Books Read: Dana Bate - The Secret Supper Club

Starter
If twenty-six-year-old Hannah Sugarman had her way, she'd be whipping up carrot cakes and running her culinary empire. Instead, she spends her hours cooking up papers on the financial crisis. It doesn't help that no one in her life takes her passion seriously - not even her boyfriend. 

Main
When her relationship implodes, Hannah decides to jump-start her life by hosting a secret supper club out of her landlord's flat. Her underground operation presents some problems. Running an unlicensed restaurant out of someone's home is not, technically speaking, legal. 

Dessert
As the success of Hannah's supper club grows, so do the number of secrets she is forced to keep. Can Hannah keep her pop-up restaurant underground? When mysterious guests turn up for dinner, can she handle the heat? Or will she have to step out of the kitchen? A charming romantic comedy, The Secret Supper Club is a story about finding yourself, fulfilling your dreams, and falling in love along the way.

Books Read: Sarah Morgan - Once Upon a Christmas

What's your number one Christmas wish? 

Bryony’s daughter has put a dad on her Christmas list. That leaves Bryony with one month to find the perfect man, so this year she’s wishing for a miracle! 

While she’s looking for love, her best friend Helen is doing the opposite. Her Christmas wish is to forget all about the white dress hanging in her wardrobe – and her faithless rat of a fiancé. 

Helen and Bryony’s festive cheer definitely needs a boost, so it’s lucky that once upon a Christmas, wishes really do come true…

Books Read: Janet Evanovich - Wicked Business

Lizzy Tucker’s once normal life as a pastry chef in Salem, Massachusetts, turns upside down as she battles both sinister forces and an inconvenient attraction to her unnaturally talented but off-limits partner, Diesel.

When Harvard University English Professor and dyed-in-the wool romantic Gilbert Reedy is mysteriously murdered and thrown off his fourth-floor balcony, Lizzy and Diesel take up his twenty-year quest for the Luxuria Stone, an ancient relic believed by some to be infused with the power of lust. Following clues contained in a cryptic nineteenth-century book of sonnets, Lizzy and Diesel tear through Boston catacombs, government buildings, and multimillion-dollar residences. On their way they’ll leave behind a trail of robbed graves, public disturbances, and general mayhem.

Diesel’s black sheep cousin, Gerwulf Grimoire also wants the Stone. His motives are far from pure, and what he plans on doing with the treasure, no one knows… but Lizzy Tucker fears she’s in his crosshairs. Never far and always watching, Grimoire has a growing, vested interest in the cupcake-baker-turned-finder-of-lost-things. As does another dangerous and dark opponent in the hunt – a devotee of lawlessness and chaos, known only as Anarchy.

Treasures will be sought, and the power of lust will be unmistakable as Lizzy and Diesel attempt to stay ahead of Anarchy, Grimoire, and his medieval minion, Hatchet, in this ancient game of twisted riddles and high-stakes hide-and-seek.

Books Read: Cathy Woodman - Vets in Love

Glamorous GP Nicci (aka the galloping doctor), and Matt, the very handsome equine vet, have caught each other's eyes. On paper it looks like a match made in heaven.

There are problems, however: Matt's jealous ex-girlfriend being one of them. But the main trouble is Nicci's determination to qualify for the Badminton horse trials. Because although Matt treats horses for a living, a tragedy in his past makes him terrified every time Nicci competes.

So when Nicci has a terrible accident, a devastated Matt gives her an ultimatum: it's either him or the riding. 

Nicci can't believe he means it. But can she risk putting him to the test?

Books Read: Megan Crane - Once More With Feeling

She's suffered the very worst of betrayals. 

And now Sarah's facing a divorce she never expected.

With Christmas round the corner, what better time to re-evaluate her life? As she reconsiders every choice she's made, she starts to wonder if her life was so perfect after all.  

This winter, lose yourself in Sarah's world of unmade decisions, lost friends and old flames..

Books Read: Niamh Greene - A Message to Your Heart

Frankie Rowley is far too practical to believe in karma or fate...

And her family and friends reckon that work-obsessed Frankie's strongest relationship is with her phone.  (And why not?  At least it never judges her for cancelling dinner for the umpteenth time.)

When she loses that precious phone on a business trip to San Francisco, Frankie is forced to hire a replacement.  Soon she's getting texts meant for someone else - a woman called Aimee who seems like a lot of fun, and whose family clearly loves to keep in touch - and whose presence in her life is the last thing that Frankie needs.

Frankie goes on the warpath, but she is in for some surprises when she blunders into Aimee's world.  And the biggest surprise of all is how your life can be changed forever by losing a phone.

Frankie may not believe in karma or fate, but suddenly it looks like they've got her number...

Books Read: Belinda Jones - Winter Wonderland

Imagine waking up in a snow globe. . . 

