Showing results by author "Kate Hewitt" in All Categories

When Ava arrives in Greece, it’s with a heart that’s shattered into a thousand pieces. But as she pulls up in a tiny village nestled on a cliff above the glittering Ionian Sea and steps out in front of a tumbledown house that once belonged to her grandmother Sophia, everything changes. At first Ava almost wants to laugh at this bizarre inheritance - a home that has been uninhabited since the Second World War - that appears as close to collapse as she herself feels. But with nowhere left to run to, her only choice is to start putting the house together again.

When Simon Blacklock, a handsome, whimsical stranger, breezes into her shop and buys a cupcake and then returns the next day and the day after, Olivia begins to dream. Can romance blossom amid the sugar and flour? And after a lifetime of living on the sidelines, is she brave enough to star in her own story?

It only took a moment for everything to go wrong. In the blink of an eye, the birthday party became a nightmare when we heard the screams… How did this happen? And who is to blame? I’m so happy as I walk to pick up my son from the party. It’s his first since we moved here, and I know he’s found it hard settling in. Just as I’ve found it hard to make friends among the mothers at the school gates. But as I turn the corner, my heart stops. Instead of the picture-perfect birthday party I left earlier, there’s an ambulance.

Laura Neale is grieving. A year after her beloved husband’s death, she is still left with far too many questions and is struggling with feelings of guilt, anger, and grief. Hoping to rebuild her life and her children’s, she moves to Wychwood-on-Lea with her two troubled kids. The warm community of women who have lived in Willoughby Close welcome her with open arms, and their friendship helps Laura find a semblance of peace. But when she finds herself with an entirely unexpected attraction to her son’s teacher, James Hill, Laura is gobsmacked.

England, 1868: Orphaned and penniless, eighteen-year-old Sarah is left the sole guardian of her beloved little sister Lucy—who she’s vowed to protect at all costs. With nowhere left to turn, she is forced to accept mysterious widower James Mills’s proposal of marriage. She believes being his bride can’t possibly be as bad as the threat of the workhouse. But nothing prepares her for the darkness of her marriage, the shocking secrets of her new family, and the lengths she will have to go to keep her sister safe…

After her husband unexpectedly dies, Ava moves to Willoughby Close, trying to keep her chin up and to herself as she’s always done - not answering questions, not making friends, and not seeing much of a future. Her marriage was far from perfect, but it offered her a much-needed security that has now been ripped away. She’s not sure what to do now that she’s 35, widowed, penniless...and unexpectedly pregnant with her late husband’s child.

Alice James has been a drifter her whole life, working her way through several foster homes before ending up in Wychwood-on-Lea, feeling anchorless and invisible. When a chance encounter leads to Alice accepting a position as a caretaker and companion to Lady Stokeley, she starts to feel as if she might finally be able to put down some roots and live the way other people do. Then, Lady Stokeley’s nephew, city banker Henry Trent, storms into Willoughby Manor, seeming to find fault with everything, including Alice.

The year 1819, Isle of Mull, Scotland: When Allan MacDougall tells his sweetheart, Harriet Campbell, he loves her on the eve of his departure to the New World, it breaks her heart. Because there is no way for her to go with him. She promises to wait for him, even though it could be years before they are reunited. They vow to write, but when crucial letters go astray, they feel further apart than either could have imagined.

It’s a warm, early summer’s evening, when Mia’s doorbell rings unexpectedly. She opens the door to see the silhouette of a teenage girl, standing in the shadow beyond the porch light - and in an instant, she realizes who it is. Daisy, the daughter she gave up as a baby. She says she has a terrible secret. And she believes the only person who can help her is Mia. Her birth mother. Mia, however, has secrets of her own. Ones that she is afraid to let Daisy or anyone else know.

