Contemporary Historical Romance

Since the death of her mother, Kate Kennedy has been parent, helper and housekeeper to her large family. But life changes drastically as the young men leave the pits and head to the Great War. Desolate to watch brothers and friends march into danger, Kate must stay at home to hold her family together. Against all odds, Kate's baking skills create a path out of poverty. But as storm clouds gather over Europe again, the love, life and happiness she's fought so hard for may not survive - will she lose everything?

Wiltshire in 1901: Kathleen's family are determined to force her into marriage with a violent man. In desperation she runs away and finds what consolation she can for her lost dreams. Then tragedy strikes, and Kathleen seeks refuge at Honeyfield House, where a charitable bequest has created a hiding place for families in trouble. Nathan fought in the Great War and is now using his gift for finding lost people as a detective. Taking on the job of finding Kathleen, he is shocked to discover a woman he can love, not the vicious female he was led to expect.

1917. Driving an ambulance through the mud in Flanders, aristocrat Evie Creswell is a long way from home. At Oaklands Manor she was expected to look pretty and make a good marriage. But with the arrival of World War One everything changed. Evie shunned an aristocratic husband and instead wed artist Will Davies, who works as a butcher's apprentice. As she struggles to transport the wounded to hospital, avoiding the shells and gas attacks - her privileged home life, and her family's disappointment at her marriage, are a lifetime away.

Cornwall, 1793. As the French Revolution threatens the stability of England, so too is discontent brewing in the heart of Celia Cavendish. Promised to the brutal Viscount Vallenforth, she must find a way to break free from the bounds of a life stifled by convention and cruelty. Celia enlists her neighbours, Sir James and Lady Polcarrow, in the hope of escaping her impending marriage and making a new life for herself.

"She who loves and runs away, lives to love another day" was Jacy Tiernan's credo. Only this fair-haired beauty had never loved again after Ian Yarbro. Ten years ago, she had fled her beloved Australian homestead with a shattered soul. Ian, the rugged sheep rancher who'd awakened her young heart to the most exquisite pleasures, had sired the child of another woman. Unable to forgive him, Jacy ran off to New York to live with her wealthy divorced mother, leaving behind all dreams of happiness. Now Jacy had returned to Corroboree Springs to care for her ailing father.

Sisters Carol and Jackie haven't had the easiest of childhoods, but as they grow up and begin their own lives, both hope for happier times ahead. Stylish Carol works in Lewis' department store while Jackie dreams of a career on the stage. But the sisters are heartbroken when they discover they have been dating the same man, and an unexpected pregnancy causes a rift between them. As the sisters' troubles spiral, will their sisterly bond be destroyed forever?

1939. Eve Armstrong is being evacuated to Devon. As the train pulls out of London, she takes a last look at the crowded platform, the shabbily dressed evacuees, and a rude little boy sticking his tongue out. At first, Eve is happier than ever at Drake's Farm. It's a different world that invites fresh starts, and so when Eve runs into the boy from the station, Johnny Durrell, they call a truce and soon become firm friends. The war might be a distant reality, but the arrival of Connie Hale makes every day a battle.

Will she ever be reunited with her real father? Angelina was abandoned on the doorsteps of Brownlow Workhouse when she was just a baby - her only possession the rag doll she held in her arms. Nicknamed 'Angel' for her golden curls, she is adopted by Mr and Mrs McBride. At first Angel is so happy to have found a caring family to save her from the drudgery of the workhouse. But her new parents are not the benevolent guardians they first appear.

Jack Vines has the Victorian home of his dreams - or so it seems until he discovers an intriguing beauty lurking in the shadows. Stunned, he finds they share the house but live a century apart. The realization leads him to questions so disturbing it changes both their lives forever. She is a prisoner of the past, shrouded in a world of dark mysteries. He holds the keys that will protect their future. But first, he must solve the mystery concealed for nearly 100 years.

For 10 years Delia has had to fend for herself and her son, Jack, and as a young unmarried mother, life has never been easy. Every new coat and pair of shoes was bought with what little money she could scrape together as a singer on the stage. But when the theatre work dries up, Delia faces a dilemma: continue the search for employment with no knowing whether she'll find the stability and security her son needs or return to the place that should be home...where only spite and hatred await them.

