Showing results by publisher "W. F. Howes Ltd" in Romantic Comedy

All the ton agree: there is no one quite like Hyacinth Bridgerton. Fiendishly smart, devilishly outspoken and - according to some, particularly Gareth St. Clair - probably best in small doses. But there's something about her - something charming and vexing - that grabs one and won't quite let go. Gareth and Hyacinth cross paths at the annual - and annually discordant - Smythe-Smith musicale. To Hyacinth, Gareth's every word seems a dare, and she offers to help him out with a knotty inheritance problem he's facing. 

Lou Clark knows a lot of things. She knows she likes working in The Buttered Bun tea shop, and she might not love her boyfriend Patrick. Will Traynor knows his motorcycle accident took away his desire to live, and now everything feels small and joyless. What Will doesn't know is that Lou is about to burst into his world. And neither of them knows they're going to change the other for all time.

In every life there is a turning point. A moment so tremendous, so sharp and breathtaking, that one knows one’s life will never be the same. For Michael Stirling, London’s most infamous rake, that moment came the first time he laid eyes on Francesca Bridgerton. After a lifetime of chasing women, of smiling slyly as they chased him, of allowing himself to be caught but never permitting his heart to become engaged, he took one look at Francesca Bridgerton and fell so fast and hard into love it was a wonder he managed to remain standing. 

Emma is like every girl in the world. She has a few little secrets.…until she spills them all to a handsome stranger on a plane. After all, she'll never see him again. But on Monday morning, Emma's office is abuzz about the arrival of Jack Harper, the company's elusive CEO. Suddenly Emma is face-to-face with the stranger from the plane, a man who knows every single humiliating detail about her. Things couldn't possibly get worse... Until they do.

France, 1916. Sophie Lefevre is ordered to serve the German officers who socialise in her hotel. When the new Kommandant sets eyes on Sophie's portrait - painted by her husband Edouard - a dangerous obsession is born. Almost a century later, Sophie's portrait hangs in the home of Liv Halston. A chance encounter reveals the painting's true worth - and its troubled history that is about to resurface and turn Liv's life upside down…

When Laurel Fletcher’s meticulously ordered world is upended by the discovery of a possible Anglo-Saxon burial site on her beloved family farm, the last person she expects to see is Dr. Nate Daley—the man she hoped never to encounter again. As old university resentments resurface, Nate is baffled by Laurel’s hostility and strives to build a friendship with her. As they reconnect, Laurel and Nate realize their feelings run deeper than they initially thought. But just as they start to envision a future together, unexpected revelations threaten to tear them apart.

It was indisputably love at first sight. But Victoria Lyndon was merely the teenaged daughter of a vicar...while Robert Kemble was the dashing young earl of Macclesfield. Surely what their meddlesome fathers insisted must have been true—that he was a reckless seducer determined to destroy her innocence...and she was a shameless fortune hunter. So it most certainly was for the best when their plans to elope went hopelessly awry.

Samantha thrives under pressure. A high-powered London lawyer, all she can concentrate on is taking the next step in her career; eating, sleeping, seeing friends—even taking a breath—will have to wait. But just when she's about to get everything she has ever wanted, Samantha makes a mistake. A fifty-million-pound, career-destroying mistake. Unable to face the consequences, she does the unimaginable and runs away… Catching the first train she can, she finds herself in the countryside, outside a beautiful grand house.

At 29, Claire is full of the joys of life - that is, until her husband leaves her on the day she gives birth to her baby. With a broken heart, a beautiful newly born and an expanding mirror image, she decides to visit her eccentric family in Dublin. There she starts to feel better. So much better, in fact, that James is in for a surprise when he decides to slither back into her life....

They're a glamorous family, the Caseys. Johnny Casey, his two brothers Ed and Liam, their beautiful, talented wives and all their kids spend a lot of time together - birthday parties, anniversary celebrations, weekends away. And they're a happy family. Johnny's wife, Jessie - who has the most money - insists on it. Under the surface, though, conditions are murkier. While some people clash, other people like each other far too much.... Everything stays under control until Ed's wife Cara, gets concussion and can't keep her thoughts to herself.