That's how travel journalist Krista feels when she arrives in magical Quebec to report on Canada's glittering Winter Carnival.

Over ten sub-zero days Krista's formerly frozen heart begins to melt as she discovers an enchanting world of ice palaces, husky dog-sledding and maple-syrup treats galore. And then she meets Jacques, a man as handsome and rugged as he is mysterious. . .

The two share a secret that could bond them forever, but can they find a way to break through the protective layers around their hearts to warm up this winter wonderland?

. . . let the snow-spangled adventure begin

Books Read: Amelia Carr - The Secret She Kept

Fearless Felicity Penrose thrives on adventure: she's one of the most experienced female sailors in the world.  But one day, in the late 1950s, her boat is found abandoned, drifting off the Cornish coast.  Fliss has mysteriously vanished, tragically leaving behind her husband and baby daughter, Emma. 

Thirty years later, Emma's world is rocked when she is approached by a journalist Mike Bond with an extraordinary revelation: that Fliss was seen in America after she was presumed drowned.

As Emma delves into her mother's past, she begins to unravel of deep, abiding love,  loyal friendship, and a disastrous misunderstanding.  And the rest of her family are thrown into turmoil.  For Fliss is not the only one with secrets long-concealed...  

Books Read: Julia Williams - A Merry Little Christmas

With four children, a Christmas cookbook to write, and her mum suffering from dementia, Cat Tinsall has plenty to juggle. When her eldest daughter, Mel, starts going off the rails, Cat has even more on her plate.

Pippa Holliday adores her family, although often finds her hands full. When Dan is involved in a terrible accident, Pippa’s world is suddenly turned upside down.

Balancing her job as a school teacher with twins and her step-son Steven isn’t easy for Marianne North. With her husband’s ex causing trouble, life is getting even trickier.

As Cat, Pippa and Marianne help each other through a difficult year, they’re all hoping for a much brighter Christmas.

Books Read: Miranda Dickinson - When I Fall In Love

What happens when your happy ever after is suddenly and painfully taken away from you?

Elsie Maynard has a whole new life she never expected to have.

From inadvertently founding a choir like no other with former 80s rock star Woody Jensen, to daring to date again, Elsie steps out into an unknown future – a future that could include gorgeous designer Olly Hogarth, a man who seems intent on winning her heart. Overcoming problems, challenges and the occasional frustration – namely overconfident Torin Stewart who seems to be everywhere – Elsie believes she is making the most of her life.

But then a heartfelt request brings her to Paris – and the last item on a very important List.

Can Elsie take the final step and lay her past to rest? Join Elsie as she battles to start again, with the help of a disastrous, newly-formed singing group and her father and sister armed with dating hopefuls.

Books Read: Sue Moorcroft - Dream a Little Dream

What would you give to make your dreams come true?

Liza Reece has a dream. Working as a reflexologist for a troubled holistic centre isn’t enough. When the opportunity arises to take over the Centre she jumps at it. Problem is, she needs funds, and fast, as she’s not the only one interested.

Dominic Christy has dreams of his own. Diagnosed as suffering from a rare sleep disorder, disillusioned with his live-in girlfriend and discharged from the job he adored as an Air Traffic Controller, he’s single-minded in his aims. He has money, and plans for the Centre that don’t include Liza and her team.

But dreams have a way of shifting and changing and Dominic’s growing fascination with Liza threatens to reshape his. And then it’s time to wake up to the truth ...

Books Read: Corban Addison - A Walk Across the Sun

Ahalya Ghai and her younger sister Sita are as close as sisters can be. But their childhood ends abruptly when a tsunami rips through their Indian village. Destitute and alone, their only hope is to find refuge at a convent many miles away. The moment they hitch a lift their fate is sealed. 

Washington lawyer Thomas Clarke is struggling to cope after the collapse of his family.  He takes a sabbatical from his job and accepts a position with the Bombay branch of an international anti-trafficking group. As his life becomes entwined with that of Ahalya and Sita, he makes it his mission to save them, as well as himself. 

Books Read: Scarlett Bailey - Married by Christmas

All she wants is perfect Christmas Eve wedding...

It's been on Anna's wish-list since she was a little girl, dreaming of a far happier family life than she'd ever experienced.

But now - only two weeks before her big day - her perfect husband-to-be drops a bombshell... 

Only nothing's going to stop Anna's plans - not even the pesky inconvenience of discovering her groom already has a wife!

Books Read: Abby Clements - Meet me Under the Mistletoe

Childhood friends Laurie and Rachel used to be inseparable - but their lives have taken very different paths since they picked up their A-level results together. Now thirty-five, they have all but fallen out of touch; glamorous single girl Laurie is based in London and dedicated to her career in fashion; Rachel seemingly living the family idyll in Yorkshire. 

