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

Three years on from her fairy-tale country wedding to the deliciously handsome Charlie Wellbeloved, Bella's life is far from the 'happily ever after' she dreamed of. Now, heading for the big three-oh at horrifying speed she has gained a couple of stone from boredom and comfort eating, her fledgling interior design business is succumbing to infant mortality, she talks to her black Labrador Dolly more than she does her own husband, and now her close friend Maddy has announced that she's expecting a baby. How can Bella be happy for them when she pines for a family of her own?

Billionaire tech mogul Blake Fielding is on top of the world—until a scandalous hack makes him public enemy number one, shattering the empire he’s built. Ellie Mae-Woodward’s dream job at the famous social media company Heartbook is within her grasp. Except she never steps foot in the interview room. When she arrives, the company is in lockdown. Her dream job is over before it has even begun.

Lydia Williams is used to putting on a smile and saying yes. So, when her friends beg her to join them on a cross-country hiking trip she agrees, even if she’d rather be crying into a pint of ice cream post-breakup. And post-job loss. Yeah, it’s been a week.

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?

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.

It’s the 1950s, and Grundy’s Travelling Fair arrives in town. When night falls, the local town is drawn to the fair. But when the fairgoers head home, the Grundys are left behind. Hours are long and the work backbreaking. But family and friends hold things together.

Maddy fled the market town of Havenbury Magna three years ago, the scene of a traumatic incident she revisits most clearly in her dreams. Even so, when she is called back to help at the Havenbury Arms when her godfather, Patrick, suffers a heart attack, she is unprepared for the welter of emotions her return provokes. Psychologist and ex-army officer Ben finds himself falling for her. Then Maddy's mother, Helen, arrives, and Patrick himself must confront a few uncomfortable truths about his history and the pub's future.

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?

Growing up in London in the aftermath of the Second World War, Ruth is a thoughtful child who finds herself in a confusing adult world. She seeks refuge in her memories of her idyllic stays with her grandparents in the picturesque countryside, which provide comforting visions of a simpler life. As she comes to terms with her surroundings and her adolescence, Ruth finds the motivation to pursue the dream which has governed her childhood, discovering family secrets along the way.

Caroline and Daniel are twins whose mother died when they were babies. They grow up in a conventional family, their aunt and uncle raising them, and they are truly close only to each other. After their father's remarriage, they're sent to separate boarding schools. When the twins become medical students, a serious accident occurs that somehow seems to happen without damage to either of them, but they cut themselves off from the rest of their family because of it, causing first bewilderment and then anger....

June 1944: Since her father's stroke, Jean has been trying to run her parents' farm almost single-handedly and is in desperate need of help. Karl, a German prisoner of war, turns out to be just what she needs. Fraternisation with prisoners is forbidden, but as the weeks pass, Jean and Karl become closer - much to the dismay of Jean's family and Karl's compatriots. Can their love have a future when it seems every hand is against them?

In Glory, Kansas, the bakery not only brings together ingredients for sweet treats but is the place where a wounded hero can forge a forever kind of love. Back in his hometown, Jack McConnell has returned battle scarred, but Betsy sees only the hero who once saved her life and set her heart on fire. Now she's burning to save him in return. However, Jack realizes the only way he'll be worthy of the hero's mantle she's pinned to his shoulders is to save Betsy one last time - from himself.

Baptiste Molino has devoted his life to other people's happiness. Moored on his houseboat, he helps his clients navigate the waters of contentment yet remains careful never to make waves of his own. However, it is Baptiste's new client, the elegant and enigmatic Amandine Rousseau, who is the puzzle he longs to solve. But when his mysterious birth mother's legacy finally reveals itself, he finds himself torn between pursuing his own happiness and safeguarding that of the one he loves.

When the breakdown of her marriage leaves Sadie Turner a single mum, she vows that she will make it on her own. After all, why would a smart businesswoman with a PhD and the prospect of a life-changing deal on the horizon need a man? But Sadie's man-ban is tested to the limit when she travels to Monaco to meet her potential investor. There she encounters Mac, a rough and ready playboy billionaire who lives life in the fast lane. But Sadie's heart isn't the only thing on the line....

It’s been over 18 months since Molly Gilchrist has had a man (as her best friend, Caro, is so fond of reminding her), so when she as good as stumbles upon one lying comatose on the moors one bitterly cold morning, it seems like the universe is having a laugh at her expense. But Phinn Baxter (that’s Dr. Phinneas Baxter) is no drunken layabout, as Molly is soon to discover, with a PhD in astrophysics and a tortured past that is a match for Molly’s own disastrous love life.

Rob Stone comes back from the horrors of the First World War with a ruined face and a broken heart. Lonely, unable to forget the things he has seen, and haunted by the ghost of his dead Captain, all that Rob has left is a picture of the Captain's family. Rob sets out to find them, hoping that by bringing them the picture, he can bring peace to the Captain's ghost - and to his own troubled heart.

If life is cheap, how much is love worth? It's 1914, and young Rose Courtenay has a decision to make. Please her wealthy parents by marrying the man of their choice - or play her part in the war effort? After escaping to work in France, she meets Lieutenant Alex Denham, a dark figure from her past. But he's the last man in the world she should get involved with....

The beginning of a relationship is usually all about getting to know each other. Not so for Dave and Alena. He's from London; she's from Siberia. They meet in a slick Bond Street department store, where she's up to no good, and it's his job to catch her. So begins an unlikely relationship between two people with pasts, with secrets. But despite everything they don't have in common, they’re still fighting for a future together.

For Kate Drake, her family has brought her peace after years of uncertainty. Now, watching her own children grow up, it seems the world is a no less complicated place. But when a secret from the past casts its shadow across four generations of the family, a stubbornly independent woman opens herself to love whilst an older one rediscovers it, and a young boy begins to understand the complexities of adult life.

Kate Kingsley remembers little of her early childhood before being sent to live as the adopted daughter of Jack and Thea in Kenya. Now 20, she leaves Kenya for a new life in London. But this is 1936 - a time of decadence but also turmoil. Kate confronts personal danger, faces conflicting loyalties, and must make a heart-breaking choice before she can find a kind of freedom.