Althea Farraday, a 38-year-old divorced mother of three, has a teenage son who’s a Buddhist, a hypercritical sister who knows how to push all her buttons, a job on the endangered species list, and a love life to match. Just as she’s settling in to a comfortable level of chaos, a near-perfect man enters her life. Equipped to steal her heart and help turn her passion for designing gardens into a new career, Patrick Donahugh may be too good to be true.

A warm, funny read for fans of Outnumbered and the novels of Fern Britton, Fiona writes about life as it really is. "Midlife crisis? WHAT midlife crisis?!" Charlotte Bristow is worried about her husband, Will. With her 16-year-old daughter, Rosie, newly signed to a top modelling agency and Will recently out of a job, things are changing in their household.

Years ago, Juliet left a little piece of her heart in Paris - and now, separated from her husband and with her children flying the nest, it's time to get it back! She puts on her best red lipstick, books a cosy attic apartment near Notre-Dame and takes the next train out of London. Arriving at the Gare du Nord, the memories come flooding back: bustling street cafés, cheap wine in candlelit bars and a handsome boy with glittering eyes. But Juliet has also been keeping a secret for over two decades - and she begins to realise it's impossible to move forwards without first looking back.

Garland Fairford has it all - her dream job as a historical Costumier in London and handsome fiancée, Marco. Whilst creating a replica of a dress worn by a Victorian actress, Garland, an orphan, meets a long-lost relative - Honey Fairford. Garland is delighted and intrigued to discover Honey is planning to open a wedding dress museum in Lancashire. When Garland loses her fiancée and her job in the same week, she accepts Honey's offer to work at the museum. But building a new life for herself is put on hold when a ghost from her past, Thom, reappears.

When Eden steps out of her beautiful coastal cottage to find a Speedo-wearing, suntanned stranger doing yoga in next door’s garden, she is immediately on her guard. Since her ex-husband betrayed her in the worst possible ways, she has kept her distance from all men, taking refuge in her start-up coffee business. But as she gets to know Levan, Eden begins to wonder if he might be different – until she discovers he’s not quite what he seems. And when a long-buried family secret surfaces, her faith in those she loves most is shaken to the core.

Years ago, Flora fled the quiet Scottish island where she grew up - and she hasn't looked back. What would have done on Mure? It's a place where everyone has known her all her life, where no one will let her forget the past. In bright, bustling London, she can be anonymous, ambitious...and hopelessly in love with her boss. But when fate brings Flora back to the island, she's suddenly swept once more into life with her brothers - all strapping, loud, and seemingly incapable of basic housework - and her father.

Laid off from her department store job, Carmen has perilously little cash and few options. The prospect of spending Christmas with her perfect sister Sofia, in Sofia’s perfect house with her perfect children and her perfectly ordered yuppie life, does not appeal. Frankly, Sofia doesn’t exactly want her prickly sister Carmen there, either. But Sofia has yet another baby on the way, a mother desperate to see her daughters get along, and a client who needs help revitalizing his shabby old bookshop. So Carmen moves in and takes the job.

The sparkling seaside village of Merle Bay, with its beautiful beach scattered with sea glass, is a place where anyone can have a fresh start. For Katie, it is the perfect hideout after a childhood trauma left her feeling exposed. For Robyn, the fresh sea air is helping to heal her scars, but maybe not her marriage. For Grace, a new start could help her move on from a heartbreaking loss. When they meet on Sea Glass Beach one day, they form an instant bond and soon they're sharing prosecco, laughter—and even their biggest secrets...

Getting a life isn't always easy. And hanging on to it is even harder.... Jodi Taylor brings all her comic writing skills to this heartwarming tale of self-discovery. Known as The Nothing Girl because of her severe stutter and chronically low self-confidence, Jenny Dove is only just prevented from ending it all by the sudden appearance of Thomas, a mystical golden horse only she can see. Under his guidance Jenny unexpectedly acquires a husband - the charming and chaotic Russell Checkland.

Amber Nicholls, Lachlan McCarthy, and Raffaele Wright would normally have absolutely nothing in common. But growing up as foster kids in Teddy Penhaligon's seaside home has forged a bond tighter than glue. Each one has messes in life to deal with, but when they get the news that Teddy's met someone while on vacation, they'll do anything to protect him from a presumed gold-digger—even if they have to save him from himself first. But how can they guide their foster father when they can barely get a grip on their own lives?

Elderly widow Sabine knows this will be her last Christmas in her beloved home, Mitras Castle. Determined to make it just like the ones she remembers from her childhood, she employs Dido Jones of Heavenly Houseparties to help with the big day. Dido is enchanted by the castle as soon as she steps through the imposing front door. And as Christmas day approaches, her feeling of connection to the old house runs deeper than she first thought.

Sophia Gregory has lost her sparkle.... Recently single and about to turn 60, Sophia doesn’t recognise the old woman staring back at her in the mirror. How has life passed her by? A quiet holiday in beautiful Rhodes is the perfect chance for her to find herself. Until she meets the Old Ducks! Juliette, Kim and Anita are three friends who are determined not to grow old gracefully! Bold and brash, they are Sophia’s worse nightmare, until they make her an honorary member of The Old Ducks’ Club!

Lou is reeling from a triple whammy of shocks that have left her loveless, jobless and almost homeless. Staying for a night with an old friend in the Cotswold village of Foxwell, she lends a helping hand to a spectacularly ungrateful older man with a reputation in the village for being a 'character'. When Edgar makes a suggestion that would solve two out of three of Lou's problems in one fell swoop, it's hard to resist. Especially as the return to the village of the very attractive Remy—not that he's even noticed Lou!—makes it an unusually appealing place to live.

Meg is definitely not in the Christmas mood. She’s never gone in for tinsel, baubles and mistletoe, and right now she’s still getting over an illness. Yet when she’s invited to spend the run-up to Christmas in the snowy countryside rather than dreary London, she can’t refuse. Arriving at a warm and cosy family home in a small hilltop village, Meg soon begins to wonder what a proper Christmas might be like. But just as she’s beginning to settle in, she spots a familiar face. Lex.

When Elodie applies for the job of librarian in peaceful Willow Grove, she’s looking forward to a new start. As the daughter of a media empire, her every move has been watched for years, and she longs to work with the thing she loves most: books. It’s a chance to make a real difference, too, because she soon realises that there are other people in Willow Grove who might need a fresh start—like the homeless man everyone walks past without seeing, or the divorcée who can’t seem to escape her former husband’s misdeeds.