Join award-winning author Hannah Howell as she gives readers a double dose of romance for the holidays with two feisty, flame-haired cousins, a dangerous cross country chase, and two rough and rugged men who find love with the irrepressible, impossible Kenney women….

East Kent, 1830. Catherine Rook takes her peaceful life for granted. Her days are spent at the village school and lending a hand on her family's farm. But rural unrest begins sweeping through Kent, and when Pa Rook buys a threshing machine it brings tragedy to Wanstall Farm. With the Rooks' fortunes forever changed, Catherine must struggle to hold her family together. She turns to her childhood companion, Matty Carter, for comfort, and finds more than friendship in his loving arms.

En Malasia, en los albores de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, tras un matrimonio concertado, Parvathi vive sin grandes alicientes en la opulenta mansión de su marido, un hombre mucho mayor que ella que prácticamente la desprecia. Solo gracias a la ayuda de una cocinera llena de sabiduría y a un criado quien la ama en secreto, Parvathi logra seguir adelante. Pero la invasión japonesa del país cambia su vida ya que, tras el saqueo y la ocupación de su propio hogar, Parvathi se ve obligada a convertirse en la geisha y amante del oficial japonés al mando.

Albert Kemp is a lonely widower whose only son was killed in the war. Now, in 1953, he is working in a pub with a famous boxing gym upstairs. It is here that Albert brings Danny, a fatherless boy he rescues from gang life. But as Danny begins to grow into a champion, the predators start to circle, luring him back into a life of crime in the corrupt world of match fixing. Will Danny listen to his wise old mentor?

Rosa grew up an orphan in a remote, watery island fastness on the wild East coast of Yorkshire. Taken in as a small child by the motherly Mrs Drew, she realised as she grew up that this large and seemingly close farming family contained many troubled souls: Mr Drew, whose religious fervour held a dark secret; Jim, the eldest son, who was terrified of something from his past; Delia, longing to escape from the island; and tall, handsome, confident Matthew, who wanted only one thing - Rosa herself.

Britain's favourite gardener and TV presenter Alan Titchmarsh takes us to the scenic highlands of Scotland for his new tale of betrayal, mystery and romance. The author of eight bestselling novels including The Haunting and Folly, Titchmarsh's new multi-generational novel makes the perfect gift this Mother's Day. It seems a perfect afternoon in the Highlands. Standing at the door of the lochside castle that has been his family's home for generations, Charlie Stuart welcomes his guests to the annual summer drinks party.

When Jenny Garvin arrives at the Portsmouth pier to see her adored brother sail off on one of His Majesty's ships, she catches the eye of a tall, well-dressed stranger, who rescues her from a thief. But Captain Tristram Allenby is not what he seems. According to her brother, he is an icy-cold, monstrous tyrant who must be avoided at all costs.

Married in secret, Daniel and Anna Mercy ineffectively skirt Charleston's town gossips. Glares and whispers are easy to evade, but Daniel is accused of murder. Anna wonders if her past betrayal has made her new husband capable of such an act. While Anna's suspicions mount, Daniel uncovers a second murder plot with his wife as the intended victim. When they learn the name of the murderer, Anna is kidnapped.

In a sunlit, secret valley in the green mountains of central Italy, two people meet away from the horrors and clamour of battle. David Hopkins, a young fisherman from West Wales, and Kate Medhurst from a genteel town in the Thames Valley embark upon an idyllic love affair away from the conflict that surrounds them. However, they cannot escape the war forever, and when they are targeted by a single enemy aeroplane their dreams are destroyed.

Clara Sinclair has learned to live one lonely day at a time. It was the only way she managed to survive her husband's death in World War II and raise their young son alone. But now she's at a loss as to how to handle the defiant teenager he has become, even as she struggles to keep her family financially afloat. She's fresh out of ways to turn her luck around - until a daring stranger's unexpected kindness sparks hope she hasn't felt in a long time....