But when Rachel's mother-in-law needs urgent treatment in London, and disasters at work and in her love life mean Laurie needs to flee, a house swap falls into place. 

Soon gentle Rachel is far from the village bake sales, braving the city's mean streets while trying to keep her marriage and family together; while Laurie attempts to work an Aga, befriend the wary village locals - and forget the man who seems intent on breaking her heart. Will their relationships survive this test? And will they make it home for Christmas?

Books Read: Michelle Jackson - 5 Peppermint Grove

Emigration, emigration, emigration . . . Ruth Travers is leaving Ireland like so many of the Irish Diaspora who have gone before her. But, instead of a coffin ship, she's travelling business class on a Boeing 777 and will be landing in sunny Perth, Western Australia. 

Leaving behind her married boyfriend of ten years, Ruth hopes to make a fresh start. Her mother Angela, who lived in Perth in the seventies, is distraught when she hears that Ruth is Australia bound. It is only when Ruth discovers a sealed airmail envelope, with 5 Peppermint Grove, Perth, scrawled across it in her mother's handwriting, that she wonders what else Angela may be hiding. 

Her best friend Julia Perrin gently orchestrated the move to Perth for her friend s own good. She is a successful businesswoman with her own travel company and so busy fixing everybody else's life she sees no need to do so with her own . . . until she visits Ruth in Perth! 

Sunshine, sandy beaches and barbeques abound but there may be more than Angela s secret waiting for them in Peppermint Grove . . .

Books Read: Jenny Colgan - Christmas at the Cupcake Cafe

Issy Randall, proud owner of The Cupcake Cafe, is in love and couldn't be happier. Her new business is thriving and she is surrounded by close friends, even if her cupcake colleagues Pearl and Caroline don't seem quite as upbeat about the upcoming season of snow and merriment. But when her boyfriend Austin is scouted for a possible move to New York, Issy is forced to face up to the prospect of a long-distance romance. And when the Christmas rush at the cafe - with its increased demand for her delectable creations - begins to take its toll, Issy has to decide what she holds most dear.

This December, Issy will have to rely on all her reserves of courage, good nature and cinnamon, to make sure everyone has a merry Christmas, one way or another . . .

Books Read: Vanessa Greene - The Vintage Teacup Club

At a car boot sale in Sussex, three very different women meet and fall for the same vintage teaset. They decide to share it - and form a friendship that changes their lives . . . 

Jenny can't wait to marry Dan. Then, after years of silence, she hears from the woman who could shatter her dreams.

Maggie has put her broken heart behind her and is gearing up for the biggest event of her career - until she's forced to confront the past once more.

Alison seems to have it all: married to her childhood sweetheart, with two gorgeous daughters. But as tensions mount, she is pushed to breaking point.

Books Read: Monica McInerney - The House of Memories

Sometimes the hardest lessons to learn are those that matter most...

Following a tragic accident, Ella O'Hanlon flees to the other side of the world in an attempt to escape her grief, leaving behind the two people she blames for her loss: Aidan, the love of her life, and Jess, her spoilt half-sister.  

In London Ella is taken in by her beloved uncle Lucas, whose extraordinary house holds many wonderful memories for her. Along with other members of the very colourful Fox family, Lucas helps Ella to see that she is not the only one still hurting, and that forgiveness can be the greatest healer in a family and in a marriage.

Books Read: Lucy Dawson - Little Sister

In the dead of night, Kate receives a phone call. Police have recovered her sister Anya's clothes and personal belongings by the poolside of a remote hideaway in Mexico - a place she had no idea Anya would be. Anya was last seen getting into a vehicle with a local diving instructor but now he's missing too.

Their relationship has been complicated ever since a devastating tragedy blew their family apart, but Kate cannot believe Anya would willingly travel somewhere so isolated with a man she barely knows . . . would she?   In a race against time, Kate must fight to find her little sister before it's too late.

Books Read: Jane Sanderson - Ravenscliffe

Yorkshire, 1904. On Netherwood Common, Russian émigré Anna Rabinovich shows her dear friend Eve Williams a house: a Victorian villa, solidly built from local stone. This is Ravenscliffe, and it's the house Anna wants them to live in. It's their house, she says. It was meant to be.

As Anna transforms Ravenscliffe, an attraction grows between her and union man Amos. But when Eve's long-lost brother Silas turns up in the closely-knit mining community of Netherwood, cracks begin to appear in even the strongest friendships.

Meanwhile, at Netherwood Hall, cherished traditions are being undermined by the whims of the feckless heir to the title, Tobias Hoyland, and his American bride Thea Stirling. Below stairs, the loyal servants strive to preserve the noble family's dignity and reputation. But both inside the great house and in the world beyond, values and loyalties are rapidly changing.