When Rosie Lyman and her cousin Violet join the Canadian Women’s Army Corps, Rosie is uncertain about leaving her life in Ontario behind and entering a new and challenging world of duty and service. From the moment Rosie signs up, the intensity of the work pushes all thoughts of home from her mind. And when she is selected for officer training and a placement overseas in London, Rosie finds herself swept up into an exciting world of classified postings she could never have imagined....

Twelve years ago when her daughters were mostly grown, Anna walked away from Embthwaite Farm with no plan except to preserve her sanity and to find a ray of light to cling to. But going home is harder than even Anna imagines. Her daughters are miles away from forgiveness and rebuff her every overture of help and communication, and her ex, who knows why she left, doesn't even want to speak to her. But Anna's determined to face her demons, make amends, and reconnect with her family.

England, 1918. As war ends, across the world people are trying to heal and recover. But Eleanor still feels broken. The loss of her beloved brother, killed just days before the Armistice was signed, feels impossibly unjust. Spending her time in the neglected garden behind their house, she fears her heart will never recover. Then her father hires a man to help restore the garden to its former glory.

When Rosie Lyman travels to the Lake District as a volunteer to help children rescued from the horror of the concentration camps after World War II, she hopes that by caring for the young orphans, she can distract herself from the loss of the man she loves and her beloved daughter.

It’s been two years since Ellie and her family left their lives in America behind and moved to a small Welsh village to run her husband’s family inn. Having fought to save it from disrepair, Ellie is shocked when her sister-in-law, Sarah, breaks the news that the inn is facing financial trouble and might have to close after Christmas, a thought that breaks all their hearts.

Esther Holley, the eldest in the family, has always had her life firmly in control until a miscarriage knocks her off course. Two months later, still emotionally spinning, she separates from her husband, Will, a sheep farmer and man of few words and moves back in with her parents. Life as a singleton 30-something living in her parents’ house is miserable, but Esther is determined to reboot her life, including going on a few unfortunate dates. She’s shocked when tight-lipped Will shows up on her doorstep determined to woo her back.

Milly always dreamed of being a mother. Adopted herself, she has always imagined a powerful, intimate connection with a child of her own. So when she and her husband Matt are told they can’t have children, her dreams are shattered. But then their loved ones offer the ultimate gift - Milly’s best friend Anna and Matt’s brother Jack will be donors, so that Milly can finally have a chance to be a mother. Except none of the four people involved are prepared for the feelings that will threaten their most important relationships as their daughter receives a heartbreaking diagnosis.

When the call finally comes, my life as I know it is over—my job as a teacher, my marriage, my family are all gone. In a heartbeat, I’ve lost everything that ever mattered to me. All because of one secret and what someone thinks she saw....

In the pretty, privileged college town of Milford, New Hampshire, everyone is friendly, and everything is safe. And on this cold autumn day, as red and yellow leaves begin to fall from the trees, and everyone wraps up for the first time, it would be easy to believe nothing bad could ever happen here. Until a screech of tires is heard, a thud, a child’s scream. The crash that sees Jenna’s six-year-old daughter, Amy Rose, being hit by a car driven by 17-year-old Maddie.

Rachel Holley has always dreamed of a wedding - the white dress, the fairy tale, and, of course, the happily-ever-after. But when her fiancé breaks it off the night before, claiming she doesn’t love him, Rachel’s fairy tale ends in ashes. Homeless, hopeless, and feeling like her life has been completely derailed, Rachel must start over in all sorts of ways - and hold her head up high in the fishbowl of her tiny village.

Old secrets emerge, tempers flare. And so we parents decide to leave the beach, telling the teenagers to enjoy themselves, reassuring them someone will be back to collect them in an hour or two. But when I return later, I know something is really wrong. Our teens are slurring their words, stumbling to the car. It’s clear they have been drinking, and I’m shocked. I never expected our kids to behave this way. I’m bracing myself to have firm words with them in the morning, but the next day my concerns fade to nothing when 17-year-old Bella claims my son Finn assaulted her.