You know that post-vacation glow? Where you’re all sun-kissed and optimistic and determined to make changes in your life? Well, mine lasted for about five minutes. Until I walked into the office and saw Myles Salinger sitting in my boss’s chair. One look at his scowling face was enough to make me want to fly straight back to Europe. And no, he’s not getting any of the donuts I brought in for the team. He doesn’t deserve them. You see, on paper, he’s my contemporary. In reality, he’s been my workplace nemesis for the last two years.

When local baker Essie Browne discovers that Mistletoe Gardens is to be demolished in January, she’s determined to save the place she loves so much. So Essie proposes building a life size gingerbread house to bring in the crowds...just how hard can it be? Well, quite hard actually. Essie can bake gingerbread blindfolded, but she hasn’t got a clue how to build an actual house with it! She needs help - and fast! Enter local builder, Joss Hallissey. Essie is convinced that with Joss’s help they can pull this off. There’s just one tiny problem: Joss hates Christmas.

What do mascara wands and gardening shears have in common? Absolutely nothing! At least that’s what wannabe beauty influencer Sophie Timney thinks when her friend Polly suggests involving her brother Marcus in Sophie’s makeup tutorials. She needs more views, Marcus needs promotion for his gardening business - in Polly’s mind joining forces will help them both. Sophie isn’t so sure. Because Marcus Bowman has a habit of getting under her skin in a way that no exfoliating face scrub ever could.

Drew Harrington knows exactly who he is—a legal shark with a love ‘em and leave ‘em attitude that works just fine in his cutthroat world. He’s on the cusp of being named a partner in his firm, but only if he can prove to his colleagues that he has a more human side. Becky Fletcher is running from her past, so the last thing she’s looking for is love. What she does want is a friendly face in a cold city. Her sunny outlook is the perfect opposite to Drew’s hard exterior, but can she afford to let down her guard?

When Christmas-hating Sam moves to Holly Cross, he thinks he's found the perfect home, until he discovers that, each year, Holly Cross transforms into the most Christmassy village in the whole country... Blythe is just one sale away from being Real Estate Agent of the Month, so she twists the truth to sell a home to city boy Sam, who is looking for the perfect house in the perfect location. Little does he know he's just bought a cottage in the middle of the most Christmassy village in the country. And if there's one thing Sam loathes, it's Christmas.

Summer Hastings HATES Christmas. She loves sunshine, the beach and running her travel agency, sending people off to their dream destinations – even if she doesn’t get to see the world for herself. For Summer, Christmas sucks! So, when handsome and charming Noel Pritchett moves his pop-up Christmas shop in to the store next to hers, Summer sees red. Noel loves Christmas…and he quite likes Summer too, if only he could break through the anti-Christmas armour she has surrounded herself with.

When Pippa’s aunt leaves her a cafe by the beach, it doesn’t take her long to jump at the chance of a new start. Waving goodbye to mounting debt, threatening bailiffs and never-ending shifts at a job she hates, she and her young son, Joshua, prepare for their new life. But as Pippa strives to make her new business a success, the arrival of her ex makes her question everything. Will she succumb to his charms, or will Joe, the local plumber, be able to repair Pippa’s heart?

With nowhere else to go, Harriet Colgan has returned to the sleepy village of Cranfield to sell her beloved aunt and uncle’s cottage, the only place she ever called home. When she arrives at Lavender Cottage, Harriet discovers plans to replace the beautiful lavender fields, her uncle’s pride and joy, with an industrial warehouse.With time on her hands, she realises she must fight to protect her family’s legacy and the village of Cranfield as well. Workaholic businessman Joe Randall was expecting an easy purchase of the lavender fields.

Janine Potter grew up on the other side of the tracks. Her mother, Nancy, struggled with just about everything—alcohol, men, money—and Janine made a pledge to herself that she would never be like her. At age nineteen, Janine met Jack Potter, the son of an oil tycoon, and never looked back. Her life became a series of cocktail parties and multi-million-dollar apartments all across the world, and rubbing elbows with celebrities. Slowly, memory of her mother faded, although the trauma never really did.

Erin Donohue would describe herself as happy. Well, maybe not exactly happy...but not unhappy either. For the most part she loves her job as Head Chef at The Ivy Inn, working alongside bestfriend, Jo and making a home with boyfriend Aaron. Things are going just fine. Or so she thinks.... After a tough shift, Erin returns home to be greeted by silence. There is no trace of Aaron or his belongings. In that split second her whole life and world are turned upside down. It seems Aaron has exited the building and her life.

Thirty-two-year-old Charlie Brown has a plane to catch. As Christmas approaches, she is New York bound, to be reunited with boyfriend Harry after work has kept them apart. But once she lands, Harry is nowhere to be found… There’s no hand-drawn sign with her name being brandished at the gate. No answer from Harry's phone. And all at once, Charlie’s worst fears come true. What has happened to Harry? And what should Charlie do now that she’s an ocean away from home?

It was supposed to be a holiday of a lifetime. But when Jen’s boyfriend David suddenly cancels their romantic Paris trip, needing to urgently travel to Athens for work, it’s best friend Bonnie who suggests they surprise him. Having already booked the time off from her events company – Christmas Every Day – Jen decides an impromptu and romantic gesture might be just what their relationship needs. Arriving in Greece and finding David is not there, Jen has a lot of questions. And when she gets her answers she has a choice – should she go home or should she stay a while?

Ellie Browne has left behind her high-flying job in London to return to the charming Buckinghamshire village of Little Leyton. Working shifts at the Dog and Duck pub and running her own doggy-daycare business, Ellie's looking for a simpler way of life in this idyllic English setting. But Little Leyton's landscape is changing: Johnny Tay, Ellie's ex, wants to pick up where they left off; sultry property developer Max Golding has moved into the village and is ruffling feathers; and rumour has it that the pub, which holds a special place in Ellie's heart, might be sold.

The annual dog show is looming, a crucial event when it comes to fundraising and ensuring the volunteers can continue the brilliant work they do. But their trusted newspaper reporter, who always includes them in his weekly column, is retiring, only to be replaced with a city-slicker named Darryl. And Darryl, as Ginny soon learns, has no interest in articles he deems 'below him'. Not one to take no as an answer, Ginny becomes determined to get him to meet the dogs themselves. One look at their cute faces and they'll worm their way into his heart.

Soundings and Choc Lit present the audiobook edition of One Magical Christmas. When Annie Berry collides with Nik Knoll in a car park on the day of her sister’s wedding, it feels like all of Nik’s Christmases have come at once. Annie seems like just the sort of woman he’d like to get to know, and the chance nature of their encounter is almost like, well...Christmas magic. But Nik has a secret, and he has to be sure that he can trust Annie before he tells her. The problem is that this secret has a Christmas deadline, and time is running out....