Reo and Jack can collaborate for the good of the town, maybe everyone else will try to get along.

When Knox Campbell goes to Portugal for a short business trip, he never planned on losing his documents. Now he’s stranded in Porto, his passport lost, and his credit cards canceled. Unable to return to the US and without a place to stay, Knox turns to the travel agent who suggested the local day attractions for assistance. Jacinta Romano loves helping her clients set up their dream trips, although she doesn’t usually meet the ones visiting from abroad. But all that changes when a client shows up at the agency while her meddling family is still there.

Thirty-four-year-old Ruby Bridge is a not-too-successful comedienne who uses her mother, a nationally-syndicated "moral and spiritual counselor" as the main fodder for her cynical, rather bitter humor. Her mother Nora, long divorced from Ruby's father, is a woman whose past is just about to catch up with her - in the form of blackmail by a former lover.

This memoir is laced with wonderful stories about the French character, particularly in the world of food, and the way of life that Julia Child embraced so wholeheartedly. Above all, she reveals the kind of spirit and determination, the sheer love of cooking, and the drive to share that with her fellow Americans that made her the extraordinary success she became.

Dominic Lawrence has planned this marriage proposal for six months. Nothing can go wrong-until his Nonna calls. Now he must interrupt the tenderest night of Katie's life with the news that another woman will be under their roof.

Pro alpine skier Aspen Archer's downfall happened in the worst possible way - a career-ending crash on a gold medal run at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Aspen packed up her broken life, picked up her broken body, and now hides in comfortable obscurity at ski resorts around the world, coaching tourists and ignoring her problems. Cate Tierney knows who Aspen is, but the last place she expected to meet the former Olympian was during a ski trip to Australia. Hurt by a past relationship, and with a teenage daughter to protect, Cate's initial reluctance is quickly overcome by her attraction.

Kitchens of the Great Midwest is about a young woman with a once-in-a-generation palate who becomes the iconic chef behind the country's most coveted dinner reservation. When Lars Thorvald's wife, Cynthia, falls in love with wine - and a dashing sommelier - he's left to raise their baby, Eva, on his own. He's determined to pass on his love of food to his daughter - starting with puréed pork shoulder. As Eva grows, she finds her solace and salvation in the flavors of her native Minnesota.

Two years into World War II, Britain is feeling her losses: The Nazis have won battles, the Blitz has destroyed cities, and U-boats have cut off the supply of food. In an effort to help housewives with food rationing, a BBC radio program called The Kitchen Front is holding a cooking contest - and the grand prize is a job as the program’s first-ever female co-host. For four very different women, winning the competition would present a crucial chance to change their lives.

Joel lives in a nursing home, and he’s not one bit happy about it. He hates being told when to eat, when to sleep, when to take his pills. He’s fed up with life and begins to plan a way out when his new roommate, a retired soap opera actor named Frank, moves in and turns the nursing-home community upside down.

Charles Dickens is not feeling the Christmas spirit. His newest book is an utter flop, the critics have turned against him, relatives near and far hound him for money. While his wife plans a lavish holiday party for their ever-expanding family and circle of friends, Dickens has visions of the poor house. But when his publishers try to blackmail him into writing a Christmas book to save them all from financial ruin, he refuses. And a serious bout of writer's block sets in.