For Rebecca Bloomwood, life is peachy. She has a job on morning TV, her bank manager is actually being nice to her, and when it comes to spending money, her new motto is Buy Only What You Need—and she's really (sort of) sticking to it. The icing on the brioche is that she's been offered a chance to work in New York.

A couple of glasses of bubbly with the girls and Poppy's life has gone into meltdown. Not only has she lost her engagement ring, but in the panic that followed, she's lost her phone too. When she spots an abandoned phone in a bin it seems it was meant to be . . . Finders Keepers! Except the phone's owner, elusive businessman Sam Roxton, doesn't agree. He wants his phone back, and doesn't appreciate Poppy reading all his messages and wading into his personal life. Can things get any more tangled?

In the glitteringly ruthless diamond business, Scarlett Drummond Murray is a force to be reckoned with. As stunningly beautiful as the diamonds she works with, Scarlett is determined to make her mark on the industry with her fabulous jewellery creations. But to do so she must battle through a world that is steeped in greed and corruption.

For once in Becky Bloomwood's life, things are going smoothly. She's got the dream job as a personal shopper (spending other people's money—and getting paid for it). She's got a fabulous Manhattan apartment with her boyfriend Luke. They've even opened a joint bank account (although they can't quite agree on whether a Miu Miu skirt counts as a household expense). Then Luke proposes—and all of a sudden life gets hectic.

Wallflower heiress Lydia Hope-Wallace's secret life as the anyonymous author of seditious political pamphlets has led her into a correspondence with the charming Earl of Strathrannoch. When she learns he's in dire financial straits, Lydia sets out for Scotland to offer him a marriage of convenience. Arthur Baird, Earl of Strathrannoch, is stunned when a bewitching stranger offers him her hand in marriage - but when he realizes that his traitorous brother has been writing to her under his name, he's bloody furious.

Oliver Harris is football royalty in London. Ordinarily, the star of the Camden Roses is calm, cool, and collected, keeping his club relevant with his prowess in the midfield and mighty left foot. But this season, the threats abound: There’s Camden’s management to contend with—complete with a new, prickly Dutch coach, eager for better results—and a mid-season injury, which sidelines him when his team needs him most. When a recruit is called up to fill in, Oliver fears he’ll be replaced. If he can mentor this younger talent, then they might just have a chance at winning, together.

Nell is 26 and has never been to Paris. She's never even been on a romantic weekend away before. Travelling abroad isn't really her thing. But when Nell's boyfriend fails to show up, she has the chance to prove to everyone, including herself, that she can be independent and intrepid. Alone in Paris, Nell finds a version of herself she never knew existed. In this collection of 11 unmissable short stories, Jojo Moyes introduces us to a cast of strong, relatable women in the midst of their everyday lives.

Lola has every reason to be interested in who Paddy de Courcy is marrying - because although she's his girlfriend, she definitely isn't the bride. Heartbroken, she flees the city for a cottage by the sea. But will her retreat prove as idyllic as she hopes? Not if journalist Grace has anything to do with it. Grace knew Paddy a long time ago. But why can't she forget him?

A big-hearted, captivating, modern-day Muslim Pride and Prejudice, with hijabs instead of top hats and kurtas instead of corsets. Ayesha Shamsi has a lot going on. Her dreams of being a poet have been overtaken by a demanding teaching job. Her boisterous Muslim family, and numerous (interfering) aunties, are professional naggers. And her flighty young cousin, about to reject her 100th marriage proposal, is a constant reminder that Ayesha is still single.

Pippa and Nick have been an item since forever, but they’ve always said marriage isn’t for them. That’s until, in a moment of mad romance, they find themselves engaged. Pippa knows she’s no bridezilla–and she’s definitely not expecting Nick to get swept off his feet by plans for floral centrepieces, vintage cake-stands and colour-coordinated everything. Then Nick’s mum gets involved and secrets from Pippa’s past threaten to surface…