Showing results by publisher "W. F. Howes Ltd" in Contemporary

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. Thankfully Jess's granddad, Gabe, has the perfect place for Jess and her eight-year-old daughter Lola to start afresh when he hands them the keys to his holiday home in Cornwall, a beautiful albeit rundown farmhouse.

When Ronnie Percy's gorgeous on-off lover Blair is forced to deep-freeze their affair for the sake of his sick wife, she's delighted to be distracted by charismatic neighbour, Kit Donne, and – more surprisingly – finds herself drawn into a fight for the future of the village. Meanwhile daughter Pax – already besieged by her estranged husband wanting reconciliation – is rattled when new love 'the horsemaker' Luca is visited by his own ex from Canada. The last shoulder on earth she should cry on is Bay Austen's, but his marriage is crumbling and he's lost none of his dangerous charm.

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.

Spring has arrived at The Potting Shed and things seem to finally be going Maddie's way. Her relationship with lovable lawyer Ed is going well and the business is thriving with the help of her new friend Jo and his bright orange coffee van. But troubles are just around the corner... the upgrade of The Potting Shed from a nursery to a garden centre is at a critical point, turning part of Maddie's business into a building site. And just as she has to temporarily move out of her home, a major garden centre announces its grand opening only twenty miles away.

Dan and Anya Moorcroft have decided to get a divorce. Together, they've done it all. Two kids, three owned houses, four rented flats, fifty-something holidays, and one affair apiece. Now, after fifteen years together (nine of them married) they're on the brink. But as they go through couples' mediation, revisiting and rediscovering their shared history in sessions surrounded by lawyers and paperwork, are they about to find something that's worth saving? Or are they going to reaffirm their decision to end things for good?

For once, things are going well for 30-year-old Kerra Shaw. She has a fulfilling job helping small businesses in the local community, she is within a few minutes' walk of all the people she loves best and, most importantly, she has finally got together with her childhood sweetheart, Ross. It's not all plain sailing, though, because they have to keep their relationship a secret. The feud between their families still rages on, and Kerra doesn't want to pour fuel on its flame and risk losing everything.

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.

Meet Rachel Walsh. She's been living it up in New York City, spending her nights talking her way into glamorous parties before heading home in the early hours to her hot boyfriend Luke. But her sensible older sister showing up and sending her off to actual rehab wasn't quite part of her plan. She's only agreed to her incarceration because she's heard that rehab is wall-to-wall jacuzzis, gymnasiums and rock stars going cold turkey - plus it's about time she had a holiday.

When Rob's girlfriend asks him to leave London and live with her in Manchester not only will it mean moving cities and changing the only job he's ever had, it'll also mean leaving behind his best mate in the entire world. Believing in love concquering all Rob takes the plunge and, convinced of his ability to make new friends, tries his best.

1850. When Opal Sharp finds herself and her younger siblings suddenly orphaned and destitute, she thinks things can get no worse. But soon three of them - including Opal - are struck down with the illness that took their father from them, and her brother Charlie is forced to make an impossible decision. Unable to afford a doctor, he knows the younger children will not survive. So, unbeknownst to Opal, Charlie takes their younger siblings to the workhouse, where he knows they will at least be fed and have a roof over their heads. Opal is heartbroken and struggles to forgive him.

Romance is the last thing on Charlotte Alexander's mind. Her perfume business is flourishing. And a glamorous new life in New York awaits. Just one more thing is needed: a supply of artisan lavender for her trademark scent. But when Charlotte stumbles across the infuriating and infuriatingly handsome Alessio Rossini, her plans begin to fall apart. With New York finally in reach...should she follow her dreams or her heart?

1850s Shropshire. Returning to her mother's birthplace at the age of 18, Beatrice Ashford encounters a complex family she barely knows. Her great-grandmother Queenie adores her, but the privileged social position of Beatrice's family as masters of the local brickworks begins to make her uncomfortable. And then she meets Owen Malone: handsome, different, refreshing - and from a class beneath her own.

As the St Clair family prepare for the wedding of their daughter, Clarice, at the great country house of Montmichel, trouble is brewing. Their younger daughter, Helene, became friends with orphaned Annette during the terrible events of the 1871 siege of Paris. Now they are reunited, with Annette working below stairs for Helene's parents. But Annette is hiding a dangerous secret, which Helene has promised to keep at all costs.

Few women in Compton Magna could fail to notice the arrival of Luca O'Brien. The village stud's new manager, known internationally as the Horse Maker, brims softly spoken sex appeal from his wild blonde curls to his leather boot soles. Gossipy riding quartet The Saddle Bags are all smitten. Only his old friend Ronnie Percy sees how much Luca's changed from the rising star she met a decade ago, the golden armour masking deep secrets. But as Ronnie soon discovers, Luca's slow smile and sympathetic hands belie a volcanic core.

It's the 1930s, and Georgina Garrett has risen up from her tough beginnings to become the new boss of the Battersea gang. But not everyone is pleased with a female taking charge. With rival gangs trying to steal her turf, untrustworthy men in her midst and her dad lost deep in the bottle, Georgina has a lot to tackle. With her friends and family in constant danger and those closest to her questioning her leadership Georgina must use her wits to show that she's made for this job. The Garrett name is one to be feared, and Georgina will begin to change the face of Battersea forever.

Sicily, 1977. Ten-year-old Lily and family arrive for their annual summer holiday in Sicily. Adopted as a toddler, Lily's childhood has been idyllic. But a chance encounter with a local woman on the beach changes everything.... Ten years later... Ever since that fateful summer Lily's picture-perfect life, and that of her family, has been in turmoil. The secrets of the baking hot shores of Sicily are calling her back, and Lily knows that the answers she has been so desperately seeking can be found only if she returns to her beloved island once more....

Lucy Sullivan is 26 and living it up (and occasionally down) in London. Hers is a life of quiet, undisciplined desperation. But when she and three friends visit a psychic for a bit of fun and the woman's predictions start coming true, Lucy is horrified. For the fortune-teller insisted she'd soon be married - within the year, in fact. Not only does Lucy not have a boyfriend, but the chances of getting one are looking slim. Between the bottles of wine, antidepressants and her addiction to self-help books, she's not quite ready to walk, or even stumble, down the aisle sober.

In the quaint Cornish village of Tremarnock, Chabela Penhallow arrives for a holiday and to discover more about her Cornish ancestors. But, as always with newcomers to the small seaside town, rumours start to fly about this beautiful stranger. Is there more to her than meets the eye? Meanwhile, Rob and Liz Hart's marriage is on the rocks, but only one of them knows the real reason. Once the secret is out, will they be able to handle the repercussions or will it destroy their life together? For the residents of Tremarnock, the revelations will either bond or break them - forever.

As children on the island of Phetray, Minn Macfee, a cottar's daughter, and Ewan Mackinnon, the Minister's son, are bound together by the accidental drowning of Ewan's sister. Ewan is blamed and Minn shunned. As the two children grow, they must go their separate ways grieving. Just before the outbreak of the Second World War Ewan returns to Phetray, now a handsome sailor. He falls in love with Minn's fragile beauty and enchanting singing voice. But they are separated again when Ewan joins the Special Boat Squadron and embarks for France.

Long ago, on a windswept Irish beach, a young father died saving the life of another man's child. Thirty years later, his widow, Julia, decides to return to this wild corner of Ireland to lay the past to rest. Her journey sparks others: her daughter Bel, an artist, joins her mother in Ireland, while son Matt and daughter-in-law Rachel, at home in Liverpool, embark on some soul searching of their own. As the threads of past and present intertwine, Julia's family confront long-buried feelings of guilt, anger, fear and desire.