Rural Town

Agatha and Anthony Award nominee Susan Wittig Albert has garnered popular and critical acclaim for her whimsical mysteries based on the life and times of Beatrix Potter. Set in the summertime splendor of 1913 England, this eighth tale finds Beatrix eager to marry her fiancé, solicitor William Heelis. But a few obstacles are still blocking the happy couple’s path to the altar - like the troubled remodeling of Castle Cottage, Will and Beatrix’s future home.

When the exuberant president of Ng'ombwana proposes to dispense with the usual security arrangements on an official visit to London, his old schoolmate, Chief Superintendent Alleyn, is called in to persuade him otherwise. Consequently, on the night of the embassy's reception, the house and grounds are stiff with police.

In my perfect world I would be selling gourmet donuts, creating art that people loved, be married to my high school sweetheart, live in an adorable dream house. I had big plans for my life once, but nothing was turning out like I thought it would. One day I looked in the mirror and the strong, creative girl of my childhood wasn’t smiling back at me anymore. My aunt must’ve known something that I didn’t, because when she left me her cottage on Sweetwater Island, a tiny spark lit inside me. Could this be a second chance at the life I always dreamed of?

Young nurse Gemma is struggling with the traumas she has witnessed through her job. Needing to escape from it all, she agrees to help renovate a rundown farmhouse in Doullens, France, a town near the Somme. There, in a boarded-up cupboard is a tin that reveals the secret letters and heartache of Alice Le Breton, a young volunteer nurse who worked in a casualty clearing station near the front line. Set in the present day and during the horrifying years of the war, both women discover deep down the strength and courage to carry on in even the most difficult of times.

I'd spent my entire life voiceless. Ignored. Put to the side. All because I couldn't communicate with the humans that I was forced to be around. All because I wasn't surrounded by my kind. My parents subjected me to the worst type of loneliness because of their history—their hatred.

As a third-generation logger, a life in the bush is all Joe Adler has ever known. He works, he hunts; he provides. But when a man dies on his watch, and his wife abandons their young family for writing school in Toronto, Joe must face the consequences of his hard-living ways. Left alone to care for his daughter, he enlists the help of Jenny Lacroix, the wife of the man whose death he might be responsible for. Resentful and angry, and his conscience over Jenny’s husband far from clear, Joe threatens to spiral down the path of fury, booze, and violence that did his father in.

People may call me an "overachieving ice queen," but I would do anything for the people I love. So when my friends ask me to host an event at their famous farm, I'm more than happy to help… until I discover I've been set up.

Sully Raines sets out to find his birth mother, and ends up in Blessings, Georgia. A new surprise awaits him here, but of the best kind - his childhood sweetheart, whom he hasn't seen since she moved away when they were teens, is living in Blessings now. He's not sure she's as happy to see him as he is to see her, but it's been a lot of years, and a lot of water under the bridge... Sully's heartfelt search for answers about his past might just turn out to be the key to his future.

A second chance stand-alone from small-town romance author Brooke Montgomery about a literary agent from NYC who returns to her Southern hometown and the cowboy high school sweetheart she left behind…

Tess and Simon Sparrow may have a few more grey hairs than they used to, but that doesn’t stop them from being swept up in a whirlwind romance and starting over. Swapping their city lives for an escape to the Cornish countryside, they fall in love with a crumbling hotel and impulsively buy it to renovate as their forever home. But soon the newlyweds have had their first fight (and their second and third...) and building costs are spiralling out of control. Their families think they’re mad and Tess is starting to agree – she just wants to escape back to civilisation.

Nestled in a cozy cottage with a lush garden and an abundance of bookshelves, Ursula hopes for a peaceful escape. But strange occurrences quickly unravel, leaving her feeling as though she's being watched. Unusual visions of a mysterious purple-haired woman and out-of-season plants add to her unease. As she becomes acquainted with the enigmatic Rowan and his eccentric house truck, Ursula begins to suspect that he may hold the key to understanding the bizarre happenings in this enchanting world.

Ettie is trying to figure out her future. Dominic’s just trying to forget his past. But with the help of some unlikely friends, young and old, a secret lake hidden in the grounds of a beautiful estate and a scruffy dog, a new community is formed–right when they all need each other the most.

When I escaped my abusive ex and stumbled into the mountains... I never expected to find three rugged mountain men ready to claim my heart—and my body. They offer refuge and safety for me and my sweet little girl. But nothing in their world comes without a price. As we bond beneath the stars, my daughter giggles and twirls. Her innocent laughter lights up the night. Our moments ignite like wildfire, consuming my fears and awakening long-buried desires. I'm drawn into a whirlwind of passion that challenges everything I know about love and trust.

When Ryan Stone’s aunt asks for help with her bookstore, he leaves the city and moves to the small town of Grace, at least temporarily. He’s so busy cleaning and restocking the store he almost doesn’t notice the handsome mechanic that always seems to show up at the park at the same time he has his lunch. Every day for the past few weeks, Charlie Castle has been going to the park across the street from the auto shop, hoping for a chance to meet the new guy from the bookstore with the shock of red hair and a penchant for pink sugar cookies.

I ran from the altar only to land in the arms… ahem… bed of my ridiculously hot ex. Now he's a crazy rich single dad, and the reason for my baby bump. That night, I entered the bar looking like a runaway bride cliché with only five bucks stuffed in my bra. "You look like you need a drink," Oliver says in a voice deeper and huskier than I remember. A few shots later, and all I want is his body driving me wild like only he can. The next morning, as the haze lifts, I remember the shocking reason we broke up all those years ago and why it could never work between us.

George Eliot's first full-length novel is the moving, realistic portrait of three people troubled by unwise love. Adam Bede is a hardy young carpenter who cares for his aging mother. His one weakness is the woman he loves blindly: the trifling town beauty, Hetty Sorrel, who delights only in her baubles - and the delusion that the careless Captain Donnithorne may ask for her hand.

Fiona Ivers has been in love with her brother's best friend since she was a kid. He's older and oblivious to her existence, which only makes her want him more. She's always believed he was disinterested—until a charity gala pushes them together. There, she realizes maybe he pays more attention than he's ever let on. Broody, tattooed loner Boyd Kelly has a low tolerance for distractions and has no issues letting those around him know. His best friend's younger sister doesn't seem to care, though.

Twice in her life, college counselor Gayla Oliver fell in love at first sight. The first time was with Brian - a lean, longhaired, British bass player. Marriage followed quickly, then twins, and gradually their bohemian lifestyle gave way to busy careers in New York. Gayla's second love affair is with New Bern, Connecticut. Like Brian, the laid-back town is charming without trying too hard. It's the ideal place to buy a second home and reignite the spark in their 26-year marriage. Not that Gayla is worried. At least, not until she finds a discarded memo in which Brian admits to a past affair....

Miranda Day, known as "Mama Day", is the elderly matriarch of Willow Springs, a small sea island off the southeast coast of the United States. Mama Day finds herself pitted in mortal combat with dark forces that threaten the body and soul of her beloved great-niece, Cocoa, who has gone "mainside" and married an urban Northerner.

Gabrielle Walker’s world implodes when she discovers that her boyfriend is engaged to another woman. In need of a change, she uproots her life and moves to Haven Bay, hoping to mend her broken heart. But there’s no small town love story for her. Instead, a night of passion with playboy bartender Logan Pride—her brother’s friend—results in a positive pregnancy test and no white picket fence in sight. Logan doesn’t want children, but now he’ll have to choose between following in the footsteps of his no-good absentee father or putting his lonely heart on the line.